HIST - Mesopotamia Flashcards
known as the “cradle of civilizations” due to enormous advances and contributions: domestication of animals, trade, legal government, potter’s wheel, wagon wheel, alphabet, architecture
Mesopotamia
contributed to the “cuneiform” and ziggurat architecture; produced the “Epic of Gilgamesh”
Sumerian (6,000 - 4,000 BC)
first Mesopotamians to call themselves kings; first to build an empire; first to cast hollow life-size bronze sculptures
Akkadians
method of metal casting in which molten metal is poured into a mold that has been created by means of a wax model
Loss-Wax Method
constructed one of the largest ziggurats in Mesopotamia
Neo-Sumerians
formulated wide-ranging laws immortalized in the Code of Hammurabi; ruled by King Hammurabi
Babylonian/Chaldean Period (4.000 - 700 BC)
a unique glimpse into the social and legal structure or laws
Code of Hammurabi
formed when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem; associated with the architectural wonders of Babylon
Neo-Babylonians
the entrance gate to the palace of Sargon; named after the goddess of love, fertility, and war; is faced with glazed bricks with rows of bulls and dragons and has a semi-circular arch covered with brilliantly colored tile
Ishtar Gate
a period where palaces were fortified citadels with lamassu guardians
Assyrian (700 - 500 BC)
a great stone statue of a human-headed winged bull that preceded the Palace of Ishtar; has a 5th leg that signifies movement
Lamassu
founded by Cyrus the Great after defeating the Babylonians; became the largest empire formed
Persian Period (539 - 331 BC)
a system of writing typified by the use of characters in a small wedge-shaped element; written on tablets
Cuneiform
a Sumerian temple made of tiered rectangular layers which rose from 1 to 7
Ziggurat
a seven-tiered ziggurat rising from a base of 297 sq. ft.; mounds of ruins lay in Baghdad
Tower of Babel
the great palace built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Amytis
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
the first arcaded palace built in the Persian Empire
Palace of Shapur I
a large hypostyle hall begun by Darius and finished by Xerxes; used for great receptions by kings; contains 72 columns, and 2 monumental stairways
Apadana/Audience Hall
built on a stone platform, and consisted of multi-columned buildings
Palace Complex at Persepolis
