Mesopotamia Flashcards
White Temple Ziggurat, Uruk, 3200-3000 BC (Sumerian) with Reconstruction Images
Statuettes of Worshippers from Square Temple at Eshnunna, 2700 BC (Sumerian)
Female Head (Inanna?), Uruk, 3200-3000 BC (Sumerian)
Standard of Ur (war side), from Royal Cemetery, 2600 BC (Sumerian)
Standard of Ur (peace side), Royal Cemetery, 2600 BC (Sumerian)
Queen’s Lyre, from Royal Cemetery in Ur, 2600 BC (Sumerian)
Head of Akkadian Ruler, Nineveh, 2200 BC
Victory Stele of Naram Sin, from Susa, 2250 BC
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Cylinder Seal of Hunting Scene (with modern impression), Akkadian, 2200 BC
The Adda Seal, Sippar, 2300 BC
Ziggurat at Ur, Neo-Sumerian, 2100 BC
Seated Statue of Gudea, Neo-Sumerian, 2100 BC
Stele of Hammurabi, Babylon, 1780 BC
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Citadel of Sargon II (reconstruction), Assyrian, 720 BC
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Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions relief panel, Assyrian, 870 BC
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Assyrian Archers Pursuing Enemies, Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, 870 BC
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Relief with Benevolent Spirit, Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, 870 BC
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Lamassu from Citadel of Sargon II, Dur-Sharrukin, 720 BC
Prehistory vs History
History began when we started to have a written record
Importance of written language
Written language allows us to know what old peoples thought and believed, and it allowed them to propagate their ideas better
Visual narrative
Using art to tell a story, like the conquering of an enemy
Characteristics of “civilization”
Written language
Stratified society
Agriculture
Permanent monumental architecture
Settlement in cities
Hierarchy of Scale
Using disproportionate size to emphasize the most important figure(s) in a work of art
Epic of Gilgamesh
Long poem about Gilgamesh, a great king who sought immortality but failed; moral of the story: great deeds and great monuments are the best hope man has of immortality
Cuneiform
Wedge-based writing system used for several ancient near eastern languages
Ziggurat
Large platform (almost an artificial mountain) on which a temple was built
Circumambulation
The forced walking around of a large structure or temple as part of the worship experience, incorporated into the design of some temples (like Ziggurat at Ur)
No consistent language or political identity
The peoples of ancient Mesopotamia had separate languages and identities, and did not associate themselves as part of a greater whole with one another
Sumerian dates
3500-2332 BC
(Loosely associated individual cities)
Akaddian dates
2332-2150 BC
Neo-Sumerian & Babylonian dates
2150-1600 BC
Assyrian & Neo-Babylonian
900-539 BC
