Lecture vii ancient civilization

Ar. Hena Tiwari/GCAD, Sonipat

ANCIENT CIVILIZATION


WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE Introduction

Mesopotamian civilization was mainly spread in the

fertile land of two rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

The north part was called as Akkad and the south

part was called as Sumer.

The word Mesopotamian has come from the Egyptian

word Meso which means in the middle of and

potamos which means river.

So therefore Mesopotamian means in the middle of two

rivers.



The area lacked the boundaries.

This plain had alluvial soil mainly thus building

material which was available was clay from which bricks

were manufactured.

Bricks were either sun dried or kiln burnt depending

upon the type of the work.

Lime mortar and bitumen were also used.

Climate was extreme severe in hot summers and to

protect from it columned halls and porticos were used.

High platform was provided for the buildings to protect

them from floods.


It was a religion dominated society where priests had

immense powers.

Gods were thought to resides in heights and to

approach them temples were built on elevated

platforms usually provided with holy mountains

ziggurats which had a temple on the top.

Each city had at least one ziggurat.

The civilization is supposed to have some thirty

ziggurats.

Public ceremonies took place in open courtyards.


Homes for poor were simple

Flooring consisted of paved brick or mud plaster.

Riches had two storied house with bed rooms,

kitchen, store room, servant’s quarter etc.

Prisoners of wars were kept as slaves.

Parents used to sold their sons to pay of debts.

Auctions of women were held every year.


Historical conditions

Sumerians:

They became powerful under the third dynasty

rullers Ur Nammu who constructed the famous city

of Ur. They ruled from 3000-2000 B.C.


Babylonian:

They were the nomads who developed in the central

region of Mesopotamia.

Babylon literary means gate of the great God (Bab:

Gate , ili: God).

The 5th king of the community Hammurabi was the

most cruel king of the time whose principal was eye for

eye, tooth for tooth.




Assyrian Period

They flourished in the middle east part

They were basically warriors and huntsmen.

They founded the city of Ashur.

Persian Period:

These people were settled in Medas and Persia.


One of the larger Sumerian cities may have had 80,000

residents.

The list of Sumerian rulers includes one woman.

The Sumerian city-states were often at war with one

another.

The Sumerians were famously fond of beer.

Cuneiform writing was used for over 3,000 years.

The Sumerians were well-traveled trade merchants.

Sumerian mathematics and measurements are still used

today.

Sumerian culture was lost to history until the 19th century.





Characteristic features

They constructed imposing towers and artificial

mountains called as Ziggurats.

They used bricks in their constructions.

Evolved arches, vaults and domes.

Main entrance to the court was flanked with

imposing towers.

High plinth was made.

Chief form of ornamentation n building was lotus

bud or rosettes.



City of Ur

The city of Ur

was formed on

river Euphrates.



Mesopotamian king Ur-Nammu erected the famous

ziggurat of Ur-Nammu here.

Temples were formed with store houses and

workshops.

City was surrounded by a canal acting as a moat.

Streets were narrow.

Houses were single storied with central courtyard.

Riches had double storied houses.



ZIGGURAT OF UR-NAMMU (2125 B.C.)



The Ziggurat or holy mountain was erected by the

Mesopotamian King Ur-Nammu, a founder of Third

Dynasty of Ur.

This ziggurat was erected to the moon god Nanna,

the patron deity of the city of Ur.

It is the most preserved of all ziggurats in

Mesopotamia and has been partially reconstructed

reaching a height of 11 m.


It stood within a rectangular plan of 60 m x 45 m and

17m high.

The whole mass was solid, with a core of sun dried

bricks and outer covering of burnt bricks of 2.5m thick

cemented with bitumen.

It was composed of three stages. Access to the

ziggurat was through three converging ramps from

where a central stairway continued to the second stage.



Large Courtyard around its base and surrounded by

shrines, among which one was dedicated to the goddess

Ningal, the wife of Nanna.

The temple had inner courtyard surrounded by a no. of

rooms – cooking, animal sacrifice, workshops, store rooms.

There was also a palace within the courtyard for the King

and his family members.


BABYLONIAN ARCHITECTURE

The city had a

circumference of at

least 18 km and the river

Euphrates was once running through it.

The city was destroyed by Assyrians once in 13th and

again in 7th Century B.C.

The city was surrounded by a canal acting as a moat.

THE CITY OF BABYLON


It was also protected by huge rampart walls which were

more than 86km in length and provided with hundred

bronze gateways.

Each of its gateways was protected by different gods, the

main palace and gate were dedicated to Ishtar, the

goddess of love and battle.

The Ishtar gate was patterned by horned dragons; yellow

and white bulls in relief on a blue background


The gate consisted of two portals one behind the other, each

flanked by huge towers.

It was built in Kiln-burnt bricks, cemented with pitch.

The outer surface was covered by bricks with colored

figures of dragons.


HANGING GARDENS(600B.C.)

Built by King Nebuchadnezzar, to please his Persian wife

They occupied an area of 275mx183m and situated near

Euphrates river.

The terraced gardens planted with flowers and trees,

With the beautiful fountains were 25m to 100m above the

Ground.

Water was stored in the reservoir and supplied through

pipes







Built by King Nebuchadnezzar, to please his Persian wife

They occupied an area of 275mx183m and situated near

Euphrates river.

The terraced gardens planted with flowers and trees,

With the beautiful fountains were 25m to 100m above the

Ground.

Water was stored in the reservoir and supplied through

pipes


ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE

The city stood

on a rectangular plan

of 2.6 sq.km.

There were several

office buildings

including a temple.

THE CITY OF KHORSABAD

Palace of Sargon II was the most splendid structure,

occupying an area of nearly 23 acres.


It had large and small

courts, corridors &

rooms were approached by

broad ramp.

The palace was

divided into three parts.

On its left wing, there were six temples, and on its

right wing were service rooms and administrative

offices, and on the opposite wings, were residential

quarters followed by royal apartments.


The royal apartments had dadoes nearly 2m high. At

the end was the throne room about 49mx11m.

The high plinths of the temple courts were decorated

with polychrome glazed bricks.

At one corner there stood a Ziggurat on square base of

about 45m side rising in seven tiers to a height of 45m

with shrine at the top.


It had a winding ramp of 1.8m wide by which one could

reach on its top. Each of the seven tiers was painted in

different colors.

Main gateway to the grand court was flanked by imposing

towers and guarded by the man-headed winged bulls as a

symbol of adad the god of thunder.


THE PALACE OF

PERSEPOLIS

PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE

Persepolis was used as

a showpiece of imperial

grandeur of empire.

It was also executed by

Xerxes I(486-465B.C.)

and completed in

460B.C. by Arta-XerxesI.


The entire building stood on a rectangular plan

460mx275m over a rising terrace of 15m above the ground.

The approach was provided at north-west by magnificent

steps 6.7mwide and shallow enough for the horses to

ascend.


The gateways were flanked by imposing towers and

guarded by man-headed winged bulls.

The gateway on the south opened to the Apadana or

Audience hall nearly 76sq.m with 36 slender columns, 20m

high 1.5m dia

and place at

6m c/c.


The stairway of Apadana has bas-relief showing the

delegates, nobles, advancing in dignified procession.

The delegates can be easily identified from their national

costumes.

Next his son Xerxes I added his palace together with

women’s quarters – Harem on the south end.


The throne room – the famous “Hall of Hundred

Columns” situated on the east end, was commenced by

Xerxes I and completed by Arta-XerxesI.

The throne room was set up on a high platform with

columns 11m high supporting the flat roof.

Education

Lecture vii ancient civilization