02 ARCHITECTURE OF ANE

Architecture of the Ancient Near East

Historical BackgroundLocation

the valley of Tigris and

modern Iraq

Mesopotamia or land

defined edges

Mediterranean to eastern

• Located in and around

Euphrates rivers in

• Area is also known as

between two rivers• The land had poorly

• The land stretches from

borders of present Iran*for educational purposes only*

Historical BackgroundLocation

• To the south and west, it

fades into the Arabian desert

• To the north and west, it fades into the plains of Syria

• The Tigris and Euphrates rivers sit in the land as dominant physical feature

• The Rivers were unpredictable, being subject to alternating flood and drought

*for educational purposes only*

Historical BackgroundPeriod

• The area witnessed the earliest rise of human civilization

around 4500 BC

• Transformation from prehistory, to villages and cities occurred there

• Civilization there lasted for 5000 years

• Cultural development was not homogenous during the period

• Different cultures established city states and empires at different periods

• The cultures include Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian


Historical BackgroundPeriod

the history of the cultures

3300 BC

• It has not been possible to trace a neat order of

• An acceptable order is presented

• Sequence of Civilization– 4500 to 2000 BC Sumerian culture, peaking in

– 2350 – 2200 BC Akkadian Period– 2000- 1600 BC Babylonian Culture– 1600 – 1717 BC Kessites and Hittites– 1350 – 612 BC Assyrian Culture– 612 – 539 BC Neo Babylonian culture– 539 – 330 BC Persian culture


Historical BackgroundSocial Characteristics &

Beliefs• Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization

• What do we mean by civilization?– Civilization is usually associated with the cultural practices of cities and urban living, the presence of writing and written law

• In Mesopotamia, earliest cities were established and urban culture took hold

• Between 4000 and 3000 BC, large number of people began living in a small area creating first cities

• Many people began to have jobs that is unrelated to agriculture



Beliefs• Once established, cities grew and increased power and

importance

• As cities grew in power and importance, rivalries developed between them for military and economic control

• The ANE was land without natural defenses

• Warfare was common throughout its history

• The Tigris and Euphrates also suffered from alternate drought and floods

• Combination of warfare and frequent drought and flood made a continuous homogenous civilization impossible

• The result is that several cultures flourished and died out during the ANE period



Beliefsauthority residing in an assembly of male

time, kingship evolved

defeated weaker ones to create empires and

sovereign king

• Cities in the ANE initially developed with

citizens

• Short term leaders were selected during wars

• When war leaders were retained during peace

• It was initially elective and later hereditary

• As some cities became more powerful, they

kingdoms

• This led to collective rule of city states by a



Beliefs• With kingship also came monumental palaces as place of residence and administration for the king

• Almost all ANE culture worshiped many gods and goddesses

• ANE people did not believe in immortality or eternal life

• They believed only gods were immortal

• Rather, they believed in divine rewards for moral conduct


Historical BackgroundSocial Characteristics & Beliefs

numerous offspring and long life

related to fertility

crops

were explained by the actions of gods

elements- sky, earth, water, sun, moon, etc

• The reward was enjoyed in this life

• The rewards include increased worldly goods,

• The most popular and earliest religious cults

• Fertility goddesses influenced the growth of

• Aspects of life such as war, weather, disease,

• The Sumerian had a religion based on the



Beliefs

society

they needed a means of communication and

of writing based on pictograph

called the cuneiform

to produce historical records

• This reflected the agrarian nature of their

• As ANE people came together to live in

cities, record keeping• Around 3500, the Sumerians invented a system

• This was later developed into a simpler writing

• Development of written language enabled them



Beliefs• Written records also led to the development of written law as in the code of King Hummurabi

• Cities in ancient Mesopotamia were enclosed by wall fortifications

• The fabric of the cities are a blend of residential, commercial and industrial buildings• Houses were one story high and mostly of

mud brick• Rooms were arranged around courtyards



Beliefs• Houses looked inward

• Rooms were narrow with thick walls and flat, vault or dome roofs• Timber and stone were scarce, clay was abundant and mud brick was most common building material• Buildings were usually raised on platforms to protect them from the floods• Clay was also used for pottery

• Mesopotamians invented astrology, wheeled vehicle & made advances in science & math


Sumerian ArchitectureIntroduction

• The transition from prehistory was made around 4500 BC with the rise of the Sumerian civilization

• Sumerians established an irrigation system that made the capable of food production to support urban living

• They were also skilled in metal craft

• The Sumerians invented the cuneiform system of writing



cuneiform system of writing

Sumerian civilization were

civilization to make a

designing public buildings

material

sun dried and built into

• The Sumerians invented the

• The major cities of the

Kish, Uruk and Ur

• The Sumerian were the first

conscious attempt of

• Mud was their building

• Mud was formed into brick,

massive walls *for educational purposes only*


• Mud was their main building material

• Mud was formed into brick, sun dried and built into massive walls

• Walls were thick to compensate the weakness of mud

• They were reinforce with buttresses

• Spaces were narrow because of the walling material



• Spaces were narrow because of the walling material

• Façade of buildings were whitewashed and painted to disguise the lack of attraction of the material

• Buttresses and recesses also relieve the monotony of the plastered wall surfaces

• Temples was their major building type

• We will examine Sumerian house organization and their temple forms



• The clearest example of the cities of the ancient Near East is found in the Sumerian city of Ur

• Cities were enclosed in walls with Ziggurat temples and palace as centers of the city

• Fabric of the city is made up of residences mixed with commercial and industrial buildings



• The houses are densely packed with narrow streets between them.

• Streets were fronted by courtyard houses of one story high

• The houses streets were usually punctuated by narrow openings that serve as entrance to houses


Sumerian ArchitectureArchitectural Monument-

Temples• Temples were the principal architectural

monuments of Sumerian cities• Temples consist of chief and city temples

• We will examine two examples of chief temples- the white temple at Uruk and the Great Ziggurat at Ur

• And we will examine on city temple, theOval temple at Khafaje


Sumerian ArchitectureWhite Temple Uruk

• Uruk was a major Sumerian city by 3300 BC

• Uruk is also known as warka in arabic

• The name Iraq is derived from Uruk

• The city covered an area of 2 square kilometer

• Had a population of 40,000 people

• White temple was located atUruk



• The white temple was built around 3000 BC

• The white temple is an example of earliest development of Sumerian temples and Ziggurat



great mound of earth called

12 meters above ground

built with mud bricks

shape

supported by buttresses

temple was a long

alter and offering table

• The temple is place on a

Ziggurat, rising more than

• The ziggurat and temple are

• The temple is rectangular in

• Temple walls were thick and

• In the inner part of the

sanctuary, that contains an



• Rooms oblong and in shape and vaulted surrounded the long side of the sanctuary

• The temple had imposing doorways located at its either end

• Worshippers to the temple however enter through a side room



• Series of staircases and stepped levels lead worships to the entrance of the temple

• The temple was plastered white externally, making it visible for miles in the landscape


Sumerian ArchitectureGreat Ziggurat Ur

• Ur was a Sumerian city located near the mouth of the Euphrates river

• The city was a thriving place by 2600 BC

• It was considered sacred toNnanna, the moon god• The white temple was built

around 2113 to 2048 BC by the ruler Urnammu

• It was built on the ruins of previous temples and incorporated their remains



bricks reinforced with thin

of twisted reeds

located as part of a temple

the ziggurat and its court

attached to it called the

priest of the temple and

• It was constructed of mud

layers of matting and cables

• The Great Ziggurat was

complex• The complex comprised of

and a secondary court

court of Nannar• The king was the chief

lived close to it *for educational purposes only*


• The temple sits on a three multi-tiered Ziggurat mountain

• Access to the temple is through triple stairways that converge at the summit of the first platform

• From this stage, one passed through a portal with dome roof to fourth staircase



• The fourth staircase gave access to the second and third stages of the ziggurat and to the temple

• The temple is usually access only by the priest, where gods are believed to come down and give instructions



• The ziggurat is believed by the Sumerians to unit the heavens and the earth

• The people believed that climbing the staircase of the ziggurat gives a holy experience• The chief temple was also used as a last line of defense during times of war• Most of what is known about

what exist on top of the ziggurat is projection


Sumerian ArchitectureOval Temple- Khafaje

• Oval temple is an example of second type of Sumerian temples

• It was constructed around2600 BC

• The temple is named oval because of its massive oval walls surrounding the temple

• Located in the city, emphasis in its organization is on enclosing space within courtyards


Sumerian ArchitectureOval Temple Khafaje

• Space is enclosed to create island of peace from a busy city

• The temple is raised on a simple platform enclosed within the oval walls

• It had subsidiary chambers at the ground level

• The outer wall was extended to protect a priestly

residence with its own chapel


Sumerian ArchitectureOval Temple Khafaje

• The inner court had an offering table and showed evidence of animal sacrifices

• The inner court also had basins for ablution as well as workshops and storage rooms


Assyrian ArchitectureIntroduction

• Assyria is the name for a part of ancient Mesopotamia located on the upper Tigris

• The principal cities of Assyria were Nineveh, Dun, Khorsabad, Nimrud and Assur

• The Assyrians were great warriors and hunters, and this was reflected in their art

• They produced violent sculptures and relief carving in stone that was used to ornament their houses



temples lost their importance to

in which palaces took precedent

platforms, and their principal

guardian figures of human

lined with pictures and

stone slabs up to 9 feet high

• During the Assyrian periods,

palaces• Assyrian kings built walled cities,

over religious buildings• Palaces were raised on brick

entrance ways were flanked by

headed bulls or lions of stone• Their halls and corridors were

inscriptions carved in relief on*for educational purposes only*


• The interiors were richly decorated and luxurious.

• The walls of cities were usually strengthened by many towers serving as defensive positions

• The city of Khorsabad demonstrate the might and authority of the Assyrian kings

• It is also at this place that the remains of Assyrian architecture can be found


Assyrian ArchitectureCity of Khorsabad

• Khorsabad was designed as the royal capital of Assyria

• The city was built on a flat land with an area of about a square mile and was enclosed by a double wall with seven city gates

• Only a part of the city including palaces, temples and administrative headquarters was built

• The palace was located on the north west side of the city


Assyrian ArchitecturePalace of Sargon

• The palace is approached at ground level through a

walled citadel

• Within the citadel is found the main palace, two minor palaces and a temple dedicated to Nabu

• The main palace was set on a platform located on the northern side of the citadel

• All the buildings within the citadel were arranged around courtyards


Assyrian ArchitecturePalace of Sargon

• The palace was arranged around two major courtyards about which were grouped smaller courtyards

• The palace consisted of large and smaller rooms with the throne room being the largest

• The building was decorated with relief sculpture and glazed brick


Babylonian ArchitectureIntroduction

• After the fall of Nineveh in612 BC and the end of theAssyrian civilization, focusof Mesopotamian civilization shifted to old Babylon

• A new dynasty of kings, including Nebuchadnezzar, revived old Babylonian culture to create a Neo- Babylonian civilization

• Old Sumerian cities were rebuilt


Babylonian ArchitectureIntroduction

enlarged and heavily

magnificent new buildings

Mesopotamian building

period

enhanced by a new form of

of figures designed in

• The capital old Babylon was

fortified

• It was also adorned with

• The traditional style of

reached its peak during the

• Traditional building was

façade ornament consisting

colored glazed brick work


Babylonian ArchitectureCity of Babylon

• The city of Babylon is shaped in the form of a quadrangle sitting across and pierced by the Euphrates[64]

• The city was surrounded by a fortification of double walls

• These had defensive towers that project well above the walls


Babylonian ArchitectureCity of Babylon

• The walls also had a large moat in front, which was also used for navigation

• The length of the wall and moat is about five and a quarter miles

• The city had a palace, Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, located on its

northern side on the outer wall


Babylonian ArchitectureIshtar Gate

procession street that cuts

the ground to the tower of

the city through the famous

the double walls of the city

projecting towers on each

• From the palace originated a

through the city raised above

Babel

• The procession street enters

Ishtar gate

• The Ishtar gate is built across

fortification

• The gate had a pair of

wall


Babylonian ArchitectureIshtar Gate

and adjoining streets

glazed bricks and

of heraldic animals- lions,

relief and glazed in other

old Babylon has survived

• All the facades of gates

were faced with blue

ornamented with figures

bulls, and dragons• These were modeled in

colors

• None of the buildings of

to the present age


Babylonian ArchitectureArchitecture in the city of

Babylon• Nebuchadnezzar’s palace covered a land area of 900 feet by 600 feet

• It had administrative offices, barracks, the king’s harem, private apartment all arranged around five courtyards

• The palace is also praised for its legendary hanging garden

• This is recorded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but exact knowledge of the nature of this garden is not known *for educational purposes only*

Babylonian ArchitectureArchitecture in the city of Babylon

also prominent

Babylon

Babel located at the end of

mentioned in the Christian

information about the

the tower

on the tower is hypothetical

• Temples and towers were

architectural elements of

• The legendary tower of

procession street is

bible

• There is also no

design and construction of

• Most of what is available


Persian ArchitectureIntroduction

• The Persian empire started in about 560 BC when Cyrus the great from the province of Fars swept over the region with his powerful cavalry

• By the end of the century, Cyrus and his successors, Darius 1 and Xerxes had conquered the entire civilized world from Indus to Danube River with the exception of Greece

• It was the wish of the Persians to construct great buildings

• They were to achieve greatness with their architectural solutions

• The architectural solutions were a synthesis of ideas gathered from almost all parts of their empire and from the Greeks an Egyptians


Persian ArchitectureIntroduction

• Their materials of construction was also from different locations

• Material included mud-brick from Babylon, wooden roof beams from Lebanon, precious material from India and Egypt, Stone columns quarried and carved by Ionic Greeks

• Despite sourcing materials and ideas from different areas, their architecture was original and distinctive in style


Persian ArchitecturePalace at Persepolis

its greatest monumentality at

capital for the Persian Empire

and finished in 460 BC

mountain leveled to create

feet

a

fortification wall

covered by buildings

• Persian architecture achieved

Parsepolis• It was constructed as a new

• The city was started 510 BC

• It is set along the face of a

large platform 1800 feet by 900

• It was surrounded by a

• The site was more than half



• The palace consisted of three parts:

• An approach of monumental staircases, gate ways and avenues

• Two great state halls towards the center of the platform

• The palace of Xerxes, the harem, and other living quarters at the south end of the site


PersianPalace

Architectureat Persepolis

relied on a hypostyle

spaces of varying scale

very big and generally

by mud brick walls

of the palace was the royal

• Structurally, the buildings

scheme throughout

• They used it to achieve

• Some of the spaces

were square in plan• The spaces were enclosed

• The most impressive aspect

audience hall*for educational purposes only*


• The Royal audience hall was a square 250 feet in length

• It contained 36 slender columns widely space & 67 feet high

• The columns had a lower diameter of only 5 feet

• The centers of the columns were spaced 20 feet or 4 diameters apart

• The column was the greatest invention of the Persians

• The columns were fluted and stand on inverted bell shaped bases

• Their capital combine Greek motifs with Egyptian palm leaf topped by an impost of paired beast



palace at parsepolis was the

of a 100 columns

were 37 feet high, with a

apart or seven diameters

created room and spacious

compared to the audience

• Another famous aspect of the

throne room• This was also known as hall

• The columns in the room

diameter of only 3 feet• They were spaced 20 feet

from axis to axis• The slim nature of the column

feeling in the room when

hall*for educational purposes only*

Assyrian ArchitecturePalace at Persepolis

• The monumental entrance to Parsepolis is also one of the unique aspects of the Palace

• The monumental gateway ensure a dramatic entry

to the Palace

• It was heavily adorned with relief sculpture ornamenting its stairway



• The relief structure addresses different themes relating to the role of Parsepolis as the capital of the Persian Empire



• In some places, the sculpture shows delegates from the different parts of the Persian bringing gifts and rare animals to the king during celebrations• In some places, royal guards and nobles of the imperial court are shown• Elsewhere, the king is seen

in conflict with animals or seated beneath a ceremonial umbrella


AssyrianPalace

Architectureat Persepolis

have survived to the

give a faulty expression

appearance

supporting the halls of the

the palace and its

perished completely

• The ruins of Parsepolis

present day

• Existing ruins however

of the city’s original

• Some columns

great halls have survived

• The mud brick fabric of

enclosing walls have *for educational purposes only*


• Only the sculptures which adorn

doorways or windows and openings and the relief ornamenting its entrance way remain


Buildings & Other Arch.Building Types

Elements

houses, temples and palaces

outstanding buildings types in ANE

and city fortification was also witnessed

organization led to the evolution of the inward

city with narrow passages to distribute people

• 3 building types examined in ANE; Cities and

• Temples and palaces were the most

• Significant development in house organization

• In Sumerian civilization, development in

house looking courtyard house• Houses formed the dominant buildings of the


Buildings & Other Arch. ElementsBuilding Types

• Across all the civilizations, cities were usually walled

• The walls were of massive brick material, with evenly distributed towers serving as buttresses.

• Examples of city wall or fortification examined include City of Khorsabad and Babylon

• The chief’s house at precinct of the Great Ziggurat and the Palace at Parsepolis were also fortified with brick walls.


Buildings & Other Arch. ElementsTemples and Palaces

during the different periods of the ANE

and were also common during the Babylonian

Ziggurats, while the character of the Babylonian

of them

located outside the city and the city temple

• Importance of temples and palaces varied

• Temples started during the Sumerian period

period.• The Sumerian temples were raised on

temples is not certain because there is no trace

• The Sumerian temples had chief temples

located within the fabric of the city*for educational purposes only*

Buildings & Other Arch. ElementsTemples and Palaces

• Neo-Babylonians also built great palaces. The legendary palace of Nebuchadnezzar with its hanging garden is widely reported in history

• Temple building declined during the Assyrian period, when palaces took over as the prominent building type

• The Palaces at Khorsabad and Parsepolis shows the rise of the palace as the focus of architectural development over the temple


Materials, Construction & Tech.Materials

• Stone and timber suitable for building was rare in the plains of the Tigris and Euphrates.

• Clay was however in abundance

• This was compressed in moulds and dried in the sun to provide bricks for all buildings

• Sun dried brick became the standard building material

• It was used across all the cultures of the ancient Near East


Materials, Construction & Tech.Materials

• Wood was scarce but was imported fromLebanon

• Wood was probably applied mainly for roofing or for producing tools and ornaments

• Stone was used by the Assyrians but only for relieve carving and for columnar support

• It was in ancient Persia that extensive use of stone witnessed

• The Babylonians introduce glazed brick, which was used in the façade of their gates and prominent buildings


Materials, Construction & Tech.Construction

development of construction methods

to stone

reinforced with buttresses.

Sumerian temples.

Mesopotamian period

• The abundance of mud brick led to the

appropriate to its physical properties.

• Structurally Mud brick is weak when compared

• To compensate, walls were very thick and

• This construction system is evident in the

• Vaulting was known and used during the


Materials, ConstructionConstruction

& Tech.

vaults.

oblong spaces.

the ANE

and Neo-babylonian periods.

borrowed from other cultures in the region,

• Rooms were usually roofed with domes or

• Tunnel vaults were used to cover long narrow

• Columnar construction was not very popular in

• It was used in few instances in the late Assyrian

• It was however extensively used by the Persians

• Persian architecture, was an architecture that

including Egypt and Greek sources*for educational purposes only*

Materials, Construction &Technology

Tech.

commonly used in the Ancient Near East;

probably a product of its desert environment

livable environments in houses

as a thermal storage

fluctuations of temperature

• Two technologies appear to have been

passive cooling and water supply.

• The evolution of courtyard in Mesopotamia was

and the need for climate modification.

• Courtyards were used for cooling to create

• The thick walls of houses may also have served

• They help to mitigate against the wide


Materials, Construction & Tech.Technology

• People of the ancient Near East also mastered the earth of water supply

• Channels were used to move water and supply it to agricultural fields and houses.

• Ancient Babylon was said to have an aqueduct that supplied water to the city.

• The hanging garden in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace would also be impossible without a means of transporting water from the ground to the garden


Principles of Arch. OrganizationPrinciples

• Three principles appear to predominant in the organization of architectural form and space

– Courtyard organization

– Lifting of buildings on artificial mountains

– Organic organization of city fabric


Forces Shaping Arch. Organ.Forces

• Three forces account for the prevailing architectural organizing principles observed

• Geography,

• Symbolism and meaning to the people

• Social factors

• Combination of the factors account for the architectural forms that are witnessed in

all the cultures of the ANE


Forces Shaping Arch.Geography

Organ.

and built form

and constrained the development of

conditions which lead to the evolution of the

of courtyard fixed the form of buildings as a

of one story multi-courtyard form

• A strong factor in shaping spatial organization

• Limited the availability of construction

material construction technology• Desert environment also meant t hash climatic

courtyard form of building• Prevalence of mud bricks coupled with the use

regional solution.• Most buildings- whether house or palace, were


Forces Shaping Arch. Organ.Symbolism and Meaning

symbolisms and meaning

sky and to god

Ziggurat to communicating with the chief priest

holy experience.

motivation for the construction of larger and

• Organizing principles may also be a factor of

• The role of symbolism is evident in the Ziggurat

• Sumerians think of ziggurat as a ladder to the

• They believed that God came down to the

• Climbing the ziggurat is also associated with a

• Symbolic meaning of ziggurat provides more

impressive mountains*for educational purposes only*

Forces Shaping Arch. Organ.Symbolism and Meaning

and power of the king

in the symbolic importance

center of authority.

of the temple

authority and power of the emperor of the

commandeer resources from as far as Egypt and

• Palaces also symbolize power and authority

• In Assyria, architecture expressed the authority

• The palace at Khorsabad also shows the decline

compared to the palace of the king, which is the

• At Parsepolis, the palace also expresses the

Persian empire

• This power is evident in the ability to

Lebanon to create a unique palace*for educational purposes only*

Forces Shaping Arch. Organ.Social Concerns

• Social concerns contributed to the evolution of

design principles

• There was need for defense due to warfare

• Led to construction of wall fortifications for cities

• Also to ziggurat as a place of refuge from attack

• Concerns for privacy

• Courtyard house may have evolved because of privacy needs *for educational purposes only*

02 ARCHITECTURE OF ANE

Education

Transcript of 02 ARCHITECTURE OF ANE