Mesopotamian Culture

Architecture

Master Builders Arch & Dome

Become primary elements in architecture for the rest of human history.

Ziggurat of Ur

Babylon

Ishtar Gate

Babylon Today

Literature“Heaven is far away, but earth is

precious.”

- The Instructions of Shuruppak circa 2,500 BCE

Cuneiform Writing

“School Days” – 17th century BCE

My mother gave me two pieces of bread and I went to school.

In school the supervisor asked me, why are you late?

I was afraid. My heart was pounding.I entered into the presence of the masters.I bowed down, and I recited my tablet to the

Master of the school.He said, “You are going to be beaten

because you left out some lines.”

Cyrus Cylinder 539 BCE

Art

Standard of Ur2500 BCE

War

Standard of Ur2500 BCE

Peace

Bas-reliefs

Lamassu

Metal Work Head of Akkadian

ruler Sargon I, from Nineveh

Ca. 2350 BCE

Ram Caught in a Thicket ca. 2650-2550 B.C.

Headdress of the Lady Puabi,ca. 2650-2550 BCEGold, lapis lazuli and carnelian

Music

Music