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Art of the Ancient Near East Chapter 2 - Objectives 1. All Khan Academy readings, videos, and quizzes on the Ancient Mediterranean (Ancient Near East). Progress will be monitored. ! 2. Kindle book pages 27 - 47, Art History (4th ed.) (suggested reading) Art of the Ancient Near East Chapter 2 What is the Near East? ! Anatolia = Turkey Mesopotamia = Iraq Persia = Iran Arabia = Saudia Arabia The Levant = Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan Dominant Cultures of the Near East Early Neolithic: 9,000 BCE Elam: 7,000 - 600 BCE Sumer: 3,500 - 2,030 BCE Hittite Assyria Akkad: 2,340 - 2,180 BCE Lagash: 2,150 BCE Babylonia: 1,792 - 1,750 BCE Neo & Babylonia Persia Neo-Babylonia: 612 - 539 BCE Hittite(Anatolia): 1,600 - 1,200 BCE Assyria: 1,000 - 612 BCE Persia: 559 - 331 BCE Sumer Elam Sumer - Ziggurat = stepped structures with a temple or shrine at the top. ! - Ziggurats towered over the land and proclaimed the wealth and power of rulers and gods. ! - The city of Uruk (Warka, Iraq) had two large temple complexes. ! - Its believed the White Temple was dedicated to Anu (sky god). White Temple and the Anu Ziggurat (c. 3500 - 3000 BCE). Sumerian culture. Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). White Temple (c. 3517 - 3358 BCE). Sumerian culture. Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). Sumer - Mask originally had hair made of gold (a gold wig) and stones and shells inlaid into the mask for the eyebrows and eyes. ! - The skin and lips were once painted ! - In April 2003, at the beginning of the War of Iraq, the mask was stolen from the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. It was recovered in September 2003 by U.S. Military Police . ! - It is believed that this is a mask of Inanna, the Uruk goddess of fertility, love, and war. Face of a Woman from Uruk (3500 - 3000 BCE). Marble. Warka, Iraq. Sumer - It’s believed that gods lived in specially built temples but these temples were not meant for congregation. ! - Access to the shrines was limited…priests were probably the only ones with access. ! - Statues were carved and painted with inlaid eyes. ! - The largest collection of statues was found at Nippur in a temple dedicated to Inanna. Statues of Votive Figures (c. 2,700 BCE). Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone. Square Temple, Tell Asmar, Iraq. Statues of Votive Figures (c. 2,700 BCE). Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone. Square Temple, Tell Asmar, Iraq. Statues of Votive Figures (c. 2,700 BCE). Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone. Square Temple, Tell Asmar, Iraq. Sumer - Small trapezoidal box (8 1/2” x 19 1/2”) covered in geometric and figurative mosaics. ! - There are two different sides (War & Peace) and it is meant to be read from bottom to top. ! - The ruler or king is shown on both sides and shows his role in early Mesopotamian society. ! War side = ruler who protected his people and natural resources. ! Peace side = ruler who served as the intermediary between his people and the gods. Standard of Ur (c. 2,600 - 2,400 BCE). Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone. from the Royal Tombs at Ur, Tell el-Muqayyer, Iraq. (Peace) Standard of Ur (c. 2,600 - 2,400 BCE). Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone. from the Royal Tombs at Ur, Tell el-Muqayyer, Iraq. Two lower registers illustrate the bounty of the land. The bottom one depicts men carrying produce in bags on their shoulders and in backpacks supported by headbands, as well as men leading onagers by ropes. The second register shows men leading bulls and caprids (sheep and goats) and carrying fish, presumably the produce of the pastures, rivers, and swamps. The upper register depicts a royal banquet. The ruler, wearing a kilt composed of tufts of wool, is shown larger in scale than the others—the center of attention. The other banqueters, who wear plain-fringed kilts, face him and raise their cups together while attendants provide food and drink. Banqueting in early Mesopotamia usually involved music. A lyre player and a singer, distinguished by their long black hair, stand to the right of the scene. (War) Standard of Ur (c. 2,600 - 2,400 BCE). Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone. from the Royal Tombs at Ur, Tell el-Muqayyer, Iraq. War side shows the defeat of some unknown enemy. At the bottom, war carts, drawn by onagers (donkeys), race with increasing speed from left to right, trampling naked enemy soldiers. The second register shows a phalanx of armed soldiers to the left, while on the right soldiers in a variety of poses dispatch some captives and lead others away. The top register shows the ruler, his height exceeding the border of the field, facing right. Behind him, his cart is drawn by four onagers alongside his attendants. In front of him, soldiers parade nude and bound prisoners. Babylon (1,792 - 1,750 BCE) - Sumer eventually reunited after being torn apart by the Akkadians. ! - A group of people called the Amorites moved into the region to bring the area together and were led by the ruler, Hammurabi. ! - Hammurabi established Babylon as the new capital city of Sumer. ! - Hammurabi is important because he established 282 laws known as the Code of Hammurabi, partially recorded on the Stela of Hammurabi. ! - This is a carved piece of diorite approximately 7 feet tall. Stela of Hammurabi (1,792 - 1,750 BCE) Diorite. Height 7’. Shush, Iran. Babylon - At the very top of the Stela of Hammurabi is a relief sculpture (a flat surface carved away to reveal an image) of a typical Babylonian king (on the left) praying to a seated god (right) ! - The god is Shamash, the sun god. ! - Behind Shamash are rays of sunlight ! - Shamash wears a four-tiered, horned headdress and a robe...clothing that distinguished gods from mortals at the time. ! - Shamash holds a measuring rod (justice) and rope ring (power). ! - The written cuneiform below the relief declares that Hammurabi will bring justice to the land and the evil and wicked will be destroyed. The 282 laws follow this declaration. ! - Punishments depend on gender and social status. Stela of Hammurabi (1,792 - 1,750 BCE) Diorite. Height 7’. Shush, Iran. Assyria (1000 - 612 BCE) - After years of power struggles between the Sumer, Akkad, and Lagash people in the Mesopotamia region, the Assyrians took power. ! - The Assyrian Empire held strong for almost 400 years extending as far west as Egypt, but collapsed in 612 BCE. ! - During this time, architecture was the dominant art form with great palaces built inside walled cities known as citadels. ! - Sargon II built a massive complex in what is now Khorsabad, Iraq. ! - The Citadel walls protected the city known as Fort Sargon, which consisted of residences, a ziggurat, and Sargon II’s palace. Winged Bull Statues (Lamassu) (721 - 705 BCE). Alabaster. Fort Sargon, Khorsabad, Iraq. Ziggurat Residence M Palace Residence K Residence L Entrance Citadel Wall Citadel of Sargon II (721 - 705 BCE) Palace of Sargon II, Khorsabad, Iraq. Assyria - Fort Sargon was a massive urban project that consumed King Sargon II “day and night” but it was abandoned after his death. ! - Fort never finished...was it ever inhabited? ! - Human-headed winged bulls protected the gates of Fort Sargon and the Palace inside the city. ! ! Winged Bull Statues (Lamassu) (721 - 705 BCE). Alabaster. Fort Sargon, Khorsabad, Iraq. Assyria - The Winged Bull was thought to protect against evil influences. ! - These statues weigh up to 40 tons...or 80,000 lbs. ! - They are relief sculptures carved from limestone. ! - The Bulls are no longer in Iraq. They were taken to Paris and Chicago by boat in the 19th & early 20th century and many artifacts were broken or lost. ! ! Winged Bull Statues (Lamassu) (721 - 705 BCE). Alabaster. Fort Sargon, Khorsabad, Iraq. Assyria Winged Bull Statue (Lamassu) (top) and Hero Choking a Lion (right) (721 - 705 BCE). Alabaster. Fort Sargon, Khorsabad, Iraq. Persia (559 - 331 BCE) - The Persians, a group of people who were once nomads, slowly invaded Mesopotamia and the rest of the Near East coming from the southeast of Susa beginning in 559 BCE. ! -Geographically, this is comparable to Iran invading Iraq today. Persia (559 - 331 BCE) “I am Darius, great King, King of Kings, King of countries, King of this earth.” - Darius I - The Persians and their new kingdom traced their ancestry to a king named Achaemenes and are known as the Achaemenids. ! - Cyrus the Great (aka Cyrus II) was the first ruler (559 - 530 BCE) and when he died the Persians had conquered Babylonia, the Medes (a stretch of land of northern Iran to Turkey), and several of the Greek islands known as the Aegean islands. ! - Cambyses II (Cyrus II’s son) ruled from 529 - 522 BCE and conquered Egypt and Cyprus. ! - Darius I (the son of a government official) ruled from 521 - 486 BCE. Darius and the following rulers empire for the next 200 years. Darius ruled Persia at its peak of power. (Pronounced DA-RYE-US) Persian Daric (490 BCE) Introduced by Darius the Great, gold quality, with a purity of 95.83%. Persia (559 - 331 BCE) - Darius I created many monuments to reveal his authority and made Susa his first capital. ! - In Susa he created a 32-acre compound, but in 518 BCE he began to build Parsa, a new capital in the Persian homeland. ! - Parsa is known today as Persepolis. ! - Since Darius I ruled so many cultures and land, he brought artists from all over Persia to create artwork and architecture for him. ! - Lots of cultures and art = a new and different artistic style. An artistic hybrid. ! - The imperial complex at Persepolis took 60 years to build and Darius I died before construction was complete. His son, Xerxes completed the complex. ! - Imperial complex shows Persian, Greek, and Egyptian design styles. Darius I (4th Century BCE) Painting of Darius I as imagined by a Greek painter. Persia (559 - 331 BCE) Imperial Complex at Persepolis (518 - 460 BCE) The complex was either destroyed on purpose or on accident by Alexander the Great when he conquered the Persians. It is thought that Alexander the Great threw a massive banquet and party in celebration and the complex caught fire. It was never rebuilt or buried and this is what remains today. Complex Column (518 - 460 BCE) Column still standing. Reconstructed Column Capital (518 - 460 BCE) The Capital is the top of the column. On display at the Iranbastan Museum, Teheran, Iran. Frieze of Archers from the Imperial Complex at Persepolis (518 - 460 BCE) On display at the Louvre Museum, Paris, France.