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Mesopotamian Timeline
Timeline ©WSU, 1993
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
Mesopotamian Timeline
Timeline ©WSU, 1993
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
7000-5500 BCE Early Neolithic building mounds
4700 BCE Hassunah period: earliest pottery making culture
4400 BCE Halaf period: pottery culture with knowledge of metal
3900 BCE Ubaid period: first well-known culture from southern Mesopotamia;
the Ubaids - first evidence of temple and other sophisticated architecture
3600 BCE Warka period
3400 BCE Gawra and Ninevite periods
2900 BCE Pre-dynastic Sumerians
2750 BCE First Sumerian dynasty of Ur
2340-2125 BCE Akkadian rule in Mesopotamia
2100-1800 BCE Third Sumerian dynasty of Ur
1800-1170 BCE Old Babylonian Period
1200-612 BCE Assyrian Period
612-539 BCE Neo-Babylonian Period
650-600 BCE Persian Era
Ancient Mesopotamia
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Early Chalcolithic period
(paleolithic era)
(c. 7000-6500)
•metal known but not widely used
•stone used for tools
.
WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS, TURKEY, 2000 http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/catal/catal.html
WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS, TURKEY. 2000
http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/catal/catal.html
WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS IN 2000 AD
http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/catal/catal.html
Arial view
Building 5
Unnamed Building
Chacolithic Pottery
unique horned clay objects, probably ritual in nature
CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS
http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/visit/West/WestEN.html
Chacolithic Pottery
CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/visit/West/WestEN.html
Large Basket Handled Pot
Incised Decorated Pottery
Chacolithic Pottery
Plaster Basin/Bowl
CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE WEST MOUND EXCAVATIONS http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/visit/West/WestEN.html
Halaf Period Artifacts
(5500-4500 B.C.,
North Mesopotamia-Syria)
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Halaf Pottery Plate
from Arpachiyah,
upper Mesopotamia.
One of many small
cultures of Northern
Iraq and Turkey that
were loosely in
communication with
each other. Ca. 5000
B.C. (London: British
Museum).
http://www.hp.uab
.edu/image_archiv
e/ue/uea.html
Halaf Figurine
heavy stone
(northern style)
sans
arms or legs
Arpachiya, from upper Tigris,
c. 5000 B.C.
(British Museum)
•
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Terracotta Halaf female figurine
•Chagar Bazar, c. 5000 B.C
• Exaggerated female
characteristics - suggesting
the object served some
religious purpose.
• Paint traces - suggesting
arm and leg jewelery or
decoration and a loin cloth.
• Breasts - painted or tattood
(British Museum)
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Al-`Ubaid
(6-4th millenium, South Mesopotamia)
These people displaced the
Halaf culture.
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
• Two terracotta female heads, from Tell al-`Ubaid and
from ??. ca. 4500 B.C.
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Ubaid terracotta figurine
of a woman suckling a child
(from Ur, c. 4500 B.C.)
Ubaid figure style
•painted jewelery, body paint or tattoos
• protruding eyes
•slim figure (in contrast to the North)
• elongated head
.
•
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
What do you think?
Handmade painted pottery
• from tombs at Eridu
• Dark geometric designs on
light ground - Ubaid Levels
XVIII-XIV
• piece at lower right - early
style
(Iraq Museum, Baghdad)
Notice the vivid colors
painted on these items.
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Baked clay male figurine
• from an Ubaid grave at Erid
• Decoration or tattoos from
shoulder to shoulder - for
men and women
• Southern Ubaid figure style
(Iraq Museum, Baghdad)
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Pots from al `Ubaid type - typical of last phase of
Ubaid pottery
(British Museum, UK),
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
The White Temple at Uruk
Uruk (Warka) Era
(mid 4th to late 3rd mill. B.C.,
South Mesopotamia)
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/j
mac/meso/meso.htm
Ruin of ziggurat of
E-anna at Uruk
Uruk chronology based on the pottery
styles found in a 20meter deep pit dug at
this sacred site.
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
limestone tablet from Kish - both sides
( c. 3500 B.C.)
– earliest example of pictographs
– contains sign for head, hand, foot, a threshing
sledge, and numbers
(Dept. Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK)
Uruk http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
•
•
•
•
Administrative clay
tablet
c. 3000 B.C.
deep circles and
cresents – numbers
pictographs
representing high
necked jars etc.
Simple enumeration
Uruk. http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Marble head of
woman from Uruk
“Originally the eyes
and eyebrows had
colored inlays, and
the head was perhaps
placed on a wooden
body.”
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
The Sumerian Civilization
Zinchen, Z. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2.
., Lauri Kaub ed. http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
Relief of
hunting
or battle?
•http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html
Sumerian
Migration
http://www.sumerian.org/map.htm
Contributions of Ancient Sumerian
Mesopotamia to the World
• World’s first city-state ("cradle of
civilization”)
• World’s first empire (Sargan I)
• water clock
• a writing system
(cuneiform and cylindrical
seal that functioned like a
printing press)
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html; Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2.
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
What root word do you see here? What sounds
familiar about the school system?
Cuneiform Writing
• learned in strict Sumerian schools (edubbas, or
tablet houses), lasting about twelve hours daily
• Subjects: reading, writing, arithmetic
• “A mistake on a clay tablet could merit a beating.”
• Career results: successfully completing twelve
years of schooling - an official scribe, or writer, a
prestigious
• Role of Scribes: “to the maintain and improve the
record keeping that the Sumerians deemed so very
necessary.”
• Also wrote on cylinder seals carved out of stone.
http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html ; http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html
Contributions of Ancient Sumerian
Mesopotamia to the World
• the twelve-month calendar based on lunar
cycles
• the wheel
• the plow
• high –rise buildings
• archways
• The Bronze Age
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html; Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2.
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html; Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2.
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
Contributions of Ancient Sumerian
Mesopotamia to the World
•
•
•
•
clay
the wheel
the plow
sailboat
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html; Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2.
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
Contributions of Ancient Sumerian
Mesopotamia to the World
• clay
Sumerian Metalurgy
Earrings
Fertility Symbol
( or rocket)?
Parthenon Horse
Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2. http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
Sumerian Musical Instruments
Lyre with bull’s head and lapis lazuli – 3 views
Kaub, Lauri. The Sumerian Civilization – Part 2. http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm
Sumerian Attire and Hairstyles
“The basic
garment
was called
‘Tug’,
without a
doubt, the
forerunner
to the
Roman
‘Toga’.”
Links:
Kaub, Lauri. Sumerian Civilization – Part 2 http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm;
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~catshaman/bamaledr/1endr.htm
Sumerian Attire
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/mid
dle_east/sumer_citizens.html;
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/vammeso
potamia4.html; http://www.shrewsburyma.gov/schools/Central/Curriculum/ELEMENTARY
/SOCIALSTUDIES/Mesopotamia/ancient_mesopot
amia.htm#clothing
Materials: wool or flax (a blueflowerd plant with stems used to
make the clothing); matched the
seasons; finer texture and color to
reflect wealth
Jewelry: earrings and necklaces for
men and women - even more
jewelry for celebrations. The
wealthier Sumerians often wore
beautiful gold and silver bracelets
and earrings. Necklaces were also
worn and were set with bright,
precious stones. Some of these
stones were the lapis lazuli and the
carnelian.
Clothes by Ashley. Student rendition lf Sumerian attire
Sumerian Attire and Hairstyles
• Men’s Appearance: kilt-like garments tying at the
waist; Men were either clean shaven or had long
hair and beards. Women wore their hair long,
but they usually braided it and wrapped it around
their heads. When entertaining guests
• Women’s Appearance: usually gowns that
covered them from their shoulders to their
ankles. The right arm and shoulder were left
uncovered; headdresses Although both rich and
poor Sumerians wore the same style of clothing
•
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/vammesopotamia4.htmlhttp; ://www.shrewsburyma.gov/schools/Central/Curriculum/ELEMENTARY/SOCIALSTUDIES/Mesopotamia/ancient_mesopotamia.htm#clothing
Queen Shub Ad - Burial Attire
(First Dynasty of Ur)
The Queen wore the beautiful
headdress of spirals of gold,
terminating in lapis-centered
gold flowers (or stars). The
Queen also wore large golden
earrings of lunate shape that
hung to her shoulders; lapis
amulets of a bull and a calf,
and strands of lapis, agate,
carnelian and gold beads. The
Queen's grave was much more
elaborate than that of the King,
perhaps indicating her equal or
even greater importance.
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Sumerian
Transportation
Designed and promotd by Webpromotioncr.com. Copyright © 2001- 2004 by Strayreality.com Costa Rica, All rights reserved.
Revised: 21 Jun 2004 09:16:05 -0400 . http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm;
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Composition of Sumerian
Homes
– earliest – reeds
– Later - sun-dried mud- bricks
• Modest - one story high with an open court in
the center, around which there were several
rooms.
• Wealthy - homes two stories high with
approximately twelve rooms, including
servants' quarters and whitewashed walls
inside and outside to project the appearance of
affluence and cleanliness
• private chapels and mausoleums – possibly on
estates of wealthier people
Sumerian Gods and
Goddesses
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Reptilian in
Nature?
Sumerian Pantheon
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Enki (Ea)
in his watery home, the Apsu
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Enki walking out of the water to the land,
attended by Usmu (Isimud), a god with two faces
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Enki with the Gods and the Initiate
The Water of Life flowing into the laboratory glassware
indicates alchemical circulations.
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Annunaki
Creation of first man by Anunnaki. Laboratory vessels and
Tree of Life.
What does this picture tell you about the
Sumerian culture’s view of creation?
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Enlil –
second and most
powerful god of
the Sumerian
Pantheon
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
The Ziggurat of Enlil at Nippur
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Inanna (E-anna)
- aka INNIN - INNINI - patron and special god/goddess of
Erech (Uruk)
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Inanna (E-anna)
queen of beasts; lion her sacred animal
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Inanna (E-anna)
sculptures showing her softer nature
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Ishtar
Symbol: an eight or
sixteen-pointed star
Sacred number: 15
Astrological region:
Dibalt (Venus) and the
Bowstar (Sirius) Sacred
animal: lion, (dragon)
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Ishtar Gate
Gate created for her to return
to earth from the underworld
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Model of Ashur: the double temple of Anu
and Adad – reinforces the idea of Sumerians
being polytheistic
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Temple tower of Agar Guf,
Kassite city of Dur Kurigalz
Traces of the
staircase
have been
found.
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Model of
The Painted
Temple at
Sumer
Revised: June 2, 1998Copyright © 1997 Oriental Institute, University of Chicago,
http://orientalinstitute.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/NIP/PUB93/NSC/NSCFIG3.html;
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Ur of the Chaldees
(birthplace of Abraham)
British Museum’s interactive guide to Mesopotamia. http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/
Model of Ur
(c. 2100 B.C.),
Mesopotamian
capital city, built
around a
ziggurat (temple)
(c) Copyright 1995 Taisei
Corporationhttp://www.taisei.co.jp/cg_e/
ancient_world/ur/aur.html
Model of a
ziggurat
The Standard of Ur
(found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur)
Ur at peace:
one side of the
Standard of Ur
Ur at war:
the other side of the
Standard of Ur
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
THE STANDARD OF UR: Scenes of War and Tribute, The Standard of
Ur, c. 3000 BCE (Standard is in the British Museum)
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/kaine/Art171/171images.html
Dimensional View of the Standard of Ur
(c. 2685 BC)
http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/gaddis/HST210/Sept4/Standard%20of%20Ur.jpg
GILGAMESH
• one of the most heroic priest-kings
• The oldest written story in the world – an
account of his legendary deeds
• characterized as both human and divine.
Accompanied by Enkidu around the world,
performing heroic acts.)
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html
Sumerian Burial
Practices
King’s death – sacrifice
of his queen and his
attendants so that he
would go to eternity
with servants and
favorite personal
possessions; their
possessions also
included; king at
bottom, servants next,
queen on top
Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Stairways leading down to
tomb chambers at the Royal
Cemetery at UR
Artifacts - Royal Cemetery (Ur)
Golden head of a bull on
the front of a lyre
found at Ur
(c. 2685 BC)
Queen’s harp (lyre)
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm; Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian
Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Artifacts - Royal Cemetery (Ur)
Ceremonial dagger
(mes01042)
Spouted vessel
of Gold
Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Artifacts - Royal Cemetery (Ur)
Limestone statue of
a woman – found
in a soldier’s
grave
The ram (goat) and
the shrub (tree)
Fluted Cup
Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Artifacts - Royal Cemetery (Ur)
• Processions of
Musicians Bismiasma
Vase
• Jewelry
Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Ziggurat at Ur
(c. 2250 BC)
restored by
successive
rulers
Model of the ziggurat, with the
ascents partly restored
Drawing of the ziggurat with
people going to worship the
moon-god Nanna
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Ruins of Babylon today
Babylon
Colored reproduction of stone depiction of Hammurabi receiving the code of laws, http://www.ed.psu.edu/k12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html; www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html; http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Achievements of Hammurabi of
Babylon
• Amorite city-state ruler who united large
number of city-states (c. 1800 BCE)
• improved the irrigation system, tax system,
and government housing system
• united the people under one religion
• provided uniformity among the city-states
by enacting a code of law (282 laws- "An
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.")
Hammurabi Receiving the Laws from a
Seated God
www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html;
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Detail of the
inscription
on the stele of
Hamurabi's
code
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Pazuzu: Babylonian Demon
• little-known demon from Babylonian myth
• represented as a very thin, emaciated man
with the feet and wings of an eagle, and the
forepaws and head of a lion.
• nearly always shown with the right paw
raised and the left held at his side.
• first appeared in early Babylonian myth in the
guise of the "storm-bird" Zu, who stole the
Tablets of Destiny from the dragoness
Tiamat.
• Appeared in later Babylonian civilization as
Pazuzu, child of the chief wind-demon,
Hanpa.
• Several metal amulets depicting Pazuzu
have been found. In all of these amulets, he
is represented as appearing similar to the
above description. Of these small (a few
inches in height) amulets, an occasional
magical one is found.
Pazuzu: a nonmagical
image; the personification of
the south-east storm wind,
which brings diseases.
The Hanging Gardens
• Foundation of the palace
“It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please
his wife or concubine who had been "brought up in Media and had a
passion for mountain surroundings". - http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Gallery/gardens_site.jpg
“The approach to the Garden sloped like a
hillside and the several parts of the structure
rose from one another tier on tier... On all this,
the earth had been piled... and was thickly
planted with trees of every kind that, by their
great size and other charm, gave pleasure to
the beholder... The water machines [raised] the
water in great abundance from the river,
although no one outside could see it.”
-Diodorus Siculus
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Gallery/gardens_site.jpg
Wall of Hanging gardens of Babylon still extant
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Ishtar Gate of Babylon
built by
Nebuchadnezzar II
(604 - 562 BC)
location ?
Plan of the palace at Babylon centering at the Ishtar gate
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Ishtar
Gate in
Context
(current aerial
view)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/images/babylon-horizo2.jpg
The Assyrian
Empire
http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html
Priest-King or God (?).
(c. 1600 BC)
North Syria, Hittite.
The Cleveland
Museum of Art.
No. 1971.45.
Copyright, The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Gudea of Lagash
2141-2122 B.C.
Mesopotamian,
Neo-Sumerian period
Paragonite
41 cm (16 1/8 in.)
Founders Society
Purchase, Robert H.
Tannahill Foundation
Fund; 82.64
Detroit Institute of Arts. http://www.dia.org/collections/ancient/mesopotamia/31.25.html
Assyrian Achievements
• dammed the rivers leading into Babylon to deprive
the Babylonians of water
• conquered all of Mesopotamia and expanded it as
far as Egypt
• developed powerful armies with iron weapons
• used chariots, and battering rams
What is the significance of these accomplishments?
http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html
An alabaster relief of
an Arab - Assyrian
battle
found near
Ninevah
(c. 660 BC)
How can you tell
the battle is with
the Arabs?
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Dragon of Marduk
scaly body,
• serpent's head,
• viper's horns,
• front feet of a feline,
• hind feet of a bird,
• a scorpion's tail;
was sacred to the
god Marduk, principal
deity of Babylon
•
ca. 604-562 B.C.
Mesopotamian, NeoBabylonian Period
Ishtar Gate, Babylon
Molded, glazed bricks;
1.2 x 1.7 m (45 1/2 x 65 3/4 in.);
Detroit Institute of Arts. http://www.dia.org/collections/ancient/mesopotamia/31.25.html
Glazed Brick Representing a
Birdman
7th century B.C.;
Neo-Assyrian Period;
Glazed terracotta;
33.6 x 34.3 cm (13 1/3 X 13 1/2
in.);
Founders Society Purchase,
Cleo and Lester Gruber Fund,
and the Hill Memorial Fund;
1989.68
Detroit Institute of Arts. http://www.dia.org/collections/ancient/mesopotamia/31.25.html
The winged Bull of Khorsabad
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Panel from the gates of Balwat
• Jehu, the king of Israel, bowing to
Shalmaneser 111 (859- 824 BC) who
forced Tyre, Sidon and Israel to pay tribute
to him.
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Plan of the circular city of
Baghdad
(c. 766 AD) by Caliph Al-Mansoor
the innermost circle
diameter: 2000 yards
The four gates to
–
–
–
–
Khorasan (NE),
Basra (SE),
Kufa (SW)
Syria (NW)
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Jemdet Nasr Pottery
(late 4th mill., South Mesopotamia)
found in al' Ain region of
the United Arab
Emirates - which attests
to contacts between
Mesopotamia and Oman
peninsula - an important
source of copper.
Ca. 3000 B.C.
(London: British Museum)
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
• Persian connections:
• Polychrome geometric
designs in black and
plum - characteristic of
the period.
• Shapes - often derived
from metalware
• (Asmholean Museum
Oxford)
Wheel-turned, Jemdet Nasr
painted pottery
•
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ue/uea.html
Nimrud Relief Architectural Panels
Lion killing a slave
What social
commentaries
might be made
from this
relief?
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Temple of Baal
Tadmor (Palmyra), Syria
http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/scripts/solomon.html
Altar of Baal
Tadmor (Palmyra) – palm; a city built by Solomon
• “ [It was ] . . . a city on the southern border of Palestine and
toward the wilderness, [standing] . . . in the great Syrian
wilderness, 176 miles from Damascus and 130 from the
Mediterranean and was the center of a vast commercial traffic
with Western Asia. It was also an important military station.”
http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/scripts/solomon.html
Relief of lion hunting
found at Nimrud
Relief on palace of
King Ashurnasirpal II
(883 - 859 BC)
with the winged god at
Nimrud
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
Beginning of
the Persian
Empire:
Darius I
(reign: 522 to 486)
http://www.livius.org/da-dd/darius/darius_i_0.html
Models of Persian Artifacts
A copy of the relief of
Cyrus the Great
A drawing of
PersianSoldiers, 560330
Pictures and text in the following pages are from "The Persian Army, 560-330 BC" by Nick Sekunda with drawings by Simon
Chew, Osprey Publishing Ltd. London SW3. http://www.oznet.net/cyrus/cyframe.htm
Wall Paintings at Dura Europos, Syria
http://www.philthompson.net/pages/icons/duraeuropos.html
Close up of Wall Painting at Dura Europos
http://www.philthompson.net/pages/icons/duraeuropos.html
“Dura Europos in Syria was founded by
Alexander's lieutenant, Seleucus Nicator. The
town was closely linked with Palmyra, serving as
an important forward line of defense against
Persians. It was captured and destroyed by the
Sassanids in 256 AD shortly before the fall of the
Syrian Metropolis itself.”
http://www.philthompson.net/pages/icons/duraeuropos.html
What are the artistic
contributions or
recognizable stylistic
traits of the
Mesopotamians?
Artistic and Stylistic Traits
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Heavy usage of relief sculpture
Moving from abstract to realistic figures
Use of bricks, alabaster, and limestone
Highly decorated, durable pottery
Steles
Cuneiform writing stamped by cylindrical printing seals
Recreation of gods and religious beliefs in artwork
Sculpture and drawings of royalty
Use of metals and stones
Vivid colors
Mesopotamian Timeline
Timeline ©WSU, 1993
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
Sources
British Museum’s interactive guide to
Mesopotamia. http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/
http://www.ed.psu.edu/k-12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html
Classicas Technology Center. Mesopotamia - Artifacts by Ashley and Kamario
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/vammesopotamia4.html
Cleveland Museum of Art.
Crystal, Ellie. Metaphysical and Science Website. Sumerian Gods and Goddesses.
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html
Detroit Institute of Arts. http://www.dia.org/collections/ancient/mesopotamia/31.25.html Secunda, Nick with drawings by
Simon Chew, The Persian Army, 560-330 BC, Osprey Publishing Ltd. London SW3.
http://www.oznet.net/cyrus/cyframe.htm
Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
“Pazuzu” Image created on 19 February 2000; last modified on 19 February 2000. © 1995-2004 Encyclopedia Mythica.
All rights reserved. http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/asia/mesopotamian/pazuzu.html
The Sumerian People. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/ middle_east/sumer_citizens.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook03.htmlTaylor, Andrew. ataylor1@student.northpark.edu
October 6, 1998http://www.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/MiddleEast/RevMesopot.html
Zitchen, Z., Sumerian Civilization – Part 2. Laur Kaub ed.
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm Copyright © 20012004 by Strayreality.com Costa Rica, All rights reserved. Revised: 21 Jun 2004 09:16:05 -0400
Annonynous articles, authors
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/gaddis/HST210/Sept4/Standard%20of%20Ur.jpg
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~catshaman/bamaledr/1endr.htm; LINK
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/images/babylon-horizo2.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/arkham/80/pazuzu.html
http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/kaine/Art171/171images.html
http://www.sumerian.org/map.htm http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/TIMELINE.HTM
Secondary Sources
Bibliography for Helstad, Lillian. Sacrifices in the Sumerian Culture/ http://gallery.sjsu.
edu/sacrifice/sumerians.html
Ceram, C.W. Gods, Graves, & Scholars. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1967.
Clark, Grahame. Prehistoric Societies. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1965.
Davies, Nigel. Human Sacrifice: In History & Today. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc., 1981.
Kramer, Samuel Noah. The Sumerians: their history, culture, and character. Chicago: Chicago Press, 1963.
Tierney, Patrick. The Highest Altar: The Story of Human Sacrifice. England: Viking Penguin, 1989.
Woolley, Leonard. Excavations at Ur. New York: Crowell Company, 1965.
Woolley, Leonard. History of Mankind. United States: UNESCO, 1963
Woolley, Leonard. The Sumerians. London: Oxford University Press,1965.
Bibliography Sources for http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/meso/meso.htm
A SHORT HISTORY of ARCHITECTURE IN IRAQ (3,000 B.C. 1258 AD)
Samuel M. Ronaya, Lecturer, Al-Hikma University, Baghdad
5000 YEARS OF THE ART OF MESOPOTAMIA,
BY EVA STROMMENGER, PHOTOGRAPHS BY MAX HIRMER, ABRAMS, NEW YORK: 1964
ANCIENT IRAQ, by GEORGES ROUX, LONDON: ALLEN & UNWIN: 1964
TWIN RIVERS By SETON LLOYD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS: BOMBAY 1947
HISTORY BEGINS AT S U M E R, by Samuel Noah Kramer
Doubleday Anchor Books: Garden City, New York: 1959
EARLY MESOPOTAMIA AND IRAN by M. E. L. Mallowan
McGRAW-HILL NEW YORK 1969
Bibliography Sources for The Sumerian People. http://www.mnsu.edu/ emuseum/prehistory/
middle_east/sumer_citizens.html
Tom B. Jones, "Sumer," Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993;Samuel Noah Kramer, Cradle of Civilization, New
York: Time Incorporated, 1969; World History, Volume One, St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1991;
http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~lheagney/mesopotamia/SUMER.html
Excerpted from Lebanon: A Country Study. Thomas Collelo, ed. Washington,
DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1987]. ...
http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Lebanon1.html
• Roman temple in the mountain village of
Bayt Miri
Courtesy Lebanese Information and
Research Center
Tyre Cathedral ? 400 CE
http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
Deir Mar Elishaa (Monastry of Saint
Eliseus)
•
http://www.libanmall.com/main/hist5.htm
Baalbeck
• http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
Sidon
http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
Anjar
http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
History of Lebanon. http://www.lgic.org/en/history.php
History of Lebanon
(from 50,000 BC - 2004 AD in a glance)
Pre-Historic
Paleolithic- Neolithic (50 000 BC - 4000 BC)
Recorded History
Phoenicians - Greek - Romans (4000 BC - 600 AD)
Arab- Crusades- Mamluks (600 AD - 1516 AD)
Ottomans- French- Independence (1516 AD - 1943 AD)
Switzerland of the East (1943 AD - 1969 AD)
War in Lebanon (1970 AD - 1982AD)
Occupied Lebanon (1982 AD - 1990AD)
Lebanon Now (1990 AD - 2003 AD)
• Pre-Historic
• (50,000 BC – 10,000 BC) Paleolithic Period
• The evidence of tools found in caves along the coast of Lebanon
shows that it was inhabited all through the classic stages of human
development: Paleolithic, Neolithic, the bronze, and the iron working
periods.
Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon people were making flint tools in this
region around 50,000 years ago.
• (10 000 BC- 4000 BC) Neolithic Period
• Village life followed the domestication of plants and animals with the
Neolithic Revolution starting around 10,000 BC. The traces of the
coastal settlements in Lebanon date back to around 9000 BC in
Byblos, favoring it’s founding among the earliest ‘communities’
during this period.
• 4000 BC - 600 AD
•
•
•
The recorded history shows a group of coastal cities and heavily forested mountains
inhabited by a Semitic people, the Canaanites, around 4000 BC. These early
inhabitants referred to themselves according to their city of origin, and called their
nation Canaan. They lived in the narrow East-Mediterranean cost and the parallel
strip mountains of Lebanon. Around 2800 BC Canaanites traded cedar timber, olive
oil and wine from Byblos for metals and ivory from Egypt. The Coastal cities fell to
Amorites around 2000 BC, and to Egyptians from round 1800 until 1200 BC when
they recovered independence.
The Canaanites who inhabited that area were called Phoenicians by the Greeks (from
the Greek word phoinos, meaning ‘red’) in a reference to the unique purple dye the
Phoenicians produced from murex seashells. The Phoenicians mastered the art of
navigation and dominated the Mediterranean Sea trade for over 500 years. They
excelled in producing textiles, carving ivory and working with metal and glass. The
Phoenicians built several local cities East of the Mediterranean among which are:
Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Berytus (Beirut), Tripoli, Arvad Island-City, Baalbek and
Caesarea.
They established trade routes to Europe and Western Asia. Phoenician ships
circumnavigated Africa a thousand years before those of the Portuguese. They
founded colonies wherever they ventured on the North and South of the
Mediterranean in Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Marseilles, Cadiz,
and Carthage around the first Millennium B.C.
• Inventing the Alphabet
• Around 1600 B.C. the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, and
passed them onto the world. The Greeks adopted the 22-letter
alphabet from the Phoenicians which has led to the Latin letters of
present day.
• Constructing Kings David and Solomon Palaces and Temple
• The Phoenician king Hiram of Tyre (989-936 BC) built a palace for
David and two palaces and a temple for Solomon. The Bible
provides a vast amount of information about them. The Phoenicians
built David’s Palace and Solomon’s Temple. They also built King
Solomon two palaces, of which one was called 'Forest of Lebanon'.
Craftsmen of Phoenicia used Lebanon’s cedar and metal to
accomplish the work around the mid of the tenth century BC. (for
Details)
Images in Bekaa Region
American University of
Beirut.http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobas
e/images/MT3/JPEG0248.html
Anjar: Ruines Ommayades
American University of
Beirut.http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/ima
ges/MT3/JPEG0248.html
Excavation of Anjar
Ummyadd Palace - Anjar
•
•
Anjar, 58 km from Beirut, is completely
different from any other archaeological
experience you will have in Lebanon.
At other historical sites in the country,
different epochs and civilisations are
superimposed one on top of each
other. Anjar is exclusively one period,
the Umayyad.
Lebanon's other sites were founded a
millennia ago, but Anjar is a relative
new-comer, going back to the early 8th
Century AD. Unlike Tyre and Byblos,
which claim continuous habitation
since the day they were founded, Anjar
flourished for only a few decades.
Other than a beautiful Umayyad
mosque in Baalbeck, we have few
remnants left from this important
period of Arab history.
Text: Illustrated Publications, S.A.L
Photography: P. Magnin, A. Yetenekian
Design: Mouna Bassilli, Printed in Lebanon by SYCO
Edited by the National Council of Tourism in Lebanon, P.O. Box 5344 Beirut, Telephone: 340 940/343 175
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/moh
afazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#MT18JPEG0486
Manara Hmaireh – Roman Ruins
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mo
hafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#MT18JPEG0486
Tell Archeologique
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/Bekaa
BekaaOuest.html#MT18JPEG0486
Temple sacré
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/Beka
aBekaaOuest.html#MT18JPEG0486
Dekweh -Roman Temple Ruins
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/pho
tobase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#
Anjar - Costumes
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/proj
Majdel Anjar Ruins
American University of
Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/dd
Castle of Rashaya - inside
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/
photobase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOues
t.html#MT18JPEG0486
Castle Rashaya - prison
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase
/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#MT18JPEG04
Ruins in Rashaya
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photob
ase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#MT18J
PEG0486
Temple Walls
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#
MT18JPEG0486
Greek Dedicatory Inscription
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html#MT1
8JPEG0486
"Mausoleum of sheikh ""Mousafir"""
American University of Beruit,
http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BekaaBekaaOuest.html
#MT18JPEG0486
The Ruins at Baalbek
The Ruins at Baalbek.http://www.tmeg.com/artifacts/baalbek/baalbek.htm
•
Near the modern city of Baalbek in Lebanon,
in ancient times called Heliopolis or city of the
Sun, ran a trade route linking Damascus and Tyre.
Here, Roman engineers in the first century AD raised
a massive temple complex. The site was dominated by
Temple of Jupiter, a stone colossus surrounded by fifty
four columns of immense size and height.
•
Also contained in the complex is the Temple of Bacchus, with
it's fluted columns.
While not as impressive as the Temple to Jupiter and the huge
columns it is
still an ancient engineering feat.
The Ruins at Baalbek.http://www.tmeg.com/artifacts/baalbek/baalbek.htm
Beneath the temples lay a greater wonder, a huge foundation
comprising an area of more than five million square feet and
containing more stone than the Great Pyramid at Giza. No
mortar
was used in its construction and yet in 2000 years it has not
perceptibly settled. The secret of this stability lies in the
downhill retaining wall, which contains three of the world's
biggest blocks of cut stone. Stood upright, each would be as
tall as a five story building, and weigh more than 600 tons.
•
•
The Ruins at Baakbek
Roman structures at pre-Roman
site of Baalbek
Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power.
Baalbek, Lebanon.
http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/lebano
n/baalbek.htm
Roman structures atop massive
pre-Roman stones of Baalbek
Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power.
Baalbek, Lebanon.
http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/lebano
n/baalbek.htm
At the base of the far wall, the
great stones of Baalbek
Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power.
Baalbek, Lebanon.
http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/lebano
n/baalbek.htm
Massive foundation stones of
Baalbek
Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power.
Baalbek, Lebanon.
http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/lebano
n/baalbek.htm
The greatest of the Baalbek
stones, perhaps 1200 tons
Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power. Baalbek, Lebanon.
http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/lebanon/baalbek.htm
Beufort Castle
•
•
Of the dozen-odd Crusander castles in Lebanon
none can compare in size, scenic grandeur, or close
connection with Lebanese histroy down to modern
times, with isolated Beufort, perched on its cliff a
thousand feet above the rushing Litani.It is a pity
that Beufort's historic significanse to Lebanon was
so great, for the castle's continued importance down
to the 17th Century brought about its systematic
destruction at the hands of an expert wrecking and
demolition crew in the year 1615.What we see
today is not so much a picturesque medieval ruin as
a cast rock pile obscuring broken towers and
battlements - a perfectly defensless mass of
buildings, mostly underground, scientifically
destroyed by gunpower and wrecking bars over a
period of 40 days by Turkish Pasha of
Damascus.This was end of an impregnable fortress,
a castle too strong to be taken by force of arms, a
stronghold betrayed by its Turkomen mercenary
defenders for Turkish gold, a nail in the coffin of
Lebanon's Prince Fakhreddin II el-Maani, in whose
hands it had formed the key to the defences of his
supra-national Maanid principality of Lebanon,
Western Syria, Galilee and western Palestine.
This text is from Bruce Condès "See Lebanon Over 100 Selected Trips, With History and
Pictures". Harab Bijjani Press, Beirut, Lebanon
1960
Castles of the Levant
Map of the Levant
Castles of the Levant
Map of the Levant
The Coast of Syria; map by Guglielmo Soleri. Majorque, 1380. (Bibl. Nat., sect. géogr., Ge B. 1131)
From: Les Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte: Le Crac des Chevaliers, étude historique et archéologique précédée d'une introduction
générale sur la Syrie Franque, vol. "Album", by Paul Deschamps, Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, Tome XIX, Paris, Librairie
Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1934. Plate I.
Mousa’s Castle
http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
Crac des Chevaliers
The two Enclosures, view from a south-western angle from the first enclosure, Towers 4, 3, 2 and
Towers O. and P., Phot. Paul DeschampsLes Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte: Le Crac des
Chevaliers, étude historique et archéologique précédée d'une introduction générale sur la Syrie
Franque, vol. "Album", by Paul Deschamps, Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, Tome XIX,
Paris, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1934. Plate XXXVI
Crac des Chevaliers
The two Enclosures, view from a south-western angle from the first enclosure, Towers 4, 3, 2 and
Towers O. and P., Phot. Paul DeschampsLes Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte: Le Crac des
Chevaliers, étude historique et archéologique précédée d'une introduction générale sur la Syrie
Franque, vol. "Album", by Paul Deschamps, Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, Tome XIX,
Paris, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1934.
Crac des Chevaliers
The two Enclosures, view from a south-western angle from the first enclosure, Towers 4, 3, 2 and
Towers O. and P., Phot. Paul DeschampsLes Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte: Le Crac des
Chevaliers, étude historique et archéologique précédée d'une introduction générale sur la Syrie
Franque, vol. "Album", by Paul Deschamps, Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, Tome XIX,
Paris, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1934. Plate XXXVI
Tripoli-Qlay@at
Fort of Coliat, Phot. 39e Régiment d'Aviation
Les Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte: Le Crac des Chevaliers, étude historique et archéologique
précédée d'une introduction générale sur la Syrie Franque, vol. "Album", by Paul Deschamps,
Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, Tome XIX, Paris, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1934.
Plate XVII-A
Tyre
Castles of the Levant
Map of the Levant