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GUIDE 2
Unit 1
Your name:
Time you begin:
ART OF MESOPOTAMIA
Sumer
Akkad
Babylonia
Assyria
Persia
This land “kindled the imagination of inquiring spirits to such a degree that it was in
Mesopotamia that archaeology as an art of excavation celebrated its initial triumph.”
– C. W. Ceram, Gods, Graves, and Scholars – The Story of Archaeology
Recommendations
- Sum up info in 3-5 statements for each issue (Some questions would require more and some less)
Put as much as you would like to know
- Keep it “One line - One sentence” (preferred to paragraph format)
- Bulleted lines are recommended
Terms: for terms in bold refer to the Glossary at the end of your textbook. Put a bookmark and use
Glossary often.
Today, the Middle East is back on the stage of History. The future of the Western civilization that
started here five thousand years ago – largely depends on the geopolitical outcome in this area.
Every day we hear the names of these countries in media news. Make sure you know where they
are located.
Extra Credit (Yes, we are going to start right with this opportunity!)
I encourage you to watch this introductory video (5:30) and make notes. It will be very helpful in
forming an overview of this complex section. (It will also bring you 1 point)
Your 5-Statement Notes
 …
 …
 …
 …
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LESSON in GEOGRAPHY
Look closely at the modern time map of Middle East (here) and at the map of ancient Near East
(in your book).
Note: Mesopotamia is the historical name of the land in Iraq.
Use to the map in your text to find all cultures we read about.
ART OF THE ANCIENT
NEAR EAST
Important issues you should know.
 Historic (as opposed to prehistoric) societies are marked by a written language (main
criteria)

Term civilization is used to designate a culture (historic society) with a rather complex
social structure, writing, agriculture, and bronze tools.

Invention of bronze (smelt of lead and tin) allowed for better weapons and lead to the
emergence of larger empires.
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The first ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt had emerged almost at the same
time lasted some three thousand years (the last 3 millennia B.C.)

Difference in their geographical location determined different historical paths and
distinctive art forms.
“The Nile Valley of Egypt was protected by formidable deserts, making it possible for
the Egyptians to enjoy thousands of years of relatively unbroken self-rule.”
“The Tigris-Euphrates valley of Mesopotamia, however, was vulnerable to repeated
invasions; the area was ruled by a succession of different peoples.”
(Prebles’ ARTFORMS, Patrick Frank, 2011)

Mesopotamia means “between the rivers”.
Study Greek to Understand Terms
mesos – middle (as you already know from Mesolithic)
potamos – river
Sumer - Akkad – Babylonia - Assyria - Persia
.
(You should know this chain of cultures coexisting and succeeding each other in the ancient Near East)
These cultures/civilizations are called Mesopotamian
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Sumer
The term Mesopotamia is applied to a territory formed by the valleys of two rivers the _Tigris__ and_Euphrates__.
(questions after you read them please)
Sumer: Geography & History
Sum up the first three paragraphs in several statements. (Delete my guiding texts in after reading them)
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…
.
.
.
Format: Try to keep statements bulleted.
Tip: When finish typing one statement click “Enter” to get a new bulleted line (If you need more than
default). Delete this text after reading to keep your guide clear and well-structured.
Note: I have just finished a revision of this guide. I would appreciate it you could select and correct in
red font any typo or inconsistency with the textbook you might come across. Put a note if there is
anything unclear.
It might look like it is a lengthy document but this is because of pictures. Have good reading!
Abbreviations
c. (circa) means ‘around’/about (related to approximate date)
B.C. (or B.C.E.) = “Before Christ” (or “Before Common Era”) [used as synonyms]
White Temple of on its ziggurat at Uruk
c. 3000 B.C
Sumerian culture
Give definition of ZIGGURAT.
(Type on the left)
How was it constructed?
What was its function?
Credit/Link (Point)
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Ziggurat -
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 .
“The Sumerians gods were primarily deifications of nature”
 .
 .
Tell about the Sumerian religion
and gods.
Explain how you understand
expression deification of nature?
www.thefreedictionary.com/deification
Use online dictionary whenever in doubt of term or word. Bookmark these two for use.
www.thefreedictionary.com/
www.britanica.com
When you open them, find the Search window and type the word or expression of interest.
(as seen below, on the righ)
Note: Ziggurat is not a temple but simply a platform supporting a sanctuary on top.
mikebara.blogspot.com
Note: Most of the dates will not be asked on exams. But please pay attention to the dates! You should also
know the timelines (in millennia). And also - simply try to imagine and feel - how long ago it was.
Example: I will not be asking when the statues from Abu Temple were produced (c. 2,500 B.C). But I expect
you to know that all works of Sumerian art (incl. ziggurats) are dated back to the 3rd millennium B.C.
Statues from Abu Temple at Tell Asmar
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c. 2,500 B.C. (3rd millennium B.C. )
Sumer
Describe their features.
…
…
…
TERM
 Votive sculptures – figurines serving as “stand-ins” (substitutes) offering prayers in absence of
the donor-worshippers.
Studyblue.com
newsnfo.co.uk
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Cuneiform – the first written language
The Sumerians were the first people to invent writing and erect monumental constructions.
Pronounced: soo-MER’-ee-uns/
This important information was omitted from the
last edition of your textbook. Yet, you should know
about the cuneiform.
(The term is in your Glossary)

Cuneiform - consisted of pictographs (small pictures-signs) pressed into clay tablets
with a sharpen stick to record contracts and to track goods. These signs had wedge-like form.
(cuneus – Latin for“wedge”)
Take a look at this clay tablet.
(Doesn’t it look like a cellular phone?)
It served as some sort of a school notebook.
It shows a student’s attempt to complete an exercise.
The excavation in the area revealed the existence
of the oldest academies for scribes.
The scribe (the one who knows tablets, i.e. writing) had
the highest rank on the list of professions.
The ancient world knew well the overwhelming power
of the word and literacy. Thus, a long time ago,
the aging Egyptian pharaoh was giving advice to his son:
”Be a craftsman in speech, [so that] thou mayest be
strong …the tongue is a sword… and speech is
From: National Geographic,
December 1978 (picture & quote)
more valorous than any fighting.”
This is for us to realize how highly valued the education was 5000 years ago,
at the very dawn of human civilization. So, keep the torch lit!
“The Sumerian repertory of subjects included fantastic creatures such as music making animals,
bearded bulls, and man-beasts with bull heads or scorpion bodies.” (page 23)
(They removed pictures from this edition, so I am showing this ancient musical instrument below)
Lyre (Harp) from UR. C. 2500 B.C.
Sumerian art
This harp was found in one of the tombs.
“We do not know exactly what these fabulous animals were meant
to signify, but it is almost certain that they were figures from the
mythology of these yearly days, and that the scenes which look to
us like pages from the children’s books had a very solemn and
serious meaning.” (The story of Art, E.H. Gombrich, 1989, p.44)
Credit: www.penn.museum
 Lapis lazuli –
TERM (define) – observe the bull’s beard
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AKKAD
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Located north of Sumer
Its independent city-states, along with Sumerian city-states, were united under the
Akkadian ruler Sargon.
(An example how the 1st paragraph can be summed up even in 2 lines)
This might be a sculptural portrait of Sargon I, the founder of Akkadian
dynasty who reigned for over a half century and gained control of most
Mesopotamia.
How Akkadian art is different from art of Sumer? (Paragraph 2)
Is it an art of prayer like in Sumer? (e.g., offerings to Gods)
Are there more war scenes?
Which art is more naturalistic? (More life-like)
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.
.
studyblue.com
The Victory Stele of Naram Sin
studyblue.com
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c. 2300 B.C
businessinsider.com
.
.
Describe the narrative
story of the stele.
(Type in the left
column)
What event is
commemorated?
“The king and his men are represented in a conceptual manner”
Conceptual manner as opposed to the Naturalistic manner
How do you understand these terms?

Akkadian Art
Explain the term
“conceptual” look up
in Glossary
.
Q: How did the Akkadian Empire decline? There are two major theories about its end.
 .
 .
TERM
 Stele –
[see in Glossary at the end of the text]
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Babylonia
“During the 18th century B.C. the Babylonian Empire, under Hammurabi, rose to power and
dominated Mesopotamia.”
[hah-moo-RAH-bee]
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Hammurabi’s Law Code c. 1750 B.C. (2nd millennium B.C.)
Babylon
Babylonian king Hammurabi is best known for his law code. The text of the first laws is written in
51 cuneiform columns.
Describe the relief and subject matter.
 … /Height/
 … /Material –hard volcanic rock/
At the top of the stele, there are depicted Hammurabi and sun
god Shamash. Who is who in this relief sculpture?
 Sitting figure: *
 Standing figure:*
What can you say about the conventions for representations?
What were the rules about showing some parts of body frontal and
which ones in profile?
 Frontal view: …..
 Profile: …
Public domain

What happened with the Babylonian Empire after the death
of Hammurabi?
…
Stele inscribed with the law code of Hammurabi. 1792
Code of Hammurabi, the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws,
developed during the reign of Hammurabi (1792–1750 bc) of the 1st dynasty of Babylon. It
consists of his legal decisions that were collected toward the end of his reign and inscribed on a
diorite stela set up in Babylon’s temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia.
These 282 case laws include economic provisions (prices, tariffs, trade, and commerce),
family law (marriage and divorce), as well as criminal law (assault, theft) and civil law (slavery,
debt). www.britannica.com/topic/Code-of-Hammurabi
- 1750 B.C.
TERM
 basalt –
What happened with the death of Hammurabi?
Biblical Tower of Babel
The great Mesopotamian ziggurats
ambitiously intending to reach into heaven
made a profound impression
on the ancient Hebrews, who memorialized
the Babylon ziggurat (270 feet high) as
the Tower of Babel, a monument to the
‘insolent pride of humans.’
Building the Tower of Babel
by the Belgian artist Joachim Patinir (1485-1524)
Thousands years later the Tower of Babel
will become a very popular symbol and
a favorite subject for the artists to depict.
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Assyria
Assyrian city-state emerged as the next unifying force in Mesopotamia.
 What reputation did the Assyrians have among their neighbors?
*…
 Was their empire powerful? What part of Mesopotamia did they control?
*…
 What was the reason that led to the eventual decline of the Assyrian empire?
*…
 What was the most common form of art in Assyria? - *…
 What were the most common subjects, favorite scenes to depict?
*…
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Dying Lioness
(c. 668 B.C.)
Assyria
Dying Lioness from Ninevah - a masterpiece of Assyrian art.
Describe the style of the work, the realism and heightened emotions.
Give the context (what is depicted).
What makes it so realistic and touching?
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Credit/Link
=====================================================================
Lamassu
(c. 720B.C.)
Assyria
Impressive gateway guardians from the Sargon II’s palace.
Watch this short video
TERM
 Lamassu –
Credit/Link
Public domain
Note: Statues demonstrate a combination of naturalism (life-like presentation of body's anatomy
and muscles) with conventional manner (you can also call it stylization) - e.g., treatment of hair
and beard according to certain rule/style)
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Persia
Read about the growth of Persian Empire led by King Cyrus and later by King Darius;
about the Greco-Persian wars the final defeat of the Persians by the Greeks led by Alexander the
Great. (in 330 B.C.)
“The art of Persia consists of sprawling palaces of grand dimensions and sculpture.”
What were the favorite subjects depicted by the Persian artists? - *
[Animals? Military events? Gods?]
 ibexes –
TERM (define)
The Palace at Persepolis
(c. 500 B.C.)
“The most important structure was the Apadana (Audience Hall) where the kings received foreign
delegations.
“Reliefs lining the walls were originally painted and emphasized the king’s grandeur.
“In contrast to the aggressive military scenes on Assyrian reliefs (wars and hunting), Persian reliefs
depict solemn tribute bearers calmly presenting offerings to the king.
Their stylized beards and hair are typical doe Persian art.
* Persepolis literally means “city of Persians” (L. Schneider Adams, Art Across Time, 2011, p. 75)
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Bull Capitals from the Royal Audience (Palace at Persepolis)
Persia)
Describe the capitals of the palace columns and their significance in
correlation to the king?
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TERMS
 Capital –
 Volute –
 *Relief – type of sculpture in which an image is developed outward (as above) or inward
(sunken relief). This term is a must-know; we will be using it all the time.
Your guide is done!
Now there is a great study technique that you could benefit from.
Go back to the beginning and scroll down reviewing your reading notes.
Efficiency of absorbing and retaining information at this point is several times increased.
Could you please tell me how long did it take (about)? - *
- Thank you!
Marveling at the “Great iggurat of Ur” Archive photo from allmesopotamia.wordpress.com
Over 50000 years separate us from its construction. Just think about this…