Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt — Vocabulary Flashcards (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Mesopotamian and Egyptian artworks and monuments from the provided video notes.

White Temple and its Ziggurat

Sumerian mud-brick temple complex at Uruk (c. 3500–3000 BCE) with a bent-axis plan; religious center worshiping the sky god Anu; the king served as high priest and the site was built through labor (tax) to legitimize rule.

Votive Statues from Square Temple at Eshnunna

Sumerian gypsum statues inlaid with shell and black limestone (c. 2700 BCE) representing people in perpetual prayer; placed in the temple, sometimes buried under the floor when space ran out; offerings to the god Abu.

Standard of Ur

Wood box inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone (c. 2600–2400 BCE); may have served as a standard or musical instrument; features war and peace scenes in registers, with the king in hierarchical scale; evidence of long-distance trade.

Code of Hammurabi

Basalt relief stele (c. 1792–1750 BCE) displaying Hammurabi receiving law from Shamash in a composite perspective; cuneiform Akkadian text includes prologue explaining the scene, laws, and epilogue; propaganda showing ruler’s power from the gods; public display, found in Susa, Iran. Taken from Babylon by Persian invaders as a trophy of war.

Lamassu from the Citadel of Sargon II

Neo-Assyrian alabaster high-relief sculpture from Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq) (c. 720–705 BCE) of a protective winged bull with a human head; five legs for different viewpoints; horned crown; guarded palace entrances and bore royal inscriptions.

Audience Hall (apadana) of Darius and Xerxes

Achaemenid hypostyle hall (columns holding up a roof) at Persepolis, Iran in limestone. Persian (largest Mesopotamian empire) (c. 520–465 BCE) gigantic room where the emperor would receive visitors. numerous columns with animal capitals (bulls, eagles, lions); stair reliefs depict diverse peoples bringing tribute; a display of imperial power and propaganda.