World Architecture: From Mesopotamia to Constantinople

Ur

Located at present-day Tell al-Muqayyar, Iraq, occupied from at least 4000 BC.

tell

Mound.

axis mundi

Term used by scholars of religion to describe images and forms that represent the vertical connection between earth and the heavens.

temenos

Sacred enclosure.

Anu Ziggurat

Earliest known ziggurat located at Uruk (Warka), present-day Iraq, ca. 3400-3200 BCE.

Statue of King Gudea

Statue with a plan of a temple in his lap, made of diorite, from the late 2200s BCE.

Ubaid Period

Period from c. 5000-4000 BCE when Ur was established.

Third Dynasty of Ur

Period from c. 2112-2004 BCE.

King Ur-Nammu

Ruler during the Third Dynasty of Ur, reigned from 2112-2095 BCE.

King Shulgi

Ruler during the Third Dynasty of Ur, reigned from 2094-2047 BCE.

Tell al-Muqayyar

Arabic name for the ruins of Ur, meaning 'mound of pitch.'

Great Ziggurat of Ur

Also known as Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, built around c. 2100 BCE.

Etemenigur

Means 'the house whose foundation is terrifying,' referring to the ziggurat.

Court of Nanna

Offices for temple administration, adjacent to Ziggurat enclosure.

E-Nun-Mah

Combined a double shrine for Nanna and his wife Ningal, with extensive storerooms.

E-Gi-Par

Official dwelling of the entu-Priestess, located south-east of the Ziggurat terrace.

E-Hur-Sag

Combined palace and shrine for the deified King Shulgi, built towards the south-east corner of the temenos.

EM and AH areas

Excavated residential parts of the city.

House III

Located in area EM.

Hendursag shrine

A shrine located in the residential areas of Ur.

Nucleus of the city

Area enclosed by the defensive wall and rampart of Ur-Nammu, measuring 1200×800 m.

Euphrates

River near which Ur is located, 186 km south-east of Baghdad.

Ziggurat

A monumental structure that was a central feature of Ur, cleared during excavations.

Ziggurat

A massive structure built by Ur-Nammu, consisting of a temple platform that encloses earlier remains.

Entasis

The earliest example of a curved-sided rectangle plan, as seen in the ziggurat.

Court of Nanna

A large sunken court located to the north-east of the ziggurat, enclosed by a buttressed wall.

Giparu (E-Gi-Par)

A complex dedicated to Ningal, built almost square (79×76.5 m), with living quarters for high priestesses.

Ekhursag (E-Hur-Sag)

A temple to the deified King Shulgi, measuring 59 m square, divided into religious and residential halves.

Enunmah

A structure measuring 57 m square with stepped buttresses, featuring a five-chambered shrine to Nanna and Ningal.

Private housing (early 2nd millennium BC)

Typical plans consisted of a courtyard surrounded by rooms, including a reception hall, kitchen, and toilet.

Attica

The territory of Athens.

Archaic period

A historical period from c. 600-480 BCE.

Early Classical period

A historical period from c. 480-450 BCE.

High Classical period

A historical period from c. 450-400 BCE.

Aristotle, Politics

A work written c. 350 BCE discussing matters concerning the polis.

Persian Wars

A series of conflicts from 499-449 BCE, culminating in the sack of Athens in 480 BCE.

Perikles

A statesman who led the democracy of Athens during its height, known for renewing principal buildings.

Nanna

The city god associated with various temples within the ziggurat enclosure.

Ningal

The consort of Nanna, worshipped in temples connected to the ziggurat.

Samsuiluna's raid

An event that led to the destruction of the Ekhursag temple.

Thick wall

The enclosing structure surrounding the ziggurat and other buildings.

Mud-brick

The primary material used in the construction of the ziggurat.

Baked brick

The material used to face and buttress the mud-brick structure of the ziggurat.

Storey

Levels of the ziggurat, with three staircases leading to the second and one to the third.

Burial-vaults

Structures found under the floors of some private houses for interring the dead.

polis

city-state, or self-governing city and its territory (khôra)

khôra (chora)

countryside

synoikismos

synoecism = 'the coming together of households'

akropolis

'high city'

agora

'gathering place'

per strigas

'by bands,' early system of orthogonal colonial city planning with wide bands divided into long, narrow blocks

Panathenaea

annual festival in honor of the goddess Athena, celebrated by all the tribes (phylae) of Athens and culminating in the Panathenaean Procession

Piraeus

port of Athens, redesigned orthogonally by Hippodamus, 470s BCE

Long Walls

fortifications connecting Athens to its port, Piraeus

Dipylon Gate

northwest entrance to the city from important regional roads, beginning of Panathenaean Way

Pnyx

open area where the entire Athenian Assembly (Ekklesia) met

Panathenaean Way

route of the Panathenaean Procession

Stoa of Attalos

c. 150 BCE monument in the Agora

Royal Stoa

c. 490-479 BCE monument in the Agora

Stoa Poikile

Painted Stoa, c. 460 BCE monument in the Agora

Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios

c. 430-420 BCE monument in the Agora

Old Bouleuterion

c. 500 BCE monument in the Agora

Metroon

ex Old Bouleuterion, Sanctuary of Rhea, Mother of Gods

New Bouleuterion

415-406 BCE monument in the Agora

Skias

tholos, for Senate executive body

Hephaisteion

Temple of Hephaistos, c. 460-450 BCE monument in the Agora

Monument of the Eponymous Heroes

c. 425 BCE monument in the Agora

Propylaia

437-432 BCE, by Mnesikles, gateway on the Acropolis

Temple of Athena Nike

c. 420 BCE, by Kallikrates, monument on the Acropolis

Parthenon

447-432 BCE, by Iktinos and Kallikrates, temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos

Erechtheion

421-405 BCE, by Mnesikles and others, includes the Caryatid Porch

Athena Promakhos

'front-line fighter' statue on the Acropolis

Athena Parthenos

'maiden' statue on the Acropolis

Athena Polias

'guardian of the city' statue on the Acropolis

Paestum

colony in southern Italy, founded c. 600 - per strigas planning

Miletus

colony on Ionian coast (Turkey), refounded after sack by Persians in 479 BCE, probably planned by Hippodamus of Miletus

Agora

The large open square north-west of the Acropolis that constituted the civic and commercial centre of Classical Athens.

Panathenaic Way

A great street that ran diagonally through the Agora, leading from the city gate (Dipylon Gate) in the west to the Acropolis.

Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios

One of the main sacred structures in the Classical Agora located along the west side.

Temple of Hephaistos (Hephaisteion)

The best preserved of all Doric temples, located on the hill to the west of the Agora.

Bouleuterion

The chamber for the 500 councillors selected annually from all qualified citizens.

Tholos

Served as dining-hall and dormitory for members of the executive committee of the Boule.

Old Bouleuterion

The early 5th century BCE structure that was replaced around 415-406 BC by the New Bouleuterion.

New Bouleuterion

Recessed into the hillside behind the Old Bouleuterion and consisted essentially of an auditorium.

Metroon

The Old Bouleuterion known for housing a cult statue by Pheidias or Agorakritos.

Agora square

Surrounded by many buildings used in the administration of the city, including magistrates' offices and law courts.

Pompeii

An ancient Roman city located in Campania, Italy, that was active from 100 BCE to 100 CE.

Cardo

The main north-south street in an ancient Roman orthogonal city grid.

Decumanus

The main east-west avenue in an ancient Roman orthogonal city grid.

Forum

An enclosed public space with temples, courts, and markets, typically located at the intersection of the cardo and decumanus.

Pomerium

The sacred and legal boundary of a Roman town or city.

Domus

A Roman private house in the city.

Insula

An ancient Roman apartment block for lower and middle-class occupants; example in Ostia.

Oscans (Osci)

Ancient Italic people in the region of Campania who founded Pompeii in the 8th century BCE.

Samnites

Ancient Italic people in Campania, in control of Pompeii from 425-80 BCE.

Social War

A conflict between Samnites and Romans led by Roman general Sulla (c. 138-78 BCE), ending in defeat of Samnites and full Roman possession of Pompeii around 80 BCE.

Major earthquake

Occurred in 62 CE in Pompeii.

Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Took place on August 24, 79 CE.

Strada Stabiana

The main north/south street (cardo) leading to the Stabian Gate in Pompeii.

Via dell'Abbondanza

The modern name for the decumanus of Pompeii.