Early Civilizations: Mesopotamia and the Persian Empire

What is a Civilization?

  • A civilization is a human society with a high level of cultural and technological development.
  • Attributes include urban settlements, full-time specialists, surplus production, class structure, state-level organization, monumental public building, extensive trading networks, standardized monumental artwork, writing, and development of exact sciences.

Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization

  • Sumerian Civilization:
    • Development of writing: Cuneiform tablets.
    • Pottery made by potter’s wheel.
    • City of Uruk: White Temple, Stone-cone Temple, Uruk vase.
    • Ziggurats: Temples considered homes of the gods.
    • Eye Temple.
    • Findings from the Royal Cemetery of Ur: Standard of Ur, Headdress of Queen Puabi, Ram in a Thicket.
  • Akkadian Empire: Head of a ruler.
  • Assyrian Civilization: Sargon Palace, Lamassu sculptures.
  • Babylonian Civilization: Ishtar Gate, Queen of the Night.

Persian Empire

  • Persepolis: Palace of Darius.
    • Hypostyle hall: Interior space with roof on pillars or columns.
  • Susa: Palace of Darius.

Architectural Terms

  • Elements of a column.
  • Register: A horizontal band containing decorative or narrative imagery.
  • Relief: Design stands out from the surface.

Key Artifacts and Structures

  • Uruk Vase: Alabaster vase with registers of imagery.
  • White Temple, Uruk: Temple with tripartite plan.
  • Standard of Ur: Mosaic from the royal cemetery.
  • Head of a Ruler: Bronze head, likely Sargon of Akkad.
  • Ishtar Gate: Glazed mud brick gate in Babylon.
  • Palace of Darius (Persepolis and Susa): Stone and adobe construction with relief carvings.

Definitions

  • Cuneiform: Early form of writing on clay tablets.
  • Ziggurat: Pyramidal temple structure.
  • Lamassu: Assyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull's body, wings, and a human head.