Ancient Near East ca. 4,000-330 BCE

SABA: civilizations near the fertile crescent

1. Sumer

2. Akkad

3. Babylon

4. Assyria

Sumeria:

• very abundant food from fertile land → lots of people

• no king/ruler; they managed themselves with city states

• united by religion: polytheistic, each city would select a favorite god

• Major cities: Uruk, Ur (present day Iraq)

• Ziggurats were temples made to honor/worship their god(s)

  - center of the city

  - everyone had to help make it: builds sense of loyaly and community=more obedient people

  - the bigger the better/stronger the city

  - very selective group of religious leaders could use it however

  - was made to dedicated to one god

• votive figures: statues made to show devotion of a worshipper without them being present (the worshipper didn’t know if their gods would show up)

  - characterized by folded hands of prayer + big eyes to show eagerness in being alert for a reply

  - also created for spiritual leaders so they can be seen as a powerful being, often carved out of precious metals/stones and writing

• cuneiforms: sumerian writing

  - stylus: tool used to write on slab of clay

  • common people couldn’t read, so writing was a symbol of power/priviledge

    → used in artworks of authoritative figures

  • adopted by neighboring nations/peoples

Akkadians

• aKKadian = k cause they had a king

• north of Sumer

• Sargon, a king, makes the concept of being a king, a sole ruler over all of sumeria

  - Narmasin: descendant of Sargon

  - hieratic scale; in artwork, largest figure is most important; often used for propaganda

Babylonians and Neo-Babylonians

• adopts culture of akkadians like a BABY(lonia)

• overthrows Akkadians and adopts their culture, writing, and religion

  • often comes around again and again

- had harsh punishments bcs of discriminination against women and the poor vs rich people who could pay their way out

• Hammurabi: powerful babylonian king

Assyrians:

• conquered mesopotamia

• north of other civilizations

• brutal conquests (SErious aSSYrians; coloSSal aSSyrians)

• systematically conquered and terrorized (ex: dispursed and deported communities conquered, destroyed cities)

• massive palaces fortified and containing ziggs (no one made their palace as big as theirs)

  • assyrian conqueror named himself Sargon ii as a power tactic

• lamassu: human headed winged lion from their mythology; connected to royal authority

  - gaurdian/protection symbol of royal authority

• Assyrian art aims to capture motion (5 legs to make it look like its walking)

• Assurbanipal: king of Assyrians that largely funded art

  - helped developed the first narrative art + drama

  - culture leader

  - art helped polish their ruthless image

• confused about their own religion too

Assyrians were overthrown by the Neo-Babylonians

• assyrian art influenced other civilizations art

Neo-Babylonians

• conquered Assyria

• flourished with art and architecture

• advanced irrigation systems

• Ishtar Gate: blue colored bricks

• adopted some Assyrian art (lions)

The Persian Empire (559-331 BCE)

• largest empire of their time (2 million miles) in modern day Iran

• Kept mesopotamian culture alive into the time of Greece

• biggest architecture of its time

• place where emporer would be to recieve visitors

• very cosmopolitan people: accepted everything you (your leaders, art, religion, language) did as long as you paid your taxes

Egyptians (Early dynastic period to New Kingdom, ca. 3000-1200 BCE)

• Kemet: “black soil“ name the egyptians called themselves as the silt made the banks fertile

• lower Egypt, most fertile, is north as the Nile flows towards the Medd. Sea

• Agriculture was so great along the Nile, it could feed everyone in the height of the Roman empire

• Life revolved around their complicated religion

  - they couldn’t even understand it themselves

  - 1/5 of all egyptians were employed for religion

  - 1/3 of land dedicated to temlpes

• deities were affected by locals

  - different places of Egypt worshipped different Gods and the same ones, in different ways

  - it makes interpretations of their art difficult due to how complicated and loose their religion is

  - different depictions of their gods in art

upper egypt: wore bowling pin like crown

lower egypt: chair like swirly crown