Lecture Notes: Akkadians, Neo-Sumerians, Hammurabi, and Assyrian Propaganda in the Ancient Near East

Narām-Sin: Victory Stele (Pink Sandstone) and Its Context

• Object and provenance: Victory stele of Narām-Sin, carved in pink sandstone; found in Susa (in modern Iran). Associated with the Akkadian ruler Narām-Sin, celebrated for military campaigns and the consolidation of the empire after Sargon the Great. Dates of Narām-Sin’s reign: $2254 ext{–}2218 ext{ BCE}$.
• Dynastic context: Narām-Sin is believed to be the grandson of Sargon I, not a direct successor in a linear dynasty, but a celebrated Akkadian ruler who used conquest to cement power and promote rulership propaganda.
• Military focus and rebels: During Narām-Sin’s reign, holdouts against Akkadian rule persisted among mountain populations of Iran, notably the Lullubi (spelled l-u-l-l-u-b-i). The Lullubi were mountain-dwelling and used guerrilla tactics (surprise attacks, hit-and-run) rather than pitched battles.
• The prose narrative of the stele: Narām-Sin leads his troops into the Lelubi strongholds, decimating the population, and quelling the rebellion. The stele records the campaign as a monumental statement of imperial power and divine sanction.
• Terminology and function: The object is a stile/stela—a public victory marker intended for display in palace courtyards or city centers, functioning as propaganda that promotes the ruler’s power, legitimacy, and ability to enforce the empire’s will.
• Material and color: The pink sandstone signals royal/divine status; material choice matters as it communicates rarity and status beyond the image itself.
• Scale and composition: The stele is large-scale and fragmentary today; the available height is approximately $7 ext{ ft}$ (with top and bottom portions broken off). It was probably closer to $10 ext{ ft}$ tall in its full form.
• Visual program and landscape: The scene abandons the Sumerian insistence on geometric registers and uses a landscape with a mountainous terrain to anchor action. This is a pivot from the earlier register-driven compositions toward a narrative space that evokes a real, physical geography (mountains, paths, a scraggly tree).
• Hierarchy and divine ascent: Narām-Sin; his soldiers; and the military hierarchy are arranged along a mountain ascent, symbolizing ascent to the dwelling place of the gods. The mountain is both literal and symbolic—a conduit to divine presence.
• The gods and the cosmos: At the conical summit, there are stars representing the gods blessing Narām-Sin and his action; the stele’s apex mirrors the mountain’s peak, visually uniting kingship with divine sanction.
• Figure scale and composition: Narām-Sin towers over his troops (scale hierarchy). The soldiers are shown in composite view (profile legs, frontal torso, profile heads, frontal eyes) to suggest a marching mass with individual emphasis.
• Military equipment and rank indicators: Bronze clubs, swords, spears, and military standards with finials indicate ranks and order of battle.
• Narrative sequence (lower section): Narām-Sin’s army assaults the Lelubi, marching up cliff faces; a scraggly tree marks place; soldiers’ musculature emphasizes power and vigor; the troops’ weapons and helmets highlight technological advancement.
• Narrative sequence (upper section): Narām-Sin appears in full heroic splendor at the top; his body is heavily muscular; he holds a bow and spear; his long beard and horned helmet symbolize masculinity and royal authority. The horned crown implies near-divinity without actual divinity.
• The central defeated figure: A naked foe lies before Narām-Sin, humiliated; a second figure to the right prays to the gods in desperation; a spear is shown piercing the throat of the foreground figure, though some scholars debate whether Narām-Sin caused the wound or if it represents implied ritual punishment.
• The plural of power: The scene demonstrates the ruler’s proximity to the gods, protection by the gods, and the suppression of dissent—an explicit demonstration of political ideology, divine favor, and imperial terror.
• The visual vocabulary and its symbolism: The use of a horned crown, the bull imagery, and divine protection highlight the convergence of masculine strength, kingship, and divinity in Akkadian propaganda.
• Aftermath and typology: The stele ends by reinforcing Narām-Sin’s role as a powerful, god-ward ruler who enforces the divine will through military conquest. The pink sandstone and celestial motifs frame rulership as ordained by the gods.

Neo-Sumerian Ur and the Return to Sumerian Rule

• Geographic placement: Moving south to Ur (in southern Mesopotamia). This marks the Neo-Sumerian revival—the reassertion of Sumerian power after roughly two centuries of Akkadian rule.
• Historical arc: The Neo-Sumerians (sometimes termed the “New Sumerians”) reconstitute Sumerian city-states; they overthrow Akkadian control and re-establish Sumerian cultural practices and political structures.
• Urban and temple-building emphasis: City-wide campaigns reassert authority; monumental temple construction and city development are central to legitimizing Neo-Sumerian rule.
• Ziggurats and religio-political center: The ziggurat functions as the base that supports the temple above; the temple is the center of divine presence and political authority.
• Ur’s ziggurat as exemplar: The Great Ziggurat at Ur (Uruk?—actually Ur) is a flagship monument built around 2100 BCE and later revived in later periods. The ziggurat is a man-made mountain intended to elevate worship and to integrate temple cult with a fortified political center.
• Urban design and canals: The Neo-Sumerians dug canals from the Euphrates that created an oasis-like environment, with canals feeding water into the city, ports, docks, pools, and green spaces. This irrigation network supported urban life and agriculture.
• City layout today vs. the Bronze Age: The site today is arid and deserted, but in its heyday Ur was a thriving urban complex with a central elevated mass (city core) surrounded by residences and outlying districts connected via roads and canals.
• The Royal Cemetery and other monuments: The Royal Cemetery houses kings and court officials; it is the context in which finds like the Standard of Ur and Bull-headed Lyre come from; the cemetery preserves a crucial link between Neo-Sumerian and earlier Sumerian epochs.

The Great Ziggurat at Ur: Form, Function, and Construction Details

• Defining the ziggurat: Not a temple itself but the “man-made mountain” that supports a temple at the summit. The ziggurat provides the vertical axis of access to the divine.
• Structural height and scale: The lowest level of the Ur ziggurat rises to about $50 ext{ ft}$; with multiple tiers, the completed height would likely have ranged between $80 ext{–}100 ext{ ft}$ depending on tier shape and materials.
• Material and binding:** Mud brick**: The primary construction medium is sun-dried or baked mud bricks, bound with bitumen (a tar-like substance) as mortar. Bitumen is described as a black tar-like substance used to adhere bricks.
• Exterior treatment and fortification: The walls feature pilasters—rectangular projections that thicken wall space and provide decorative as well as structural support, lending a fortified, quasi-defensive character to the ziggurat.
• Ramp and gateway design: Ramps lead up to gateways on the approach to the temple; these gateways function as controlled access, with laity allowed on the first tier but restricted higher up to priests and royalty. The gateway is the threshold into the sacred ascent.
• The cella and top temple: At the summit sits the temple proper, within the interior chamber known as the cella (the dwelling place of the gods). The Neo-Sumerian inscriptions describe the interior as minimally ornamented, with a bench along the walls for priests.
• Moon god Nanna: The Ur temple complex at the top was dedicated to Nanna (the moon god), whose presence sanctified the entire structure and elevated the status of the king who could approach the god at the top.
• Interior ornamentation: The interior of the cella was described as almost completely unornamented; the gods themselves ornamented the space with their presence, thus no heavy decoration was required inside.
• The “ascending” symbolism: The ziggurat’s progressive tiers and the gateway emphasize hierarchical ascent, mirroring the ruler’s ascendancy toward divine blessing.
• The 1950s reconstruction and the Saddam era: Excavations and later restoration work changed the visible form; in the late 1970s–1980s, Saddam Hussein initiated a reconstruction of Ur’s ziggurat to resemble its historical heyday using new mud bricks, trying to emulate ancient techniques to project Mesopotamian legitimacy on modern governance. The restoration was never fully completed.
• Lapiz lazili revetment (reconstruction detail): National Geographic-style reconstructions suggest that the outer walls of the temple and the cella top may have been revetted with crushed lapis lazuli glaze to visually emphasize royal/divine prestige.
• Hanging gardens and irrigation on the ziggurat: The reconstruction imagery includes terraces with vegetation (the “hanging gardens”). The idea is that soil-filled terraces on each tier carried gardens sustained by cisterns and water pumped from Euphrates canals via Archimedean screws (see below).
• Water management and technology: Each tier could have soil beds serving as garden substrates. Cisterna water would be pumped upward using Archimedean screws (a screw-thread device turned by a handle) to irrigate garden terraces. The canals around Ur formed a moat-like water management system; irrigation is essential to sustaining large-scale greenery.
• Symbolic meaning: The gardens symbolize divine fertility infusing the temple and ziggurat, linking fertility and life to the gods’ presence. The gods’ influence on life is visually echoed by the lush gardens atop the structure.
• The Archimedean screw: A mechanical water-raising device based on a helical screw that lifts water from a lower cistern to an upper terrace, allowing irrigation of rooftop or terrace gardens.

Ur Royal Cemetery, Corbel Vaulting, and Other Monuments

• The Royal Cemetery at Ur: An extensive burial complex associated with Neo-Sumerian and earlier eras; many important objects were found here, such as the Standard of Ur and Bull-headed Lyre; it offers crucial archaeological links across Sumerian periods.
• Corbelled arch and vaulting: The mausoleums and tombs in the cemetery employed corbelled vaulting, akin to earlier Neolithic forms (e.g., Newgrange) but using Mesopotamian mud brick technology; this architectural technique is visible in the Mausoleum entrances and related structures.
• Aerial overview and city layout (early 1930s): Aerial photographs reveal the Great Ziggurat, the Royal Cemetery, canals, and city layout around Ur, with foundational traces of the city plan and canal network visible on the landscape.
• The National Geographic reconstructions (1970s–1980s): Illustrated reconstructions provide a vivid visualization of Ur’s cityscape, showing central elevated masses (royal and religious centers), surrounding residences, fortified walls, and a moat created by canals.
• Urban districts: The Neo-Sumerian city is shown with a Royal District abutting the Religious District; the two are connected by towers or gateways but maintained distinct administrative and sacred spaces.
• Connectivity and movement: A central road and bridges lead to the upper plateau, representing access into the royal and sacred heart of the city, with fortified walls and pilasters projecting from them for defense and architectural rhythm.

The Babylonian Era: Hammurabi and the Law Code Stele

• Transition in Mesopotamian power: After the Neo-Sumerians, the Babylonians rose to power with Hammurabi, who sought to codify and unify the diverse laws of conquered city-states into a single imperial legal system. This was part of a broader strategy to consolidate political authority and expand centralized governance.
• Hammurabi’s law code (basalt stele): The law code is inscribed on a basalt stele, over $7.5 ext{ ft}$ tall, one of the most famous artifacts from the period. The stele records almost 300 laws and the judgments associated with them.
• The top scene: Hammurabi stands to the left in royal dress, making a gesture of greeting toward Shamash, the sun god, who sits on a throne to the right. Shamash is depicted with a conical crown and is shown in a divine, smoking, bronze-like state, emphasizing his godly nature and authority.
• Shamash: The sun god of truth and justice, sometimes shown as bronze and emanating heat (smoke lines rising from his shoulders). Shamash is the primary divine source of the law, bestowing upon Hammurabi the power to govern.
• The symbols of authority: Shamash presents Hammurabi with two objects— a bronze ring and a shepherd’s staff. The staff symbolizes leadership and guidance (a shepherd guiding his flock), and the ring is a tool used to influence or control (nostril ring for animals as a restraint), symbolizing authority and governance.
• The legal text: The stele is inscribed with the Law Codes in vertical columns, detailing offenses and their punishments; the range includes property crimes, personal injury, family law, agriculture, and religious duties.
• Punishments and social hierarchy: The code’s punishments are severe, with differences in punishment depending on the social class of the offender. For example, common punishments include corporal penalties (e.g., amputation of a hand for theft) and severe penalties for adultery or certain crimes; higher-ranking individuals sometimes faced more nuanced forms of compensation or ritual offerings rather than corporal punishment.
• The social stratification: Hammurabi’s laws emphasize a hierarchically structured society where the punishment and enforcement of laws vary by status (royal/advisor/priest vs. peasant or slave). The law codes thus reflect and reinforce existing power hierarchies.
• Propaganda and divine legitimacy: The top-of-stele presentation claiming Hammurabi’s authority originates in Shamash; the visual linkage of Hammurabi to the gods legitimizes his authority and makes the law appear as a divine ordinance rather than mere royal decree.
• Propaganda function and public display: The basalt stele would be placed in city squares and marketplaces so that it would be visible to the public, serving as an ever-present reminder of divine sanction, imperial authority, and the rule of law.
• Cross-cultural comparison: The Hammurabi code is contrasted with the Hebrew Bible’s Ten Commandments, noting a key difference: Hammurabi’s code applies differently to different social strata (hierarchical), whereas the Ten Commandments are presented as universal in scope. This contrast highlights different moral and political philosophies in the ancient Near East.
• Topography and composition: The stele’s tapering form resembles a stylized mountain or ascent toward the divine presence, echoing the Narām-Sin stele’s mountain symbolism and reinforcing the concept that law originates from the gods and descends to the king to implement.
• The textual and visual integration: The top panel with Shamash and Hammurabi, and the vertical columns of laws below, combine to present a unified picture: divine law conveyed through a king who enacts it in daily life. This fusion of the divine and the king is a hallmark of Mesopotamian political theology.

The Assyrian Dynasty: Sargon II and Khorsabad

• Dynastic continuity and style: After Babylon, the Assyrians claim the mantle of Akkadian legacy and project power through a brutal, warlike aesthetic—an image of near-constant expansion and conquest.
• Sargon II and Khorsabad: The Assyrian ruler Sargon II (reign ca. 722–705 BCE) established a lavish royal capital at Khorsabad (ancient Dur-Sharrukin) near modern-day Mosul. The palace complex is built on a fortified platform rising about $50 ext{ ft}$ above the surrounding terrain, emphasizing the king’s elevated status and proximity to the gods.
• Urban layout: The palace-city is arranged with a grand gateway on the royal entrance side, a large central square for public functions and markets, and an arrangement of gate suites that lead to the royal residence beyond the gateway. Behind the gate lies a compact royal courtyard and the king’s residence, which sits in close proximity to the great multi-story ziggurat that forms a religious axis for the city.
• The blurring of divine and royal spheres: The Assyrians blur the line between the king’s residence and the sacred precinct, echoing a form of divine kingship but with a distinct emphasis on royal control and mythic authority.
• The gateway guardians: The entrance into Khorsabad is protected by monumental guardian figures and mythic decoration, which communicate both pride for the citizens and intimidation for potential enemies.
• The Lamassu (winged bull with human head): The most celebrated sculptures from Khorsabad are the Lamassu guarding the gates (large reliefs embedded in the wall, flanking gateways). They stand close to the walls, with the following features:
  • Material and scale: Limestone figures, up to nearly $14 ext{ ft}$ tall, massive guardians of the gateway.
  • Composite anatomy: Body of a bull, head of a human with a genie's intelligent expression, and wings of a divine being; a fusion of animal, human, and divine.
  • Horned crown: The crown features multiple horns (decorated with radiating horns), signaling divine authority and protection.
  • Beards and attire: Pleated beards and elaborate beadwork on the body; crowns with horn motifs emphasize divinity and regal power.
  • Static stance with implied motion: Front-facing, solid stance when viewed head-on, conveying power; when seen in profile or moving past, their legs exhibit a constructed sense of motion via a “fifth leg” technique. The statue is carved in high relief and appears monolithic in front, but the leg positions suggest life as the viewer moves around it.
  • The dual message: For citizens, the Lamassu signifies protection and divine favor; for potential usurpers, it signals god-given sovereignty and the peril of rebellion. The statues thus function as political propaganda and protective deities for the city.
• The “genie” concept and divine knowledge: Lamassu are described as “genies” (divine messengers) sent by the gods to guide kings and protect the city. They embody divine knowledge and counsel to the ruler.
• Art-historical significance: The Lamassu mark a pinnacle in interactive sculpture—bas-relief sculpture integrated into architecture that also suggests motion and life as the viewer moves around the guardian.
• The overall propaganda program: The gate’s guardians and the palace’s architecture emphasize divine protection, royal power, and the king’s political authority, while simultaneously intimidating enemies and reminding citizens of the gods’ favor.

Synthesis and Implications: Power, Religion, and Material Culture

• Recurrent themes across Akkadians to Assyrians:
  • Hierarchy and power as primary organizing principles of society.
  • The ascent toward divine presence as a model for political legitimacy (mountain/ziggurat ascent; ascent to the divine presence).
  • The fusion and careful separation of divine and royal authorities to bolster governance.
  • The use of monumental architecture (stelae, ziggurats, gateways, palaces) as propaganda and as religious infrastructure.
  • The strategic use of material and form (pink sandstone, basalt, lapis lazuli, mud brick) to communicate royal and divine status.
• Material culture as communication: The kinds of materials used (pink sandstone, basalt, limestone, lapis lazuli) communicate rarity, permanence, and divine favor; the construction techniques (mud bricks with bitumen, pilasters for structural and decorative effect) reveal priorities in engineering and aesthetics.
• Ethical and practical implications:
  • The forensics of power: the depiction of violence (e.g., Narām-Sin crushing rebels) underlines the use of force to secure authority.
  • The use of religion as political legitimation: Gods (Shamash, Nanna) confer authority upon rulers and their laws, making rebellion a violation of divine order.
  • Public monuments as social memory: Stelae and ziggurats act as fixed references for collective memory, justify policy decisions, and influence everyday life by codifying norms and expectations.
  • The relationship between the state and the arts: Monumental sculpture and city planning are central to governance and unity; art is inseparable from political power.
• Foundational connections to broader historical arcs:
  • Continuities with the earlier Standard of Ur in themes of hierarchy and power, but a shift from purely register-based composition to landscape-based narratives in Narām-Sin’s stele and related monuments.
  • The Neo-Sumerian revival demonstrates a cultural return to Sumerian centers after Akkadian rule, emphasizing city-based identity and temple-centered life.
  • Hammurabi’s code stands as a pivotal example of early imperial legal centralization that predates later codifications elsewhere and reveals how law, sovereignty, and divine sanction intertwine.
  • Assyrian art marks a shift toward overt military propaganda, monumental sculpture integrated into architecture, and the fusion of divine and royal imagery to legitimize rule.
• Foundational figures and terms:
  • Narām-Sin (Narām-Sin): Victory stele, mountain ascent, divine sanction, and military power; key moment in Akkadian propaganda.
  • Ur and Neo-Sumerian revival: Reassertion of Sumerian city-states and their religious-political centers.
  • Ziggurat: The temple-mountain; not a temple itself but the platform that elevates worship to the heavens; top houses the temple/cella.
  • Cella: The dwelling place of the gods inside the temple.
  • Pilaster: Wall thickening projections on the ziggurat that serve both decorative and structural purposes.
  • Lamassu: Guarding figures with a bull body, human head, and wings; symbols of protective divine power; an emblem of the Assyrian approach to governance and propaganda.
  • Genie (genies): Divine messengers or advisers that convey divine will to kings.
  • Archimedean screw: A water-raising mechanism used to irrigate terraces and gardens on ziggurats.
• Connections to broader themes in the course:
  • The role of monumental architecture in shaping political authority.
  • The interplay between religious belief and political power as a driver of cultural production.
  • The evolution of visual language as political propaganda across different empires (Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian).
• Preview of next topics: Additional Assyrian propaganda, the grand gateway to Neo-Babylonian Babylon, and then Persians with Persepolis, plus interactions with the West (Greco-Roman world) to close the arc of Mesopotamian influence.

Key Dates, Measurements, and Numerical Details (at a glance)

• Narām-Sin reign: $2254 ext{ BCE} ext{ to } 2218 ext{ BCE}$
• Narām-Sin victory stele height (current): ~$7 ext{ ft}$ (with potential total height near $10 ext{ ft}$)
• Lullubi resistance: ongoing during Narām-Sin’s campaigns (no fixed end date given in the text)
• Ur ziggurat construction: circa $2100 ext{ BCE}$ (early Neo-Sumerian/Ur-era) with restoration epochs later (e.g., Saddam Hussein’s late 20th century reconstruction efforts)
• Great Ziggurat at Ur base height: ~$50 ext{ ft}$; estimated total height with multiple tiers: $80 ext{–}100 ext{ ft}$
• Ziggurat materials: mud brick bound with bitumen (bitumen = tar-like substance)
• Babylonian Hammurabi stele: height with the base ~$7.5 ext{ ft}$; laws: ≈$300$ individual codes
• Lamassu height: ~$14 ext{ ft}$ tall
• Sargon II palace at Khorsabad: built on a fortified platform ~$50 ext{ ft}$ above the surrounding area; gate with monumental guardian figures
• Horns as divine indicator: Shamash’s crown features seven pairs of horns (divinity level) on the top figure; Narām-Sin’s horned helmet includes a smaller royal-divine cue (two horns on Narām-Sin’s crown)
• Stela design: tapering mountain-like form; topography and stacked hierarchies reflect ascent toward the divine
• Archimedean screws: mechanism used to lift water for terraces/gardens; critical for sustaining Hanging Gardens on tiered zones
• Numbers relate to cultural practices: Hammurabi’s laws emphasize penalties (e.g., corporal punishments, restricted access to higher tiers for laity) and reflect social stratification.

Connections to Previous Lectures and Real-World Relevance

• Building on last lecture’s discussion of the Standard of Ur: Narām-Sin’s stele shifts from registers toward a landscape and narrative ascent to the divine, showing a continuity of themes around power, hierarchy, and divine favor but with a new visual language.
• The Sumerian and Akkadian transition: Narām-Sin’s campaigns illustrate the ongoing struggle between Akkadian consolidation and Sumerian revival; the Neo-Sumerian resurgence at Ur demonstrates how a city can re-claim cultural identities after foreign rule.
• Propaganda and state power: Across these monuments, rulers use architecture and sculpture to legitimize rule, communicate divine sanction, and deter dissent. The kings adopt god-like signals (horned crowns, divine symbols) while also showing military prowess and urban grandeur.
• Technology and engineering: The ziggurat’s construction reveals advanced hydraulic and architectural knowledge (mud brick, bitumen mortar, pilasters); the Archimedean screw demonstrates the ancients’ capacity for sophisticated water management—a crucial factor in urban viability in arid Mesopotamia.
• Ethical considerations: The use of force to quell rebellion and the depiction of punishment in law codes reveal a governance model grounded in control, order, and obedience to divine law; juxtaposition with universal moral claims (e.g., the Ten Commandments) reveals differing cultural logics about justice and equality.
• Real-world relevance: The monuments reflect a long-standing human interest in monumental architecture as a tool for public memory, political legitimacy, and religious devotion; these ideas continue to inform modern efforts to communicate power through public monuments and state-sponsored art.

Key Terms to Remember

• Narām-Sin (Narām-Sin): Akkadian king; victory stele with mountain ascent; expansion and subjugation of rebel groups (Lullubi).
• Lullubi: Mountain-dwelling group in Iran; employed guerrilla tactics.
• Stela/Stile: Public marker of victory, propaganda object.
• Pink sandstone: Material signaling royal/divine status.
• Composite view: Depicting figures with mix of profile heads/legs and frontal torsos to convey mass action.
• Ziggurat: Man-made mountain supporting a temple; a vertical axis to the divine realm.
• Cella: Dwelling place of the gods inside a temple.
• Pilaster: Wall projections for structural support and decoration.
• Shamash: Sun god; divine sanction of Hammurabi’s laws; symbol of justice.
• Hammurabi stele: Law code stele; basalt; top ridge with Hammurabi before Shamash; 300 laws; punishments; social hierarchy.
• Lamassu: Guardian figures with bull bodies, human heads, and wings; protectors at gateways; interactively designed to appear life-like; implement a visual link to divinity and royal power.
• Genie (genie): Divine messengers/advisors; divine knowledge guiding kings.
• Archimedean screw: Water-raising mechanism essential for irrigation and the Hanging Gardens concept.
• Hanging Gardens: Terraced gardens on ziggurats; part of the irrigation and hydraulic engineering repertoire; symbol of fertility and divine blessing.