02 near east architecture

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AR 223/AR 3163 Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Arch. Ticao College of Architecture and Fine Arts

Near East Architecture INFLUENCES A. Geographical

Mesopotamia (Gk. mesos = middle + potamos = river)

earliest civilization flourished in the fertile plains of the twin rivers, Tigris and Euphrates

Garden of Eden and the four rivers of the Book of Genesis could have been found in these regions

frequent flooding caused destruction of crops and flocks

such condition is set forth in the account of the building of the Ark by Noah before the time when a system of irrigation gave security to agriculturists

Ur was the home of Abraham before he set out on his travels to escape from the constant strife in his own country

was irrigated by canals from river to river

land was fertile enough to support the immense populations round Nineveh and Babylon

geographically, Babylonia and Assyria were one country which ancient writers called Assyria

civilization advanced northwards from Babylon to Nineveh

on the east of Babylonia and Assyria was ancient Persia, which, under Cyrus and Darius, extended over the high plateau of Iran from the Tigris to the Indus

B. Geological Chaldaea or Lower Mesopotamia

alluvial district of thick mud and clay deposited by the two great rivers, Tigris and Euphrates

no stone was found and no trees would grow

Materials: · bricks (sun-dried or kiln-dried) · glazed bricks of different colors · bitumen used as cementing material

Assyria

plenty of stone in the mountains to the north

Assyrians followed the Babylonians in the use of brick

generally faced the walls internally and externally, not with glazed bricks, but with alabaster or limestone slabs carved with low bas-reliefs and inscriptions of great historic importance

materials: · bricks · stones

best-known cities of Assyria, all situated in the territory of present-day Iraq: · Assur · Nimrud · Nineveh · Khorsabad

Source: Captured image from the Lost Civilization of Mesopotamia

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Persia

hard, colored limestones used in the building of Susa and Persepolis

roof-timbers were obtained from Elam on the west

colored and textured tiles famous for their beauty

materials: · stones · Timber · limestones · brick · timber · tiles

C. Climatic Chaldaea or Lower Mesopotamia

a region of swamps and floods

torrents of rain fell for weeks at a time

long dry summer with miasmic exhalations · essential to build towns and palaces on elevated platforms

Assyria

nearer the mountains and farther from the river mouths than Chaldaea

similar climate with Chaldaea but with fewer swamps · climatic difference had little effect on architecture · Assyrians followed the Babylonian style

Persia

dry, hot climate

high table – land

country of sunshine, gardens, and deserts, with a climate ranging between extremes of heat and cold

· unlike the damp low-lying plains of Mesopotamia it then was able to develop innovation of open columned halls in the palaces at Susa and Persepolis

D. Religious Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

polytheism · worship of heavenly bodies, divisions of the universe, and local deities · priests claimed to divine the gods’ will through divination and reading of the stars · ziggurats were erected for the priests to divine the will of the gods

Assyrian gods grouped in triads: · Anu, god of heaven, Baal, god of earth, and Ea, god of water · Shamash, the sun, Sin, the moon, and Ishtar, the life-giving power

Ashur, the god in the north was exalted by Assyrians to the chief place in their pantheon

Marduk, exalted in Babylonia · there was a continuous struggle to make Babylon the religious centre with Marduk

as chief god

superstition and symbolism prevailed and evidenced in the man-headed bulls, placed as

beneficent genii at palace entrances to ward off evil spirits

Assyrians, not great tomb-builders

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Persia

tendency towards monotheism

religion of Persia was a system of ethical forces

good and evil at war from the beginning of time

two protagonists: · Ormazd, the creator of good, with his supporting gods · Ahriman, the destructive spirit, or power of evil

fire was held by Zoroaster to be the manifestation of good, and fire worship needed no temples, but only altars for the sacrificial flame

religion has not much influence on its architecture

E. Social Babylon

a powerful priestly class arrogated to itself all the learning known as "Chaldaean wisdom"

"medicine men" or physicians were included in the priestly ranks

traders

employed slaves · to build palaces and their platforms, irrigation

hired men for transport trade by caravans and canals

cuneiform · system of writing · wedge-shaped characters on clay tablets or

cylinders · proved more lasting than the Egyptian records

on perishable papyrus · counts of the proceedings in Babylonian law

courts and endless business documents

“Code of Laws" of Khammurabi (c. B.C. 2250) · deciphering supplied a wonderful insight into

habits, customs, and private life from the earliest times the family idea prevailed

women were free and respected cities had rights and charters there were feudal holdings a system of police a postal service

· elaborate legal system

complete commercial life

landlord's responsibilities

city dues

divisions in society · nobles with hereditary estates · landless class of freemen · slaves

Assyria

military autocracy with a conscript army was a dominating class

fighters and sportsmen rather than traders

irrigation and agriculture also occupied the Assyrians

built palaces on raised platforms by the work of captive slaves · 10,000 men worked for twelve years on the platform of Kouyunjik (Nineveh)

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wall sculptures portray social conditions and form an illustrated history of the battles and exploits of monarchs

little reference to religion, with its sacrificial rites, on the delicately incised slabs, which are devoted to war and the chase, and the trail of cruelty is over them all

social economy: carpenters, masons, smiths, makers of musical instruments, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, poets, and musicians

houses were of the primitive form still prevailing in the East

wall tablets depict the simplest furniture in the way of chairs, couches, and tables Persia

military superiority

imposed Persian civilization on Western Asia under the rule of the Satraps

soldiers: land-owners as horsemen, and people as infantry

traditions were modified by Egyptian and Greek craftsmen who migrated to this new world-empire

· Babylon continued the winter residence of the Kings · Susa was the capital, because Persepolis was too remote for government

erection of royal palaces gave ample opportunity for the development of Persian architecture and decorative art

F. History Near East Architecture is divided in the three distinct periods: Babylonian period (c. B.C. 4000-1275)

Eannatum, an early Sumerian king, brought about the first union of Babylonian cities

Sargon of Akkad (c. B.C. 3800), the earliest Babylonian king, ruled in Babylonia when rivalry

existed between city-states

King Khammurabi, B.C. 2250 · great king who established the domination of Babylon · formulated his "Code of Laws"

Babylonian power declined later under the attacks of Hittites and Kassites

B.C. 1700 Assyria became a separate kingdom Assyrian period (B.C. 1275-538)

Assyrians conquered Babylonia in B.C. 1275

great military power of Western Asia until the destruction of Nineveh about B.C. 606

Tiglath-Pileser I (B.C. 1100) carried on campaigns to the north-west, and in northern Syria

Ashur-nasir-pal (B.C. 885-86o) waged war on every side, and removed the government from Ashur to Calah (Nimroud), where he built a palace and patronised art

Shalmaneser II (B.C. 860-825), Ashur-nasir-pal’s son, made himself master of Western Asia from Media to the Mediterranean, and from Armenia to the Persian Gulf, and then the Assyrians first came into conflict with the Israelites

Tiglath-Pileser III (B.C. 745-727), extended his empire to the borders of Egypt and, as ally of Ahaz, King of Judah, made Hoshea, King of Israel, his vassal

Sargon (B.C. 722-705), most famous of Assyrian kings · first to defeat the army of the Egyptians · great builder, as is testified by his magnificent palace at Khorsabad and his buildings

at Calah and Nineveh

Sennacherib (B.C. 705–681) · famous son of Sargon

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· invaded Syria, defeated the Egyptian army, entered Judaea, laid siege to Jerusalem and forced King Hezekiah to pay tribute taken from the treasure of the Temple

· destroyed Babylon in B.C. 689 · defeated the Greeks in Cilicia · later settled in Nineveh to worship his gods and to build a mighty palace · assassinated by his sons

Esarhaddon, Sennacherib’s son (B.C. 681–668) · fought against Arabs and Medes, invaded Phoenicia, Edom, and Cilicia, and

conquered Lower Egypt in B.C. 672 · built great palaces at Calah (Nimroud) and Nineveh and temples to the gods

Ashur-banipal (B.C. 668–656) · fought three campaigns in Egypt and sacked Thebes (B.C. 666) · extended the boundaries of his kingdom on the north and south · records of his last campaign were sculptured on the wall slabs of his palace at

Nineveh, which are now in the British Museum

B.C. 634, empire was at the height of its power

decline set in until in B.C. 606 Nineveh was captured and destroyed, and the Assyrian Empire divided

the new Babylonian Empire only lasted for seventy years

Nebuchadnezzar II (B.C. 605–562) · famous for the destruction of Jerusalem and for the Babylonian captivity (B.C. 597–

538) · associated with the wonders of Babylon, its palaces, hanging gardens, and towered

walls

after a short series of weak rulers, Babylon itself, under Belshazzar, to whom the prophet Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall (Dan. v.) was captured by the Persian King Cyrus in B.C. 538

Persian period (B.C. 538–333)

Cyrus, made war on Croesus, King of Lydia, and then the Greek colonists in Asia Minor fell under the rule of Persia, after the capture of Babylon (B.C. 538)

Cambyses (B.C. 529–551), Cyrus’ son, extended the Persian conquests to Egypt · marvelous buildings of Memphis and Thebes caused the introduction of the column

into Persian architecture · columns in a somewhat grotesque form were seen in the halls of Susa and

Persepolis

Darius (B.C. 521–485) · carried Persian arms into Europe as far as the Danube · hankered after Greece · in B.C. 494 captured Miletus, destroying the famous Ionic temple · defeated the allied Greeks at Ephesus, but was him-self defeated at Marathon (B.C.

490)

Xerxes (B.C. 485–465) · defeated by the Greeks, not only in the sea battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), but also in

the land battle at Plata (B.C. 479)

Alexander the Great (B.C. 333–323) · Western Asia became a Greek province · after Alexander's death, passed under the Seleucid (B.C. 312–280) and Sassanian

(A.D. 226–642) dynasties

various Perso-Mahometan dynasties arose after the Arab conquest in A.D. 642, which made Bagdad a new capital of great magnificence

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

massive

simple

military commanding

absence of columns

whitewashed buildings except for the ziggurats Persia

columnar with great hypostyle halls

commanding

formal and monumental IMPORTANT FEATURES System of Construction Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

combination of arch and vaults: arcuated

foundation: elevated platforms of crude bricks faced with hard bricks or stones Persia

post and lintel: columnar

foundation: broad platforms, partly cut in the rock and partly structural Walls Babylonia

bricks faced with dried colored, glazed bricks

use of polychrome glazed tiles

whitewashed or painted Assyria

bricks faced with alabaster and limestone with low bas-relief which record the military and sports exploits

external walls were plainly treated sometimes with vertical projections and processes or with half columns as half cylinders

Persia

double mud brick walls for stability

burned, colored, glazed tiles for facing Plans Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

rooms were grouped around a quadrangle (corridor in appearance) Persian

predominance of square rooms and lavish use of columns Openings Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

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spanned with semi-circular arch at palaces’ entrances, arches were enhanced by decorative archibolts (molding on the face of an arch following the contour even to projecting members)

windows were not used, light were admitted through doors or pipe halls Persian

windows below ceiling levels

doors and windows surround the platform Roofs Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

early dwellings used palm logs with parched clay

flat roofs, rendered with water proofing by use of bitumen

with battlement cresting to conceal the roof, except where domes protrude Persian

flat timber roofs (cedar)

roofs were covered with turf terrace Mouldings Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

no characteristic mouldings, nor architraves nor capitals Persian

use of mouldings Ornaments Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

ceramic decoration in the form of: · colored and glazed bricks · colored terra-cotta cones inserted into clay walls

sculptural decoration in the form of statues and bas-relief

chiseled alabaster slab, more refined than that of the Egyptians

motifs were: · hunting scenes · battles · deities (mythological subjects)

palace gates were adorned with “portal guardians” set into deep jambs (colossal monsters with bodies of bulls, wings of eagles and human heads with strong countenance)

rosettes, guilloche, palmette and lotus flower Persian

colored glazed ceramics, woven fabrics and gilding

motif – lion

procession of arches

bodyguard of the kings

palace decorations – sculpture and bas-relief

entrances of palaces and towns flanked by colossal king-headed winged bull similar to Assyria

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Columns Mesopotamia: Babylonia and Assyria

no columns Persian

capital was usually double-bull or double unicorn

beneath the capital are recurring vertical scroll

slender body shaft with flutings

high molded base EXAMPLES Mesopotamia: Babylonian

Earliest architecture developed to accommodate religious, legal, governmental, and military systems

Temples

Erected to a local deity

Usually the nucleus of a civil building comples

Built on plinths made from the crumbled remains of the old brick

Ziggurat

Embodiment of the rain-giving mountains

The White Temple, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq (4th C. BC) · Predecessor of the ziggurat · Alternating niches and buttresses, typically Sumerian · Much of the platform (originally white-plastered) and

triple stairway have survived

The Ziggurat, Ur (modern Muqari’iya), Iraq · Shared platform with three temples

The Ziggurat, Chogo Zanbil, Iran (mid 13th c BC), in ancient Elam

· Best preserved ziggurat · Main stairway passed through structure

Palaces

The Palace, Mari (now Tell Hariri), Syria (3rd BC) · Best preserved of the early period · Arrangement of rooms round a succession of courtyards was typical

Assyria and the new Babylon

polychrome brickwork introduced during the 2nd BC

high wall slabs carved in low reliefs

temples were sometimes on ziggurats, 3-7 storeys with ramps spiraling to the summit

during the late Assyrian cities: Nimrud, Nineveh, and Khorsabad, supreme buildings were palaces

human-headed winged bull or lion sculptures guard the entrances of the palaces

during the time of Nebuchadnezzar (6th BC), new Babylon, architecture was derived from Mesopotamia and Assyrian Styles

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Nimrud and Nineveh (early 1st BC) · both cities had temples, palaces, and fortified walls

with crenellated towers · layout of Ashurnasirpal II’s palace in Nimrud became

standard: with ziggurat complex throne room administrative block residential wing public court enclosed by the structure

· first wall slabs carved with scenes of war occurred in Nimrud

Khorsabad · laid out by Sargon (c. 717 BC) · similar in plan to Nimrud and

Nineveh · massive defensive wall of

mudbrick and stone · walls punctuated by

doublegated towers with citadels

· private temples and small ziggurat were incorporated on a platform

The New Babylon · rebuilt city contained the royal palace, the Hanging

Gardens, and a ziggurat (perhaps the Tower of Babel) · a summer palace to the north was linked to the inner city

by a grand processional way · processional way passed through the famous Ishtar Gate,

decorated with blue-glazed bricks (reconstructed in Berlin Museum)

Persian and Sassanian

Cyrus the Great’s Persian capital at Pasargadae was spaciously laid out on a plain, whereas the great complex later built at Persepolis was closely grouped on a rock terrace

fine carving in stone is a characteristic of Persian architecture

after Alexander’s defeat of the Persians, towns such as Antioch and Seleucia were built by Macedonian and Greek immigrants

a period of artistic decline was reinvigorated by the Sassanians, whose capital was Ctesiphon

The Palace of Persepolis, Iran (Persian) · began by Darius I in 518 BC · built mainly under Xerxes I (reigned

486-465 BC) · palace terrace was approached by a

double staircase, leading to a gatehouse faced with polychrome bricks

· palace of Darius was smaller

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· Xerxes built his own palace and started the Hall of the Hundred Columns (throne room)

The Palace of Ctesiphon, near modern Baghdad (Sassanian) · probably 4th AD · a part of a huge open fronted audience hall with

elliptical vault of baked brick, 37 m high, is still standing

· great influence on modern structural forms · one of the wings has survived, with attached

columns and blind arcades in Roman manner (but with regular axes)

REFERENCES Books: Fletcher, Sir Banister. A History of Architecture. 20th Edition. Oxford: Architectural Press, 1996. Nuttgens, Patrick and Richard Weston. The Complete Handbook of Architecture: From the First

Civilizations to the Present Day. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2006. Internet Sources: West Asiatic Architecture. Old and Sold Antique Digest.

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles23/architecture-146.shtml. July 26, 2008. Other Sources: Lecture notes of Arch. Clarissa L. Avendaño History Powerpoint from the Center for the Designed Professions (CDEP)

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