HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 01 Ancient Near East 02

Lecture module for Architecture Program Ateneo de Davao University By: Architect John Immanuel R. Palma

LECTURE OUTLINE
Ancient Near East 02 Assyrian Architecture Introduction City of Khorsabad Palace of Sargon at Khorsabad Babylonian Architecture Introduction

City of Babylon

City of Babylon - Architecture

Assyrian Architecture

Geography
Assyria is the name for a part of ancient Mesopotamia located on the upper Tigris

The principal cities of Assyria were Nineveh, Dun, Khorsabad, Nimrud and Assur

 The Assyrians were a military people

Social Condition

Social Condition
The Assyrians were great warriors and hunters, and this was reflected in their art

They produced violent sculptures and relief carving in stone that was used to ornament their houses

Bas-relief

Sculptural relief that projects very slightly from the background. Also called :
basso-relievo, low relief

Architecture

During the Assyrian periods, temples lost their importance to palaces

Assyrian kings built walled cities, in which palaces took precedent over religious buildings

Architecture
Palaces were raised on brick platforms, and their principal entrance ways were flanked by guardian figures of human headed bulls or lions of stone

Their halls and corridors were lined with pictures and inscriptions carved in relief on stone slabs up to 9 feet high

Lamassu
The monumental stone sculptures of human-headed, winged bulls or lions that guarded the entrances to Mesopotamian palaces and temples

Architecture
The interiors were richly decorated and luxurious

The walls of cities were usually strengthened by many towers serving as defensive positions

Assyrian Architecture: Khorsabad

Khorsabad Khorsabad was designed as the royal capital of Assyria The city was built on a flat land with an area of about a square mile and was enclosed by a double wall with seven city gates

Citadel is usually a fortress in a commanding position in or near a city, used in the control of inhabitants and in defense during attack or siege .

WHAT IS A CITADEL?

Assyrian Architecture: Palace of Sargon

Palace of Sargon
The Palace covered some 25 acres and had over 200 courtyards and rooms.

It stood on a mound 15 m high above the city of one square mile.

Palace of Sargon
The palace is approached at ground level through a walled citadel

Within the citadel is found the main palace, two minor palaces and a temple dedicated to Nabu

Palace of Sargon
The main palace was set on a platform located on the northern side of the citadel

All the buildings within the citadel were arranged around courtyards

Palace of Sargon
The palace was arranged around two major courtyards about which were grouped smaller courtyards

The palace consisted of large and smaller rooms with the throne room being the largest

 The Palace is divided into apartments namely: Seraglio, Harem, and Khan

 Seraglio - palace proper

Harem - private family apartments Khan - service chamber

 The building was decorated with relief sculpture and glazed brick

 The City of Nineveh was made the capital of the Assyrian Empire by Sargons son Sennacherib (705-681 BC)

Babylonian Architecture

Babylon
After the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC and the end of the Assyrian civilization, focus of Mesopotamian civilization shifted to old Babylon

A new dynasty of kings, including Nebuchadnezzar, revived old Babylonian culture to create a Neo-Babylonian civilization

Hammurabi Code

King Hammurabi

Hammurabi is famous for the laws he introduced. They were designed to protect the weak from the strong and they covered all daily activities.

People who broke the law faced severe punishments

Cuneiform

Sumerian form of writing based on pictographs

Stele

An upright stone slab or pillar with carved or inscribed surface use as a monument or marker

Babylon

The capital old Babylon was enlarged and heavily fortified

It was also adorned with magnificent new buildings

 The traditional style of Mesopotamian building reached its peak during the period

Babylon

Traditional building was enhanced by a new form of faade ornament consisting of figures designed in colored glazed brick work

City of Babylon

 The city of Babylon is shaped in the form of a quadrangle sitting across and pierced by the Euphrates The city was surrounded by a fortification of double walls. These had defensive towers that project well above the walls

City of Babylon

 The walls also had a large moat in front, which was also used for navigation

Babylon

The length of the wall and moat is about five and a quarter miles

Ishtar Gate

Ishtar Gate
Built in dedication to the goddess Ishtar (fertility and revelry). The Ishtar gate is built across the double walls of the city fortification

Ishtar Gate

From the palace originated a procession street that cuts through the city raised above the ground to the tower of Babel The procession street enters the city through the famous Ishtar gate

Ishtar gate

Processional avenue

Ishtar Gate
All the facades of gates and adjoining streets were faced with blue glazed bricks and ornamented with figures of heraldic animals-lions, bulls, and dragons

Ishtar Gate

The remarkable beasts sacred to the goddess Ishtar, are molded in relief and glazed in yellow brown and red against a background of dark blue. The two figures in the profile are, the dragon of Marduk and the bull of Adad

 Nebuchadnezzars palace covered a land area of 900 feet by 600 feet It had administrative offices, barracks, the kings harem, private apartment all arranged around five courtyards The palace is also praised for its legendary hanging garden

Palace Complex

 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is recorded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Found at the palace complex of Nebuchadnezzar, the gardens was built for his wife

Hanging Gardens

The Hanging Gardens was 275 m x 183 m overall; among its maze of rooms was a vast throne room decorated with polychrome bricks

Tower of Babel
Temples and towers were also prominent architectural elements of Babylon

The legendary tower of Babel located at the end of procession street is mentioned in the Christian bible
There is also no information about the design and construction of the tower

Tower of Babel
Babylonian name for the tower is - ETEMENANKI Appears to have been one combining a triple stairway approach The plan was square of 90 mts sides, and there are seven stages in all, the summit temple was faced with blue glazed bricks

Ancient Near East 02 End of Lecture