ANCIENT CITY In the study of the ancient world a City is generally defined as a large populated urban center of commerce and administration with a system of laws and, usually, regulated means of sanitation. This is only one definition, however, and the designation `City' can be based on such factors as the: population of the settlement height of buildings density of buildings/population presence of some kind of sewer system level of administrative government presence of walls and/or fortifications geographical area of the settlement In the ancient world, very often a `city' describes an urban center of dense population and a certain pattern of buildings spreading out from a central religious complex such as a temple (though, frustratingly, this could sometimes apply equally well to a `village' or `settlement'). The word `city derives from the Latin civitas although urban development pre-dates Rome by many centuries. Professor M. E. Smith of Arizona State University writes in The Sage Encyclopedia of Urban Studies, that, "The demographic definition, based on the concepts of Louis Wirth, identifies cities as large, dense settlements with social heterogeneity" (26), meaning that they are defined as large communities of people who have decided to live together for a common purpose under laws observed by all. This definition, however, could apply equally well to large villages as to cities. Innovations that influenced the development of the earliest cities
a) The plow and rectilinear farming. b) Circular and radiocentric planning (for herding and eventually for defense)
NEOLITHIC CITIES:
Jericho early settlement in Israel -9000 BC - A well-organized community of about 3000 people - Built around a reliable source of freshwater - Only 3 hectares and enclosed with a circular stone wall - Overrun in about 6500 b.c., rectangular layouts followed Throughout much of her history, the ancient town of Jericho has been associated with walls. The most notable story of Jericho is that of Joshua, who according to Biblical accounts, caused the circumvallate walls to "come tumbling down." The natural walls surrounding Jericho also are of historical importance to the ancient settlement. The original walls of Jericho are the result of seismographic activity producing a great rift extending from the Sea of Galilee to Northern Africa. The land in this region dropped some 3,000 feet and settled at least 900 feet below sea level. At this low elevation we find one of the oldest ancient urban dwellings of recorded history, Jericho.
Figure 2. plan from Khirokitia showing the two walls and extended settlement between Le Brun, A. (1997). Khirokitia, a Neolithic Site.
Khirokitia: Early settlement in Cyprus - 5500 BC
- First documented settlement with streets - The main street heading uphill was narrow but had a wider terminal, which may have been a social spot
Khirokitia is an archaeological site on the island of Cyprus dating from the Neolithic age. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1998. The site is known as one of the most important and best preserved prehistoric sites of the eastern Mediterranean. Much of its importance lies in the evidence of an organised functional society in the form of a collective settlement, with surrounding fortifications for communal protection. The Neolithic aceramic period is represented by this settlement and around 20 other similar settlements spread throughout Cyprus.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA GEOLOGICAL The Mesopotamian plain is mostly afluviat, and befont.ayst8mltic control of the flood waters contained much marshland. Reeds and rushes could etwaya be had in profusion, but nmbef is imported. Stone too was lacking, timestone of alabuter il transported from 1he uplands, llso of minerals like Copper, Tin, Lead, Goad, Silver. The one building material universalty available was the clay from the soil hself, for making bricks. Chopped straW was mixed with the sun-dried bricks. Beyond Mesopotamia, on the pla188ux of Anatolia and tran, the Geology is completely dif ferent. Stone was available throughout the highland .zone for bufkJing purpoees; and Anatofia Timber is available conaequentty oJSdnctJve architeC'tural traditions appeared,. with the timber frame structure being the protOtype of ~ in mud brick. ... CLIMATIC Except for the humid Black sea and Caspian Littorals, most of the Near East is subject to extremes of temperature between winter and summer, the prevalence of heat or cold being detennined principally by altitude. In much of the highland zone, winter is longer than summer. The MEGARON" with its entrance at the end rather than in the long sldee, was thus suited to the climate in the Anatotian plateau; and perhaps too the dry, exhilarating air of the Iranian plateau-Persepolis stands at an altitude of 1 ,8)0 M (6,000 ft.). May account for the frequency of light. columned halls and porticoes in the persian royal buildings.
HISTORICAL, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS a. Mesopotamia- Sumerians, an "Asianic" people had been occupying the land from the first settlement of Erldu, by historical tradition and material evidence the oldest city of Sumer before Sargon. The cities of Mesopotamia had been ruled by individual governors. The mainspring of growth of cities in Mesopatamia was the temple, the source of that communal organiza1ion and authority which each community required to achieve the status and premanence at a city.
b. Anatolia. the Levant and Iran -The archives of the Hittite Capital Hattusas are the main source of knowledge of the history and civilization of the Hittite State in the second millennium B.C. A major disruption occured with the invasion of the sea peoples, bringing the philistines to occupy part of the land which has ever since retained. their name Palestine. The most important result of the event was the development of iron - working. c. The Persian empire- from a relatively small state in south-west Iran, Cyrus the gteat founder of the Acheamenian empire, established the basis of his power by the defeat of his grandfather, Astyages the Mede. The rule of the persians waa not harsh; customs and religious of the conquered people were respected.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER 1. In the alluvial plains of the Tigris and EuphrateS Stone and Timber suitable for building were rare or unobtainable except by importation. There was however an abundance of clay which compressed in moulds and either dried in the sun or kilnfired, provided bricks for every kind of structure. Besides massive, towered fortifications. 2. The outstanding constructions were Temple complexes or palaces, Temples being typical of Bab,lonian architecture and palaces of Assyrian, buildings were raised on mud brick platforms dnd the chief temples has sacred "ZIGGURATS" artificial mountains made up of tiered, rectangular stages which rose in number from one to seven in the course of Meso~otamian history (a high pyramidal stages tower, angles were oriented to the cardinal points). 3. Apart from the fu~ifications and the Ziggurats buildings of all types were arranged round large and small courtS, the rooms are narrow and thick walled carrying brick barrel vaults and sometimes cones. 4. The roof were usually flat outside except where domes protruded, palm logs supported rushes and packed clay served for coverings. 5. Burnt brick was used sparingly for facings or where special stress was expected. 6. Walls were white washed or as with the developed Ziggurat, painted in colour. 7. Essentially, architecture was arcuated. The table arch with radiating voussoirs having been known by the third millenaum B.C. 8. For want of stone, columns were not used, except for a few instances. 9. Towers of flat buttressa strips were commonly vertically panelled and finished in stepped. battlements above and stone plinths below with colossal winged bulls guarding the chief portals, facing with polychrome glazed bricks, introduced by the Assyrians, was another mode of decoration.
10. The architecture of the Persians was columnary and thus vastly different from the massive arcuated architecture of the Mesopotamian peoples they conquered. 11. Flat Timber roofs rather than vaults served for covefings, which allowed columns to be Slender and graceful. while with their help rooms could be large where necessary. and Of square proportions rather than elongated. 12. For ceilings, wooden brackets and beams carried by the columns supported a covering of clay on a bedding of reeds on logs or planks. 13. The use of double mud brick walls for stability as at persepolis~ may have allowed small Windows just below ceiling level without their appearing on the severe external tacades. 14. Stone was plentiful on the upland sites, but used sparingly for sUCh purposes as fire-Temples and palace platforms; door and window surrounds. and for richly ornate columns and relief sculptUre~ and for richly ornate .columns and relief. sculpture, or with figures on a modest scate.
It would ~accurate to claim ttiat the architectural character of the major building erected during many centuries in Mesopotamia, and during the archaemenian period in Iran, exemplify the two main traditions of the Near East as whole that .of the alluvial river plains and that of the whole highland Zone respectivety. These were the traditions of clay and wood.
Figure 3. The approach on the North-.West was by a magnificent flight of steps, 6.7 m (22ft.) wide, shallow enough for horses to ascend. A gatehouse by Xerxes had mud-brick walls, faced with polychrome bricks, and front and rear portals guarded by stone bulls. A third doorway on the south led towards the " APADANA'', a grand audience hall, 76.2m (250ft.) square and with thirty..s;x columns within its 6 m (20ft.) thick walls, begun by Darius but completed by his two successors. It stood on its own Terrace 3m (10 'ft.) high had three porticoes each with double colonnades; stairways on the North and east side, and minor rooms across the south side and in the tour angle towers.
City Of Eridu Eridu is an ancient Sumerian city in what is now Tell Abu Shahrain, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia, and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world. Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration ofSumerian cities that grew about temples, almost in sight of one another. In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home ofEnki, later known by the Akkadians as Ea, who was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem. Chronology: construction phases - The lowest building levels at Eridu (XVIII to XV), revealed small houses and shrines built of mud-brick to rectangular plans. This phase dates back to 5,000 BC. The next phase (Hajji Muhammed), began about 4,750 BC and occupies five building levels. This phase was well represented across southern Mesopotamia. It develops into the third phase. The third phase of development was named after the site Al 'Ubaid'. The Ubaid people spread across the whole of Mesopotamia. They used gold and copper and casted axes. The Ubaid were succeeded by the Uruk phase which lasted from around 3,800 - 3,200 BC. The first evidence of writing was discovered at this level.
Irrigation did occur elsewhere prior to Eridu's settlement. At Eridu irrigation is a community scale enterprise. The earliest occupational levels include significant, central public structures that evolved to ziggurats. These structures remained central to Mesopotamian communities and are probably reflective of the evolution of community and regional organization during a continuum spanning millennia. Their constant rebuilding and enlargement is indicative of their social significance. Their centrality in the community is not only spatial; they are surrounded by important architecture like storage buildings and the most palatial compounds. Canal works and public architecture evidence community organization. Evidence of land control or ownership systems is more ephemeral. Irrigation works make land more valuable to the agriculturalist or community, a quality dependent on a capacity to construct, operate and maintain a spatially complex, elaborate water transport system. This sort of sophisticated sphere of activity involves foresight, feasibility understanding, good engineering, organized construction and, to insure continuity, constant control and maintenance; in other words a community organization with continuity. Damascus Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus was an important cultural and commercial centre, by virtue of its geographical position at the crossroads of the orient and the occident, between Africa and Asia. The old city of Damascus is considered to be among the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Excavations at Tell Ramad on the outskirts of the city have demonstrated that Damascus was inhabited as early as 8,000 to 10,000 BC. However, it is not documented as an important city until the arrival of the Aramaeans. In the Medieval period, it was the centre of a flourishing craft industry, with different areas of the city specializing in particular trades or crafts. The city exhibits outstanding evidence of the civilizations which created it - Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic. In particular, the Umayyad caliphate created Damascus as its capital, setting the scene for the city's ongoing development as a living Muslim, Arab city, upon which each succeeding dynasty has left and continues to leave its mark.
Babylon
Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (c. 2000 BC). The town attained independence as a small city state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Claiming to be the successor of the more ancient Sumero-Akkadian city of Eridu, Babylon, hitherto a minor city, eclipsed Nippur as the "holy city" of Mesopotamia around the time an Amorite king named Hammurabi first created the short lived Babylonian Empire in the 18th century BC. It was from this time that South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, and the city of Babylon itself grew in size and grandeur.
ANCIENT EGYPT GEOGRAPHICAL Egypt consists of a narrow strip of fertile, alluvial soil alor1g both banks of the Nile, flanked by shelves of barren land and rugged cliffs, beyond which lie arid, desert, plateau. The Nile was a trade route to Eastern and Western foreign trade and because of its overflowing and fertilizing waters made desert sarids into fruitful fields. On its banks therefore, the Egyptians sited their villages and cemeteries.
Cities in ancient Egypt grew out of the development of agriculture and the emergence of the state as the unifying and predominant form of political organization. However, even as early as 3500 BC, towns and cities (if they can be called such), consisted of regional capitals linked to the population centers of smaller administrative districts. The term we most frequently apply to these districts is nome, which was actually not used to describe a province until the Greek Period. During the New Kingdom, the Egyptian word for "city" was niwt, a term which in the earliest texts of the 1st Dynasty refers to "settlement". As early as the 5th Dynasty, the term for a "town" or large village was dmi. The term for "village", which was apparently linked to the word for "household", was whyt. Early prehistoric settlement sites in the Nile Valley vary in size from as little as about 16 meters. The largest sites probably represent repeated occupations, with lateral displacement through time. By contrast, the Predynastic villages were the result of permanent occupation with a vertical build-up of deposits. Later, other royal cities emerged to become royal capitals, though Memphis always seems to have been an administrative center. Tell el-Dab'a, located in the northeastern Nile Delta, was the residential site of Egyptianized Canaanites and elite Delta administrators. This town was possibly established on the site of an earlier estate, established at the beginning of the 12th Dynasty, as a royal palace ofAmenemhet I. The town became the capital city of Egypt during the Hyksos dynasty from about 1585 to 1532, probably because of its favorable location for trade with the coastal Levant and the administration of mining activities in the Sinai. Then, this city's name was probably Avaris. Later, during the Ramessid era, the new capital of Piramesses was located nearby.
Rectilinear plotting with the use of the plow suited all the needs of agriculture societies on the Nile, Tigris, and the Euphrates river for easy land division for crop planning, land ownership and land plotting and reapportionment after a flood.
3000 B.C.
Cities of Thebes and Memphis along the Nile Valley - characterized by monumental architecture - cities had monumental avenues, colossal temple plazas and tombs - workers communities were built in cells along narrow roads
Egyptian Civilization: - No need for defensive walls - Urban mobility - Little evidence of controlled planning - No zoning, no defined blocks for housing - Social classes determined housing sites - Workers camps - Dependence on Nile River - Egyptians built reservoirs to store water, and dug canals to carry it to the fields
2500 B.C.
Indus Valley (present day Pakistan) Cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harrapa: - administrative-religious centers with 40,000 inhabitants - archeological evidence indicates an advanced civilization lived here as there were housing variations, sanitary and sewage systems, etc.
1900 B.C.
Yellow River Valley of China land within the passes. Precursor of Linear City.
800 B.C.
Beijing founded in approximately same location its in today - present form originated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
B.C. to A.D.
Elaborate network of cities in Mesoamerica were built by the Zapotecs, Mextecs, and Aztecs in rough rugged land.
Teotijuacan and Dzibilchatun were the largest cities
ANCIENT GREECE
Greek cities spread to the Aegean region Westward to France and Spain polis : defined as a city-state. Most famous is the Acropolis- a religious and defensive structure up on the hills, with no definite geometrical plan
Neopolis and Paleopolis (new and old cities) Sparta and Athens : the largest cities (100-150T) Compact urban form Never planned as a whole Started with natural springs Integration of social and civic life Components Acropolis Main Harbors Agora Complex Cultural and leisure facilities
Acropolis- visible relationship between buildings and nature; sacred Agora- buildings served as facades to form an enclosed urban space; grouped around central open space
Hippodamus of Miletus (Father of Town Planning) - Greek Architect who emphasized geometric designs grid pattern of streets. The first noted urban planner, he introduced the grid system and the Agora (public marketplace)
Miletus: 3 sections: for artisans, farmers, and the military
ANCIENT ROME
Roman Cities : adopted Greek forms but with different scale- monumental, had a social hierarchy
During the Etruscans reign, Rome grew into a great city built on seven hills along the Tiber.
Vitruvius - 10-volume treatise De Arkitectura relates experience of Roman architecture and town design; treats architecture and town design as a single theme; suggested location of streets in relation to prevailing wind; the siting of public buildings; the testing of drinking water; design of plazas
Organization of towns - a system of gridiron streets enclosed by a wall; theater, arena and market were common places for public assembly
Perfected enclosed urban and architectural space collonaded plazas with a temple or basilica at the end of the space.
Romans as engineers- built aqueducts (serving 200 cities), elaborate plumbing systems for public baths, network of paved roads (covering 50,000 miles), drainage systems, large open interiors for public gatherings Romans incorporated public works and arts into city designs. Romans as conquerors- built forum after forum
Developed housing variations and other spaces: Basilica- covered markets; later, law courts Curia- the local meeting hall; later, the capitol Domus- traditional Roman house; with a central atrium Insulae- 3 to 6- storey apartments with storefronts
MEDIEVAL AGES:
Decline of Roman power left many outposts all over Europe, where growth revolved around either a monastery or castle, assumed a radiocentric pattern; relied on protective town walls or fortification for security Towns were fine and intimate with winding roads and sequenced views of cathedrals or military fortifications
Sienna and Constantinople: signified the rise of the Church Feudalism affected the urban design of most towns 11th century towns in Europe: Coastal port towns (many of these coastal towns grew from military fortifications, but expansion was limited to what the city could support) Mercantilist cities : continuous increase in size World trade and travel created major population concentrations like Florence, Paris, and Venice Growth eventually led to congestion and slums
RENAISSANCE & BAROQUE PERIODS:
Rebirth of classical towns ; piazza planning in Venice; grandeur in civic structure and public spaces; streets were wide regular and circumferential with the piazza at the center as in Italy. - Piazza de San Antonio Marco - Vatican Square
15th Century France: display of power Arts and architecture became a major element of town planning and urban design Geometrical forms of cities were proposed
Vienna emerged as the city of culture and the arts - the first university town Landscape architecture showcased palaces and gardens - Karlsruhe (Germany) - Versailles (France)
Pierre Charles LEnfant - Prepared plan for Washington, DC. - Axial plan of the Mall, Washington, D.C.: the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial extend the central axis
ROME (1500s)
Leonardo da Vinci In his Codex Atlanticus he described a new concept of urban planning that was suited for Milan sketched a city straddling a river where upstream, the river was directed into 6 or 7 branches, all parallel to the main stream and rejoining it below the city.
1844:
Arturo Soria Y Mata Spanish Engineer Suggested the idea of Linear City from Cadiz, Spain across Europe through St. Petersburg, Russia in which he proposed that the logic of linear utility line should be the basis of all city lay-out. Houses and buildings could be set alongside linear utility systems supplying water, communications and electricity. Proposed high-speed, high- intensity transport from an existing
N.A Milyutin, 1930 - Stalingrad
SETTLEMENTS IN THE AMERICAS:
Medieval Organic City - taken after the boug (military town) and fauborg (citizens town) of the medieval ages
Medieval Bastide - taken from the French bastide (eventually referred to as new towns) - came in the form of grids or radial plans reflecting flexibility
The Spanish Laws of the Indies town - King Philip IIs city guidelines that produced 3 types of towns- the pueblo (civil), the presidio (military), and the mission (religious)
The English Renaissance - the European Planned City ex. Savannah (designed by James Oglethorpe), Charleston, Annapolis, and Williamsburg (Col. Francis Nicholson) - Today, Savannah is the worlds largest officially recognized historical district
Annapolis - government bldgs were focal points of the plan, though a civic square was also provided Williamsburg - plan was anchored by the Governors palace, the state capitol, and the College of William and Mary
The Speculators Town - developments were driven by speculation - Philadelphia (built between the Delaware and Scool Kill) designed byWilliam Penn
Cities of the Ancient World: An Inventory (-3500 to -1200) by George Modelski, University of Washington, 1997 Mesopotamia excerpted from Iraq: A Country Study by Helen Chapin Metz, 1988 Sustaining the Fertile Crescent by David Michel http://www.stimson.org/spotlight/sustaining-the-fertile-crescent-mind-... The Natural History of Urbanization by Lewis Mumford, Chicago, 1956 Durant, W. Our Oriental Heritage. Simon & Schuster, 1954. Hutchinson, R. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Urban Studies. SAGE Publications, 2009. Page(s) 24-28. Leick, G. The A to Z of Mesopotamia. Scarecrow Press, 2010. www.ancient.eu.com/city/ Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cities.htm#ixzz367hh2Nij Kenyon, Kathleen Mary. Jericho: Digging Up Jericho (Praeger Publishing New York, New York; 1957) Garstag, John & Morgan Marshall The Story of Jericho (London, England; 1948)