Mohamed 1

Sultan Mohamed

Professor Watson

History of Architecture before 1400

14 September 2022

Communicating Ideas through Architecture

The discussions and readings we have done have all focused on looking back at history

and trying to use architecture to understand the ideas of the past. We have looked at different

places with similar order systems, that have expressed these ideas differently; To specify, the

cities we have looked at in the past have different architecture representing similar ideas. Ur and

layer VIII of Khafajah both operated on a similar system but expressed their ideas in distinct

ways through their design choices of buildings.

Khafajah was most likely founded in the early third millennium near the edge of the

Mesopotamian world and the centre of the Diyala Region. Ur is considered the last centre of the

Sumerian World and was a centre of the Sumerian Renaissance. The people of both cities were

polytheistic, and constructed buildings to honor these Gods. It is shown that in Layer VIII of

Khafajah, the Small Temple and Sin Temple exist, the latter being named after the Sin God, who

is what the temple is honored for. The Small Temple is a one-room building in a long rectangular

shape (Heinz 185). What made these stand out, or in this case, not stand out, was the balance

they had with the surrounding area. While the Small Temple could easily be confused for the

domesticated houses near it, the Sin Temple was meant to look different, but not in a way that

disrupted the spatial order of the surrounding homes (Heinz 188). This unique approach contrasts

with the ziggurats and famous religious sites that feel segregated from the rest of the city.
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Perhaps, this spatial order was an important part of how the society functioned. The words they

are called like primal, provoke the idea that these cities are not advanced, but the complexity of

the spatial design proves otherwise. Funny enough, even today, some cities neglect the design of

their city, and it shows. The Sin Temple has an entrance that does not lead directly to the

enclosure, but has three entrances, making it feel inviting (Heinz 189). Maybe the people in the

design of the temple wanted the enclosure to be faced off, to show whatever was inside is sacred;

who is to say that everyone followed the same form of polytheism, and the openness of the Sin

Temple could show the religious acceptance of anyone.

Ur seems to align a bit more with the general in terms of the public buildings and rule.

Unlike the homes of Khafajah that were built similarly, the buildings in Ur were not built in a

homogenous layout, but instead, they were built individually, like today’s time (Heinz 192). Like

the present time, many public buildings were easy to find since the local ruler was considered the

builder. The elite of Ur was considered the builders of monumental buildings (Heinz 193). One

building is the ziggurat built in the name of Uranmmu and created for Nanna, the moon god

(Heinz 194). Contrasting the Small and Sin Temples, the ziggurat was separated from the

neighborhood by a wall. This segregation is the opposite of the integration of the two temples

from Khafajah into the neighborhood. Due to the size, the ziggurat could have a lot more

purposes like storage or administration, while the Sin and Small Temples were specifically for

cultic reasons (Heinz 195). It seems the rule in Khafajah was probably different than that of Ur,

at least in Layer VIII. The peace between the homes and the temples may reflect the ruler’s

ideals. The text does not mention much about the elite of Khafajah in Layer VIII, but that is what

I suspect. The elites of Ur are like other cities; the public buildings are the biggest and grandest

in the city, separating from the residential areas. The architectural design choices of the ziggurat
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are choices that also contrast with my analysis of the two Layer VIII temples. The access to the

ziggurat is spacious but narrows through the gate (Heinz 195). This piece of the building feels

like the Sin Temple since they both have an open feel around the exterior, but gets smaller as you

walk inside, making you realize you are stepping into a sacred site. The reading says that the

effect is to express power since this narrowing of one entrance allows better control compared to

the entrances of the Sin Temple (Heinz 194-195). The idea of security and control that the

ziggurat shows feels as if it is untrusting of anyone who steps foot; the building aims to be

visible from afar but hindered with controlled access once up close. Since the building is meant

to be for the god, Nanna, and not necessarily a place worshipping Nanna, the choice of keeping

the building secure makes sense. Protecting the building could be like protecting the house of

God, which would be a serious task. If your temple is open, it could be seen as inviting, but

unsecure; if your temple is controlled, it could be seen as intimidating, but secure.

The two different areas of Mesopotamia, layer VIII of Khafajah and Ur, both operated on

a similar system of rule but expressed their ideas about it in contrasting ways. That time period

of Khafajah had a spatial system that had buildings, homes, and temples, complement one

another. The city of Ur had its public building stand out from the rest of the city while being

segregated from it. The Sin Temple had a more public feel but did not offer much security. The

ziggurat for Nanna in Ur had an open that got narrower and gave a less public feeling, but

because of that, the security of the building is far better. The idea of these similar buildings being

expressed differently makes sense since there are differences between the two areas. You have

offices in a city that can rise to a thousand feet or you can have an office the size of a classroom;

there are many different things to keep in mind when designing something, so when there is just

a similar purpose between two structures, that does not mean the end result will be similar too.