Mesopotamia :

The Land
Between Two
Rivers

Most of Iraq
North eastern Syria,and
South-eastern Turkey
Civilizations of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia’s Geological Features

■ It is the land between two rivers:

Euphrates and Tigris, which enriches
the land with fertility and crops and the
cities around.
■ It is characterized by Hot and dry
summer and little rainfall for the crops
■ They have Fertile Soil , rarely rocks,
only mud, metals like gold and rare
precious stones like lapis lazuli.
■ It is blessed with palm trees and
beautiful nature ; it is called “ Jannat
Aladan”.
Architecture and Adaptation
■The material is mud , dried yogurt to be
cooked under the sun in bricks to build the
buildings and sometimes palm leaves for the
roof.
■ Their houses are based on spacious courts
and archs and pools as air flow attracting
and cooling factors.
■ Dams are constructed to prevent the floods
and in case floods happen , the houses and
temples are protected with raised platforms.
■ Buttresses and narrow passages are built
to maintain the balance of the buildings.
■ water cannals are made as an irrigation
system .
■The water trenches and great walls are
constructed to protect the city from
invaders.
■Walls within city seperates properties
■Streets are gridlike and curvy for
transportation and trade and the houses are
interlocked.
■The crops are outside the city.
 Religion
■ Polytheism is followed
■ Gods have the human image; they eat dink and
fight.
■ Gods are classified into roles of nature:
sun ,earth, sky... and feelings and human
deeds like love , peace and war...
■ Three main gods were Ea (Sumerian: Enki), the
god of wisdom and magic, Anu (Sumerian: An),
the sky god, and Enlil (Ellil), the god of earth,
storms and agriculture and the controller of
fates.
■ They associate gods and godesses with symbols
like connection of Ishtar to Lapis lazuli and , and
mesopotamian dragon to Marduk, shamesh to
rod and the ring.
■ They didnot believe in immortality of human
being.Only gods are immortal.
 Ziggurats Symbolism
■ The stairs are divided into three resembling
the division of classes : the central is for the
king and the aside for the common people.
■ The stairs are arranged clockwise from the
east to the south like the circulation of
blood, the sun or the ring of shamesh.
■ The stairs to the temple above is a symbol of
ascending to the sky , to the gods for
protection and worship.
■ Emphasis on the central stairs means on the
King’s importance who is bequested by the
gods to rule the city..
Oval Temple

■It consists of a base and a layer

■ The walls are round .
■ The ziggurat Is built on the second layer
■The ascending spiral walls like the stairs curl upward
toward the temple sky or gods.
 Variety In Shapes, lines and Symbolism
■ Ziggurats are trapezoidal path upward to gods.
■ Ziggurat radial stairs are supported by rectangular
buttresses signifying common goal worship to
gods.
■ Pointed arches and semi-circular arches are
constructed for the walls and gates symbolically
refering to roughness and sensitivity.
■ Zigzag tops Of the Ishtar Gate to represent the
defensiveness of the civilization against invasion
and invoking the pain feeling in the attacker.
Symmetry and order

At both sides of the gate , in the assyrian citadel of

Sargon 2,pair of Lamassu are standing.

Sumerian Pairs of
buttresses on
both sides
Babylon’s Ishtar gate provide
Bulls and dragons are spread out symmetry the
evenly on both towers same as the aside
stairs on both
sides.
Color and Material As Important
Elements
■Lapis lazuli ,shell and red limestone are used in the Standard of Ur giving a shiny contrast.
■ Glazing Ishtar gate bricks with Enamel and plants extractionhues give a shiny
complementary hue scheme.
Standard of Ur Theme and Symbolism
■ Itdepicts war and peace. Trapezoid is to ascend the
path to god and the king is the closest to God who
bequeathed the ruling.
■ The tapeze depicts The king and priests at the top
attended by servants. The king’s size is larger than the
priests’ and servants’. The priests come after the king
in status larger than the servants who are the smaller
in size .After the priests , the workers are the next.
Slaves are the smallest and at the bottom. The
standard of Ur signifies the order of classes creating
three rows. They are celebrating while the soldiers are
dragging the enemies bleeding enslaved, and
donkeys trampling on the enemies.
■ The other trapeze depicts religious
ceremony ,peaceful atmosphere, music and workers
are gathering crops.
Empasis on Body language
■ Variety in lions positions : tamed and
controlled , lying injured and resistant
injured lions are depicted in the
Ashurbanipal hunting lions frieze .
■ How the king is kneeling with the bow
shooting an arrow is skillfully
portrayed.
■ The battle between assyrians and
elamites which is brutal including
killing beheading and falling.
■ Hamurabi is standing and in listening
to Shamash who is sitting and giving
instructions of the code. A tale depicts
the birth of Hamurabi’s code.
Emphasis on eyes and body language
■ Sumerian scuplture with large eyes
and folded palms to signify the
individuals’awe during worship and
the peace they feel and the
protection they are blessed with.
■ They are made of marble
■ Theyare found in the Abu temple in
Tell Asmar.
Ferocious Creatures as a Form of Power
■ Mesopotamian dragon ( snake neck , hind legs of eagle , scorpion tail and the front
paws of lion) Is connected to God Marduk and works for the fertility of the land.It is
found as a decoration on Ishtar gate.
■ Lamassu (winged bull) gaurds the castle and stands for the king’s strength . It is found
in the citadel of Sargon 2.
■ Lions are tamed and hunted by the king as a symbol that he is taming the chaos or
taking over the nature.It is found on the ishtar gate.
 The Life Of Ashurbanipal Palace
■ Supernatural forces gaurd the palace :
_Lamu gaurds everything good inside
_Ugulla holds a dagger against who is
entering the palace
_The god is recognizable by the three horn
and feathers crown.

■ The garden is enjoyed by the king and

his pets : lion, gazelle, dear.
■ The musicians entertain the king.
■ The palace reflects the abundance he
can give to the kingdom.
The hanging gardens of Babylon
■ The king decided on creating
the hanging gardens for his
homesick wife.
■ They are supported by the
pump chain irrigation system
that lifts the water above to
the plants and trees.
■ The centre of ruling city is
situated at the top of the
gardens.
■ Glazed bricks with enamel
and plants hues.
■ The hanging gardens
include flowerbeds,
plum ,pear, fig, grapefruit,
nightshade, willow, and
Literature: The Epic of Gilgamesh
■ The epic of Gilgamesh is a narrative adventure by a king of Uruk
Gilgamesh over a vast land and search for meaning of life after the
death of his friend Enkidu
■ After a fight between Gilgamesh who two third god and one third
human and Enkidu who is a monster, they became equal admiting
how both of them are strong and became friends..
■ They made a journey quenching their thirst of being famous and
strong.They killed humbaba ( god) to take some wood for
building. .one of them should be punished by gods who will be
Enkidu.
■ After the death of Enkidu , Gilgamesh underwent a search for the
secret of everlasting life.
■ He was left with advice: live and enjoy, neglect the truth of death .

It started with snobbishness of

Gilgamesh and in the end he is thinking
of making a monument to immortalize
the memory of his friend.
Literature: The tale of Lapis Lazuli and
Ishtar
■ Given the quest to find the precious stones including Lapis Lazuli by the Godess Ishtar ,
the sumerian king Enmerkar completed and the economy thrived once more and
abundance flowed.