MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECTURE
Map of Mesopotamia
Land between Rivers
Cradle of civilization
Oldest civilization
Architectural Marvels
Architectural Character
• MASSIVE
• MONUMENTAL
• GRAND
BABYLON
ZIGGURAT
• Ziggurat -(in ancient Mesopotamia)
a rectangular stepped tower,
• sometimes surmounted by a
temple.
• Ziggurats are first attested in the
late 3rd millennium BC
• Probably inspired the biblical story
of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1–9).
• Aziggurat is a built raised platform with
four sloping sides—like a chopped-off
pyramid.
• Ziggurats are made of mud-bricks—the
building material of choice in the Near East,
as stone is rare.
• Ziggurats were not only a visual focal
point of the city, they were a symbolic one,
as well—they were at the heart of the
theocratic political system (a theocracy is a
type of government where a god is
recognized as the ruler, and the state
officials operate on the god’s behalf).
• So, seeing the ziggurat towering above
the city, one made a visual connection to
the god or goddess honored there, but also
recognized that deity's political authorit
Digital reconstruction of the White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), c. 3517- 3358 B.C.E
Archaeological site at Uruk (modern Warka) in Iraq
Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Babylonia, Iraq. It is an example of a ziggurat with
2 or more tier or stages.
ZIGGURAT AT UR
• The Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo- Sumerian ziggurat
in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in
present- day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq.
• The structure was built during the Early Bronze
Age but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th
century BCE of the Neo-Babylonian period,
when it was restored by King Nabonidus
Ziggurat of Ur stairway
Ziggurat at Chogja Zanbil Elam
• Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite
complex in the Khuzestan province of
Iran.
• It is one of the few existing ziggurats
outside Mesopotamia.
• It lies approximately 30 km southeast
of Susa and 80 km north of Ahvaz
Hanging Garden of Babylon
(A seven base ziggurat)
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II was
said to have constructed the luxurious
Hanging Gardens in the sixth century B.C.
as a gift to his wife, Amytis, who was
homesick for the beautiful vegetation and
mountains of her native Media (the
northwestern part of modern-day Iran).
Tower of Babel
Nehemiah 8:4
(ESV)
ISHTAR GATE
• The Ishtar Gate was the eighth
gate to the inner city of Babylon.
• It was constructed in about 575
BCE by order of King
Nebuchadnezzar II on the north
side of the city.
• It was part of a grand walled
processional way leading into the
city
Ishtar Gate Digital Recreation
Ishtar Gate
now housed in Berlin Museum
PERSIA
Darius I built the greatest palace at Persepolis
on the western side of platform.
This palace was called the Apadana.
The King of Kings used it for official audiences.
The work began in 518 BC, and his son, Xerxes I,
completed it 30 years later.
Builder: Darius I, Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I
Events: Battle of the Persian Gates
Macedonian
Founded: 6th century BC
Periods: Achaemenid Empire
The largest hall at Persepolis is known as the Hall of a
Hundred Columns, or Throne Room, measuring almost
70m square and supported by 100stone columns.
The Palace was the second- largest building at
Persepolis, built during the reigns of Xerxes and
Artaxerxes I.
Several theories have been put forward as to the
function of this hall, including that of a storage room for
the tribute brought at the New Year celebrations: after a
procession in the courtyard, the vassal delegations
would have placed their tribute at the feet of the King of
Kings, seated in the hall.
An impressive array of broken columns remains, and
reliefs on the doorjambs at the back (south) of the
building show a king, soldiers and representatives of 28
subject nations.
A bull at the Hall of 100 Columns,
northern gate relief of carriers
Hall of 100 Columns, Hall of 100 Columns,
one of the southern gates, one of the southern gates
audience
ASSYRIA
Sargon's palace ( Dur Sharrukin)
is an immediate predecessor of
Sennasherib's Palace, with its
Hanging Gardens, at Nineveh,
to the south west of
Khorsabad.
Outer wall of the Sargon's
fortress covered an area of
three square kilometer's and
had seven fortified gates. In
times of siege, it became an
armed encampment
Floor Plan of the Palace of Sargon
A lamassu from the palace of Sargon II
at Dur-Sharrukin.
END
THANK YOU
