ARCH202 History of Architecture Spring 2013-2014
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University of Nizwa College of Engineering & Architecture Dept. of Architecture & Interior Design ARCH202 History of Architecture Spring 2013-2014 Dr. Janon Kadhim Associate Professor of Architecture ARCH 202 History of Architecture Lecture #2 Mesopotamian ARCHITECTURE Dr. Janon A. W. Kadhim Associate Professor of Architecture University of Nizwa Spring 2013-2014 Mesopotamia: The Cradle of civilization • The caves in Northern • On the land of Mesopotamia contain Mesopotamia we can remains of the ancient trace the growth and Cavemen. development of human • The first Agrarian existence and settlements in the civilization from the world formed in the earliest times in a north of Mesopotamia continuous sequence. some of which go back to 10000 BC. Dr. Janon Kadhim 3 The fertile Crescent Arab Gulf Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, is situated in the region called the fertile crescent Dr. Janon Kadhim 4 Mesopotamia: Attributes of the Natural Environment • Mesopotamia is part of what is known as the “Fertile Crescent”; • It contains some of the most fertile and rich land in the world; • Diverse topography and climate: which provided a variety of building materials, and led to the creation of a variety of art forms and architectural types; • Mesopotamia does not have any natural means of fortification other than the mountains that create the North and North-Eastern boundaries of the region. This has created a continuous problem for Mesopotamia over history causing it to be invaded many times over history by surrounding entities. Dr. Janon Kadhim 5 Other Natural attributes: • Characterized by the two large rivers, The Tigris and the Euphrates, and their many tributaries; • The rivers are known for their annual floods. The flood waters carry particles of clay and minerals which they carry from the mountainous region they go through as they flow from their main origins downwards; • The flood over-flows create plains called the “Sedimentary Plains” that were created over thousands of years by the residue that covers the land during the floods; • The major part of southern Mesopotamia is created of Sedimentary Plains. At one time the waters of the Arabian Gulf reached all the way up to the south of present - day Baghdad. Dr. Janon Kadhim 6 Mesopotamia: The land between the Two Rivers Rivers Dijla “Tigris” and Furat “Euphrates” and their many branches, main life stream; irrigating the whole land A land of diverse topography, climate, and natural resources Dr. Janon Kadhim 7 Local building materials and other natural resources • Mud and mud brick: the main building material in Mesopotamia; • It is the natural material available in the land; • It was also considered to be a sacred material, sent to the people by the Gods. • Various types of bricks were used: Sun-burned brick; Kiln fried brick; Glazed and colored Glazed brick (used in decoration) Dr. Janon Kadhim 8 Other Building materials • Natural Stone was used in northern Mesopotamia, but only as a façade material over a base of mud or mud brick; • Stone also used to build bridges and cross-overs, and for sculptures and carved Murals; • Lime Mortar to bond the brick; • Tar, as a natural sealant and bonding material; • Stucco wash for façade treatments, and also Stucco panels for Fresco art work; • Various minerals are available and widely used especially in artwork, tools, and decoration, like Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Iron. Dr. Janon Kadhim 9 Climatic Factors in Mesopotamia • The climate has highly impacted Mesopotamian architecture. Mainly it is hot and dry with cold, short winters with little rain; • The prevailing winds are the north-western which are pleasant winds, while the summer brings the south-eastern winds that are hot and cause severe dust storms. This is an important factor considered in buildings; • Most of the cities are built on the river banks with the buildings in the direction of the prevailing winds; • Some very important historic cities were abandoned when the course of the river changed and the city became far from the river banks, as the ancient city of Ur ; Dr. Janon Kadhim 10 Climatic Factors in Mesopotamia • To overcome the harsh climate, buildings were inward- looking, depending on their inner courtyard to provide light and ventilation for the building. The openings take prevailing winds into account; • The courtyard also became the main social area in houses and buildings; • The facades are mostly window-less or with very few and small openings to protect from the heat & dust, • Buildings are usually built adjacent to each other with narrow alley-ways for walkways and roads to prevent exposure to the harsh weather as well as for privacy and defense purposes. Dr. Janon Kadhim 11 Cultural Attributes of Mesopotamia • Architecture reflects the “Spirit of its Age”, meaning it is affected by the general cultural environment of the people who create it; • The Mesopotamian people were highly influenced by their religious and spiritual beliefs; • These beliefs influenced their understanding and outlook to life and to the world around them and was reflected in their art and architecture, as well as in their poetry, literature, and even music. Dr. Janon Kadhim 12 Cultural Attributes of Mesopotamia • The Mesopotamians believed in many Gods and their temples were dedicated to these Gods; • The Sumerians had a special theory of creation. They believed Man was created from Mud or clay which was the gift from the Gods. • Therefore, they believed Mud was a sacred material and ensured to build all structures from Mud or mud brick, even in areas where there was Stone, as Northern Mesopotamia. Dr. Janon Kadhim 13 Cultural Attributes of Mesopotamia • They believed Man was created to serve the Gods, therefore they dedicated their temples to them; • They were very superstitious, they believed a person could be cursed if his name was known, therefore they used “fake names”; • They believed Man’s strength is in his head, the place of his mind, therefore in sculptures the proportion of the head was lager than reality; • They believed the “eyes were the mirror of the spirit” therefore, in sculptures the eyes were very large or were inlaid with precious stones. Dr. Janon Kadhim 14 Cultural Attributes of Mesopotamia • They did not believe in the Divine King, or that the King was the God, as the Egyptians did, but rather the king was to serve the God; • They did not believe in life after death, as the Egyptians did, therefore they concentrated on secular (worldly) matters. They built temples for the Gods, and built elaborate palaces and others to celebrate everyday life. • They also used perishable materials in building; • They did not have funerary architecture (burials, tombs, etc.) since they feared death; • The only example is the Royal Burial in UR (the 1st dynasty of UR), which contains the remains of three of the Sumerian kings. Dr. Janon Kadhim 15 A map showing some of the most famous sites of the Mesopotamian Civilization Dr. Janon Kadhim 16 Mesopotamian Era C 10.000 B.C. – 539 B.C. Dr. Janon Kadhim 17 Early shelters and settlements • The Paleolithic Age in • Early Settlements of Mesopotamia: Mesopotamia: Remains of the Cave Man The earliest dated back to were found in three caves in 10,000 B.C the mountains of northern They were founded in Mesopotamia. northern Mesopotamia; Human remains in addition The first huts were circular, to small stone tools and built of mud on a gadgets were found in these caves. foundation of large rocks. Dr. Janon Kadhim 18 The Settlement of Jermo (around 6750 B.C.) • Located in northern Mesopotamia; • The first agrarian settlement (village) in the world; • They planted barely and wheat; • The settlement remained inhabited for over 400 yrs; • The remains of more than 25-20 houses were found in the settlement; • The houses were of rectangular floor plans; • Built of Mud on foundations of natural rock; • Other settlements followed. The later ones had fortifying walls to protect them. Dr. Janon Kadhim 19 • The ancient • Most of all “they Mesopotamians were invented the Wheel”. the first to discover means of growing wheat and barley. (The Agrarian Revolution) • Some of the ancient Mesopotamian agrarian settlements were highly • They invented weaving , developed . pottery and other art forms as early as 10000 BC. Dr. Janon Kadhim 20 Ancient Mesopotamian Era Pre Dynastic Era ( c. 5300 B.C. – 2900 B.C. ) Late Ubaid Jamdet Nasir Warka Ubaid Eridu Early Dynastic Era ( c2900 B.C. –2350 B.C. ) Kish II Dynasty UR I Dynasty (Kingdom of Misilim) Sumerian dynasty Akkadian Empire ( c2371 B.C. –2159 B.C. ) UR III Dynasty – Neo Sumerians ( c2110 B.C. –2048 B.C. ) Assyrians (….- 612 B.C.) Babylonians (1895- 539 B.C.) In the North in the south Dr. Janon Kadhim 21 Pre Dynastic Era 5300 B.C. - 2900 B.C. Also known as the Pre-Sumerian and Sumerian Era; Very important era since many great developments happened at this time, especially the invention of writing, and the wheel; Many of the typical art forms of Mesopotamia originated in this era; Great architectural achievements: the prototypes of most Mesopotamian architectural types originated in this era including the first cities. Cuneiform Script Cuneiform script is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. It emerged in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs. In the course of the 3rd millennium BC the pictorial representations became simplified and more abstract. The number of characters in use also grew gradually smaller, from about 1,000 unique characters in the Early Bronze Age to about 400 unique characters in Late Bronze Age (Hittite cuneiform). Cuneiform writing was gradually replaced by alphabetic writing in the Iron Age Neo-Assyrian Empire and was practically extinct by the beginning of the Common Era.