ARTH 1380 1ST Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture - Akkadian period- Neo-Sumerian period- Old Babylonia Outline of Current Lecture - Assyrian period- Neo-Babylonian period- Persian EmpireCurrent Lecture- The Assyrian empire ruled from 1000- 612 BCE- The Assyrian empire is in the East roughly where modern Syria is- Its starts in northern Mesopotamia but expanded and took over all Babylonia and into modern day Iran and Turkey- The Assyrians were very militaristic and territory - They were mainly known for their palaces each new king wanted their own palaces- They were decorated in stone relief panels that were very well preserved- The land of Assyria is pretty flat and when there is something large standing it sticks out - People as had very limited access to the people in power inside the palace- The entryways are architecturally elaborate but also had sculptures to emphasize to the people the fact that you were passing through a checkpoint- Lamassu is one of these sculptures standing in the doorways this was a supernatural creature with a human head and a bull’s body - These types of sculptures are huge and they are thought to be divine and magical - As a person were to walk by them they would be impressed and not only from the appearance but they believed that these were guardian creatures and had power- The Assyrian archers pursuing enemies is a relief sculpture that would decorate the palace- This is only half of the decoration but there was another half missing that should have been below and with an inscription between them - Originally the design was a panel then an inscription than another panel that were painted- The themes of this relief panels is that they were narrative about the kings and usually were of the three main topics religious, military, and hunting - For example the military reliefs would show the kings campaigning to gain new landThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- In the Assyrian archers pursing enemies the soldiers try to swim away the people had given up except one archer- Assurnasirpal II hunting lions is a relief that shows a hunting of lions and the king was trampling over the lions body with the chariot - Lions were scarce and a farmer would wan to trap a lion and gift to a king so that they can be released for a hunt it was a control hunt this illustrated the kings authority over the wild- The Assyrian relief showing a city being sacked was an example what the Assyrian military would do- They would loot the city and then ship the people away from each other so that they would not revolt- Assurbanipal and his queen in the garden is a relief that is a different style- It shows the king with the queen which was unusual women were not normally depictedin the reliefs - The relief is in the garden lounging music and different trees it was a lavish garden birds- Among all this there is a head hanging on a tree of a king that was an ally but was thought to betray them and they responded violently- The viewer has to keep in mind when interpreting that this was how the kings wanted to be depicted and how they wished to be views always winning battles and feared by enemies but does not necessarily mean it is true- The Assyrians were defeated by the Babylonians - The Babylonian Empire was from 612-539 BCE- An important king was Nebuchadnezzar II (r.604-562 BCE)- Some important monuments from this time were the hanging gardens that were never found, Ishtar Gate and Tower of Babel- The Tower of Babel was looted and what is left is the foundation- The Babylonian empire covers a lot of land and stretches to Egypt- In the middle of a city is where the Tower of Babel used to be - In this place there could be a precession through the town and the tower to get to the palace- The Hanging Gardens were up on the terrace and this was a time of dry climate and onlypossible if they were irrigated - They were an engineering marvel since this was not a simple task- The city was made of mud brick but the Ishtar gate was made of baked brick which was aluxury material and the glazed look of the bricks make them colorful- The Ishtar Gate had the same colors from the Cemetery of Ur- On the gate there are images of dragons and mythical animals that act like guardians - The Persian empire was in control from 559- 331 BCE- The king in charge was Cyrus who defeated the Babylonians- The empire was large and included Egypt, the Indus Valley, and parts of Europe- The empire comes to the end when Alexander the Great defeats them- The two famous cities from this empire were Pasargadue and Persepolis - Persepolis was the capital and had lavish architecture - When Alexander the Great took over he lived in Persepolis for sometime then his troops sacked the city and burned it- Most of the city was made of mud brick so it burned down easily with no real remains- The Persians invented a new form of architecture they learned from the places they conquered but put changed it to their style- For example the stone reliefs from the past they try to incorporate that into their architecture- There was carved relief found on the stairways this was different more formalized- Decorative use of figures they seem to be walking towards the center- These figures represent the people that would bring tributes - The figures represented each region and were easily recognizable when the people saw them the could relate to the figures - The message that was conveyed to the people that brought their valuables was that this is normal your people do this you should too - The figures seem to be holding hands and represent unity- The important figures are carved at a larger scaleKey TermsTheme- recurring art designs or