WEST ASIATIC

ARCHITECTURE
 Earliest Civilization: The Fertile Crescent

 Earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent

settlements

 Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the

rivers”, specifically, the area between the Tigris River and
Euphrates River (present day Iraq)

 Lasted for approximately 3000 years

 Its peoples were the first to irrigate fields, devised a system of

writing, developed mathematics, invented the wheel and learned
to work with metal

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE
 Geographic Conditions

 Little rainfall

 Hot and dry climate

 Windstorms leaving muddy river valleys in winter

 Catastrophic flooding of the rivers in spring

 Arid soil containing little minerals

 No stone or timber resources

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 Why Mesopotamia?
NATURAL LEVEES: Embankments produced by build-up of
sediment over thousands of years of flooding

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 Natural Levee

 Creates a high and safe flood plain

 Makes irrigation and canal construction easy
 Provide protection
 The surrounding swamps were full of fish & waterfowl
 Reeds provided food for sheep / goats
 Reeds also were used as building resources

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The ancient architecture of West – Asia developed from 3000 B.C. to 330 B.C. in the
following periods

 SUMERIAN PERIOD (3000-2000 B.C.)

 OLD BABYLONIAN (2016-1595 B.C.) NEO BABYLONIAN

(626-539 B.C.)

 ASSYRIAN (1859-626 B.C.)

 PERSIAN (750-330 B.C.)

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT
 GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITION
• The West Asiatic civilization mainly spread in the fertile lands of the two long
rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

• The district was named as Mesopotomia

• (Messos = middle, potamos = river).

• The rich alluvial lands of mesopotamia stretched in from the persian gulf and
known as “Fertile Crescent” which formed the cradle of civilization

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 GEOLOGICAL CONDITION - MATERIALS

• The Mesopotamian plain – mainly alluvial

• Clay – abundantly and cheaply available building

materials.

• Brick manufacture – sun dried or Kiln-burnt

• Bricks glazed in different colors – decorative works

 CLIMATIC CONDITION – ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

• Extreme hot in summer and severe cold in winter

• Columned Halls and Porticoes were common – protect from

sever heat

• High platforms or dadoes were provided for buildings – protect

from heavy floods

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 FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT
 RELIGIOUS CONDITION

• Religion dominated their life

• Gods were thought to reside in the height

• Temples were built on elevated platforms

usually provided with holy mountains
“Ziggurats” with the shrine at the top

• Each city had at least one Ziggurat.

• The Mesopotamian civilization is

supposed to have left some thirty
Ziggurats.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

  SOCIAL CONDITION

• Social stratification was visible in typologies of dwellings

• The homes of the poor were simple with a central courtyard.

• Flooring consisted of paved bricks or mud plaster (Homes of poor).

• The rich had two storeys with sleeping rooms, kitchens, wash room, servants quarters
and a family chapel.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 SUMERIAN PERIOD
Mesopotamia formed a fairly homogeneous culture
even though it was never a unified nation.

From about 3000 B.C. onwards, many cities grew up

in Sumer such as Ur, Uruk, Eridu, Mari and others.

The Sumerians became powerful under the

Third Dynasty ruler Ur-Nammu
who reigned from 2113-2046 B.C.

He constructed the famous Ziggurat at Ur.

The city of Ur was at its highest glory as an imperial

capital of Sumer.

It was the light of the Known world.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 THE CITY OF UR SUMERIAN ARCHITECTURE
• Ur had three levels.

• The richer, like government officials

priests and soldiers, were at the top.

• The second level was for merchants,

teachers, laborers, farmers & craft
makers.

• The bottom were for slaves captured in

battle.

• The entire city was surrounded by a

canal – acting as a moat.

• The streets of Ur were narrow.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

• The ziggurats stood like modern skyscrapers over the city. Some
ziggurats stood 70 feet tall.

• There were big staircases to get up and down. The only level that
remains today is the bottom.

• Sumerians had no tools and machinery. Brick makers formed mud

bricks there were perfect.

• After drying they take them to the site and set them in place with
bitumen. Bitumen is a naturally occurring thick sticky black stuff.

• River Euphrates which had bought so much glory, prosperity to Ur,

suddenly changed its course and started running some 14km east to
the city.

• As a result the canals became dry, lost its shipping trades and
ultimately the city lost its value.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

  ZIGGURAT OF UR-NAMMU SUMERIAN ARCHITECTURE
(2125 B.C.)

• The Ziggurat or holy mountain was erected by Mesopotamian King Ur-

Nammu, the founder of Third Dynasty of Ur.

• This ziggurat was erected to the moon god Nanna the patron deity of the city
of Ur.

• It is the most preserved of all ziggurats in Mesopotamia and has been partially
reconstructed reaching a height of 11 m.

• It stood within a rectangular plan of 60 m x 45 m and 17m high.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

• The whole mass was solid, with a core of sun dried bricks and outer covering
of burnt bricks of 2.5m thick cemented with bitumen.

• It was composed of three stages. Access to the ziggurat was through three
converging ramps from where a central stairway continued to the second
stage. The shape of the staircase to the third stage is unclear.

• Large Courtyard around its base and surrounded by shrines, among which
one was dedicated to the goddess Ningal, the wife of Nanna.

• The temple had inner courtyard surrounded by a no. of rooms – cooking,

animal sacrifice, workshops, store rooms.

• There was also a palace within the courtyard for the King and his family
members.

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 BABYLONIAN PERIOD
• Babylonian civilization mainly developed in the central
southern region of the Mesopotamia. (Present day Iraq)

• The Amorites, a nomadic People from Syrian desert

founded the first royal dynasty in Babylon in the 19th
Century B.C.

• The fifth king of the first Dynasty was Hammurabi (1792-

1750B.C.)

• About 1595 B.C. Mursilis I, King of the Hittites captured

Babylon.

• However, he was defeated by Kassites whose rule lasted

until 1171 B.C.

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• From 1300-1900B.C. it was under Assyrians.

• In 1612 B.C. the governor Nabopolassar defeated Assyrians

and captured the city of Nineveh.

• Nebuchadnezzar II ascended the throne in 605 B.C. (Neo-

Babylonian empire)

• His empire spread from Jerusalem to the Persian Gulf.

• Trade Links were Improved. His reign was undoubtedly

glorious.

• There were the World famous Hanging Gardens.

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  THE CITY OF BABYLON BABYLONIAN ARCHITECTURE
Babylon – “Gateway of the God” (Bab = Gate and ili = God)

The city had a circumference of at least 18 km and the river Euphrates

was once running through it.

The city was destroyed by Assyrians once in 13th and again in 7th Century B.C.

The city was surrounded by a canal acting as a moat.

It was also protected by huge rampart walls which were more than 86km. In length and provided
with hundred bronze gateways.

Each of its eight gateways was protected by different gods, the main palace and gate were
dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of love and battle.

The Ishtar gate was patterned by horned dragons; yellow and white bulls in reilef on a blue
background
The Horned Dragon
the symbol of Warrior
– the God Marduk.

He was worshipped
in the Temple of
Esagila.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

  THE CITY OF BABYLON BABYLONIAN ARCHITECTURE

The gate consisted of two portals one behind the other, each flanked by huge
towers. It was built in Kiln-burnt bricks, cemented with pitch.
The outer surface was covered by enameled bricks with colored figures of
dragons.
 HANGING GARDENS(600B.C.)
Built by King Nebuchadnezzar, to please his persian wife

They occupied an area of 275mx183m and situated near

Euphrates river.

The terraced gardens planted with flowers and trees,

With the beautiful fountains were 25m to 100m above the
Ground.

Water was stored in the reservoir and supplied through pipes

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

Assyrians were Originally Semitic Akkadians. ASSYRIAN PERIOD
They were warriors and Huntsmen. Their campaign ranged all throughout the Middle East.

They founded their capital at Ashur (named after the God), a city on the bank of river Tigris.

They kept fighting wars to keep their trade routes open. They were opposed by Hittite empire in
the beginning.

After its fall in 1200B.C. their empire spread rapidly.

Assyrian history really commenced under the reign of Takulti-Ninurta I(1250-1210B.C.) who
captured Babylon.

After the reign of Shalmaneser III(859-824B.C) the Assyrians power declined.

Then followed the reign of Sargon II(722-705B.C.) – founded the capital city of Khorsabad.

There was the main Ziggurat temple of Ashur which was restored by
Tukulti-Ninurta.

The city had two large palaces built one for the living and other for the
Administration.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

 THE CITY OF KHORSABAD ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE
The city stood on a rectangular plan of 2.6
sq.km.

There were several office buildings including

a temple.

Palace of Sargon II was the most splendid

structure, occupying an area of nearly 23
acres.

It had large and small courts, corridors and rooms

was approached by broad ramp.

The palace was divided into three parts.

On its left wing, there were six temples, and on its

right wing were service rooms and administrative
offices, and on the opposite wings, were residential
quarters followed by royal apartments.

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 THE CITY OF KHORSABAD ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE
The royal apartments had dadoes nearly 2m high. At the end was the throne room about
49mx11m.

The high plinths of the temple courts were decorated with polychrome glazed bricks.

At one corner there stood a Ziggurat on square base of about 45m side rising in seven tiers to a
Height of 45m with shrine at the top.

It had a winding ramp of 1.8m wide by which one could reach on its top. Each of the seven tiers
was painted in different colors.

Main gateway to the grand court was flanked by imposing towers and guarded by the
man-headed winged bulls as a symbol of adad the god of thunder.

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 PERSIAN PERIOD
In about 1000B.C. Aryans from Caucasus region settled in Medes and Persia.

The founder of this empire, Cyrus the Great (559-530B.C.) captured medians and Assyrians.

After conqureing the Greek colonies of western Asia minor, he next subjugated Babylon in
539B.C.

After his death at pasargadae, his son Cambyses II(530-522B.C.) extended the kingdom upto the
borders of Egypt. In his reign, the persian architecture was largely influenced by the Egypt’s
splendid buildings of Thebes.

He was succeeded by Darius I(522-486B.C.)

He founded two new capitals one at Susa and one at Persepolis the “ Gateway of all Nations”

He constructed the splendid palace at Persepolis

He constructed many arterial roads and planned to connect Red Sea and Nile by a canal.

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 THE PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS
PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE
Persepolis was used as a showpiece of imperial grandeur of his empire.

It was also executed by Xerxes I(486-465B.C.) and completed in 460B.C. by Arta-XerxesI.

The entire building stood on a rectangular plan 460mx275m over a rising terrace of 15m above
the ground.

The approach was provided at north-west by magnificent steps 6.7mwide and shallow enough
for the horses to ascend.

The gateways were flanked by imposing towers and guarded

by man-headed winged bulls.
The gateway on the south opened to the Apadana or
Audience hall nearly 76sq.m with 36 slender columns, 20m
high 1.5m dia and place at 6m centre to centre.

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 THE PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS
PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE
The stairway of Apadana has bas-relief showing the delegates, nobles, advancing in dignified
procession.

The delegates can be easily identified from their national costumes.

Next his son Xerxes I added his palace
together with women’s quarters – Harem on the south end.

The throne room – the famous “Hall of Hundred Columns” situated on the
east end, was commenced by Xerxes I and completed by Arta-XerxesI.

The throne room was set up on a high platform with columns 11m high
supporting the flat roof.

The columns had moulded base, fluted shaft and decorative capitals with
continuous vertical scrolls.

The top brackets of the columns were in the form of twin bulls, or dragons the
Symbol of power.

Alexander the Great defeated the last king Darius III and put the city including
the palace to the torch. Now it stands in ruins state.

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CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE
Builders in West Asia always had a serious problem - there was not enough stone or wood.

But there was lots and lots of clay. So their buildings were usually built of brick, or mud-brick.

Another thing which made West Asian people build a certain way is the constant arrival of
nomadic people into the area: the Persians, the Parthians, the Arabs. All of these people were
used to living and entertaining in tents, and they built their houses and palaces kind of like tents,
so they would feel at home.

The Assyrians unlike the Babylonians produced Mural decoration. Often the gates of the palaces
were flanked by imposing towers and guarded by man-headed winged bulls.

They provided bas reliefs on walls showing scenes of fighting, hunting and ceremonies of states.

The chief form of ornmentation was lotus flowers, buds and band of rosettes

The temples, houses and palaces had rectangular plan and were built on high dadoes to
protect from heavy floods.

Persian Architecture was columnar

Double walls were more common. Doors and Windows were square headed.

They used relief slabs for parapets and surface decoration for the lower portions of the buildings.

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 IMAGE OF TODAY’S
RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS BABYLONIA

The Persians were eventually defeated by Alexander the Great in 331 BC,
which led to a great many Greek temples and theaters and gymnasia being built all over
West Asia.

WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE