A.

Architectural Character

In Mesopotamia which is located in the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq today,
the world's ancient civilizations were born. In a region where the biblical Garden of Eden is found, a rich
culture has developed. In 3100 BCE the Sumerians invented the cuneiform script a practical method of
writing that brought a revolution in the media, followed by economic, spiritual, and cultural progress.
The Sumerians made laws as the basis for a legal system; they also were the first to developed methods
for determining astronomical boards and calendars; many celestial systems have already been mapped
by them. a mathematical system based on 60 units which is still used to measure time today, was
invented. The first concepts of algebra and geometry were created. Weight measurement and other
measurement methods were set and were used until the Roman period. Here developed a culture out of
which grew three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The architectural character of Mesopotamian Architecture is about worship and dedication that
resulted to massive temples and ziggurats. Most buildings in Mesopotamia were made from mud bricks
held together with plaited layers of reeds because of a lack of timber and stone. There were few trees or
even big rocks in the regions settled by the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The most readily
available materials were sand and clay and reeds from marshes. Even bricks that had been fire-baked
deteriorated relatively quickly. Consequently very little of the ancient cities remain except for some
foundations.

The Mesopotamians used asphalt as a building material 5000 years ago and were thus the first
people to use petroleum. The Sumerians used bitumen mortar. In Ur mud bricks were bound together
with asphalt-like bitumen. The sticky black substance helped preserve structures such as the ziggurat of
Ur. The tar was one of the first uses of southern Iraq's oil fields.

In 1998, Dr. Elizabeth Stone from the University of New York at Stoney Brook announced that
Mesopotamians in the city of Mashkan-shapir in southern Iraq used artificial stone as a building
material. The basalt-like artificial rock was similar to slag produced in the production of iron and steel. It
was made into slabs, some of which were 30 inches long, 2 inches thick and 16 inches wide. Scientists
theorize the technology for making the artificial rocks---made by heating soils to intense heat---was
pioneered by artisans who learned about the process from making metals and pottery.

---summary---

The Mesopotamians regarded "the craft of building" as a divine gift taught to men by the gods, and
architecture flourished in the region. A paucity of stone in the region made sun baked bricks and clay the
building material of choice. Babylonian architecture featured pilasters and columns, as well as frescoes
and enameled tiles. Assyrian architects were strongly influenced by the Babylonian style, but used stone
as well as brick in their palaces, which were lined with sculptured and colored slabs of stone instead of
being painted. Existing ruins point to load-bearing architecture as the dominant form of building.
However, the invention of the round arch in the general area of Mesopotamia influenced the
construction of structures like the Ishtar Gate in the sixth century BCE.
 B. Comparative Analysis
a. Plan

Layout of the temple of Nippur

The “house” motif , which, researches have seen, dominated the construction of temples, led to the
setting apart of a special room to receive the image of the deity for whom the edifice was erected as a
dwelling-place. The private quarters of the deity constituted the “holy of holies," and this was naturally
placed in the remotest part of the edifice. To this room, known as “the sacred chamber," only the priests
and kings had access; they alone might venture into the presence of the deity. It was separated from the
rest of the building by an enclosure which marked the boundary between the “holy of holies” and the
long hall or court where the worshippers assembled. Outside of this court there was a second one, in
which, presumably, the business affairs of the temple were conducted. Grouped around these two
courts were the apartments of the priests, the school, and the archive rooms, as well as the quarters for
the temple stores. In the case of the larger centres, we must furthermore suppose many special
buildings for the various needs of the religious household, stalls for the animals, workshops and booths
for the manufacture of temple utensils, fabrics, and votive offerings, quarters for the tribunals, offices of
the notaries, and the like.
Ziggurat of Ur

Describing the well-preserved ziggurat in Ur, Michael Taylor wrote in Archaeological magazine, “The
classic step-pyramid temple consists of two tiers stacked one atop the other, with three converging
staircases in front. It is six stories tall and its footprint would fill more than half a football field. In an
otherwise barren landscape, it exerts an almost gravitational pull, drawing visitors up the steep yellow
steps. It is a great artificial mountain of brick, and long ago it gave the Mesopotamians a brush with their
gods.

The brickwork of the ziggurat attests to the kings' desire to create a lasting monument to their empire.
The bitumen mortar---one of the first uses of southern Iraq's vast oil fields---is still visible between the
burnt bricks. The sticky black substance, today a source of the region's instability and violence, once
literally bound this civilization together. The use of bitumen as mortar and pavement has helped
waterproof the otherwise fragile Sumerian mud-bricks, ensuring that the structures endured for
millennia.
The last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos (555-539 B.C.), who aroused the hostility of Marduk and the
priests of Esagila by his preference for the sun-god, gives us, in connection with his restoration of the
temple of Shamash at Sippar, the history of that time-honoured sanctuary. As an act of piety to the
memory of past builders, it became an established duty in Babylonia to unearth the old foundation
stone of a temple before the work of restoration could be begun. On that stone the name of the builder
was inscribed, generally with a curse on him who removed it or substituted his name for the one there
written. After many efforts the workmen of Na-bonnedos succeeded in finding the stone, and the king
tells us how he trembled with excitement and awe when he read on it the name of Naram-Sin.
Incidentally, he gives us the date of Naram-Sin, who, he says, ruled 3200 years before him. It is one of
the many great triumphs of modern investigation that we can actually correct the scribes of Naram-Sin,
who made a mistake of over 1000 years. <>

The Mesopotamians arranged their structures with two main courtyards and the other buildings were
arranged around each other smaller courtyards with rooms around it. Buildings were decorated with
relief of sculptures. These structures were also made to withstand the climactic conditions of
Mesopotamia which are the following; little rainfall, hot and dry, wind storms leaving muddy river
valleys in winter, catastrophic flooding of the rivers in spring, arid soils containing little minerals, and no
stone or timber resources.

b. Walls

Mesopotamians express their faith and devotion to their Gods thrpugh wall carvings.
Mesopotamians are known foe having many Gods and goddesses with their religions and it can
be seen mostly by their walls they use mouldings to form their wall reliefs.

There is still another aspect of the temples of Babylonia and Assyria. researches have already
taken note of the tendency to group the chief gods and goddesses and many of the minor ones
also around the main deity, in a large centre. A god like Enlil at Nippur, Shamash at Sippar,
Ningirsu at Lagash, Sin at Ur, and Marduk at Babylon, is not only served-by a large body of
 priests, but, again, as in the case of the great ruler who gathers around his court the members of
his official family, smaller sanctuaries were erected within the temple area at Nippur to Ninlil,
Enlil's consort, to Ninib, Nusku, Nergal, Ea, Sin, Shamash, Marduk, and others, all in order to
emphasise the dominant position of Enlil.

Wall relief depicting Ashur and Nimud

c. Openings

Palace of Dur-Sharrukin (Round arches can be found in the central portal, as well as in each window on
the right and left.)

Perhaps the best known surviving example of a round arch is in the Ishtar Gate, which was part of the
Processional Way in the city of Babylon. The gate, now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, was lavishly
decorated with lapis lazuli complemented by blue glazed brick. Elsewhere on the gate and its connecting
walls were painted floral motifs and bas reliefs of animals that were sacred to Ishtar, the goddess of
fertility and war.

Ishtar Gate (c. 575 BCE)

d. Roofs

Mesopotamians are widely known for having flat roofs for their temples, ziggurats and houses.
All of their structures does not have roofs that has slopes. They mostly use the same material as
the walls for their roofings.
e. Columns

Many cults were formed in Mesopotamia during its early years. The cults fostered at these
sanctuaries in the south and the north. At the outset of this discussion it must be acknowledged
that many of the details are still lost. We have, to be sure, in the library of Ashurbanapal the
material for a reconstruction of the cult at the great centres, through the collection which this
king made of hymns and incantations, omens and rituals, that formed part of the temple
archives and of the equipment of the temple-schools at Nippur, Ur, Sippar, Babylon, Borsippa,
Cuthah, Uruk, and no doubt, at many other places, though the bulk of the material appears to
have come from two temples, E-Sagila at Babylon and E-Zida in Borsippa. This material is,
however, in an almost bewildering state of confusion, and many investigations of special
features will have to be made before it can be arranged in such a manner as to give a connected
picture of the general cult. Fortunately, we have also, as supplementary to this material, original
texts, belonging to the oldest period,"chiefly hymns, litanies, and lamentations," which written
in Sumerian, have recently been carefully studied and are now pretty well understood. The
Mesopotamians worship for their cults are also present in the columns of their temples.

Columns of Inanna Temple of Uruk

Mesopotamians use different kinds of mouldings in both art and architecture. Thery use
mouldings for art purposes in expression for their culture, beliefs and devotion. On the other
hand they use mouldings for architectural purposes within columns as decoratuions. They also
use different mouldings to create wall reliefs that became known.

Lamassu

This is only one example of how a lamassu would appear in Mesopotamian art. Other sculptures wear
conical caps, face the front, or have the bodies of lions. In literature, some lamassu assumed female
form.

Although the Romans often receive credit for the round arch, this structural system actually originated
during ancient Mesopotamian times. Where typical load-bearing walls are not strong enough to have
many windows or doorways, round arches absorb more pressure, allowing for larger openings and
improved airflow. The reconstruction of Dur-Sharrukin shows that the round arch was being used as
entryways by the eighth century BCE
 g. Ornament

Mesopotamian jewelry provides us with insights about ancient cultures. You might wonder how the
region is relevant today, and you should know that the Mesopotamians are responsible for many
innovations that have left an imprint for all the subsequent decades to come.

In particular, the state of the art jewelry provided us with extensive knowledge about their society,
culture and lifestyle. The jewelry items that have been found and preserved carry on a piece of the
Mesopotamian legacy.

Mesopotamia, which in Greek means “between rivers”, covers a large area of land that currently
comprises Iraq and eastern Syria, and when we look at the jewelery items, we are amazed mostly at the
contribution of the Sumerians, with a antiquity of more than 4 thousand years.

Mesopotamia is sometimes referred to as the birthplace of civilization. The advancement of their

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