Module 2

• early human settlement in the near east
• Stages of human settlement

  • Paleolithic nomadic
  • Mesolithic
  • Neolithic - simple farming method
  • Bronze
• Characteristics of human settlement

  • Spaces that posses elements that enable inhabitants
  • Available food and portable water
  • Shelter adequate for defense and other human groups
  • Technology at a certain level
• Some groups advance while others do not, due to factors like available resources and material advantage
• Characteristics of early civilizations

  • Size and density of the city
  • Full-time Specialization of labor
  • Agriculture -concentration of Surplus, leading to barter system
  • Belief System
  • Organization - political strategy
  • Writing
  • Predictive science
  • Division of labor in artisan
  • Standardized artwork
  • Regular foreign trade
  • Monumental public works as symbols of power
• Theories of urban origins

  • Hydraulic theory
  • Economic theory
  • Military theory
  • Religious theory
• Civilizations developed near bodies of water and learned to irrigate to farm the land
• Temple


  A sacred spot for regular worship
• Ancient Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Iraq, is where the first act of civilization bloomed
• Eridu is considered the first city in the world and the first to have writing
• Sumer was named for the remarkable fertility of the land, an ideal place for human civilization to prosper
• Eridu is considered one of the first cities in the world and the first to have writing and language
• King Gilgamesh was the king of the city of Uruk, and the Epic of Gilgamesh was written in Akkadian, not Sumerian
• Babylon had a king named Hammurabi who had military power and established a clear justice system
• Assyrian civilization was constantly fighting and managed to become the most powerful in 1000 years
• The Assyrian empire spread the Akkadian language, which facilitated trade and cooperation
• The Assyrian empire made great contributions to human culture through the construction of roads
• The Assyrian empire's primary source of power was military, with heavy use of deportation of educated and talented people
• The Babylonian empire would fail when its leader died, as it lacked a stable system of power succession
• The Persian empire, instead of relying on military power, created an effective bureaucracy divided into regional directors
• Cyrus the Great of Persia succeeded in conquering the Medes and Babylonians, and the Persian empire expanded further west than the Assyrians
• The Greco-Persian War resulted in the victory of Greece
• After the Greco-Persian War, the Islamic religion and culture became dominant in the region
• Contributions of ancient civilizations

  • Sumerians - essential farming
  • Assyrians - massive military machines
  • Persians - new forms of government and imperial administration
• Sumer used irrigation channels to redirect river water and farm large areas, and developed clay-brick construction, the wheel, and the potter's wheel
• Social ladder in Sumer

  • Priests and priestesses (nobility)
  • Merchants
  • Craftspeople
  • Farmers
  • Slaves
• Sumer consisted of distinct city-states that were loosely linked by language and spiritual belief, and sometimes fought each other
• The earliest Sumerian cities were Uruk, Ur, and Eridu
• Ziggurat


  A temple designed as a step pyramid, dedicated to the patron deity
• Sumer transitioned to the Akkadian, Persian, and Mesopotamian civilizations over time
• Architectural features of Sumerian civilization

  • Use of sun-dried mud bricks
  • Invention of the plow and potter's wheel
  • Development of hydraulic systems and cuneiform writing
• Types of ziggurats


  • Archaic (flat top, cone)
  • Two or more stages
  • Seven stages with glazed tiles in different colors
• Assyrian architecture


  • Strengthened city walls with towers and battlements
  • Colossal beast statues symbolizing evil
  • Palace structures including the seraglio, harem, and khan
• The Code of Hammurabi established the earliest known architectural professional practice
• Neo-Babylonian and Persian architecture

  • Derived from Assyrian architecture with figured designs
  • Synthesis of architectural elements from surrounding countries
• Cyrus the Great of Persia was a humanist who believed in religious and cultural tolerance
• Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian empire, with palaces adorned with gold, silver, and tapestry
• Paradaisia


  The first majestic world garden, highly esteemed by Persian kings
• The Propylaea (Gateway of Xerxes) and Apadana (Royal Central Hall) were important architectural features of Persepolis