Flashcards
Study guide
- Are you learning the pictures (maps, plans, images)? Don’t leave this till the last minute. Work on this regularly, so the pictures seep into your mind and stay there, ready for recall. A visual memory is important to cultivate.
- The names of Assyrian kings are daunting: strange, polysyllabic, and sometimes confusingly similar (Assurnasirpal and Assurbanipal). Penetrating Assyrian history and remembering basic events and dates are not easy. Break them down into manageable bits. We are exploring three cities (Kalhu, Dur-Sharrukin, and Nineveh); each was the creation of one particular king. Learn the king and his city; this is your starting point.
- What features characterize the Neo-Assyrian city? In your answer, refer to specific features of Kalhu, Dar-Sharrukin, and Nineveh.
- Characterize the style and subject matter of Assyrian relief sculptures. Why would they choose to decorate the palaces in such a way – when others, such as the Neo-Babylonians of the second half of this chapter, do not?
- Describe the city plan of Babylon in the sixth century BC. How does it compare and contrast with the plans of Assyrian cities examined in the first half of the chapter?
- Compare and contrast the palaces explored so far in the book, in terms of functions that took place, the ground plan, and the decorative features. Examples to consider include: Persepolis; Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian palaces; the Royal Palace at Ugarit; the palace at Büyükkale, Hattusa; the Palace of Nestor, Pylos; the Palace of Minos, Knossos; and the Palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari.
Useful websites
- Gordion excavations: http://sites.museum.upenn.edu/gordion/
- A Philistine city: TheTell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project: http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~maeira/
- Another Philistine city: The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon: http://digashkelon.com
- Iron Age art: Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art): www.metmuseum.org/toah
Images
Figure 10.1
The Near East in the Iron Age.
Figure 10.2
Plan, the Iron Age Citadel, Kalhu.
Figure 10.3
Lamassu, from Khorsabad. Louvre Museum, Paris.
Figure 10.4
Assurnasirpal supplicates the god Assur by a sacred tree, relief sculpture from Kalhu. British Museum, London.
Figure 10.5
City plan, Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad).
Figure 10.6
Citadel plan, Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad).
Figure 10.7
City plan, Nineveh.
Figure 10.8
Capture of Ethiopians from an Egyptian city, relief sculpture, from Nineveh. British Museum, London.
Figure 10.9
Assurbanipal and his queen, relief sculpture, from Nineveh. British Museum, London.
Figure 10.10
Multi-period plan, Old City, Jerusalem.
Figure 10.11
Overall city plan, Babylon.
Figure 10.12
Plan, Inner city, Babylon.
Figure 10.13
Ishtar Gate (reconstruction), Babylon.
Figure 10.14
Dragon, panel of glazed bricks, Ishtar Gate, Babylon.
Figure 10.15
Plan, Persepolis.
Figure 10.16
Apadana, Persepolis: Platform viewed from the north-east. (Photo: courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago).
Figure 10.17
Darius receives homage, relief sculpture, from Persepolis. (Photo: courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago).