Flashcards

Study guide

  1. Learn the historical setting. The Sumerians are now challenged by newcomers, the Akkadians. Who were the Akkadians? What did their first great king, Sargon, achieve?
  2. Again, the historical setting. Mesopotamian history is complicated, but the outline of political history in the second millennium BC is worth knowing. What happened after the short-lived Akkadian Empire came to an end? Learn about the Neo-Sumerian revival (in which Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, and Gudea, king of Lagash, were significant figures); Hammurabi, king of Babylon; and the Kassites.
  3. How are different views of the relationship between rulers and the gods expressed pictorially, in the Stele of Naram-Sin, statues of Gudea, the Stele of Ur-Nammu, the Stele of Hammurabi (scene at the top), and the Investiture of the king (wall painting)?
  4. Summarize the urban history of Ur. What features have been found, architectural and other? Describe these features. When were they made? 

    Knowledge of the chronology (the dates should be memorized) allows us to construct a history of urban development, to see change over time. In addition, at archaeological sites, we rarely see the city in its entirety at one point in time; our understanding must be put together from bits and pieces of evidence taken from different periods.
  5. Dissect the Palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari. Which parts of the palace served which functions?
  6. Assessing the Ancient Near Eastern city. Based on the city plans and buildings presented in Chapters 1-3, how would you characterize the layout and appearance of Ancient Near Eastern cities? Keep your conclusions in mind as you read the chapters ahead; they will be useful when you are asked to compare and contrast these early Mesopotamian cities with cities from other regions, cultures, and time periods.   

Useful websites

Images

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.1

Bronze head, Akkadian period, from Nineveh. Iraq Museum, Baghdad

Figure 3.2

Figure 3.2

Stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa. Louvre Museum, Paris

Figure 3.3

Figure 3.3

Gudea, seated statue made of diorite, from Telloh (Girsu). Louvre Museum, Paris

Figure 3.4

Figure 3.4

Plan, the religious center, Ur

Figure 3.5

Figure 3.5

Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu (reconstruction), Ur

Figure 3.6

Figure 3.6

Stele of Ur-Nammu, Ur. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia

Figure 3.7

Figure 3.7

House plan, Isin-Larsa period, Ur

Figure 3.8

Figure 3.8

House interior (reconstruction), Ur

Figure 3.9

Figure 3.9

Stele of Hammurabi, from Susa. Louvre Museum, Paris

Figure 3.10

Figure 3.10

Plan, Palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari

Figure 3.11

Figure 3.11

Investiture of the king, wall painting, Mari. Louvre Museum, Paris

Figure 3.12

Figure 3.12

Goddess holding a flowing vase, statue from Mari. Aleppo Museum

Figure 3.13

Figure 3.13

Main functional units, Palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari