HARSHAL ANIL DESAI RIZVI COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

ASSYRIAN
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
Assyria is located in north Mesopotamia and spans four countries: In Syria it extends west to the Euphrates River; in Turkey it extends north to Harran, Edessa, Diyarbakir, and Lake Van; in Iran it extends east to Lake Urmi, and in Iraq it extends to about 100 miles south of Kirkuk. This is the Assyrian heartland, from which so much of the ancient Near East came to be controlled.

 To the north and east of Assyria lie the Taurus and Zagros mountains. To the west and south lies a great, low limestone plateau. At the southern end of Assyria the gravel plains give way to alluvium deposited by the Tigris, and farther south there is insufficient rainfall for agriculture without irrigation. These two features create a geographical boundary between Assyria and the neighboring land to the south.
Two great rivers run through Assyria, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and many

lesser ones, the most important of which being the Upper Zab and Lower Zab, both tributaries to the Tigris. Strategically surrounding the Tigris and the two Zabs are the Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Ashur, Arbel, Nimrod and Arrapkha

ASSYRIAN PERIOD:
The Assyrians were originally Semitic Akkadians. They were warriors & Huntsman. Their campaigns ranged all throughout the middle East. They founded their capital at Ashur (named after the God) a city on the bank of river Tigris. Because of their land lock position they kept fighting war to keep their trade routes open. In the beginning they were opposed by Hittite empire but after its fall in 1200 BC their empire spread rapidly. Assyrian history really commenced under the region of Takulti-Ninurta I (1250-1210 BC) who capture Babylon. Later Ashurnasirpal II (882-859 BC) waged many wars & brought immense prosperity to the country. He shifted the capital from Ashur to Calah (Nimrud) where he build grand palace.

Assyrian history really commenced under the region of Takulti-Ninurta I (1250-1210 BC) who capture Babylon. Later Ashurnasirpal II (882-859 BC) waged many wars & brought immense prosperity to the country. He shifted the capital from Ashur to Calah (Nimrud) where he build grand palace.

 Assyrian Kings were warrior & huntsman. Hunting was a part of enjoyment. It displayed their heroism. In battles they were warriors. Their army consisted of soldiers, charioteers, cavalries, archers & lancers. The light infantry had a short tunic & wore a cone-shaped helmet & round shield for protection Assault towers were used to breach the wall of the enemy cities. There were captains, generals, headed by the king who was always the chief commander. They had no doubt the most advanced military technology. Their monarchy was chiefly religious. It war Ashurs command that Assyrians went on wars. They developed cruelty & butchery as a policy that was to make the Assyrians kings dreaded throughout the ancient world. Their terror accounts are eulogized in the old Testament during the Isralite struggle.

Assyrian kings Ashurbanipal

After the reign of Shalmaneser II (859-824 BC) The Assyrians power declined & finally it fell to TiglathPileser III (745-724 BC) Then followed the region of Sargon II (722-705 BC) who was a great builder. He founded the great capital city of Khorsabad, where he constructed a splendid palace.

 But his son Sennacherib (704-681 BC) founded another capital at Ninveh in about 700 BC. He also constructed Jerwan an aquaduct 300m long with its masiive five stone arches 22m wide & about 9m high. He weged may wars on neighboring countries but his siege & capture of Lachish was the greatest of the Judah campaign. In 729 BC he captured the city of Babylon. He put down he insurgent in Babylon was savage. Eight years after its destruction he was brutally murdered. Then his son Esarhaddon come to power. But It was rather difficult to control the country by Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) So he divided the empire between his tow sons. He gave Babylon to his elder son Shamash-shum-ukin & the rest to his younger son Ashurbanipal (699627 BC) But Shamash Shum Ukin (Sardanpolus) thought that his younger brother got major share & finally quarreled with him. And the Brother War took place. Ashurbanipal took the opportunity & invaded Babylon & his brother was burnt to death in the blazing palace. In 646 BC he captured Susa, the capital of Elam. One of the relief record the execution of Teumman, King of Elam & his son Tamaritu. He further caoture th Syrian & the Arabs. His empire spread from the vally of the Nile in Egypt to the

Caucasus mountains in Armenia & from city of Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.
He also encouraged literature by constructing a splendid Library. When he died in 627 BC war took place between his two sons. In 614 BC the Medes & Chaldeans capture the city Ashur & destroyed it. They also seized Nineveh in 612 BC in about 539 BC Cyrus the king of medes & Persia, seized the whole empire of Assyria.

Shalmaneser II

Tiglath-Pileser III

Sargon II

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE:
The palace was organized around large courtyards surround by rectangular rooms, including the great hall and throne room, while the approach sequence was circuitous, perhaps to confuse visitors and to heighten the sense of grandeur. Often the Gates of the palace such as palaces of Sargon at Khorsabad & Nimrud were flanked by imposing tower & guarded by man headed winged bulls, the symbole of Adad, the god of thunder to strike terror into hearts of enemies.

Walls were coverd with alabaster slabs on which they provided bas-relief showing scence of fighting, Hunting & ceremonies of states.
The chief form of ornamentation was lotus flower, buds & band of rosettes etc. The temple, houses had rectangular plan & were built on high platform or dadoes to protect them from heavy floods. He walls were provided with typical cresting at the top. The roofs were barrel type whereas the babylonian toofs were flat.

ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE:
The city of Ashur: The Assyrians founded their capital at Ashur a city on the bank of tigris. There was the main Ziggurat temple of Ashur which was restored by TukultiNinurta I. In addition there were many other temple without Ziggurat. However the one double Ziggurat temple dedicated to Anu & Adad was most famous. The city had two large palaces Built one for the living & other for the administration. Palace of Nimrud: Ashurnasirpal II shifted his capital from Ashur in Calah now known as Nimrud where ne built a palace for himself. The palace was divided in two separate parts known as Babanu & Bitanu each of which had a courtyard. The babanu placed at he entrance was meant for all ordinary people. At the end of the courtyard, the entrance door was elaborately decorated & flanked by two man-headed winged Bulls. The door then opened on to the throne rooms, the walls of which were covered with bas-relief showing the scene of hunting & fighting. Behind the

alabaster throne, relief work shows the king worshipping a tree, a sign of fertility of the Assyrians. There were private rooms besides the royal chamber bitanu which were also decorated with relief work containing the scene of royal banquets where the king enjoyed the music & dances.

The city of Khorsabad: Sargon II founed the great capital city of Khorsabad. The city stood on rectangular paln 2.6km.sq. there were several office building including the temple. But the palace of Sargon II was the most structure, occupying an area of nearly twenty three acers. It had large & small courts, corridors & rooms & was approached by broad ramp. The main gateway to the grand court was flanked by imposing tower & guarded by the man headed winged bulls as a symbol of Adad, the god of thunder.

 These bulls about 3.8m (12-6) high supported the thick semi circular arch opening 4.35m (14-3) wide, 6.5 m (21-4) high which was lavishly decorated with bricks glazed in different colors. The place was divided in three parts. On its left wing there were six temples, three large & three small & on its right-wing were service rooms & administrative offices & on its opposite wing, were residential quarters which were followed by royal apartments. The royal apartment had dados nearly 2m. high on which the king & his countries were shown in high relief. At the end was the throne room about 49m X 11m. Terracotta gutters for drainage were provided under the palace paving. The high plinths of the temple courts were decorated with polychrome glazed brick. .

 At one corner of the palace, there stood a ziggurat on square base of about 45m side, rising in seven tiers to a height of 45m with the shrine at the top. It had widing ramp 1.8m wide by which one could reach on its top. Each of the seven tiers was painted in different color The City of Nineveh: The king Sennacherib founded the new capital at Nineveh in about 700 BC.to replace the city that Sargon II built at Khorsabad. In the old Testment Book, Noneveh is described as gigantic city which took almost days to cross on foot. The city had massive rampart about 11km log studded with fifteen hugr gates each guarded by the man-headed winged bulls, the symbols of Adad, the god of thunder to frighten the enemies. Under Sennacherib Nineveh emerged as the most splendid capital in the known world.