Ancient Near East

The Cradle of Civilization
Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq, is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia, however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which is comprised of the modern nations of Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey: the Near or Middle East. 

One might ask, what is this region in the middle of or near to to be named in this way?  It is, of course, the proximity of these countries to the West and the academics and prospectors of England, Germany and France who, in the 19th century first explored this area and attempted to write its history.

The history of the ancient Near East is enormously complex and the names of rulers and locations are often extremely difficult to read, pronounce and spell. Moreover, this is a part of the world which today remains remote from the West culturally and current politics don’t exactly foster a lot of affection. Indeed, it is likely that if there hadn’t been such a deep interest in the lands spoken of in the Bible and Classical texts, ancient Near Eastern materials would not be regarded as a part of the Western cannon of the history of art. But it is and, once you get a handle on the general geography of the area and its history, the art reveals itself as uniquely beautiful, intimate and fascinating.

The Land of the Bible
It was an interest in finding the locations of cities mentioned in the Bible, such as Nineveh and Babylon, which inspired the original English and French 19th century expeditions to the Near East. These sites were discovered and their excavations revealed to the world a style of art which had been lost. It inspired The Nineveh Court at the 1851 Words Fair in London at the Crystal Palace and a style of decorative art and architecture called Assyrian Revival. Indeed, Ancient Near Eastern art remains popular today; in 2007 a 2.25 inch high, early 3rd millennium limestone sculpture, the Guennol Lioness, was sold for $57.2 million, the second most expensive piece of sculpture ever sold.

Ancient Sumer: Where the story begins
As you can see in the map above, the area of southern Mesopotamia is known as Sumer. Sumer was not a unified country, but consists instead of many city-states, such as Ur and Uruk. Mesopotamia is a region of stark geographical contrasts: vast desert regions rimmed by rugged mountain ranges, punctuated by lush oases. Flowing through this topography are rivers and it was the irrigation systems which worked off the water of these rivers, specifically in southern Mesopotamia, which provided the support for the very early urban centers.

As the region is generally lacking in building stone, precious metals and timber it has historically relied upon long distance trade of agricultural products to secure these items from outlying areas. But, large scale irrigation systems need large scale labor which needs centralized authority for management. The development of this authority, over newly large numbers of people, urbanization, is really what gives Mesopotamia its special position in the history of art.  Here for the first time, afforded by ample food and patronized by a strong administrative class, there develops a very high level of craft specialization and artistic production.
  

Text by Senta German