The First Cities: Art and Architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia - HOA00107I

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Module summary

This module focuses on the art and architecture of ancient Mesopotamia from c. 3500 BCE through the conquest of Babylon by Alexander of Macedon in 323 BCE.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2025-26

Module aims

The land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers—“Mesopotamia” in ancient Greek, and what is today Iraq—was home to many firsts in human history. By 3200 BCE, the first cities with complex administrative systems were built, large-scale architectural projects were underway, and writing was invented. This module focuses on the rich and diverse artistic production in these first cities and follows its trajectory for thousands of years through the conquest of Babylon by Alexander of Macedon in 323 BCE. Within this long historical scope, we will cover Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian art in a variety of media from monumental architecture to small-scale glyptic arts, from architectural sculpture to personal ornaments and jewellery. The themes will include indigenous conceptions of image-making, the development of narrative representation, the emergence of public monuments, kingship and patronage, and objects of cult, ritual, and religion. We will also juxtapose ancient social, economic, and political histories of art with those of modern archaeological excavations and curatorial interventions from the nineteenth century up to the present day.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should have acquired:

• A broad knowledge of ancient Mesopotamian works of art and architecture from c. 3500 BCE to c. 300 BCE
• A critical understanding of the intersections between ancient art, archaeology, museology, and histories of colonialism
• Familiarity with ancient, non-Western ontologies of images and image-making practices, with a focus on ancient Mesopotamia
• Skills to engage in close, visual analyses of artworks of various media and in critical analyses of primary and secondary sources
• A broad understanding of the intersections between artistic production and socio-political and economic structures through time
• The ability to write clearly and concisely about complex ideas and historical context

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Tutor and/or Supervisor during their office hours.

Indicative reading

• Aruz, Joan, ed. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
• Aruz, Joan, Kim Benzel, and Jean M. Evans, eds. Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
• Aruz, Joan and Michael Seymour, eds. Assyria to Iberia: Art and Culture in the Iron Age. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016.
• Bahrani, Zainab. Art of Mesopotamia. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 2017.
• Brown, Brian A. and Marian H. Feldman, eds. Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art. Boston: De Gruyter, 2014.
• Collins, Paul. Sumerians: Lost Civilizations. Reaktion Books, 2021.
• Frankfort, Henri. Art and Architecture of Ancient Orient. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
• Matthews, Roger. The Archaeology of Mesopotamia: Theories and Approaches. New York: Routledge, 2003.
• Oppenheim, A. Leo. Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, rev. Ed. completed by Erica Reiner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.
• Van De Mieroop, Marc. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC, 3rd ed. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2016.
• Winter, Irene J. On Art in the Ancient Near East. 2 vols. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010.