LOS ARCHIVO MESOPOTÁMICOS |
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LOS ARCHIVO MESOPOTÁMICOS |
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| I - ÉPOCA ARCAICA(3,400 a.C.- 538 a.C) |
Ubaid, casa tipo |
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| 1 SUMER Y AKAD Periodo Acadio (2334 - 2180 a.C) Época Neo-Sumeria (2125 - 2025 a.C) Ur |
 Época Dinástica antigua (3400- 2340 a.C. Warka (Uruk)
 Dama
de WarkaTemplo Blanco, Ur I, tumbas reales  Carros de las tumbas reales de Ur I |
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| Zigurats | |||||
| 2 Hegemonia de Isin y Larsa h.(2025 1594 BC) , Tel Harmal
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| Primer Imperio Babilonio (Hammurabi) |
3 Dinastía Casita (1600 1100 BC) Agarguf (Dur-Kuri-Galzu) |
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| 4 Periodo Asirio (1350 - 612 BC) Assur - Nimroud - Nineveh - Khorsabad |
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| 5 Imperio Neobabilónico (625 - 538 BC) Babilonia y los Jardines Colgantes |
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| II - Época Greco-Persa (538 a.C. - 637 d.C.) |
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| 1 Época Helenística (331 - 141 BC ) Babylon and the Greek Theatre |
 Hatra |
| 2 Época Parta (141 BC - 224 AD) Hatra |
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3 ´Época Sasánida (224 AD - 637 AD) Ctesifonte |
 Arco de Sapor - Ctesifonte |
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A drawing by Leonard Woolley of the
ziggurrat of the moon god at Ur, restored as it is thought to have
been in the time of Ur-Nammu1). This is the
best preserved ziggurrat in Mesopotamia and the restoration in the mid
20th century of its surviving remains enabled visitors to climb the
central staircase. Todays condition is unknown. Compare this ziggurrat with a rare drawing of one from the walls of Niniveh. |
The drawing of a detail on a stone relief from the palace of Assurbanipal at Niniveh (7th century) which provides a rare glimpse of the ancient representations of a ziggurrat. On top is a horned shrine. The scene is in the ancient country of Elam, city uncertain, although we know that the city ziggurrat at Susa had horns of burnished bronze. This drawing was made by the 19th century French artist William Boutcher. The original slab was lost in 1854 when a raft carrying a large number of Assyrian sculptures from Baghdad to Basra was sunk by bandits near Qurna. |
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| In some ways the
ancient wisdom of what is called `Sumer' reminds of Hebrew beliefs. |
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"Only the gods live forever ..." "As for mankind, numbered are their days ... "Whatever they achieve is but wind." |
"And God said to Moses, `I Am That I Am.'" "... from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." "... All flesh is grass ... the grass withers ... surely people are like grass." "Make me know my end, and the measure of my days..." |
A mighty ziggurat stood once at the city of Uruk, called Erek in the Bible and Warka in modern Iraq. Even today it is quite a sizable mud brick mount but damaged from centuries of exposure to weather and human visitors. The tall, tripple-tiered ziggurat at Ur is much better preserved and gives a good impression of the size of these structures. [For an image of the ziggurat at Ur see Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. XI, Jan/Feb 1985, p. 36.] It was the Elamite husband of Napir-asu who built a mighty, five stage ziggurat at Choga Zambil, near his capital of Susa. [See The Horizon Book of the Lost Worlds, N.Y., 1962, p. 174] There is also a ziggurat at Nippur whose condition is unknown to us at this time. [For images see, Splendors of the Past, National Geographic, 1981, p. 36ff.] Burials |
ARTIFACTS
1. Limestone cup from Uruk: Ht 12.7 cm. 3,100-3,000 BCE, Uruk in Southern
Iraq (Photo from pg. 53 of D. Collon's 1995 Ancient Near Eastern Art).
The figure on the front wears only a belt and has his curled hair parted in
the center. He embraces a bull on either side of his torso, his arm around their
neck. On the back of each bull stands a large bird.
2. Chlorite vessel found at Khafajeh: Ht 11.5 cm. 2,600 BCE, Khafajeh, north-east of Baghdad (Photo from pg. 69 of D. Collon's 1995 Ancient Near Eastern Art).
The vessel was made somewhere east of Baghdad, possibly in Iran, and
transported to Khafajeh where it was found. At the left of the panel, a man
wearing a net skirt is kneeling on a pair of Zebus who are standing back to
back. He is holding streams of water showering down onto vegetables and a palm
tree. The wavy line above his head may be rain clouds, they share the sky with a
crescent moon and a rosette sun. The second figure is also depicted with a
rosette at his shoulder. He has a snake in each hand and is standing between
two felines, both turned in his direction. At the right of the panel, a bull is
being attacked by a large bird (eagle) and a lion while another small animal
faces the other way. This image was created by rotating the straight sided
vessel for the exposure of the photograph.
3. Cylinder seal: Ht. 3.6 cm. 2,220 - 2,159 BCE, Mesopotamia (Photo from pg. 216 of J. Aruz and R. Wallenfels (eds.) 2003 Art of the First Cities).
This Akkadian example of a seal impression shows a hero wrestling with a water buffalo (left) and a bull-man struggling with a lion (right). The figures are separated by a tree on a mountain. The hero faces the viewer and dominates the scene. Akkadian seals tend to be arranged into clusters of figures that display physical tension in scenes of active combat.
4. Votive statues from Tell Asmar: Ht (tallest figure) 72 cm. 2,700 BCE, Tell Asmar, Mesopotamia (Photo from pg. 61 of D. Collon's 1995 Ancient Near Eastern Art).
In this collection, found in the Abu Temple, there are eight bearded standing male figures, one clean-shaven standing male, one kneeling male, and two standing females. All of the figures display large wide open eyes, many of which are inlaid. Additionally, some of the figure's eyebrows are also inlaid. Males wear fringed skirts and belts and females wear robes with a cloak draped over the left shoulder. All of the figures hold their hands before them, many are clasping a cup. The figures are thought to represent worshippers.
5. Detail from "Great Lyre" from Ur: Ht 33 cm. 2550 - 2400 BCE, royal tomb at Ur (Photo from pg. 106 of J. Aruz and R. Wallenfels (eds.) 2003 Art of the First Cities).
The front panel of the sound box from the so-called Great Lyre was recovered among grave goods in the royal tomb at Ur. The panel is made of shell and bitumen and is divided into four registers. The top panel is of a male embracing two human headed bulls, the three lower panels show scenes from a funerary banquet in which animals play the roles normally assumed by humans.
6. Warka vase, Uruk: 3000 BCE, Uruk in Southern Iraq (Photo from pg. 61 of M. Roaf's Cultural Atlans of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East).
This vase is covered with scenes of offerings for the goddess Inanna. She and the King are shown in the top register. (h, aprox.1,20 mts)
Uruk(Warka)
El Zigurat
Cylinder seal impression; scene representing mythological beings, bulls and
lions in conflict (British Museum No. 89538)
Mesopotamia - the cradle of civilization The land between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, it is said, hosted the legendary Garden of Eden - if it existed anywhere. To emphasize this the ancient village of Al-Qurna singled out a tree ("Adam's tree") with a sign - in Arabic and English. On this holy spot where the Tigris meets the Euphrates this holy tree of our father Adam grew symbolizing the Garden of Eden. Abraham prayed here 2,000 years B.C. Throughout Iraq loom ziggurat temples dating from 3,000 B.C. which recall the story of the Tower of Babel. One such ziggurat is Aqar-Quf (a suburb of present day Baghdad) marking the capital of the Cassites. In the south lie the ruins of Sumer where were found tens of thousands of stone tablets from the incredible Sumerian culture which flourished 5,000 years ago. On some of these tablets, which were used for teaching children, are found fascinating descriptions of everyday life, including the first organized and detailed set of instructions on when to plant and when to harvest. Also in the south lie the ruins of Ur from which at God's prodding Abraham set out for the promised land. Here the Akkadians introduced chariots to warfare. Nearby on the west bank of the Shatt-el-Arab lies Basra which later became the home port of Sindbad the Sailor. The Marsh Arabs (Ma'dan) are found at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates in the south. In the north of Iraq the gates of Ninevah the Asirian capital with their imaginative stone winged-bulls mark the place where the prophet Jonah is said to have preached penance to the wicked inhabitants, all of whom repented, much to Jonah's chagrin. Later neighboring Mosul became the crossroads of the great caravan routes. Kirkuk is the oil center of the north and boasts of the tomb of the Old Testament prophet Daniel. The city of Mosul has given us the cloth that bears its name "muslin" as well as building materials, alabaster and gypsum cement with its remarkable strength and rapid-drying properties.
Mapas con los territorios gobernados por las diferentes Dinastías Mapa de Mesopotamia Mapa de los dominios de la Dinastía acadia (2334 - 2180 a.C) Mapa de la I Dinastía de Babilonia (2000 -323 a.C) Mapa de Asiria (1350 - 612 a.C)
Ishtar Gate of Babylon (now in Berlin)
In the middle of Iraq lie the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babel) close to the place where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego sang their hymn of praise in the midst of the fiery furnace. Here Daniel read the mysterious Aramaic handwriting on the wall "mene tekel peres" (counted, weighed, divided) in the Aramaic or Chaldean language for Nebuchadnezzar and under the later rule of Darius, the biblical Daniel sat unharmed in the lions' den. The Old Testament "Daniel" story, probably written between 167-164 B.C., was borrowed from Babel and Persian literature and adapted for Jewish readership.
Judaism had been a presence in Mesopotamia since the Babylonian captivity from 586 to 538 B.C. Nearby, Xenophon and his 10,000 fought against the Persians and in 1700 B.C. Hammurabi composed his famous collection of laws. After conquering the world, Alexander the Great, at the age of 32 died an untimely death at Babel in 323 B.C. The Sassanid settlement of Selucia-Ctesiphon (Ma-da-in) boasted of a giant arch (the only remnant of the palace still standing) which was believed to have been the widest span of pure brickwork in the world. The Arch of Ctesiphon (Taq-ki-sra near Baghdad) testifies to the skill of its third century builders.
On this panel from the gates of Balwat, Jehu, the king of Israel, is shown bowing to Shalmaneser 111 (859- 824 BC) who forced Tyre, Sidon and Israel to pay tribute to him
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Early Mesopotamian science
In "History Begins at Sumer", Samuel Kramer tells of the third millennium B.C Sumerian astronomers living along the Tigris River who noticed that there were roughly 360 days in the year. The missing five days were declared occasional holidays. This number 360 was very convenient since it was divisible by many smaller numbers, so they divided each day into 360 gesh, which were later changed by the Babylonians to 24 hours with two levels of subdivisions.
Present day use of minute and second is traced to the Latin translations of the Babylonian designations for these subdivisions: small bits (minuta -> minutes) and secondary small bits (secunda minuta -> seconds).
Around 2400 B.C. the Sumerians developed an ingenious sexagesimal system to represent all integers from 1 to 59 using 59 different patterns of wedges (cunei . . . cuneiform) which were usually imprinted in soft clay and later hardened. Integers from 60 to 3600 were then represented by a different symbol for 60 which was combined with the other 59 patterns. Like our decimal system it was positional so that the successive symbols were assumed to be multiplied by decreasing powers of 60. For instance, the number 365 in the decimal system would, in the sexagesimal system, be written 6 5 (= 6 times 60 + 5 times 1), just as 65 in our decimal system of base ten means 6 times 10 plus 5 times 1.
An adventuresome, determined and curious reader with a calculator can verify that the Babylonian number 4 23 36 (equals {4 times 60 times 60} + {23 times 60} + {36 times 1}) represents 15,816 in our decimal system. In their grasp of the workings of arithmetic the Babylonians were far superior to the Greeks of later centuries. The latter used letters for numbers (so 888 would be wph) and they would have trouble multiplying a simple problem like 12 times 28 which would be ib times kh. The multiplication rules for letters were beyond the reach of an ordinary person.
Kramer uses as his main source the content of tens of thousands of Sumerian tablets, uncovered in this century from 1902 on, which date back to 2,400 B.C. and reveal a rich literature long before Greek civilization. These remarkable tablets gave us the first Farmer's Almanac filled with astronomical and mathematical data, proving that Sumerian schoolboys were learning the Pythagorean theorem 1,800 years before Pythagoras (circa 585-500 B.C.) was born. In this mainstream of our own cultural background, the Mesopotamian civilization, a fortuitous event in the evolution of arithmetic symbols occurred through the adoption of Sumerian "cuneiform" symbols by the Akkadians to represent their semitic language as it became more popular in Mesopotamia.
Later Mesopotamian cultures
Christian presence since the first century
Iraq's Christian community dates back to Apostolic times. In The Nestorians and Their Muslim Neighbors (p. 24), John Joseph relates the traditions claiming that the Apostles Jude Thaddeus, Bartholomew and Simon first planted the Christian faith in the north of Iraq. Also he notes the belief that St. Thomas stopped in Mesopotamia on his way to India. In the third century the Nestorian and Jacobite Christians became the most important advisors to the rulers of Mesopotamia. Their influence and ability to spread Christianity lasted for centuries.
The dominant rite now is that of the Chaldean Catholics. Others represented to a lesser degree are: Jacobites, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic (Melkite), Nestorians and Latin Catholic. The totality of Christians constitutes a small minority of less than 5% of Iraqis. The multiplicity of rites, however, in this small minority has led to friction, jealousies, and disputes which have prevented the Christian presence from being an effective Christian witness. After Vatican II, however, there has been a marked growth of the ecumenical spirit.
Three major seminaries were founded in Iraq during this century. One is at Dora just south of Baghdad and two are in Mosul, St. Peter's for the Chaldeans conducted by Chaldean priests and St. John's Syrian Seminary conducted by French Dominicans who also run a high school in Mosul. The Chaldean Sisters are the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception who had a number of schools for girls. In the first part of this century native Dominican Sisters ran 10 schools with 2,500 students. Chaldean Antonian monks in the monastery of St. Hormiz near Alqosh and the Carmelite Fathers do parochial work.
In the early days of the Society of Jesus while St. Ignatius was still alive, Jesuits passed through Baghdad on their way to the China mission. Recorded in the Monumenta Historica Societatis Jesu are the travels of Jesuits Gaspar Barzée and Raymond Pereira sometime between 1549 and 1567 and later Nicolas Trigault between 1612 and 1614. During the 17th century several dozen Jesuits made such a journey including one of the greatest Jesuit missionaries, Alexander de Rhodes, who labored in Indochina and who eventually was buried in Ispahan, Iran. Jesuit Brothers Bernard Sales and George Berthe died in Baghdad in 1661 and 1664. During this century the time had come for the Jesuits to return to Baghdad.
Islamic civilization
In the seventh century came the Muslim Conquest and the Baghdad Caliphs had more to offer than Sindbad, Scheherazade with her 1,001 stories, Aladdin and his wonderful lamp, Ali Baba and the forty thieves. The city of Baghdad became a center of Muslim power, the capital of the Abbasid Empire for five centuries (750-1258 A.D.), and the center of a flourishing Arab culture. In 1232 A.D. the Caliph Al-Mustansir founded, in the middle of Baghdad, Al Mustanseria, one of the earliest universities. However, later in the 13th century Baghdad was plundered by the Mongols and stagnated for centuries.
Baghdad then endured four centuries of Ottoman domination and mismanagement which ended with the British occupation following World War I. After this long ordeal Baghdad grew steadily into a modern city, especially after World War II. Among the significant events which shaped modern Iraq were the discovery of oil, the establishment of the Hashemlte Monarchy, the overthrow of this same Hashemlte monarchy and the establishment of the Republic in 1958.
The majority of Iraqis are Arabs. There is a large minority of Kurds and a lesser percentage of Turks, Iranians, Chaldeans, Asirians and Armenians. According to the 1965 census about 95 percent of the eight million (in 1990 eighteen million) inhabitants were Muslims. The Muslims of Iraq are divided into Sunnites and Shiites, with the latter forming the majority. Southwest of Baghdad lies Najaf and the city of Karbala which is the shrine of the imam El-Hussein ibn Ali and an important pilgrimage site for Shiites.
About the middle of the ninth century Bait Al-Hikma, the "House of Wisdom" was founded in Baghdad which combined the functions of a library, academy, and translation bureau. A very conspicuous creative work of the Arabs lies in mathematics and astronomy. Arab astronomers have left quite a discernible impact on Mapas of the heavens and given us such words as azimuth, nadir, and zenith. Our mathematical vocabulary includes such borrowed terms as algebra, algorithm (from al-Khwarizmi), cipher, surd, and sine.
The "House of Wisdom" turned toward the ancient Babylonians in order to return to primary sources instead of relying on Greek translations. It continued for several centuries and eventually took in boarding students from Europe and all over the known world. Bait Al-Hikma flourished long before Paris, Salamanca, Bologna, Prague, or Oxford.
Brief descriptions and pictures of some major Mesopotamian centers
Sumer (4000 - 2000 BC) southern region of ancient Mesopotamia, and later southern part of Babylon, now south central Iraq. An agricultural civilization flourished here during the 3rd and 4th millennia BC. The Sumerians built canals. established an irrigation system, and were skilled In the use of metals (silver, gold, copper) to make pottery. jewelry. and weapons. They invented the cuneiform system of writing. Various kings founded dynasties at Kish, Erech. and Ur. King Sargon of Agade brought the region under the Semites (c. 2600 BC). who blended their culture with the Sumerians The final Sumerian civilization at Ur fell to Elam, and when Semitic Babyloma under Hammurabi (c 2000 BC) controlled the land the Sumerian nation vanished.
Ur (3000 - 250 BC) ancient Babylonian city and birthplace of Abraham. Settled in the 4th millennium BC it prospered during its First Dynasty (3000-2600 BC), and during its Third Dynasty, it became the richest City In Mesopotamia. A century later it was destroyed by the Elamites only to be rebuilt and destroyed again by the Babylonians. After Babylonia came under the control of Persia the city was abandoned (3rd cent. BC).
Pictures of the art and architecture of ancient Mesopotamia found in the books listed below Templo Pintado de Uruk Two Sumerian tablets: (c 2000 BC)
The first prescrition and the Great Physician
found in Kramer's HISTORY BEGINS AT SUMERThe golden head of a bull on the front of a lyre found at Ur (c. 2685 BC) The ram and the schrub from the Royal Cemetery at Ur Ur at peace: one side ot the Standard of Ur
found in the Royal Cemetery at UrUr at war: the other side of the Standard of Ur
(c. 2685 BC)Model of the zigurat at Ur with the ascents partly restored The zigurat at Ur (c. 2250 BC) Drawing of the zigurat at Ur: the moon-god Nanna The zigurat at Ur which was restored by successive rulers The White Temple at Uruk(Warka) Model of the Temple Blanco de Warka (Uruk)
A List of Ziggurats (Temple Towers) The ziggurat of:
1. Abu Habbah
2. Akar Kuf
3. Ashur: The ruins of this ziggurat were ca. 150 feet high in the late 19th century.
4. Bel
5. Babil
6. Bir
7. Borsippa
8. Etemenaki
9. Nabu
10. Nimrud (Calah)
11. Nippur
12. Ur
The Discoveries
The extent and importance of the ruins of Kalat Sharkat were first pointed out in modern times by C.J. Rich, Consul General of Baghdad. They lie about 40 miles from the mouth of the Great Zab, 50 miles from Nimrud, and 75 miles from Mossul. Layard visited them in 1840 and found there the headless statue of Shalmaneser II (BM#849). H. Rassam under the direction of H.C. Rawlinson discovered there three terra-cotta cylinders of Tiglath-Pileser I (BM#91.033-91.035). These mention the rebuilding of the temple of Anu and Ramman by Shamshi-Ramman. When the cylinder inscriptions were read it was generally accepted that the ruins of Kalat Sharkat contained the remains of the city of Ashur, the oldest capital of Assyria.
Harmal (c. 1800 BC) Tel Harmal: temple, palace and school
The Temple of Warka The location of Warka is perhaps known better by the name of Erech or Uruk. History books tell us that a school of epic writers arose in Uruk, whose poems are thought to incorporate the early traditions of the city and its rulers.
But as so much of the currently accepted chronology of the Middle East is suspect, so too, the chronology and with it history of Mesopotamia. To get an idea on how this was expressed, for instance, by Professor Heinsohn of the University of Bremen, click on the local link right here. The ancient history of these civilizations was put together by scholars most of whom believed in the humanistic scenario of millions of years thus always trying to extent chronology into the distant past in order to connect it to some Neanderthal like people group. Professor Heinsohn's insights are so valuable, even though himself not necessarily a Bible based scholar, in that he realizes the overextension of the chronologies underlying the account of ancient history. In our opinion, the ancient history of no civilization goes much beyond 2200 B.C. for before that occurred the World Wide Flood of Noah.
Scholars deduced that a Pagan ziggurat includes commonly at least two temples, one at the bottom and one at the top. The `high' temple was the residence of the main deity, who at times in ceremonies or literature was described as coming down to the `lower temple'. In earliest Hebrew beliefs, there is only one sanctuary and one, even though for our understanding, complex God - for the true God is a Spirit and we ought not to assume we fully can understand all about the Almighty Creator God, Lord of the Universe. But the Pagan ziggurat temple was interpreted on the basis of its architecture and so it was that some scholars pointed out that the ancient texts indicate that the main god dwelled also in the bottom temple. This way a back and forth of theoretic interpretations were developed, each trying to describe the `deity' worshipped, to be all inclusive to what the texts and archaeological evidence seemed to tell. But God does not dwell in anything but that which He revealed to be consecrated in such a way that no sin is near it. For nothing that defiles a person can remain in us to meet the Lord. And so a priest must compare his life to the Law of God to discover where he failed. Does he worship or honor things other then the God in Heaven? Does he honor his father and mother? Does he keep the Sabbath holy and watches the edges of the Sabbath hours? Does he live honestly and free of hate of fellow man? Does he deal honestly with what God has given him? Such questions we must ask us and examine ourselves if we are true to God. But the priests of Pagan temples had no such soul searching guidelines. They worshipped whom, they knew not what.
Source Finder
010) For a good quality B/W image of Urnammu see `The Horizon Book of Lost Worlds', NY 1962, p. 151; Also see `A Brief History of the Third Dynasty of Ur' in Biblical Archaeology, Vol. 50, Sept 1987, p. 141-143.
For images of the `Mighty Cahokia', see Archaeology, May/Jun 1996, p. 30ff.
020) For an image of the mound hiding the long lost Mayan city of Bonacca see `Ancient American', #13, p. 35-38.
030) For the story of the discovery and exploration of Susa see Henri-Paul Eydoux, `In Seacrh of Susiana', In Search of Lost Worlds, N.Y., 1971, p. 62-65.; Tells how Loftus and later, Marcel Dieulafoy and Jacques de Morgan explored there. They found the famous `frieze of archers', the two ton bronze statue of Queen Napir-Asu (Louvre) and the eight foot tall black basalt Code of Hammurabi.
040) Also remember the great earthquake of Ecuador on Thursday, August 5, 1949 which sometime after a heavy rain at 9 AM destroyed 53 cities including the city of Ba�os located in the high country. The tourist hotels and entertainment areas were filled with people. The usual stage plays had taken place during which also a jester made silly sexual remarks about Adam and Eve when suddenly the quake's tremendous shock wave hit and all the walls and roofs came crashing down. The news item was told, according to which at the edge of the town of Ba�os, the hut of an old lady and she herself survived the general destruction. A relief worker, Se�ora Elvira - `Mother to the poor', was very much impressed to read a banner over her bed in Spanish, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This very violent quake, opened up deep fissures and forced large amounts of turbulent water to the surface which was sulfurous in some places and it killed many people besides the fires which broke out.
Also check out our updated pictures and info on the history surrounding Babylon!
Partia (2500 a.C - 226 d.C), ancient country in W. Asia: originally a province in the Asirian and Persian empires. It was the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. and the Syrian empire Led by Arsaces, its first king, it freed itself from the rule of the Seleucids (c 2500 BC) and refined the height of its power under Mithridates (first century BC) The empire was overthrown c AD226 by Ardashir, the first Sassanid ruler of Persia
Guerrero parto
De origen escita, este pueblo pertenecía desde tiempos inmemoriales a la confederación de tribus que se agrupaban con el nombre común de Dahae, establecidas en el área comprendida entre el curso actual del río Oxus y la fachada oriental del Mar Caspio. Identificados como los Parnii, las primeras noticias que existen de ellos los presentan como una tribu que, posiblemente a mitad del siglo IV a.C., a causa de algún tipo de querella con sus vecinos fue expulsada de la confederación Dahae y obligada a moverse en busca de tierras en donde establecerse. Encontraron su aposento en los desiertos, o tierras menos provechosas, que se extendían posiblemente muy al sur de sus primitivos asentamientos.
Tras la caída del imperio persa en poder de Alejandro, pasaron a ser vasallos de los macedonios. El primer gobernador macedonio bajo el que se vieron obligados a militar fue Soleo Estaganor , sátrapa de Margiana, más delante, y ya tras la desmembración del imperio de Alejandro, pasaron servir a Éumenes, tras su derrota a Antígono y finalmente a Seleuco Nicátor, continuaron formando parte del Imperio Seleucida hasta el año 250 a.C.
Por aquellos tiempos el Imperio había entrado en un periodo de discordias civiles que facilitaron e impulsaron que, probablemente en primer lugar, el sátrapa de Bactria proclamase su independencia, luego, y a imitación de este, casi todos los pueblos del oriente seleucida se sumaron a la secesión.
Arsaces I
Los partos, bajo Arsáces I, proclamaron así su independencia, mas adelante, aprovechando la aplastante derrota del ejército seleucida y de su rey, Seleuco II Calínico, a manos de los galatas (año 239 a.C.), Arsáces decidió atravesar la frontera y entrar en la satrapía de la Parthyene (Parthia), de donde expulso a su gobernador Andrágoras asentandose entonces en aquellas regiones
Mitrídates (171-138/9 a.C.) fue el impulsor de su gran expansión.( www.satrapa1.archez.com/.../ partos1/parthia1.htm )
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Imperio Parto o arsácida (170 a. C.-226 d. C.)
I
A Parthian Horse-archer
REYES PARTOS
Babilonia (2000 a.C. - 323 a.C), an ancient city of Mesopotamia located on the Euphrates River about 55mi (89km) south of present day Baghdad. Settled since prehistoric times. it was made the capital of Babylonia by Hammurabi (1792 1750 BC) in the 18th century BC. The city was completely destroyed in 689 BC by the Asirians under Sennacherib. After restoration it flourished and became noted for its hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the world. In 275 BC the city was abandoned when the Seleucid dynasty built a new capital at Seleucia.
Left: East Parthian Cataphract; Middle: Parthian Horse-Archer; Right: Parthian Cataphract from Hatra
Parthian Cataphracts (Fully Armoured Parthian Cavalry)
Parthian & Sasanian Cataphracts
1. Top: Sasanian Standard-Bearer
2. Middle: Parthian Cataphract, CE 3rd C.
3. Bottom: Early Sasanian Cataphract, CE 3rd C.
Para designar tanto esta lengua como la escritura que la soportaba, se viene usando el término pahlevi, que deriva directamente de pahlavik, que a su vez proviene del adjetivo parthava, "de los partos".
Parthian Script
he Parthian script developed from the Aramaic alphabet around the 2nd century BCE and was used during the Parthian and Sassanid periods of the Persian Empire. The latest known inscription dates from 292 CE.
Notable Features
- Written from right to left in horizontal lines.
- Only some vowels are indicated and the letters used to represent them have multiple pronunciations.
- The letters marked in red were used to write loan words from Aramaic.
La escritura pahlevi se presenta bajo diversas formas (figura superior): pahlevi arsácida (pahlavik propiamente dicho), pahlevi sasánida (parsik), escritura de manuscrito y alfabeto avéstico (o zend).
Imperio Sasánida (224-651)La figura inferior muestra un ejemplo de inscripción pahlevi con su traducción.( Cfr.www.proel.org/ alfabetos/pahlevi.html)
En la Buena Religión se revela que Ormuz estaba en alto en omnisciencia y bondad por tiempo ilimitado en la luz; esa luz es el trono y lugar de Ormuz... Ahrimán estaba en las tinieblas en conocimiento en retroceso y en deseo de destruir en lo profundo.
La figura inferior muestra los distintos alfabetos pahlevi comparados con el sogdiano y escrituras arameas.
El alfabeto pahlevi arsácida, fue usado bajo la dinastía arsácida en el siglo II d. C., y es el que más se aproxima al prototipo arameo. El alfabeto pahlevi sasánida es más lejano al arameo y se usó bajo la dinastía sasánida que gobernó desde el 224 al 651 d. C.; hay inscripciones monumentales en el Kurdistán y Persépolis. La escritura de manuscrito está atestiguada por textos que provienen del Turquestán oriental y de algunos papiros hallados en Egipto, que pueden ser de principios del siglo VII d. C.
Asiria (1530 - 612 BC) reached its greatest extent in the 7th century BC. during Ashurbanipal's reign He subjected its people to merciless repression inflicted by his army in whose ruthlessness he gloried and ruled through an efficient administrative system supervised by the central government. Asirian rule collapsed and was followed by a brief resurgence of Babylonian rule
The top of the Hamurabi stele shows the king
worshipping before a seated god.Detail of part of the inscription
on the stele of Hamurabi's codeHarmal (c. 1800 BC) Tel Harmal: temple, palace and school Restos del zigurat de Aqar Quf en la ciudad casita de Dur Kurigalzu: An alabaster relief of an Arab - Asirian battle
found near Ninevah (c. 660 BC)Plano de Asur (1385 - 1045 BC) Asur: Doble templo de Anu y Adad Plano of Khorsabad bajo Sargon II (721 - 705 BC) Khorsabad palace in the middle of the picture The winged Bull of Khorsabad Relief on palace of King Ashurnasirpal II (883 - 859 BC) with the winged god at Nimrud Relief of lion hunting found at Nimrud Lion killing a slave found at Nimrud Model of the city of Babylon Ruins of Babylon today Plan of the Hanging gardens of Babylon Wall of Hanging gardens of Babylon still standing Ishtar gate of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar II
(604 - 562 BC) now in the Berlin MuseumPlan of the palace at Babylon centering at the Ishtar gate
Sassanids, or Sassanians, last native dynasty of Persian kings.founded by Ardashiric AD226. There were approximately 25 Sassanid rulers the most important after Ardashir being Shapur II (309-79): Khosrau I (531-79), who invaded Syria: and Khosrau 11 (590-628) whose conquest of Egypt marks the height of the dynasty's power. The line ended when Persia fell to the Arabs in 641 AD.
Baghdad (762 - AD), capital city of Iraq, on the Tigris River. Established in 762 as capital of Abbaside caliphate. It grew to be a cultural and financial center hub of caravan trade between India, Persia, and the West. Destroyed by the Mongols in 1258: in the early 20th century Iraq gained independence from Turks and Baghdad became the capital (1921), and now is the modern administrative. transportation. and educational center.
Model of two Parthian shrines at Hatra (141 - 224 AD)
Hatra was an ally of Rome which led to its destruction at the hands of the Sassanians in 226 ADPart of the arch of Ctesiphon still stands: the greatest arch of the ancient world (30 meters high). It was built in the fourth century, the middle of the Sassanian period (224 - 637 AD) Plan of the circular city of Baghdad (c. 766 AD) by Caliph Al-Mansoor: the innermost circle had a diameter of 2000 yards. The four gates led to Khorasan (NE), Basra (SE),
Kufa (SW) and Syria (NW)Drawing of the city of Baghdad with the Tigris in the background: done from memory by a visitor in 1638 
The Abbaside caliph's plan of Samarra (836 AD): the city was 34 km long with a great esplanade 7 km long Model of the Abbaside palace of Ukhaider (8th cent. AD)
It was located SW of Kerbala
A SHORT HISTORY of ARCHITECTURE IN IRAQ (3,000 B.C. 1258 AD) Bibliografía
Samuel M. Ronaya, Lecturer, Al-Hikma University, Baghdad
5000 YEARS OF THE ART OF MESOPOTAMIA,
BY EVA STROMMENGER, PHOTOGRAPHS BY MAX HIRMER, ABRAMS, NEW YORK: 1964
ANCIENT IRAQ, by GEORGES ROUX, LONDON: ALLEN & UNWIN: 1964
TWIN RIVERS By SETON LLOYD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS: BOMBAY 1947
HISTORY BEGINS AT S UM E R, by Samuel Noah Kramer
Doubleday Anchor Books: Garden City, New York: 1959
EARLY MESOPOTAMIA AND IRAN by M. E. L. Mallowan
McGRAW-HILL NEW YORK 1969
