segments of stone or brick jutting out of a wall to span a space,
such as a door or other opening. Th e corbelled vault uses the
same technique to support the building’s roof. Ancient Su-
merian architects also may have made common use of dome
construction, as indicated by tombs found at Ur.
According to some observers the Neo-Assyrian Peri-
od (ca. 1000–626 b.c.e.), when the Assyrian Empire ruled
over much of Mesopotamia, represents the high point of
Mesopotamian architecture. Assyrian architecture was
heavily inf luenced by ancient Mesopotamian architecture
from the south, which had spread north as civilization
expanded from the Sumer in southernmost Babylonia to
Akkad in northern Babylonia and eventually to far-north-
ern Assyria. However, unlike southern Mesopotamian ar-
chitecture, Assyrian architecture also incorporated stone,
which was more readily available in the region. As a result,
Assyrian palace walls typically included sculptured and
colored stone slabs called orthostats. These monumental
vertical slabs were also used to line gates and entryways.
The Assyrians also used a technique to make polychrome
(multicolored) glazed bricks.
Th e palace complex of King Sargon II (r. ca. 722–705
b.c.e.) at his capital city of Dur Sharrukin, now Khorsabad,
Iraq, was built within the city’s inner citadel. Made of thick,
mud-brick walls without windows, the palace featured doors
opening onto internal courtyards of diff erent sizes, including
the Grand Entrance Court and the State Court. Th e throne
room was situated between the State Court and a smaller
court for women and children. Overall, the palace featured
more than 200 courts and rooms, including public rooms,
the king’s apartments, and a freestanding, seven-level ziggu-
rat with a temple complex. Th e vast palace complex covered
approximately 1,000 acres, and many of the rooms and court-
yard walls were covered with intricately sculpted decorations
on stone slabs. For example, on the facade of the northern
part of the palace Sargon II is shown welcoming a high of-
fi cial. Other sculpted walls depicted the king’s military and
civic accomplishments.
King Sennacherib, who ruled Assyria from about 705
to 681 b.c.e., decided to build the largest and most elabo-
rate Assyrian palace ever known, which he referred to as
the “Palace without Rival.” Built on a platform close to theTh e ruins of Persepolis (in modern-day Iran), the seat of the Achaemenian Empire of Darius I in the fi ft h and sixth centuries b.c.e.; terrace, throne
hall, and palace are visible. (Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)
architecture: The Middle East 63