Mesopotamian religious architecture: Alexander through the Parthians

Abstract

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the survival and reworking of earlier forms of Mesopotamian religious architecture in the periods of foreign occupation of the Near East, first by Greeks, who established the Seleucid kingdoms after the conquests of Alexander the Great, and second by Parthians, who gradually took political control from the Greeks in the second century B.C. The author argues that Mesopotamian traditions remained extraordinarily vital throughout these periods and up to the middle of the third century of the Common Era. She presents not only architectural analysis but a carefully documented picture of the mixture of peoples and beliefs in this focal region of the eastern Hellenistic world. The Seleucids revived traditional religious forms and practices in old Mesopotamian cities, notably Uruk and Babylon, while drawing on Mesopotamian and other oriental traditions to create original religious architecture in new colonies, such as Ai Khanoum in Afghanistan. The effects of the Parthian conquest varied. The Seleucid temples of Uruk were destroyed, but Duray-Europos, Assur, and Hatra demonstrate the continued vitality of Mesopotamian architecture.