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Colossal Temples of the Roman Near East

Ancient Near Eastern cities were usually dominated by a single temple complex, which often covered a major part of the settlement. During the first to third centuries A.D., as cities were enriched by the lucrative caravan traffic linking the great empires of Rome and Parthia, some of the most ambitious temples ever constructed were built in the Levant, Syria, and northern Mesopotamia. The massive scale of these structures is partly a function of the traditional Near Eastern approach to temple design, based on a sanctuary surrounded by an enormous walled temenos, or compound. The sanctuary was the residence of the deity, while the temenos was where sacrifices took place and mass worship was performed by thousands of people. Many compounds had an elaborate monumental gateway (propylaea) approached by stairs. Inside the walls were colonnades and vast altars for animal sacrifice. Although their exteriors often look like Roman temples, the interior layout of sanctuary buildings was actually very Near Eastern, designed as a throne room for a deity, usually with a raised platform approached by stairs.

Although their exteriors often look like Roman temples, the interior layout of sanctuary buildings was actually very Near Eastern, designed as a throne room for a deity, usually with a raised platform approached by stairs.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (3)

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Timelines (4)

• Arabian Peninsula, 1–500 a.d.
• Asia Minor (Anatolia and the Caucasus), 1–500 a.d.
• Mesopotamia, 1–500 a.d.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1–500 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (4)

• Nabataean Kingdom and Petra
• Palmyra
• The Parthian Empire (247 B.C.
• The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.)

Other Thematic Essays (7)

• List of Rulers of Mesopotamia
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• Luxury Arts of Rome
• Roman Housing
• Roman Inscriptions
• The Damascus Room
• Trade Routes between Europe and Asia during Antiquity

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 1-500 A.D.
• World, 1-500 A.D.

Index Terms (11)

Art Movement/Style

• Early Imperial Art in Ancient Rome
• Late Imperial Art in Ancient Rome
• Mid–Imperial Art in Ancient Rome

Geography/Place

• Rome (Ancient)
• The Eastern Mediterranean
• Iraq

Object

• Temple Architecture
• Temple Architecture from West Asia

Subject Matter/Theme

• Archaeology
• Archaeology from Asia
• Trade (1–500 a.d.)

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The earliest of these gigantic constructions was the Temple at Jerusalem, begun by Herod in 20 B.C. It was second in scale only to the Temple of the Sun at Hatra. Other immense buildings of this period include the Temple of Dushara and the "Great Temple" at Petra, the Temple of Jupiter-Hadad at Damascus (incorporated in the present Umayyad Mosque), the Temple of Artemis at Jerash, and the Temple of Bel at Palmyra. One of the greatest and most lavishly decorated is the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, where stones weighing up to a thousand tons were cut and dragged to create the massive temple platform.



Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "Colossal Temples of the Roman Near East". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tmpl/hd_tmpl.htm (October 2003) Further Reading Ball, Warwick Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire. London: Routledge, 2000. Suggested Online Resources The Jerusalem Archaeological Project Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)