Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• World Regions

  All regions

  Select a region

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Central and North Asia
  • East Asia
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Africa
  • West Asia
  • Oceania
  • South and Southeast Asia

  Select a time period

  • 8000–2000 B.C.
  • 2000–1000 B.C.
  • 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
  • 1–500 A.D.
  • 500–1000 A.D.
  • 1000–1400 A.D.
  • 1400–1600 A.D.
  • 1600–1800 A.D.
  • 1800–1900 A.D.
  • 1900 A.D.–Present
• Timelines

  by Time Period 8,000–2,000 b.c. 2,000–1,000 b.c. 1,000 b.c.–1 a.d. 1–500 a.d. 500–1,000 a.d. 1,000–1400 a.d. 1400–1600 a.d. 1600–1800 a.d. 1800–1900 a.d. 1900 a.d.–present

  by Geographical Region Africa   Central America   Central and North Asia   East Asia   Europe   North America   Oceania   South America   South and Southeast Asia  West Asia

• Thematic Essays
  • Recent Additions  |  All Thematic Essays
  • 
    Select a Thematic Category African Art American Art Ancient Near Eastern Art Art of the Americas Asian Art Byzantine Art Egyptian Art European Art Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Medieval Art Modern and Contemporary Art Oceanic/Pacific Art Prehistory Select a Department American Decorative Arts American Paintings and Sculpture Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Asian Art The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Education Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art The Libraries Medieval Art and The Cloisters Musical Instruments Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art Objects Conservation Paintings Conservation Paper Conservation Photographs Robert Lehman Collection Scientific Research Textile Conservation

    ---

  • Select a Geographical Region Africa Central America Central and North Asia East Asia Europe North America Oceania South America South and Southeast Asia West Asia All Geographical Regions Select a Time Period 20,000–8000 B.C. 8000–2000 B.C. 2000–1000 B.C. 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. 1–500 A.D. 500–1000 A.D. 1000–1400 A.D. 1400–1600 A.D. 1600–1800 A.D. 1800–1900 A.D. 1900 A.D.–Present All Time Periods
    
• Works of Art
  Recent Additions
  
  

  Title Description
  Artist
  Material and Technique
  Credit Line
  Accession Number

• Index

  Artist (A–Z) | All Artists

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

  ---

  Subject (A–Z)

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Mesopotamia, 1–500 A.D.

• 
  Ewer with dancing females within arcades, 6th century; Sasanian style
  Iran
  Silver, mercury gilding

  H. (a) 13.4 in. (34 cm)
  Purchase, Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Dillon Gift and Rogers Fund, 1967 (67.10a,b)

• 
  Earring in the form of a three-lobed wineskin, 2nd century b.c.–2nd century a.d.; Parthian period
  Mesopotamia
  Gold

  L. 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm)
  Purchase, Mrs. Vladimir S. Littauer Gift, 1995 (1995.366)

• 
  Door lintel with lion-griffins and vase with lotus leaf, 2nd–3rd century; Parthian period
  Hatra, northern Mesopotamia
  Limestone

  L. 67 3/4 in. (172.1 cm)
  Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1932 (32.145a, b)

• 
  Figure of a reclining woman, 2nd century b.c.–2nd century a.d.; Parthian period
  Mesopotamia
  Alabaster (gypsum)

  L. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)
  Purchase, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Gift, 1886 (86.16.3)

Iraq (Mesopotamia)

Parthian rule: Arsacid dynasty, 138 b.c.–224 a.d.

Sasanian rule, 224–636/7 a.d.

Maps

World Map / West Asia

Encompasses present-day Iraq and northeastern Syria

• Overview
• Key Events
• Works of Art
• Related Content

From 138 B.C. until the coming of Islam in 636/7 A.D., Mesopotamia is dominated first by the Parthian and then Sasanian empires from Iran. Their strength and wealth is based on control of the trade routes through the region, which connect the cultures of East and West. This often brings the rulers of Mesopotamia into conflict with the expansionist aims of Rome and, later, Byzantium . By the second century A.D., the archetypal Mesopotamian writing system, cuneiform, is almost extinct and has been replaced by alphabetic scripts.

• 1–224 A.D.The Parthians develop the iwan, an open-fronted vaulted hall. Iwans are often covered with carved stucco reliefs, some of the finest examples of which are found at Uruk and Ashur. The palace at Ashur has the earliest example of four iwans opening onto a central square. This form of architecture supplants Hellenistic styles in Iraq and Iran, and will play an important role in the religious architecture of the later Islamic period. A new fashion, frontality, arises in relief sculpture where the head and body are shown frontally.
• 224–636/37 A.D.From southwest Iran, Ardashir I (r. 224–40) founds the Sasanian dynasty and ends Parthian rule. His successors establish their administrative and economic center at Ctesiphon. Buildings continue to be embellished with stucco, now largely molded rather than carved. The moldings, applied like tiles to walls, create repetitive friezes that depict figural, animal, geometric, and floral motifs. Despite constant aggression between the Sasanians and Byzantium, there are parallels in the arts, especially motifs on textiles that reflect mutual differences. The use of frontality, introduced in the Parthian period, continues in Sasanian art, and becomes a hallmark of the Romano-Byzantine West.

	Door lintel with lion-griffins and vase with lotus leaf, 2nd–3rd century; Parthian period Hatra, northern Mesopotamia Limestone; L. 67 3/4 in. (172.1 cm) Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1932 (32.145a, b)
	Earring in the form of a three-lobed wineskin, 2nd century B.C.–2nd century A.D.; Parthian period Mesopotamia Gold; L. 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm) Purchase, Mrs. Vladimir S. Littauer Gift, 1995 (1995.366)
	Ewer with dancing females within arcades, 6th century; Sasanian style Iran Silver, mercury gilding; H. (a) 13.4 in. (34 cm) Purchase, Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Dillon Gift and Rogers Fund, 1967 (67.10a,b)
	Figure of a reclining woman, 2nd century B.C.–2nd century A.D.; Parthian period Mesopotamia Alabaster (gypsum); L. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm) Purchase, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Gift, 1886 (86.16.3)

Timelines

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

Maps

• West Asia, 1–500 a.d.
• World, 1–500 a.d.

Lists of Rulers

• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• List of Rulers of Mesopotamia

Index Terms

Art Movement/Style

• Parthian Empire of the Ancient Near East
• Sasanian Empire of the Ancient Near East

Geography/Place

• Iraq

Material and Technique

• Gold from West Asia
• Sculpture in the Round from West Asia
• Relief Sculpture from West Asia
• Alabaster

Object

• Tall Vessel from West Asia

Thematic Essays

• Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World
• The Birth of Islam
• Byzantium (ca. 330–1453)
• Cameo Appearances
• Colossal Temples of the Roman Near East
• Epic of Creation (Mesopotamia)
• Flood Stories
• Gilgamesh
• The Gods and Goddesses of Canaan
• Jewish Art in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium
• Mesopotamian Deities
• The Origins of Writing
• The Parthian Empire (247 b.c.–224 a.d.)
• Popular Religion: Magical Uses of Imagery in Byzantine Art
• The Roman Empire (27 b.c.–393 a.d.)
• Roman Glass
• The Sasanian Empire (224–651 a.d.)
• The Shah Jahan Album
• Trade between Arabia and the Empires of Rome and Asia
• Trade between the Romans and the Empires of Asia
• Trade Routes between Europe and Asia during Antiquity
• The Year One

---

Citation

"Mesopotamia, 1–500 A.D.". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=05®ion=wam (October 2000)

Related exhibitions and online features
    Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West

↑ Back to Top