Middle East Timeline

Jerico, built on an oasis on the bank of the River Jordan, is the world's oldest city, with a circular tower and encircling wall built of massive stones. Read more...

Sculptures made of lime plaster from Ain Ghazal in Jordan are among the earliest surviving large-scale statues of the human figure. Read more...

Çatal Hüyük in central Turkey is the largest Neolithic settlement known in the Near East. The wall paintings, figurines and artefacts found there reveal a rich religious and cultural tradition, and some of the oldest textile fragments in the world have been found there. Read more...

A stately procession is carved in low relief on the famous stone Warka Vase of Uruk. Rows of sheep, priests and, at the top, the king present offerings to the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, Inanna. This method of depicting important politico-religious events in horizontal registers continues to be used for the next two millennia. Read more...

The large number of copper alloy maceheads, sceptres, crowns and other presitigious items found at Nahal Mishmar in Israel are among the earliest and most skilfully crafted examples of the lost-wax casting method. Read more...

Animal-shaped seals from Tell Brak, Syria act as good-luck charms and votive offerings, as well as providing a recognizable image that can be stamped into soft clay to proclaim ownership of an item. Read more...

Cylinder seals are used in Mesopotamia, Iran, and Syria during the 3rd millennium BC. The seal is impressed on a ball of clay that is then used to close documents, stacks of goods or doors. These figural and textual images form a rich and long-lasting source of information about this civilization. Read more...

A group of Sumerian statues from Tell Asmar are distinctive for their columnar forms and large, round, staring eyes. Found in the Square Temple, the statues' folded hands and attentive attitude may indicate their role as supplicants. Read more...

Several impressive wood lyres or harps, capped with bull's heads made of gold and lapis lazuli, are placed in tombs in the Royal Cemetery at Ur and may have been used as part of Sumerian funerary rituals. Read more...

The two-metre tall Stele of Naram-Sin celebrates the military success of the Akkadian king by employing the innovative composition technique of showing the ruler conquering his foes in a single dramatic scene, rather than by means of the older method of a narrative composed of a series of horizontal registers. Read more...

The Ziggurat at Ur, in modern Iraq is built of painted mud-brick to honour the moon god Nammu. This massive structure consists of a temple set atop a stepped pyramid and serves as a meeting place for the gods and man. Read more...

When he unifies Mesopotamia, King Hammurabi establishes a legal code to ensure justice. His decrees are inscribed in cuneiform on a tall stone stele capped by a carving showing Hammurabi appearing before the sun god Shamash. Read more...

Among the earliest and finest glass made in ancient Iran are fragments of mosaic-glass beakers in blue, turquoise and white found in the remains of a palace near Hasanlu. Read more...

Solomon's Temple is built in Jerusalem. This magnificently decorated structure with abundant carvings and gold-plating houses the sacred Ark of the Covenant, which contains the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. The temple structure is among the earliest in Jewish architecture. Read more...

Ancient Phoenician craftsmen make small plaques and toiletry articles of ivory, many of which are traded abroad over their numerous and extensive trade routes. Read more...

Inscribed with the dedication 'Palace of Sargon, King of Assyria', the translucent, light green Sargon Vase is a unique example of early Middle Eastern glass made by casting. Read more...

One of the most sympathetic images from the ancient world is the depiction of dying lions, lying in agonized postures after being shot with arrows and speared. The animals are part of a representation of an Assyrian royal hunt that covered the north wall of Assurbanipal's palace. Read more...

Tiles glazed in brilliant gold and royal blue decorate the Ishtar Gate at Babylon. Striding beasts and dragons rendered in low relief create an imposing quality typical of Mesopotamian royal architecture. Read more...

Darius the Great constructs the magnificent city of Persepolis. The palace is decorated with scenes in relief of royal processions and hunts that convey the king's power. Read more...

The important trading city of Hatra in southern Iraq has heavily fortified walls of mud-brick on stone foundations, four large gates and the Great Temple inside the precincts. Some of the kings who sponsor various stages of the construction are commemorated with relief portraits on bricks set into the city walls. Read more...

Massive temples and tombs, including the Khaznat al-Fir`awn (Treasury of the Pharaoh), are carved from the stone cliffs at Petra, the capital of the Nabataean kingdom in Jordan. Read more...

Greco-Roman temples dedicated to the gods Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus are constructed at Baalbek in Lebanon at the site of an ancient caravan route. Read more...

Wall paintings from the synagogue in the Syrian city of Dura Europos provide the earliest known narrative depiction of biblical scenes, which challenges the assumption that early Jewish art prohibited figural imagery. Read more...

Emperor Constantine the Great unites the Roman Empire under his control and in AD 324 establishes his new capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul), on the site of the Greek town of Byzantion in Turkey. He vigorously sponsors art projects that glorify his rule, such as the colossal portrait statue of him, and enhance Christianity, which he adopts and makes the official state religion. Read more...

Construction begins on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in the form of a religius complex comprising a rotunda constructed over the Tomb of Christ, a courtyard and a basilica. Following several episodes of destruction and reconstruction, the entire complex is rebuilt by the Crusaders after their conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. Read more...

After the original 4th-century church is destroyed by fire, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is rebuilt as one of the most influential Byzantine centrally-planned, domed churches. Read more...

Large silver plates decorated with narrative scenes continue the classical tradition of metalworking in Constantinople. One particularly impressive set depicts the Life of David and is probably part of an imperial commission. Read more...

Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock is the earliest important Islamic building still standing. It is decorated inside and out with gold and green mosaics (only the interior ones survive), demonstrating the most extensive use of mosaic on a structure in both ancient and medieval periods. Read more...

The Umayyad caliphs build a desert palace at Qusayr 'Amra in Jordan that reveals their wealth and the innovation of their architects. Fresco paintings of rulers and narrative scenes still survive at this site. Read more...

Umayyad caliph al-Walid I builds the Great Mosque of Damascus, using architecture for political and religious goals for the first time in Islamic art history, and establishes Damascus as one of the caliphate's primary cities. Read more...

Potters working in Samarra' under the Abbasid caliphate may be the first to develop lustreware, a type of pottery that incorporates a metal substance into the glaze to create an iridescent effect that resembles glittering metalwork. Read more...

Calligraphy, especially that devoted to copying the Koran, flourishes during the Abbasid caliphate. The prominent script style, known as early Abbasid or more generally kufic, is characterized by thick strokes and a horizontal emphasis. Read more...

Potters in Nishapur, an important city in ancient Iran, create a sophisticated type of pottery that features black inscriptions painted onto a creamy-white background. Read more...

Baghdad and Samarra' become the primary cities of the Abbasid caliphate. With the construction of the mosque of al-Mutawakkil at Samarra', craftsmen develop a new style of carving architectural surfaces that spreads throughout the Islamic world. Read more...

Master calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab produces a richly ornamented copy of the Koran at the Baghdad court. Read more...

Saljuq rulers renovate the Friday Mosque (Masjid-i jum'a) at Isfahan and establish the architectural style used for future mosques in Iran. Read more...

Krak des Chevaliers, one of the most successful and best-known Crusader castles, is built in Syria by the Knights Hospitaller. The walls of the structure are so imposing that it is only finally conquered in 1271 with a forged order to surrender. Read more...

Aleppo in Syria is famed for the skill of its woodworkers. One of the best examples, although no longer extant, is the minbar commissioned by Nur al-Din for the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Read more...

Potters in Kashan, Iran develop a unique type of ceramic ware in which a turquoise or cobalt glazes were applied and fired, followed by the addition of paintings in black, red, white or gold. The overall effect closely resembles illuminated manuscripts. Read more...

Under the Abbasid caliphate, Baghdad is an important centre for learning and book production. The Mustansiriyya Madrasa, the first college for all four schools of Sunni law, is built. Read more...

The Ilkhanid rulers of the western regions of the Mongolian empire live part of the year in great tents that recall their nomadic heritage but are also decorated with splendid silk panels that express their new wealth and prestige. Read more...

Metalworkers of Egypt and Syria produce some of the finest inlaid brass wares in Islamic history, some of gold and silver inlaid designs depict narrative scenes. Read more...

The Mongol leader of Western Asia Ilkhan Abaqa constructs a magnificent summer palace on the site of a former Sasanian holy centre known as Takht-i Sulayman. An abundance of marble-carvings and lustre-glazed tiles indicate that the original structure was striking to behold and extremely costly to build. Read more...

The learned Grand Vizier Rashid al-Din writes the Jami` al-tawarikh ('Compendium of histories'), a history of the Mongol khans and lands that they conquered. These volumes are later richly illustrated. Read more...

The greatest example of Ilkhanid manuscript illumination is the Great Mongol Shahnama. This large folio takes the Persian Book of Kings and modifies it with adaptations of Chinese and European painting techniques to celebrate the might of the Mongol empire. Read more...

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, known as 'the Conqueror', consolidates his control with an ambitious construction programme in his capital, Istanbul. He orders two palaces built and incorporates in their structure influences from various regions. Read more...

Bihzad, the most skilful and influential Persian painter, creates his only known signed work, a copy of Sa'di's Bustan. Bihzad is one of the talented artists and architects working in Herat at the conclusion of the Timurid period. Read more...

Continuing earlier traditions, the Safavid rulers call for large and finely made carpets, produced throughout Iran in royal workshops. Over 1500 Safavid carpets (and fragments) survive from this period, with many of them displaying complex designs that suggest the influence of book illustration. Read more...

Ottoman Sultan Süleyman I attaches a complex tughra or imperial monogram to all official documents. This highly decorative cipher combines his names, the names of his forebears and the descriptive phrase 'ever victorious' in a manner that is highly decorative and difficult to forge. Read more...

Safavid Sultan `Abbas I instructs two court painters Sadiqi and Riza to create a version of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) at his capital is Isfahan. The large manuscript pages are ornamented in the margins with sumptuous drawings. Read more...

Shah `Abbas, the greatest Safavid ruler and patron of the arts, moves his capital to Isfahan and subsequently commissions four monumental buildings that together represent the pillars of his rule: the royal family, Islam, trade and the military. Read more...

The Shah Mosque is completed by Sultan Safi in Isfahan and, despite its large size, achieves a lightness in the appearance of its domes and blue-glazed tile exterior. Read more...

Persian painter Mihr 'Ali creates the best of his series of full-length oil paintings of Qajar ruler Fath 'Ali Shah, showing the monarch in a gold brocade costume and large crown. Read more...

Muhammad Ghaffari combines European painting techniques and styles with local themes to create such works as The Fortune-teller. Given the title Kamal al-Mulk ('Perfection of the Kingdom'), he later founds Iran's first fine arts academy. Read more...