Gods and Kings: The Art History of Mesopotamia and Arabia

In most Art History surveys, the earliest advanced civilizations which appeared in the region called Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq) produced significant artwork which would set the tone for the history of art, literature, legal theory, and many aspects still-relevent in modern society. However, while these powerful kingdoms are well-studied by every student in an Art History 101 class, at the same time in Arabia, an analogous history was unfolding which is almost totally unknown. This course presents original research which illustrates how the epic kingdoms of ancient Arabia possessed clear ties to the model of divine kingship we see in Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations across the Persian Gulf. This course is a must for anyone who wants to learn about the art, architecture, and glories of the vanished, highly organized kingdoms of a much broader area of the Middle East than traditional art histories cover.