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Comparative Advancing Art History     
 of Pigments and Mediums     
in European and Asian Cultures     

PERSIA

4000 B.C. PERSIA. Later called Iran, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates river, and to the east of it to the Indus River in India. Susa, to the east of the Euphrates, on a tributary of the river, is were the earliest pottery and signs of life were found. Flint, stone and clay, that's what they were made of. As always, natural resources are important to any starting culture.

2700 B.C., Persia is in the Bronze Age and raising horses. The bridle ornaments, weapons and jewelry show an early connection to the Far East. These designs are present up to the ninth century.

900 B.C., The Sanskrit language and the caste system came from an invasion into the area by Aryan people of the North East. These ideas left their mark here and in north India, where they also settled.

750 B.C., The Scyths, or Iranian race, conquered the Cimmerians, north of the Black Sea. The Sarmatians in turn conquered them in the forth century B.C.. Their predatory and killing nature lead the Greeks to calling them complete barbarians. Their art is referred to as "Animal-Style Art", creatures of the herd and hunt.

612 B.C., The Medes Scyths destroyed the Assyrian Empire and were in turn destroyed by the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus.

550 B.C., It included from Lydia south of the Black Sea to the Indus River, Egypt, and the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes built that empire. Xerxes's tomb was carved on the cliffs above the Iranian plains, like the Egyptians, only with side view torsos and a fire alter representing their god, Ahura Mazda.
Cyrus had a free standing sarcophagus of stone blocks, seven steps high. The palaces at Susa and Persepolis were much more grand in style, naturally they were built by slaves. The work took one hundred and fifty years and Alexander the Great turned it to rubble. He had the same ideas that Sherman had on his march through our south. Xerxes had an audience hall that could hold ten thousand people, made of sun dried brick 15 feet thick, and a ceiling 60 feet high. The carvings are more realistic than Egypt's, full profiles mostly, the animals show much more action. The palace at Susa had columns with double bulls on top with twice as many flutes as the Greeks would have.

323-250 B.C., SELEUCID PERIOD. Alexander destroyed Iran.

200 B.C., Mongolian textiles from graves of this period and Persian rugs of the sixteenth century have similar patterns of twisted, grotesque animals. They wore woven peaked hats with ear flaps and leather pants, appropriate for horse riding on the windy steppes of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.

250 B.C.-A.D. 226, PARTHIAN PERIOD. Traders of silk between the Romans and the Chinese, money making mongrels.

A.D. 226-642, Sassanian Dynasty. There first palace was built at Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia. It was classed as one of the wonders of the world, they also had tombs carved into the cliffs. The artist worked sculpture, metal, textile weaving and architecture, no paintings. The pointed arch was developed and bricks were set with gypsum cement. The carpet was world famous, it was called the "Springtime of Chosroes".

A.D. 276-293, Bahram II, developed chain mail armor that would be the rage of Europe a thousand years later.

A.D. 570, Mohammed was born in Mecca, taught monotheism and was forced to leave. His arrival at Medina in 662 marks the beginning of the Moslem calendar. Praise be to Allah, Arabia was unified politically. In the eighth century the capitol was moved to Baghdad from Damascus. The mosque was their first concern, built by Byzantium architects who were brought in to do the job right. Towers, called minarets, were erected to call the faithful.
As Sassanian power was overthrown, Islam spread through the land and Iran became a stronghold of Mohammedanism. The ceramic artist and the architect built together in white, yellow blue and rose, from Persia to Turkestan.

A.D. 1010, The Book of Kings, illuminated scriptures.

A.D. 1258, Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongol Empire, ruled by the Khans. Illustrations combined the Persian and Chinese styles, not much to work with but they were working at it. It's a primitive style.

A.D. 1369, Tamerlane of Turkey conquers all, and the Master of Miniatures is painting in Iran, painting legends of the past. He still uses the cartoon line, but he brought illustration up to the level of the calligrapher at least.
Art goes no farther around here so we move over to India with their textiles and carpets.

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