Ancient cities and power: the archaeology of urbanism in the Iron Age capitals of northern Mesopotamia

James F. Osborne

International Journal of Urban Sciences, 2015, vol. 19, issue 1, 7-19

Abstract: This paper explores the expression of power in the built environment of ancient cities, using two case studies from the middle Iron Age (early first millennium BCE) ancient Near East: the capital cities of the Syro-Anatolian city-states in southern Turkey and northern Syria, and those of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in northern Iraq. A functional approach to urbanism, which defines cities based on their influence in the surrounding region, leads to the conclusion that although the expression of power in these two cultures' major cities is superficially similar (though different in scale), incorporating the surrounding landscape into the discussion reveals how empires are more comprehensive than city-states in creating entire landscapes that communicate power in their built environment.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/12265934.2014.969297

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