2026/2027

Art of Assyria

Type: Optional course (faculty)

Delivered by: Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

Where: Faculty of Humanities

When: 4 module

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Ekaterina Markina

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 36

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course offers an in-depth study of Assyrian art from the Middle Assyrian period through the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 1400–600 BCE), with particular emphasis on the visual culture of the first millennium BCE. Focusing on royal monuments, palace reliefs, sculpture in the round, glyptic, architectural decoration, and luxury objects, the course examines how images functioned within imperial ideology, ritual practice, and spatial experience. Students will analyze key monuments such as the relief programs of Ashurnasirpal II at Kalhu (Nimrud), the lion hunt and siege reliefs of Ashurbanipal from Nineveh, and the palace sculptures of Sennacherib. Beyond stylistic description, the course integrates theoretical frameworks from art history, archaeology, and anthropology, including discussions of image agency, materiality, performativity, and reception. Particular attention is given to the relationship between text and image, the role of violence and spectacle in imperial representation, and the sensory dimensions of carved stone surfaces within palace interiors.