Ichthyological Characteristics Available in the Fish Images Existed in the Art of the Ancient Mesopotamia

Abstract

Through the years since a human has inhabited earth, fish images and other fauna were depicted on the walls of the caves and other artefacts. With the appearance of great civilizations in the Near East, the fauna of this part of the world appeared in different artwork such as pottery, stone vessels, cylinder seals and reliefs dating too many different periods.

The ichthyological description of the fish images found in the art of ancient civilization is very rare and some workers have examined and described the fish images that appeared in them. No previous studies were on record about any ichthyological description of the fish images that appeared in the art of ancient Mesopotamia. In the present chapter, an ichthyological examination and description were given to the fish images of selected artefacts of a different period of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the end of the chapter, a comparison of the work of ancient Mesopotamian artists with that of the ancient Egyptians was given to envisage how the artists in both civilizations have developed the ichthyological perspective.

The present study has shown that (1) both ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian artists have depicted the images of the fish species that live in their environment and those usually catch and eat. For Mesopotamia, the images of the species of the carp family, Cyprinidae have dominated the artwork, while in ancient Egypt, images of species of tilapia were overshadowed; (2) the credit should go to the ancient Mesopotamian for recording shark species in the freshwater environments worldwide; (3) there are still in use in the present time Iraq, some practices and rituals related to fish that have been used by ancient Mesopotamia; (4) colours are less used in artworks of Mesopotamia, but the Mesopotamian people were used colours in their artworks before the ancient Egyptian; (5) both ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian artists were fully aware of some detailed ichthyological features of the fish and they depicted these features in different artefacts and (6) The ability to depict more detailed characters was developed for the artists of the two ancient civilizations through time as judged from the sequences of artworks examined.

Appendices

Appendix 1. Chronology of Mesopotamia

Ubaid Period		5000–4000
	4500	Tell Hamoukar (urban centre, N. Mesopotamia)
Proto-literate period		4000–2900
Early Uruk period	4000–3500
	4000	Trade contacts with N. Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia
	3750	Founding of Uruk
Late Uruk period	3500–3200	Colonization of N. Mesopotamia
	3300	Invention of writing (Uruk)
Jemdet Nasr period	3200–2900	Initial trade contacts with Egypt
Early dynastic period		2900–2334
Sumerian civilization
Akkadian empire		2334–2154
Sargonic period
Guti interregnum		2154–2112
Conquest of Akkad	2154
Liberation of Sumer	2120
Third dynasty of Ur		2112–2004
Sumerian empire
Fall of Ur (Elamites)	2004
Isin-Larsa period		2025–1887
Dynasty of Larsa (Amorite)	2025–1863
Dynasty of Isin (Sumero-Akkadian)	2017–1887
Old Assyria		2025–1365
Amorites found Assyria	2025
Old Babylonian conquest	1753
Assyrian independence	1715
Mitanni conquest	1500–1365
Old Babylonian period		1994–1595
Babylon dynasty 1: Amorite
Hammurabi	1792–1750
Conquest of Assyria	1753
Hittites sack Babylon	1595
Dynasty of the sea-land		1700–1570
Middle Babylonia		1570–689
Dynasty 3: Kassite	1570–1225
Assyrian domination	1225–1186
Babylonian independence	1186–1157
Elamite conquest	1157–1156
Dynasties 4–9	1156–689
Middle Assyria		1365–883
Absorption of Mitanni	1274
Conquest of Babylon	1225–1186
Neo-Assyria		883–609
Conquest of Babylon	689–625
Conquest of Egypt	671–663
Fall of Nineveh (Chaldeans)	609
Neo-Babylonia		625–539
Dynasty 10: Chaldean
Conquest of Assyria	609–539
Fall of Babylon (Medes)	539
Persian empire		547–331
Achaemenid dynasty
Conquest of Troy	547
Conquest of Ionia	546–478
Conquest of Babylon	539
1st conquest of Egypt	525–404
Conquest of Macedonia	492
Sack of Babylon (Persians)	482
1st Persian war	499–490
2nd Persian war	480–479
Liberation of Ionia	478
Campaign of Xenophon	401
2nd conquest of Egypt	343–332
Macedonian invasion	334
Liberation of Egypt	332
Fall of Babylon (Macedonians)	331
Macedonian empire		334–305
Reign of Alexander	334–323
Era of the Diadochi	323–305
Seleucid kingdom		305–63
Fall of Babylon (Parthians)	126
Roman conquest	63

Appendix 2. Chronology of Ancient Egypt (Hawass 2019)

First Intermediate Period: c. 2150–2040 BC

c.2150–2040

Dynasties 7–10

Collapse of central government country divided among local rulers famine and poverty

Middle Kingdom: c. 2040–1640 BC

c. 2040–1991	Dynasty II	Montuhotep II	Reunification of Egypt by Theban rulers
c. 1991–1783	Dynasty 12	Amenemhat ISenwosret IAmenemhat IISenwosret IISenwosret IIIAmenemhat IIIAmenemhat IVqueen Sobekneferu	Powerful central government; expansion into Nubia (Sudan) Capital at Lisht, near Memphis
c. 1783–0.1640	Dynasty 13		Rapid succession of rulers; country in decline

Second Intermediate Period: c. 1640–1550 BC

c. 1640–1580	Dynasty 14		Country divided with
c. 1585–1530	Dynasty 15 and 16		Asiatics ruling in the- Delta.
c. 1640–1550	Dynasty 17	Sekenenre Tao ISekenenre Tao IIKamose	Theban dynasty begins reunification process

New Kingdom: c. 1550–1070 BC

c.1550–1307	Dynasty I8	AhmoseAmenhotep ITuthmosis ITuthmosis IITuthmosis IIIQueen Hatshepsut Amenhotep IIIAkhenatenTutankhamunAyHoremheb,	Reunification and expulsion of Asiatics in North; annexation of Nubia in South. Period of greatest expansion and prosperity. Thebes (Luxor) became main residence.
c.1307–1196	Dynasty 19	Rameses ISeti IRameses IIMerneptahSiptahqueen Twosret	After glorious reign of Rameses II, prosperity threatened by incursions of ‘sea peoples’ in north. Residence in Delta.
c.1196–1070	Dynasty 20	SetnakhtRameses III–XI	Economic decline and weak kings ruling from the delta. Civil and workers’ strikes. Royal tombs robbed.

Third Intermediate Period: c. 1070–712 BC

c. 1070–945	Dynasty 21	Smendes Siamun	Egypt in decline. Siamunmay be the pharaoh who gave his daughter in marriage to Solomon
c. 945–712	Dynasty 22	Shoshenq IOsorkon IShoshenq II	‘Shishak’ of the bible. Egypt fragmented and politically divided.
c. 928–711	Dynasties 23–24	Osorkon IV	Egypt divided between local rulers.

Late Period: c.712–332 BC

c. 712–657	Dynasty 25	KashtaPiankhy (Py)ShabakaShebitkaTaharqaTantamani	Rulers from Kush (Sudan) united Egypt and started cultural revival. Threatened by Assyrians who invaded in 671, 667 and 663 BC. Last king fled south.
664–525	Dynasty 26	Psamtek INecho IIPsamtek II	Dynasty from sais in Delta. Defeated Kushite kings and continued rebuilding program after Assyrians left.
525–404	Dynasty 27	Cambyses	Egypt annexed into Persian empire.
404–343	Dynasties 28–30	AmyrtaiosNectanebo INectanebo II	Last native rulers of Egypt. Cultural renaissance and nationalism but political decline.
343–332	Dynasty 31	Artaxerxes III	Persian reconquest

Graeco-Roman Period: 332 BC—AD 642

331–304	Macedonian Dynasty	Alexander the Great	Macedonian rulers after death of Alexander in Babylon (323).
304–30	Ptolemaic dynasty	Ptolemy I–XV	Last ruler, Cleopatra VII, allied with Mark Anthony against Rome. Defeated at the Battle of Actium by Octavian