The Louvre Abu Dhabi – Part 1b Civilisations and Empires

Last week, we browse through the first part of the galleries that focus on the Ancient Worlds. Today we focus on the civilisations and empires on display.

Around 1000 BC until 500 AD, even more powerful kingdoms and empires emerge and disappear in turn all around the world. The imprint they left on their territories stimulated cultural diversity and artistic exchanges.

Early Civilisations and Empires

Early civilisations and empires include prominent examples like Sumer (c. 4500-1900 BC), Ancient Egypt (c. 3100-30 BC), the Indus Valley Civilisation¹ (c. 3300-1300 BC), Ancient China (Xia Dynasty, c. 2070-1600 BC), and the Akkadian Empire² (c. 2334-2154 BC). These societies, among others, laid the foundation for later civilisations through advancements in agriculture, writing, governance, and culture.

The first kingdoms began to give way to vast cultural and political groups from around 1000 BC. The Assyrian and then Persian empires dominated the Middle East, Greek cities became established around the Mediterranean basin while the Nok and Olmec cultures spread across West Africa and Mesoamerica respectively. The evolution, encounters and clashes of these empires stimulated artistic and philosophical fusions, whose influences are still felt today.

War and Peace

War and weapons in the ancient world reflect the complex interplay between the evolution of human societies and their military practices. Early civilisations, from pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherers to established states, engaged in forms of conflict driven by the need to acquire and defend resources. Different regions developed unique military technologies and strategies, such as the Egyptian chariotry that revolutionised warfare around 1800 B.C.E., or the Assyrian military’s brutal tactics and organisational sophistication that set a new standard in the ancient world.³

In Greece, particularly Sparta, military training was paramount, producing a formidable infantry known as the phalanx, while the Athenians advanced naval warfare with their innovative triremes. The Persian Empire, under leaders like Cyrus the Great and Darius, showcased a well-structured army that incorporated diverse local forces. Meanwhile, Alexander the Great’s conquests exemplified effective military strategy and logistics, blending traditional infantry with cavalry to great effect.

Horses and Riders, Conquering Empires

In the ancient world, horses were more than just transportation; they were crucial for warfare, agriculture, and even social status. Early evidence suggests horses were ridden as early as 3500 BC, with bits used around 3000 BC. The domestication of horses transformed societies, leading to the rise of pastoralism, trade, and ultimately, warfare with chariots and cavalry. 

In India, warfare involved the use of elephants and chariots, while in China, dynasties transitioned from chariot-based armies to those emphasising infantry and cavalry. The Roman military, characterised by discipline and innovative tactics, played a crucial role in the expansion of one of history’s largest empires. Across the globe, from the warrior societies of North America’s indigenous populations to the Maya’s ritualistic warfare in Mesoamerica, ancient combat was deeply intertwined with cultural practices and beliefs, shaping the historical narratives of each civilisation.

Sumer (c. 4500-1900 BC)

Sumerian writing – cuneiform

Sumerian writing, known as cuneiform, is one of the earliest known writing systems, developed by the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. It is characterised by wedge-shaped impressions made on clay tablets using a stylus. Initially, it used pictographs, but evolved to include signs representing syllables and word-concepts. Cuneiform was adopted by other Mesopotamian civilisations and remained in use for over 3,000 years until it was gradually replaced by alphabetic scripts around the beginning of the Common Era. 

Ancient Egypt (c 3100-30 BC)

Egypt became a unified country five thousand years ago, and until the arrival of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, remained a fiercely independent land with its own very distinctive art, religion and culture.

The civilisation began around 3100 BC with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Narmer (or Menes). Its history is traditionally divided into periods: the Old Kingdom (age of the pyramids), the Middle Kingdom (a time of expansion), and the New Kingdom (a period of great power and empire). The civilization eventually fell under Persian, Greek, Roman, and finally, Islamic rule

The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection includes significant artefacts from ancient Egypt, particularly focusing on funerary practices and the afterlife. These pieces, displayed in a darkened gallery, include a colourful sarcophagus of Princess Henuttawy (shown above), gilded sarcophagi, and funerary servants, alongside a fragment of a mummy bandage.

Egypt, a gift of the Nile

As underlined by the Greek historian Herodotus, the Nile was of fundamental importance to Egyptian civilisation. The river abounded with fish, providing a vital source of food. Game roamed along the river delta, while the fertile sediment deposited by its annual flood ensured plentiful agricultural harvests.

With its incessant continuous traffic of barges and passenger boats, it was an essential means of communication and transportation for the living, but also for the gods and the dead.

Afterlife in Ancient Egypt

The funerary practices of the ancient Egyptians have always been a subject of fascination and curiosity. They are evidence of beliefs and rituals whose complexity, opulence and continuity have few parallels in history. As believers in eternal life, the Egyptians performed many religious and magical rites to get access to the beyond.

Their funerals were carried out in keeping with specific stages depicted in the Book of the Dead: after being mummified, the body of the deceased was placed in a sarcophagus and carried to his tomb. Before the burial, a priest performed the ritual of the Opening of the Mouth in order to revive the deceased’s vital functions and allow him to resume his normal life in the Afterlife after standing trial before the tribunal of Osiris, Lord of the Dead.

Book of the Dead Found on Mummy Bandage

The Book of the Dead is the name given to an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC. “Book” is the closest term to describe the loose collection of texts consisting of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person’s journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife and written by many priests over a period of about 1,000 years.⁴

Ancient Greece (1200 BC-600 AD)

Ancient Greece encompassed a large area around the northeastern Mediterranean, including mainland Greece, the Greek islands, and parts of modern-day Turkey, Southern Italy, and Sicily. The region was characterised by independent city-states, each with its own government, laws, and culture. Examples include Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth.

Myths, gods and heroes of the Greek world

Greek myths retell the origins of the gods and their many entanglements with humankind, the repercussions of which gave rise to stories of morality. Myths also tell of heroes who, through self-sacrifice for the common good in times of war and peace, frequently attained demigod status. Established attributes identify each god or hero, with Herakles held as the greatest hero of all in ancient Greek mythology.

Between the East and West

From the 10th century BC, there was a new phase of dynamic contact between the Greek world and the peoples of the Near East. These exchanges encouraged the transfer and renewal of artistic forms around the Mediterranean. After contact with the East, Greek art turned away from a geometric style and embraced figuration. The Phoenicians on the Levant coast initially drew their inspiration from Egyptian art, then turned to that of Greece.

Man, the measure of the world in Greece

The epitome of Greek art, the classical sculpture of the 5m century BCE marked a turning point in the history of Western art. This defining moment took place in the city of Athens, which benefited from a democratic government that encouraged the development of literature, philosophy and the arts.

For the first time, representation of the human figure was at the centre of all study, In a quest for realism and ideal beauty, artists strove to outdo one another, using increasing formal inventiveness to breathe life into bronze and marble.

Beyond Empires

After setting out from the Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 334 BC, Alexander the Great forged an unprecedented political union between Europe and Asia, which led to the formation of immense empires, starting with the Romans.

As Rome, in its heyday, expanded its domination over the whole Mediterranean region, the Han Empire expanding across China. The collapse of these empires led to a regeneration of artistic forms that would be used by universal religions to communicate their message.

The Islamic context of the museum makes for a more conservative display than the French counterpart, with fig leaves intact pm nude sculptures and no nipples in evidence. Next week, we will move on to the Middle Ages.

Footnotes:

1. The Indus Valley Civilisation developed around 3000 BC in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys of north-east Afghanistan, Pakistan, and western India. Another name for this civilisation is Harappan, after the first of its cities to be excavated, Harappa (now in the Pakistani province of Punjab). Harappan civilisation grew out of the earlier agricultural communities as they evolved into cities. These communities created and traded jewelry, figurines, and seals that appear widely scattered throughout Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, and Iran. Chickens were domesticated in addition to the earlier crops and animals.[90] They developed their own writing system, the Indus Valley script, which is still mostly undeciphered. The exact structure of society and the way the cities were governed is not known. By about 1600 BC, the Indus Valley culture had abandoned many of their cities, including Mohenjo-Daro. The exact reason for this decline is not known. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation ↩︎
2. The Akkadian Empire, existing from approximately 2334 to 2154 BC, was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia. It was centered in the city of Akkad, located in the region of Mesopotamia, and united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule. The empire reached its peak under Sargon of Akkad and his successors, expanding its influence across Mesopotamia, the Levant, and parts of Iran. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_Empire ↩︎
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4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead ↩︎