The study of the historical development of glass in ancient times

Abstract: This paper discusses historical development of glass in ancient times, identify the most important characteristics of glass in every era of time, through the study of their properties, chemical composition of the types of glass and production methods, through the study of some archaeological models of global museums to reach the most distinctive characteristics of each era ,The aim of this paper is to explore these aspects by using a combination of focused studies and case studies in various ancient and historical periods. Each case study in ancient Egyptian period, Roman Middle East, and the Islamic world.

keywords: historical development of glass, Ancient Egyptian, Roman glass, Islamic glass, chemical composition, glass techniques.


I. INTRODUCTION
Ancient Egyptian Glass

As early as the third millennium B.C., craftsmen in Mesopotamia discovered how to glaze jewelry and small objects with colored glass. The new material joined other vitreous glazes, like faience, as a less expensive substitute for rare and precious stones, such as lapis lazuli. Subsequent developments, especially the use of simple molds, enabled craftsmen to form objects entirely from glass.
In all likelihood, the Egyptians learned glassmaking from their Asiatic neighbors, possibly from captives taken during Egyptian military campaigns in the East under the eighteenth-dynasty pharaoh Thutmosis III (1490–1436 B.C.). The glass industry, once transplanted to Egypt, grew vigorously, fueled in part by the abundance of the raw materials required to manufacture glass. Egyptian workshops not only produced a variety of wares for consumption by the royal court and aristocrats, who could afford such luxuries, but also exported large quantities of raw glass.