Ziggurat

A ziggurat ( ); Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and Iran. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the no longer extant Etemenanki in Babylon, Chogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk. The Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats, so only priests and other highly-respected individuals could enter. Sumerian society offered these individuals such gifts as music, harvested produce, and the creation of devotional statues to entice them to live in the temple.

A ziggurat ( ); Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and Iran. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the no longer extant Etemenanki in Babylon, Chogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk. The Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats, so only priests and other highly-respected individuals could enter. Sumerian society offered these individuals such gifts as music, harvested produce, and the creation of devotional statues to entice them to live in the temple. ==Etymology and history== The ziggurat comes from Akkadian: , D-stem of 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew zaqar (זָקַר) 'protrude' ). The Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat built by King Ur-Nammu, who dedicated it in honor of Nanna/Sîn in approximately the 21st century BC during the Third Dynasty of Ur. Ziggurats are markers of Mesopotamian cities from approximately 2200 until 500 BCE. ==Description== , originally built by Ur-Nammu, circa 2100 BC Ziggurat (model). Circa 1300 BC Ziggurats were built by ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Kassites, Elamites, Eblaites and Babylonians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex with other buildings. Before the ziggurats there were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the sixth millennium BCE. The ziggurats began as platforms (usually oval, rectangular or square). The ziggurat was a mastaba-like structure with a flat top. The sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. Each step was slightly smaller than the step below it. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of floors ranged from two to seven. According to archaeologist Harriet Crawford, Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods, and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian and Assyro-Babylonian society. ite Ziggurat of Dur Untash in Persian Choqa Zanbil in Khuzestan, Iran, circa 1300 BC One of the best-preserved ziggurats is Chogha Zanbil in western Iran. Ziggurat designs ranged from simple bases upon which a temple sat, to marvels of mathematics and construction which spanned several terraced stories and were topped with a temple. An example of a simple ziggurat is the White Temple of Uruk, in ancient Sumer. The ziggurat itself is the base on which the White Temple is set. Its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, and provide access from the ground to it via steps. The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth. In fact, the ziggurat at Babylon was known as Etemenanki, which means "House of the foundation of heaven and earth" in Sumerian. ziggurat The date of its original construction is unknown, with suggested dates ranging from the fourteenth to the ninth century BC, with textual evidence suggesting it existed in the second millennium. Unfortunately, not much of even the base is left of this massive structure, yet archeological findings and historical accounts put this tower at seven multicolored tiers, topped with a temple of exquisite proportions. The temple is thought to have been painted and maintained an indigo color, matching the tops of the tiers. It is known that there were three staircases leading to the temple, two of which (side flanked) were thought to have only ascended half the ziggurat's height. ==Interpretation and significance== According to Herodotus, at the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, although none of these shrines have survived. Functionally, ziggurats offered a high place on which priests could escape rising water that annually inundated lowlands and occasionally flooded for hundreds of kilometers. They also offered security; since the shrine was accessible only by way of three stairways, a small number of guards could prevent non-priests from spying on the rituals at the shrine on top of the ziggurat, such as initiation rituals, cooking of sacrificial food and burning of sacrificial animals. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included a courtyard, storage rooms, bathrooms, and living quarters, around which a city spread, as well as a place for the people to worship. It was considered to be a sacred structure. ==See also== :Category:Ziggurat style modern architecture ==References== ===Citations=== ===Sources=== ==Further reading== ==External links== UNESCO Heritage site for Choqa Zanbil ziggurat, Iran. Article on the status of Sialk ziggurat, Iran.

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