Everyone has heard of the pyramids, but not everyone has heard of the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia. Mound building has been common in many ancient cultures - the Mayans built the Mayan pyramids, the people of the Mississippi built the mounds of Cahokia (that everyone should visit), the Egyptians built the pyramids, and the Mesopotamians built the ziggurats.
Ziggurats were a form of a terraced compound of stories or levels going higher and higher (similar to a step pyramid). These terraces likely led to a temple on top. Ziggurats may have been the oldest of the pyramids listed above. It is even possible that the design of the oldest stepped pyramids of Egypt could have been an evolution of these ziggurats of Mesopotamia.
What Were Ziggurats, And Why Were They Built?
While the Ziggurats could change significantly on the time and place, each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that had other buildings that often don't survive today.
One of the world's first ancient nations of Sumeria believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the Ziggurats and so only the priests and other elite individuals were permitted to enter.
- Name: The Word Ziggurat Comes From The Assyrian Word "Ziqquratu" Meaning "Height or Pinnacle"
- Builders: Ziggurats Were Built by Ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites, Eblaites, and Babylonians
- Where They Are: Mesopotamia - Today's Iraq and Western Iran
While some of the ziggurats were simple, being a base on which a temple sat, others are mind-bending marvels of ancient engineering. They are marvels of mathematics and construction that are often forgotten about now.
- Decorated: The Ziggurats Were Likely Painted And Exquisitely Adorned
While they look like nothing more than piles of mud now, they would have looked spectacular in the past. Textual accounts even say that some of the terraces were multicolored and the temples on top were exquisite. The temples were often painted.
One more practical function of the ziggurat was that of security. The shrine at the top was only accessible by the stairs and it was easy to defend with only a few guides.
What They Looked Like And How They Were Used
Today erosion has reduced the surviving ziggurats to a fraction of their original height. It is likely that there were once shrines at the tops of the ziggurats - although the chances of finding a shrine now are remote. It seems that ziggurats developed out of earlier temples on platforms. The platforms were progressively raised over time so that the shrines would stand ever higher.
- Temples: They Likely Had Temples On Top
The temple complex of which the ziggurats were a part included storage rooms, bathrooms, living quarters, and a courtyard. The city would have spread around this complex. The pyramids of Egypt were also once part of great complexes and were brilliantly decorated - only the remains are visible today.
- Complexes: Like The Pyramids Of Egypt, Ziggurats Were Part of Temple Complexes
Unlike other temples, Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were just the dwelling places for the gods. And the purpose was to get the temple closer to the heavens.
The ancients believed that the ziggurats connected heaven and earth - shown in that the name of the ziggurat at Babylon (Etemenanki) means "House of the foundation of heaven and earth."
- Tower Of Babel: Was Probably A Ziggurat - Possibly Etemenanki In Babylon
It is thought that the famous tail in the Bible of the Tower of Babel is a reference to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia. It is thought that this story could have stemmed from the ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar restored it.
Ziggurats Today
Today one of the best-preserved ziggurats is Chogha Zanbil in western Iran near the Iraqi border. In ancient times, this area was Elam. Also in Iran is the Sialk Ziggurat which is one of the oldest known ziggurats dating from the early 3rd millennium BC.
- Age Of the Choqa Zanbil: Built Around 1300 BC
Today some of the notable ziggurats remaining today include:
- The Great Ziggurat of Ur: In Iraq near Nasiriyah
- Ziggurat of Aqar Quf: In Iraq near Baghdad
- Etemenanki: In Babylon In Iraq (Now Destroyed)
- Chogha Zabil: In Khuzestan In Iran
Today, it is a little difficult to visit these forgotten ancient pyramids. Most are in Iraq and there are travel warnings about visiting the country - but it is possible for the intrepid explorer.
Iran is safe, but it may be difficult for Americans, Canadians, and British to get a visa to visit the ancient country. Visiting Iran is easy for Europeans and Australians.