Ziggurat - what is it? Symbolism of ziggurat architecture. What is What famous biblical image does the ziggurat represent?

Between heaven and earth, earth and the underworld. The ziggurat was built seven stories high, which symbolized the seven heavens or planes of existence, seven planets and seven steps, which also corresponded to seven metals and seven colors: 1. black - Saturn, lead; 2. red-brown - Jupiter, tin; 3. red-pink - Mars, iron; 4. golden - Sun, gold; 5, white-golden - Venus, copper; 6. dark blue - Mercury, ; 7. silver - Moon, silver.

Dictionary of symbols. 2000 .

See what "Ziggurat" is in other dictionaries:

- (Akkadian), in the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia, a cult tiered tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers in the form of truncated pyramids or parallelepipeds made of adobe brick, connected by stairs and gentle ramps. The most famous... ... Art encyclopedia

In Ur. Ziggurat (from the Babylonian word sigguratu “peak”, including “top of a mountain”) is a multi-stage religious structure in ancient Mesopotamia ... Wikipedia

Ziggurat- Etemenanki in Babylon (the so-called Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. ZIGGURAT (Akkadian), a cult tower in the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

ziggurat- >.n. Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. /> Ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon (aka Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. Ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon (aka Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of World History

Pyramid, temple, tower Dictionary of Russian synonyms. ziggurat noun, number of synonyms: 3 tower (45) pyramid ... Synonym dictionary

- (Akkadian) in architecture Dr. Mesopotamian cult tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

In the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia, a cult tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps... Historical Dictionary

Stepped tower in Mesopotamian temple construction. Large explanatory dictionary of cultural studies.. Kononenko B.I.. 2003 ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

ziggurat- A stepped structure without internal premises, forming the foot of the temple [Terminological dictionary of construction in 12 languages ​​(VNIIIS Gosstroy USSR)] Topics architecture, basic concepts EN zigguratzikkurat DE Sikkurat FR ziggourat ... Technical Translator's Guide

Temple tower, belonging to the main temples of the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations. The name comes from the Babylonian word sigguratu summit, including the top of a mountain. The first such towers in the form of primitive stepped terraces appeared in... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

- (Akkadian) religious building in ancient Mesopotamia, which was a mud-brick tower made of parallelepipeds or truncated pyramids stacked on top of each other (from 3 to 7), which did not have an interior (with the exception of the upper volume, in which... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

• Ziggurat, De Santis Pablo. `One of my friends remembered John Ruskin's The Seven Lamps of Architecture, a book he read in his youth, and explained the meaning of each of the lamps. The first symbolized...

Consisting of several tiers. Its base is usually square or rectangular. This feature makes the ziggurat look like a step pyramid. The lower levels of the building are terraces. The roof of the upper tier is flat.

The builders of ancient ziggurats were Sumerians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and also the inhabitants of Elam. The ruins of their cities are preserved in the territory of modern Iraq and in the western part of Iran. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included other buildings.

Historical overview

Structures in the form of large, elevated platforms began to be erected in Mesopotamia as early as the fourth millennium BC. Nothing is known for certain about their purpose. According to one version, such artificial elevations were used to preserve the most valuable property, including sacred relics, during river floods.

Over time, architectural technologies have improved. If the stepped structures of the early Sumerians were two-tiered, then the ziggurat in Babylon had as many as seven levels. The interior of such structures was made from sun-dried building blocks. Burnt brick was used for external cladding.

The last ziggurats of Mesopotamia were built in the sixth century BC. These were the most impressive architectural structures of their time. They amazed contemporaries not only with their size, but also with the richness of their external design. It is no coincidence that the ziggurat of Etemenanki, built during this period, became the prototype of the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible.

The purpose of ziggurats

In many cultures, mountain peaks were considered the home of higher powers. It is well known that, for example, the gods of Ancient Greece lived on Olympus. The Sumerians probably had a similar worldview. Thus, a ziggurat is a man-made mountain that was created so that the gods would have a place to live. After all, in the Mesopotamia desert there were no natural elevations of such heights.

At the top of the ziggurat there was a sanctuary. There were no public religious ceremonies held there. For this purpose there were temples at the foot of the ziggurat. Only priests, whose duty was to take care of the gods, could go upstairs. The priests were the most respected and influential class of Sumerian society.

Ziggurat at Ur

Not far from the modern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah are the remains of the best-preserved structure of ancient Mesopotamia. This is a ziggurat built in the 21st century BC by the ruler Ur-Nammu. The grandiose building had a base of 64 by 45 meters, rose more than 30 meters and consisted of three levels. At the top there was a sanctuary of the moon god Nanna, who was considered the patron saint of the city.

By the sixth century BC the building had become very dilapidated and partially collapsed. But the last ruler of the Second, Nabonidus, ordered the restoration of the ziggurat in Ur. It underwent significant changes - instead of the original three, seven tiers were built.

The remains of a ziggurat were first described by European scientists in the early 19th century. Large-scale archaeological excavations were carried out by specialists from the British Museum from 1922 to 1934. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, the facade and the staircase leading to the top were reconstructed.

The most famous ziggurat

One of the most grandiose architectural structures in the history of mankind is the Tower of Babel. The size of the building was so impressive that a legend was born according to which the Babylonians wanted to reach the sky with its help.

Nowadays, most researchers agree that the Tower of Babel is not a fiction, but a real-life ziggurat of Etemenanki. Its height was 91 meters. Such a building would look impressive even by today's standards. After all, it was three times higher than the nine-story panel buildings we are used to.

It is unknown when exactly the ziggurat was erected in Babylon. Mentions of it are contained in cuneiform sources dating back to the second millennium BC. In 689 BC, the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib destroyed Babylon and the ziggurat located there. After 88 years, the city was restored. Etemenanki was also rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom.

The ziggurat was finally destroyed in 331 BC by order of Alexander the Great. The demolition of the building was supposed to be the first stage of its large-scale reconstruction, but the death of the commander prevented the implementation of these plans.

Exterior view of the Tower of Babel

Ancient books and modern excavations have made it possible to fairly accurately reconstruct the appearance of the legendary ziggurat. It was a building with a square base. The length of each of its sides, as well as the height, was 91.5 meters. Etemenanki consisted of seven tiers, each of which was painted in its own color.

To climb to the top of the ziggurat, you first had to climb one of the three central staircases. But this is only half the way. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, having climbed the large staircase, one could rest before further ascent. For this purpose, special places were equipped, protected by canopies from the scorching sun. Steps for further ascent encircled the walls of the upper levels of the ziggurat. At the top stood a spacious temple dedicated to Marduk, the patron god of Babylon.

Etemenanki was famous not only for its incredible size for its time, but also for the richness of its external decoration. According to the order, gold, silver, copper, stones of various colors, enameled brick, as well as fir and pine were used as finishing materials for the walls of the Tower of Babel.

The first tier of the ziggurat from the bottom was black, the second was snow-white, the third was painted purple, the fourth was blue, the fifth was red, the sixth was covered with silver, and the seventh was covered with gold.

Religious significance

The Babylonian ziggurat was dedicated to Marduk, who was considered the patron saint of the city. This is the local name of the Mesopotamian god Bel. Among the Semitic tribes he was known as Baal. The sanctuary was located in the upper tier of the ziggurat. There lived a priestess who was considered the wife of Marduk. Every year a new girl was chosen for this role. It had to be a beautiful young virgin from a noble family.

On the day of choosing the bride of Marduk, a grandiose celebration was held in Babylon, an important element of which was mass orgies. According to tradition, every woman had to make love at least once in her life with a stranger who would pay her money. Moreover, the first offer could not be refused, no matter how small the amount. After all, the girl went to the celebration not to earn money, but only to fulfill the will of the gods.

Similar customs were found among many Middle Eastern peoples and were associated with the cult of fertility. However, the Romans who wrote about Babylon saw something obscene in such rituals. Thus, the historian Quintus Curtius Rufus condemnsly mentions feasts during which ladies from noble families danced, gradually throwing off their clothes. A similar view has taken root in the Christian tradition; it is not for nothing that in Revelation one can find such a phrase as “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”

Symbolism of ziggurat architecture

Any tall building is associated with a person’s desire to become closer to the sky. And the stepped structure resembles a staircase leading up. Thus, the ziggurat primarily symbolizes the link between the heavenly world of deities and people living on earth. But, in addition to the common meaning for all high-rise buildings, the architectural form invented by the ancient Sumerians has other unique features.

In modern pictures depicting ziggurats, we see them from a top or side angle. But the inhabitants of Mesopotamia looked at them, being at the foot of these majestic buildings. From this vantage point, the ziggurat consists of several walls rising one after another, the highest of which is so high that it seems to touch the heavens.

What impression does such a spectacle make on the observer? In ancient times, a wall surrounded the city to protect it from enemy troops. She was associated with power and inaccessibility. Thus, a series of huge walls rising one after another created the effect of absolute inaccessibility. No other architectural form could so convincingly demonstrate the limitless power and authority of the deity living at the top of the ziggurat.

In addition to the impregnable walls, there were also gigantic staircases. Usually ziggurats had three of them - one central and two side. They demonstrated the possibility of dialogue between man and the gods. The clergy climbed them to the top to speak with higher powers. Thus, the symbolism of ziggurat architecture emphasized the power of the gods and the importance of the priestly caste, called upon to talk with them on behalf of the entire people.

Decoration of ziggurats

Not only the grandiose dimensions of the structure were intended to surprise the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, but also their external decoration and layout. The most expensive materials were used to line the ziggurats, including gold and silver. The walls were decorated with images of plants, animals and mythological creatures. At the top stood a golden statue of the deity in whose honor the ziggurat was erected.

The path from the bottom to the top was not straight. It was something like a three-dimensional labyrinth with climbs, long passages and numerous turns. The central staircase led only to the first or second tier. Then we had to move along a zigzag path - go around the corners of the building, climb the side steps, and then, on a new tier, go to the next flight, located on the other side.

The purpose of this layout was to make the climb longer. During the ascent, the priest had to get rid of worldly thoughts and focus on the divine. Interestingly, labyrinth temples also existed in ancient Egypt and medieval Europe.

The ziggurats of Mesopotamia were surrounded by gardens. The shade of the trees, the aroma of flowers, the splash of fountains created a feeling of heavenly serenity, which, according to the architects, was supposed to testify to the favor of the deities who lived on the top. It should also not be forgotten that the ziggurat was located in the center of the city. Residents came there to indulge in friendly conversations and shared entertainment.

Ziggurats in other parts of the world

Not only the rulers of Mesopotamia erected majestic buildings, trying to use them to leave their name for centuries. In others, there are also structures whose shape resembles a ziggurat.

The most famous and well-preserved buildings of this kind are located on the American continent. Most of them look like the Ziggurat, an architectural form known to the Aztecs, Mayans and other civilizations of pre-Columbian America.

The largest number of step pyramids collected in one place can be found at the site of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which is located approximately fifty kilometers from the capital of Mexico. The architectural form of the ziggurat is clearly recognizable in the appearance of the famous Temple of Kukulcan, also known as El Castillo. This building is one of the symbols of Mexico.

There are also ancient ziggurats in Europe. One of them, called Cancho Roano, is located in Spain and is a monument to the Tartessian civilization that once existed on the Iberian Peninsula. It is assumed that it was built in the sixth century BC.

Another unusual structure for Europe is the Sardinian ziggurat. This is a very ancient megalithic structure, erected back in the fourth millennium BC. The Sardinian ziggurat was a place of worship and religious ceremonies were held there for many centuries. The base of its platform was almost 42 meters long.

Modern ziggurats

The architectural form invented in ancient times also inspires modern designers. The most famous "ziggurat" built in the twentieth century is the Lenin Mausoleum. This form of the tomb of the Soviet leader gave rise to conspiracy theories about the connection of the Bolsheviks with ancient Mesopotamian cults.

In fact, the similarity with a ziggurat is most likely dictated by the artistic preferences of its architect Alexei Shchusev. To be convinced of this, just look at the building of the Kazansky railway station in Moscow, the design of which the master presented back in 1911. Its main structure also has a characteristic stepped structure. But the prototype here was not the architecture of the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, but the appearance of one of the towers of the Kazan Kremlin.

But it was not only the Russians who came up with the idea of ​​building a ziggurat in the twentieth century. There is also a building of a similar design in the USA. It is located in West Sacramento, California. And that's what the Ziggurat Building is called. Its construction was completed in 1997. This eleven-story office building, 47 and a half meters high, covers an area of ​​seven acres (28,000 m2) and has underground parking for more than one and a half thousand cars.

Ziggurat

Ziggurat(from the Babylonian word sigguratu- “top”, including “top of the mountain”) - a multi-stage religious building in ancient Mesopotamia, typical of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Elamite architecture.

Architecture and purpose

A ziggurat is a tower of parallelepipeds or truncated pyramids stacked on top of each other, from 3 for the Sumerians to 7 for the Babylonians, who did not have an interior (with the exception of the upper volume in which the sanctuary was located). The ziggurat's terraces, painted in different colors, were connected by stairs or ramps, and the walls were divided by rectangular niches. Inside the walls supporting platforms (parallelepipeds) there were many rooms where priests and temple workers lived.

Next to the stepped ziggurat tower there was usually a temple, which was not a prayer building as such, but the dwelling of a god. The Sumerians, and after them the Assyrians and Babylonians, worshiped their gods on the tops of the mountains and, preserving this tradition after moving to the lowlands of Mesopotamia, erected mound mountains that connected heaven and earth. The material for the construction of ziggurats was raw brick, additionally reinforced with layers of reeds, and the outside was lined with baked bricks. Rains and winds destroyed these structures, they were periodically renovated and restored, so over time they became taller and larger in size, and their design also changed. The Sumerians built them in three stages in honor of the supreme trinity of their pantheon - the god of air Enlil, the god of water Enki and the god of sky Anu. The Babylonian ziggurats were already seven-tiered and painted in the symbolic colors of the planets (five planets were known in ancient Babylon): black (Saturn, Ninurta), white (Mercury, Nabu), purple (Venus, Ishtar), blue (Jupiter, Marduk), bright -red (Mars, Nergal), silver (Moon, Sin) and gold (Sun, Shamash).

In the later period, the ziggurat was not so much a temple structure as an administrative center where the administration and archives were located.

The prototype of the ziggurat were stepped temples. The first such towers in the form of primitive stepped terraces appeared in the alluvial valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. The last noticeable surge in activity in the construction of Mesopotamian ziggurats is attested already in the 6th century BC. e., at the end of the Neo-Babylonian period. Throughout ancient history, ziggurats were renovated and rebuilt, becoming a source of pride for kings.

A number of biblical scholars trace the connection between the legend of the Tower of Babel and the construction of high tower-temples called ziggurats in Mesopotamia.

Ziggurats survived in Iraq (in the ancient cities of Borsippa, Babylon, Dur-Sharrukin, all - 1st millennium BC) and Iran (in the site of Chogha-Zanbil, 2nd millennium BC).

see also

Sources

• B. Bayer, W. Birstein and others. History of mankind 2002 ISBN 5-17-012785-5

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Full Moon wo Sagashite
• SSL

See what "Ziggurat" is in other dictionaries:

Ziggurat- (Akkadian), in the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia, a cult tiered tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers in the form of truncated pyramids or parallelepipeds made of adobe brick, connected by stairs and gentle ramps. The most famous... ... Art encyclopedia

Ziggurat- Etemenanki in Babylon (the so-called Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. ZIGGURAT (Akkadian), a cult tower in the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

ziggurat- >.n. Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. /> Ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon (aka Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction. Ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon (aka Tower of Babel). Ser. 7th century BC. Reconstruction... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of World History

ziggurat- pyramid, temple, tower Dictionary of Russian synonyms. ziggurat noun, number of synonyms: 3 tower (45) pyramid ... Synonym dictionary

ZIGGURAT- (Akkadian) in architecture Dr. Mesopotamian cult tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Ziggurat- in the architecture of Ancient Mesopotamia, a cult tower. The ziggurats had 3 to 7 tiers of mud brick, connected by stairs and ramps... Historical Dictionary

Ziggurat- stepped tower in Mesopotamian temple construction. Large explanatory dictionary of cultural studies.. Kononenko B.I.. 2003 ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

ziggurat- A stepped structure without internal premises, forming the foot of the temple [Terminological dictionary of construction in 12 languages ​​(VNIIIS Gosstroy USSR)] Topics architecture, basic concepts EN zigguratzikkurat DE Sikkurat FR ziggourat ... Technical Translator's Guide

ZIGGURAT- temple tower, belonging to the main temples of the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations. The name comes from the Babylonian word sigguratu summit, including the top of a mountain. The first such towers in the form of primitive stepped terraces appeared in... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Hypothetical reconstruction of the ziggurat at Ur

Ziggurat(from the Babylonian word sigguratu- “top”, including “top of the mountain”) - a multi-stage religious structure in Ancient Mesopotamia and Elam, typical of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Elamite architecture.

Architecture and purpose

A ziggurat is a tower of parallelepipeds or truncated pyramids stacked on top of each other, from 3 for the Sumerians to 7 for the Babylonians, who did not have an interior (with the exception of the upper volume in which the sanctuary was located). The ziggurat's terraces, painted in different colors, were connected by stairs or ramps, and the walls were divided by rectangular niches.

It is not completely clear for what purpose the ziggurats were erected. Etymology does not help solve this problem, since the word "ziggurat" comes from the verb Zakar, which simply translates to “build high.” The pioneers of Mesopotamian archeology naively believed that ziggurats served as observatories or towers for the “Chaldean” stargazers, “in which the priests of the god Bel could hide at night from the heat and mosquitoes.” However, all these hypotheses are obviously untrue. Almost immediately the thought of the Egyptian pyramids comes to the mind of any person who sees a ziggurat. Of course, Egyptian influence on Sumerian architects cannot be completely ruled out, but it should be noted that, unlike the pyramids, there were never tombs or any other premises inside the ziggurats. As a rule, they were erected over older and much more modest structures built during the Early Dynastic period. In turn, these low, one-story ancient ziggurats, as is now generally accepted, originated from the platforms on which the temples of the Ubaid, Uruk and proto-literate periods stood.

Some researchers believe that the Sumerians originally lived in the mountains, on the tops of which they worshiped their gods. Thus, the towers they erected were supposed to become a kind of artificial mountains rising above the Mesopotamian lowland. Other scholars, rejecting this simplistic and in many ways rather controversial explanation, believe that the temple platform (and therefore the ziggurat) was intended to elevate the main city god above other deities and alienate him from the “laity.” Researchers belonging to the third group see in the ziggurat a huge staircase, a bridge connecting the temples located below, where daily rituals were held, and a sanctuary located above, located halfway between earth and sky, where on certain occasions people could meet with the gods.

Perhaps the best definition of a ziggurat is found in the Bible, which says that the Tower of Babel was built to be “high to the heavens.” In the deeply religious consciousness of the Sumerians, these huge, but at the same time amazingly airy structures were “prayers made of bricks.” They served as a constant invitation to the gods to descend to earth and at the same time an expression of one of the most important aspirations of man - to rise above his weakness and enter into a closer relationship with the deity.

The material for the construction of ziggurats was raw brick, additionally reinforced with layers of reeds, and the outside was lined with baked bricks. Rains and winds destroyed these structures, they were periodically renovated and restored, so over time they became taller and larger in size, and their design also changed. The Sumerians built them in three stages in honor of the supreme trinity of their pantheon - the god of air Enlil, the god of water Enki and the god of sky Anu. Babylonian ziggurats were already seven-stepped and painted in the symbolic colors of the planets.

The last noticeable surge in activity in the construction of Mesopotamian ziggurats is attested already in the 6th century BC. e., at the end of the Neo-Babylonian period. Throughout ancient history, ziggurats were renovated and rebuilt, becoming a source of pride for kings.

A number of biblical scholars trace the connection between the legend of the Tower of Babel and the construction of high tower-temples called ziggurats in Mesopotamia.

Ziggurats survived in Iraq (in the ancient cities of Borsippa, Babylon, Dur-Sharrukin, all - 1st millennium BC) and Iran (in the site of Chogha-Zanbil, 2nd millennium BC).

In other regions

Ziggurats in the strict sense of the word were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites and Assyrians. However, in essence, a ziggurat is a religious structure in the form of a stepped pyramid. Similar religious buildings were built using similar and slightly different technology by many peoples in different parts of the world - in Ancient Egypt, Sardinia, Mesoamerica, South America, Southeast Asia and even in equatorial Africa. The pyramids of Mesoamerica are closest to ziggurats in purpose. As in Mesopotamia, Indian “ziggurats” were built by different peoples using the same technology and in the same architectural style, and on their tops there were temple buildings.

see also

Ziggurat towers come across our eyes quite often - for example, a photograph of such a building traditionally adorns the cover of a high school history textbook.


A ziggurat is an ancient temple structure that first appeared among the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians. Scientists claim that the first ziggurats were built in the 4th millennium BC in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

What do ziggurats look like?

Term "ziggurat" has Babylonian roots (from sigguratu, which means "vertex" ). The tower looks like several stepped terraces, placed one on top of the other, with a wide base and a noticeable narrowing towards the top. The outline of the ziggurat resembles a classic pyramid.

There was a temple at the top of the ziggurat, and drainage holes were made in the walls. You could get to the temple at the top via the main front staircase or one of the staircases (ramps) located along the side walls. Inside the ziggurat, in the main hall, there were statues of gods made of wood and covered with ivory plates and with eyes made of precious stones.

The base of the ziggurat was made of clay bricks reinforced with reed layers; the outside was made of baked clay masonry. Initially, the ziggurat consisted of one terrace, but already from the second millennium BC the construction of multi-level structures came into practice.


It is known that the Sumerians made three levels (in honor of the god of air, the god of water and the god of sky), while the Babylonians built towers with seven levels. The base of the temple tower could be either rectangular or square, and the dimensions of the structure were more than impressive. Thus, the Babylonian ziggurat reached a height of almost one hundred meters. Within the walls of the towers there were rooms for priests and temple servants.

What did the ziggurats symbolize?

According to one version, ziggurats in the ideas of the ancient Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians were supposed to personify a ladder between earth and sky. It is also believed that the ziggurat embodied the infinity and versatility of the Universe.

It is no coincidence that each of the terraces was painted in its own color, conventionally denoting the underground world, the human world, the animal world, and so on. The temple crowning the top of the structure symbolized the sky. These artificial hills - massive structures with sloping walls - were once the pride of rulers, were carefully updated and could be rebuilt more than once over the centuries.


Over time, ziggurats began to be used not as temple buildings, but as administrative centers.

The most famous ziggurats

Judging by the descriptions left by Herodotus, the Tower of Babel known to us from the Bible was a ziggurat. The quadrangular structure had sides at the base, each 355 meters long, and in the center there was a tower with a length and width of almost 180 meters. On top of it were seven more towers, one on top of the other, around which a staircase wound. And on the tower crowning this building there was a temple.

The remains of a ziggurat in the city of Ur have survived to this day. The tower was built in the second millennium BC in honor of the Moon God. Initially, the structure was three-tiered, later the number of levels was increased to seven; The temple was not inferior in size to the Tower of Babel. The ziggurat in Ur began to be studied in the mid-19th century. Cuneiform writing telling about the progress of construction was discovered within its walls.

Thanks to this, scientists were able to recreate the model of the ziggurat: a rectangular base measuring 45 by 60 meters; a two and a half meter thick layer of baked brick cladding; the first tier, reaching a height of fifteen meters. The terraces were painted black, red and white. There were three staircases leading to the top, each with a hundred steps.

Ziggurats from the second millennium BC are preserved today in Iran, and from the first millennium BC in Iraq (Babylon, Borsip, Dur-Sharrukin).

Researchers were able to establish that to give the building a more impressive appearance, the builders deliberately curved the walls. In Mesopotamian ziggurats, the walls could be inclined inward or made convex. These tricks forced a person’s gaze to involuntarily slide upward and focus on the temple crowning the top. The dome of this temple was often gilded.


To prevent the brick from which the ziggurat was built from swelling from moisture, slits lined with shards were made in the walls, which made it possible to dry the building from the inside, removing excess moisture. The fact is that the terraces of the ziggurats were covered with earth, grass and trees grew on them, and drainage holes were created to reduce the harmful effects of wet soil on the stones.