Ziggurat of ur: Did you mean...?

Mesopotamian religion was central to the people's lives. Humans were created as co-laborers with their gods to hold off the forces of chaos and to keep the world running smoothly. As in ancient Egypt, the gods were honored daily for providing...

A temple (from the Latin templum) is a structure usually built for the purpose of, and always dedicated to, religious or spiritual activities including prayer, meditation, sacrifice and worship. The templum was a sacred precinct defined by...

The Early Dynastic period in Mesopotamia is the modern-day archaeological term for the era in Mesopotamian history – circa 2900 to circa 2350/2334 BCE – during which some of the most significant cultural advances were made, including the...

Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq) was a city built by Sargon II of Assyria (r. 722-705 BCE) as his new capital between 717-706 BCE. The name means Fortress of Sargon and the building project became the king's near obsession as soon as...

Enlil in the E-Kur (circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian hymn praising the sky god Enlil, his temple/ziggurat at Nippur, and his consort Ninlil, depicting all three in glowing terms and Enlil as a creator god. The piece is highly regarded as an...

The gods of Mesopotamia are first evidenced during the Ubaid Period (circa 6500-4000 BCE) when temples were raised to them, but their worship developed during the Uruk Period (circa 4000-3100 BCE) and their names appear in writing beginning...

The Etemenanki (Sumerian for: "temple of the foundation of heaven and earth") was a massive ziggurat dedicated to Marduk in ancient Babylon. It is unclear when the Etemenanki was originally constructed, and it is sometimes associated with...

The ruins of the temple complex of the city of Ur in modern-day Southern Iraq, with the Great Ziggurat of Ur in the background. The temple complex was where the poet priestess Enheduanna (circa 2300 BCE) would have worked and written her...

Elamite Ziggurat located in today's Khuzestan Province in Iran. It was constructed in approximately 1250 BCE in a religious city originally called Dur Untash.

Tepe Sialk is an archeological site (a tepe, "hill, tell") near Kashan in central Iran consisting of two hills with six main phases of occupation. The oldest settlements in Sialk date to around 6000–5500 BCE while the ziggurat was constructed...