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Geography, Citizenship, Personal, Social & Emotional Development, Social Studies, Philosophy
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Nothing says more about the economic and military power of the rulers of ancient Mesopotamia than *ziggurats*. These monuments, built of unburnt bricks and faced with better quality burnt bricks, resemble mountains in the flat region of the *Euphrates* and *Tigris* Rivers. Even the very name *ziggurat* is derived from an Akkadian word that can be loosely translated as *to erect* or *to build high*.
In contrast to the better-known Egyptian pyramids, ziggurats were terraced, serving as temples and – in early periods – as administrative centers. Shrines dedicated to the main deity, the patron of the city-state, were built on top of them.
The most famous and best preserved *ziggurat*, an approximate reconstruction of which can be seen in the model, was built in the 20th-21st centuries BC in the ancient city of *Ur* and dedicated to the lunar deities. In *Babylon* the temple was dedicated to *Marduk*. It was this tall *ziggurat* that probably inspired the famous biblical story of the *Tower of Babel*.
