Ziggurat

A zig�gu�rat (z_ĭg`_ə-r_ăt) is a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Persia, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding storeys. One of the finest remaining is Choqa Zanbil in western Iran, which has miraculously survived despite a devastating 8 year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s in which many archeological sites were destroyed. The Sialk, however, is in Kashan Iran dating back to the 5th millenia BC. 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 fit for any god. An example of a simpler 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. Example of an extensive and massive ziggurat is the Marduk ziggurat, or Etemenanki, of ancient Babylon. Unfortunately, not much of even the base is left of this massive structure, yet archeology 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. Etemenanki, the name for the structure is Sumerian language and means "The Foundation of Heaven and Earth." Most likely being built by Hammurabi, the ziggurat's core was found to have contained the remains of earlier ziggurats and structures. The final stage consisted of a 15 metre hardened brick encasement constructed by Monarch Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Ziggurats were a form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia. These structures were called Etemenanki by the Sumerians, meaning "The Foundation of Heaven and Earth." The earliest examples of ziggurats date from the end of the third millennium BC and the latest date from the 6th century BC. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had cosmological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the ruins at Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. [[Image:Choghazanbil2.jpg|left|thumb|''Dur-Untash'', or ''Choqa zanbil'', built in 13th century BC by ''Untash Napirisha'', is one of the world's best preserved ziggurats. Located near Susa, Iran.]]The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not the place of public worship or ceremonies but instead were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. Through the ziggurat the gods could be close to mankind and each city had its own patron god or goddess. Only priests were permitted inside the ziggurat and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. As a result the priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society. It has also been suggested that the ziggurat was a symbolic representation of the primeval mound upon which the universe had supposedly been created. Moreover, the ziggurat may have been built as a bridge between heaven and earth. The temples of the Sumerians were believed to be a cosmic axis, a vertical bond between heaven and Earth, and the Earth and the underworld, and a horizontal bond between the lands. Built on seven levels the ziggurat represented seven heavens and planes of existence, the seven planets and the seven metals associated with them and their corresponding colors. Overall, 32 ziggurats are currently known to be existing from and around Mesopotamia. 4 of them are in Iran, and the rest are mostly in Iraq. The most recent to be discovered was Sialk, in central Iran. The ziggurat style of architecture continues to be used and copied today in many places of the world. Perhaps one example would be the University of Tennessee at Knoxville central library, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Another would be the ''ziggurat by the river'', near downtown Sacramento, California, used as corporate office space. The Biblical account of the Tower of Babel may be based on recollections of Mesopotamian ziggurats. ==See also== Sialk Choqa Zanbil ==External links== *[http://www.crystalinks.com/ziggurat.html Mesopotamian Ziggurats] - Information on ziggurats in general, including depth within their present-day ruins. *[http://www.choghazanbil.ir/english/eindex.aspx Website of Choqa Zanbil ziggurat, Iran.] *[http://www.iranian.com/History/2004/April/Sialk/index.html Article on status of Sialk ziggurat, Iran.] Sumer Babylonia Religious buildings

Ziggurat

Wikipedia:Babel

[[Image:CatalHoyukSouthArea.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Image uploaded to �atalh�y�k]] Hi, I'm a lecturer from Palmerston North, New Zealand. I'd like to be a polymath, but am usually a wikt:dilettante instead. I'm keen to add and improve pages on all things literary and linguistic. I also copyedit, clarify, and wikify randomly selected articles and am involved with Wikipedia:WikiProject:New_Zealand. New pages I have created or significantly expanded (not including redirects): *Johann Gottfried Koehler (stub) *Ear of Dionysius *Taijin kyofusho * Type site * Japanese Wolf * Asian Flu * Hong Kong Flu * Philip Temple * Bill Manhire * Manawatu Gorge * Self-sufficiency * Barry Crump * Joy Cowley * Dongxiang / Dongxiang language (stubs) * Minsaara Kanavu * Vathek * Polynesian Rat * Kereru * The Yellow Wallpaper * Netball World Championships * International Federation of Netball Associations * Silver Ferns * Burping * Stomach ache (stub) * Cud * Edgar Ende * D'Arcy Niland * Patricia Grace * Trenitalia (stub) * Hone Tuwhare * Mus�e Rodin * New Zealand general election 1969 I've also added as much information as possible to the following navigation pages: * :Category:Island nations * List of sport governing bodies Pages that I hope to create or significantly contribute to in the future: *Feilding - Marton - Rangitikei *Palmerston North International Airport *Manawatu River *New Zealand Army *Camille Clifford *�atalh�y�k - Fethiye - Oludeniz *''One Week'' - ''The Electric House'' - ''The Playhouse'' - and other Buster Keaton shorts *''The Secret Agent'' *''Tokyo Story'' (Tokyo Monogatari) *''The Mysteries of Udolpho'' - ''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' - ''The Vampyre'' - and other Gothic novels New Zealand writers: * New Zealand literature - New Zealand Book Awards * Ursula Bethell - Charles Brasch - Allan Curnow - Dan Davin - Marilyn Duckworth - Alan Duff - Maurice Duggan - Barbara Ewing - Fiona Farrell-Poole - Roderick Findlayson - Denis Glover - Patricia Grace - Keri Hulme - Sam Hunt - Robin Hyde - Witi Ihimaera - John A. Lee - George Leitch - Elsie Locke - Robert Lord - Greg McGee - Cilla McQueen - Margaret Mahy - Katherine Mansfield - Owen Marshall - Bruce Mason - Roland Hugh Morrieson - John Mulgan - William Pember Reeves - Frank Sargeson - William Satchell - Maurice Shadbolt - John Sligo - C. K. Stead - Jacqui Sturm - Mervyn Thompson - Hone Tuwhare - Ian Wedde - Albert Wendt - Jean Watson

Ziggurat

Hello and Wikipedia:Welcome, newcomers to Wikipedia! Here are some tips to help you get started: * Try the Wikipedia:Tutorial, and feel free to experiment in the Wikipedia:Test area. * If you need Wikipedia:Help, post a question at the Wikipedia:Help desk * Eventually, you might want to read the Wikipedia:Manual of Style and Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines. *Remember Wikipedia:Neutral point of view * Explore, Wikipedia:Be bold in updating pages, and, most importantly, have fun! Good luck! User:Meelar_User_talk:Meelar">User:Meelar|User:Meelar User talk:Meelar P.S. One last helpful hint. To sign your posts like I did above (on Wikipedia:Tutorial (Talk pages), for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes). Kia ora, "Palmerstonian"! Been active for at least two weeks and nobody has put any criticisms on your talk page!! Well, I don't want to be the first, so I'll just say I have enjoyed a number of refreshment stops and done a bit of land surveying in Palmerston, New Zealand. My daughter, Annabel, is the current "voice" of Arena Manawatu; but maybe you don't listen to commercial radio. Impressive list of proposed projects you have, and remarkable list of achievements in such a short time! Doubtless our paths will cross (or at least meet in a friendly way) from time to time. User:Robin Patterson 00:51, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Manawatu articles == Hi Ziggurat (hm... now there's a word I haven't heard since Anthro 101!) I see you're in (and interested in) the Manawatu area. I've finally got to there in my obsessive article writing about NZ geography. You might like to have a look at some of the articles in :Category: Manawatu-Wanganui, make sure I haven't done anything stupid (you might even want to improve on some of them!). The following in particular might be worth a look: Marton, New Zealand and Ashhurst. I hope to tackle the main Palmerston North article in the next day or two, and possibly also do ones on the Manawatu plains, Manawatu river, and Shannon, NZ. User:Grutness_^{User_talk:Grutness}_">User:Grutness|User:Grutness ^{User_talk:Grutness} 07:45, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Frandlebaker == Remember: double curly brackets, not single. (c;
User:Eric Herboso 21:29, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ziggurat

You build Ziggurats in Warcraft III :There are a zillion other places, companies, organizations, bands, people, neckties, where ziggurats appear in them or use the name: * http://www.zigguratproductions.com/ * http://www.zigg.net/ * http://www.zigguratofdoom.com/ * http://www.zigguratllc.biz/ * http://www.ziggurattheatre.org/ * http://www.geocities.com/zig_64/ * http://www.zindamagazine.com/ziggurat/index.php * http://www.typography.com/catalog/ziggurat/ * http://www.chessvariants.org/index/zillions.php?itemid=ZiggyZRF * http://www.houseogroove.com/cuppa/forum.php * http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/jj/sep00jj.cfm * http://www.lightcrafters.com/product_info.php?products_id=59 * http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=86646&item=8183692934&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW * ... * ... * ...--User:Zereshk 20:07, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC) ==When is a Ziggurat not a Ziggurat== It might be worth adding a paragraph clarify the difference between a pyramid and a ziggurat. I was going to add :Image:Lightmatter chichen15.jpg at Chichen Itza, except that I see it is also known as the 'Pyramid of Kulkulk�n' and I can't find any references to it being called a ziggurat. Nevertheless it seems to be a classical example of a ziggurat with a stepped construction and temple on top. -- User:Solipsist 18:47, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC) Good point. I was always thinking that The the Giza pyramids are technically aiggurats as well. The distinctions therefore need to be made.--User:Zereshk 00:49, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

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