Ziggurats

In ancient Mesopotamia religion was very important to their culture. The Mesopotamians believed the gods were responsible for all things such as love,good crops, etc. The   Mesopotamians also believed that the gods were high above them and the priests needed to get as close as possible to make offerings. Although ziggurats served as a religious temple they were not open to the public.Only priests and other religious officials were allowed to make offerings in the ziggurats.  In addition to their religious roles they also showed symbols of power and wealth. Not only does the ziggurat help serve religious purposes but they also brought people together no matter their background or social status.

 The first surviving ziggurat dates all the way back to the fourth millennium B.C.E. Ziggurats were massive pyramid like structures made by mud sun dried blocks stacked on top of each other. The thickness of these blocks varied from thirteen to forty centimeters. Although none of the surviving ziggurats are their original height due to erosion the ziggurats could vary in height from 80 to 150 feet tall. Ziggurats were built in the center of the town establishing power and wealth. Ziggurats also used buttress and drains. They used the buttress for additional support and looks. They used the drains to help keep out moisture since the ziggurats were made out of sun dried mud blocks.

The architecture of the ziggurats affected many different civilizations such as the Mayans and the Egyptians. The Mayans used very similar architecture for their pyramids. The Mayans also used their pyramids for the exact same reasons such as religion,political, and culture. The ziggurats also affected the pyramids of Egypt with the architecture.

Just like many of the ancient civilizations Mesopotamia was a place of polytheistic beliefs meaning the belief of many gods. Mesopotamia had many deities the most important ones were Anu,Enki,Enlil,Shamash and Sin. Anu was the god of heaven, Enki was the god of water, Enlil was the god of wind, Shamash was the good of the sun and Sin was the god of the moon.

Ziggurats were important to the Mesopotamia civilization because they brought people from all different social classes together.  Ziggurats also were important for economic purposes. The priest who worked at the ziggurat managed trade, food storage, and record keeping. 

Ziggurats could range anywhere from 80 to 150 feet tall. One of the reasons why Ziggurats were constructed so tall is to protect the shrine from flooding. The shrine is were they sacrificed things to the gods. They were also built high to establish power and wealth amongst all city-states.