Ziggurats of Babylon For Kids | Mesopotamia | History Made Easy

Imagine walking through a hot, dry land thousands of years ago. The sun is shining brightly. There are no cars or tall buildings, but in the distance you see something huge rising into the sky. It looks like a giant pyramid with steps going up. People are climbing the steps, bringing food and gifts. You hear music and chanting. This is not a house or a castle. This is a ziggurat. It is the tallest building for miles. People believe the gods live at the top. Everyone in the city looks up to it, both with their eyes and their hearts. Ziggurats were tall, stepped buildings made in ancient Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was a region where some of the first cities in the world were built. It was between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Today this land is mostly in the country of Iraq. People began building ziggurats more than 4,000 years ago. They were made by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. These groups all lived in Mesopotamia. Ziggurats were built to honor the gods. People in Mesopotamia believed in many gods, not just one. Each city had its own special god or goddess. The ziggurat was built in the center of the city, close to the most important places. It was part of a temple. The people thought that the god lived at the top of the ziggurat. So the higher the ziggurat, the closer it was to the sky and to the heavens where the gods lived. Ziggurats were not places where regular people worshipped. Most people were not allowed to climb the steps. Only priests and special workers could go up. At the top, there was a small shrine or temple. That is where the priest would bring food and gifts. These were offerings for the god. People believed the priest could talk to the god for them. The priest asked the god for help with farming, health, or safety. The design of a ziggurat was very different from the smooth pyramids of Egypt. A ziggurat looked like a giant staircase. It had several levels or tiers. The biggest ones had up to seven levels. Each level was smaller than the one below, making it look like steps going up to the sky. The sides often had ramps or stairways. The buildings were made of sun-dried bricks and baked bricks. The inside bricks were not strong and could break in water. So the outside was covered in stronger bricks to protect it from rain. One of the most famous ziggurats was in the city of Ur. Ur was a large city in southern Mesopotamia. The ziggurat of Ur was built around 2100 BCE by King Ur-Nammu. It had three levels and was over 100 feet tall. You can still see parts of it today. Archaeologists began digging it up in the 1900s. They found the base, the steps, and many bricks with writing on them. These bricks told the name of the king and the god the ziggurat was for. Another famous ziggurat was in Babylon. Babylon was a powerful city in Mesopotamia. The ziggurat there may have inspired a story in the bible called the Tower of Babel. That tower was said to reach the heavens. The real ziggurat in Babylon was called Etemenanki. It may have been as tall as a 20-story building. Not much of it remains today. Ziggurats were more than just temples. They showed the power of the king and the city. Building a ziggurat took many workers and lots of time. The king needed strong people, smart builders, and many bricks. This showed that the city was rich and well organized. It also showed that the people cared about their god. A big tall ziggurat was a way to honor the god and bring good luck to the city. As time passed, fewer ziggurats were built. New empires came and went. Some cities were destroyed or left behind. Others built new kinds of temples, but the old ziggurats stayed. Even though they were made of mud bricks, many of them lasted thousands of years. Some are now just large hills. Others have been cleaned and repaired by modern scientists and builders. Today, ziggurats help us learn about ancient people. They show us what early cities looked like. They show how people worked together. They show what people believed. They remind us that even long ago, people built amazing things. They had strong ideas, strong hands, and strong hopes.