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The ziggurat was built by King Ur-Nammu, who dedicated it in honour of Nanna/Sîn in approximately the 21st century BCE (short chronology) during the Third Dynasty of Ur. [4] The massive step pyramid measured 64 m (210 ft) in length, 45 m (148 ft) in width and over 30 m (98 ft) in height.
It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the now destroyed Etemenanki in Babylon, Chogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk.
The word ziggurat comes from ziqqurratum (height, pinnacle), in ancient Assyrian. From zaqārum, to be high up. The Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat built by King Ur-Nammu, who dedicated it in honor of Nanna/Sîn in approximately the 21st century BC during the Third Dynasty of Ur. [6]
Ur-Nammu's ziggurat at Ur was designed as a three-stage construction, but today only two of these survive. This entire mudbrick core structure was originally given a facing of baked brick envelope set in bitumen, 2.5 m on the first lowest stage, and 1.15 m on the second. Each of these baked bricks were stamped with the name of the king.
That Ur was an important urban centre already then seems to be indicated by a type of cylinder seal called the City Seals. These seals contain a set of Proto-Cuneiform signs which appear to be writings or symbols of the name of city-states in ancient Mesopotamia. Many of these seals have been found in Ur, and the name of Ur is prominent on them ...
The name Ennigaldi-Nanna was in all likelihood assumed at this time as her priestess name, since it means "Nanna requests an entu". [14] As entu, Ennigaldi would have devoted much of her religious time in the evenings to worship of Sin in a small blue room on top of the Ziggurat of Ur. [3]
Ur-Nammu built the great Ziggurat of Ur. Ur-Nammu was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur. [12] It has been suggested, based on a much later literary composition, that he was killed in battle after he had been abandoned by his army. [7] He was succeeded by his son Shulgi. [4]
Neo-Sumerian art is a period in the art of Mesopotamia made during the Third Dynasty of Ur or Neo-Sumerian period, c. 2112 BC – c. 2004 BC, in Southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). It is known mostly for the revival of the Sumerian stylistic qualities and was centered around royalty and divinity.