Definition of the glossary term ziggurat
A ziggurat is a common type of tower, found in the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cities of Mesopotamia. This tower was often built on a rectangular platform (though some were oval), and was comprised of several stepped levels, which gave it the appearance of a terraced pyramid, except for having a flat top. They were cosntructed of sun-baked clay bricks. The first ziggurats began appearing during the 4tn millenium B.C. in Sumeria.
Though ziggurats were temples for gods, they were not a place that citizens were allowed to worship at. They were thought of as the home of the god, and only priests were allowed in or on a ziggurat.
One of the most famous ziggurats is that from the Sumerian city of Ur.
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