Mesopotamian Architecture

Ishtar Gate
1. the gate was constructed using glazed brick with alternating rows of bas-relief mušḫuššu (dragons) and aurochs, symbolizing the gods Marduk and Adad respectively.
2. The roof and doors of the gate were of cedar, according to the dedication plaque. The gate was covered in lapis lazuli, a deep-blue semi-precious stone that was revered in antiquity due to its vibrancy. These blue glazed bricks would have given the façade a jewel-like shine.
3. Through the gate ran the Processional Way, which was lined with walls showing about 120 lions, bulls, dragons and flowers on enameled yellow and black glazed bricks, symbolizing the goddess Ishtar. The gate itself depicted only gods and goddesses; these included Ishtar, Adad and Marduk
Ziggurat
1. were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.
2. built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians
3. An example of a simple ziggurat is the White Temple of Uru
4. at the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, although none of these shrines have survived.[1] One practical function of the ziggurats was a high place on which the priests could escape rising water that annually inundated lowlands and occasionally flooded for hundreds of miles
5. Another practical function of the ziggurat was for security. Since the shrine was accessible only by way of three stairways,[6] a small number of guards could prevent non-priests from spying on the rituals at the shrine on top of the ziggurat, such as cooking of sacrificial food and burning of carcasses of sacrificial animals. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included a courtyard, storage rooms, bathrooms, and living quarters, around which a city was built.[7]
6. built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. 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
7. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven.
Palace of Zargon

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Mesopotamian Architecture

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