Religion

 ** Gods **

There were many gods and goddesses in the land of Sumer, during the time of Mesopotamia. Four creator gods were created the forces of Taimat or Abzu or if you would like to say Taimat and Abzu's power by from the chaos of water. The leader of An, the god of the skies and the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next was Enlil, the god who had the ability to create raging storms and act to help men. Next came Enlil who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-Khursag was the goddess of the earth. Last but not least was Enki, the god of water and sea. He also had the title: Patron of wisdom. The four gods didn't act alone, they made a group of fifty gods called Annunaki. Not only the world had gods and goddesses, it was also populated with innumerable or numberless spirits and demons. The gods rallied people together in their cities and social groups and provided all the materials not only to survive but flourish. The people of Sumer created and developed stories and festivals to understand and obtain help for their nature and environment. Every year, Sumerians thought that the gods and goddesses will decide the future of Mesopotamia during the New Year. Also, the gods and goddesses were worried about the humans' eating or feasting, warfare, consuming alcohol and aruging about topics that can be solved or discussed intelligently. The class of priests was developed not only to communicate with the gods and goddesses but follow their orders that will benefit the world.  **Ziggurats**

When city-states existed, each city had a religious building/shrine called a ziggurat. The ziggurat was built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Elamites. The earliest examples of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BC, and the latest date from the 6th century BC. The top of the ziggurat was flat, unlike many pyramids. The step pyramid style began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. 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 and may have had astrological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the great ziggurat of Ur and Khorsabad in. The ziggurats had no internal chambers. They were almost always square or rectangular, where one side was typically more than 170 feet (50 meters) long. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. Through the ziggurat, the gods could be close to mankind, and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.  There are 32 ziggurats known at, and near, Mesopotamia. Twenty-eight of them are in Iraq, and four of them are in Iran. The most recent to be discovered was Sialk, in central Iran. One of the best-preserved ziggurats is Choqa Zanbil in western Iran. The Sialk ziggurat, in Kashan, Iran, is the oldest known ziggurat, dating to the early 3rd millennium BC. Ziggurat designs ranged from simple bases upon which a temple sat, to marvels of mathematics and construction which spanned several terraced stories and were topped with a temple. An example of a simple ziggurat is the White Temple of Uruk, in ancient Sumer. The ziggurat itself is the base on which the White Temple is set. Its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, and provide access from the ground to it via steps. The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth. In fact, the ziggurat at Babylon was known as Etemenankia or "House of the Platform between Heaven and Earth". An example of an extensive and massive ziggurat is the Marduk ziggurat, or Etemenanki, of ancient Babylon. Unfortunately, not much of even the base is left of this massive structure, yet archeological findings and historical accounts put this tower at seven multicolored tiers, topped with a temple of exquisite proportions. The temple is thought to have been painted and maintained an indigo color, matching the tops of the tiers. It is known that there were three staircases leading to the temple, two of which (side flanked) were thought to have only ascended half the ziggurat's height. Etemenanki, the name for the structure, is Sumerian and means "The Foundation of Heaven and Earth". Most likely built by Hammurabi the ziggurat's core was found to have contained the remains of earlier ziggurats and structures. The final stage consisted of a 15-meter hardened brick encasement constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar. A ziggurat is mostly a giant eight story and has some stairs. At the very top, priests and nobles including the king or queen of the cities will try to communicate with a god they believe. A ziggurat can also be a shrine for any kinds of gods of the Annunaki. Since there was fifty gods, my theory was that either there were 50 cities during the time of Mesopotamia or some cities had more than 1 god/goddess or both to believe. Gods and goddess have different abilities than others so if a city is really far from the two rivers, they might have a water god like Enki or someone different to believe because if they pray to Enki or offer a sacrifice and anything he desires that is realistic, the water from the river might flow to the city and that city will flourish like the others. They might pray for victories during a war or better agriculture like the holy trinity we believe right now unless you are atheist or you belong to different culture/religions like Judaism or Buddhism. Michael Ji 