Changes

Assurnasirpal II’s Assyrian successors continued the tradition of ziggurat building, but none put forth efforts as impressive as Sargon II’s (reigned 721-705 BC). Like Kurigalzu I in Babylon and Untash-Napirisha in Elam, Sargon II commissioned a new city, Dur-Sharrukin (“Sargonville”), to impress the gods as well as his friends and foes. A brick wall enclosed the city, and the royal palace and the temples, including the ziggurat, were enclosed by yet another wall. Moderns scholars believe that the Ziggurat of Dur-Sharrukin stood 143 feet high and had up to seven different levels. <ref> Frankfort, p. 150</ref> The Ziggurat of Dur-Sharrukin represented a change in ziggurat building style as it was connected directly to the royal palace. The reason for the ziggurat’s connection to the royal palace was related to the increased ritual duties of the Assyrian king, who was the high priest of their religion and the commander in chief of their armies. <ref> Frankfort, p. 149</ref>

[[File: Etemenanki_Berlin.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Modern Depiction of the Etemenanki Ziggurat in Babylon]]

The culmination of centuries of ziggurat construction took place during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ruled 604-562 BC). Nebuchadnezzar II is known to many as a “bad guy” from the Old Testament book of Daniel. Still, he was actually a very active king who led a new dynasty, referred to as the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, to prominence in the Near East. The crowning achievement of Nebuchadnezzar II’s reign was the construction of the Etemenanki Ziggurat in Babylon. Etemenanki is translated from ancient Akkadian as the “House of the Frontier between Heaven and Earth,”<ref> Kuhrt, p. 593</ref> which again demonstrates the connection between ziggurats and the heavens. The ziggurat was dedicated to Marduk, who was the patron god of the city of Babylon. <ref> Frankfort, p. 203</ref>