Etemenanki

Etemenanki was a ziggurat in Babylon dedicated to the god Marduk. Its ruins and descriptions are associated with the biblical Tower of Babel tradition.

Nebuchadnezzar II: Nebuchadnezzar II was a Babylonian king who ruled from 605 to 562 BCE and expanded and rebuilt Babylon. He undertook major rebuilding at Babylon, including work on Marduk’s temple complex and Etemenanki.
Ziggurat: A ziggurat is a stepped temple tower built in ancient Mesopotamia. Etemenanki was Babylon’s monumental example of this distinctive temple form.
Tower of Babel: The Tower of Babel is a biblical story about a city and tower whose builders’ language is confused by God. Etemenanki is often identified as a historical monument behind the story’s Babylonian tower.
Esagila Tablet: The Esagila Tablet is a Babylonian cuneiform text describing dimensions of Babylon’s temple precinct and ziggurat. Its measurements are a principal textual source for reconstructing Etemenanki’s intended design.
Nabonidus: Nabonidus was the last native king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 to 539 BCE. His inscriptions describe restoring Etemenanki’s upper stages after they had fallen into disrepair.
Babylon: Babylon was an ancient Mesopotamian city on the Euphrates, south of modern Baghdad. Etemenanki stood in Babylon, whose political and religious center shaped its significance.
Book of Genesis: Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Its account of Babel supplies the biblical tradition associated with Etemenanki.
Etemenanki stele: The Etemenanki stele is a Babylonian monument showing a king and a schematic image of the ziggurat. The stele preserves a visual representation of the tower and its royal building context.
Neo-Babylonian Empire: The Neo-Babylonian Empire was a Mesopotamian state that ruled much of the Near East from 626 to 539 BCE. Etemenanki’s best-documented rebuilding belongs to the empire’s rise and royal building program.
Babylonian religion: Babylonian religion was the system of gods, rituals, and beliefs practiced in ancient Babylonia. The tower’s dedication and placement belonged to Babylonian worship of Marduk.

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