Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu (Aqar Quf)
Aqar Quf Ziggurat · Dur Kurigalzu · Tower of Aqar Quf
Kassite (Middle Babylonian) c. 1375–1155 BCE·Kassite Babylonian·🇮🇶 Baghdad Governorate, Aqar Quf, Iraq
About
About Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu (Aqar Quf)
Kassite capital Dur-Kurigalzu built by Kurigalzu I (c. 1375 BCE): enormous ziggurat to Enlil, still 57 m high (originally ~69 m) with rope reinforcement layers (reed mats) visible, highest surviving Mesopotamian ziggurat ruin. City enclosure 225 ha with temple of Enlil, palace, Ishtar gate street line. Excavated by Iraqi DOT 1940s (Taha Baqir) and Heidelberg. Sagging but looms over Baghdad western plain, visible 20 km.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Reed mat reinforcement engineering purpose
Theories
- 01Kassite mountain tribes adapting to alluvium: reed mats distributed lateral loads and seismic damping
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1375 BCE (Kurigalzu I)
- Period
- Kassite (Middle Babylonian) c. 1375–1155 BCE
- Culture
- Kassite Babylonian
- Purpose
- Capital ziggurat to Enlil demonstrating Kassite adoption of Babylonian religion
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1375 BCE (Kurigalzu I)
Initial construction
c. 1422 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
33.3536° N · 44.2022° E · 45 m · 3 mapped features
Ziggurat ruin (57 m high)
zigguratReed-mat layered core, tallest ruin
33.3536° N · 44.2022° EEnlil Temple at east foot
templeTemple complex at ziggurat base
33.3533° N · 44.2025° EPalatial complex north
palacePalace of Kurigalzu I 420 × 180 m
33.3540° N · 44.2010° E