ISIS Has Destroyed a Nearly 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Ziggurat The ziggurat of Nimrud was the ancient city’s central temple. Danny Lewis. November 15, 2016. Get our newsletter!

Ziggurats are towering buildings that were erected in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, the earliest of which date back to 2900–2350 BCE.

The ziggurat was built by Shalmaneser III (858–824 BCE), whose father Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) made Nimrud (then known as Kalhu) the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

News and Analysis of Assyrian and Assyrian-related Issues Worldwide. ... The citadel (which includes Asurnasipal II's Palace and the main temples to Ishtar and Ninurta, along with the main ziggurat).

Below: the Ishtar Temple and ziggurat prior to Isis destruction at Nimrud. (Courtesy Michael Danti) The first major dig at the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud since it was decimated by the Islamic State ...

The ziggurat was the highest expression of Mesopotamian architecture. Because these structures were built with mud-baked bricks, most Mesopotamian ziggurats have been unearthed in a poor state of ...

Another impressive Mesopotamian architectural achievement is the construction of ziggurats — elaborate, pyramid-like towers that dominated the skylines of many of the area's cities.