Each city had its temple, which was dedi cated to some particular god; for example, Elcur, at Nippur, was sacred to Bel; Esagila, in Babylon, to Merodach. In addition to the patron deity, shrines to other gods were found in each sanctuary. At Nippur, besides Bel, 24 other gods were worshippe for whom shnnes were set up within the temple precincts. Through the researches of Professor Hilprecht in the trenches at Nippur, and in connection with the inscriptions discovered, the real conception of a Babylonian temple and its tower is made known for the first time. The temple had an inner and outer court, both of which were nearly square, the latter being somewhat smaller than the former. The prominent fea ture of the temple architecture was the ziggurat, or storied-tower, which occupied nearly one third of the area of the inner court In close proximity to the tower stood the temple proper, where the sacrifices were offered. The ziggurat consisted of quadrangular platforms, one super imposed upon the other, on the top of which was to be found the shrine. The number of plat forms varied according to the period and ability of the builder. la the 3d millennium B.C. the numbe.r generally appears to have been three. The ziggurat had its origin in the earliest pre Semitic period, when it was regarded as the tomb of the god. At that time it was the ventral feature of a fire-necropole, or cemetery. The Sumerians cremated their dead. In an early stratum at Nippur one of their crema toriums was found. The remains of the in cineration were placed in jars, thousands of which were found buried around the ziggurat. It is not known what the Semites did with their dead, but when they became the dominant peo ple of the land the conception of the temple and ziggurat seeins to have been changed, for there after no burials are found within the courts of the teinple.
In their cosmology the Semitic Babylonian conception of the earth was a mountain over which the god Bel ruled. This they believed extended down into Ea's region (subterranean waters), and also that it reached up unto that of Anu (Heaves). They regarded the zig
gurat as symbolical of the eal, the dominion of Bel. In their inscriptions, therefore, con cerning the building or restorations of these towers, the following expression is repeatedly found: laid the foundations of the ziggurat in that breast of the earth and built it up so that its head was in the heavens)) (compare the story of Babel, Gen. xi), thus showing that the ziggurat was a representation of Bel's kingdom, the earth.
In connection with the temple library.at Nip pur a school or department of instruction was found. Within its rooms were discovered text boolcs, and exercises of the students. At Sipara a school similar in character was also found. The complete excavation of all important.Baby Ionian cities will doubtless bring to hght a temple, a library and a school in each. On history see ASSYRIOLOGY.
(More detailed Bibliog raphy under ASSYRIOLOGY).
History.— Maspero: I (The Dawn of Civ II. (The Struggle of III. 'The Passing of the Empires); Rogers, "History of Babylonia and Assyria) (6th ed., 1915); King, L. W., 'A History of Sumer and Okkad> (1910) ; also 'A History of Baby lon) (1915).
Explorations.— Hilprecht, (Explorations in Bible Lands During the 19th Century' (1903) ; Works of John P. Peters, R. Zehnpfund, R. Koldewey, M. J. de Morgan.
Relation to the Old Testament.— 'Die Keil inschriften and das Alte Testament) (3te Aufl., 1901-03); Price, (The Monuments and the Old Testament) (6th ed., 1909) ; McCurdy, 'His tory, Prophecy and the Monuments' (1894 1901) ; Jeremias, A., 'Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alien Orients) (2te Aufl., 1906).
Religion.— Sayce, of the Baby lonian and Egyptian (1902) ; Jas trow, M., Jr., 'Religion of Babylonia and As syria) (1898) ; new revised and greatly en larged edition in German (1905-12).
Translations.— Schrader (editor), 'Keilin schriftliche Bibliothek> (6 vols., 1889); Har per (editor), (Assyrian and Babylonian Liter ature) (1901). Also many translations of in dividual inscriptions in works of more or less technical character.