located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity ziggurat of ur
A city - state is a sovereign state that consists ___MASK86___ a city and its dependent territories . Historically , this included cities such as Rome , ___MASK100___ , Carthage , and the Italian city - states during the Renaissance  but today only a handful ___MASK86___ sovereign city - states exist , with some disagreement as to which are city - states . A great deal ___MASK86___ consensus exists that the term properly applies to Singapore , Monaco , and Vatican City . A ziggurat (; Akkadian " ziqqurat ", D - stem ___MASK86___ " zaqru " " to build on a raised area ") was a massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and the western Iranian plateau . It had the form ___MASK86___ a terraced step pyramid ___MASK86___ successively receding stories or levels . Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat ___MASK86___ Ur near Nasiriyah , the Ziggurat ___MASK86___ Aqar Quf near ___MASK30___ , the now destroyed Etemenanki in Babylon , Chogha Zanbil in Khzestn and Sialk . The Ziggurat ( or Great Ziggurat ) ___MASK86___ Ur ( Sumerian : é - temen - ní - gùru `` Etemenniguru '' , meaning `` ___MASK44___ whose foundation creates aura '' ) is a Neo - Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city ___MASK86___ Ur near Nasiriyah , in present - day Dhi Qar Province , ___MASK26___ . The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age ( 21st century BCE ) , but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BCE ___MASK86___ the Neo - Babylonian period when it was restored by ___MASK75___ Nabonidus . Its remains were excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by Sir Leonard Woolley . Under Saddam Hussein in the 1980s , they were encased by a partial reconstruction ___MASK86___ the façade and the monumental staircase . The ziggurat ___MASK86___ Ur is the best - preserved ___MASK86___ those known from Iran and ___MASK26___ , besides the ziggurat ___MASK86___ Dur Untash ( Chogha Zanbil ) . It is one ___MASK86___ three well preserved structures ___MASK86___ the Neo - Sumerian city ___MASK86___ Ur , along with the Royal Mausolea and the Palace ___MASK86___ Ur - Nammu ( the E - hursag ) . Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings ___MASK86___ Jesus Christ , who serves as the focal point for the religion . It is the world ' s largest religion , with over 2 . 4 billion followers , or 33 % ___MASK86___ the global population , known as Christians . Christians believe that Jesus is the Son ___MASK86___ God and the savior ___MASK86___ humanity whose coming as the Messiah ( the Christ ) was prophesied in the Old Testament . ___MASK1___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK1___ ( Turkish : ), is a transcontinental country in Eurasia , mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia , with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe . ___MASK1___ is a democratic , secular , unitary , parliamentary republic with a diverse cultural heritage . ___MASK1___ is bordered by eight countries : Greece to the west ; Bulgaria to the northwest ; Georgia to the northeast ; Armenia , the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east ; and Iraq and ___MASK72___ to the south . The Aegean Sea is to the west , the Black Sea to the north , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . The Bosphorus , the Sea of Marmara , and the Dardanelles , which together form the Turkish Straits , divide Thrace and Anatolia ; they also separate Europe and Asia . ___MASK1___ ' s location has given it geopolitical and strategic importance throughout history . ___MASK79___ ( or ; Aramaic :  , " Babel ", , " Bavel ", , " Bbil ") was a major city ___MASK86___ ancient Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers . The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in equal parts along its left and right ___MASK4___ , with steep embankments to contain the river ' s seasonal floods . ___MASK79___ was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period ___MASK86___ the Akkadian Empire c . 2300 BC . Chogha Zanbil ( Elamite : Dur Untash ) is an ancient Elamite complex in the ___MASK52___ ___MASK86___ Iran . It is one ___MASK86___ the few existent ziggurats outside ___MASK86___ Mesopotamia . It lies approximately south - southeast ___MASK86___ ___MASK43___ , south - ___MASK54___ ___MASK86___ Susa and north ___MASK86___ ___MASK28___ . A step pyramid or stepped pyramid is an architectural structure that uses flat platforms , or steps , receding from the ground up , to achieve a completed shape similar to a geometric pyramid . Step pyramids are structures which characterized several cultures throughout history , in several locations throughout the world . These pyramids typically are large and made ___MASK86___ several layers ___MASK86___ stone . The term refers to pyramids ___MASK86___ similar design that emerged separately from one another , as there are no firmly established connections between the different civilizations that built them . Western Asia , ___MASK91___ Asia , Southwestern Asia or ___MASK49___ Asia is the westernmost subregion of Asia . The concept is in limited use , as it significantly overlaps with the Middle East ( or Near East ), the main difference being the exclusion of Egypt ( which would be counted as part of North Africa ). The term is sometimes used for the purposes of grouping countries in statistics . ___MASK72___ , officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic (""), is a country in Western Asia , bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west , Turkey to the north , Iraq to the east , Jordan to the south , and Israel to the southwest . ___MASK72___ ' s capital and largest city is Damascus . ___MASK74___ is a governorate in southern Iraq . The provincial capital is Nasiriyah . Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate . Dhi Qar was the heartland of the ancient Iraqi civilization of Sumer , and includes the ruins of Ur , Eridu , Lagash , Larsa , Girsu , Umma , and Bad - tibira . The southern area of the governorate is covered by Mesopotamian Marshes . ___MASK26___ (, or ; '; '), officially known as the Republic of ___MASK26___ ('; ') is a country in Western Asia , bordered by ___MASK1___ to the north , Iran to the east , Kuwait to the southeast , Saudi Arabia to the south , ___MASK45___ to the southwest , and ___MASK72___ to the west . The capital , and largest city , is Baghdad . The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds ; others include Assyrians , Turkmen , Shabakis , Yazidis , Armenians , Mandeans , Circassians , and Kawliya . Around 95 % of the country ' s 36 million citizens are Muslims , with Christianity , Yarsan , Yezidism , and Mandeanism also present . The official languages of ___MASK26___ are Arabic and Kurdish . ___MASK55___ , officially known as the Kingdom ___MASK86___ ___MASK55___ ( KSA ), is an Arab sovereign state in Western Asia constituting the bulk ___MASK86___ the Arabian Peninsula . With a land area ___MASK86___ approximately , ___MASK55___ is geographically the fifth - largest state in Asia and second - largest state in the Arab world after ___MASK14___ . ___MASK55___ is bordered by ___MASK45___ and Iraq to the north , Kuwait to the northeast , Qatar , Bahrain , and the United Arab Emirates to the east , Oman to the southeast , and Yemen to the south . It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf ___MASK86___ Aqaba . It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast , and most ___MASK86___ its terrain consists ___MASK86___ arid desert or barren landforms . A pyramid ( from "") is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single point at the top , making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense . The base ___MASK86___ a pyramid can be trilateral , quadrilateral , or any polygon shape , meaning that a pyramid has at least three outer triangular surfaces ( at least four faces including the base ). The square pyramid , with square base and four triangular outer surfaces , is a common version . The Circassians ( Circassian :  , " Adygekher ") are a ___MASK46___ Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia , many of whom were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century , especially after the Russian  Circassian War in 1864 . In its narrowest sense , the term " Circassian " includes the twelve Adyghe ( Circassian :  , " Adyge ") tribes ( three democratic and nine aristocratic ), i . e . Abzakh , Besleney , Bzhedug , Hatuqwai , Kabardian , Mamkhegh , Natukhai , Shapsug , Temirgoy , Ubykh , Yegeruqwai , and Zhaney , each one represented by a star on the green - and - gold Circassian flag . However , due to Soviet administrative divisions , Circassians were also designated as the following : " Adygeans " ( Adyghe in Adygea ), " Cherkessians " ( Adyghe in Karachay - Cherkessia ), " Kabardians " ( Adyghe in Kabardino - Balkaria ), " Shapsugians " ( Adyghe in Krasnodar Krai ) although all the four are essentially the same people residing in different political units . The Neo - Babylonian Empire , also known as the Chaldean Empire , was a period ___MASK86___ Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC . During the preceding three centuries , Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and ___MASK7___ neighbours , Assyria . A year after the death ___MASK86___ the last strong Assyrian ruler , Assurbanipal , in 627 BC , the Assyrian empire spiralled into a series ___MASK86___ brutal civil wars . Babylonia rebelled under Nabopolassar , a member ___MASK86___ the Chaldean tribe which had migrated from the Levant to south eastern Babylonia in the early 9th century BC . In ___MASK18___ with the Medes , Persians , Scythians and Cimmerians , they sacked the city ___MASK86___ Nineveh in 612 BC , and the seat ___MASK86___ empire was transferred to Babylonia for the first time since the death ___MASK86___ Hammurabi in the mid 18th century BC . This period witnessed a general improvement in economic life and agricultural production , and a great flourishing ___MASK86___ architectural projects , the arts and science . Sumer was the first urban civilization in the historical region ___MASK86___ southern Mesopotamia , modern - day southern ___MASK26___ , during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze ages , and arguably the first civilization in the world with Ancient ___MASK51___ and the Indus Valley . Living along the valleys ___MASK86___ the Tigris and Euphrates , Sumerian farmers were able to grow an abundance ___MASK86___ grain and other crops , the surplus ___MASK86___ which enabled them to settle in one place . The Euphrates ( Sumerian : : " Buranuna ", : " Purattu ", : " al - Furt ", : " Prt ", : " Yeprat ", : " Perat ", ) is the longest and one ___MASK86___ the ___MASK34___ historically important rivers ___MASK86___ Western Asia . Together with the Tigris , it is one ___MASK86___ the two defining rivers ___MASK86___ Mesopotamia . Originating in eastern ___MASK1___ , the Euphrates flows through ___MASK72___ and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al - Arab , which empties into the Persian Gulf . ___MASK76___ ( Sumerian : " Urim "; Sumerian Cuneiform : or ; Akkadian : " Uru ") was an important Sumerian city - state in ancient Mesopotamia , located at the site ___MASK86___ modern Tell el - Muqayyar in south ___MASK26___ ' s ___MASK74___ . Although ___MASK76___ was once a coastal city near the mouth ___MASK86___ the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf , the coastline has shifted and the city is now well inland , south ___MASK86___ the Euphrates on its right bank , 16 kilometres ( 9 . 9 mi ) from Nasiriyah . The Yazidis ( also Yezidis , " Êzidî ") are an ethnically Kurdish religious community or an ethno - religious group indigenous to ___MASK7___ Mesopotamia ( see also Ezidkhan ) who are strictly endogamous . Their religion , " Yazidism " is linked to ancient Mesopotamian religions and combines aspects ___MASK86___ Zoroastrianism , Islam , Christianity and Judaism . Yazidis who marry non - Yazidis are automatically considered to be converted to the religion ___MASK86___ their spouse and therefore are not permitted to call themselves Yazidis . They live primarily in the Nineveh Province ___MASK86___ ___MASK26___ . Additional communities in ___MASK71___ , Georgia , ___MASK1___ , Iran , and ___MASK72___ have been in decline since the 1990s as a result ___MASK86___ significant migration to Europe , especially to Germany . The Yazidis ' cultural practices are observably Kurdish , and almost all speak Kurmanji ( Northern Kurdish ). The Soviet Union considered the Yazidis to be Kurds , as does Sharaf Khan Bidlisi ' s " Sheref - nameh " ___MASK86___ 1597 , which cites seven ___MASK86___ the Kurdish tribes as being at least partly Yazidi , and Kurdish tribal confederations as containing substantial Yazidi sections . Arabs are a people inhabiting the Arab world . They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia , ___MASK85___ Africa , the Horn ___MASK86___ Africa , and western ___MASK36___ Ocean islands . ___MASK53___ ('), officially the State ___MASK86___ ___MASK53___ ('), is a country in Western Asia . Situated in the ___MASK7___ edge ___MASK86___ Eastern Arabia at the tip ___MASK86___ the Persian Gulf , it shares borders with ___MASK26___ and Saudi Arabia . , ___MASK53___ has a population ___MASK86___ 4 . 2 million people ; 1 . 3 million are Kuwaitis and 2 . 9 million are expatriates . Expatriates account for 70 % ___MASK86___ the population . Nabonidus ( Akkadian Nabû - naid , " Nabu is praised ",  ) was the last ___MASK75___ of the Neo - Babylonian Empire , reigning from 556  539 BC . Etemenanki ( Sumerian  " ___MASK44___ of the foundation of heaven and earth ") was the name of a ziggurat dedicated to Marduk in the city of Babylon of the 6th century BCE Neo - Babylonian dynasty . Originally 91 meters in height , little remains of it now except ruins . Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian - speaking state and cultural area based in ___MASK70___ - southern Mesopotamia ( present - day ___MASK26___ ). A small Amorite - ruled state emerged in 1894 BC , which contained at this ___MASK97___ the minor city of Babylon . Babylon greatly expanded during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC , becoming a major capital city . During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards , Babylonia was called " Mt Akkad " " the country of Akkad " in the Akkadian language . It was often involved in rivalry with its older fellow Akkadian - speaking state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia . Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi ( fl . c . 1792  1752 BC middle chronology , or c . 1696  1654 BC , short chronology ) created a short - lived empire , succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire , Third Dynasty of Ur , and Old Assyrian Empire ; however , the Babylonian empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi . A Christian ( or ) is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity , an Abrahamic , monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings ___MASK86___ Jesus Christ . " Christian " derives from the Koine Greek word " Christós " (  ), a translation ___MASK86___ the Biblical Hebrew term " mashiach ". The Kurds (  ) also the Kurdish people are an ethnic group in the Middle ___MASK54___ , mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of eastern and southeastern ___MASK1___ ( Northern Kurdistan ), western Iran ( Eastern or Iranian Kurdistan ), northern Iraq ( Southern or Iraqi Kurdistan ), and northern ___MASK72___ ( Western Kurdistan or Rojava ). The Kurds are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and , as a result , are often themselves classified as an Iranian people . ___MASK30___ is the capital of the Republic of ___MASK26___ . The population of ___MASK30___ , , is approximately 7 . 216 . 040 making it the largest city in ___MASK26___ , the second largest city in the Arab world ( after Cairo , ___MASK51___ ), and the second largest city in Western Asia ( after Tehran , Iran ). The Persian Plateau , or Iranian Plateau , is a geological formation in Western Asia and ___MASK70___ Asia . It is the part ___MASK86___ the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and ___MASK36___ plates , situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west , the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north , the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus mountains in the ___MASK46___ , the Hormuz Strait and Persian gulf to the south and the Indus River to the east in Pakistan . Nabu is the patron god ___MASK86___ scribes , wisdom and literature , being worshipped by the Assyrian and Babylonian people . He was identified as the son ___MASK86___ the great god Marduk by the Babylonians and as the son ___MASK86___ Ashur by the Assyrians . Mesopotamia ("[ land ] between rivers "; from Ancient Armenian  ( Mijagetq ); " bild ar - rfidayn " " miyn rodn "; " Beth Nahrain " " land ___MASK86___ rivers ") is a name for the area ___MASK86___ the Tigris  Euphrates river system , in modern days roughly corresponding to ___MASK34___ ___MASK86___ ___MASK26___ plus Kuwait , the eastern parts ___MASK86___ ___MASK72___ , Southeastern Turkey , and regions along the Turkish - Syrian and Iran  ___MASK26___ borders . The Persian ___MASK3___ is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia . The body ___MASK86___ water is an extension ___MASK86___ the ___MASK36___ Ocean ( ___MASK3___ ___MASK86___ Oman ) through the Strait ___MASK86___ Hormuz and lies between Iran to the northeast and the Arabian Peninsula to the ___MASK49___ . The Shatt al - Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline . Akkadian (" akkadû ", ak - ka - du - u ; logogram : ___MASK47___ ) is an extinct ___MASK54___ Semitic language ( part of the greater Afroasiatic language family ) that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia . The earliest attested Semitic language , it used the cuneiform writing system , which was originally used to write the unrelated Ancient Sumerian , a language isolate . The language was named after the city of Akkad , a major centre of Mesopotamian civilization during the Akkadian Empire ( ca . 2334  2154 BC ), but the language itself precedes the founding of Akkad by many centuries . ___MASK25___ (, also , ; ' ), also known as Persia , officially the Islamic Republic ___MASK86___ ___MASK25___ (' ), is a sovereign state in Western Asia . It is bordered to the ___MASK46___ by Armenia , the " de facto " Nagorno - Karabakh Republic , and ___MASK73___ ; to the north by the Caspian Sea ; to the northeast by Turkmenistan ; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan ; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf ___MASK86___ Oman ; and to the west by ___MASK1___ and Iraq . Comprising a land area ___MASK86___ , it is the second - largest country in the Middle East and the 18th - largest in the world . With 82 . 8 million inhabitants , ___MASK25___ is the world ' s 17th - most - populous country . It is the only country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline . The country ' s central location in Eurasia and Western Asia , and its proximity to the Strait ___MASK86___ Hormuz , make it ___MASK86___ great geostrategic importance . Tehran is the country ' s capital and largest city , as well as its leading economic center . ___MASK45___ ('), officially The Hashemite Kingdom of ___MASK45___ ('), is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia , on the East Bank of the ___MASK45___ River . ___MASK45___ is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south , Iraq to the north - east , ___MASK72___ to the north , Israel , Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea in its extreme south - west . ___MASK45___ is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia , Africa and Europe . The capital , Amman , is ___MASK45___ ' s most populous city as well as the country ' s economic , political and cultural centre . Assyria was a major Mesopotamian ___MASK54___ Semitic - speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient ___MASK84___ . It existed as an independent state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC in the form of the Assur city - state , until its lapse between 612 BC and 599 BC , spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age . Arabic (' or ' ) is a ___MASK70___ Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the " lingua franca " ___MASK86___ the Arab world . Arabic also is a liturgical language ___MASK86___ 1 . 7 billion Muslims . It is one ___MASK86___ six official languages ___MASK86___ the United Nations . It is named after the Arabs , a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the ___MASK54___ to the Anti - Lebanon mountains in the west , and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south .