Editing Etemenanki (section)

==Construction==
It is unclear when Etemenanki was originally constructed. [[Andrew R. George]] says that it was constructed sometime between the 14th and the 9th century BCE. He argues as follows:
<blockquote>
The reference to a ziggurrat at Babylon in the Creation Epic ([[Enûma Eliš]]· VI 63: George 1992: 301–2) is more solid evidence, ... for a Middle Assyrian piece of this poem survives to prove the long-held theory that it existed already in the second millennium BC. There is no reason to doubt that this ziqqurrat, described as ''ziqqurrat apsî elite'', "the upper ziqqurrat of the Apsû", was [Etemenanki].<ref name=arg>[[Andrew R. George|George, Andrew]] (2007) "The Tower of Babel: Archaeology, history and cuneiform texts" ''Archiv für Orientforschung'', '''51''' (2005/2006). pp. 75–95. [http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/3858/2/TowerOfBabel.AfO.pdf pdf document].</ref>
</blockquote>

Babylon was destroyed in 689 BCE by [[Sennacherib]], who claims to have destroyed the Etemenanki. It took 88 years to restore the city; work was started by the Assyrian king [[Esarhaddon]], and continued under [[Nabopolassar]] followed by his son [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] who rebuilt the ziggurat. The city's central feature was the temple of [[Marduk]] ([[Esagila]]), with which the Etemenanki ziggurat was associated.

Fenollós et al. note that, "The 'Tower of Babel' was not built in a single moment, but rather was the result of a complex history of successive constructions, destruction and reconstruction. Its origin dates back to the reign of [[Hammurabi]] and continues to this day with its inevitable and definitive destruction." (Translated from the Italian).<ref name="Fenollos et al">{{cite journal |last1=Fenollós |first1=Juan Luis |last2=Vegas |first2=Fernando |last3=Mileto |first3=Camilla |title=''Etemenanki: nuova ipotesi di ricostruzione dello ziggurat di Nabucodonosor II nella cittá di Babilonia.'' |journal=ISIMU: Revista sobre Oriente Próximo y Egipto en la antigüedad |date=January 2005 |pages=201–216 |url=https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/3533/24714_10.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=4 December 2020}}</ref> The "Tower" as discussed in ancient sources refers to the monument as it appeared in the [[Neo-Babylonian]] period.