fortified city and royal residence of the later Kassite kings, located near Babylon in southern Mesopotamia (now in Iraq). This city was founded either by Kurigalzu I (c. 1400–c. 1375 BC) or by Kurigalzu II (c. 1332–08). Between AD 1943 and 1945, Iraqi excavations unearthed a monumental ziggurat, three temples, and a palace with painted wall decorations and an ambulatory with square pillars. The temples, dedicated to Sumerian deities, housed numerous objects of value, including a life-sized statue of Kurigalzu II.