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85-461: Nippur never enjoyed political hegemony in its own right, but its control was crucial, as it was considered capable of conferring the overall "kingship" on monarchs from other city-states. It was distinctively a sacred city, important from the possession of the famous Ekur temple of Enlil. Ninurta , son of Enlil, also had his main cult center, the E-shumesha temple, in the city-state. According to

170-528: A 150 meter by 80 meter harbor. In 2019 the Oriental Institute of Chicago received permission to excavate at Dlehim and in 2022 preliminary excavation began. The site of Tell Waresh 2 lies 12 kilometers northeast of Nippur (UTM 38 S 532261.73 m E, 3561401.12 m N) and was subject to a rescue excavation in 1990 led by Muhammad Yahya Radhi on behalf of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. It

255-454: A certain stamp of legitimacy. On their votive offerings, some of these rulers designate themselves as ensis , or governors. Late in the 3rd millennium BC, Nippur was conquered and occupied by the rulers of Akkad , or Agade, and numerous votive objects of Sargon , Rimush , and Naram-Sin testify to the veneration in which they also held this sanctuary. Naram-Sin rebuilt both the Ekur temple and

340-430: A fearsome gate, architrave , a buttressed structure called a "dubla" and a magnificent vault , all described with terrifying metaphors . The hymn also references a "house of life" where sinners are rehabilitated and returned to their gods through the compassion of Nungal, who holds the "tablet of life". The destruction and fall of these various structures is remembered in various City Laments , destroyed either in

425-651: A great storm , flood or by variously Elamites , Subarians , Gutians and some other, as yet unidentified "Su-people" . It was also recorded that the terrible acts of final destruction of the Ekur and its divine laws was committed by Sargon the Great against his own people in approximately 2300 BC. The Curse of Agade describes the same thing happening at the hands of Naram-Sin "Enlil, because his beloved Ekur had been attacked, what destruction he wrought". The foundations are broken with large axes and its watercourses are disabled,

510-496: A macehead of Naram-Sin, ruler of the Akkadian Empire, indicating he had rebuilt the temple. During the excavation, the team inadvertently experienced difficulty progressing with their work. The excavators reached a surface that appeared like a baked brick pavement. Notably, this incident drew a lot of interest in the team, and with further progress, they reached what seemed to be a room. Further into their excavation, they discovered

595-618: A much earlier period. Nippur was situated on both sides of the ancient bed of the Shatt-en-Nil canal, one of the earliest courses of the Euphrates , between the present bed of that river and the Tigris , almost 160 km southeast of Baghdad . The canal bed divides the site into an East Mound and West Mound. It is represented by the great complex of ruin mounds known to the Arabs as Nuffar , written by

680-398: A multi-story "giguna" are mentioned, among others which have proved unintelligible, even to modern scholars. The Ekur was noted for inspiring fear, dread, terror and panic in people, especially amongst the evil and ignorant . Kramer suggested the Ekur complex may have included a primordial dungeon of the netherworld or "house of lament" where the damned were sent after judgement. Nungal

765-505: A number of administrative tablets found under the Ur Gur platform or pavement level. These were found by an expedition from the University of Pennsylvania between 1889 and 1900, led by John Punnett Peters , John Henry Haynes , and Hermann Volrath Hilprecht . The tablets detail records of the building work and furnishings of the temple under Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri. These tablets describe

850-728: A number of votive statues plated with gold. Around twenty nine kilograms of gold was used making one hundred moon crescents and one hundred sun discs used in the decorations. Two hundred kilograms of silver were used in the construction of a single shrine . No records of any personal adornments or jewellery were ever found in the Ekur. A total of seventy seven joiners were used in teams of eleven under seven foremen and fifty four carpenters under three foremen. Eighty six goldsmiths were employed under six foremen along with ten sculptors. The vast amounts of bronze suggested there were as many as two hundred smiths under fifteen foremen and an unknown number of engravers under three foremen. The Ekur archive

935-478: A pedestal to manage the leadership of the dynasty. The temple had specific administrative units that were answerable to the reigning king of the dynasty. This could be attributed to the fact that the leading goddess of the temple, Inanna, was associated with power. Kings believed that the Inanna goddess has the power to influence political issues, which explained the temple's importance and long-lasting popularity throughout

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1020-489: A room with inscriptions, suggesting that the building was a temple built by Sulgi, the second king of the third dynasty of Ur. However, the architectural plan of the temple is further demonstrated by the layers of the building.   During the excavation, it was noted that the building had twenty-three-level layers. The excavators revealed that each of the twenty-three layers serves a different purpose. For instance, levels VIII-VII were associated with sculptures and idols used in

1105-503: A ruinous effect upon the economy of the country and thus led to the bankruptcy of the landowners. Although the house of Murashu loaned money to the landowners initially, after a few decades it began more and more to take the landowners' place, and the land began to concentrate in its hands." Site TA is a 20 m × 40 m area located in Tablet Hill in Nippur. It is built in between 1948 and 1952 and

1190-432: A sanctuary of Ishtar , e-kur-nam-ti-la ; "House, Mountain of Life", e-kur-ni-zu ; "House, Fearsome Mountain" - the sanctuary of Ninlil at hursag -kala-ma (likely a later name of e-hursag-kalam-ma), etc. The Ekur was seen as a place of judgement and the place from which Enlil's divine laws are issued. The ethics and moral values of the site are extolled in myths, which Samuel Noah Kramer suggested would have made it

1275-457: A settlement of demons. The location also appears in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi and other myths as a home of demons who go out into the land. It is noted by Wayne Horowitz that in none of the bilingual texts do the demons appear to be "going upwards" but "outwards", contrary to what would be expected if Ekur referred to later concepts such as Sheol , Hades and Hell , which were believed to be located under

1360-511: A small Late Sassnian house. Permission has also been granted to dig at Dlehim and Drehem. Excavation began in November 2022 for the 21st season which lasted two months. Work began at nearby Drehem but ceased after authorities decided that a police station must first be established there to prevent looting. Work then returned to the Parthian building. Extensive excavation details have been recorded for

1445-475: A stair to the upper level but it is not considered a two-storey but rooftop level. There are total of 1.591 tablets found in site TA. Regarding the texts type found in tablets are divided into two main categories, private documents and educational material, TA is viewed as a residential area. Most of the houses in TA are residential housing while only one of the houses (House F) are viewed as scribal school, this conclusion

1530-451: A ziggurat on the north-western edge of the latter. Ur III ruler Shu-Sin , after destroying Šimānum , as noted in a year name, settled the prisoners of that war near Nippur he founded called Šimānum (sometimes called E-Šu-Suen). This practice for disposition of prisoners continued into the first millennium. The temple continued to be built upon or rebuilt by kings of various succeeding dynasties, as shown by bricks and votive objects bearing

1615-597: Is a clear association of Ziggurats with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion , associated with deities such as Anu , Enlil , Enki and Ninhursag . In the Hymn to Enlil , the Ekur is closely linked to Enlil whilst in Enlil and Ninlil it is the abode of the Annunaki , from where Enlil is banished. The fall of Ekur

1700-514: Is a testament to the power and wealth of the Akkadian Empire with artisans coming from around the land to participate under the direction of the master craftsman and 'Minister of Public Works' of the King. Manufacture was suggested to have taken place both in the temple and special workshop (Nippur cubit measuring rod pictured). The splendour of the designs and decorations led Age Westenholz to suggest

1785-599: Is also mentioned in the Inscription of Gaddas as a temple of Enlil built "outside Babylon", possibly referring to the Enamtila in west Babylon. It is used as part of such Sumerian phrases as e-kur-igi-gal ; "House, Mountain Endowed with Sight", e-kur-igi-bar-ra ; "House, Mountain which Sees", e-kur-mah ; "House, Exalted Mountain", e-kur-mah ; a temple of Ninazu , e-kur-me-sikil ; "House, Mountain of Pure Mes (laws or judgement)" -

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1870-668: Is described in the Lament for Ur . In mythology , the Ekur was the centre of the earth and location where heaven and earth were united. It is also known as Duranki and one of its structures is known as the Kiur ("great place"). Enamtila has also been suggested by Piotr Michalowski to be a part of the Ekur. A hymn to Nanna illustrates the close relationship between temples, houses and mountains. "In your house on high , in your beloved house , I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in your cedar perfumed mountain ". The Tummal Inscription records

1955-450: Is made due to the significant amount of 1,407 tablets are found in House F. Moreover, organic materials were found in some of the houses, therefore, there might be animal husbandry. Moreover, due to the contents of tablets, it is believed that TA is owned by small private owner. Inanna (Inanna of Duranki) temple is a historical hallmark of Mesopotamia. Though the temple was a religious element in

2040-533: Is mentioned by early Muslim geographers under the name of Niffar. It lay on the Nahr an-Nars canal, believed to have been built by Narses. By the late 800s, though, geographers no longer mentioned it, which indicates that the city had gone into decline by that time. This was part of a broader decline in settlements throughout Iraq, especially in the south, as decaying infrastructure and political violence resulted in large areas being completely abandoned. However, Nippur remained

2125-489: Is on the edge sides with the flat sides out, second layer on the edge sides with the ends out, third layer on the flat sides with the edges out. The ziggurat contains a water conduit system. From the upper surface of the ziggurat, there is a conduit for water drainage in the middle of three façades. Built by baked bricks 1 metre in breadth and 3 meters in depth, around the conduit base is a plaster of bitumen, sloping outward with gutters to carry off water. Pavements extend from

2210-511: Is the Sumerian goddess who was given the title "Queen of the Ekur". The hymn Nungal in the Ekur describes the dark side of the complex with a house that "examines closely both the righteous and the wicked and does not allow the wicked to escape". This house is described as having a "River of ordeal" which leads to the "mouth of catastrophe" through a lock and bolt. Further descriptions of its structural components are given including foundations, doors,

2295-599: The Achaemenid Empire , were excavated. The latter, the "books and papers" of the house of Murashu , commercial agents of the government, throw light on the condition of the city and the administration of the country in the Achaemenid period. The tablets date between 454 BC and 404 BC with the majority between 440 BC and 414 BC. The archive is reflective of a diverse populace as one-third of contracts depict non-Babylonian names. Enduring for at least three successive generations,

2380-525: The Tummal Chronicle , Enmebaragesi , an early ruler of Kish , was the first to build up this temple. His influence over Nippur has also been detected archaeologically. The Chronicle lists successive early Sumerian rulers who kept up intermittent ceremonies at the temple: Aga of Kish , son of Enmebaragesi; Mesannepada of Ur ; his son Meskiang-nunna; Gilgamesh of Uruk ; his son Ur-Nungal ; Nanni of Ur and his son Meskiang-nanna. It also indicates that

2465-565: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the American Schools of Oriental Research . Part of the effort involved removing large archaeological dumps from the University of Pennsylvania excavations. In the process Early Dynastic bowls, cuneiform tablets, and brick stamps were found. At the temples of Inanna and at Ekur foundation deposits were found with statues of Shulgi and Ur-Nammu. A temple of Inanna , begun in

2550-491: The Ur III period. Restorations of the Ekur were later carried out by Ur-Nammu around 2050 BC and Ishme-Dagan around 1950 BC, who made it fragrant again with incense "like a fragrant cedar forest" . Evidence was also found of further building work under the reign of Agum Kakrime . Another restoration at Nippur was carried out by Assyrian and Babylonian king Esarhaddon between 681 and 669 BC. A hymn to Urninurta mentions

2635-471: The "gate of peace " is demolished and wars start all over the land, statues are burnt and wealth carried off. There is a body of evidence showing that Naram-Sin instead rebuilt the Ekur, likely in a single building project that continued into the reign of his son Shar-Kali-Sharri , suggesting it was destroyed during Gutian raids. It was noted that statues of the Sargonic kings were still honoured there during

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2720-404: The 17.5 meter wide city walls. One of the few instances of Nippur being recorded as having its own ruler comes from a tablet depicting a revolt of several Mesopotamian cities against Naram-Sin, including Nippur under Amar-enlila . The tablet goes on to relate that Naram-Sin defeated these rebel cities in nine battles, and brought them back under his control. The Weidner tablet (ABC 19) suggests that

2805-468: The 2nd millennium BC, the religious, as well as the political center of influence, was transferred to Babylon, Marduk became lord of the pantheon, many of Enlil's attributes were transferred to him, and Ekur, Enlil's temple, was to some extent neglected. The city was taken by Ilī-ma-ilu, the first ruler of the First Sealand dynasty in about the 29th year of the reign of Samsu-iluna, ruler of Babylon. It

2890-534: The 7th century BC, we find Ekur restored with a splendour greater than ever before, the ziggurat of that period being 58 by 39 m. After the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Ekur appears to have gradually fallen into decay, until finally, in the Seleucid period, the ancient temple was turned into a fortress ( Ancient Greek : Νιππούρ , Nippoúr ). Huge walls were erected at the edges of the ancient terrace,

2975-417: The Akkadian Empire fell as divine retribution, because of Sargon's initiating the transfer of "holy city" status from Nippur to Babylon. This Akkadian occupation was succeeded by occupation during the third dynasty of Ur , and the constructions of Ur-Nammu , the great builder of temples, are superimposed immediately upon those of Naram-Sin. Ur-Nammu gave the temple its final characteristic form. Partly razing

3060-510: The Early Dynastic period was completely excavated. Subsequent superimposed new iterations of the temple extended all the way up to Parthian times. Finds included a tablet dated to the 4th year of the Kassite king Shagarakti-Shuriash , one dated to the 44th year of Ur III king Shulgi , and an Indus Valley stamp seal. In 1977 they briefly excavated at the nearby site of Umm al-Hafriyat which was in

3145-518: The Ekurigibarra, was built by Kurigalzu I (c. 1375 BC). After the middle of the 12th century BC follows another long period of comparative neglect due to the river Euphrates changing its course, but with the waters return and the conquest of Babylonia by the Assyrian king Sargon II , at the close of the 8th century BC, we meet again with building inscriptions, and under Ashurbanipal , about the middle of

3230-491: The Kassite period. Nippur was first excavated, briefly, by Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1851. Full-scale digging was begun by an expedition from the University of Pennsylvania . The work involved four seasons of excavation between 1889 and 1900 and was led by John Punnett Peters , John Henry Haynes , and Hermann Volrath Hilprecht . Thousands of tablets were found at a smaller mound dubbed "tablet hill", about 7.5 meters in average height and 52 square meters in area, southeast of

3315-455: The Kassite, Neo-Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian periods. It is thought that the missing temple of Ninurta is nearby. Almost directly opposite the temple, a large palace was excavated, apparently of the Seleucid period, and in this neighborhood and further southward on these mounds large numbers of inscribed tablets of various periods, including temple archives of the Kassite and commercial archives of

3400-674: The Kokushikan University of Tokyo in 1988. In the early days of archaeology it was often confused with the nearby Drehem. It covers an area of 36 hectares and was occupied in the Ur III period. The site has been suggested as the location of ancient Tummal (thought to be the source of the Tummal Inscription ). Tummal played a primary political role in the Ur III period. In 2016 the QADIS survey project, carried out an aerial and surface survey of

3485-547: The Moon God Sîn ", the " 𒀭 " being a silent honorific for "Divine", formerly read Gimil-Sin ) was king of Sumer and Akkad , and was the fourth king of the Ur III dynasty. He succeeded his father Amar-Sin , and reigned 2037–2028 BC ( Middle Chronology ). Following an open revolt of his Amorite subjects, he directed the construction of a fortified wall between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers in his fourth year, intending it to hold off any further Amorite attacks. He

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3570-525: The Temple of Enlil was not for worshiping. Yet, religious ritual related to divine repast perhaps libation, could serve as the purpose of Temple of Enlil during Ur III period. In 1990 Oriental Institute excavators identified a building in area WA as the Temple of Gula , a goddess of healing and consort of Ninurta. The earliest identified construction of the temple was in the Isin-Larsa period, with major rebuilds in

3655-481: The Temple of Enlil. The possible height of the walls was 13.2 m as it was three times of the substructure which is 4.40 m. Although no remains of the roof left, purlins and reeds were covered first and then rammed earth mixed with straw was layered. From the floor plan of the Temple of Enlil in Ur III period, 2 cellae each connected with 2 minor chambers with wider doorways (2.40 m, 1.45 m for normal doorway) and 2 subsidiary chambers were presented. The burning evidence in

3740-475: The Ziggurat of Ur-Gur. Overall, the ziggurat site is 25 meters in height, has a rectangular base of 39 meters by 58 meters, consisting three stages of dry brick, and faced with kiln-fired bricks laid in bitumen. The northern corner of the ziggurat points to 12 degrees east of the magnetic north. Construction structure and materials are homogeneous, of small unbaked bricks, laid in different ways: first layer of bricks

3825-571: The analogy of this spiritual sanctuary to the Sumerian empire with that of the Vatican to the Roman Catholic world. The chief administrator of the Ekur or "sanga" of Enlil was appointed by the king and held special status in Nippur and votive inscriptions of the kings indicate that it had held this position since early dynastic times. Peter Jensen also associated the Ekur with the underworld in "Die Kosmologie der Babylonier", where he translated it as

3910-402: The cella (room 13) and the minor chambers (room 16,17) adjacent to the other cella (room 18), the inscription of the Temple of Enlil around Ur III period; both indicated the purpose of the Temple of Enlil was to feed gods on the adjacent ziggurat, as 'kitchen temple', so food preparation could be taken place. Other than that, the Temple of Enlil shown no place of a dais for enthroned deities. Thus,

3995-408: The constructions of his predecessors, he erected a terrace of bricks, some 12 m high, covering a space of about 32,000 m. Near the northwestern edge, towards the western corner, he built a ziggurat of three stages of dry brick, faced with kiln-fired bricks laid in bitumen. On the summit stood, as at Ur and Eridu, a small chamber, the special shrine or abode of the god. Access to the stages of

4080-574: The courts of the temple were filled with houses and streets, and the ziggurat itself was curiously built over in a cruciform shape, and converted into an acropolis for the fortress. This fortress was occupied and further built upon until the close of the Parthian period, about 250 AD; but under the succeeding rule of the Sassanids it in its turn fell into decay. Nippur remained inhabited in Islamic times, and

4165-401: The dynasties. Drehem or ancient Puzrish-Dagan , sometimes called a suburb of Nippur, is the best-known city of the so-called redistribution centers of the Ur III period . It is located some ten kilometers south of Nippur. Witnessed by thousands of cuneiform tablets, livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) of the state was centralized at Drehem and redistributed to the temples, its officials and

4250-535: The dynasty of Ur, there were a lot of political and social issues associated with the temple. The excavations that led to the discovery of the remains of the temple of Nippur were conducted by Donald McCown in 1952. The temple was then excavated between 1954 and 1958, reaching the Early Dynastic II period level. In 1960-1961 the Early Dynastic I (with a large building on same plan) and then Jemdat Nasr and Uruk Period (private houses) levels were reached. Finds included

4335-468: The earlier explorers Niffer , divided into two main parts by the dry bed of the old Shatt-en-Nil (Arakhat). The highest point of these ruins, a conical hill rising about 30 m above the level of the surrounding plain, northeast of the canal bed, is called by the Arabs Bint el-Amiror "prince's daughter". The site reached a maximum extent of 130 hectares, this occurring in the Ur III period and again in

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4420-422: The first king to build a temple to Enlil as Enmebaragesi , the predecessor of Gilgamesh , around 2500 BC. Ekur is generally associated with the temple at Nippur restored by Naram-Sin of Akkad and Shar-Kali-Sharri during the Akkadian Empire . It is also the later name of the temple of Assur rebuilt by Shalmaneser I . The word can also refer to the chapel of Enlil in the temple of Ninimma at Nippur. It

4505-646: The gods were born. Before the later speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of them, have their seats in heaven, it was on this mountain also that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the names for temple, as the seat of a god." In Chapter 18 of the Right Ginza , the Ekur is referred to in Mandaic as ekura ( Classical Mandaic : ࡏࡊࡅࡓࡀ ). Shu-Sin Shu-Sin , also Šu-Suen ( Akkadian : 𒀭𒋗𒀭𒂗𒍪 : Šu Sîn , after

4590-481: The house of Murashu capitalized on the enterprise of renting substantial plots of farmland having been awarded to occupying Persian governors, nobility, soldiery, probably at discounted rates, whose owners were most likely satisfied with a moderate return. The business would then subdivide these into smaller plots for cultivation by indigenous farmers and recent foreign settlers for a lucrative fee. The house of Murashu leased land, subdivided it, then subleased or rented out

4675-482: The house of his vizier Nuska and mistress Suzianna . Descriptions of these locations show the physical structures about the Ekur, these included an assembly hall, hut for ploughs , a lofty stairway up a foothill from a "house of darkness" considered by some to be a prison or chasm . It also contained various gates such as the gate "where no grain was cut", the "lofty gate", "gate of peace" and "gate of judgement", it also had drainage channels. Other locations such as

4760-514: The inscriptions of the kings of various dynasties of Ur and Isin . It seems to have suffered severely in some manner at or about the time the Elamites invaded, as shown by broken fragments of statuary, votive vases, and the like, from that period. Rim-Sin I , the king of Larsa , styles himself "shepherd of the land of Nippur". With the establishment of the Babylonian empire, under Hammurabi , early in

4845-541: The king of Ur destroyed Simanum 4 Year Szu-Sin the king of Ur built the amurru wall (called) 'muriq-tidnim / holding back the Tidanum' 6 Year Szu-Sin the king of Ur erected a magnificent stele for Enlil and Ninlil 7 Year Szu-Sin, the king of Ur, king of the four quarters, destroyed the land of Zabszali 9 Year Szu-Sin the king of Ur built the temple of Szara in Umma There is vast number of artifacts with inscriptions in

4930-418: The king, they chased his daughter away from her residence." Shu-Sin subsequently conquered Šimānum and restored his daughter there. The year names for the reign of Shu-sin are all known and give an information about the events of his reign. The most important ones are: 1 Year Szu-Sin became king 2 Year Szu-Sin the king of Ur made / caulked the boat of Enki (called the) 'ibex of the abzu' 3 Year Szu-Sin

5015-469: The line of Naram-Sin's walls. The restoration of the general features of the temple of this, and the immediately succeeding periods, has been greatly facilitated by the discovery of a sketch map on a fragment of a clay tablet . This sketch map represents a quarter of the city to the east of the Shatt-en-Nil canal. This quarter was enclosed within its own walls, a city within a city, forming an irregular square, with sides roughly 820 m long, separated from

5100-418: The most ethically-oriented in the entire ancient Near East . Its rituals are also described as: "banquets and feasts are celebrated from sunrise to sunset" with "festivals, overflowing with milk and cream, are alluring of plan and full of rejoicing". The priests of the Ekur festivities are described with en being the high priest, lagar as his associate, mues the leader of incantations and prayers, and guda

5185-1462: The name of Shu-sin. ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon

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5270-452: The northeast wall and one entrance on the southwest wall. Floors were paved with baked-brick square bricks with size of 37 cm. 2 substructures built beneath the paved floor with 1.3 m elevation. Walls that the thickness varied from 3.35 to 3.95 m were constructed with straw-tempered unbaked bricks and mud mortar. There was no indication for windows walls above floor level were not preserved but windows were required for additional lighting in

5355-588: The other quarters, and from the country to the north and east, by canals on all sides, with broad quays along the walls. A smaller canal divided this quarter of the city itself into two parts. In the south-eastern part, in the middle of its southeast side, stood the temple, while in the northwest part, along the Shatt-en-Nil, two great storehouses are indicated. The temple proper, according to this plan, consisted of an outer and inner court, each covering approximately 8 acres (32,000 m), surrounded by double walls, with

5440-483: The practice was revived in the Ur III period by Ur-Nammu of Ur, and continued until Ibbi-Sin appointed Enmegalana high priest in Uruk (c. 1950 BC). Inscriptions of Lugal-Zage-Si and Lugal-kigub-nidudu, kings of Uruk and Ur respectively, and of other early rulers, on door-sockets and stone vases, show the veneration in which the ancient shrine was then held, and the importance attached to its possession, as giving

5525-494: The priest responsible for decoration. Sacrifices and food offerings were brought by the king , described as "faithful shepherd" or "noble farmer". The physical structure of the Ekur included shrines and storehouses where foreigners brought offerings. These included the shrines of Enlil's wife Ninlil (her chamber, the Gagisua is described as the place where they lived happily together) and their sons, Nanna and Ninurta along with

5610-463: The process of being heavily looted. Sargonic period tablets found there suggest the ancient name of that site was as Maškan-Ili-Akkade. The excavation is now in the process of being published. Preliminary efforts to restart work at Nippur began in 2018 under McGuire Gibson. Excavation work at Nippur began in April 2019 under Abbas Alizadeh . Initial focus at Nippur was on a major Parthian period building and

5695-458: The prominence of a tree in the courtyard of the Ekur, reminiscent of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden : "O, chosen cedar , adornment of the yard of Ekur, Urinurta, for thy shadow the country may feel awe!". This is suggested by G. Windgren to reflect the concept of the tree as a mythical and ritual symbol of both king and god. The Ekur reconstruction project was documented in the Ekur archive;

5780-613: The royal palaces of Sumer . The temples of nearby Nippur were the main destinations of the livestock. The city was founded by Shulgi , king of Ur . Some of its cuneiform archives are at the Royal Ontario Museum , Toronto. The nearby site of Dlehim (Dulaihim, Delehem, Dlehem, Dlihim) is about 40 hectares in area, separated in eastern and western sections by an ancient 50 meter wide canal bed, and currently described as being 2.5 meters in height. It lies about 21 kilometers south of Nippur and about ten kilometers south of Drehem. The site

5865-555: The seat of an Assyrian Church of the East Christian bishopric until the late 900s, when the bishopric was transferred to the city of Nil , further northwest. Nippur itself may have remained occupied even later, since ceramics found among the ruins display underglaze sgraffiato drawings, which were not used much prior to the end of the 10th century. By the time of Yaqut al-Hamawi in the early 1200s, Nippur had been definitively abandoned, although Yaqut still recognized its ruins as

5950-471: The site in 2019 as part of larger survey in the area, obtaining georeferenced data. A final report is now in progress. Ekur Ekur ( 𒂍𒆳 É . KUR ), also known as Duranki , is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods , parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer . There

6035-504: The site of a famous place. On the upper surface of these mounds was found a considerable Jewish town, dating from about the beginning of the Arabic period onward to the 10th century AD, in the houses of which were large numbers of Aramaic incantation bowls . Jewish names, appearing in the Persian documents discovered at Nippur, show, however, that Jewish settlement at that city dates in fact from

6120-404: The site. Four bricks (three re-used for a later drain and one in a temple area) of Ur III ruler Amar-Sin were found at the site. Extended traces of Ur III period buildings including an oval temple with central terrace were detected by drone flights and surface surveys. The presence of modern military berms were also noted. The Qadis survey, through imagery and sounding, determined that the site had

6205-409: The smaller parcels, thereby simply acting as an intermediary. It thereby profited both from the collected rents and percentage of amassed credit reflective of that year's future crop harvests after supplying needed farming implements, means of irrigation, and paying taxes. In 423/422 BC, the house of Murashu took in "about 20,000 kg or 20,000 shekels of silver". "The activities of the house of Murashu had

6290-419: The surface of the earth. Morris Jastrow discussed the place of the Ekur in Sumerian cosmology , "Another name which specifies the relationship of Aralu to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one of the names for the earth, but is applied more particularly to that part of the mountain, also known as E -khar-sag-kurkura (É.ḪAR.SAG. KUR .KUR-'a' "house of the mountain of all lands") where

6375-461: The temple mound. A true arch , one of the world's earliest examples, was also found. In the Parthian layer a box containing fragments of votive axes made of glass from the Kassite period were found. Several late Kassite rulers are represented including Kurigalzu II . Nippur was excavated for 19 seasons between 1948 and 1990 by a team from the Oriental Institute of Chicago, joined at times by

6460-458: The temple's religious activities. On the temple's exterior, the excavators found that it was characterised by niches that supported the religious activities at the temple. The niches had special tablets inscipted with literature regarding the teachings at the temple. The Inanna temple had significant political influence in the Ur dynasty. It was built, supported by Sulgi and many subsequent kings, using it as

6545-684: The walls featuring statues of four gold bison . The courtyard was paved with a pattern of red and yellow bricks. The main entrance to the Ekur was adorned with two copper lahmu -figures with golden faces. These obscure figures held emblem -poles on either side. Two figures of large, winged, copper dragons guarded the gateway, their roaring mouths inlaid with gold. The doors were studded with copper and gold with heavy bolts resembling either dragons or water buffalo . The interior likely featured an exquisite, carved wooden decorations, panelling and furniture. Inner shrines had doors, which were also built with golden faced lahmu -figures either side along with

6630-405: The ziggurat in a cruciform shape with square-like large bricks, in which pieces of pottery are used to fasten the clay together. They extend 2.4 meters below the ziggurat foundation and 12 meters away, connected to the lowest stage of the ziggurat, which protects the ziggurat foundation from rain. The Temple of Enlil situated northeast of the ziggurat was excavated. Topography of the Temple of Enlil

6715-409: The ziggurat, from the court beneath, was by an inclined plane on the south-east side. To the north-east of the ziggurat stood, apparently, the House of Bel, and in the courts below the ziggurat stood various other buildings, shrines, treasure chambers, and the like. The whole structure was oriented with the corners toward the cardinal points of the compass. Ur-Nammu also rebuilt the walls of the city on

6800-586: Was one of a number of rescue excavation in response to the digging of the Main Drain Canal project. The site showed outlines of buildings and many artifacts on the surface. Remains were of the Isin-Larsa period and included clay sealings, cylinder seals, and a number of cuneiform tablets, mainly legal documents. The most prominent of the latter were 29 tablets found in a clay jar which contained year names of four rulers of Larsa, Abi-Sare, Sumu-el, Nur-Adad, and Sin-Iddinam (1785 BC to 1778 BC). The same team revisted

6885-406: Was partially abandoned due to economic crisis in 1739 B.C. and fully vacated in 1720 B.C. It served as a small community with residential buildings and some minor public infrastructures at that time. TA is full of small size, irregular buildings which create a community as a whole. Houses found in TA is generally one-storey which is a common feature at that period of time. Only three of the houses have

6970-458: Was retaken by Abī-ešuḫ by his 5th year, after he damned the Tigris river. Under the succeeding Kassite dynasty, shortly after the middle of the 2nd millennium, Ekur was restored once more to its former splendor, several monarchs of that dynasty built upon and adorned it, and thousands of inscriptions, dating from the time of those rulers, have been discovered in its archives. A new temple within Ekur,

7055-431: Was succeeded by his son Ibbi-Sin . An erotic poem addressed to Shu-Sin by a female speaker is preserved in a cuneiform tablet called Istanbul 2461 . The poem's speaker expresses her strong desires and longings for the king. An inscription states that he gave his daughter in marriage to the ruler of Šimānum "His daughter was given as a bride to Simanum. Simanum, Habura, and the surrounding districts rebelled against

7140-469: Was visited by John Punnett Peters in 1889 and (believing it was Drehem) by Edgar James Banks in 1903. It was first examined (along with Drehem) in 1925 by Raymond P. Dougherty on behalf of the American Schools of Oriental Research. The mound at the time rose to 25 feet above the plain and was fairly unremarkable with some baked bricks and flint saw-blades. In modern times it was surveyed by H. Fujii of

7225-426: Was yielded. By stratigraphic excavation, the chronological sequence of the temple could be constructed. The temple dated to Ur III period was constructed by Urnammu, restored and rebuilt by kings ruled Nippur for centuries. As the Temple of Enlil was rebuilt after Ur III, the architectural information provided was based on remains from the Ur III period. The rectangular temple measured about 45×21 m with one entrance on

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