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Nippur
Ancient city of Mesopotamia, now in southeastern Iraq, northeast of Diwaniyah. In its time Nippur was on both sides of the Euphrates river. On the eastern bank was the temple area.
Nippur was according to Sumerian mythology, the home of the god Enlil, the god of storm god and of force, who assembled the other gods at Nippur. According to one myth, man was created at Nippur by the Enlil.
As the myths told that it was Enlil only who could bestow upon a king the legitimacy of his kingship, Nippur was adorned with monuments and its priests with great gifts. Nippur was accordingly powerful, able to give directions on certain points to the rule of a new king. This applied to hereditary monarchs as well as foreign kings gaining power through conquest.
Nippur, a cultural centre of its days, has been our main source on the literary writing of Sumer. In the eastern section, thousands of tablets have been unearthed.
HISTORY
Around 2100 BCE: King Ur-Nammu lays out the sanctuary of Enlil, E-kur. In addition a ziggurat and a temple was built inside walls.
3rd century CE: Nippur falls into decay.
13th century: Nippur is finally abandoned.
1889: Excavations at Nippur begin. This stage would last for about 12 years.
1948: The second round of excavations begins.
1990: An Akkadian tomb and a temple to Bau, the goddess of healing, are discovered by archaelogists.
© Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved
By: Tore Kjeilen
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