  Shown within Iraq | |
| Alternative name | Tell Wannat es-Sadum |
|---|---|
| Location | Iraq |
| Coordinates | 32°05′34″N 44°47′00″E / 32.09278°N 44.78333°E |
| Type | settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1990, 2005, 2007 |
| Archaeologists | Na'el Hannoon, Abbas Al-Hussainy |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum (also Wana-Sedoum), Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and roughly 50 km southeast of Kish, on the Arahtu River. The site was identified in 1912 based on a Neo-Babylonian inscription on a truncated cylinder of Nebuchadrezzar noting the restoration of the temple. The cylinder was not excavated but rather found by locals so its provenance was not certain, as to some extent was the site's identification as Marad.[1][2] In ancient times it was on the canal, Abgal, running between Babylon and Isin.
The city's main temple, a ziggurat, is E-igi-kalama (House which is the eye of the Land).[3] It was dedicated to Lugal-Marada (thought by some to be a manifestation of Ninurta), the tutelary deity of Marad and the god of earth and the plow, built by one of Naram-Sin's sons.[4]
- ^ Thureau-dangin, f., Bibliographie., RA 9, pp. 84, 1912
- ^ Banks, Edgar J., "Nebuchadnezzar as a Builder", Scientific American, vol. 110, no. 15, pp. 314–20, 1914
- ^ Dalley, Stephanie (1998) Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the flood, Gilgamesh, and others. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-283589-0 p324
- ^ Clay, Albert T., "The Site of Marad", Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, vol. 17, no. 1-6, pp. 55-57, 1914