 Ruins of a temple platform in Nippur—the brick structure on top was constructed by American archaeologists around 1900. | |
  Shown within Iraq | |
| Location | Nuffar, Afak District, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 32°07′35.2″N 45°14′0.17″E / 32.126444°N 45.2333806°E |
| Type | archaeological site, ancient city |
| Area | 150 hectare |
| Height | 20 metre |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1851, 1889–1900, 1948–1990, 2018–present |
| Archaeologists | Austen Henry Layard, John Punnett Peters, John Henry Haynes, Hermann Volrath Hilprecht, Richard C. Haines, Thorkild Jacobsen, McGuire Gibson |
Nippur (Sumerian: Nibru, often logographically recorded as 𒂗𒆤𒆠, EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"[1] Akkadian: Nibbur) was an ancient Sumerian city. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind", ruler of the cosmos, subject to An alone. Nippur was located in modern Nuffar 5 miles north of modern Afak, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. It is roughly 200 kilometers south of modern Baghdad and about 96.54 km southeast of the ancient city of Babylon. Occupation at the site extended back to the Ubaid period (Ubaid 2 – Hajji Muhammed), the Uruk period, and the Jemdet Nasr period. The origin of the ancient name is unknown but different proposals have been made.[2]
- ^ I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory: Vol. 1, Part 1, Cambridge University Press, 1970 ISBN 9780521070515
- ^ Jacobsen, T., "The Assumed Conflict between Sumerians and Semites in Early Mesopotamian History", Journal of the American Oriental Society 59/4, pp. 485–495, 1939