Nippur: Did you mean...?

Festivals in ancient Mesopotamia honored the patron deity of a city-state or the primary god of the city that controlled a region or empire. The earliest, the Akitu festival, was first observed in Sumer in the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334...

The Curse of Agade is a story dated to the Ur III Period of Mesopotamia (2047-1750 BCE) though thought to be somewhat older in origin. It tells the story of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin (r. 2261-2224 BCE) and his confrontation with the gods...

Originality in literary compositions in the ancient world did not carry the same weight and value as it does today. In recent centuries, authors have been applauded for the creation of original works and have been derided for plagiarism or...

For how long do we build a household? For how long do we seal a document? For how long do brothers share the inheritance? For how long is there to be jealousy in the land(?)? The Epic of Gilgamesh, chapter 10, Tablet X...

The area which formed Sumer started at the Persian Gulf and reached north to the 'neck' of Mesopotamia where the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates meander much closer to each other. To the east loomed the Zagros Mountains, where scattered...

This terracotta cuneiform tablet is about the myth of "Inanna prefers the farmer." In this myth, Enkimdu (the god of farming) and Dumuzi (the god of food and vegetation) tried to win the hand of the goddess Inanna. From Nippur (modern Nuffar...

This law code is considered the oldest known law code surviving today. Many terracotta tablets of this law code have been excavated at several archaeological sites in Mesopotamia. This tablet was found at Nippur (modern Nuffar, Al-Qadisiyah...

This is an inscribed sun-dried brick used in temple construction. It was commissioned by the Sumerian king Amar-Suen (reigned c. 2094-2038 BCE) of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Translation of the inscription: Amar-Suen, the one called by (the...

The cuneiform inscription on this clay tablet claims various exemptions for the cities of Babylon, Nippur, and Sippar and warns rulers against disregarding them. This is a copy which was made about 700-650 BCE of an earlier composition. From...

This terracotta cuneiform tablet is a letter from Ludingirra to his mother. Nippur (modern Nuffar, Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Iraq), southern Mesopotamia. Old-Babylonian period, 1700 BCE. (Istanbul Archeological Museums/Ancient Orient Museum...