Nippur

   One of the more important cities of ancient Sumeria, situated about 93 miles (150 km) southeast of modern Baghdad. Nippur (modern Niffar) was one of the oldest Mesopotamian settlements, with habitations dating back to the late seventh or early sixth millennia b.c. And it remained inhabited longer than most other cities in the region - until circa a.d. 800, when it was a Muslim town with large Jewish and Christian quarters. During Su-merian and Babylonian times Nippur had no ruling dynasty of its own and usually remained politically neutral. So the rulers of many neighboring city-states used it as a religious center. In fact, in most cases no Mesopotamian king was thought to be legitimate unless he supported or made a pilgrimage to Nippur. The main cult of the god Enlil - the Ekur, or "Mountain House" - was there, as were important temples of Inanna and several other deities. The city endured a crisis in the 1700s b.c., when the Euphrates River, which had long flowed right through it, changed course. But the people of Nippur persevered, and in time the city regained its footing. In the Persian period, during the sixth through fourth centuries b.c., it was an important commercial center and headquarters of the influential Murashu family of bankers.

   The first major modern excavations of Nippur were conducted by a team sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania from 1888 to 1900. From 1948 to the present, the site has been explored by Chicago's Oriental Institute, a project that remains ongoing. The site has revealed many important artifacts and a great deal of information about ancient Mesopotamia. Especially important was the discovery of a series of buildings dubbed Tablet Hill by the diggers, the remains of a large school or work area for scribes. So far, some sixty thousand cuneiform tablets have been found there, a treasure trove containing samples from every known ancient Mesopotamian literary work. Also found in the ruins was an unusually accurate ancient map of Nippur.

   See also: map making; money and banking; temples