Editing Sippar

{{Short description|Archaeological site in Iraq}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name           = <!-- required -->Sippar
| native_name    = Sippar
| alternate_name = 
| image          = {{none}}
| alt   = 
| caption        = 
| map_type       = Iraq
| map_alt        = 
| map_caption    = 
| map_size       = 
| relief         = yes
| coordinates    = {{coord|33.058829|N|44.252153|E|format=dms|region:IQ_type:landmark|display=title|name=Sippar}}
| location       = [[Baghdad Governorate]], [[Iraq]]
| region         = [[Mesopotamia]]
| type           = settlement
| part_of        = 
| length         = 
| width          = 
| area           = 
| height         = 
| builder        = 
| material       = 
| built          = 
| abandoned      = 
| epochs         = Early Dynastic, Old Babylonian, Kassite, Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian
| cultures       = 
| dependency_of  = 
| occupants      = 
| event          = 
| excavations    = 1880-1881, 1894, 1972-1973, 1978-2002
| archaeologists = Hormuzd Rassam, Jean-Vincent Scheil, H. Gasche, Walid al-Jadir
| condition      = 
| ownership      = 
| management     = 
| public_access  = 
| website        = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| notes          = 
}}
'''Sippar''' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{cuneiform|𒌓𒄒𒉣𒆠}}, '''Zimbir''') (also Sippir or Sippara) was an [[ancient Near East]]ern [[Sumer]]ian and later [[Babylonia]]n city on the east bank of the [[Euphrates]] river.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sumerian king list: translation |url=https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> Its ''[[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]'' is located at the site of modern '''Tell Abu Habbah''' near [[Yusufiyah]] in [[Iraq]]'s [[Baghdad Governorate]], some {{convert|69|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Babylon]] and {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Baghdad]]. The city's ancient name, Sippar, could also refer to its sister city, [[Sippar-Amnanum]] (located at the modern site of Tell ed-Der); a more specific designation for the city here referred to as Sippar was Sippar-Yaḫrurum (Sippar-Jaḫrurum). The name comes from the Amorite Yaḫrurum tribe that lived in the area along with the Amorite Amnanum tribe.<ref>Yuhong, Wu, and Stephanie Dalley, "The Origins of the Manana Dynasty at Kish, and the Assyrian King List", Iraq, vol. 52, pp. 159–65, 1990</ref> In Sippar was the site where the [[Babylonian Map of the World]] was found.<ref>Horowitz, Wayne, "The Babylonian Map of the World", Iraq, vol. 50,  pp. 147-165, 1988</ref>

==History==
While pottery finds indicate that the site of Sippar was in use as early as the [[Uruk period]], substantial occupation occurred only in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] and [[Akkadian Empire]] periods of the 3rd millennium BC, the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian]] and [[Kassite dynasty|Kassite]] periods of the 2nd millennium BC, and the [[Neo-Babylonian]] times of the 1st millennium BC. Lesser levels of use continued into the time of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Parthian Empire]]s.<ref>MacGinnis, John, Jon McGinnis, and Cornelia Wunsch, "The arrows of the sun: armed forces in Sippar in the first millennium BC". Islet-Verlag, 2012 {{ISBN|9783980846653}}</ref><ref>Clayden, Tim, "Dūr-Kurigalzu: New Perspectives", Volume 2 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 2, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 437-478, 2017</ref>

===Early Bronze Age===
Despite the fact that thousands of cuneiform [[clay tablet]]s have been recovered at the site, relatively little is known about the history of Sippar. In the [[Sumerian king list]] a king of Sippar, [[En-men-dur-ana]], is listed as one of the early pre-dynastic rulers of the region but has not yet turned up in the epigraphic records.

====Akkadian period====
Sippar was the cult site of the sun god (Sumerian [[Utu]], Akkadian [[Shamash]]), along with his consort [[Aya (goddess)|Aya]], and the home of his temple [[É (temple)|E]]-babbara ([[É (temple)|𒂍]]𒌓𒌓𒊏, means "white house") where the [[Manishtushu#Cruciform Monument of Manishtushu|Cruciform Monument of Manishtushu]] was found.<ref>MacGinnis, John, "The Šatammu of Sippar", Die Welt des Orients, pp. 21-26, 1995</ref> [[Mamu (deity)|Mamu]], the daughter of Shamash, also had a temple in Sippar as did the goddesses Nin-Isina, Ninḫegal, [[Ninkarrak#Sippar|Ninkarrak]], and Tašmētum.<ref>[https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf]Asher-Greve, Julia M., and Joan Goodnick Westenholz, "Goddesses in context: on divine powers, roles, relationships and gender in Mesopotamian textual and visual sources", Vol. 259. Academic Press/Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013</ref>

In the later part of the 3rd millennium BC, a large coalition of city-states led by Iphur-Kis of [[Kish (Sumer)]] and Amar-Girid of [[Uruk]], joined by Enlil-nizu of [[Nippur]], and including the city-states of "[[Kutha]], TiWA, Sippar, [[Kazallu]], Kiritab, [Api]ak   and GN" as well as "Amorite  [hi]ghlanders" revolted against Akkadian Empire ruler [[Naram-Sin of Akkad]]. The rebellion was joined by the city of [[Borsippa]], among others. The revolt was crushed.<ref>Steve Tinney, A New Look at Naram-Sin and the "Great Rebellion",  Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 47, pp. 1-14, 1995</ref>

===Middle Bronze Age===
Sippar was the production center of wool. It also produced some of the finest [[Akkadian language|Old Babylonian]] cylinder seals.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collon|first=Dominique|title=First impressions : cylinder seals in the ancient Near East|date=2005|publisher=British Museum Press|isbn=0-7141-1136-8|edition=[Rev. ed.]|location=London|oclc=63186269}}</ref>

====Middle Bronze I====
In Middle Bronze IB (c. 1900-1820 BC), the city-state of Babylon started to expand. Sippar eventually came within the Babylonian realm. [[Sumu-la-El]] of [[Babylon]] (r. 1878-1843 BC) conducted several military campaigns gaining control over Sippar. In his 29th year of reign, Sumulael reported building the city wall of Sippar. [[Sabium]] (r. 1842-1829 BC) did some religious activity dedicated to Utu/Shamash, Marduk in one of his year-names. [[Apil-Sin]] (r. 1828-1812 BC) did some activity in Sippar in his Year 14.

Based on Shamash Temple records Sippar ruler Immerum is known to have been roughly contemporary with the rule of Sumu-la-El. He is suggested to have been ruling Sipper when Babylon took control based on a text sealed with oaths to both Immerum and Sumu-la-El.<ref>Tanret, M., "I.B. The First Sangas", in The Seal of the Sanga, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2010</ref><ref>Tanret, M.,"I.C. Before The Second Sanga", in The Seal of the Sanga, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2010</ref> In another text detailing gifts for dignitaries [[Sumu-abum]], first ruler of the First Babylonian Empire received the largest gift with Immerum and Sumu-la-El (2nd ruler of that empire) receiving smaller gifts.<ref>Wasserman, N., & Bloch, Y., "The Kingdom of Babylon", in The Amorites, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2023</ref> Four year names of Immerum are known including "The year (in which) the temple of Inanna Immerum built".<ref>"PBS 08/2, 195 Artifact Entry", (2005) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). February 1, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P257793</ref>

====Middle Bronze II (c. 1820-1587 BC)====
[[File:Clay tablet and its sealed clay envelope. Legal document, listing of land and their distribution to several sons. From Sippar, Iraq. Old-Babylonian period. Reign of Sin-Muballit, 1812-1793 BCE. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany.jpg|thumb|Clay tablet and its sealed clay envelope. Legal document, listing of land and their distribution to several sons. From Sippar, Iraq. Old-Babylonian period. Reign of Sin-Muballit, 1812-1793 BCE. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin]]
[[Sin-Muballit]] (r. 1811-1793 BC) controlled the city and a sealed clay envelope is known.

[[File:Hammurabi's Babylonia 1.svg|thumb|Hammurabi's Babylonia 1]]
Some years later [[Hammurabi]] of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 BC) reported laying the foundations of the city wall of Sippar in his 23rd year and worked on the wall again in his 43rd year. His successor in Babylon, [[Samsu-iluna]] (r. 1749-1712 BC) worked on Sippar's wall in his 1st year. The city walls, being typically made of mud bricks, required much attention. The [[Code of Hammurabi]] stele was probably erected at Sippar. [[Shamash]] was the god of justice, and he is depicted handing authority to the king in the image at the top of the stele.

The city flourished under Babylonian rule until the Sack of Babylon by Mursili I of Hatti around 1587 BC.

===Late Bronze Age===
====Kassite period====
The city then came under the control of the [[Kassite dynasty]].

====Elamite period====
In the final years of that dynasty the Elamite ruler [[Shutruk-Nakhunte]] (c. 1184 to 1155 BC) captured Sippar. Shutruk-Nakhunte carried back statues from the Shamash temple to Susa adding his own inscription to a stele of the Akkadian Empire ruler [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]]:
{{blockquote|text="I am Shutruk-Nahhunte, son of Hallutush-Inshushinak, beloved servant of the god [[Inshushinak]], king of Anshan and Susa, who has enlarged the kingdom, who takes care of the lands of Elam, the lord of the land of Elam. When the god Inshushinak gave me the order, I defeated Sippar. I took the stele of Naram-Sin and carried it off, bringing it to the land of Elam. For Inshushinak, my god, I set it as an offering."<ref name="MM">{{cite book |last1=Mieroop |first1=Marc Van De |title=A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC |date=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118718230 |page=199 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zTLOCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 |language=en}}</ref>}}

===Iron Age===
====Neo-Babylonian period====
In the succeeding [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] period, it was taken by the Neo-Babylonian ruler [[Nebuchadnezzar I]] about 1120 BC. In the reign of Neo-Babylonian ruler [[Adad-apla-iddina]] (c. 1064–1043 BC) the Shamash cult center along with all the other temples in Sippar were destroyed by Suteans and cult symbol of Shamash was lost.<ref>A. Goetze, "An Inscription of Simbar-šīḫu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 19 (4), pp. 121–135, 1965</ref><ref>Brinkman, J. A., "A Note on the Shamash Cult at Sippar in the Eleventh Century B.C.", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 70, no. 2, pp. 183–84, 1976</ref>

====Neo-Assyrian period====
In the early 1st millennium BC, Sippar came under Neo-Assyrian control.<ref>Da-Riva, Rocío, "Sippar in the Reign of Sîn-šum-līšir (626 BC)", Altorientalische Forschungen 28.1, pp. 40-64, 2001</ref> After the final defeat of the Neo-Assyrians by the Neo-Babylonians at the [[Battle of Carchemish]] in 605 BC text report that a number of Egyptian and Assyrian prisoners were brought to Sippar as chattel.<ref>Bongenaar, Arminius CVM, and Ben JJ Haring, "Egyptians in neo-Babylonian Sippar", Journal of cuneiform studies 46.1, pp. 59-72, 1994</ref><ref>Mac-Ginnis, John, "Assyrians after the Fall: Evidence from the Ebabbar of Sippar", At the Dawn of History: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of J. N. Postgate, edited by Yağmur Heffron, Adam Stone and Martin Worthington, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 781-796 2017</ref> Records of Neo-Babylonian ruler [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] (605-562 BC) and [[Nabonidos]] (556-539 BC) record that they repaired the Shamash temple E-babbara.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/jstor-527830/page/n20/mode/1up]Jastrow, Morris, "Nebopolassar and the Temple to the Sun-God at Sippar", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 15, pp. 65-86, 1899</ref>

====Achaemenid period====
After the [[Battle of Opis]] in September 539 BC Sippar surrendered to the [[Achaemenid Empire]], followed soon after by the fall of the Neo-Babylonian empire.<ref>Kuhrt, A., "The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources of the Achaemenid Period", Routledge, 2007</ref>

===Speculation===
[[Ziusudra|Xisuthros]], the "Chaldean Noah" in Sumerian mythology, is said by [[Berossus]] to have buried the records of the [[antediluvian]] world here—possibly because the name of Sippar was supposed to be connected with ''sipru'', "a writing".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/jstor-527500]Ward, William Hayes, "Sippara", Hebraica, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 79–86, 1886</ref> And according to [[Abydenus]], [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] excavated a great reservoir in the neighbourhood.<ref>Dalley, Stephanie, "Nineveh, Babylon and the Hanging Gardens: Cuneiform and Classical Sources Reconciled", Iraq, vol. 56, pp. 45–58, 1994</ref>

[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' 6.30.123) mentions a sect of Chaldeans called the ''Hippareni''. It is often assumed that this name refers to Sippar (especially because the other two schools mentioned seem to be named after cities as well: the ''Orcheni'' after [[Uruk]], and the ''Borsippeni'' after [[Borsippa]]), but this is not universally accepted.<ref>Barnett, R. D., "Xenophon and the Wall of Media", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 83, pp. 1–26, 1963</ref>

Sippar has been suggested as the location of the Biblical [[Sepharvaim]] in the [[Old Testament]], which alludes to the two parts of the city in its [[Dual (grammatical number)|dual]] form.<ref>G. R. Driver, "Geographical Problems", Eretz Israel, vol. 5, pp. 18-20, 1958</ref>

==Archaeology==
{{multiple image
 | image1 = Si427o.jpg
 | alt1 = Si.427 Obverse
 | image2 = Si427r.jpg
 | alt2 = Si.427 Reverse
 | footer = Si.427, a tablet excavated in Sippar in 1894, depicting a [[Surveying|land survey]]. A mathematical text dealing with the surface area of a field divided into 11 pieces.<ref name="Mansfield">{{cite journal |last1=Mansfield |first1=Daniel F. |title=Perpendicular Lines and Diagonal Triples in Old Babylonian Surveying |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |date=January 2020 |volume=72 |pages=87–99 |doi=10.1086/709309|s2cid=224837017 |url=http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:68848/bin16fb5d68-9860-41b7-8096-eabad4b204c8?view=true&xy=01|hdl=1959.4/unsworks_68848 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Beek1973">{{cite book
 |last=Beek
 |first=Martinus Adrianus
 |date=1973
 |title=Symbolae Biblicae Et Mesopotamicae [[Frans de Liagre Böhl|Francisco Mario Theodoro de Liagre Böhl]] Dedicatae
 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]
 |page=379
}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Clay cone Sippar Louvre AO3277.jpg|thumb|Hammurabi clay cone from Sippar at Louvre]]
Tell Abu Habba, measuring over 1 square kilometer was first excavated by [[Hormuzd Rassam]] (referring to the site as Aboo-Habba) between 1880 and 1881 for the British Museum in a dig that lasted 18 months. Rassam excavated only down to the Old Babylonian levels and was focused mainly on the Neo-Babylonian remains.<ref>[https://archive.org/download/asshurlandofnimr00rass/asshurlandofnimr00rass.pdf]Hormuzd Rassam, "Asshur and the Land of Nimrod: Being an Account of the Discoveries Made in the Ancient Ruins of Nineveh, Asshur, Sepharvaim, Calah, [etc.]...", Curts & Jennings, 1897</ref> Tens of thousands of tablets were recovered including the [[Tablet of Shamash]] in the Temple of [[Shamash]]/[[Utu]]. Most of the tablets were [[Neo-Babylonian]].<ref>Leichty, E., "Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum. Volume VI: Tablets from Sippar 1", London, 1986</ref><ref>Leichty, E. and A. K. Grayson, "Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum Volume VII: Tablets from Sippar 2", London, 1987</ref><ref>Erie Leichty et al., Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum Volume VII: Tablets from Sippar 3, British Museum Publications, 1988, {{ISBN|0-7141-1124-4}}</ref> The temple had been mentioned as early as the 18th year of [[Samsu-iluna]] of Babylon, who reported restoring "Ebabbar, the temple of Szamasz in Sippar", along with the city's [[ziggurat]].

The tablets, which ended up in the [[British Museum]], are being studied to this day. As was often the case in the early days of archaeology, excavation records were not made, particularly find spots. This makes it difficult to tell which tablets came from Sippar-Amnanum as opposed to Sippar.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goddeeris|first=Anne|title=Economy and society in northern Babylonia in the early old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1800 BC)|date=2002|publisher=Peeters|isbn=90-429-1123-9|location=Leuven|oclc=50207588}}</ref> Other tablets from Sippar were bought on the open market during that time and ended up at places like the British Museum and the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref>[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/160738291.pdf]Hermann Ranke, Babylonian Legal and Business Documents from the Time of the First Dynasty of Babylon; Chiefly from Sippar, University of Pennsylvania, 1906 (reprinted by Nabu Press {{ISBN|1-144-69277-6}})</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lerberghe|first=Karel van|title=Old Babylonian legal and administrative texts from Philadelphia|date=1986|publisher=Departement Oriëntalistiek|others=Marten Stol, Gabriela Voet|isbn=90-6831-063-1|location=Leuven|oclc=18962321}}</ref> Since the site is relatively close to [[Baghdad]], it was a popular target for illegal excavations.<ref>E. A. Budge, "By Nile and Tigris: A Narrative of Journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on Behalf of the British Museum Between the Years 1886 and 1913", John Murray, 1920</ref>

In 1894, Sippar was worked briefly by [[Jean-Vincent Scheil]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/unesaisondefouil00sche/page/1/mode/1up]V. Scheil, "Une Saison de fouilles a Sippar", Le Caire, 1902</ref> The tablets recovered, mainly Old Babylonian, went to the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museums|Istanbul Museum]].<ref>[https://www.ub.edu/ipoa/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20211AuOrAdaliFrahm.pdf]Adalı, Selim Ferruh, and Frahm Eckart, "The Slave-Girl's Child: A" Literary" Fragment from the Istanbul Sippar Archive", Aula Orientalis, pp. 5-17, 2021</ref> In 1927 archaeologists [[Walter Andrae]] and [[Julius Jordan]] visited, and mapped, the site.<ref>Andrae, W., and J. Jordan, "Abu Habbah: Sippar", Iraq, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51–59, 1934</ref> In modern times, the site was worked, mainly soundings, by a Belgian team led by H. Gasche from 1972 to 1973.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq 1972-73", Iraq, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 188–204, 1973</ref> They determined that Sippar was protected by a wall, partially for flood protection, extending 1200 meters by 800 meters, cutting a trench across it. A tablet of Samsu-iluna was found showing the wall dated back to at least Old Babylonian period though ground water prevented deeper excavation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tell ed-Dēr : sounding at Abū Ḥabbah (Sippar)|date=1980|publisher=Peeters|others=Leon de Meyer|isbn=2-8017-0160-2|location=Leeuven|oclc=8165805}}</ref>

[[File:Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal, formerly in the Charterhouse Collection 04.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Old Babylonian [[Cylinder Seal]], [[hematite]]. The king makes an animal offering to [[Shamash]]. The style of this seal suggests that it originated from a workshop in Sippar<ref>Al-Gailani Werr, L., "Studies in the chronology and regional style of Old Babylonian Cylinder Seals", Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, vol. 23, 1988</ref>]]
Iraqi archaeologists from the College of Arts at the [[University of Baghdad]], led by Walid al-Jadir with Farouk al-Rawi, have excavated at Tell Abu Habbah starting in 1978. Work began with a new site contour map and excavation in the Old Babylonian area in the north where two buildings were uncovered. About 100 Old Babylonian period cuneiform tablets were found.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq, 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 141–81, 1979</ref> Subsequently, the team worked in an Old Babylonian residential area where terracotta plaques and figurines, and cuneiform tablets were found. The tablets were from the reign of Immerum, Buntahun-ila, and Samsu-iluna. Focus then shifted to the Shamash temple area.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq, 1981-82", Iraq, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 199–224, 1983</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763289&increment=130]Lamia al-Gailani and Walid al-Jadir, Seal Impressions from Sippar, Sumer, vol. 37, pp. 129-144, 1981</ref> In the northeast, Old Babylonian, part of the site, a 30 meter by 5 meter deep sounding was excavated. The sounding found 4 Old Babylonian levels, 2 [[Akkadian Empire]] levels, and 3 Early Dynastic levels ( with plano-convex [[Mudbrick|mud brick]] construction).<ref>"Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 215–39, 1985</ref><ref>Jadir, W. al- and Abdullah, Z. R., "Preliminary Results of the University of Baghdad Excavation of Sippar (Abu Habbah), Seasons 1978-1983", Sumer 39, pp. 97–122, 1983 (in Arabic)</ref> In 1986, while clearing spoil from the Rassam excavation in the E-Babbar temple, a room was discovered which Rassam had not noticed. It contained a library with about 400 cuneiform tablets, which had been stored in 10 ranks of 17cm by 30cm niches in 4 rows. The tablets included copies of earlier inscriptions dating back to the Akkadian Empire and contemporary texts as late as the reign of [[Cambyses II]].<ref>"Excavations in Iraq 1985-86", Iraq, vol. 49, pp. 231–51, 1987</ref><ref>"Excavations in Iraq 1987-88", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 249–65, 1989</ref> Few of the tablets were published at the time due to conditions in Iraq. With conditions improving, they are now being published.<ref>Fadhil, Anmar Abdulillah, and Enrique Jiménez, "Literary Texts from the Sippar Library I: Two Babylonian Classics", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 109.2, pp. 155-176, 2019</ref><ref>Fadhil, Anmar Abdulillah, and Enrique Jiménez, "Literary Texts from the Sippar Library II: The Epic of Creation", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 111.2, pp. 191-230, 2021</ref><ref>Fadhil, Anmar Abdulillah, and Enrique Jiménez, "Literary Texts from the Sippar Library III:‘Eriš šummi’, a Syncretistic Hymn to Marduk", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 112.2, pp. 229-274, 2022</ref><ref>Fadhil, Anmar Abdulillah, and Enrique Jiménez, "Literary Texts from the Sippar Library IV: A “Macranthropic” Hymn to Ninurta", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 113.2, pp. 193-215, 2023</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Al-Rawi|first=Farouk N. H.|title=Old Babylonian texts from private houses at Abu Habbah ancient Sippir : Baghdad University excavations|date=2000|publisher=NABU|others=Stephanie Dalley|isbn=1-897750-07-2|location=London|oclc=47677571}}</ref><ref>W. al-Jadir and Z. Rajib, "Archaeological Results from the Eighth Season at Sippar", Sumer, vol. 46,
pp. 69-90, 1990 (in Arabic)</ref> After 2000, they were joined by the [[German Archaeological Institute]]. In total, the effort continued in 24 seasons until 2002.<ref>Al-Rawi, Farouk Ν. H., "A New Old Babylonian Date List from Sippir with Year Names of Apil-Sin and Sîn-muballiț", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 83, no. 1, pp. 22-30, 1993</ref><ref>Abdulillah Fadhil et al., "Ausgrabungen in Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah). Vorbericht über die Grabungsergebnisse der 24. Kampagne 2002", in Baghdader Mitteilungen (BaM) 36, pp. 157-224, 2005</ref><ref>Abdulillah Fadhil et. el., "Sippar - Results of prospecting 2004/24", Sumer, vol. LII, no. 1&2, pp. 294-357, 2004</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Map of the World from Sippar, Mesopotamia, Iraq. 6th century BCE. The British Museum.jpg|Map of the World from Sippar, Mesopotamia, Iraq. 6th century BCE. The British Museum
File:Tablet of Nabu-apla-iddina, 9th century BCE, from Sippar, Iraq. British Museum.jpg|Tablet of Nabu-apla-iddina, 9th century BCE, from Sippar, Iraq. British Museum
File:Detail, Sun God Tablet from Sippar, Iraq, 9th century BCE. British Museum.jpg|Detail, Sun God Tablet from Sippar, Iraq, 9th century BCE. British Museum
File:Detail, Kudurru of Ritti-Marduk, from Sippar, Iraq, 1125-1104 BCE. British Museum.jpg|Detail, Kudurru of Ritti-Marduk, from Sippar, Iraq, 1125-1104 BCE. British Museum
</gallery>

==List of rulers==
The following list should not be considered complete:
{|class="wikitable"border="1"style="width:100%;text-align:center"
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|[[Akkadian royal titulary#Epithets|Epithet]]
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Early Dynastic I|Early Dynastic I period]] ({{circa|2900|2700 BC|lk=yes}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|[[Pre-dynastic period of Sumer|Predynastic Sumer]] ({{circa|2900|2700 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{quotation|''"Then [[Larak (Sumer)#List of rulers|Larak]] fell and the [[Throne|kingship]] was taken to Sippar."''|''[[Sumerian King List]] (SKL)''}}
|-
|1st
|[[File:Lista Reale Sumerica.jpg|120px]]
|[[En-men-dur-ana]]<br>𒂗𒉺𒇻𒍣𒀭𒈾
|
|
|''Uncertain,'' {{reign|single=c. 2820 BC|show=lword}}<br><small>(21,000 years)</small>
|
*Said on the ''SKL'' to have held the title of, ''"[[lugal|King]]"'' of not just Sippar; but, to have held the ''"[[Hegemony|Kingship]]"'' over ''all'' of Sumer
*Known from the ''SKL''; very little otherwise
*Historicity uncertain
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{quotation|''"1 king; he ruled for 21,000 years. Then Sippar fell and the kingship was taken to [[Shuruppak#List of rulers|Shuruppak]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Old Babylonian period]] ({{circa|2000|1000 BC}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|[[Amorite]] dynasty ({{circa|2000|1000 BC}})
|-
|
|
|Altinu'u
|
|
|''Uncertain''
|
*Historicity certain
|-
|
|
|Bunu-tahtun-ila
|
|
|''Uncertain''
|
*Historicity certain
|-
|
|
|Immerum
|
|
|{{reign|c. 1880|c. 1845 BC|show=lword}}
|
*Historicity certain
|-
|
|
|Sin-bani
|
|
|''Uncertain''
|
*Historicity certain
|}

==See also==
{{Commons category}}
*[[List of cities of the ancient Near East]]
*[[Cylinders of Nabonidus]]
*[[Nadītu#In Sippar|Nadītu in Sippar]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*F. N. H. al-Rawi, "Tablets from the Sippar Library I. The "Weidner Chronicle": A Suppositious Royal Letter concerning a Vision", Iraq, vol. 52, pp.&nbsp;1–15, 1990
*F. N. H. al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library II. Tablet II of the Babylonian Creation Epic", Iraq, vol. 52, pp.&nbsp;149–158, 1990
*F. N. H. al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library III. Two Royal Counterfeits", Iraq, vol. 56, pp.&nbsp;135–149, 1994
*Luc Dekier, "Old Babylonian real estate documents from Sippar in the British Museum", University of Ghent, 1994
*F. N. H. al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library IV. Lugale", Iraq, vol. 57, pp.&nbsp;199–224, 1995
*Rivkah Harris, "Ancient Sippar : a demographic study of an old-Babylonian city, 1894-1595 B.C.", Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut, 1975
*Harris, Rivkah, "On Foreigners in Old Babylonian Sippar", Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 70.2, pp. 145-152, 1976
*John MacGinnis, "Letter orders from Sippar and the administration of the Ebabbara in the late-Babylonian period", Bonami, 1995, {{ISBN|83-85274-07-3}}
*MacGinnis, John, "The Royal Establishment at Sippar in the 6th Century BC", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 198-219, 1994
*F. N. H. al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library V. An Incantation from Mis Pi", Iraq, vol. 57, pp.&nbsp;225–228, 1995
*[https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/1602/1/tablets_from_the_sippar_library_vi_atrahasis.pdf]F. N. H. Al-Rawi and Andrew George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library, VI. Atra-hasis", Iraq, vol. 58, pp.&nbsp;147–190, 1996
*A. C. V. M. Bongenaar, "The Neo-Babylonian Ebabbar Temple at Sippar : its administration and its prosopography", Nederlands Historisch-Archeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, 1997, {{ISBN|90-6258-081-5}}
*Bloch, Yigal, "Judeans in Sippar and Susa during the First Century of the Babylonian Exile: Assimilation and Perseverance under Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Rule", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 119-172, 2014
*[https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/3250/2/tablets_from_the_sippar_library_vii_three_wisdom_texts.pdf]F. N. H. al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library VII. Three wisdom texts", Iraq, vol. 60, pp.&nbsp;187–206, 1998
*Ivan Starr and F. N. H. Al-Rawi, "Tablets from the Sippar Library VIII. Omens from the Gall-Bladder", Iraq, vol. 61, pp.&nbsp;173–185, 1999
*W. Horowitz and F. N. H. Al-Rawi, "Tablets from the Sippar library IX. A ziqpu-star planisphere", Iraq, vol. 63, pp.&nbsp;171–181, 2001
*F. N. H. al-Rawi, "Tablets from the Sippar library X: A dedication of Zabaya of Larsa", Iraq, vol. 64, pp.&nbsp;247–248, 2002
*De Graef, Katrien, "Cherchez la femme!: The Economic Role of Women in Old Babylonian Sippar", The Role of Women in Work and Society in the Ancient Near East, edited by Brigitte Lion and Cécile Michel, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 270-295, 2016
*[https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/1621/2/tablets_from_the_sippar_library_xi_the_babylonian_almanac.pdf]Andrew George and Khalid Salim Ismail, "Tablets from the Sippar library, XI. The Babylonian almanac", Iraq, vol. 64, pp.&nbsp;249–258, 2002
*Greengus, Samuel, "New evidence on the Old Babylonian calendar and real estate documents from Sippar", Journal of the American Oriental Society, pp. 257-267, 2001
*Nils P. Heeßel and Farouk N. H. Al-Rawi, "Tablets from the Sippar Library XII. A Medical Therapeutic Text", Iraq, vol. 65, pp.&nbsp;221–239, 2003
*[https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/3315/2/tablets_from_the_sippar_library_xiii_enuma_anu_ellil_xx.pdf]F. N. H. Al-Rawi and A. R. George, "Tablets from the Sippar Library XIII: "Enūma Anu Ellil" XX", Iraq, vol. 68, pp.&nbsp;23–57, 2006
*Moore, Stephen A., "Ransom and Quittance in Early Old Babylonian Sippar: a New Text", Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale 116.1, pp. 69-78, 2022
*Theophilus Goldridge Pinches, "The Antiquities found by Mr. H. Rassam at Abu-habbah (Sippara)", Harrison and Sons, 1884
*[https://archive.org/details/abuhabbacylinder00nabouoft/page/n7/mode/2up]Robert J. Lau, "The Abu Habba cylinder of Nabuna'id, v. Rawlinson pl. 64. Autographed text by Robert J. Lau, with an introd. and a glossary in English and German by J. Dyneley Prince", Leiden E.J. Brill, 1905
*K. De Graef, "Many a mickle makes a muckle : advance payments in the Ur-Utu archive (Old Babylonian Sippar)", AKKADICA, vol. 137, no. 1, pp.&nbsp;1–51, 2016
*Janssen, Caroline, "Thirteen bones and a skeleton: the location of Inanna-mansum's grave and material manifestations of the cult of the dead in Old Babylonian Sippar", Akkadica 143, pp. 59-100, 2022
*Reinhard Pirngruber, "Minor Archives from First-Millennium Bce Babylonia: The Archive of Iššar-Tarībi from Sippar", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 72, pp. 165–198, 2020
*[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/janeh-2021-0009/html]Richardson, Seth, "Hard Times for Sippar Women: Three Late Old Babylonian Cases", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 9.2, pp. 319-350, 2022
*Tanret, Michel, "The seal of the sanga: on the Old Babylonian sangas of Šamaš of Sippar-Jaḫrūrum and Sippar-Amnānum", Vol. 40. Brill, 2010 {{ISBN|978-9004179585}}
*[https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02992246/file/Sippar_and_the_Frontier_between_Esnunna.pdf]Van Koppen, Frans, and Denis Lacambre, "Sippar and the Frontier between Ešnunna and Babylon. New Sources for the History of Ešnunna in the Old Babylonian Period", Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap Ex Oriente Lux 41, pp. 151-177, 2009
*Verhulst, Astrid, "An Old Babylonian Seal from Sippar with Trading Owners", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 255–65, 2015
*Zawadzki, Stefan, "Great Families of Sippar during the Chaldean and Early Persian Periods (626-482 BC)", Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, pp. 17-25, 1990

==External links==
*[https://www.dainst.org/projekt/-/project-display/146102 German Archaeological Institute page for Sippar - in German]
*[http://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/E_GLOSSARINDEX/R1333.htm Year Names mentioning Sippar at CDLI]
*[https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/search?provenience=habbah&limit=1000 Digital images of Sippar cuneiform tablets - CDLI]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sippar| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 3rd millennium BC]]
[[Category:1880 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:History of Baghdad Governorate]]
[[Category:Sumerian cities]]
[[Category:Akkadian cities]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Iraq]]
[[Category:Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]