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Nippur
UNESCO
tentative
Nippur

📷 Wikimedia Commons · CC

Where in the world

Iraq

The site

Nippur is an ancient Sumerian city in southern Iraq, the sacred seat of Enlil, the "Lord Wind" who ruled the Sumerian cosmos beneath the sky-god An. Occupation reaches far back into the Ubaid, Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods and continued for millennia, making it one of Mesopotamia's most enduring settlements. Its religious standing made it a spiritual heart of Sumer rather than a seat of kings.

Field notes

civilizations
Sumerian
types
City
occupied
5,000 BCE — 800 CE
country
Iraq

Notable finds

Renowned pieces unearthed at Nippur — and where they are today

Pictured through the ages

Artworks that portray Nippur

Map of Nippur
Map of Nippur1,400 BCE

Nearby sites