Ebabbar of Sippar — ziggurat
Sippar · Abu Habba, Iraq · known from the Old Babylonian period (work of Samsu-iluna, c. 1732 BCE); the main later restorations belong to the Neo-Babylonian period, c. 625–539 BCE, under Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II, Neriglissar and Nabonidus (556–539 BCE)
The northern cult centre of the sun god. Nabonidus took particular care of Sippar. The ziggurat and the temple form a typical Babylonian complex with courtyards and archives.
Dossier
- Type: Neo-Babylonian
- Ancient city: Sippar
- Modern location: Abu Habba, Iraq
- Deity: Shamash
- Dating: known from the Old Babylonian period (work of Samsu-iluna, c. 1732 BCE); the main later restorations belong to the Neo-Babylonian period, c. 625–539 BCE, under Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II, Neriglissar and Nabonidus (556–539 BCE)
- Builders: Samsu-iluna (18th century BCE); the Neo-Babylonian kings Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II, Neriglissar and Nabonidus
- Material: mud brick (core), baked brick (facing)
- Plan: a square mud-brick base of the lowest tier, about 40×40 m; the tiers above it have not survived
- Base: 40 × 40 m
What matters
Of the ziggurat Ekunankuga (“House, Pure Stairway of Heaven”) only the lowest tier survives: a square mud-brick base about 40×40 m. The tiers above it and the original height have not survived. The neighbouring temple of Shamash, Ebabbar (“Shining House”), occupied a plot of about 310×240 m — according to Nabonidus's inscriptions, during its repair an ancient foundation was found, attributed to the Akkadian king Naram-Sin.