Borsippa

Coordinates: 32°23′31.19″N 44°20′30.08″E / 32.3919972°N 44.3416889°E / 32.3919972; 44.3416889
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Borsippa
Borsippa is located in Iraq
Borsippa
Shown within Iraq
Alternative nameBirs Nimrud
LocationIraq
Coordinates32°23′31.19″N 44°20′30.08″E / 32.3919972°N 44.3416889°E / 32.3919972; 44.3416889
Typesettlement
Site notes
Excavation dates1854, 1861, 1902, 1980-2003
ArchaeologistsHenry Creswicke Rawlinson, Hormuzd Rassam, Robert Koldewey, Helga Piesl-Trenkwalder, Wilfred Allinger-Csollich
ConditionRuined
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes

Borsippa (

Babil Governorate, Iraq. The ziggurat is today one of the most vividly identifiable surviving ones, identified in the later Arabic culture with the Tower of Babel due to Nebuchadnezzar referring to it as the Tower of Borsippa or tongue tower, as stated in the stele recovered on site in the 19th century. However, modern scholarship concludes that the Babylonian builders of the Ziggurat in reality erected it as a religious edifice in honour of the local god Nabu, called the "son" of Babylon's Marduk
, as would be appropriate for Babylon's lesser sister-city.

Borsippa was an important ancient city of Sumer, built on both sides of a lake about 17.7 km (11.0 mi) southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates.

History

Borsippa is mentioned, usually in connection with Babylon, in texts from the

Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 36a, Avodah Zarah 11b) and other rabbinic literature. Borsippa was dependent upon Babylon and was never the seat of a regional power. From the ninth century BC, Borsippa was on the borderland south of which lay the tribal "houses" of Chaldea
.

The Jewish historian, Josephus, mentions the city in relation to the war between Cyrus the Great and Nabonidus.[2] The temple to Nabu at Borsippa was destroyed in 484 BC during the suppression of a revolt against the Achaemenid emperor, Xerxes I.[3]

In the 1st millennium BC, the city had a large scribal class.[4]

Archaeology

Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of the god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq. 6th century BC

In 1854, work at Borsippa was conducted under the direction of

Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, with most of the actual digging done by his subordinates.[5] Rawlinson personally uncovered the foundation prisms from Nebuchadnezzar II's restoration on the Nabu temple. Between 1879 and 1881 the site was excavated by Hormuzd Rassam for the British Museum.[6][7]
He concentrated primarily on
E-zida, the temple of Nabu. In the 1890s looters removed about 2000 cuneiform tablets, mostly from the Ezida.[8] In 1902, Robert Koldewey worked at Borsippa during his main effort at Babylon also mainly on the Nabu temple. E-DIM-AN-NA, temple of the bond of heaven, built by Nebuchadrezzar for the god Sin in the court of E-zida was also excavated.[9][10][11]

For 20 seasons between 1980 and 2003 the

Neo-Babylonian period were found. Excavations can currently not be carried out due to political events. The elaboration of the results of excavations within the project "Comparative studies of Borsippa - Babylon" are conducted.[16][17][18][19][20]

Many legal administrative and astronomical texts on

Antiochus I, an example of the region's remarkable cultural continuity.[21][22]

Gallery

  • The original ancient gypsum plaster between mud-bricks, Borsippa, Babel, Iraq
    The original ancient gypsum plaster between mud-bricks, Borsippa, Babel, Iraq
  • Stamped mud-brick from the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq, 6th century BC
    Stamped mud-brick from the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq, 6th century BC
  • Ruins around the ziggurat and temple of the god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq
    Ruins around the ziggurat and temple of the god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq
  • Original tiles at the upper surface of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
    Original tiles at the upper surface of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
  • The upper surface of the ruins of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
    The upper surface of the ruins of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
  • Modern cement covering ancient bricks at the upper surface of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu, Borsippa, Iraq
    Modern cement covering ancient bricks at the upper surface of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu, Borsippa, Iraq
  • Ruins of the lower part of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq
    Ruins of the lower part of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq
  • Stamped mud-brick from the ziggurat and temple of Nabu, Borsippa, Iraq
    Stamped mud-brick from the ziggurat and temple of Nabu, Borsippa, Iraq
  • The upper part of the Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
    The upper part of the Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
  • The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of the god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, 6th century BC
    The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of the god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, 6th century BC
  • The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat of Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, 6th century BC
    The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat of Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, 6th century BC
  • The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
    The ruins of the so-called Tongue Tower of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at Borsippa, Iraq
  • Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of god Nabu, Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, sixth century BC
    Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of god Nabu, Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq, sixth century BC
  • Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq
    Ruins of the ziggurat and temple of god Nabu at Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq

See also

  • Cities of the Ancient Near East
  • Short chronology timeline

References

  1. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory: Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010.
  2. ^ Josephus, Against Apion (Book 1, section 20)
  3. ^ M. A. Dandamayev, "Ezida Temple and the Cult of Nabu in Babilonia of the First Millennium", Vestnik drevnej istorii, no. 3, pp. 87-94, 2009
  4. ^ Zadok, Ran, "The Scribes of Borsippa in the First Millennium BC: A Preliminary Survey", The IOS Annual Volume 22:“Telling of Olden Kings”. Brill, pp. 67-92, 2022
  5. ^ [1]Henry C. Rawlinson, "On the Birs Nimrud, or the Great Temple of Borsippa", The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 18, pp. 1-34, 1861
  6. ^ Hormuzd Rassam (1897). "Asshur and the Land of Nimrod: Being an Account of the Discoveries Made in the Ancient Ruins of Nineveh, Asshur, Sepharvaim, Calah, (etc)..." (PDF). Curts & Jennings.
  7. ^ J. E. Reade," Rassam's Excavations at Borsippa and Kutha, 1879-82", Iraq, vol. 48, pp. 105-116, 1986
  8. ^ Robson, Eleanor, "The Socio-Economics of Cuneiform Scholarship after the ‘End of Archives’: Views from Borsippa and Uruk", 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. 459-474, 2017
  9. ^ Robert Koldewey, "The excavations at Babylon, University of Michigan Library, 1914
  10. ^ Robert Koldewey, "Die Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa", WVDOG 15, Leipzig, 1911 ISSN 0342-118X
  11. ^ Andrae, Walter, "BORSIPPA 1902", Babylon: Die versunkene Weltstadt und ihr Ausgräber Robert Koldewey, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 149-152, 1952
  12. ^ [2]Trenkwalder-Piesl, H., "Report about the excavations in Borsippa (second season 1981)", Sumer 41, pp. 101–105, 1981
  13. ^ Kaniuth, Kai, "Borsippa—Preliminary Report on the 18th-20th Campaigns (2001-2003).", Sumer 52.1, pp. 9-16, 2004
  14. ^ "Recent Excavations in Iraq.", Iraq, vol. 61, pp. 195–202, 1999
  15. ^ "Excavations in Iraq 1985-86.", Iraq, vol. 49, pp. 231–51, 1987
  16. ^ W. Allinger-Csollich, "Birs Nimrud I. Die Baukörper der Ziqqurat von Borsippa, ein Vorbericht", Baghdader Mitteilungen (BaM). Gbr. Mann, Berlin, vol. 22, pp. 383-499, 1991, ISSN 0418-9698
  17. ^ W. Allinger-Csollich, "Birs Nimrud II. Tieftempel-Hochtempel". (Vergleichende Studien: Borsipa-Babylon). BaM 29, pp. 95-330, 1998
  18. ^ W. Allinger-Csollich, Birs Nimrud II: Tieftempel-Hochtempel: Vergleichende Studien Borsippa - Babylon, Baghdader Mitteilungen, vol. 29, pp. 95-330, 1998, ISSN 0418-9698
  19. ^ "Excavations in Iraq, 1979-80.", Iraq, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 167–98, 1981
  20. ^ "Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84.", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 215–39, 1985
  21. ^ A. Kuhrt and S. Selwin-White, "Aspects of Seleucid Royal Ideology : The Cylinder of Antiochus I from Borsippa", Journal of Hellenic Studies 111 (1991:71-86)
  22. ^ Widmer, Marie, "Translating the Seleucid ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑ: notes on the titulature of Stratonice in the Borsippa Cylinder", Greece & Rome 66.2, pp. 264-279. 2019

Further reading

  • G. Frame, The "First Families" of Borsippa during the Early Neo-Babylonian Period, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 67–80, 1984
  • Jakob-Rost, Liane, "Borsippa", Forschungen Und Berichte, vol. 27, pp. 65–88, 1989
  • Francis Joannes, Archives de Borsippa la famille Ea-Iluta-Bani : etude d'un lot d'archives familiales en Babylonie du VIIIe au Ve siecle av. J.-C, Droz, 1989
  • [3]Kosmin, Paul, "Seeing Double in Seleucid Babylonia: Rereading the Borsippa Cylinder of Antiochus I", Patterns of the Past: Epitēdeumata in the Greek Tradition, pp. 173-198, 2014
  • Nielsen, John P., "Taking Refuge at Borsippa: The Archive of Lâbâši, Son of Nādinu", Archiv Für Orientforschung, vol. 53, pp. 93–109, 2015
  • [4]John P. Peters, The Tower of Babel at Borsippa, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 41, pp. 157–159, 1921
  • Still, Bastian, "Annotated List of Hanšû Land in Borsippa", The Social World of the Babylonian Priest. Brill, pp. 257-265, 2019
  • Still, Bastian, "Property Sales in the Borsippa Corpus", The Social World of the Babylonian Priest. Brill, pp. 1-4, 2019
  • Still, Bastian, "Quantitative Analysis of Priestly Marriages in Borsippa", The Social World of the Babylonian Priest. Brill, pp. 245-256, 2019
  • Caroline Waerzeggers, The Carians of Borsippa, Iraq, vol. 68, pp. 1–22, 2006
  • Caroline Waerzeggers, The Ezida temple of Borsippa Priesthood, cult, archives (Achaemenid History vol. 15), Leiden, 2010

External links