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Borsippa

Coordinates: 32°23′31.19″N 44°20′30.08″E / 32.3919972°N 44.3416889°E / 32.3919972; 44.3416889
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Nimrud.
Borsippa
Borsippa is located in Iraq
Borsippa
Shown within Iraq
Alternative nameBirs Nimrud
LocationBabylon Governorate, Iraq
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, 1879-1881, 1902, 1980-2003
ArchaeologistsHenry Creswicke Rawlinson, Hormuzd Rassam, Robert Koldewey, Helga Piesl-Trenkwalder, Wilfred Allinger-Csollich
ConditionRuined
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes

Borsippa (Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI or Birs Nimrud (having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeological site in Babylon Governorate, Iraq built on both sides of a lake about 17.7 km (11.0 mi) southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates. It lies 15 kilometers from the ancient site of Dilbat. 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.

The tutelary god of Borsippa in the Ur III Empire period late in the 3rd millennium BC was Tutu who was syncretised with the god Marduk after the Old Babylonian period. Tutu was mentioned in the prologue of the Code of Hammurabi as the god of Borsippa.[1] The goddesses Marat-E-zida and the god Mar-biti(m) were also worshiped at Borsippa.[2]

History

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In the late 3rd millennium BC a great revolt arose against Naram-Sin ruler of the Akkadian Empire. One of the rebelling cities mentioned in his inscriptions was BAR.KI which some researchers have taken as Borsippa, though this has been challenged. If it was Borsippa, then Ilum-dan was governor (ENSI) of the city at that time and Dannum was the "captain" (NU.BANDA).[3][4]

During the reign of Ur III ruler Ibbi-Sin (c. 2028–2004 BC) it is known that the governor of Borsippa (and nearby Babylon) was Puzur-Tutu. These are the closing years of the Ur III empire. A text from the ruler of Kazallu states that Puzur-Tutu changed sides at the end and supported Išbi-Erra (c. 2017—1986 BC) ruler of Isin.[5] An alternative reading of that text makes Puzur-Tutu governor of Bad-Ziabba, which may or may not be Borsippa, and has Išbi-Erra returning his city to Puzur-Tutu after his vistory.[6][7]

In the Old Babylonian period, Borsippa is known from year names of rulers of Babylon Sumu-la-El (c. 1880-1845 BC) "Year in which Sumulael entered Borsippa" and Apil-Sin (c. 1830–1813 BC) "Year Apil-Sin the king built the city wall of Borsippa".[8] Borsippa was mentioned in the prologue of the Code of Hammurabi "... beloved of Tutu, the one who makes exult Borsippa, the pious one who does not fail in his duties to the Ezida temple ...". A later inscription of Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BC) dedicates Ezida to Marduk, the god of Babylon, showing Tutu, the tutelary god of Borsippa, being absorbed by Marduk. Ezida later became home of Nabu, son of Marduk.[1][9]

In the Kassite period, Marduk-apla-iddina I (c. 1171–1159 BC), one of the last rulers of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon, rebuilt the E-Zida temple at Borsippa.[10] Marduk-shapik-zeri (c. 1077–1065 BC), a ruler of the 2nd dynasty of Babylon, restored the E-Zida temple.[11]

Borsippa is mentioned in 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.[12] The temple to Nabu at Borsippa was destroyed in 484 BC during the suppression of a revolt against the Achaemenid emperor, Xerxes I.[13]

In the 1st millennium BC, the city had a large scribal class.[14]

Archaeology

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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.[15] 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.[16][17] He concentrated primarily on E-zida, the temple of Nabu. In the 1890s looters removed about 2000 cuneiform tablets, mostly from the Ezida.[18] 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.[19][20][21]

Between 1980 and 2003, the Austrian team from the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck led by Helga Piesl-Trenkwalder and Wilfred Allinger-Csollich excavated for sixteen seasons at the site.[22][23] Early work concentrated on the large ziggurat E-ur-imin-an-ki and later on the Nabu temple. Examinination determined that the ziggurat had a 60 by 60 meter core of unbaked brinks with a mantle of baked bricks (or Kassite and Neo-Babylonian origin) bringing the structure up to 78 by 78 meters. The mantle was covered by a layer of baked bricks bonded by bitumen. Reeds, ropes, and wooden beams were used to bond the layers together.[24] It was found that the ziggurat had been partially hollowed out in Parthian times.[25] Tablets of the Neo-Babylonian period were found.[26][27][28][29]

Many legal administrative and astronomical texts on cuneiform tablets have originated at Borsippa and have turned up on the black market with the first large, around 2000, group of tablets being sold to the British Museum in 1894-1900.[30] Archives began to be published in the 1980s. An inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II, the "Borsippa inscription," tells how he restored the temple of Nabu, "the temple of the seven spheres," with "bricks of noble lapis lazuli." that must have been covered with a rich blue glaze. The Austrian archeologists have determined that Nebuchadnezzar's ziggurat encased the ruins of a smaller tower from the second millennium BC. When it was completed it reached a height of 70 meters, in seven terraces; even in ruin it still stands a striking 52 meters over the perfectly flat plain. An inscribed foundation stone has been recovered, which details Nebuchadnezzar's plan to have the Borsippa ziggurat built on the same design as that at Babylon, of which only the foundation survives. Nebuchadnezzar declared that Nabu's tower would reach the skies, another inscription states. The reconstruction under the patronage of Bel-Marduk is summarized on a cylinder in Akkadian of Antiochus I, an example of the region's remarkable cultural continuity.[31][32]

In 2022 a test ground penetrating radar test was conducted over a 130 meter by 90 meter section at the site.[33][34][35]

Since 2023, after a 20-year break in excavations, the Austrian archaeological team led by Sandra Heinsch and Walter Kuntner has resumed investigations in the ancient city of Borsippa. In addition to examining the ziggurat and the adjacent Ezida Temple to research the multi-period temple architecture, the excavations also focus on the extensive urban area to shed light on the cityscape of ancient Borsippa.

The adjacent area of Tell Ibrahim al-Khalil holds the city's residential quarter.[36]

[edit]
  • 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

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Borsippa.

References

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  1. ^ a b Lambert, Wilfred G., "Notes on Enūma Eliš", Babylonian Creation Myths, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 469-492, 2013
  2. ^ Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "M", A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 198-218, 2021
  3. ^ [1]Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-218, 1993 ISBN 0-8020-0593-4
  4. ^ Nielsen, J. P., "Kin Groups In Northern Babylonia: Babylon, Borsippa, And Dilbat", Sons and Descendants. Brill, pp. 21-125, 2011
  5. ^ Michalowski, Piotr, "The Royal Letters in Their Historical Setting 3: Ur, Isin, Kazallu, and the Final Decades of the Ur III State (Letters 21–24)", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 170-215, 2011
  6. ^ Reichel, Clemens, "Centre and Periphery–The Role of the ‘Palace of the Rulers’ at Tell Asmar in the History of Ešnunna (2,100–1,750 BCE)", Journal of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 11, pp. 29-53, 2018
  7. ^ Michalowski, Piotr, "Puzur-Numušda to Ibbi-Sin 1 (PuIb1, 3.1.19, A3, RCU 21)", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 439-462, 2011
  8. ^ Year Names mentioning Borsippa at CDLI
  9. ^ "RIME 4.03.06.Add21 (Laws of Hammurapi) Composite Artifact Entry", (2014) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), July 11, 2024
  10. ^ Brinkman, J. A., "Babylonia under the Kassites: Some Aspects for Consideration", Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 1, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 1-44, 2017
  11. ^ Frame, Grant, "Second Dynasty of ISIN". Rulers of Babylonia, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-69, 1995
  12. ^ Josephus, Against Apion (Book 1, section 20)
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ [2]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
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ J. E. Reade," Rassam's Excavations at Borsippa and Kutha, 1879-82", Iraq, vol. 48, pp. 105-116, 1986
  18. ^ 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
  19. ^ [3]Robert Koldewey, "The excavations at Babylon", London: MacMillan and Co., 1914
  20. ^ Robert Koldewey, "Die Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa: nach den Ausgrabungen durch die Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft", WVDOG 15, Leipzig, 1911 ISSN 0342-118X
  21. ^ Andrae, Walter, "BORSIPPA 1902", Babylon: Die versunkene Weltstadt und ihr Ausgräber Robert Koldewey, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 149-152, 1952
  22. ^ [4]Trenkwalder-Piesl, H., "Report about the excavations in Borsippa (second season 1981)", Sumer 41, pp. 101–105, 1981
  23. ^ Kaniuth, Kai, "Borsippa—Preliminary Report on the 18th-20th Campaigns (2001-2003).", Sumer 52.1, pp. 9-16, 2004
  24. ^ "Recent Excavations in Iraq.", Iraq, vol. 61, pp. 195–202, 1999
  25. ^ "Excavations in Iraq 1985-86.", Iraq, vol. 49, pp. 231–51, 1987
  26. ^ 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
  27. ^ W. Allinger-Csollich, Birs Nimrud II: Tieftempel-Hochtempel: Vergleichende Studien Borsippa - Babylon, Baghdader Mitteilungen, vol. 29, pp. 95-330, 1998, ISSN 0418-9698
  28. ^ "Excavations in Iraq, 1979-80.", Iraq, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 167–98, 1981
  29. ^ "Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84.", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 215–39, 1985
  30. ^ Waerzeggers, Caroline, "The dispersal history of the Borsippa archives", in H.D. Baker and M. Jursa (eds.), Approaching the Babylonian Economy: Proceedings of the START Project Symposium Held in Vienna, 1-3 July 2004 (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 330; Veröffentlichungen zur Kultur und Geschichte des Alten Orients und des Alten Testaments 2), pp. 343-363, 2004
  31. ^ 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)
  32. ^ Widmer, Marie, "Translating the Seleucid ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑ: notes on the titulature of Stratonice in the Borsippa Cylinder", Greece & Rome 66.2, pp. 264-279. 2019
  33. ^ [5]Kareem, Hamza A., and Najah A. Abd, "Comparing the Frequencies of 450 Mhz and 750 Mhz using GPR in Investigating Archaeological Features in (Borsippa) Site, Babylon, Iraq", Iraqi Journal of Science 65.3, pp. 1412-1422, 2024
  34. ^ [6]Kareem, Hamza A., and Najah A. Abd, "Detection of subsurface archaeological features using the GPR method with a 250 MHz antenna in Borsippa site, Babylon, Iraq", Iraqi Journal of Science, vol. 65, no. 7, pp. 3788-3795, 2024
  35. ^ [7]Berhi, Fatima Z., and Osamah S. Al-Saadi, "Electrical Resistivity Synthetic Modeling and Field Survey for Subsurface Features Investigation of the Borsippa Archaeological Site, Babylon Governorate, Middle Iraq", The Iraqi Geological Journal, vol. 57, no. 1F, pp. 33-46, 2024
  36. ^ Potts, Daniel T., "Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1591–1643): a critical reassessment of his two journeys to the Near East", Fornvännen 116.2, pp. 114-128, 2021

Further reading

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  • 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
  • [8]Georg Friedrich Grotefend, "Die Tributverzeichnisse des Obelisken aus Nimrud", Dieterich, 1852
  • [9]Harviainen, Tapani, "An Aramaic Incantation Bowl from Borsippa. Another specimen of Eastern Aramaic" koiné". Appendix: A Cryptographic bowl text or an original fake?", Studia Orientalia Electronica 51, 1981
  • 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
  • [10]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
  • [11]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 ISBN 978-90-6258-415-4
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