SIPPAR-AMNANUM
![](640px-Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg.png)
Babylonia
at the time of Hammurabi, c. 1792 - 1750 BC
Sippar-Amnanum
(modern Tell ed-Der in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient
Near Eastern tell (hill city) about 70 kilometers north of Babylon.
History
:
Sippar-Amnanum was the sister city (or suburb in some eyes) of Sippar.
Little is known of its history, if any, before the Old Babylonian
period.
The
chief deity of Sippar-Amnanum was Annunitum (or Anunit) a warlike
aspect of Ishtar favored by the Akkadians. She is the daughter of
Enlil. According to the Cylinder of Nabonidus the temple Eulmash
of Anunitu (Amnanum) was rebuilt by that Neo-Babylonian king. The
cylinder also reports that the temple had earlier been built by
Shagarakti-Shuriash, a king of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon. Presumably
the temple had been destroyed in the interim by Shutruk-Nakhkhunte
of Elam when he destroyed Sippar.
Note
that there is some confusion on the city's name since Sinkashid,
a king of Uruk, refers to himself in an inscription as "King
of the Amnanum", where Amnanum is thought to be a tribal group.
Archaeology
:
The site of Tell ed-Der, along with Sippar, was excavated by Hormuzd
Rassam in the early 1880s. Most of the tablets ended up in the British
Museum. 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. More Tell ed-Der tablets were purchased from
locals by E. A. Wallis Budge while he was in the region after brief
attempts to dig there. Since the site is relatively close to Baghdad,
it was a popular target for illegal excavations. More recently,
Tell ed-Der was excavated between 1970 and 1985 by the Belgian Archaeological
Expedition to Iraq.
The
"House of Ur-Utu" was excavated in the mid-1970s. This
residence, of the kalamahhum-priest of Annunitum, held around 2000
cuneiform tablets forming a household archive spanning several centuries.
Most of the tablets were contemporary with the reigns of Ammisaduqa
and Ammi-ditana of the First Babylonian dynasty.
The
destruction of the house by fire helped preserve the tablets. Also
found at Tell ed-Der were letters to another official, Ikunpisha,
which were from kings Sumu-abum and Sumu-la-El of Babylon.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Sippar-Amnanum