Ebabbar (Sippar)

The Ebabbar temple was a sanctuary dedicated to the god Šamaš in Sippar .

history

Archaeological excavations prove that the original construction of the South Mesopotamian Šamaš Temple dates back to at least 1831 BC. Goes back to BC. However, it is more likely that it was erected in Sumerian times. Around 1230 BC Chr. Restored after an inscription of Nabonidus the Kassite King Shagarakti-Shuriash the sanctuary. In the following years, the Babylonian kings renewed the temple several times, especially the walls of the temple enclosure.

In Ebabbara there were archives and storehouses in addition to the Nadītum apartments . Under the rule of King Hammurabi , the term servant of the king was introduced for the collegiate officials , an expression of the fact that they were henceforth officials. It is generally concluded that the temple was secularized at this time.

Priests and the nadītum

The priests of the sanctuary, like the nadītum, were authorized to conduct business outside the sanctuary. Often times they belonged to wealthy families and received cash payments from the sanctuary. In some cases they also sold their offices.

The Nadītum of the god Šamaš lived in the Šamaš temple area in Sippar, which was enclosed by a wall and had the task of making offerings. In the Codex Hammurapi (§ 110) the nadītum is forbidden to go to a tavern. In the event of a violation, the perpetrator was at risk of being burned. In ancient Babylonian texts the names of about five hundred nadītums are attested. At the latest under Nebuchadnezzar I , the nadītum custom was initially replaced by the Marduk-Nadītum , before the old traditions were revived in the neo-Babylonian empire Nabonid and the original cult of the temple priestesses was reintroduced.

administration

In addition to the canons, there were also administrative and service personnel in the sanctuary. Heads, scribes, who sometimes also functioned as canons, and other professions are mentioned in documents. The service staff consisted of female slaves.

literature

Horst Klengel : King Hammurapi and the everyday life of Babylon , Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich, 1991, pp. 87, 93 ff., 144, 213 f., 221, 233, 235, 253

Notes and individual references

↑ Benjamin Bromberg: The Origin of Banking: Religious Finance in Babylonia in The Journal of Economic History 2, No. 1 , 1942, pp. 77-88.

[1] Benjamin Bromberg: The Origin of Banking: Religious Finance in Babylonia in The Journal of Economic History 2, No. 1 , 1942, pp. 77-88.