Nippur

American  

[ni-poor] / nɪˈpʊər /

noun

1. an ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city in SE Iraq: partially excavated.

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Nippur British  

/ nɪˈpʊə /

noun

1. an ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city, the excavated site of which is in SE Iraq: an important religious centre, abandoned in the 12th or 13th century

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Example Sentences

Chicago University professor Augusta McMahon was in southern Iraq, working at the 6,000-year-old Nippur site, when the war began.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

For example, the patron god of Uruk was Inanna, the goddess of fertility; the city of Nippur revered the weather god Enlil; and Ur claimed the moon god Sin.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

They built temples in the Sumerian city of Nippur, which was sacred to the storm god Enlil, the ruler of the gods in the Sumerian pantheon.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Dr. Civil participated in excavations at the ancient city of Nippur and assembled texts that resembled literary jigsaw puzzles, piecing together hundreds of clay fragments stored at institutions around the world.

From Washington Post • Jan. 30, 2019

Semitic settlers from Southern Arabia and Canaan occupied it, and it was known to them as Uru, “the city” par excellence.206 Nippur and Eridu were already old when Ur first rose to fame.

From The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia by Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)