Coordinates: 32°7′37″N 45°13′51″E / 32.12694°N 45.23083°E / 32.12694; 45.23083
Nippur (Sumerian: Nibru, often logographically recorded as 𒂗𒆤𒆠, EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"Akkadian: Nibbur) was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities.[citation needed] It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone. Nippur was located in modern Nuffar in Afak, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq.
Nippur never enjoyed political hegemony in its own right, but its control was crucial, as it was considered capable of conferring the overall "kingship" on monarchs from other city-states. It was distinctively a sacred city, important from the possession of the famous shrine of Enlil.
According to the Tummal Chronicle, Enmebaragesi, an early ruler of Kish, was the first to build up this temple. His influence over Nippur has also been detected archaeologically. The Chronicle lists successive early Sumerian rulers who kept up intermittent ceremonies at the temple: Aga of Kish, son of Enmebaragesi; Mesannepada of Ur; his son Meskiang-nunna; Gilgamesh of Uruk; his son Ur-Nungal; Nanni of Ur and his son Meskiang-nanna. It also indicates that the practice was revived in Neo-Sumerian times by Ur-Nammu of Ur, and continued until Ibbi-Sin appointed Enmegalana high priest in Uruk (ca. 1950 BC).
Plot
When the high-born Nippur returns to Babylon following a long stay in Persia, he rescues slave-girl Tamira from the soldiers of the evil usurper, Balthazar. Nippur then pays a courtesy visit to Balthazar's court where he meets the high-priestess Ura who has ambitions to become queen and who casts a lustful eye on this new visitor. Later, shocked by the cruelty of Balthazar's reign and influenced by a group of rebels, Nippur interrupts a fiery sacrifice of virgins. Forced to flee Babylon, Nippur -- wounded by an arrow in the back -- is restored to health by the forces of the Persian king, Cyrus, who are marching toward Babylon. Nippur slips back into Babylon where he's captured and chained to a wall inside a dungeon. Using his great strength, Nippur breaks free, rescues Tamira before she can be sacrificed, and engages Balthazar in a to-the-death sword fight. The Persian army now arrives and Cyrus, before returning home, sees to it that Nippur sits on the throne of Babylon with the faithful Tamira by his side.
Keywords: arrow-in-back, bare-chested-male, bare-chested-male-bondage, battle, bound-to-x-shaped-cross, chained-to-wall, crucifixion, dance-number, dragged-by-a-horse, dungeon
Slave girls sacrificed at the whim of a ruthless king!
Ura: [to Nippur] I'll be waiting for you in the temple.
Balthazar: [to Nippur] This very night, Agar the slave girl shall be brought to your apartments in garments worthy of your rank.