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  Bad-tibira Shown within Iraq | |
| Alternative name | Tell Madineh? |
|---|---|
| Location | Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq |
| Coordinates | 31°22′47″N45°59′59″E / 31.37972°N 45.99972°E /31.37972; 45.99972 |
| Type | settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Early Dynastic, Ur III, Old Babylonian |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Bad-tibira (also Patibira) (Sumerian:𒂦𒁾𒉄𒆠, bad3-tibiraki) was an ancientSumerian city dating back to theEarly Dynastic period, which appears amongantediluvian cities in theSumerian King List. In the earliest days of Akkadian language studies its name was mistakenly read as Dûr-gurgurri. Its location is believed to be at modern Tell al-Madineh (also Tell Madineh and Tell al-Mada’in), betweenAsh Shatrah and Tell as-Senkereh (ancientLarsa) and 25 km southwest of ancientGirsu in southernIraq. This proposal is based on unprovenanced illegally excavated inscriptions which were said to have come from a mound called Medain 29 km northwest ofGirsu, following a report of a vendor of one of the inscriptions, but excavations there had proved fruitless.[1][2]
There is known to be a temple of the deityKittum at Bad-tibira.[3] Isar, a god ofMari is also said to have been worshiped there.[4] It has been suggested that Ninsheshegarra, an aspect of the goddessGeshtinanna who is sister ofDumuzid, was worshiped in the temple Esheshegarra at Bad-tibira.[5][6]
According to theSumerian King List, Bad-tibira was the second city to "exercise kingship" in Sumer before the flood, followingEridu. These kings were said to beEn-men-lu-ana,En-men-gal-ana andDumuzid the Shepherd.
The early Sumerian textDescent of Inanna into the Underworld mentions the city's temple,E-mush-kalamma (a temple toLulal). In this tale, Inanna dissuades demons from the netherworld from takingLulal, patron of Bad-tibira, who was living in squalor. They eventually take Dumuzid, who lived in palatial opulence atUruk. This Dumuzid is called "the Shepherd",[7] who on the King List resides at Bad-Tibira in contrast to the post-diluvianDumuzid, the Fisherman, who reigns in Uruk.[8][9][10][11]
One of theTemple Hymns ofEnheduanna, the daughter ofSargon of Akkad (c. 2334-2279 BC), is dedicated to Bad-tibira and the E-mush (e2.muš3) temple ofDumuzid, consort ofInanna, there.[12]
A illegally excavated cone said to have been found at Tell al-Madineh marked the construction byUr-Nammu (c. 2100 BC), a ruler of the Ur III empire, of theIturungal canal.
"For the goddess Inanna, [la]dy of Eanna, his lady, Ur-Nammu, mighty man, king of Ur, king of the lands of Sumer and Akkad, dug for her the Iturungal canal, her beloved canal"[13]
The "brotherhood text" in acuneiform inscription on a illegally excavated cone said have been found at "Médaïn". A "Médaïn" northeast ofGirsu was investigated and nothing was found there.[14] Speculation on its findspot then shifted to Tell al-Madineh.[15] The cone, of which there are many exemplars, records the friendship pact ofEntemena, governor ofLagash, andLugal-kinishedudu, governor of Uruk (deity Sul-MUS×PA =Shul-utula). to Inanna and Dumuzid, under his local epithetLugal-E-mush.[1][16]
"For the goddess Inanna and the god Lugal-emush, En-metena, ruler of Lagash,Built the E-mush (“House — Radiance [of the Land]”), their beloved temple, and ordered (these) clay nails(?) for them. En-metena, who built the E-mush temple — is personal god is the god Sul-MUS×PA. At that time En-metena, ruler of Lagash, and Lugal-kinishe-dudu, ruler of Uruk, established a brotherhood (pact) (between themselves)."[17]
A foundation tablet of En-metena (c. 2400 BC) said to be from the Tell al-Madineh, with multiple exemplars, also mentioned the building of E-Mush "... At that time, En-metena built for Lugalemush, the E-mush (“House — Radiance [of the Land]”) of Pa-tibira, his beloved temple, restoring it. ...". Pa-tibira (pa5-ti-bir5-ra{ki}-ka) appear to be an alternate spelling of Bad-tibira.[17][18]
An inscription of Enmetena states "… He cancelled obligations for the citizens of Uruk, Larsa and Patibira; he restored (the first) to Inana’s control at Uruk, he restored (the second) to Utu’s control at Larsa, he restored (the third) to Lugalemush’s control at the Emush".[19]
On a text ofUr-gigir found atUr it reads:
"Ur-gigira, ‘governor’ of Dumuzi, son of Ur-nigina, mighty man, king of Uruk, and Ama-lagar, his mother, for Nin-šeše-ĝara, his lady, E-šeše-ĝara, her beloved temple in Bad-tibira he built (for her)."[20]
In the Isin-Larsa Period possession of the city passed betweenLarsa andIsin. Larsa rulerSin-Iddinam (c. 1849-1843 BC) claimed, on a cone thought to be from the site, to have built the great wall of Bad-tibira "by means of his triumph he built in a grand fashion the great wall of Bad-tibira".[21][22]Isin rulerLipit-Ishtar (c. 1934-1924 BC), "the shepherd ofNippur", claimed to have built the "House of Righteousness" there.[23] The city was under the control of Larsa during the long reign ofRim-Sîn I.[24] During the reign ofRîm-Anum (18th century BC), a ruler of Uruk during the Old Babylonian period, a šagina-official of Bad₃-tibira is recorded as being received by military scribes at Uruk.[25]
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The site was visited in 1927 by Raymond P. Dougherty for a day. He reported that the site covered about a square mile with the western mound being the largest with low extensions bearing off a mile to the north. Straight and circular walls were noted. Numbers of baked bricks were seen along with door sockets, flint saw blades, and a bronze needle.[26]Some badly effaced half-bricks on the surface of the mound bore the inscription ofAmar-Sin, of theThird Dynasty of Ur. Pieces ofvitrified brick scattered over the surface of the large mound bore witness to the city's destruction by fire. No building remains were noted[1]
In 1965 Vaughn E. Crawford of the Metropolitan Museum of Art visited the site, noting that surface pottery indicated occupation until about 1500 BC. No building remains were noted.[27]
During a 2017 visit to the site a broken copper figurine of a bearded hero was found, tentatively dated to the Early Dynastic period.[28]
Imagery of the site indicates that it has been heavily looted.[29]
The site (also called Tall Jidr) (31°49'30"N, 45°42'10"E), on the Tigris River in modernAl-Qādisiyyah Governorate in Iraq, lay on the ancient Iturungal canal which also connected Adab, Umma, and Zabalam.[30] In particular it lies between Adab andZabalam.[31] At its maximum extent it covered an area of 130 hectares.[32] In 1967 a survey (generally known as the Warka Survey) was conducted the region, marking Tell Jidr as site WS-004. The ancient city ofAdab lay just to the northwest. Two inscribed bricks ofGudea, ruler ofLagash were found at the site.[33] The surface of the main two mounds is dominated with the remains from theParthian andSassanian periods.[34] The northeast mound is 1300 meters by 1000 meters and the somewhat lower southeast mound is 1400 meters by 700 meters. At various locations around the site remains of the Ubaid, Uruk, Early Dynastic I, Kassite, and into the Sassanian period (without evidence of Neo-Babylonian or Achaemenid on the surface). The ruins of the Early Islamic site of Imam Dhahir lies adjacent.[35] At various times a number of city names have been proposed for the site includingKarkar,Irisaĝrig, KI.AN,Kesh, and Dabrumki.[36][37][38][39] The primary evidence for Karkar is an itinerary of the Uruk rulerUtu-hengal in his campaign against the Gutian rulerTirigan and the fact that during the Ur III empire Karkar was part of the province of Umma (the city of Umma lies 17 kilometers northwest of Tell Jidr).[40] From 2016 to 2018 the QADIS regional survey conducted satellite, drone, surface survey, soundings, and geoarchaeological boring at Tell Jidr (QD013).[41] It found that the extended site covered 430 hectares.[42] Two inscribed bricks of the Ur III rulerUr-Nammu were found which contained a dedication to Ishkur which would support the identification of the location as Karkar. It is difficult to confirm at this point if the bricks have not been re-used from another location, especially in the case of the Gudea bricks.[43] The site is heavily pitted from robbers looking for coins, glass, and jewelry.[44] In March 2023 the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences worked at the site.[45]
The following list should not be considered complete:
| # | Depiction | Ruler | Succession | Epithet | Approx. dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Dynastic I period (c. 2900 – c. 2700 BC) | ||||||
| Predynastic Sumer (c. 2900 – c. 2700 BC) | ||||||
— Sumerian King List (SKL) | ||||||
| 1st |  | En-men-lu-ana 𒂗𒈨𒂗𒇽𒀭𒈾 | Uncertain,fl. c. 2856 BC (43,200 years) |
| ||
| 2nd | .jpg) | En-men-gal-ana 𒂗𒈨𒂗𒃲𒀭𒈾 | Uncertain,reigned c. 2844 BC (28,800 years) |
| ||
| 3rd | Enmeusumgalana 𒁹𒂗𒈨𒃲𒁔𒀭𒈾 | Uncertain |
| |||
| 4th |  | Dumuzid 𒌉𒍣𒉺𒇻 | "theshepherd" | Uncertain,r. c. 2836 BC (36,000 years) |
| |
— SKL | ||||||