e near the main
structure. As the political fortunes of Nippur varied, so E-Kur had its
ups and downs. Under the Cassitic rule, an attempt was made to recover
for Nippur the position which it formerly occupied, but which had now
passed over to Babylon. It was of little avail. Bel had to yield to
Marduk, and yet, despite the means that the priests of Marduk took to
transfer Bel's prerogatives to the new head of the pantheon, the rulers
would not risk the anger of Bel by a neglect of E-Kur. Kurigalzu, a king
of the Cassite dynasty (_c._ 1400 B.C.) brings back from Elam[1420] a
votive object which, originally deposited by Dungi in the Ishtar temple
at Erech, was carried to Susa by an Elamitic conqueror about 900 years
before Kurigalzu. The latter deposits this object not in Marduk's temple
at Babylon, but in Bel's sanctuary at Nippur. During the entire Cassitic
period, the kings continued to build or make repairs in the temple
precinct, and almost every ruler is represented by more or less costly
votive offerings made to Bel's sanctuary. In this way, we can follow the
history of the temple down to the Assyrian period. In the twelfth
century the religious supremacy of E-Kur yields permanently to E-Sagila.
The temple is sacked, part of it is destroyed, and it was left to rulers
of the north like Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal to once more restore E-Kur
and its dependencies to its former proportions. These kings, especially
the latter, devote much time and energy in rebuilding the zikkurat and
in erecting various buildings connected with the temple administration.
Under the new Babylonian dynasty, however, E-Kur was again destroyed,
and this time by the ruthless hands of southern rulers. Nebuchadnezzar,
so devoted to Marduk and Nabu, appears to have regarded E-Kur as a
serious rival to E-Sagila and E-Zida. Some traces of building operations
at E-Kur appear to date from the Persian period, but, practically, the
history of E-Kur comes to an end at the close of the seventh century.
The sanctity of the place, however, remained; a portion of the old city
becomes a favorite burial site, while other parts continue to be
inhabited till the twelfth century of our era. The city of Bel becomes
the seat of a Christian bishop, and Jewish schools take the place once
occupied by the "star-gazers of Chaldea."

The history of E-Kur, so intimately bound up with political events, may
be taken as an index of the fortunes that befell the other promin