ent
sanctuaries of Babylonia.

The foundation of the Shamash temple at Sippar, and known as E-Babbara,
'the brilliant house,' can likewise be traced as far back as the days of
Naram-Sin. At that time there was already a sanctuary to Anunit within
the precincts of E-Babbara. Members of the Cassite dynasty devote
themselves to the restoration of this sanctuary. Through a subsequent
invasion of the nomads, the cult was interrupted and the great statue of
Shamash destroyed. Several attempts are made to reorganize the cult, but
it was left for Nabubaliddin in the tenth century to restore E-Babbara
to its former prestige. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal, who pay homage to
the old Bel at Nippur, also devote themselves to Shamash at Sippar. They
restore such portions of it as had suffered from the lapse of time and
from other causes. Nebuchadnezzar is obliged to rebuild parts of
E-Babbara, and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, is so active in
his building operations at Sippar that he arouses the anger of the
priests of Babylon, who feel that their ruler is neglecting the
sanctuaries of Marduk and Nabu. It is through Nabonnedos[1421] and
Nabubaliddin,[1422] chiefly, that we learn many of the details of the
history of E-Babbara during this long period.

Of the other important temples that date from the early period of
Babylonian history, we must content ourselves with brief indications.

The temple to Shamash at Larsa, while not quite as old as that of
Sippar, was quite as famous. Its name was likewise E-Babbara. It is
first mentioned in the inscriptions of Ur-Bau (_c._ 2700 B.C.), and it
continues to enjoy the favor of the rulers till the Persian
conquest.[1423]

The two chief places for the moon-cult were Ur and Harran. The name of
Sin's temple[1424] at the former place was E-Gish-shir-gal, 'the house
of the great light'; at the latter, E-khulklul, 'the house of joys.'
Around both sanctuaries, but particularly around the former, cluster
sacred traditions. We have seen that the moon-cult at an early period
enjoyed greater importance than sun-worship. The temples of Sin were
centers of intellectual activity. It is in these places that we may
expect some day to find elaborate astronomical and astrological records.
Harran, indeed, does not appear at any time to have played any political
role[1425] (though it was overrun occasionally by nomads), so that the
significance of the place is due almost entirely to the presence of th