Editing Shamash (section)

===Sippar===
In the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]] kings of Mari most likely visited the Ebabbar in Sippar to pay homage to its deity.{{sfn|Woods|2005|p=29}} In later periods, it was renovated by multiple rulers, including [[Naram-Sin of Akkad]] (who installed his daughter Šumšani as ēntum-priestess), [[Sabium]] of [[Babylon]],{{sfn|George|1993|p=70}} [[Samsu-iluna]] of Babylon, who called himself "beloved of Shamash and Aya,"{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=256}} one of the [[Kassites|Kassite]] rulers bearing the name Kurigalzu ([[Kurigalzu I]] or [[Kurigalzu II]]), [[Ashurbanipal]], [[Shamash-shum-ukin]], [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] and [[Nabonidus]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=70}} Many other kings are known to have patronized or visited it at some point, including [[Manishtushu]], [[Apil-Sin]], [[Hammurabi]], [[Abi-Eshuh]], [[Ammi-Ditana]], [[Ammi-Saduqa]], [[Samsu-Ditana]], [[Simbar-shipak]] and [[Nabu-apla-iddina]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=70}} In addition to Ebabbar, a [[ziggurat]] dedicated to the city's tutelary god also existed in Sippar.{{sfn|George|1993|p=115}} It was known as Ekunankuga (Siumerian: "house, pure stairway to heaven").{{sfn|George|1993|p=115}} It was rebuilt by Samsu-iluna, Ammi-Saduqa, [[Neriglissar]] and Nabonidus.{{sfn|George|1993|p=115}} The position of Sippar and its tutelary god has been compared to that of [[Nippur]] and [[Enlil]] - while both of these gods were high-ranking members of the pantheon, and their cities were centers of religious and scholarly activity, they never constituted major [[political power]]s in their own right.{{sfn|Woods|2005|p=30}}

It has been suggested that the Ebabbar in Sippar served as a treasury housing particularly rare objects, as excavations of the Neo-Babylonian level of the structure revealed a number of vases from the Early Dynastic and Sargonic periods, some with signs of repair, as well as the votive statue of Ikun-Shamash, a fragment of a monolith of Manishtushu, a [[macehead]] of [[Shar-Kali-Sharri]], a whetstone of Tukulti-Mer of [[Kingdom of Khana|Hana]], and other objects from earlier periods of Mesopotamian history.{{sfn|Woods|2004|p=42}}

A special group connected to Shamash in Sippar were women referred to as ''[[nadītu]]''.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=307}} Their existence is particularly well attested in the Old Babylonian period,{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and it has been argued that the institution first developed around 1880 BCE, during the reign of [[Sumu-la-El]] of Babylon.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=70}} ''Nadītu'' lived in a building referred to as ''gagûm'', conventionally translated as "[[cloister]],"{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and Tonia Sharlach notes they can be compared to medieval Christian [[nuns]].{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} They are sometimes described as "priestesses" in modern literature, but while it is well attested that they were considered to be dedicated to a specific deity, there is little evidence for their involvement in religious activities other than personal prayer. It is not impossible they were understood as a fully separate social class.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|pp=67-68}} Family background of individual ''nadītu'' varied, though they came predominantly from the higher strata of society.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=306}} While many came from families of craftsmen, [[scribes]] or military officials, a number of them were daughters or sisters of kings.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} Both [[Zimri-Lim]] of Mari and Hammurabi of Babylon had ''nadītu'' of Shamash among their female family members.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}}

A ceremony called ''lubuštu'' was established in Sippar by Nabu-apla-iddina.{{sfn|Woods|2004|p=36}} It involved providing the statues of Shamash, Aya and Bunene with new [[garments]] at specific dates throughout the year.{{sfn|Woods|2004|p=36}} Records indicate it was still celebrated in the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] period, during the reign of [[Darius the Great|Darius I]].{{sfn|Woods|2004|p=36}}