Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

482 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
population of Shumer and Akkad to dwell in a peaceful
habitation . . . [and] made the name of Sinmuballit, his
grandfather, famous in
the world."
From the place where the cone was discovered,
from the
designation of the wall as dur Bel, and from the description
of the king's work following, it may be inferred with certainty
that Samsu-iluna has reference to the temple wall.
This result agrees with the fact that our excavations have
furnished evidence to the effect that the city proper on the
west side of the Shatt en-Nil was never fortified by a
wall, to say nothing of two walls. On the other hand,
the double wall which surrounded and protected the sanctuary
from the earliest days can still be traced without
difficulty, notwithstanding the radical changes which took
place at the temple complex in post-Babylonian times.
The Markas-matati of Samsu-iluna and the Imgur-Marduk
of the later period must therefore designate the same inner
wall enclosing the two courts of the sanctuary and separating
them from the other buildings of the vast complex
which constituted the sacred precincts of Nippur. The
general course of this wall was indicated through the boundary
line of the Parthian fortress lying directly over it, and
besides has been fixed definitely at several points by our
excavations. We exposed nearly the whole southeast wall
of the inner court, disclosed part of its northwest wall, and
traced the two side-walls of the outer court far enough to
enable us to reconstruct the general outlines of the temple
enclosure.
Aside from the depression in the unexcavated southeast
ridge 1 marking the boundary of the outer court, which
of the world," was closely connected with the sanctuary of Nippur, in
which Bel, as " the king of the world," appointed his human representative
on earth and bestowed the significant title upon him. Comp. Hilprecht,
"The Bab. Exp. of the U. of Pa.," series A, vol. i, part 2, pp. 56, seq.
(and part I, pp. 24, seq.~).
1
Comp. the plan of the ruins on p. 305.