City of Nippur

“The City of the Lord Wind” presides amidst a land of fertile fields and reedy marshes.  The ancient canal of Shatt-en-Nil bisects the city, dividing it into its two principal wards.  Nippur has no imperial past despite being an important religious center. It is a modestly-sized city whose most impressive buildings are not palaces or even ziggurats, but sprawling temple complexes to Marduk (formerly Enlil), Anu, Ninhursag and Ishtar as well as smaller temples and shrines to most known and many forgotten gods.   The city projects an air of contentment and contemplative shabbiness.  

Nippur is one of the seven principal cities of ancient Sumer that legendarily predate the Great Flood.  Local tradition holds that the Ekur temple complex was in antediluvian times the actual residence of the gods.  Its design is believed to have inspired the more widely recognized ziggurats of other cities. The current lugal of Nippur is the Chaldean Zu-Alani, an uncle and close ally of King Marduk-Baladan of Babylon.  He is a shrewd yet unambitious leader in both government and war. A respected veteran of many battles against the Assyrians, Zu-Alani is quite content to live out his days managing and keeping safe his city, particularly from a resurgent Assyria.  Zu-Alani maintains a modest palace well-fortified by loyal troops and rules with a light hand.

Travellers moving between Babylon and the coast or Elam may stop over in Nippur.  Pilgrims come often to visit Ekur or the many shrines located throughout the city.   Recent constructions and renovations to temples and public buildings begun by Sargon II of Assyria have been recommenced under the current Babylonian rule.  A small cult of Enlil, the former patron deity of the city, tolerated  under the Assyrians has gone underground since the re-imposition of Marduk and Babylonian rule.   

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 2,000 families (small city)

Ruler: Zu-Alani (8th level Fighter)

Market: Class IV

Imports: wood (common & rare), hides/ furs, metals (common & precious), gems, semiprecious stones, spices, ivory, silk

Exports: grain, vegetables, preserved fish, cloth, textiles, beer, tools, armor/ weapons

Religions of Notes: Marduk, Ishtar, Anu, Ninhursag

Adventure Hooks:  a group of pilgrims wish to travel to/ from Nippur, a secret lies buried beneath the ancient complex of the Ekur  temple, agents of the Cult of Enlil wish to disrupt Babylonian rule/ influence of Marduk...