Nimintabba ( ^DNimin-tab-ba, previously read Dimtabba) was a Goddess of

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

."Another little-known deity is Nimintabba. This goddess had a small temple in the city of Ur, built on the orders of king Shulgi..." in She is thought to have been a local deity of the city of Ur, as her only known temple was located there. Her worship was particularly associated with king

Shulgi Shulgi ( dŠulgi, formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from c. 2094 – c. 2046 BC (Middle Chronology) or possibly c. 2030 – 1982 BC (Short Chronology). His accomplishme ...

(reigned c. 2094 – c. 2046 BC), and there are no previous attestations of her.

Attestations

A Temple was built for her at Ur by the Sumerian king

, circa 2100 BCE. The remains of the Temple were excavated in Ur by Wolley. Various artifacts with the name Nimintabba were found in the vicinity of the Temple. She seems to have been a rather minor, local deity. Nimintabba is also known from a famous dedicatory inscription by

, found in the foundation of the Nimintabba Temple of Ur, and now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(ME 118560). A foundation figurine was also found under the northeastern wall of Temple of the Goddess Nimintabba, encased within baked brick boxes, and accompanied by

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...

tablets, with the figurine positioned standing and leaning north east. The steatite tablets rested on the bottom of the sealed box. The male figurine represents the king

, a connection provided by the historical implication of the figure's posture. The posture of the figurine replicates the posture associated with royal iconography established in the mid-third millennium BCE. The basket atop the head of the figurine also resembles images of

Assurbanipal Ashurbanipal ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Inheriting the throne a ...

(686-627 BCE) with a basket on top of his head. Inscriptions connect this image with the construction of the temple. These pieces of evidence combined with the inscription on the lower half of the figures contribute to the probability that the figurine under the Temple of the Goddess Nimintabba was a dedication to Nimintabba by Shulgi, claiming responsibility for the construction of the temple. File:Bronze foundation figurine of Shulgi from the Temple of Dimtabba at Ur.jpg, Bronze foundation figurine of

from the Temple of Nimintabba at Ur. File:Location of Nimintabba Temple.jpg, Location of Nimintabba Temple at Ur.

References

{{Sumerian mythology Mesopotamian goddesses Ur