Eridu is among the earliest cities in Mesopotamia, and the first urban center in the south land of Sumer. The seat of ancient gods, Eridu is home to primordial deity Enki (Ea) god of water, creation, music, wisdom and magic.
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Just southwest of Ur, Eridu is at today's Tell Abu Shahrain in southern Iraq. In the ancient world, Eridu grows amid a collection of city states and settlements populous enough to be within sight of each other.
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Some are ruled by priest-kings, others by chiefs who split from their people, or rebels who form an alliance. Both Enki and his consort Damkina receive worship in Eridu. Damkina is cognate with Ninhursag, the Sumerian Great Mountain Mother.
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Eridu is founded c. 5400 BCE on a bend of the Euphrates River. The god Enki is considered the founder of Eridu. The city begins with a spring of water coming up through the rocks, sacred to Enki, god of groundwater.
People settle the area due to its spiritual significance, strategic location, fertile silty soil and other natural resources. The temple of Enki in Eridu is E-Abzu, written Abzu or Apzu. The Abzu is the source of life. In hymn or incantation the temple may be called Esira (Esirra).
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"... The temple is constructed with gold and lapis lazuli, Its foundation on the nether-sea (apsu) is filled in. By the river of Sippar (Euphrates) it stands. O Apsu pure place of propriety, Esira, may thy king stand within thee. ..."
Eridu is once close to the coast of the Persian Gulf. Today it's about 90 mi (145 km) inland. The reason is the ongoing silt deposits created by abundant alluvial activity. The soil is rich in minerals, providing nutrition for crops such as wheat and flax.
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Wheat and grains are common items of trade in ancient Mesopotamia and elsewhere. The earliest signs of trade begin with forays down the coast to fishing villages by 5000 BCE. Later, maritime experience and the sail makes longer and faster journeys possible.
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Early Mesopotamians occupying the delta may build homes and other structures from the limitless growth of the common reed (Phragmites australis). Reeds are bundled tightly to form columns, which then can be bend inward, making a domed roof.
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To make rafts and boats suitable for marshland, similar techniques are used. Bundles of reeds are bent into a boat and caulked with bitumen for waterproofing. Boats and rafts are light and can be easily carried overland.
In its years of grandeur Eridu is a city of palaces and temples. Even the rulers of Ur build sites of worship for such deities as Eridu-Enki or Eridu-Inanna.
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Activity in Eridu picks up during the Ur III dynasty (22nd to 21st century BCE). Royal construction work is attested on inscribed bricks. The ziggurat of Ur-Nammu immortalizes "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, the one who built the temple of the god Enki in Eridu."
Three Ur III rulers assign Year Names based on appointment of an en-priest/ess or high priest/ess of the temple of Enki in Eridu. It's the most important religious office in the land at the time.
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The three rulers are:
Sulgi Year 28 - "Year the szita-priest-who-intercedes-for-Szulgi, the son of Szulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four corners of the universe, was installed as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"
Amar-Sin Year 8 - "Year (Ennune-kiag-Amar-Sin) Ennune-the beloved (of Amar-Sin, was installed as en-priestess of Enki in Eridu)"
Ibbi-Sin Year 11 - "Year the szita-priest who prays piously for Ibbi-Sin was chosen by means of the omens as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"
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After the fall of Ur III, Eridu is active during the Isin-Larsa period (early 2nd millennium BCE). A Year Name appears on the king list for Nur-Adad, who is ruler of Larsa the "Year the temple of Enki in Eridu was built."
Texts of Larsa rulers Ishbi-Erra and Ishme-Dagan show they have control over Eridu. Inscribed construction bricks of Nur-Adad are also found at Eridu, like the one below.
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In the Old Babylonian period (c. 1894 - 1595 BCE) Hammurabi states in his 33rd Year Name:
"Year Hammu-rabi the king dug the canal (called) 'Hammu-rabi is abundance to the people', the beloved of An and Enlil, established the everlasting waters of plentifulness for Nippur, Eridu, Ur, Larsa, Uruk and Isin, restored Sumer and Akkad which had been scattered, overthrew in battle the army of Mari and Malgium and caused Mari and its territory and the various cities of Subartu to dwell under his authority in friendship"
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In an inscription of Kurigalzu I (c. 1375 BC), a ruler of the Kassite dynasty, one of his epitaphs is "The one who keeps the sanctuary in Eridu in order". An inscription of the 2nd dynasty of Sealand ruler Simbar-shipak (r. 1021 - 1004 BCE) mentions a priest of Eridu.
Neo-Assyrian ruler Sargon II (r. 722 - 705 BCE) awards andurāru-status to Eridu. Andurāru-status is described as "a periodic reinstatement of goods and persons, alienated because of want, to their original status".
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The Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) undertakes construction at Eridu. Bricks inscribed with his name have been found there.
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Eridu is on a natural hill, in a basin 15 mi (24 km) long and 20 ft (6 m) deep. A sandstone ridge known as the Hazem separates the Euphrates River from the city of Eridu.
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This basin, the As Sulaybiyat Depression (formerly: Khor en-Nejeif), becomes a seasonal lake (Arabic: Sebkha) during the rainy season from November to April. During this period, it is filled by the discharge of the Wadi Khanega.
Adjacent to eastern edge of the seasonal lake are the Hammar Marshes, once the largest wetland in South Asia, covering thousands of square miles. In the 1990s, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein drains the wetlands to punish the Marsh Arabs who dwell there.
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As of 2003, extensive rehabilitation projects bring back the lush fertile marshes and unique marsh life. Perhaps the nature Goddess Nanshe has some influence. The Hammar Marshes are now under global protection as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Back in the 3rd millennium BCE Eridu connects to the Eurphrates River via a canal. The canal's name, Id-edin-Eriduga, means "canal of the Eridug plain".
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The canal operates until the River Euphrates shifts its course. Today the path of the canal is marked by several low tells with surface pottery from the 2nd millennium BCE, and later burials.
The star Canopus is known to ancient Mesopotamians and represents the city of Eridu in the Three Stars Each Babylonian star catalogues. Canopus is the second brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius the Dog Star.
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Star catalogues or star books come into being about the 12th century BCE. They list stars, deific equivalents, cycles, astrological mathematics and other gleanings. Star books become popular in the 12th century BCE.
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The fall of Mesopotamia cities and empires is thought to be a sign of a god's anger or abandonment. A musical genre called City Laments develops during the Isin-Larsa period (c. 2025 - 1763 BCE).
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The Lament for the Destruction of Ur (c. 2000 BCE) is the most famous of this genre. The Lament for Eridu describes the fall of Eridu. Other laments include Uruk and Nippur. In style the laments have several sections, or kirugu. Only fragments have been recovered.
"Its king stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. Father Enki stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. For the sake of his harmed city, he wept bitter tears. Its lady, like a flying bird, left her city. The mother of E-maḫ, holy Damgalnuna, left her city. "
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The divine powers of the city of holiest divine powers were overturned. The divine powers of the rites of the greatest divine powers were altered. In Eridug everything was reduced to ruin, was wrought with confusion."
In Eridu, the temple of Enki, also called the House of the Aquifer, is always the hub of affairs. In later times it's called House of the Waters. His local consort, as Ninhursag, has a nearby temple at Ubaid.
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During the Ur III period King Ur-Nammu builds a ziggurat over the remains of previous temples. Including Enmerkar of Uruk (as mentioned in the Aratta epics), several later historical Sumerian kings work on or renew the e-abzu temple.
They include Elili of Ur; Ur-Nammu, Shulgi and Amar-Sin of Ur-III, and Nur-Adad of Larsa. In some versions of the Sumerian King List, before the time of the great flood, Eridu is the first of five cities where kingship is received by divine right.
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The list mentions two rulers of Eridu from the Early Dynastic period, Alulim and Alalngar (Alangar, Alaljar).
[nam]-lugal an-ta èd-dè-a-ba[eri]duki nam-lugal-laeridugki a2-lu-lim lugalmu 28800 i3-aka2-lal3-ĝar mu 36000 i3-ak
Trans: "When kingship from heaven is given, the kingship is in EriduIn Eridug. Alulim becomes king; he rules for 28800 years. Alaljar rules for 36000 years."
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A man of Eridu named Adapa is the subject of the myth Adapa and the South Wind. He's famous for unwittingly refusing the Elixir of Life or potion of immortality.
Adapa is at first portrayed as a postdiluvian or post-flood ruler of Eridu. Later he becomes the vizier of the aforementioned King Alulim. As the sage of Alulim, Adapa brings civilization to Eridu.
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Stories of Inanna, tutelary goddess of Uruk, chronicle her trip to Eridu for the gifts of civilization. These are the tablets of destiny or the mes. In a drinking contest with Inanna, the god Enki gives her the tablets while drunk.
Next day his sukkal, Isimud, informs him of their fate. At first Enki tries to get the tablets back as they're the source of his power. Later, he willingly cedes them to Inanna and accepts Uruk as the center of the land.
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Inhabited from 5400 BCE, Eridu prevails for almost five thousand years. The city is abandoned in c. 600 BCE. By the final days, the temple of Enki has crumbled into earth, and only the platform remains.
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