🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Nippur
Ubaid to Islamic · Sumerian → Akkadian → Babylonian → Kassite
Holy city of Sumer and Akkad, seat of Enlil (Lord Air) whose Ekur temple gave legitimacy to kingship — 'king without Nippur is no king'.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Assur
Early Dynastic to Neo-Assyrian to Parthian · Assyrian (Akkadian dialect)
First capital and holy city of Assyria (c.2600 BCE–614 BCE, 70 ha on Tigris bend) — temple of god Assur (Ashur) whose city and god name are one.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Temple complex
Tell Agrab
Late Uruk to Akkadian (c.3400–2200 BCE; temple peak ED II–III 2750–2350 BCE) · Uruk → Jemdet Nasr → Early Dynastic Sumerian (Diyala) → Akkadian
Oval Shara Temple with ED votive hoard and earliest saw-tooth niche architecture.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Eridu
Ubaid to Neo-Babylonian · Ubaid → Sumerian → Babylonian
Sumerian sacred city traditionally first city in the world (Sumerian King List), center of god Enki/Ea cult (Abzu).
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Borsippa
Old Babylonian to Hellenistic (c.2000–100 BCE; peak Neo-Babylonian 626–539) · Amorite → Kassite → Neo-Babylonian (Nabu cult)
Borsippa (modern Birs Nimrud) is the sister city of Babylon 17 km south, cult centre of Nabu (scribal god) with the Ezida temple and 70-m ruined ziggurat (most...
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Tell al-Rimah (Karana / Qattara)
Old Babylonian–Old Assyrian (c.1900–1700 BCE) to Middle Assyrian · Upper Mesopotamian Old Babylonian kingdom of Karana / Qattara
Upper Jazira fortified court city Karana (Tell al-Rimah) with massive temple Zigg followed by a double palace discovered by David Oates: palace with wall paintings, archive of 600 OB letters (Qattara…
🇮🇶 Iraq · Pyramid
Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu (Aqar Quf)
Kassite (Middle Babylonian) c. 1375–1155 BCE · Kassite Babylonian
Kassite capital Dur-Kurigalzu built by Kurigalzu I (c. 1375 BCE): enormous ziggurat to Enlil, still 57 m high (originally ~69 m) with rope reinforcement layers (reed mats) visible, highest surviving…
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Tell Billa (Shibaniba)
Late Bronze–Neo-Assyrian (c.1500–600 BCE) · Mitanni → Middle/Neo-Assyrian
Small but archive-rich tell 20 km N of Nineveh: Mitanni layer produced Nuzi-type tablets, Middle Assyrian governor’s correspondence (14 c. tablets) and Neo-Assyrian granaries. E.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Lagash
Jemdet Nasr to Ur III / Old Babylonian · Sumerian
Sumerian city-state Lagash (Tell al-Hiba proper) and its religious capital Girsu (Tello, 25 km SE) — often conflated as Lagash-Girsu.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
El Kula Brick Pyramid
Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) · Classical
El Kula Brick Pyramid in Southern Alluvium, Iraq is a Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) ancient city attributed to Classical culture.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Archaeological wonder
Ctesiphon (Taq Kasra)
Parthian to Early Islamic (c.120 BCE–800 CE; Sassanian vault 540 CE under Khosrow I) · Parthian / Sassanian (Persian) / Byzantine influence
Sassanian imperial capital complex (224–651 CE) on Tigris, Ctesiphon comprised Seleucia-Tisfun-Mahouza conurbation.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Larsa
Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian · Sumerian/Amorite Larsa dynasty
Sumerian city-state that dominated southern Mesopotamia under King Rim-Sin (1822–1763 BCE) controlling 10–15 cities before Hammurapi annexed it, making Babylon supreme.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Ur
Ubaid to Persian (c.3800 BCE–300 BCE; Early Dynastic/Ur III peak 2600–2000 BCE) · Sumerian / Akkadian / Babylonian / Persian
Sumerian city-state of the moon god Nanna (Sîn), Ur famous for Woolley's excavations 1922–34: Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu (2112 BCE) best-preserved ziggurat, Royal Cemetery with Standard of Ur, Pu-abi's…
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Ur — Tell Muqayyar Diqdiqqah Residential
Ubaid to Neo-Babylonian (4000–500 BCE) · Sumerian
Ur — Tell Muqayyar Diqdiqqah Residential in Dhi Qar Governorate, Euphrates, Iraq is a Ubaid to Neo-Babylonian (4000–500 BCE) ancient city attributed to Sumerian culture.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Tell Haddad
Early Bronze to Neo-Babylonian (c.3000–500 BCE; OB peak c.1800) · Sumerian → Old Babylonian → Kassite → Neo-Babylonian
Twin-mound (with Tell al-Sib) on Diyala-Adhaim — ancient Mê-Turran/Turran cult city with Adad temple and ziggurat podium. Iraqi–Italian Hamrin Dam rescue excava...
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Abu Salabikh
The archaeological site of Abu Salabikh (Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh), around 20 km (12 mi) northwest of the site of ancient Nippur and about 150 kilometers southeast of the modern city of Baghdad in…
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Hadji Muhammed
Hadji Muhammed is an archaeological site in Southern Iraq which gives its name to a style of painted pottery and the early phase of what is the Ubaid culture.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Uruk Anu Ziggurat Terrace North Annex — Northern Annex
Late Chalcolithic (4000-3100 BCE) · Uruk Period
Uruk Anu Ziggurat Terrace North Annex — Northern Annex in Al Muthanna, Warka, Iraq is a Late Chalcolithic (4000-3100 BCE) ancient city attributed to Uruk Period.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Uruk Anu Ziggurat Terrace North Annex
Late Chalcolithic (4000-3100 BCE) · Uruk Period
Uruk Anu Ziggurat Terrace North Annex in Al Muthanna, Warka, Iraq is a Late Chalcolithic (4000-3100 BCE) ancient city attributed to Uruk Period.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Khorsabad Buried Sargon Palace Court VIII
Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) · Bronze Age
Khorsabad Buried Sargon Palace Court VIII in Nineveh, Khorsabad, Iraq is a Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) ancient city attributed to Bronze Age.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Larsa Fresco House Wall Painting
Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) · Bronze Age
Larsa Fresco House Wall Painting in Dhi Qar, Tell as-Senkereh, Iraq is a Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) ancient city attributed to Bronze Age.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Nineveh Kuyunjik Palace Relief Panel 12
Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) · Bronze Age
Nineveh Kuyunjik Palace Relief Panel 12 in Nineveh, Kuyunjik, Iraq is a Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) ancient city attributed to Bronze Age.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Babylon Processional Street North Gate
Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) · Bronze Age
Babylon Processional Street North Gate in Babil, Babylon, Iraq is a Bronze Age (3000–1200 BCE) ancient city attributed to Bronze Age.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city
Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah) – Temple City of Shamash
Early Dynastic to Parthian (c. 3000 BCE – 100 CE) · Sumerian / Akkadian / Babylonian / Neo-Babylonian / Achaemenid
Shamash sun-temple city whose Euphrates harbour lies 2 km off modern river – Sun God Tablet and Babylonian World Map findspot.