Kaumuša (a gate in Ezida at Borsippa)

Ezida's gate Kaumuša is known from several Akkadian inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 604–562 BC). That entrance and exit was located close to Nabû's "Dais of Destinies" (Akkadian parak šīmāti), a seat that Borsippa's patron god used during New Year's festivals (Akkadian akītu), when he was travelling to and from Babylon.

Names and Spellings

The Sumerian name of this gate of Ezida means "Gate of Command."

Written Forms: e₂-umuš-a.

Known Builders

Neo-Babylonian (ca. 625–539 BC)

Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 604–562 BC)

Building History

Nebuchadnezzar II, the second and longest-reigning king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, is the only ruler known to have carried out work on Kaumuša. The best description of that work, which was on its roofing and decoration, is recorded in an Akkadian inscription written on clay cylinders. The relevant passage of that text reads:

I clad the cedar roof of Kaumuša, the exit (and) entry of the son of the lord of the gods, with shiny silver. I clad its door-jamb(s), door bolt(s), crossbeam(s), architrave(s), giššakanakkus, arch(es), and vaults with shiny silver and stationed fierce wild bulls of silver at its door-jamb(s). I made that gate, (which is used) as the exit (and) entry of the son of the lord of the gods, the god Nabû, who goes in procession to the interior of Šuanna (Babylon), shine like daylight.

Kaumuša is also mentioned in an inscription written on a breccia paving stone that once lined Nabû's Processional Way. In connection with the work on the Processional Way (Akkadian mašdahu), the flooring of Kaumuša was repaved.

Archaeological Remains

Although several gateways of Ezida and its surrounding temple complex have been excavated, Kaumuša has not been securely identified in the archaeological record.

Further Reading

Koldewey, R. 1911. Die Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa (Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 15), Leipzig, pp. 50–59.
Unger, E. 1932. "Barsippa," Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 1/6, p. 418 §56e.

Banner image: photograph of the remains of Ezida and Eurmeiminanki taken ca. 2002 (left); woodcut from "Pleasant Hours: A Monthly Journal of Home Reading and Sunday Teaching; Volume III" published by the Church of England's National Society's Depository, London, in 1863 (center); areal photograph of the ruins of Ezida and Eurmeiminanki taken in 1928 (right). Images from Getty Images.

Jamie Novotny

Jamie Novotny, 'Kaumuša (a gate in Ezida at Borsippa)', Babylonian Temples and Monumental Architecture online (BTMAo), The BTMAo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, [http://oracc.org/btmao/Borsippa/TemplesandZiggurat/Ezida/RoomsandGates/Kaumusha/]

BTMAo 2019-. BTMAo is based at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Historisches Seminar (LMU Munich, History Department) - Alexander von Humboldt Chair for Ancient History of the Near and Middle East. BTMAo is part of the four-year project Living Among Ruins: The Experience of Urban Abandonment in Babylonia (September 2019 to October 2023), which is funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung as part of the program "Lost Cities. Wahrnehmung von und Leben mit verlassenen Städten in den Kulturen der Welt," coordinated by Martin Zimmermann and Andreas Beyer. Content released under a CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] license, 2007-.
Oracc uses cookies only to collect Google Analytics data. Read more here [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/doc/about/cookies/index.html]; see the stats here [http://www.seethestats.com/site/oracc.museum.upenn.edu]; opt out here.