Sippar, ancient city of N Babylonia, on the Euphrates in present Iraq, 20 mi (32 km) SW of Baghdad. It was one of the capitals of Sargon and had a great temple to the sungod Shamash. Excavations begun in 1882 have yielded thousands of inscribed clay tablets.

Ancient city, Babylonia. It is located in central Iraq, southwest of present-day Baghdad, on the Euphrates River. From the 3rd millennium BC, Sippar was a centre of worship of the Sumerian sun god Shamash. It was subject to the 1st dynasty of Babylon, but little else is known about the city before 1174 BC, when it was sacked by the Elamites. It recovered from its defeat but was later captured by the Assyrians. Excavations, begun in the 1880s, have uncovered the remains of a large temple and thousands of religious and historic clay tablets.

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