Nisaba's worship began in the city of Umma, where she was originally a grain goddess during Early Dynastic Period I, c. 2900–2700 BC.
As a grain goddess, she was represented by the symbol of a single stalk of grain.
A fragment from a stone vase, probably found in Girsu and held in the British Museum, shows a goddess usually identified as Nisaba (though it could depict Baba or Inanna).
She is depicted with four long curled tresses of hair crowned with a horned headdress supporting ears of wheat and a crescent moon, and holds a bunch of dates.
After she became recognized as a goddess of writing, she was described on the Gudea cylinders (c. 2125 BC) as holding a gold stylus and a clay tablet carrying the image of starry heaven.

Nisaba's transition from being strictly a grain goddess to one also worshiped as patroness of writing and accounting probably took place as modes of writing became more and more important for documenting the buying and selling of grain and other staple goods.
Cuneiform writing itself was seen as a gift handed down from the goddess.
As writing itself moved from a simple accounting shorthand to documenting contracts, laws, history, and literature, Nisaba's worship grew to include these functions.
Her worship spread to Ereš, which housed a shrine to her and other deities in the temple, though she does not seem to have had any temples dedicated solely to her worship.
Worship seems to have been conducted primarily via the art of writing, and each composition was seen as a gift for the goddess.
Many clay-tablets end with the phrase “Nisaba be praised” (Sumerian: 𒀭𒉀𒍠𒊩 AN.NAGA.ZAG.SAL; nisaba za₃-mi₂) to honor her.
A Hymn to Nisaba composed during the Second Dynasty of Ur begins, "Lady colored like the stars of heaven, holding a lapis lazuli tablet!
Nisaba, great wild cow born of Uras, wild sheep nourished on good milk among holy alkaline plants, opening the mouth for seven reeds!
Perfectly endowed with fifty great divine powers, my lady, most powerful."

Nisaba's worship seems to have declined during the Babylonian period and the reign of Hammurabi in the 18th century BC, during which time goddesses were de-emphasized in favor of gods.
By end of the Third Dynasty of Ur, her worship seems to have been mostly replaced by that of Nabu, the male god of writing, who in some sources had Nisaba as his wife, though she continued to be revered alongside him in his temples for millennia.
She continued to be counted alongside Nabu in lists of the gods of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and their widespread veneration protected them from some of the religious persecution that came with new regimes.
However, while the cult of Nabu spread as far as the Mediterranean during the first few centuries AD, worship of Nisaba seems to have remained within Mesopotamia, where it seems to have died out following the fall of the Seleucid Empire in 63 BC, the last period during which she is attested in historical records.
This saw Nisaba fall into obscurity and lose influence, her remaining forms of worship likely being suppressed as Christianity spread.
Nisaba's worship began in the city of Umma, where she was originally a grain goddess during Early Dynastic Period I, c. 2900–2700 BC. As a grain goddess, she was represented by the symbol of a single stalk of grain. A fragment from a stone vase, probably found in Girsu and held in the British Museum, shows a goddess usually identified as Nisaba (though it could depict Baba or Inanna). She is depicted with four long curled tresses of hair crowned with a horned headdress supporting ears of wheat and a crescent moon, and holds a bunch of dates. After she became recognized as a goddess of writing, she was described on the Gudea cylinders (c. 2125 BC) as holding a gold stylus and a clay tablet carrying the image of starry heaven.
Nisaba's transition from being strictly a grain goddess to one also worshiped as patroness of writing and accounting probably took place as modes of writing became more and more important for documenting the buying and selling of grain and other staple goods. Cuneiform writing itself was seen as a gift handed down from the goddess. As writing itself moved from a simple accounting shorthand to documenting contracts, laws, history, and literature, Nisaba's worship grew to include these functions. Her worship spread to Ereš, which housed a shrine to her and other deities in the temple, though she does not seem to have had any temples dedicated solely to her worship. Worship seems to have been conducted primarily via the art of writing, and each composition was seen as a gift for the goddess. Many clay-tablets end with the phrase “Nisaba be praised” (Sumerian: 𒀭𒉀𒍠𒊩 AN.NAGA.ZAG.SAL; nisaba za₃-mi₂) to honor her. A Hymn to Nisaba composed during the Second Dynasty of Ur begins, "Lady colored like the stars of heaven, holding a lapis lazuli tablet! Nisaba, great wild cow born of Uras, wild sheep nourished on good milk among holy alkaline plants, opening the mouth for seven reeds! Perfectly endowed with fifty great divine powers, my lady, most powerful."
Nisaba's worship seems to have declined during the Babylonian period and the reign of Hammurabi in the 18th century BC, during which time goddesses were de-emphasized in favor of gods. By end of the Third Dynasty of Ur, her worship seems to have been mostly replaced by that of Nabu, the male god of writing, who in some sources had Nisaba as his wife, though she continued to be revered alongside him in his temples for millennia. She continued to be counted alongside Nabu in lists of the gods of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and their widespread veneration protected them from some of the religious persecution that came with new regimes. However, while the cult of Nabu spread as far as the Mediterranean during the first few centuries AD, worship of Nisaba seems to have remained within Mesopotamia, where it seems to have died out following the fall of the Seleucid Empire in 63 BC, the last period during which she is attested in historical records. This saw Nisaba fall into obscurity and lose influence, her remaining forms of worship likely being suppressed as Christianity spread.
Nisaba