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Apkallu
Apkallu ( Akkadian) and Abgal ( Sumerian: ) are terms found in cuneiform inscriptions that in general mean either "wise" or "sage". In several contexts the ''Apkallu'' are seven demi-gods, sometimes described as part man and part fish, associated with human wisdom; these creatures are often referred to in scholarly literature as the ''Seven Sages''. Sometimes the sages are associated with a specific primeval king. After the deluge (see '' Epic of Gilgamesh''), further sages and kings are listed. Post-deluge, the sages are considered human, and in some texts are distinguished by being referred to as ''Ummanu'', not ''Apkallu''. The terms ''Apkallu'' (as well as ''Abgal'') is also used as an epithet for kings and gods as a mark of wisdom or knowledge. A further use of the term ''Apkallu'' is when referring to figurines used in apotropaic rituals; these figurines include fish-man hybrids representing the seven sages, but also include bird-headed and other figures. In a later wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adapa
Adapa was a Mesopotamian mythical figure who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality. The story, commonly known as "Adapa and the South Wind", is known from fragmentary tablets from Tell el-Amarna in Egypt (around 14th century BC) and from finds from the Library of Ashurbanipal, Assyria (around 7th century BC). Adapa was an important figure in Mesopotamian religion. His name would be used to invoke power in exorcism rituals. He also became an archetype for a wise ruler. In that context, his name would be invoked to evoke favorable comparisons. Some scholars conflate Adapa and the Apkallu known as Uanna. There is some evidence for that connection, but the name "adapa" may have also been used as an epithet, meaning "wise". Overview Adapa's story was initially known from a find at Amarna in Egypt from the archives of Egyptian King Amenophis IV (1377–1361 BC). By 1912, three finds from the Library of Ashurbanipal (668–626 BC) had been interpreted and found to contain parts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
En-men-dur-ana
En-men-dur-ana (also Emmeduranki) of Zimbir (the city now known as Sippar) was an ancient Sumerian king, whose name appears in the Sumerian King List as the seventh pre-dynastic king of Sumer. He was said to have reigned for 21,000 years. Name His name means "chief of the powers of Dur-an-ki", while "Dur- an- ki" in turn means "the meeting-place of heaven and earth" (literally "bond of above and below"). City En-men-dur-ana's city Sippar was associated with the worship of the sun-god Utu, later called Shamash in the Semitic language. Sumerian and Babylonian literature attributed the founding of Sippar to Utu. Myth A myth written in a Semitic language tells of Emmeduranki, subsequently being taken to heaven by the gods Shamash and Adad, and taught the secrets of heaven and of earth. In particular, Emmeduranki was taught arts of divination, such as how to inspect oil on water and how to discern messages in the liver of animals and several other divine secrets. En-men-dur-a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dumuzid
Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shepherds, who was also the first and primary consort of the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar). In Sumerian mythology, Dumuzid's sister was Geshtinanna, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and dream interpretation. In the ''Sumerian King List'', Dumuzid is listed as an antediluvian king of the city of Bad-tibira and also an early king of the city of Uruk. In '' Inanna's Descent into the Underworld'', Inanna perceives that Dumuzid has failed to properly mourn her death and, when she returns from the Underworld, allows the '' galla'' demons to drag him down to the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ea (Babylonian God)
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg , caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC , deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief , symbol = Goat, fish, goat-fish, chimera , consort = Ninhursag, Damkina , children = Marduk, Dumuzid, Ninsar, Ninkurra, Uttu, Ninti , parents = An and Nammu , Greek_equivalent = Poseidon, PrometheusStephanie West. "Prometheus Orientalized" page 147 Museum Helveticum Vol. 51, No. 3 (1994), pp. 129–149 (21 pages) Enki ( sux, ) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge ('' gestú''), crafts (''gašam''), and creation (''nudimmud''), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea ( akk, ) or Ae in Akkadian (Assyrian- Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos in Greek sources (e.g. Damascius). He was originally the patron god of the city of Eridu, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions (Latin: ) which form its signs. Cuneiform was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system. Over the course of its history, cuneiform was adapted to write a number of languages in addition to Sumerian. Akkadian texts are attested from the 24th century BC onward and make up the bulk of the cuneiform record. Akkadian cuneiform was itself adapted to write the Hittite language in the early second millennium BC. The other languages with significant cuneiform corpora are Eblaite, Elamite, Hurrian, Luwian, and Urartian. The Old Persian and Ugaritic alphabets feature cuneiform-style signs; however, they are unrelated to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abi-Eshuh
Abī-Ešuḫ (variants: m''a-bi-ši'',''Chronicle of Early Kings'', (ABC 20), Tablet B, reverse, lines 8 to 10. "Abiši", m''E-bi-šum'',''Babylonian King List B'', obverse line 8. "Ebišum") was the 8th king of the 1st Dynasty of Babylon and reigned for 28 years from ca. 1648–1620 BC (short chronology) or 1711–1684 BC ( middle chronology). He was preceded by Samsu-iluna, who was his father. Biography His exuberant titles included, “descendant of Sumu-la-El, princely heir of Samsu-iluna, eternal seed of kingship, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king who makes the four quarters be at peace.” This was presumably achieved by his two aggressive military campaigns. His fourth year-name records that he subdued the army of the Kassites.Tablet BM 16998. The Chronicle of Early Kings recalls his damming of the Tigris in a vain attempt to capture Ilum-ma-ilī, the founder of the Sealand Dynasty. A clay cylinder fragmentAsh. 1924.616. from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishbi-Erra
Ishbi-Erra (Akkadian: d''iš-bi-ir₃-ra'') was the founder of the dynasty of Isin, reigning from ''c.'' 2017 — ''c.'' 1986 BC on the middle chronology or 1953 BC — ''c.'' 1920 BC on the short chronology. Ishbi-Erra was preceded by Ibbi-Sin of the third dynasty of Ur in ancient Lower Mesopotamia, and then succeeded by Šu-ilišu. According to the Weld-Blundell Prism,WB 444, the Weld-Blundell prism, r. 33. Išbi-erra reigned for 33 years and this is corroborated by the number of his extant year-names. While in many ways this dynasty emulated that of the preceding one, its language was Akkadian as the Sumerian language had become moribund in the latter stages of the third dynasty of Ur. Biography At the outset of his career, Ishbi-Erra was an official working for Sumerian King Ibbi-Sin, the last king of the third dynasty of Ur. Ishbi-Erra was described as a man of Mari,Tablet UM 7772. either his origin or the city for which he was assigned. His progress is recorded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibbi-Sin
Ibbi-Sin ( sux, , ), son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned c. 2028–2004 BCE ( Middle chronology) or possibly c. 1964–1940 BCE (Short chronology). During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites. As faith in Ibbi-Sin's leadership failed, Elam declared its independence and began to raid as well. Ibbi-Sin ordered fortifications built at the important cities of Ur and Nippur, but these efforts were not enough to stop the raids or keep the empire unified. Cities throughout Ibbi-Sin's empire fell away from a king who could not protect them, notably Isin under the Amorite ruler Ishbi-Erra. Ibbi-Sin was, by the end of his kingship, left with only the city of Ur. In 2004 or 1940 BCE, the Elamites, along with "tribesmen from the region of Shimashki in the Zagros Mountains" sacked Ur and took Ibbi-Sin captive; he was taken to the city of Elam where he was imprisoned and, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilgamesh
sux, , label=none , image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg , alt = , caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyrian palace relief (713–706 BC), from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre , reign=c. 2900–2700 BC ( EDI), predecessor = Dumuzid, the Fisherman (as Ensi of Uruk) , consort = , siblings = , successor = Ur-Nungal Gilgamesh ( akk, , translit=Gilgameš; originally sux, , translit= Bilgames)). His name translates roughly as "The Ancestor is a Young-man", from ''Bil.ga'' "Ancestor", Elder and ''Mes/Mesh3'' "Young-Man". See also . was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the '' Epic of Gilgamesh'', an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who was posthumously deified. His rule probably would have t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninagal
Ninagal ( sux, ) or Ninagala was a Mesopotamian god regarded as a divine smith. He was commonly associated with other deities connected to craftsmanship. Texts from the reign of Ur-Baba of Lagash indicate that he was the personal deity of this king, who built a temple dedicated to him, most likely in Girsu. He is well attested in texts dealing with the preparation of statues of deities, as well as other cultic paraphernalia. Name and character Ninagal was regarded a divine smith. He could be called the "chief smith" (''simug gal'') of An. His name was written in cuneiform as '' d Nin-á- gal'', and can be translated from Sumerian as "lord of the big arm". It could also be represented logographically using the sign SIMUG, "smith", and writings such as dSIMUG or dNIN.SIMUG are also attested. However, in a single incantation a separate god named Ninsimug appears alongside Ninagal, with the two seemingly described as responsible for different types of metalworking. In the lexica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enmerkar
Enmerkar was an ancient Sumerian ruler to whom the construction of Uruk and a 420-year reign was attributed. According to literary sources, he led various campaigns against the land of Aratta. Historical king Late Uruk period The tradition of Enmerkar as the founder of Uruk seems to date from the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BC) as found in the ''Ad-gi4 list''. The lexical list mentions Enmerkar and his wife Enmerkarzi as the builders of a town and the bringers of agriculture. A bilingual edition of the list has been found at Nineveh, indicating that the tradition was transmitted into the first millennium.''Enmerkar and (his) wife Enmerkar-zi,'' ''who know (how to build) towns (made) brick and brick pavements.'' ''When the yearly flood reached its proper level,'' ''(they made) irrigation canals and all kinds of irrigation ditches.''Despite his proclaimed divine descent from the poems, Enmerkar was not deified as his successors Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh. These two last k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
En-men-gal-ana
En-men-gal-ana appears as the second king of Bad-tibira in some version of the Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king .... According to that literary composition, En-men-gal-ana ruled for 28,800 years. The kings on the early part of the ''SKL'' are usually not considered historical, except when they are mentioned in Early Dynastic documents. En-men-gal-ana is not one of them. References , - Antediluvian Sumerian kings {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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