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Giš
The cuneiform giš sign, (also common for is, iṣ, and iz), is a common, multi-use sign, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It also has a major usage as a sumerogram, GIŠ, (capital letter (majuscule)) for English language ''"wood"'', and is used as a determinative at the beginning of words, for items made of wood. The 12 Chapters (Tablets) of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' lists 16 named items beginning with ''"GIŠ"''. For ''giš''/(''is/iz/iṣ'') in the construction of words it is used syllabically for ''giš'', and syllabically for the three other constructs; also for ''eṣ/ez''. Besides "giš", it can alphabetically be used for: ''e'', ''i'', ''s'', ''ṣ'', or ''z''. ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' sign usage The usage numbers for ''giš'' in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' are as follows: ''eṣ''-(2) times, ''ez'', (3), ''giš'', (1), ''is'', (46), ''iṣ'', (77), ''iz'', (17), and ''GIŠ'' (355) times. Epic words with determinative ''GIŠ'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MÁ (boat Sumerogram)
The cuneiform sign MÁ denotes a ship or boat. It is used in Sumerian and as a Sumerogram for the Akkadian word ''eleppu'' (also 'ship'/'boat'). MÁ is usually preceded by the determinative for items made of wood, namely GIŠ: GIŠ.MÁ, or GIŠ.MÁ, . Examples The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' lists sixteen wood-related words written with the GIŠ determinative, among them GIŠ.MÁ/''eleppu''. The epic also uses the 'ship'/'boat' Sumerogram in Tablet XI (the Gilgamesh flood myth), and elsewhere when Gilgamesh is taken by boat. Some of the Amarna letters using the Sumerogram are EA 86, EA 153, EA 149, EA 245, and EA 364. See also *Amarna letter EA 86 *Amarna letter EA 153 *Amarna letter EA 245 References Bibliography * (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English External links *Amarna letter EA 153-(Obverse), line 10 (7th line from bottom* Amarna letter EA 245 Amarna letter EA 245, titled: ''"Assi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and functionally they resemble classifiers in East Asian and sign languages. For example, Egyptian hieroglyphic determinatives include symbols for divinities, people, parts of the body, animals, plants, and books/abstract ideas, which helped in reading but were not pronounced. Cuneiform In cuneiform texts of Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite languages, many nouns are preceded or followed by a Sumerian word acting as a determinative; this specifies that the associated word belongs to a particular semantic group.Edzard, 2003 These determinatives were not pronounced. In transliterations of Sumerian, the determinatives are written in superscript in upper case. Whether a given sign is a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumer Gis
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Like nearby Elam, it is one of the cradles of civilization, along with Egypt, the Indus Valley, the Erligang culture of the Yellow River valley, Caral-Supe, and Mesoamerica. Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain and other crops, a surplus of which enabled them to form urban settlements. The world's earliest known texts come from the Sumerian cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, and date to between , following a period of proto-writing . Name The term "Sumer" () comes from the Akkadian name for the "Sumerians", the ancient non- Semitic-speaking inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia.Piotr Michalowski, "Sumerian," ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages." Ed. Roger D. Wooda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amarna Letter EA 365
Amarna letter EA 365, titled ''Furnishing Corvée Workers,'' is a squarish, mostly flat clay tablet, but thick enough (pillow-shaped), to contain text that continues toward the right margin, the right side of the obverse side, and also to the right side of the reverse side of the tablet. The text is continuous, such that a final line (line 31) is needed, and is written on a final available edge of the tablet – thus text is found upon 5 sections — ''Obverse, Bottom Edge, Reverse, Top Edge,'' and ''Side''. Letter EA 365 is authored by Biridiya of Megiddo and is written to the Pharaoh of Egypt (in the 14th century BC, Egypt referred to as Mizri/Miṣri). The letter's subject is the harvesting of crops by corvée (forced) labor men/women. The Amarna letters, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are mid 14th century BC, about 1360 BC and 35? years later, correspondence. The initial corpus of letters were found at Akhenaten's city Akhetaten, in the floor of the Bureau of Cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amarna Letter EA 19
Amarna letter EA 19 is a tall clay tablet letter of 13 paragraphs, in relatively pristine condition, with some minor flaws on the clay, but a complete enough story that some included words can complete the story of the letter. Entitled "Love and Gold", the letter is about gold from Egypt (gold mine production), love between father-king ancestors and the current relationship between the King of Mitanni and the Pharaoh of Misri (Egypt), and marriage of women from King Tushratta of Mitanni to the Pharaoh of Egypt. Besides the Double Line Ruling, for paragraphing (7 paragraphs on ''obverse''), an overwritten Single Line Rule is at clay tablet left margin, as well as cuneiform characters inscribed upon a vertical right margin line of Single Line Rule. (see left margin here The Amarna letters, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are a mid 14th century BC, around 1386 BC and 45 years later, correspondence. The initial corpus of letters were found at Akhenaten's city Akhetaten, in the fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitanni
Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria and southeast Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) with Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni, linguistic and political influences. Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts. The Hurrians were in the region as of the late 3rd millennium BC. A king of Urkesh with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated at Tell Mozan.Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tushratta
Tushratta ( Akkadian: and ) was a king of Mitanni, 1358–1335 BCE, at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the first half the reign of Akhenaten. He was the son of Shuttarna II. Tushratta stated that he was the grandson of Artatama I. His sister Gilukhipa (Gilu-ḫepa in Hurrian) and his daughter Tadukhipa (Tadu-ḫepa in Hurrian) were married to the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III; Tadukhipa later married Akhenaten, who took over his father's royal harem. He had been placed on the throne after the murder of his brother Artashumara. He was probably quite young at the time and was destined to serve as a figurehead only, but he managed to dispose of the murderer. A tablet was found in a Mitanni building at Tell Brak which stated it was witnessed "in the presence of Tushratta, the king" and had a seal of an earlier king Shaushtatar on the reverse, which was a common practice. Name Recorded in three distinct spellings—, , —Tushratta's name is an Akkadian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, Carthage, Athens and Sparta and the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Florence, Venice, Genoa and Milan. With the rise of nation states worldwide, there remains some disagreement on the number of modern city-states that still exist; Singapore, Monaco and Vatican City are the candidates most commonly discussed. Out of these, Singapore is the largest and most populous, and is generally considered to be the last real city-state left in the world, with full sovereignty, international borders, its own currency, a robust military, and substantial international influence in its own right. ''The Economist'' refers to it as the "world's only fully functioning city-state". Several non-sovereign cities enjoy a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. The rights and obligations of a vassal are called vassalage, while the rights and obligations of a suzerain are called suzerainty. The obligations of a vassal often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief. The term is also applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, fealty (''fidelitas'') was sworn, unconditional loyalty to a monarch. European vassalage In fully developed vassalage, the lord and the vassal would take part in a commendation ceremony composed of two parts, the Homage (feudal), homage and the fealty, including the use of Christian sacraments to show its sacred importance. According to Eginhard's brief description, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amarna Letter EA 364
Amarna letter EA 364, titled ''Justified War,'' is a clay tablet letter from Ayyab, ruler of Aštartu, to Pharaoh Akhenaten (1350s–1330s BC). It is one of the Amarna letters, 382 in total, dating from Amarna letters#Chronology, c. 1360 – c. 1332 BC. The initial Text corpus, corpus of letters were found at the city of Akhetaten, Amarna, founded by Akhenaten, in the floor of the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh. The letter is a reply to the pharaoh referring to a letter from the pharaoh's messenger Tahmassi. In it, Ayyab, ''governing-man'' (often—("who/which"-(ša (cuneiform), ša))-"LÚ (man Sumerogram), man, URU (city Sumerogram), city")-Ashteroth Karnaim, Aštartu, who is in control of one of the city-states in Canaan, is stating his commitment to guarding the city (and the region), after three cities in the region were taken in attacks by Habiru raiders. The tablet measures about 4 in x 2.3 in and is in relatively pristine condition. Because of its narrowness, each l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayyab
Ayyab was a ruler of Aštartu (present day Tell Ashtara) south of Damascus. According to the Amarna letters, cities/city-states and their kings in the region — just like countries to the north, such as History of the Hittites, Hatti of the Hittites, fell prey to a wave of attacks by ʿApiru raiders. The Amarna correspondence Text corpus, corpus covers a period from 1350 BC, 1350–1335 BC. Another ruler of Aštartu cited in the Amarna letters is Biridašwa. The letters do not clearly indicate their title, leading some scholars to describe them as kings of Damascus (Dimašqu) while others believe they were high Egyptian officials, possibly mayors.Wayne Thomas Pitard''Ancient Damascus: A Historical Study of the Syrian City-State from Earliest Times Until Its Fall to the Assyrians in 732 B.C.E.''Eisenbrauns, 1987. p. 67. Ayyab's letter EA 364 Ayyab is the author of only one letter to the Ancient Egypt, Egyptian pharaoh, letter EA 364-(EA (el Amarna), EA for 'el Amarna'). Title: ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ša (cuneiform)
The cuneiform ša sign is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for ''ša'', and an alphabetic sign used for ''š'', or ''a''; it is common in both the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Besides ''ša'' usage in word components of verbs, nouns, etc., it has a major usage between words. In Akkadian, for English language ''"who"'', it is an interrogative pronoun; in the Akkadian language as ''ša'', (as "that", "what"; ("that (of)", "which (of)"), in English it used for ''who, what, which, etc.''. Ša, and Ka, the stroke differences The difference in the construction of the signs ''ka'' and ''ša'' are as follows: "ka" when scribed in the Amarna letters often shows the distinctiveness of the right section of the sign, versus the left section. For ''ša'', the right section is constructed with two wedge strokes (one scribed above the other), between the two verticals, at right. For ''ka'', the right side mostly, in the Amarna letters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
