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Urnunta-ea
Urnunta-ea was a Mesopotamian goddess originally worshiped in Girsu as one of the daughters of Ningirsu and Bau. She might have been associated with rain clouds. She is known from an Early Dynastic inscription of Urukagina, from texts from the reign of the Second Dynasty of Lagash, and from the god list ''An = Anum''. In the last of these sources she appears in the circle of deities associated with Lisin, rather than Bau or Ningirsu. Name The theonym Urnunta-ea can be translated from Sumerian as "who comes out of the lap of the prince" (implicitly: Ningirsu). It was written in cuneiform as '' dúr-nun-ta-è-a''. It is sometimes romanized as Urnunta'ea or Urnuntaea. A variant spelling, ''dúr-é-nun-ta-è-a'', is known from the Gudea cylinders. Thorkild Jacobsen and Dietz Otto Edzard suggested reading it as Uragrunta-ea. However, according to this is erroneous. A further variant known from a fragment of an Old Babylonian litany from Kish describing the pantheon of Kesh or Ada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ningirsu
Ninĝirsu was a Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian god regarded as the tutelary deity of the city of Girsu, Ĝirsu, and as the chief god of the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He shares many aspects with the god Ninurta. Ninĝirsu was identified as a local Hypostasis (philosophy and religion), hypostasis of Ninurta in a syncretism that is documented at the latest by the time of Gudea in the late third millennium BC. Assyriology, Assyriologists are divided on the question of whether they were originally two manifestations of the same god, or two separate deities. Ninĝirsu's two main aspects were that of a warlike god, and that of a god connected with agricultural fertility. In Lagash, he was particularly associated with a composite emblem depicting the Anzû bird over two lions. It could sometimes represent him in cultic contexts. Ninĝirsu was an important local god from the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), Early Dynastic Period until the Old Babylonian Empire, old Babylonian p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisin
Lisin was a Mesopotamian deity initially regarded as a goddess and addressed as ''ama'', "mother," who later came to be regarded as a god and developed an association with fire. The name was also applied to a star associated with Nabu, presumed to correspond to Antares. Lisin's spouse was Ninsikila, whose gender also changed between periods. It was believed that they had eight children. The initial cult center of Lisin is uncertain, with locations such as Abu Salabikh, Adab and Kesh being often proposed. She is attested in texts from various cities, including Umma, Lagash, Nippur and Meturan. Only a single literary text focused on Lisin is known, a lament in which she mourns the death of one of her sons, for which she blames her mother Ninhursag. Both female and male version of Lisin also appears in other similar texts. Name and character Lisin's name was written as '' dli9-si4'' () in cuneiform. It is sometimes romanized as Lisi instead. The reading with ''n'' as the final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bau (goddess)
Bau (cuneiform: 𒀭𒁀𒌑 ''dingir, dBa-U2''; also romanized as Baba or Babu) was a Mesopotamian goddess. The reading of her name is a subject of debate among researchers, though Bau is considered the conventional spelling today. While initially regarded simply as a life-giving deity, in some cases associated with the creation of mankind, over the course of the third and second millennia BCE she also acquired the role of a healing goddess. She could be described as a divine midwife. In art she could be depicted in the company of waterfowl or scorpions. In sources from Lagash and Girsu, Bau's husband was the god Ningirsu. Among their children were deities such as Igalim, Shulshaga and Ḫegir. While they could still be regarded as a couple in later sources, from the Old Babylonian period onwards Bau was also viewed as the wife of Zababa, the tutelary god of Kish (Sumer), Kish. Another deity associated with her was her attendant goddess Lammašaga. Most likely for political reas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ḫegir
Ḫegir (𒀭𒃶𒄈) or Ḫegirnunna (𒀭𒃶𒄈𒉣𒈾) was a Mesopotamian goddess who belonged to the pantheon of Lagash. She was considered a daughter of Bau and Ningirsu. Name The reading of the first cuneiform sign in the theonym dḪÉ''-gír(-nun-na)'' is not certain. Among the authors who employ the form Ḫegir(nunna) are Wilfred G. Lambert and Andrew R. George. Toshiko Kobayashi omits the breve below the first consonant, and renders the name as Hegir. The romanization Gangir has also been proposed, and has been adopted for example by Mark Cohen. Kobayashi refers to Ḫegirnunna as the full form of the name, but notes that the difference between the variants seems to be chronological, with the shorter form being older. It is assumed that ''gír'' in the short form and ''gír-nun'' in the long one both refer to a procession route located in Girsu, and that ḪÉ might represent an allograph of the word ''gemé'', which makes it possible to translate the name from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lammašaga
Lammašaga was a Mesopotamian goddess who functioned as the sukkal (divine attendant) of Bau. She belonged to a class of protective deities known as Lamma. She was originally worshiped in Lagash and Girsu, though attestations are also available from other cities. A hymn focused on her was copied in scribal schools in the Old Babylonian period. Name and character The name Lammašaga can be translated as "the good protective spirit" or "the good Lamma," with the element Lamma referring to a type of female protective deity. The name Lamma itself sometimes could be used to refer to the specific goddess too. Irene Sibbing-Plantholt notes that the addition of the element ''šaga'' to a theonym also finds a parallel in Memešaga, a variant form of the name of the goddess Meme. Lammašaga functioned as the divine attendant (sukkal) of Bau. She was believed to intercede between her and worshipers. Her role might be reflected by the personal name Lamma-sukkal. The association between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zame Hymns
''Zame Hymns'' or ''Zami Hymns'' are a sequence of 70 Sumerian language, Sumerian hymns from the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), Early Dynastic period discovered in Abu Salabikh. Their conventional title is modern, and reflects the recurring use of the formula ''zame'', "praise". They are the oldest known Mesopotamian collection of hymns, and some of the oldest literary cuneiform texts overall. No copies have been discovered outside Abu Salabikh, and it is possible that they reflect a local tradition. However, partial parallels have been identified in texts associated with other sites such as Shuruppak, Fara and Kesh (Sumer), Kesh. The sequence consists of 70 hymns, each of which is dedicated to a deity associated with a specific location. Most of them belonged to the Mesopotamian pantheon, pantheon of southern Mesopotamia, with Upper Mesopotamia, northern deities being less numerous and these from more distant areas like Ebla, Mari, Syria, Mari and Susa absent altogether. Whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and being firmly established through the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 539 BC, marking the collapse of the Chaldean dynasty less than a century after its founding. The defeat of the Assyrian Empire and subsequent return of power to Babylon marked the first time that the city, and southern Mesopotamia in general, had risen to dominate the ancient Near East since the collapse of the Old Babylonian Empire (under Hammurabi) nearly a thousand years earlier. The period of Neo-Babylonian rule thus saw unprecedented economic and population growth throughout Babylonia, as well as a renaissance of culture and artwork as Neo-Babylonian kings condu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab in Iraq, which empties into the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is the List of longest rivers of Asia, fifteenth-longest river in Asia and the longest in West Asia, at about , with a drainage area of that covers six countries. Etymology The term ''Euphrates'' derives from the Koine Greek, Greek ''Euphrátēs'' (), adapted from , itself from . The Elamite name is ultimately derived from cuneiform 𒌓𒄒𒉣; read as ''Buranun'' in Sumerian language, Sumerian and ''Purattu'' in Akkadian language, Akkadian; many cuneiform signs have a Sumerian pronunciation and an Akkadian pronunciation, taken from a Sumerian word and an Akkadian word that mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lugal-irra And Meslamta-ea
Lugal-irra () and Meslamta-ea () were a pair of Mesopotamian gods who typically appear together in cuneiform texts and were described as the "divine twins" (Maštabba). They were regarded as warrior gods and as protectors of doors, possibly due to their role as the gatekeepers of the underworld. In Mesopotamian astronomy they came to be associated with a pair of stars known as the "Great Twins", Alpha Geminorum and Beta Geminorum. They were both closely associated with Nergal, and could be either regarded as members of his court or equated with him. Their cult centers were Kisiga and Dūrum. While no major sanctuaries dedicated to them are attested elsewhere, they were nonetheless worshiped in multiple other cities. Names Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea usually appear together in Mesopotamian texts. Typically Lugal-irra was followed by Meslamta-ea, though instances of the order being reversed are known too. While attestations of Lugal-irra without Meslamta-ea are known, they are con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu Salabikh
The archaeological site of Abu Salabikh (Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh), around northwest of the site of ancient Nippur and about 150 kilometers southeast of the modern city of Baghdad in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq marks the site of a small Sumerian city that existed from the Neolithic through the late 3rd millennium, with cultural connections to the cities of Kish, Mari and Ebla. Its ancient name is unknown though Eresh and Kesh have been suggested as well as Gišgi. Kesh was suggested by Thorkild Jacobsen before excavations began.Biggs, Robert D., "An Archaic Sumerian Version of the Kesh Temple Hymn from Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh", vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 193-207, 1971 The Euphrates was the city's highway and lifeline; when it shifted its old bed (which was identified to the west of the Main Mound by coring techniques), in the late third millennium BC, the city dwindled away. Only eroded traces remain on the site's surface of habitation after the Early Dynastic Period. There is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuska
Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as Lamashtu or gallu. His symbols included a staff, a lamp and a rooster. Various traditions existed regarding his genealogy, with some of them restricted to texts from specific cities. His wife was the goddess Sadarnunna, whose character is poorly known. He could be associated with the fire god Gibil, as well as with various courtiers of Enlil, such as Shuzianna and Ninimma. The main cult center of Nuska was Nippur, where he is already attested in the Early Dynastic period. He was worshiped both in temples of his own and in the Ekur complex. He is attested in various documents from the Kassite period, including oath formulas and inscriptions, as well as in theophoric names. In later periods, he was introduced to the local pantheons of o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
