Ur (Mandaeism)
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Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...
, ʿUr () is the king () of the
World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with ''Vampire: The Masquerade'', ''Werewolf: The Apocaly ...
(''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
. He is the son of
Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...
, the queen of the underworld, and her brother
Gaf Gaf (; ), is the name of different Perso-Arabic alphabet, Perso-Arabic letters, all representing . They are all derived from the letter Kaph, kāf, with additional diacritics, such as dots and lines. In name and shape, it is a variant of ''kaph ...
(also spelled Gap), one of the giants in the World of Darkness described in book 5 of the
Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...
. Ur is typically portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake. He is represented by the image of a serpent on the '' skandola'' talisman. The
Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...
contrasts Ur, the King of Darkness, with the King of Light (''
Hayyi Rabbi In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi ( Neo-Mandaic; ), 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate. Hayyi Rabbi is also known as "The First Life", since during the creation of the material world, Yushamin emanated from Hayyi ...
'').


Names

Ur has also been referred in Mandaean texts as
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
(; from ''
Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...
'' 15.1). According to the ''Right Ginza'' 5.1, his mother Ruha called him "the Great Giant, the Power of Darkness" (''gabara rba, haila ḏ-hšuka''). Ur's
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
s include Bar-Spag () and other names.


Parallels

Aldihisi (2008) compares Ur to
Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...
in Babylonian mythology and
Samael Samael (; , ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom of God"; , ''Samsama'il'' or , ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic tradition; a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan#Judaism, Satan ...
in Gnostic literature.


See also

*
Shdum In Mandaeism, Shdum (Šdum) () or Ashdum (Ašdum) is a demon in the World of Darkness (''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or underworld. Hibil Ziwa encounters Shdum during his descent to the World of Darkness in Chapter 1 of Book 5 in the ''Right Ginza'', wher ...
, also known as the "King of Darkness" *
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
*
Nagaraja A Nagaraja ( ', ) is a king of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld ( Patala), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural being ...
*
Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...
*
Yaldabaoth Yaldabaoth, otherwise known as Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (; ; ; ''Ialtabaôth''), is a malevolent God and demiurge (creator of the material world) according to various Gnostic sects, represented sometimes as a theriomorphic, lion-headed ser ...
*
Ahriman Angra Mainyu (; ) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, th ...
*
Asrestar Asrestar is a class of demons in Manichaeism. They appear prominently in the Manichaean creation myth, especially the creation of mankind. Accordingly, Az (demon), Az decided to create humans in the image of the Jesus the Splendour, Third Messenge ...
*
Prince of Darkness (Manichaeism) In Manichaean cosmology, the world of darkness, which invaded the world of light in a lustful desire to mingle with the light, is ruled by five evil Archons (demon, dragon, eagle, fish and lion), who together make up the Prince of Darkness ( zh ...


References

{{Authority control Demons in Mandaeism Legendary serpents Leviathan Ginza Rabba