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Ḫišamītum
Ḫišamītum or Ḫišametum was a Mesopotamian goddess worshiped in the kingdom of Mari. She was the tutelary deity of the city of Ḫišamta, and it is presumed she originated as a hypostasis of Ishtar. Sacrifices to her are mentioned in various administrative documents from the reigns of kings such as Yaḫdun-Lim and Zimri-Lim. She is also known from letters and a compendium of divination. Name and origin Ḫišamītum's name can be translated as "Lady of Ḫišamta." In a single offering list her name is spelled d NIN.''E-sá-mì-tum'', formerly erroneously read as ''dNin-e-di-lá-tum''. The construction dNIN used in early Mariote texts is now recognized as a double determinative used by local scribes to designate a name as belonging to a female deity. It is presumed Ḫišamītum she was a local hypostasis of Ishtar in origin. She was the tutelary goddess of the city of Ḫišamta, which was located south of Terqa. Hypostases of Ishtar whose names are geographic d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epithets Of Inanna
Epithets of Inanna were titles and bynames used to refer to this Mesopotamian goddess and to her Akkadian counterpart Ishtar. In Mesopotamia, epithets were commonly used in place of the main name of the deity, and combinations of a name with an epithet similar to these common in ancient Greek religion are comparatively uncommon. Inanna had more titles than any other Mesopotamian deity. They pertained to her associations with specific cities or areas, such as Uruk, Zabalam, Akkad, Nineveh or the Sealand. Other instead highlighted her specific roles, for example these of an astral goddess personifying the planet Venus or of a war deity. In some cases, her individual epithets eventually developed into separate deities. Overview In ancient Mesopotamia, epithets could either be used alongside the primary name of a given deity, or instead of it. The latter practice was widespread in religious texts, while standard combinations of a name with an epithet, comparable to these widesprea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishara
Ishara (Išḫara) was the tutelary goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Ebla. The origin of her name is unknown. Both Hurrian and West Semitic etymologies have been proposed, but they found no broad support and today it is often assumed that her name belongs to an unknown linguistic substrate. Her cult had a wide reach across the ancient Near East. In addition to Ebla, she was also worshiped in cities such as Mari, Emar, Alalakh and Ugarit. From these Syrian cities the worship of Ishara spread to Mesopotamia. The Hurrians also adopted her into their pantheon after arriving in Syria, from which she found her way to the Hittite pantheon. In various time periods and areas different functions were assigned to her. In Ebla she was the tutelary deity of the ruling family, but also a love goddess. In Mesopotamia the latter function lead to an association with Ishtar, and later Nanaya, Kanisurra and Gazbaba as well. In Hurrian religion she acquired the role of a goddess associate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesopotamian Goddess
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substance which "covered them in terrifying splendor" and which could also be worn by heroes, kings, giants, and even demons. The effect that seeing a deity's ''melam'' has on a human is described as ''ni'', a word for the " physical creeping of the flesh". Both the Sumerian and Akkadian languages contain many words to express the sensation of ''ni'', including the word ''puluhtu'', meaning "fear". Deities were almost always depicted wearing horned caps, consisting of up to seven superimposed pairs of ox-horns. They were also sometimes depicted wearing clothes with elaborate decorative gold and silver ornaments sewn into them. The ancient Mesopotamians believed that their deities lived in Heaven, but that a god's statue was a physical embodiment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamash
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection of travelers. As a divine judge, he could be associated with the underworld. Additionally, he could serve as the god of divination, typically alongside the weather god Adad. While he was universally regarded as one of the primary gods, he was particularly venerated in Sippar and Larsa. The moon god Nanna (Sin) and his wife Ningal were regarded as his parents, while his twin sister was Inanna (Ishtar). Occasionally other goddesses, such as Manzat and Pinikir, could be regarded as his sisters too. The dawn goddess Aya (Sherida) was his wife, and multiple texts describe their daily reunions taking place on a mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact or interaction with a supernatural agency. Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appears to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and reli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Babylonian Empire
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated, since there is a Babylonian King List A and also a Babylonian King List B. In this chronology, the regnal years of List A are used due to their wide usage. The reign lengths given in List B are longer, generally speaking. Hardship of searching for origins of the First Dynasty The actual origins of the First Babylonian dynasty are rather hard to pinpoint with great certainty — simply because Babylon itself, due to a high water table, yields very few archaeological materials intact. Thus, the evidence that survived throughout the years includes written records such as royal and votive inscriptions, literary texts, and lists of year-names. The minimal amount of evidence in economic and legal documents makes it diff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophoric Name
A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deity. For example, names embedding Apollo, such as ''Apollonios'' or ''Apollodorus'', existed in Greek antiquity. Theophoric personal names, containing the name of a god in whose care the individual is entrusted (or a generic word for ''god''), were also exceedingly common in the ancient Near East and Mesopotamia. Some names of theophoric origin remain common today, such as Theodore (''theo-'', "god"; ''-dore'', origin of word compound in Greek: ''doron'', "gift"; hence "God's gift"; in Greek: ''Theodoros'') or less recognisably as Jonathan (from Hebrew ''Yonatan/Yehonatan'', meaning "Yahweh has given"). Classical Greek and Roman theophoric names * Demetrius and its derivatives mean "follower of Demeter." * Dennis, in Latin ''Dionysius'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shibtu
Shibtu (reigned 1775 BC – 1761 BC) was the wife of Zimrilim and queen consort of the ancient city-state of Mari, Syria, Mari in modern-day Syria. Historian Abraham Malamat described her as "the most prominent of the Mari ladies." Life Shibtu was born to the royal family of the kingdom of Yamhad. Her parents were Yarim-Lim I, king of Yamhad, and Gashera, his queen consort.Dalley, 2002, p. 97. Zimrilim was forced to flee Mari when his father the king, Iakhdunlim, was assassinated in a palace coup and Yasmah-Adad usurped the throne. Zimrilim allied himself with Yarimlim of Yamhad who helped him regain his throne in Mari and their alliance was cemented with the marriage of Zimrilim to Shibtu. Zimrilim and Shibtu's offspring included at least seven daughters. One of them was appointed as the mayor of a nearby town.Smith, Entry: West Asia Several of their daughters went on to marry into other royal families from the ancient Near East, including Ibbatum, who married Himid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annunitum
Annunitum () or Anunītu was a Mesopotamian goddess of war. While initially she functioned as an epithet of Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna), she started to develop into a separate deity in the final years of the Sargonic period and through the Ur III period. In later periods, she is best attested as the tutelary goddess of Sippar-Amnanum, where she was worshiped separately from Ishtar. She was also known from Uruk, Ur, Nippur, Babylon, Kisurra, and Mari. Her cult persisted at least until the final years of the neo-Babylonian period, and possibly even later, until the period of Seleucid rule over Mesopotamia. Origin and development branching from Ishtar Annunitum was initially an epithet of Ishtar of Agade highlighting the warlike aspect of her nature. Possible translations of it include "skirmisher" or "the martial one." However, as early as during the final years of the Sargonic period, Annunitum started to develop into a separate deity. She is attested as a fully independent figu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dagan (god)
Dagon ( he, דָּגוֹן, ''Dāgōn'') or Dagan ( sux, 2= dda-gan, ; phn, 𐤃𐤂𐤍, Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settlements situated in the upper Euphrates area he was regarded as the "father of gods" similar to Mesopotamian Enlil or Hurrian Kumarbi, as well as a lord of the land, a god of prosperity, and a source of royal legitimacy. A large number of theophoric names, both masculine and feminine, attests that he was a popular deity. He was also worshiped further east, in Mesopotamia, where many rulers regarded him as the god capable of granting them kingship over the western areas. Attestations of Dagan from coastal areas are much less frequent and come mostly from the northern city of Ugarit, where Dagan's cult had a limited scope. According to the Hebrew Bible, Dagan was als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adad
Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad (Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From the Levant, Hadad was introduced to Mesopotamia by the Amorites, where he became known as the Akkadian (Assyrian- Babylonian) god Adad. Adad and Iškur are usually written with the logogram —the same symbol used for the Hurrian god Teshub. Hadad was also called Pidar, Rapiu, Baal-Zephon, or often simply Baʿal (Lord), but this title was also used for other gods. The bull was the symbolic animal of Hadad. He appeared bearded, often holding a club and thunderbolt while wearing a bull-horned headdress. Hadad was equated with the Greek god Zeus, the Roman god Jupiter (and in the cult-center near Doliche in Asia Minor he was addressed as Jupiter Dolichenus), as well as the Hittite storm-god Teshub. The Baal Cycle, also known as the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease and has been described as the "god of inflicted death." He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally either Mammitum, a goddess possibly connected to frost, or Laṣ, sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too. His primary cult center was Kutha, located in northern Mesopotamia. His main temple was the E-Meslam and he was also known by the name Meslamtaea, "he who comes out of Meslam." Initially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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