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Birtum
Birtum (, also spelled Birdu) was a Mesopotamian god who was the husband of Nungal. He was regarded as a deity associated with the underworld. Character Birtum's name means "fetter" or " shackle" in Akkadian, and he was likely a deification of such objects. While the word is grammatically feminine, the deity was regarded as male. A similar word, ''birdu'' ("pimple"), is etymologically unrelated to his name. In god lists he appears in the circle of Nergal as one of the gods associated with the underworld. Associations with other deities Birtum was the husband of Nungal, the goddess of prisons. It has been proposed that he was a son of Enlil, as his wife was on occasion addressed as the daughter in law of this god. His sukkal (attendant deity) was the god Eturammi (also spelled Eturame), whose name means "do not slacken." It is assumed that he was one of the sukkals who were simply personification of specific commands of their masters, similar to Id's sukkal Nēr-ē-ta ...
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Nungal
Nungal ( sux, d''Nun-gal'', "great princess"), also known as Manungal and possibly Bēlet-balāṭi, was the Mesopotamian goddess of prisons, sometimes also associated with the underworld. She was worshiped especially in the Ur III period in cities such as Nippur, Lagash and Ur. Her husband was Birtum, and she was regarded as a courtier and daughter in law Enlil. Texts also associate her with deities such as Ereshkigal, Nintinugga and Ninkasi. Much of the available information about her role in Mesopotamian beliefs comes from a Sumerian hymn which was a part of the scribal curriculum in the Old Babylonian period. Name Nungal's name means "Great Princess" in Sumerian. A plural form of the name attested in some documents can be regarded as analogous to one of the collective terms for Mesopotamian deities, Igigi. An alternate form of the name, Manungal, was possibly a contraction of the phrase ''ama Nungal'', "mother Nungal." It is first attested in documents from the Ur I ...
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Mesopotamian God
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 ...
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Mesopotamian Gods
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 ...
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Sukkal
Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various commands of the kings and acted as diplomatic envoys and translators for foreign dignitaties. The deities referred to as sukkals fulfilled a similar role in mythology, acting as servants, advisors and envoys of the main gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon, such as Enlil or Inanna. The best known sukkal is the goddess Ninshubur. In art, they were depicted carrying staffs, most likely understood as their attribute. They could function as intercessory deities, believed to mediate between worshipers and the major gods. The office sukkal is also known from various areas to the west and east of Mesopotamia, including the Hurrian kingdom Arrapha, Syrian Alalakh and Mari and Elam under the rule of the Sukkalmah Dynasty, while the concept of divine sukk ...
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Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from Enlil's sanctuary (Austen Henry Layard ''Monuments of Nineveh'', 2nd Series, 1853) , parents=Enlil and Ninhursag As Urash, An , deity_of=God of agriculture, hunting, and war , abode=Eshumesha temple in NippurLater Kalhu, during Assyrian times , symbol=Plow and perched bird , consort= ''As Ninurta:'' Gula''As Ninĝirsu:'' Bau , children= , planet=Saturn, Mercury , mount= Beast with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion , equivalent1_type = Caananite , equivalent1 = Attar , equivalent2_type = Eblaite , equivalent2 = Aštabi Ninurta ( sux, : , possible meaning "Lord fBarley"), also known as Ninĝirsu ( sux, : , meaning "Lord fGirsu"), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, ...
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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 (Mesopotamia), 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 introduc ...
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Idlurugu
Idlurugu ( Sumerian: ''i7-lú-ru-gú'', also read Ilurugu) or Id (dÍD) was a Mesopotamian god regarded as both a river deity and a divine judge. He was the personification of a type of trial by ordeal, which shared its name with him. Idlurugu was chiefly worshiped in Id (modern Hit). However, he was not strongly associated with any location, but rather with trial of water alone, and as such appears in sources from many parts of the Ancient Near East. Name The term ''i7-lú-ru-gú'', "the river that receives man" or "the river which confronts man," could refer both to the god (in which case it was preceded by the dingir sign denoting a word as a deity's name) or to the procedure. He could also be referred to as Id. The logogram ÍD, either with a dingir or without it, similarly designated the procedure itself as well. While it was usually read as ''id'', there are also known instances where it was instead ''nārum'', the Akkadian word for river. While ''nārum'' was grammatically ...
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Fetter
Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, footcuffs, fetters or leg irons. The term "fetter" shares a root with the word "foot". Shackles are typically used on prisoners and slaves. Leg shackles also are used for chain gangs to keep them together. Metaphorically, a fetter may be anything that restricts or restrains in any way, hence the word "''unfettered''". History The earliest fetters found in archaeological excavations date from the prehistoric age and are mostly of the puzzle lock type. Fetters are also referenced in ancient times in the Bible (, , ) A variety of restraint types already existed in Roman times. Some early versions of cup lock shackles existed at this time. These were widely used in medieval times, but their use declined when mass production made the manufact ...
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Lugal-irra And Meslamta-ea
In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Lugal-irra () and Meslamta-ea () are a set of twin gods who were worshipped in the village of Kisiga, located in northern Babylonia. The Great Twins were regarded as guardians of doorways and they may have originally been envisioned as a set of twins guarding the gates of the Underworld, who chopped the dead into pieces as they passed through the gates. During the Neo-Assyrian period, small depictions of them would be buried at entrances, with Lugal-irra always on the left and Meslamta-ea always on the right. They are identical and are shown wearing horned caps and each holding an axe and a mace. They are identified with the constellation Gemini, which is named after them. See also * Castor and Pollux * Alexiares and Anicetus, twin-sons of Heracles/Hercules and Hebe/Juventas; alongside their father, they are the guardians of the gates of Mount Olympus. * Janus * Nio * A-un ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit ...
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Tablet Of Destinies (mythic Item)
In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies ( sux, ; akk, ṭup šīmātu, ṭuppi šīmāti, script=Latn, italic=yes) was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permanent legal document, conferred upon the god Enlil his supreme authority as ruler of the universe. Other mention In the Sumerian poem '' Ninurta and the Turtle'' it is the god Enki, rather than Enlil, who holds the Tablet, as Enki has stolen it and brought it to the ''Abzu''. Both this poem and the Akkadian Anzû poem also share concern of the theft of the tablet by the bird Imdugud (Sumerian) or Anzû (Akkadian).. In the Babylonian '' Enuma Elish'', Tiamat bestows this tablet on Kingu and gives him command of her army. In the end, the Tablet always returns to Enlil. See also *List of Mythological Objects Mythological objects encompass a variety of items (e.g. weapons, armor, clothing) found in mythology, legend, folklore, tall tal ...
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Anzû
Anzû, also known as dZû and Imdugud ( Sumerian: ''AN.IM.DUGUD MUŠEN''), is a lesser divinity or monster in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu and the wide Earth, or as son of Siris. Anzû was depicted as a massive bird who can breathe fire and water, although Anzû is alternately depicted as a lion-headed eagle. Stephanie Dalley, in ''Myths from Mesopotamia'', writes that "the ''Epic of Anzu'' is principally known in two versions: an Old Babylonian version of the early second millennium C giving the hero as Ningirsu; and 'The Standard Babylonian' version, dating to the first millennium BC, which appears to be the most quoted version, with the hero as Ninurta". However, the Anzu character does not appear as often in some other writings, as noted below. Name The name of the mythological being usually called Anzû was actually written in the oldest Sumerian cuneiform texts as (''AN.IM.MIMUŠEN''; the cuneiform sign 𒄷, or ''MU ...
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Third Dynasty Of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century Common Era, BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider to have been a nascent empire. The Third Dynasty of Ur is commonly abbreviated as Ur III by historians studying the period. It is numbered in reference to previous dynasties, such as the First Dynasty of Ur (26-25th century BC), but it seems the once supposed Second Dynasty of Ur was never recorded. The Third Dynasty of Ur was the last Sumerian dynasty which came to preeminent power in Mesopotamia. It began after several centuries of control by Akkadian Empire, Akkadian and Gutian dynasty of Sumer, Gutian kings. It controlled the cities of Isin, Larsa, and Eshnunna and extended as far north as Upper Mesopotamia. History The Third Dynasty of Ur arose some time after the fall of the Akkadian Empire, Akkad Dynasty. The period betwe ...
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