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Napirisha
Napirisha (Linear Elamite: ''Napirriša'') was an Elamite deity from the region of Anshan, and was the main deity of the kingdom from at least the late 3rd millennium BCE. In Elamite, his name means "Great (-''ša'') God (''napir'')"; in cuneiform texts, the word is written using the ideogram GAL (meaning "great" in Sumerian), which was without a correct interpretation for some time. Napirisha is depicted as an anthropomorphic deity, often with a snake figure that symbolizes primordial waters. He is thus identified with the Mesopotamian god Enki/Ea, who rules the primordial waters of the abyss. In Elam, he was close to the character of Humban, the great god of the Awan region, which he replaced as a titular deity of Elamite kings around 2000 BCE. In Anshan, Napirisha did not have a main temple. Napirisha was in all likelihood worshiped in large, open stone sanctuaries, such as Kurangun; he is probably the deity depicted on bas-reliefs with his consort (Kiririsha?) and other de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiririsha
Kiririsha (Elamite: “great lady”) was a major goddess worshiped in Elam. Early scholarship incorrectly identified her as one and the same as Pinikir, an unrelated goddess from a different part of Elam. Character Kiririsha is regarded as one of the most prominent Elamite deities by modern researchers. Elamite texts refer to her as “mother of gods.” An inscription of Hanni of Ayapir from the neo-Elamite period describes her, Napirisha and Tepti as gods “who have always protected water and earth” or “who have let thrive water and earth.” As Napirisha’s association with water is well attested, Wouter Henkelman proposes that Kirirsha could possibly be connected to earth, and that she is the deity whose name is only represented by the logogram KI (“earth” in Sumerian) in the Persepolis fortification archive. Kiririsha additionally also had a presently unclear association with death, as indicated by her epithet ''zana Liyan lahakara'', “lady of the death at L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems from the Sumerian transliteration ''elam(a)'', along with the later Akkadian ''elamtu'', and the Elamite ''haltamti.'' Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana ( ; grc, Σουσιανή ''Sousiānḗ''), a name derived from its capital Susa. Elam was part of the early urbanization of the Near East during the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age). The emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels Sumerian history, where slightly earlier records have been found. In the Old Elamite period ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chogha Zanbil
Chogha Zanbil ( fa, چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately southeast of Susa and north of Ahvaz. History and etymology The Elamite language is a language isolate ''Chogha Zanbil'' is typically translated as 'basket mound.' It was built about 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honor the great god Inshushinak. Its original name was ''Dur Untash'', which means 'town of Untash' in Assyrian, but it is unlikely that many people, besides priests and servants, ever lived there. The complex is protected by three concentric walls which define the main areas of the 'town'. The inner area is wholly taken up with a great ziggurat dedicated to the main god, which was built over an earlier square temple with storage rooms also built by Untash-Napirisha. The middle area holds eleven temples for lesser gods. It is believed that tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humban
Humban ( elx, 𒀭𒃲𒈨𒌍, Humban, ''dhu-um-ban'', also ''dhu-ban'', Huban) was an Elamite god. He is already attested in the earliest sources preserving information about Elamite religion, but seemingly only grew in importance in the neo-Elamite period, in which many kings had theophoric names invoking him. He was connected with the concept of ''kitin'', or divine protection. Due to his role in religion of the neo-Elamite person, he was also worshiped by the earliest Persian rulers from the Achaemenid dynasty, as indicated by the Persepolis Administrative Archives, where he is mentioned more often even than Ahura Mazda. Character It is likely that while in the west of Elam Inshushinak was regarded as the main god, further east the position of Humban was higher. At the same time, with the exception of texts from the Acheamenid period, Humban does not appear in sources from further east than Izeh in Khuzestan. According to Wouter Henkelman, such evidence indicates that what ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inshushinak
Inshushinak (Linear Elamite: ''Inšušnak'', Cuneiform: , ''dinšušinakki''; possibly from Sumerian '' en-šušin-a ', "lord of Susa") was one of the major gods of the Elamites and the protector deity of Susa. He was called ''rišar napappair'', "greatest of gods" in some inscriptions. Character and cult Inshushinak is attested for the first time in the treaty of Naram-sin, much like many other Elamite gods. He played an important role as a god connected to royal power in the official ideology of many Elamite dynasties. King Atta-Hushu of the Sukkalmah dynasty called himself "the shepherd of the god Inshushinak." Multiple rulers dedicated new construction projects to Inshushinak using the formula "for his (eg. the king's) life." Shutrukids commonly used the title "(king) whose kingdom Inshushinak loves." He was also a divine witness of contracts, similar to Mesopotamian Shamash. Sometimes he shared this role with both Shamash and the Elamite god Simut in documents fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite was a writing system used in Elam during the Bronze Age between , and known mainly from a few extant monumental inscriptions. It was used contemporaneously with Elamite cuneiform and records the Elamite language. The French archaeologist and his colleagues have argued that it the oldest known purely phonographic writing system, although others, such as the linguist Michael Mäder, have argued that it is partly logographic. There have been multiple attempts to decipher the script, aided by the discovery of a limited number of multilingual and bigraphic inscriptions. Early efforts by (1912) and Ferdinand Bork (1905, 1924) made limited progress. Later work by and furthered the work., , and Starting in 2018, Desset outlined some of his proposed decipherments of the script accomplished with a team of other scholars. Their proposed near-complete decipherment was published in 2022, being received positively by some researchers while others remain sceptical until det ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ; he, שׁוּשָׁן ; grc-gre, Σοῦσα ; syr, ܫܘܫ ; pal, 𐭮𐭥𐭱𐭩 or ; peo, 𐏂𐎢𐏁𐎠 ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital of Elam and the Achaemenid Empire, and remained a strategic centre during the Parthian and Sasanian periods. The site currently consists of three archaeological mounds, covering an area of around one square kilometre. The modern Iranian town of Shush is located on the site of ancient Susa. Shush is identified as Shushan, mentioned in the Book of Esther and other Biblical books. Name The English name is derived ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon Head-Sb 6420-IMG 7729-gradient
A dragon is a reptile, reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Chinese dragon, Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, Snake, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of Felidae, feline, Reptile, reptilian and Bird, avian features. Scholars believe huge extinct or migrating Crocodile, crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Oriental dragon imagery. Etymology The word ''dragon'' entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French ''dragon'', which in turn comes from la, draconem (nominative ) meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutelary Deity
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the ''genius'', functions as the personal deity or ''daimon'' of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Ancient Greece Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or ''daimonion'': The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Ancient Rome Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awan (ancient City)
Awan ( Sumerian cuneiform: ''a-wa-anki'', "Country of Awan") was an ancient city-state or region of Elam in the western area of modern-day Iran. It often appears together with the cities of Susa and Anshan in the early history of Mesopotamia, having many conflictual interactions with Sumer. The city of Awan still has not been located archaeologically. A dynasty of Elamite rulers was named after the city, the Awan Dynasty. It was founded by a ruler named Peli, and is therefore sometimes called "the dynasty of Peli". According to the Sumerian King List, Awan put an end to the First Dynasty of Ur circa 2450 BCE, and three kings of Awan then ruled over the southern regions of Sumer. Circa 2300-2200 BCE, the Akkadian Empire claimed numerous victories over Awan, under its rulers Sargon of Akkad and Rimush. Naram-Sin however signed an alliance with Khita, the 9th king of Awan. Awan wrestled independence from the Akkadians during the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri. But some time later, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primordial Waters
A cosmic ocean or celestial river is a mythological motif found in the mythology of many cultures and civilizations, representing the world or cosmos as enveloped by primordial waters. In ancient creation texts, the primordial waters are often represented as originally having filled the entire universe, being the first source of the gods cosmos with the act of creation corresponding to the establishment of an inhabitable space separate from the enveloping waters. Fraxkard ( pal, plʾhwklt, Avestan: ''Vourukaša''; also called ''Warkaš'' in Middle Persian) is the cosmic ocean in Iranian mythology. In the first creation story in the Bible the world is also created as a space inside of the water, and is hence surrounded of it, "And God saith, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'" (). See also * Abzu * Ap (water) * Arche * Chaos (cosmogony) * Danava (Hinduism) * Danu (Asura) * Erlik * Firmament * Heh (god) * Herys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg , caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC , deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief , symbol = Goat, fish, goat-fish, chimera , consort = Ninhursag, Damkina , children = Marduk, Dumuzid, Ninsar, Ninkurra, Uttu, Ninti , parents = An and Nammu , Greek_equivalent = Poseidon, PrometheusStephanie West. "Prometheus Orientalized" page 147 Museum Helveticum Vol. 51, No. 3 (1994), pp. 129–149 (21 pages) Enki ( sux, ) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge ('' gestú''), crafts (''gašam''), and creation (''nudimmud''), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea ( akk, ) or Ae in Akkadian (Assyrian- Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos in Greek sources (e.g. Damascius). He was originally the patron god of the city of Eridu, but la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Chogha Zanbil")
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_-_EnKi_(Sumerian).jpg "Click for more on -> Enki")