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Nunura
Nunura (also transcribed Nunurra) was a Mesopotamian god regarded as a divine potter. He was also associated with apotriopaic magic and exorcisms, and in multiple incantations he is invoked against demons. Late god lists equate him with Ea, which reflects a broader trend of treating artisan deities as aspects of that god. Name and character Nunura's name was written in cuneiform as '' dNun-ur4-ra'' or ''dNin-ur4-ra'', though the latter spelling is considered unusual. The name could also be represented by the logogram dBÁḪAR, "potter". However, this combinatio of signs could also be used to write at least five other theonyms: Aruru, Lil, Enenuru, Nunšar and Šaršar, the last three of which are secondary names of Enki/Ea. Additionally, in the lexical list ''Diri Nippur'' the meaning of two logograms, dBÁḪAR and dSIMUG ("smith"), is seemingly swapped around, with the former explained as the blacksmith god Ninagal and the latter as Nunura. Markham J. Geller refers to Nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninshubur
Ninshubur (; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess whose primary role was that of the '' sukkal'' (divine vizier) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ninshubur was regarded as female, in other cases the deity was considered male, possibly due to syncretism with other divine messengers, such as Ilabrat. No certain information about her genealogy is present in any known sources, and she was typically regarded as unmarried. As a ''sukkal'', she functioned both as a messenger deity and as an intercessor between other members of the pantheon and human petitioners. Due to the belief that she could intercede with higher ranking deities, Ninshubur was popular in everyday religion, and many theophoric names invoking her and other references to personal worship are known. Her original cult center was Akkil, but in the Early Dynastic Period she was already worshiped in nearby Uruk. She was also int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninagal
Ninagal ( sux, ) or Ninagala was a Mesopotamian god regarded as a divine smith. He was commonly associated with other deities connected to craftsmanship. Texts from the reign of Ur-Baba of Lagash indicate that he was the personal deity of this king, who built a temple dedicated to him, most likely in Girsu. He is well attested in texts dealing with the preparation of statues of deities, as well as other cultic paraphernalia. Name and character Ninagal was regarded a divine smith. He could be called the "chief smith" (''simug gal'') of An. His name was written in cuneiform as '' d Nin-á- gal'', and can be translated from Sumerian as "lord of the big arm". It could also be represented logographically using the sign SIMUG, "smith", and writings such as dSIMUG or dNIN.SIMUG are also attested. However, in a single incantation a separate god named Ninsimug appears alongside Ninagal, with the two seemingly described as responsible for different types of metalworking. In the lexica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porringer
A porringer is a shallow bowl, between 4 and 6 inches (100 to 150mm) in diameter, and 1½" to 3" (40 to 80mm) deep; the form originated in the medieval period in Europe and was made in wood, ceramic, pewter, cast iron and silver. They had flat, horizontal handles. "The precise purpose of porringers, or écuelles, as they are known in France, is in dispute; but it is thought that they were used to hold broth or gruel." Colonial porringers tended to have one handle, whereas European ones tended to have two handles on opposite sides, on which the owner's initials were sometimes engraved, and they occasionally came with a lid. Porringers resembled the smaller quaich, a Scottish drinking vessel. One can discern authentic pewter porringers in much the same way that silver can be authenticated from the touch marks that were stamped either into the bowl of the porringer or on its base. Wooden porringers are occasionally found from excavations; e.g. 16th-century example from Southwark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimrud
Nimrud (; syr, ܢܢܡܪܕ ar, النمرود) is an ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah ( ar, السلامية), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. It was a major Assyrian city between approximately 1350 BC and 610 BC. The city is located in a strategic position north of the point that the river Tigris meets its tributary the Great Zab.Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam 1913-36 p.923 The city covered an area of . The ruins of the city were found within of the modern-day village of |
Kusu (goddess)
Kusu was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with purification and with grain. It is not certain which aspect of her character was originally primary, and which developed secondarily. She was considered to be a member of the court of Enlil, and in a number of text appears with other deities connected to him, such as Nuska. She could also be associated with other deities responsible for exorcisms, such as Ningirima. Multiple sanctuaries dedicated to her existed in Nippur, though she was also worshiped in other cities, for example Lagash and Assur. In the Seleucid Empire, Seleucid period, she was additionally introduced to the local pantheon of Uruk. Character Kusu was a goddess associated with purification. She was a deification of a type of ritual censer, ''nignakku'', or at least was believed to use this tool herself. Other implements she was associated with include the ''gizzilû'' (torch) and the ''egubbû'' (a type of vessel). She was also associated with grain. It has been sugge ... [...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. 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 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 𒀭𒉈 ('' dLi9-si4'') in cuneiform. It is sometimes transcribed as Lisi instead. The reading with ''n'' as the final consonant is based on genitive forms in wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nisaba
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Sumerian texts end with the doxology "praise to Nisaba" as a result. She declined after the Old Babylonian period due to the rise of the new scribe god, Nabu, though she did not fully vanish from Mesopotamian religion and attestations from as late as the neo-Babylonian period are known. In myths and god lists, she was a part of the circle of Enlil, alongside her husband Haya. In the myth ''Enlil and Sud'' she plays an important role due to being the mother of the eponymous deity. Enlil seeks her permission to marry Sud with the help of his sukkal (attedant deity) Nuska. Both this narrative and other sources attest that she and her daughter were regarded as very close. Outside Mesopotamia her name was used to logographically represent thes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ningirima
Ningirima was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with incantations, attested already in the Early Dynastic period. She was also associated with snakes, fish and water. According to the god list ''An = Anum'' and other sources, she was regarded as a sister of Enlil. While suggestions that she was conflated with the mongoose deity Ninkilim can be found in modern literature, this theory finds no direct support in primary sources. Her importance declined in the second millennium BCE, but in some locations, such as Ur, she was still worshiped after the Achaemenid conquest of Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE. Character The typical early writing of the name, known from Tell Fara, Abu Salabikh and Ebla is d Nin-A.MUŠ.ḪA.DU, meaning "mistress of snake and fish water" in Sumerian. The sequence A.MUŠ.ḪA.DU could be read as ''girima''. Later the name was commonly spelled syllabically, for example ''dNi-gi-ri-ma''. A text from Lagash refers to her as the "great true-eyed one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay into pottery, tiles and bricks. Various industries use rotary kilns for pyroprocessing—to calcinate ores, to calcinate limestone to lime for cement, and to transform many other materials. Pronunciation and etymology According to the Oxford English Dictionary, kiln was derived from the words cyline, cylene, cyln(e) in Old English, in turn derived from Latin ''culina'' ("kitchen"). In Middle English the word is attested as kulne, kyllne, kilne, kiln, kylle, kyll, kil, kill, keele, kiele. For over 600 years, the final "n" in kiln was silent. It wasn't until the late 20th century where the "n" began to be pronounced. This is due to a phenomenon known as spelling pronunciation, where the pronunciation of a word is surmised from its spelling an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Udug-hul
The udug (), later known in Akkadian as the utukku, were an ambiguous class of demons from ancient Mesopotamian mythology who were sometimes thought of as good and sometimes as evil. In exorcism texts, the "good udug" is sometimes invoked against the "evil udug". The word is generally ambiguous and is sometimes used to refer to demons as a whole rather than a specific kind of demon. No visual representations of the udug have yet been identified, but descriptions of it ascribe to it features often given to other ancient Mesopotamian demons: a dark shadow, absence of light surrounding it, poison, and a deafening voice. The surviving ancient Mesopotamian texts giving instructions for exorcizing the evil udug are known as the ''Udug Hul'' texts. These texts emphasize the evil udug's role in causing disease and the exorcist's role in curing the disease. Identity Of all Mesopotamian demons, the udug is the least clearly defined. The word originally did not connote whether the demon i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akkadian Language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218-280 is an extinct East Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia ( Akkad, Assyria, Isin, Larsa and Babylonia) from the third millennium BC until its gradual replacement by Akkadian-influenced Old Aramaic among Mesopotamians by the 8th century BC. It is the earliest documented Semitic language. It used the cuneiform script, which was originally used to write the unrelated, and also extinct, Sumerian (which is a language isolate). Akkadian is named after the city of Akkad, a major centre of Mesopotamian civilization during the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334–2154 BC). The mutual influence between Sumerian and Akkadian had led scholars to describe the languages as a '' Sprachbund''. Akkadian proper names were first attested in Sumerian texts from around the mid 3rd-mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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