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Ninšar
Ninšar ( sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒊬, dNIN.SAR; also read Nin-nisig) was a Mesopotamian goddess commonly associated with the preparation of meat. The reading of her name remains uncertain, and its possible etymology appears to be unrelated to her role in the Mesopotamian pantheon. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur, though her original cult center was the settlement AB.NAGAR. Name The reading of the theonym written in cuneiform as NIN.SAR remains uncertain. Wilfred G. Lambert considered Ninšar to be the correct reading. This option is also accepted by Andrew R. George. Antoine Cavigneaux and Manfred Krebernik instead argue that the correct reading might be Nin-nisig. Ninmu and Ninezenna have also been proposed as alternatives. According to the god list ''An = Anum'', the name could also be represented by the logograms dMUḪALDIM ("cook") or dGÍRI ("knife"). A syllabic spelling, ''Nin-nì-si'', might be present in a god list from Mari, but both the restoration of the final sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninkasi
Ninkasi was the Mesopotamian goddess of beer and brewing. It is possible that in the first millennium BCE she was known under the variant name Kurunnītu, derived from a term referring to a type of high quality beer. She was associated with both positive and negative consequences of the consumption of beer. In god lists, such as the ''An = Anum'' list and the Weidner god list, she usually appears among the courtiers of the god Enlil, alongside deities such as Ninimma and Ninmada. She could also be paired with Siraš, a goddess of similar character, who sometimes was regarded as her sister. A possible association between her and the underworld deities Nungal and Laṣ is also attested, possibly in reference to the possible negative effects of alcohol consumption. A number of works of Mesopotamian literature refer to Ninkasi, for example the myths ''Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave'' and ''Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird''. A hymn dedicated to her, known simply as the ''Hymn to Ninkasi ... [...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] |
Šassūrātu
Šassūrātu were a group of Mesopotamian goddesses regarded as the assistants of Ninmah. Their name can be translated as "midwives" and they were considered to be tutelary goddesses of pregnant women. They appear in the myth ''Enki and Ninmah,'' where they receive individual names, as well as in a late version of ''Atrahasis''. Name and character The name of the Šassūrātu is an Akkadian derivative of the Sumerian word ''šassūru'', which can be translated as "womb" or "midwife." It is grammatically plural. As a theonym, it referred to a group of seven goddesses who functioned as the tutelary deities of pregnant women and birth. As such, they were regarded as helpers of the goddess Ninmah. Most likely they were believed to assist her during the birth of every human child. Manfred Krebernik characterizes them as "mother goddesses," a term commonly employed to refer to deities who took part in creation of mankind and of other gods. However, as noted by Julia M. Asher-Greve, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninimma
Ninimma was a Mesopotamian goddess best known as a courtier of Enlil. She is well attested as a deity associated with scribal arts, described in modern publications as a divine scholar, scribe or librarian by modern researchers. She could also serve as an assistant of the birth goddess Ninmah, and a hymn describes her partaking in cutting of umbilical cords and determination of fates. It has also been suggested that she was associated with vegetation. In the Middle Babylonian period she additionally came to be viewed as a healing deity. Nippur was Ninimma's main cult center, though she is also known from documents from other cities, such as Adab and Uruk. In known sources, she appears alongside deities such as Nisaba, who like her was associated with scribes, or other members of Enlil's court, such as Shuzianna and Ninkasi. She is sparsely attested in literary texts, with only two hymns dedicated to her presently known. She also appears in the myth ''Enki and Ninmah'' and in a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninmada
Ninmada was a name applied to two separate Mesopotamian deities, a god and a goddess. The female Ninmada was a divine snake charmer, and in the myth ''Enki and Ninmah'' she appears as an assistant of the eponymous goddess. The male Ninmada was called the "worshiper of An" and was regarded as a brother of the snake god Ninazu. It is assumed that these deities could be partially conflated with each other or shared a similar origin, though proposals that there was only one Ninmada are also present in modern scholarship. Character The name Ninmada means "lord of the country" or "lady of the country" in Sumerian. '' Nin'' is a grammatically neutral term and can be found in the names of both female (Ninisina, Ninkasi, Ninmena) and male (Ningirsu, Ninazu, Ningishzida) deities. Some forty percent of earliest Sumerian deities had such names, including city gods, but also servants and children of major deities. It is assumed that there were two separate deities named Ninmada, but Antoine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Ennugi
Ennugi () was a Mesopotamian god associated with agriculture, especially irrigation, and with the underworld. According to an incantation he was also considered to be the creator of grubs. He was considered a member of the court of Enlil, and appears in god lists alongside its other members, such as Ninimma and Kusu. He was worshiped in Nippur, where his temple Erabriri was most likely located. He is also mentioned in a number of myths, including '' Atra-Hasis'' and the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Character Ennugi was associated with irrigation, though he was not the only Mesopotamian god responsible for it. His epithets highlight his agricultural character. He could be called the "lord of dike and ditch" or the "lord of the field and ploughmen." He is also mentioned in the text ''Lipit-Ishtar and the Plow'' as one of multiple deities partaking in fieldworks, the other ones being Ninurta, Lisin, Suen, Nuska and Ninamaškuga. An incantation states that Ennugi was the creator of g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Babylonian Period
The Middle Babylonian period, also known as the Kassite period, in southern Mesopotamia is dated from c. 1595 BC to 1155 BC and began after the Hittites sacked the city of Babylon. The Kassites, whose dynasty is synonymous with the period, eventually assumed political control over the region and consolidated their power by subjugating the Sealand dynasty in 1475 BC. After the subjugation of the Sealand dynasty, the Kassites unified the region of Babylonia into a single political entity. At the height of the Middle Babylonian period, the Kassite kings were engaging in commerce, trade, and organising diplomatic marriages with the kings of Egypt and other regional powers. However, after a period of gradual decline, the Middle Babylonian period collapsed with the fall of the Kassite dynasty in 1155 BC. The collapse came as a result of an Assyrian invasion (1232 BC – 1225 BC), that temporarily displaced the Kassites from their rule over southern Mesopotamia. Finally, the Elamites con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kassites
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 BC, and established a dynasty generally assumed to have been based first in that city, after a hiatus. Later rule shifted to the new city of Dur-Kurigalzu. By the time of Babylon's fall, the Kassites had already been part of the region for a century and a half, acting sometimes with the Babylon's interests and sometimes against. There are records of Kassite and Babylonian interactions, in the context of military employment, during the reigns of Babylonian kings Samsu-iluna (1686 to 1648 BC), Abī-ešuh, and Ammī-ditāna. The origin and classification of the Kassite language, like the Sumerian language and Hurrian language, is uncertain, and, also like the two latter languages, has generated a wide array of speculation over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ur III Period
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century 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 and 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 Akkad Dynasty. The period between the last powerful king of the Akkad Dynasty, Shar-Kali-Sharri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umma
Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been suggested that it was located at Umm al-Aqarib, less than to its northwest or was even the name of both cities. One or both were the leading city of the Early Dynastic kingdom of Gišša, with the most recent excavators putting forth that Umm al-Aqarib was prominent in EDIII but Jokha rose to preeminence later. History In the early Sumerian text ''Inanna's descent to the netherworld'', Inanna dissuades demons from the netherworld from taking Shara, patron of Umma, who was living in squalor. They eventually take Dumuzid king of Uruk instead, who lived in palatial opulence. Best known for its long frontier conflict with Lagash, as reported circa 2400 BC by Entemena, the city reached its zenith c. 2350 BC, u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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