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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 ...
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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 i ...
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Hurrian Religion
The Hurrian religion was the polytheistic religion of the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of the Near East who chiefly inhabited the north of the Fertile Crescent. While the oldest evidence goes back to the third millennium BCE, is best attested in cuneiform sources from the second millennium BCE written not only in the Hurrian language, but also Akkadian language, Akkadian, Hittite language, Hittite and Ugaritic. It was shaped by the contacts between Hurrians and various cultures they coexisted with. As a result, the Hurrian pantheon included both natively Hurrian deities and those of foreign origin, adopted from List of Mesopotamian deities, Mesopotamian, Syrian (chiefly Eblaite and Ugaritic religion, Ugaritic), Anatolian and Elamite beliefs. The culture of the Hurrians were not entirely homogeneous, and different local religious traditions are documented in sources from Hurrian kingdoms such as Arrapha, Kizzuwatna and Mitanni, as well as from cities with sizeable Hurrian populatio ...
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Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sumer under the name "Inanna", and later by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name Ishtar, (occasionally represented by the logogram ). She was known as the " Queen of Heaven" and was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main cult center. She was associated with the planet Venus and her most prominent symbols included the lion and the eight-pointed star. Her husband was the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz) and her , or personal attendant, was the goddess Ninshubur (who later became conflated with the male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal). Inanna was worshiped in Sumer at least as early as the Uruk period ( 4000 BCE – 3100 BCE), but she had little cult activity before the conqu ...
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Niĝgina
Kittum, also known as Niĝgina, was a Mesopotamian goddess who was regarded as the embodiment of truth. She belonged to the circle of the sun god Utu and was associated with law and justice. Character Kittum's name means "truth" in Akkadian and she regarded as a divine hypostasis of this concept. Kittum's Sumerian counterpart, Niĝgina, is not attested before the Old Babylonian period, and it possible that the Akkadian name was older, which would make Niĝgina an artificial translation. A possible forerunner to the idea of a goddess embodying truth are proverbs or dialogues copied in scribal schools in which truth was personified. Names with the element ''niĝgina'' are already attested in sources from the Ur III period, one example being Niĝginaidug ("truth is good"), but there is no indication that they were necessarily theophoric, and the word is written without the '' dingir'' sign which preceded divine names. Kittum could alternatively be equated with another of Utu's cou ...
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Sukkalmah Dynasty
The Sukkalmah Dynasty (c. 1900-1500 BCE), also Epartid Dynasty after the founder Eparti/Ebarat, was an early dynasty of West Asia in the ancient region of Elam, to the southeast of Babylonia. It corresponds to the latest part of the Old Elamite period (dated c. 2700-1600 BC). The Sukkalmah dynasty followed the Shimashki Dynasty (c. 2200-1900 BCE). The name of the dynasty comes from the name ''Sukkalmah'' meaning "Grand Regent", the title used by Elamite rulers. Numerous cuneiform documents and inscriptions remain from this period, particularly from the area of Susa, making the Sukkalmah period one of the best documented in Elamite history. Origin of the title "Sukkalmah" ''Sukkalmah'' was a Sumerian title first attested in the Pre-Sargonic texts from Girsu, where it seems to have had the meaning of "prime minister" or "grand vizier." The title was well-attested under the powerful Ur III state, where it remained associated with Girsu and nearby Lagash. The Sukkalmahs of Lag ...
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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 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-Shar ...
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Translators
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''translating'' (a written text) and ''interpreting'' (oral or signed communication between users of different languages); under this distinction, translation can begin only after the appearance of writing within a language community. A translator always risks inadvertently introducing source-language words, grammar, or syntax into the target-language rendering. On the other hand, such "spill-overs" have sometimes imported useful source-language calques and loanwords that have enriched target languages. Translators, including early translators of sacred texts, have helped shape the very languages into which they have translated. Because of the laboriousness of the translation process, since the 1940s efforts have been made, with varying degrees ...
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Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)
The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to c. 2900–2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It saw the development of writing and the formation of the first cities and states. The ED itself was characterized by the existence of multiple city-states: small states with a relatively simple structure that developed and solidified over time. This development ultimately led to the unification of much of Mesopotamia under the rule of Sargon, the first monarch of the Akkadian Empire. Despite this political fragmentation, the ED city-states shared a relatively homogeneous material culture. Sumerian cities such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Umma, and Nippur located in Lower Mesopotamia were very powerful and influential. To the north and west stretched states centered on cities such as Kish, Mari, Nagar, and Ebla. The study of Central and Lower Mesopotamia has long be ...
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Girsu
Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. History Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but significant levels of activity began in the Early Dynastic period (2900-2335 BC). At the time of Gudea, during the Second Dynasty of Lagash, Girsu became the capital of the Lagash kingdom and continued to be its religious center after political power had shifted to city of Lagash. During the Ur III period, Girsu was a major administrative center for the empire. After the fall of Ur, Girsu declined in importance, but remained inhabited until approximately 200 BC. A 4th century BCE bilingual Greek/Aramaic inscription was found there. Archaeology The site consist of two main mounds, one rising 50 feet above the plain and the other 56 feet. A number of small mounds dot the site. Telloh was the first Sumerian site to be extensively e ...
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Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) was one of the oldest cities of the Ancient Near East. The ancient site of Nina ( Tell Zurghul) is around away and marks the southern limit of the state. Nearby Girsu (modern Telloh), about northwest of Lagash, was the religious center of the Lagash state. Lagash's main temple was the E-ninnu, dedicated to the god Ningirsu. Lagash seems to have incorporated the ancient cities of Girsu, Nina, Uruazagga and Erim. History From inscriptions found at Girsu such as the Gudea cylinders, it appears that Lagash was an important Sumerian city in the late 3rd millennium BC. It was at that time ruled by independent kings, Ur-Nanshe (24th century BC) and his successors, who were engaged in contests with the Elamites to the east and the kings of ...
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Vizier (Ebla)
Vizier ( or ), is the title used by modern scholars to indicate the head of the administration in the first Eblaite kingdom. The title holder held the highest position after the king and controlled the army. During the reign of king Isar-Damu, the office of vizier became hereditary. Title and responsibilities Vizier is a rendering presented by Alfonso Archi to indicate the second in command official of Ebla, whose native title was probably "head of the administration" (lugal sa-za). Eblaite viziers' authority was of great importance, that they were thought of as kings during the earliest stages of deciphering the tablets of Ebla, as the names of actual monarchs rarely appeared in administrative tablets. Aside from heading the administration, the vizier was in command of the kingdom's trade, army and acted as the head of provincial governors. History The title was not created until after the period of king Igrish-Halam (fl c. 2360 BC), but high officials were already prominent duri ...
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