The cuneiform an sign (or sumerogram AN, in Akkadian consisting of ASH 𒀸 and MAŠ 𒈦), is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for ''an'', and an alphabetic sign used for ''a'', or ''n''; it is common in both the '' Epic of Gilgamesh'' over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...

, and other cuneiform texts. It is also used for the designation of a "god", and is sometimes represented as a superscript: ^d, or capitalized: ^D, for "

dingir ''Dingir'' (, usually transliterated DIĜIR, ) is a Sumerian word for "god" or "goddess". Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is con ...

", English language, "god". The example photo at right shows (2nd list), a list of 14 named gods, all with "an"; the first pair on the list ''AN-UTU'', or ^D UTU, refers to the "sun-god", using Ud (cuneiform), as the sumerogram, namely

UTU (sun Sumerogram) Utu or UTU can refer to the following things: *Utu, a Sumerian deity *Utu language *Utu (Māori concept), a Māori word referring to a ritualised revenge or payback to restore balance ** ''Utu'' (film), a New Zealand film *Utu (gunboat), an Estoni ...

. Cuneiform ''an'' can also be found in compound form with another cuneiform sign, an example being

DAGAL The cuneiform DAGAL sign, which is a capital letter (majuscule) Sumerogram with the Akkadian language meaning of ''to be wide'', or ''extensive''; also "many", Akkadian "rapāšu", is a minor usage cuneiform sign used in the Amarna letter ...

, . The older version of DAGAL used the 'god symbol' as a star within the sign: ; (older version of

, incorporating "star": ).

''Epic of Gilgamesh'' usage

In the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', Tablets I-XII, ''"an"'' is used for the following meanings by the following numbers: an-(120) times, ìl-(0) times, ^d-(593), AN-(27), and DINGIR-(76) times.

List of Babylonian gods, etc.

From Budge's revised book on ''Babylonian Life and History'', a list of many of the major gods from Babylonian history (and Sumerian): *Anu, or Anum *Bêl (An Be), ** or

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...

(An En lil), -? * Ea (An É a), *The "Moon-God": ** Sin (An-Sin), An ** Enzu (An En- zu) **Nannaru (An LUGAL Ki) *

Shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

(An UTU) *The "Wind-God": (see ''Photo-caption'', above) ** Adad **Rammânu *The "Great God-of-Babylon": **

Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...

or **Bêl-Marduk *

Nabû Nabu ( akk, cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû syr, ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō) is the ancient Mesopotamian patron god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian "nab ...

(Nebo) (An ?, or An " pa"), -?, or *

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 En ...

(Enurta) *

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

* Gibil * Nusku (An Nus?- ku), * Irra * Ashshur * Tiamat * Apsu ( Abzu) *

Lakhmu Laḫmu ( or , ) is a class of apotropaic creatures from Mesopotamian mythology. While the name has its origin in a Semitic language, Lahmu was present in Sumerian sources in pre- Sargonic times already. Iconography and character Laḫmu is ...

* Lakhamu * Anshar * Kishar * Mummu (An Mu- um- mu), --- * Kingu * Ishtar * Ninlil (An Nin Lil) * Damkina (An Dam Ki na), -Dam-

List of gods and associated temples, towns, etc.

*Anu, or Anum, the E-anna in Uruk *Bêl (An Be) ** or

(An En lil),

E-kur Ekur ( ), also known as Duranki, is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer. ...

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...

* Ea (An É a), E-apsu in Eridu; Ibex *The "Moon-God": ** Sin (An-Sin), E-gishshirgal in Ur, E-khulkhul in Harran ** Enzu (An En- zu) **Nannaru (An LUGAL Ki) *

(An UTU) *The "Wind-God": ** Adad **Rammânu *The "Great God-of-Babylon": **

( E-sagila in

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, w/"serpent-gryphon", No. "Ten", Jupiter), or, **Bêl-Marduk *

(Nebo) (An ?, or An " pa"), Shrines at

Borsippa Borsippa ( Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI; Akkadian: ''Barsip'' and ''Til-Barsip'')The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. or Birs Nimrud (having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeologi ...

, and Calah-( Nimrud)

References

* Budge. ''Babylonian Life and History,'' Budge, E.A. Wallace (Barnes & Noble edition), c 2005 (c 1883, revised 1925), 245 pages. (softcover, ) *

Moran, William L. William Lambert Moran (August 11, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States. In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his ...

1987, 1992. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ) * Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives of Assyria State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages.(softcover, )-(Volume 1) File:MLC 1805.jpg, Line drawing with usage of ''an'' sign.
Used in lines 1-(=0), 4, and 10. File:Amran Kudurru 03.jpg, Amran

Kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...

(used at beginning of 1st line) Cuneiform signs