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Dagon
Dagon or Dagan (; ) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria, across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settlements situated in the upper Euphrates area, he was regarded as the "father of gods" similar to Mesopotamian Enlil or Hurrian Kumarbi, as well as a lord of the land, a god of prosperity, and a source of royal legitimacy. A large number of theophoric names, both masculine and feminine, attests that he was a popular deity. He was also worshiped further east, in Mesopotamia, where many rulers regarded him as the god capable of granting them kingship over the western areas. Attestations of Dagan from coastal areas are much less frequent and come mostly from the northern city of Ugarit, where Dagan's cult had a limited scope. According to the Hebrew Bible, Dagan was also the national god of the Philistines, with temples at Ashdod and Gaza, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philistines
Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines originated from a Greek immigrant group from the Aegean. The immigrant group settled in Canaan around 1175 BC, during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Over time, they intermixed with the indigenous Canaanite societies and assimilated elements from them, while preserving their own unique culture. In 604 BC, the Philistines, who had been under the rule of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), were ultimately vanquished by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Much like the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Philistines lost their autonomy by the end of the Iron Age, becoming vassals to the Assyrians, Egyptians, and later Babylonians. Historical sources suggest that Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Ashkelon and Ekron due to the Phil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El (deity)
El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning 'god' or 'deity', or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ''ila'', represents the predicate form in the Old Akkadian and Amorite languages. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-. Originally a Canaanite deity known as ''El'', ''Al'' or ''Il'' the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia. Among the Hittites, El was known as Elkunirša ( ). Although El gained different appearances and meanings in different languages over time, it continues to exist as ''El-'', ''-il'' or ''-el'' in compound proper noun phrases such as Elizabeth, Ishmael, Israel, Samuel, Daniel, Michael, Gabriel (Arabic: Jibra'il), and Bethel. Linguistic forms and meanings Cognate forms of El are found throughout the Semitic languages. They include Ugaritic , pl. ; Phoenician pl. ; Hebrew , pl. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hadad
Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From the Levant, Hadad was introduced to Mesopotamia by the Amorites, where he became known as the Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) god Adad. Adad and Iškur are usually written with the logogram - the same symbol used for the Hurrian god Teshub. Hadad was also called Rimon/Rimmon, Pidar, Rapiu, Baal-Zephon, or often simply Baʿal (Lord); however, the latter title was also used for other gods. The bull was the symbolic animal of Hadad. He appeared bearded, often holding a club and thunderbolt and wearing a bull-horned headdress. Hadad was equated with the Greek god Zeus, the Roman god Jupiter ( Jupiter Dolichenus), as well as the Babylonian Bel. The Baal Cycle or Epic of Baal is a collection of stories about the Canaanite Baal, also refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumarbi
Kumarbi, also known as Kumurwe, Kumarwi and Kumarma, was a Hurrian god. He held a senior position in the Hurrian pantheon, and was described as the "father of gods". He was portrayed as an old, deposed king of the gods, though this most likely did not reflect factual loss of the position of the head of the pantheon in Hurrian religion, but only a mythological narrative. It is often assumed that he was an agricultural deity, though this view is not universally accepted and the evidence is limited. He was also associated with prosperity. It was believed that he resided in the underworld. Multiple Hurrian deities were regarded as Kumarbi's children, including Teshub, whom he conceived after biting off the genitals of Anu. They were regarded as enemies. In myths dealing with the conflict between them Kumarbi fathers various enemies meant to supplant the weather god, such as the stone giant Ullikummi. Kumarbi was also closely associated with other deities who were regarded as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ugarit
Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 1928 with the Ugaritic texts. Its ruins are often called Ras Shamra after the headland where they lie. History Ugarit saw its beginnings in the Neolithic period, the site was occupied from the end of the 8th millennium BC and continued as a settlement through the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. It was during the late bronze age that Ugarit experienced significant growth, culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom of Ugarit. The city had close connections to the Hittite Empire, in later times as a vassal, sent tribute to Ancient Egypt, Egypt at times, and maintained trade and diplomatic connections with Cyprus (then called Alashiya), documented in the archives recovered from the site and corroborated by Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean and Cyp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mari, Syria
Mari (Cuneiform: , ''ma-riki'', modern Tell Hariri; ) was an ancient Semitic people, Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Its remains form a Tell (archaeology), tell 11 kilometers north-west of Abu Kamal on the Euphrates, Euphrates River western bank, some 120 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor. It flourished as a trade center and hegemonic state between 2900 BC and 1759 BC. The city was built in the middle of the Euphrates trade routes between Sumer in the south and the Ebla, Eblaite kingdom and the Levant in the west. Mari was first abandoned in the middle of the 26th century BC but was rebuilt and became the capital of a hegemonic East Semitic languages, East Semitic state before 2500 BC. This second Mari engaged in a long war with its rival Ebla and is known for its strong affinity with Sumerian culture. It was destroyed in the 23rd century BC by the Akkadians, who allowed the city to be rebuilt and appointed a military governor (''Shakkanakku''). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuttul
Tuttul (Akkadian language, Akkadian: tu-ut-tu-ulki, Ugaritic: 𐎚𐎚𐎍 – ) was an ancient Near East city. Tuttul is identified with the archaeological site of Tell Bi'a (also Tall Bi'a) in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. Tell Bi'a is located near the modern city of Raqqa and at the confluence of the rivers Balikh River, Balikh and Euphrates. Archaeology The site has an area of about 40 hectares with the main mound and a few subsidiary mounds surrounded by small mounds which are the remains of a city wall. After studying texts at Mari, Syria, Mari, Georges Dossin traveled to a site he called "Tell Biya" and identified it as Tuttul, ending much speculation as to its location. Tuttul appeared often in the texts from Mari. Excavation was conducted in twelve seasons between 1980 and 1995 by a team from the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft led by Eva Strommenger. The focus of the excavation has been on the central mound, Mound E. It was topped by the remains of a Byzantine period, Byzantin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanchuniathon
Sanchuniathon (; Ancient Greek: ; probably from , " Sakkun has given"), variant ''šknytn'' also known as Sanchoniatho the Berytian, was a Phoenician author. His three works, originally written in the Phoenician language, survive only in partial paraphrase and a summary of a Greek translation by Philo of Byblos recorded by the Christian bishop Eusebius. These few fragments comprise the most extended literary source concerning Phoenician religion in either Greek or Latin: Phoenician sources, along with all of Phoenician literature, were lost with the parchment on which they were written. The author All knowledge of Sanchuniathon and his work comes from the '' Praeparatio Evangelica'' of Eusebius (I. chs ix-x), which contains some information about him, along with the only surviving excerpts from his writing, as summarized and quoted from his purported translator, Philo of Byblos. Eusebius quotes neo-Platonist writer Porphyry as stating that Sanchuniathon of Berytus (Beiru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaza City
Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of 590,481 people as of 2017, Gaza City was the most populous city in Palestine until the Gaza war caused most of the population to be displaced. Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC, Gaza City has been dominated by different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their Philistia, pentapolis after the ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Roman Empire, Gaza City experienced relative peace and its Port of Gaza, Mediterranean port flourished. In 635 AD, it became the first city in the Palestine (region), Palestine region to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Fiqh, Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusader states were established in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enlil
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, 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 Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Babylonian Empire, Babylonians, Assyrian Empire, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His Cult (religious practice), cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Baby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shalash
Shalash (Šalaš) was a Syrian goddess best known as the wife of Dagan, the head of the pantheon of the middle Euphrates area. She was already worshiped in Ebla and Tuttul in the third millennium BCE, and later her cult is attested in Mari as well. She was also introduced to the Mesopotamian and Hurrian pantheons. Both in ancient Mesopotamian texts and in modern scholarships a long-standing issue is the differentiation between Shalash and the similarly named Shala, wife of the weather god Ishkur/Adad in Mesopotamia. Name The etymology of the name Shalash is unknown. Based on the attestations in the Ebla texts, theories of Hurrian origin can be rejected. However, as noted by Alfonso Archi, there is no plausible Semitic etymology either, similar as in the case of other Syrian deities like Kubaba or Aštabi. Lluis Feliu proposes that it might have originated in an unknown substrate language. The spellings d''sa-a-ša'', d''sa-a-sa'' and d''ša-la-ša'' are attested in docum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terqa
Terqa is an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had become Sirqu by Neo-Assyrian times. Location Terqa was located near the mouth of the Khabur river, thus being a trade hub on the Euphrates and Khabur rivers. To the south was Mari. To the north was Tuttul (Tell Bi'a) near the mouth of the Balikh river. Terqa ruled a larger hinterland. Terqa was always second to Mari, as the valley could hold only one political main center. The region was dominated by arid/non-irrigable land, with a characteristic relationship to water resources and land exploitation. Amorite tribal groups included the Khaeans and Suteans south of Mari. Terqa would politically play to role as a minor provincial center with a governor or a petty local kingdom. History Little is yet known of the early history of Terqa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
