Mesopotamian Gods
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and Akkadian (Assyrian/Babylonian) peoples living in Mesopotamia (around the area of modern Iraq) that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium to approximately the 3rd century AD. Christianity began to take root among the Mesopotamians in the 1st Century AD, and over the next 300 years the native religion largely died out. However, it is known that the god Ashur was still worshipped in Assyria as late as the 4th Century AD and it is rumoured that Ashurism was still practiced by tiny minorities in northern Assyria (around Harran) until the 17th Century AD. Commonly thought of as a form of paganism, Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, worshipping over two thousand different deities, many of which were associated with a specific city or state within Mesopotamia such as Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Assur, Nineveh, Ur, Uruk, Mari and Babylon.
The peoples of Mesopotamia originally consisted of two peoples, the Semitic Akkadians (later to be known as Assyrians and Babylonians) and the Sumerians. These peoples were not originally one united nation, but members of various different city-states. In the fourth millennium BC, when the first evidence for what is recognisably Mesopotamian religion can be seen with the invention in Mesopotamia of writing circa 3500 BC, the Sumerians appeared, although it is not known if they migrated into the area in pre historic times or whether they were some of the original inhabitants. They settled in southern Mesopotamia, which became known as Sumer, and had a great influence over the Semitic Akkadian peoples and their culture. The Sumerians were incredibly advanced, as well as inventing Writing, they also invented Mathematics, Wheeled Vehicles, Astronomy, Astrology, The Calendar and created the first City States/Nations such as Uruk,Ur, Lagash, Isin, Umma and Larsa. In the north, in an area known as Akkad, a civilisation known as the Akkadians arose, who spoke a semitic language that was distinct from that of the Sumerians who spoke a language isolate.
Gradually there was increasing syncreticism between the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures and deities, with the Akkadians typically preferring to worship fewer deities, but elevating them to greater positions of power. In circa 2300 BC the Akkadian king Sargon the Great conquered all of Mesopotamia, uniting the Akkadian and Sumerians in the worlds first empire, though this Akkadian empire collapsed after two centuries. The empire broke up into two Akkadian states, Assyria in the north, and Babylon in the south. Some time after this the Sumerians disappeared, becoming wholly absorbed into the Assyrio-Babylonian population. In around 1800 BC, the king of Babylon, King Hammurabi, conquered much of Mesopotamia, but this Babylonian empire collapsed a century later due to attacks from mountain-dwelling people known as the Kassites from Asia Minor. Also around this time, a leader named Abraham led his people, the Hebrews, out of Mesopotamia where they appeared to have been living for many centuries.
Assyria became a major power from the 14th Century BC after throwing off the influence of the Hittites and Mitanni, and the Neo Assyrian Empire was probably the most dominant power on earth between the 10th Century BC and the 7th Century BC, with an empire stretching from Cyprus in the west to central Iran in the east, and from the Caucasus mountains in the north to Nubia and Arabia in the south, facilitating the spread of Mesopotamian culture and religion far and wide under emperors such as Ashurbanipal, Tukulti-Ninurta, Tiglath-Pileser, Sargon II, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. The empire fell in 608 BC with the death of Ashur-uballit II after a period of internal strife followed by an attack by a coalition of Babylonians, Medes, Scythians, Persians and Cimmeriansled by Nabopolassar of Babylon. During the Neo Assyrian Empire Aramaic became the lingua franca of the empire, and also Mesopotamia proper. The last written records in Akkadian were Astrological Texts dating from 78 AD discovered in Assyria.
In the 539 BC Mesopotamia was invaded by the Persian empire, then ruled by
Cyrus the Great. This brought to an end over 3000 years of Mesopotamian
dominance of the near east. The Persians maintained and did not interfere in the
native culture and religion and Assyria and Babylon continued to exist as
entities, and Assyria was strong enough to launch a major rebellion against
Persia in 482 BC. Then, two centuries later in 330 BC the Greek emperor
Alexander the Great overthrew the Persians and took control of Mesopotamia
itself, bringing Hellenic influence to the region with the Seleucid Empire.
Assyria and Babylonia later came under Parthian, Roman and Sassanid Persian
rule.
Over the next few centuries Mesopotamia saw an influx
of Arabs, Kurds and later Turkic peoples, and people retaining native ethnicity,
culture, customs and language gradually became a minority. This process was
completed by the massacres of native Mesopotamians by Tamurlane in the 14th
Century.
Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, thereby accepting the existence of many different deities, both male and female, though it was also henotheistic, with certain gods being viewed as superior to others by their specific devotees. These devotees were often from a particular city or city-state that held that deity as its patron deity, for instance the god Enki was often associated with the city of Eridu, and the god Marduk was associated with Babylon. The Mesopotamian gods bore many similarities with humans, and were anthropomorphic, thereby having humanoid form. Similarly, they often acted like humans, requiring food and drink, as well as drinking alcohol and subsequently suffering the effects of drunkenness. In many cases, the various deities were family relations of one another, a trait found in many other polytheistic religions.
Some Mesopotamian Gods;
Adad or Ishkur - god of storms, venerated as a supreme power especially in Syria and Lebanon
Anshur - head of the Assyrian pantheon, regarded as the equivalent of Enlil
Anu or An - god of heaven and the sky, lord of constellations, and father of the gods
Enki or Ea - god of the freshwater Abzu, crafts, water, intelligence, mischief and creation
Enlil - god of the wind and divine ruler of the Earth and its human inhabitants
Ereshkigal - goddess of Irkalla, the Underworld
Inanna or Ishtar - goddess of fertility, love, sex and war
Marduk - patron deity of Babylon who eventually became regarded as the head of the Babylonian pantheon
Nabu - god of wisdom and writing
Nanshe - goddess of social justice, prophecy, fertility and fishing
Nergal - god of plague, war, and the sun in its destructive capacity; later husband of Ereshkigal
Ninhursag - earth and mother goddess; also known as Mami, Belet-Ili, Ki, Ninmah, Nintu and Aruru
Ninlil - goddess of the air; consort of Enlil
Ninurta - champion of the gods, the epitome of youthful vigour, and god of agriculture
Shamash or Utu - god of the sun, arbiter of justice and patron of travellers
Sin or Nanna - god of the moon
Tammuz or Dumuzi - god of food and vegetation
Lesser deitiesAbu - a minor god of plants
Ama-arhus - Akkadian fertility goddess; later merged into Ninhursag
Amasagnul - Akkadian fertility goddess
Amathaunta - goddess of the ocean
Amurru - god of the Amorite people
An - a goddess, possibly the female principle of Anu
Asaruludu or Namshub - a protective deity
Ashnan - goddess of grain
Aya - a mother goddess and consort of Shamash
Azimua - a minor Sumerian goddess
Bau - dog-headed patron goddess of Lagash
Belet-Seri - recorder of the dead entering the underworld
Birdu - an underworld god; consort of Manungal and later syncretized with Nergal
Damgalnuna - mother of Marduk
Damu - god of vegetation and rebirth; possibly a local offshoot of Dumuzi
Druaga - an underworld god
Emesh - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for woods, fields, sheep folds, and stables
Enbilulu - god of rivers, canals, irrigation and farming
Endursaga - a herald god
Enkimdu - god of farming, canals and ditches
Enmesarra - an underworld god of the law, equated with Nergal
Ennugi - attendant and throne-bearer of Enlil
Enshag - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
Enten - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows, donkeys, birds
Erra - Akkadian god of mayhem and pestilence
Gaga - a minor deity featured in the Enűma Eliš
Gatumdag - a fertility goddess and tutelary mother goddess of Lagash
Geshtu-E - minor god of intelligence
Gibil or Gerra - god of fire
Gugalanna - the Great Bull of Heaven, the constellation Taurus and the first husband of Ereshkigal
Gunara - a minor god of uncertain status
Hahanu - a minor god of uncertain status
Hani - an attendant of the storm god Adad
Hayasum - a minor god of uncertain status
Hegir-Nuna - a daughter of the goddess Bau
Hendursaga - god of law
Ilabrat - attendant and minister of state to Anu
Ishum - brother of Shamash and attendant of Erra
Isimud - two-faced messenger of Enki
Ištaran - god of the city of Der (Sumer)
Kabta - god of pickaxes and the shaping of bricks
Kakka - attendant and minister of state to both Anu and Anshar
Kingu - consort of Tiamat; killed by Marduk, who used his blood to create mankind
Kubaba - tutelary goddess of the city of Carchemish
Kus (god) - god of herdsmen
Lahar - god of cattle
Lugal-Irra - possibly a minor variation of Erra
Lulal - the younger son of Inanna; patron god of Bad-tibira
Mamitu - goat-headed goddess of destiny, who decreed the fate of the new-borns
Manungal - an underworld goddess; consort of Birdu
Mammetun - Sumerian goddess of fate
Mandanu -god of divine judgment
Muati - obscure Sumerian god who became syncretized with Nabu
Mushdamma - god of buildings and foundations
Nammu - a creation goddess
Nanaya - goddess personifying voluptuousness and sensuality
Nazi - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
Negun - a minor goddess of uncertain status
Neti - a minor underworld god; the chief gatekeeper of the netherworld and the servant of Ereshkigal
Ngeshtin-ana - goddess of wine and cold seasons
Nibhaz - god of the Avim
Nidaba - goddess of writing, learning and the harvest
Namtar - minister of Ereshkigal
Nin-Ildu - god of carpenters
Nin-imma - goddess of the female sex organs
Ninazu - god of the underworld and healing
Nindub - god associated with the city Lagash
Ninegal - god of smiths
Ningal - goddess of reeds and consort of Nanna (Sin)
Ningikuga - goddess of reeds and marshes
Ningilin - obscure god of uncertain status
Ningirama - god of magic and protector against snakes
Ningishzida - god of the underworld
Ninkarnunna - god of barbers
Ninkasi - goddess of beer
Ninkurra - minor mother goddess
Ninmena - Sumerian mother goddess who became syncretized with Ninhursag
Ninsar - goddess of plants
Ninshubur - Queen of the East, messenger goddess and second-in-command to Inanna
Ninsun - "Lady Wild Cow"; mother of Gilgamesh
Ninsutu - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
Nintinugga - Babylonian goddess of healing
Nintulla - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
Nu Mus Da - patron god of the lost city of Kazallu
Nunbarsegunu - goddess of barley
Nusku - god of light and fire
Pabilsaĝ - tutelary god of the city of Isin
Pap-nigin-gara - Akkadian and Babylonian god of war, syncretized with Ninurta
Papsukkal - Akkadian messenger god
Sarpanit - mother goddess and consort of Marduk
The Sebitti - a group of minor war gods
Shakka - patron god of herdsmen
Shala - goddess of war and grain
Shara - minor god of war and a son of Inanna
Sharra Itu - Sumerian fertility goddess
Shu-pa-e - astral and fertility god associated with the planet Jupiter
Shul-utula - personal deity to Entemena, king of the city of Eninnu
Shullat - minor god and attendant of Shamash
Shulmanu - god of the underworld, fertility and war
Shulsaga - astral goddess
Sirara - goddess of the Persian Gulf
Siris - goddess of beer
Sirsir - god of mariners and boatmen
Sirtir - goddess of sheep
Sumugan - god of the river plains
Tashmetum - consort of Nabu
Tishpak - tutelary god of the city of Eshnunna
Tutu - tutelary god of the city of Borsippa
Ua-Ildak - goddess responsible for pastures and poplar trees
Ukur - a god of the underworld
Uttu - goddess of weaving and clothing
Wer - a storm god linked to Adad
Zaqar - messenger of Sin who relays communication through dreams and nightmares