The Greeks called the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Mesopotamia, which means Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia. People settled Mesopotamia in ancient times.

In terms of natural conditions, Mesopotamia resembles Egypt - constant river floods, heat, fertile land, convenient for cultivation, lack of forests and swamps. In winter, heavy rains and river floods began.

In Mesopotamia, one of the oldest myths arose - about the Flood.

The Mesopotamians called the date palm "tree of life". One tree gave up to 50 kilograms of dates. The juice was squeezed out of the berries, similar to honey. The trunk of the tree was also used as fuel. Date seeds were used to prepare flour for animal feed. The same bones were used in forges as fuel.

In Mesopotamia, houses were built of mud and mud bricks.

In the 4th millennium BC. Sumerian settlements arose in Mesopotamia. They settled southern Mesopotamia, which they began to call Sumer. The northern part of the territory, called Akkad, was inhabited by nomadic pastoralists - Akkadians. By the end of the 3rd millennium BC. they occupied all of Mesopotamia, mixing with the Sumerians.

Occupations of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia

The main occupation of Mesopotamia was agriculture. With the annual floods of the Tigris and Euphrates, fertile land was carried to the fields.

In Mesopotamia, there were few materials necessary for the economy - wood, metal, but a lot of grain and livestock were grown. Therefore, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia were also engaged in trade. In exchange for grain from the neighboring regions of Transcaucasia and Iran, silver, copper, tin and precious stones were delivered to Sumer. Cedars were brought from Syria.

In Mesopotamia, various handicrafts were traded. Metal products, jewelry, weapons and pottery were especially valued. In trade, weight metal money in the form of silver ingots was used. A measure of weight in Mesopotamia was called a mine and was equal to 550 grams of silver.

In the 4th millennium BC. e. The Sumerians invented one of the oldest scripts in the world - cuneiform. They wrote with pointed sticks on wet clay. The Sumerians were also skilled builders and artisans.

Ancient city-states of Mesopotamia

Gradually, the settlements of farmers grow, and at the end of the 4th millennium BC, the cities of Uruk, Eridu Lagash, Ur and others appear in Mesopotamia. They are called city-states. They consisted of the city itself and the surrounding agricultural district. On behalf of the supreme god, priests ruled in the cities, and the temples were a place of worship for the gods. The oldest temples of Mesopotamia were massive multi-stage buildings made of mud bricks - ziggurats.

The god of the Sun, Shamash, was especially revered. He was considered the supreme judge and judged people for evil deeds. The god of the moon, Sina, the god of water, Ea, and the goddess of fertility, love, and war, Ishtar, were also revered.

In the 3rd millennium BC. the strongest Sumerian city was Ur. Findings from the tombs of the kings discovered by archaeologists tell about his power. These are gold items, luxurious weapons, silver utensils.

Extensive land holdings in Mesopotamia belonged to rulers and temples. The fields were cultivated by slaves and free hired workers. The population living in the district of cities had their own small plots of land. The poor, in order to feed their families, worked in the royal and temple households.

In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. the rise of Lagash begins. Many cities of Sumer and Akkad were annexed to it.

The cities of Sumer were surrounded by defensive walls. Streets began from the main gate, which led to the central square, the temple and the ruler's palace. Construction was carried out from stone, raw and baked bricks. The temple at Lagash was richly decorated with statues of the gods and heroes of Sumer.

During wars, the influence of leaders increased. Gradually they became permanent rulers. They were called kings. The king ruled the city-state with the help of officials, relying on the nobility, priests and the army.

The Tale of Gilgamesh

The most beloved hero of the myths of Mesopotamia was Gilgamesh. He was the king of the city of Uruk, but his life subsequently acquired many legends.

According to legend, after the birth of Gilgamesh, his grandfather, the ruler of the country, ordered the child to be thrown into the abyss, as he was afraid that his grandson would take away his throne. But Gilgamesh was picked up by an eagle and carried to the gardener, who raised the boy. As an adult, Gilgamesh stripped his grandfather of power and became the ruler of Uruk himself. Gilgamesh befriended a hero named Enkidu. Together they fought evil monsters, for which the gods punished Enkidu, and he died.

Rise of Akkad

The city-states were constantly at war with each other. As a result of these wars, King Sargon I became the ruler of the entire Mesopotamia. In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. he united Akkad and the cities of Sumer under his rule. In order to develop trade, he introduced uniform measures of length, area and weight for all cities. For the first time in world history, he created a standing army. It consisted of 5400 warriors and then became the basis of a large army that helped Sargon conquer many cities and neighboring countries. He captured the sea trade routes leading from Mesopotamia to Arabia, Iran and India. By the end of his reign, Sargon I received the title of "king of the four countries of the world."

However, the unified state did not last long. After the death of Sargon I, it broke up into numerous city-states, which continued to fight with each other. In the 2nd millennium BC. The Sumero-Akkadian state collapsed under the blows of nomadic tribes.

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" MaintraitsandpeculiaritiesMesopotamia"

Introduction

The study of the culture of ancient peoples is an integral part of culture in our time. The cultural experience accumulated over thousands of years by many peoples is of great importance. The culture of Mesopotamia was distinguished by a rich cultural life: writing, scientific research, art, literature, architecture - all this left us many monuments of its genius and distinctive originality. Many ideas, discoveries, records made by the peoples of Mesopotamia are used today and they are undoubtedly of great importance to scientists in many fields.

"Mesopotamia" means "Land between the rivers" (between the Euphrates and the Tigris). Now, Mesopotamia is understood mainly as a valley in the lower reaches of these rivers, and lands are added to it east of the Tigris and west of the Euphrates. In general, this region coincides with the territory of modern Iraq, with the exception of mountainous regions along the borders of this country with Iran and Turkey.

1. PeculiaritiescultureMesopotamia

The Mesopotamian civilization is one of the oldest in the world. It was in Sumer at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. humanity is leaving the stage of primitiveness and entering the era of antiquity, i.e. from "barbarism" to civilization, creating its own type of culture. The historical conditions for the development of this region determined a number of characteristic features. The culture of Mesopotamia is not homogeneous in composition. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hurrians, Hittites, Elamites and other tribes participated in its creation and development.

The main inhabitants of Mesopotamia were the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Chaldeans in the south; Assyrians, Hurrians and Arameans in the north. The cultures of Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria reached the greatest development and importance.

In the Mesopotamian civilization, urbanization occupies a significant place. At the end of IV millennium BC. e. only in the region of Sumerian Uruk there were 112 small settlements and more than 10 large urban centers. In the III millennium BC. e. all of Mesopotamia was covered with a dense grid of cities. This leads to the folding and development of the administrative apparatus, the priesthood, the creation of a permanent market, the emergence of a wide specialization of artisans in the cities. Cities in Mesopotamia appear as trade and craft centers. Throughout the entire period of antiquity, the coexistence of primitive and ancient culture takes place. Some tribes and villages turned out to be culturally at the stage of primitiveness at the end of the period of antiquity. A special place in Mesopotamia was played by writing. The cuneiform script invented by the Sumerians is the most significant achievement of Mesopotamian culture in the modern sense, since it is precisely from written monuments that it is possible to restore the historical past of Ancient Mesopotamia. The existence of vague ideas in religious beliefs about the afterlife and the transmigration of souls contributed to the fact that the formation of portrait art is not typical for Mesopotamia. All images are conditional. Due to the special geographical position, material culture occupies a special place, which manifested itself in the development of the irrigation system.

2. cultureSumer

The basis of the economy of Sumer was agriculture with a developed irrigation system. Hence it is clear why one of the main monuments of Sumerian literature was the "Agricultural Almanac", containing instructions on farming - how to maintain soil fertility and avoid salinization. Cattle breeding was also important. Sumerian metallurgy reached a high level. Already at the beginning of the III millennium BC. the Sumerians began to manufacture bronze tools, and at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. entered the Iron Age. From the middle of the III millennium BC. potter's wheel is used in the production of dishes. Other crafts are successfully developing - weaving, stone-cutting, blacksmithing. Extensive trade and exchange take place both between the Sumerian cities and with other countries - Egypt, Iran. India, the states of Asia Minor.

The importance of Sumerian writing should be emphasized. The cuneiform script invented by the Sumerians turned out to be the most successful and effective. Improved in the II millennium BC. Phoenicians, it formed the basis of almost all modern alphabets.

The system of religious and mythological ideas and cults of Sumer partly echoes the Egyptian one. In particular, it also contains the myth of a dying and resurrecting god, which is the god Dumuzi. As in Egypt, the ruler of the city-state was declared a descendant of a god and was perceived as an earthly god. At the same time, there were notable differences between the Sumerian and Egyptian systems. So, among the Sumerians, the funeral cult, belief in the afterlife did not acquire great importance. Equally, the priests among the Sumerians did not become a special layer that played a huge role in public life. In general, the Sumerian system of religious beliefs seems to be less complex.

As a rule, each city-state had its own patron god. However, there were gods who were revered throughout Mesopotamia. Behind them stood those forces of nature, the significance of which for agriculture was especially great - sky, earth and water. These were the sky god An, the earth god Enlil and the water god Enki. Some gods were associated with individual stars or constellations. It is noteworthy that in Sumerian writing, the pictogram of a star meant the concept of "god". Of great importance in the Sumerian religion was the mother goddess, the patroness of agriculture, fertility and childbearing. There were several such goddesses, one of them was the goddess Inanna. patroness of the city of Uruk. Some Sumerian myths - about the creation of the world, the global flood - had a strong influence on the mythology of other peoples, including Christian ones.

In the artistic culture of Sumer, architecture was the leading art. Unlike the Egyptians, the Sumerians did not know stone construction and all structures were created from raw brick. Because of the swampy terrain, buildings were erected on artificial platforms - embankments. From the middle of the III millennium BC. The Sumerians were the first to widely use arches and vaults in construction.

The first architectural monuments were two temples, White and Red, discovered in Uruk (end of the 4th millennium BC) and dedicated to the main deities of the city - the god Anu and the goddess Inanna. Both temples are rectangular in plan, with ledges and niches, decorated with relief images in the "Egyptian style". Another significant monument is the small temple of the goddess of fertility Ninhursag in Ur (XXVI century BC). It was built using the same architectural forms, but decorated not only with relief but also with round sculpture. In the niches of the walls there were copper figurines of walking gobies, and on the friezes there were high reliefs of lying gobies. At the entrance to the temple there are two statues of lions made of wood. All this made the temple festive and elegant.

In Sumer, a peculiar type of cult building developed - a ziggurag, which was a stepped, rectangular in plan tower. On the upper platform of the ziggurat there was usually a small temple - "the dwelling of the god." The ziggurat for thousands of years played approximately the same role as the Egyptian pyramid, but unlike the latter, it was not an afterlife temple. The most famous was the ziggurat (“temple-mountain”) in Ur (XXII-XXI centuries BC), which was part of a complex of two large temples and a palace and had three platforms: black, red and white. Only the lower, black platform has survived, but even in this form, the ziggurat makes a grandiose impression.

Sculpture in Sumer was less developed than architecture. As a rule, it had a cult, "initiatory" character: the believer placed a figurine made to his order, most often small in size, in the temple, which, as it were, was praying for his fate. The person was depicted conditionally, schematically and abstractly, without respect for proportions and without a portrait resemblance to the model, often in the pose of a prayer. An example is a female figurine (26 cm) from Lagash, which has mostly common ethnic features.

In the Akkadian period, sculpture changes significantly: it becomes more realistic, acquires individual features. The most famous masterpiece of this period is the copper head of Sargon the Ancient (XXIII century BC), which perfectly conveys the unique features of the king's character: courage, will, severity. This work, rare in expressiveness, is almost indistinguishable from modern ones.

Sumerian literature reached a high level. In addition to the above-mentioned Agricultural Almanac, the Epic of Gilgamesh became the most significant literary monument. This epic poem tells about a man who saw everything, experienced everything, knew everything and who was close to unraveling the mystery of immortality.

By the end of the III millennium BC. Sumer gradually declines and is eventually conquered by Babylonia.

3. Babylonia

geographicalmesopotamian civilization

Its history is divided into two periods: the Ancient, covering the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, and the New, falling in the middle of the 1st millennium BC.

Ancient Babylonia reaches its highest rise under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). Two significant monuments remain from his time. The first of them - the Laws of Hammurabi - became the most outstanding monument of ancient Eastern legal thought. 282 articles of the Code of Law cover almost all aspects of the life of Babylonian society and constitute civil, criminal and administrative law. The second monument is a basalt pillar (2 m), which depicts King Hammurabi himself, sitting in front of Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, as well as a part of the text of the famous codex.

New Babylonia reached its highest peak under King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Under him, the famous "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" were built, which became one of the seven wonders of the world. They can be called a grandiose monument of love, since they were presented by the king to his beloved wife in order to alleviate her longing for the mountains and gardens of her homeland.

No less famous monument is also the Tower of Babel. It was the highest ziggurat in Mesopotamia (90 m), consisting of several towers stacked on top of each other, on the top of which was the sanctuary of Marduk, the main god of the Babylonians. Seeing the tower, Herodotus was shocked by its greatness. She is mentioned in the Bible.

Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1563, inspired by the image of the Colosseum, painted the Tower of Babel. When the Persians conquered Babylonia (VI century BC), they destroyed Babylon and all the monuments in it.

The achievements of Babylonia in astronomy and mathematics deserve special mention. The Babylonian stargazers calculated with amazing accuracy the time of the Moon's revolution around the Earth, compiled a solar calendar and a map of the starry sky. The names of the five planets and twelve constellations of the solar system are of Babylonian origin. Astrologers gave people astrology and horoscopes. Even more impressive were the successes of mathematicians. They laid the foundations of arithmetic and geometry, developed a “positional system”, where the numerical value of a sign depends on its “position”, knew how to square a power and extract a square root, created geometric formulas for measuring land.

4. Assyria

The third powerful power of Mesopotamia - Assyria - arose in the 3rd millennium BC, but reached its peak in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. Assyria was poor in resources but rose to prominence due to its geographic location. She found herself at the crossroads of caravan routes, and trade made her rich and great. The capitals of Assyria were successively Ashur, Calah and Nineveh. By the XIII century. BC. it became the most powerful empire in the entire Middle East.

In the artistic culture of Assyria, as in the whole Mesopotamia, architecture was the leading art. The most significant architectural monuments were the palace complex of King Sargon II in Dur-Sharrukin and the palace of Ashur-banapala in Nineveh.

The Assyrian reliefs that adorned the palace premises, the subjects of which were scenes from royal life: religious ceremonies, hunting, military events, also gained wide popularity.

One of the best examples of Assyrian reliefs is the “Great Lion Hunt” from the palace of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, where the scene depicting the wounded, dying and killed lions is filled with deep drama, sharp dynamics and vivid expression.

In the 7th century BC. the last ruler of Assyria, Ashur-banapap, created a magnificent library in Nineveh containing more than 25,000 clay cuneiform tablets. The library has become the largest in the entire Middle East. It contained documents that, to one degree or another, related to the entire Mesopotamia. Among them was kept the above-mentioned "Epic of Gilgamesh".

Mesopotamia, like Egypt, has become a real cradle of human culture and civilization. Sumerian cuneiform and Babylonian astronomy and mathematics are enough to speak of the exceptional significance of Mesopotamian culture.

5.Scientificknowledge

The medicine. According to its content, medicine in Mesopotamia was folk. They used mainly various local herbs, animal products (fat, blood, bones, milk). The texts do not mention any rare and expensive substances. Medical instruments were used only the simplest: spatulas, metal tubes, lancets. Surgical operations were practically not performed (excluding caesarean section). The inhabitants of Mesopotamia believed in the effectiveness of both methods, combining both the use of medicines and the use of magic. There was no clear separation between these two methods: when medical treatment was used, magical procedures were also used, and when magical measures were used, the pharmacopoeia was also used. The magical elements used by the practitioner consisted of short spells, using the magic of numbers (7 drops of medicine). Herodotus left his testimony about the level of Mesopotamian medicine: "The Babylonians took their patients to the market in order to find out from passers-by what means they would offer for treatment."

Maths. There were 2 types of mathematical texts: mathematical tables and the so-called "problem texts". They became widespread in the Old Babylonian and Seleucid periods (IV-I centuries BC). Mathematical tables were intended for multiplication and division. They also list the squares and cubes that the root was used in calculating compound interest. "Problem texts" contain the solution of specific problems, or a large number of problems were listed (the number could reach up to 200), they are listed from simple to extremely complex.

Astronomy. As for astronomy, the Mesopotamians achieved such successes as in mathematics later. The impetus for the development of astronomy was the introduction of mathematical methods into it. Even in the Sumerian texts, the names of stars and constellations appear: the Moon, the Sun, Sirius, Venus, Ursa Major, the Pleiades (a star cluster in the constellation Taurus). In the II millennium BC. e. astronomical observations were made of the disappearance and appearance of Venus from behind the Sun, but this was mainly due to the compilation of astrological forecasts. Later, specific observations began to be made: the position of the planets, the Moon, and eclipses were calculated; the full moon and the new moon were indicated; the zodiac was compiled and rules were developed for the accurate calculation of the lunisolar calendar; planets were studied - Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn. Astrology. The main source of astrological texts is the library of Ashurbanipal. Texts are divided into 2 types: astrological reports, horoscopes. The predictions covered various areas. However, it cannot be argued that the actions of a particular person are carried out in an exact prescription with a prediction. To prevent predictions, complex purification rituals appear, which were intended to ward off evil. Sometimes skeptical attitudes towards predictions were also noted, but only the king could afford this. As an example, "The Tale of Naram-Suen": "Like a robber, I will act according to my own will." In general, for the development of science in ancient Mesopotamia, it is necessary to note: its practical orientation; use of magical rituals and actions

Conclusion

geographicalmesopotamian civilization

In conclusion, it should be said that the culture of Mesopotamia is one of the oldest centers of human civilization, which with full confidence can be called a highly cultured civilization worthy of the attention of contemporaries.

From the life and activities of the peoples of Mesopotamia, many conclusions and discoveries can be drawn that will help in the search for their ideals and life goals. The contribution that they made to world culture will never be forgotten, and for many years will contribute to the development of human culture.

FROMsqueakusedliterature

1. Samuel Hook. Mythology of the Middle East. - M.: ZAO Tsentrpoligraf, 2005.

2. Cultural studies. Tutorial. - M.: Unity, 2005.

3. Civilization of the Renaissance. Jean Delumeau 2006

4.Journey to Ancient Sumer. Mayorova N. 2010

5. Theory of culture. (Tutorial) Ed. Ikonnikova S.N., Bolshakova V.P. 2008

6. https://www.livelib.ru/tag

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The First Civilization arose in the 59th century. back.

The Last Civilization stopped 26.5 c. back.

Mesopotamia, Mesopotamia - the country where the oldest civilization in the world arose, which lasted approx. 25 centuries, from the time of the creation of writing and ending with the conquest of Babylon by the Persians in 539 BC.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PThe first information of Europeans about Mesopotamia goes back to such classical authors of antiquity as the historian Herodotus (5th century BC) and the geographer Strabo (turn of AD). Later, the Bible contributed to interest in the location of the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel and the most famous cities of Mesopotamia.

ATIn the Middle Ages, notes about the journey of Benjamin Tudelsky (12th century) appeared, containing a description of the location of ancient Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris opposite Mosul, which flourished in those days.

AT17th century the first attempts were made to copy tablets with texts (as it turned out later, from Ur and Babylon) written in cuneiform characters, which later became known as cuneiform.

ATunlike other civilizations, Mesopotamia was an open state. Many trade routes passed through the Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamia was constantly expanding, involving new cities, while other civilizations were more closed. Here appeared: a potter's wheel, a wheel, metallurgy of bronze and iron, a war chariot, and new forms of writing. Farmers settled Mesopotamia in the 8th millennium BC. Gradually, they learned to drain wetlands.

OThe bottom community could not cope with such work, and there was a need to unite the communities under the control of a single state. For the first time this happens in Mesopotamia (the Tigris River, the Euphrates River), Egypt (the Nile River) at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Later, states arise in India and China; these civilizations were called riverine.

Dvureche was rich in grain. Residents exchanged grain for missing household items. Clay replaced stone and wood. People wrote on clay tablets. At the end of the 4th millennium BC, in the southern Mesopotamia, the state of Sumer arose.

AThistorical time, all of Mesopotamia was inhabited by peoples who spoke the languages ​​of the Semitic family. These languages ​​were spoken by the Akkadians in the 3rd millennium BC, by the Babylonians who succeeded them (two groups that originally lived in Lower Mesopotamia), and also by the Assyrians of Central Mesopotamia. All these three peoples are united according to the linguistic principle (which turned out to be the most acceptable) under the name "Akkadians". The Akkadian element has played an important role throughout the long history of Mesopotamia.

DAnother Semitic people who left a noticeable mark in this country were the Amorites, who gradually began to penetrate into Mesopotamia at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Soon they created several strong dynasties, among them the I Babylonian, whose most famous ruler was Hammurabi.

ATend of II millennium BC another Semitic people appeared, the Arameans, who for five centuries posed a constant threat to the western borders of Assyria. One branch of the Aramaeans, the Chaldeans, came to play such an important role in the south that Chaldea became synonymous with later Babylonia. Aramaic eventually spread as a common language throughout the ancient Near East, from Persia and Anatolia to Syria, Palestine, and even Egypt. It was Aramaic that became the language of administration and commerce.

BUTthe Rameans, like the Amorites, came to Mesopotamia through Syria, but they came, in all probability, from Northern Arabia. It is also possible that the Akkadians, the first of the known peoples of Mesopotamia, used this route earlier. There were no Semites among the autochthonous population of the valley, which was established for Lower Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians were the predecessors of the Akkadians. Outside Sumer, in Central Mesopotamia and further north, traces of other ethnic groups have been found.

WThe Umer represent in many respects one of the most significant and at the same time mysterious peoples in the history of mankind. They laid the foundation for the civilization of Mesopotamia. The Sumerians left the most important trace in the culture of Mesopotamia - in religion and literature, legislation and administration, science and technology. The world owes the invention of writing to the Sumerians. By the end of the III millennium BC. the Sumerians lost their ethnic and political significance.

EThe Lamitians lived in the southwest of Iran, their main city was Susa. From the time of the early Sumerians until the fall of Assyria, the Elamites occupied a prominent political and economic place in Mesopotamian history. The middle column of a trilingual inscription from Persia is written in their language.

ToAssites - the next important ethnic group, immigrants from Iran, the founders of the dynasty that replaced the I Babylonian. They lived in the south until the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC, but in the texts of the 3rd millennium BC. are not mentioned. Classical authors mention them under the name of the Cossians, at that time they already lived in Iran, from where, apparently, they came to Babylonia.

ATHurrians played an important role in interregional relations. Mentions of their appearance in the north of Central Mesopotamia date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. By the middle of the II millennium BC. they densely populated the region of modern Kirkuk (here information about them was found in the cities of Arrapha and Nuzi), the valley of the Middle Euphrates and the eastern part of Anatolia; Hurrian colonies arose in Syria and Palestine.

Poriginally an ethnic group of the Hurrians, lived in the area of ​​Lake Van next to the pre-Indo-European population of Armenia, related to the Hurrians, the Urartians. Perhaps the Hurrians are the main, and it is possible that the original ethnic element of pre-Semitic Assyria.

Dfurther to the west lived various Anatolian ethnic groups; some of them, such as the Hattians, were probably an autochthonous population, others, in particular the Luwians and the Hittites, were the remnants of the migration wave of the Indo-Europeans.

FROMthe Neo-Babylonian state was established on ice in the two rivers. In the 6th century BC, Babylon was conquered by the Persian kingdom.

4 thousand BC Babylonian-Assyrian culture, the culture of the peoples who inhabited in ancient times, in the 4th-1st millennium BC, Mesopotamia - the Mesopotamia of the Tigris and Euphrates (the territory of modern Iraq), - the Sumerians and Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians, who created large states - Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria, characterized by a relatively high level of science, literature and art, on the one hand, and the predominance of religious ideology - on the other.

38th c. BC. The oldest culture of Mesopotamia is Sumero-Akkadian (from the name of two parts of the territory, northern and southern). The oldest city on our planet is the Sumerian Ur, the heyday of which some scientists attribute to 3800-3700 BC. Not much younger than his ancient Sumerian Uruk, Shuruppak.

ATthe second half of the 4th millennium BC e. - the appearance of clear signs of civilization. Cities surrounded by walls, with the royal palace, temples of the gods, handicraft quarters. The emergence of writing.

28th century BC e. - the city of Kish becomes the center of the Sumerian civilization.

27th century BC e. - The weakening of Kish, the ruler of the city of Uruk - Gilgamesh repels the threat from Kish and smashes his army. Kish is attached to the possessions of Uruk and Uruk becomes the center of the Sumerian civilization.

26th century BC e. - Weakening of Uruk. The city of Ur becomes the leading center of the Sumerian civilization for a century.

24th century BC e. - The city of Lagash reaches its highest political power under King Eannatum. Eanntatum reorganizes the army, introduces a new battle formation. Relying on the reformed army, Eannatum subjugates most of Sumer to his power and undertakes a successful campaign against Elam, defeating a number of Elamite tribes. In need of large funds to carry out such a large-scale policy, Eannatum introduces taxes and duties on temple lands. After the death of Eannatum, popular unrest incited by the priesthood begins. As a result of these unrest, Uruinimgina comes to power.

2318-2312 BC e. - the reign of Uruinimgina. To restore worsened relations with the priesthood, Uruinimgin is implementing a series of reforms. The absorption of temple lands by the state is stopped, tax collections and duties are reduced. Uruinimgina carried out a number of reforms of a liberal nature, which improved the situation not only of the priesthood, but also of the ordinary population. Uruinimgin entered the history of Mesopotamia as the first social reformer.

2318 BC e. - The city of Umma, dependent on Lagash, declares war on it. The ruler of Umma Lugalzagesi defeated the army of Lagash, devastated Lagash, burned its palaces. For a short time, the city of Umma became the leader of a united Sumer, until it was defeated by the northern kingdom of Akkad, which assumed dominance over all of Sumer.

23rd century BC e. - the unification of the Sumerian and Akkadian states by the Akkadian king Sargon I.

XXI century BC e. - invasion from the east and west of numerous tribes of Elamites and Amorites. The disappearance of the Sumerians as a people from the political arena (already the authors of biblical traditions do not know anything about its existence).

ATabout the 2nd millennium BC, the importance of Babylon, where King Hammurabi ruled, increased in Mesopotamia.

19th-18th centuries BC e. - the rise of a new kingdom with its capital in Babylon, near present-day Baghdad, led by the kings of the Amorite dynasty. Unification of Hammurabi Mesopotamia and Syria.

18th century BC. The city of Babylon reached its pinnacle when King Hammurabi (reigned 1792-1750 BC) made it the capital of his kingdom. Hammurabi became famous as the author of the world's first code of laws (from where, for example, the expression "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" has come down to us). The history of the cultures of Mesopotamia provides an example of the opposite type of cultural process, namely: intensive mutual influence, cultural inheritance, borrowings and continuity.

16th century BC e. - the emergence in the upper reaches of the Tigris of the Assyrian kingdom with the main cities of Assur and Nineveh - the capital of Nin and Semiramis.

FROMFrom the 14th to the 7th century BC, Assyria was strengthened in Mesopotamia.

743-735 BC e. - The reign of Nabonassar. Beginning of regular astronomical observations.

729 BC e. - the capture of Babylon by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III.

680-669 BC e. - the reign of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon.

538 BC e. - Persian king Cyrus captures Babylon and Assyria.

336 BC e. - Alexander the Great conquers Mesopotamia. After his death, it becomes one of the regions of the Hellenistic state of the Seleucids.

2nd century BC e. - Babylon is already a dead city and lies in ruins.

1st century BC e. - the last cuneiform tablets that have come down to us.

MA number of sources testify to the high astronomical and mathematical achievements of the Sumerians, their building art (it was the Sumerians who built the world's first step pyramid). They are the authors of the most ancient calendar, recipe guide, library catalogue.

OHowever, perhaps the most significant contribution of ancient Sumer to world culture is the “Legend of Gilgamesh” (“who saw everything”) - the oldest epic poem on earth. The hero of the poem, a half-man-half-god, struggling with numerous dangers and enemies, defeating them, learns the meaning of life and the joy of being, learns (for the first time in the world!) The bitterness of losing a friend and the irrevocable death.

WWritten in cuneiform, which was the common writing system for the multilingual peoples of Mesopotamia, the Gilgamesh poem is a great monument and culture of ancient Babylon. The Babylonian (actually, Ancient Babylonian) kingdom united the north and south - the regions of Sumer and Akkad, becoming the heir to the culture of the ancient Sumerians.

ATthe Babylonians introduced a positional system of numbers, an accurate system of measuring time into world culture, they were the first to divide an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds, learned to measure the area of ​​​​geometric shapes, distinguish stars from planets and devoted every day to a separate deity (traces of this tradition are preserved in the names of the days of the week in the Romance languages).

OThe Babylonians also taught astrology to their descendants, the science of the alleged connection of human destinies with the location of the heavenly bodies. All this is far from a complete enumeration of the heritage of Babylonian culture in our everyday life.

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periods of historical development. Sources and historiography.

From the mountains of Armenia in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south, from the mountainous regions of Iran in the east to the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe in the west, stretches a vast territory called by the ancient Greeks Mesopotamia - "Mesopotamia". However, you can also find another name for this area - Mesopotamia. Geographically, Mesopotamia itself, i.e. The northern regions are Mesopotamian because of the greater distance between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers than in the south, where these rivers flow in parallel and form Mesopotamia.

On the territory of Mesopotamia from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC. e. there was a decomposition of the primitive communal system and the prerequisites were created for the formation of the foundations of civilization.

At the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. the first small states were formed in the southern part of the country, in historical region of Sumer. The period covering the XXVIII-XXIV centuries. BC e., is called the Early Dynastic. The next period (the last third of the 3rd millennium BC) is characterized by the creation of extensive, so-called despotic monarchies. In the XXIV-XXIII centuries. the political center moves to the central part of Mesopotamia, where the state of Akkad arises, uniting Sumer and the northern regions of Mesopotamia under its rule. From the Akkadian kingdom, which collapsed under the onslaught of the Gutians, the hegemony in Mesopotamia soon passes to the Sumero-Akkadian kingdom.

At the beginning of the II millennium BC. e. in the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates, there were several states, among which the Babylonian kingdom prevailed, uniting a vast country under its rule. Its history is divided into several periods: the Old Babylonian, or Amorite (XIX-XVI centuries BC), the Middle Babylonian, or Kassite (XVI-XII centuries), the period of the political weakening of Babylonia and the struggle for independence (XII-VII centuries BC). ) and, finally, the Neo-Babylonian short-term period of rise and revival (VII-VI centuries), which ended with the conquest of the country by Persia.

From the 16th to the 13th century BC e. in the western part of northern Mesopotamia, the state of Mitanni played a significant role. In its eastern part, at the end of the III millennium BC. e. the Assyrian state arose with the center in the city of Ashur, whose history is further divided into periods: Old Assyrian (XX-XVI centuries BC), Middle Assyrian (XV-XI centuries BC) and New Assyrian (X-VII centuries BC). In this last period, the state of Assyria, through conquests, grows into a huge great power that embraced almost all the countries of the Middle East.

The main sources on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia are the monuments of material culture, written documents and literary works, the works of ancient authors.

Archaeological materials. The tools found during excavations of the most ancient settlements, the remains of dwellings, burials, grains and bones of animals, jewelry, figurines contain a lot of informative material about the early history of Mesopotamia. Of great importance for history are even small and at first glance not paramount material monuments, for example, cylinder seals and their impressions, which are found in abundance in Mesopotamia.

Written sources appear by the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. They are divided into several types: economic, legal, diplomatic documents, chronicle records, etc.

Business documents. A huge role in the reconstruction of the economy and social relations of antiquity is played by economic documents found in abundance during excavations of Mesopotamian cities.

The most ancient economic archives (end of the 4th millennium BC), containing about 1000 clay tablets, came from Uruk and Jemdet-Nasr.

Collections of laws. The most important source for the history of Mesopotamia are legal monuments, and above all the codes of laws. No other country of the Ancient East has preserved such an abundance of legal collections as in Mesopotamia. The oldest of them - the laws of Shulgi - date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e.

The largest collection of laws, consisting of an introduction, the main part, numbering 282 articles, and a conclusion, came from the time of the Babylonian king Hammurabi (XVIII century BC).

diplomatic documents. One of the oldest diplomatic documents has come down to us recorded on two clay cylinders. It describes the border conflicts between the cities of Lagash and Umma that took place in the 24th century. BC e.

Of exceptional importance for the history of the Mesopotamian states of the II millennium BC. e. and international relations of this period has the diplomatic Tell-Amarna archive found on the territory of Ancient Egypt, in which there are letters from the Mitannian, Babylonian and Assyrian kings to the Egyptian pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten (XIV century BC).

Among the international treaties of the 1st millennium BC. e. a prominent place is occupied by the agreements concluded by the Assyrian kings with the states dependent on them

Historical inscriptions. Of considerable interest are the historical inscriptions of the rulers of the Sumerian cities, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria and other states of Mesopotamia.

Monuments of Sumero-Akkadian literature.

Sources from other countries of the Ancient East.

Works of ancient authors. Ancient authors left vivid descriptions of the nature of Mesopotamia, the peculiarities of its climate, the customs of the population, religious beliefs, cultural achievements, as well as historical legends. The most detailed information is contained in the work of the Greek historian Herodotus.

The first scientific journey to Mesopotamia and Persia was undertaken in the 18th century. Danish scientist K. Niebuhr, who brought to Europe copies of cuneiform inscriptions from the palace in Persepolis.

Decryption. G.-F. Grotefend, G. Raulinson, J. Oppert, E. Hinks, F. Delitzsch.

Advances in the decipherment of cuneiform led to the recognition of a new branch of study called Assyriology. At present, this is the name of the complex of sciences that study the language, history and culture of the peoples who inhabited a number of regions of the Middle East in ancient times and wrote in cuneiform. Later, Sumerology, Elamitology, Urartology, Khetgology emerged from Assyriology.

The decipherment of Sumerian writing - the fundamental principle of cuneiform writing - due to great difficulties and the gradual accumulation of material, was carried out much later, in the first half of the 20th century. by the efforts of such scientists as F. Thureau-Dangin, A. Pebel, A. Daimel, A. Falkenstein and others. They are also the creators of grammars, textbooks and dictionaries of the Sumerian language. Currently, the University of Pennsylvania is working on the publication of a new, eighteen-volume dictionary of the Sumerian language. By 1992, two volumes had been published. Pictography, an early stage in the development of Sumerian writing, is still in the process of being deciphered.

Archaeological study. Archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia began in the middle of the 19th century. and were carried out at first not by archaeologists, but by enthusiasts passionate about the search for ancient monuments. The first discoveries of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia were made in its northern part, where Assyria was once located. In 1842 the French diplomat E.P. Botta began excavations of the Kuyunjik hill, which local legends associated with the brilliant capital of Assyria - Nineveh. However, more than modest finds soon forced him to stop excavating this hill and begin work near the village of Khorsabad, where in 1843 the ruins of the residence of the Assyrian king Sargon II, the city of Dur-Sharrukin, were discovered. The monuments found by Botta marked the beginning of the Assyrian collection of the Louvre Museum in France.

In 1845-1847. English diplomat G.A. Layard, who knew Oriental languages ​​well and traveled a lot in the Middle East, undertook excavations of the Nimrud hill, under which he discovered the ruins of the Assyrian city of Kalhu with royal palaces, grandiose sculptures of man-bulls and man-lions, artistic reliefs, etc. 1847 he made another startling discovery. Turning to the excavations of the unpromising, from the point of view of Botta, Kuyunjik hill, Layard discovered the ruins of Nineveh, including the palace of King Sinakh-herib (VII century BC) with the library of his grandson Ashurbanipal, full of "clay books". Layard's finds formed the basis of the ancient oriental collection of the British Museum in London.

Second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries constitute a new stage in the development of archaeological research in Mesopotamia, characterized by systematic excavations of the main ancient cities of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.

Valuable discoveries were made by Layard-X's collaborator. Rassam, who, while continuing his research on the Kuyun-jik hill, discovered the palace of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal with magnificent reliefs depicting hunting and military scenes, and an extensive royal library. Near the hill of Nimrud, in the town of Balavat, he discovered Assyrian monuments of the 9th century. BC e., including bronze slabs - the lining of the so-called Balavat Gates depicting scenes of military campaigns and tribute. Rassam discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Sippar with the temple of the sun god Shamash, an archive of business documents, a school with "teaching aids", etc. He also searched for written documents of Ancient Mesopotamia in its various corners. One of the most interesting was the discovery of the chronicle of Ashurbanipal on a clay cylinder, which received the name "Rassam's Cylinder" in science.

English expeditions of the second half of the last century discovered the ancient Sumerian cities of Uruk, Ur, Larsa, Eredu.

Among the outstanding achievements of the late XIX century. it is necessary to attribute the excavations by French archaeologists led by E. de Sarzek of the Sumerian city of Lagash, where numerous statues of its rulers were discovered, especially Gudea, silver and alabaster vases, the “Kite Stele”, which immortalized the victory of Lagash over the neighboring city of Umma, inscriptions of the ruler Urui-nimginy, depicting his reforms (XXIV century BC), a huge archive of economic temple documents. No less important was the discovery by the American expedition of the city of Nippur, which existed for 3000 years. The finds were striking in their grandiosity: the remains of the temple of the common Sumerian god Enlil, the temple library with more than 60,000 clay tablets, temple outbuildings, a palace, a school, a market, shops, residential buildings, etc.

19th century discoveries were truly sensational, striking the European scientific community with more and more interesting monuments of the great and ancient Mesopotamian civilization. But it should be noted that they were conducted at a semi-amateur level, by amateur archaeologists. Strictly scientific methods in archeology have not yet been developed. In pursuit of works of art, catchy and valuable things, layers were destroyed, less valuable at first glance monuments (residential buildings, ceramics, household items) were destroyed, there was no fixation of finds, sketches and drawings were not always made.

Early 20th century was marked by truly epoch-making discoveries, moreover, they were no longer made at an amateur, but at a scientific level.

A German archaeological expedition led by R. Koldewey unearthed a group of hills located 90 km south of Baghdad. Ancient Babylon was discovered - for several millennia the most important economic, political, cultural and religious center of Mesopotamia. During the excavations, which lasted from 1899 to 1917, the fortress walls of the city with towers, the palace of one of the most famous kings - Nebuchadnezzar II (VII-VI centuries BC), the street of religious processions, the remains of the temple of the supreme Babylonian the god Marduk and a giant ziggurat, etc. Many of the found monuments made up a brilliant collection of the Berlin Museum.

Interesting discoveries were also made by other German archaeologists in Mesopotamia. V. Andre in 1903-1914 excavated the ancient capital of Assyria - the city of Ashur, where the ruins of royal palaces, temples, including the temple of the supreme Assyrian god Ashur, royal crypts, residential city houses and streets were discovered. German archaeologists (among them R. Koldewey and W. Andre) also conducted excavations in the modern village of Fara, where the remains of the Sumerian city of Shuruppak, a library with ancient economic texts, were found; in Borsippa, a suburb of Babylon, the remains of a 49-meter ziggurat were discovered; the Sumerian city of Umma was also discovered.

The First World War temporarily interrupted the excavations in Mesopotamia. A new revival of archaeological work came in the 20-30s of the XX century.

In 1933-1939. French archaeologists under the leadership of A. Parro excavated the ancient city of Mari. As a result of these works, a grandiose palace of the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC was opened. e., built by King Mari Zimrilim, with an archive of more than 20,000 tablets of economic and diplomatic documents. The excavations were so successful that, interrupted by the Second World War, they resumed and continued until the mid-70s. The remains of three more palaces (IV and III millennium BC), the temple of the goddess of fertility Ishtar, burials, new clay tablets were discovered.

In 1922-1934. An English archaeological expedition led by L. Woolley conducted systematic excavations of ancient Ur. Monuments were opened, allowing to restore the history of the city starting from the 4th millennium BC. e. and ending with the 4th c. BC e .: temples of the moon god Nannar and his wife, the goddess Ningal; ziggurat of the end of the III millennium BC. e., built by the king Ur-Nammu; royal tombs of the early dynastic period; schools, workshops, market, harbor, inn, residential areas, temple, public and private archives.

Excavations were also carried out on the territory of the outlying states of Mesopotamia. In 1925-1930. American archaeologists during excavations in Arrapha under three hills discovered a citadel, palace, temple, household and residential buildings and large archives of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In 1930-1936. American scientists discovered the ancient Eshnuna - the center of a small Mesopotamian kingdom in the Diyala River basin.

The following features are characteristic of the archaeological study of Mesopotamia after the Second World War.

First, along with European and American researchers, Iraqi scientists joined the archaeological work. The second characteristic feature of the archaeological study of Mesopotamia in the 1950s-1980s is the repeated appeal to the monuments excavated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but already fully armed with new scientific methods. The third feature of the period is the appeal of archaeologists to the most ancient epochs of Mesopotamia, to its prehistory.

So from the palaces of late Assyria to the caves of the Paleolithic, an archaeological study of the past of this country went on. Initial dilettantism was replaced by the development of a truly scientific methodology. Archeology has moved from searching for sensational things to solving the most important problems, highlighting entire stages in the history of Mesopotamia.

The main directions of work of foreign researchers. The formation of Assyriology as a science was a complex process

The development of Assyriology was stimulated primarily by the publication of the vast amount of material that has already been given and continues to be given by archaeological excavations. One of the first enthusiasts of this was the decipherer of cuneiform G. Raulinson. The name of the engraver of the British Museum J. Smith, who independently studied cuneiform writing and became an outstanding scientist, rightfully went down in history. Huge work on the publication, translation and study of Sumerian documents from the museums of the USA, Turkey, Iraq and a number of other museums in the world, including the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin, for several decades carried out by the American Sumerologist S. Kramer. However, most of the cuneiform documents have not yet been published, which creates the problem of the well-known preliminary scientific conclusions.

Since the end of the 19th century general works on the history of Mesopotamia are being created, among which the studies of German historians K. Bezold and B. Meisner, American scientists A. Olmstead, A.L. Oppenheim and others.

Issues of political history and state structure are actively studied. An important direction in foreign science is the study of the law of Ancient Mesopotamia, which is natural, because no other ancient Eastern country has produced so many legal monuments. Especially many works are devoted to the analysis of the laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi. Foreign scientists pay the greatest attention to the issues of culture and religion of ancient Mesopotamia. Considerable attention is paid in foreign science to the problems of ethnogenesis on the territory of Mesopotamia, the origin of the Sumerians, their relationship with the Semitic-speaking peoples.

Foreign science paid much less attention to the problems of economics and social relations.

As for the development of Assyriological "schools" by country, Assyriology initially settled in England and France. From the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. its center moved to Germany. With the establishment of a fascist dictatorship there, many Assyriologists from Germany and European countries left for the United States, where world-famous Assyriological institutions now operate. In the United States, European "schools" of Assyriology - France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Germany, as well as eastern Turkey, Iraq and Israel - enjoy considerable authority. The Assyriological school of the Czech Republic, founded by B. Grozny, has outstanding traditions. The works of Polish and Hungarian Assyriologists are well-known.

The study of the history of Mesopotamia in domestic science. The founder of the Russian "school" of Assyriology is rightfully considered M.V. Nikolsky. A significant contribution to the creation of Russian Assyriology was made by such scientists as B.A. Turaev, who paid considerable attention to the culture and history of Mesopotamia in his great work "History of the Ancient East", and V.K. Shileiko, who gave brilliant translations of literary, mythological and historical works of ancient Mesopotamia.

Traditions of Russian science at the beginning of the 20th century. formed the basis of the Soviet Assyriology emerging after the October Revolution, which developed on the basis of the methodology of historical materialism. In the 20-50s, academicians V.V. Struve and A.I. Tyumenev.

Gradually, a school of domestic assyriologists was created. Among them, a prominent place is occupied by I.M. Dyakonov, whose research focuses on the socio-economic history of ancient Mesopotamia.

Domestic Assyriology of the 70-90s develops many scientific problems. Among them, the leading place is occupied by the problem of socio-economic relations in Mesopotamia. It found its development in the works of M.A. Dandamaeva.

Our scientists got involved in the archaeological study of the monuments of Ancient Mesopotamia, and since 1969 they have been excavating in Iraq, in the north-west of the country, where they have explored early agricultural settlements of the 8th-4th millennia BC. e. The excavation materials and the results of their study were published (P.M. Munchaev, N.Ya. Merpert and others).

The achievements of Russian Assyriology are summarized in the multi-volume academic work "History of the Ancient East".

adad, the god of storms, in Sumer was known as Ishkur, the Arameans called him Hadad. As a deity of thunder, he was usually depicted with lightning in his hand. Since agriculture in Mesopotamia was irrigated, Adad, who controlled the rains and annual floods, occupied an important place in the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He and his wife Shala were especially revered in Assyria. Temples of Adad existed in many major cities of Babylonia.

Adapa, the main character of the myth of human mortality. Adapa, a half-god-half-man creation of the god Ea, was once caught in a storm while fishing. His boat capsized and he was in the water. Angered, Adapa cursed the god of storms, as a result of which the sea was calm for seven days. To explain his behavior, he had to appear before the supreme god Anu, but with the help of Ea he was able to moderate his anger, enlisting the support of two divine intercessors, Tammuz and Gilgamesh. On the advice of Ea, Adapa refused food and drink offered to him by Anu. Anu, in this way, wanted to turn him completely into a deity and deprive Ea of such an amazing creature. From Adapa's refusal, Anu concluded that he was ultimately only a stupid mortal and sent him to earth, but decided that he would be protected from all diseases.

Anu(m), An Akkadian form of the name of the Sumerian god An, meaning "sky". The supreme deity of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He "father of the gods", his domain the sky. According to the Babylonian creation hymn Enuma Elish, Anu is descended from Apsu (the original fresh water) and Tiamat (the sea). Although Anu was worshiped throughout Mesopotamia, he was especially revered in Uruk (biblical Erech) and Dere. Anu's wife was the goddess Antu. His sacred number is 6.

Ashur, chief god of Assyria, like Marduk chief god of Babylonia. Ashur was the deity of the city that bore his name from ancient times, and was considered the main god of the Assyrian Empire. The temples of Ashur were called, in particular, E-shara ("House of omnipotence") and E-hursag-gal-kurkura ("House of the great mountain of the earth"). “Great Mountain” is one of the epithets of Enlil, which passed to Ashur when he became the main god of Assyria.

Dagan, a non-Mesopotamian deity by origin. He entered the pantheons of Babylonia and Assyria during the mass penetration of Western Semites into Mesopotamia ca. 2000 BC The main god of the city of Mari on the Middle Euphrates. In Sumer, the city of Puzrish-Dagan was named after him. The names of the kings of the north of Babylonia of the Issin dynasty Ishme-Dagan (“Dagan heard”) and Iddin-Dagan (“given by Dagan”) testify to the prevalence of his cult in Babylonia. One of the sons of the king of Assyria Shamshi-Adad (a contemporary of Hammurabi) was named Ishme-Dagan. This god was revered by the Philistines under the name Dagon. Temple of Dagan excavated at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in Phoenicia. Shala was considered Dagan's wife.

Ea, one of the three great Sumerian gods (the other two are Anu and Enlil). His original name was Enki ("lord of the earth"), but to avoid confusion with Enlil, whose domain was also earth, he was called Ea (Sumer. "e" "house" and "e" "water") . Ea is closely associated with Apsu, the personification of fresh waters. Because of the importance of fresh water in the religious rituals of Mesopotamia, Ea was also considered the god of magic and wisdom. In the Enuma Elish, he is the creator of man. The cult of Ea and his wife Damkin flourished in Eridu, Ur, Lars, Uruk and Shuruppak. His sacred number is 40.

Enlil, along with Anu and Enki, one of the gods of the main triad of the Sumerian pantheon. Initially, he is the god of storms (Sumer. "en" "master"; "lil" "storm"). In Akkadian, he was called Bel ("lord"). As the "lord of storms" he is closely associated with the mountains, and therefore with the earth. In Sumero-Babylonian theology, the universe was divided into four main parts sky, earth, waters and the underworld. The gods who ruled over them were Anu, Enlil, Ea and Nergal respectively. Enlil and his wife Ninlil ("nin" "lady") were especially revered in the religious center of Sumer Nippur. His sacred number is 50.

Enmerkar, legendary king of Uruk and hero of Sumerian myth. Wanting to conquer the rich country of Aratta, he turned to the goddess Inanna for help. Following her advice, he sent a messenger to the ruler of this country, demanding his obedience. The main part of the myth is devoted to the relationship between the two rulers. Aratta eventually gave Enmerkar treasures and gems for the temple of the goddess Inanna.

Etana, the legendary thirteenth king of the city of Kish. Having no heir to the throne, he tried to get the “birth grass” that grew in heaven. Etata saved the eagle from the snake that attacked him, and in gratitude the eagle offered to carry him on his back to the sky. The end of this myth is lost.

Gilgamesh, the mythical ruler of the city of Uruk and one of the most popular heroes of Mesopotamian folklore, the son of the goddess Ninsun and a demon. His adventures are recorded in a long tale on twelve tablets; some of them, unfortunately, have not been completely preserved. Rugged ruler of Uruk and a crude creature of the goddess Aruru, Enkidu, created to oppose Gilgamesh, became his friend after succumbing to the spell of one of Uruk's harlots. Gilgamesh and Enkidu made a campaign against the monster Humbaba, the guardian of the cedar forest in the west, and defeated him with the help of the sun god Shamash. The goddess of love and war, Ishtar, was offended by Gilgamesh after he rejected her love claims, and asked her father, the supreme god Anu, to send a huge bull on two friends. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slew the bull, after which they began to mock Ishtar. As a result of the sacrilege, Enkidu died. Desperate for the loss of a friend, Gilgamesh set out in search of the "secret of life." After long wanderings, he found a plant that restores life, but at the moment when Gilgamesh was distracted, he was kidnapped by a snake. The eleventh tablet tells the story of Utnapishtim, the Babylonian Noah.

Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, the most significant goddess of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. Her Sumerian name is Inanna ("lady of heaven"). She is the sister of the sun god Shamash and the daughter of the moon god Sin. Identified with the planet Venus. Her symbol is a star in a circle. As a goddess of war, she was often depicted sitting on a lion. As the goddess of physical love, she was the patroness of temple harlots. She was also considered a merciful mother, standing up for people before the gods. In the history of Mesopotamia in different cities she was revered under different names. One of the main centers of the Ishtar cult was Uruk.

Marduk, chief god of Babylon. The temple of Marduk was called E-sag-il. The temple tower, the ziggurat, served as the basis for the creation of the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel. In fact, it was called E-temen-an-ki ("House of the foundation of heaven and earth"). Marduk was the god of the planet Jupiter and the main god of Babylon, in connection with which he absorbed the features and functions of other gods of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. In the Neo-Babylonian time, in connection with the development of monotheistic ideas, other deities began to be considered as manifestations of various aspects of the "character" of Marduk. The wife of Marduk Tsarpanitu.

Naboo god of the planet Mercury, son of Marduk and divine patron of scribes. Its symbol was "style", a reed rod used to mark cuneiform characters on unbaked clay tablets for writing texts. In Old Babylonian times it was known under the name of Nabium; his veneration reached its highest point in the neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire. The names Nabopolassar (Nabu-apla-ushur), Nebuchadnezzar (Nabu-kudurri-ushur) and Nabonidus (Nabu-na "id) contain the name of the god Nabu. The main city of his cult was Borsippa near Babylon, where his temple of E-zid was located (" House of firmness") His wife was the goddess Tashmetum.

nergal, in the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon, the god of the planet Mars and the underworld. The name Ne-iri-gal in Sumerian means "Power of the great abode". Nargal also assumed the functions of Erra, originally the plague god. According to Babylonian mythology, Nergal descended into the World of the Dead and took power over it from his queen Ereshkigal. The center of the cult of Nergal was the city of Kuta near Kish.

Ningirsu, god of the Sumerian city of Lagash. Many of his attributes are the same as those of the common Sumerian god Ninurta. He appeared to the ruler of Lagash, Gudea, and ordered him to build a temple to E-ninnu. His wife is the goddess Baba (or Bau).

Ninhursag, mother goddess in Sumerian mythology, also known as Ninmah ("Great Lady") and Nintu ("Lady giving birth"). Under the name Ki ("Earth"), she was originally the consort of An ("Heaven"); from this divine couple all the gods were born. According to one myth, Ninmah helped Enki create the first man out of clay. In another myth, she cursed Enki for eating the plants she created, but then she repented and cured him of the diseases resulting from the curse.

Ninurta, Sumerian god of the hurricane, as well as war and hunting. Its emblem is a scepter surmounted by two lion heads. Wife Goddess Gula. As the god of war, he was highly revered in Assyria. His cult especially flourished in the city of Kalhu.

Shamash, Sumerian-Akkadian god of the sun, in Akkadian his name means "sun". The Sumerian name of the god is Utu. The symbol is a winged disc. Shamash is the source of light and life, but also the god of justice, whose rays illuminate all evil in man. On the stela of Hammurabi, he is depicted passing laws to the king. The main centers of the cult of Shamash and his wife Aya were Larsa and Sippar. His sacred number is 20.

Syn, Sumerian-Akkadian deity of the moon. Its symbol is a crescent. Since the Moon was associated with the measurement of time, he was known as the "Lord of the Month". Sin was considered the father of Shamash (the sun god) and Ishtar, also known as Inanna or Ninsianna, the goddess of the planet Venus. The popularity of the god Sin throughout Mesopotamian history is attested by the large number of proper names of which his name is an element. The main center of the cult of Sin and his wife Ningal ("Great Lady") was the city of Ur. The sacred number of Sin is 30.

tammuz, Sumerian-Akkadian god of vegetation. His Sumerian name is Dumuzi-abzu ("True Son of Apsu") or Dumuzi, from which the Hebrew form of the name Tammuz is derived. The cult of Tammuz, revered under the West Semitic name Adonai ("My Lord") or under the Greek Adonis, was widespread in the Mediterranean. According to the surviving myths, Tammuz died, descended into the world of the dead, was resurrected and ascended to earth, and then ascended to heaven. During his absence, the land remained barren and the herds fell. Because of the closeness of this god with the natural world, fields and animals, he was also called the "Shepherd".

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