The Religious Beliefs of the Ancient Mesopotamians and How They Changed from Sumerian to Babylonian Times - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Title : Religious beliefs of ancient Mesopotamia Institution : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ 2011 Abstract: The research will focus on the main religious beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamians and how this people of the ancient Mesopotamia managed to change from Sumerian to Babylonian times. Religious beliefs of ancient Mesopotamia Introduction The religion of Mesopotamia comprises of the religious practices and beliefs of the various people that lived in Mesopotamia which is believed to be the present Iraq. ‘The religion is thought to have existed for about 3000 years starting in the 4th millennium to the first century BCE (Bottéro2007 pp. 201-231).Being in the form of a pagan religion it was polytheistic with over 2000 deities being worshipped. Many of these deities were linked to specific city states in Mesopotamia like Babylon, Sumer and Akkad. Enlil, Anu and Marduk were among the most prominent deities in that religion. Most of the people have even claimed that this religion is the oldest in the world although there are other religions thought to be the oldest. The present knowledge about the religion has been compiled from archaeological material like literature written on clay tablets in cuneiform describing cultic practices as well as mythology Rochberg Francesca (2004 pp. 110-112. ).The religion can also be studied by use of other artefacts since the people of Mesopotamia had religion at the centre of their lives. This essay discusses the religious beliefs held by the ancient Mesopotamians and the transformation of the Sumerian to Babylonian religion. Main body The Mesopotamian religion was known as Assyro-Babylonian religion. It had in it, beliefs prevalent in the early civilizations common in the Euphrates valley. This religion developed to the point that it had an impact on the Semitic people who were the originators of the Hebrew traditional religious beliefs. The Mesopotamian religion greatly influenced the civilization of man at that time (Jean Bottéro2007 pp. 201-231).The Mesopotamian religion presents problems when one tries to study it because deities that are similar have different names in different languages like the Akkadian and Sumerian. For example Ishtar, Inanna, Ea or Enki are names that refer to two but not four deities (Beaulieu 2003 pp 300).The evolution of the gods from local to universal also made them change taking on each others or attributes belonging to older gods. There is speculation on the character of these gods. The Akkadian and Sumerian group of deities that were worshipped in the Mesopotamian religion were at a later time called Anunnaki gods. They were related to and overlapped with the fifty great gods (Annuna). Anu was the leader of the council of Annunaki which were believed to be Anu’s and Ki’s (heaven’s and Earth’s) children. Heaven and Earth being brother and sister gods were the children of Kishar and Anshar Linssen (Beaulieu 2003 pp 300).Knowledge about the conception and worship of the Ennunaki in early centuries is scarce. Temples in ancient Mesopotamia were built on high ground at the centre of settlements and had the highest quality and most sophisticated artefacts of the town. In regards to research Uruk was an ancient and very important city in Sumer. There was a white temple at Uruk which had many different shrines. Uruk is also believed to have been the Anu’s seat of worship. Together with Uruk other centres of religion existed before 1700 B.C.E. These centres were Kutha, Nippur, Sippar, UrShirgulla, Agade and Eridu. Each of these towns gave honour to a certain specific god which appeared as the main deity. Other smaller deities gathered around this chief deity (Oppenheim & Reiner 2008 pp. 68.).The union of the states of the Euphrates was affected by the Hammurabi at about 1700 B.C.E. This period marked a new era in the Euphrates valley religion. The pantheon had distinct shapes during the Hammurabic period. Marduk rose as the major deity over other gods. The gods responsible for the major religious centres as well as those from the minor shrines became part of the group surrounding the Marduk. Although there was a decision to move towards monotheism as the government of the whole universe the recognition of many gods in the religion remained an important factor (Marc 2004 pp.39- 43.).In earlier times the goddess Ishtra or Inanna received great honour just like their male counterparts like Enki and Enlil. ‘During Hammurabi’s reign the main deity Marduk of Babylon which was to become the capital in future became the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Sarpanit was a female consort that was associated with the deity Marduk. This consort was identified with Inanna or Ishtra in imaginations. The chief deities from the older centres of religion were grouped around the two. ‘These were Ea and Damkina of Eridu; Nabu and Tashmit of Borsippa; Nergal and Allatu of Kutha; Shamash of Sippar; Sin and Ningal of Ur, as well as other deities whose locations are unknown.’ Accommodation of the older prerogatives with new conditions made the attributes of the older gods to be transferred to Marduk. Incantations that were associated with Ea had to be re edited in order for Marduk to receive overall control over demons, sorcerers and witches (Samuel Noah 1999 pp 91-100). Some lamentations and hymns composed for Enlil, Adad and Shamash which were cults had to be changed into appeals and paeans to Marduk. The old myths formed in the different political and religious centres were taken through such adaptation processes to changing conditions. A part from the major deities plus their consorts many minor deities that represented patron gods for less significant places were brought also to Marduk’s court. Nevertheless other smaller deities still remained autonomous like Ishtar which was a symbol of fertility and vitality and Anu which was god for the heavens (Rendsburg1998 pp 320). The city of Ashur in the North had a patron god called Ashur that took up an equal position to that of Marduk in the South. Marduk gained recognition among the rulers of Assyria because Babylon had a great religious predominance. Ashur was substituted for Marduk but his did not change the Assyrian pantheonsince it remained just like the one in the south. However some gods had different attributes from those of the ones in the south. The war loving nature of Assyria was seen in the way they viewed the gods that sttod near Ashur. The south influenced the rituals and cult of the north greatly. Hymns formed for the Babylonian Temple were taken to Assur, Harran, Calah, Arbela as well as Nineveh. Modified legends and myths were also transferred to Assyria whose religion became similar to the southern one. (Jacobsen Thorkild 2009). In the Babylonian-Assyrian religion the Anu deity was distant in many periods. Anu as the chief deity became the most prominent figure of a triad consisting of Ea, Anu and Enlil. Ea was believed to control the watery expanse, Enlil the earth and Anu the heavens. Ishtar as a mother goddess was left powerful on her self. She had male deities that look upon her as a worrior, protector and consort. She had an association with Marduk, the Assyrian chief god Ashur in the North of Mesopotamia that had a similar position to Marduk in the south (Rendsburg1998 pp 320). Apart from the first triad there could be another triad composed of Sin, Shamash and Ishtar which symbolized the sun, moon and power that gives life. In ancient myths and hymns from Mesopotamia Ishtar is also presented as symbol for fertility and nature. With the increase of the popularity of Ishtar the goddess Nimnah declined in popularity (Linssen Marc 2004 Pp. 125.).The theoretical base of the religion in Babylonia as well as Assyria was astral theology. This theology assumed that there is a tight connection between movements in the heavens and the things occurring on earth This was the basis of the practice of associating the goddesses and gods to heavenly bodies and giving out the seats of the gods and goddesses in heaven. The supreme deity Madruk was believed to have put the heavenly bodies in their positions and was the one ruling over them. In order to understand what was happening on the earth one had to study the heavenly signs (Reiner 2008 pp. 68.).The relationship in position of the stars, sun, moon and other planets could help in foretelling future events. Some myths acting as symbols for seasonal changes or natural occurrences were related with the heavens. Myths that symbolized changes in season or occurrences in nature were projected on the heavens, which were mapped out to correspond to the divisions of the earth. Initially worship was expressed as animistic beliefs which later changed into astral interpretations for doctrines and occurrences that later brought about astronomy. Anu, Enlil and Ea became the three ways of the divine realm when the gods were transferred to the heavens (Linssen Marc 2004 Pp. 125.). Apart from divination being carried out on the heavens it was also done through the liver of animals meant for sacrifice since that liver was taken to be the seat of life as well as the soul. These two kinds of divination were connected. Incantations done in ritualistic activities were directed Ea the god of water and Nushku as the god of fire but later they were taken to Marduk. Festival days were celebrated with a lot of ritual but without any practices astral theology (Roux 1964 pp. 27-45.). Popular religious elements are connected to the ceremonies carried out on the days when gods were consulted. The Mesopotamian religion was carried out with short prayers, libations and sacrifices, ritual purification, symbolic rites and sprinkling of water. In order to ensure the fertility of people, crops and livestock the king or his representatives would perform sexual acts on priestesses as representatives of thew goddess of fertility called Ishtar Jacobsen Thorkild (2009 pp 54.). The Babylonian religion gave qualities to gods and goddesses that resemble those of man and also had responsibilities given to man. Marduk has kindness and mercy, Shamash had justice while Ea protected mankind. These deities could be angered. In the religion there is no separation between ritualistic neglect and moral offence. Man was however required to observe cleanliness and purity before the deities, be humble and be ready to confess sins and guilt without delay. It was believed that there is life after death where by it was thought that there is a big dark cavern under the earth where those who died existed without any activity in dust and gloom (Holloway Steven 2002 pp 23.).Those that were favored were allowed to escape to a good island. The Babylonian religion was in essence the Sumerian religion continued. At that time the Babylonian kingdom had become powerful and some things were therefore altered. By the middle of the 17th century BCE the Amorites of Babylon had become dominant in southern Mesopotamia. In the ancient Babylonian period the Akkadian and Sumerian languages were still in use during religious ceremonies. The Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon was changed to facilitate the transformation from Sumerian to Babylonian. In the alteration a new deity Marduk was introduced Roux (1964). “The goddess of Sumeria called Inanna also developed the counterpart Ishar in the old Babylonian times.” In all the history of Babylon the Babylonians got a lot of civilization which was based on the culture of Sumeria which was later regarded as traditional by the Babylonians. In religion the Sumerians still had their many gods. Each god possessed a major temple in a city Gordon Cyrus (1998 pp 320). Conclusion In conclusion the god Marduk was then promoted by the Babylonians in Babylon city. Marduk was from then made the chief god in the religion of the Babylonians from about 1100 BC. The religion in Babylon was centered in a temple, had several festivals and priests like the diviner and exorcist whose training was in driving out evil spirits. There was no substantial change from Akkad or Sumerain to Babylonia. King Hammurabi made a Babylonian Marduk the chief god in addition to the Sumerian pantheon Beaulieu Paul-Alain (2003 pp 300). The religion in ancient Mesopotamia was practiced by the Sumerians in the present day Iraq some 3000 years from the fourth millennium. This religion was characterized by the worship of many gods some of whom were associated with the moon, sun and the earth. Many of these deities were linked to specific city states in Mesopotamia like Babylon, Sumer and Akkad. The Sumerian religion has been thought to be the oldest religion over the world. References Beaulieu, Paul-Alain.(2003) The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period. Leiden: Brill pp 300. Gordon, Cyrus, and Gary Rendsburg. (1998) The Bible and the Ancient Near East, 3rd Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.. pp 320. Holloway, Steven W. (2002)"Aššur Is King! Aššur Is King! Religion in the Exercise of Power in the Neo-Assyrian Empire." In Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Leiden: Brill pp 23. Jacobsen, Thorkild.(2009) The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press pp 54. Linssen, Marc J.H. (2004) The Cults of Uruk and Babylon: The Temple Ritual Texts As Evidence for Hellenistic Cult Practices. Leiden: Brill, Styx. Pp. 125. Oppenheim, A. Leo, and Erica Reiner.(2008) Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press pp. 68. Rochberg, Francesca. (2004)The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 116-199.Hayes, John L. (2000). A Manual of Sumerian Grammar and Texts. Aids and Research Tools in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Second revised ed.). Malibu: Undena Publications pp. 110-112.  Kramer, Samuel Noah (1999). Sumerian mythology: a study of spiritual and literary achievement in the third millennium B.C. Philadelphia :: American Philosophical Society pp 180-187. P.-A. Beaulieu, "The Babylonian Man in the Moon." Journal of Cuneiform Studies 51 (1999) pp 91-100. Jean Bottéro, (2007)"The Religious System," in  Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods. Translated by Zainab Bahrani and Marc Van de Mieroop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press pp. 201-231 Bottéro, Jean (2001). Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 65-73. Davies Owen (2009). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. New York: Oxford University Press pp. 132. Roux, Georges (1964). Ancient Iraq, Penguin Books pp. 27-45. Silver, Morris;2007. Redistribution and Markets in the Economy of Ancient Mesopotamia: Updating Polanyi pp. 57-60. Snell, Daniel (ed.).2005. A Companion to the Ancient Near East. Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub, 2005 pp. 10. Van de Mieroop, Marc; 2004. A history of the ancient Near East. ca 3000-323 BC. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing pp. 39- 43. Read More

The Akkadian and Sumerian group of deities that were worshipped in the Mesopotamian religion were at a later time called Anunnaki gods. They were related to and overlapped with the fifty great gods (Annuna). Anu was the leader of the council of Annunaki which were believed to be Anu’s and Ki’s (heaven’s and Earth’s) children. Heaven and Earth being brother and sister gods were the children of Kishar and Anshar Linssen (Beaulieu 2003 pp 300).Knowledge about the conception and worship of the Ennunaki in early centuries is scarce.

Temples in ancient Mesopotamia were built on high ground at the centre of settlements and had the highest quality and most sophisticated artefacts of the town. In regards to research Uruk was an ancient and very important city in Sumer. There was a white temple at Uruk which had many different shrines. Uruk is also believed to have been the Anu’s seat of worship. Together with Uruk other centres of religion existed before 1700 B.C.E. These centres were Kutha, Nippur, Sippar, UrShirgulla, Agade and Eridu.

Each of these towns gave honour to a certain specific god which appeared as the main deity. Other smaller deities gathered around this chief deity (Oppenheim & Reiner 2008 pp. 68.).The union of the states of the Euphrates was affected by the Hammurabi at about 1700 B.C.E. This period marked a new era in the Euphrates valley religion. The pantheon had distinct shapes during the Hammurabic period. Marduk rose as the major deity over other gods. The gods responsible for the major religious centres as well as those from the minor shrines became part of the group surrounding the Marduk.

Although there was a decision to move towards monotheism as the government of the whole universe the recognition of many gods in the religion remained an important factor (Marc 2004 pp.39- 43.).In earlier times the goddess Ishtra or Inanna received great honour just like their male counterparts like Enki and Enlil. ‘During Hammurabi’s reign the main deity Marduk of Babylon which was to become the capital in future became the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Sarpanit was a female consort that was associated with the deity Marduk.

This consort was identified with Inanna or Ishtra in imaginations. The chief deities from the older centres of religion were grouped around the two. ‘These were Ea and Damkina of Eridu; Nabu and Tashmit of Borsippa; Nergal and Allatu of Kutha; Shamash of Sippar; Sin and Ningal of Ur, as well as other deities whose locations are unknown.’ Accommodation of the older prerogatives with new conditions made the attributes of the older gods to be transferred to Marduk. Incantations that were associated with Ea had to be re edited in order for Marduk to receive overall control over demons, sorcerers and witches (Samuel Noah 1999 pp 91-100).

Some lamentations and hymns composed for Enlil, Adad and Shamash which were cults had to be changed into appeals and paeans to Marduk. The old myths formed in the different political and religious centres were taken through such adaptation processes to changing conditions. A part from the major deities plus their consorts many minor deities that represented patron gods for less significant places were brought also to Marduk’s court. Nevertheless other smaller deities still remained autonomous like Ishtar which was a symbol of fertility and vitality and Anu which was god for the heavens (Rendsburg1998 pp 320).

The city of Ashur in the North had a patron god called Ashur that took up an equal position to that of Marduk in the South. Marduk gained recognition among the rulers of Assyria because Babylon had a great religious predominance. Ashur was substituted for Marduk but his did not change the Assyrian pantheonsince it remained just like the one in the south. However some gods had different attributes from those of the ones in the south. The war loving nature of Assyria was seen in the way they viewed the gods that sttod near Ashur.

The south influenced the rituals and cult of the north greatly.

Read More