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Nabu
Nabu (sometimes known as Tutu) is the Babylonian god of wisdom, learning, prophecy, scribes, and writing and was also responsible for the abundant harvest and all growing things. His name means "the Announcer" which refers to his prophetic...
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Detail of the Sun God Tablet from Sippar
This is the upper part of the obverse side of the tablet, which was excavated by Hormuzd Rassam in the late 19th century CE. Nabu-nadin-shum (a priest) and the goddess Aa lead Nabu-aplu-iddina (a king of Babylon, reigned 888 – 855 BCE) to...
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Festivals in Ancient Mesopotamia
Festivals in ancient Mesopotamia honored the patron deity of a city-state or the primary god of the city that controlled a region or empire. The earliest, the Akitu festival, was first observed in Sumer in the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334...
Definition
Nisaba
Nisaba (also Naga, Se-Naga, Nissaba, Nidaba, and associated with Nanibgal) is the Sumerian goddess of writing, accounts, and scribe of the gods. Although her name is commonly given as Nidaba, noted scholar Jeremy Black points out that "the...
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Votive Plaque Dedicating a Property to Nabu's Temple
This bronze plaque was made in the form of an amulet and was inscribed with cuneiform inscriptions. The figures of four deities were incised above the inscriptions. Marduk holds on a necklace and stands on a dragon while Nabu holds a stylus...
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The Tongue Tower, Temple of Nabu, Borsippa
The ziggurat, the "Tongue Tower," today one of the most vividly identifiable surviving ziggurats, is identified in the later Talmudic and Arabic culture with the Tower of Babel. However, modern scholarship concludes that the Sumero-Akkadian...
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The Top of the Ziggurat and Temple of Nabu at Borsippa
The so-called "tongue tower" lies at the top of the ruins of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at the ancient city of Borsippa, in modern-day Babel Governorate, Iraq. 6th century BCE.
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Ruins of the Ziggurat and Temple of Nabu at Borsippa
The so-called "tongue tower" lies at the top of the ruins of the ziggurat and temple of Nabu at the ancient city of Borsippa, in modern-day Babel Governorate, Iraq. 6th century BCE.
Definition
Assur
Assur (also Ashur, Anshar) is the god of the Assyrians who was elevated from a local deity of the city of Ashur to the supreme god of the Assyrian pantheon. His attributes were drawn from earlier Sumerian and Babylonian deities and so he...
Definition
Mesopotamian Religion
Mesopotamian religion was central to the people's lives. Humans were created as co-laborers with their gods to hold off the forces of chaos and to keep the world running smoothly. As in ancient Egypt, the gods were honored daily for providing...