Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC)

Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC)
Author: Douglas Frayne
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 904
Release: 1990-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780802058737

A short introduction for each inscription gives its general contents, place of origin, and relative dating. Also included are a detailed catalogue of exemplars, a brief commentary, bibliography, and text in transliteration facing an English translation.

Babylonian Creation Myths

Babylonian Creation Myths
Author: Wilfred G. Lambert
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 657
Release: 2013-09-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575068613

For much of the last half of the twentieth century, W. G. Lambert devoted much of his research energy and effort to the study of Babylonian texts dealing with Mesopotamian ideas regarding creation, including especially Enuma Elish. This volume, which appears almost exactly 2 years after Lambert’s death, distills a lifetime of learning by the world’s foremost expert on these texts. Lambert provides a full transliteration and translation of the 7 tablets of Enuma Elish, based on the known exemplars, as well as coverage of a number of other texts that bear on, or are thought to bear on, Mesopotamian notions of the origin of the world, mankind, and the gods. New editions of seventeen additional “creation tales” are provided, including “Enmesharra’s Defeat,” “Enki and Ninmah,” “The Slaying of Labbu,” and “The Theogony of Dunnu.” Lambert pays special attention, of course, to the connection of the main epic, Enuma Elish, with the rise and place of Marduk in the Babylonian pantheon. He traces the development of this deity’s origin and rise to prominence and elaborates the relationship of this text, and the others discussed, to the religious and political climate Babylonia. The volume includes 70 plates (primarily hand-copies of the various exemplars of Enuma Elish) and extensive indexes.

Mesopotamian Protective Spirits

Mesopotamian Protective Spirits
Author: F. A. M. Wiggermann
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 246
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789072371522

Wiggerman's study of Mesopotamian monsters bridges the gap between text and image. Wooden and clay figures of monstrous spirits such as Hairy-One (lahmu), Bison-Bull (kusarikku), and Furious-Snake (mushussu) stand guard at the entrances to buildings to protect the inhavitants from demonic intruders. Deriving his information from the ritual texts that describe the production and installation of these figures, the author identifies the monsters of the texts with objects from the archaeological record and presents a detailed discussion of the identities and histories of a variety of Mesopotamian monsters.

Born in Heaven, Made on Earth

Born in Heaven, Made on Earth
Author: Michael Brennan Dick
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575060248

Pejoratively referred to as "idols" in the Hebrew Bible and in western tradition, the cult image occupied a central place in the cultures of the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamia, a ritual (mis pi) was used to "give birth" to the god represented by the cult image. In this volume, three separate essays examine the topic within different ancient Near Eastern cultures, and a fourth provides a modern analogy as counterpoint.

Before the Muses

Before the Muses
Author: Benjamin Read Foster
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Akkadian language
ISBN: 9781883053765

Comprehensive collection of ancient Akkadian literature spanning three millennia. This larger, completely new, 3rd edition contains many compositions not in the previous editions; new translations of previously included compositions; incorporation of new text fragments identified or excavated since the last publication; all new footnotes; references and commentary brought up to date to reflect scholarly work of the last 10 years; and 100 more pages than the old two-volume edition.

The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic

The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic
Author: A. R. George
Publisher:
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2003
Genre: Epic of Gilgamesh
ISBN: 9780199278428

"The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic is the oldest long poem in the world, with a history going back four thousand years. It tells the fascinating and moving story of Gilgamesh's heroic deeds and lonely quest for immortality. This book collects for the first time all the known sources in the original cuneiform, including many fragments never published before. The author's personal study of every available fragment has produced a definitive edition and translation, complete with comprehensive introductory chapters that place the poem and its hero in context."--Publisher's description.