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# Mesopotamian Religion

## Overview
Mesopotamian religion was the polytheistic belief system of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria, practiced from ~4000 BCE until supplanted by Christianity and Islam in late antiquity. It profoundly influenced later Near Eastern religions, including Canaanite, Hebrew, and early Christian traditions. @t[~4000 BCE..~500 CE]

## Key Facts
- Period: ~4000 BCE – ~500 CE @t[~4000 BCE..~500 CE]
- Type: Polytheistic
- Sacred sites: Ziggurats in every major city
- Key texts: *Enuma Elish* (creation epic), *Epic of Gilgamesh*, *Descent of Inanna*, *Atrahasis Epic*

## Major Deities
- An/Anu: Sky god, father of the gods
- Enlil: God of wind and storms, chief deity of Nippur; head of the pantheon in the Sumerian period
- Enki/Ea: God of wisdom, magic, and fresh water; patron of craftsmen and scribes
- Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility; patron of Uruk [^1]
- Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, elevated to supreme deity in the *Enuma Elish* (~18th–12th century BCE) [^1]
- Shamash/Utu: Sun god and god of justice [^1]
- Nanna/Sin: Moon god, son of Enlil; patron of Ur; one of the oldest attested deities (~3500 BCE) [^3]
- Nergal: God of death, plague, and the underworld; ruler of *Irkalla* alongside Ereshkigal [^1]
- Tiamat: Primordial goddess of salt water; slain by Marduk in the *Enuma Elish* to form heaven and earth [^2]

## Key Concepts
- Ziggurats: Temple platforms connecting heaven and earth; each city's ziggurat housed its patron deity
- City-patron system: Each city-state worshipped its own patron deity while acknowledging the broader pantheon [^1]
- Divination: Extispicy (reading entrails), astrology, and dream interpretation were state-sponsored practices [^1]
- Temple economy: Temples functioned as economic centers — managing land, labor, and redistribution of goods [^1]
- Personal piety: Individuals maintained personal household gods (*lamma*) and prayed daily; religion was transactional — offerings in exchange for divine favor [^1]
- Flood narrative: Utnapishtim in the *Epic of Gilgamesh* (parallels Noah); earlier version in the *Atrahasis Epic* [^2]
- Afterlife: Gloomy underworld (*Kur*/*Irkalla*) for all souls, regardless of virtue; no concept of reward or punishment after death [^1]
- Hierarchical pantheon: By the 2nd–1st millennia BCE, gods were organized into a monarchical hierarchy with the national god of each state at the head [^1]

---
[^1]: Bottéro, J. *Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia* (University of Chicago Press, 2001)
[^2]: Dalley, S. *Myths from Mesopotamia* (Oxford, 2000)
[^3]: Mark, J.J. "Nanna." *World History Encyclopedia* (2023). https://www.worldhistory.org/Nanna/
---

## Review Queue

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- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Period: ~4000 BCE – ~100 CE" - when was this true?
> 4000 BCE event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Type: Polytheistic" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Sacred sites: Ziggurats in every major city" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Key texts: *Enuma Elish* (creation epic), *Epic of Gilgamesh*, *Descent of In..." - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "An/Anu: Sky god, father of the gods" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Enlil: God of wind and storms, chief deity of Nippur" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Enki/Ea: God of wisdom and fresh water" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, supreme deity in the *Enuma Elish*" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 21: "Shamash/Utu: Sun god and god of justice [^1]" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Ziggurats: Temple platforms connecting heaven and earth" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Divination: Extispicy (reading entrails), astrology, dream interpretation" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: "Flood narrative: Utnapishtim in the *Epic of Gilgamesh* (parallels Noah) [^2]" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 27: "Afterlife: Gloomy underworld (*Kur*/*Irkalla*) for all, regardless of virtue" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Bottéro (2001) [^1]; Dalley (2000) [^2].
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Period: ~4000 BCE – ~100 CE" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Type: Polytheistic" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Sacred sites: Ziggurats in every major city" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Key texts: *Enuma Elish* (creation epic), *Epic of Gilgamesh*, *Descent of In..." - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "An/Anu: Sky god, father of the gods" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Enlil: God of wind and storms, chief deity of Nippur" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Enki/Ea: God of wisdom and fresh water" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, supreme deity in the *Enuma Elish*" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Ziggurats: Temple platforms connecting heaven and earth" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Divination: Extispicy (reading entrails), astrology, dream interpretation" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 27: "Afterlife: Gloomy underworld (*Kur*/*Irkalla*) for all, regardless of virtue" - what is the source?
> Bottéro (2001) [^1], Dalley (2000) [^2]
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 21: "Shamash/Utu: Sun god and god of justice [^1]" - Bottéro source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. Bottéro (2001) findings are still accepted by modern Assyriologists.
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 26: "Flood narrative: Utnapishtim in the *Epic of Gilgamesh* (parallels Noah) [^2]" - Dalley source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. Dalley (2000) findings are still accepted by modern Assyriologists.