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<!-- factbase:5dccc5 -->
# Mesopotamian Religion
# 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. It profoundly influenced later Near Eastern religions.
## Key Facts
- Period: ~4000 BCE – ~100 CE
- Type: Polytheistic
- Sacred sites: Ziggurats in every major city
- Key texts: *Enuma Elish* (creation epic), *Epic of Gilgamesh*, *Descent of Inanna*
## Major Deities
- An/Anu: Sky god, father of the gods
- Enlil: God of wind and storms, chief deity of Nippur
- Enki/Ea: God of wisdom and fresh water
- Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility
- Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, supreme deity in the *Enuma Elish*
- Shamash/Utu: Sun god and god of justice [^1]
## Key Concepts
- Ziggurats: Temple platforms connecting heaven and earth
- Divination: Extispicy (reading entrails), astrology, dream interpretation
- Flood narrative: Utnapishtim in the *Epic of Gilgamesh* (parallels Noah) [^2]
- Afterlife: Gloomy underworld (*Kur*/*Irkalla*) for all, regardless of virtue
---
[^1]: Bottéro, J. *Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia* (University of Chicago Press, 2001)
[^2]: Dalley, S. *Myths from Mesopotamia* (Oxford, 2000)
---
## Review Queue
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Enki/Ea: God of wisdom and fresh water" - when was this true?
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility" - when was this true?
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Inanna/Ishtar: Goddess of love, war, and fertility" - what is the source?
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, supreme deity in the *Enuma Elish*" - what is the source?
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