It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

The Annunaki born upon Earth.

page: 1
43
<<   2  3  4 >>

log in

join
share:
+17 more 
posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 01:23 PM
link   
It might be of interest to consider here the cultic aspects of those Annunaki born upon Earth, and the Dynastic bloodlines they were associated with...

To Ishtar, Great Lady, Queen of the Igigi and Annunaki, whose power the Gods, her Fathers have increased

The term Annunaki is generally considered to translate as "Those of princely seed", sometimes this referred to a group of seven senior Gods as in the Atra-Hasis myth, but any descendant of Anu could be understood as 'Anunnaki'. When understood as a specific group of such they could be referred to by the Semitic term 'Igigi', but what such a grouping might consist of could vary, either younger or senior Gods, as can be seen the terms were interchangeable;

After she had mixed the clay,
she called the Anunnaki, the great gods.
The Igigi, the great gods, cast their spittle on the clay.


The term 'Igigi' term probably derived from the Sumerian grouping of the 'Great Princes', in that context the senior Gods.

The great-hearted mistress, the impetuous lady, proud among the Anuna gods and pre-eminent in all lands, exalted among the Great Princes

In those days of yore, when the destinies were determined, the Great princes allowed Uruk Kulaba's E-ana to lift its head high.



The Annunaki in that case would be the rest of the Sumerian Pantheon, but in considering Annunaki/Princely seed born upon Earth amongst humanity one finds very specific Cultic traditions, that these would be seen as born of Ninsumun a Goddess associated with the Celestial Cow and medical procedure, the daughter of Anu and Urash (who is generally seen as associate with Ki/Earth)


Ninsumun was originally named Nininsina, she was the great wild cow, a Goddess of healing and medical procedure,


City worthy of the divine powers, according to its name: shrine Urim, Origin of human seed, consolidating the foundations of the Land, abundance -- and well on the day when the destiny of the Land was determined, when the seed of all living beings was originally brought forth


Nininsina perfect with the great divine powers, the fifty divine powers, perfect adorned with jewels of cuba stone, the lady whose great name is in Girsu, the shrine which first brought forth the seed of mankind



She takes in her hands the august divine powers.She tests the surgical lancet; Nininsina sharpens the scalpel. She has made perfect the divine powers of medicine

My lady searched intensively on her own , concerned herself with things that otherwise one does not bother with, directed her attention to things that otherwise one does not do. Proudly she took the rank of Mistress, and my lady took away all the divine powers established for it. At that time, the jewellery of cuba stones did not exist; no jewellery of cuba stones was worn on the neck. Nininsina invented it: it was she who ploughed with the cuba stones, she who made them into seeds.

To create offspring for thousands of young women, to make things in order like a potter, to cut the umbilical cord, to determine destinies, to let the human child scream loud and long after it is received in the embrace


The seed itself was contained in shrines at various Cities, no specific paternal lineage is associated with it as it was seen as an aggregate of the essence of the Annunaki, it was the role of Ninsumun to give birth to it.

In the case of Gilgames he was born of Ninsumun but did have a specific Father in terms of Lugalbanda, were Lugal relates to 'Dynastic succesion', but Lugalbanda himself was of a 1st Dynasty grouping of eight Princes seen as born of Urash and nurtured by Ninsumun.

When the Divine En Kingship was seen as restored in 3rd Dynasty Uruk the Kings claimed Ninsumun as their Mother and stated they were the elder brother of Gilgames, who had ruled thousands of years earlier according to their records, and possessed Divine qualities,so very curious claims.

After my seed had been poured into the holy womb, Suen, loving its appearance , made it partake of Nanna's attractiveness. Coming forth over the Land like Utu, Enlil called me by an auspicious name, and Nintud assisted at my birth. As I came forth from the womb of my mother Ninsumun, a favorable destiny was determined for me.

I am the creature of Nanna! I am the older brother of Gilgamec! I am the son borne by Ninsumun, a princely seed! For me, kingship came down from heaven! Sweet is the praise of me, the shepherd Ur-Namma!

I am a child born of Ninsumun. I am the choice of holy An's heart. I am Culgi, the beloved of Ninlil. I am he who is cherished by Nintud.




Sumerian Praise Poems

Ur Nammu and Shulgi Sumer III



These different principles, although not as neatly as presented here, manifest themselves in the terms lugal (dynastic) and en (non-dynastic), respectively, and can seemingly be found among the rulers of the Early Dynastic period who are usually, but not always, referred to as en and in the kings of Akkad who called themselves lugal


The Priestess and Divine Kingship

In terms of the Princes of Uruk of the 1st Dynasty it can be seen that Lugalbanda was understood as a 'breeding bull', Lugal/Dynastic succession.

At that time there were seven, there were seven -- the young ones, born in Kulaba, were seven. The goddess Urash had borne these seven, the Wild Cow had nourished them with milk. They were heroes, living in Sumer, they were princely in their prime. They had been brought up eating at the god An's table. Lugalbanda, the eighth of them

Like the dispersed holy cows of Nanna, as with a breeding bull when, in his old age, they have left him behind in the cattle pen, his brothers and friends abandoned holy Lugalbanda in the mountain cave


They who are favoured in Inana's heart, who stand in the battle, they are the seven torches of battle ; they stand joyfully as she wears the crown under a clear sky, with their foreheads and eyes they are a clear evening

Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave

The Goddess Urash in her role as Mother of these Earth born Annunaki, and through her daughter Ninsumun, is probably slightly more complex than directly relating to Earth, she has something of the qualities of a radiant Dragon if comparisons to her are anything to go by.

My king, you alone perform the ancient rites, a truly immense task. Ninurta, yellow evening light that casts fear over the Land, like holy Urash, a fearsome dragon brandishing a terrible torch!

youthful Utu arising from Urash; brilliant light, great lion, hero emerging from the holy interior of heaven, storm whose splendour covers the Land and is laden with great awesomeness;The great wild bull, youthful Utu, who like a torch illuminates the Land from the holy heavens; the fearsome radiance of Urash, the just god among the Anuna gods, holy dragon



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 01:29 PM
link   
Thank you OP for another interesting thread. Can we infer from your thread title that there are Annunaki not from this world?



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 01:39 PM
link   
reply to post by PlanetXisHERE
 


Of course, the principles associated with these traditions were Celestial in origin, the establishment upon Earth of the Annunaki/Princely seed was through the intermediary role of the Divine Cow/Ninsumun, this to be understand as derivative of the Pleiades.

Everything is always bound up in symbolism and spiritual archetypes but there is enough to suggest that the underlying premise for these was quite extraordinary.



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 01:40 PM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 


Hey K,

I can't help but read that and hear that what is being discussed is cities. I know you know that, that we are talking about locations, but it seems that Nininsina is being described as some sort of technology that not only dispenses municipal services, but also superior genetic material. It sounds like the 7Bulls were "issued hence" from Nininsina to bolster the local genetic-salad.

I am also starting to get this feeling that when these folks were describing cities, they saw them as living entities.

I know, I'm a slow-poke on all this Sumeria stuff.




ETA: Hey, I know, it's like Nininsina is the Northbridge of the chipset that controls Girsu.





edit on 6-4-2014 by Bybyots because: . : .



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 02:01 PM
link   
reply to post by Bybyots
 


Certainly what is being discussed is Cities in terms of the seed shrines, the two examples there Ur and Girsu, but the E-anna in the Kulaba district of Uruk i would consider as the pre-eminent centre, that's were Lugalbanda and his seven brothers born of Urash spring up from.


Ninsumun/Ninsinina or Bau or Gula in other variant forms was a Goddess of medical procedures in general but does have this specific role also of giving birth to those of Princely seed, were the specific Father seems to be of no particular importance, she also has association with 'Cuba' stones which could be worn as jewellry, thus they were quite decorative in appearance, but could also translate into seeds, don't ask me how!

Nininsina 'ploughed' with the Cuba stones, which was the general metaphor for seeding/impregnating.

It's all very strange but they do appear to have been up to all sorts in cahoots with a very Wild Cow...


edit on Kpm43095vAmerica/ChicagoSunday0630 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 02:15 PM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 


S&F
I just wanted thank you for your amazing posts, great fun for the mind!




posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 02:47 PM
link   
Wild cow? Hunnnh? Cattle mutilations maybe? or maybe just a wild hunch.....thanks Kantz a good read.....



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 02:59 PM
link   
reply to post by stirling
 



It's an interesting connection, bulls and cows are the symbolic basis of what i suggest is some form of cross breeding, the sacred cow of India ultimately derives from these traditions, the cow cult of Hathor in ancient Egypt also which i recently looked at.


The seed in question of the sacred shrines which gets translated as seed of all living things would perhaps have been better understood as 'Universal seed', containing the best of all cosmic essences, after all the seed of all living things upon Earth could hardly have been expected to have first sourced from already built shrines!

To be attacking cows then with surgical instruments, an important facet of the medical procedure angle, suggests to me a drawing attention toward the basic symbolism involved.



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 04:15 PM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 


I believe it was you, Kantzveldt, that posted some stuff in the past about ancient Sumeria and locks, I don't remember if the locks were the main point but they came up. At the time I had just been introduced to public key encryption and cryptography and I remember that my studies colored the way that I percieved what I was reading, and I wound up thinking in the end that the Sumerians seemed to relate to the locks as though they were living things.

Now reading this stuff about Ninsinina has me thinking that maybe the cuba stones provided some sort of procedural code that allowed for agricultural engineering and other engineering projects. Maybe the stones all represent discreet chunks of data that allowed societies to come together around civil engineering projects. In other words, stone works.

Ninsinina being a dispensary of procedural medical knowledge might make sense like that too. It would be as though "She" were a civilizing technology that resulted in cities and the ways that human beings organize themselves around cities, versus, say, pastoral nomads. There would have to be "code" for all sorts of municipal services, including sanitation.

Seems to me that once you go "city" you can never go back; at least not without some catastrophe. So building and supporting the city would become "life itself". I could see then how Ninsinina could come to be seen as an all giving cornucopic cow; she would be the font of everything that would allow a city to survive, she would be the city; of Ur, likely, as I am starting to dig in to this.

Anyhow, as far as the seven bulls; it sounds like Ninsinina sort of incubated them somehow and then they in turn went forth and impregnated other incubators.

I'm Still processing.


edit on 6-4-2014 by Bybyots because:




posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 04:28 PM
link   
Yes Yes Yes!

I love the story of ENKI and his sister and the creation of man. Amazing discoveries being found about them being located in South Africa; hundreds of thousands of Gold and Silver mines just empty. Of course, our science books just call them "cattle holders" - rather odd. Together, with harmonic vibrations for moving objects and energy - It is amazing and this is what I am currently expanding on. Thank you so much for this.

I suggest you watch this 10 minute clip - It's a translation of the creation of Man from the Sumerian Texts (Religion)



Heck yeah I learned to embed!

edit on 4 6 1414 by Diluted1984 because: Embed Learnin

edit on 4 6 1414 by Diluted1984 because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 04:47 PM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 



To see how the Old Babylonians benefi ted from what for us would
be confusion, and to see the bearing it has on the Pythagorean Insight,
look at how they dealt with problems of what they called igi and
igi- bi: numbers and their ‘reciprocals’.

Hidden Harmonies...The Lives and Times of the Pythagorean Theorem
arcaneknowledgeofthedeep.files.wordpress.com...
page 11 and 12
i think the igigi refers to scribes...maybe hebrew accountants

sorry for the correction its been a while since i read this book, and since i found a copy on line for a reference i just found out i boo boo'ed slightly


edit on Sunpm4b20144America/Chicago08 by Danbones because: total correction

edit on Sunpm4b20144America/Chicago12 by Danbones because: (no reason given)

edit on Sunpm4b20144America/Chicago31 by Danbones because: (no reason given)


of course the reference in the op to the igigi spitting in the clay they did their writing and calculating with clay
( they actually tore pieces of clay apart and stuck them together in different ways which did calculations )
i think if you take igigi as a ( possibly hebrew ) accountant class it somewhat explains some things going on today
edit on Sunpm4b20144America/Chicago56 by Danbones because: (no reason given)

edit on Sunpm4b20144America/Chicago53 by Danbones because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 05:19 PM
link   

IGIGI = Those Who See and Observe

www.ping.de...

IMHO, tally keepers in clay



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 06:38 PM
link   
reply to post by Bybyots
 


I think what you outline is more the wisdom behind the Mes tablets which related to tree symbolism, in that every aspect of city life had a command function/tablet that governed every aspect of life and the system of seals as check sums. Certainly it was the digging of canals and irrigation ditches that made the establishment of City life possible, and in the Atra Hasis myth this is what the junior Annunaki are set to working upon, indicating that this was part of an overall plan of the senior Annunaki.

If i was to guess what a cuba stone was i would say a diamond, as it is referred to as being unknown then introduced, this did occur with diamonds, it is being used in a symbolic sense but of course they make great cutting tools also which would be appropriate for Nininsina, in the sense of seeds this would relate to the perfected multi faceted luminosity expected of any Annunaki.

Other references here with regards to Ama-ucumgal-ana/Dumuzid ploughing with his Cuba stones;

He of the cuba jewels, he of the cuba jewels is indeed ploughing with the cuba jewels! Ama-ucumgal-ana, he of the cuba jewels, is indeed ploughing with the cuba jewels! He lays down like seeds the little jewels among his jewels.

Ploughing with the jewels, ploughing with the jewels, for whom is he ploughing? Ama-ucumgal-ana, ploughing with the jewels, for whom is he ploughing? The beard of the one whom he will create for me, the one whom he will create for me, is of lapis-lazuli


A Kunjar to Inanna


reply to post by Diluted1984
 



Enki's role in the Eridu accounts of mankinds creation will owe much to his association with the Celestial waters of the Abzu and the fact that organic life primarily consists of water, the Atra Hasis myth of the essence of the Annunaki being introduced into the mix takes that a step further and is what i'm drawing attention to here, Divine Princes born with the qualities of the Annunaki through medical procedure.



reply to post by Danbones
 


Thanks that's interesting to see a mathematical application for Igi, i do consider the term to simply relate to any given number or section of the Annunaki whether junior or senior, and thus what you suggest seems to confirm such. The Necronomicon derived interpretation relating them to 'the watchers' i would be more cautious with.
edit on Kpm43095vAmerica/ChicagoSunday0630 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 6 2014 @ 11:21 PM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 





He of the cuba jewels, he of the cuba jewels is indeed ploughing with the cuba jewels! Ama-ucumgal-ana, he of the cuba jewels, is indeed ploughing with the cuba jewels!

He lays down like seeds the little jewels among his jewels. Ploughing with the jewels, ploughing with the jewels, for whom is he ploughing? Ama-ucumgal-ana, ploughing with the jewels, for whom is he ploughing?

The beard of the one whom he will create for me, the one whom he will create for me, is of lapis-lazuli


K, that's pure sexual reference, or at least can be taken as such. "Ploughing the fields" or "furrows" ia a well known ancient Sumerian reference to sex, right?

"The beard of the one he will create for me"; that would likely be the offspring that she would produce.

This seems to be giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "family jewels"

Still processing.


edit on 6-4-2014 by Bybyots because: . : .



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 04:03 AM
link   
reply to post by Bybyots
 


Yes that's sexual symbolism.
edit on 7-4-2014 by Madrusa because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 04:22 AM
link   
reply to post by Bybyots
 



Yes so one needs to consider why Nininsina would be 'ploughing' with Cuba stones, she is acting as 'Father' as well as Mother which makes my point that this related to medical procedure and artificial insemination of such seeds.

Things get even more complicated when the term used for Dummuzid in that text is Ama-ucumgal-ana, which translates as Mother-Dragon-Heaven (Fem), a descriptive term which will relate to the Goddess Urash associate with Ki/Earth, in that sense then Dumuzid is acting as representative of Earth, which sort of makes sense as the Earth born Kings identified with Dumuzid as Holy Shepherds.



Good semen, good seed; when he comes forth from the brickbuilt abzu, I will make him sprout forth like a mes tree. Ama-ucumgal-ana, may An create ....... ...... shall supply you with ....... Your sweet beauty, like foliage ....... I shall cherish you ....... I will make Ama-ucumgal-ana sprout forth as just such a mes tree

Lady, throughout heaven and earth who knows from you the intentions of your heart, those great matters? All heaven trembles at your word, a double-twined thread which cannot be separated. Your father Enlil has given this to you. Ama-ucumgal-ana competes majestically for you in battle, cutting a swathe like a dragon



edit on Kam43096vAmerica/ChicagoMonday0730 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 04:25 AM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 


Thanks for the interesting thread.

The multitude of names that these ancient Anuna ‘Gods’ obviously had , is rather confusing. I might of course be wrong on this, but according to my studies of the Sumerian online text archive I have come to learn that Ninisina (of Isin) was the midwife of the mothers of the Land and the chief doctor of the black-headed (the human beings). She is mentioned as daughter of Anu, but in the text called ‘Enki and the new world order’ she is referred to as Anu’s mistress. She also had a son called Damu (The king of Jirsi)

“Ninisina sharpens the scalpel. She has made perfect the divine powers of medicine, and hands them over to her son, the king of Jirsi. My lady, the midwife of the mothers of the Land, is the chief doctor of the black-headed; Ninisina, the daughter of An, hands this all over to her son, the king of Jirsi, the kindly Damu.”

The mother of Gilgamesh though are Ninsumun (or Ninsun) who also is said to have been a daughter of Anu and Urac. She was also a giant, and served as a God birthess , giving birth to royal seed when approved by Anu. Thus we can read that Suen (The Moon God) once requested such a child as we can read:

“Acimbabbar appeared shining in the E-kur, pleaded to his father Enlil and made him bring a childbearing mother (?); in the E-duga, Nanna, the princely son, asked for the thing to happen. The en priestess gave birth to the trustworthy man from his semen placed in the womb. Enlil, the powerful shepherd, caused a young man to emerge: a royal child, one who is perfectly fitted for the throne-dais, Culgi the king. Enlil gave him a good name: 'A lion's seed. Culgi, who is adorned with the ba garment of the en priests. halfbrother of Utu. Son of Suen and Ninsumun.”

Suen (the moon god) was also called Accimbabbar and Nanna and it was popular in those days for the Anuna ‘Gods’ to request a child by Ninsumun because that would guarantee that the offspring was born a giant.

Dumuzid (Married to Inanna) was also a giant child by Ninsumun. Thus Dumuzid was the elder half brother of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh also had three younger half brothers. Those were Utu The sun God (But this was on the father side) and Culgi and Ur-Namma. Gilgamesh also had a half sister called Gestin-Ana who was a twin sister of Dumuzid.

Utu’s mother was Ningal. Thus making Utu brother of the twins (Inanna and Ereshkigal and Ishkur. Thus all of the above were related somehow.

I also give you the list of the great council of the Anuna Gods . The ones that issued ‘destinies’ who couldn’t be countermanded.



1. An or Anu. Supreme leader and king. His numerical rank was 60.
2. Antu or Urac (The wife of An). Her numerical rank was 55.
3. Enlil or Nunamnir (real name). Prime minister. His numerical rank was 50.
4. Ninlil or Sud (The wife of Enlil). Her numerical rank was 45.
5. Enki , Nudimmud (real name) or Ea. Leader of all the scientists and all creations on earth. His numerical rank was 40.
6. Ninki or Damgalnuna (The wife of Enki). Her numerical rank was 35.
7. Nanna, Suen, Acimbabbar or Sin. The Moon God. His numerical rank was 30.
8. Ningal (The wife of Nanna) – also high priestess of the moon god. Her numerical rank was 25.
9. Utu or Shamash. The Sun God – Chief judge of law and order. His numerical rank was 20.
10. Inanna or Ishtar. Indenpendent role. Probably leader of festivals and marriages and adviser . Her numerical rank was 15.
11. Ninurta or Marduk. Leader of military and warfare. Also a giant. His numerical rank was 10.
12. Ninhursag or Nintur. Chief scientist and leader of the submerged science facility called the E-Abzu. Her numerical rank was 5.

In my view. The Anuna Gods were the same as the Watchers from biblical texts. They settled down in ancient Sumer and established their kingship and a system of Nobles, consisting of Lords, princes and princesses . They kept for themselves and established palaces and temples, but needed the human beings as servants and workers.

edit on 7-4-2014 by helius because: (no reason given)

edit on 7-4-2014 by helius because: (no reason given)

edit on 7-4-2014 by helius because: (no reason given)

edit on 7-4-2014 by helius because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 04:53 AM
link   
reply to post by helius
 



It needed taking a look at the correspondence between Ninsun/Ninsumun and Ninisina, which as you point out simply relates to her as the Lady of the City of Isin, from where the Dynasty III Kings Ur-Nammu and Shulgi/Culgi emerged. I think earlier forms such as Bau and Gula also relate to the same Goddess, pure Ninisina Lady Gula the great physician.

The Healing Goddess

An epitaph for Ninsun/Ninsumun is DINGIR-NIN-GUL where the glyph for GUL is the same for SUN2. The meaning of SUN2 is attested as "cow", thus Gula is the wild cow is Ninisina, so it is always the same Goddess

Ninsun was called Gula in Sumerian Mythology until the name was later changed to Ninisina

Ninsun/Ninsumun

Ninsun


There is close relationship suggested between the Divine Kings and Utu and Suen, the Sun and Moon, and all are associate with Urash (Earth), which is natural as the Sun and Moon appear as born from beneath the Earth and thus are as brothers to the Kings born from the Earth and reinforce the Divine associations.

Inanna/Venus, Ninurta/Mars were also seen as having relationship to Urash.


Lady of all the divine powers, resplendent light, righteous woman clothed in radiance, beloved of An and Urash! Mistress of heaven, with the great pectoral jewels, who loves the good headdress befitting the office of en priestess, who has seized all seven of its divine powers!

My king, you alone perform the ancient rites, a truly immense task. Ninurta, yellow evening light that casts fear over the Land, like holy Urash, a fearsome dragon brandishing a terrible torch!

God of prosperity born to An and gazed upon by Urash -- Cu-Suen heroic son of An, beloved of Enlil, head held high in the lapis-lazuli E-kur, given birth by Urash, chosen by the heart of Urash, you have been elevated over all the lands.


youthful Utu ...from Urash; brilliant light, great lion, hero emerging from the holy interior of heaven, storm whose splendour covers the Land and is laden with great awesomeness;The great wild bull, youthful Utu, who like a torch illuminates the Land from the holy heavens; the wise one of all the countries, the fearsome radiance of Urash, the just god among the Anuna gods, holy dragon



The 'cuba'' stones probably literally meant 'bright', Sumerian term shuba, which is equated with the Babylonian words ebbu, ellu, and namru, all of which mean "bright", used in the general sense of pure and clean, etcsl has a habit of rendering 'sh' as 'c', as in Urac and Urash, this doesn't help!



edit on Kam43096vAmerica/ChicagoMonday0730 by Kantzveldt because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 06:46 AM
link   

Bybyots
Ninsinina being a dispensary of procedural medical knowledge might make sense like that too. It would be as though "She" were a civilizing technology that resulted in cities and the ways that human beings organize themselves around cities, versus, say, pastoral nomads. There would have to be "code" for all sorts of municipal services, including sanitation.

Seems to me that once you go "city" you can never go back; at least not without some catastrophe. So building and supporting the city would become "life itself". I could see then how Ninsinina could come to be seen as an all giving cornucopic cow; she would be the font of everything that would allow a city to survive, she would be the city; of Ur, likely, as I am starting to dig in to this.


For a self-proclaimed 'slow poke' you seem to be doing an admirable job of decyphering the subtext. In the beginning, each city had it's own patron goddess that represented their 'identity' and was intermediary to Anu (the sky god) and Urash (mother earth) whose divine union had facilitated the city (and it's leaders) creation. This goddess, through sacred marriage rituals carried out in the new year, validated the leadership, of each city, as divinely ordained. This enabled the 'king' the rights to control the centrl stores and their distribution, as well as to organise the workforce according to the needs of the group.

By the time the texts in the OP were written, the Mesopotamian region had undergone numerous contractions towards centralised rule, that is most often represented by the usurper, of the individual cities, applying his goddess on the 'conquered' ones. A temple would be built for that goddess, and a suitable hymn composed in order to communicate to the people that tribute must be paid to that temple for services rendered. The people would in general continue to worship their own city goddess, and give tribute there, but in addition, a portion of their produce had to go to the centralised government. Much the same as most of us in the West still do to this day, paying local as well as centralised taxes.

After the fall of Akkad, many of the city states were autonomous, while others had to pay tribute to the Gutians. Utuhegal of Uruk, freed those states from Gutian rule, but in exchange he wanted tribute himself. Then, when he died, his brother, then governor of Ur set about incorporating the autonomous states into his domain, thus returning centralised power to Mesopotamia. He also declared himself king, taking the kingship of all the city states that he conquered, and gave himself the divine name of Naram-Sin, earthly consort of the goddess bringing them under the central power of Ur. His son Shulgi on his ascension, took the divine name Shu-Sin, and had temples built in other provinces to facilitate his worship, and of course tribute. Shulgi completely reorganised the unified nation of city states to a centralised administration system, creating a complex bureaucratic network that was responsible for the collection of taxes, enforcing law and controlling land use. It was a classic pyramid system with him at the apex. The medical aspect can be seen directly in terms of the healing of old competitive wounds to produce a unified whole.

It all fell to pieces under the subsequent three rulers, the first two only managed 9 years of rule a piece. Such a system requires incredibly disciplined leadership. The city states one by one asserted their independence for one reason or another. Elamite raids eventually took the leadership out and the pyramid collapsed.

As you say though, once a city has taken shape it is nigh on impossible to put it asunder. Other than complete catastrophe. That came along a little later, but the city states continued to function since even under centralised power administration had been carried out internally, instead of tax collection flowing to Ur they went into city coffers.

Centralised power, if mismanaged, facilitates expansion and grand expression of one city at the expense of many. These hymns were meant to sow faith in the people that Shulgi, working as divine consort in conjunction with both the creator gods and the local goddess would bring prosperity to the land and to them, with their support and faith. He seems to have done that very well, his reign represented a period of great stability. And, also, centralised power was the best means by which to defend the land from outside invaders and rulers, always an issue in the region. Without centralised power, the city states soon fell prey again to conquest, soon after the fall of Ur, the Amorites who had long been present in the region, often having trade delegational roles within the cities, rose up to fill the void and used their tribal bonds to take control in some regions.




edit on 7-4-2014 by KilgoreTrout because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 7 2014 @ 08:32 AM
link   
reply to post by Kantzveldt
 


According to the text ‘ A hymn to Ninisina for Icbi-Erra’ it is not Ninsun who was called Gula, but Ninisina as we can read:

Ninisina, your father established you in ladyship over the Land. In awe at you, never altering the fearsomeness ......, holy Ninisina, Lady Gula, Ninisina, in the Egal-mah, founded by An-- bring joy to Icbi-Erra, the beloved of your heart.

Ninisina was the first born by Anu and Urac. The Sumerian text archives refer to her by the following names : Ninsirsir , Ama-ugu-kuku, and Lady Gula. She was the spouse of Lord pabilsaj and they had a son called Damu who was the king of Girsu. She was living in isin in Egal-Mah. She was an incantation priest and the midwife of the mothers of the Land as well as being the chief doctor of the black-headed

Also note that according to the above text, Icbi-Erra might possibly also be another name for Pabilsaj.

There are no references to Dingir-Nin-Gul in the Sumerian text archive. In fact Ninsumun is the only name the Sumerian archive offers us for Gilgameshes mother as she appears as rather mysterious. Most other figures have lots of alternative names and aliases.

There is a however a reference in the text called ‘A song of Sulgi’ that offers this alternative name though:

“My king went to Keš. Ninsumun-zid-gal-ana, rejoice! Šulgi went to Keš. Ninsumun-zid-gal-ana, rejoice!”

If ‘Zid-gal-ana’ is the same woman, Ninsumun lived in Kes.

There are no text that offers any more information about Ninsumun and her titles and who her parents really was either, and her husband Lugalbanda is still a mystery. I suspect that since she was not given any royal titles or had her own palace , she was not completely of royal blood. But some of the ‘Gods’ used her as surrogate mother anyway to get giant offspring that thus became demigods. Gilgamesh was for instance twice the size as ordinary people, making him at least 3,5 meters high.

If Ninisina is identical with Ninsumun as you claim, there should also be references between Damu (Ninisina’s son) and Gilgamesh in these texts, as they thus would have been brothers. There are no such references.

Ninisina is also mentioned in ‘Enki and the world order’ which tells us about the establishment of the first kingship in Eridug by Enki. Thus Ninisina must have been a pre flood godess. Ninsumun is not mentioned there.

With basis in the above, I therefore strongly suggest that Ninsumun and Ninisina are two different persons.



new topics

top topics



 
43
<<   2  3  4 >>

log in

join