The universe in the Sumerian perception

 

 

Cosmological issues - that is, examining the origin of the world - have been puzzling the human mind since the dawn of history. 

The concept of the origin of the world among the ancients was connected to the idea of creation, as it was created - according to their perception A God who separated light from darkness, raised the heavens and established them above the earth, and formed other spheres, which were specialized It contains that narrow, limited cosmic image that was stored in the mind of the first human.

Centuries passed, and with their passage man gathered knowledge of the various phenomena that he experiences in the world of which he is composed his environment, and his cosmological theories were adapted into a form closer to science. 

 

 

When studying the features of the ancient Iraqi perception of the universe, we see that Iraq has passed through many civilizations in its ancient history several as follows.

The universe according to the Sumerians

The jurists of Sumer imagined the sky and the earth at the beginning of their existence joined together and surrounded by a great ocean of water, the universe was a flat disk surrounded by a wall of mountains, the sky was a dome made of lapis lazuli, and the earth was a flat disk floating on the Abzu, the sun and moon traveled across the sky on boats, and the stars were holes in the dome of the sky.

In the first of them was a male god, namely Anub or Anub, whom they considered to be the great ancestor of female deities, then a goddess Akib, and the connection of these two couple resulted in a third element, which is Enlilib, the Lord of air, breaths, and space, he intervened between them and separated them, and raised his father, Anab, to the top of his sky, and brought his mother, Akib, down to the bottom, where they were mixed with her, and as a result of his presence with her, the rest of the gods began to appear, including those who were called the Fifty great Anunnaki and the seven destinies, then the creation of plants, livestock, and people began.  

The cosmic perception of the Sumerians makes the contemporary researcher reach a practical, historical conviction that the Lords, heaven, earth, and air - according to this perception - had the opportunity to participate in creation among the Sumerians. 

Enkib is the spirit of the water surrounding the sky and the earth, and his son was Enmob, who represented the element of motherhood in the eternal ocean, and the husband of Atmakhb, meaning the Great Lady, who was also called Anintop, meaning the Mother Lady, for this reason, Inkeb was considered a god of water and wisdom, the decider of the destinies of countries and cities, and the keeper of the laws of civilization in every country, its material and spiritual manifestations, and the one who entrusted the manifestations of life to its lords, such as Edumozeb, who was entrusted with the fertility of livestock and the fertility of the land, and Ishkodeb, who was entrusted with the command of the winds. 

All these gods, according to the Sumerian conception, participated in the origin and formation of the universe.

 

 

In the final analysis, we see that the Sumerian perception of the universe confirms to us that the Sumerian civilization knew multiple gods, known as the gods of the universe, are as follows

The first god: the god of the sky: Ahn, Anum, Ahn

Anab originally means the sky in the Sumerian language, and its equivalent is Ishamob in Akkadian, and hence Anub or Anumb. He is the God of the sky, and He is also the father and king of the heavens, and his throne is at the top of the dome of the sky, when the terrified flood occurred and the gods resorted to it for protection, and they crouched like dogs next to the wall of heaven.   

In this context, historical sources indicate that these gods remained as such until the coming of the most important Iziosodrab, the sacrifices were offered, and their scent reached their nostrils, and then their hearts were at peace, and on his threshold, that is, the Anub, stood Adumuzib and Ajshzidab, the only two gods who tasted death, and Anub rules two groups of gods: the Ajib in the sky, and the Anunakib on earth, and they are the ones who share the affairs of the world under his supervision, and Anunakib was the main place of worship, in Uruk, where he lives in his temple with his wife, and texts from Uruk refer to many sacrifices, which was offered to them in their temple.

 

         

The second god: the god of the earth: Enlil, Ellil

Enlil: The wind god, son of Anu and father of Ninurta and Ninkigal

Enlil in Sumerian is Al-Alayb in Akkadian, which is a word that means Asidib, and he was the master of the complex,the Sumerian gods, as was Alaab to him, the word “Inna Dhulaylib” originally means “lord of the wind and the spirit,” and he did not take on the title of “lord of the earth” until later. 

. From his title as master of the wind, which emerges from the mountain and drives the waters, came the name of the dome of Imhu-sag, that is, he created the wind as a god of the ziggurat. 

Enibur, Nippvr, was later usurped by the god Assyria, which attached to him the great mountain.

As for his temple in the city of Nippur, it is called E-kur, meaning the Temple of the Mountain, he was accompanied by the goddess Enen-Hur-Sagib, the Lady of the Mountain, and he had eight divine births from her.       

The third god: the water god: Enki, Ea

The third member of the trinity, whom we meet in the oldest texts, was Ashurupakab (Phara) and Al-Jashab (Tello), and the sediments (saknara), and for this reason the distinction was made among three types of land: the upper land, where Anlilib rules and the lower land, where Energaleb is, and the middle land between the two, where is the kingdom of Eab, or Enkeb, the lord of the holy waters.

The oldest Sumerian texts glorify him as the king of Abu Shahraan, and his holy city is Eridu (Abu Shahrain) his temple has the nickname E-abzu in Sumerian or Bit-apsi in Akkadian (House of Absu)      

 

 

Fourth God: God of the Underworld: Nergal

He is the fourth major god of the world, that is, the lower earth, and it is called Akigalub in Sumerian and Akigallop in Akkadian. 

 It is the land from which there is no return, and in Sumerian: Akronuji-ab, also known as Ara-Lub, and Inrgalab rules this land, which means above the great tabernacle, and he is associated with the god Irra, who is originally the god of the epidemic assigned to him reconstruction of the underworld. Irrab is known as Nergal Kuthab, and Nergal’s planet is Mars. Nergal was able, with his power, to To control the Ara-Lop. As for the goddess of the underworld, she is Nin-ki-Galeb, and her name is sometimes pronounced Ereshkigal, meaning Lady of Kegallop or the Great Lady of the Earth. 

From all of the above, we see that the Sumerian civilization knew, as we alluded to earlier, several creator gods this is a huge universe, and this is a clear indication that this inconsistent conception of the creation of the universe is in contradiction the true Islamic conception, which brought true oneness, which restored respect to the One Creator of this vast universe, is God almighty.

 

 

 

       

            

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