From: eshin@ddsw1.mcs.com (Eshin-Fun)
Subject: Re: Any other Akkadians out there?
Organization: ddsw1.MCS.COM Contributor, Chicago IL
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Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 13:15:34 GMT
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>>kc3u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kerwin Yap Chua) writes:
: Hello out there.  Am new to this newsgroup, and I'm wondering if there's
: anybody out there who is specifically into Ancient Mesopotamian faith. 
: If so, does anybody have any suggestions as to books or resources for a
: devout but uninformed Akkadian (other than the N-con, which we don't
: talk about anyway)?  Eagerly awaiting response.
:  
: KYC
: kc3u@andrew.cmu.edu<<

Ancient Mesopotamian religiosity extends from the beginings of the Sumerians
till the Assyrian conquest. Asshurbanipal left behind a tremendous library
at Nineveh which we still have tablets undecoded on Astrology and the like.

With the fall of Sumer at the hands of Lugalsegesi, his cup barer Sharum Kin
(Sargon I) a new country was established called AGADE this is the term that
gave the word AKKADE or Akkadian meaning from Agade. Sharum kin's sons
Rimush (stoned to death by his own debts--as things were written on stone
tablets when confronted by his advisors they threw his debts at him at his
apparent disinterest and killed him) and Manishtushu left Naram-Sin (meaning
Beloved of the moon) as sole ruler. 

But Naram-Sin soon turned to self glorification and from the worship of
Enlil (wind) he destroyed the Ekur (Temple of enlil) and favored a more
foreign goddess Inanna whom eventually brough dissention and left his
country of Agade ripe picking by the Gutian hordes and total demolition.

Vestiges of Naram-Sin's temple have been found but hardly anything else of
Agade.

Later First Dynasty Babylon took over and all that was Sumerian became
religiosity in Babylon and Assyria along with local deities.

Like the Italian borowed Latin from the ancient Roman so did the Babylonian
borrowed Sumerian to their Babylonian text.

An unpublished manuscript of the ritual of opening or washing of the mouth
provided one of the most important rituals of sanctity of its priests.

There are numerous rituals besides of magic etc.

Most interesting are the Maqlu texts by K>L> Tallquist studies "Die
assyrische Beeschworungsserie Maqlu translations or the translations of G.
Mier and Ungnad the latter writing in Die Religion der Babylonier und
Assyrier.

Atra-Hasis (the Babylonian story of the flood by Lambert and Millard, with
the Sumerian flood story by Miguel Civil) is another interesting source on
Ancient Mesopotamiam religion.

Of course the Atra-Hasis flood story is part of a greater work called the
Epic of Gilgamesh which includes it.

A wonderful compedium of Mesopotamim texts is to be found in very good
source book (University press) called Ancient Near Eastern Texts by James
Pritchard. in which a lot of these studies can be found.

The 2 vol book by Thompson "Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia" is also
good except that the older the printing the more discrepncies in translation
there is.

Where to start?

You start with Sumer. As this is the source from which subsequently the
Babylonian and Assyrian drew from. Though there is quite a bit in English,
there is far more in German and French. Perhaps you should study to have a
reading comprehension of the latter two lanuages.

The Oriental Institute is quite reknowned for its Summeriological studies
and its Akkadian dictionary which is still in the makings of its completion.

Unfortunately jerks in the East coast have ripped off from these
incantations to formulate the bogus Necronomicon so popular in occult book
shelves.

Also there is a whole study which is seldom understod and certainly not
popular if totally ignored. These are the Mandeans and the worship of the
Peacock Angel both which still exist in Mesopotamia.

Ssabier und der Ssabismus is a wonderful two volume book on research on the
Harranians and substantiates that this ancient religion in the Middle ages
got to be called Sabaeanism.

The Mandeans of Iraq and Iran, as well as Water into Wine are two wonderful
books by E.S. Drower on the Mandean. Also in print there has been the
Canonical book of the Mandaeans as well as the Mandaean Book of Black Magic
by the same author.
Drower also wrote the Peacock angel an account of the votaries of a Great
Secret Cult and their sanctuaries (the Yazidis).

Are you still interested? Let me know.

Eshin-Fun