Glossary
Native Terms, A–Z
The words the sources themselves use, in their standard transliteration, with what each meant, where it is first attested, and which entries discuss it. Definitions follow the modern editions cited under each term.
Terms are filed by their plain letters: šīmtu under S, ṭuppi šīmāti under T. Marks such as the aleph (ʾ) and ayin (ʿ) do not affect the order.
A
- akītu · Akkadian (from Sumerian á-ki-ti)
A festival held in many Mesopotamian cities, best known from Babylon's New Year festival in the month Nisannu. Seleucid-period ritual tablets from Babylon prescribe a recitation of the Enūma eliš on its fourth day.
Sources Thureau-Dangin 1921 Public domain; Nakata 1968 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
- apsû · Akkadian (from Sumerian abzu)
The body of fresh water believed to lie beneath the earth. In the Enūma eliš it is also a primeval being, Apsû, whose waters mingle with Tiāmat's at the beginning; after Ea kills him, Ea builds his dwelling upon the apsû.
Sources King 1902, I.3-5 Public domain; Lambert 2013 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
M
- mummu · Akkadian
A word of debated meaning. In the Enūma eliš it is the name of Apsû's vizier, Mummu, and it stands before Tiāmat's name in the poem's fourth line, where King translated it as 'chaos'. What it means in that place is debated.
Sources King 1902, I.4 Public domain; Lambert 2013 Cited, not quoted; Talon 2005 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
N
- nēberu · Akkadian
Transliteration: nēberu (also read nibiru)
Literally 'crossing' or 'ford'. In astronomy it is a name of Marduk's star, usually identified with the planet Jupiter. The Enūma eliš uses it for a station Marduk fixes among the stars and as one of his fifty names. It is not the name of an unknown planet.
Sources King 1902, V.6; VII.109 Public domain; Hunger and Pingree 1989 Cited, not quoted; Lambert 2013 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
S
- šīmtu · Akkadian
Transliteration: šīmtu (plural šīmātu)
Destiny or fate: what has been decreed for a god, a person or a thing, and with it its nature and role. In the Enūma eliš the power to decree destinies is the mark of supreme authority, given to Kingu by Tiāmat and then to Marduk by the assembly of the gods.
Sources King 1902, I.8; II.136-140 Public domain; Lambert 2013 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
T
- ṭuppi šīmāti · Akkadian
The Tablet of Destinies, the token of the power to decree destinies. In the Enūma eliš Tiāmat gives it to Kingu and fastens it on his breast; Marduk takes it from him after the battle.
Sources King 1902, I.137; IV.121-122 Public domain; Lambert 2013 Cited, not quoted
Discussed in Mesopotamian Cosmogony
Sources marked “Cited, not quoted” are modern works under copyright: the definitions here are written in our own words and cite them. See also the Library and the Codex.