Imdugud

[saharda]

One of many Sumerian Storm demons, the Imdugud are at the same time protective and dangerous. They are hung outside of doors and yet are the bringers of storms. In one myth a particular Imdugud steals the Tablet of Destiny from Enlil and is forced to give it back. In another myth Gilgamesh chases a mother Imdugud out of a tree.

The Imdugud has the head and claws of of a Lion and the body and wings of an eagle. This shows aggression on earth as well as aggression in the heavens. Even so this bird is known for it's motherliness.

[amarsin]

I think that the established reading for AN.IM.DUGUD is Anzu. Here is a picture of the little Anzu bird:

[madness]

Alberto Green states* in The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East that Imdugud 'heavy rain' is more than just an attendant of the storm god, he is actually the earlier non-human form of the same deity.

In other words, for example in the myth of Ninurta and Anzu who steals the tablet of destinies, Ninurta's victory is a triumph over his own animal self (Anzu), not over a distinctly separate deity.


*being a view proposed by Jacobson, see Treasures of Darkness p. 128-129.

[cynsanity]

Actually, that is more or less the same thing I learnt at my university - the Imdugud / Anzu(d) is an apotropaical entity who also represents the Storm-God Ishkur in his nonanthropomorphic representation of the deity, which in later times (when deities were already commonly thought of as anthropomorphic) became a part of the entourage of Ishkur/Adad. We usually translate his originally Sumerian name as "dark cloud".

[us4-he2-gal2]

Hey all, good points here I see some notes on the proper reading, the base charactor,evolution of role, a translation - we have an outline ;]

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-The Image of the Imdugud


With the Imdugud (akk. Anzû) I would like to start with a look at its earliest iconography, and progress to discussion on this being in myth and magic as started with the Asag. In the case of Imdugud, there already seems to exist reasonable surveys of its image on the web, so Im drawing from these image source's while following an small guide given by Black and Green, pg.107 'Imdugud'. The website Ive found most helpful for Imdugud images is www.ezida.com/lion%20imdougoud.htm#haut .

The below are a sample, and relate to the Imdugud in Early Dynastic Sumer - to be followed at some later point with discussion on Historical context, Imdugud in early myth, and relation (if any) to incantations.

-Imdugud clutchs two stags. A wood and copper plaque from Tall al-`Ubêd estimated at about 3100 BC. (British Museum No. 114308).

-The drawing on pg.107 is from this relief which Black&Green describe in a caption "The lion headed bird Imdugud. Detail from the carving on a stone relief dedicated by the priest Dudu, found at Girsu (modern Tello). Early Dynastic period." Museum number is AO 2354

-This is a detail of a portion of the Stele of Vultures, about which Black/Green mention "the Imdugud is already depicted as a heraldic animal associated with Ningirsu on the 'Steke if Vultures' (late Early Dynastic period.)A full view of both sides of the stele available at above url. The Stele of Vultures commemorates the military accomplisments of Eannatum of Lagash.


I have heard something about some reliefs of Ur-Nanshe's featuring the Imdugud but have not seen them yet. Beyond this Im also aware of a beautiful copper and silver vase dated to approx 2400 BC. belonging to Entemena, the nephew of Eannatum. I image of the Imdugud on this vase is very similiar to that of the Dudu relief - the vase can be seen here:
www.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/ACADIOS/anzu_vase.jpg

[us4-he2-gal2]

Earlier today I was naively browsing "Miscellaneous Inscriptions in the Yale Babylonian Collection" (A. Clay) looking for some mention of Lamaštu. (Unsuccessful). However, Clay does provide a translation of an inscribed stone of Entemena found at Lagash - and the stone seems to indicate that the priest Dudu who dedicated the above picture stone relief, was in fact Entemena's servant. Three of the above images relate then to Eannatum, Entemena and Entemena's servant - this may not have a little to do with chance web browsing - but also speaks to the prominence of the Imdugud as an icon at Lagash and Girsu.

Inscribed Stone of Entemena:

Col. I
1. ^dNin-gir-zu
2. ur-sag ^dEn-lil-ra
3. En-te-me-na
4. pa-te-si
5. SIR-LA-BUR^ki-gé
6. dumu En-a n-n a-t ū m
7. p a-t e-s i
8. SIR-LA-BUR^ki-k-a-g é
9. é-g a l a n-g u d -s u r-r a

Col II.
1. ^dN i n-g i r-z u-r a
2. m u-n a-d ù
3. g u š k i n k u-b à r-b à r-r a
4. š u-m u-n a-n i-t à g
5. S a r-[r a?]-š à g-g a m u-n a-dú
6. p ú-s í g-EDIN-r a
7. m u-n a n i-s i (g)-s i (g)
8. u d-b a

Col. III.
1. ū r-r a-n i
2. D u-d u
3. s a n g u ^dN i n-g i r-z u-k a-g é
4. b á d-d a-q a
5. g ú e d i n-n a a-k a
6. m u-d ú
7. e-i g i-i l a-e d i n-n a
8. m u m u-n a-s à
9. b á d-t e-a-m á-p a d-b i-r a (?)
10. G i r-z u^ki-k a

Col IV.
1. m u-d ú
2. e n-z i-š à g-g a l
3. m u m u-n a-s à
4. d i n g i r-r a-n i
5. ^dDUN-x
6. n a m-t i(l)-l a-n-i-š ù
7. ^dN i n-g i r-z u-r a
8. e-n i n n û-a
9. k a-š u ḫ e-n a-š ù-g á l



Translation:



To Ningirsu
the warrior of Enlil,
Entemena,
ruler
of Lagash, [l.5]
the son of Enannatum,
ruler of
Lagash,
the temple of Antasurra
for Ningirsu [Col. II]
he built.
With gold and silver
he adorned it.
Sarra? ()-shagga he built [l.5]
The well sig-EDIN-ra
he enlarged.
At that time,
his servant, [Col. III]
Dudu,
priest of Ningirsu,
the qa fortress
of Guedin [l.5]
built.
E-igi-ila-edin-na
he named it.
The fortress Temen-a-ma-pad-bi-ra ?
of Girzu [l.10]
he built. [Col. IV]
En-zi-shag-gal
he named it.
His god
is Dun-x; [l.5]
for his life;
to Ningirsu,
in E-ninnu,
prayer he lifted up.

[cynsanity]

Before I really go through the inscription - Bill, it's dù, not dú



***Admin: Duly noted and modified Nadia. I really appreciate this sort of correction, thank you!

[us4-he2-gal2]

The identification of Anzu with Imdugud

Drawing from:
The Anzu-Bird and Scribal Whimsies, by M. Civil
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1972 American Oriental Society

Civil here gives support to Landsberger's 1961 reading of anzu(d) for the
logogram AN.IM.MI/DUGUD, using the following philological explanation of a
textual variant, which I partially comprehend.

In the Enlil hymn published by Falkenstein, SGL 1 5ff. and published again
with additional sources by D. D. Reisman in 1969, line 44 reads:

š à - b i a b s u d - r á * a n - z à n u - z u - á m
* Var.: s u d - d a, and s u3 - u d - d a m

"Its (the Ekur's) inside, a far-reaching sea which knows no horizons"

N 1047, a fragment of a one-column tablet with lines 34-96 and 99-103 of the
hymn, not used by Reisman, has in line 44:

[š à - b i a b] s ù - u d - d a AN.IM.DUGUD-d è n u-z u - à m

The replacement of an-zà by AM.IM.DUGUD-d è makes sense only if one
assumes a reading * a n z a for the compound logogram. If there is still any
need to show how loosely the Sumerian script fits the phonological shapes,
there are two interesting points here: first, the change in the final vowel
(a point which cannot be discussed in the context of the present note), and,
secondly the mechanical addition of - d e3 , with no possible phonological
justification. Superfluous additions to Diri-type logograms are found
elsewhere: KI.BI:GAR, to be read g i z ?*b u n "banques", is provided in
several passages with a final - r a (one of the passages is discussed by
Wilcke Lugalbandarpos 136).
A problem which remains unanswered is why the Akkadian form does not show
any reflex of the final -d of a n z u (d), which is disregarded also by the
scribe who wrote N 1047. Provisionally, the best solution is to assign this
idiosyncrasy to the fact that a n z u (d) has to be considered as a proper
name and as such subject during its transmission to influences which do not
operate in the case of other loanwords.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Anzu(d) in Girsu

The reading for the compound sign AN.IM.DUGUD seems to be variously understood as Imdugud or Anzu(d) in Sumerian, from which the Akk. Anzû* derives. Im not certain Landsberger's new reading makes all instances of "Imdugud" obsolete, as this rendering continues to appear in recent scholarly works, yet its interesting that a search for AN.IM.DUGUD at ETCSL results in 47 instances of "Anzud", which also accords well with the ePSD entry :

- anzud₂^mušen (anzu2mušen)

(in addition two variants are presented at ePSD)

I will refer to the Anzu(d) for these reasons, whose typical description is as a bird with the face of a lion, huge flapping wings, and embodying an atmospheric force, thunder or cloud. As I dont believe Anzu(d) features in the incantations, and therefore cannot be understood as a bringer of disease, it is probably best understood as a mytho-poetic creature one of the defeated opponents, rather then as a demon (which contrasts with the Asag who was either/both). As briefly sketched in Black and Green, the Anzu(d) seems to have had special relevance with ancient Girsu, a part of greater Lagaš and his earliest written attestation appears to be on an EDIIIb administrative document from Girsu [VAT 04614] (context unknown.) Above its been noted that he has been figured as the non-anthropomorphic counterpart of Ningirsu, and in that regard its interesting to note part of a dream drempt by a king of Lagaš - Gudea has just had a dream in which he was visited by Ningirsu, the following is the part in which Gudea describes Ningirsu's appearance to his dream interpreter:

(The building of Ninĝirsu's temple, ETCSL t.2.1.7)
101-109 "In the dream there was someone who was as enormous as the heavens, who was as enormous as the earth. His head was like that of a god, his wings were like those of the Anzud bird, his lower body was like a flood storm. Lions were lying at his right and his left. He spoke to me about building his house, but I could not understand what he exactly meant, then daylight rose for me on the horizon."

This description , particularly the wings and lions on the right and left, is suggestive of the image of the Anzu(d) in the iconography of Girsu, and its clear from certain lines in 'The building of Ningirsu's temple', in which the entire temple is dubbed "E-ninnu-the-white-Anzud-bird", that the image of the Anzu(d) was deeply rooted here (line 352 reads: After making a drawing on the …… of the brick mold and …… the excavated earth with majesty, he made the Anzud bird, the standard of his master, glisten there as a banner.) Possibly the most important narrative to feature the Anzu(d), the "Myth of Anzu", is known from its Standard Babylonian form but there is also a partial version of the myth extent from the Old Babylonian period. Black and Green comment however, that this "must be a very early myth since the Imdugud is depicted as a heraldic animal associated with Ningirsu on the stele of Vultures (Early Dynastic Period)." The basic plot of this myth is the Anzu(d) steals the tablet of destinies from Enlil and is subsequently defeated by Ninurta (SB version) or Ningirsu (supposedly in OB version - the end is missing so Ningirsu's victory is assumed here.) In both versions the tablet of destinies is stolen from Enlil. i There is also a very interesting Sumerian myth entitled "Ninurta and the Turtle", ETCSL t.1.6.3 which is understood as remnant an earlier version of the Anzu Myth, in which -notably-the tablet of destinies is stolen from Enki and not Enlil. (stated for example in B. Alster , "Ninurta and the Turtle", UET 6/1 2). That the tablet of destinies may have been depicted in different divine hands during the lifetime of this myth may demonstrate some shiftablility of roles in Sumerian narrative - but I wonder if a change from Enki to Enlil might not reflect some religious or social-political developments in the 3rd millennium.

This is the Serpentinite cylinder seal, ME 103317, which is Akkadian and dates to 2300-2200 BC. Some interpret this as a mythical scene in which the captive Anzu(d) is returned to Enki as in the early version of the Myth of Anzu. (To include whoever wrote the description of this piece for the British Museum here ) This is just one interpretation however.

[amarsin]

Just as a suggestion, it's hard to read the Sumerian when you do the extended spacing. That is, when you write, e.g. 9. e-g a l a n-g u d -s u r-r a, it's not immediately clear if it's "e-galan" or e-gal an" or what. So why not just use regular spacing? Oh-- and it should be e2-gal, not e-gal.


**admin- Thanks Amarsin! Ill throw that 2 on there and see what I can do about unspacing. This is a great thing to note for future reference - and its also a pain to type it that way ;]

[saharda]

For those of us not so well versed in the language the numbers let us look on with our lexicons easier, and the extended spacing is a bit hard to follow. Thanks for making note of this Amarsin, I thought it was just me.

[xuchilpaba]

Nice thread. I like Anzu birds, and they relate to demonology, not as demons themselves, but just that little things like Lamashtu has feet of an Anzu, and I think Pazuzu was mentioned as having them as well?

[saharda]

Actually they are demons themselves.

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Modification
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They as a group are demons and often depicted as female. As an individual HE is an early storm god.

[xuchilpaba]

saharda said:

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Modification
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They as a group are demons and often depicted as female. As an individual HE is an early storm god.

Ah. Wow i didn't know as a group they were all female! Intresting! Hence the association w/ Lilitu and Lamashtu....

[saharda]

Not all female as I understand it, just most commonly depicted as such.

[madness]

> Anzu as the animal form of Ninurta <

However, F.A.M. Wiggermann [ Mesopotamian Protective Spirits, pp. 160-161 ] argues that Anzu is not a symbol of Ninurta. Rather, Anzu "represents another, more general power, under whose supervision they all operate. This higher power can only be Enlil, which is exactly what the Lugalbanda Epic and the Anzu myth tell us. Thus the posture of the lion-headed eagle, wings stretched out above the symbolic animals of other gods, becomes understandable: it is neither that of attack, nor that of defense, but that of the master of the animals."

[us4-he2-gal2]

More about the Anzud - Not long ago I wrote a small paper for my Mesopotamian Art class. I had the very imprudent idea of exploring early composite creatures in light of recent understandings of the Mesopotamian periphery - i.e. the so called Kur:Kalum antithesis (as Katz puts it). Ultimately, the Anzud bird became of central interest here as not only is the creature often discussed in secondary material but it appears already on Uruk period seal motifs. Below is the section in which I discussed subject in the paper, coming to no definite conclusion on the nature of the Anzud in Uruk period art however.

3.1 Champions in /of Foreign Lands – The Anzud?

Fig. 12



Fig. 13



Fig. 14



Fig. 15



Fig. 16

Since Jacobsen’s 1986 characterization of the Ningirsu/Anzud relationship34, that of anthropomorphic god and his pre anthropomorphic form, the analogy has found wide use however, the identification and the real character of the Anzud in any period remains disputable and revisionist theory is not lacking. The association of Anzud with thunder, clouds and rain (Jacobsen’s “Thunderbird”), may be of questionable value: it now appears likely that this association was ascribal innovation of the Old Babylonian period, and reveals nothing about the early character of Anzud.35

In favor of a close connection between Ningirsu and the Anzud (possibly such as Jacobsen suggests), is evidence from the Gudea cylinders and other philological sources; here the temple of Ningirsu is called “E-ninnu-the-white-Anzu-Bird”,36 Ningirsu is described as having the wings like those of the Anzu bird in Gudea’s dream37, and further Gudea is said to have “made the Anzud bird, the standard of his master [Ningirsu], glisten there as a banner.”38 This last line seems particularly convincing.

Yet on the basis of art imagery, Wiggermann has made objections, arguing that not only is the Anzu not a pre-anthropomorphic form of Ningirsu, he is not originally the god’s animal at all. Using cues from Early Dynastic scenes, he asserts that the Ur III Lugalbanda epic features the Anzud in his original character : “faithful servant of the gods.”39 However, he sees the depiction of Anzud as the 11 defeated enemy of Ninurta which appears for the first time in the Gudea cylinders and continues in the later Anzû Myth, as a literary attempt to explain the growth of Ninurta’s cult. Taking as evidence the Ur III seal of Ur-DUN (fig. 12) which features lions coming up from either shoulder of a seated Ningirsu(and another pair under his throne), Wiggermann asserts that the lion was the original animal of Ningirsu. Central to this argument as well is the Early Dynastic silver vase of Entemena (fig. 13) which shows “three pairs of animals, each under an Anzû. The ibexes belong to Enki, in this time Ningirsu’s father (cf. Falkenstein AnOr 30 91), the stags belong to his mother Ninhursag, and the lions to Ningirsu himself, the god to whom the vase is dedicated.”40 This interpretation of Wiggermann’s has the advantage of explaining the minute and often overlooked lion heads which appear beneath the Anzud on the Stele of Vultures (fig. 14), forming the emblem of Ningirsu41, and on the Gudea Stele42 the emblem (Anzu plus lions) is set on the chariot (fig.15) and by the throne of Ningirsu in the top register is the lion (fig. 16).

In discussing Ningirsu’s chariot as it appears on the Gudea Stele, Suter states: “The elements of this decoration can be identified as trophies of Ningirsu; they are enumerated in Cylinder A when installed in the temple in the course of it’s construction.”43 However, as the Anzud in particular is not in act itself mentioned in that list of defeated opponents, the interpretation of the Anzud plus lions on the basis of art evidence may be preferable (i.e. this element is simply the emblem of Ningirsu rather than a part of the visual representation of his defeated opponents).

3.2 The Anzud - Early Character

Fig. 17




Fig. 18

If the owner of the Anzud bird is not Ningirsu in the early periods, can or should an owner be ascribed to it? Wiggermann’s suggestion here, logical if quite hypothetical, centers again on Enmetana’s silver vase: “The Anzû is not Ningirsu’s symbol, nor that of any of the gods with whose symbolic animal it combines. It represents another, more general power, under whose supervision they all operate. This higher power can only be Enlil.”44 As interesting as this is, the range covered by the suggestion would be limited by the fact that the authority of Enlil, perhaps even the god himself (as important as he becomes in the Early Dynastic period), is not attested in the Uruk period materials,45 while the Anzud bird is. Concerning the Anzud bird in earliest contexts, it must be admitted that the relevant extent glyptic is rather meager. The Anzud in Uruk period glyptic occurs only once together with natural animals46 (PKG XIV Taf. 127a) four wild goats, two lions, two bison/bulls, a bird (perhaps a vulture) and an Anzud appear in two even rows. In another early seal it is shown with a bizarre twisted necked monster whose significance is unknown, but who was possibly more at home in the mythological periphery- by association with these animals it’s likely the Anzud was seen operating in the mountains in this period as well; perhaps more interestingly, the Anzud is shown on a number of Uruk period sealings over bound prisioners in what appears to be a victory scene:47 [fig. 17] and [fig. 44 Wiggermann 1992, pg. 161. In addition, it is pointed out that Anzud is assigned to Enlil in the Lugalbanda Epic. Veldhuis 2004 37, note 79 comments generally: “[Wiggermann] argued that Anzud used to be the servant and symbol of Enlil and only in later time became the prototypical enemy of Ningirsu/Ninurta. This chronological/historical solution may well be correct but explains away the fact that in Old Babylonian contexts Anzud appears in all these roles: enemy, helper, fate decider, and symbol of aggression.” However, it seems unnecessary for a working explanation to explain the possibly divergent tendencies of a later period.


This motif seems otherwise to be the reserve of the EN himself in the Uruk period, and if one chooses (with Russell) to unite the suppression of hostile humans with the suppression of hostile animals under one theme, the Anzud takes on the character of an early champion. In the next period the apotropaic power of the Anzud is attested not only by it’s frequent appearance on Sumerian temples48 but in Early Dynastic amulets49 [fig. 19] which suggests that from early on, the creature was imagined as a benefactor and champion against hostile forces (perhaps not unlike the later Pazazu in this respect.) In Early Dynastic glyptic it began to be depicted clutching two wild animals on either side in an arrangement called the master of animals motif if it involves a human champion (i.e. the Laḫmu). It may be wondered therefore, whether the emblem of Ningirsu is simply an Anzud over two of that god’s heraldic animals (the lions), or whether the Anzu is here in the champions pose demonstrating dominance over the wild and over the periphery; as Ningirsu was also a warrior god, this would be have been a ready made and recognizable visual que, and once adopted by the cult of Ninurta, a simple way to signal the power the god himself was meant to manifest. The power to subdue the mountains.

[font=Garamond
Notes:

[/font] [/size][/center][/color]


- 34 Jacobsen 1986, pg. 128 35 Veldhuis 2004: “[The] interpretation [Thunderbird] rests on the cuneiform spelling of Anzud’s name, which is homographic with a word for ‘cloud.’ It is now clear, however, that this association with thunder, clouds, and rain was a creation of the scribal speculations of the Old Babylonian period and carries no evidence for the original character of Anzud.”

- 36 etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.1.7# lines 471-481

- 37 etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.1.7# lines 105-110

- 38 etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.1.7# lines 345-352

- 39 Wiggermann 1992, pg. 159

- 40 Wiggermann 1992, pg. 160

- 41 Wiggermann 1992, ibid. The author states that the god and the emblem appear side by side in this scene, although one may wonder if establishing this as a mere emblem and not the Anzud itself may not argue for the identification of the net holding figure as the mortal king, Eannatum (with Becker BaM 16 (1985) 278-281)

- 42 Wiggermann 1992, ibid.

- 43 Suter 2000, pg 288. Suter describes the chariot as “decorated with bison-men flanking its sides, a stylized palm in the center, and an Anzu clenching its claws into the back of a pair of lions on top.

- 45 Wang’s 2010 study “The Metamorphosis of Enlil” states: In the Uruk III Period NIBRU the city was written as EN.KID when the divinity of ENLIL is not clearly evidenced. In this sense the concept of Enlil as a divine agent perhaps did not even exist in the Late Uruk Period. ENa+KIDa or ENx+KIDx was most likely the name of the site Niffar and was close to /nibru/ in pronunciation. Only later it obtained the reading /ellil/ or /illil/ when the form was taken to write a divine name.

- 46 RLA 7 pg. 94: “In dieser Haltung ist der L. in der Glyptik nur einmal in einerReihung mit anderen, allerdings naturlichen Tieren.”

- 47 Braun-Holzginer RLA 7, 95. Porada 1993 states: “The earliest form of the creature composed of a lion and an eagle is the lion-headed eagle seen on a seal impression of the Uruk period on which several such creatures soar above a row of prisoners in a scene that surely symbolizes a victory.”

[sheshki]

I just want to point out that there is a paper by one of our boardmembers about the writing forms of the ANZUD bird in Fara times available on Academia.edu
Zu den Schreibungen des Anzud-Vogels in der Fara-zeit by Kamran V. Zand

[us4-he2-gal2]

Good call Sheshki - that is quite a specific paper that Zand has done. Probably more up to date than the Veldhuis work I'd used (Veldhuis 2004 I think)

[dingo]

This Kassite image purportedly shows a variant form of Anzu as a double-headed eagle.
Question: is this double-headed eagle generally accepted as a form of Anzu?

Attachments:

[enkur]

The two-headed eagle was a Hittite symbol.







The Hittites conquered Babylon in 1595 BCE and established there their allied Kassite dynasty.

Later the two-headed eagle was inherited by the Byzantine Empire most of which territory was in Asia Minor where the Hittite kingdom once was. Still later it became the state emblem of Russia as the successor of the Byzantine East Orthodoxy. It's also a symbol of the Freemasonry.

[sheshki]

Do you have a source for Kassites beeing allies of the Hittites?

The picture you show is interesting, because it looks like its actually two birds back to back as you can clearly see a dividing line in the middle. Btw, Austria and Albania also use(d) the double headed eagle

[enkur]

7 sources are mentioned in the bibliography of my source (The Ancient Oriental Civilization) - all in Cyrillic script, works by Russian authors, and Russian translations from English. I'm attaching the bibliography to that chapter but to transliterate the names and titles in Latin letters and translate it in English isn't in my possibility right now.

I'm translating here a sentence from the above-mentioned book: "In 1595 BCE the Hittite kingdom, the state of free citizens, in an alliance with the military democracy of the Kassites of Hana defeated and conquered Babylon."

Not all the East-European scholars are untrustworthy as the one who made of the queen Puduhepa an Egyptian princess (though he was an expert in his own sphere).

The very fact that the captured statue of Marduk was returned to the Kassite rulers of Babylon after the death of the Hittite king Mursili the 1st, speaks of some lasting diplomatic relations between the two peoples. The violent death of Mursili and the consequent disorder in Hattusa might have been interpreted as an omen, so the Hittites might have hurried to get rid of the statue.

I do know the Austrian and Albanian state emblems but in this case I just traced a strange but direct succession of the symbol in question: Hittites - Byzantine Empire - Russia.

Attachments:

[sheshki]

Jan 1, 2012 20:39:06 GMT -5 enkur said:

I'm translating here a sentence from the above-mentioned book: "In 1595 BCE the Hittite kingdom, the state of free citizens, in an alliance with the military democracy of the Kassites of Hana defeated and conquered Babylon."

Not all the East-European scholars are untrustworthy as the one who made of the queen Puduhepa an Egyptian princess (though he was an expert in his sphere).

Hey Enkur, thanks for the sources. I asked because all i read so far wasnt very clear/sure about an alliance between the Hittites and the Kassite Tribes, not because i doubt the ability or accuracy of east-european scholars! But i have to say the terms "Hittite kingdom, the state of free citizens" and "the military democracy of the Kassites" do sound as if the book was published during communist times. Reminds me of the book i have about the Skythians, the author of that did add marxistic ideas from time to time. But i guess that everybody had to do that to get their books published.

Jan 1, 2012 20:39:06 GMT -5 enkur said:

I do know the Austrian and Albanian state emblems but in this case I just traced a strange but direct succession of the symbol in question: Hittites - Byzantine Empire - Russia.

Not sure if there is a "direct" succession of symbolism between the Hittites and the Byzantine Empire because there is a time gap between these of almost 1500 years. But i agree on the direct connection of Byzanz and Russia.

[enkur]

For me the fact that the Hittite images of the two-headed eagle were on the territory of the later Byzantine Empire, and that the empire in question adopted this symbol as its own, isn't quite by accident - however big was the gap of time. Certain unique ancient images found on the territory of my country have already become emblems and symbols of the present state despite of the time-gap between them.

As for "The Ancient Oriental Civilization" by Nedeltcho Nedeltchev - it was published in 2000. True, some of its contents were written earlier but N. Nedeltchev isn't a Marxist and teaches ancient history in certain universities. On the contrary, he disproves the Marxist theories that the ANE civilizations relied on the masses of slaves only. He emphasizes on the role of the free citizens as the basic human resource.

As I wrote earlier while commenting on the bibliography I used for my Hittite thread , Nedeltchev has an interesting theory of the interaction between the centre and the periphery in the ancient civilizations. In brief, during the imperial phase of each civilization there is a tendency of technocratism and political stagnation in its centre, while its periphery is under the stress of more primitive military democracies, which eventually cause its collapse. In the concrete case the post-Hammurabi Babylon is seen as a stagnant centralized formation which is predestined to collapse under the stress of the Hittites and the Kassites. At the same time the Hittite state on the border wasn't yet in its centralized imperial phase - the king ruled in agreement with the pankus (the assembly of the armed people) while the Kassites were a tribal alliance where similar principles of military democracy were at work. Note also how in the Sumerian Uruk Gilgamesh put a veto on the the council of the elders having the support of the people's assembly of the able-bodied men - unken ĝar-ra ĝuruš iriki-na-ka :

etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.1.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=t1811.p1#t1811.p1

This again shows how the military democracy of Uruk proves to be more effective than the imperial-like confederation of Kish.

I'm afraid we will never come to agreement concerning certain terms and theories. The west and the east Europeans will always be divided in their thinking. After the WW2 certain ideas have become a taboo in the western universities and declared either as "out-of-date", or as "politically incorrect". The historic objectivity always remains uncertain and I just share here certain views different than what is taught in the western universities. No need of hurrying to declare them as untrue. Most of the easterners know the Latin alphabet, and speak English and other western languages while how many westerners know the Cyrillic alphabet and speak Russian, or other Slavic languages? This fact shows that the western culture has become centralized and regards itself as self-enough. That's not a good tendency.

[enkur]

As for the Kassite image posted by Dingo, I have no idea what the double-headed eagle would symbolize as I have no idea what it symbolized for the Hittites themselves. In the rocky sanctuary of Yazilikaya it's depicted under two goddesses who are not identified yet:

www.atamanhotel.com/whc/hattusa-yazilikaya-relief.html

However, may I dare to suppose that the central deity in that Kassite image is Ea emerging from Apsu where Euphrates and Tigris merge into? In such a case the double-headed eagle has some reference to their springs. Geographically, both rivers emerge from Anatolia where the double-headed eagle meant something significant. Just an idea.

[Salmu]

Dear Dingo,

A belated answer to your question....Yes, at this point in time the double headed eagle from Kassite seals is acknowledged in scholarship as a ( northern) variant of the standard iconographic form of Imdugud/Anzu, (hybrid eagle body with displayed wings and frontal facing lion's head).

The seal you have posted incidentally came up yesterday in our(my) travels through visual resources for late Mesopotamian imagery of caprids (Sheshki pointed out that I was looking at your seal. I was too busy looking at the goats to notice).

An interesting aspect of these seals is their provenience, as they are part of a collection of imported lapis lazuli cylinder seals from the palace at Thebes in Mycenaean mainland Greece which consisted of 7 Old Babylonian seals, 12 Kassite, 8 Mitannian, 4 Cypriote, 4 Cypro-Levantine, 2 Cypro-Aegean, 3 Mycenean, 1 Hittite, and 1 of unknown origin. A date in the 14th c. is proposed for the Kassite group of seals, which probably originally belonged to a royal diplomatic gift made by Burna-Buriaš II ((1359-1333 BC) to the king of one of the major powers of the Amarna Age (dated on stylistic grounds). Why and how these seals were later imported into Greece is problematic (the arch context is dated to the 13th c. (LH IIIb ca. 1225 BC), so these seals are heirlooms).

The primary source for discussion of this iconography is still Edith Porada (1981) "The Cylinder Seals Found at Thebes in Boeotia," Archiv für Orientorschung 28 pp. 1-70.

However, Joan Aruz (2008) has written a brief assessment in Beyond Babylon: Art. Trade and Diplomacy in the Second Millenium B.C. Yale Publications, pp. 281-283, drawing on Porada's view for the identity of the raptor figure above the god (Ea or Marduk?). Certainly the depiction of water streaming from the bird's wings supports the conjecture that the figure is Imdugud/Anzu (as an aspect of storm clouds), but I see no reason to recognise the heads as being those of lions as Aruz clearly states in her description. I believe there is room for debate as to the direct correlation between the northern double headed raptor and the hybrid lion-eagle, perhaps what we have is translation rather than variation.

[madness]

One simple explanation that comes to my mind is because the same bird appears on the first image in the reply #16 above by us4-he2-gal2


Which is a rather early depiction (Uruk period was it?) of Ningirsu [ / Ninurta], whose symbolic animal was Anzu. Note the five lions who appear in that image, with the bird sharing the same style head(s).


Edit: also see that they both involve trees and flowing water.

[sheshki]

Dingo,

here is a picture of the imprint of the Kassite seal.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Hello Dingo and all:





Dingo I must request that you include your source when asking things to the effect of "I head that.. is it true?" . So heard from who? Even if not from an particularly authoritative source such information can help in producing a data trail.


While what you have heard has in part been affirmed above, I will say that the caption is quite persuasive - someone is following the work or Porada who is an authoritaty. This Kassite seal would seem to depict the Anzud as source of waters - it is likely a double-headed Anzud and not just a double headed eagle on account of the open mouth design rather than just a beak. As Madness mentions, the seal I posted in reply #16 above (fig. 12) features an early example of a double headed Anzud - also an Anzud here - from the Ur III period. Eckhard Unger in RLA 2 states that the double headed eagle is likely an old motif as well, because the double headed Anzud is known already in Ur III period.


The relationship between the eagle and the lion-headed eagle is unclear to me in Mesopotamian art - looking through Amiet's Mesopotamian Seal reference recently, I noticed both the eagle and lion-headed eagle appear already in Uruk and ED period cylinder seals and in very similar situations. That the double-headed eagle is considered now by scholarship to be a northern form of the Anzud, at least in some periods, (as Andrea stated above), is not surprising to me, therefore.



So what is the double headed Anzud doing at the head of waters on the Kassite seal? I really am not sure. Personally I don't see anything much in early art or literature to associate the Anzu with water - he is associated with mountains and so his association with rivers may be secondary. Wiggermann, however , sees the Anzud as imbued with a cosmic function which is best attested he says, on the very seal we are discussing - the Kassite seal. In discussing the seal , he says that the waters are "contributed to by a mountain god" (Wiggermann 1992 pg. 156) - however, the god in the center seems to have the same fish scale design on his lower half as do the merman on either side. Mountain gods I think more typically have a rounded boulder like design rather than a fish scale design - it could be Enki as suggested above but I'm not sure about that at the moment.

Making Enki's involvement a little more plausible - but far from solid or certain- is the second piece of evidence Wiggermann gives to connect Anzud and streams; in the Sumerian epic of Lugalbanda and the Anzu, the Anzud describes himself in this way: "I am the prince who decides the destiny of rolling rivers. I keep on the straight and narrow path the righteous who follow Enlil's counsel." Wiggermann states that he lives in the "Eagle-tree" of Enki, which is rooted in Utu's "seven-mouthed river" - however, the ETCSL translation seems to indicate that Anzud lived nearby such tree rather than in it:

(see etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.8.2.2# lines 28-48)

In any case, the sense that I have is that the Anzud was from early times a champion over enemies and beasts in the periphery / mountain area (perhaps sometimes in the wild areas of the interior) . That some lessor aspects of the creature give him domination over watercourses may be a secondary development relating to the course of the Tigris / Euphrates entering the lowlands from the mountains to the north.