Assyro-Babylonian religion The god Marduk and his dragon Mušḫuššu Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and later migrant Arameans and Chaldeans, living in Mesopotamia (a region encompassing modern Iraq, Kuwait, southeast Turkey and northeast Syria) that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium BCE throughout Mesopotamia to approximately the 10th century CE in Assyria.[1] Mesopotamian polytheism was the only religion in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years before entering a period of gradual decline beginning between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Reconstruction[edit] As with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. History[edit] Overview map of ancient Mesopotamia. Akkadian names first appear in king lists of these states circa 2800 BCE. Religion in the Neo-Assyrian Empire[edit] "Enlil!
Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Iraq, formerly Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1772 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract, establishing, for example, the wages to be paid to an ox driver or a surgeon. One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, on a diorite stele in the shape of a huge index finger,[4] 2.25-metre (7.4 ft) tall (see images at right). History[edit] Code on clay tablet Code on diorite stele Hammurabi ruled for nearly 43 years, ca. 1792 to 1750 BC according to the Middle chronology. The stele was probably erected at Sippar, city of the sun god Shamash, god of justice, who is depicted handing authority to the king in the image at the top of the stele.[7] Law[edit] Other copies[edit] Ex.
Japanese mythology Japanese myths, as generally recognized in the mainstream today, are based on the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki, and some complementary books. The Kojiki, or "Record of Ancient Matters", is the oldest surviving account of Japan's myths, legends and history. The Shintōshū describes the origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective, while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially different version of the mythology. One notable feature of Japanese mythology is its explanation of the origin of the imperial family which has been used historically to assign godhood to the imperial line. Note: Japanese is not transliterated consistently across all sources, see: #Spelling of proper nouns Creation myth[edit] In the Japanese creation myth, the first deities which came into existence, appearing at the time of the creation of the universe, are collectively called Kotoamatsukami. Kuniumi and Kamiumi[edit] From their union were born the Ōyashima, or the eight great islands of Japan:
Documentary hypothesis Diagram of the Documentary Hypothesis. The documentary hypothesis (DH), sometimes called the Wellhausen hypothesis, proposes that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors (editors). The number of these narratives is usually set at four, but this is not an essential part of the hypothesis. The hypothesis was developed in the 18th and 19th centuries from the attempt to reconcile inconsistencies in the biblical text. The contribution of Julius Wellhausen, a Christian theologian and Christian biblical scholar, was to order these sources chronologically as JEDP, giving them a coherent setting in a notional evolving religious history of Israel, which he saw as one of ever-increasing priestly power. Before Wellhausen[edit] Outline of the hypothesis (Wellhausen's formulation)[edit] J, Jahwist source[edit] E, Elohist source[edit] H.W.
Chinese mythology Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China: these include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China).[1] Chinese mythology includes creation myths and legends, such as myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. As in many cultures' mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Thus, in the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version.[2] Historians have written evidence of Chinese mythological symbolism from the 12th century BC in the Oracle bone script. Major concepts[edit]
David The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only sources of information on David, although the Tel Dan Stele (dated c. 850–835 BC) contains the phrase בית דוד (Beit David), read as "House of David", which most scholars take as confirmation of the existence in the mid-9th century BC of a Judean royal dynasty called the House of David. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without faults, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms. David is central to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic doctrine and culture. Biblical tradition maintains the Messiah's direct descent from the line of David. In Islam, he is considered a prophet. Biblical narrative[edit] Young David holds the impaled head of Goliath and marches before a general on a white horse, as envisioned by Poussin, ca. 1632 Saul rejected[edit] At the court of Saul[edit] Author Dr. David and Goliath[edit] David and Jonathan[edit]
Avaris Map of ancient Lower Egypt showing Avaris Overview[edit] In 1885 the Swiss Édouard Naville started the first excavations in the area around Tell-el-Daba. Between 1941 and 1942 Labib Habachi, an Egyptian Egyptologist first forwarded the idea that the site could be identified with Avaris. The site at Tell el-Dab'a, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers, is in ruins today, but excavations have shown that at one point it was a well-developed center of trade with a busy harbour catering to over 300 ships during a trading season.[6] Artifacts excavated at a temple erected in the Hyksos period have produced goods from all over the Aegean world. Minoan connection[edit] Outside of Thera and Crete, only three sites have a record of Minoan civilization, one being Avaris, the others Tel Kabri in Israel and Alalakh in Syria. References[edit] Bibliography[edit] External links[edit] Tell el-Dabʿa Homepage - available in German and English Coordinates:
Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor – Biblical Archaeology Society **In the July/August 2013 issue of BAR, Hazor excavation director Amnon Ben-Tor describes the destruction of Hazor at the hands of the Israelites. Read more in Bible History Daily.** The palace entryway appears in this reconstruction drawing, which shows Canaanites walking from the courtyard in the foreground, across a raised porch, toward the throne room entrance. The recent discovery of massive jars of scorched wheat at Canaanite Tel Hazor may shed new light on the destruction of one of Israel’s most prominent sites. Joshua 11:10-13 describes the Israelite destruction of Hazor: An excavator sits amidst the ashes and broken storage jars of the destruction layer. This destruction is a highly debated subject in Biblical archaeology. Whatever the case, the destruction is well attested. The destroyers of Hazor deliberately beheaded this 15-inch tall Canaanite statue of a seated man. Excavation directors Amnon Ben-Tor and Sharon Zuckerman have different takes on the destruction.
Hazor The biblical city of Hazor was a site of Canaanite and Israelite settlement. Known as Tell el-Qedah in Arabic, Hazor is the largest biblical era site in Israel. The name "Hazor" may mean "enclosure" or "settlement" and was, therefore, not a unique place name in ancient Canaan. The most important settlement known as Hazor, however, was the fortified site in Naphtali (Joshua 19:36) identified with Tell el-Qedah, which is located about 10 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The site consists of a mound, or tell, of about 30 acres, the area of the acropolis or compound of administrative palaces, and to the north the lower city measuring some 175 acres. Tel Hazor hosts large-scale excavations, which began in 1990, with Amnon Ben-Tor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem directing the renewed excavations. In the Bronze Age, the Canaanite population of Hazor reached an estimated population of some 40,000. The importance of Hazor is also reflected in the Bible.