Ashur (god)
Ashur ( DAS Sur, Akkadian / Assyrian Aschschur ) was the first city god of Ashur and later kingdom of God of the Assyrian Empire ( ilu aššurû ).
Name
A- Sur or Aš - su3r, neo - Assyrian often abbreviated as Aš, also on - ša3r to SAR, altbabylonisch A- usar. Epithets include Belu Rabu ( great lord ), from ilani (father of the gods ), Sadu Rabu ( Big Mountain ), Enlil of the gods and aššurû ilu (god of Ashur ). In Old Assyrian period, he is often referred to only as Beli or ilum / ILI.
Family
Ashur was considered the husband of Ninlil, which was later equated with Ishtar. In Neo-Assyrian period, however, Ashur is also regarded as the father of Ishtar. Seru ʿ a was in Neo-Assyrian period his daughter or wife, in nachassyrischer time Seru ʿ a was revered as his wife. Since Šarrum -ken II Zababa ( Ninurta ) was the son of Ashur, as confirmed by an oracle request Also Šulmanu was a son of Ashur.
Iconography
The wild goat ( Ibex ) is regarded as a sacred animal of the god Ashur, it is represented by horn cores. Such horn cores are found for example in the Palace of Ashur - nasir - apli II and at the gates of the palace of Balawat Šulmanu - ašared III. Assyria is usually on a winged lion with horns and tail scorpion ( Abubu ), also called lion dragon that is otherwise associated with Ninurta.
The Old Assyrian attributes of Ashur are Patru and šugariaū, the importance of the terms is unclear, perhaps with an iron dagger Patru meant. In New Assyrian period is mainly the weapon ( kakru ) of Assur of importance as such was also worshiped alone and finds mention in oaths. Presumably she was also carried on military campaigns, analogous to the Suri of the Urartian god Haldi. In mittelassyrischer time the god is usually depicted with a Federtholos. Newly - Assyrian reliefs Ashur is depicted as an archer with a crown of horns in a winged sun, which originally was a symbol of the sun god Šamaš. This iconography has influenced also the representation of the Persian Ahura Mazda.
The thesis of aniconic worship of Ashur is considered obsolete, as texts mention a cult statue, even though no such was found
Temple
Ashur had a temple, the provinces were in turn responsible to a fixed scheme for the supply only in Ashur. Ashur inhabits the Ešarra and Éḫursagkurkurra ( É - hur -sag -kur -kur -a, " mountain home country "). In Ešarra the Assyrian rulers celebrated the New Year. As Šulmanu - ašared I built up the Éḫursagkurkurra again, he deposited gemstones, silver, gold, iron, copper, tin and fragrant herbs in the foundations. The Ešarra also possessed cult districts for his wife Ninlil.
Tukulti -Ninurta I. built a temple in Ashur Kār - Tukulti -Ninurta, but this was apparently perceived as sacrilege and shut down in the temple after the assassination of its builder again.
The temple in Ashur Ešarra with the central sanctuary Éḫursagkurkurra was excavated by the German Oriental Society in 1903.
Cult
Hymns to Ashur are handed down from Tukulti - Ninurta I and Ashur - bani - apli. Ashur is accordingly the mighty God who determines the fates, omniscient, and extremely strong. Also hymns to other gods, as Ninurta, Enlil, Marduk and Ea were transferred to Ashur.
Origin
Since Assyria will later also called the - lil of Ashur, he was perhaps originally a burial or mountain god, but also speaks his worship in the É - hur -sag -kur -kur -a and the epithet Sadu Rabu ( Big Mountain ). He may have been south-east of the Tigris ( Ǧabāl Mahul or Ǧabāl Hamrin ) the god of the mountain Ebih. A temple stood on Mount Ebih. The mountain is rich in wild goats and other wild animals. MacKenzie represented on the basis of general considerations, the view, Ashur was originally a Fruchtsbarkeitsgott, but found little convincing evidence. Over time, other high gods were attributed Ashur myths and attributes, especially of Ninurta and Marduk later.
History
The name Ashur is occupied by the Ur III period ending in Parthian period. The god Ashur was the personification of the city of Ashur. In Neo-Assyrian period was Ashur the kingdom to God the Assyrian Empire. He was now considered as the embodiment of Enlil and Šamaš. In Neo-Assyrian period takes Ashur in Assyrian religious and literary sources, the place of the main Babylonian god Marduk.
After a time, no longer appears in the Ashur in the sources, Ashur is venerated in the Parthian period to the 3rd century AD again. Also in Uruk was up in a Persian period Ansar Temple. Ashur was also represented in the Hittite pantheon. Ashur is also in Urartian inscriptions since the reign of Rusa Erimenaḫi mentioned ( Stele of Gövelek ). Cilingiroglu blames Assyrians deported for the introduction of his cult.