The Role of the Sumerian Goddess: Mesopotamia Legends as Seen Through the Cultural Lens of Ishtar
About this audiobook
The Sumerian people once inhabited the region near the Persian Gulf, known as Iraq. Greeks called this country Mesopotamia, which means the land between the rivers, as the Euphrates and Tigris, rising in Anatolia, flowed through Syria and Iraq before discharging into the Persian Gulf. 'Simurrum' is the name given to the northern region by the Semitic peoples later, like the word Sumerian, which was later used for the southern region. According to the Sumerians, their land was called Kien-gi, or 'land of the lordly En,' after the priest-king of Sumer (En).
Sometime after 4000 BC, the Sumerians moved to this coastal area, but it's unclear from where they came. There is no connection between their language and any other language spoken in the region. After sailing upriver from the Persian Gulf, they migrated inland from the coastal area. On the other hand, Sumerians came from the northeast of Mesopotamia and traveled down the river to the south. 'Simurrum' could indicate that the Sumerians once lived in the northern region.
The Sumerians must have encountered people who had already settled in the Persian Gulf area for a long time when they entered since a few cities had names that did not match Sumerians but were most likely derived from an unknown language. Examples include Uruk, Ešnunna, and Shuruppak. Similarly, Buranuna, the name of the Euphrates River, makes no sense in Sumerian, whereas Idigna, the name of the Tigris River, might be explained as 'the blue river.
Farmers had established small settlements along these two great rivers during the fifth millennium BC. To irrigate agricultural crops, they diverted water from rivers through canals. There was little rainfall in this area, and the sun burned mercilessly during the summer months, so everyone lived entirely off floodwater from the rivers. The rivers could be dangerous, though, as the land was flat, and there was always the danger that the river would overflow its banks and change its course, inundating new areas and destroying crops and water supplies.
The great rivers carried silt through the plain, forming swamps along the Persian coast. Here, the inhabitants grew cane for making little reed houses for the gods. God Enki was responsible for this domain. He brought civilization to the Sumerians and lived underground in a freshwater residence, the Abzu, located below the earth's surface but above the ocean's saltwater expanse.
About the author
Faruq Zamani is the world's foremost expert on the oldest known language. Sumerian is said to have been understood by the scholar better than anyone since the beginning of the second millennium B.C. His academic contributions are nothing short of incredible. Unlike any other scholar, he helped shape the modern study of Sumerology. Using modern linguistics and fundamental principles about how languages are structured, Faruq Zamani forged new territory in the understanding of the language by looking at it in a more sophisticated way than had been done before.
In 1975, Learn Alchemical Editors was founded to print the best ancient mysticism books using fine paper and top dust jacket artists, as well as limited, signed editions. DTTV Publications and others publish books now through Learn Alchemical Press. Through its collaboration with Integrated Media, this 21st-century publishing house has made digital versions of books written by some of the world's most distinguished alchemical mystery writers. We are maintaining our commitment to quality - our books are carefully formatted, expertly proofread, and accompanied by professionally-designed covers.
Ryan Moorhen, now identified as a Biblical Archaeologist, Independent Assyriologist, Semitic and Cuneiform manuscripts researcher and enthusiast of all things ancient, made his first visit to the middle-east whilst serving in Iraq. It was during that difficult time he became enthralled in the origins of civilization. Upon his return he embarked on his now long career in Theological Studies, carving his niche in Sumerian Theology and proving the connections between the Sumerian origins of civilization and Theological studies of Worldwide cultures.
