Ninurta

Ninurta (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁: DNIN.URTA, meaning of this name

Ninurta
not known),[2] also known as Ninĝirsu (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒄈𒋢:
𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁
DNIN.ĜIR .SU, meaning “Lord of Girsu”),[3][4] is an ancient God of agriculture, hunting, and
2
Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, war
scribes, and war who was first worshipped in early Sumer. In the
earliest records, he is a god of agriculture and healing, who releases
humans from sickness and the power of demons. In later times, as
Mesopotamia grew more militarized, he became a warrior deity,
though he retained many of his earlier agricultural attributes. He was
regarded as the son of the chief god Enlil and his main cult center in
Sumer was the Eshumesha temple in Nippur. Ninĝirsu was honored
by King Gudea of Lagash (ruled 2144–2124 BC), who rebuilt
Ninĝirsu's temple in Lagash.

Later, Ninurta became beloved by the Assyrians as a formidable

warrior. The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 BC) built
a massive temple for him at Kalhu, which became his most important
cult center from then on. After the fall of the Assyrian Empire,
Ninurta's statues were torn down and his temples abandoned because
he had become too closely associated with the Assyrian regime,
which many conquered peoples saw as tyrannical and oppressive.
Assyrian stone relief from the
In the epic poem Lugal-e, Ninurta slays the demon Asag using his temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing
talking mace Sharur and uses stones to build the Tigris and Euphrates the god with his thunderbolts
rivers to make them useful for irrigation. In a poem sometimes pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the
referred to as the "Sumerian Georgica", Ninurta provides agricultural
Tablet of Destinies from Enlil's
advice to farmers. In an Akkadian myth, he was the champion of the
sanctuary (Austen Henry Layard
gods against the Anzû bird after it stole the Tablet of Destinies from
his father Enlil and, in a myth that is alluded to in many works but Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd Series,
never fully preserved, he killed a group of warriors known as the 1853)
"Slain Heroes". His major symbols were a perched bird and a plow. Abode Eshumesha temple in
Nippur
Ninurta may have been the inspiration for the figure of Nimrod, a
Later Kalhu, during
"mighty hunter" who is mentioned in association with Kalhu in the
Book of Genesis. Conversely, and more conventionally, the Assyrian times
mythological Ninurta may have been inspired by a historical person, Planet Saturn
such as the biblical Nimrod purports to be.[5] He may also be Symbol Plow and perched bird
mentioned in the Second Book of Kings under the name Nisroch.[a]
In the nineteenth century, Assyrian stone reliefs of winged, eagle- Mount Sometimes shown
headed figures from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu were commonly, riding a beast with the
but erroneously, identified as "Nisrochs" and they appear in works of body of a lion and the
fantasy literature from the time period. tail of a scorpion
Parents Usually Enlil and
Ninhursag, but
 sometimes Enlil and
Contents
Ninlil
Worship Consort As Ninurta: Gula
Iconography As Ninĝirsu: Bau
Family Greek Cronus[1]
Mythology equivalent
Lugal-e Roman Saturn[1]
Anzû myth equivalent
Other myths
Later influence
In antiquity
In modernity
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links

Worship
Ninurta was worshipped in Mesopotamia as early as the middle of the
third millennium BC by the ancient Sumerians,[6] and is one of the
earliest attested deities in the region.[6][2] His main cult center was the
Eshumesha temple in the Sumerian city-state of Nippur,[6][2][7] where
he was worshipped as the god of agriculture and the son of the chief-
god Enlil.[6][2][7] Though they may have originally been separate
deities,[2] in historical times, the god Ninĝirsu, who was worshipped
in the Sumerian city-state of Girsu, was always identified as a local
form of Ninurta.[2] According to the Assyriologists Jeremy Black and
Gudea dedication tablet to God
Anthony Green, the two gods' personalities are "closely
Ningirsu: "For Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty
intertwined".[2] King Gudea of Lagash (ruled 2144–2124 BC)
warrior, his Master; Gudea, ensi of
dedicated himself to Ninĝirsu[4] and the Gudea cylinders, dating to c. Lagash"
2125 BC, record how he rebuilt the temple of Ninĝirsu in Lagash as
the result of a dream in which he was instructed to do so. The Gudea
cylinders record the longest surviving account written in the Sumerian language known to date.[4] Gudea's son
Ur-Ninĝirsu incorporated Ninĝirsu's name as part of his own in order to honor him.[4] As the city-state of
Girsu declined in importance, Ninĝirsu became increasingly known as "Ninurta".[3] Though Ninurta was
originally worshipped solely as a god of agriculture,[4] in later times, as Mesopotamia became more urban and
militarized, he began to be increasingly seen as a warrior deity instead.[4] He became primarily characterized
by the aggressive, warlike aspect of his nature.[4][2] In spite of this, however, he continued to be seen as a
healer and protector,[4] and he was commonly invoked in spells to protect against demons, disease, and other
dangers.[4]

In later times, Ninurta's reputation as a fierce warrior made him immensely popular among the
Assyrians.[6][8][4] In the late second millennium BC, Assyrian kings frequently held names which included the
name of Ninurta,[6][4] such as Tukulti-Ninurta ("the trusted one of Ninurta"), Ninurta-apal-Ekur ("Ninurta is
the heir of [Ellil's temple] Ekur"), and Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur ("Ninurta
is the god Aššur's trusted one").[6] Tukulti-Ninurta I (ruled 1243–
1207 BC) declares in one inscription that he hunts "at the command
of the god Ninurta, who loves me."[6][4] Similarly, Adad-nirari II
(ruled 911–891 BC) claimed Ninurta and Aššur as supporters of his
reign,[6] declaring his destruction of their enemies as moral
justification for his right to rule.[6] In the ninth century BC, when
Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 BC) moved the capital of the
Assyrian Empire to Kalhu,[6] the first temple he built there was one
dedicated to Ninurta.[6][9][8][10] The Gudea cylinders, dating to c.
2125 BC, describe how King Gudea
of Lagash rebuilt the temple of
Ninĝirsu in Lagash as the result of a
dream in which he was instructed to
do so

The walls of the temple were decorated with stone relief

carvings, including one of Ninurta slaying the Anzû bird.
Ashurnasirpal II's son Shalmaneser III (ruled 859–824 BC)
completed Ninurta's ziggurat at Kalhu and dedicated a
stone relief of himself to the god.[6][4] On the carving,
1853 restoration of what the city of Kalhu, Shalmaneser III's boasts of his military exploits[6] and
Ninurta's main cult center in the Assyrian credits all his victories to Ninurta, declaring that, without
Empire, might have originally looked like, based
Ninurta's aid, none of them would have been possible.[6]
on the excavations of the British archaeologist
When Adad-nirari III (ruled 811–783 BC) dedicated a new
Austen Henry Layard there in the 1840s
endowment to the temple of Aššur in Assur, they were
sealed with both the seal of Aššur and the seal of
Ninurta.[6] Assyrian stone reliefs from the Kalhu period
show Aššur as a winged disc, with Ninurta's name written beneath it, indicating the two were seen as near-
equals.[4]

After the capital of Assyria was moved away from Kalhu, Ninurta's importance in the pantheon began to
decline.[6][4] Sargon II favored Nabu, the god of scribes, over Ninurta.[6] Nonetheless, Ninurta still remained
an important deity.[6][4] Even after the kings of Assyria left Kalhu, the inhabitants of the former capital
continued to venerate Ninurta,[6][4] who they called "Ninurta residing in Kalhu".[6] Legal documents from the
city record that those who violated their oaths were required to "place two minas of silver and one mina of
gold in the lap of Ninurta residing in Kalhu."[6] The last attested example of this clause dates to 669 BC, the
last year of the reign of King Esarhaddon (ruled 681 – 669 BC).[6] The temple of Ninurta at Kalhu flourished
until the end of the Assyrian Empire,[6] hiring the poor and destitute as employees.[6][4] The main cultic
personnel were a šangû-priest and a chief singer, who were supported by a cook, a steward, and a porter.[6] In
the late seventh century BC, the temple staff witnessed legal documents, along with the staff of the temple of
Nabu at Ezida.[6] The two temples shared a qēpu-official.[6]

Iconography
In artistic representations, Ninurta is shown as a warrior, carrying a bow and arrow and clutching Sharur, his
magic talking mace.[4] He sometimes has a set of wings, raised upright, ready to attack.[4] In Babylonian art,
he is often shown standing on the back of or riding a beast with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.[4]
Ninurta remained closely associated with agricultural symbolism as late as the middle of the second
millennium BC.[4] On kudurrus from the Kassite Period (c. 1600 — c. 1155 BC), a plough is captioned as a
symbol of Ninĝirsu.[2] The plough also appears in Neo-
Assyrian art, possibly as a symbol of Ninurta.[2] A perched
bird is also used as a symbol of Ninurta during the Neo-
Assyrian Period.[11] One speculative hypothesis holds that
the winged disc originally symbolized Ninurta during the
ninth century BC,[8] but was later transferred to Aššur and
the sun-god Shamash.[8] This idea is based on some early
representations in which the god on the winged disc
appears to have the tail of a bird.[8] Most scholars have
rejected this suggestion as unfounded.[8] Astronomers of Male figure in an Assyrian winged sun emblem
the eighth and seventh centuries BC identified Ninurta (or from the Northwest Palace at Kalhu; some
authors have speculated that this figure may be
Pabilsaĝ) with the constellation Sagittarius.[12]
Ninurta, but most scholars reject this assertion
Alternatively, others identified him with the star Sirius,[12]
as unfounded
which was known in Akkadian as šukūdu, meaning
"arrow".[12] The constellation of Canis Major, of which
Sirius is the most visible star, was known as qaštu, meaning "bow", after the bow and arrow Ninurta was
believed to carry.[12] In Babylonian times, Ninurta was associated with the planet Saturn.[13]

Family
Ninurta was believed to be the son of Enlil.[2] In Lugal-e, his
mother is identified as the goddess Ninmah, whom he renames
Ninhursag,[4][14] but, in Angim dimma, his mother is instead the
goddess Ninlil.[15] Under the name Ninurta, his wife is usually the
goddess Gula,[2] but, as Ninĝirsu, his wife is the goddess Bau.[2]
Gula was the goddess of healing and medicine[16] and she was
sometimes alternately said to be the wife of the god Pabilsaĝ or the
minor vegetation god Abu.[16] Bau was worshipped "almost
exclusively in Lagash"[17] and was sometimes alternately
identified as the wife of the god Zababa.[17] She and Ninĝirsu
were believed to have two sons: the gods Ig-alima and Šul- Limestone bust of a goddess from
šagana.[17] Bau also had seven daughters, but Ninĝirsu was not Girsu, possibly Ninurta's consort Bau,
claimed to be their father.[17] As the son of Enlil, Ninurta's siblings wearing a horned cap
include: Nanna, Nergal, Ninazu,[18][19] Enbilulu,[20] and
sometimes Inanna.[21][22]

Mythology

Lugal-e

Second only to the goddess Inanna, Ninurta probably appears in more myths than any other Mesopotamian
deity.[23] In the Sumerian poem Lugal-e, also known as Ninurta's Exploits, a demon known as Asag has been
causing sickness and poisoning the rivers.[14] Ninurta's talking mace Sharur urges him to battle Asag.[4]
Ninurta confronts Asag, who is protected by an army of stone warriors.[8][6][24][4] Ninurta initially "flees like a
bird",[4] but Sharur urges him to fight.[4] Ninurta slays Asag and his armies.[8][6][24][4] Then Ninurta organizes
the world,[8][6] using the stones from the warriors he has defeated to build the mountains, which he designs so
that the streams, lakes and rivers all flow into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, making them useful for irrigation
and agriculture.[8][4][14] Ninurta's mother Ninmah descends from Heaven to congratulate her son on his
victory.[4][14] Ninurta dedicates the mountain of stone to her and renames her Ninhursag, meaning "Lady of
the Mountain".[4][14] Nisaba, the goddess of scribes, appears and writes down Ninurta's victory, as well as
Ninhursag's new name.[4] Finally, Ninurta returns home to Nippur, where he is celebrated as a hero.[6] This
myth combines Ninurta's role as a warrior deity with his role as an agricultural deity.[8] The title Lugal-e means
"O king!" and comes from the poem opening phrase in the original Sumerian.[6] Ninurta's Exploits is a
modern title assigned to it by scholars.[6] The poem was eventually translated into Akkadian after Sumerian
became regarded as too difficult to understand.[6]

A companion work to the Lugal-e is Angim dimma, or Ninurta's Return to Nippur,[6] which describes
Ninurta's return to Nippur after slaying Asag.[6] It contains little narrative and is mostly a praise piece,
describing Ninurta in larger-than-life terms and comparing him to the god An.[25][6] Angim dimma is believed
to have originally been written in Sumerian during the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 – c. 2004 BC) or the
early Old Babylonian Period (c. 1830 – c. 1531 BC),[26] but the oldest surviving texts of it date to Old
Babylonian Period.[26] Numerous later versions of the text have also survived.[26] It was translated into
Akkadian during the Middle Babylonian Period (c. 1600 — c. 1155 BC).[6][26]

Anzû myth

In the Old, Middle, and Late Babylonian myth of Anzû

and the Tablet of Destinies, the Anzû is a giant, monstrous
bird.[27][28][2] Enlil gives Anzû a position as the guardian
of his sanctuary,[27][29] but Anzû betrays Enlil and steals
the Tablet of Destinies,[30][31][2] a sacred clay tablet
belonging to Enlil that grants him his authority,[32] while
Enlil is preparing for his bath.[33][31] The rivers dry up and
the gods are stripped of their powers.[29] The gods send
Adad, Gerra, and Shara to defeat the Anzû,[29][33] but all
of them fail.[29][33] Finally, the god Ea proposes that the
gods should send Ninurta, Enlil's son.[29][33] Ninurta
Ninurta with his thunderbolts pursues Anzû, who
confronts the Anzû and shoots it with his arrows,[34][6][4]
has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from Enlil's
but the Tablet of Destinies has the power to reverse
sanctuary (Austen Henry Layard Monuments of
time[6][4] and the Anzû uses this power to make Ninurta's
Nineveh, 2nd Series, 1853)
arrows fall apart in midair and revert to their original
components:[34][6][4] the shafts turn back into canebrake,
the feathers into live birds, and the arrowheads return to the quarry.[4] Even Ninurta's bow returns to the forest
and the wool bowstring turns into a live sheep.[4]

Ninurta calls upon the south wind for aid, which rips the Anzû's wings off.[34][4] Ninurta slits the Anzû's
throat and takes the Tablet of Destinies.[4] The god Dagan announces Ninurta's victory in the assembly of the
gods[33] and, as a reward, Ninurta is granted a prominent seat on the council.[33][29][12] Enlil sends the
messenger god Birdu to request Ninurta to return the Tablet of Destinies.[35] Ninurta's reply to Birdu is
fragmentary, but it is possible he may initially refuse to return the Tablet.[36] In the end, however, Ninurta does
return the Tablet of Destinies to his father.[29][37][2][6] This story was particularly popular among scholars of
the Assyrian royal court.[6]

The myth of Ninurta and the Turtle, recorded in UET 6/1 2, is a fragment of what was originally a much
longer literary composition.[38] In it, after defeating the Anzû, Ninurta is honored by Enki in Eridu.[4][38]
Ninurta has brought back a chicklet from the Anzû, for which Enki praises him.[4] Ninurta, however, hungry
for power and even greater accolades, "set[s] his sights on the whole world.[4] Enki senses his thoughts and
creates a giant turtle, which he releases behind Ninurta and which bites the hero's ankle.[4][38][39] As they
struggle, the turtle digs a pit with its claws, which both of them fall into.[4][38][39] Enki gloats over Ninurta's
defeat.[38][39] The end of the story is missing;[40][4] the last legible portion of the account is a lamentation from
Ninurta's mother Ninmah, who seems to be considering finding a substitute for her son.[38] According to
Charles Penglase, in this account, Enki is clearly intended as the hero and his successful foiling of Ninurta's
plot to seize power for himself is intended as a demonstration of Enki's supreme wisdom and cunning.[38]

Other myths

In Ninurta's Journey to Eridu, Ninurta leaves the Ekur temple in

Nippur and travels to the Abzu in Eridu, led by an unnamed
guide.[41] In Eridu, Ninurta sits in assembly with the gods An and
Enki[33] and Enki gives him the me for life.[42] The poem ends with
Ninurta returning to Nippur.[42] The account probably deals with a
journey in which Ninurta's cult statue was transported from one city to
another and the "guide" is the person carrying the cult statue.[33] The
story closely resembles the other Sumerian myth of Inanna and Enki,
in which the goddess Inanna journeys to Eridu and receives the mes
from Enki.[10] In a poem known as the "Sumerian Georgica", written Sumerian cylinder seal impression
sometime between 1700 and 1500 BC, Ninurta delivers detailed dating to c. 3200 BC showing an ensi
advice on agricultural matters, [2][43][4] including how to plant, tend, and his acolyte feeding a sacred
and harvest crops, how to prepare fields for planting, and even how to herd; Ninurta was an agricultural
drive birds away from the crops. [2][4] The poem covers nearly every deity and, in a poem known as the
aspect of farm life throughout the course of the year.[2] Though the "Sumerian Georgica", he offers
detailed advice on farming
poem starts out seeming as though the advice is being given from a
father to his son,[4] at the end, it concludes with the words: "These are
the instructions of Ninurta, son of Enlil. O Ninurta, trustworthy farmer
of Enlil, your praise is good."[4] The "father" at the beginning of the poem is thereby revealed to be Ninurta
himself.[4]

The myth of the Slain Heroes is alluded to in many texts, but is never preserved in full.[2] In this myth, Ninurta
must fight a variety of opponents.[44][4] Black and Green describe these opponents as "bizarre minor
deities";[3] they include the six-headed Wild Ram, the Palm Tree King, and the seven-headed serpent.[4][12]
Some of these foes are inanimate objects, such as the Magillum Boat, which carries the souls of the dead to the
Underworld, and the strong copper, which represents a metal that was conceived as precious.[4][3] This story
of successive trials and victories may have been the source for the Greek legend of the Twelve Labors of
Heracles.[12][4]

Later influence

In antiquity

In the late seventh century BC, Kalhu was captured by foreign invaders.[6][4] Ninurta, like many other deities,
had become inextricably associated with the Assyrian Empire, which was widely hated for what were
perceived as cruel policies.[4] As a result, his statues were torn down[6][4] and his temples were abandoned and
never restored, including his most famous one in Kalhu.[6][4] Despite this, Ninurta was never completely
forgotten.[6][4] Most scholars agree that Ninurta was probably the inspiration for the biblical figure Nimrod,
mentioned in Genesis 10:8–12 as a "mighty hunter".[45][43][46][47] Though it is still not entirely clear how the
name Ninurta became Nimrod in Hebrew,[43] the two figures bear mostly the same functions and attributes[48]
and Ninurta is currently regarded as the most plausible etymology for Nimrod's name.[43][6][4] The city of
Kalhu is specifically referenced in association with Nimrod in
Genesis 10:11–12, where it is described as a "great city".[4]
Eventually, the ruins of the city of Kalhu itself became known in
Arabic as Namrūd because of its association with Ninurta.[6][4]

Later in the Old Testament, in both 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah

37:38, King Sennacherib of Assyria is reported to have been
murdered by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer in the temple of
"Nisroch",[47][6][8][12][46] which is most likely a scribal error for
"Nimrod".[6][8][12][46] This hypothetical error would result from
the Hebrew letter ‫( מ‬mem) being replacing with ‫( ס‬samekh) and
the letter ‫( ד‬dalet) being replaced with ‫( ך‬kaf).[6][12] Due to the
obvious visual similarities of the letters involved and the fact that
no Assyrian deity by the name of "Nisroch" has ever been attested,
most scholars consider this error to be the most likely explanation
for the name.[6][12][46][49] If "Nisroch" is Ninurta, this would
make Ninurta's temple at Kalhu the most likely location of
Sennacherib's murder.[49] Other scholars have attempted to Nimrod (1832) by David Scott. Nimrod,
the "great hunter" mentioned in Genesis
identify Nisroch as Nusku, the Assyrian god of fire.[47] Hans
10:8–12, is believed by many scholars
Wildberger rejects all suggested identifications as linguistically
to be inspired by either Ninurta himself
implausible.[47] or the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I,
named after him
Although the Book of Genesis itself portrays Nimrod positively as
the first king after the Flood of Noah and a builder of cities,[50] the
Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible refers to him as a giant[50] and mistranslates the Hebrew
words meaning "before Yahweh" as "in opposition against God."[50] Because of this, Nimrod became
envisioned as the archetypal idolator.[50] Early works of Jewish midrash, described by the first-century AD
philosopher Philo in his Quaestiones, portrayed Nimrod as the instigator of the building of the Tower of Babel,
who persecuted the Jewish patriarch Abraham for refusing to participate in the project.[50] Saint Augustine of
Hippo refers to Nimrod in his book The City of God as "a deceiver, oppressor and destroyer of earth-born
creatures."[50]

In modernity

In the sixteenth century, Nisroch became seen as a demon. The Dutch demonologist Johann Weyer listed
Nisroch in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577) as the "chief cook" of Hell.[51] Nisroch appears in Book
VI of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (first published in 1667) as one of Satan's demons.[52][53]
Nisroch, who is described as frowning and wearing beaten armor,[52] calls into question Satan's argument that
the fight between the angels and demons is equal, objecting that they, as demons, can feel pain, which will
break their morale.[52] According to Milton scholar Roy Flannagan, Milton may have chosen to portray
Nisroch as timid because he had consulted the Hebrew dictionary of C. Stephanus, which defined the name
"Nisroch" as "Flight" or "Delicate Temptation".[52]

In the 1840s, the British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard uncovered numerous stone carvings of winged,
eagle-headed genii at Kalhu.[6][8] Remembering the Biblical story of Sennacherib's murder, Layard mistakenly
identified these figures as "Nisrochs".[6][8] Such carvings continued to be known as "Nisrochs" in popular
literature throughout the remaining portion of the nineteenth century.[6][8] In Edith Nesbit's classic 1906
children's novel The Story of the Amulet, the child protagonists summon an eagle-headed "Nisroch" to guide
them.[6] Nisroch opens a portal and advises them, "Walk forward without fear" and asks, "Is there aught else
that the Servant of the great Name can do for those who
speak that name?"[6] Some modern works on art history
still repeat the old misidentification,[8] but Near Eastern
scholars now generally refer to the "Nisroch" figure as a
"griffin-demon".[8]

In 2016, during its brief conquest of the region, the Islamic

State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) demolished
Ashurnasirpal II's ziggurat of Ninurta at Kalhu.[9] This act
was in line with ISIL's longstanding policy of destroying
any ancient ruins which it deemed incompatible with its
militant interpretation of Islam.[9] According to a statement
from the American Schools of Oriental Research
(ASOR)'s Cultural Heritage Initiatives, ISIL may have
destroyed the temple to use its destruction for future
propaganda[9] and to demoralize the local population.[9] Stone relief carving of an eagle-headed genius
from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu; such
In March 2020, archaeologists announced the discovery of depictions were widely, but erroneously, identified
a 5,000-year-old cultic area filled with more than 300 as Ninurta in the nineteenth century and were
broken ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars, animal bones popularly known as "Nisrochs"
and ritual processions dedicated to Ningirsu at the site of
Girsu. One of the remains was a duck-shaped bronze
figurine with eyes made from bark which is thought to be dedicated to Nanshe.[54][55]

References

Notes
a. Aramaic: ‫ܵ ݂ܟ‬ ܼ ; Greek: Νεσεραχ; Latin: Nesroch; Hebrew: ְ ‫סרֹך‬
ְ ִ‫נ‬

Citations
1. https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=isvD-
OsZzgkC&printsec=copyright#v=snippet&q=kronos&f=false
2. Black & Green 1992, p. 142.
3. Black & Green 1992, p. 138.
4. Mark 2017.
5. Petrovich 2013, p. 273.
6. Robson 2015.
7. Penglase 1994, p. 42.
8. Black & Green 1992, p. 143.
9. Lewis 2016.
10. Penglase 1994, p. 43.
11. Black & Green 1992, pp. 142–143.
12. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, p. 628.
13. Kasak & Veede 2001, pp. 25–26.
14. Holland 2009, p. 117.
15. Penglase 1994, p. 100.
16. Black & Green 1992, p. 101.
17. Black & Green 1992, p. 39.
18. Jacobsen 1946, pp. 128–152.
19. Kramer 1961, pp. 44–45.
20. Black, Cunningham & Robson 2006, p. 106.
21. Black & Green 1992, p. 108.
22. Leick 1998, p. 88.
23. Penglase 1994, pp. 42–43.
24. Penglase 1994, p. 68.
25. Penglase 1994, p. 56.
26. Penglase 1994, p. 55.
27. Penglase 1994, p. 52.
28. Leick 1998, p. 9.
29. Leick 1998, p. 10.
30. Penglase 1994, pp. 52–53.
31. Leick 1998, pp. 9–10.
32. Black & Green 1992, p. 173.
33. Penglase 1994, p. 53.
34. Penglase 1994, p. 45.
35. Penglase 1994, pp. 53–54.
36. Penglase 1994, p. 54.
37. Penglase 1994, pp. 46, 54.
38. Penglase 1994, p. 61.
39. Black & Green 1992, p. 179.
40. Penglase 1994, pp. 43–44, 61.
41. Penglase 1994, pp. 52–53, 62.
42. Penglase 1994, p. 53, 63.
43. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, p. 627.
44. Black & Green 1992, pp. 138, 142.
45. Metzger & Coogan 1993, p. 218.
46. Wiseman 1979, p. 337.
47. Wildberger 2002, p. 405.
48. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, pp. 627–629.
49. Gallagher 1999, p. 252.
50. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, p. 629.
51. Ripley & Dana 1883, pp. 794–795.
52. Milton & Flannagan 1998, p. 521.
53. Bunson 1996, p. 199.
54. March 2020, Owen Jarus-Live Science Contributor 30. "Ancient cultic area for warrior-god
uncovered in Iraq" (https://www.livescience.com/girsu-cult-discovered.html). livescience.com.
Retrieved 2020-08-31.
55. Gavin (2020-04-11). "Ancient cultic area for warrior-god uncovered in Iraq" (https://most-interest
ingthings.com/ancient-cultic-area-for-warrior-god-uncovered-in-iraq/). Most Interesting Things.
Retrieved 2020-08-31.
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External links
Texts
Narratives about Ninurta
ETCSL website: Unicode version (https://web.archive.org/web/20110308035812/http://
www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.6*) and ETCSL website: ASCII
version (https://web.archive.org/web/20090118182055/http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/c
gi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.6*&charenc=j)
Gateways to Babylon: ASCII English translation from the ETCSL website (http://www.ga
tewaystobabylon.com/myths/ninurta.htm)
Gateways to Babylon: The Myth of Anzû (http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/myths/texts/ni
nurta/mythanzu.htm)
Hymns to Ninurta ETCSL website: Unicode version (https://web.archive.org/web/20090118
200604/http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.27*) and ETCSL website:
ASCII version (https://web.archive.org/web/20090118185527/http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.u
k/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.27*&charenc=j)
Commentary
Gateways to Babylon: "Ninurta as the god of wisdom" by Amar Annus (http://www.gateways
tobabylon.com/essays/wisdomninurta.html)

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