ASHUR
(GOD)
![](ashurgod/Ashur_god.jpg)
A
Neo-Assyrian relief of Ashur as a feather robed archer holding a
bow instead of a ring (9th-8th century BC)
Other names : Bêlu Rabû, Ab Ilâni,
Šadû Rabû
Planet : Sun
Symbol : Winged sun
Tree : Tree of Life
Ashur,
Ashshur, also spelled Ašur, Aššur (Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2,
Aš-šur, da-šur4) is an East Semitic god, and the
head of the Assyrian pantheon in Mesopotamian religion, worshipped
mainly in the northern half of Mesopotamia, and parts of north-east
Syria and south-east Asia Minor which constituted old Assyria. He
may have had a solar iconography.
Legend
:
Aššur was a deified form of the city of Assur, which dates
from the mid 3rd millennium BC and was the capital of the Old Assyrian
kingdom. As such, Ashur did not originally have a family, but as
the cult came under southern Mesopotamian influence, he later came
to be regarded as the Assyrian equivalent of Enlil, the chief god
of Nippur, which was the most important god of the southern pantheon
from the early 3rd millennium BC until Hammurabi founded an empire
based in Babylon in the mid-18th century BC, after which Marduk
replaced Enlil as the chief god in the south. In the north, Ashur
absorbed Enlil's wife Ninlil (as the Assyrian goddess Mullissu)
and his sons Ninurta and Zababa—this process began around
the 14th century BC and continued down to the 7th century.
During
the various periods of Assyrian conquest, such as the Assyrian Empire
of Shamshi-Adad I (1813–1750 BC), Middle Assyrian Empire (1391–1056
BC) and Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), Assyrian imperial
propaganda proclaimed the supremacy of Ashur and declared that the
conquered peoples had been abandoned by their own gods.
When
Assyria conquered Babylon in the Sargonid period (8th–7th
centuries BC), Assyrian scribes began to write the name of Ashur
AN.ŠAR2, the ideograms for "whole heaven" in Sumerian,
which came to be pronounced Aššur in the Assyrian dialect
of Akkadian, the language of Assyria and Babylonia. The intention
seems to have been to put Aššur at the head of the Babylonian
pantheon, where Anshar and his counterpart Kishar ("whole earth")
preceded even Enlil and Ninlil. Thus in the Sargonid version of
the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian national creation myth, Marduk,
the chief god of Babylon, does not appear, and instead it is Ashur,
as Anshar, who slays Tiamat the chaos-monster and creates the world
of humankind.
Representation
and symbolism :
Wall
relief depicting the God Ashur (Assur) from Nimrud
![](ashurgod/640px-Flag_of_the_Assyrians_(gold_Assur).svg.png)
Ashur
is depicted on this variant of the flag used by the modern Assyrian
people
Some scholars have claimed that Ashur was represented as the winged
sun that appears frequently in Assyrian iconography. [who?] Many
Assyrian kings had names that included the name Ashur, including,
above all, Ashur-uballit I, Ashurnasirpal, Esarhaddon (Ashur-aha-iddina),
and Ashurbanipal. Epithets include bêlu rabû "great
lord", ab ilâni "father of gods", šadû
rabû "great mountain", and il aššurî
"god of Ashur". The symbols of Ashur include :
No. |
Particulars |
1. |
A
winged disc with horns, enclosing four circles revolving round
a middle circle; rippling rays fall down from either side of
the disc; |
2. |
A
circle or wheel, suspended from wings, and enclosing a warrior
drawing his bow to discharge an arrow; |
3. |
The
same circle; the warrior's bow, however, is carried in his left
hand, while the right hand is uplifted as if to bless his worshipers
(see picture). |
|
An Assyrian standard, which probably represented the world column,
has the disc mounted on a bull's head with horns. The upper part
of the disc is occupied by a warrior, whose head, part of his bow,
and the point of his arrow protrude from the circle. The rippling
water rays are V-shaped, and two bulls, treading river-like rays,
occupy the divisions thus formed. There are also two heads—a
lion's and a man's—with gaping mouths, which may symbolize
tempests, the destroying power of the sun, or the sources of the
Tigris and Euphrates. Jastrow regards the winged disc as "the
purer and more genuine symbol of Ashur as a solar deity". He
calls it "a sun disc with protruding rays", and says:
"To this symbol the warrior with the bow and arrow was added—a
despiritualization that reflects the martial spirit of the Assyrian
empire".
The
Assyrian Tree of Life :
Simo Parpola explored the use of the 'Tree of life' motif when Ashur
is depicted in reliefs. Often, Ashur is depicted in a winged disk
hovering on top of a tree, for instance, in Ashurnasirpal's throne
room in Calah which was inscribed with "vice-regent of Ashur".
![](ashurgod/640px-Symbolic_scene_-_king_Ashurnasirpal.jpg)
King
Ashurnasirpal's throneroom relief showing Ashur hovering above the
tree of life
Parpola continues by drawing on parallels between the Ein Sof in
the Kabbalah and the symbolism of Ashur with the Tree of life. The
depiction of Ashur, the universal God, behind a solar disk, representing
light as his essential nature, just as in Kabbalah, is just one
instance of Parpola's comparison.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Ashur_(god)