Art History Gods and people Unit 1

Adad: Storm god (Ishkur in Sumerian), associated with bulls and thunderbolts

Ahuramazda: Zoroastrian god, represented as a bearded man in a winged disc

Alexander the Great: King of Macedon from 336 BC; conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC

Anu: Also An; God of heaven, a sky god. His name is the Sumerian word for heaven and he is married to the Earth goddess, Ki. sometimes represented as horned crowns on an altar

Artaxerxes I & II: I; king of the Persian empire from 464-423 BC. II; king of the Persian empire from 404-359 BC

Ashurbanipal I & II: I; king of Assyria from 668-627 BC. II; king of Assyria from 883-859 BC

Assur: Name of both a god and a city in Assyria. The god Assur is a personification of the city. He is sometimes shown as a man in a winged disc

Cyrus the Great: Ruled the Persian empire from 559-530 BC. Conquered Babylon in 539 BC

Darius I & III: I; king of the Persian empire from 521-486 BC, established Persepolis in Iran

Ea/Enki: God of freshwater, wisdom, magic, arts, architecture, and crafts. He is represented surrounded by streams and water; Enki in Sumerian

Enlil: A Sumerian god of the sky, associated with mountains and with the city of Nippur in Iraq. His great temple was the E-Kur, a mountain house, and his wife is the goddess Ninlil

Ereshkigal: “Queen of the night” A goddess of the underworld, also known in Akkadian as Allatu. She is sometimes represented with the talons of a bird of prey

Gudea: Ruler of Lagash from 2150-2125 BC

Hammurabi: Babylonian king from 1792-1750 BC, installed a public law stele in Babylon in 1760 BC known as Hammurabi’s code

Imdugud: A lion-headed eagle, the supernatural creature associated with the god Ningirsu

Inanna: A goddess of love and war, Ishtar in Akkadian, she is often shown with lions

Layard, Austin Henry: British explorer, 1817-1894, who excavated Assyrian cities

Meskalamdug: King buried at the royal cemetery of Ur in 2500 BC

Nabonidus: King of Babylon from 555-539 BC

Nabopolassar: King of Babylon from 626-605 BC, began the Neo-Babylonian dynasty

Nabu: God of writing and scholarship. He is often shown holding a wedge; his emblems are a tablet and a stylus for writing

Nanna: Moon god, Sin in Akkadian. He is shown as a crescent moon

Naramsin: King of the Akkad dynasty from 2254-2218 BC. Became the first deified king

Nebhuchudnezzar I & II: I; king of Babylon from 1125-1104 BC. II; King of Babylon from 604-562 BC

Nergal: A god associated with the Akkadian Erra, god of the underworld, consort of Ereshkigal, also god of war. Nergal is shown as a warrior, holding a scimitar and double-headed lion mace

Ningal: Consort of the moon god Nanna, mother of the sun god Utu, Shamash in Akkadian

Ninhursag: A mother goddess, “Lady of the mountain”, also called Ninmah. Her symbol is a horned snake

Puabi: Queen buried in the royal cemetery of Ur in 2500 BC

Rassam, Hormuzd: Archeologist from Mosul, Iraq; one of the first to excavate Assyrian and Babylonian cities 1826-1910

Sargon of Akkad: King and founder of the dynasty of Akkad from 2334-2279 BC

Sargon II: King of Assyria from 721-705 BC, founded Dur Sharrukin

Sennacherib: King of Assyria from 705-681 BC

Shalmaneser III: King of Assyria from 858-824 BC

Shamash: Sun god, god of justice, Utu in Sumerian, his emblem is a sunburst

Sin: God of the moon, Nanna in Sumerian, his emblem is a crescent moon

Tiglath Pilesar I: King of Assyria from 114-1076 BC

Ur-Namma: King of the Ur III dynasty from 2112-2095 BC

Wooley, Leonard: British archeologist who discovered the royal cemetery at Ur, lived 1880-1960