Akitu
Encyclopedia
Akitu was a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia
.
The name is from the Sumerian for "barley
", originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring. In Babylonian religion
it came to be dedicated to Marduk
's victory over Tiamat
.
(Marduk’s house) would recite sad prayers with the other priests and the people would answer with equally sad prayers which expressed humanity's fear of the unknown. This fear of the unknown explains why the high priest would head to the Ésagila every day asking for Marduk's forgiveness, begging him to protect Babylon, his holy city. This prayer was called "The Secret Of Ésagila".
would be recited, telling the story of how the universe and the seasons were created, then how all gods united in god Marduk following his victory over Tiamat. The recitation of this Epic was considered the beginning of preparations for the submission of the King of Babylon before Marduk on the fifth day of Akitu.
n floors, known in the Torah
as the Tower of Babylon) where was Marduk's dwelling or in the temple Esagila (in the Torah God would dwell on a "mountain" Psalms 74:2). During this day according to the tradition of Akitu, Marduk would enter his dwelling and is surprised by the evil gods who will fight him, then he's taken prisoner and awaits for arrival of his son god Nabu who would save him from "Nought" and restores his glory.
Nabu
in boats accompanied by his assistants of brave Gods coming from Nippur
, Uruk
, Kish
, and Eridu (cities ancient Babylonia). The Gods accompanying Nabu would be represented by statues which would be mounted on boats made especially for the occasion]. Here the people in huge numbers would begin their walk behind their king towards the Esagila where Marduk is held prisoner, chanting the following :"Here's he who's coming from far to restore the glory of our imprisoned father".
King Sennacherib
in 683 BC built an "Akitu house" outside the walls of Assur
. Another "Akitu house" was built outside Nineveh
.
, reflecting the festival's agrarian origin based on the cycle of sowing and harvesting. He is imprisoned in the underworld
and rises again on the third day. The obvious parallel to the death
and resurrection of Christ
celebrated at Christian Easter
has been noted at an early time, and elaborated in detail by Zimmern in his 1918 editio princeps.
Pallis (1926) rejected some of the Christological parallels noted by Zimmern, but
continued to stress that the death of Marduk, the lamentation over him, his subsequent restoration and the rejoicing over his resurrection is among the Near Eastern templates for the Christ myth.
This theme of a dying young (harvest/vegetable) God (common throughout the Middle east)is also reflected in the legends of Tammuz, and is referenced in the Bible
as "women weeping for Tammuz" even in the temple of the Hebrew God.
period. At the beginning of the 3rd century, it was still celebrated in Emessa, Syria, in honour of the god Elagabal.
Roman Emperor Elagabalus
(r. 218-222), who was of Syrian origin, even introduced the festival in Italy (Herodian
, Roman History, 5.6).
ians traditionally celebrate 21 March as Noruz ("New Day").
Kha b-Nissan is the name of the spring festival among the Assyrians
.
The festival is celebrated on April 1, corresponding to the start of the Assyrian calendar.
The Akkadian name Akitu has been re-introduced in Assyrianism
, falling on 1 Nisan of the "Assyrian calendar
" introduced in the 1950s, corresponding to the 1 April of the Gregorian calendar.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
.
The name is from the Sumerian for "barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
", originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring. In Babylonian religion
Babylonian religion
Babylonian religion is the religious practice of the Babylonians, from the Old Babylonian period in the Middle Bronze Age until the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Early Iron Age....
it came to be dedicated to Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
's victory over Tiamat
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...
.
First to third Day
The priest of ÉsagilaEsagila
The Ésagila, a Sumerian name signifying "É whose top is lofty", was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon...
(Marduk’s house) would recite sad prayers with the other priests and the people would answer with equally sad prayers which expressed humanity's fear of the unknown. This fear of the unknown explains why the high priest would head to the Ésagila every day asking for Marduk's forgiveness, begging him to protect Babylon, his holy city. This prayer was called "The Secret Of Ésagila".
Fourth Day
The same rituals would be followed as in the previous three days then at night the Epic of Creation Enuma ElishEnûma Elish
The is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...
would be recited, telling the story of how the universe and the seasons were created, then how all gods united in god Marduk following his victory over Tiamat. The recitation of this Epic was considered the beginning of preparations for the submission of the King of Babylon before Marduk on the fifth day of Akitu.
n floors, known in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
as the Tower of Babylon) where was Marduk's dwelling or in the temple Esagila (in the Torah God would dwell on a "mountain" Psalms 74:2). During this day according to the tradition of Akitu, Marduk would enter his dwelling and is surprised by the evil gods who will fight him, then he's taken prisoner and awaits for arrival of his son god Nabu who would save him from "Nought" and restores his glory.
Sixth Day
The arrival of GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
Nabu
Nabu
Nabu is the Assyrian and Babylonian god of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort, Sarpanitum, and as the grandson of Ea. Nabu's consort was Tashmetum....
in boats accompanied by his assistants of brave Gods coming from Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
, Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
, Kish
Kish (Sumer)
Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....
, and Eridu (cities ancient Babylonia). The Gods accompanying Nabu would be represented by statues which would be mounted on boats made especially for the occasion]. Here the people in huge numbers would begin their walk behind their king towards the Esagila where Marduk is held prisoner, chanting the following :"Here's he who's coming from far to restore the glory of our imprisoned father".
Seventh Day
On the third day of his imprisonment Nabu frees Marduk. The evil gods had closed a huge gate behind him when he entered his dwelling. Marduk would be fighting till Nabu's arrival, when he would break in the huge gate and a battle would go on between the two groups, until Nabu comes out victorious and frees Marduk.Eighth Day
When Marduk is set free, the statues of the gods are gathered in the Destinies Hall "Ubshu-Ukkina", to deliberate his destiny, there it is decided to join all the forces of the gods and bestow them upon Marduk. Here, the king implores all the gods to support and honour Marduk, and this tradition was an indication that Marduk received submission from all the gods and was unique in his position.Ninth Day
The victory procession to the "House of Akitu" where Marduk's victory in the beginning of Creation over the dragon Tiamat (goddess of the nether waters) is celebrated. The House of Akitu which the Assyrians of Nineveh called "Bet Ekribi" (“House of Prayers” in old Assyrian language), was about 200 meters outside the city's walls, where there were wonderful trees decorated and watered carefully out of respect to the god who's considered the one to grant nature its life. The victory procession was the population's way to express its joy at Marduk's (Ashur) renewal of power and the destruction of evil forces which almost controlled life in the beginning.Tenth Day
Arriving at "Bet Akitu", god Marduk begins to celebrate with both the upper and nether world gods (the statues of gods were arranged around a huge table such as in a feast) then Marduk returns to the city at night celebrating his marriage to goddess "Ishtar" where earth and heaven are united, and as the gods unite so is this union arranged on earth. Thus the king personifies this union by playing the role of marrying the highest priestess of the Esagila where they would both sit at the throne before the population and they recite special poems for the occasion. This love is going to bring forth life in spring.Eleventh Day
The gods return accompanied by their Lord Marduk (Ashur) to meet again in the Destinies Hall "Upshu Ukkina", where they met for the first time on the eight day, this time they will decide the fate of the people of Marduk (Ashur). In ancient Assyrian philosophy Creation in general was considered as a covenant between heaven and earth as long as a human serves the gods till his death, therefore, gods' happiness isn't complete except if humans are happy as well, thus a human's destiny will be to be given happiness on the condition that he serves the gods. So Marduk and the gods renew their covenant with Babylon then he returns to his upper house (Heaven).Twelfth Day
The last day of Akitu. The gods return to Marduk's temple (the statues are returned to the temple) and daily life resumes in Babylon, Nineveh, and the rest of the Assyrian cities.Assyria
The festival was also adopted in Iron Age Assyria.King Sennacherib
Sennacherib
Sennacherib |Sîn]] has replaced brothers for me"; Aramaic: ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria .-Rise to power:...
in 683 BC built an "Akitu house" outside the walls of Assur
Assur
Assur , was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. The remains of the city are situated on the western bank of river Tigris, north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab river, in modern day Iraq, more precisely in the Al-Shirqat District .Assur is also...
. Another "Akitu house" was built outside Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
.
Comparative Mythology
Marduk in the myth enacted in the festival is preserved in the so-called Marduk Ordeal Text (KAR 143). In this myth, Marduk appears as a life-death-rebirth deityLife-death-rebirth deity
A dying god, also known as a dying-and-rising or resurrection deity, is a god who dies and is resurrected or reborn, in either a literal or symbolic sense. Male examples include the ancient Near Eastern and Greek deities Baal, Melqart, Adonis, Eshmun, Attis Tammuz, Asclepius, Orpheus, as well as...
, reflecting the festival's agrarian origin based on the cycle of sowing and harvesting. He is imprisoned in the underworld
Descent to the underworld
The descent to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in a diverse number of religions from around the world, including Christianity. The hero or upper-world deity journeys to the underworld or to the land of the dead and returns, often with a quest-object or a loved one, or...
and rises again on the third day. The obvious parallel to the death
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
and resurrection of Christ
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
celebrated at Christian Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
has been noted at an early time, and elaborated in detail by Zimmern in his 1918 editio princeps.
Pallis (1926) rejected some of the Christological parallels noted by Zimmern, but
continued to stress that the death of Marduk, the lamentation over him, his subsequent restoration and the rejoicing over his resurrection is among the Near Eastern templates for the Christ myth.
This theme of a dying young (harvest/vegetable) God (common throughout the Middle east)is also reflected in the legends of Tammuz, and is referenced in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as "women weeping for Tammuz" even in the temple of the Hebrew God.
Legacy
The Akitu festival was continued throughout the Seleucid period and into the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
period. At the beginning of the 3rd century, it was still celebrated in Emessa, Syria, in honour of the god Elagabal.
Roman Emperor Elagabalus
Elagabalus
Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...
(r. 218-222), who was of Syrian origin, even introduced the festival in Italy (Herodian
Herodian
Herodian or Herodianus of Syria was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus in eight books covering the years 180 to 238. His work is not entirely reliable although his relatively unbiased account of Elagabalus is...
, Roman History, 5.6).
Contemporary Near Eastern spring festivals
IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ians traditionally celebrate 21 March as Noruz ("New Day").
Kha b-Nissan is the name of the spring festival among the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
.
The festival is celebrated on April 1, corresponding to the start of the Assyrian calendar.
The Akkadian name Akitu has been re-introduced in Assyrianism
Assyrianism
The term Assyrianism refers to Assyrian nationalism which increased in popularity in the late 19th century in a climate of increasing ethnic and religious persecution of the indigenous Assyrians of the Middle East....
, falling on 1 Nisan of the "Assyrian calendar
Assyrian calendar
The Assyrian calendar is a lunar-based calendar that begins in the year 4750 BC, inspired by an estimate of the date of the first temple at Ashur, notably based on a series of articles published in the Assyrian magazine Gilgamesh, edited by the brothers Addi and Jean Alkhas and Nimrod Simono. The...
" introduced in the 1950s, corresponding to the 1 April of the Gregorian calendar.
See also
- Assyro-Babylonian religion
- Babylonian religionBabylonian religionBabylonian religion is the religious practice of the Babylonians, from the Old Babylonian period in the Middle Bronze Age until the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Early Iron Age....
- Descent to the underworldDescent to the underworldThe descent to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in a diverse number of religions from around the world, including Christianity. The hero or upper-world deity journeys to the underworld or to the land of the dead and returns, often with a quest-object or a loved one, or...
- Tammuz (deity)