The Sumerian-Akkadian Epic of Ninurta

The earliest known epic texts were inscribed on clay tablets in southern Mesopotamia at the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE in Sumerian and Akkadian languages. This is the so-called mythological epic, whose main... hero is the god Ninurta. The same epic is reflected in the inscriptions on clay cylinders and statues of Gudea - the ruler of the city of Lagash (c. 2143 - c. 2123 BCE). In this publication, these monuments are translated together for the first time and studied as a single complex of ideas about the universe that emerged in Lagash and Nippur in the 23rd - 22nd centuries BCE. The Epic of Ninurta and the texts of Gudea that reflect it are the first examples of Near Eastern religious texts, as well as the first examples of temple ritual recording. They served as sources for all subsequent hymn-epic literature of the Ancient Near East and influenced some books of the Old Testament through intermediaries. The Hellenistic tradition after Josephus Flavius recognized Ninurta as Nimrod, giving rise to numerous interpretations of this image in Western European and Russian literature. Currently, the Epic of Ninurta should also be considered in the paleoclimatic context. The so-called Great Drought of the 22nd century BCE affected a significant part of the planet, including Egypt and India, and was the reason for the collapse of two of the largest states of the Ancient World: the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia and the Old Kingdom in Egypt. The Epic of Ninurta is the only literary source in the world that reflects the adverse ecological events of this time that were detrimental to the existence of ancient societies - the onset of drought, soil salinization, hurricanes, and earthquakes occurring in both southern Mesopotamia and the Zagros mountains. For all those interested in the monuments of ancient writing, history, and culture of the Ancient East.