When my army heard about these words, they were anxious to fight, ready to set out at once. He boasted in his inscriptions of the fate of all those who defied him: “I filled the caves and ravines of the mountains with their corpses,” he announces, “I made heaps of their corpses, like grain piled beside their gates; their cities I ravaged, I turned them into ruinous hills” (270). Records indicate that the same officials who worked in the administrative offices in Ashur also worked across the river in the offices at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, and so the claim that the new city was built to replace the old capital is untenable. The piece goes into details on how to prepare the earth, how to plant the seed, even how to drive away birds, and the proper way to harvest the crop. Ninurta began his divine career as a god of irrigation and agriculture. The tablet is broken toward the end, and part of the introduction is missing, but the story seems to be set after Ninurta has defeated the Anzu and Asag and is being honored by Enki. Surveys and plans had to be prepared which involved the use of leveling instruments, measuring rods, drawing, and mapping. A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. The Kingdom of Mitanni had been conquered by the Hittites under their king Suppiluliuma I (1344-1322 BCE) prior to the rise of the Assyrians. Kar Tukulti Ninurta was conceived as a counterpart to Assur…both theses are based on misinterpretations and false assumptions and hence should be revised (179). Ninurta's power and position in the Mesopotamian Pantheon would have lent significant weight to any document attributed to him, and especially so considering he would have had to take time out from heroic feats to offer his suggestions. The god originated as Ningirsu ('Lord of Girsu') in Sumer, and the earliest texts use this name for the son of Enlil and Ninlil (although one myth suggests he is the son of Enlil and a she-goat). Still, as late as c. 1500 BCE, he was still associated with agriculture, growth, and the harvest, depicted as a fully realized individual capable of great deeds but also as flawed as any mortal. No Assyrian king outdid Ashurnasirpal II, however, who built the city of Kalhu as the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire with the great Temple of Ninurta as his first project, decorating the walls with reliefs honoring the god's triumphs. Such is the splendor of the young god that a messenger from Nippur comes to greet the young warrior god to say that his coming is so magnificent that it would be wise for him to dim a bit his radiance. Tudhaliya IV, wishing to enhance his reputation as a ruler, focused on grand building projects, which included 26 new temples and renovations to his already luxurious palace. (104-105). One of the most famous Mesopotamian reliefs, often used on book covers or magazines dealing with the Near East, is of Ninurta and the Anzu bird from the temple at Kalhu. It was built after he had defeated Babylon, and the spoils of that campaign may have helped provide the means” (183). Tukulti-Ninurta I. The Tablets of Destiny, however, have the power to turn back time, and when Ninurta fires his arrows at the bird, they fall apart mid-air and revert to their components: the shafts return to the canebrake, the feathers to birds, the tip to the quarry. His original sanctuary was a temple in the city-state of Nippur. Written by Joshua J. Further, the Hittite economy was failing and the army had not been paid. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. But with the rise of imperialism he was transformed into a young and vigorous god of war. Tukulti-Ninurta I claimed afterwards to have taken 28,800 Hittite prisoners of war and, while that may be an exaggeration, the historical record supports his claim of the great victory at the Battle of Nihriya in c. 1245 BCE. Then a Hittite deserter fled from Tudhaliya’s army and reached me. He was worshipped from around 3500 BC to 200 BC and probably synonymous with Ningirsu having cult centers at Nippur and Girsu, where he was adored in later form. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Mark, Joshua J. Created by Enlil, the father of Ninurta, it is used to enact divine punishment to the wicked. Bauer comments on this writing, “We know almost nothing about this king, Kashtiliash IV, except that he was a poor judge of men; Tukulti-Ninurta marched down and plundered Babylon’s temples” (270). Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1244-1208 BCE) was a king of the Assyrian Empire during the period known as the Middle Empire. The Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian empires embraced Ninurta as the son of their god Assur, and under the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 BCE) a great temple and ziggurat were built to the god in Ashurnasirpal II's new city of Kalhu. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He was the son of Shalmaneser I (reigned 1274-1245 BCE) who had completed the work of his father, Adad Nirari I, in conquering and securing the lands that had once been the Kingdom of Mitanni. (2017, February 02). The fame of the hero-god Ninurta, as well as his city, is attested to in the Bible where Ninurta is known as Nimrod, who is described as "a mighty hunter" and Kalhu is given as Calah, "a great city" (Genesis 10:8-12). Ashur (also known as Assur) was an Assyrian city located on a plateau... Shedu-Lamassu (meaning a male lamassu) from Tukulti-Ninurta's palace... Alesandra Gilibert – On Kar Tukulti Ninurta: Chronology and Politics of a Middle Assyrian Ville Neuve, Die assyrischen Konigstitel und –epitheta. Ninurta Encyclopedia article about it. The city's great temple and nearby towering ziggurat dedicated to Ninurta were known far beyond the boundaries of Mesopotamia. Ninurta is afraid (the text reads he "flees like a bird"), but Sharur tells him to turn around and face his enemies, encouraging him with reminders of past glories and the great fame he will win in victory. But I brought my army on. 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