Dingir ( , usually transliterated DIĜIR,Sumerian pronunciation: [tiŋiɾ]) is a Sumerian word for “god” or
“goddess”. Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names
and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is conventionally transliterated as a
superscript “d” as in e.g. d
Inanna. The eight-pointed star was a chief symbol for the goddess
Inanna. The Sumerian sign DIĜIR originated as a star-shaped ideogram indicating a god in
general, or the Sumerian god An, the supreme father of the gods.
An = Anum, also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a
type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq.
While god lists are already known from the Early Dynastic period, An = Anum most likely was
composed in the later Kassite period. While often mistakenly described as a list of Sumerian deities
and their Akkadian equivalents, An = Anum is focused on presenting the familial relationships
between deities, as well as their courts and spheres of influence. The first four tablets list the major
gods and goddesses (Anu, Enlil, Ninhursag, Enki, Sin, Shamash, Adad and Ishtar) and their courts,
arranged according to theological principles, but tablets V and VI do not appear to follow a clear
system, and tablet VII is a late appendix listing the names of Marduk and one of his courtiers. While
it begins with the head of the pantheon, Enlil (or, in some of the copies, Anu and Enlil), the gods are
otherwise arranged based on lexical, rather than theological criteria, for example deities whose
names start with the sign NIN are grouped together. In the Old Babylonian period, god lists were
often the product of strictly local scribal traditions, and distinct ones are known from Nippur, Isin,
Uruk, Susa, Mari and Ur. Ur was the descent of Abraham, the father of three main religions
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The King of the Gods was Nanna-Suen-Sin, and ruled by
Amurru-Iskur-Adad, the Amorite King-God. An = Anum consists of seven tablets, with over 2000
Anunnaki Gods-Elohim on the lists.
Tablet I An = Anum: Tablet I starts with Anu, Antu and their ancestors called the Anunnaki. The Enlil
section follows the Anu one. It begins with his ancestors, the so-called Enki-Ninki deities, and
includes his wife Ninlil, primordial deities Lugaldukuga (explained as Enlil’s father) and Enmesharra,
as well as various courtiers, among them the goddess of writing, Nisaba, and her husband Haia,
Enlil’s Sukkal Nusku and his wife Sadarnunna, the scribe goddess Ninimma, and the beer goddess
Ninkasi. A separate sub-section is dedicated to Ninurta, his wife Nin-Nibru, and his own courtiers.
The Syrian god Dagan also appears in the Enlil section. It is additionally possible that a deity whose
name is not preserved, identified as “Enlil of Subartu”, might be Hurrian Kumarbi.
Tablet II An = Anum: Ninhursag (Digirmah, Belet-ili) occupies the beginning of tablet II. Deities listed
in her section include her husband Šulpae, her sons Panigingarra and Ashgi, the couple Lisin and
Ninsikila, and various courtiers. The same tablet also contains the section focused on Enki (Ea),
accompanied by his wife Damkina. A sub-section is dedicated to Marduk and includes his wife
Zarpanit. Nabu appears in it as Marduk’s Sukkal alongside his wife Tashmetum, but he is not yet
identified as his son, in contrast with late sources. Other deities present on tablet II include courtiers
of Enki, the river god Id, the fire god Gibil, and various minor deities associated with craftsmen and
other professions.
Tablet III An = Anum: Tablet III describes the moon god Sin-not as the son of Enlil, the sun god
Shamash (Utu) and the weather god Adad (Ishkur). The circle of Sin includes his wife Ningal and
various deities associated with cattle herding. Nanshe and deities associated with her, including her
husband Nindara, who precedes her, separate his section from that of Shamash.
Tablet IV Anu = Anum: Tablet IV documents the circle of Ishtar- Inanna.
Tablet V An = Anum: Tablet V starts with the deified hero Lugalbanda and his wife Ninsun, but it also
contains sections dedicated to Lugal-Marada, the tutelary god of Marad, the mongoose deity
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Ninkilim, the agricultural god Urash (his court includes Lagamal, in other lists present among
underworld deities), the war god Zababa (whose section also includes Nergal’s Sukkal Ugur,
explicitly identified as such), and a number of names which seem to be grouped together only
because they belong to gods originating in Lagash, among them Ningirsu.This god was usually
syncretised with Ninurta and as such regarded as a son of Enlil, but in this case appears separately
on a different tablet.
Tablet VI An = Anum: Tablet VI starts with Nergal, his titles, family and court (including Laṣ,
Mammitum and Ishum), continues with various figures explained as Ilu lemnu (“evil god”), such as
Kingaludda, the weaver goddess Uttu, a group of deities possibly originating in Dilmun, the Sebitti
and other groups of seven (as well as the closely connected Elamite goddess Narundi), Amurru, the
divine representation of Amorite nomads, and his wife Asratum, the deified hero Gilgamesh and his
companion Enkidu, a number of names belonging to deities of uncertain identity, assumed to be of
very minor importance, and a list of collective terms for deities.
Tablet VII An = Anum: Tablet VII lists various names of Marduk and of his throne bearer Mandanu,
and is assumed to be a late addition. According to Wilfred G. Lambert, it should be considered an
appendix loosely connected with the rest of the composition, similar to the case of the final tablet of
the standard edition of Epic of Gilgamesh.
