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An (cuneiform)

The cuneiform an sign (or sumerogram AN, in Akkadian consisting of ASH 𒀸 and MAŠ 𒈦), is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for an, and an alphabetic sign used for a, or n; it is common in both the Epic of Gilgamesh over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It is also used for the designation of a "god", and is sometimes represented as a superscript: <sup>d</sup>, or capitalized: <sup>D</sup>, for "dingir", English language, "god". The example photo at right shows (2nd list), a list of 14 named gods, all with "an"; the first pair on the list AN-UTU, or <sup>D</sup>UTU, refers to the "sun-god", using Ud (cuneiform), as the sumerogram, namely UTU (sun Sumerogram).

Cuneiform an can also be found in compound form with another cuneiform sign, an example being DAGAL, . The older version of DAGAL used the 'god symbol' as a star within the sign: ; (older version of DAGAL, incorporating "star": ).

Epic of Gilgamesh usage

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablets I-XII, "an" is used for the following meanings by the following numbers: an-(120) times, ìl-(0) times, <sup>d</sup>-(593), AN-(27), and DINGIR-(76) times.

List of Babylonian gods, etc.

From Budge's revised book on Babylonian Life and History, a list of many of the major gods from Babylonian history (and Sumerian):

  • Anu, or Anum
  • Bêl (An Be),
  • or Enlil (An En lil), -?
  • Ea (An É a),
  • The "Moon-God":
  • Sin (An-Sin), An
  • Nannaru (An LUGAL Ki)
  • Shamash (An UTU)
  • The "Wind-God": (see Photo-caption, above)
  • Adad
  • Rammânu
  • The "Great God-of-Babylon":
  • Marduk or
  • Bêl-Marduk
  • Nabû (Nebo) (An ?, or An "pa"), -?, or

List of gods and associated temples, towns, etc.

References