It is known that in Ancient Greece, representatives of different cities often fought among themselves. Europe, Russia and Transcaucasia

Introduction

The SUmerians were the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. They drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system.

The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority. The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula who settled northern regions Babylonia and those who adopted the Sumerian culture became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. OK. 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi.

1. History of the formation of the state of Ancient Sumer

In the second half of the 4th millennium BC. e. Sumerians appeared in southern Mesopotamia - a people who in later written documents call themselves “black-headed” (Sumerian “sang-ngiga”, Akkadian “tsalmat-kakkadi”). They were a people ethnically, linguistically and culturally alien to the Semitic tribes who settled Northern Mesopotamia at approximately the same time or somewhat later. The Sumerian language, with its bizarre grammar, is not related to any of the surviving languages. They belong to the Mediterranean race. Attempts to find their original homeland have so far ended in failure. Apparently, the country from which the Sumerians came was located somewhere in Asia, rather in a mountainous area, but located in such a way that its inhabitants were able to master the art of navigation. Evidence that the Sumerians came from the mountains is their way of building temples, which were erected on artificial embankments or on terraced hills made of brick or clay blocks. It is unlikely that such a custom could have arisen among the inhabitants of the plains. It, along with their beliefs, had to be brought from their ancestral homeland by the inhabitants of the mountains, who paid honor to the gods on the mountain peaks. And another piece of evidence is that in the Sumerian language the words “country” and “mountain” are written the same way. There is also a lot to suggest that the Sumerians came to Mesopotamia by sea. Firstly, they primarily appeared in river mouths. Secondly, in their ancient beliefs The main role was played by the gods Anu, Enlil and Enki. And finally, as soon as they settled in Mesopotamia, the Sumerians immediately began organizing irrigation, navigation and navigation along rivers and canals. The first Sumerians to appear in Mesopotamia were a small group of people. There was no need to think about the possibility of mass migration by sea at that time. The Sumerian epic mentions their homeland, which they considered the ancestral home of all humanity - the island of Dilmun, but there are no mountains on this island.

Having settled at the mouths of the rivers, the Sumerians captured the city of Eredu. This was their first city. Later they began to consider it the cradle of their statehood. Over the years, the Sumerians moved deeper into the Mesopotamian plain, building or conquering new cities. For the most distant times, the Sumerian tradition is so legendary that it has almost no historical significance. It was already known from Berossus’ data that the Babylonian priests divided the history of their country into two periods: “before the flood” and “after the flood.” Berossus, in his historical work, notes 10 kings who ruled “before the flood” and gives fantastic figures for their reign. The same data is given by the Sumerian text of the 21st century BC. e., the so-called “Royal List”. In addition to Eredu, the “Royal List” names Bad Tibiru, Larak (later unimportant settlements), as well as Sippar in the north and Shuruppak in the center as “antediluvian” centers of the Sumerians. This newcomer people subjugated the country without displacing - the Sumerians simply could not - the local population, but on the contrary, they adopted many of the achievements of the local culture. The identity of material culture, religious beliefs, and socio-political organization of various Sumerian city-states does not at all prove their political community. On the contrary, it is more likely to assume that from the very beginning of the Sumerian expansion into Mesopotamia, rivalry arose between individual cities, both newly founded and conquered.

I Early Dynastic period (c. 2750-2615 BC)

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in Mesopotamia there were about one and a half dozen city-states. The surrounding small villages were subordinate to the center, headed by a ruler who was sometimes both a military leader and a high priest. These small states are now commonly called Greek term"nomes".

Of the cities of the Sumerian-East Semitic culture located outside Lower Mesopotamia, it is important to note Mari on the Middle Euphrates, Ashur on the Middle Tigris and Der, located east of the Tigris, on the road to Elam.

The cult center of the Sumerian-East Semitic cities was Nippur. It is possible that initially it was the name of Nippur that was called Sumer. In Nippur there was E-kur - the temple of the common Sumerian god Enlil. Enlil was revered as the supreme god for thousands of years by all Sumerians and Eastern Semites (Akkadians), although Nippur was never political center neither in historical nor, judging by Sumerian myths and legends, in prehistoric times.

Analysis of both the “Royal List” and archaeological data show that the two main centers of Lower Mesopotamia from the beginning of the Early Dynastic period were: in the north - Kish, dominating the network of canals of the Euphrates-Irnina group, in the south - alternately Ur and Uruk. Outside the influence of both the northern and southern centers were usually Eshnunna and other cities of the Diyala River valley, on the one hand, and the nome of Lagash on the I-nina-gena canal, on the other.

II Early Dynastic period (c. 2615-2500 BC)

Aga's defeat at the walls of Uruk caused, it seems, an invasion of the Elamites, conquered by his father. The Kish tradition places after the I dynasty of Kish the dynasty of the Elamite city of Avan, which, obviously, established its hegemony, in addition to Elam, in the northern part of Mesopotamia. The part of the “list” where one would expect the names of the kings of the Awan dynasty is damaged, but it is possible that one of these kings was Mesalim.

In the south, parallel to the Avana dynasty, the First Dynasty of Uruk continued to exercise hegemony, whose ruler Gilgamesh and his successors managed, as evidenced by documents from the archives of the city of Shuruppak, to rally a number of city-states around themselves into a military alliance. This union united states located in the southern part of Lower Mesopotamia, along the Euphrates below Nippur, along Iturungal and I-nina-gene: Uruk, Adab, Nippur, Lagash, Shuruppak, Umma, etc. If we take into account the territories covered by this union, we can , probably, attribute the time of its existence to the reign of Mesalim, since it is known that under Meselim the Iturungal and I-nina-gena canals were already under his hegemony. It was precisely a military alliance of small states, and not a united state, because in the archive documents there is no information about the intervention of the rulers of Uruk in the affairs of Shuruppak or about the payment of tribute to them.

The rulers of the “nome” states included in the military alliance did not wear the title “en” (cult head of the nome), unlike the rulers of Uruk, but usually called themselves ensi or ensia [k] (Akkadian ishshiakkum, ishshakkum). This term apparently meant “the lord (or priest) of the laying of structures.” In reality, however, ensi had both cult and even military functions, so he led a squad of temple people. Some rulers of the nomes sought to assign themselves the title of military leader - lugal. Often this reflected the ruler's claim to independence. However, not every title “lugal” indicated hegemony over the country. The hegemonic military leader called himself not just “the lugal of his nome,” but either the “lugal of Kish” if he claimed hegemony in the northern nomes, or the “lugal of the country” (lugal of Kalama); in order to receive such a title, it was necessary to recognize the military supremacy of this ruler in Nippur, as the center of the pan-Sumerian cult union. The rest of the lugals practically did not differ in their functions from the ensi. In some nomes there were only ensi (for example in Nippur, Shuruppak, Kisur), in others only lugali (for example in Ur), in others both different periods(for example, in Kish) or even, perhaps, simultaneously in a number of cases (in Uruk, in Lagash), the ruler temporarily received the title of lugal along with special powers - military or other.

III Early Dynastic period (c. 2500-2315 BC)

Stage III of the Early Dynastic period is characterized by rapid growth of wealth and property stratification, aggravation of social contradictions and the tireless war of all the nomes of Mesopotamia and Elam against each other with an attempt by the rulers of each of them to seize hegemony over all others.

During this period, the irrigation network expands. From the Euphrates in a southwestern direction, new canals were dug: Arakhtu, Apkallatu and Me-Enlila, some of which reached the strip of western swamps, and some completely devoted their waters to irrigation. In the southeast direction from the Euphrates, parallel to Irnina, the Zubi canal was dug, which originated from the Euphrates above Irnina and thereby weakened the importance of the nomes of Kish and Kutu. New nomes were formed on these channels:

Babylon (now a series of settlements near the city of Hilla) on the Arakhtu Canal. Dilbat (now the settlement of Deylem) on the Apkallatu canal.

Marad (now the site of Vanna wa-as-Sa'dun) on the Me-Enlila canal. Kazallu (exact location unknown).

Push on the Zubi channel, in its lower part.

New canals were also diverted from Iturungal, and also dug inside the Lagash nome. Accordingly, new cities arose. On the Euphrates below Nippur, probably based on dug canals, cities also arose that claimed independent existence and fought for sources of water. One can note such a city as Kisura (in Sumerian “border”, most likely the border of the zones of northern and southern hegemony, now the site of Abu Khatab), some nomes and cities mentioned by inscriptions from the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period cannot be localized.

The raid on the southern regions of Mesopotamia, launched from the city of Mari, dates back to the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period. The raid from Mari roughly coincided with the end of the hegemony of the Elamite Awan in the north of Lower Mesopotamia and the 1st Dynasty of Uruk in the south of the country. It is difficult to say whether there was a causal connection here. After that, in the north of the country two local dynasties began to compete, as can be seen on the Euphrates, the other on the Tigris and Irnin. These were the II dynasty of Kish and the Akshaka dynasty. Half of the names of the Lugals who ruled there, preserved by the “Royal List,” are East Semitic (Akkadian). Probably both dynasties were Akkadian in language, and the fact that some of the kings bore Sumerian names is explained by the strength of cultural tradition. Steppe nomads - Akkadians, who apparently came from Arabia, settled in Mesopotamia almost simultaneously with the Sumerians. They got into central part Tigris and Euphrates, where they soon settled and began farming. From about the middle of the 3rd millennium, the Akkadians established themselves in two large centers of northern Sumer - the cities of Kish and Akshe. But both of these dynasties were of little importance compared to the new hegemon of the south - the Lugals of Ur.

According to the ancient Sumerian epic, around 2600 BC. e. Sumer unites under the rule of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, who later transferred power to the dynasty of Ur. Then the throne is seized by Lugalannemundu, the ruler of Adab, who subjugated Sumer from the Mediterranean Sea to southwestern Iran. At the end of the 24th century. BC e. the new conqueror, the king of Umma Lugalzagesi, expands these possessions to the Persian Gulf.

In the 24th century BC. e. Most of Sumer was conquered by the Akkadian king Sharrumken (Sargon the Great). By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Sumer was absorbed by the growing Babylonian Empire. Even earlier, by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e., the Sumerian language lost its status as a spoken language, although it persisted for another two millennia as a language of literature and culture.

1. Story Ancient Egypt (4)

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   Those. longer than Babylonian or Sumero-Akkadian. Here, like..., monumentalized volumes. Remembered ancient traditions of Egyptian art - ... research. M., 1990. 2. Turaev B.V. Story Ancient Vostoka M., 1996. 3. Meletinsky E.M. Poetics...

2. Ancients states Sumer and Akkad

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Where to look for cains?

I still couldn’t figure out where the Sumerian myths end and the Akkadian ones begin? Obviously, they will continue to do so in one connection. Simply taking into account the fact that among them there are earlier ones, and there are later ones. Simply taking into account the fact that even within their own “country” the cities constantly fought among themselves for hegemony, which was also reflected in the process of myth-making. A kind of jar with spiders...

Here's the Nippur version:

In the cosmic space filled with the waters of the daughter of the ocean, Nammu, there was a mountain of heaven and earth. Ana-sky gave birth to Nammu and settled him on the top of the mountain, and Ki-earth at its foot. Ki and An gave birth to Enlil, and then seven more elemental sons. And then the younger Anunnaki gods appeared. And they all began to unite with each other as men and women, and children and grandchildren were born to them. When the space of the mountain became small for the gods, An and Enlil tore the mountain apart: An took the top high into the sky, Enlil lowered its base down and created the earth beautiful. At the request of the gods, he built the city of Nippur, and he himself settled there.

The sister Ana Nunbarshegunu (if the sister is Ana, then it should be Ki) lived in Nippur with her daughter Ninlil, over whom the “fire-eyed bull” Enlil would commit violence. For which the elder gods will send him to the lower world. Ninlil, carrying her son Nannu under her heart, will go there together with Enlil. To return to heaven, they will leave other sons in the underworld (Nergal, the center of his cult was the Emeshlam temple in the city of Kutu, originally a “heavenly” god; Ninurta - noise. Ningirsu, god of Lagash; Namtar - messenger of the gods). By the way, is it not for this reason that subsequent kings and leaders will “go” to the next world accompanied? Additional information on the “underground” gods indicates that the version of the descent of Enlil is completely far-fetched.

The gods multiplied so much that they began to lack food and they turned to Nammu. She woke up Enki (in other myths, the eternally sleeping one is Enlil...) and instructed him, together with Ninmah, to mold people from her mother’s flesh-clay. After a copious “outpouring of beer,” Enki and Ninmah’s people turned out to be slanted, crooked and natural monsters. Moreover, this couple managed to quarrel, so much so that they “sent” Ninmah Enki straight to the underworld!

In Hebrew there are several words meaning "man", "person". One of them is “enoch” (the same root “beginning-end”), the root of which has the meaning “weak” or “sick”. Enoch? (So ​​appreciate the “origins” of Judaism).

The myth “Enki and the Universe” says that the god An created the sky, and the wise god Enki developed the earth (Enlil, it turns out, has nothing to do with it; but the shepherd god Dumuzi is born). In addition, the wise Enki will write down the tables of Me, which the adventurer Inanna will steal from him from the underworld. And in later versions, for some reason she will go to the mistress of the underworld Ereshkigal (this is instead of Enki) and “substitute” the shepherd Dumuzi (Tammuz) in her place. In an even later version, Tammuz “gave up” his spirit while hunting and the inconsolable Ishtar (Inanna) will go after him to Ereshkigal. (Just as the Ugaritic war maiden Anatu (Atana-Athena) will descend to the kingdom of Mummu for her beloved Balu).

In another myth, Enlil and Enki get along quite well and even cooperate.

“Enlil is considered the creator of all vegetation, livestock, agricultural implements and objects of civilization, although he acted indirectly through the creation of lesser gods to carry out his tasks. To give the earth cattle and grain, at the suggestion of the god of wisdom Enki (among the Babylonians - Ea), Enlil created two lesser deities - Lahar, the god of cattle, and Ashnan, the goddess of grain, to give food and clothing to the gods. The myth describes the abundance created by the gods on earth. However, they drink wine, get drunk, argue, forget about their responsibilities and simply cannot get what they need. Man was created precisely to correct this situation. The following passage from Kramer's translations is part of the myth of Lahar and Ashnan:

In those days, in the home,
Where the gods worked
Born in Dulkug
There were Lahar and Ashnan.
And their creation is the Anunnaki
Everybody eats and eats, get enough
Can not.
From the purest pastures
Milk... and much more
Other
All the Anunnaki drinks -
Can't get enough.
To have milk and much more
And so that in the pastures
Healthy cattle were walking -
Man was created..."

The passage is interesting because here Anunnaki is used in the singular. By the name Lahar (La Har), information was found that this common Semitic word means “sheep.” Ashnan, accordingly, is grain.

Using the example of Akkadian myths, we are for the first time confronted with the phenomenon that the “creation of the world” can be interpreted not only as an actual act of creation of the universe, but also as a “conclusion of a truce.”

The myth of Atrahasis.

“The myth is known in several versions. The main one is Old Babylonian, recorded by the younger scribe Ku-Aya in the middle of the 17th century. BC e.

Table I begins with a description of time immemorial, when the Anunnaki divided the world among themselves, and the Igigi were forced to dig rivers and canals, build palaces and dwellings. This went on for many years, until one day the Igigi became indignant and started an uprising. The leader of the Iggigs led them to Ekur, the palace of Enlil.

The Supreme God immediately convened a council, at which Anu proposed creating people in order to place the burden of hard work on them. The foremother, the great Nintu (Mami), agreed to take on this matter together with Eya. To create it, one of the gods had to be killed, perhaps the instigator of the uprising.

From the blood of the murdered god Ve-Ila (the mind of God), the clay of Apsu and the saliva of the Igigi, people were created - 7 men and 7 women. From now on, the gods were free from hard work. (By the way, Ve-Il is very consonant with Baal, isn’t this where such a contradictory situation with the god Baal and with the Phoenician-Semitic “balls” in general comes from?..)

Time passed, after 12 centuries people became more prolific, stopped honoring the gods and began to annoy Enlil with their hubbub. The Supreme God ordered Namtar to send a plague to humanity, which began to rage on earth. There lived then among the people a certain Atrahasis, the wisest of all. In his city, everyone worshiped Enlil, but Atrahasis put the wise Eya above all. He began to pray to his god to help people, and the kind Eya advised him to make a sacrifice to Namtar. Atrahasis listened to the advice, and pleased with Namtar's attention, he averted the plague from humanity.

Fragment from the Assyrian version:

Eya opened his mouth,
This is what he says to the gods, his brothers...
Let the Anunnaki sit before you,
Belet-Ili, the foremother of the gods will appear,
Let her create man...
They called the goddess, they called
Midwife of the gods, wisest Mami...
"I cannot create alone,
Only with Enki will I do the work...
Enki opened his mouth,
This is what he says to the great gods:

I will perform a cleansing ritual.
Let one of the gods be overthrown,
May the gods be cleansed by immersing themselves in blood.
From his flesh, on his blood
Let Nintu mix the clay!..
In the first month, days seven and fifteen,
He performed a cleansing ritual.
The "Wise" God, who has reason,
They (the Anunnaki) killed in their congregation...
And Igigi, the great gods,
They moistened the clay with their saliva...

The epithet of the “Wise” god immediately recalls the Ugaritic “Beautiful and Wise” (Qatar-va-Khasis). This is not an accident. But for now let’s get acquainted with the contents of the remaining two tablets.

“The second tablet says that after some time people multiplied again, again stopped honoring the gods, and again disturbed Enlil. At the council of the gods, it was decided to send a drought to the earth. The terrible disasters of mankind are described, the features of people were distorted by hunger, in the sixth year parents began to eat their children. The wisest Atrahasis constantly prayed to his god, asking for help. Finally, the heart of the good Eya trembled and he advised Atrahasis to appease Adad with sacrifices. And so it happened - Adad “was ashamed of the gift” and sent rain to the earth. Enlil was angry that humanity managed to survive, he reproaches Enki, and he has to make excuses. Further, the text has hardly survived, but most likely, people multiplied again and again aroused Enlil’s displeasure. At the council of the gods, a unanimous decision was made to destroy the world with a flood. Only Enki refused to take this oath.

The third tablet says that Eya warns Atrahasis about the flood and commands him to build a ship with the name “saving lives.” The wise Atrahasis carried out the order exactly and at the appointed time loaded his family, animals and birds onto the ship. The myth describes an element that raged for seven days and nights, the fury of which makes even the gods themselves tremble. Foremother Nintu reproaches the Anunnaki for their unwise decision to destroy the world. However, when Enlil learned that Atrahasis managed to survive, he began to reproach Enki for aiding people. True, when the people who survived the flood made sacrifices to the gods, his heart softened. As a result, the foremother Nintu created “birth guards” for people, forbade the priestesses to have children and released the demon Pashita onto the earth. This reconciled Enlil with the existence of humanity..."

The situation with the Anunnaki is also not very clear. Then he is alone. Then there are the Anunnaki and the Igigi, the truce between whom was concluded in such a monstrous way.

Igigi (Akkadian) is a not very specific group of gods of a celestial nature. In the bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian texts of Middle Babylonian times, the Sumerian equivalent is the word "nungalene" (great princes). The Anunnaki in such cases are presented as underground or earthly gods. Sometimes the seven great gods Igigi are called: Anu, Enlil, Eya, Sin, Shamash, Marduk, Ishtar. But these same gods can also be referred to as Anunnaki. In general, there was a confrontation, and now go figure out who is who!

The Babylonian version is:

“The first tablet begins with a description of the ancient state of the universe, when nothing existed except Apsu, the ocean of pure, sweet (fresh) water, and Tiamat, the ocean of salt sea ​​water. From their union the gods were born. The first pair of gods, Lahmu and Lahamu (Jacobsen interpreted these gods as silt deposited at the junction of the ocean and rivers), gave birth to Anshar and Kishar (the horizon line of the sea and sky - in the interpretation of the same scientist). In turn, Anshar and Kishar gave birth to Anu, the god of the sky, and Nudimmud or Ea, the god of earth and water. There is some difference here from the Sumerian tradition. Enlil, whose activities are already familiar to us from Sumerian mythology, is replaced by Ea, or Enki, who in Babylonian mythology is designated as the god of wisdom and the source of magic. Ea gives life to Marduk, the hero of the Babylonian version of the myth. However, even before the birth of Marduk, the first conflict arises between the progenitor gods and their offspring. Tiamat and Apsu are annoyed by the noise created by the lesser gods, and they confer with their vizier Mummu, considering how to destroy them. Tiamat is not particularly keen on destroying her own children, but Apsu and Mummu develop a plan. However, their intention becomes known to the younger gods, and this naturally worries them. However, the wise Ea comes up with his own plan: he casts a sleeping spell on Apsu, kills him, blinds Mummu and puts a cord through his nose. He then builds a sacred monastery and names it "Apsu". Marduk is born there, followed by a description of his beauty and extraordinary strength. The first tablet ends with a description of preparations for a new conflict between the elder and younger gods. The older children reproach Tiamat for being calm when Apsu was killed. They manage to “stir up” her and take measures to destroy Anu and his assistants. She forces Kinga, her firstborn son, to lead the attack, arms him and gives him "tables of destiny". She then gives birth to a horde of terrible creatures, such as the scorpion man and the centaur, whose image we see on Babylonian seals and boundary stones. She places Kinga at the head of this horde and prepares to avenge Apsu.
The second table describes how the assembly of gods perceives the news of an impending attack. Anshar is alarmed and, lost in thought, tears his thigh. First, he reminds Ea of his past victory over Apsu and offers to deal with Tiamat in the same way; but Ea either refuses to do this, or he simply fails to defeat Tiamat; at this very point the text is interrupted, and it is not entirely clear what happened to Ea. The council of gods then sends the armed Anu to convince Tiamat to abandon her intentions, but he also fails to do this. Anshar suggests that this task be entrusted to the mighty Marduk. Marduk's father Ea advises him to agree to complete this task, and he agrees, but on the condition that he is given complete and unconditional “power on the council of the gods”, that in determining fate his word will be decisive. This ends the second table.

The third tablet once again reiterates the decision made by the gods and ends with a description of the feast where Marduk formally receives the power he demanded.
The fourth table begins with a description of the presentation of the symbol of royal power to Marduk. The gods demanded from him proof that he had sufficient strength to cope with the task entrusted to him. To do this, he, by his will, makes his mantle disappear and then reappear. The gods were pleased and proclaimed: “Marduk is king.” Marduk then arms himself for battle; his weapons are a bow and arrows, lightning and a net held at the corners by the four winds; he fills his body with fire and creates seven terrible hurricanes; he boards his storm-drawn cart and marches against Tiamat and her horde. He challenges Tiamat to a duel; he throws a net to capture her, and when she opens her mouth to swallow him, he rides into it on an evil wind and hits her with an arrow right in the heart. Her demon assistants flee but are caught in a net. Their leader Kingu is also captured and tied up. Marduk then takes the "tables of fate" from Kingu and ties them to his chest, thereby emphasizing his supremacy over the gods. Following this, he divides Tiamat's body in two; He places one half above the earth like the sky, strengthens it on poles, and places guards. He then builds Esharra, the abode of the great gods, modeled after that of Ea - Apsu, and forces Anu, Enlil and Ea to settle there. This ends the fourth table.

The fifth tablet is too fragmentary for us to glean information about the first steps in the structure of the universe, but its opening lines indicate that Marduk first of all created a calendar (this was always one of the primary duties of the king). He determined the months of the year and their sequence in accordance with the phases of the moon. He also defines three earthly "paths" - the path of Enlil on northern skies, the path of Anu at the zenith and the path of Ea in the south. The planet Jupiter must oversee the celestial order of things.

The sixth tablet tells about the creation of man. Marduk declares his intention to create man and make him serve the gods. On the advice of Ea, it was decided that the leader of the rebels, Kingu, should die in order to create people in his image and likeness. So, Kingu is executed, and from his blood people are created who must “free the gods,” that is, perform actions related to the implementation of temple rituals and obtain food for the gods. The gods then build the great temple of Esagila in Babylon with the famous “ziggurat” for Marduk. At the command of Anu they proclaim the fifty great names of Marduk. Their listing takes up the rest of the poem. This is the plot of the Babylonian creation myth. It clearly shows a Sumerian basis. However, those elements that are scattered across several Sumerian myths are brought together in the Enuma Elish to form a coherent whole. We have no evidence that the various Sumerian myths were ever part of the ritual. The poem "Enuma Elish" has become a ritual myth, possessing magical powers and playing vitally important role in the Babylonian New Year holiday, in connection with the dramatic embodiment of the plot of the death and resurrection of the gods ... "

Marduk (Akkadian), Amarutu (noise) - originally the patron god of the community centered in the city of Babylon, one of the younger gods (igigs). With the rise of Babylon at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The importance of Marduk also increases.

Babylon (from Akkadian bаb-ilаni “gate of the gods”) is a city in Ancient Mesopotamia on the territory of the historical region of Akkad. Founded no later than the 3rd millennium BC. e.; in Sumerian sources known as Kadingirra. In the Early Dynastic period, an insignificant city, the center of a small region or nome within the Sumerian city-state system. In the XXIV-XXI centuries. BC e. - a provincial center as part of the Akkadian kingdom and the Power of the III dynasty of Ur. In the II-I millennium BC. e. - the capital of the Babylonian kingdom, one of the great powers of antiquity, and most important city region of the same name.

The Sumerian analogue of the toponym Babili(m) was the logogram KA.DINGIR(KI) or KA.DINGIR.RA(KI), where KA is “gate”, DINGIR is “god”, RA is a dative indicator, KI is the determinant of a populated area. In addition, in the Old Babylonian period there was a mixed spelling: Ba-ab-DINGIR(KI). It is believed that the toponym babil(a) is of non-Semitic origin and is associated with some more ancient, unknown language

Excavations on site ancient city Ashur, the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, tablets were discovered with the text of the Assyrian version of Enuma Elish, in which the place of the Babylonian god Marduk was taken by Ashur, the main god of Assyria.

Ashur or Assur (consonant with the asura gods from the Vedas) - capital ancient Assyria, the first city built by the Assyrians and named after the Assyrian Supreme God Ashur. Probably located on the site of a Subarean settlement.

Subar (Sumerian: Su-bir/Subar/Subur) or Subartu is a country mentioned in Akkadian and Assyrian texts. It was located on the Tigris River, north of Babylonia. The name of the country also takes the form Subari in documents from the Amarna Archive, or Sbr (vowels omitted) in Ugaritic inscriptions.

“According to most historians, Subartu is an early name for Assyria proper on the Tigris, although according to a number of other theories, Subartu could be located somewhat to the east, north or west. According to I.M. Dyakonov, Subartu - apparently, the region along the middle and upper reaches of the Tigris and its tributaries, where, under Sargon I, speakers of the “banana” language could still live, as well as Hurrians, whom the Akkadians called Subareans...”

The Hurrians apparently had a similar story. It has survived to this day in a free translation: the Hittite “Poem of the Reign in Heaven.” Since Eya appears in it again, one can only guess what the original was like. Let me remind you that the Hittites themselves (self-name Nesili or Kanesili - from the city of Nes (Kanish), known at least from the beginning of the 19th century BC) were an Indo-European tribe that gained power later than the Sumerians (ca. 1800 -1180 BC AD), and they adopted cuneiform from the Babylonians.

"Poem about Reign in Heaven":

In former times, the god Alalu reigned in the sky, and even the mighty god Anu had to serve him. After nine eras, Anu expelled him and himself reigned in heaven. His son Kumarbi is forced to serve him, but after nine eras the son rebelled against his father. Anu fled to the sky in fear, but Kumarbi overtook him, pulled him down and, in the heat of battle, bit off Anu’s manhood. Kumarbi rejoiced, and Anu predicted to him the birth of three formidable gods: Teshub, his assistant Tasmisu and the Aranzakh River (the Hurrian name for the Tigris). Hearing this, Kumarbi spat out Anu’s sperm, but not all of it, since three great gods were still born from his head. The earth, from the seed spat out by Kumarbi, became pregnant and gave birth to two children.

“The messenger comes with news.
God Ea, sitting on the throne,
He listens to him with approval:
"I hear good news:
The earth gave birth to twins."
Having heard the good news,
King Ea sent gifts,
He sends them clothes
He gave them silver
Magic spindle
He sends them as a gift.
End of the first song table.

Copied from a damaged tablet by the scribe Askhapal.”

I wonder where the Greeks “borrowed” the story about Uranus and Kronos?

The Hittites themselves preserved the myth of the dragon Illuyanka in two versions. The preface to an earlier version of the myth states that it is a cult legend associated with the festival of Purulli in honor of the heavenly storm god, and that this version of the myth is no longer told. The mentioned holiday is most likely the New Year holiday.

“In an older version of the myth, the dragon Illuyanka defeats the storm god. When the dragon defeated the storm god, he took out his heart and eyes. A similar detail is found in the Egyptian myth about the battle between Horus and Set, in which Horus lost an eye. To take revenge on the dragon, the storm god took the daughter of a poor man as his wife, and she bore him a son. When his son grew up, he married Illuyanka’s daughter. The storm god told the son that when he entered his wife's house, he would have to ask for his father's heart and eyes to be returned to him. The son did so, and his father's eyes and heart were given to him, which he returned to the storm god. When the storm god received the body parts that had once been lost, he took up a weapon and went to battle the dragon. When he was close to victory, his son exclaimed: “Better kill me, do not spare me!” Then the storm god killed both: the dragon and his own son, taking revenge on the dragon. Here the text is interrupted, and when the next passage begins, it already concerns a certain ritual, which is a competition or race, the results of which determine the rank and importance of the gods.

Commentaries on Babylonian New Year rituals also mention a running competition in which Marduk's son Nabu kills the god Zu, an episode also associated with the resurrection of a dead god. So both options assume that Babylonian myth about the victory over the dragon Tiamat, which was recited during the New Year celebrations, largely influenced the formation of the Hittite ritual myth of Purulli ... "

In the second version of the Hittite myth, “...the dragon Illuyanka defeats the storm god. And he turns to the assembly of gods for help, and the goddess Inara makes a trap for the serpent. She fills many vessels with wine and other drinks and asks a man named Hupasia to help her. He agrees to this on the condition that she shares his bed. She agrees, after which she hides it not far from the snake’s home. She preens herself and lures the dragon out of the house along with the children. They drink the wine from the vessels to the last drop and cannot return to their cave. After this, Hupasia emerges from the ambush and ties the dragon with a rope. The storm god and the other gods appear and kill the dragon Illuyanka. The following describes a scene that is not entirely connected with the main plot of the myth and is a purely folklore work. Inara builds herself a house on a rock, on the land of Tarukka, and settles Hupasia there. She warns him that in her absence he should not look out the window, because there he will see his wife and children. When she had not been home for twenty whole days, he looked out of the window and saw his wife and children. When Inara returns, Hupasia begs her to allow him to return to his family, after which the goddess kills him for disobeying..."

Speaking about the Hittites, it should be mentioned that they came to the lands of the Hatti people, who, according to one hypothesis, are related to the Adygs. The Hutts may have been related in language and origin to the Khalda people. Khaldi (Khaldi) - a people who inhabited the southeastern region during the Bronze Age Black Sea coast(now part of Turkey). During the same period, the Hutts lived near them, perhaps similar in language to them. The question of kinship with the Chaldean people in Mesopotamia remains open. But the Chaldeans lived even later.

Khaldei - Semitic tribes that lived in the south of Mesopotamia, in the area of ​​​​the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf in the first half of the 1st millennium. They fought with Assyria for the possession of Babylon. In 626–536 BC e. Babylon was ruled by the Chaldean dynasty, which founded the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. spoke in Aramaic. Chaldeans were called sorcerers, magicians, wise men, fortune-tellers, and astrologers. According to one version, the Chaldean magicians were magicians who came to worship the born Jesus.

To complete the picture, it remains to include the Turks here. Taken from O. Zhanaidarov “Tengrianism: myths and legends of the ancient Turks”:

“...This myth was recorded by Verbitsky among the Altai people. Here is its content:

When there was neither earth nor sky, there was only a great ocean, without borders, without end or edge. Over all this, God - Tengri - named Ulken - that is, big, huge - flew tirelessly above all this. In some sources, even Kazakh ones, the name of this god is written Ulgen, which seems incorrect to me. Ulgen is the same as dead, Olgen. God, who is destined to give birth to life and create the universe, cannot be dead or bear the name “Dead”...

So, the Big God - Tengri Ulken - flew and flew tirelessly over the ocean of water, until some voice ordered him to grab onto a rock-rock that looked out of the water. Having sat down on this cliff by order from above, Tengri Ulken began to think:

“I want to create the World, the universe. But what should it be like? Who and how should I create?” At that moment, Ak Ana, the White Mother, living in the water, came to the surface and said to Tengri Ulken:

“If you want to create, then say the following sacred words: “I created, that’s it!” Basta, I mean, it’s over, since I said it! But the trick is that Turkic language the word "Basta, Bastau" means "Start, Beginning." The White Mother said so and disappeared. (But the trick is that in Sanskrit there is also Basta - this is a ram or a goat. And the Egyptians have Khnum. Khnum (the god of fertility, the son of Nun) is the creator god, sculpting a man from clay on a pottery disk, the guardian of the Nile ; a man with the head of a ram with spirally twisted horns. But the most famous is the Egyptian Creator Amon, whose symbols are the white goose and the ram.).

Tengri Ulken remembered these words. He turned to the Earth and said: “Let the Earth arise!” and the Earth came into being.

Tengri Ulken turned to Heaven and said: “Let Heaven arise,” and Heaven arose.

Tengri Ulken created three fish and placed the World he created on the backs of these three fish. At the same time, the World was motionless, standing firmly in one place. After Tengri Ulken created the World in this way, he climbed to the highest Golden Mountain reaching to heaven, and sat there, watching.

The world was created in six days, on the seventh Tengri Ulken went to bed. Waking up, he looked around and examined what he had created. He, it turns out, created everything except the Sun and Moon.

One day he saw a lump of clay in the water, grabbed it, and said: “Let him be a man!” The clay turned into a man, to whom Tengri Ulken gave the name “Erlik”, and began to consider him his brother.

But Erlik turned out to be an envious man, he envied Ulken that he himself was not like Erlik, that he was not the creator of the whole World.

Tengri Ulken created seven people, made their bones from reeds, and their muscles from earth and mud, and breathed life into them through their ears, and breathed intelligence into their heads through their noses. To lead people, Tengri Ulken created a man named Maytore and made him khan..."

Have you noticed that the ancient Turkic concept of Tengri very accurately corresponds to the Sumerian concept of Din-Gir (gods)?

And now I propose to move away from mythology in a slightly different direction. Have you heard of kashrut?

Kashrut (in Ashkenazi pronunciation "kashrus") is a term in Judaism meaning the permissibility or suitability of something from the point of view of Halakha, Jewish Law. I paid attention to this word only because behind the letter “w” there may well be another one hidden (by analogy with Ruth-Ruth, Python-Python, Cathar-Caesar).

The term kashrut is usually used to refer to a set of religious injunctions related to food, but it is also used in other aspects of traditional life.

Only the meat of animals that are both ruminants (strictly herbivores) and artiodactyls (having cloven hooves) is allowed for food.

The laws of kashrut also apply to the process of slaughtering an animal. For meat to be completely kosher, it must meet several requirements:
1. Only meat from kosher animals listed above should be used.
2. The animal must be slaughtered in accordance with all requirements of Halakha. This process is called shechita. According to Halakha, one of the necessary conditions for kosher shechita is shechita with one smooth movement of the knife, cutting simultaneously most of the (diameter) trachea and most of the esophagus. Ragged movement of the knife, delay in the movement of the knife, puncture of the tissues of the animal with the sharp end of the knife make shechita non-kosher, and the animal is forbidden to be eaten by Jews.

The Torah prohibits eating blood. Therefore, the meat is soaked in water at room temperature, and then placed on a special salting board and sprinkled with coarse salt. Salt absorbs blood. After this, the meat is thoroughly washed.

Products that are neither dairy nor meat food(fish, vegetables, fruits) are called parve (I assume “parve” - Pa Ra Va, what Ra ate).

Jewish law views kashrut as “chok” - a commandment that has no logical explanation, but is performed solely as a sign of submission to the will of God. In the light of the Sumerian-Akkadian-Babylonian myths, which are clearly related to the formation of Judaism, I assume that the concept of “kosher” should be associated with the name of the “Wise One”. But who then should the name Eya be associated with?

Do you think I'm wrong? No, everything is duplicated here. Do you know what "halal" is?

Halal is permitted actions in Shariah. Acceptability varies from desirable (sunnah) through neutral (mubah) to undesirable (makruh tanzihi). In Muslim life, halal usually means animal meat, the consumption of which does not violate Islamic food prohibitions, but in general, halal applies to almost any area of ​​human life.

Muslims also do not eat pork and use approximately the same rules for slaughtering livestock. But in Islam there is no special person whose functions would include monitoring compliance with religious restrictions. There is only one restriction that is in Islam, but it is not in Judaism: Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and from the point of view of kashrut there is nothing reprehensible in this. It can be noted that kashrut is generally stricter than halal. Despite the fact that both Islam and Judaism prohibit eating animal blood (it is believed that the soul is in the blood), Islam has its own ritual of slaughtering an animal, which differs from the ritual in Judaism.

And if kashrut reminds you of Katar-va-Hasis ( morning sun) from Ugaritic myths, then halal is about Astara, the prototype of Heilel (the morning star).

There is Allah. And there is Halakha or Alakha. In more in the narrow sense- the body of laws contained in the Torah, Talmud and later rabbinic literature.

Torah (Hebrew “teaching, law”) - in Ashkenazi pronunciation: Toiro (southeastern dialect - Poland, Ukraine), Teiro (northeastern dialect - Belarus, Lithuania) and Torra (Sephardic dialect). Tor-Ra - “teaching, law.” I think I have found the equivalent of the Torah in Sanskrit - it is "Karana", which means "document, written knowledge, body." Why this double meaning? Obviously, the answer lies in the very roots of the word: Kar-An. http://marichin.narod.ru/Sanscrit/VEDRO/10_k.htm. And in Dahl’s dictionary I found another equivalent: gibberish writing - digital, encrypted, which requires a special key.

I would like to finish this part with a little food for thought. Compare: Din-Gear and money, money; Ra-Pa and ruble, rupee, chop; Heilel and halal are the monetary unit of exchange of Saudi Arabia, equal to 1/100 of the riyal (riyal and Ra-Al); Lars are Roman-Etruscan house deities and the Georgian lari is the main monetary unit of Georgia, as well as the Maldivian lari (laari, larin) - the exchange monetary unit of the Republic of Maldives, equal to 1/100 of the rufiyaa; Peso (Spanish peso “weight”, from Latin pensum pensum, i.e. “weighted”, Pa An Su) - a silver coin of medieval Spain and its colonies, as well as the name of a series monetary units some states - former Spanish colonies; Da-La (Giver, Dazh, Dalai Lama) and the dollar... Is it possible to turn the name of God into a bargaining chip?

WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO HEALTH
______________________________________
However, during the Olympics, all the Hellenes wisely forgot their feuds and began competitions. Why? Because sport is separate, politics is separate. But, unfortunately, in modern world everything is different. We are talking about a sensational doping scandal, which clearly has political overtones. Let us remind you that among the victims are our strongest athletes: tennis player Maria Sharapova, speed skater Pavel Kulizhnikov, figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova and others. In addition, athletes from Georgia and Ukraine were also injured. At the same time, both doctors and athletes unanimously say: it’s not about the drug, but about the fact that someone is desperately trying to achieve some political goals with the help of sports.

So, what kind of drug is meldonium? Let's give a simple example. Suffering and dying from heart and vascular diseases great amount of people. More than from cancer, AIDS and road accidents combined. But now there are medications that are prescribed to athletes, pensioners and other people for treatment and prevention.

Meldonium is just such a medicine. According to the creator of the drug, Ivars Kalvins, the drug helps athletes endure stress without the risk of a heart attack. At the same time, meldonium does not affect the results of competitions in any way. “I think that banning the use of the drug by athletes is a violation of human rights. Everyone has the right to be healthy,” Kalvins believes.

The head physician of Dynamo Moscow, Valery Konov, agrees with him, believing that in this way even distilled water can be called doping: “It’s also a cardioprotector in some way: if you don’t give a professional athlete three liters of water a day, then that’s it, he’s no longer athlete…".

So what's the deal? According to Kalvins, the ban on meldonium is not due to the fact that it affects the results of athletes, but to the fact that the medicine is produced only in the territory of the former USSR. Since meldonium has already been patented and its production has been established in the post-Soviet space, it is not profitable for other countries to produce it. Therefore, it is obvious that the ban, which mainly concerns Russian athletes, is clearly politicized. Thus, sport has become another target for attempts to discredit Russia.

Judge for yourself: our athletes show excellent results, being among the strongest in the world. However, I don’t want to give medals to Russian athletes, b) it’s unprofitable, because success in sports exposes Russia to good light. Therefore, a way was found to prevent as many athletes from Russia as possible from participating in the Olympics.

Unfortunately, these intrigues turn sports competitions into hidden games in which it is not the strongest who wins, but the most cunning. This means they deprive it of its meaning.Original.

Lebedians

Swan - Civilization of Love. The planet of talking flowers and babbling paradise. Its beautiful inhabitants live as long as they want, without illness or old age. They voluntarily reincarnate in the body of a newly born Lebedian, and their previous bodily shell immediately burns out without a trace. This is how many couples are preserved from incarnation to incarnation. The Lebedians have long gone through all evolutionary circles and moved into the phase of ethereal Radiant Beings.

Ursa Major Humanoids

They live on the large planets Vam and Fin, revolving around a white and yellow star. These stars are called Alioth and Dubhe. The most highly spiritual representatives of the Big Dipper live on the planet Vam. They have already gone through the cycle of reincarnation and become Holograms of the Spirit, while possessing a bright personality and a powerful mind. Previously, on Earth, they supervised science and helped Atlantean scientists.

Maldek/Phaethon Civilization

Phaeton was once the most prosperous planet in the Solar System. But the peoples who lived on it were Vegans and some other Civilizations Star Systems the same Lyra. They constantly fought among themselves and could not fairly divide the planet. Territorial disputes were conducted using thermonuclear arguments. During one of these wars, another planet, a giant, came very close to Phaeton. This was Nibiru, whose period of revolution around the Sun is 3600 years. Under the influence of Nibiru's gravity, thermonuclear explosions caused a chain reaction in the bowels of Phaeton. The giant planet exploded loudly, leaving behind a belt of debris and asteroids.

Moon Civilization

The planet Moon is very densely populated by fantastic peoples on the physical, etheric, astral and mental levels. Moon people have cute white bodies with a height of 2m - 2.50m. Their skin shines, as if covered with fish scales. The facial features are similar to human ones, only the eyes are large and slanted. We do not see them with earthly vision due to the fact that the wavelength of the bodies of the lunar inhabitants is slightly shorter than ours. The cities of the moon people are located on the inner surface of the planet. They are divided into men and women and maintain close contacts with the population of Ketu, the center of the Earth and other planets.

Some terrestrial people become sleepwalkers during the time of the full moon. This is explained by the fact that during sleep the Astral Body of a person leaves his Physical Body. The Astral Shell of a lunar man enters the empty body in order to wander a little around the Earth and gain a little experience of earthly life. By mutual agreement of the Soul, an earthling can also enter the body of a lunar man and wander around the city parks and neon streets of the Moon.

The Moon is also home to short people who look like frogs and walk on their hind legs. They have four webbed fingers and toes, blue shiny skin and bulging eyes. There are also elementals here that have the forms of beast lizards and birds. The people of the surface of the Earth also have their cities on the Moon. They are located in the vibration zone corresponding to the lower layers of the astral plane. The earthlings here are enslaved, their astral bodies work for no reason for the lunar race. Often, in order to enslave a good scientist or a talented inventor, UFOs of Ketuans or gray or lunar people shoot down earthlings' planes with invisible heat rays. And then, the insidious ones, capture the astral form of the talented specialist they need and take the kicking genius to their planet. During the full moon, when the Moon is at perigee, the astral auras of the two planets lovingly penetrate each other. At this time, all of the above peoples can visit each other without the use of technical means, only with the help willpower. The silvery forms of flying saucers with food for thought often become visible to earthlings during strong magnetic storms or strong fasting.

Ketuanians

Chupacabra

According to some researchers, they began to visit Earth quite recently. However, their striking resemblance to chimeras, gargoyles and sirens in Gothic architecture suggests that they have been on Earth for a very long time. They are cautious and timid, but cruel, like wild predators. There is a theory that they are the result of a failed genetic experiment by some alien civilization. Another theory, by the way, claims that Chupacabras are an earthly experiment. For the first time in modern history they are noted in Puerto Rico (located in the Caribbean Sea a little east of Cuba and Jamaica), in the area where a top-secret Pentagon military facility is located. The facility is rumored to specialize in conducting experiments in the field of biology. Probably, Chupacabras cannot be fully considered aliens (reasonable, meaningful actions, contacts with humans, movements on man-made devices). These are simply animal-like humanoids that appear from nowhere and disappear from nowhere.

The creature attacks wild and domestic animals and birds. Chupacabras mainly appear in countries Latin America. They hunt at night and attack defenseless animals, suck the blood and disappear. People have discovered completely bloodless corpses in the forest or paddock. A small round wound with perfectly smooth and round edges(mainly in the neck area), through which, presumably, all the blood was sucked out; There were no drops of blood at the scene. Sometimes the animals remained alive, but turned out to be severely maimed. There was a case when an entire herd of 70 heads of cattle was killed. Animals are often found missing some organs: entrails, brain, eyes, gonads, tail or paws. Many species of animals, from birds to cattle, have been victims of this creature. Their height: 1.20m - 1.80m. Weight 50 - 60 kg. The eyes are red, oval, with pointed edges. There is no hair. The skin is dark brown. There are two thin, sharp fangs; some eyewitnesses report that there is a pair of wings or sometimes a fish tail; on the back there is a comb that glows in the dark; webbed feet with three toes.

Men in Black

People in Black have received a lot of mentions in the press, since their visits are recorded by the “waking” consciousness of a person. These beings are allowed to make these visits because they are in the same density as humans and are not quarantined. They are not aliens at all, but live underground, in tunnels and caves. Their villages exist in isolation, since they very rarely travel from one village to another, without thus risking showing themselves to people once again. They fear the Awakening because then people will become aware of their presence. And although the final result of the Transformation - the World of Those in Service to Others - does not scare them, they are afraid of this transition itself. When this Transformation occurs, this race will continue to remain in 3rd Density, underground. Then they will be in quarantine, and will not mix with those inhabitants who will eventually inhabit the world on the surface. Although they have stable food sources and reliable shelters that will fundamentally survive disasters, they still fear being flooded after disasters. These fears are unfounded, but they nevertheless made attempts to slow down the Awakening, in their own manner. The people in Black have built underground cities, multi-level structures, and transportation systems powered by electricity. But all this is done in natural caves and is not connected to one another unless there are natural passages. They do not generate their electricity in any of the ways familiar to people - with the help of streams of water, windmills, steam turbines rotated by steam from controlled nuclear reactions or burning natural fuel. Ta Electric Energy, which the Men in Black use, is generated chemically - a method that they learned on their home Planet before they were transplanted to Earth. Their home planet did not have such an abundance of fossil fuels as the Earth provides, there were no such changes in natural relief that would allow the construction of hydroelectric power stations, there was no water there either. sufficient quantity. So they worked with what they had. Their source of electricity is not abundant and is unlikely to be sufficient to power the average US housewife, whose home is filled with electrical appliances. The Men in Black, being unable to live on the surface, acclimatized underground when they first appeared on Earth in a technologically advanced state. Long before humans acquired the skills of caving, the Men in Black erected their defensive structures . Look at the key ways cavers know new passages exist - air currents, air quality, and sounds such as running water. When there is deathly silence all around and not a breeze, it is assumed that there are only solid rocks here. The people in Black have developed and created means to test the degree of insulation of their caves and corridors. Before they build anything there, they do a control test where, essentially, air is sucked up into a vent on the roof. If there are air leaks into connecting channels leading to other underground corridors, then air flows inward, and this is detected. People in Black have not been discovered until now only because of the vulnerability and timidity of this race, which has neither bombs, nor tanks, nor bazookas. In fact, they don't even have dungeons or prisons. It is not necessary. They are not violent like humans by nature, but they are foolishly afraid of being discovered by humans. Being no less intelligent than humans, they spent a lot of time inventing ways to avoid detection. Like a rat in a hole with no back door. The issue to focus on is not whether they threaten humanity, but what they do. When you talk to your dog that you want to impress, what do you do? You act like a "top dog"! Dogs react to a strong person, someone they cannot subjugate, by affiliation and avoidance. And dogs react to the weak, whom they can subjugate, either by grabbing the throat of a resisting opponent, or by growling threateningly at someone who is already afraid. The People in Black studied their fellow inhabitants, and correctly understood what impressed them. Power without the ability to execute and destroy is ignored. Therefore, it is necessary to threaten. The "Men in Black" phenomenon, as well as some manifestations of the Illuminati structure, play out the characteristic need for control of Orion. The People in Black have several origins. Some of them are human incarnations from Orion and/or negatively oriented energies of Sirius. Others are truly Orions from the past who have moved “forward” in time to the present Earth. They perceive the Earth as a "threat". From their point of view, as humanity awakens and liberates itself, it "magnetizes" the oppressed beings of Orion to seek freedom here. They want to keep these windows of opportunity closed to Orion's victims, keep the Earth weakened, and remain in a state of total control. The Men in Black are just one manifestation of this idea, although they currently do not have the power to carry it out. Generally speaking, it plays out on Earth in a much more subtle form. Those individuals who carry patterns of oppression from Orion act at the behest of the memory of their Soul, and are not necessarily aware of their desire for absolute control. When examining contacts with the Men in Black in the 20th century, one comes across an irony in the behavior of these creatures: they operate on a very autonomous level and never seem to lay claim to the power that they so purposefully try to wrest from people. It can be assumed that the Men in Black are just pawns in some even more sophisticated struggle.

Lumanians

Another highly developed civilization that exists on Earth in parallel with us. Their technological enterprises and civilization itself were located mainly underground. Similar tunnels and whole underground cities are located in South America, the Middle East, and China. Many of the caves, which are often considered the refuge of primitive people, were tunnels leading to the cities of the Lumanian civilization. They created protective energy fields around their cities and other habitats.

Lumania was a very high-tech civilization. The Lumanians used ultrasound to conduct military operations or create underground tunnels. They used sound everywhere: for healing, for moving mountain ranges, for creating artificial seas, in the construction of underground and above-ground cities, in creating new ones, unknown materials and so on. Sound, filled with mental images, was the conductor of matter from higher dimensions into the physical world.

The Lumanians also occupied lands in areas of Australia and Antarctica. This civilization did not seek to expand its inviolable borders and directed its efforts towards Spiritual Development. A long time ago, the Lumanians not only did not try to civilize the natives, but, on the contrary, did everything possible to stop the technical development of earthlings. Initially, they surrounded their above-ground cities and entrances to underground tunnels with impenetrable force fields, gamma radiation or infrasonic waves that were lethal to low human frequencies.

One of the main goals of the Lumanian civilization was the task of forming a “new man” who would not accept any violence. The desire to “live in peace” among the people from the dungeons was brought to the level of instinct. The Lumanians made irreversible changes in the etheric double of man and in his genes. And when the mind signaled the body about an aggressive mood of emotions, the physical flesh simply refused to carry out the orders of the logical mind and brain. In some nations south asia the rudiments of this mechanism remain. There are people on Earth now who, during an outburst of their aggressiveness, lose consciousness or cause harm own body to stop your aggression.

After the creation of the “new man,” the Lumanians began to come to the natives who lived on neighboring islands and continents. They built beautiful families with them and produced fine offspring, hoping in this way to pacify the aggressiveness of earthlings. The Lumanians taught people to put up with violence not only through sermons, but also at the genetic level. They physically eliminated the desire for aggression in their descendants, produced together with earthlings. However, this noble path led the underground civilizers to a dead end. Energy cannot be forcibly prevented from flowing freely - through the physical, etheric and astral body. Energy will always find a way out in the most unexpected place. The altered physiology of people has led to disruption of creative functions. After all, any aggression is also one of the types of creative energy, the desire to perform actions, the desire of the Soul to make mistakes and become wiser through future suffering. If a person’s crimson aggression is redirected spiritually into the mental channel, then non-standard ideas, great discoveries, grandiose deeds and cosmic pictures will appear.

The limitations built into the physiology of the body have led to the formation of unnatural rules of behavior in people. A body was born that was overly conscious, unemotional, with a muted survival instinct.

Mentally, the Lumanians developed rapidly. In order not to destroy living plants, they developed and introduced artificial food. To maintain a clean environment, underground emitters of ultra-fine vibrations were used.

Physically, the Lumanians were weak, frail and short creatures compared to the native population. The height of a person at that time reached 7m - 9m, and the Lumanians were half that size. Mentally they were divided into geniuses and mediocrities. Unfortunately, there was no middle ground. Half of the population of Lumanians worked brilliantly in the field of creativity, and the other half brilliantly enjoyed earthly existence in paradise gardens and underground resorts. At that time, all Lumanians had innate psychic abilities, they read knowledge from the “Akashic Chronicles” - energy vibrations of the subtle planes of existence. Over time, more and more civilizers realized that their experiment had failed. Many of them after physical death reunited with the Pleiadians and were born on their young Planets.

Hybrids

Earth is a very old planet. Many different species of humanity inhabited the Earth before us. Even before the advent of the Lemurians, there lived people who breathed carbon dioxide and exhaled oxygen. Over time, almost all carbon dioxide was absorbed by living beings. It turned into hydrocarbons and lay underground in the form of oil and coal deposits. The previous humanity died out due to a lack of carbon dioxide in the air. Then the Gardeners of the Earth from the constellation Sirius brought to Mars new model a person who inhaled poison - oxygen, and exhaled life-giving force - carbon dioxide. These people populated the old planet. The task of the new humanity is to remove hydrocarbons from the earth and saturate the planet’s atmosphere with carbon dioxide in order to enable the next race of people-gods to breathe carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen on Earth again. In order for us people not to kill each other and our Planet as a whole, the Sirians pledged to look after us, to guide their progress to the Venusian civilization of the Hathors and Martian civilization"gray". So that humanity does not die out from its stupidity and laziness, and does not kill itself with wars and chemistry, the “grays” every 200 years take several healthy women from earthlings and impregnate them on the bases of the Moon and Mars with the seed of superhuman beings. The euthanized women are then returned to Earth. Women have their memories erased and don't remember where they were. But young mothers give birth to amazing children - demigods who have cosmic knowledge, siddhis and an open Third Eye from birth. These people-demigods lead humanity to knowledge, enlightenment and direct them to the path of God. One of these demigods was Orpheus.

At that time, the Land was falling somewhere, and new seas and oceans were formed in place of the continents. When the ocean calmed down, a civilization of giants arose on new continents. Then again the death and again the birth of the great peoples who inhabited the Earth before Atlantis and Lemuria. Then there was a war on spaceships between aliens for spheres of influence on the Planet. Earthly civilizations mastered thermonuclear weapons - and world wars began. The earth was leaving its orbit. Then the Great Floods followed, and new continents were populated by new peoples. Then again the death of Atlantis, then the rise of Ancient Egypt, the island of Crete and the civilization of Sumer.

The Martian bases on the Moon and on the inner surface of the Earth monitor the development of our civilization and select peoples, breeding the hybrids needed at a given time.

Hybrids are a genetic mixture of humanoids from Earth and humanoids from other planets. They are very similar to us and the Grays. The color of their elastic skin can be anything from white to blue, from bronze to red. The length of their bodies ranges from 150 centimeters to 3 meters in height. Some hybrid aliens look just like non-humans. But still, upon closer examination, it is clear that these are earthly humanoids. Many of them have large compound eyes and such a “paved” forehead. Some have long noses and pointed ears. All of them are divided into individuals of both male and female. These hybrids reproduce sexually.

However, a quarter of all humanoids that are bred on the mother ships of Mars and the Moon are one hundred percent people without any genetic or ethical impurities. They look exactly the same as earthlings. Only a little taller, slimmer and smarter than the indigenous earthlings. The fact is that the aliens, who once upon a time founded their colonies on Earth, have always had sexual relations with earthly women. Women from such contacts could not give birth on Earth. They simply died because their fetus was born too big. Born children also died on Earth. Therefore, the Grays always kept an eye on such women - before giving birth, they were taken to their bases on the Moon and Mars, where the mothers successfully gave birth. Women don't remember anything when they are sent to Earth after giving birth. And the Grays kept the children for themselves. These children either live in orbital stations revolving around the planets of the solar system, or suffer among human nations and make brilliant discoveries for earthlings. A common characteristic feature for such alien children is high growth - from 180 to 250 centimeters. The men are fair-haired, blue-eyed, slightly tanned, and well-shaven. And the women are slender and big-eyed, beautiful and kind. Such humanoids usually fly in on disk-shaped UFOs and come out to people in white robes to teach the peoples of earth to live peacefully and enlighten.

MERCURIANS

The etheric plane is home to a very unusual civilization of superintellectuals. The cult of Knowledge reigns on Mercury, and knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself, or more precisely, for the sake of the very process of obtaining it. The fact is that the inhabitants of Mercury experience incomparable pleasure from everything related to the acquisition of abstract, divorced from material life, knowledge.

Description of Mercurians: high-brow intellectuals who can scan the entire experience and memory of the subconscious of any being, discarding and “rejecting” the sensual “female” intuitive experience and being interested only in factual data about abstract ideas and concepts. Outwardly, these superintellectuals are very similar to earthly people, only their height does not exceed 1.5 meters and their physique is more fragile. The arms and legs are small, there is no hair on the large round head, and there are three fingers on the palms. However, Mercurians do not like their etheric shell, considering it low, dirty and rough, and prefer to project themselves in the form of golden balls, especially when meeting strangers.

Residents of Mercury completely ignore material objects and issues related to the physical and etheric world. They direct all their remarkable mental power to comprehend the laws of the structure of the universe, its parallel worlds and various plans, its statutes, orders and forms of manifestation and government. Objects of a magical and spiritual nature are of particular interest to them. But the Mercurians stop only at the process of acquiring and accumulating the actual component of the Unified Knowledge. Your broad knowledge abstract concepts they do not strive to put it into practice, considering it a matter of secondary importance.

It is interesting that, filled with abstract information, intellectuals do not find any desire to understand the essence of things and events. Questions that require reasoning or drawing conclusions from known facts perplex them and only cause irritation. Naked facts are what Mercurians really enjoy.

For some Mercurians, the possession of knowledge led to pride. The inhabitants of Mercury naively believed that there was no such thing in the Universe that they did not know. Therefore, the Mercurians constantly traveled throughout the galaxy, tirelessly replenishing their information bank.

There are no cities, no states, no tribes, no peoples on Mercury. Together, all Mercurians look like one mycelium. They are united only by an information database, that is, they voluntarily form certain communities that act as one organism. Any information acquired by each of them is available to everyone, and the total amount of knowledge becomes the property of each member of the community. Their knowledge of facts continually increases, but this does not lead to an increase in their wisdom.

When teaching in schools, it is also customary for them to adhere to the following methodology: teachers do not say anything directly and completely, do not reveal what the essence of the subject is, but only give a hint of the essence, thereby feeding and increasing the desire for research and knowledge. According to the logic of the Mercurians, if you answer all the questions, then this desire will disappear. Therefore, they always say the opposite in order to make the truth stand out more clearly.

CIVILIZATION OF JUPITER

(one of 13 varieties)

Thirteen different civilizations live on Jupiter, including eight of them humanoid. All of them populated various layers of the etheric and vital world.

Description of one of the civilizations of Jupiter: outwardly very similar to the Ancient Greek gods who lived on Olympus. Very wise and spiritual humanoids lived here. They created their bodies from the third and fourth layers of ether, therefore a common person cannot see them with his eyes. These respectable natures are complete divine love, softness and meekness, they tall, approximately 3-4 meters. They were all relatives, since the people of this civilization lived on Jupiter by birth. All the people of Jupiter preferred to live outside the city, in nature. The Jovians lived on farms and villas amid lush vegetation of meadows and gardens. Therefore, the population of the capital did not reach even a thousand people. Thirteen Council priests and five hundred monks served their working hours in the stone city.

The Jovian villas stood at a respectful distance from each other. The average family consisted of a husband, his wife, two children, and grandparents. Five to seven such families formed a kinship village consisting of a dozen two- and three-story buildings and a central temple in the form of a pyramid. The houses were located around the perimeter of the circle and were surrounded by a beautiful green hedge fence. From the central temple, straight roads paved with polished stones ran in radii in all directions.

There were no old people among the Jovian people, since the older generation, who raised children, usually left their homes and retired to special sacred forests and groves, in holy places and mountains. Old people on Jupiter become ascetics and hermits in order to achieve their main goal life - reunification with the One God. Having reached the Almighty in contemplation and meditation, Jupiterians either go to more elevated planets, for example, to the planetary system of Sirius or the Pleiades, or return to their villas, leading the education of the younger generation. There they became spiritual mentors to youth. Those. Jupiter is the Planet of yogis and hermits, ascetics and monks. Their needs and desires are reduced to a minimum. They even go without any clothes. Their food is pollen, juices and various herbal infusions.

Jupiter is not only the largest of the planets orbiting the Sun, but also the most populous and one of the most spiritually developed. The Jovian civilization chose the path of studying the inner world, rather than the external one, the path of self-knowledge, the path of spiritual development. Deeply understanding the purpose of every person's life, Jupiterians completely ignore technological progress. There are no cities on Jupiter, no factories, no rumbling vehicles. Here, limitation of desires and liberation from attachments are cultivated. Jupiterians prefer to live close to nature in two-story houses or three-story villas that look like pyramids.

Jupiterians live superconsciously, that is, all their thoughts are aimed at reunification with the One and Indivisible Lord. They pay special attention to raising children. Every child receives education at a school at a village temple. Education in them is aimed at developing the spiritual abilities of students. “It is important to understand the fundamental principle by which all Creation is built - Once you know this, you can create anything.” Comprehensive schools Jupiter is somewhat reminiscent of the philosophical schools of Ancient Greece. The Jovians had no writing, no radio, no television, since they all have clairvoyance, telepathy and proscopy. Education at school took place directly - from the enlightened teacher to the student.

The life of Jupiterians is approximately 800-1200 years. Typically, the average Jupiter resident would be educated, give back to society, and get married before the age of 50. They conceived children through sexual intercourse. After the birth of two or three children, the couple slept separately in different rooms. Then 20-30 years were spent raising children, and when the children grew up and matured, the Jupiterian either left the etheric world if he achieved enlightenment, or went into a monastery, into a hermit, in order to devote the rest of his life to getting closer to God.

Adult Jupiterians are between three and four meters tall. They are all slender, harmoniously built and very beautiful. Their faces are especially light and sublimely beautiful with slightly protruding lips. When communicating with each other, Jupiterians, in addition to telepathy, expressed their thoughts with the help of their faces. Mainly, they used for this purpose that part of it that is located around the lips. They never pretended and always said what they thought. Therefore, the Jupiterians did not strain the muscles of their faces and allowed their faces to freely express thoughts and feelings.

Jupiter is orbited by 16 terrestrial moons and more than 30 ethereal ones. Humanoids live on all the satellite planets of Jupiter. But the civilizations on these moons are man-made, similar to those on Mars.

Moon-Eyed

2.10m – 2.40m tall, pale blue skin, bulging eyes, possibly distant relatives of the Nordics from Lyra or Andromeda.

Bovvie

A very tall race from 2.5 – 3.5 meters in height.

Star Wanderers

Nomadic civilization. He has extensive knowledge and valuable resources, makes contact and willingly concludes deals, but these deals are unreliable. They can be extremely beneficial for earthlings, just as a gift. For example, they could trade the Mona Lisa for a three-year supply of resources for the entire Earth. But they can deceive using their developed skills.

Attention: Be careful because... There are Alien Races that are not just negative, but terribly negative. There are Hierarchies, both Positive and Negative, Clifonic (brown) and Demonic (black). There are also Alien Races working for the Negative Hierarchies. They are dangerous not only for your Physical Body, Psyche and Subtle Bodies, but also for the Soul. An example of such an alien Race....

Seedrills

The form of evil that a person must know about is something negative, something different, absolute evil, which Assef Satan represents and personifies. This is evil that happens from outside in relation to a person, regardless of his consciousness. What is it? And who is Satan?

Assef Satan is a living, really existing intelligent individual, Assef is a first name, Satan is a surname. He was born over 91,000 Earth years ago on Planet Urene, part of the Star System of a small Star not far from Sirius.

Since this information allows people to have a fairly complete understanding of Satan and his Empire, which he would not like at all, without naming the names of the subscribers: they want to stay alive, and they also have families... They are absolutely subordinate to Satan, they are mortally afraid of him, called "god" and, as he demands, "ifat". They consider themselves his “children,” because they are convinced that they themselves were created by Satan, who gave them not only life, but also reason.

As we managed to find out from Satan’s subordinates, he created an entire Empire from seven planets inhabited by intelligent beings – Seedrills, which is located from us Star Cluster towards the Aries Constellation sector and exists in the Yellow Space with a population of about 200 billion. The inhabitants of this Empire, just as we call ourselves “humans”, call ourselves “sidril”, are intelligent beings who do not have a Soul in our minds, but have something else.

The first one large Planet is called Tmuzon, the second is Iso, the third is Sirui, the fourth is Uresirise, the fifth is called Iusi, the sixth is Yature and the seventh, the most important, remote and mysterious - Lui: there is the refuge of Satan himself. (The text of the description of the planets, populations and their Stars is abbreviated).

There are 28 civilizations in the Yellow Spectrum, some of which are part of the Commonwealth of God (Meaning the true Creator) and are subordinate to Him. Intelligent Beings of 21 civilizations recognize God and have a Soul, and Satan is despised by them as a traitor. Satan exists and lives in the space of the Yellow Spectrum; he physically cannot live in our space, but he can have a significant impact on living forms. Satan has a direct impact on animals - who do not have an implanted Impulse Ring of Reason and some energy developments and structures in their Soul (Higher Aspect), so it is easier for him to subjugate them. It has only an indirect effect on a person and is not scary to a person until the person begins to be afraid. And from fear you can make mistakes, which is what Satan needs.

Now the biggest problem for his Empire, a matter of life and death, is Energy. The enterprises of the seven planets and the ships of the space fleet need a lot of energy, and their sources have long been exhausted. The main source of energy for Satan's empire is Gray Energy, obtained by burning the Souls of Creatures (in particular the people of the Earth). To ensure this, Satan has created an entire system that currently produces about 80 Souls from the Earth every month, which is equivalent to almost 5,000 tons of uranium. Although this figure of abducted people and Souls from the Earth is too underestimated. Unofficial statistics on disappearances of people in Russia alone amount to more than 10,000 people annually, including “missing people.” The minus, apparently, is the number of deaths from the activities of our earthly Russian criminals, without the discovery of the bodies of the victims.

Before burning the Soul, all information is removed from it. It is important and priceless for Satan - it is a solution to strategic intelligence problems. Satan has a weak point; he doesn’t know people well. He needs scientific and technical information about our world. And this despite the fact that over tens of thousands of years he has accumulated scientific information that exceeds that of earth in volume and quality. The use of earthly information is twofold: what can be useful for the world of the Seadrils - scientific discoveries, original technical and technological solutions, etc., suitable for use in the Yellow Space; and an assessment of the scientific and technical potential of the Earth in terms of forecasting possible resistance from earthlings.

The “heart” of this system is the structure of the Deep Space Communications Centers, the last of which was built 5 years ago and operates in Sirui. This is a new Center, the old ones are located on Tmuzon and Luya. The new Center is much closer to Earth and provides high-quality bilateral instant communication with any person. How does this happen? A communication channel has been created in Retrospace, the effect of the zero transition between the Center and the peripheral element of the system near the Earth is used. This is the principle of action. They themselves call the system “Retrobridge”, which in my opinion succinctly and accurately reflects its essence.

The main goal of the Retrobridge Center system is strategic reconnaissance of the space of the Universe to control the movement of ships of the Creator's civilizations and ensure the security of the empire; a parallel task is the search for knowledge and the corrupting influence on the civilization of the Earth to catch Souls to meet the energy needs of the Empire.

The Center itself has 37 workplaces for telecom operators “for catching Souls”, who work both with people - mediums conducting sessions of spiritualism, and control the behavior of ordinary people.

This is where the Retrobridge operators constantly “whisper” to our contactees all sorts of false and tempting theories, predictions and “horror stories”, mixed with true events on Earth. But, as a rule, there are much more lies in these “revelations” than truth.

Introduction

The SUmerians were the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. They drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system.

The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority. The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, who settled in the northern regions of Babylonia and adopted Sumerian culture, became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. OK. 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi.

1. History of the formation of the state of Ancient Sumer

In the second half of the 4th millennium BC. e. Sumerians appeared in southern Mesopotamia - a people who in later written documents call themselves “black-headed” (Sumerian “sang-ngiga”, Akkadian “tsalmat-kakkadi”). They were a people ethnically, linguistically and culturally alien to the Semitic tribes who settled Northern Mesopotamia at approximately the same time or somewhat later. The Sumerian language, with its bizarre grammar, is not related to any of the surviving languages. They belong to the Mediterranean race. Attempts to find their original homeland have so far ended in failure. Apparently, the country from which the Sumerians came was located somewhere in Asia, rather in a mountainous area, but located in such a way that its inhabitants were able to master the art of navigation. Evidence that the Sumerians came from the mountains is their way of building temples, which were erected on artificial embankments or on terraced hills made of brick or clay blocks. It is unlikely that such a custom could have arisen among the inhabitants of the plains. It, along with their beliefs, had to be brought from their ancestral homeland by the inhabitants of the mountains, who paid honor to the gods on the mountain peaks. And another piece of evidence is that in the Sumerian language the words “country” and “mountain” are written the same way. There is also a lot to suggest that the Sumerians came to Mesopotamia by sea. Firstly, they primarily appeared in river mouths. Secondly, in their ancient beliefs the main role was played by the gods Anu, Enlil and Enki. And finally, as soon as they settled in Mesopotamia, the Sumerians immediately began organizing irrigation, navigation and navigation along rivers and canals. The first Sumerians to appear in Mesopotamia were a small group of people. There was no need to think about the possibility of mass migration by sea at that time. The Sumerian epic mentions their homeland, which they considered the ancestral home of all humanity - the island of Dilmun, but there are no mountains on this island.

Having settled at the mouths of the rivers, the Sumerians captured the city of Eredu. This was their first city. Later they began to consider it the cradle of their statehood. Over the years, the Sumerians moved deeper into the Mesopotamian plain, building or conquering new cities. For the most distant times, the Sumerian tradition is so legendary that it has almost no historical significance. It was already known from Berossus’ data that the Babylonian priests divided the history of their country into two periods: “before the flood” and “after the flood.” Berossus, in his historical work, notes 10 kings who ruled “before the flood” and gives fantastic figures for their reign. The same data is given by the Sumerian text of the 21st century BC. e., the so-called “Royal List”. In addition to Eredu, the “Royal List” names Bad Tibiru, Larak (later unimportant settlements), as well as Sippar in the north and Shuruppak in the center as “antediluvian” centers of the Sumerians. This newcomer people subjugated the country without displacing - the Sumerians simply could not - the local population, but on the contrary, they adopted many of the achievements of the local culture. The identity of material culture, religious beliefs, and socio-political organization of various Sumerian city-states does not at all prove their political community. On the contrary, it is more likely to assume that from the very beginning of the Sumerian expansion into Mesopotamia, rivalry arose between individual cities, both newly founded and conquered.

I Early Dynastic period (c. 2750-2615 BC)

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in Mesopotamia there were about one and a half dozen city-states. The surrounding small villages were subordinate to the center, headed by a ruler who was sometimes both a military leader and a high priest. These small states are now commonly referred to by the Greek term “nomes.”

Of the cities of the Sumerian-East Semitic culture located outside Lower Mesopotamia, it is important to note Mari on the Middle Euphrates, Ashur on the Middle Tigris and Der, located east of the Tigris, on the road to Elam.

The cult center of the Sumerian-East Semitic cities was Nippur. It is possible that initially it was the name of Nippur that was called Sumer. In Nippur there was E-kur - the temple of the common Sumerian god Enlil. Enlil was revered as the supreme god for thousands of years by all Sumerians and Eastern Semites (Akkadians), although Nippur never constituted a political center either in historical or, judging by Sumerian myths and legends, in prehistoric times.

Analysis of both the “Royal List” and archaeological data show that the two main centers of Lower Mesopotamia from the beginning of the Early Dynastic period were: in the north - Kish, dominating the network of canals of the Euphrates-Irnina group, in the south - alternately Ur and Uruk. Outside the influence of both the northern and southern centers were usually Eshnunna and other cities of the Diyala River valley, on the one hand, and the nome of Lagash on the I-nina-gena canal, on the other.

II Early Dynastic period (c. 2615-2500 BC)

Aga's defeat at the walls of Uruk caused, it seems, an invasion of the Elamites, conquered by his father. The Kish tradition places after the I dynasty of Kish the dynasty of the Elamite city of Avan, which, obviously, established its hegemony, in addition to Elam, in the northern part of Mesopotamia. The part of the “list” where one would expect the names of the kings of the Awan dynasty is damaged, but it is possible that one of these kings was Mesalim.

In the south, parallel to the Avana dynasty, the First Dynasty of Uruk continued to exercise hegemony, whose ruler Gilgamesh and his successors managed, as evidenced by documents from the archives of the city of Shuruppak, to rally a number of city-states around themselves into a military alliance. This union united states located in the southern part of Lower Mesopotamia, along the Euphrates below Nippur, along Iturungal and I-nina-gene: Uruk, Adab, Nippur, Lagash, Shuruppak, Umma, etc. If we take into account the territories covered by this union, we can , probably, attribute the time of its existence to the reign of Mesalim, since it is known that under Meselim the Iturungal and I-nina-gena canals were already under his hegemony. It was precisely a military alliance of small states, and not a united state, because in the archive documents there is no information about the intervention of the rulers of Uruk in the affairs of Shuruppak or about the payment of tribute to them.

The rulers of the “nome” states included in the military alliance did not wear the title “en” (cult head of the nome), unlike the rulers of Uruk, but usually called themselves ensi or ensia [k] (Akkadian ishshiakkum, ishshakkum). This term apparently meant “the lord (or priest) of the laying of structures.” In reality, however, ensi had both cult and even military functions, so he led a squad of temple people. Some rulers of the nomes sought to assign themselves the title of military leader - lugal. Often this reflected the ruler's claim to independence. However, not every title “lugal” indicated hegemony over the country. The hegemonic military leader called himself not just “the lugal of his nome,” but either the “lugal of Kish” if he claimed hegemony in the northern nomes, or the “lugal of the country” (lugal of Kalama); in order to receive such a title, it was necessary to recognize the military supremacy of this ruler in Nippur, as the center of the pan-Sumerian cult union. The rest of the lugals practically did not differ in their functions from the ensi. In some nomes there were only ensi (for example, in Nippur, Shuruppak, Kisur), in others only lugali (for example, in Ur), in others, both in different periods (for example, in Kish) or even, perhaps, simultaneously in some cases (in Uruk, in Lagash) the ruler temporarily received the title of lugal along with special powers - military or other.

III Early Dynastic period (c. 2500-2315 BC)

Stage III of the Early Dynastic period is characterized by rapid growth of wealth and property stratification, aggravation of social contradictions and the tireless war of all the nomes of Mesopotamia and Elam against each other with an attempt by the rulers of each of them to seize hegemony over all others.

During this period, the irrigation network expands. From the Euphrates in a southwestern direction, new canals were dug: Arakhtu, Apkallatu and Me-Enlila, some of which reached the strip of western swamps, and some completely devoted their waters to irrigation. In the southeast direction from the Euphrates, parallel to Irnina, the Zubi canal was dug, which originated from the Euphrates above Irnina and thereby weakened the importance of the nomes of Kish and Kutu. New nomes were formed on these channels:

• Babylon (now a series of settlements near the city of Hilla) on the Arakhtu Canal. Dilbat (now the settlement of Deylem) on the Apkallatu canal.
• Marad (now the site of Vanna wa-as-Sa'dun) on the Me-Enlila canal. Kazallu (exact location unknown).
• Push on the Zubi channel, in its lower part.

New canals were also diverted from Iturungal, and also dug inside the Lagash nome. Accordingly, new cities arose. On the Euphrates below Nippur, probably based on dug canals, cities also arose that claimed independent existence and fought for sources of water. One can note such a city as Kisura (in Sumerian “border”, most likely the border of the zones of northern and southern hegemony, now the site of Abu Khatab), some nomes and cities mentioned by inscriptions from the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period cannot be localized.

The raid on the southern regions of Mesopotamia, launched from the city of Mari, dates back to the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period. The raid from Mari roughly coincided with the end of the hegemony of the Elamite Awan in the north of Lower Mesopotamia and the 1st Dynasty of Uruk in the south of the country. It is difficult to say whether there was a causal connection here. After that, in the north of the country two local dynasties began to compete, as can be seen on the Euphrates, the other on the Tigris and Irnin. These were the II dynasty of Kish and the Akshaka dynasty. Half of the names of the Lugals who ruled there, preserved by the “Royal List,” are East Semitic (Akkadian). Probably both dynasties were Akkadian in language, and the fact that some of the kings bore Sumerian names is explained by the strength of cultural tradition. Steppe nomads - Akkadians, who apparently came from Arabia, settled in Mesopotamia almost simultaneously with the Sumerians. They penetrated into the central part of the Tigris and Euphrates, where they soon settled and began farming. From about the middle of the 3rd millennium, the Akkadians established themselves in two large centers of northern Sumer - the cities of Kish and Akshe. But both of these dynasties were of little importance compared to the new hegemon of the south - the Lugals of Ur.

According to the ancient Sumerian epic, around 2600 BC. e. Sumer unites under the rule of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, who later transferred power to the dynasty of Ur. Then the throne is seized by Lugalannemundu, the ruler of Adab, who subjugated Sumer from the Mediterranean Sea to southwestern Iran. At the end of the 24th century. BC e. the new conqueror, the king of Umma Lugalzagesi, expands these possessions to the Persian Gulf.

In the 24th century BC. e. Most of Sumer was conquered by the Akkadian king Sharrumken (Sargon the Great). By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Sumer was absorbed by the growing Babylonian Empire. Even earlier, by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e., the Sumerian language lost its status as a spoken language, although it persisted for another two millennia as a language of literature and culture.

2. Socio-economic system

Although a number of temple archives have come down from ancient Sumer, including those dating back to the period of the Jemdet-Nasr culture, they have, however, been sufficiently studied public relations, reflected in the documents of only one of the temples of Lagash in the 24th century. BC e. According to one of the most widespread points of view in Soviet science, the lands surrounding the Sumerian city were divided at that time into naturally irrigated fields and into high fields that required artificial irrigation. In addition, there were also fields in the swamp, that is, in the area that did not dry out after the flood and therefore required additional drainage work in order to create soil suitable for agriculture. Part of the naturally irrigated fields was the “property” of the gods and, as the temple economy passed into the hands of their “deputy” - the king, it actually became royal. Obviously, the high fields and “swamp” fields, until the moment of their cultivation, were, along with the steppe, that “land without a master”, which is mentioned in one of the inscriptions of the ruler of Lagash, Entemena. Cultivation of high fields and “swamp” fields required a lot of labor and money, so relations of hereditary ownership gradually developed here. Apparently, it is these humble owners of the high fields in Lagash that the texts dating back to the 24th century speak of. BC e. The emergence of hereditary ownership contributed to the destruction from within the collective farming of rural communities. True, in beginning of III For millennia, this process was still very slow.

Since ancient times, the lands of rural communities have been located on naturally irrigated areas. Of course, not all naturally irrigated land was distributed among rural communities. They had their own plots on that land, on the fields of which neither the king nor the temples conducted their own farming. Only lands that were not in the direct possession of the ruler or the gods were divided into plots, individual or collective. Individual plots were distributed among the nobility and representatives of the state and temple apparatus, while collective plots were retained by rural communities. Adult men of the communities were organized into separate groups, which acted together in war and agricultural work, under the command of their elders. In Shuruppak they were called gurush, i.e. “strong”, “well done”; in Lagash in the middle of the 3rd millennium they were called shublugal - “subordinates of the king.” According to some researchers, the “subordinates of the king” were not members of the community, but workers of the temple economy already separated from the community, but this assumption remains controversial. Judging by some inscriptions, “the king’s subordinates” do not necessarily have to be considered as personnel of any temple. They could also work on the land of the king or ruler. We have reason to believe that in case of war, the “king’s subordinates” were included in the army of Lagash.

The plots given to individuals, or perhaps in some cases to rural communities, were small. Even the allotments of the nobility at that time amounted to only a few tens of hectares. Some plots were given free of charge, while others were given for a tax equal to 1/6 -1/8 of the harvest.

The owners of the plots usually worked in the fields of the temple (later also royal) farms for about four months. Draft cattle, as well as plows and other tools of labor, were given to them from the temple household. They also cultivated their fields with the help of temple cattle, since they could not keep cattle on their small plots. For four months of work in the temple or royal economy they received barley small quantity- emmer, wool, and the rest of the time (i.e., for eight months) they fed on the harvest from their allotment. There is also another point of view on social relations in early Sumer. According to this point of view, communal lands were equally both naturally flooded and high lands, since irrigation of the latter required the use of communal water reserves and could be carried out without large expenditures of labor, possible only with the collective work of communities. According to the same point of view, persons who worked on land allocated to temples or the king (including - as indicated by sources - and on land reclaimed from the steppe) had already lost contact with the community and were subject to exploitation. They, like slaves, worked in the temple economy all year round and received wages in kind for their work, and at the beginning also land plots. The harvest on the temple land was not considered the harvest of the communities. The people who worked on this land had neither self-government nor any rights in the community or benefits from running a communal economy, therefore, according to this point of view, they should be distinguished from the community members themselves, who were not involved in the temple economy and had the right, with the knowledge big family and the communities they belonged to, buy and sell land. According to this point of view, and land holdings The nobility were not limited to the allotments they received from the temple.

Slaves worked all year round. Captives captured in war were turned into slaves; slaves were also bought by tamkars (trading agents of temples or the king) outside the state of Lagash. Their labor was used in construction and irrigation work. They protected fields from birds and were also used in gardening and partly in livestock farming. Their labor was also used in fishing, which continued to play a significant role.

The conditions in which the slaves lived were extremely difficult, and therefore the mortality rate among them was enormous. The life of a slave was of little value. There is evidence of the sacrifice of slaves.

3.Government system

Sumer was not a single state. On its territory there were several dozen independent cities and regions. The most famous cities were Eridu, Ur, Lagash, Umma, Uruk, Kish.

At the head of the city and region was a ruler who bore the title "ensi" ("patesi"). This was the high priest of the main city temple. If the ruler's power extended beyond the city, the ruler was given the title of "lugal". Their functions were the same and boiled down to managing public construction and irrigation, and temple management; they headed the community cult, led the army, presided over the council of elders and the people's assembly.

The Council of Elders and the People's Assembly elected the ruler and gave him recommendations in all important matters, carried out general control over its activities, carried out court and management of community property. Thus, these were the bodies that limited the power of the ruler.

4. The most ancient code of laws of the Sumerians

The fate of great archaeological discoveries is sometimes very interesting. In 1900 An expedition from the University of Pennsylvania discovered during excavations at the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur two heavily damaged fragments of a clay tablet with almost illegible text. Among other more valuable exhibits, they did not attract much attention and were sent to the Museum of the Ancient East, which was located in Istanbul. Its keeper F.R. Kraus, having connected parts of the table with each other, determined that it contained the texts of ancient laws. Kraus cataloged the artifact in the Nippur collection and forgot about the clay tablet for five long decades.

Only in 1952 Samuel Kramer, at the prompting of the same Kraus, again drew attention to this table, and his attempts to decipher the texts were partially crowned with success. The poorly preserved table, covered in cracks, contained a copy of the legal code of the founder of the Third Dynasty, Urra, who ruled at the very end of the third millennium. BC - King Ur-Nammu.

In 1902, the discovery of the French archaeologist M. Jacquet thundered throughout the world, who, during excavations in Susa, found a slab of black diorite - a more than two-meter stele of King Hammurabi with a code of laws engraved on it. The Code of Ur-Nammu was compiled more than three centuries earlier. Thus, the dilapidated tablets contained the text of the earliest legal code that has reached us.

It is likely that it was originally carved on a stone stele, just like the codex of King Hammurabi. But neither it, nor even its modern or later copy has survived. The only thing that researchers have at their disposal is a partially damaged clay tablet, so it is not possible to completely restore the code of laws of Ur-nammu. To date, only 90 of the 370 lines that scientists believe constitute the full text of Ur-Nammu's legal code have been deciphered.

The prologue to the code states that Ur-Nammu was chosen by the gods as their earthly representative in order to establish the triumph of justice, eradicate disorder and lawlessness in Ur in the name of the well-being of its inhabitants. His laws were designed to protect “the orphan from the tyranny of the rich, the widow from those in power, the man who has one shekel from the man with one mina (60 shekels).”

Researchers have not reached a consensus on the total number of articles in the Ur-Nammu codex. With some degree of probability, it was possible to reconstruct the text of only five of them, and then only with certain assumptions. Fragments of one of the laws talk about the return of a slave to the owner, another article addresses the issue of the guilt of witchcraft. And only three laws, which, however, are also not completely preserved and are difficult to decipher, represent extremely interesting material for the study of social and legal relations, developed in Sumerian society.

They sound something like this:

• “If a person injures another person’s foot with a weapon, he will pay 10 shekels of silver.”
• “If a man breaks another man’s bone with a weapon, he pays one mina in silver.”
• “If a man injures another man’s face with a weapon, he shall pay two-thirds of a mina of silver.”

All this indicates that already at the very beginning of the second millennium BC in the city-states of Sumer there was a humane and fair legislation that was alien to the principle of blood feud - “an eye for an eye.” The culprit was not subject to corporal punishment, but had to compensate for the damage or pay a fine.

Of course, in many ways the basis of this humane, from our point of view, right was the prevailing socio-economic conditions. At the same time, based on all the documents found, it seems that the Sumerians inherited from previous centuries an “instinct of justice” and a sense of community of people striving for virtue, order and law. In their official declarations, the rulers of Sumer proclaim their main function in this world to be the strengthening of laws, the establishment of order and justice. Their direct duty is to protect the poor from the oppression of the rich, the weak from the tyranny of the powerful, and the eradication of thieves and criminals. The Code of Ur-Nammu is based on traditional Sumerian law, which evolved over many centuries, and draws on ancient customs and claimants dating back to earlier periods.

A document has reached us that tells about the reign of King Uruinimgin in Lagash, three hundred years before Ur-Nammu, approximately in the middle of the twenty-fourth century BC.

It was a difficult time for Lagash, a time of lawlessness and violence. Consumed by ambition and thirst for power, the rulers waged predatory wars and carried out predatory raids on neighboring cities. But the period of power and dominance over all the city-states of Sumer ended, Lagash returned to its former borders. In order to gather and arm an army, the palace nobility deprived everyone individual citizen their social and personal rights, imposed incredible taxes on all their income and property, reducing them to complete poverty. And in peacetime, the rulers continued the same policy and even took possession of the property of the temples. Residents were thrown into prison under the most insignificant pretexts, for the slightest offense, and often without it, on trumped-up charges. A spirit of cynicism and self-enrichment reigned in the country, when the rich became richer, robbing and oppressing the weak and defenseless.

It was at this catastrophic time that the supreme deity of the city chooses a new ruler from among its citizens - Uruinimgina, who was called upon to restore the “divine laws” forgotten and despised by his predecessors. Ancient Chronicler tells that Uruinimginu and his supporters were proud of the social and legal reforms they carried out.

He removed the palace bureaucracy, prohibited and reduced all kinds of levies and taxes from which the residents suffered. Put an end to the injustice and abuses of the rich and powerful against poorer and weaker citizens. Uruinimgina made an agreement with the god Ningirsu that “a man who has strength” will not do injustice to the most defenseless and vulnerable, widows and orphans.

In addition, this document is of great importance for the history of law in another aspect. One of its provisions suggests that special emphasis in the Sumerian courts was placed on writing all cases. It was mandatory to indicate the guilt and the punishment incurred. Thus, we see that legal regulation and legislative activity were the norm for the states of Sumer already by the middle of the third millennium BC, and it is possible that the traditions of legal proceedings date back to even more distant times in the mists of time. All discovered documents date back to the decline of the Sumerian civilization, but affect the norms and customs of earlier periods.

5.Family and inheritance law of the ancient Sumerians.

Main value Sumerian families had children. The sons became by law the full heirs of all their father's property and economy, the continuers of his craft. They were given the great honor of providing posthumous cult father. They were to see to the proper burial of his ashes, the continued honoring of his memory and the perpetuation of his name.

Even as minors, children in Sumer had fairly broad rights. According to the deciphered tablets, they had the opportunity to carry out acts of purchase and sale, trade transactions and other business transactions.
All contracts with minor citizens, according to the law, had to be formalized in writing in the presence of several witnesses. This was supposed to protect inexperienced and not very intelligent youth from deception and prevent excessive wastefulness.

Sumerian laws imposed many responsibilities on parents, but also gave them quite a lot of power over their children, although it cannot be considered complete and absolute. Parents, for example, had the right to sell their children into slavery to pay off debts, but only for a certain period, usually no more than three years. Moreover, they could not take their lives, even for the most serious offense and self-will. Disrespect for parents, filial disobedience, was considered a grave sin in Sumerian families and was severely punished. In some Sumerian cities, disobedient children were sold into bondage and could have their hands cut off.

The father's responsibility was to fully provide for the children. The father had to allocate money for the wedding price to his son from his property. He must also provide a dowry for his daughters in the amount required by law. The process of dividing inheritance after the death of parents took place strictly in accordance with laws that were practically unchanged in most Sumerian city-states.

As already noted, all property after the death of the head of the family passed to the sons. Usually, they did not break it up into parts, ran a common household and divided the income received from the property. Sumerian families were generally small. Court records usually list no more than four heirs. The eldest son was given a privileged right in the division of inherited property, which was expressed in a slightly larger share in the income from his father's inheritance. The rights of the other brothers were equal.

Daughters received a wedding dowry, and had no further share in the division of their father's household, except in cases where there were no sons in the house. Here the legislation showed some liberalism, and in the absence of male offspring, daughters had full rights to property and household after the death of their father.

Sumerian legislation clearly regulated the rights and obligations of heirs and was extremely scrupulous in its approach to the issue. fair distribution rights and income. Thus, the funds for the bride price for the younger brother were provided from their share of the inherited property by the sons who managed to get married during their father’s lifetime and receive money for the wedding price from him. Part of the property was allocated to the daughter as a dowry. If she became a priestess and renounced family life, after the death of her father it also went to her brothers. But they had to support her for life, ensure proper care of her property and pay her the share of income from the farm that was due to her. The sister had the right to entrust management of her dowry to third parties, but after death her share returned to the family farm.

After the death of their father and the division of property, the sons took full charge of caring for their mother; she remained in their home, where she needed to be carefully cared for, respected and honored. She had the right to dispose of her personal property received in the form of gifts or “widow's share”, and at her discretion bequeath it to her sons in shares depending on her own preferences.

Disinheritance is an extreme measure that a father could take in the event of extreme disrespect or disobedience to parental will. In some cities, for this it was necessary to expose the son twice in offensive acts towards his father. In any case, the final decision remained with the court. If the court's verdict was negative, the father who illegally disinherited his son was subject to a fine or confiscation of property.

Childlessness was the greatest sorrow for the Sumerian family. Therefore, the practice of child adoption was widespread in the city-states of Sumer. Usually, childless spouses warmed up a homeless foundling or a child of neighbors with many children. The legislation strictly regulated all issues of adoption and monitored the protection of the rights of the parties to this procedure at all stages. The child’s parents, dissatisfied with the order and maintenance of their son in foster family, had the right to demand it back from the adoptive parents. The couple, after the birth of their child, could abandon their adopted son. According to the laws, it was necessary to pay the natural parents at least a third of the share due to the adopted child as a legal heir. Adopted children did not have the right to independently decide with whom to live. According to the laws of Sumer, unauthorized return to one’s family, as well as slander and disrespect for adoptive parents, were severely punished, including cutting out the tongue.

Sumerian laws in the field of family law were fair and quite liberal and decisively took the side of the victim or the innocent, regardless of the social and property status, and often gender, of the conflicting parties. They were based on citizens' respect for public order, their clear awareness of their responsibilities and guarantees of rights, the protection of which was the responsibility of the entire state system.

5.1.Women's rights in Sumerian society

A Sumerian woman had almost equal rights with a man. It turns out that it is far from our contemporaries who were able to prove their right to vote and equal rights. social status. At a time when people believed that the gods lived nearby, hated and loved like people, women were in the same position as today. It was in the Middle Ages that female representatives apparently became lazy and preferred embroidery and balls to participation in public life.

Historians explain the equality of Sumerian women with men by the equality of gods and goddesses. People lived in their likeness, and what was good for the gods was also good for people. True, legends about gods are also created by people, therefore, most likely, equal rights on earth appeared earlier than equality in the pantheon.

A woman had the right to express her opinion, she could get a divorce if her husband did not suit her, however, they still preferred to marry off their daughters under marriage contracts, and the parents themselves selected the husband, sometimes in early childhood, while the kids were small. In rare cases, a woman chose her husband herself, relying on the advice of her ancestors. Each woman could defend her rights in court, and always carried her own small seal-signature with her.

She could have her own business. The woman supervised the upbringing of children and had a dominant opinion in resolving controversial issues concerning the child. She owned her property. She was not covered by her husband's debts incurred before marriage. She could have her own slaves who did not obey her husband. In the absence of the husband and in the presence of minor children, the wife disposed of all property. If there was an adult son, responsibility was shifted to him. If such a clause was not stipulated in the marriage contract, the husband, in the case of large loans, could sell the wife into slavery for three years to work off the debt. Or sell it forever. After the death of the husband, the wife, as now, received her share of his property. True, if the widow was going to get married again, then her part of the inheritance was given to the children of the deceased.

5.2.Men's rights

The husband could not remain faithful, and even had the right to take concubines. The husband could send his wife home if she was infertile. True, at the same time he returned the dowry and paid her monetary compensation. True, if this was not permitted by the marriage contract, a man could take a second wife into the house, but she had no rights while the first was alive. The customs are very similar to the harem laws in Arab countries. The second wife had to obey the first, serve her, wash her feet, and carry a chair to the temple. There is an opinion that the first wife allowed the presence of the second, only then could the husband bring another woman into the house. He could demand this permission if his wife fell ill with something. In such cases, a new agreement was concluded on the husband’s obligations to care for his first wife and support her. If the husband took a concubine, then after giving birth, the girl could become free. But I still didn’t receive any rights. Sometimes the wives themselves looked for concubines for their husbands, tired of marital duties, or sick.

5.3.The moral aspect of marriage

Over the centuries, women gained more and more rights in the Sumerian state, and by the end of the third millennium, monogamous marriage became the norm. Although in this case, brides were discriminated against more than grooms. If the groom refused the marriage, his family returned the gifts received during the engagement and the money given by the bride's family. But if the bride refused, her family had to pay double compensation for the shame inflicted on the failed husband. By the way, the dowry that the girl brought to her husband’s family remained her property, and when she died, she divided it at will among her children. If a woman died childless, part of what her parents had accumulated was returned to the father, and part remained to the husband.

In ancient times, apparently, betrayal was not considered a reason for dissolving a union. In principle, before marriage, a woman, like a man, could date other members of the opposite sex, if she had not already been promised to someone. But if a woman did not fulfill her duties in the marital bed, the husband could easily file for divorce, and his claim would be satisfied. But by the end of the third millennium, with the advent of monogamy, moral requirements simultaneously became more stringent. Perhaps the strengthening of the positions of religious institutions played a role. Now, in case of betrayal, the woman was waiting the death penalty through drowning.

When a marriage was concluded, the property of the bride and groom were combined, and the marriage itself was sealed before the judges under oath. Although the poor Sumerians may have married for love after all. Some Sumerian proverbs and examples of fatherly instructions speak in favor of this fact. For example, there is a teaching where a father advises his son not to marry a priestess, that is, a young man could take a girl without the permission of his parents. There is also a proverb: “Marry the girl you like.” Although, perhaps, such a choice was possible only for the male part of the Sumerian civilization.

The court was equally loyal to all people, regardless of their gender. This is evidenced by numerous clay tablets about domestic litigation.

5.4.Rights of a child in a Sumerian family

Until the child became an adult, the parents had the right to dispose of his fate as they pleased. Beat for disobedience, marry off at just a few months of age, disinherit even adults. They could curse their child, driving them out not only from the house, but also from the city. They could have been sold into slavery and forever deprived of not only their family, but also the right to manage their lives. An adult son could demand his share of the inheritance through his father, however, then after death he could no longer claim anything. Girls received the same share of the inheritance as their brothers. And if they decided to become priestesses, they received their share during the lifetime of their parents. Adopted children had equal rights with their relatives, if the father recognized them as his own. They even had the right to inheritance.

6.Criminal law

Along with the everyday, everyday, and to some extent formal matters discussed above, Sumerian courts also dealt with criminal crimes: thefts, fraud, murders. Let us turn to this “wrong side of life” reflected in court documents, especially those whose interpretation, due to the good preservation of the text, leaves minimal room for any doubt.

How much interesting information is contained in the first short phrases this document! We learn that the complaint was filed directly by ensi, that Mashkim, appointed by the ruler, himself led the investigation into this case, that the investigation did not discover the culprit of the theft. The next part of this tablet, not shown here, is badly damaged, and states that the alleged perpetrator has been brought to trial.

It is difficult to say how things really stood: either Mashkim, despite all his efforts, failed to cope with his task, or the accusation was unfounded. The text of the second half of the tablet is too damaged to make any assumptions. We remember that mashkims performed the functions of bailiffs, so to speak, “on a voluntary basis.” It is not surprising that conducting an investigation could present certain difficulties for them. Without questioning Ur-Mami’s abilities, much less honesty.

Court records from Lagash tell of cases involving the theft of cattle, sheep, and various property. Even a document has been preserved telling about the trial of the theft of a bow. All these documents shed light not only on the peculiarities of Sumerian legal proceedings, but also on the daily life and concerns of the ancient Sumerians. Sumerian legal documents, like others written sources, talk about what constituted the wealth of the Sumerian farmer or cattle breeder, what crops the ancient Sumerians grew and what professions they had. Let's take the Mashkims as an example. Based on court records, more than ten professions were identified whose representatives could be appointed mashkim. Among them are scribes, heralds, overseers, warriors, musicians, royal messengers, cupbearers, bearers of the throne of the deity, etc. Court documents, more than any other texts, make it possible to judge the social relations that existed in Sumer.

7. Sumerian legal proceedings

Most of famous Sumerian court documents were discovered during excavations of the famous "hill of tablets" in Lagash. According to scientists, this is where the court archive was located, where the records of trials were kept. Tablets containing court records are arranged in a certain order established by custom and are strictly systematized. They have a detailed “card index” - a list of all documents, in accordance with the dates of their writing.

French scientists and archaeologists made a huge contribution to deciphering court documents from Lagash. J.-V. Sheil and Charles Virollo, who at the very beginning of the 20th century were the first to copy, publish and partially translate the texts of the tablets from the found archive. Later, already in the mid-twentieth century, the German scholar Adam Falkenstein published several dozen detailed translations of court records and verdicts, and largely thanks to these documents, today we can quite accurately restore legal procedures in the city-states of Sumer.

Record court decisions among the most ancient secretaries it was called ditilla, which literally means “final verdict”, “completed trial”. All legal and legislative regulation in the city-states of Sumer was in the hands of the enzi - the local rulers of these cities. They were the supreme judges, they were the ones who had to dispense justice and monitor the implementation of the laws.

In practice, on behalf of ensi, righteous justice was carried out by a specially appointed panel of judges, who made decisions in accordance with established traditions and current laws. The composition of the court was not constant. There were no professional judges; they were appointed from representatives of the city nobility - temple officials, prefects, sea merchants, clerks, augurs. The trial was usually conducted by three judges, although in some cases there could be one or two. The number of judges was determined social status parties, the gravity of the case and a number of other reasons. Nothing is known about the methods and criteria for appointing judges; it is also not clear for how long judges were appointed and whether their work was paid.

In the documents there is also a mention of “royal judges,” which could mean their professional affiliation, and the “seven royal judges of Nippurra,” which is mentioned in one of the texts, is apparently something like a higher court, where those dissatisfied with the decision could appeal sentence.

In all the ditillas found, the names of the judges were necessarily preceded by the name of mashkim. Researchers have different opinions about the functions of this judicial officer. His duties probably included preparing the case for trial and conducting the preliminary investigation. According to some assumptions, he could act as a mediator between the parties to the process in attempts to pre-trial resolve the conflict. The position of mashkim was not permanent and professional; townspeople from the highest social strata were appointed to it.

The temple played virtually no role in judicial settlement of conflicts and legal administration, although one of the found documents mentions a person who is called the judge of the main temple of Ur. This may indicate that in some exceptional cases the temple leadership could appoint its own special judges to hear the case.

The trial was initiated by one of the parties by filing a complaint with the mashkim. If the conflict could not be resolved, the case was sent to court for consideration by judges.
In the presence of the plaintiff and the defendant, the judges considered evidence, which could be the testimony of witnesses or one of the parties, usually under oath. Written documents drawn up by representatives of high ranks could serve as evidence.

The court decision was made conditionally and came into force only after the administrative confirmation of the oath in the temple by the party from whom the court required it. If the evidence was a written assurance from one of the parties, then its confirmation in the temple was not required. When making a decision, the judges relied on the existing legal norms or on existing precedents. After the verdict was recorded, no one had the right to cancel it; the judges were threatened with resignation and public censure for this. The convicted person retained the right to appeal to higher authorities, except in cases where the court verdict was approved by the supreme judge - ensi. Usually the punishment for the perpetrator was a fine or confiscation of property. The judge himself monitored the implementation of the decision.

The text of the court protocol was very laconic. It was a brief report that listed, without unnecessary detail, information about the reasons for initiating the lawsuit, the content of the plaintiff's claims, the testimony of witnesses or the oath of the parties. The verdict itself was most often formulated in one sentence, something like “X (the winner of the case) took the slave as his own” or “Y (the loser of the case) is obliged to pay.” Sometimes, but not always, the reason for such a decision was indicated. This was followed by a listing of the names of the judges, mashkim and ensi, and the date of the trial was recorded.

List of used literature:

1. Kramer Samuel Noah. Sumerians. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2002.

2. Emelyanov V.V. Ancient Sumer: Essays on Culture. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics: Petersburg. Oriental Studies, 2003.

3. Belitsky M. Sumerians. Forgotten world. - M.: Veche, 2000.

4. Reader on the history of the Ancient East, parts 1-2, -M., 1980