Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)
In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies[1] (Sumerian: 饞伨饞墕饞嫽饞姀 dub namtarra;[2] Akkadian: 峁璾p 拧墨m膩tu, 峁璾ppi 拧墨m膩ti) was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permanent legal document, conferred upon the god Enlil his supreme authority as ruler of the universe.
Other mention
In the Sumerian poem Ninurta and the Turtle it is the god Enki, rather than Enlil, who holds the Tablet, as Enki has stolen it and brought it to the Abzu.[3] Both this poem and the Akkadian Anz没 poem also share concern of the theft of the tablet by the bird Imdugud (Sumerian) or Anz没 (Akkadian).[4] In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Tiamat bestows this tablet on Kingu and gives him command of her army. In the end, the Tablet always returns to Enlil.
See also
References
- Not, as frequently misquoted in general works, the Tablets of Destiny.
- "The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature". etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
- Oxford.
- Black, J; Green, A (1992), "Tablet of Destinies", Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, London: British Museum Press.