Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Qingu
Qingu (𒀭𒆥𒄖, dqin-gu; less commonly romanized as Kingu) was a Mesopotamian god. He is best known from the Enūma Eliš, where he acts as a subordinate and spouse of Tiamat, and an adversary of Marduk. After his defeat he is killed and his blood is used in the creation of mankind. It is presumed that he might have originally been the antagonist of a separate myth unrelated to Tiamat, though this composition does not survive, and the majority of references to him are allusions to his defeat at the hands of Marduk in Enūma Eliš. He is also mentioned in the myth The Defeat of Enutila, Enmešarra, and Qingu and in a variety of other texts.
The most widespread spelling of Qingu's name in cuneiform is dqin-gu, though sporadically dqi-in-gu, dqin-ga and dqin-gi occur as well. A further variant, dqin-gu-gu, is presumed to be a dittographic error. While the romanization Kingu can be sometimes found in modern literature, Qingu is the most commonly used, and is presumed to be more accurate to the original pronunciation.
It is accepted that Qingu's name has Sumerian origin, as it would be unlikely for an Akkadian root to contain both q and g. Manfred Krebernik suggests that it can be connected with the terms kíĝ (KIN), "work", and kingal, "leader". This proposal is also supported by others authors, such as Wilfred G. Lambert and Selena Wisnom.
The Mesopotamians considered Qingu a defeated adversary of the gods. He is overall best attested as an enemy of Marduk. He could be characterized as a "primordial god associated with the netherworld". A late Assyrian source which groups Qingu with Anzû and Asakku most likely implies that he could be classified as a demon like them as well.
Two apparent cases of equation between Qingu and Enmesharra, presumably based on their shared status as vanquished adversaries of the gods, are attested in ritual texts. The isolated reference to "seven sons of Qingu" (tablet KAR 307, line 18) is likely to reflect an association with Enmesharra too, as references to "seven sons of Enmesharra" are common.
An association between Qingu and Tammuz is attested in a single damaged explanatory text, though due to its poor state of preservation the rationale behind it is unknown.
In addition to functioning as the name of a distinct figure, Qingu is also attested as a title of Marduk. A hymn to Nabu presumed to postdate the Enūma Eliš describes him as an offspring of Qingu. It is likely that in this context Qingu was also understood as a name of Marduk, rather than as his adversary. In the Enūma Eliš itself, two apparent variants of Qingu's name, Irqingu (dir-qin-gu; tablet VII, line 105) and Qinma (dqin-ma; tablet VII, line 107) occur among the 50 names assigned to Marduk after his victory over Tiamat. Sophus Helle argues that Irqingu was originally a name etymologically unrelated to Qingu, but was reinterpreted as a combination of this theonym and the word ir, "to ravage", by the compilers of the Enūma Eliš. Wilfred G. Lambert suggested that Qinma (also romanized as Kinma), which is also attested as a name of Marduk in the god list An = Anum (tablet II, line 221) and in a further fragmentary god list, might have been an artificial Emesal form of Qingu's name in origin.
Qingu is first mentioned in the Enūma Eliš when Tiamat appoints him as the leader of her army of monsters and affixes the tablet of destinies to his chest, elevating him to a position of "Anuship", da-nu-ti. While this term is derived from the name of the god Anu, when applied as a title to other deities, including Qingu, it can be understood as a generic designation for the rank of a supreme deity instead. A variant of this passage instead refers to Qingu's position as that of "lordship" (e-nu-ti). The text directly states that the tablet was not Qingu's rightful possession, though it is not explained how it was obtained by Tiamat.
Hub AI
Qingu AI simulator
(@Qingu_simulator)
Qingu
Qingu (𒀭𒆥𒄖, dqin-gu; less commonly romanized as Kingu) was a Mesopotamian god. He is best known from the Enūma Eliš, where he acts as a subordinate and spouse of Tiamat, and an adversary of Marduk. After his defeat he is killed and his blood is used in the creation of mankind. It is presumed that he might have originally been the antagonist of a separate myth unrelated to Tiamat, though this composition does not survive, and the majority of references to him are allusions to his defeat at the hands of Marduk in Enūma Eliš. He is also mentioned in the myth The Defeat of Enutila, Enmešarra, and Qingu and in a variety of other texts.
The most widespread spelling of Qingu's name in cuneiform is dqin-gu, though sporadically dqi-in-gu, dqin-ga and dqin-gi occur as well. A further variant, dqin-gu-gu, is presumed to be a dittographic error. While the romanization Kingu can be sometimes found in modern literature, Qingu is the most commonly used, and is presumed to be more accurate to the original pronunciation.
It is accepted that Qingu's name has Sumerian origin, as it would be unlikely for an Akkadian root to contain both q and g. Manfred Krebernik suggests that it can be connected with the terms kíĝ (KIN), "work", and kingal, "leader". This proposal is also supported by others authors, such as Wilfred G. Lambert and Selena Wisnom.
The Mesopotamians considered Qingu a defeated adversary of the gods. He is overall best attested as an enemy of Marduk. He could be characterized as a "primordial god associated with the netherworld". A late Assyrian source which groups Qingu with Anzû and Asakku most likely implies that he could be classified as a demon like them as well.
Two apparent cases of equation between Qingu and Enmesharra, presumably based on their shared status as vanquished adversaries of the gods, are attested in ritual texts. The isolated reference to "seven sons of Qingu" (tablet KAR 307, line 18) is likely to reflect an association with Enmesharra too, as references to "seven sons of Enmesharra" are common.
An association between Qingu and Tammuz is attested in a single damaged explanatory text, though due to its poor state of preservation the rationale behind it is unknown.
In addition to functioning as the name of a distinct figure, Qingu is also attested as a title of Marduk. A hymn to Nabu presumed to postdate the Enūma Eliš describes him as an offspring of Qingu. It is likely that in this context Qingu was also understood as a name of Marduk, rather than as his adversary. In the Enūma Eliš itself, two apparent variants of Qingu's name, Irqingu (dir-qin-gu; tablet VII, line 105) and Qinma (dqin-ma; tablet VII, line 107) occur among the 50 names assigned to Marduk after his victory over Tiamat. Sophus Helle argues that Irqingu was originally a name etymologically unrelated to Qingu, but was reinterpreted as a combination of this theonym and the word ir, "to ravage", by the compilers of the Enūma Eliš. Wilfred G. Lambert suggested that Qinma (also romanized as Kinma), which is also attested as a name of Marduk in the god list An = Anum (tablet II, line 221) and in a further fragmentary god list, might have been an artificial Emesal form of Qingu's name in origin.
Qingu is first mentioned in the Enūma Eliš when Tiamat appoints him as the leader of her army of monsters and affixes the tablet of destinies to his chest, elevating him to a position of "Anuship", da-nu-ti. While this term is derived from the name of the god Anu, when applied as a title to other deities, including Qingu, it can be understood as a generic designation for the rank of a supreme deity instead. A variant of this passage instead refers to Qingu's position as that of "lordship" (e-nu-ti). The text directly states that the tablet was not Qingu's rightful possession, though it is not explained how it was obtained by Tiamat.