For contemporary Assyrian New Year, see Kha b-NisanKha b-Nisan-Ha b`Nisin, also Ha b-Nison; "First of April", Resha d Sheta; "Head of the year" in Syriac, also known as Akitu, or Assyrian new year is the spring festival among the Assyrians, celebrated on 1 April....
Akitu (or
Akītum;
SumerianSumerian was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BCE . It was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BCE , but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary...
,
(
) "cutting of barley",
"sowing of barley",
BabylonianAkkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, also
"head of the year") was a spring festival in ancient
MesopotamiaMesopotamia "land between the rivers" is a name for the Tigris–Euphrates region in the eastern Mediterranean, largely corresponding to Iraq, as well as northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khūzestān Province of southwestern...
.
The name is from the Sumerian for "
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
", originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring.
In Babylonian religion it came to be dedicated to
MardukMarduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to slowly...
's victory over
TiamatIn Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a goddess who personifies the sea. Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos. Although there are no early precedents for it, some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon...
.
Marduk in the myth enacted in the festival is preserved in the so-called
Marduk Ordeal Text (KAR 143). In this myth, Marduk appears as a
life-death-rebirth deityA life-death-rebirth deity, also known as a "dying-and-rising" or "resurrection" deity, is a god who is born, suffers death , passes a phase in the underworld among the dead, and is subsequently reborn, in either a literal or symbolic sense. Male examples include Osiris, Tammuz, Jesus, Zalmoxis,...
, reflecting the festival's agrarian origin based on the cycle of sowing and harvesting. He is
imprisoned in the underworldThe descent to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in the religions of the Ancient Near East up to and including Christianity...
and rises again on the third day. The obvious parallel to the death and resurrection of Christ celebrated at Christian
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
has been noted at an early time, and elaborated in detail by Zimmern in his 1918
editio princeps.
Pallis (1926) rejected some of the Christological parallels noted by Zimmern, but
continued to stress that the death of Marduk, the lamentation over him, his subsequent restoration and the rejoicing over his resurrection is among the Near Eastern templates for the Christ myth.
This theme of a dying young (harvest/vegetable) God (common throughout the Middle east)is also reflected in the legends of
TammuzNorthwest Semitic Tammuz , Arabic تمّوز Tammūz; Akkadian Duʾzu, Dūzu; Sumerian Dumuzid was the name of a Sumerian god of food and vegetation.-Ritual mourning:In Babylonia, the month Tammuz was established in honor of the eponymous god Tammuz, who...
, and is referenced in the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
as "women weeping for Tammuz" even in the temple of the Hebrew God.
Sumerian festival
In Sumer (
UrukUruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā,...
), the festival is attested as
Akiti-šununum, i.e. "festival of barley-sowing", celebrated in the month of Tashritu (
LibraLibra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Libra. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Libra is considered a "masculine", positive sign. It is also...
, ITU DU.U.AZAG). Another new year custom was the festival of cutting barley,
Akiti-šekinku in the month Nisannu (
AriesAries is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, named for the constellation of Aries, called "The Ram" in the Greek tradition, after the golden ram that rescued Phrixos, taking him to the land of Colchis....
, ITU BARAG.ZAG.GAR).
These festivals consisted of a number of individual processions, lasting for eleven days in total.
The Akitu in Nisannu continued to be celebrated into Babylonian times, while the Tashritu festival was discontinued.
Babylonian Akitu
The Babylonian festival lasted from 1 to 11 Nisannu.
First to third Day
The priest of
ÉsagilaThe Ésagila, a Sumerian name signifying "É whose top is lofty", was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon...
(Marduk’s house) would recite sad prayers with the other priests and the people would answer with equally sad prayers which expressed humanity's fear of the unknown. This fear of the unknown explains why the high priest would head to the Ésagila every day asking for Marduk's forgiveness, begging him to protect Babylon, his holy city. This prayer was called the "The Secret Of Ésagila".
Fourth Day
The same rituals would be followed as in the previous three days then at night the Epic of Creation
Enuma ElishThe is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876....
would be recited, telling the story of how the universe and the seasons were created, then how all gods united in god Marduk following his victory over Tiamat the dragon. The recitation of this Epic was considered the beginning of preparations for the submission of the King of Babylon before Marduk on the fifth day of Akitu.
Fifth Day
The submission of the king of Babylon before Marduk. The king would enter to the Easagila accompanied by the priests, they would approach all together the altar where the high priest of the Eesagila impersonates Marduk then he approaches the king, begins to strip him of his jewelry, scepter and even his crown then he would slap him hard while the altar would kneel and begins to pray asking for Marduk's forgiveness and submitting to him saying: "I have not sinned O Lord of the universe, and I haven't neglected your heavenly might at all"... Then the priest in the role of Marduk says: "Don't be afraid of what Marduk has to say, for he will hear your prayers, extends your power, and increases the greatness of your reign". After this the king would stand up and the priest would give him back his jewelry, scepter and crown then slaps him hard again hoping for the king to shed tears, because that would express more the submission to Marduk and respect to his power. When the priest returns the crown to the king that means his power was renewed by Marduk, thus April would be considered not only the revival of nature and life but also to the State as well. Thus, these ceremonies would make the greatest and most feared personalities of that time (kings of Babylon and Nineveh) submit to the greatest god , and live a humbling moment with all the population, sharing prayers to prove their faith before the might of God. Following his presence in his earthly home Babylon and renewing its king's power, god Marduk stays in the "nether world mountain" (a tower composed of seven floors, known in the
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
as the Tower of Babylon) where was Marduk's dwelling or the Easagila (in the Torah God would dwell on a "mountain" Psalms 74:2). During this day according to the tradition of Akitu, Marduk would enter his dwelling and is surprised by the evil gods who will fight him, then he's taken prisoner and awaits for arrival of his son god Nabu who would save him from "Nought" and restores his glory.
Sixth Day
The arrival of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
NabuNabu is the Babylonian god of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort, Sarpanitum, and as the grandson of Ea. Nabu's consort was Tashmetum....
in boats accompanied by his assistants of brave Gods coming from
NippurNippur , from the Sumerian for 'lord wind' , is modern Nuffar in Afak Al Qadisyah Governorate, Iraq. Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities...
,
UrukUruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā,...
,
Kish-Geography:*Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf*Kish , an ancient city in Sumer, now in Iraq*Kish Bank, a shallow in the Irish Sea*Kiş, Khojavend, Azerbaijan*Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan-People:*Kish , a person in the Bible...
, and Eridu (cities ancient Babylonia). The Gods accompanying Nabu would be represented by statues which would be mounted on boats made especially for the occasion]. Here the people in huge numbers would begin their walk behind their king towards the Easagila where Marduk is held prisoner, chanting the following :"Here's he who's coming from far to restore the glory of our imprisoned father".
Seventh Day
On the third day of his imprisonment Nabu frees Marduk. The evil gods had closed a huge gate behind him when he entered his dwelling. Marduk would be fighting till Nabu's arrival, when he would break in the huge gate and a battle would go on between the two groups, until Nabu comes out victorious and frees Marduk.
Eighth Day
When Marduk is set free, the statues of the gods are gathered in the Destinies Hall "Upshou Ukkina", to deliberate his destiny, there it is decided to join all the forces of the gods and bestow them upon Marduk. Here, the king implores all the gods to support and honour Marduk, and this tradition was an indication that Marduk received submission from all the gods and was unique in his position.
Ninth Day
The victory procession to the "House of Akitu" where Marduk's victory in the beginning of Creation over the dragon Tiamat (goddess of the nether waters) is celebrated. The House of Akitu which the Assyrians of Nineveh called "Bet Ekribi" (“House of Prayers” in old Assyrian language), was about 200 meters outside the city's walls, where there were wonderful trees decorated and watered carefully out of respect to the god who's considered the one to grant nature its life. The victory procession was the population's way to express its joy at Marduk's (Ashur) renewal of power and the destruction of evil forces which almost controlled life in the beginning.
Tenth Day
Arriving at "Bet Akitu", god Marduk begins to celebrate with both the upper and nether world gods (the statues of gods were arranged around a huge table such as in a feast) then Marduk returns to the city at night celebrating his marriage to goddess "Ishtar" where earth and heaven are united, and as the gods unite so is this union arranged on earth. Thus the king personifies this union by playing the role of marrying the highest priestess of the Eesagila where they would both sit at the throne before the population and they recite special poems for the occasion. This love is going to bring forth life in spring.
Eleventh Day
The gods return accompanied by their Lord Marduk (Ashur) to meet again in the Destinies Hall "Upshu Ukkina", where they met for the first time on the eight day, this time they will decide the fate of the people of Marduk (Ashur). In ancient Assyrian philosophy Creation in general was considered as a covenant between heaven and earth as long as a human serves the gods till his death, therefore, gods' happiness isn't complete except if humans are happy as well, thus a human's destiny will be to be given happiness on the condition that he serves the gods. So Marduk and the gods renew their covenant with Babylon then he returns to his upper house (Heaven).
Twelfth Day
The last day of Akitu. The gods return to Marduk's temple (the statues are returned to the temple) and daily life resumes in Babylon, Nineveh, and the rest of the Assyrian cities.
Assyria
The festival was also adopted in
Iron Age AssyriaThe Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC. During this period, Assyria assumed a position as a great regional power, vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser...
.
King
SennacheribSennacherib Sennacherib Sennacherib (Akkadian Sîn-ahhī-erība ("(Moon god) Sîn has replaced (lost) brothers for me") was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria (704 – 681 BC).- Rise to power :...
in 683 BC built an "Akitu house" outside the walls of
AssurAssur , was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria...
. Another "Akitu house" was built outside
NinevehNineveh , an "exceeding great city", as it is called in the Book of Jonah, lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria, across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq.-Geography:Ancient Nineveh's mound-ruins of Kouyunjik and Nabī Yūnus are located...
.
Legacy
The Akitu festival was continued throughout the Seleucid period and into the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
period. At the beginning of the
3rd centuryThe 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era.In this century, the Roman Empire sees a crisis, marking the beginning of Late Antiquity. In Persia, the Parthian Empire is succeeded by the Sassanid Empire.In India, the Kushan Empire...
, it was still celebrated in Emessa, Syria, in honour of the god Elagabal.
Roman Emperor
ElagabalusElagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222...
(r. 218-222), who was of Syrian origin, even introduced the festival in Italy (
HerodianHerodian or Herodianus of Syria was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus in eight books covering the years 180 to 238. His work is not entirely reliable although his relatively unbiased account of Elagabalus is...
,
Roman History, 5.6).
Contemporary Near Eastern spring festivals
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ians traditionally celebrate 21 March as
Noruz("New Day".)
Kha b-Nissan is the name of the spring festival among the
AssyriansThe Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people are an ethnic group whose origins lie in the Fertile Crescent, their homeland today being divided between Northern Iraq, Syria, Western...
.
The festival is celebrated on April 1st, corresponding to the start of the Assyrian calendar.
The Akkadian name
Akitu has been re-introduced in
AssyrianismThe term Assyrianism refers to Assyrian nationalism which originated in the 19th century and is in direct opposition to Pan-Arabism.Assyrianism is the ideology of a united Assyrian people, coupled with the irredentist quest for Assyrian independence...
, falling on 1 Nisan of the "
Assyrian calendarThe modern Assyrian/Aramaic calendar was introduced in the 1950s, loosely based on the historical lunisolar Babylonian calendar.The year begins with the first sight of Spring. Its era was fixed at 4750 BC...
" introduced in the 1950s, corresponding to the 1 April of the Gregorian calendar.