Enuma Elish

E194332

Babylonian mythological text Mesopotamian creation epic cuneiform text religious narrative

Enuma Elish is an ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that recounts the rise of the god Marduk and the ordering of the cosmos from primordial chaos.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
Enuma Elish canonical	12
Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish	2
Enūma Eliš	1
Enūma eliš lā nabû šamāmū	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1734959 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Enuma Elish
Context triple: [Akkadian, notableText, Enuma Elish]

A. Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, among the earliest surviving works of literature, that recounts the heroic adventures and existential quests of King Gilgamesh of Uruk.
B. Ur of the Chaldeans
Ur of the Chaldeans is an ancient Mesopotamian city traditionally regarded as the birthplace of the biblical patriarch Abraham.
C. Ancient of Days
Ancient of Days is a biblical title depicting God as the eternal, sovereign judge who exists from everlasting to everlasting.
D. Gutasaga
Gutasaga is a medieval Old Gutnish saga that recounts the legendary origins, history, and laws of the people of Gotland.
E. Marduk
Marduk is the chief god of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamian religion, associated with creation, kingship, and the defeat of the chaos monster Tiamat.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Enuma Elish
Target entity description: Enuma Elish is an ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that recounts the rise of the god Marduk and the ordering of the cosmos from primordial chaos.

A. Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, among the earliest surviving works of literature, that recounts the heroic adventures and existential quests of King Gilgamesh of Uruk.
B. Ur of the Chaldeans
Ur of the Chaldeans is an ancient Mesopotamian city traditionally regarded as the birthplace of the biblical patriarch Abraham.
C. Ancient of Days
Ancient of Days is a biblical title depicting God as the eternal, sovereign judge who exists from everlasting to everlasting.
D. Gutasaga
Gutasaga is a medieval Old Gutnish saga that recounts the legendary origins, history, and laws of the people of Gotland.
E. Marduk
Marduk is the chief god of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamian religion, associated with creation, kingship, and the defeat of the chaos monster Tiamat.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Babylonian mythological text ⓘ Mesopotamian creation epic ⓘ cuneiform text ⓘ religious narrative ⓘ
associatedCity	Babylon ⓘ
associatedFestival	Akitu ⓘ
associatedTemple	Esagila ⓘ
cosmologicalConcept	division of heaven and earth ⓘ establishment of celestial bodies as timekeepers ⓘ
culture	Babylonian ⓘ Mesopotamian ⓘ
currentLocationOfMajorTablets	British Museum ⓘ
describesEvent	creation of heaven and earth from Tiamat’s body ⓘ creation of humans from Kingu’s blood ⓘ slaying of Tiamat by Marduk ⓘ
discoveredAt	Nineveh ⓘ Library of Ashurbanipal ⓘ surface form: library of Ashurbanipal
featuresDeity	Anu ⓘ Oceanus ⓘ surface form: Apsu Ea ⓘ Kingu ⓘ Tiamat ⓘ
genre	cosmogony ⓘ theogony ⓘ
hasTitle	Enuma Elish self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Enūma Eliš When on High ⓘ
influenceOn	biblical creation theology (scholarly comparison) ⓘ later Near Eastern creation traditions ⓘ
language	Akkadian ⓘ
mainDeity	Marduk ⓘ
narrativeTheme	cosmic battle between Marduk and Tiamat ⓘ creation of humanity ⓘ creation of the world from primordial chaos ⓘ establishment of cosmic order ⓘ rise of Marduk to kingship among the gods ⓘ
numberOfTablets	7 ⓘ
openingWords	Enuma Elish self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Enūma eliš lā nabû šamāmū
openingWordsMeaning	When on high no name was given to heaven ⓘ
period	Old Babylonian Empire ⓘ surface form: Old Babylonian period (early form) late second millennium BCE (standard version) ⓘ
preservedOn	clay tablets ⓘ
recitationContext	New Year festival in Babylon ⓘ
religion	ancient Mesopotamian religion ⓘ
religiousFunction	legitimization of Marduk’s supremacy ⓘ theological justification of Babylon’s political power ⓘ
structure	poetic narrative ⓘ
subjectMatter	ordering of the cosmos from primordial waters ⓘ
writingSystem	cuneiform ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (16)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Akkadian → notableText → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Marduk → mythology → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Anu → appearsIn → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Enlil → textualSource → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Babylonian polytheism → centralMyth → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Bel → associatedMyth → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Esagila temple complex → mentionedIn → Enuma Elish ⓘ

this entity surface form: Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish

Enuma Elish → hasTitle → Enuma Elish self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Enūma Eliš

Enuma Elish → openingWords → Enuma Elish self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Enūma eliš lā nabû šamāmū

Tiamat → textualSource → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Tiamat → appearsIn → Enuma Elish ⓘ

this entity surface form: Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish

Ea → appearsIn → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Akitu → associatedText → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Anunnaki → mentionedIn → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Library of Ashurbanipal → containsWork → Enuma Elish ⓘ

Mesopotamian religion → coreMyth → Enuma Elish ⓘ

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (48)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (16)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited