Mesopotamian omen texts
E813883
Mesopotamian omen texts are ancient divinatory writings from Mesopotamia that interpret signs and phenomena as messages from the gods, used to predict future events and guide decision-making.
Statements (58)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Mesopotamian literature
ⓘ
ancient Near Eastern divination ⓘ cuneiform text genre ⓘ divinatory text corpus ⓘ |
| associatedPractice |
astrology
ⓘ
extispicy ⓘ hepatoscopy ⓘ lecanomancy ⓘ physiognomic divination ⓘ |
| classification | scholarly series and subseries ⓘ |
| cosmology | belief that gods reveal will through signs ⓘ |
| coversDomain |
behavior of animals
ⓘ
birth defects and anomalies ⓘ celestial phenomena ⓘ dreams ⓘ earthly events in cities and houses ⓘ liver and entrail inspection ⓘ |
| culture | Mesopotamian civilization NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| developedIn |
Assyria
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Babylonia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| earliestEvidence | early second millennium BCE ⓘ |
| influenceOn |
Hellenistic astrological literature
ⓘ
later Near Eastern divination traditions ⓘ |
| interpret |
natural phenomena
ⓘ
signs ⓘ unusual events ⓘ |
| language |
Akkadian
ⓘ
Sumerian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainPurpose |
divination
ⓘ
guidance for decision-making ⓘ prediction of future events ⓘ |
| majorSeries |
Alamdimmû
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bārûtu NERFINISHED ⓘ Enūma Anu Enlil NERFINISHED ⓘ Iškar Zaqīqu NERFINISHED ⓘ Šumma izbu NERFINISHED ⓘ Šumma ālu NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| modernStudy | Assyriology NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| preservation | library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| religiousContext | messages from the gods ⓘ |
| religiousFunction | communication between gods and humans ⓘ |
| religiousStatus | scholarly revelation from the gods ⓘ |
| script | cuneiform ⓘ |
| socialFunction |
ritual planning
ⓘ
royal decision support ⓘ statecraft and military planning ⓘ |
| timePeriod |
Middle Babylonian period
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Neo-Assyrian period NERFINISHED ⓘ Old Babylonian period NERFINISHED ⓘ first millennium BCE ⓘ |
| transmission | scribal schools ⓘ |
| typicalStructure |
if-then conditional format
ⓘ
protasis-apodosis structure ⓘ |
| usedBy |
Mesopotamian diviners
ⓘ
bārû priests ⓘ royal courts ⓘ |
| viewOfWorld | omen-based worldview ⓘ |
| writingMaterial | clay tablets ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.