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Hursag (Sumerian: 𒄯𒊕 ḫar.sag̃, ḫarsang) is a Sumerian term variously translated as meaning "mountain", "hill", "foothills" or "piedmont".[1] Thorkild Jacobsen extrapolated the translation in his later career to mean literally, "head of the valleys".[2]
Mountains play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursag.[citation needed]
Hursag is the first word written on tablets found at the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur, dating to the third millennium BCE, Making it possibly the oldest surviving written word in the world.
Some scholars also identify the hursag with an undefined mountain range or strip of raised land outside the plain of Mesopotamia.[3][4]
- ^ Thorkild Jacobsen; I. Tzvi Abusch (2002). Riches hidden in secret places: ancient Near Eastern studies in memory of Thorkild Jacobsen. Eisenbrauns. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-57506-061-3. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ Biggs, Robert D., Studies presented to Robert D. Biggs, June 4, 2004, , Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, p.223, 30 Jan 2008
- ^ Richard J. Clifford (1972). The cosmic mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674174252. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ^ M. Mindlin; Markham J. Geller; John E. Wansbrough (1987). Figurative language in the ancient Near East. Psychology Press. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-7286-0141-3. Retrieved 29 May 2011.