ALAMANNI = Originally the name of an ancient Germanic tribe. Today it serves as the name for the country "Germany" and the "German" people in general in virtually every language except English.
AMAN = Means "security," "to be secure," and is the origin of our word "amen."
AUROCHS = A species of large, Ice Age cattle that once roamed all of the Middle East and Europe. They were depicted in the cave art of France And Spain, and survived in isolated gene pools in Europe until the end of the Middle Ages. It was the "wild ox" mentioned in the Bible, however, both the Sumerians and the Egyptians had domesticated some of them and begun milking their cows by 3,000 B.C. The Aurochs was also the species featured on the Minoan wall paintings illustrating the sport of "Bull Leaping." The wild bull Aurochs was the prototype of the "Bull of Heaven" of Mesopotamian mythology, and came to be identified with the constellation of Taurus. It is the bull featured on Babylon's Ishtar gate. Julius Caesar encountered the wild version of this animal while campaigning in Germany and Gaul, and in terms of size declared that it was a little less than the elephant but much larger and more ferocious than the domesticated bull.
AWILU = Meant “man” but usually referred to a free, property-owning citizen.
BAB = (Common Semitic word for) Door, gateway
BAB ILII = means "Gateway of the Gods." Our word "Babylon" was derived from this Akkadian version. Babylon was given that name because of the large number of important temples it hosted.
BAYT = (Common Semitic word for) House, building.
BAYT SHAR BAB ILII = The House of the King of Babylon. While it could be translated as palace, the term as used in Babylon referred to a specific building on the west side of the Euphrates where the Assyrian appointed “kings” of Babylon resided. Even after the Khaldeans established their independent Neo-Babylonian Empire and built their palaces on the east side of the Euphrates the term bayt shar bab ilii continued to be applied to the large estate on the west side of the river where the old Assyrian-appointed kings used to reside.
CYLINDER SEAL = A type of notary stamp and credit card used in the Ancient Near East. They were generally made out of stone or ceramic material. Their size could vary but were usually about the size of the last two digits of man's index finger. They were often pierced from one end to the other allowing a string to be run through them so they could be worn around a person's neck, as a necklace. Images, or "picture stories," were carved onto the surface along with cuneiform writing. The images and cuneiform words were intended to provide a secure means of identification to the owner of the seal. For example, a king's cylinder might have an image of the king receiving the kingship from a god sitting on a throne. The accompanying cuneiform text would clarify that god so-and-so has granted the kingship to king so-and-so. In notarizing, or sealing, official documents, the king would roll his cylinder across the bottom, or top, of the still wet clay document provided by a scribe. Thus the "picture story" containing the image of the king along with the cuneiform text, all of which had been carved on to the cylinder in reverse (or like a photo negative) would then appear in the clay of the document in the right order (positive image) to be easily read by the recipient of the document. In addition to kings and governors using these cylinder seals for official documents, merchants and private citizens also used them as a sort of credit card for making purchases. In making a major purchase, a scribe would write up a document on a clay tablet explaining what was being sold, the quantity, and the agreed upon price. Wherewith both the seller and the buyer would apply their seals (containing enough information to properly identify the owner). This would insure that the agreed upon amount of funds would be transferred from the bank account of the purchaser to the bank account of the seller. See also SEAL RINGS.
CIMMERIANS = KIMMERIANS = The Gomer of the Bible. Greek accounts place their homeland somewhere in the far north in a land of fog and cold, in what is now a part of Russia. The Assyrians recorded them as having moved south of the Black Sea and occupying part of N.E. Anatolia for a brief period. Modern scholars believe they were an off-shoot of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European stock and very closely related to the Scythians. However, they were eventually either absorbed by the Scythians, or driven out of the steppes by them.
DAN = An ancient proto Indo-European geographical and tribal term. It shows up in the modern names of a number of rivers in the Indo-European heartland such as the "Don," "Donets," "Dneiper," and the "Danube." The Greeks of Homer's heroic age were blond-haired Indo-European warriors and warlords, only recently having migrated to Greece from the Northlands. Homer referred to them as the "Danaoi." Among the "Sea Peoples" who invaded Egypt during the 12th Century B.C. were the "Denyan" who allegedly came from the land of the "Dannuniyim" of Phoenician legend. These Sea Peoples then settled along the East Mediterranean coast along with their compatriots the "Peleshtu" and collectively are today called "Philistines." The Danaoi, or Dannuniyim (or at least a portion of them), then later joined the Israelite confederation of twelve tribes and were subsequently called "the tribe of Dan." The Aegean/Indo-European origins of the Biblical tribe of Dan have been confirmed by Archaeology and Biblical references. The term "Dan," of course, also shows up in the country of Denmark and its people called the "Danes." Irish legend also speaks of Ireland being colonized in the misty past by a people called the "Tuatha de Danaan" whom scholars believe came from Denmark.
DAN-ATS = The "Donets" river, located between the Don and Dneiper rivers. The royal Scyths of Madeus had their main settlements along this river and its tributaries.
DAN-IBER = The "Dneiper" river. Palak and his tribe tended to encamp along this river and its tributaries. (See also "IBER").
DILMUN = Originally referred to a proto-civilization covering the eastern portion of what is now Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Sumerian mythologies gave credit for the beginnings of civilization to Dilmun. It was thought that Mesopotamians learned all the arts of civilization from Dilmun. By Assyrian times “Dilmun” had been reduced in size to just the island of Bahrain, but was still venerated by Assyrians to the extent that all those who could afford to do so had themselves buried there. In legend it was considered to be both an original paradise comparable to our “Garden of Eden,” and an after-death “paradise” comparable to our “heaven.” The word “dilmuni” could also be used as an adjective meaning “of excellent quality. For example, “Dilmuni jewelry” could mean jewelry of such magnificent quality and workmanship that it must have come from “Dilmun.”
ENTU = Refers to a special classification of priestess used during Sumerian times. She was selected by the king and assigned to the Moon God’s temple, and was
considered to be so holy that she could neither marry nor have children. The practice fell out of use after 2,000 B.C.
GORYTUS = A quiver used by the Scythians that held both the bow, and a supply of arrows. It was said to have been made out of human skin.
HAY = House (in Sumerian). The word is usually mis-transliterated by Assyriologists as the impossible "E."
HAY HULHUL = The House of Shinning Jubilation (in Sumerian and Akkadian). It referred specifically to the temple of he Moon God Nanna-Suen in Harran. The term HULHUL became (h)alleluha in Christian tradition. The root of the word is HLL, which in Akkadian came to mean "to shout for joy." The term has also passed on into modern Arabic to become the Islamic TAHLEEL, or attribution of Allah and also still signifies the first sighting of the Crescent of the New Moon in Islam. In other words, Muslims are actually worshiping the old Mesopotamian Moon God when they say the TAHLEEL (which means "Glorify the Holy Crescent"), though they are unaware of that fact.
HABEEB/HABIIB = Object of love. HABIIBI = my love (masculine), and HABIIBITI = my love (feminine).
IBER = An Ancient, possibly pre-Indo-European word from which the "Dan-Iber"/Dneiper river derived its name. The original inhabitants of the "Dan-Iber" river area may have been driven out by the Indo-Europeans with some of them settling in the Caucasus to the east of the black sea where their country was called "Iberia" by classical writers, and others migrating westward and settling in what we today call the "Iberian" peninsula. The "eastern" Iberia corresponds roughly to the modern state of Georgia. This term "Iber" is not to be confused with the Semitic "Ibri," which is the name given to the "Hebrew" people. The Etymologies and phonologies are completely different.
ILU = God (This is a cognate of the Canaanite/Hebrew EL, and Arabic ALLAH)
ILUU = Plural Gods. ILII = genitive plural.
KHABUR = The Khabur River in western Mesopotamia. In some books it is mistakenly spelled "Habur." This river possibly gave its name to, or was named after, a collection of tribes called the "Khabiru" in Akkadian. These semi-nomadic tribes were the vandals of their day and were known for their destructiveness and brutal raids against settled agriculturalist. Some scholars have mistakenly postulated that the name "Hebrew" was derived from this term. That, or course, is linguistic nonsense since "Hebrew" in both Hebrew and Arabic is "Ibri," spelled with an "Ayin," and not any sort of "K," "H," or "KH" type of sound. However, it is possible that one or more of the tribes that made up the original "Khabiru" could have later migrated southward and become part of the "Israelite" confederation of tribes. The tribe of "Benjamin" comes to mind here since their name "Bene Yamin," means "Sons of Yemen," or "Sons of the South," and was linguistically identical to "Mare Yamin," the Akkadian name of one of the tribes of the old "Khabiru" grouping.
KHALDEANS = CHALDEANS = An ancient Semitic tribe closely related to the Aramaeans. Originally from the Hadhramawt region near the southern tip of Arabia. Came to settle in the Marshlands of southern Mesopotamia by the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. From there they spread out throughout all of Babylonia becoming the dominant ethnic group by the 8th century B.C. Some of their chieftains became kings of Babylon usually under Assyrian Hegemony, but also ruled independently during times of Assyrian weakness. Nabopolassar, who founded Mesopotamia's last independent kingdom, the New-Babylonian Empire, was a Khaldean. See also Sealand.
MUSHKENU = Poor man. Usually a free citizen, but one who owned no property.
NINEWEH = Place of he Fish. Nineweh is the correct pronounciatin. The "v" phoneme popular today in western cultures did not exist among Middle Eastern Semites at that time. Nineweh was called "The place of the Fish" because the city considered the god Yuhan, who was half fish, to be the founding deity of the city.
QAR KHAMESH = CARKHEMESH = CARCEMESH = An ancient city on the west side of the upper Euphrates. It generally marked the border between Syria and Anatolia. The original Semitic name for the city was QURIAH KHAMESHAH, which meant "the fifth village," or "the fifth town."
SARMATIANS = Another Iranian/Indo-European tribal grouping closely related to the Scythians. They originally seem to have inhabited the area of Russia just to the north of Scythian-held territory, but had mostly replaced the Scythians in southern Russia by the time of the Roman Empire. The tribe of Alans which invaded Roman-held territories in Europe during the early Christian era was Sarmatian. The people of the modern country of North and South Ossetia are linguistic and ethnic descendants of the Sarmatians, and still use the terms "Iran" and "Alan" to identify themselves.
SEALAND = A vaguely defined region that referred generally to the marsh lands of southern Sumer, and the area that is now Kuwait, i.e. regions that bordered the sea (what we today call the "Persian" Gulf). That region was a strong hold of the Khaldean tribes who were often called "SEALANDERS." In earlier Assyrian accounts the "Sealand" extended as far west as the Gulf of Aqaba, indicating that the Khadlean tribes may have at one time controlled that entire area south of Babylonia extending from one gulf to the other. However, by the 8th Century B.C., all of the Khaldean tribes appear to be concentrated in Babylonia, Sumer, the Marshlands, and what is now Kuwait. See also Khaldeans.
SEAL RING = A large ring used for identification and notarization purposes in the Ancient Near East. Like the Cylinder Seal (see above), the body of the seal contained enough information to securely identify the owner, and was pressed into wet clay or wax as a notarization device for official documents and/or commercial transactions. More common in the late Babylonian period than in earlier periods.
SHARRU = King. (note: The last syllable of this word tended to be dropped when the word precedes another noun in the (construct/idhafa) case as in "bayt shar bab ilii."
SHEDU = A Personal protective spirit. Might be compared with the medieval concept of a "guardian angel."
SHIBIR = The literal meaning of this word in Akkadian was "scepter." In fact, our modern word for "scepter" was derived from this Akkadian version. Of course, in conversation it could acquire other connotations--just as the word "staff" does today in English. The shibir, or scepter, was originally modeled after the shepherd's staff and symbolized the king's authority over his "flock."
SHIQLU = A unit of measure,usually applied to silver as a value for commercial exchange. The Hebrew word "shekel" was derived from this Akkadian form. It is also cognate with the Arabic "thaqala" to weigh.
TURTANU = Field Marshal. A term used exclusively by the Assyrians, as the Babylonians used a different term for Field Marshal.
TWENTY SQUARES = A board game for two people played with dice and moveable pieces.
UBANU = A unit of measurement, approximately 2/3 of an inch.
YAWAN = The country of the “Ionians,” meaning the west coast of Anatolia, the Greek mainland, and the islands between.
YAWANI = adjective pertaining to things Greek.