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Qingu

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Tiamat’s commander, whose blood forms humanity in Enuma Elish.

Enuma Elish tablet K.3473, from Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian period; British Museum. A witness to the poem’s transmission, not its first composition
Enuma Elish tablet K.3473, from Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian period; British Museum. A witness to the poem’s transmission, not its first compositionZunkir / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SALicense · Image source

Text

Qingu, also spelled Kingu, is the god elevated by TiamatTiamatPrimordial watery divine figure in Enūma Eliš, later Marduk’s opponent; her defeated body provides material for cosmic arrangement.Glossary · Click to read the explanation to command her forces and bear the Tablet of Destinies. MardukMardukBabylon’s god, elevated with the city’s history. Enuma Elish celebrates his rise and cosmic ordering; sources associate him with Nibiru and Jupiter. Earliest origins and functions remain uncertain.Glossary · Click to read the explanation defeats him; in Tablet VI, the assembly identifies him as responsible for the conflict and he is killed. EaEnkiMesopotamian deity associated with deep fresh water, wisdom and Eridu, known as Ea in Akkadian tradition. The earliest preserved written mention does not date his cult’s origin or identify Ubaid Eridu’s deity.Glossary · Click to read the explanation creates humanity from his blood within Marduk’s plan. He is neither another name for Marduk nor the first human. The tablet does not depict his appearance. [1][2]

References and notes

  1. The seven-Tablet translation was read in full; used for the ancient narrative with checks against a recent edition. The whole book was not read; this is not the latest critical edition. Alexander Heidel, The Babylonian Genesis, 2nd ed. (1951), pp. 18–60; Tablets I–VII Return to the text ↑
  2. Selected translation passages and the stated dating/reception discussion were consulted, not the complete volume. Frahm’s and Jiménez’s proposals are attributed modern interpretations. Haubold, Helle, Jiménez & Wisnom (eds.), Enuma Elish (2025 imprint; repository 2024); I 1–64, IV 1–35, 95–146, V 1–21, VI 1–65; Jiménez pp. 99–102; Frahm pp. 158–161 Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 12 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Qingu», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/kingu