World Religions › Ancient civilizations › Mesopotamian religion (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria)
Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic
c. 1700–1100 BC (date debated)· Scripture or text· Ancient, indigenous & folk
Debated by scholarsHistorians and scholars disagree.
The Babylonian creation epic telling how the god Marduk defeated the sea goddess Tiamat and built the world.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Named for its opening words, 'When on high', the poem fills seven tablets. In the beginning fresh water (Apsu) and salt water (Tiamat) mingle and give birth to the gods. When war breaks out among them, young Marduk agrees to fight Tiamat if made king of the gods. He kills her, splits her body to form sky and earth, sets the stars, and makes humans from a rebel god's blood to serve the gods. Then he founds Babylon.
Why it matters
It shows creation myth serving politics, with Babylon's god becoming king of all, and is often compared with Genesis 1's ordering of the waters.
Sources and history
Tablets from Nineveh and other sites, published by George Smith in 1876; Babylonian ritual texts say it was recited at the New Year (Akitu) festival.
Questions and debates
Its date, from Hammurabi's era (c. 1750 BC) to Nebuchadnezzar I's (c. 1100 BC), and how it relates to Genesis are debated.
Connections (2)
▸Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic is the best-known creation myth of Mesopotamian religion (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria)Historical record
The connection
Enuma Elish explained why Marduk, Babylon's city god, ruled the gods: he defeated the sea goddess Tiamat, built the world from her body and created humans to serve the gods. It turned a city's political rise into cosmic order, and was recited at Babylon's New Year festival.
When and where
Babylon, about 1700–1100 BC; copies from Nineveh, Ashur and Sippar. Assyrian versions swapped in their own god Ashur for Marduk.
Historical evidence
Seven clay tablets, first published by George Smith in 1876; ritual texts mention its recitation during the Akitu festival.
Questions and debates
Its date is debated: many link it to Nebuchadnezzar I's recovery of Marduk's statue from Elam, about 1100 BC. Other Mesopotamian creation accounts, like Atrahasis, differ.
▸Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic is often compared with Genesis in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Both open with dark, watery chaos, then create sky and earth, the heavenly lights and finally humans. Genesis even calls the deep tehom, a word related to Tiamat. But in Genesis one God creates by word alone, without battle, and humans bear God's image rather than serving as the gods' laborers.
When and where
Tablets found at Nineveh in the 1840s–50s; George Smith published them in 1876. The comparison fueled Germany's 'Babel and Bible' controversy of 1902–05.
How do we know?
The shared sequence and the Tiamat–tehom word link are widely noted. Many scholars think Genesis 1 was written during or after the exile, partly as a reply to Babylonian myth.
Questions and debates
Some scholars find the parallels loose and Canaanite myths a closer source; whether Genesis 1 deliberately rebuts Enuma Elish is debated.