Nergal (also known as Erra and Irra) is the Mesopotamian god of death, war, and destruction. He began as a regional, probably agricultural, god of the Babylonian city of Kutha in the Early Dynastic Period I (c. 2900-2800 BCE). As his temple was known as E-meslam, he was known as Meslamtaea ('he who comes forth from Meslam').
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 2900 BCE - 2700 BCENergal first appears in Mesopotamian religion as a regional god of Kutha known as Meslamtaea.
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2047 BCE - 1750 BCEMeslamtaea becomes Nergal/Erra during the Ur III Period of Mesopotamian history.
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1344 BCE - 1322 BCENergal as Aplu the Plague God cited for bringing the plague during the reign of Hittite King Suppiluliuma I.
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c. 800 BCEProbable date of composition of The Wrath of Erra, describing Nergal's destruction of Babylon.
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c. 626 BCE - 539 BCEBest known copy of The Marriage of Ereshkigal and Nergal written during the Neo-Babylonian Period of Mesopotamian history.