Marduk (Akkadian: Amar Utu; "Bull Calf of the Sun God Utu") was a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and the chief deity in the Babylonian Pantheon during the 1st millennium BC. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates Valley in the Time of Ham-Mur-Abi (1800 BC) and capital city of the Babylonian Empire (from about 1500BC), Marduk slowly started to rise to the position of the Head of the Babylonian Pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC. He became so powerful and at that point he wanted to be called "Bell" which means "Lord." He resided in the Temple complex Es-Ag-ila, associated with the Temple-Tower, Et-Emen-Anki, that stands behind the narrative of the Towel of Babel in The Book of Genesis, chapter11.
Marduk is a name that changes in every confrontation of powers. It has so many variations in many different arrangements that make it difficult to identify the nature of it.
Marduk's journey and the visits he paid to the lands he agreed to visit is reflected in the prophecy text called The Marduk Prophecy that describes the travels of the Marduk idol from Babylon to the land of Hatti, the seizure of the statue during the sack of the city by Mursilis I, 1531BC, Assyria, and took the idol to Assur; and the journey to Elam, where the statue was pilfered around 1160 BC. The gods have followed Marduk and abandoned Babylon to famine and pestilence. After addressing an assembly of the gods, Marduk prophesied his return one more time to Babylon and wreak a terrible revenge on the Elamites.
Marduk's symbols were a spade and the snake-dragon (Mushhushshu). The planet Jupiter was associated with him by the Hammurabi period (1800BC).
Marduk was identified in the early 2nd millennium with the god Asa-Lluhi, who was the son of Enki/Ea and who was important in the cult of the Southern City Eridu.
Marduk name was invoked and called upon to fight an army of Demons led by the goddess Tiamat. He decided to go into the battle only because the other gods agreed to elect him as their leader making an oath and placing in him the total dominion of the world powers. He, then, kills Tiamat and crowned himself as the supreme god. The epic of creation, En-Uma-El-Ish, celebrates Marduk's elevation to the preeminent status in the pantheon, the other gods agreed to confer ultimate royal authority on him in the realm where all of them lived,following his defeat of Tiamat, the goddess of Salt Water and Chaos.
Now as a supreme god, during the reign of Nebu-chad-nez-zar I, an installed New Year Festival (Ak-Itu) was one of the most important religious celebration done in Babylon, in which En-Uma-El-Ish formed part of the libretto, and all the citizens were required, including its king, to kneel down before the statue of Marduk and a united vow was pronounced to reassure him the greatness of his position as a supreme god and ruler.
Marduk's association with the increasingly prominent city of Babylon goes back to Ham-mur-abi's dynasty in the Old babylonian period. After the time of Nebu-chad-nez-zar I, Marduk remained the chief deity of the Babylonian State and patron of its kings, including those of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty (626-539 BC). It is in this status that the people of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Israel, encountered Marduk.
During the Time of the Prophet Jeremiah lived during the latter part of the 7th century and the 1st. part of the 6th century BC, an oracle was pronounced, and God announced the capture and shamming of Babylon and Marduk. During Jeremiah's long teaching he warned God's people of the catastrophe that was to fall upon the nation of Israel because of their idolatry towards Marduk and sin. Jeremiah lived to see this prediction come true with The Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian king, Nebu-chad-nez-zar, the Destruction of the City and the Temple, and the Exile to Babylonia of Judah's king and many of the people. Jeremiah also foretold the Return of The People from The Exile and The Restoration of the Spiritual nation of Israel.
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