Ushumgallu (Ušumgallu, Ušumgal) is a lion-dragon horned snake demon in Akkadian mythology. Similar hybrid creatures appear in Mesopotamian legends including the horned snakes Bašmu and the mushussu.
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In the great god list An = Anum Ushumgallu appears as the sukkal (divine attendant) of Ninkilim, whose name means Lord Rodent. Ninkilim is a god of pestilence, wild animals and vermin. He's another god who changes gender during his reign.
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In Sumerian Ušumgallu is ušum.gal, the Great Dragon. It's a hybrid creature described as a dragon lion demon with horns. Although Ushumgallu is sometimes equated with the four-legged winged Dragon Ushum (Ušum) killed by the God Ninurta, they aren't the same.
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In the Enuma Elish Epic of Creation, Sea Goddess of Chaos Tiamat "clothes the raging dragon in fearsomeness". She gives birth to many monsters including Ushumgallu to battle her traitorous deific offspring.
The Enuma Elish features the Babylonian God-Hero Marduk. He's also known as the ušumgallu-dragon of the great heavens. With the rise of the Babylonian Empire c. 626 BCE, Marduk begins to appear more prominently in the myths of conquered people.
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He battles the forces of Chaos embodied by Tiamat. Marduk conquers titanic monsters and slays the Chaos Goddess. With her body he forms the Earth and Heavens. From the bodies of defeated gods who encouraged Tiamat to kill her children, Marduk makes humans.
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After his conquest of Ushumgallu and the creatures of Tiamat, Marduk puts them to work repairing their destruction. The creative process turns them into protectors of humankind. The Bull Men and Scorpion Men of Babylon are also part of this transformation.
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Marduk's adventures are a mythical remake of tales featuring God-Hero Ninurta a thousand years before. Yet without Marduk we wouldn't have the 12 Days of Zagmuk or such enduring creatures as the faithful snake dragon sidekick Mušḫuššu.
In a hymn to Nabu, the Sumerian scribe god, Nabu is called "he who tramples the lion dragon" referring to Ushumgallu or the Mushussu. A late Neo-Assyrian myth says one of the Seven Sages (apkallu) drives the ušumgallu-dragon from É-ninkarnunna temple in Nippur.
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Ushum (ušum) is the name for 'dragon' in Sumerian. Gallu is one or a group of demons. They're especially famous for dragging unwilling mortals into the Underworld, as well as the god Dumuzi.
In the 9th century BCE Assyrian King, Aššur-nāṣir-apli II (r. 885 - 859 BCE), places golden icons of the ušumgallu at the feet of Ninurta. With this act the name of Ushumgallu becomes a royal or divine epithet as ušumgal kališ parakkī or 'divine ruler of all the sanctuaries'.
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As sukkal to Lord Rodent, the God Nikilum, the duties of Ushumgallu are diverse. He's a divine attendant, secretary, messenger, diplomat and manager of the court. Nikilum is thought to be the lord or all wild animals, yet also the creator of pestilence and vermin.
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In 1258 BCE, a young woman of the northern tribes sets out on a dangerous quest. She takes the Amber Roads and trade routes through unfamiliar territory to the glittering civilizations to the south. She fights through rebellion in Babylon, escapes death in Egypt, and gathers sacred myrrh in the mystical Land of Punt.
Everywhere, she asks questions and finds clues to her quest. She has one goal in mind - to rescue her sister from the clutches of a brutal and mysterious people known only as the Cult of the Fire God.
