Dragons of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a collection of some of the oldest civilizations on Earth. Written records date back 6000 years. Because of this some of the earliest examples of dragons can be found here. While the dragons of ancient Sumeria, Acadia, Babylon and Assyria may seam strange today, they were the origin of many of the tropes we associate with dragons even until today; things such as dragons being types of snakes, even though they have legs and wings; being venomous to the point of having poison blood, being winged, having seven heads; and having the limb combination of four legs and a set of wings (at least for one dragon). Although Mesopotamia did not distinguish dragons from other monsters, and would have listed them along side less reptilian beasts, such as giant birds and scorpion men.
Because the Mesopotamian civilizations are so old very little information remains on each dragon. Compounding this problem is the fact that Mesopotamia was not one one civilizations but a culturally similar group, spread out across time and each with their own language. They were united by location, the use of cuneiform writing and similar, but not exact, pantheons of gods. Because of the separation of language and time translation is difficult.
Musmahhu's name means exalted serpent. It was a seven headed dragon, with snake heads, and a snake tail. Musmahhu's body was feline, being like that of a lion or a leopard. It also had a row of spines down its back, although these could also be interpreted as flames. There's not many images of Musmahhu and it's difficult to interpret the back structures from what is available.
Musmahhu was one of the three great horned serpents, along with Basmu and Usumgallu, even though it didn't have horns. It was also one of many monstrous children of Tiamat. Musmahhu also had blood made of venom. Although originally an attribute of Musmahhu, later dragons would also have this quality.
Musmahhu was slain by Ninurta, one of the most prolific dragon slaying gods in Mesopotamia. After killing Musmahhu Ninurta tipped his spear with Musmahhu's poisoned blood to make it even more deadly.
Musmahhu was frequently associated with the number seven, having seven heads, taking seven days to die, being mentioned seven times in the Enuma Elish and so forth. Musmahhu was likely the inspiration for other seven headed dragons much later in history, from the Greek hydra, to the Great Red Dragon of Revelations, and even Tiamat's modern day interpretation.
Usumgallu's name meant great or giant dragon. It was the most 'western' looking of the Mesopotamian dragons, having four legs and a single set of wings. It had a combination of lion and serpent features, although its exact appearance is unknown. Usumgallu was another of Tiamat's monstrous children.
There are varying myths on who managed to kill Usumgallu. One version, the god Nabu, son of Marduk, killed Usumgallu, and gained the title of trampler of dragons as one of his many epithets. Another version Lu-Nanna, one of the Apkallu (a bird man demigod) chased Usumgallu to the temple of Ishtar, where he slew it on the steps of the temple. Usumgallu was also associated with Ninurta, suggesting an as yet unknown myth where Ninurta slays Usumgallu as well.
Basmu's name means venomous serpent. This monster varies on being a single entity or a type of dragon in different myths and references. Basmu was depicted as a serpent with horns, a single set of legs and a set of wings. Every other detail varies greatly. When Basmu is considered a specific being it is yet another child of Tiamat. Unlike the other dragons, who were slain in the creation myth, during the battle against Tiamat, Basmu survived long enough to attack humanity, devouring live stock and threatening cities. But like its brethren, Basmu was also eventuall killed by Ninurta.
There is a theory Musmahhu, Usumgallu and Basmu may all be regional depictions of the same myth, considering Ninurta was associated with each of them in some way. When these city states were united into one of the various empires that reigned through Mesopotamia the different local variations on the same myth were each interpreted as their own story.
Labbu comes from a regional myth of Eshnunna, in an epic meant to exalt their patron god Tishpac. When Eshnunna was conquered by the expanding Babylonian empire, Tishpac's role in the epic was replaced by Nergal. While underworld gods are not usually associated with dragon slaying, Labbu himself was the area's underworld god in addition to being a monster, so Nergal killing him sealed Nergal's replacement of Labbu's role.
Labbu's name means Raging One. It was a serpent of leonian features. Labbu was impressively large, being fifty leagues long. Labbu was originally created by the god Enlil. He was angered by humanity's constant noise and wanted to destroy mankind. So he created Labbu to carry out this deed. Meanwhile the goddess Aruru, was afraid there would be no humans left to tend to her temple, so she sent her son Tishpac to slay Labbu. In return she gave him kingship over Eshnunna, there by tying the ruling family to divine ancestry.
Mushussu was formerly known as Sirrush, due to a mistranslated. Its name means red or raging serpent.Mushussu had a serpents head, lion's front paws, eagle's talons for back feat and either a spike on a serpents tail or a scorpions tail. It also had a varying number of horns. Mushussu is most famously known for its depiction on the Ishtar gates, but is depicted frequently in art. Mushussu was known as Marduk's serpent and is his sacred animal. Marduk was initially known for slaying Mushussu, but as Mushussu iconography was associated more and more with Marduk it became known as his servant who he commanded.
Now you may be asking, what about Tiamat? Even though Tiamat is a well known monster, there's enough misconceptions about her that she deserves her own entry. There's even debate among archaeologists on whether Tiamat was even a dragon, or some other monster. So Tiamat will have to wait until later.
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