THE NUMBER “SEVEN” CONSECRATED IN THE BELIEFS AND RITUALS OF MESOPOTAMIA, ANATOLIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

It is obseved that some numbers have been attributed special meanings in folk stories as well as in many folk cultural elements since time immemorial. These numbers are considered to be sacred because of their meanings. Among the special numbers considered sacred, “three”, “four”, “seven”, “nine”, “forty” are the common ones. Some of these numbers go back to the mythological era and found with different cultures and expressed in different beliefs gained throughout history. The secret meanings given to numbers formed number symbolism and number mysticism. This is reflected in many fields; from literature to folklore, architecture to music, magical practices to religious applications and religion systems. Throughout history both mathematicians and philosophers have done much research about number symbolism and different ideas have been advanced. The term “number” became systematical in many cultures and religions under the influence of Pythagoreanism and reached advanced dimensions such as predicting the future by interpreting the sacred texts with numerical values.