| Kiririsha | |
|---|---|
Elamite “mother of gods” [1] | |
 A female deity depicted on the Kurangun relief, often identified as Kiririsha [2] | |
| Major cult center | Liyan, Chogha Zanbil |
| Genealogy | |
| Consort | Napirisha [2] |
| Children | Hutran [3] |
Kiririsha (Elamite: "great goddess" [4] ) was a major goddess worshiped in Elam. [5]
Early scholarship incorrectly identified her as one and the same as Pinikir, an unrelated goddess [6] from a different part of Elam. [1]
Kiririsha is regarded as one of the most prominent Elamite deities by modern researchers. [5] Elamite texts refer to her as "mother of gods." [1]
An inscription of Hanni of Ayapir from the neo-Elamite period describes her, Napirisha and Tepti as gods "who have always protected water and earth" or "who have let thrive water and earth." [7] As Napirisha is generally assumed to be associated with water due to identification with Ea, [8] Wouter Henkelman proposes that Kirirsha could possibly be connected to earth, [2] and that she is the deity whose name is only represented by the logogram KI ("earth" in Sumerian) in the Persepolis fortification archive. [2]
Kiririsha additionally also has a possible association with death. One argument usually put in favor of her underworld associations is the epithet: "zana Liyan lahakra," which is so far only attested once, in an inscription by Silhak-Inshushinak. [9] Vallat had translated the phrase as "lady of the death in Liyan." [10] which was followed by other scholars such as Henkelman [11] and Grillot-Susini. [12] However, this translation of lahakra is not unanimous, for example Malbran-Labat translates it as "hidden" instead. [9] Tavernier had also recently argued against the translation of lahakra as "death" or "the dead" and supports the translation as hidden or secret. However, this would also mean that the epithet could no longer be used as an example of a funerary character. [13] Another argument in favor for an underworld association for Kiririsha is the mention of grove temples dedicated to her, as multiple grove temples were dedicated to deities generally assumed to have a chthonic aspect, and the lines from Ashurbanipal's inscription referring to entering the groves and destroying the royal tombs are generally taken as one statement. [14] [15] Vallat and Grillot-Susini also assumed that there were doors to the groves and that the doors also had funerary aspects, considering that doors were dedicated to deities like Inshushinak, Kiririsha, Ishmekarab and Lagamal, who they viewed as underworld gods. [12] [10] However, grove temples were also attested for gods without a relationship to the underworld, [16] and Tavernier had pointed out that not all the gods Vallat and Grillot-Susini believed were underworld gods actually were, especially Ishmekarab. [17] Nonetheless, Kiririsha is still viewed to be an underworld goddess. [18]
Multiple other Elamite deities also held the epithet lahakara, including Inshushinak and the goddess Upurkubak. [1] It has been proposed that certain religious structures, namely monumental gates and so-called siyan husame ("temple in a grove" [19] ) were related to a deity's underworld-related character in Elam, but this theory is disputed. [20] Excavations in the proximity of Bushehr in Iran, near the site of ancient Liyan, revealed the existence of a custom involving "burials" of palm trees, which has been tentatively linked to the cult of Kiririsha by researchers. [11]
Napirisha and Kirisha are regarded as consorts in Elamite texts. [2] It has been proposed that they might be the divine couple represented on reliefs from Kurangun and Naqsh-e Rostam. [2]
Kiririsha and Napirisha were commonly grouped with Inshushinak in inscriptions, leading some researchers to propose that they were understood as a trinity in the Elamite pantheon. [5] Milan Jahamgirfar notes that Elamite groupings of deities varied between specific areas, but nonetheless tentatively accepts the view that Inshushinak, Napirisha and Kirisha constituted a triad in the national pantheon. [21]
The god Hutran, who originated in Awan, [1] was regarded as a son of Kiririsha and Napirisha. [3]
Kiririsha was most likely the tutelary goddess of Liyan, [1] where she is attested as early as in the 19th century BCE. [21] She was also an important member of the pantheon of Anshan. [1] Her worship spread to various locations in the Elamite highlands in the late Middle Elamite period. [2]
King Humban-Numena built a temple dedicated to her in Liyan. [23] It was later restored by Shutruk-Nakhunte [24] as well as Kutir-Nahhunte. [25]
Inscriptions from the reign of Untash-Napirisha indicate new statues and temples of Kiririsha were created during that period. [23] One of her temples was a part of the Chogha Zanbil complex. [26] Numerous artifacts inscribed with the name of Untash-Napirisha have been recovered from it, including various weapons (ax and mace heads, swords and daggers), small animal figures and jewelry. [27] She is also mentioned, alongside Napirisha and Inshushinak, in a curse inscribed on the statue of Napir-Asu, assumed to be the king's principal wife and daughter of Kassite king Burna-Buriash II. [22]
Yet another temple dedicated to Kiririsha, shared with Napirisha, Inshushinak and Simut, existed in Anshan. [28] It was built during the reign of Hutelutush-Inshushinak. [28] [29]
The stele of Shilhak-Inshushinak invokes Napirisha, Kiririsha, Inshushinak and Humban, followed by 7 more deities. [30]
Kiririsha continued to be revered in the neo-Elamite period in Susa and in Ayapir (modern Izeh). [2] Hanni of Ayapir mentioned Kiririsha in a curse formula alongside Napirisha and Tepti. [7]
Walther Hinz, an early researcher of Elam, believed that Kiririsha was not a distinct goddess, but merely a "taboo name" of Pinikir. [6] The theory of Elamite divine "taboo names" in general and specifically of the alleged equivalence between Kiririsha and Pinikir (and between Humban and Napirisha) is considered discredited by modern researchers of Elamite religion such as Wouter Henkelman and François Vallat. [6] Kiririsha and Pinikir have their origin in pantheons of different parts of Elam (Liyan and Awan, respectively), [1] were worshiped separately at Chogha Zanbil, [26] and both appear in an inscription accompanying a bronze relief from Susa. [31] Additionally, while Pinikir is compared both in ancient texts and in modern scholarship to Ishtar and Ninsianna, [32] Kiririsha is instead regarded as similar to Ninhursag. [33]
The view that Kiririsha and Pinikir were one deity, pioneered by Hinz, [6] lead to the formation of a theory that the latter was a mother goddess like her. [34] However, the title "mother of gods" associated with Kiririsha is only attested for the goddess Mashti from Malamir otherwise. [1]
Another of Hinz's proposals regarded as doubtful today is the theory that Kiririsha was the consort of both Napirisha and Inshushinak at once. [35]
Elam was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam(a), along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana, a name derived from its capital Susa.
Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Susa and 80 km (50 mi) north of Ahvaz. The construction date of the city is unclear due to uncertainty in the chronology of the reign of Untash-Napirisha but is clearly sometime in the 14th or 13th century BC. The conventionally assumed date is 1250 BC. The city is currently believed to have been destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian ruler Assurbanipal in about 645 BC, along with the Elamite capital of Susa though some researchers place the end of occupation in the late 12th century BC. The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example of the stepped pyramidal monument by UNESCO. In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Ruhurater or Lahuratil was an Elamite deity.
Jabru was a god who according to Mesopotamian god lists was worshiped in Elam. However, he is not attested in any Elamite sources.
Humban was an Elamite god. He is already attested in the earliest sources preserving information about Elamite religion, but seemingly only grew in importance in the neo-Elamite period, in which many kings had theophoric names invoking him. He was connected with the concept of kitin, or divine protection.
Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir, Pirinkir, and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prominence in Hurrian religion. Due to her presence in pantheons of many parts of the Ancient Near East, from Anatolia to Iran, modern researchers refer to her as a "cosmopolitan deity."
Nahhunte was the Elamite sun god. While the evidence for the existence of temples dedicated to him and regular offerings is sparse, he is commonly attested in theophoric names, including these of members of Elamite royal families.
Inshushinak was the tutelary god of the city of Susa in Elam. His name has a Sumerian etymology, and can be translated as "lord of Susa". He was associated with kingship, and as a result appears in the names and epithets of multiple Elamite rulers. In Susa he was the main god of the local pantheon, though his status in other parts of Elam might have been different. He was also connected with justice and the underworld. His iconography is uncertain, though it is possible snakes were his symbolic animals. Two Mesopotamian deities incorporated into Elamite tradition, Lagamal and Ishmekarab, were regarded as his assistants. He was chiefly worshiped in Susa, where multiple temples dedicated to him existed. Attestations from other Elamite cities are less common. He is also attested in Mesopotamian sources, where he could be recognized as an underworld deity or as an equivalent of Ninurta. He plays a role in the so-called Susa Funerary Texts, which despite being found in Susa were written in Akkadian and might contain instructions for the dead arriving in the underworld.
Ištaran was a Mesopotamian god who was the tutelary deity of the city of Der, a city-state located east of the Tigris, in the proximity of the borders of Elam. It is known that he was a divine judge, and his position in the Mesopotamian pantheon was most likely high, but much about his character remains uncertain. He was associated with snakes, especially with the snake god Nirah, and it is possible that he could be depicted in a partially or fully serpentine form himself. He is first attested in the Early Dynastic period in royal inscriptions and theophoric names. He appears in sources from the reign of many later dynasties as well. When Der attained independence after the Ur III period, local rulers were considered representatives of Ištaran. In later times, he retained his position in Der, and multiple times his statue was carried away by Assyrians to secure the loyalty of the population of the city.
Napir-Asu was an Elamite queen, who was the wife of King Untash-Napirisha. A statue of her by the bronzeworkers of Susa is one of the finest examples of bronze metal-working to be discovered.
Puzur-Inshushinak, also sometimes thought to read Kutik-Inshushinak in Elamite, was king of Elam, around 2100 BC, and the last from the Awan dynasty according to the Susa kinglist. He mentions his father's name as Šimpi-išhuk, which, being an Elamite name, suggests that Puzur-Inshuhinak himself was Elamite.
Linear Elamite was a writing system used in Elam during the Bronze Age between c. 2300 and 1850 BCE, and known mainly from a few extant monumental inscriptions. It was used contemporaneously with Elamite cuneiform and records the Elamite language. The French archaeologist François Desset and his colleagues have argued that it is the oldest known purely phonographic writing system, although others, such as the linguist Michael Mäder, have argued that it is partly logographic.
Liyan is an Elamite port on Persian Gulf, and first name of Kiririsha where she and Humban had a temple that was erected by Humban-Numena. There was later a temple built to her at Chogha Zanbil. She was often called 'the Great', or 'the divine mother'. She seems to have been primarily worshipped in the south of Elam.
Humban-Numena was a king of Elam from the Igihalkid dynasty. He was a son and successor of King Attar-kittah. He married a daughter of the Kassite king Kurigalzu, who bore him Untash-Napirisha, who was thus a grandson of Kurigalzu. According to another interpretation of the primary source, he married the daughter of his uncle Pahir-ishshan, himself the son of a Kassite princess, and was thus a great-grandson of Kurigalzu.
Napirisha was a major Elamite deity. He likely originated from Anshan.
Manzat (Manzât), also spelled Mazzi'at, Manzi'at and Mazzêt, sometimes known by the Sumerian name Tiranna (dTIR.AN.NA) was a Mesopotamian and Elamite goddess representing the rainbow. She was also believed to be responsible for the prosperity of cities.
Simut or Šimut (Shimut) was an Elamite god. He was regarded as the herald of the gods, and was associated with the planet Mars. He was closely associated with Manzat, a goddess representing the rainbow. He appears in inscriptions of various Elamite kings which mention a number of temples dedicated to him. However, it is not known which city served as his main cult center. He was also worshiped in Mesopotamia, where he was compared with the war god Nergal.
Lagamal or Lagamar was a Mesopotamian deity associated chiefly with Dilbat. A female form of Lagamal was worshiped in Terqa on the Euphrates in Upper Mesopotamia. The male Lagamal was also at some point introduced to the pantheon of Susa in Elam.
Ishmekarab (Išmekarab) or Ishnikarab (Išnikarab) was a Mesopotamian deity of justice. The name is commonly translated from Akkadian as "he heard the prayer," but Ishmekarab's gender is uncertain and opinions of researchers on whether the deity was male or female vary.