Related Research Articles
Nergal was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death". He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally either Mammitum, a goddess possibly connected to frost, or Laṣ, sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too.
Nammu was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity in the local theology of Eridu. It is assumed that she was associated with water. She is also well attested in connection with incantations and apotropaic magic. She was regarded as the mother of Enki, and in a single inscription she appears as the wife of Anu, but it is assumed that she usually was not believed to have a spouse. From the Old Babylonian period onwards, she was considered to be the mother of An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth), as well as a representation of the primeval sea/ocean, an association that may have come from influence from the goddess Tiamat.
Mamitu was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the underworld. She was regarded as the wife of Nergal, or sometimes of other gods regarded as analogous to him, such as Erra. Her importance in Mesopotamian religion was minor, and she was most likely chiefly worshiped in Kutha, though attestations are available from other cities too. It is possible that she was the forerunner of Mandean Amamit.
Zababa was a Mesopotamian god. He was the tutelary deity of the city of Kish and was regarded as a god of war. He was initially seen as a son of Enlil, though in Assyria during the reign of Sennacherib he started to be viewed as a son of Ashur instead. The goddess Bau came to be viewed as his wife after her introduction to Kish in the Old Babylonian period.
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.
Siris or Siraš was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with beer. She was also worshiped in Ebla, where her name was spelled as Zilaš. Cognates of her name are also present as terms referring to alcoholic beverages or deities associated with them in languages such as Ugaritic and Hebrew. She was closely associated with another goddess of similar character, Ninkasi, though the nature of the connection between them varies between sources. She is attested in a variety of texts, including god lists, offering lists and a variant of the Ballad of Early Rulers.
Nirah was a Mesopotamian god who served as the messenger (šipru) of Ištaran, the god of Der. He was depicted in the form of a snake.
Gibil (𒀭𒉈𒄀), also known under the Akkadian name Girra, was a Mesopotamian god associated with fire, both in its positive and negative aspects. He also played a role in ritual purification. Textual sources indicate his symbol was a torch, though no representations of him have been identified in Mesopotamian art. Multiple genealogies could be assigned to him. The god list An = Anum indicates his spouse was Ninirigal. He was also frequently associated with deities such as Shamash, Nuska and Kusu. He is first attested in Early Dynastic texts from Shuruppak, such as offering lists. He was also a member of the pantheon of Eridu. In the Kassite period he was worshiped in Nippur. Later attestations are available from Assyria and from Uruk. He also appears in a number of literary texts.
Ishum was a Mesopotamian god of Akkadian origin. He is best attested as a divine night watchman, tasked with protecting houses at night, but he was also associated with various underworld deities, especially Nergal and Shubula. He was associated with fire, but was not exclusively a fire god unlike Gibil. While he was not considered to be one of the major gods, he was commonly worshiped and appears in many theophoric names. In bilingual texts he could be associated with Sumerian Hendursaga, but this equation is only attested for the first time in the Old Babylonian period, and the rationale behind it remains uncertain. Both of those gods could be regarded as the husband of the goddess Ninmug, though she was primarily associated with Ishum and only secondarily with Hendursaga.
Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as Lamashtu or gallu. His symbols included a staff, a lamp and a rooster. Various traditions existed regarding his genealogy, with some of them restricted to texts from specific cities. His wife was the goddess Sadarnunna, whose character is poorly known. He could be associated with the fire god Gibil, as well as with various courtiers of Enlil, such as Shuzianna and Ninimma.
Ninsianna was a Mesopotamian deity considered to be the personification of Venus. This theonym also served as the name of the planet in astronomical texts until the end of the Old Babylonian period. There is evidence that Ninsianna's gender varied between locations, and both feminine and masculine forms of this deity were worshiped. Due to their shared connection to Venus, Ninsianna was associated with Inanna. Furthermore, the deity Kabta appears alongside Ninsianna in many texts, but the character of the relation between them remains unclear.
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.
Ugur was a Mesopotamian god associated with war and death, originally regarded as an attendant deity (sukkal) of Nergal. After the Old Babylonian period he was replaced in this role by Ishum, and in the Middle Babylonian period his name started to function as a logogram representing Nergal. Temples dedicated to him existed in Isin and Girsu. He was also worshiped outside Mesopotamia by Hurrians and Hittites. He might also be attested in sources from Emar.
Alammuš (Alammush) was a Mesopotamian god. He was the sukkal of the moon god Nanna, and like him was worshiped in Ur. He was also closely associated with the cattle god Ningublaga, and especially in astronomical texts they could be regarded as twin brothers.
Laṣ was a Mesopotamian goddess who was commonly regarded as the wife of Nergal, a god associated with war and the underworld. Instances of both conflation and coexistence of her and another goddess this position was attributed to, Mammitum, are attested in a number sources. Her cult centers were Kutha in Babylonia and Tarbiṣu in Assyria.
Bel-ṣarbi or Šar-ṣarbati was a Mesopotamian god associated with poplars. He was also known under the Sumerian name Lugal-asal. He frequently appears in enumerations of deities associated with the underworld who formed the entourage of Nergal, and in some cases could be equated with him. A possible feminine counterpart, NIN-ṣar-BE, is known from neo-Assyrian sources, and is sometimes identified with earlier Ištar-ṣarbatum from Ebla in modern scholarship.
Ningublaga was a Mesopotamian god associated with cattle. His cult center was Kiabrig, a little known city located in the proximity of Ur. He belonged to the circle of deities related to the moon god, Nanna, and sometimes could be viewed as his son. He is also well attested as the brother of Alammuš, and they frequently appear together in god lists, incantations and especially in astronomical texts.
Tadmuštum or Dadamušda was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the underworld. She was regarded as the daughter of Nergal, and in known texts often appears in association with his main cult center, Kutha.
Sadarnunna was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Nuska. Very little is known about her individual character. She was worshiped in Nippur, and appears alongside other deities of this city in texts from the Ur III period already. In later times she is also attested in sources from other locations, for example Harran and Uruk.
Mīšaru (Misharu), possibly also known as Ili-mīšar, was a Mesopotamian god regarded as the personification of justice, sometimes portrayed as a divine judge. He was regarded as a son of the weather god Adad and his wife Shala. He was often associated with other similar deities, such as Išartu or Kittu. He is first attested in sources from the Ur III period. In the Old Babylonian period, he was regarded as the tutelary deity of Dūr-Rīmuš, a city in the kingdom of Eshnunna. He was also worshiped in other parts of Mesopotamia, for example in Mari, Assur, Babylon, Sippar and in the land of Suhum. In the Seleucid period he was introduced to the pantheon of Uruk.
References
- 1 2 Toorn 1996, p. 80.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peterson 2009, p. 54.
- 1 2 3 4 Michalowski 2013, p. 241.
- ↑ Simons 2016, p. 9.
- ↑ Bartelmus 2017, p. 303.
- 1 2 3 Edzard 1980, p. 213.
- ↑ Peterson 2009, p. 14.
- 1 2 George 1993, p. 37.
- 1 2 3 Krul 2018, p. 67.
- 1 2 3 Toorn 1996, p. 38.
- ↑ Krebernik 2013, p. 398.
- ↑ George & Krebernik 2022, p. 114.
- 1 2 George & Krebernik 2022, p. 119.
- ↑ George & Krebernik 2022, p. 139.
- 1 2 Bartelmus 2017, p. 311.
- ↑ Toorn 1996, pp. 37–38.
- ↑ Toorn 1996, p. 40.
- 1 2 Leemans 1983, p. 417.
- ↑ George 1993, p. 170.
- ↑ Földi 2021, p. 49.
- 1 2 Krul 2018, p. 72.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 75.
- ↑ Veenhof 2018, p. 53.
- ↑ Frayne 1990, p. 7.
- 1 2 Zadok 2018, p. 155.
- ↑ Tavernier 2014, p. 62.
Bibliography
- Bartelmus, Alexa (2017). "Die Götter der Kassitenzeit. Eine Analyse ihres Vorkommens in zeitgenössischen Textquellen". Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites. De Gruyter. pp. 245–312. doi:10.1515/9781501503566-011. ISBN 9781501503566.
- Edzard, Dietz Otto (1980), "Išum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-20
- Földi, Zsombor J. (2021). "The Lost Seal of a Tax Collector". In Baragli, Beatrice (ed.). Distant Worlds and Beyond: Special Issue Dedicated to the Graduate School Distant Worlds. Vol. 3. Heidelberg: Propylaeum. pp. 47–59. doi:10.11588/propylaeum.886.c11948. ISBN 978-3-96929-066-8 . Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- Frayne, Douglas (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC). Early periods. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5873-7 . Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 0-931464-80-3. OCLC 27813103.
- George, Andrew; Krebernik, Manfred (2022). "Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite-Akkadian Bilinguals!". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 116 (1). CAIRN: 113–166. doi:10.3917/assy.116.0113. ISSN 0373-6032. S2CID 255918382.
- Krebernik, Manfred (2013), "Tadmuštum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-20
- Krul, Julia (2018). The Revival of the Anu Cult and the Nocturnal Fire Ceremony at Late Babylonian Uruk. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789004364943_004. ISBN 9789004364936.
- Leemans, Wilhelmus François (1983), "Lagaba", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-20
- Michalowski, Piotr (2013), "Šubula", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-20
- Peterson, Jeremiah (2009). God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum, Philadelphia. Münster: Ugarit Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86835-019-7. OCLC 460044951.
- Simons, Frank (2016). "The God Alammuš dLÀL /d.mùšLÀL". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (1).
- Tavernier, Jan (2014). "What's in a name: Hallušu, Hallutaš or Hallutuš". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale. 108. Presses Universitaires de France: 61–66. doi:10.3917/assy.108.0061. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 44646360 . Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- Toorn, Karel van der (1996). Family Religion in Babylonia, Ugarit and Israel: Continuity and Changes in the Forms of Religious Life. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10410-5 . Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- Veenhof, Klaas R. (2018). "The Family God in Old Babylonian and Especially in Old Assyrian Sources". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale (112): 49–90. doi: 10.3917/assy.112.0049 . ISSN 0373-6032 . Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- Zadok, Ran (2018). "The Peoples of Elam". The Elamite world. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-1-315-65803-2. OCLC 1022561448.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)