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121-503: The goddess Ningal was regarded as Sin's wife. Their best attested children are Inanna (Ishtar) and Utu (Shamash), though other deities, for example Ningublaga or Numushda , could be regarded as members of their family too. Sin was also believed to have an attendant deity ( sukkal ), Alammuš , and various courtiers, such as Nineigara , Ninurima and Nimintabba . He was also associated with other lunar gods, such as Hurrian Kušuḫ or Ugaritic Yarikh . The main cult center of Sin

242-433: A barge are known too, and presumably reflect the belief that he traversed the night sky in this vehicle, as documented in textual sources. Based on Old Babylonian sources is presumed that the lunar barge was considered a representation of a phase of the moon, specifically the gibbous moon . It could be metaphorically compared to a type bowl (Sumerian dilim 2 , Akkadian tilimtu ), apparently also regarded as an attribute of

363-464: A connection between Sin, Nuska and hitherto unknown deities worshiped by this group. While assertions that Ishkur was regarded as a further son of Sin can be found in older literature, no primary sources confirm the existence of such a tradition. Sin's sukkal (attendant deity) was Alammuš . He and Ningublaga were often associated with each other and could be even referred to as twin brothers. Manfred Krebernik notes that this might indicate that he

484-602: A deity elsewhere equated with Ninkarrak , distinct from the messenger god. A medicine goddess named Kakka, associated with Ninkarrak and Ninshubur , is attested in sources from Mari . An association between Ningal and Ninshubur is documented in the Early Dynastic god list from Abu Salabikh . In the Old Babylonian period Nanshe was incorporated into the circle of deities associated with her in Ur, though she

605-429: A disease. Lexical lists The cuneiform lexical lists are a series of ancient Mesopotamian glossaries which preserve the semantics of Sumerograms , their phonetic value and their Akkadian or other language equivalents. They are the oldest literary texts from Mesopotamia and one of the most widespread genres in the ancient Near East . Wherever cuneiform tablets have been uncovered, inside Iraq or in

726-471: A divine judge in the underworld , as attested for example in the so-called First Elegy of the Pushkin Museum , in which a man named Ludingira hopes that he will proclaim a good verdict for his deceased father. This role might have originally developed as a way to explain why the moon is not visible for a part of each month. The composition in mention states that his judgment took place on the day of

847-454: A further expansion and refinement of the texts and the introduction of commentaries and synonym lists. Lexical lists fall within one or more of the following broad categories: The extant texts can be classified by typology as follows: This would also have included wax-covered writing boards, though no known examples survive. The following provides a listing of the various synonym, lexical and grammatical lists whose occurrences have yielded

968-451: A herdsman in astral context, with stars being poetically described as his herd. In addition to cows, he could also be associated with sheep and with wild animals inhabiting steppes, especially ibexes and gazelles. Sin was perceived as a benign deity who could be petitioned for help. He was responsible for guaranteeing abundance and growth, especially in Ur and Harran , which most likely reflects

1089-490: A manifestation of Sin's wrath . The former are also mentioned in curse formulas as a punishment he could inflict upon oath breakers. A number of sources attest the existence of a tradition in which Sin was regarded as the sole head of the Mesopotamian pantheon or a deity equal in rank to the traditional kings of the gods , Anu and Enlil . According to Wilfred G. Lambert , most of the evidence for this view postdates

1210-569: A role in building and renovation activities. They are chiefly documented in sources from between the Sargonic and early Old Babylonian periods. They were typically daughters of kings. Enheduanna , the daughter of Sargon of Akkad , was a particularly famous en priestess. She is also the earliest attested holder of this office, with available evidence including the so-called "disc of Enheduanna", seals of her servants, and literary compositions copied in later periods traditionally attributed to her. It

1331-402: A son of Enlil for political reasons. The compilers of the god list An = Anum apparently did not acknowledge this tradition directly, as in contrast with Ninurta Sin does not appear in the section focused on Enlil and his family. However, his status as his son is seemingly reflected in the epithets Dumununna, "son of the prince", and Dumugi, "noble son". Sin is also kept separate from Enlil in

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1452-441: A specific phase of the moon. Lunar eclipses were believed to be the result of Sin being surrounded by seven evil utukku sent by Anu . Next to his astral aspect, Sin's other main role has been described as that of a pastoral deity. He was associated with cattle and with dairy products . This link is reflected in his secondary names Abkar, "shining cow", and Ablulu, "the one who makes the cows abundant". He could be addressed as

1573-429: A transaction. They were also invoked together on cylinder seal inscriptions from this city from the same period, though not as commonly as Shamash and Aya or Adad and Shala . References to veneration of Ningal in the Old Babylonian period are also available from multiple other cities, including Babylon , Isin , Kisurra , Larsa , Tutub and Urum . A joint cult center of Ningal and her husband whose location

1694-424: Is AŠ -im 4 -babbar ( 𒀭𒀸𒁽𒌓 ). It was originally assumed that it should be read as Ašimbabbar, though it was subsequently proved that this depended on an erroneous collation. By 2016 the consensus view that Dilimbabbar is the correct reading was established based on the discovery of multiple passages providing phonetic syllabic spellings. The name can be translated as "the shining one who walks alone". This meaning

1815-492: Is also attested for Bau and Ningirsu . Enlil and Ninlil were usually regarded as Sin's parents. It has been argued that an Early Dynastic text from Abu Salabikh already refers to Enlil and Ninlil as his parents, though an alternate view is that he oldest certain evidence only goes back to the reign of Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur . It has been argued that in this period he might have started to be viewed as

1936-598: Is also mentioned in the Zame Hymns (from za 3 -me , "praise"), where she appears after Nanna as "mother Ningal" ( ama Ningal ). A temple dedicated to Ningal was located in Ur, and could be referred with the ceremonial Sumerian names Egarku and Agrunku ("house, sacred boudoir"). In the earliest texts from this city, she is only attested in two theophoric names , but by the Ur III period she came to be invoked in them commonly. The Ur-Nammu Stele indicates that she

2057-474: Is depicted sitting in her husband's lap. This type of depictions was meant to display the intimate nature of the connection between the deities and highlight their ability to act in unison, and is also attested for Bau and Ningirsu . In medical treatises the term "hand of Ningal" referred to an unidentified skin disease ; analogous names of diseases are attested for various other deities, for example Sin, Adad , Shamash and Geshtinanna . Ningal's mother

2178-666: Is first attested in the Uruk period . In earliest cuneiform texts from Uruk and Ur it was written as LAK -32.NA, with NA possibly serving as a phonetic complement . The name of the city of Ur (Urim) was accordingly written as LAK-32.UNUG ( 𒋀𒀕𒆠 ), "residence of Nanna", per analogy with toponyms such as Zabalam , INANNA .UNUG. In later periods LAK-32 coalesced with ŠEŠ (the ideogram for "brother"), and Nanna's name came to be written as ŠEŠ+KI or ŠEŠ.KI, though phonetic spellings such as na-an-na are attested too, for example as glosses in lexical lists . In early Assyriological scholarship it

2299-468: Is it not certain if the office of en was only established at this point in time as an innovation, or if it developed from an earlier Early Dynastic title tied to the cult of the moon god. Later en priestesses include Enmenanna  [ pl ] , daughter of Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin of Akkad (named as "zirru priestess of the god Nanna, spouse of the god N[anna], entu priestess of the god Sin at Ur"); Enannepada, daughter of Ur-Baba of Lagash and

2420-424: Is not a direct translation of Dilimbabbar, as it effectively leaves out the element dilim . Bendt Alster assumed that the equivalence was the result of late reinterpretation. Sin was understood both as an anthropomorphic deity representing the moon, and as the astral body itself. He was responsible for providing light during the night. His luminous character could be highlighted with epithets such as "the luminary of

2541-431: Is not certain if at this point in time it was understood as a title of Sin or as the name of a distinct deity of analogous character. Mark Glenn Hall notes that the absence of theophoric names invoking the moon god under this name from available sources might indicate that if Dilimbabbar was ever understood as a distinct deity this tradition disappeared very early on. However, Manfred Krebernik and Jan Lisman point out that in

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2662-435: Is not possible to differentiate between them as designations of separate deities, as they effectively fully merged at an early date. Gebhard J. Selz  [ de ] points out this phenomenon is already attested in sources from Lagash from the Early Dynastic period , where the name Nanna does not appear, and Sin is the form used in both Sumerian and Akkadian context. The process of conflation presumably started prior to

2783-491: Is overall sparsely attested in sources from this city. It is possible that the deity Nin-é .NIM. ma , best attested in texts from Larsa and the Sealand , was associated with Ningal as a member of her entourage starting with the reign of Kudur-Mabuk and his successors, though it has also been proposed that this name was her epithet. Ningal is first attested the god lists from Early Dynastic Fara and Abu Salabikh . She

2904-674: Is uncertain was also patronized by kings of the Manana Dynasty near Kish . A single attestation of Ningal is known from the archive of the First Sealand dynasty . She occurs in this context as a recipient of offerings alongside Nanna. A settlement named after her, Quppat-Ningal, is also attested a handful of times in this text corpus, for example in a letter of an official named Nūr-Bau, presumably addressed to king Pešgaldarameš  [ de ] or his successor Ayadaragalama . The Canonical Temple List , which dates to

3025-551: The Temple Hymns (hymn 37) Dilimbabbar is addressed as a shepherd of Sin, which they argue might be a relic of an intermediate stage between the existence of two independent moon gods and their full conflation. For unknown reasons the name Dilimbabbar is absent from all the other known Early Dynastic sources, as well as these from the subsequent Sargonic and Ur III periods, with the next oldest attestation being identified in an inscription of Nur-Adad of Larsa from Ur from

3146-736: The Isin-Larsa period , Kurigalzu I of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon , Marduk-nadin-ahhe and Adad-apla-iddina of the Second Dynasty of Isin , and Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire . Other houses of worship dedicated to Sin existed in Ur too. For example, liturgical texts mention the ceremonial name Edimanna, "house, bond of heaven". Enamnunna, "house of princeliness", rebuilt by Sin-Iddinam , might have been located in Ur too. A ziggurat dedicated to Sin

3267-419: The Isin-Larsa period , which might reflect a rediscovery of the name by scribes under hitherto unknown circumstances. It remained in use through subsequent periods, down to the first millennium BCE. The Akkadian epithet Namraṣit was considered analogous to Dilimbabbar, as attested in the god list An = Anum (tablet III, line 26). It can be translated as "whose rise is luminous". Steinkeller points out that it

3388-597: The Kassite period , lists two temples of Ningal whose location remains unknown, Eangim ("house like heaven") and Eengimkuga ("house pure like heaven"). One of the inscriptions of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon commemorates the construction of a temple dedicated jointly to Ningal, Sin, Shamash and Aya in Nineveh . A shrine dedicated to her was also located in Dur-Sharrukin , a new royal city constructed during

3509-414: The Mesopotamian pantheon and the worship of her is attested from all periods of history of Mesopotamia , her character was largely "passive and supportive" according to Joan Goodnick Westenholz . She was the tutelary deity of Ur . She shared it with her husband Nanna (Akkadian Sin). She was referred to as the "lady" ( NIN ; Early Dynastic sources) or "mother" (AMA; Ur III sources) of Ur. She and

3630-484: The Neo-Assyrian period she was regarded as a daughter of Sin. A god list from Nineveh might indicate that she was viewed as a daughter of the moon god specifically when she was counted among deities belonging to the entourage of Enlil. A further goddess related to Inanna, Annunitum , could similarly be addressed as a daughter of Sin, though this tradition is only preserved in inscriptions of Nabonidus documenting

3751-473: The Old Babylonian forerunner of this text, which has been argued to be a reflection of an earlier tradition in which they were not viewed as son and father. While references to Anu being the father of Sin are also known, they are most likely metaphorical, and do not represent a distinct genealogical tradition. In the myth Enlil and Ninlil Sin's brothers are Nergal , Ninazu and Enbilulu , though

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3872-636: The Old Babylonian period onward he was also closely associated with Harran . The importance of this city as his cult center grew in the first millennium BCE, as reflected in Neo-Hittite , Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sources. Sin's temple survived in later periods as well, under Achaemenid , Seleucid and Roman rule. Sin was also worshiped in many other cities in Mesopotamia. Temples dedicated to him existed for example in Tutub , which early on

3993-521: The Sargonic period . Additionally, a chapel dedicated to her was maintained there by an Akkadian-speaking family, possibly originally brought to the city as prisoners of war after the Elamite conquest of Ur . They maintained it over the course of four generations. In Egypt Ningal (or Nikkal) is only attested once, in a single magical papyrus, in which she appears as a foreign deity implored to heal

4114-652: The Ugaritic , Hurrian and Hittite pantheons. However, the old proposal that Hurrians, and by extension Hittites and inhabitants of Ugarit, received her from Harran is regarded as unproven, as she does not appear in association with this city in any sources from the second millennium BCE. She is also absent from Luwian sources pertaining to the worship of Sin of Harran in the first millennium BCE. The best attested children of Sin were Utu (Shamash) and Inanna (Ishtar). The connection between these three deities depended on their shared astral character, with Sin representing

4235-407: The Ur III period . According to the so-called Nippur Compendium , she was worshiped in this city in the local temple of Nanna, as well as in a sanctuary referred to as bīt dalīli ("house of praise") alongside Nisaba , Kusu , Shamash and Bēl-ālīya. A seal inscription from the Kassite period mentions"Ningal of Nippur " alongside the local goddess Ninimma . From lower Mesopotamia Ningal

4356-547: The theonym syn attested in a number of inscriptions from South Arabia should be interpreted as a variant of Sin's name too, and suggests vocalizing it similarly to the Eblaite form of the name. However, Manfred Krebernik  [ de ] concludes that no certain cognates of Sin's name have been identified in other Semitic languages, and syn (or sn ), who according to him is only known from Thamudic inscription from Hadhramaut , should instead be interpreted as Sayin,

4477-483: The whooper swan , but it is assumed that even in Ur, statues of a goddess accompanied by a water bird of the genus Anserini , well known from excavations, were more likely to represent Nanshe . Ningal was also called zirru , a term which might designate a female bird. Some en priestesses of Nanna, especially Sargon 's daughter Enheduanna , were also referred to as zirru . On the Ur-Nammu Stele , Ningal

4598-456: The "beloved of Nanna and Ningal". En-ana-tuma  [ pl ] , en priestess of Nanna and daughter of Ishme-Dagan , dedicated a statue to Ningal. Kings of Larsa , especially Warad-Sin and Rim-Sîn I , considered Ur a city of particular religious and political importance and were active worshipers of Ningal. Sources from this period indicate that her temple was combined with the Gipar,

4719-422: The "lord of the gods" who possessed "Enlilship", "Anuship" and "Eaship". However, Melanie Groß stresses that Nabonidus' devotion should for the most part not be treated as an unusual phenomenon, save for the fact that Harran was not the center of his empire. She notes that the elevation of city deities significant for specific rulers to the top of the pantheon of the respective states is well documented for example in

4840-554: The Hurrian and Elamite goddess Pinikir is referred to as a daughter of Sin and Ningal in a text written in Akkadian but found in a corpus of Hurro-Hittite rituals. Further relatively commonly attested children of Ningal and Nanna include the goddesses Amarra-uzu and Amarra-he'ea, known from An = Anum , Ningublaga (the city god of Ki'abrig) and Numushda (the city god of Kazallu ). In Neo-Assyrian sources from Harran Nuska

4961-604: The Mesopotamian moon god. In Hittite and Luwian sources the logographic writings 30 and EN.ZU were used to render the name of the Anatolian moon god Arma . As noted by Piotr Taracha  [ de ] , while 30 was also used to represent the name of the Hattian moon god Kašku in the corresponding version of the myth The Moon that Fell from Heaven , it is improbable that it designates him in cultic texts, as he

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5082-408: The Old Babylonian period onward, while the latter was presumably the older uncontracted pronunciation. The etymology of this name remains uncertain. One of the inscriptions of Gudea from the third millennium BCE refers to Sin as a god "whose name nobody can explain", which might be an indication that his name was already unclear and a subject of scribal speculation during his reign. The name Sin

5203-474: The Ugaritic and Hurrian pantheons of the city, and is attested as the wife of both local moon god Yarikh and his Hurrian counterpart Kušuḫ . In an Ugaritic myth she is associated with an otherwise unknown god Ḫrḫb , who was possibly regarded as her father and most likely originated in Hurrian tradition. Non-Hurrian non-Ugaritic attestations of Nikkal from areas where West Semitic languages were spoken in

5324-459: The association between these two goddesses and the moon god is unknown. While references to Ninegal as a daughter of Sin are known, in this context the name is treated as an epithet of Inanna , and there is no evidence Ninegal understood as a distinct goddess was associated with him in any way. Another deity associated with Ishtar who was sometimes described as daughter of Sin was the love goddess Nanaya . However, this tradition seems to stem from

5445-640: The case of Marduk and Ashur . Aino Hätinen points out that in Harran similar formulas were used to refer to Sin by Ashurbanipal , and are thus not unique to Nabonidus and do not necessarily indicate elevation of this god during his reign. She suggests both Nabonidus and Ashurbanipal relied on so-called "Theology of the Moon", a concept well attested in explanatory texts from the first millennium BCE according to which Sin possessed divine powers (Sumerian ĝarza , Akkadian parṣū ) equal to these of Anu, Enlil and Ea during

5566-466: The city could be compared to a mother and her child in literary texts. She was portrayed mourning over it in laments, such as Lament for Ur or Lament for Sumer and Ur . Based on some of Ningal's epithets it has additionally been proposed that she was in part an astral deity, much like her husband. This aspect might have been reflected in titles such as Ninantagal, Ninmulnunna, Si-iminbi and possibly Kalkal, respectively "high lady", "lady, star of

5687-483: The city of Ur by Larsa ; Enšakiag-Nanna, daughter of Sumuel of Larsa; and her successor Enanedu  [ pl ] , daughter of Kudur-Mabuk of Larsa and sister of Warad-Sin and Rim-Sîn I . She was the last known holder of this office before its revival of in the Neo-Babylonian period. Ningal Ningal ( Sumerian : "Great Queen"; Akkadian Nikkal ) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as

5808-576: The close connection between Nanaya and Inanna, as for example the Hymn to the City of Arbela in a passage focused on Ishtar of Arbela refers to Nanaya as a daughter of Sin, but also syncretises her with the goddess being praised. Sources where Nanaya's father is instead either Anu or Urash (the male tutelary god of Dilbat , rather than the earth goddess of the same name) are known too. Only in Assyria in

5929-425: The coastal city via a Hurrian intermediary, and it is possible that the myth describing their marriage was based on a Mesopotamian or Hurrian original, focused on either Sin or Kušuḫ. However, Steve A. Wiggins states that despite the connection between Sin and Yarikh the latter shows a number of traits distinct from his counterpart, for example literary texts at times compare him to a dog, an animal not associated with

6050-504: The construction of the walls of Ur. In the Kassite period , Kurigalzu I built another temple of Ningal in Ur, but its name is presently unknown. Ningal was still worshiped in Ur during the Neo-Babylonian period . Her main temple there was rebuilt by Nabonidus . Additionally a bīt ḫilṣi ("house of pressing"), assumed to be a pharmacy accompanied by a garden where the ingredients for various medicines were grown) located in

6171-463: The corresponding languages her name was rendered as Nikkal , similarly as in Akkadian. The best attested children of Ningal and Nanna were Inanna (Ishtar), who represented Venus , and Utu (Shamash), who represented the sun. The view that Inanna was a daughter of Nanna and Ningal is the most commonly attested tradition regarding her parentage. The poem Agushaya refers to Inanna as Ningal's firstborn child. Due to her identification with Ishtar,

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6292-406: The counterpart of Sin was Ši-ḪU (reading of the second sign uncertain), well attested as an element of theophoric names , though he was more commonly equated with Marduk in similar sources. Sin was recognized as a major deity all across ancient Mesopotamia. His status was already high in the earliest periods to which the history of the Mesopotamian pantheon can be traced. It is presumed that Sin

6413-435: The crescent either placed on his tiara or atop a standard he held. It was also used to represent him on kudurru , decorated boundary stones. It consistently occurs in the upper section of such objects, next to symbols of Shamash and Ishtar , though their exact arrangement can vary. A survey of 110 stones or their fragments indicated that this trio of deities is depicted on all known kudurru . Aniconic portrayals of Sin as

6534-416: The demon Bennu, responsible for causing epilepsy , is described as his "deputy" ( šanê ) as well. In An = Anum Suzianna and Ninimma , both usually regarded as courtiers of Enlil, are also identified as Sin's nurses. The Hurrian moon god, variously known as Kušuḫ , Umbu or Ušu, was identified with Sin and his name was sometimes written logographically as EN.ZU or 30. It is possible that his character

6655-499: The disappearance of the moon (Sumerian u 4 -ná , Akkadian ūm bubbuli ). However, Dina Katz argues that in contrast with the frequent assignment of a similar role to Shamash , Sin was usually not associated with judgment of either the living or the dead. References to both of them acting as judges are nonetheless known from Old Babylonian inscriptions. In Mesopotamian medicine skin diseases , especially leprosy ( saḫaršubbû ), as well as epileptic symptoms, could be interpreted as

6776-498: The divine representation of the full moon, with texts instead describing him as a youthful god instead reflecting his role as the new moon. Another epithet commonly applied to him was lugal ("king"). Presumably it constituted an implicit reference to his status as the tutelary god of Ur. In the first millennium BCE, as the god of Harran he could be called Bēl-Ḫarrān (EN.KASKAL), "lord of Harran". This title appears particularly commonly in theophoric names . Sin could also function as

6897-477: The earth". The lunar god Nanna (Akkadian Sin) was regarded as Ningal's husband. Her role as his wife is the best attested aspect of her character. Some of her epithets underlined her connection to him, for example Ḫegalnunna ("wealth of the prince"). A derivative of Ningal were regarded as married to other moon gods in Hurrian ( Kušuḫ or Umbu), Hittite ( Arma ) and Ugaritic ( Yarikh ) sources. In all of

7018-681: The emergence of the UR 5 -ra = hubullu themed list. Similarly, lists of complex signs and polyvalent symbols emerged to support a more nuanced scribal training. The Kassite or the Middle Babylonian period shows that scribal schools actively preserved the lexical traditions of the past and there is evidence of the canonization of some texts, such as izi = išātu and Ká-gal = abullu . The works SIG 7 + ALAN (ulutim) = nabnītu and Erim-huš = anantu are thought to have been composed at this time. The first millennium BC represents

7139-417: The first sibilant was difficult to render in cuneiform. In early Akkadian, the sound /s/ was an affricate [ts], which would explain its initial representation with Z-signs and later with S-signs. A variant form of Sin's name, Suinu, is also attested in texts from Ebla . It has been pointed out that an Eblaite lexical list with the entry sú-i-nu is the oldest available attestation of a phonetic spelling of

7260-418: The first half of the lunar month. Despite Sin's popularity documented in textual sources, depictions of him are not common in Mesopotamian art . His most common attribute was the crescent . In accordance with the appearance of the new moon in the latitude of Mesopotamia, it was consistently represented as recumbent. It was frequently compared to bull horns and to a barge. On seals, Sin could be depicted with

7381-413: The gloss is unlikely to point at an otherwise unknown pronunciation of the sign ME, and assumed that the deity in mention was named Meme , while an alternate version of the list had the name Kakka in the same line instead. Manfred Krebernik  [ de ] proposes that this deity is identical with the divine messenger Kakka . Litke instead concluded that in this case Kakka should be understood as

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7502-532: The goddesses Amarazu and Amaraḫea, known from the god list An = Anum , Ningublaga (the city god of Kiabrig) and Numushda (the city god of Kazallu ). Ningublaga's connection with the moon god is well attested in god lists ( An = Anum , the Weidner god list , the Nippur god list) and other sources, one example being the formula "servant of Sin and Ningublaga," known from an Old Babylonian cylinder seal . While he

7623-399: The heavens and earth" ( nannār šamê u erṣeti ) or "the luminary of all creation" ( nannār kullati binīti ). The growth of the moon over the course of the month was reflected in comparing Sin to the growth of fruit (Akkadian inbu , Sumerian gurun ) as attested in Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sources, especially hemerologies . However, it was not applied consistently as a designation for

7744-464: The husband of Nanshe in the state of Lagash in the Early Dynastic period . In An = Anum itself he and Sin are directly identified with each other (tablet III, line 65), and the lines following this statement list Nanshe and their children. However, there is no evidence that this equation was responsible for the lack of references to Nindara in the Sealand archives, as Nanshe was not worshiped in association with Sin in this context. Nin-MAR.KI , who

7865-454: The incantation Cow of Sîn , which states that he would send a pair of lamassu goddesses to help mothers with difficult births. The common epithet of Sin, "father" ( a-a ), underlined his ability to cause growth and bring abundance. However, it also reflected his role as a senior member of his pantheon, as well as his authority over deities regarded as his children or servants. It has also been suggested that it metaphorically referred to him as

7986-415: The invention of cuneiform . Sometimes the double name Nanna-Suen was used, as evidenced for example by a short theological text from the Ur III period listing the main deities of the official pantheon . It is sometimes used to refer to this god in modern Assyriological publications too. The precise etymology of the name Nanna is unknown, though it is agreed that it is not a genitive construction . It

8107-413: The latter two gods were commonly regarded as sons of different parents instead. Enbilulu in particular is not attested as a son of Enlil and Ninlil in any other sources. Based on their shared status as sons of Enlil Sin and Nergal were sometimes referred to as the "big twins", and in this context were identified with Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea . The connection between Lugal-Irra and Sin seemingly depended on

8228-497: The latter's occasional role as a judge in the underworld . An astronomical text equates the pair Sin and Nergal with Latarak and Lulal , but this attestation is unparalleled in other sources. Sin's wife was Ningal . They are already attested as a couple in Early Dynastic sources, and they were consistently paired with each other in all regions of Mesopotamia. Derivatives of Ningal were associated with local moon gods in

8349-459: The local sun god . From the Old Babylonian period onward Sin's name could be represented by the logogram 30 ( 𒀭𒌍 ), derived from the cuneiform numeral 30, symbolically associated with him due to the number of days in the lunar month. It was originally assumed that an even earlier example occurs in the writing of a personal name from the Ur III period, but subsequent research demonstrated that this

8470-401: The logogram EN.ZU designated Saggar in this city, but according to Alfonso Archi this is unlikely. Lunar character is sometimes also proposed for a further Eblaite deity, Hadabal (NI- da -KUL), though Archi similarly disagrees with this view. However, he does accept the possibility that the theophoric name of a king of Ibubu mentioned in an Eblaite text, Li-im -EN.ZU, a different deity than Sin

8591-623: The lunar crescent also predominate in Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian art. Furthermore, the logogram U 4 .SAKAR ( 𒀭𒌓𒊬 ) which could be used to write his name was derived from a term referring to the crescent. Like other Mesopotamian gods Sin was depicted as a mature, bearded man dressed in a flounced robe. In some cases he holds a mace or a stick, with the latter occurring particularly often, though these attributes were not exclusively associated with him and cannot be used to identify depictions of him. A further object associated with him in art

8712-400: The lunar cult in Ur was the institution of the en priestess. In Akkadian its holders were referred to as entum . Their residence was known as Gipar, and while initially separate in the Old Babylonian period it was combined into a single complex with the temple of the moon god's wife, Ningal. Not much is known about the duties of the en in the sphere of cult, though they apparently played

8833-449: The major members of the pantheon, next to Enlil , Ninlil , Inanna , Enki , Nergal , Ninurta , Nuska , Ninshubur and the deified hero Gilgamesh , included in the enumeration due to importance due to his importance for the ruling house. Ibbi-Sin at one point dedicated the image of a "red dog of Meluhha " to Sin. According to the document describing this offering, the animal bore the evocative name "He bites!" An important aspect of

8954-455: The meaning of Dilimbabbar are correct, and that the scribes might have intentionally created puns depending on the well attested tradition of referring to the moon as a unique or solitary celestial body. Dilimbabbar is already attested in the Early Dynastic god list from Abu Salabikh. The Zame Hymns from the same period link this title with the worship of the moon god in Urum ( Tell Uqair ). It

9075-500: The moon and his children, who could be identified as twins - the sun and Venus . Numerous instances of Inanna being directly referred to as his oldest daughter are known. While alternate traditions about her parentage are attested, it is agreed they were less significant and ultimately she was most commonly recognized as a daughter of Sin and Ningal. It has been pointed out that apparent references to Anu being her father instead might only designate him as an ancestor. Similarly to how Sin

9196-462: The moon and to month as a measure of time in multiple Semitic languages , including both Amorite and Ugaritic. While neither the names Nanna nor Sin share such a linguistic affinity, the respective Sumerian ( itud ) and Akkadian ( warḫum ) words for moon and month are likewise the same. As noted by Nick Wyatt, Nikkal , the counterpart of Ningal regarded as the wife of Yarikh in Ugarit , likely reached

9317-460: The moon god, but also Ishtar and Girra . It is uncertain if the theonym Nanum attested in a theophoric name from Umma is a derivative of Nanna, while Nanni worshiped in Mari and in the kingdom of Khana was a female deity and might be related to Nanaya rather than the moon god. In Akkadian the moon god was called Sin (Sîn) or Suen (Su’en). The former is the standard reading of the name from

9438-411: The moon god. Piotr Steinkeller suggests that the latter might have been considered a representation of the half moon . Ningal , the wife of Sin, could be depicted alongside him for example in banquet scenes. On the stele of Ur-Nammu she sits in his lap. This type of depictions was meant to display the intimate nature of a connection between the deities and highlight their ability to act in unison, and

9559-651: The name. However, the logogram EN.ZU was also used in this city. Additionally, in a translation of an Akkadian text written in the Ugaritic alphabetic script the name is rendered as sn ( KTU 1.70, line 4), while in Aramaic the variants sn , syn and šn are attested. In the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible Sin's name is rendered as san in the theophoric names Sennacherib (Sîn-aḫḫe-erība) and Sanballat (Sîn-uballiṭ). Alfonso Archi argues that

9680-481: The next thousand years until the end of the Old Babylonian period virtually unchanged. Later third millennium lists dating to around 2600 BC have been uncovered at Fara and Abū Ṣalābīkh , including the Fara God List , the earliest of this genre. The tradition continued until the end of the Ur III period, after which marked changes in the form of the texts took place. This era, the Old Babylonian period, saw

9801-493: The only holder of this office from the Second Dynasty of Lagash ; Ennirgalana  [ pl ] , daughter of Ur-Nammu of Ur; Ennirzianna  [ hu ] , a contemporary and possibly daughter of Shulgi ; her successors Enuburzianna and Enmahgalana, the former also selected during the reign of Shulgi and the latter shortly after by Amar-Sin ; Enannatumma  [ pl ] , daughter of Ishme-Dagan of Isin who retained her position after his death and conquest of

9922-401: The period of the Neo-Assyrian governor Sîn-balāssu-iqbi 's reign. The moon god was in this case seemingly reinterpreted as a "local Enlil”, acting as the king of the gods in Ur. It has been argued that the view that Sin was the supreme god was later particularly enthusiastically supported by the last Neo-Babylonian ruler, Nabonidus . In one of his inscriptions from Harran Sin is described as

10043-400: The prince", "sevenfold light" and "treasured". Ningal's iconography was not consistent. It has been proposed that she could be represented as a seated goddess accompanied by the lunar crescent, a symbol of her husband. A type of bird, u 5 - bi 2 , was possibly associated with her, though the evidence is inconclusive. Proposed identities of this animal include the greylag goose and

10164-624: The reign of Meli-Shipak II , and indicates it might have been particularly popular in Harran . An Old Babylonian literary composition written in Sumerian describes Sin as the head of the divine assembly (Ubšu’ ukkin ),with Anu, Enlil, Inanna , Utu, Enki and Ninhursag serving as his advisers. Two of his titles known from the god list An = Anum , Ukkin ("the assembly") and Ukkin-uru ("mighty assembly"), might reflect this portrayal. Some Old Babylonian theophoric names might also be connected to

10285-437: The reign of Sargon II . It was located within his palace. The king implored her in an inscription to intercede with her husband to grant him a long life and to guarantee his successors will continue to rule over "every inhabited region forever". Ningal is also attested in a number of theophoric names from Assyria . Letters from the reign of Ashurbanipal indicate that Ningal and her husband replaced Inanna and Dumuzi as

10406-558: The repair of her temple in Sippar . Due to identification with Inanna, the Hurrian and Elamite goddess Pinikir is referred to as a daughter of Sin and Ningal in a text written in Akkadian but found in a corpus of Hurro-Hittite rituals. In a single Maqlû incantation, Manzat , the goddess of the rainbow, appears as the sister of Shamash, and by extension as daughter of his parents, Sin and Ningal. A tradition according to which Ninazu

10527-476: The repairs undertaken at his orders in the Eḫulḫul the temple was provided with refurbished statues of its divine inhabitants, including Sin, Ningal, Nuska and Sadarnunna . Harran most likely influenced the Aramaic center of the cult of Ningal, known from sources from the first millennium BCE, Nereb ( Al-Nayrab ) located in the proximity of Aleppo . Offerings to Ningal are mentioned in texts from Nippur from

10648-494: The residence of the en priestess of Nanna, into a single complex. The ceremonial name Egarku was retained for her major sanctuary within it, and appears in inscriptions of kings such as Nur-Adad and Warad-Sin. Another shrine dedicated to her in the Gipar was Eidlurugukalamma ("house of the river ordeal of the land"), rebuilt by Silli-Adad . The work continued under the reign of his successor Warad-Sin. Sin-Iddinam mentions Ningal alongside Nanna in an inscription dealing with

10769-427: The same city in this period was associated with Ningal. In Harran Ningal was worshiped in a shrine known under the name giparu . Andrew R. George assumes it was located in the Eḫulḫul, the temple of Sin located in this city. It is attested in sources from the reign of Ashurbanipal . An inscription of this king states that Ningal and Nanna crowned him in Harran. According to inscriptions of Nabonidus , during

10890-453: The second and first millennia BCE are very infrequent, though it might be the result of preservation bias . According to Gina Konstantopoulos, the distinct western form of Ningal might be mentioned in the treaty between Ashur-nirari V and Mati-ilu of Arpad . In the east Ningal is attested in Akkadian theophoric names from Susa in Elam , with the oldest examples occurring in sources from

11011-455: The site of Kissik. The king asked Ningal to intercede with her husband on his behalf in it. Ningal was also worshiped in Uruk in the Seleucid period. However, the attestations are limited to a single source, the ritual text K 7353, which shows astrological influence, but ultimately remains obscure. She is absent from earlier Neo-Babylonian sources and according to Julia Krul presumably

11132-537: The tutelary deities of Kissig in late periods. Nabonidus restored a temple of Ningal bearing the ceremonial name Eamaškuga ("house, pure sheepfold") in this city, which according to Andrew R. George might be identical with Eamašku, attested in association with Inanna in earlier literary texts, including Inanna's Descent . This event is commemorated by an inscription on a poorly preserved cylinder dated to 546 BCE discovered during excavations in Tell al-Lahm , which might be

11253-404: The view that Sin was the head of the pantheon, namely Sîn-bēl-ili ("Sin is the lord of the gods"), Sîn-šar-ili ("Sin is the king of the gods") or Sîn-il-ili ("Sin is god of the gods"). Lambert notes that while similar names invoking other gods, for example Shamash and Adad , are also known, Sîn-bēl-ili is ultimately the most common. Examples of texts elevating Sin's rank are known from Ur from

11374-409: The well attested phenomenon of locally assigning such a role to tutelary deities of specific areas. It was also believed that he could provide people with offspring, as evidenced by prayer in which he is asked for that by childless worshipers, both men and women. He was also believed to aid pregnant women, both during the beginning of pregnancy and in labour. This aspect of his character is highlighted in

11495-405: The wider Middle East , these lists have been discovered. The earliest lexical lists are the archaic (early third millennium BC) word lists uncovered in caches of business documents and which comprise lists of nouns, the absence of verbs being due to their sparse use in these records of commercial transactions. The most notable text is LU A , a list of professions which would be reproduced for

11616-399: The wife of the moon god, Nanna /Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers, Ur and Harran , but they were also worshiped together in other cities of Mesopotamia . She was particularly venerated by the Third Dynasty of Ur and later by kings of Larsa . Ningal's name has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "Great Queen". While she was a major deity in

11737-459: Was Ningikuga (Sumerian: "lady of the pure reed "), as attested in a balbale composition and in an emesal love song. This goddess could be identified as a consort of Enki . The god list An = Anum identifies her with Damkina directly, though in its Old Babylonian forerunner she is a separate deity in the circle of Enki. Ningikuga could also instead function as the name of a manifestation of Ningal, addressed as "the pure one who purifies

11858-409: Was Ur . He was already associated with this city in the Early Dynastic period , and was recognized as its tutelary deity and divine ruler. His temple located there was known under the ceremonial name Ekišnugal, and through its history it was rebuilt by multiple Mesopotamian rulers. Ur was also the residence of the en priestesses of Nanna, the most famous of whom was Enheduanna . Furthermore, from

11979-486: Was Ekišnugal, "house of the great light". Sanctuaries bearing this name also existed in other cities, which is presumed to reflect Ur's central importance in the sphere of religion. The first certain attestation of this ceremonial name has been dated to the reign of Utu-hegal , though it is possible it was already used in the times of Eannatum . Through history, it was rebuilt or patronized by multiple rulers, including Naram-Sin of Akkad , Ur-Nammu of Ur, various rulers from

12100-607: Was a deity of little relevance in Hattian and Hittite religion . In Emar , 30 might have been used as a logogram to represent the name of the local god Saggar , who in addition to fulfilling a lunar role was also the divine personification of the Sinjar Mountains . Both he and Sin (Suinu) were worshiped in Ebla in the third millennium BCE, possibly with each representing a different lunar phase . It has been suggested that

12221-429: Was a son of Sin is also known. Frans Wiggermann proposes that the occasional association between these two gods might have reflected the dependence of Enegi , Ninazu's cult center, on nearby Ur. In the first millennium BCE a tradition according to which Nuska was a son of Sin developed in Harran. Manfred Krebernik  [ de ] suggests that it might have reflected Aramaic influence and that it resulted from

12342-405: Was a son of the moon god is absent from sources from the third millennium BCE. Additionally, a single literary text calls Numushda a son of Enki , rather than Sin and Ningal. Amarazu and Amaraḫea are overall sparsely attested, and despite their status as Sin's daughters in god lists and the incantation series Udug Hul there is no evidence they were worshiped alongside him in Ur. The reason behind

12463-437: Was a tripod, possibly a candelabrum, sometimes with a lunar crescent on top and with an unidentified sandal-like object hanging from it. In some cases, Sin could be portrayed rising from between two mountains, similarly to Shamash, and Dominique Collon has suggests that in some cases reassessment of works of art often presumed to represent the latter in this situation might be necessary due to this similarity. Depictions of Sin in

12584-523: Was actively worshiped in most of the major cities of the region, with remains of multiple temples dedicated to him identified during excavations both in Babylonia and in Assyria . Ur was already well established as the cult center of the moon god, initially under his Sumerian name Nanna, in Early Dynastic times, as attested in the Zame Hymns from Abu Salabikh . His primary temple this city

12705-418: Was also viewed as a son of the moon god. However, no direct evidence supporting this notion has been identified, and therefore whether he was ever regarded as a child of Sin remains impossible to ascertain. Alammuš also possessed his own attendant, Urugal. In the Old Babylonian forerunner of An = Anum , Nindara is listed among the deities belonging to the entourage of Sin. This god was originally worshiped as

12826-675: Was considered another of his major cult centers, as well as in Urum , Babylon , Uruk , Nippur and Assur . The extent to which beliefs pertaining to him influenced the Sabians , a religious community who lived in Harran after the Muslim conquest of the Levant , is disputed. While it is agreed that the two primary names of the Mesopotamian moon god , Nanna and Sin (Suen), originated in two different languages, respectively Sumerian and Akkadian , it

12947-432: Was constructed during the reign of Ur-Nammu. It bore the name Elugalgalgasisa, "house of the king who lets counsel flourish". Kings from the Third Dynasty of Ur believed themselves to be appointed to their position by Sin. His cult flourished during their reigns, as evidenced both by structures uncensored during excavations and by the numerous dedicatory inscriptions. An inscription from this period refers to him as one of

13068-649: Was incorporated into the local pantheon due to her status as the wife of Sin, similarly to other spouses, children and servants of locally venerated deities who first appear in Uruk in Seleucid sources. The cult of Ningal spread from Mesopotamia to other areas, including Hurrian kingdoms such as Kizzuwatna , as well as Ugarit and the Hittite Empire , where she developed into Nikkal . In Ugarit, where she could be referred to as Nikkal-wa-Ib, she belonged both to

13189-440: Was influenced by exposure to Mesopotamian culture and the image of the moon god in it in particular. Equivalence between Sin and Yarikh is documented in an Akkadian - Amorite bilingual lexical list presumed to originate in lower Mesopotamia and dated to the Old Babylonian period . The two of them are also equated in an Ugaritic god list. The name of Yarikh (Yariḫ) and its variants are cognate with terms referring both to

13310-411: Was introduced to Mari , where she was already known in the Ur III period. In an early offering list she appears after Belet-ekallim and Lugal-Terqa ("lord of Terqa "). One masculine and one feminine theophoric name invoking her have been identified in Old Babylonian sources from this city. A document from Old Babylonian Sippar mentions that statues of Ningal and Nanna were used as witnesses of

13431-449: Was known by the epithet Nin-Urimma, "lady of Ur". The veneration of Ningal in Ur is well documented in sources from the Old Babylonian period as well. Anette Zgoll argues that her cultic importance increased compared to the preceding Ur III period. Shu-Ilishu of Isin mentions Ningal in a curse formula in an inscription found in Ur commemorating the recovery of the statue of Nanna from Anshan . Iddin-Dagan referred to himself as

13552-456: Was likely the highest ranked goddess in the local pantheon during his reign. A limestone bowl dedicated to Ningal by Ur-Nammu 's daughter En-nirgal-ana  [ pl ] , who served as the en priestess of Nanna, has also been discovered. Shulgi referred to Ningal as his mother. He also rebuilt the temple of Nanna in Ga’esh, Ekarzida ("house, pure quay ") as a temple of Ningal in which she

13673-464: Was meant. The logogram 30 was also used to render the name of the Elamite moon deity, possibly to be identified with Napir , though Manfred Krebernik  [ de ] notes that in one case the name Nannar appears to be attested in Elamite contex, specifically in an inscription of Shilhak-Inshushinak . A bilingual Akkadian- Kassite lexical list indicates that the Kassite deity regarded as

13794-567: Was not always explicitly identified as his son, with such references lacking for example from An = Anum , direct statements confirming the existence of such a tradition have been identified in an inscription of Abisare of Larsa and in a hymn dedicated to Ningublaga's temple in Kiabrig. Designating Numushda as a son of Sin was likely meant to be a way to assimilate him into the pantheon of lower Mesopotamia , and might be based on perceived similarity to Ningublaga. The tradition according to which he

13915-412: Was often assumed that the variant form Nannar was the standard form of the name, but further research demonstrated that it does not predate the Old Babylonian period . The writing na-an-na-ar is attested in Akkadian and Elamite texts, and was the result of linguistic contamination between the theonym Nanna and the common Akkadian noun nannaru , "light". As an epithet, nannaru could be used to address

14036-474: Was originally established based on the now abandoned reading of the name, but it is still considered a valid translation. An alternate proposal relying on homophony of the element dilim and the logogram dilim 2 (LIŠ) is to explain Dilimbabbar as "the shining bowl". The term dilim 2 was a loan from Akkadian tilimtu , "bowl". Piotr Steinkeller notes that it is not impossible both proposals regarding

14157-467: Was referred as the "great boat of heaven" ( má-gul-la-an-na ), his son was the "small boat of heaven" ( má-bàn-da-an-na ), which reflected his subordinate status. These titles additionally reflected the Mesopotamian belief that the moon was larger than the sun. As an extension of her marriage to the sun god, the dawn goddess Aya was regarded as a daughter-in-law of Sin, as reflected by her common epithet kallatum . Further attested children of Sin include

14278-416: Was regarded as the son of Ningal and her husband. In a Maqlû incantation, Manzat (Akkadian and Elamite goddess of the rainbow) appears as the sister of Shamash, and by extension as daughter of his parents, Ningal and her husband. An = Anum indicates that Ningal was believed to have a sukkal (attendant deity), though the reading of their name, ME ME, remains uncertain. Richard L. Litke argued that

14399-403: Was the result of erroneous collation . In the first millennium BCE 30 became the most common writing. For example, in the text corpus from Neo-Babylonian Uruk only a single text, a kudurru inscription of Ibni-Ishtar, uses EN.ZU instead of 30. Uncommonly NANNA was used in Akkadian texts as a sumerogram meant to be read as Sin. Next to Sin and Nanna, the best attested name of the moon god

14520-549: Was traditionally regarded as Nanshe's daughter, is also placed in the section of An = Anum dedicated to Sin, though according to Walther Sallaberger her presence there might reflect her well attested association with cattle, which she shared with the moon god. Further members of his entourage include deities such as Nineigara , referred to his "lady of the treasury" ( nin-èrim , Akkadian bēlet išitti ) and "obedient housekeeper"( munus-agrig šu-dim 4 -ma , Akkadian abarakkatu saniqtu ), Nimintabba , and Ninurima . In medical texts,

14641-586: Was typically written in cuneiform as EN.ZU, as possibly already attested in a text from the Uruk period, though oldest certain examples, such as entries in the god lists from Fara and Abu Salabikh , only date back to the Early Dynastic period. Most likely it initially developed as a rebus meant to graphically resemble the names of gods whose names had Sumerian etymologies and contained the element EN , for example Enlil . Various phonetic spellings are also attested, for example sú-en , sí-in , si-in and se-en . The large variety of these variants might indicate that

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