The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

M >> Morris Jastrow >> The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

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Nin-si[78]-a.

Ur-Bau and Gudea alone of the ancient rulers refer to this god. The
former erects a temple in honor of the god in some quarter of his
capitol city, while the latter emphasizes the strength that the god has
given him. These references, however, show that the god must have been
of considerable importance, and in this case, his disappearance from the
later pantheon is probably due to the absorption of his role by the
greater god of Lagash,--Nin-girsu. Like Nin-girsu, Nin-si-a was a god of
war, and his worship, imported perhaps from some ancient site to Lagash,
falls into desuetude, as the attribute accorded to him becomes the
distinguishing trait of the chief deity of the place.

Gal-alim.

Among the various deities to whom Gudea gives praise for the position
and glory which he attains is Gal-alim.[79] From him he has received
great rule and a lofty sceptre. The phrase is of a very general nature
and reveals nothing as to the special character of the god in question.
An earlier king, Uru-kagina, refers to the temple of the god at Lagash.
Gal-alim may have been again a merely local deity belonging to one of
the towns that fell under Gudea's rule, and whose attributes again were
so little marked that this god too disappeared under the overshadowing
importance of Nin-girsu. He and another god, Dun-shagga, are viewed as
the sons of Nin-girsu.

* * * * *

Coming to some of the deities that we may designate as minor, it is to
be noted that in the case of certain ones, at least, it will be found
that they may be identified with others more prominent, and that what
seem to be distinct names are in reality descriptive epithets of gods
already met with. This remark applies more particularly to such names as
begin with the element Nin, signifying either 'lord' or 'lady,' and
which, when followed by the name of a place, always points to its being
a title, and, when followed by an ideographic compound, only diminishes
that probability to a slight degree. We have already come across several
instances; thus Nin-girsu, the lord of Girsu, has been shown to be a
form of Ninib, itself an ideogram, the reading of which, it will be
recalled, is still uncertain; and again, Nin-khar-sag has been referred
to, as one of the titles of the great goddess Belit. Similarly,
Nin-gish-zida, whose name signifies 'the lord of the right-hand (or
propitious) sceptre,' becomes a title and not a name, and when Gudea
speaks of this god as the one who leads him to battle, and calls him
'king,' he is simply describing the same god who is elsewhere spoken of
as Nin-girsu. By the side of Nin-girsu and Nin-gish-zida appears
Nin-shakh, who, as Oppert[80] has shown, is like Nin-girsu the prototype
of the well-known god of war, Ninib. However, Nin-shakh occupies, in
contradistinction to Nin-gish-zida and others, a position in the old
Babylonian pantheon of an independent character, so that it is hardly
justifiable, in such a case, to identify him completely with Ninib, and
place the name on a par with the epithets just referred to. The dividing
line between the mere title and an independent god thus becomes at times
very faint, and yet it is well to maintain it whenever called for. In
the following enumeration of the minor gods of the old Babylonian
pantheon, the attempt will be made to bring out this distinction in each
instance.

Beginning with

Nin-shakh

the element _Nin_, as has several times been mentioned, points to an
ideographic form. The second element signifies 'wild boar,' and from
other sources we know that this animal was a sacred one in Babylonia, as
among other Semitic nations.[81] Its flesh, on certain days of the
Babylonian calendar, was forbidden to be eaten, from which we are
permitted to conclude that these days were dedicated to the animal, and
the prohibition represents perhaps the traces of some old religious
festival. May Nin-shakh therefore have been a 'swine deity,' just as
Nergal is symbolized by the 'lion'? In both cases the animal would be a
symbol of the violent and destructive character of the god.

The ferocious character of the 'swine' would naturally result in
assigning to Nin-shakh warlike attributes; and as a matter of fact he is
identified at times with Ninib. His subordinate position, however, is
indicated by his being called the 'servant,' generally of En-lil,
occasionally also of Anu, and as such he bears the name of
Pap-sukal,[82] _i.e._, 'divine messenger.' Rim-Sin builds a temple to
Nin-shakh at Uruk, and from its designation as his 'favorite dwelling
place' we may conclude that Rim-Sin only restores or enlarges an ancient
temple of the deity. In the light of this, the relationship above set
forth between Nin-girsu, Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-shakh becomes somewhat
clearer. The former, the local deity of Girsu, would naturally be called
by the kings 'the lord of the true sceptre,' while the subordination of
Girsu as a quarter of Lagash finds its reflection in the relationship of
master and servant pictured as existing between En-lil and Nin-girsu.
Again, the warlike character of the patron deity of Girsu would lead to
an identification with Nin-shakh of Uruk, possessing the same traits;
and the incorporation of Uruk as a part of the same empire which
included Lagash and its quarters, would be the last link bringing about
the full equation between the three. With Ninib--the solar deity--coming
into prominence as the god of war, all three names, Nin-girsu,
Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-shakh, would be regarded by a later age as merely
descriptive of one and the same god.

Dun-shagga.

Gudea makes mention in one of his inscriptions, by the side of
Nin-gish-zida, of a god Dun-shagga,[83] whose name signifies the 'chief
hero,' but the phonetic reading of which it is impossible to
determine.[84] Like Nin-gish-zida, he is a warlike god, and from that
one might suppose that he too is only another form of Nin-girsu-Ninib.
At all events, he did not differ materially from the latter. It is from
him, that Gudea again declares his power to be derived, just as
elsewhere he accords to Nin-girsu this distinction. The element 'Dun,'
which is very much the same as 'Nin,' speaks in favor of regarding
Dun-shagga as a title; but, in default of positive evidence, it will not
be out of place to give him an independent position, and to regard his
identification with Nin-girsu as a later phase due to the extension of
Nin-girsu's jurisdiction and his corresponding absorption of a varying
number of minor gods. This tendency on the part of the greater gods to
absorb the minor ones is as distinctive a trait in the development of
the Babylonian religion, as is the subordination of one god to the
other, whether expressed by making the subordinate god the consort, the
chief, or the servant of a superior one. We have seen that such terms of
relationship correspond to certain degrees of political conditions
existing between the conquering and the conquered districts.
Amalgamation of two cities or districts is portrayed in the relation of
the two patron deities as husband and wife, the stronger of the two
being the former, the more subservient pictured as the latter. The more
pronounced superiority of the one place over the other finds expression
in the relation of father to child, while that of master and servant
emphasizes the complete control exercised by the one over the other.
Lastly, the absorption of one deity into another, is correlative either
with the most perfect form of conquest, or the complete disappearance of
the seat of his worship in consequence of the growing favor of one
possessing sufficiently similar qualities to warrant identification with
the other.

Lugal-banda.

Sin-gashid of the dynasty of Uruk makes mention of this deity at the
beginning of one of his inscriptions. To him and to his consort,
Nin-gul, a temple as 'the seat of their joy' at that place is devoted.
This association of the god with the town points again to a local deity,
but possessing a character which leads to the absorption of the god in
the solar god, Nergal, whom we have already encountered, and who will
occupy us a good deal when we come to the period after Hammurabi. The
identification of the two is already foreshadowed in an inscription of
another member of the same dynasty, Sin-gamil, who places the name of
Nergal exactly where his predecessor mentions Lugal-banda. The first
element in his name signifies 'king,' the second apparently 'strong,' so
that in this respect, too, the god comes close to Nergal, whose name
likewise indicates 'great lord.' The consort of Lugal-banda is

Nin-gul.

Her name signifies 'the destructive lady,'--an appropriate epithet for
the consort of a solar deity. It is Sin-gashid again who associates
Ningul with Lugal-banda, and emphasizes his affection for the goddess by
calling her his mother. In one inscription, moreover, Sin-gashid
addresses himself exclusively to the goddess, who had an equal share in
the temple at Uruk.

Dumuzi-zu-aba.

Among the deities appealed to by Ur-Bau appears one whose name is to be
interpreted as the 'unchangeable child of the watery deep.' The great
god of the deep we have seen is Ea. Dumuzi-zu-aba therefore belongs to
the water-deities, and one who, through his subordinate rank to Ea,
sinks to the level of a water-spirit. Ur-Bau declares himself to be the
darling of this deity, and in the town of Girsu he erects a temple to
him. Girsu, however, was not the patron city of the god, for Ur-Bau
gives Dumuzi-zu-aba, the appellation of 'the lord of Kinunira,'[85] a
place the actual situation of which is unknown. Dumuzi-zu-aba,
accordingly, is to be regarded as a local deity of a place which,
situated probably on an arm of the Euphrates, was the reason for the
watery attributes assigned to the god. The comparative insignificance of
the place is one of the factors that accounts for the minor importance
of the god, and the second factor is the popularity enjoyed by another
child of the great Ea, his child _par excellence_, Marduk, who is best
known as the patron god of the city of Babylon. By the side of Marduk,
the other children of Ea, the minor water-deities, disappear, so that to
a later generation Dumuzi-zu-aba appears merely as a form of Marduk.
With Dumuzi-zu-aba, we must be careful not to confuse

Dumu-zi,

who in the old Babylonian inscriptions is mentioned once by
Sin-iddina,[86] in connection with the sun-god. Dumu-zi, signifying
'child of life,' has a double aspect--an agricultural deity and at the
same time a god of the lower world. He plays an important part in the
eschatological literature of the Babylonians, but hardly none at all in
the historical and incantation texts. A fuller treatment may therefore
be reserved for a future chapter.

Lugal-erima.

A purely local deity, if the reading and interpretation offered by
Jensen, 'King of the city Erim,' is correct. The mention of the deity in
an inscription of Ur-Bau, who calls himself the 'beloved servant' of
this god, would be due to the circumstance that the district within
which the city in question lay was controlled by the rulers of Lagash.
To invoke as large a number of deities as possible was not only a means
of securing protection from many sides, but was already in the early
days of Babylonian history indulged in by rulers, as a means of
emphasizing the extent and manifold character of their jurisdiction.

Nin-e-gal and Ningal.

A temple was erected to Nin-e-gal by the wife of Rim-Sin, of the dynasty
ruling in Larsa. Her name as interpreted in the tablet dedicated to her,
signifies again, as in several cases already noted, 'great lady.' She
was probably therefore only the consort of some patron deity; and Nannar
being the most prominent god invoked by Rim-Sin, it would seem that the
goddess to whom the queen pays her respects is again one of the consorts
of the moon-god.[87] This conclusion is supported by the direct
association of Nannar of Ur and Ningal in an inscription emanating from
an earlier member of the same dynasty to which Rim-Sin belongs.
Nur-Ramman speaks of building temples to these deities in the city of
Ur. Hence the goddess is also represented as interceding with Sin on
behalf of those who appeal to her. The form Nin-e-gal is but a variant
of Nin-gal, so that the identification of the two lies beyond doubt, and
it may very well be that the temple erected by the consort of Rim-Sin is
the same as the one referred to by Nur-Ramman. In a land where polygamy
was a prevailing custom, the gods too might be represented as having a
number of consorts. There would of course be, just as in human
relations, one chief consort, but there might be others ranged at the
side of the latter.[88] Some of these may have been consorts of other
minor deities, worshipped in the same district, and who were given to
the more important divinity as he gradually overshadowed the others. In
this way, we may account for the large variety of 'ladies' and 'great
ladies' met with in the Babylonian pantheon, and who, being merely
'reflections' of male deities, with no sharply marked traits of their
own, would naturally come to be confused with one another, and finally
be regarded as various forms of one and the same goddess. A member of
the dynasty ruling in Isin, En-anna-tuma, earlier even than Nur-Ramman,
invokes Nin-gal in an inscription found in the ancient capital, Ur.
Here, too, the goddess appears in association with Nannar; but,
curiously enough, she is designated as the mother of Shamash. It will be
borne in mind that in the city of Ur, the sun-god occupied a secondary
place at the side of the moon-god. This relationship is probably
indicated by the epithet 'offspring of Nin-gal,' accorded to Shamash in
the inscription referred to. The moon being superior to the sun, the
consort of the moon-god becomes the mother of the sun-god.

Reference has several times been made to

Nin-gish-zida,

who, originally a distinct solar deity, becomes scarcely distinguishable
from Nin-girsu, and is eventually identified with the great Nin-ib.[89]
It is noticeable that these four deities, Nin-girsu, Nin-shakh,
Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-ib, who are thus associated together, all contain
the element _Nin_ in their names,--a factor that may turn out to be of
some importance when more abundant material shall be forthcoming for
tracing their development in detail. One of Gudea's inscriptions[90]
begins with the significant statement, 'Nin-gish-zida is the god of
Gudea'; and elsewhere when speaking of him, he is 'my god,' or 'his
god.' None of the ancient Babylonian rulers make mention of him except
Gudea, though in the incantation texts he is introduced and
significantly termed 'the throne-bearer' of the earth. The purely local
character of the deity is, furthermore, emphasized by the reference to
his temple in Girsu, on a brick and on a cone containing dedicatory
inscriptions, inscribed by Gudea in honor of the god.[91]

Shul (or Dun)-pa-uddu.

The wife of the famous Gudea, Gin-Shul-pa-uddu, bears a name in which
one of the elements is a deity, the phonetic reading of whose name is
still uncertain.[92] The elements comprising it, namely, 'lord' (?),
'sceptre,' and 'radiant,' leave little doubt as to the solar character
of the god. Besides Gudea's wife, a ruler, Ur-Shul-pa-uddu,[93]
belonging apparently to a somewhat earlier period, embodies this deity
in his name. The worship of the deity, therefore, belongs to a very
early epoch, and appears at one time to have enjoyed considerable
popularity within a certain district of Babylonia. To what region of
Babylonia he belongs has not yet been ascertained. Judging from
analogous instances, he represented some phase of the sun worshipped in
a particular locality, whose cult, with the disappearance of the place
from the surface of political affairs, yielded to the tendency to
concentrate sun-worship in two or three deities,--Shamash and Ninib more
especially. In the astronomy of the Babylonians the name survived as a
designation of Marduk-Jupiter.[94]

Nin-Mar.

A local deity, designated as the lady of Mar, is invoked by Ur-Bau, from
whom we learn that she was the daughter of Nina. _Mar_, with the
determinative for country, _Ki_, appears to have been the name of a
district extending to the Persian Gulf.[95] The capital of the district
is represented by the mound Tel-Id, not far from Warka. Her subsidiary
position is indicated in these words, and we may conclude that Nin-Mar
at an early period fell under the jurisdiction of the district in which
Nina was supreme. For all that, Nin-Mar, or the city in which her cult
was centralized, must have enjoyed considerable favor. Ur-Bau calls her
the 'gracious lady,' and erects a temple, the name of which,
Ish-gu-tur,[96] _i.e._, according to Jensen's plausible interpretation,
'the house that serves as a court for all persons,' points to Mar as a
place of pilgrimage to which people came from all sides. Gudea,
accordingly, does not omit to include 'the lady of Mar' in his list of
the chief deities to whom he pays his devotions; and on the assumption
of the general favor in which the city of Mar stood as a sacred town, we
may account for the fact that a much later ruler, Dungi, of the dynasty
of Ur,[97] erects a temple to her honor.

Pa-sag.

A deity, the phonetic reading of whose name is unknown, or at all events
uncertain,[98] is mentioned once by Gudea in the long list of deities
that has been several times referred to. The ideographs with which his
name is written designate him as a chief of some kind, and in accord
with this, Gudea calls him 'the leader of the land.' Pa-sag is mentioned
immediately after the sun-god Utu, and in view of the fact that another
solar deity, I-shum, whom we shall come across in a future chapter, is
designated by the same title[99] as Pa-sag, it seems safe to conclude
that the latter is likewise a solar deity, and in all probability, the
prototype of I-shum, if not indeed identical with him.

Nisaba (or Nidaba).

In a dream which the gods send to Gudea, he sees among other things, a
goddess, whose name may be read Nisaba or Nidaba.[100] Nina, who
interprets the dream to the ruler of Shirpurla, declares that Nisaba is
her sister. In a text belonging to a still earlier age, the deity is
mentioned as the begetter of a king whose name is read Lugal-zaggisi.[101]
From the manner in which the name of the goddess is written, as well as
from other sources, we know that Nisaba is an agricultural deity. In
historical texts she plays scarcely any role at all, but in incantations
she is often referred to; and from the fact that Nisaba is appealed to,
to break the power of the demons in conjunction with Ea, it would appear
that the position once occupied by her was no insignificant one.
Nin-girsu, it will be recalled, has also traits which connect him with
agricultural life, and Nina being the daughter of Nin-si-a, one of the
forms under which Ningirsu-Ninib appears, we may connect Nisaba directly
with the cults of which Lagash formed the center. Nisaba must have been
the consort of one of the agricultural gods, whose jurisdiction falls
within Gudea's empire. Lugal-zaggisi, as the king of Uruk, assigns to
the goddess a first place. Her origin must, therefore, be sought in this
region. In later days the name of the goddess is used to describe the
fertility of the soil in general. So Ashurbanabal, describing the
prosperity existing in his days, says that grain was abundant through
the 'increase of Nisaba.'[102]

KU(?)-Anna.

A goddess of this name--reading of the first sign doubtful--is mentioned
by Ur-Bau, who builds a temple to her in Girsu. If Amiaud is correct in
his reading of the first sign, the goddess was identified at one time by
the Babylonians with the consort of Ramman--the storm-god. This would
accord with the description that Ur-Bau gives of the goddess. She is the
one who deluges the land with water--belonging therefore to the same
order as Bau.

In a list of deities enumerated by a ruler of Erech, Lugal-zaggisi,[103]
are found (1) a local goddess,

Umu,

designated as the 'priestess of Uruk,'[104] and occupying an inferior
rank to (2) a goddess,

Nin-akha-kuddu,[105]

who is called 'the mistress of Uruk.' The importance of Erech in the
early history of Babylonia is emphasized by the inscriptions from
Nippur, recently published by Dr. Hilprecht. It is natural, therefore,
to find several deities of a purely local type commemorated by kings who
belong to this region. The goddess Umu is not heard of again. The great
goddess of Uruk, Nana, absorbs the smaller ones, and hence
Nin-akha-kuddu survives chiefly in incantation texts as 'the lady of
shining waters,' of 'purification,' and of 'incantations.'[106]

* * * * *

Lastly, a passing reference may be made to several deities to whom
sanctuaries are erected by Uru-Kagina in the great temple of Bau at
Uru-azaga, and whom Amiaud regards as sons of Bau.

Uru-Kagina enumerates three, Za-za-uru, Im-pa-ud-du, and
Gim-nun-ta-ud-du-a.[107] The element _ud-du_ in the last two names
signifies 'radiant' or 'rising up'; while _pa-ud-du_ (like in
Shul-pa-ud-du, p. 99) means 'radiant sceptre.' If to this, we add that
_Im_ is 'storm,' it will appear plausible to see in the second name a
form of a raging solar deity and perhaps also in the third; _gim nun_ in
the latter name may mean 'creating lord.' To these Amiaud[108] adds from
other sources, Khi-gir-nunna, Khi-shaga, Gurmu, and Zarmu. He takes
these seven deities as sons of Bau, but he offers no conclusive evidence
for his theory. Some of these deities may turn out to be synonymous with
such as have already been met with.

FOOTNOTES:

[24] Indicated by separating the syllables composing the name.

[25] At the period when the kings of Ur extend their rule over Nippur,
they, too, do not omit to refer to the distinction of having been called
to the service of the great god at his temple.

[26] The name signifies, 'He has founded the city,' the subject of the
verb being some deity whose name is omitted.

[27] Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 23, proposes to read Nin-Ur-sag, but
without sufficient reason, it seems to me. The writing being a purely
ideographic form, an _epitheton ornans_, the question of how the
ideographs are to be read is not of great moment.

[28] We may compare the poetic application 'rock' to Yahweh in the Old
Testament, _e.g._, Job 1. 12, and frequently in Psalms,--lxii. 3, 7;
xcii. 16, 18, etc.

[29] Reading doubtful. Jensen suggests Erim. Hommel (_Proc. Soc. Bibl.
Arch._ xv. 37 _seq._) endeavored to identify the place with Babylon, but
his views are untenable. If Gish-galla was not a part of Lagash, it
could not have been far removed from it. It was Amiaud who first
suggested that Shir-pur-la (or Lagash) was the general name for a city
that arose from an amalgamation of four originally distinct quarters.
("Sirpurla" in _Revue Archeologique_, 1888.) The suggestion has been
generally, though not universally accepted.

[30] That Ninib is only an ideographic form is sufficiently clear from
the element NIN-, lord. The proof, however, that Ninib is Adar, is still
wanting. See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 457, 458.

[31] From the context (De Sarzec, _Decouvertes_, pl. 6, no. 4, ll.
13-21, and pl. 31, no. 3, col iii. ll. 2-6), there can be no doubt that
Shul-gur (or Shul-gur-ana) is an epithet of Nin-girsu. The ideographs
descriptive of the edifice suggest a corn magazine of some kind. One is
reminded of the storehouses for grain in Egypt. See Jensen's Notes,
_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, pp. 15, 18, 73. A comparison of the two texts in
question makes it probable that Ab-gi and E-bi-gar are synonymous.

[32] Rawlinson, iv. 27, no. 6; 11, 45-46.

[33] It is noticeable that there is no mention made of a special god of
Lagash, which points to the later origin of the name.

[34] Inscr. D, col. li. 13; G, col. ii. ll. 1-8; iii. 4 _seq._

[35] See Gen. xxiv. 53. Burkhardt, _Notes on the Bedouins_, i. 109,
gives an example of the custom.

[36] The two names are used by Gudea (Inscr. G, col. iii. 12) in a way
to indicate that they embrace the whole district of Lagash.

[37] _Semit. Voelker_, p. 382.

[38] See Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 28, note 2.

[39] The first signifies 'to make,' the third means "good, favorable,"
but the second, upon which so much depends, is not clear. Amiaud reads
_tum_ instead of _sig_.

[40] _E.g._, Nina (see below).

[41] De Sarzec, pl. 7, col. i. 12.

[42] _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 104.

[43] Inscr. D, col. iv. ll. 7, 8.

[44] In Rawlinson, ii. 58, no. 6, there is a list of some seventy names.

[45] Rawlinson, ii. 58, no. 6, 58.

[46] De Sarzec, pl. 8, col v. ll. 4-6.

[47] _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 80, note 3.

[48] Rawlinson, iv. 35, no. 2, 1.

[49] See a syllabary giving lists of gods, Rawlinson, ii. 60, 12. Dungi,
indeed, calls Nergal once the king of lawful control over Lagash
(Rawlinson, iv. 35, no. 2, ll. 2, 3). The exact force of the title is
not clear, but in no case are we permitted to conclude as Amiaud does
(_Rec. of the Past_, N.S., i. 59) that Shid-lam-ta-udda is identical
with Nin-girsu.