Shullat (Šûllat) and Hanish (Ḫaniš) were a pair of

Mesopotamian gods Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substan ...

. They were usually treated as inseparable, and appear together in various works of literature. Their character was regarded as warlike and destructive, and they were associated with the weather.

Names

Multiple syllabic spellings of the name Shullat are attested in

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

texts, including ''^dśu-ul-la-at'', ''^dšu-il-la-at'', ''^dšu-ul-la-at'' and ''^dsu-ul-ut.'' The spelling of Hanish's name was consistently ''^dḫa-ni-iš''. Shullat's name was sometimes written logographically as ^dPA and Hanish's as ^dLUGAL.

Ignace Gelb Ignace Jay Gelb (October 14, 1907, Tarnau, Austria-Hungary (now Tarnów, Poland) - December 22, 1985, Chicago, Illinois) was a Polish-American ancient historian and Assyriologist who pioneered the scientific study of writing systems. Early life ...

proposed that their names were derived from the

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

words ''šullatum'', "despoilment," and ''ḫanīšum'', "submission," but

Dietz-Otto Edzard Dietz-Otto Edzard (28 August 1930 in Bremen – 2 June 2004 in Munich) was a German scholar of the Ancient Near East and grammarian of the Sumerian language. He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences i ...

and

Wilfred G. Lambert Wilfred George Lambert FBA (26 February 1926 – 9 November 2011) was a historian and archaeologist, a specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology. Early life Lambert was born in Birmingham, and, having won a scholarship, he was edu ...

note that while it is certain that both were derived from a

Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...

, their precise meaning is unknown, and it cannot be ruled out that speculative etymologies were already present in ancient scholarship. Daniel Schwemer in a more recent study concludes that no fully plausible etymology has yet been proposed for either name.

Character

In most known sources Shullat and Hanish appear as a pair. Douglas Frayne goes as far as proposing they should be understood as a single deity with a compound name, similar to

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = F ...

Kothar-wa-Khasis Kothar-wa-Khasis ( uga, 𐎋𐎘𐎗𐎆𐎃𐎒𐎒, Kothar-wa-Khasis) is an Ugaritic god whose name means "Skillful-and-Wise" or "Adroit-and-Perceptive" or "Deft-and-Clever". Another of his names, ''Hayyan hrs yd'' means "Deft-with-both-hands" ...

. However, while references to them in an inscription of

Shulgi Shulgi ( dŠulgi, formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from c. 2094 – c. 2046 BC (Middle Chronology) or possibly c. 2030 – 1982 BC ( Short Chronology). His accomplishme ...

are grammatically singular, the view that they were a single deity, rather than a pair, is otherwise not accepted by researchers. The god list the god list ''

An = Anum ''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...

'' refers to them as ''šena-ilān(a)'', "two gods" or "

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

gods."

Paul-Alain Beaulieu Paul-Alain Beaulieu is a Canadian Assyriology, Assyriologist, a Professor of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. Beaulieu earned a master's degree from the Université de Montréal in 1980 under the supervision of M ...

considers them to be two of the deities who entered the Mesopotamian pantheon in the early period of interaction between speakers of Sumerian and Akkadian. He notes that unlike some of the other deities of the latter group, for example

Shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

, they were not identified with any Sumerian deities, but nonetheless entered the common pantheon as minor deities. Shullat and Hanish are assumed to be minor weather deities.

Andrew R. George Andrew R. George (born 1955) is a British Assyriologist and academic best known for his edition and translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Andrew George is Professor of Babylonian language, Babylonian, Department of the Languages and Cultures ...

proposes identifying them as personifications of

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Ishkur Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad (Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...

-like weather deity, no known sources support this conclusion. Both of them were described as warlike and destructive. An omen text mentions the pair marching alongside troops on campaign. Andrew R. George describes them as "twin agents of destruction." It is possible that both of them were associated with

Ishkur Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad (Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...

/Adad, but the extent of this connection is uncertain. In a ''

Šurpu The ancient Mesopotamian incantation series Šurpu begins ''enūma nēpešē ša šur-pu t'' 'eppušu'', “when you perform the rituals for (the series) ‘Burning,’” and was probably compiled in the middle Babylonian period, ca. 1350–1050 ...

'' passage, they occur near Adad and alongside his children Misharu and

Uṣur-amāssu Uṣur-amāssu (also spelled Uṣur-awāssu or Uṣur-amāssa) was a Mesopotamian deity. While originally viewed as male, she later came to be regarded as a goddess. Regardless of gender, Uṣur-amāssu was considered as a child of Adad and Shala ...

. In astrological texts and in the god list ''An = Anum'', Shullat could be identified with

, and Hanish with Adad. However, elsewhere, for example in the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...

'', they are treated as separate deities. "Twin stars" associated with Shullat and Hanish in various works of

Mesopotamian astronomy Babylonian astronomy was the study or recording of celestial objects during the early history of Mesopotamia. Babylonian astronomy seemed to have focused on a select group of stars and constellations known as Ziqpu stars. These constellations m ...

might correspond to

Mu Centauri Mu Centauri, Latinized from μ Centauri, is a third-magnitude star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. With the stars ν and φ Centauri, it marks what has been traditionally portrayed as "''dextro Latere''" (the right side) ...

and

V Centauri V Centauri (V Cen) is a Classical Cepheid variable, a type of variable star, in the constellation Centaurus. It is approximately 2,350 light-years (720 parsecs) away based on parallax. V Centauri varies regularly between visual magnit ...

Worship

The cult center of Shullat and Hanish is presently unknown. The oldest attestations of worship of this pair are

theophoric names A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deit ...

from the Sargonic period. For example, one name invoking Hanish is known from Adab. It has been proposed that they were worshiped in the role of personal or family gods. In the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...

, king

of Ur built a temple of Shullat and Hanish, but neither its name nor location are presently known. Offerings to both of them are also attested in documents from

Umma Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell J ...

and

Puzrish-Dagan Puzrish-Dagan (modern Drehem) is an important archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate (Iraq). It is best-known for the thousands of clay tablets that are known to have come from the site through looting during the early twentieth century ...

from the same period. An individual bearing the name Nūr-ilišu built a shrine ('' É'') dedicated to Shullat and Hanish in

Sippar Sippar ( Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, some ...

. It is also known that they had a priest (''šangûm'') in that city in the

Old Babylonian period The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...

. An oath formula from Sippar, based in part of Sargonic forerunners, mentions Shullat and Hanish: "I swear by Umu (deified day), by Shamash, by Ishtar, by

Ilaba Ilaba was a Mesopotamian god. He is best attested as the tutelary deity of the kings of the Akkadian Empire, and functioned both as their personal god and as the city god of Akkad. Textual sources indicate he was a warlike deity, frequently descri ...

and Annunitum, by the warriors Shullat and Hanish, this is not lies, it is true." They also often appear together in Old Babylonian

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

inscriptions. A

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

of Shullat and Hanish is mentioned in an inscription of the

Kassite The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

ruler

Agum Kakrime Agum IIInscribed ''a-gu-um-ka-ak-ri-me'' in his eponymous inscription, elsewhere unattested. (also known as Agum Kakrime) was ''possibly'' a Kassite ruler who may have become the 8th or more likely the 9th king of the third Babylonian dynasty some ...

: "The one who knows shall show (only) the one who knows, the one who does not know shall not see. The taboo of Shullat and Hanish: Shamash and Adad, the lords of divination." Another taboo is recorded in an oracular text from the

Library of Ashurbanipal The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire, is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BC, including texts in vari ...

: "The blind, the gap-toothed or the finger amputee shall not approach the place of divinatory decision - this is the taboo Šullat and Ḫaniš." A late

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

hymn to

Ninurta , image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...

, which describes his various body parts as analogous to other deities, his upper back is compared Hanish, characterized as a deity "who establishes plenty, who rains down abundance," and his chest to Shullat, whose description is not preserved.

Literature

Both Shullat and Hanish are mentioned in the ''

'' (tablet XI, line 99) during the description of the

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

. It is possible that they can be identified with the throne bearers (''guzalû'') of Adad mentioned in the same passage, but Daniel Schwemer argues that due to lack of other evidence this is uncertain.

assumes that both passages refer to this pair and suggests that as Adad's vanguard they might be the personification of the gale. They are mentioned in ''

Atrahasis ''Atra-Hasis'' ( akk, , Atra-ḫasīs) is an 18th-century BCE Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets, named for its protagonist, Atrahasis ('exceedingly wise'). The ''Atra-Hasis'' tablets include both a creation myth and o ...

'' as well, where they similarly partake in destruction leading to the flood, alongside Errakal and Ninurta. An Old Babylonian copy of the myth of

Adapa Adapa was a Mesopotamian mythical figure who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality. The story, commonly known as "Adapa and the South Wind", is known from fragmentary tablets from Tell el-Amarna in Egypt (around 14th century BC) and from f ...

from Tell Haddad mentions Shullat and Hanish. The passage is broken, but Sara J. Milstein notes that the tablet appears to contain an account of multiplication of mankind after a flood and presumably Adapa's introduction. In the so-called "

Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin The Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin is one of the few literary works whose versions are attested in both Old Babylonian, Middle Babylonian and the Standard Babylonian of the late Neo-Babylonian period, a literary life of around 1,500 years. It seems to ...

," Shullat and Hanish are mentioned alongside

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

Zababa Zababa (Sumerian: 𒀭𒍝𒂷𒂷 dza-ba4-ba4) was the tutelary deity of the city of Kish in ancient Mesopotamia. He was a war god. While he was regarded as similar to Ninurta and Nergal, he was never fully conflated with them. His worship is at ...

Annunitum Annunitum () or Anunītu was a Mesopotamian goddess of war. While initially she functioned as an epithet of Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna), she started to develop into a separate deity in the final years of the Sargonic period and through the Ur III per ...

and

as the deities the eponymous king asks for advice by performing extispicy. In another legend, it is stated that Sargon at one point swore an oath of brotherhood between himself and Kish by a similar group of deities. In the ''

Epic of Erra Erra (sometimes called Irra) is an Akkadian plague god known from an 'epos' of the eighth century BCE. Erra is the god of mayhem and pestilence who is responsible for periods of political confusion. He was assimilated to Nergal at some point. E ...

'', an area of destroyed vegetation is compared to "woodland over which Hanish had passed."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Mesopotamian gods Sky and weather gods Divine twins