Ilaba was a
Mesopotamian god
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 ...
. He is best attested as the tutelary deity of the kings of the
Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad (city), Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and ...
, and functioned both as their personal god and as the city god of
Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
. Textual sources indicate he was a warlike deity, frequently described as armed with a
mace. Whether he was understood as a fully independent deity or as a
deified
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
ancestor, as well as his proposed connection to the similarly named
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 ...
ic ancestral deity
Ilib
Ilib (also known as ''eni attanni'') was an Ugaritic god most likely regarded as a primordial deity. As a generic term, the word ''ilib'' seemingly also referred to spirits of ancestors. The god and the concept were most likely connected with each ...
, remain a matter of dispute among researchers. He is not mentioned in any sources predating the reign of
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...
. After the end of the Akkadian Empire, he continued to be worshiped in various cities in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, for example
Mari, and 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 ...
he became the tutelary deity of the rulers of the
Kingdom of Khana The Kingdom of Khana or Kingdom of Hana (end of 18th century BC – middle of 17th century BC) was the Syrian Kingdom from Hana Land located in the middle Euphrates region north of Mari which included the ancient city of Terqa. The kingdom emerged ...
. He also continued to appear in literary texts describing the feats of Akkadian rulers and in god lists.
Name and character
Ilaba's name was written 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 ...
as ''Ìl-a-ba
4'',
DINGIR
''Dingir'' (, usually transliterated DIĜIR, ) is a Sumerian word for "god" or "goddess". Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is con ...
.A.MAL. It is understood as a combination of the elements ''il'', the generic word "god" or a distinct theonym, and ''aba'', "father," attested in
Semitic languages
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 immigra ...
, and can be translated as "Il is the father" or "Il, the father." In the past
Assyriologists
Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...
were uncertain how to read it, and possibilities such as
dA.MAL or
dA.BA
4 were proposed. Attempts were also made to identify the god meant as
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 ...
or
Marduk
Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...
. The correct reading has been first established in 1969 by
Åke W. Sjöberg and found acceptance in Assyriology in subsequent decades.
Ilaba was the city god of
Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
. It is assumed that he functioned as a
war deity
A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions.
Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
. A
mace is often mentioned in association with him. An inscription of
Sargon known from an
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Camb ...
copy states that Ilaba's weapon let him triumph over fifty other rulers. Another relays that Ilaba received his mace from the head of the pantheon,
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
. In texts from the reign of
Naram-Sin, he often appears alongside another warlike deity,
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 ...
, who is designated as the one "leading the troops of the city of Ilaba" in one case. It has been argued that they were regarded as spouses, but this remains uncertain.
Manfred Krebernik notes that while it remains a matter of debate in scholarship if Ilaba was an individual deity or simply a generic term for a family god or a deified ancestor, the fact that his character is described consistently in known sources, his association with a specific city, and his presence in god lists seem to support the former view. Jack M. Sasson states that the view that he represented a deified ancestor, similar to deities such as
Itūr-Mēr
Itūr-Mēr was a Mesopotamian god worshiped in the kingdom of Mari, and after its fall in the kingdom of Khana, especially in Terqa. His name is structured like a theophoric name rather than a typical theonym, which lead to the proposal that he ...
or
Yakrub-El
Yakrub-El or Ikrub-El was a Mesopotamian god worshiped in Terqa in the kingdom of Mari in the early Old Babylonian period. Since his name is structured as if it were a theophoric personal name, is commonly assumed that he was a deified hero or a ...
, is common in scholarship, though he considers it implausible himself. A connection between Ilaba and Ugaritic divine ancestral figure
Ilib
Ilib (also known as ''eni attanni'') was an Ugaritic god most likely regarded as a primordial deity. As a generic term, the word ''ilib'' seemingly also referred to spirits of ancestors. The god and the concept were most likely connected with each ...
has been proposed by
Wilfred G. Lambert. However, Dennis Pardee argues the character of Ilib cannot be considered identical with Ilaba's, and rules out the possibility that the former was derived from the latter. Krebernik notes that accepting that Ilib was derived from Ilaba would require assuming that the name of this god was translated after he was introduced into the
Ugaritic pantheon
The Ugaritic pantheon included deities of local origin, many of whom are also known from Eblaite sources from the third millennium BCE or Amorite ones from the early second millennium BCE, as well as Hurrian and Mesopotamian ones. The Ugaritic pa ...
.
Worship
In the Sargonic period
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...
referred to Ilaba as his personal god. No evidence of the worship of Ilaba predates the period of this king's reign, including
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
s and
theophoric name
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 ...
s. One of his successors,
Naram-Sin, referred to Ilaba as i''llat-śu'', literally "his clan," perhaps to be understood metaphorically as "protector" or "family deity," though he called
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
his personal god.
An inscription of Naram-Sin states that after extending his empire in the west he "smote the people whom the god
Dagān had given to him for the first time, so that they perform service for the god Ilaba, his god." The mention of Dagan is typical for
Sargonic inscriptions dealing with western conquests, as this god was believed to be responsible for bestowing kingship in the Upper
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
area, as also attested in later texts from
Mari. It is not certain if the reference to the inhabitants of the northwestern territories having to serve Ilaba indicates that he was introduced to this area by the Sargonic dynasty, or if he was present in the local pantheon before already. The original of the discussed text was apparently inscribed on a monument located in
Ur, but it is known to modern researchers from an Old Babylonian copy. A curse accompanying this inscription invokes Ilaba alongside a large number of other deities, such as
Sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
,
Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...
,
Ninkarrak
Ninkarrak ( akk, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒋼𒀀𒊏𒀝, '' dnin-kar-ra-ak'') was a goddess of medicine worshiped chiefly in northern Mesopotamia and Syria. It has been proposed that her name originates in either Akkadian or an unidentified substrate lang ...
,
Ninhursag
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers
, image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg
, caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting ...
and
Nisaba
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Su ...
. Ilaba is also one of the five Mesopotamian deities mentioned in a treaty between Naram-Sin and an unknown ruler of
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
, the other four being
Ishara
Ishara (Išḫara) was the tutelary goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Ebla. The origin of her name is unknown. Both Hurrian and West Semitic etymologies have been proposed, but they found no broad support and today it is often assumed that ...
,
Manzat
Manzat (; Auvergnat: ''Manzac'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.
See also
*Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
The following is a list of the 464 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of Franc ...
, Ninkarrak and
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 ...
. A text which is either a copy of an inscription of Naram-Sin or a later literary composition describing a rebellion against this king lists
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 ...
, Ilaba,
Shullat and Hanish,
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. ...
, and Umshu as the deities he reports the defeat of the rebels to.
A year name of
Shar-Kali-Sharri
Shar-Kali-Sharri (, '' DShar-ka-li-Sharri''; reigned c. 2217–2193 BC middle chronology, c. 2153–2129 BC short chronology) was a king of the Akkadian Empire.
Rule
Succeeding his father Naram-Sin in c. 2217 BC, he came to the throne in an age ...
states that he built a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
dedicated to Ilaba in
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
before defeating a
Gutian king named
Sharlak. However, its ceremonial name is unknown.
Andrew R. George argues that Ilaba shared it with
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 ...
, but according to
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 ...
, while the same year name mentions both of these deities, it commemorates the building of two separate temples. As of 2017, this year name remained the oldest known reference to the city of Babylon, in this case written as KÁ.DINGIR
ki (the first sign is read as ''babu'' in
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 ...
, the second as ''ilu'', the third is a
determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may ...
designating place names), a spelling also well attested in later times, seemingly reliant on a
folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
reinterpreting the city's name as "gate of the gods." A temple of Ilaba might have also existed 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 ...
, while an ''ereš-dingir'' priestess dedicated to him resided in
Girsu
Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.
History
Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but sign ...
. A reference to ''sanga'' clergy of Ilaba is known too.
Two texts from
Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
mention offerings made to Ilaba and the deity ''
dšu-nir'', interpreted as a deified
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
by Piotr Steinkeller and Manfred Krebernik, but as
Bēlat-Šuhnir by Ran Zadok. Based on the content of the texts in mention, Steinkeller assumes the palatial administration of Susa was dedicated to Ilaba.
Ilaba is mentioned alongside Ishtar, Ninhursag and
Ashgi
Ashgi ( ''Ašgi'') was a Mesopotamian god associated with Adab and Kesh. While he was originally the tutelary deity of the former of these two cities, he was eventually replaced in this role by his mother Ninhursag, locally known under the name ...
in a letter of
Adab sent by Ishkun-Dagan, who might have been an official residing in the
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
area during the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri, to a certain Puzur-Ishtar. The former pair of deities presumably represented the political center of the period, Akkad, while the latter two were the main deities Adab. Benjamin Foster notes that the style of this text is "unusual" and "flowery," and that it uses "language derived from magical formulae," which according to him might indicate its original intent was humorous, as its topic is a simple request to arrive quickly.
Various theophoric names invoking Ilaba are known from texts from the Sargonic period, including Ilaba-ālšu ("Ilaba is his city"), Ilaba-andul ("Ilaba is the protection"), Ilaba-ištakal ("Trust in Ilaba;" the name of one of Sargons's sons), Il-Ilaba ("Ilaba is the god"), Kašid-Ilaba ("Ilaba has come"), Rīssu-Ilaba ("Ilaba is his help") and Belī-Ilaba ("Ilaba is my lord"). Only a single possible toponym invoking him has been identified as of 2016, I-Dabal-Ilaba, though the reading of the name is not universally accepted.
Later periods
The
Gutian ruler Erridupizir
Erridupizir ('' fl.'' 2141–2138 BC (Short chronology)) was a Gutian ruler in Sumer. His reign was attested by a royal inscription at the archaeological site for the ancient city-state of Nippur where he called himself: "'' King of Guti, King of ...
referred to Ilaba as ''illat-śu'', similar as
Naram-Sin.
Ilaba continued to be worshiped in later periods, as indicated by
theophoric name
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 ...
s invoking him, for example that of an ''
ensi'' of
Assur
Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'a ...
under the
Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century Common Era, BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians c ...
, Ilaba-AN.DÙL. Many examples are known from
Mari, where he appears in ten types of masculine theophoric names from an
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 ...
. They include Ana-Ilaba-taklāku ("I trust in Ilaba"), Idin-Ilaba ("Ilaba judged correctly"), Puzur-Ilaba ("under the protection of Ilaba") and Qīšti-Ilaba ("my gift of Ilaba"). An earlier attestation of Ilaba from this city is an offering list from the
Šakkanakku
Shakkanakku ( Sumerian: , GIR.NITA or ''šagina'', , ''Shakkanakku''), was an Akkadian language title designating a military governor. Mari was ruled by a dynasty of hereditary Shakkanakkus which was originally set by the Akkadian Empire and gain ...
period. An Old Babylonian
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
from
Me-Turan
Me-Turan (also Mê-Turan) is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate Iraq comprising the modern Tell Haddad and the two mounds of Tell al-Sib (also Tell as-Sib). In Neo-Assyrian times it was known as Me-Turnat. It was excavated as part of the ...
bears the name of a certain Puzur-Ilaba, son of Ilaba-nasir, who referred to himself as a servant of
Naram-Sin of Eshnunna
Naram-Suen (also transcribed Narām-Sîn, Naram-Sin) was a king who ruled over Eshnunna for at least nine years during the later 19th century BCE, during its brief time of political power. He is known to be the son of Ipiq-Adad II, king of Eshnunna ...
. A man bearing theophoric name invoking Ilaba, Ipqu-Ilaba, was the father of a certain Zikir-ilīšu, a servant of
Nur-Adad of
Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
, and is known from an inscribed seal of his son.
Starting with the later part of the Old Babylonian period, rulers of the
Kingdom of Khana The Kingdom of Khana or Kingdom of Hana (end of 18th century BC – middle of 17th century BC) was the Syrian Kingdom from Hana Land located in the middle Euphrates region north of Mari which included the ancient city of Terqa. The kingdom emerged ...
came to worship Ilaba as their tutelary god. Multiple royal seals from this area are inscribed with a dedication to him and
Dagan, though the formula varies, with known examples including "the beloved of Ilaba and Dagan," "''ensi'' of Dagan and Ilaba," and "servant of Ilaba and Dagan."
A possible reference to Ilaba has been identified in an offering list from
Emar
)
, image = View_from_the_Byzantine_Tower_at_Meskene,_ancient_Barbalissos.jpg
, alt =
, caption = View from the Byzantine Tower at Meskene, ancient Barbalissos
, map_type = Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 200
...
, though the identity of the deity meant is uncertain in this case.
Gary Beckman
Gary Michael Beckman (born 1948) is a noted Hittitologist and Professor of Hittite and Mesopotamian Studies from the University of Michigan. He has written several books on the Hittites: his publication ''Hittite Diplomatic Texts'' and ''Hittite My ...
assumes the name is to be read as ''
dA-ba'' in this case, and that it refers to a god of
West Semitic
The West Semitic languages are a proposed major sub-grouping of ancient Semitic languages. The term was first coined in 1883 by Fritz Hommel.[Khorsabad
Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon"; ar, دور شروكين, Syriac: ܕܘܪ ܫܪܘ ܘܟܢ), present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. Khorsabad is a village in northern Iraq, 15 km northeast of Mo ...]
assigns the Edikumaḫ (Sumerian: "house of the exalted judge") to Ilaba, though its location is not preserved. According to Andrew R. George, most entries in this document appear to be otherwise unknown temples located in the north of Mesopotamia, for example in the
Diyala area. Ilaba is also attested in various god lists, including the Nippur 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 ...
'' and the
Weidner god list
Weidner god list is the conventional name of one of the known ancient Mesopotamian lists of deities, originally compiled by ancient scribes in the late third millennium BCE, with the oldest known copy dated to the Ur III or Isin-Larsa period. Fur ...
, where he appears after
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 ...
. Due to textual corruption, copies from Emar and
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 ...
treat Ilaba and the deity DINGIR.A.BA
4.BA
4 who follows him as goddesses and explain them as the Mesopotamian counterparts of
Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
Hutena and Hutellura
Hutena and Hutellura (also spelled Hudena and Hudellura; ''ḫdn ḫdlr'' in alphabetic Ugaritic texts) were goddesses of fate and divine midwives in Hurrian mythology.
Number
An unresolved problem in scholarship is the number of goddesses ref ...
.
A fictitious letter attributed to
Sargon in ancient Mesopotamian scholarship in which he summons his allies for a campaign against the city of
Purushanda, located in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, implores them to respond to the call of
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. ...
, Ilaba,
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 ...
and
Hanish, who urge them to partake. Another literary text, which deals with Naram-Sin's campaign against the city of Apishal, whose location is unknown, refers to Ilaba and Ishtar as the king's friends and mentions him and Zababa as the gods who accompany him during battles. A late
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n version of 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 ...
'' might mention Ilaba after
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 ...
and before Zababa,
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 ...
, the pair
Shullat and Hanish and Shamash among the deities who were the target of the eponymous king's oracular inquiry before a battle.
References
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{{refend
Mesopotamian gods
War gods
Tutelary gods
Akkadian Empire