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Ninkarrak ( akk, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒋼𒀀𒊏𒀝, '' dnin-kar-ra-ak'') was a goddess of medicine worshiped chiefly in
northern Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...
and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. It has been proposed that her name originates in either
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 ...
or an unidentified
substrate language In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...
possibly spoken in parts of modern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, rather than in Sumerian. It is assumed that inconsistent orthography reflects ancient scholarly attempts at making it more closely resemble Sumerian
theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
s. The best attested
temples 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 her 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 ...
in modern
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and in
Terqa Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its ...
in modern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Finds from excavations undertaken at the site of the latter were used as evidence in more precisely dating the history of the region. Further attestations are available from
northern Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...
, including the kingdom of
Apum Apum was an ancient Amorite kingdom located in the upper Khabur valley, modern northeastern Syria. It was involved in the political and military struggle that dominated the first half of the 18th century BC and led to the establishment of the Ba ...
,
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 ...
and the Diyala area, from various southern Mesopotamian cities like
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 ...
,
Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
and possibly
Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
, as well as from
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 ...
and
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 ...
. It is also possible that Ninkar from the texts from
Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...
and
Nikarawa Nikarawa (Nikarawas) or Nikaruha was a Luwian deity known from inscriptions from Carchemish and other nearly locations. It is commonly, though not universally, assumed that she corresponds to the Mesopotamian goddess Ninkarrak. Attestations Nikar ...
attested in
Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...
inscriptions from Carchemish were the same goddess. Like a number of other healing goddesses, Ninkarrak was described as a divine
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. She shared her role in the Mesopotamian pantheon with deities such as Gula,
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
,
Nintinugga Nintinugga (also transcribed Nintinuga) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with medicine and cleansing. She belonged to the local pantheon of Nippur. While she has been compared to other similar goddesses, such as Ninisina and Gula, and in a n ...
and Bau. Dogs were regarded a symbol of her, as well as multiple other of these goddesses. While she was sometimes identified with other similar deities, certain traits were unique to her. Together with the distribution of evidence of her
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
they serve as an indication that even if partially
syncretised 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 ...
, individual Mesopotamian goddesses of medicine had distinct origins. It is possible that Ninkarrak only developed into a healing goddess due to already being associated with disease in curse formulas, in which she appears frequently as early as in 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 ...
. In the context of those texts she could be paired with
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 ...
.


Name and origin

While the standard spelling of Ninkarrak's name is '' d nin-kar-ra-ak'', it is not attested before the second millennium BCE, and the
orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...
shows a degree of variety 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. Spellings from 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 ...
include ''dnin-kar7'' and ''dnin-kar-ra'', while in texts from 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 ...
forms such as ''dnin-kar'', ''dnin-kar-ra'', ''dnin-kar-ak'', ''dnin-ni-ka-ra-ak'', ''dnin-kar-ak'', ''dnin-ḫar-ra'' (from Mari) and possibly ''dnin-ḫar-ra-ak'' and ''dnin-kar2'' can be found. In
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 ...
it was written as ''ni-ka-rakx(rik2)'', while in an incantation from
Alalakh Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze A ...
a damaged name has been tentatively restored as ''ne-ni-ka-ra-ak''. Two further spellings, ''dnin-kar2-ra-ak(-a)2'' and ''dnin-ka-rak'' appear in
Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bein ...
sources, despite the standard spelling being generally employed consistently through the
Middle Babylonian period The Middle Babylonian period, also known as the Kassite period, in southern Mesopotamia is dated from c. 1595 BC to 1155 BC and began after the Hittites sacked the city of Babylon. The Kassites, whose dynasty is synonymous with the period, eventua ...
. A
logographic In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced '' hanzi'' in Mandarin, ''kanji'' in Japanese, ''hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, a ...
writing of the name, dNIN.IN.DUB, is likely derived from dNIN.IN, used to represent the name of another medicine goddess,
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
, though according to Antoine Cavigneaux and Manfred Krebernik a second less likely possibility is that it was based on a connection with the term ''indub'', "
embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...
." 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 ...
'' also gives Ninekisiga, possibly to be understood as "lady of the house of funerary offerings," as an alternate name of Ninkarrak. The
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of the theonym Ninkarrak is unknown. Early
Assyriologist 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 ...
Knut Tallqvist understood it as a topographical name, "Lady ('' Nin'') of Karrak."
William W. Hallo William Wolfgang Hallo (March 9, 1928 – March, 27, 2015Larak, which would require a hypothetical form Lakrak to be in use at some point, eventually leading to the spelling Karrak, though this suggestion was evaluated critically by Manfred Krebernik.
Thorkild Jacobsen Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a renowned Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the ancient Near East. Biography Thorkild Peter Rudolph Ja ...
suggested derivation from the
genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
form of the Sumerian word ''kar'' ("
harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
," "
quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...
") in the 1970s. This view is also accepted by a number of other researchers. Maurice Lambert in the 1950s and Piotr Steinkeller in the 1990s both explained Ninkarrak's name as an allusion to
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
, arguing it can be translated roughly as "the one who 'does' the harbour," in their proposal a to be understood as synonym of "prostitute." Irene Sibbing-Plantholt notes that past popularity of this proposal relies on the assumption that goddesses were connected to supposed practice of "
temple prostitution Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are rites consisting of paid intercourse performed in the context of religious worship, possibly as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage (). Scholars ...
."
Joan Goodnick Westenholz Joan Goodnick Westenholz (1 July 1943 – 2013) was an Assyriologist and the chief curator at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. She held positions related to academic research at the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago), Harvard Unive ...
rejected this view due to lack of a connection to Ninkarrak's sphere of activity. Douglas Frayne attempts to explain the name as a
phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
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 ...
rendering of Sumerian ''nin-gir-ak'', "Lady of the
scalpel A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various arts and crafts (either called a hobby knife or an X-acto knife.). Scalpels may be single-use disposa ...
" (with ''ak'' being a
genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
ending), though this view is generally considered implausible. Sibbing-Plantholt proposes the derivation from nin-kara2, "Lady of the mourning cloth," which according to her would fit Ninkarrak's "
liminality In anthropology, liminality () is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they w ...
," though in her survey of past scholarship on the matter she ultimately concludes that none of the proposals can be accepted with certainty, and agrees with the view that the variable orthography and apparent lack of connection between the meaning of the sign KAR and Ninkarrak's character might indicate her name did not originate in Sumerian. Westenholz, who also voiced support for this view, pointed out Ninkarrak's name is absent from glossaries of dialectical
emesal Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 3000 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day ...
forms, which would be expected for a Sumerian theonym, though this argument is not accepted by Sibbing-Plantholt as convincing evidence. Westenholz argued that the name was of foreign origin (much like these of
Tishpak Tishpak (Tišpak) was a Mesopotamian god associated with the ancient city Eshnunna and its sphere of influence, located in the Diyala area of Iraq. He was primarily a war deity, but he was also associated with snakes, including the mythical mus ...
or the
Dilmun Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: , later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), ni.tukki = DILMUNki; ar, دلمون) was an ancient East Semitic-speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards. Based on contextual evidence, it was l ...
ite deities
Inzak Inzak (also Enzag, Enzak, Anzak; in older publications Enshag) was the main god of the pantheon of Dilmun. The precise origin of his name remains a matter of scholarly debate. He might have been associated with date palms. His cult center was Aga ...
and
Meskilak Meskilak or Mesikila was one of the two main deities worshiped in Dilmun. The other well attested member of the pantheon of this area was Inzak, commonly assumed to be her spouse. The origin of her name is a subject of scholarly dispute. She is a ...
) and the addition of the sign NIN was meant to make it resemble Sumerian theonyms, which often started with this sign (examples include
Ningirsu , 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 ...
and
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
). This view is also supported by Sibbing-Plantholt, who concludes that the Sumerian appearance of the name "could (...) have been carefully created by scholars who attempted to give the goddess a meaningful position within the religious framework." Westenholz proposed that Ninkarrak might have originally been one of the deities whose names belong to a proposed
substratum In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...
, originally proposed by Alfonso Archi. It has been argued that a number of deities known from sources from various ancient cities located in modern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
bear names which originally came from an unknown language predating the era of predominance of speakers of
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
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 ...
in the region. The proposed category of "Syrian substratum" deities includes a number of gods for the most part first attested in Ebla:
Kura Rúben de Almeida Barbeiro (born August 21, 1987 in Leiria), better known as KURA, is a Portuguese electro house music DJ and producer. Kura has released tracks through labels such as Hardwell's Revealed Recordings, Flashover Recordings, M ...
, Barama,
Hadabal Hadabal (also spelled 'Adabal) was a god worshiped in Ebla and its surroundings in the third millennium BCE. He was one of the main gods of that area, and appears frequently in Eblaite documents. His character is not well understood, though it ha ...
, Adamma,
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 ...
,
Aštabi Aštabi ( uga, 𐎀𐎌𐎚𐎁, ''aštb''), also known as Aštabil, was a god worshiped in the third millennium BCE in Ebla, later incorporated into Hurrian beliefs in locations such as Alalakh and Ugarit and as a result also into the religion o ...
, as well as
Kubaba Kubaba (in the ''Weidner'' or ''Esagila Chronicle''), sux, , , is the only queen on the ''Sumerian King List'', which states she reigned for 100 years – roughly in the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2500–2330 BC) of Sumerian history. A co ...
. Dagan, the main god of 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, is regarded as a "substratum" deity in some recent studies too due to the implausibility of various proposed etymologies of his name. According to Westenholz's proposal, the area where Ninkarrak was originally worshiped "could be in the Habur river basin, one side of the triangle formed by the Habur river ending at
Terqa Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its ...
and the other side by the
Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
river ending at
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 ...
." However, it is generally accepted that her point of origin should be considered uncertain in the light of available evidence.


Eblaite Ninkar

Joan Goodnick Westenholz proposed that the name "Ninkar" attested in texts from
Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...
stand for Ninkarrak rather than the similarly named but more obscure southern Mesopotamian goddess of daylight. Occasional shortening of Ninkarrak's name to "Ninkar" is known from Mesopotamian sources as well. This theory is also accepted by Alfonso Archi, who notes that identification of the Eblaite Ninkar with a minor Sumerian goddess of daylight would make it difficult to explain why devotion to her is relatively common for example among women of the royal house. Irene Sibbing-Plantholt also assumes Ninkarrak was worshiped in Ebla.


Luwian Nikarawa

It is possible that Ninkarrak, under the name
Nikarawa Nikarawa (Nikarawas) or Nikaruha was a Luwian deity known from inscriptions from Carchemish and other nearly locations. It is commonly, though not universally, assumed that she corresponds to the Mesopotamian goddess Ninkarrak. Attestations Nikar ...
(''dni-ka+ra/i-wa/i-sa2''), appears in a
hieroglyphic Luwian Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs. A decipherment was pr ...
inscription from
Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its ...
, which asks the goddess' dogs to devour anyone who damages the inscribed monument. The identification of Nikarawa with Ninkarrak has a long history in modern scholarship.
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 ...
already proposed it in his translation of the Carchemish inscription in 1938. It has been challenged in a recent publication by Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar, though as of 2022 the identification of Nikarawa as an alternate spelling of Ninkarrak's name is still regarded as plausible.


Character

Ninkarrak was regarded as a healing goddess and functioned as a divine physician. Evidence from god lists such as ''
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 ...
'' indicates that theologians perceived her as the default
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 ...
goddess of medicine. ''
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 ...
'' addresses her as the "great doctoress"(''azugallatu''). Mesopotamian goddesses associated with medicine were portrayed as surgeons in literary texts, cleaning wounds and applying bandages. One healing incantation invokes Ninkarrak with the formula "May Ninkarrak bandage you with her gentle hands." Her other area of expertise were believed to be
exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
s. As attested for the first time in texts from the
Old Assyrian period The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after the ...
, she could be invoked to ward off the demon
Lamashtu In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu (; Akkadian d''La-maš-tu''; Sumerian ''Dimme'' d''Dim3-me'' or ''Kamadme'') was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped t ...
, which is also attested for
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
and might indicate that healing goddesses were viewed as guardians of pregnant women, as well as mothers and newborns, demographic groups particularly endangered by this creature according to Mesopotamian beliefs. However, Ninkarrak was usually not described as a divine
midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
. Ninkarrak was also invoked in curses. In this capacity, she was implored to inflict various diseases upon potential transgressors, which lead
Jan Assmann Jan Assmann (born Johann Christoph Assmann; born 7 July 1938) is a German Egyptologist. Life and works Assmann studied Egyptology and classical archaeology in Munich, Heidelberg, Paris, and Göttingen. In 1966–67, he was a fellow of the German ...
to refer to her as the "goddess of maladies." Irene Sibbing-Plantholt goes as far as suggesting that Ninkarrak might have been primarily a curse deity, and only acquired an association with healing as an extension of this role. She already appears in a curse formula from the reign of
Naram-Sin of Akkad Naram-Sin, also transcribed Narām-Sîn or Naram-Suen ( akk, : '' DNa-ra-am D Sîn'', meaning "Beloved of the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine"), was a ruler of the Akkadian Empire, who reigned c. 2254–2218 BC ...
. The Babylonian king
Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...
invoked Ninkarrak in a curse formula on one of his
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
s, calling her the "goddess who promotes my cause at the
Ekur Ekur ( ), also known as Duranki, is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer. ...
temple" and imploring her to punish anyone who damages the monuments with diseases "which a physician cannot diagnose." References were often made to Ninkarrak's dogs, which were regarded as fearsome. She can be identified on
seals Seals may refer to: * 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 impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
from
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 ...
based on the presence of these animals. A dog statuette was found during excavations of her temple in
Terqa Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its ...
. However, according to Sibbing-Plantholt it is not certain if Ninkarrak's connection with gods necessarily reflects her role as a healing deity, and might instead reflect the animals' liminal character in Mesopotamian beliefs.


Associations with other deities

Ninkarrak was usually not paired with any male deities, though sometimes she appears in association with Pabilsag, who could also function as the husband of other medicine goddesses. They appear together on two seals from 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 ...
.
Anu Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...
was consistently regarded as Ninkarrak's father while her mother was
Urash Uraš or Urash ( sux, 𒀭𒅁), in Sumerian religion, is a goddess of earth, and one of the consorts of the sky god Anu. She is the mother of the goddess Ninsun and a grandmother of the hero Gilgamesh. However, ''Uras'' may only have been anot ...
, which indicates that her parentage was understood to be identical to that of
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
, another healing goddess. The son of the latter goddess,
Damu Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medici ...
, was sometimes said to be Ninkarrak's child instead. They appear together in
incantation An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...
s. However, with the exception of a single bilingual text, Ninkarrak was never associated with the daughter of Ninisina,
Gunura Gunura was a Mesopotamian goddess, best known as a daughter and member of the entourage of the medicine goddess Ninisina. She was also associated with other similar goddesses, Gula and Nintinugga. Her original cult center is unknown, though she w ...
. 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 ...
'' equates the goddess NIN-ĝaʾuga (reading of the first sign uncertain, with ''ereš'' and ''égi'' both being possibilities), the wife of the god
Lugalabba Lugala'abba or Lugalabba was a Mesopotamian god associated with the sea, as well as with the underworld. It has been proposed that he was worshiped in Nippur. He is also attested in various god lists, in a seal inscription, and in the incantation ...
, with Ninkarrak, though in the ''Emesal Vocabulary'' she corresponds to Gula instead, and a text where in different copies her name alternates with
Ninmug Ninmug or Ninmuga was a Mesopotamian goddess. She was associated with artisanship, especially with metalworking, as evidenced by her epithet ''tibira kalamma'', "metalworker of the land." She could also be regarded as a goddess of birth and assist ...
's is known too. Irene Sibbing-Plantholt points out that parallels can be drawn between the roles of Ninkarrak and the rainbow goddess
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 France, communes of the Puy-de-Dôme De ...
in treaties. In a
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
dedicated to
Nanaya Nanaya (Sumerian language, Sumerian , Dingir, DNA.NA.A; also transcribed as "Nanāy", "Nanaja", "Nanāja", '"Nanāya", or "Nanai"; antiquated transcription: "Nanâ"; in Greek language, Greek: ''Ναναια'' or ''Νανα''; Aramaic: ''ננױ ...
, this goddess compares herself to Ninkarrak.


Ishara

Multiple source attest the existence of a connection between Ninkarrak and
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 ...
, a goddess first attested in sources from
Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...
, later worshiped by various cultures of Mesopotamia, as well as by Hurrians and Hittites. She was believed to be capable of both inflicting and, if placated, curing illnesses, but she also functioned as a love goddess and was associated with the underworld and by extension with the goddess
Allani Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu (or Allatum) was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld, incorporated into Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons as well. Name and epithets The name Allani is derived from a Hurrian word meaning " ...
. Examples of texts which mention Ishara together with Ninkarrak include an Old Assyrian treaty, offering lists from Sippar and Mari, and especially curse formulas. Additionally both appear, though not next to each other, in Naram-Sin's treaty with
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 ...
. Joan Goodnick Westenholz assumed that the link between them was based on their shared origin in modern Syria, while Irene Sibbing-Plantholt more broadly refers to both of them being worshiped in the "Western and Eastern fringes of Mesopotamia" as the cause. She also proposes that since Ninkarrak was associated with dogs and Ishara with either
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s or
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
s, they might have been perceived as complementary due to their animal symbols. The name
Meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
is attributed to both Ishara and Ninkarrak in their respective sections of 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 ...
''.


Other healing goddesses

In addition to Ninkarrak, multiple other healing goddesses belonged to the
Mesopotamian pantheon 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 substa ...
, among them
Ninisina Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
(from
Isin Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past. History of archaeological research Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
),
Nintinugga Nintinugga (also transcribed Nintinuga) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with medicine and cleansing. She belonged to the local pantheon of Nippur. While she has been compared to other similar goddesses, such as Ninisina and Gula, and in a n ...
(from
Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
), Gula (possibly originally 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 Bau. While they formed an interconnected network, and could be treated as equivalents or conflated, all of them were initially separate from each other. The differences between individual deities were particularly pronounced in the sphere of
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
, in contrast with theology. In 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. Furth ...
Ninkarrak, Gula and Ninisina occur separately from each other, which indicates they were viewed as separate from each other at the time of its composition. However, as noted by Joan Goodnick Westenholz, the study of Ninkarrak as an independent deity was nonetheless neglected in
Assyriology 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 ...
in the past, with no dedicated studies published between 1918 and 2010, and no separate entry in the ''
Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie The ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' (RlA), formerly ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie'', is a multi-language (English, German, and French) encyclopedia on the Ancient Near East. It was founded by Bruno Meissner in ...
''. Ninkarrak was commonly associated with both Gula and Ninisina, who were themselves interchangeable to a degree. An association between her and the latter of these two goddesses is first attested 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 ...
. In
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
texts, Ninkarrak often appears in 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 ...
version, while Ninisina - in Sumerian. One example is the text known as ''Ninisina's Journey to Nippur''. In the late hymn to Ninisina, Ninkarrak appears as one of her names, described as ''be-let rik-si up-ša2-še-e'', "lady of bandages (and) magical actions." Irene Sibbing-Plantholt notes that a difference between the respective characters of Ninkarrak and Ninisina is that the former was not typically described as motherly, in contrast with the latter. A syncretistic hymn to Gula composed at some point between 1400 BCE and 700 BCE by Bulluṭsa-rabi equates her with a number of other goddesses, including Ninkarrak, but also Bau,
Ninsun Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: dNIN.SUMUN2; Sumerian: ''Nin-sumun(ak)'' "lady of the wild cows") was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appea ...
,
Nanshe Nanshe ( sux, ) was a Mesopotamian goddess in various contexts associated with the sea, marshlands, the animals inhabiting these biomes, namely bird and fish, as well as divination, dream interpretation, justice, social welfare, and certain admin ...
,
Ninigizibara Ningizibara, also known as Igizibara and Ningizippara, was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the ''balaĝ'' instrument, usually assumed to be a type of lyre. She could be regarded both as a physical instrument and as a minor deity. In both ca ...
and more. At the same time, each section appears to preserve information about the original character of the goddess mentioned in it. The one dedicated to Ninkarrak does not describe her abilities as a healer, but rather highlights her high status. In a version of the literary text ''Great Revolt against Narām-Sîn'' from Mari, Ninkarrak is mentioned in association with the coronation of Ipḫur-Kiši, though in another copy Gula appears instead, and
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 ...
present in the same passage, Esabad, belonged to Ninisina. A degree of interchangeability between Ninkarrak and Ninisina and Ninkarrak and Gula is attested in sources from
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 ...
, as attested variable writing of both
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 (for example, the same man appears as Puzur-Ninkarrak in one document and Puzur-Gula in another) and toponyms. According to Barbara Böck it is possible that large-scale migration from
Isin Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past. History of archaeological research Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
was responsible for this phenomenon. Irene Sibbing-Plantholt notes that since Ninkarrak was worshiped there for longer than the other two goddesses, who are much more sparsely attested, their names were likely treated as her "
cognomina A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
" locally. Equally close connection between Ninkarrak and Gula is otherwise unattested. A difference between them has been identified based on curse formulas, where only the former was invoked to bring incurable diseases. In Mari Kakka, seemingly a local healing goddess, was associated with Ninkarrak, but also with
Ninshubur Ninshubur (; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess whose primary role was that of the '' sukkal'' (divine vizier) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ni ...
. This goddess is regarded as distinct from
Kakka Kakka was a Mesopotamian god best known as the sukkal (attendant deity or divine messenger) of Anu and Anshar. His cult center was Maškan-šarrum, most likely located in the north of modern Iraq on the banks of the Tigris. A deity named Kakka w ...
, the ''sukkal'' of
Anshar Anshar, also spelled Anšar ( Sumerian: , Neo-Assyrian: , meaning "whole heaven"), was a primordial god in the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish. His consort is Kishar which means "Whole Earth". They were the children of Lahamu and Lahmu an ...
, known from the god list ''An = Anum'' (where the former Kakka herself appears in Ninkarrak's section) and from the later myth '' Enuma Elish''.


Worship

The oldest certain attestation of Ninkarrak occurs in the treaty between
Naram-Sin of Akkad Naram-Sin, also transcribed Narām-Sîn or Naram-Suen ( akk, : '' DNa-ra-am D Sîn'', meaning "Beloved of the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine"), was a ruler of the Akkadian Empire, who reigned c. 2254–2218 BC ...
and an Elamite ruler. According to Daniel T. Potts, she is one of the four deities from the Sumero-Akkadian pantheon mentioned in it, the other four being
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 France, communes of the Puy-de-Dôme De ...
, while the remaining twenty six are Elamite and include, among others,
Inshushinak Inshushinak (Linear Elamite: ''Inšušnak'', Cuneiform: , ''dinšušinakki''; possibly from Sumerian '' en-šušin-a ', "lord of Susa") was one of the major gods of the Elamites and the protector deity of Susa. He was called ''rišar napappa ...
,
Humban Humban ( elx, 𒀭𒃲𒈨𒌍, Humban, ''dhu-um-ban'', also ''dhu-ban'', Huban) was an Elamite god. He is already attested in the earliest sources preserving information about Elamite religion, but seemingly only grew in importance in the neo-Elam ...
, Hutran,
Pinikir Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prominence in H ...
and
Simut Simut or Samut (“Son of Mut”) was an ancient Egyptian priest who held the position of Second Prophet of Amun towards the end of the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. He is known from a number of objects, including his (now lost), Theban tomb ch ...
. Her inclusion might indicate that she belonged to the state pantheon 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 ...
, though it is also possible it instead depended on the presence of her cult in areas bordering with Elam. A number of further possible early references are uncertain, as it is not clear when the writing ''dnin-kar'' refers to Ninkarrak and when to the goddess of daylight, Ninkar, who was instead regarded as analogous to Aya.
Joan Goodnick Westenholz Joan Goodnick Westenholz (1 July 1943 – 2013) was an Assyriologist and the chief curator at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. She held positions related to academic research at the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago), Harvard Unive ...
argued that the latter is known only from
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 ...
, while Irene Sibbing-Plantholt maintains a more cautious approach, and concludes that it remains uncertain which goddess is meant in early sources such as the
Abu Salabikh The low tells at Abu Salabikh, around northwest of the site of ancient Nippur in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq mark the site of a small Sumerian city state of the mid third millennium BCE, with cultural connections to the cities of Kish, ...
god list. Other certain early attestations have been identified in incantations, inscriptions, theophoric names and toponyms from the Old Akkadian and
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 ...
s, though in god lists Ninkarrak's name is not attested before 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 ...
.


Sippar

The worship of Ninkarrak is well attested in sources from
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 ...
, though it is not uncertain if she was present in the local pantheon before the Old Babylonian period or if she was only introduced there during the reign of Immerum, perhaps from the Diyala area. A temple dedicated to her existed there in the Old Babylonian period already. It bore the ceremonial name Eulla, "house of rejoicing." It might have owned property in the city, as indicated by a reference to a field of Ninkarrak. A year name of Buntaḫtun-ila, a local ruler of Sippar contemporary with Sumulael, states that he brought a ''lilissu'' drum to her temple. A gate and a district of the city were also named after her. She also occurs in theophoric names, such as Puzur-Ninkarrak and Ṣilli-Ninkarrak. One bearer of the latter name was a scribe during the reign of
Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...
of
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. In sources from Middle Babylonian Sippar, she occurs only on a single ''
kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...
'' (boundary stone) inscription, which states that if anyone will transgress the listed regulations, she will "take away his seed." Attestations from 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 ...
and Middle Babylonian periods are infrequent overall: her name is only mentioned on three ''kudurru'', never in clear association with a specific figure depicted, and on a single
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 ...
.
Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bein ...
king
Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...
, who reigned from 605 to 562 BCE, was apparently devoted to Ninkarrak and rebuilt the Eulla. Eight copies of an inscription commemorating this event are presently known. The king states that he was tasked by
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 ...
with repairing it, and describes it previous state in the following terms: "the temple had not been kept in good repair, so that its ground plan had become obliterated and its outlines unrecognizable, covered with dust, (which) was no longer named together with the sanctuaries of the gods, (whose) regular offerings were cut off, they ceased to be mentioned, the cereal offerings were discontinued." He also built temples dedicated to her in
Borsippa Borsippa ( Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI; Akkadian: ''Barsip'' and ''Til-Barsip'')The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. or Birs Nimrud (having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeologi ...
and
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. The latter, Ehursagsikilla, "house, pure mountain," survived as late as the Parthian period. A number of sources refer to it as a temple of Gula instead. Andrew R. George refers to it as belonging to "Gula-Ninkarrak" and tentatively proposes that it was the same house of worship as the Egalmah. Joan Goodnick Westenholz describes the temple in Borsippa in similar terms.


Terqa

Ninkarrak was also present in the pantheon of the middle
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. In Mari she appears in a list of deities and offerings to them from the reign of
Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__ Zimri-Lim (Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was king of Mari c. 1775–1761 BCE. Zimri-Lim was the son or grandson of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamhad when his father was assassinated by his own servants during a coup. He ha ...
and in therapeutic incantations. She was particularly strongly associated with nearby
Terqa Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its ...
. A temple excavated in this city has been identified as one dedicated to Ninkarrak based on a tablet with a list of offerings which starts with her name (most likely used as a point of reference by priests maintaining it), as well as seals mentioning her, and other epigraphic evidence. 6637 beads made out of a variety of materials (
agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...
,
carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often use ...
,
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
,
hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
,
lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...
and
rock crystal Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
), including some shaped like animals (a frog, a cow and a duck) and nine
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
-style scarabs, all of which likely were originally an offering to Ninkarrak or a temple deposit, were also excavated. Archaeologists found a number of small bronze figurines of dogs inside the temple as well. Further excavations additionally uncovered a ceremonial axe and a scimitar with a devotional inscription mentioning Ninkarrak, both made out of
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
. Early occupation of the structure has been dated to roughly the same period as the reigns of three kings of Terqa: * Yadikh-abu, a contemporary of
Samsuiluna Samsu-iluna (Amorite: ''Shamshu''; c. 1750–1712 BC) was the seventh king of the founding Amorite dynasty of Babylon, ruling from 1750 BC to 1712 BC (middle chronology), or from 1686 to 1648 BC (short chronology). He was the son and successor of ...
of
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
, defeated by the latter in 1721 BCE * Kashtiliash, initially estimated as ruling c. 1690 BCE; a date later than 1650 BCE has been proposed as well, based on closer analysis of artifacts. The beads, likely serving as a temple deposit, were specifically dated to his reign. His name has
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 ...
origin. * Shunuhru-ammu, ruling c. 1650 BCE according to the initial estimates. However the temple remained in use later as well. Archaeologists assume that it was remodeled multiple times. The scarabs from the temple of Ninkarrak are considered a find of particular achaeoloigcal importance, as they represent the easternmost known example of such objects in a sealed deposit dated to 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 ...
, in addition to being possible to date with relative accuracy, as certain features evident in them aren't attested before 1650-1640 BCE (the reign of the
Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt The Fifteenth Dynasty was a foreign dynasty of ancient Egypt. It was founded by Salitis, a Hyksos from West Asia whose people had invaded the country and conquered Lower Egypt. The 15th, 16th, and 17th Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combin ...
). The
hieroglyphs A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatonis ...
inscribed on them are regarded as "poorly executed and sometimes misunderstood," indicating Levantine, rather than Egyptian, origin, with similar ones being known from
Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 880 ...
,
Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
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 ...
.


Other Mesopotamian attestations

In documents from the
Old Assyrian period The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after the ...
Ninkarrak is the only healing goddess attested, and a reference to the property of 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 her is known. Later Assyrian sources mentioning her include the '' Takultu'' text, listing deities greeted by the king during a long ritual, and a number of hymns from
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 ...
, though she was not a major goddess in this area in the first millennium BCE. In the kingdom of
Apum Apum was an ancient Amorite kingdom located in the upper Khabur valley, modern northeastern Syria. It was involved in the political and military struggle that dominated the first half of the 18th century BC and led to the establishment of the Ba ...
also located in the north of Mesopotamia, in the upper Khabur valley, she was one of the deities invoked in oath formulas in treaties, and a statue of her might have been present during related ceremonies. However, Klaas R. Veenhof argues that it cannot be said for sure if Ninkarrak appears in documents from this kingdom as a local deity or if she instead belonged to the pantheon of the other signatory of the treaty. A temple of Ninkarrak was also located somewhere in the proximity of the
Diyala River The Diyala River (Arabic: ; ku, Sîrwan; Farsi: , ) is a river and tributary of the Tigris. It is formed by the confluence of Sirwan river and Tanjaro river in Darbandikhan Dam in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Northern Iraq. It covers a total ...
, though its ceremonial name and precise location are unknown. It is known that she was worshiped in
Shaduppum Shaduppum (modern Tell Harmal) is an archaeological site in Baghdad Governorate (Iraq). Nowadays, it lies within the borders of modern Baghdad. History of archaeological research The site, 150 meters in diameter and 5 meters high, was excavated ...
, where a festival involving offerings of sesame oil was held in her honor, in Išḫali, where she is attested in incantations, and in
Nuzi Nuzi (or Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur; modern Yorghan Tepe, Iraq) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of the city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), located near the Tigris river. The site consists of one medium-sized multiperiod tell and two small sing ...
, where she appears in the
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 (Ninkarrak-ummī and Ninkarrak-ṣillī). Ninkarrak was sometimes worshiped in locations more closely related to the cult of other healing goddesses: she had a small chapel in
Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
(where the main healing goddess was
Nintinugga Nintinugga (also transcribed Nintinuga) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with medicine and cleansing. She belonged to the local pantheon of Nippur. While she has been compared to other similar goddesses, such as Ninisina and Gula, and in a n ...
) and possibly in
Isin Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past. History of archaeological research Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
. A year name of one of the kings from the
dynasty of Isin The Dynasty of Isin refers to the final ruling dynasty listed on the ''Sumerian King List'' (''SKL''). The list of the Kings Isin with the length of their reigns, also appears on a cuneiform document listing the kings of Ur and Isin, the ''List of ...
,
Suen-magir Sîn-māgir ( akk, , Dsuen-ma-gir), inscribed dEN.ZU''-ma-gir'', “ Sîn upholds,” c. 1763 – 1753 BC ( short chronology) or c. 1827 – 1817 BC (middle chronology) was the 14th king of Isin and he reigned for 11 years.''Sumerian King Lists ...
, mentions the digging of a canal named after her. She is also present in a small number of personal names from the former of these two locations. While she is overall sparsely attested in sources from the Mesopotamian heartland before the end of the Old Babylonian period, sporadic references to her are also known from the southernmost cities, notably
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
Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
. However, in the latter case the only evidence is a letter with the formula "just as I do not turn my back on Ninkarrak, I do not turn my back on you," which might only reflect the personal devotion of the author or the professional community he belonged to, and as such does not necessarily confirm that she belonged to the local pantheon.


Outside Mesopotamia

A goddess known from texts from Ebla who might correspond to Ninkarrak, Ninkar, appears in one of the offering lists, following
Resheph Resheph (also Reshef and many other variants, see below; phn, 𐤓‬𐤔‬𐤐‬, ''ršp''; Eblaite ''Rašap'', Egyptian ') was a deity associated with plague (or a personification of plague), either war or strong protection, and sometimes th ...
of Hadani and his spouse Adamma. An offering of a mace to her is also attested, though Alfonso Archi considers it to be unusual. Attestations of Ninkarrak are known from sources from both
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 ...
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 ...
in modern Syria and according to Joan Goodnick Westenholz might support the theory that she originated in the northwest of Mesopotamia. In the former of these two cities she had no temple and does not appear in theophoric names. A curse formula invokes her alongside
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 ...
and implores both of them to react if anyone damages the rest of the text by destroying "his seed and his name." In Ugarit she mentioned in a formula against eye disease written 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 ...
. It is presumed to have
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n origin. In addition to her, it also invokes
Damu Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medici ...
. Both of them are mentioned in an incantation against the demon
Lamashtu In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu (; Akkadian d''La-maš-tu''; Sumerian ''Dimme'' d''Dim3-me'' or ''Kamadme'') was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped t ...
from the same city as well, in this case following the pair Ea and Asalluḫi. A copy of the
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 ...
myth from
Amarna Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...
, presumably a part of a scribal school's curriculum, mentions Ninkarrak.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend


External links


The temple of Ninkarrak
o
terqa.org
a website documenting the excavations carried out at Terqa by a Joint American Expedition between 1976 and 1986.

Mesopotamian goddesses Medicine goddesses Eblaite deities Ugaritic deities