Shivini ( xur, 𒀭𒅆𒄿𒌑𒄿𒉌, translit=^dši-i-u₂-i-ni), also known as Siuini, Artinis, Ardinis, was a solar god in the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

kingdom of

Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of V ...

in the Armenian Highlands. He is the third god in a triad with Khaldi and

Theispas ''Theispas'' (also known as Teisheba or Teišeba) of Kumenu was the Araratian (Urartian) weather-god, notably the god of storms and thunder. He was also sometimes the god of war. He is the son of Habli. He formed part of a triad along with Kh ...

. The Assyrian god Shamash is a counterpart to Shivini. He was depicted as a man on his knees, holding up a solar disc. His wife was most likely a goddess called Tushpuea who is listed as the third goddess on the Mheri-Dur inscription. Armen Petrosyan and other scholars argue that his name derives from a Hittite source, and is, therefore, of Indo-European origin.Petrosyan, Armen.
Collegiality and Interchange in Armenian Studies
. In: ''Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies'' Vol. 20 (2011): 145 and footnote nr. 26.

Gallery

Stamp of Armenia m29.jpg, Armenian postage stamp, 1993 Urartu God Shivini.jpg, Shivini god UrartianCaldron03.jpg, Shivini's bronze caldron UrartianCaldron03~.jpg, The caldron's bronze-sculpted handle

Gallery

Footnotes

References

Further reading