Product Code Database
Annunitum (; also romanized as Anunītu) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with warfare. She was initially an epithet of Ishtar of Akkad exemplifying her warlike aspect, but by the late third millennium BCE she came to function as a distinct deity. She was the tutelary goddess of the cities of Akkad and Sippar-Amnanum, though she was also worshiped elsewhere in Mesopotamia.
It is presumed that Annunitum's name is derived from the root ‘nn, "warlike". It can be translated as "skirmisher" or "the martial one". Etymological connections with phonetically similar Anu, Antu and Anunnaki have been ruled out.
Spencer J. Allen refers to the phenomenon of epithets of Mesopotamian deities becoming distinct figures as "divine splintering". Other comparable cases of an epithet of Ishtar becoming a distinct deity include Dīrītu, Urkayītu and Arbilītu. Tonia Sharlach in her study of Annunitum and other goddesses worshiped in the court of Shulgi notes that it might be more accurate to refer to the names Ishtar and Inanna as "something of an umbrella term" designating multiple interconnected deities. For example, a collection of hymns from the Ur III period treats Inanna of Uruk, Inanna of Zabalam and Inanna of Ulmaš (Ishtar of Akkad) as three separate deities, with separate compositions dedicated to each of them. Sharlach suggests that to accommodate this information, the study of "forms" of Ishtar in Mesopotamian sources requires relying on a methodology developed by Gary Beckman for the purpose of study of deities designated by the logogram dIŠTAR in Hittite language texts, such as the Hurrian religion Šauška. As summarized by Beckman, "in some respects (...) Ištar-figures partake of a common essence, while in others they are distinct". He also notes that "any special features of the varieties will become apparent only if each is initially studied in isolation".
In Mesopotamian astronomy Annunitum's name was used to refer to a constellation corresponding to part of Pisces, specifically the eastern fish. An ikribu prayer dedicated to her in this role is known. However, she was usually not described as an astral deity, in contrast with Ishtar.
A curse formula on a kudurru from the Kassite period indicates that Annunitum was among the deities regarded as capable of inflicting oath-breakers with leprosy, a role shared with deities such as Sin, Shamash, Ishtar, Anu and Enlil.
When regarded as distinct from Ishtar, Annunitum could be regarded as a member of her entourage, as already attested in the Ur III period.
Annunitum was closely associated with Ulmašītum, another martial hypostasis of Ishtar, originally associated with the temple E-ulmaš in Akkad. Spencer J. Allen assumes the connection between them originally developed in this location. Tonia Sharlach notes that while distinct from each other, they appear in sources from the Ur III period together frequently and compares them to a pair of twins. She also points out in the archive of Shulgi-simti they effectively form a quartet with Belet-Šuḫnir and Belet-Terraban.
Wolfgang Heimpel proposes that in Old Babylonian Mari Annunitum was closely associated with Belet Ekallim, possibly due to their shared connection with Ishtar. Additionally, a text from this city refers to a belief that after his annual resurrection Dumuzi entered the temple of Annunitum, though it has been noted he was only occasionally associated with any deities belonging to the Mariote pantheon.
A fragmentary omen list refers to Eturammi as the messenger of Annunitum (Sukkal da-nu-ni-tum). This name is also attested in the god list An = Anum (tablet V, line 185), though there this deity is assigned a similar role in association with Birtum instead.
By the Ur III period Akkad ceased to be considered an important city, but Annunitum's cult spread across Mesopotamia. Through the Old Babylonian period she remained one of the goddesses most commonly invoked in personal letters, and appears in them with comparable frequency to Aya, Gula, Ninsianna and Zarpanitum, though less commonly than Ishtar. She continued to be worshiped across Mesopotamia up to the Neo-Babylonian period.
Tonia Sharlach speculatively suggests Sippar already became Annunitum's main cult center in the Ur III period. Jennie Myers suggests that Annunitum might have become its tutelary goddess during the reign of the Sargonic dynasty based on the name of her temple. However, she acknowledges that there is no evidence for the existence of this house of worship before the Old Babylonian period and that the oldest reference to Annunitum being worshiped in Sippar is a text from the reign of Sabium. Alexa Bartelmus and Jon Taylor stress there is no unambiguous evidence for the existence of Sippar-Amnanum before the Ur III period, and that later rulers like Nabonidus do not claim the temple of Annunitum was founded during the Old Akkadian period, which makes the early dating implausible.
The worship of Annunitum in the Old Babylonian is well documented in the archive of Ur-Utu who served as her chief lamentation priest ( kalamāḫu). She is one of the only three goddesses attested as divine witnesses in legal texts from Sippar, the other two being Aya and Mamu. A street, a gate and a canal named after her existed in Sippar-Amnanum. The number of theophoric names invoking her increased after the reign of Hammurabi, rising from 1% in early Old Babylonian sources to over 6%.
After the reign of Ammi-Saduqa Sippar-Amnanum was destroyed in a fire and remained uninhabited for around 200 years. The cult of Annunitum was most likely transferred to Sippar-Yahrurum as a result.
No exemplars of the aforementioned inscriptions dealing with the reconstruction of Annunitum's temple dated to the Kassite period have been discovered, but like many other royal inscriptions they were copied in the Neo-Babylonian period and survive in the form of a compilation. Most likely scribes worked with a cache of foundation deposits of both kings. The inscription of Shagarakti-Shuriash refers to him as "the shepherd, favorite of Šamaš and beloved of Annunītum" ( sipa še-ga dUTU -ke ki-áĝ an-nu-ni-tu4), which likely influenced Nabonidus' description of him as "the favorite of Shamash and Annunitum" ( mi-gi-ir dUTU u da-nu-ni-tu4).
During the Neo-Babylonian period, Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II made offerings to Annunitum and other displaced deities in a structure located near or within the . In offering lists from the reign of Nabopolassar she is the last of the deities mentioned, but her position improved during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. According to Nabonidus' inscriptions she was subsequently returned to Sippar-Amnanum by Neriglissar, who renovated her statue.
Nabonidus elevated Annunitum's position in the pantheon of Sippar. It is assumed that he considered her one of the most important deities next to Sin, Shamash and Ishtar. He rebuilt the E-ulmaš in the sixteenth year of his reign. According to one of his inscriptions, he was instructed to do so by Annunitum in a dream. He also states that when the work started, inscriptions of Shagarakti-Shuriash were discovered, and the rebuilding followed guidance found in them. During his reign Annunitum was also the only deity for whom a separate clothing ceremony ( lubuštu) was held; such celebrations are otherwise only attested for Shamash alongside gods of Sippar as a collective. However, her elevation under Nabonidus had no impact on her popularity in theophoric names, with only two examples attested in texts from his reign.
Sources from the Achaemenid period indicate that Annunitum retained her position in offering lists established during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. During the reigns of Cyrus and Darius she received offerings referred to as maḫḫuru, which consisted of sheep, barley or dates. The E-ulmaš is still mentioned in an administrative text dated to the reign of the latter ruler.
A temple dedicated to Annunitum existed in Mari; it was referred to simply as E-Anunnītim, "Annunitum's house". A qadištu resided in it. One of the letters sent to Zimri-Lim by his wife Shibtu deals with a prophecy of Annunitum delivered by Ili-ḫaznaya, a member of her temple's staff, who explained that the goddess wants to warn the king about a rebellion. In another letter a woman named Addu-duri, who addresses herself as a maidservant of Zimri-Lim, informs the king that a female ecstatic ( muḫḫûtum) conveyed another message of Annunitum meant for him, according to which he should remain in Mari and avoid travel, as it will let the goddess continue to communicate with him.
Later on in the kingdom of Khana, centered on Terqa, Annunitum was among deities invoked in oaths, as already attested in texts from the reign of the local ruler Zimri-lim (presumably named in honor of his Mariote forerunner); however she only appears in formulas most likely reflecting Babylonian, rather than local, culture.
Kings from the Third Dynasty of Ur also introduced Annunitum to Uruk. She was worshiped there as one of the members of the entourage of Inanna, as attested in the archive of Shulgi-simti. However, she later disappears from texts from this city until the first millennium BCE. A letter from the scholar Mār-Ištar to a Neo-Assyrian ruler, most likely Esarhaddon, mentions the repair of statues representing her, Nanaya, Uṣur-amāssu, Kurunnītu and dIGI.DU. A text from the reign of Nabu-apla-iddina mentions a šangû priest in her service. Paul-Alain Beaulieu suggests she might have been one of the minor goddesses worshiped in the Eanna complex, similarly to Aḫlamayītu, Bēlet-balāṭi, Kurunnītu and Kanisurra, and that members of this group were collectively referred to as "the ladies" (dGAŠAN.MEŠ = dbēlētu), but stresses the evidence is inconclusive. In the Seleucid Empire, she might have been one of the deities celebrated during the Akitu festival of Ishtar, which focused on her various local manifestations (such as Urkayītu and Bēlet-Eanna of Udannu) and courtiers (such as Kilili). However, her only possible attestation occurs in a broken passage, and the restoration of the name is uncertain.
One of the year names of Shar-kali-sharri refers to the construction of temples of Annunitum and Ilaba in Babylon. A later topographical text indicates the former bore the ceremonial name E-saggašarra, "foremost house of the universe". It is presumed that E-mesigakalammašarra, "house of all given me of the land", also attested as the name of a temple of Annunitum in Babylon, is a variant rather than a separate house of worship. It continued to function through the first millennium BCE. An Old Babylonian prayer additionally associated Annunitum with the E-turkalamma ("house, cattle pen of the land"), though the main deity of this temple was Bēlet-Bābili (Ishtar of Babylon).
In the Ur III period a shrine dedicated to Annunitum existed near Eresh, though it ceased to function in the third decade of Shulgi's reign.
Annunitum was also worshiped in Nippur in the Ur III period. In the Isin-Larsa period she received offerings in the Ekur temple complex, as attested in a list from the reign of Damiq-ilishu of Isin.
An inscription of Ishme-Dagan discovered in Isin mentions the appointment of a certain Tarām-pala-migrīša as an amalūtum priestess at the request of Annunitum.
Itur-Shamash of Kisurra built a temple of Annunitum.
In the Old Babylonian period Annunitum was also worshiped in Malgium. The local ruler Takil-ilissu mentioned her alongside Ulmašītum, Anu, Ninshubur, Dan-bītum and Rašub-bītum in a foundation inscription imploring them to punish anyone who would destroy this text. Nathan Wasserman and Ygal Bloch suggest that he might have mentioned her in order to evoke the tradition of rulers of the Akkadian Empire.
In Nineveh in the Neo-Assyrian period Annunitum might have been worshiped in the temple of Ishtar of Nineveh, without necessarily being identified with her.
An inscription of the king Atta-hušu of the Sukkalmah dynasty written in Akkadian indicates that he dedicated a temple in Susa to Annunitum. Texts from the same city contemporary with Old Babylonian sources from Mesopotamia mention priests in her service and preserve a number of theophoric names invoking her.
Annuis the single most common theophoric element in names of women, appearing in forty eight different types. Examples include Annu-amriya, Annu-asiya, Annu-damqa, Annu-gāmiltī and Annu-tukultī. Masculine names invoking her have been identified too, but overall feminine ones predominate. Nakata points out that the theonym Annu is largely absent from texts from Mari despite commonly appearing in theophoric names, and compares this phenomenon to the similar cases of Admu and Kakka.
In Old Babylonian Mari Nunu appears in twelve types of masculine theophoric names and six types of feminine ones. Attestations from outside Mari are known too, but they are similarly limited to theophoric names. The oldest known examples are the name of a son of the king of Kish mentioned in a text from Ebla, Ir-KUM-Nunu (reading of the second sign is uncertain), and a number of names from Old Akkadian texts from the north of Babylonia, such as Da-Nunu and Šu-Nunu. Later examples are uncommonly attested in Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian texts from various locations.
|
|
