Bēl-ṣarbi
| Bel-ṣarbi | |
|---|---|
God of poplars, underworld deity | |
 The Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica), a tree which ancient Mesopotamians associated with Bel-ṣarbi. | |
| Other names | Šar-ṣarbati. Lugal-asal |
| Major cult center | Baz, Ḫiritum, Iabušum |
Bel-ṣarbi or Šar-ṣarbati (
Character
The name Bēl-ṣarbi means "lord of the poplar" (the tree meant is assumed to be Populus euphratica) in Akkadian.[2] In Sumerian it was rendered as Lugal-asal.[2] The names are used interchangeably in scholarship.[3] The second element can be interpreted as a nisba, since it can be written with the determinative of a place name (ṣar-biki).[1] Possibly a name of an area associated with the god, perhaps a grove, was derived from the trees.[4] It is assumed two separate places bearing the name Ṣarbat existed.[5] The southern Ṣarbat or Ṣarbatum was located near Babylon, Dilbat and Sippar,[5] while the northern Ṣarbat most likely in the proximity of the Sinjar Mountains (known as Saggar in antiquity).[6] Šar-ṣarbati could also be associated with the Euphrates, as attested in Šurpu.[4] Similarly, a lipšur litany describes him as a god who "travels on the Tigris and the Euphrates."[7]
Bēl-ṣarbi could also function as one of the gods connected with underworld.[2]
According to an esoteric text assigning various objects and substances to deities, Lugal-asal corresponded to a muššaru stone.[8] It is assumed that this term refers to a red agate.[9]
Worship
Bēl-ṣarbi was the city god of Baz (Baṣ).
The gods of Baz were carried off to
In the Old Babylonian period Bēl-ṣarbi was associated with Ḫiritum and Iabušum.[6] An inscription of Samsu-iluna which mentions various forts he built for specific deities lists Iabušum in association with Bēl-ṣarbi.[16] The king describes him as a god "who magnifies my royal name."[17]
Multiple god lists mention Lugal-asal, including An = Anum and its forerunner, as well as the Nippur god list and the Weidner god list.[4]
Associations with other deities
On a kudurru (boundary stone) of Marduk-apla-iddina I (the "land grant to Munnabittu kudurru") Šar-ṣarbati appears as a member of a group of underworld deities: Nergal, his wife Laṣ, Šubula, the pair Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea and Mammitum.[18] In Šurpu he appears alongside Nergal, Ishum and Šubula.[19] Under the name Lugal-asal he could be outright identified with Nergal, similar to a number of other gods associated with trees: Lugal-gišimmar ("lord of the date palm"), Lugal-zulumma ("lord of the dates;" sometimes erroneously listed as a name of Dumuzi in secondary literature) and Lugal-šinig ("lord of the tamarisk;" he could also be identified with Ninurta).[20]
NIN-ṣar-BE and INANNA-ṣarbat
The name of the goddess
References
- ^ a b Krebernik 1987, pp. 115–116.
- ^ a b c Krebernik 1987, p. 115.
- ^ a b c d George 1993, p. 80.
- ^ a b c d e Krebernik 1987, p. 116.
- ^ a b Stol 2011, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d e f Stol 2011, p. 36.
- ^ Reiner 1956, p. 145.
- ^ Livingstone 1986, p. 177.
- ^ Schwemer, Hecker & Oelsner 2020, p. 27.
- ^ a b c Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, p. 486.
- ^ a b c Beaulieu 2011, p. 27.
- ^ Frame 1995, p. 78.
- ^ a b Wiggermann 2018, p. 885.
- ^ Frahm 2009, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Frahm 2009, p. 58.
- ^ Frayne 1990, p. 381.
- ^ Frayne 1990, pp. 381–382.
- ^ Simons 2016, p. 9.
- ^ Edzard 1980, p. 213.
- ^ a b c d Streck 2014, p. 532.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 683.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 34.
Bibliography
- Archi, Alfonso (2015). Ebla and Its Archives. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-61451-716-0.
- Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2011), "Šapaza", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-16
- Cavigneaux, Antoine; Krebernik, Manfred (1998), "dNIN-ṣar-BE", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-16
- Edzard, Dietz-Otto (1980), "Išum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-16
- Frahm, Eckhart (2009). "Assurbanipal at Der". In Luukko, Mikko; Svärd, Saana; Mattila, Raija (eds.). Of god(s), trees, kings, and scholars: Neo-Assyrian and related studies in honour of Simo Parpola. Helsinki. )
- Frame, Grant (1995). Rulers of Babylonia from the Second Dynasty of Isin to the End of Assyrian Domination (1157-612 BC). University of Toronto Press. .
- Frayne, Douglas (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC). Early periods. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5873-7. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. OCLC 27813103.
- Krebernik, Manfred (1987), "Lugal-asal", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-16
- Livingstone, Alasdair (1986). Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works of Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Reiner, Erica (1956). "Lipšur Litanies". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 15 (3). University of Chicago Press: 129–149. JSTOR 542306. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- Schwemer, Daniel; Hecker, Karl; Oelsner, Joachim (2020). "Weltbild und Gottesvorstellungen". Texte zur Wissenskultur. Gütersloher Verlagshaus. ISBN 9783641219956.
- Simons, Frank (2016). "The God Alammuš dLÀL /d.mùšLÀL". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (NABU) (1).
- Stol, Marten (2011), "Ṣarbat(um)", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-16
- Streck, Michael P. (2014), "Vegetation deities A. I. Philological. In Mesopotamia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-16
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2018). "BM 33055: A Late Babylonian Clay Tablet with Figures and Captions". Mesopotamian Medicine and Magic: Studies in Honor of Markham J. Geller. Ancient Magic and Divination. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-36808-8. Retrieved 2022-05-17.