Ishara
Ishara | |
---|---|
Tutelary deity of Ebla, goddess of love, oaths and divination | |
Ishtar |
Ishara (Išḫara) was a goddess originally worshipped in
The worship of Ishara is well documented in Eblaite texts. Next to
Both Mesopotamian and Hurrian myths involving Ishara are known. As a goddess of marriage, she is referenced in the
Name
Multiple writings of Ishara's name are attested in
The
Character
The oldest attestations of Ishara from Ebla, such as these in documents from the reign of Irkab-Damu, indicate she was a tutelary goddess of the royal house.[32] Her role differed from that of Kura and Barama, who were also connected to the royal family, but seemingly functioned as a divine reflection of the reigning monarch and his spouse, rather than as dynastic tutelary deities.[4] According to Joan Goodnick Westenholz, after being transmitted eastwards to Mesopotamia in the third millennium BCE, Ishara lost this aspect of her character.[33] However, various later sources still recognize her as the tutelary goddess of this city.[34] A Hurrian text discovered in Emar refers to her as eb-la-be, "of Ebla".[35] It is also possible that the goddess Iblaītu known from the Tākultu rituals was analogous to her, though she has been alternatively interpreted as an epithet of Ishtar.[34] Alfonso Archi proposes that she originated as a hypostasis of Ishara associated with Ebla who reached Assyria in the Middle Assyrian period through Hurrian intermediaries.[36]
Ishara was associated with love in the texts from Ebla,[37] and Piotr Taracha speculates this was the oldest aspect of her character.[14] She was represented in this role in Mesopotamia as well,[38] in part possibly due to her association with Ishtar,[39] though Frans Wiggermann regards the two of them as independent from each as goddesses of love.[40] She could be referred to as the "lady of love",[40] bēlet râme.[41] She was specifically connected to the institution of marriage,[30] as documented in a number of Akkadian šuillakku prayers, which were typically focused on requests of an individual person.[42] However, as noted by Gioele Zisa incantations associate her with erotic love as well.[43]
As evidenced by the epithet bēlet bīrim, "lady of divination", which is known from Syrian sources and the god list An = Anum, and references to "Ishara of the prophetesses" in texts from Emar, Ishara was strongly associated with divination and prophecy.[44] It is presumed that this role first developed in Babylonia in the first half of the second millennium BCE.[35] According to an Old Babylonian divination compendium, the omen corresponding jointly to her and Ḫišamītum was a red spot below the right armpit.[45]
Ishara was also invoked as a guardian of oaths.[46] In this context, she could be referred to as šarrat māmīti, "queen of the oath(s)".[31] Alfonso Archi has suggested that the sparsely attested theonym Memešarti known from Hurro-Hittite sources was a derivative of this title, with the order of the two components reversed.[47] However, Gernot Wilhelm instead assumes that Memešarti might have been a group of deities, with the name being a collective noun with the Hurrian element -arde.[48] In Hurrian context, as a deity of oaths Ishara was referred to as elmiweni or elamiweni.[49] Hurro-Hittite sources indicate she was believed to punish oath-breakers, usually by inflicting them with a disease.[50] The Hittite verb išḫarišḫ- referred to being inflicted by an "Ishara illness".[51] It is not known what disease was referred to with this term.[52] It is also uncertain if the term "hand of Ishara" known from compendiums of omens from Mesopotamia and Emar referred to the same phenomenon.[53] However, it was also believed that if placated with offerings, Ishara could serve as a healing goddess.[54]
In Hurrian context, Ishara developed an association with the underworld.[55] However, according to Wilfred G. Lambert it is also documented for her in Mesopotamia.[56]
Alfonso Archi notes that in Ebla Ishara sometimes received weapons as offering, much like Hadad, Resheph and Hadabal,[57] which according to him might indicate she had a warlike aspect as well, which he considers comparable to a similar characteristic of Ishtar.[58] He proposes that as a warrior goddess she was possibly associated with axes.[59]
A further epithet applied to Ishara in Mesopotamia, bēlet dadmē, "lady of the dwellings",
Dennis Pardee states that in Ugaritic context in addition to fulfilling her primary roles as a goddess of oaths and divination, Ishara was also linked to justice.[12]
Ishara could also be associated with cannabis.[40] This plant, known in Akkadian as qunnubu, is explained as the "herb of Ishara" in a Neo-Assyrian text, BM 103295.[62] However, said passage finds no parallel elsewhere.[63]
Iconography
Ishara was portrayed as a youthful goddess.[64] She could be referred to with the Hurrian epithet šiduri, "young woman".[65]
In Mesopotamia Ishara's symbol was initially the
In later periods in
The Scorpion, Išḫara, goddess of all inhabited regions. The breast of Scorpius:
Šargaz.[77]
Associations with other deities
Family and court
No texts focused on establishing Ishara's genealogy have been identified, and the only reference to other deities being regarded as her parents occurs in a single source from
According to
In the Mesopotamian
In Kizzuwatna, Ḫalma and Tuḫḫitra belonged to the entourage of Ishara.[94] Another deity associated with her in the same sources was Saggar, assumed to be analogous to the Eblaite Sanugaru, who was worshiped with her in Mane in the third millennium BCE already.[35] He was likely a moon god.[35] The compilers of An = Anum labeled him as the spouse of Ishara.[35] According to Volkert Haas, a connection between them is also attested in sources from Emar and the Khabur area.[95] Doris Prechel instead states that while both Saggar and Ḫalma are attested in texts from Emar, neither of them shows an apparent connection to Ishara in this context.[94] Other moon gods were associated with Ishara in Hurro-Hittite oath formulas.[96] In this context she was frequently linked with the Hurrian moon god, Kušuḫ (Umbu) and his spouse Nikkal due to their shared role as protectors of oaths.[97]
In Emar, Ishara could also be paired with the city god designated by the sumerogram dNIN.URTA, possibly to be identified with Il Imari, "the god of Emar", attested in sources from the same site.[14] Prechel additionally notes that in Babylon her temple was located close to that dedicated to Ninurta.[98]
Ishara and Ishtar
In Mesopotamia Ishara and Ishtar were associated with each other as goddesses of love, as already attested in
Ishara and Dagan
Oldest evidence for a connection between Ishara and
While
Ishara and Ninkarrak
A number of sources attest the existence of a connection between Ishara and the medicine goddess
Joan Goodnick Westenholz assumed that the association between Ishara and Ninkarrak might have developed due to shared origin in Syria.[116] Irene Sibbing-Plantholt more broadly connects it with both of them being worshiped on the peripheries of Mesopotamia, both in the west and in the east.[31] She also notes that since Ninkarrak was typically associated with dogs, and Ishara with snakes and scorpions, their functions might have been viewed as complementary.[8]
Ishara and Allani
In Hurrian context, as an underworld deity, Ishara was closely associated with Allani, the queen of the dead.[13] The connection between them is already present in documents from the Ur III period.[118] It might have been in part influenced by an association between Ishara and the Hurrian primeval deities,[49] which in turn developed due to her own underworld aspect.[119] Veneration of Ishara and Allani as a pair was an example of a broader phenomenon frequently attested in Hurrian sources, the worship of pairs of deities with similar spheres of influence as dyads, as also attested in the cases of Šauška's attendants Ninatta and Kulitta, the fate goddesses Hutena and Hutellura, Ḫepat and her son Šarruma,[120] or the astral deities Pinikir and DINGIR.GE6, so-called Goddess of the Night.[121]
Volkert Haas suggested that the placement of Ishara after Arsay in an Ugaritic offering list was a reflection of her association with Allani, as these two goddesses were seemingly regarded as analogous.[122]
Worship
Ebla
The worship of Ishara is well attested in sources from various sites from ancient
"Ishara of the king", a hypostasis meant to serve as a protector of the reigning Eblaite monarch, was worshiped in the temple of the city god Kura.[130] A statue of the royal hypostasis of Ishara was placed inside, and she could receive offerings in this building.[129] However, a separate temple dedicated to her existed in Ebla too.[4] Administrative texts indicate that multiple members of the Eblaite royal family and court were devotees of Ishara.[131] Personal devotion to the royal aspect of Ishara is best documented among women belonging to the royal house, such as Dusigu, the wife of Irkab-Damu and Kešdutu, a princess who was eventually sent to marry the king of Kish.[30] As an extension of her role in the royal cult, Ishara was worshiped during rituals connected to weddings of kings.[57] During preparations for it, the future Eblaite queen was expected to make offerings to Ishara and Kura.[132] The king instead made offerings to her after the return from the ceremony, which took place outside the city.[133] In Darib near Ebla, possibly to be identified with modern Atarib, Ishara was invoked in connection with the funerary cult of deceased Eblaite kings, alongside a god associated with this locality whose name is not preserved and the divine pairs of Hadabal and his nameless spouse, Resheph and Adamma and Agu and Guladu.[134] A form of Ishara linked to king Kun-damu was worshiped by his successors.[57] She is still attested as late as thirty years after his death.[4] In addition to such hypostases linked to the royal family, specifically to individual kings and queens mothers, one linked to the vizier Arrukum is also attested.[57] Further hypostases, a pair consisting of "major" (MAḪ) and "minor" (TUR) Isharas, are attested in an inventory of weapons.[30]
Both male and female servants (pa4-šeš) of Ishara are attested in the Eblaite texts.[131]
A single Eblaite document attests that Ishara was asked to purify the royal garden, though this location was more commonly associated with the local form of the god
With a single exception, Iti-Išḫara (I-ti-dŠARA8), the name of a messenger (U5) from Irpeš, a city located near the border with the kingdom of Emar, no
Ebla was completely destroyed in the second half of the twenty fourth century BCE,[138] which resulted in the dissolution of the original form of the Eblaite pantheon.[114] However, in contrast with other Eblaite deities Ishara continued to be worshiped due to being incorporated into various other pantheons across Syria, Mesopotamia and eastern Anatolia.[139] The association between her and Eblaite kingship persisted at least until the seventeenth century BCE.[9] A later king of Ebla, Indilimma, referred to himself as a servant of Ishara on his personal seal.[59]
Other early Syrian sites
Ishara is attested in sources from Nabada, a settlement in the Khabur Triangle which in the period documented in the Eblaite archive was under the control of Nagar.[99] While a month in the local calendar was named after Ishara, other major deities from the pantheon of Ebla like Kura or Hadabal are entirely absent.[140]
Ishara was also worshiped in
Ishara is one of the deities invoked in a curse formula in an Old Babylonian inscription found in the citadel of Aleppo alongside Dagan, Sin, Nergal and Shamash, but the section focused on her is not preserved.[150]
Numerous theophoric names invoking Ishara are mentioned in the Mari text corpus,[151] with a total of 34 identified as of 2020.[102] Many of them belonged to women.[152] Overall in feminine names she is the third most frequently occurring goddess.[153] However, in cases where the place of origin of their bearers is specified, usually they are not from the city itself.[154] Examples include Iddin-Išḫara from Barḫān near Saggāratum,[155] Ḫabdu-Išḫara from Dēr (modern Abu Kamal),[156] Tupki-Išḫara from Emar,[157] Išḫara-asīya from Ḫišamta (a city near Terqa),[158] Zū-Išḫara (or possibly Warad-Išḫara) from Tuttul,[159] Išḫara-zamrati from Ya'il, a village located on the border between the districts of Terqa and Saggāratum whose inhabitants are well represented in the textual record,[160] and Išḫara-pilaḫ from Zurubbān, located on the bank of the Euphrates near Terqa and later Dura Europos.[161] Additionally, seven names of deportees from the Upper Khabur area between Sinjar Mountains and Mount Abdulaziz invoke Ishara, including those of three men, Ḫabdu-Išḫara, Išḫara-malakī and Pandi-Išḫara, and four women, Išḫara-damqa, Išḫara-naḫmī, Išḫara-nērī and Išḫara-ummī.[162] A text from the Asqudum archive from Mari mentions the offering of an ewe to Ishara.[163]
A selection of similar theophoric names as these known from Mari have been identified in texts from Terqa, Tuttul and Ekalte, though they were less frequent in these cases.[102] Examples from Tuttul include Abdu-Ishara ("servant of Ishara"),[164] La-Ishara ("one belonging to Ishara")[165] and Zu-Ishara ("the one of Ishara").[166]
Mesopotamian reception
Early attestations
In the third millennium BCE Ishara reached Mesopotamia, most likely with Mari serving as the intermediary.[167] She is already mentioned in sources from the Old Akkadian period, though these early attestations are not numerous.[168] She is one of the five Mesopotamian deities mentioned in a treaty between Naram-Sin of Akkad and an Elamite monarch, the other four being Ilaba, Manzat, Ninkarrak and Ninurta.[6] A further early attestation is a love incantation from Tell Ingharra, an archeological site located near Kish.[169]
It is also known that Ishara was worshiped in the
Ur III period
Further south in
For uncertain reasons, the veneration of Ishara by the royal family of the Ur III state is particularly well attested.
There is no evidence that the worship of Ishara was widespread in Mesopotamia in the Ur III period.[184] Theophoric names invoking her are uncommon in relevant sources, with the attested examples including NÌ-Išḫara (reading of the first sign is uncertain) identified in a text from Puzrish-Dagan from the reign of Shulgi and a number of separate individuals named Šū-Išḫara, "he of Ishara".[185] One of them was a representative of Mari who visited the royal court in Ur alongside Ili-Dagan of Ebla during the sixth year of Amar-Sin's reign.[167] Another Šū-Išḫara hailed from Babaz, an otherwise unknown location.[186]
Old Assyrian period
Transmission of the cult of Ishara to the north is also attested.
In a treaty between Assyria and a king of Apum, Till-abnu (reigned in the middle of the eighteenth century BCE) from Tell Leilan (Shubat-Enlil), Ishara appears as one of the divine witnesses.[193] It is not certain with which of these two states she is linked in this context.[194] She was also worshiped in Chagar Bazar (Ašnakkum) while this site was under Assyrian control, as attested in texts from the reign of Shamshi-Adad I.[195] Three names invoking her have been identified in sources from this site: Ḫazip-Išḫara, Ibbi-Išḫara and Išḫara-šemēt.[196] According to Volkert Haas Tell al-Rimah was seemingly the northeastern limit of the extent of her cult in Mesopotamia, as evidenced by sources from this site which mention "Ishara of Artanya".[11] This hypostasis is attested in a text describing offerings made to her, Ishtar of Ninêt and Ishtar of Qattara by a certain Iltani.[197] Neither this hypostasis of Ishara not the associated settlement are known from any other sources.[193]
Old Babylonian period
Ishara also continued to be worshiped in Babylonia after the fall of the Ur III state, through the Old Babylonian period.[198] One of the earliest pieces of evidence is an offering list from Nippur from the reign of Warad-Sin of Larsa.[199] A temple of Ishara is mentioned in a text from Larsa dated to the reign of Hammurabi, but its location is unspecified.[200] She was also worshiped in Kish and near it, possibly in Ilip or Harbidum, as attested by references to a temple and a number of theophoric names.[201] Another temple dedicated to her existed in Sippar.[202] Offering lists from this city mention her too.[203] A legal text refers to an oath sworn by the snake (ba-aš-mu-um) of Ishara.[8] The formula "servant of Ishara" occurs in an inscription on a seal of a certain Illuratum.[204] Multiple theophoric names invoking her have been identified in texts from Sippar, for example Abdu-Išḫara ("servant of Ishara"), Malik-Išḫara ("Ishara is an advisor") or Nūr-Išḫara ("light of Ishara").[205] Theophoric names invoking her are also attested in Old Babylonian texts from Dilbat, but they are uncommon in this corpus.[198] Evidence from Ur is similarly limited to theophoric names.[206] At some point, possibly also in the Old Babylonian period, Ishara was also presumably worshiped in Kisurra, as an incantation known from a Neo-Assyrian copy refers to her as the queen of this city (šar-rat ki-sur-ri-eki).[207]
Late attestations
The number of theophoric names invoking Ishara declined after the Old Babylonian period.
In the first millennium BCE, Mesopotamia was the only area where Ishara continued to be worshiped, with attestations available from both Assyria and Babylonia.
Ishara is also attested in Seleucid sources from Uruk, though she is absent from earlier Neo-Babylonian texts from the same location.[225] It has been pointed out that she is mentioned in a description of the customs of Uruk in the Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, but her role in the contemporary religious life of the city is uncertain.[226] In the Seleucid period she was seemingly worshiped in the temple of Bēlet-īli.[227] According to Julia Krul she was presumably introduced to the local pantheon in the late first millennium BCE due to her well attested connection with Ishtar documented in god lists, similarly to Ninsianna.[228]
Hurrian reception
Due to being worshiped in many locations in Syria in the third and second millennia BCE, Ishara was also incorporated into the
Kizzuwatna
The Hurrian traditions pertaining to the worship of Ishara were part of the religion of the kingdom of
Buildings referred to as ḫamri were associated with Ishara, and she could accordingly be described as ḫamrawann(i)-, "inhabitant of ḫamri".
The worship of Ishara in Kizzuwatna involved priestesses designated by the akkadogram ĒNTU.[241] It was read in this context as katra or katri, and the women designated by it were otherwise only involved in the worship of the so-called "Goddess of the Night",[242] a Hurrian deity[243] whose name was always written logographically and as such remains uncertain.[244] Another class of clergy of Ishara were the išḫaralli priestesses, who were not associated with any other deities.[242] They were involved in funerary rituals.[245]
Ishara was also one of the three main goddesses venerated during the ḫišuwa festival, the other two being Lelluri and Maliya.[246] During this celebration, which was meant to guarantee good fortune for the royal couple, she received offerings alongside "Teshub Manuzi," Lelluri, Allani, two hypostases of Nupatik (pibithi - "of Pibid(a)" and zalmathi - "of Zalman(a)/Zalmat") and Maliya.[247] Instructions for this celebration prescribe covering the statue of Ishara with a red draped garment, while that of Allani with an identical blue one.[248] Another Kizzuwatnean festival, dedicated specifically to Ishara, took place in autumn.[246]
Ugarit
Ishara was one of the Hurrian deities worshiped in Ugarit.[249] An incantation from this site written in Hurrian but using the local alphabetic script (RS 24.285 = KTU3 1.131) is focused on her and invokes her to
guard the land (as far as) poplar-filled Emar to Ṣiyurašše, Mudkin to Nirabe, Yabla to Alliše, Naštarbi to Šidurašše, Tunanab to Šaydar, (and) Ugarit to Zulude![250]
All of the toponyms listed appear to be pairs consisting of a city located on the
In addition to appearing in Hurrian sources from Ugarit, Ishara was also firmly integrated into the strictly local
Hittite reception
Ishara was also incorporated into
As a guardian of oaths, Ishara appears in a standard enumeration of deities in Hittite treaties.[268] Military oaths were particularly closely associated with her.[46]
Ishara is likely among the deities depicted in the Yazılıkaya sanctuary, where she appears between Allani and Nabarbi in a procession of goddesses following Ḫepat whose order mirrors the Hurrian kaluti of this goddess.[269]
Mythology
Mesopotamian myths
The
Hurrian myths
Ishara appears in a myth known from an original
Ishara also appears in the proemium of the
References
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 163–166.
- ^ Archi 2020, p. 1.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 644.
- ^ a b c d e f Archi 2002, p. 28.
- ^ a b Marchesi & Marchetti 2011, p. 227.
- ^ a b Sibbing-Plantholt 2022, p. 110.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 160.
- ^ a b c d e f Sibbing-Plantholt 2022, p. 114.
- ^ a b c Archi 2020, p. 22.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 166.
- ^ a b c Haas 2015, p. 393.
- ^ a b c d Pardee 2002, p. 285.
- ^ a b Taracha 2009, p. 124.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Taracha 2009, p. 123.
- ^ a b c d Archi 2020, p. 21.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 349.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 170.
- ^ Singer 2013, pp. 443–434.
- ^ Singer 2013, p. 438.
- ^ Singer 2013, p. 446.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 168.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 594.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 169.
- ^ a b Frantz-Szabó & Lambert 1980, p. 176.
- ^ a b Jacobsen 1990, p. 237.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 246–247.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 278.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 643.
- ^ a b Taracha 2009, p. 119.
- ^ a b c d e Archi 2020, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e Sibbing-Plantholt 2022, p. 112.
- ^ Archi 2020, p. 8.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 63.
- ^ a b c Archi 2020, p. 23.
- ^ a b c d e f g Archi 2020, p. 19.
- ^ Archi 2020, p. 30.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 174.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 176.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 134.
- ^ a b c Wiggermann 2011, p. 417.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 185.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 119.
- ^ a b Zisa 2021, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d Feliu 2003, p. 55.
- ^ Anor & Cohen 2021, p. 57.
- ^ a b Murat 2009, p. 175.
- ^ Archi 1990, p. 118.
- ^ Wilhelm 1997, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Archi 2002, p. 33.
- ^ Murat 2009, pp. 180–181.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 181.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 131.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 133.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 183.
- ^ Taracha 2009, pp. 123–124.
- ^ a b Lambert 2013, p. 245.
- ^ a b c d Archi 2020, p. 9.
- ^ Archi 2010, p. 11.
- ^ a b Archi 2020, p. 29.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 186.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 241.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 153–154.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 153.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 300.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 396.
- ^ a b Frantz-Szabó & Lambert 1980, p. 177.
- ^ Wiggermann 1997, pp. 39–40.
- ^ a b Lambert 2013, p. 234.
- ^ Peterson 2009, p. 67.
- ^ a b Rahmouni 2008, p. XXIII.
- ^ Rahmouni 2008, pp. XXIII–XXIV.
- ^ Rahmouni 2008, p. XXIV.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 66.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 278.
- ^ Arbøll 2023, p. 266.
- ^ Arbøll 2023, p. 267.
- ^ Arbøll 2023, p. 274.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 187.
- ^ Archi 2013, p. 17.
- ^ a b Beckman 2011, p. 26.
- ^ a b c Archi 2020, p. 20.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 340.
- ^ a b c Feliu 2003, p. 293.
- ^ a b Zisa 2021, p. 434.
- ^ Zisa 2021, p. 151.
- ^ Wiggermann 2011a, pp. 462–463.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 16.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 171–172.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 172.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 173.
- ^ Krebernik 2011, p. 474.
- ^ del Olmo Lete 2014, p. 210.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 124.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 373.
- ^ Murat 2009, p. 177.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 374.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 189.
- ^ a b Archi 2020, p. 11.
- ^ Archi 2020, p. 14.
- ^ Archi 2020, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e Archi 2020, p. 18.
- ^ Smith 2014, pp. 74–75.
- ^ a b Archi 2002, p. 32.
- ^ Zisa 2021, p. 138.
- ^ Zisa 2021, p. 271.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 154.
- ^ a b Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 82.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, pp. 80–81.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 80.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 54.
- ^ a b c Feliu 2003, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Archi 2002, p. 30.
- ^ a b Archi 2004, p. 324.
- ^ a b c Westenholz 2010, p. 397.
- ^ Krebernik 1997, p. 56.
- ^ Sharlach 2002, p. 99.
- ^ Haas 2015, pp. 395–396.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 128.
- ^ Miller 2008, p. 68.
- ^ Haas 2015, pp. 557–558.
- ^ Archi 1990, p. 119.
- ^ a b c Archi 2020, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Archi 2020, p. 4.
- ^ Archi 2020, pp. 6–8.
- ^ Biga 2016, p. 73.
- ^ a b Biga 2016, p. 79.
- ^ a b Archi 2020, p. 2.
- ^ Archi 2005, p. 84.
- ^ a b Archi 2020, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 528.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 529.
- ^ Archi 2015, pp. 530–531.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 547.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 656.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 646.
- ^ Archi 2002, p. 29.
- ^ Archi 2002, p. 31.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 40.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 568.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 220.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 221–222.
- ^ a b Fleming 2000, p. 79.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 221.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 220–221.
- ^ Fleming 2000, p. 73.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 233–234.
- ^ Fleming 2000, p. 44.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 171.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 50.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 273.
- ^ Nakata 1995, p. 235.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 54.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 193.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 194.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 195.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 195–196.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 204.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 204–205.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 205.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 205–206.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 79.
- ^ Buck 2019, p. 273.
- ^ Buck 2019, p. 305.
- ^ Buck 2019, p. 321.
- ^ a b Archi 2020, p. 17.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 23.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 24.
- ^ Wagensonner 2022, p. 251.
- ^ Abdi & Beckman 2007, p. 48.
- ^ Sharlach 2017, p. 275.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 26.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 28.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 71.
- ^ Archi 2002, pp. 29–30.
- ^ a b c Feliu 2003, p. 53.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 27.
- ^ Sharlach 2017, p. 209.
- ^ Feliu 2003, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Archi 2015, p. 364.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 51.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 52.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 204.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 32.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 179.
- ^ Barjamovic 2015, p. 53.
- ^ a b c Haas 2015, p. 394.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 27.
- ^ Veenhof 2018, p. 73.
- ^ Veenhof 2018, p. 75.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 56.
- ^ Veenhof 2018, p. 82.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Feliu 2003, p. 201.
- ^ Westenholz 2004, p. 15.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 33.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 36.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 38.
- ^ Sibbing-Plantholt 2022, pp. 113–114.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 39.
- ^ Prechel 1996, pp. 40–41.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 41.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 34.
- ^ a b Prechel 1996, p. 67.
- ^ Bartelmus 2017, p. 310.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 65.
- ^ Lambert 2013, p. 220.
- ^ Lambert 2013, pp. 271–272.
- ^ George 1993, p. 122.
- ^ George 1993, p. 165.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 147.
- ^ Lambert 2013, p. 224.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 158.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 120.
- ^ a b Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, pp. 105–106.
- ^ George 1992, p. 374.
- ^ George 1993, p. 144.
- ^ George 1992, pp. 314–315.
- ^ a b c George 1992, p. 315.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 162.
- ^ Krul 2018, p. 74.
- ^ a b George 2003, p. 190.
- ^ Krul 2018, p. 70.
- ^ Krul 2018, p. 75.
- ^ Archi 2013, p. 14.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 543.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 144.
- ^ Taracha 2009, pp. 121–122.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 184.
- ^ Archi 2020, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 580.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 254.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, pp. 254–255.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2001, p. 256.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 255.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, pp. 255–256.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 67.
- ^ a b Taracha 2009, p. 131.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 99.
- ^ Miller 2008, p. 67.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 161.
- ^ a b Haas 2015, p. 401.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 138.
- ^ Haas 2015, p. 849.
- ^ Válek 2021, p. 53.
- ^ Lauinger 2015, p. 173.
- ^ Lauinger 2015, pp. 173–174.
- ^ Lauinger 2015, p. 174.
- ^ a b Pardee 2002, p. 95.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 93.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 140.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 12.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 15.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 19.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 44.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 48.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 67.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 69.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Pardee 2002, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Pardee 2002, p. 280.
- ^ Archi 2002, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Prechel 1996, p. 90.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 86.
- ^ Taracha 2009, p. 95.
- ^ George 2003, p. 168.
- ^ George 2003, p. 166.
- ^ George 2003, p. 563.
- ^ a b c d Archi 2015a, p. 21.
- ^ Bachvarova 2013, p. 301.
- ^ a b Archi 2002, p. 23.
- ^ a b Bachvarova 2013, p. 303.
- ^ Wilhelm 2014, p. 346.
- ^ Archi 2002, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Archi 2002, p. 27.
- ^ Archi 2013, p. 16.
Bibliography
- Abdi, Kamyar; Beckman, Gary (2007). "An Early Second-Millennium Cuneiform Archive from Chogha Gavaneh, Western Iran". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 59. American Schools of Oriental Research: 39–91. S2CID 160622315. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
- Anor, Netanel; Cohen, Yoram (2021). "Bird in the Sky – Babylonian Bird Omen Collections, Astral Observations and the manzāzu". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 115 (1). CAIRN: 51–80. S2CID 246562402.
- Arbøll, Troels P. (2023). "Venomous Scorpions and Venerable Women: The Relationship Between Scorpions, the Goddess Išḫara, and Queens in the Neo-Assyrian Period". Women and Religion in the Ancient Near East and Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 263–288. ISBN 978-1-5015-1482-1.
- Archi, Alfonso (1990). "The Names of the Primeval Gods". Orientalia. 59 (2). GBPress - Gregorian Biblical Press: 114–129. JSTOR 43075881. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- Archi, Alfonso (2002). "Formation of the West Hurrian Pantheon: The Case of Išḫara". Recent Developments in Hittite Archaeology and History. Penn State University Press. pp. 21–34. ISBN 9781575065267.
- Archi, Alfonso (2005). "The Head of Kura—The Head of ʾAdabal". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 64 (2). University of Chicago Press: 81–100. S2CID 161744545.
- Archi, Alfonso (2004). "Translation of Gods: Kumarpi, Enlil, Dagan/NISABA, Ḫalki". Orientalia. 73 (4). GBPress- Gregorian Biblical Press: 319–336. JSTOR 43078173. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- Archi, Alfonso (2010). "Hadda of Halab and his Temple in the Ebla Period". Iraq. 72. British Institute for the Study of Iraq, Cambridge University Press: 3–17. S2CID 191962310. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- Archi, Alfonso (2013). "The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background". In Collins, B. J.; Michalowski, P. (eds.). Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman. Atlanta: Lockwood Press. OCLC 882106763.
- Archi, Alfonso (2015). Ebla and Its Archives. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-61451-716-0.
- Archi, Alfonso (2015a). "A Royal Seal from Ebla (17th cent. B.C.) with Hittite Hieroglyphic Symbols". Orientalia. 84 (1). GBPress- Gregorian Biblical Press: 18–28. JSTOR 26153279. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- Archi, Alfonso (2020). "Išḫara and Aštar at Ebla: Some Definitions". The Third Millennium. BRILL. pp. 1–34. S2CID 213456127.
- Asher-Greve, Julia M.; Westenholz, Joan G. (2013). Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources (PDF). ISBN 978-3-7278-1738-0.
- Bachvarova, Mary R. (2013). "The Hurro-Hittite Song of Release (Destruction of the City of Ebla)". Gods, heroes, and monsters: a sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 967417697.
- Barjamovic, Gojko (2015). "Contextualizing Tradition. Magic, Literacy and Domestic Life in Old Assyrian Kanesh". Texts and Contexts. De Gruyter. .
- Bartelmus, Alexa (2017). "Die Götter der Kassitenzeit. Eine Analyse ihres Vorkommens in zeitgenössischen Textquellen". Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites. De Gruyter. pp. 245–312. ISBN 9781501503566.
- Beckman, Gary (2011). "Primordial Obstetrics. "The Song of Emergence" (CTH 344)". Hethitische Literatur: Überlieferungsprozesse, Textstrukturen, Ausdrucksformen und Nachwirken: Akten des Symposiums vom 18. bis 20. Februar 2010 in Bonn. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. OCLC 768810899.
- Biga, Maria Giovanna (2016). "The Role of Women in Work and Society in the Ebla Kingdom (Syria, 24th century BC)". The Role of Women in Work and Society in the Ancient Near East. De Gruyter. pp. 71–89. ISBN 9781614519089.
- Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, ISBN 978-0-7141-1705-8
- Buck, Mary E. (2019). The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit: Historical Implications of Linguistic and Archaeological Parallels. Boston: Brill. OCLC 1121126053.
- del Olmo Lete, Gregorio (2014). Incantations and Anti-Witchcraft Texts from Ugarit. Boston: De Gruyter. OCLC 948655744.
- Feliu, Lluís (2003). The God Dagan in Bronze Age Syria. Boston: BRILL. OCLC 1288215998.
- Fleming, Daniel E. (1992). The installation of Baal's high priestess at Emar: a window on ancient Syrian religion. Atlanta: Scholars Press. OCLC 645829438. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- Frantz-Szabó, Gabriella; Lambert, Wilfred G. (1980), "Išḫara", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-20
- Fleming, Daniel E. (2000). Time at Emar: The Cultic Calendar and the Rituals from the Diviner's Archive. Mesopotamian civilizations. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-1-57506-044-6. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- George, Andrew R. (1992). Babylonian Topographical Texts. Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Departement Oriëntalistiek. ISBN 978-90-6831-410-6. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. OCLC 27813103.
- George, Andrew R. (2003). The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic: introduction, critical edition and cuneiform texts. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 51668477.
- Haas, Volkert (2015). Geschichte der hethitischen Religion. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East (in German). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-29394-6. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- Jacobsen, Thorkild (1990). "The Gilgamesh Epic Romantic and Tragic Vision". Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran. Brill. pp. 231–249. ISBN 9789004369559.
- Krebernik, Manfred (1997), "Meme(-šaga)", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-02-20
- Krebernik, Manfred (2011), "Tašme-zikrī/u", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-02-20
- Krul, Julia (2018). The Revival of the Anu Cult and the Nocturnal Fire Ceremony at Late Babylonian Uruk. Brill. ISBN 9789004364936.
- Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013). Babylonian Creation Myths. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. OCLC 861537250.
- Lauinger, Jacob (2015). Following the Man of Yamhad: settlement and territory at old Babylonian Alalah. Leiden: Brill. OCLC 908192059.
- Marchesi, Gianni; Marchetti, Nicolo (2011). Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. Penn State University Press. ISBN 978-1-57506-651-6.
- Miller, Jared L. (2008). "Setting Up the Goddess of the Night Separately". Anatolian interfaces: Hittites, Greeks, and their neighbours: proceedings of an International Conference on Cross-cultural Interaction, September 17-19, 2004, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Oxford: Oxbow Books. OCLC 880878828.
- Murat, Leyla (2009). "Goddess Išhara". Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi. 45.
- Nakata, Ichiro (1995). "A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in Old Babylonian Texts from Mari". Orient. 30 and 31. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 234–253. ISSN 1884-1392.
- Pardee, Dennis (2002). Ritual and cult at Ugarit. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. OCLC 558437302.
- Peterson, Jeremiah (2009). God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum, Philadelphia. Münster: Ugarit Verlag. OCLC 460044951.
- Prechel, Doris (1996). Die Göttin Išḫara: ein Beitrag zur altorientalischen Religionsgeschichte (in German). Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. OCLC 34994294.
- Rahmouni, Aicha (2008). Divine epithets in the Ugaritic alphabetic texts. Leiden Boston: Brill. OCLC 304341764.
- Schwemer, Daniel (2001). Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. OCLC 48145544.
- Sharlach, Tonia (2002). "Foreign Influences on the Religion of the Ur III Court". General studies and excavations at Nuzi 10/3. Bethesda, Md: CDL Press. OCLC 48399212.
- Sharlach, Tonia (2017). An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-5015-0526-3.
- Sibbing-Plantholt, Irene (2022). The Image of Mesopotamian Divine Healers. Healing Goddesses and the Legitimization of Professional Asûs in the Mesopotamian Medical Marketplace. Boston: Brill. OCLC 1312171937.
- ISBN 9781575068671.
- Smith, Mark (2014). "Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts". Transformation of a goddess: Ishtar--Astarte--Aphrodite. Fribourg Göttingen: Academic Press Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. OCLC 881612038.
- Taracha, Piotr (2009). Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447058858.
- Válek, František (2021). "Foreigners and Religion at Ugarit". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 9 (2): 47–66. ISSN 2323-5209.
- Veenhof, Klaas R. (2018). "The Family God in Old Babylonian and Especially in Old Assyrian Sources". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale (112): 49–90. ISSN 0373-6032. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- Wagensonner, Klaus (2022). "The Middle East after the Fall of Ur: Isin and Larsa". The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume II. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-068757-1.
- Westenholz, Joan Goodnick (2004). "The Old Akkadian Presence in Nineveh: Fact or Fiction". Iraq. 66. British Institute for the Study of Iraq: 7–18. JSTOR 4200552. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- Westenholz, Joan G. (2010). "Ninkarrak – an Akkadian goddess in Sumerian guise". Von Göttern und Menschen. BRILL. pp. 377–405. ISBN 9789004187481.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1997). "Transtigridian Snake Gods". In Finkel, I. L.; Geller, M. J. (eds.). Sumerian Gods and their Representations. ISBN 978-90-56-93005-9.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2011), "Sexualität A. In Mesopotamien · Sexuality A. In Mesopotamia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-25
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2011a), "Siebengötter A. Mesopotamien · Seven gods A. In Mesopotamia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-25
- Wilhelm, Gernot (1997), "Memešarti", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2023-04-26
- Wilhelm, Gernot (2014), "Unterwelt, Unterweltsgottheiten C. In Anatolien", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-06
- Zisa, Gioele (2021). The Loss of Male Sexual Desire in Ancient Mesopotamia. De Gruyter. S2CID 243923454.