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List of Hurrian deities
List of Hurrian deities
List of Hurrian deities
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A relief of Hurrian deities Teššub and Ḫepat and their court from Yazılıkaya

The Hurrian pantheon consisted of gods of varied backgrounds, some of them natively Hurrian, while others adopted from other pantheons,[1][2] for example Eblaite[3] and Mesopotamian.[4] Like the other inhabitants of the Ancient Near East, Hurrians regarded their gods as anthropomorphic.[5] They were usually represented in the form of statues holding the symbols associated with a specific deity.[6] The Yazılıkaya sanctuary, which was Hittite in origin but served as a center of the practice of Hurrian religion, is considered a valuable source of information about their iconography.[7]

Hurrians organized their gods into lists known as kaluti[8] or into similar lexical lists as the Mesopotamians.[9] The formal structure of the pantheon was most likely based on either Mesopotamian or Syrian theology.[10][4] The status of individual deities[11] and composition of the pantheon could vary between individual locations, but some can nonetheless be identified as "pan-Hurrian."[12]

The following list does not include deities only attested in the two Hurrian god lists whose names are transcriptions of Mesopotamian divine names, as it is unlikely that they were actively worshiped.[13] Identification of the Yazılıkaya reliefs used in the image column follows Piotr Taracha's analysis from the monograph Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia.[14]

Major deities

[edit]
Name Image Attested cult centers Origin Attested equivalencies Details
Teššub cemter Kumme,[15] Halab,[16] Irrite,[17] Arrapha,[18] Kaḫat, Waššukkanni, Uḫušmāni[19] Hurrian[18][15] Ishkur/Hadad (Syrian and Mesopotamian),[18][20] Baal (Ugaritic),[16] Tarhunna (Hittite)[19] Teššub was the Hurrian king of the gods, as well as a weather deity.[18] In Hurrian areas, as well as in these where the royal families were under the influence of Hurrian culture, he was often also the tutelary god of the ruling house.[21] While it is assumed that he was not necessarily regarded as the head of the pantheon from the very beginning,[4] he likely already acquired this role in the late third millennium BCE.[15] His principal sanctuaries were Kumme, located east of the Upper Tigris,[15] and Halab (modern Aleppo), where he merged with the local weather god Hadad.[16] His name could be written logographically as dIM.[15] A god with a cognate name, Teišeba, was present in the pantheon of Urartu, but his position was different.[18]
Šauška
Nineveh,[11] Nuzi,[22] Šamuha, Hattarina, Lawazantiya,[23] Tameninga[24] Hurrian[22] Inanna/Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Ashtart (Ugaritic), possibly Anzili (Hittite)[23] Šauška (šwšk or šušk in the Ugaritic alphabetic script[23]) was the main goddess of the Hurrian pantheon in locations like the kingdom of Arrapha, Alalakh and Ugarit.[11] Nineveh was particularly closely associated with her, and in myths she is often called the "Queen of Nineveh."[25] She was regarded as the sister of Teššub,[19] and by extension presumably as a daughter of Kumarbi and Anu, though references to the moon god as her father are also known.[26] Her spheres of influence included war, love, magic and medicine.[27] Šauška's gender could be ambiguous: in the Yazilikaya reliefs, Šauška is present both among gods and goddesses, while in a ritual text "female attributes" and "male attributes" are both mentioned.[28] Her name could be written logographically as dIŠTAR.[22] She was also introduced into the Mesopotamian pantheon, and appears in texts from Puzrish-Dagan, Umma, Isin and Uruk.[22]
Kumarbi
Kumurwe[28] 		Urkesh, Azuhinnu, Taite[28] Hurrian[15] Enlil (Mesopotamian),[29] Dagan (Syrian),[20] El (Ugaritic), Halki (Hittite)[30] Kumarbi was regarded as the "father of gods," and as one of the parents of Teššub.[31] He might have also been the god of grain, though the evidence is inconclusive.[32] His name might mean "he of Kumar," Kumar presumably being a place name, though other proposed etymologies connect it with Kumme, the cult center of Teššub, and with the word kum, "tower."[15] He is also attested as one of the Hurrian deities from Taite in the Assyrian Tākultu ritual, alongside Nabarbi and Samnuha.[28] In myths, he was described as allied with forces hostile to the rule of Teššub: the "former gods" inhabiting the underworld, gods and monsters living in the sea, and a stone giant named Ullikummi, "Destroy Kumme."[33]
Ḫepat
Halab,[20] Lawazantiya[34] Syrian[35] Sun goddess of Arinna (Hittite),[36] Pidray (Ugaritic)[37][38] Ḫepat was the wife of the head of the Hurrian pantheon, Teššub.[35] She was initially the wife of the storm god of Halab (Aleppo), Hadad.[20] In some western locations her position in the pantheon surpassed that of Šauška,[11] but in the eastern Hurrian centers she is only present in theophoric names and likely was not one of the major deities.[39]
Šimige
No specific cult center,[40] attested in sources from Urkesh, Tigunani, Alalakh, Nuzi, Arrapha, Tell al-Rimah and Chagar Bazar[41] Hurrian[42] Utu/Shamash (Mesopotamian),[43] Shapash (Ugaritic),[42] Sun god of Heaven (Hittite)[30] Šimige was the Hurrian sun god.[12] His name means "sun."[42] He also served as a god of oracles.[30]A Hurrian incantation from Mari indicates that he was believed to have seven daughters.[44] His name could be written logographically as dUTU.[17] Due to syncretism between him and Shamash, Aya was adopted into the Hurrian pantheon as his wife, and one text from Hattusa lists Sippar as his cult city.[42] It is also possible that the Hittite Sun god of Heaven was patterned after him, or was outright the same deity.[30] A god with a cognate name, Šiwini, was also present in the pantheon of Urartu.[42]
Kušuḫ
Umbu[20]
Kuzina (Harran),[45] Šuriniwe[46] Hurrian[47] Sin (Mesopotamian),[48] Yarikh (Ugaritic),[49] Arma (Anatolian)[50] Kušuḫ was the Hurrian moon god.[40] He was also the god of oaths.[30] His name might be derived from Kuzina,[40][47] the Hurrian name of Harran.[45] In a single text he is named as the father of Teššub.[51] His name could be represented logographically as dEN.ZU[48] or dXXX.[52] It is unclear if Umbu was his alternate name, a manifestation linked to a specific phase of the moon, or a separate moon god originating in an unidentified Anatolian or Syrian pantheon.[53] Origin in the northern part of Jezirah has been proposed,[20] though a Hurrian etymology is also not implausible.[54] In Kizzuwatna, Kušuḫ was syncretised with the Luwian moon god Arma, and they were depicted identically in art.[50]
Allani
Allatum[55]
Ḫaššum, Zimudar[55] Hurrian[56] Ereshkigal (Mesopotamian),[57] Lelwani (Hattic/Hittite),[58] Sun goddess of the Earth (Hittite),[59] Arsay (Ugaritic)[60] Allani ("the lady") was the goddess of the underworld.[56] She resided in a palace located at the gates of the land of the dead.[61] While according to Gernot Wilhelm she was only worshiped in the western Hurrian areas,[62] Tonia Sharlach in a more recent publication points out that Mesopotamian sources seem to associate her with Zimudar, a city in the Diyala area.[55] She is well attested in theophoric names from the Tur Abdin area as well.[55]
Išḫara
Ebla, Alalakh,[63] Emar,[64] Kizzuwatna[65][63] Syrian (Eblaite)[66] Išḫara was originally one of the deities of Ebla in the third millennium BCE, and served as the tutelary goddess of the royal family.[67] Later she came to be incorporated into the pantheons of various cultures of ancient Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia.[2] She had a variety of functions, including those of a love goddess, guardian of oaths, disease deity and underworld goddess associated with divine ancestors.[68] She was frequently associated with Allani, most likely based on their shared association with the underworld,[65] and they could be worshiped as a dyad.[59]
Hayya
Ea[48]
Hattusa[69] Mesopotamian[48] Kothar-wa-Khasis (Ugaritic)[70] Hayya was the Hurrian spelling of the name of the Mesopotamian god of wisdom Ea,[48] who most likely was incorporated into Hurrian religion in the Sargonic period.[71] He was referred to with his Akkadian epithets, such as "lord of wisdom," and played the same role as in Mesopotamia in Hurrian sources.[48] According to Alfonso Archi, his position in the Hurrian pantheon was comparable to that of gods like Kumarbi or Kušuḫ,[52] and to that he held in Babylonia.[72] THe is well attested in Mitanni sources.[73]
Hutena and Hutellura Ugarit,[74] Halab, Hattusa[75] Hurrian[76] Gulšes and Ḫannaḫanna (Hittite),[77][78] Kotharāt (Ugaritic),[37] Šassūrātu (Mesopotamian)[79] Hutena and Hutellura were goddesses of fate[75] and divine midwives.[80] It is possible they were similarly believed to be responsible for forming the child during pregnancy.[81] It has been proposed that Hutena means "she of favoring"[75] and Hutellura (or Hutelluri) - "midwife."[76] Piotr Taracha assumes the names might only refer to a pair of goddesses,[82] but it has also been proposed that the term referred to a heptad of deities similar to Ugaritic Kotharāt.[80] It is also possible that Hutena and Hutellura were based on the latter group.[83]
Nabarbi
Taite[28][84] Hurrian[15] or Syrian[77] possibly Belet Nagar (Syrian)[15] Nabarbi ("she of Nawar," from Hurrian naw, "pasture"[15]) was a goddess worshiped chiefly in the Upper Khabur area.[84] Piotr Taracha argues that Nabarbi is one and the same as Belet Nagar,[84] and therefore believes she should not be considered a Hurrian deity in origin.[77] However, according to Alfonso Archi Nawar from Nabarbi s name and Nagar from Belet Nagar s name were two distinct places.[15] At the same time, he does not rule out the possibility that Nabarbi and Belet Nagar were identified with each other.[15] Nabarbi is also attested as one of the Hurrian deities from in the Neo-Assyrian Tākultu ritual, alongside Kumarbi and Samnuha.[28]
Nergal Arrapha, Azuhinnu, Kurruhanni,[71] Ulamme,[85] possibly Urkesh[17] Mesopotamian[17] Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of war and death, was worshiped in various locations in the eastern Hurrian kingdoms, including the city of Arrapha itself.[71] In Azuhinnu he was regarded as the third most prominent member of the pantheon after Teššub and Šauška.[71] He was also worshiped in Ulamme, where he was associated with a goddess referred to as "dIŠTAR Ḫumella,"[85] whose identity remains unknown.[22] It is possible that in some cases in the west his name served as a logographic representation of one belonging to a Hurrian god (proposals include Aštabi and Kumarbi), but it also cannot be ruled out that he was worshiped under his Mesopotamian name there as well.[17]
Nupatik
Lubadag,[17] Lubadig, Nubadig, Nubandag[86]
Urkesh, Carchemish,[86] Ugarit[87] Hurrian[86] Nupatik was one of the "pan-Hurrian" gods,[12] but his character, functions and genealogy are poorly known.[40][88] He appears already in the inscriptions of Hurrian king Atalšen of Urkesh, where his name is spelled syllabically (dLu-ba-da-ga), rather than logographically.[86] He is also present in Hurrian texts from Ugarit, where his name is spelled in the local alphabetic script as Nbdg.[86]
Tilla Ulamme, Nuzi,[89] Kuruḫanni[90] Hurrian[4] Tilla was a god worshiped in eastern Hurrian cities in the kingdom of Arrapha, such as Nuzi[89][91] and Kuruḫanni (modern Tell al-Fakhar).[90] An entu priestess dedicated to him lived in the latter city.[90] Documents from Nuzi indicate he was very commonly worshiped in the east, and he appears in theophoric names with comparable frequency to Teššub.[91] While he is commonly described as a "bull god" in modern literature,[92] there is presently no evidence that he was necessarily depicted as a bull.[93] The only exception is the myth Song of Ullikummi,[93] where he a is one of the two bulls who pull Teššub's chariot, the other one being Šeriš, but in most other sources, such as offering lists, Šeriš is paired with Hurriš, not Tilla.[94]

Minor or local deities

[edit]
Name Image Attested cult centers Origin Attested equivalencies Details
Adamma Syrian (Eblaite)[95] Adamma was a goddess originally regarded as the spouse of Resheph in Ebla.[95] In the Hurrian pantheon she was instead associated with Kubaba.[95]
Allanzu Allanzu was one of the two daughters of Ḫepat and Teššub.[96] She could be referred to as šiduri ("young woman").[97] In the first millennium BCE, she continued to be worshiped by Luwians under the name Alasuwa.[98]
Ammarik Haššum[99] Syrian[99] Ammarik was a mountain god already worshiped in Ebla in the third millennium BCE, later incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon.[99]
Anat
Ugarit[74] Ugaritic[74] Anat was an Ugaritic goddess regarded as warlike.[100] She appears regularly in Hurrian offering lists from Ugarit, according to Daniel Schwemer most likely because she had no close counterpart in the Hurrian pantheon, unlike the other local gods such as Baʿal, ʿAštart, Šapšu, Yariḫ or Yam.[74] The only other deity of Ugaritic origin attested in them is ʾEl,[74] her father.[101]
Aranzaḫ Hurrian[102][103] Aranzaḫ was a divine personification of the river Tigris.[103] In the Song of Kumarbi, his name is written with the determinative ID ("river") rather than with a dingir, the sign designating divine names in cuneiform.[104] In the poorly preserved myth about the hero Gurparanzaḫ, he appears in an active role as his ally.[102]
Aštabi
Alalakh, Ugarit, originally Ebla[95] Syrian (Eblaite)[105][106] Attar (Ugaritic),[107] Ninurta,[48] Lugal-Marada (Mesopotamian)[107] Aštabi (aštb in the alphabetic script from Ugarit) was a warrior god.[95] While he was initially viewed as a god of Hurrian origin by researchers,[62] further discoveries revealed that his background was Eblaite.[106] His name could be represented logographically as dNIN.URTA.[48] He is absent from eastern Hurrian sources.[108]
Ayakun Hurrian[109] Ninsun, Alammuš (Mesopotamian)[109] Ayakun is a deity known from the trilingual god list from Ugarit, where this name is treated as the Hurrian explanation of two Mesopotamian deities, Ninsun and Alammuš.[109] According to Frank Simons the reasoning behind this equation is difficult to explain.[109]
Ayu-Ikalti Mesopotamian[48] Ayu-Ikalti was the Hurrian spelling of Aya kallatu, "Aya, the bride," the name and most common epithet of the wife of Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.[48] The Hurrians regarded her as the wife of Šimige.[30]
Belet Nagar Nagar,[110] Urkesh[111] Syrian[77] Belet Nagar, "lady of Nagar," was a Syrian goddess.[110] Similar as in the case Assyrian city Assur and its god, her name was derived from the city she represented.[110] She is attested for the first time in an inscription of the Hurrian king Tishatal[111] alongside various Hurrian deities.[17]
Dadmiš
Tadmiš[60] 		Ugarit[112] Uncertain[112] Šuzianna (Mesopotamian)[60] Dadmiš or Tadmiš (ddmš in the Ugaritic script, but syllabically dta-ad-mi-iš)[60] is attested in Hurrian ritual texts from Ugarit.[113] Her origin is presently unknown.[112] Her name might be derived from the Akkadian word dādmu ("dwellings"), which has also been linked with Dadmum, the Amorite name for the area of modern Aleppo.[114] A different proposal connects her name with that of Tadmuštum, a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the underworld.[115] It has been suggested that Dadmiš was either a healing goddess[112] or an underworld deity associated with Resheph.[60]
Damkina Mesopotamian[48] Damkina was the wife of the Mesopotamian god Ea, incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon alongside her husband.[48]
DINGIR.GE6 Kizzuwatna, Šamuha[116] Hurrian (Kizzuwatnean)[117] possibly Ishtar (Mesopotamian)[118] DINGIR.GE6, tentatively referred to as "Goddess of the Night"[117] or formerly as the "Black Goddess" in modern scholarship,[116] was a deity worshiped by Hurrians living in Kizzuwatna.[11] She was associated with the nighttime and dreaming.[119] She formed a dyad with Pinikir,[120] and it is possible that like her she was associated with Ishtar.[118]
Ebrimuša Hurrian[15] Ebrimuša (also Ibrimuša; ebrmž in alphabetic Ugaritic texts) was a Hurrian god attested in an Old Assyrian document, in Hittite rituals of Hurrian origin, and in texts from Ugarit.[121] His name means "king of justice."[15] He was associated with Ḫepat, and in rituals also appears with her son Šarruma and sukkal Tiyabenti.[121]
Hašuntarhi Kizzuwatna[95] Hašuntarhi was a goddess sometimes listed alongside the dyad of Kubaba and Adamma in texts from Kizzuwatna.[95]
Ḫabūrītum Sikani[122] Syrian[123] Ḫabūrītum was a goddess representing the river Khabur.[123] Based on the location of her presumed cult center and on the fact that she was introduced to Mesopotamia at the same time as many Hurrian goddesses, Tonia Sharlach concludes that either belonged to the Hurrian pantheon herself or at least was worshiped chiefly in a "Hurrian-dominated" area.[124] Alfonso Archi proposes that she was analogous to Belet Nagar and possibly by extension also to Nabarbi.[15]
Ḫešui Šapinuwa[125] Hurrian[126] Zababa (Mesopotamian)[125] Ḫešui was a war god.[127] The meaning of his name is unknown,[128] While annelies Kammenhauber consideref him a Hurrian god in origin,[126] according to Alfonso Archi this is presently impossible to tell with certainty.[129] He belonged to the circle of deities associated with Teššub,[125] and as such appears in kaluti (offering lists) connected with his cult.[8]
Ḫupuštukar Hurrian[125] Ḫupuštukar was the sukkal of Ḫešui.[128] His name is derived from the Hurrian verb ḫub-, "to break."[125] In one ritual text, he appears alongside the sukkals of other deities: Izzumi, Undurumma, Tenu, Lipparuma and Mukišanu.[126]
Impaluri Hurrian[130] Impaluri was the sukkal of the sea god (Kiaše).[131] Volkert Haas notes that the suffix -luri appears not only in his name, but also in these of other deities, as well some mountain and stone names.[130]
Iršappa Hattusa, Šamuha[132] Syrian[132] Resheph (Syrian)[132] Iršappa (or Aršappa; eršp in the alphabetic Ugaritic script)[132] was a god from the circle of Teššub.[133] He was associated with markets,[132] and in Hittite texts he was referred to as damkarassi, a Sumerian loanword meaning "of commerce."[133] He was derived from the Syrian god Resheph,[132] who was himself associated with the marketplace in Emar.[134]
Irširra Hurrian[56] Irširra were a group of Hurrian deities who might have been the goddesses of nursing and midwifery.[135] In the Song of Ullikummi the eponymous rock creature is placed on the primordial giant Ullikummi's right shoulder by them, as ordered by Kumarbi.[135]
Iškalli Possibly Mesopotamian[136] Iškalli was a sparsely attested deity from the court of Ḫepat, usually paired with Uršui.[136] She is described as the "witness of the goddess."[136] The name might be derived from Akkadian ešgallu, "great temple."[136]
dIŠTAR deities
Ḫumella, Akkupaweniwe, Tupukilḫe, Putaḫḫe, Allaiwašwe, bēlat dūri[137] 		Nuzi,[137] Ulamme[85] Uncertain[22][85] In addition to Šauška, administrative documents from Nuzi attest the worship of other goddesses referred to with the logogram dIŠTAR (or rather with it shortened form dU4[90]), identified by the epithets Ḫumella, Akkupaweniwe, Tupukilḫe, Putaḫḫe, Allaiwašwe, and bēlat dūri.[137] It is agreed most of these epithets are either etymologically Hurrian or at least Hurrianised, but their meanings remain unknown.[22] An exception is bēlat dūri, which is Akkadian in origin and means “lady of the city walls.”[85] In Ulamme, another city located in the kingdom of Arraphe, dIŠTAR Ḫumella was closely associated with Nergal.[85]
Izzummi
Mesopotamian[48] Izzummi is the Hurrian spelling of the name of Isimud (Ušmu), the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ea, who was incorporated into Hurrian pantheon alongside his master.[48]
Karḫuḫi Carchemish[138] Hurrian[139] Karḫuḫi (or Karhuha) was a god worshiped in Carchemish, first attested in the fifteenth century BCE.[140] He was associated with Kubaba.[138] It is possible that the logogram dLAMMA, which designates one of the adversaries of Teššub in the Kumarbi Cycle, refers to him.[138] While a connection between him and the Anatolian god Kurunta is commonly proposed,[140] it cannot be conclusively proved, and his character is regarded as uncertain.[141]
dKASKAL.KUR.RA Syrian[142] dKASKAL.KUR.RA is one of the deities listed in the treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza.[143] This logogram has multiple possible readings, including the deified version of the Balikh River.[144] The notion that a deified watercourse is meant in this document is tentatively supported by Alfonso Archi.[35]
Kiaše Ugarit[74] Hurrian[145] Yam (Ugaritic)[74] The name Kiaše means "sea" in Hurrian.[145] The god is therefore sometimes simply referred to as "the Sea"[146] or "the Sea God" in modern publications.[147] He is mentioned in texts from Ugarit and Hattusa[148] and in a hymn to Teššub from Halab.[149] In myths about Kumarbi, he is one of his allies.[150]
Kubaba
Carchemish,[151] Alalakh[152] Syrian[142] Hurrian texts provide little information about Kubaba's character.[153] According to Alfonso Archi, she was regarded as the goddess of lawsuits.[154] She belonged to the circle of Ḫepat[99] and was closely associated with Adamma.[95] She should not be confused with the Sumerian queen Kubaba (Kug-Bau),[152] whose name is theophoric and invokes the tutelary goddess of Lagash, Bau.[155] The exact linguistic origin of Kubaba's name is unknown.[95] Kubaba is also not etymologically related with the Phrygian goddess Cybele attested in later time periods.[156]
Kunzišalli Kunzišalli was one of the two daughters of Ḫepat and Teššub.[96]
Kurri Kizzuwatna[157] possibly Syrian (Eblaite)[158] possibly Kura (Eblaite)[159] Kurri was a god who was worshiped in the temple of Allani during the hišuwa festival.[158] It has been proposed that he is the same deity as the Eblaite god Kura, whose worshiped otherwise ceased with the first destruction of Ebla,[159] but it is impossible to establish this with certainty due to lack of information about the functions of either deity.[158]
Kurwe Azuhinnu[157] Hurrian[160] Kurwe was most likely the city god of Azuhinnu.[157] He precedes Kumurwe (Kumarbi) in known offering lists.[157] It has been proposed that he was the same god as Kurri from Kizzuwatna, though this is uncertain and the latter might also be connected with Eblaite Kura instead.[157] It is possible that he continued to be invoked in theophoric names from Azuhinnu in the Neo-Assyrian period.[157]
Lelluri Haššum,[161] Kummanni[162] Hurrian[130] Ninmena (Mesopotamian)[163] Lelluri was a Hurrian mountain goddess, a "lady of the mountains."[164] She has been described as a deity "associated with Hurrian identity."[165] She had a temple in Kummanni in Kizzuwatna, where she was worshiped alongside Manuzi.[166]
Lipparuma Hurrian[86] Bunene (Mesopotamian)[30] Lipparuma[30] or Lipparu was the sukkal of the sun god, Šimige.[86] He was regarded as analogous to Mesopotamian Bunene,[30] and the latter in one case appears as a courtier of Šimige, with his name transcribed as dWu-u-un-ni-nu-wa-an.[42]
Maliya Kizzuwatna[167] Anatolian[167] Maliya was a goddess of Anatolian origin, well known from Hittite documents.[167] She was associated with gardens and could be called the "mother of wine and grain."[168] She was originally associated with Kanesh.[167] She was worshiped by Hurrians in Kizzuwatna, where she was associated with a group of deities of Hurrian origin referred to as Kuzzina-Kuzpazena.[167] She appears alongside Hurrian deities such as Išḫara, Allani and Nupatik in documents pertaining to the hišuwa festival.[169] She was also commonly worshiped by Luwians.[170] Her cult survived in the first millennium BCE, and bilingual texts from Lycia attest an association between her and Greek Athena Polias.[167]
Manuzi Kummani[166] Manuzi was a mountain god regarded as the husband of Lelluri.[4] He was associated with a mythical eagle, Eribuški,[171] whose name has Hurrian origin.[166] Volkert Haas noted the association of deified mountains with eagles is already attested in the case of the Eblaite Adarwan in the third millennium BCE.[171] Manuzi could also be identified as a form of Teššub,[4] and as such could be referred to as "Teššub Manuzi."[169]
Milkunni Ugarit[172] Hurrian/Ugaritic[172] Tišpak (Mesopotamian)[173] Milkunni was most likely a god associated with the underworld.[174] His name is a combination of the name of an Ugaritic deity, Milku (mlk in the alphabetic texts), and the Hurrian suffix -nni.[172]
Mitanni dynastic deities
Mitra-ššil, (W)aruna-ššil, Indra and Našattiyana[35] 		Indo-European[44] The attested Mitanni deities of Indo-European origin include Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatya twins,[175] all of whom only appear in a single treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza, where they act as tutelary deities of the latter king.[44] The Hurrianised spellings of their names are Mitra-ššil, (W)aruna-ššil, Indra and Našattiyana.[35] They most likely were only worshiped by the nobility[35] or the ruling dynasty of this kingdom.[175]
Mukišānu Hurrian[40] or Syrian[176] Mukišānu was the sukkal (attendant deity) of Kumarbi.[20] His name was derived from Mukiš, a geographic name designating the area around the city of Alalakh,[20] where a large percentage of the population spoke Hurrian.[177] Some researchers, such as Volkert Haas, nonetheless assume his origin was Syrian rather than Hurrian.[176]
Mušītu Emar[178] Syrian[179] or Hurrian[180] The goddess Mušītu (dmu-ši-tu4, dmu-ši-ti[179]), "night,"[181] was worshiped in Emar.[178] According to Gary Beckman, her name most likely originates in a West Semitic language,[179] but Alfonso Archi notes it is possible she was a misunderstanding of the Hurrian theonym Mušuni.[180] In a ritual text found in Emar, but presumed to be of Anatolian provenance, she appears as a member of a group of Hurrian deities, consisting of Teššub, his bulls, the mountain gods Hazzi and Namni, Allani, "Madi" ("wisdom," an epithet of Ea in Hurrian texts), Nergal (according to Archi in this context possibly a logogram representing the name of another deity) and an unidentified heptad.[182] She is also attested as one of the deities venerated in the local zukru festival, in which she appears in association with Saggar.[181]
Mušuni Hurrian[15] Mušuni was a goddess who formed a dyad with Ḫepat.[34] Her name means "she of justice."[15] It has been proposed that she was an underworld goddess, and in one case she appears in a ritual alongside Allani and Išḫara.[34]
Namni and Ḫazzi
possibly Halab[20] Syrian[183][179] Namni and Ḫazzi were a pair of mountain gods who belonged to the retinue of Teššub.[20] Ḫazzi corresponded to Jebel Aqra, in the Bronze Age known as Saphon, but it is presently unknown what mountain was represented by Namni.[16] Fragment of a myth appears to indicate that they were believed to be former enemies of Teššub, who fought him with the same weapon he earlier used in his battle against the sea god.[184]
Namrazunna Hurrian/Mesopotamian[185] Namrazunna was a goddess from the entourage of Šauška.[185] While she is attested in Hurrian and Hittite sources from Anatolia, her name is derived from Akkadian namru, "shining," and Zunna, a Hurrianized spelling of the name of the Mesopotamian moon god Suen,[185] also attested in Hurrian text in transcription of the name of king Naram-Sin of Akkad.[186] Volkert Haas proposed translating Namrazunna's name as "moonlight."[187] Ilse Wegener instead suggests "the moon (god) shines for me."[186] In ritual texts she could be grouped with other servants of Šauška, namely Ninatta, Kulitta and Šintal-irti.[188]
Naya Hurrian[189] Naya is a deity known from Hurrian theophoric names.[189]
Nikkal Ugarit[82] Mesopotamian[190] Ningal (Mesopotamian)[190] Nikkal was a Hurrian derivative of the Sumerian Ningal.[190] In texts from Ugarit she appears both with Hurrian Kušuḫ and local Yarikh.[20] In kaluti of Ḫepat she is attested alongside Umbu, which lead to the theory that Umbu was not a name of a moon deity but rather an epithet of Nikkal analogous to Ugaritic Nikkal-wa-Ib, though according to Mauro Giorgieri this is not plausible.[54]
Ninatta and Kulitta
Hattusa, Ugarit[191] Possibly Anatolian (Kulitta),[192] possibly Amorite (Ninatta)[193] Ninatta and Kulitta were handmaidens of Šauška.[191] Their only Bronze Age attestations come from western Hurrian sources from Ugarit and Hattusa,[191] though in later periods they are also attested in the entourages of Ishtar of Arbela,[194] Ishtar of Assur,[28] and Assyrian Ishtar of Nineveh.[195] The origins of their names are unknown, though it has been proposed that Kulitta's name might have Anatolian origin[192] and that Ninatta's might be derived from the place name Ninêt (Ni-ne-etki) or Nenit (Ne-en-itki) known from documents from Mari and Tell al-Rimah, which might be an Amorite spelling of Nineveh.[193] In ritual texts they could be grouped with other deities from Šauška's entourage, namely Namrazunna and Šintal-irti.[188]
Pairra Hurrian[56] Sebitti[196] Pairra were a group of Hurrian gods whose name can be translated as "they who built."[196] The singular form of the name is Pairi.[196] According to a ritual text pertaining to the worship of Teššub and Ḫepat, the Pairra could appear as both auspicious figures and as malign demons.[196] It has been proposed that in Hittite texts the logogram used to designate the Sebitti in Mesopotamia should be read as "Pairra."[196] A formal equivalence between these two groups of deities is attested in a god list from Emar.[196]
Partaḫi Šuda[35][143] Partaḫi (also romanized as Pardahi[35]) belonged to Hurrian pantheon of Mitanni, and appears as the deity of Šuda in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I between a number of hypostases of Teššub from specific locations and Nabarbi.[197][143]
Pentikalli Halab, Samuha, Hattarina,[198] Nuzi[199] Syrian or Mesopotamian[20] Ninegal (Mesopotamian)[20] Pentikalli was the Hurrian form of the name Belet Ekalli or Ninegal.[200] In Hurrian texts, she is designated as a concubine of Teššub,[136] and was assimilated with Pithanu, described as a goddess who sits on Teššub's throne in a ritual text.[198]
Pinikir
Pirengir[201]
Šamuha[202] Elamite[203] Ishtar,[204] Ninsianna (Mesopotamian)[205] Pinikir was a goddess of Elamite origin[203] worshiped by the western Hurrians.[17] It is possible that she was a divine representation of the planet Venus.[201] She was referred to with epithets such as "Lady of the Lands," "Lady of Gods and Kings," "Queen of Heaven"[206] and "Elamite goddess."[207] She has been characterized as a "cosmopolitan deity" due to being worshiped in various locations all across the Ancient Near East, from modern Turkey to Iran.[204] Pinikir's gender in Hurrian texts is not entirely consistent and in some offering lists he is counted among the male deities.[204]
Pišaišapḫi Alalakh[208] Hurrian[132] Pišaišapḫi (pḏḏpẖ in the alphabetic Ugaritic script) was a mountain god whose name is an adjective, "(he) of the mount Pišaiša."[209] The corresponding landmark was most likely located close to the Mediterranean coast.[132] Sometimes in offering lists he forms a dyad with another deified mountain, Hatni, in which case he appears second.[208] However, unlike him Hatni is never mentioned on his own.[208] He is attested alongside other mountains in oath formulas as well.[209] He appears in a myth about Šauška,[132] in which he promises to tell her the story of rebellion of the mountain gods against Teššub in exchange for being forgiven for own misdeeds.[210]
Saggar Emar,[59] Kurda, Tell al-Rimah,[211] Kizzuwatna[59] Syrian[212] Saggar was one of the gods incorporated into Hurrian religion who were originally worshiped in Ebla, but did not retain their former prominence after the fall of this city.[3] His name could be written logographically as dḪAR.[212] He was a divine representation of the Sinjar Mountains, but seemingly also a lunar deity.[213] He was also closely associated with Išḫara.[213]
Samnuha
Šamanminuḫi[214] 		Šadikanni,[215] Taite[28] Hurrian[216] Samnuha (also spelled Samanuha) was the tutelary god of Šadikanni (modern Tell 'Ağağa).[215] Šamanminuḫi, a god known from a treaty of Šattiwaza, is likely the same deity.[214] He continued to be invoked in theophoric names as late as in the Achaemenid period.[214] He is also attested as one of the three Hurrian deities from Taite in the Neo-Assyrian Tākultu ritual, the other two being Kumarbi and Nabarbi.[28]
Sarie Apenaš[199] Sarie was a god whose temple was located in Apenaš in the kingdom of Arrapha.[199]
Sumuqan Gurta[35] Mesopotamian[217] Sumuqan was a god associated with wild animals, herding and wool.[217] He was already worshiped over a wide area in the third millennium, as attested in documents from Ebla, Nabada, Mari and various cities in Mesopotamia.[218] He appears as the deity of Gurta in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I.[35]
Šaluš
Pidenḫi[219] 		Bitin[95] Syrian[132] Šaluš (Šalaš) was a Syrian goddess who was originally the wife of Dagan.[132] Due to syncretism between him and Kumarbi she came to also be viewed as the wife of the latter in Hurrian tradition.[220] However, she does not appear in this role in any Hurrian myths.[221] In Hurrian sources she could be referred to as Pidenḫi, in reference to her cult center Piten,[219] also known as Bitin.[95]
Šarrēna Various[222] Šarrēna was a term collectively applied to deified kings in Hurrian culture.[222] Lists of them known from rituals include historical Hurrian kings (Atal-Shen of Urkesh and Nawar), members of the Akkadian Sargonic dynasty (Sargon, Naram-Sin, Manishtushu and Shar-Kali-Sharri), kings of various distant locations (Autalumma of Elam, Immashku of Lullubi, Kiklip-Atal of Tukrish[223]) and mythical figures (Ḫedammu and Silver known from the cycle of Kumarbi).[224] Šarrēna and its singular form šarri were not the same as the terms used in royal titulature of Hurrian rulers, ewri and endan.[224]
Šarruma
Kizzuwatna,[8] Halab,[91] Anatolian,[63] Syrian[225] or Hurrian[212] Šarruma was the son of Teššub and Ḫepat.[226] He was sometimes referred to as a "calf," possibly indicating that he could be depicted in theriomorphic form.[227] He was also associated with mountains.[228] Due to the similarity of his name to the Akkadian word šarru, "king," his name could be written as dLUGAL-da, LUGAL being a Sumerian logogram of analogous meaning.[229]
Šayu Hurrian[189] Šayu (Šaju) is an element attested in feminine personal names from Nuzi, identified as a possible name of a goddess by Gernot Wilhelm[189] and Thomas Richter.[230]
Šeri and Ḫurri
Hurrian[20] Šeri and Ḫurri were a pair of bulls believed to pull Teššub's chariot.[20] While Šeri is occasionally attested on his own and he had a distinct role as a mediator between worshipers and Teššub, nothing is known about Ḫurri's characteristics and in known texts he only appears paired with the other bull.[33] In the Song of Ullikummi, Tilla replaces the latter of the two bull gods.[231]
Šinan-tatukarni Hurrian[28] Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold at [?] love") was a deity associated with Šauška,[28] only known from a single document which lists four figures who bring bad luck, the other three being Ari, Halzari and Taruwi.[232]
Šintal-irti Hurrian[28] Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted") was a deity associated with Šauška.[28] In ritual texts she could be grouped with other deities from her entourage, namely Ninatta, Kulitta and Namrazunna.[188] Like them, she was believed to be a bringer of good luck.[233] She is only attested in a single offering list, where her name is written without a divine determinative.[233]
Šintal-wuri Hurrian[28] Šintal-wuri ("seven-eyed") was a deity associated with Šauška.[28] She appears alongside Šintal-irti in an offering list.[234]
Šuruḫḫe Halab[235] Hurrian[235] Šuruḫḫe is one of the deities mentioned in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I, after Partaḫi and Nabarbi.[235][143] The same deity is also attested in a list of offerings to Teššub and Ḫepat of Halab.[235] The name is most likely Hurrian in origin and according to Gernot Wilhelm should be interpreted as a nisba derived from the place name Šuri.[235]
Šuwala Mardaman[236] Hurrian[236] Šuwala (ṯwl in alphabetic Ugaritic texts[237]) was an underworld goddess who served as the tutelary deity of Mardaman, a Hurrian city in the north of modern Iraq.[236] She belonged to the circle of Ḫepat and could be associated with Allani, but she is best attested in a dyad with Nabarbi.[236] She is attested from various locations across the ancient Near East: Nuzi in the kingdom of Arrapha, Ur in southern Mesopotamia, Hattusa in Anatolia, and Alalakh, Ugarit and Emar in Syria.[236] In the last of these cities she was associated with Ugur.[237]
Takitu Ugarit[74] possibly Syrian[238] Takitu (dqt in the Ugaritic alphabetic script; multiple spellings alternating between ta and tu and da and du are attested from Hurro-Hittite sources) was the sukkal of Ḫepat.[238] Her name is possibly derived from the Semitic root dqq, "small."[238] In myths she travels to various locations on behalf of her mistress.[239][240]
Tapšuwari Hurrian[241] Tapšuwari is a deity known from a fragment of the Hurrian version of Song of Ullikummi, and from another literary fragment, both of which mention the sun and moon gods.[242] Meindert Dijkstra proposed that was the sukkal of Kušuḫ,[241] while Volkert Haas considered him a courtier of Kumarbi.[242]
Tašmišu Kizzuwatna, especially Šapinuwa[243] Hurrian[244] Šuwaliyat (Hittite)[48] Tašmišu was a god regarded as the brother and sukkal[51] of Teššub[48] and husband of Nabarbi.[84] It is assumed that his name is derived from the word tašmi, which might mean "strong."[244] He appears in ritual texts from Kizzuwatna, especially those connected to the worship of Teššub in Šapinuwa.[243]
Tenu Possibly Halab[51] Syrian[245][51] or Hurrian[246] In a number of ritual texts, Tenu is listed as the sukkal of Teššub in place of Tašmišu.[51] Daniel Schwemer proposes that this is an indication he originally belonged to the pantheon of Aleppo (Halab).[51] Gary Beckman also assumes he was a Syrian deity in origin.[245] However, Alfonso Archi considers him to simply be a Hurrian deity.[246]
Tirwi Azuhinnu[199] Tirwi was a god worshiped in Azuhinnu in the kingdom of Arrapha.[199] It is assumed that he was a male deity.[247] He appears in theophoric names, such as Akit-Tirwi.[247]
Tiyabenti Kizzuwatna[248] Hurrian[15] Tiyabenti was a deity of unclear gender who could serve as Ḫepat's sukkal.[249] The name can be translated "he who speaks favorably" or "she who speaks favorably."[15] In many sources, Takitu is identified as Ḫepat's sukkal,[248] but she can appear alongside Tiyabenti in ritual texts, and it is unlikely that one of them was merely an epithet of the other.[248]
Ugur
Šaumatar[250] 		Arrapha,[71] Emar[237] Mesopotamian[71] Ugur was originally the sukkal of Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of war of death.[251] In Mesopotamian sources his name eventually became a logographic representation of Nergal's.[252] The Hurrians viewed him as a god of war and as an underworld deity.[253] He is attested in theophoric names from Nuzi.[253] Under the epithet Šaum(m)atar he could be considered a member of a triad whose two other members were Nupatik and Aštabi.[250] In Emar he appears in ritual texts alongside Šuwala.[237]
Undurumma Undurumma was the sukkal of Šauška, though only a single attestation of this deity is known.[254] It is uncertain if Unudurupa ( or Unduruwa), who appears in another document in association with Allani, should be considered identical with Undurumma.[254]
Uršui possibly Uršu[136] Hurrian[255] Uršui (or Uršue) was a goddess included in the circle of either Ḫepat or Šauška.[255] She was always paired with Iškalli, though the latter sporadically occurs alone.[136] The name might be derived from the name of the city Uršu(m),[136] likely located in the proximity of modern Gaziantep.[256] Alfonso Archi proposes that the joint name Uršui-Iškalli could initially mean "the great temple of the city of Uršu."[136] In the past a different etymology of Uršui's name has been proposed by Emmanuel Laroche, who explained it as a combination of the Hurrian words ur-, "to be available" and šui, "all."[255] It has also been proposed that Uršui was not a separate goddess but merely an epithet of Iškalli.[255]
Zarwan Apenaš, Azuhinnu[199] Zarwan was a god worshiped in Apenaš and Azuhinnu in the kingdom of Arrapha.[199] It is assumed that he was a male deity.[247] He is attested in theophoric names such as Itḫiz-Zarwa.[247]

Primordial beings and mythical antagonists

[edit]
Name Image Origin Details
Ammatina Enna
Various[257] Ammatina Enna, whose name can be translated as "former gods" or "primordial gods," were a special type of Hurrian deities.[99] Typically twelve of them were listed at a time.[257] The standard group included Nara, Napšara, Minki, Tuḫuši, Ammunki, Ammizzadu, Alalu, Anu, Antu, Apantu, Enlil and Ninlil.[257] Additional names attested in various source include Eltara, Ta(i)štara, Muntara, Mutmuntara,[258] Aduntarri, Zulki [259] and Irpitiga.[258] Some of these deities were Mesopotamian in origin (for example Anu, Enlil and their spouses), while others have names which cannot be presently classified and possibly originate in Syria.[257]
Alalu Mesopotamian[258] Alalu was a primordial deity[260] of Mesopotamian origin.[261][258] He is mentioned in the proem of the first part of the Kumarbi Cycle according to which he was originally the king of the gods but later was dethroned by his cupbearer Anu and had to flee to the underworld.[262] While it is sometimes assumed in scholarship that he was the father of Anu and grandfather of Kumarbi,[257] most likely two separate dynasties of gods are described in the passage in mention, and Alalu and Anu were not regarded as father and son in Hurrian tradition.[263] Another myth directly refers to Kumarbi as his son.[264] A Mesopotamian text equates him with another primordial deity, Enmesharra.[265]
Anu Mesopotamian[257] The Mesopotamian god Anu commonly appears in Hurrian enumerations of primordial deities.[257] He is also attested in the offering lists of the circle of Teššub from Šapinuwa.[8] In the Song of Kumarbi, he is one of the three former kings of gods, but his origin is not explained.[266] He initially acts as Alalu's cupbearer, but after nine years dethrones him.[266] After the same period of time, his own cupbearer Kumarbi dethrones him too and bits off his genitals while he tries to flee to heaven.[262] Teššub, the weather god, is his son.[267]
Silver
Ušḫune[268] 		Hurrian[268] Silver was the son of Kumarbi and a mortal woman.[269] His name was written without the divine determinative,[25] and he was not worshiped as a deity.[270] In the myth Song of Silver he most likely temporarily became the king of the gods and dragged the Sun and the Moon down from heaven.[25]
Ḫedammu
Ḫidam[268] 		Ḫedammu was a sea monster who was the son of Kumarbi and Šertapšuruḫi.[150] He is described as destructive and voracious.[147] Most likely in the end of the corresponding myth, known as Song of Ḫedammu, he was defeated by Šauška.[147]
Šertapšuruḫi Hurrian[271] Šertapšuruḫi was the daughter of the sea god Kiaše.[147] She is mentioned in the myth Song of Hedammu.[147] It is possible that her name means "belonging to Šertapšuri" (a term of unknown meaning).[271]
Ullikummi
Hurrian Ullikummi was a stone giant created by Kumarbi to defeat Teššub.[272] His name means "Destroy Kumme!"[273] It has been proposed that a monster depicted on the golden bowl of Hasanlu who has a human head but whose lower body is a mountain might be Ullikummi, and that the rest of the sculpted figures can be interpreted other characters and events from the same myth.[17]
Upelluri Hurrian[130] Upelluri was a giant believed to bear the world on his back.[273] In the Song of Ullikummi, the eponymous monster is placed on his shoulder by Kumarbi's servants to let him grow away from the sight of Teššub and his allies.[274]
Enlil Mesopotamian[257] Enlil, the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon,[275] commonly appears in Hurrian enumerations of primordial deities.[257] In Hurrian tradition he was regarded as the father of Išḫara.[65] Enlil and Kumarbi could be equated with each other in theological texts due to sharing the role of father of gods in their respective pantheons.[276] At the same time, in Hurrian myths they are treated as two different figures.[277] For example, in the Song of Kumarbi Enlil is among the deities invited to listen to the story of Kumarbi, while in the Song of Ullikummi he decries the latter god's intrigue as evil.[277]
Eltara Possibly Ugaritic[278] Eltara was one of the deities who could be counted among the Ammatina Enna.[258] In this context he was paired with the deity Ta(i)štara.[258] His name is assumed to be a combination of the name of the Ugaritic god El and the suffix -tara.[278] El himself appears in Hurrian offering lists from Ugarit.[74] A poorly preserved myth describes a period during which Eltara was the king of the gods, and additionally alludes to a conflict involving the mountains.[279]
Eni attanni Hurrian/Ugaritic[280] The concept of eni attanni, the "god father", developed among Hurrians living in Ugarit as an equivalent of the local deity Ilib, and functioned as a representation of a "generic ancestor of the gods".[280]
Earth and Heaven
Hurrian[44] The Hurrian term referring to the deified Earth and Heaven was eše hawurni.[44] The worship of this concept is attested in sources from all areas inhabited by the Hurrians, similar to the major deities such as Teššub,[77] but there is no indication that Earth and Heaven were regarded as personified deities themselves.[44]

Deities assumed to have Hurrian origin

[edit]
Name Image Pantheon Details
Hahharnum and Hayyashum Mesopotamian[281] Hahharnum (Ḫamurnu) and Hayyashum were the Mesopotamian reflection of the Hurrian deified Heaven and Earth.[282] They appear as a pair of primordial deities in a small number of texts,[281][282] for example in the myth Theogony of Dunnu.[283] Hahharnum is also attested alone in the god list Anšar = Anum which equates him with Anu.[281]
Ḫiriḫibi[284] Ugaritic[285] Ḫiriḫibi (Ḫrḫb) is a god only known from the Ugaritic myth Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh.[285] He is assumed to have Hurrian origin,[285] which is also proposed for the myth itself.[286] It is possible that his name means "he of the mountain Ḫiriḫ(i)," and that it ends with suffix -bi (Ḫiriḫ(i)bi), similar to these of Hurrian deities Kumarbi and Nabarbi.[284]
Kašku Hattic[40] It has been suggested that the presumed name of the Hattic moon god Kašku might be the evidence of early contact between the speakers of Hattic and Hurrian, as it resembles the name of Kušuḫ.[40] However, it has been recently proposed that the correct reading of the name is Kab, rather than Kašku.[53]
Maḏḏara Ugaritic[287] It has been proposed that the name of the deity Maḏḏara, who is only attested Ugaritic offering lists,[288] might have Hurrian origin.[287] This theory is based on the similarity between the syllabic writing of the name, dma-za-ra,[289] and the Hurrian word maziri, "help."[287] This proposal is not universally accepted.[287]
Pidar Ugaritic[290] According to Manfred Krebernik, it is possible that the name of Pidar, an Ugaritic god associated with Baal, was derived from the Hurrian word pedari, "bull."[290] It is also possible his name is connected with that of the goddess Pidray from the same pantheon.[290]
dSu-ra-su-gu-WA Ugaritic[291] The name of the Ugaritic deity dSu-ra-su-gu-WA (reading of the final sign uncertain), only known from a single offering list, might be Hurrian in origin.[291]
Šala
Mesopotamian[292] The name of Šala, a goddess who was the wife of the Mesopotamian weather god Adad, is assumed to be derived from the Hurrian word šāla, "daughter."[292] She might also be attested in the treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza,[143] but according to Daniel Schwemer it is possible that this is a scribal mistake and the goddess meant there is instead Šalaš.[293]
Šaraššiya Ugaritic[294] Šaraššiya is only known from offering lists from Ugarit.[294] His name is most likely derived from Hurrian šarašše-, "kingship."[294] In Hurro-Hittite texts an essive form of this word, šaraššiya, "for kingship," functioned as a designation of offerings.[294] It is assumed that the god Šaraššiya was a divine personification of kingship.[294]
Šiduri Mesopotamian[295] Šiduri is the name assigned to an originally nameless divine alewife in the so-called "Standard Babylonian" version of the Epic of Gilgamesh.[295] The etymology of her name is a matter of debate, but it is possible it was derived from the Hurrian word šiduri, "young woman."[97] In Hurrian and Hitttie translations of the Epic of Gilgamesh known from Hattusa, the alewife is named, Naḫmazulel or Naḫmizulen (an ordinary Hurrian given name), but she is described as a šiduri.[296] Gary Beckman proposes that his was the origin of her name in the Standard Babylonian version.[296]
Tišpak Mesopotamian[297] While many researchers today favor the view that Tishpak, the city god of Eshnunna, had Elamite origin,[298][297] the possibilities that he was either derived directly from Teššub[104] or an Elamite reflection of him have also been proposed.[299]
Umbidaki Mesopotamian[194] Umbidaki was a god worshiped in the temple of Ishtar of Arbela in Neo-Assyrian times who might have been derived from Nupatik, possibly introduced to this city after a war which led to Assyrians acquiring a statue of him.[194]

References

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List of Hurrian deities

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The list of Hurrian deities comprises the gods and goddesses worshiped by the Hurrians, an ancient Near Eastern people who emerged in the late third millennium BCE and reached prominence during the second millennium BCE, particularly through the Mittani kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and southeastern Anatolia. Their pantheon was polytheistic and syncretic, blending indigenous Hurrian divinities with elements adopted from Mesopotamian (Sumerian-Akkadian), Syrian, and Anatolian traditions, as evidenced by cuneiform texts from sites like Nuzi, Alalakh, Ugarit, and Hattusa. Central to this pantheon was a hierarchical structure often outlined in ritual inventories known as kaluti ("circles" or cohorts), which grouped deities for cultic purposes, such as offerings in festivals; these lists typically placed the storm god Teššub at the apex, followed by fixed secondary figures including Kumarbi, Ea (Eya), Kušuh (the moon god), Šimegi (the sun god), Aštabi, and Nupadig, with variable tertiary members reflecting local variations. Teššub, the sovereign weather god depicted with bulls as attendants, dominated as the king of the gods, often paired with his consort Hebat (or Hepat), a mother goddess linked to fertility and associated with the city of Halab (Aleppo). Other prominent deities included Šarruma, the mountain god and son of Teššub and Hebat; Šaušga (or Šawuška), a multifaceted goddess of war, love, and healing akin to Mesopotamian Ishtar; Nikkal, goddess of orchards and spouse of Kušuh; and Kumarbi, an elder grain and fate deity central to Hurrian cosmogonic myths like the Kumarbi Cycle, which paralleled Mesopotamian narratives of divine succession. The pantheon's fluidity is apparent in regional adaptations, with Hurrian cults spreading via dynastic marriages and conquests to the Hittite Empire in the 15th–13th centuries BCE, where deities like Teššub were syncretized with local Hittite gods such as Tarḫunna.

Overview and Context

Historical Background of the Hurrians

The Hurrians were an ancient people whose origins are traced to the mountainous region between Lake Van and the Zagros Mountains, with their earliest documented presence in northern Mesopotamia dating to the Old Akkadian period around 2334–2154 BCE. By the early third millennium BCE, they had established Urkesh (modern Tell Mozan in northeastern Syria) as their first major political center, evidenced by royal seal impressions and monumental architecture that reflect a distinct Hurrian dynastic and artistic tradition. Their activity spanned approximately 2500–1000 BCE, with a peak of influence during the Mitanni kingdom (ca. 1500–1300 BCE), a powerful Hurrian-speaking state centered in the upper Khabur River region that controlled key trade routes and urban centers. This timeline marks the Hurrians' transition from localized communities to a dominant force in the Late Bronze Age Near East, as seen in cuneiform records from sites like Nuzi and Alalakh. Geographically, the Hurrians inhabited northern Mesopotamia, eastern Anatolia, and northern Syria, extending east of the Tigris River toward the Zagros Mountains and occasionally influencing areas as far as Palestine. Their expansions brought them into frequent interactions with neighboring powers, including military conflicts with the Hittites—such as the campaigns of Suppiluliuma I that dismantled Mitanni—and the Assyrians, exemplified by Adad-nirari I's conquests of Hanigalbat around 1300 BCE. Diplomatic and cultural exchanges also occurred with Canaanites, as documented in the Amarna letters from the 14th century BCE, which reveal Hurrian envoys and alliances in the Levant. These interactions facilitated the spread of Hurrian material culture, including painted pottery styles from 1500–1200 BCE. A notable cultural feature of the Hurrians, particularly in the Mitanni elite, was the incorporation of Indo-European elements, evident in royal names like Tusratta (derived from Indo-Aryan *tvesa-rathas, "chariot of the mighty") and invocations of deities such as Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and Nasatya in treaties, showing parallels to Vedic traditions. This suggests an Indo-Aryan-speaking warrior elite overlay on the native Hurrian population, influencing religious and equestrian terminology without altering the core Hurrian language. By the late second millennium BCE, around 1300–1000 BCE, Hurrian political entities declined amid invasions and internal strife, leading to their absorption into the expanding Assyrian and Hittite empires, where Hurrian populations were assimilated into broader Mesopotamian and Anatolian societies. Recent scholarship has refined understandings of Hurrian religious dissemination, emphasizing pathways beyond conquest. A 2016 study argues that Hurrian religious practices entered the Hittite empire in the early New Kingdom (ca. 1400 BCE) through dynastic marriages, such as that of Tuthaliya I to a Kizzuwatnean princess, with Hurrian queens shaping royal education and rituals in Hattusa. Building on this, a 2021 analysis of Urkesh highlights its role as a enduring sacred center from the third millennium BCE, influencing Hurrian traditions that persisted over a millennium and impacted Hittite rituals in southeastern Anatolia. Similarly, 2023 research on Hurrian integration in Hittite Anatolia details the gradual adoption of Hurrian texts, myths like the Kumarbi cycle, and loanwords in religious contexts from the 15th–13th centuries BCE, underscoring Kizzuwatna's pivotal role in cultural transmission. A 2024 study on the Kingdom of Kizzuwatna further elucidates its role in transmitting Hurrian religious traditions to the Hittite Empire.

Sources for Hurrian Deities

The primary textual sources for identifying Hurrian deities derive from Hittite-Hurrian bilingual texts, which include mythological cycles such as the Song of Kumarbi, preserved in Hittite archives at Boğazköy and providing detailed accounts of the Hurrian pantheon through parallel translations. Diplomatic documents like the Mitanni treaty between Suppiluliuma I of Hatti and Šattiwaza of Mitanni (c. 1350 BCE) invoke a sequence of Hurrian gods, offering insight into their invocation in royal oaths and hierarchical ordering. Ugaritic texts from Ras Shamra, including ritual and mythological fragments, incorporate Hurrian divine names and elements, reflecting cultural exchange in the Late Bronze Age Levant. God lists from Nuzi and Emar, such as the Hurro-Akkadian Weidner God List, enumerate deities with their epithets and equivalences, aiding in the reconstruction of the pantheon's structure despite fragmentary preservation. Archaeological evidence complements these texts through visual representations of Hurrian deities. The rock reliefs at Yazılıkaya near Hattusa (c. 13th century BCE) depict processions of the Hurrian pantheon, including identifiable figures like Teššub and Hepat, serving as a key iconographic source for divine hierarchies. At Urkesh (Tell Mozan), seals and inscriptions from the third millennium BCE, such as those bearing royal names like Tupkish, reveal early Hurrian theophoric elements and cultic symbols, indicating the site's role as a religious center. Scholars face methodological challenges in distinguishing Hurrian deities due to extensive syncretism with Mesopotamian and Akkadian traditions, where gods like Kumarbi equate to Enlil, complicating pure Hurrian attributions. Incomplete Hurrian glosses in Hittite texts often rely on cuneiform adaptations, leading to ambiguities in pronunciation and identity. Scholarly consensus excludes pure Mesopotamian transcriptions from the Hurrian corpus, prioritizing texts with verifiable Hurrian linguistic features to avoid anachronistic inclusions. Recent studies have integrated 2021 analyses of Urkesh materials, highlighting early third-millennium influences on Hurrian deity worship through ritual structures and seals that predate known textual records. A 2023 examination of Hittite pantheon hierarchies emphasizes Hurrian integrations, such as the elevation of Teššub within state cults, based on refined readings of festival texts. While no major new textual discoveries were known until 2023, a bilingual Hittite-Hurrian tablet unearthed at Büklükale in 2023 and translated in 2024 includes a prayer to Teššub, offering new insights into Hurrian religious invocations in Hittite contexts. Interpretations of existing tablets continue to evolve, focusing on contextual alignments. Scholarly frameworks for identifying Hurrian deities at sites like Yazılıkaya draw from Taracha's 2009 analysis, which correlates reliefs with textual pantheons to establish visual-theological links. These identifications were updated by Archi in 2013, incorporating etymological and comparative evidence from Hurro-Hittite myths to refine deity equivalences and exclude non-Hurrian accretions. Subsequent works build on this by emphasizing onomastic patterns in bilinguals for more precise delineations.

Core Pantheon

Major Deities

The major deities of the Hurrian pantheon constituted the central ruling hierarchy, overseeing cosmic order, natural forces, and human affairs, as evidenced in Hittite and Hurrian ritual texts and mythological cycles. At the apex stood Teššub, the storm god and king of the gods, whose authority was affirmed in succession myths like the Kumarbi cycle and rituals such as the enthronement ceremonies (CTH 700). Teššub, often depicted with bulls Šeri and Ḫurri as his chariot-pullers and wielding a thunderbolt or axe, symbolized fertility through rain and protection against chaos; his cult centered in Kumme and Aleppo, where he was invoked in personal names like Eḫal-Teššub. As consort to Ḫepat, he fathered deities like Šarruma, and his vizier brother Tašmišu aided him in divine conflicts, as described in texts like KUB 32.19+. Ḫepat, the mother and sun goddess, served as Teššub's wife and queen, embodying nurturing aspects of the earth and the dead while exhibiting solar attributes in her role as patroness of Kizzuwatna. She received prominent offerings in festivals (e.g., CTH 701.d) and appeared in personal names such as Tadu-Ḫeba, reflecting her widespread veneration from Aleppo origins integrated into the pan-Hurrian cult. Her attendants included Nabarbi, a goddess of grain and pastures who facilitated agricultural fertility, and the paired fate goddesses Hutena and Hutellura, who wove destinies and attended Šauška in rituals. Šauška, the goddess of love, war, and healing, paralleled Mesopotamian Inanna/Ishtar and was often portrayed with lions or winged-lion imagery, emphasizing her dual protective and destructive powers. She featured in elaborate festivals (CTH 710–722) and kaluti-lists as a high-ranking member of Teššub's court, with silver-plated statuettes attesting to her cult across 16 towns and 42 texts. Kumarbi, the former chief god and father of Teššub, represented grain, fertility, and chthonic forces, central to the mythological succession narrative in the Kumarbi cycle (CTH 344–349). As a senior deity equated with Enlil in some contexts, he plotted against Teššub's rule but was ultimately displaced, symbolizing generational shifts in divine kingship. The celestial pair Šimige and Kušuḫ governed solar and lunar domains, respectively, acting as divine judges and oracles in treaties and rituals (e.g., CTH 51.I). Šimige, the sun god, witnessed oaths and appeared with sun-disk symbols in 96 texts from 42 towns, while Kušuḫ, the moon god, was consort to Nikkal and linked to agricultural cycles and underworld aspects. Nikkal, consort of the moon god Kušuh, supported fertility rites and was associated with Ḫepat, appearing in names like Nikkalmati. Ea (Eya), the Mesopotamian god of wisdom and fresh water adopted into the Hurrian pantheon, held a fixed position in kaluti lists as a counselor to the gods, often invoked in rituals for purification and incantations. Aštabi, a warrior god associated with protection and battle, appeared consistently in offering lists alongside Teššub, reflecting his role in military aspects of the divine hierarchy. Nupatik (Nupadig), a deity linked to the underworld and possibly craftsmen, served as a tertiary member in kaluti rituals, ensuring oaths and boundaries in the cosmic order. Šarruma, son of Teššub and Ḫebat, was a warrior god portrayed as a bull-rider, embodying martial prowess and royal protection. He integrated into Hittite cults through Hurrian mediation, appearing in personal names and hieroglyphic inscriptions as a theophoric element, such as in SARMA variants from the Late Bronze Age. In the Yazılıkaya sanctuary, he stands prominently near his parents, underscoring his role as heir and enforcer of cosmic order. Underworld figures among the major deities included Allani, the guide of souls and netherworld ruler equivalent to Allatu, invoked in funerary rituals (CTH 780–781), and Išḫara, goddess of oaths, love, and serpents, who enforced pledges and had ties to Ḫakmiš. Tašmišu complemented Teššub as messenger and brother, participating in myths and personal names like Tašmi-Šarruma. These deities' hierarchical roles were ritualized in kaluti-lists, underscoring their pan-Hurrian dominance.

Minor Deities

The minor deities of the Hurrian pantheon played subordinate roles in myths, rituals, and local cults, often serving as attendants, protectors, or domain-specific figures supporting the major gods like Teššub and Šauška. These gods typically had limited attestation in texts, appearing in offering lists (kaluti), treaties, and iconography such as the Yazılıkaya rock sanctuary, where they underscored the hierarchical structure of the divine assembly. Their worship emphasized practical aspects like protection, agriculture, and divination, reflecting the Hurrians' integration of local and adopted elements into a cohesive religious framework. Ninatta and Kulitta functioned as handmaidens to the goddess Šauška, often depicted as musicians and attendants who accompanied her in processions and myths. In Hittite treaties and ritual texts influenced by Hurrian traditions, they appear alongside Šauška as divine witnesses, highlighting their role in royal oaths and cultic performances. Their presence in the Yazılıkaya reliefs interrupts sequences of male deities, symbolizing their supportive yet integral position in the pantheon. Allanzu, regarded as a daughter of Šauška or Ḫebat, served as a protective deity associated with youth and safeguarding against misfortune. She features in Hurrian kaluti lists within the Anatolian pantheon, where her name reflects syncretic ties to broader Near Eastern traditions. Attestations in Hittite texts emphasize her minor but consistent role in family and household rituals. Ugur, a hunter and warrior god, acted as a consort to Šauška in certain regional contexts, particularly in Ugarit under Hurrian influence. He appears in ritual texts as a figure linked to warfare and the pursuit of game, with limited but distinct Hurrian attestations blending Mesopotamian and local elements. Maliya was a goddess tied to rivers, springs, and vegetation, invoked in purification rites and agricultural festivals. Originating from Kizzuwatna, she entered the Hittite state cult via Queen Puduḫepa's reforms, where her worship involved processions and offerings for fertility and renewal. Hittite texts describe her as a youthful figure facilitating royal rituals, such as the ḫišuwafestival. Šuwala functioned as a grain and fertility goddess with syncretic Mesopotamian influences, yet firmly rooted in Hurrian cult practices. She received offerings in Emar and Hittite economic documents, often paired with underworld aspects, reflecting her dual role in abundance and chthonic rites. In Hurrian personal names and lists, she appears as a benevolent figure ensuring harvest prosperity. Tenu served as a protective deity and vizier to Teššub, mentioned in treaties and personal names from the Hittite kingdom. His role involved oversight in divine administration, with attestations in Hurrian theophoric elements like Eḫli-Tenu, emphasizing loyalty and guardianship in political and ritual contexts. Saggar, an oracle god associated with writing and divination, originated in Eblaite traditions but was incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon. He appears in Mari texts and later Syrian sources as a lunar figure linked to prophetic inquiries, with Hurrian names invoking him for guidance in scribal and mantic practices. Namni and Ḫazzi were mountain gods acting as guardians of sacred peaks, often paired as supporters of Teššub in his chariot. In Hittite hymns and the Yazılıkaya reliefs, they embody stability and cosmic boundaries, integrated via Hurrian cultic transmission. Pišaišapḫi, a protective spirit tied to the mountain Pišaiša near the Mediterranean, averted evil and ensured safe passage. He features in Ugaritic-Hurrian rituals, such as RS 24.261, where bilingual texts invoke him for warding off threats in maritime and terrestrial contexts. Šeri and Ḫurri personified sacred mountains as Teššub's lions or bull-men, symbolizing ferocity and divine transport. Depicted in Yazılıkaya as flanking the storm god, they appear in hymns like KBo 3.21, reinforcing his authority through martial and natural symbolism in the imperial cult.

Primordial and Antagonistic Figures

Primordial Beings

In Hurrian cosmology, primordial beings represent the earliest generation of divine entities, predating the structured pantheon and embodying the foundational forces of creation and cosmic order. These figures appear primarily in the Hurro-Hittite mythological cycle known as the Kumarbi Cycle, preserved in cuneiform tablets from the Hittite capital Hattusa dating to the 14th–13th centuries BCE. The myths depict a succession of rulers among the gods, marked by conflict and generational overthrow, which establishes the hierarchy leading to later deities. This narrative draws on Mesopotamian influences but adapts them to Hurrian cultural contexts, emphasizing themes of fertility, separation of cosmic realms, and passive cosmic support. Alalu stands as the first king of the gods in the succession myth, ruling heaven for nine years before being deposed by his successor Anu. As an early ruler of Mesopotamian origin, Alalu embodies the initial phase of divine kingship, fleeing to the underworld after his defeat and establishing a pattern of generational displacement. His role highlights the unstable origins of cosmic authority in Hurrian lore. Anu, the sky god and second ruler, overthrows Alalu and ascends to the throne, only to be challenged by Kumarbi after another nine-year reign. Borrowed from Akkadian traditions where Anu represents the heavens, he fathers Kumarbi and becomes a pivotal figure in the transition to the grain god's dominance, symbolizing the celestial order disrupted by earthly forces. Recent analyses of Hittite texts refine this sequence, clarifying Anu's direct lineage to Kumarbi without intermediary figures, based on reassessments of fragmented tablets from the Boğazköy archives. Kumarbi, the third ruler and a central primordial figure, usurps Anu through a violent act of emasculation, biting off and swallowing his genitals, which impregnates Kumarbi with future gods including the weather deity Teššub. As a grain god associated with fertility and agriculture, Kumarbi's myth underscores the primordial link between divine succession and natural abundance, with his rule marking the shift from sky-dominated to earth-oriented cosmology. In early god lists, Kumarbi is equated with the Mesopotamian Enlil, reflecting a syncretic primordial aspect tied to wind, grain, and cosmic decree before evolving into more localized roles. This genital mutilation motif, preserved in the Song of Kumarbi, propels the generational cycle forward, embodying the raw, generative chaos of the universe's early phases. Upelluri functions as a passive primordial giant, serving as the cosmic pillar that supports heaven and earth in their separated state. In the Song of Ullikummi, he remains oblivious to events unfolding on his shoulder, such as the growth of the stone giant Ullikummi, until informed by the god Ea, highlighting his role as an unchanging foundation of the cosmos rather than an active participant. This Atlas-like figure illustrates the static endurance of primordial elements amid dynamic divine conflicts. Earth and Heaven appear as personified cosmic entities in Hurrian creation narratives, initially united and later separated to form the ordered universe, often depicted as parental figures giving rise to subsequent generations. The myth of Ullikummi references a primordial tool used by ancient gods to cleave them apart, establishing the spatial framework for all existence and underscoring their foundational generative role. Enlil, invoked in early Hurrian-influenced lists as a grain deity with primordial ties to atmospheric and agricultural forces, complements this by representing the intermediary power that enforces cosmic separation and fertility in pre-pantheon contexts.

Mythical Antagonists

In the Kumarbi cycle of Hurrian mythology, mythical antagonists serve as chaotic forces engineered by the deposed god Kumarbi to challenge the authority of the storm god Teššub and disrupt cosmic order, embodying themes of generational conflict and the precarious establishment of divine kingship. These narratives, preserved primarily in Hittite translations of Hurrian texts from the Late Bronze Age, depict theogonic struggles where antagonists—often monstrous offspring of Kumarbi—emerge as existential threats but are ultimately subdued through divine cunning, seduction, or primordial tools, ensuring no lasting victories for chaos. Ḫedammu, a colossal sea serpent and son of Kumarbi by the primordial sea entity Šertapšuruḫi, represents an aquatic embodiment of disorder that devours gods and menaces the earthly realm along the Syrian coast. In the Song of Ḫedammu, he grows to immense size, consuming divine and mortal beings alike, symbolizing Kumarbi's vengeful bid to reclaim heavenly rule from Teššub. The goddess Šauška (equivalent to Mesopotamian Ištar) defeats him not through brute force but by seducing him with her beauty and magical oils, weakening his resolve and allowing the gods to bind and slay him, thereby restoring stability. Ullikummi, another progeny of Kumarbi conceived with a massive diabase (diorite) rock, manifests as an unfeeling stone giant who grows relentlessly on the shoulder of the primordial deity Upelluri, the cosmic pillar supporting heaven and earth. Towering like a dark mountain, he advances toward Teššub's city of Kummiya, severing communication between the storm god and his consort Ḫebat while impervious to weapons or charms due to his insensate nature, underscoring the unyielding threat of inorganic chaos. The wise god Ea intervenes by employing the "ancient knife"—the tool once used to separate heaven from earth—to sever Ullikummi at the base, toppling him into the sea and affirming the triumph of established order over primordial rebellion. Similarly, Ammatina Enna—the "former gods" or primordial ancestors—lurk as obscure demonic undercurrents in the succession myths, representing subdued elder powers that fuel Kumarbi's plots but remain ultimately eclipsed by the younger pantheon. These antagonists collectively illustrate the Hurrian worldview of relentless theogonic strife, where gods employ intellect and alliances rather than raw might to prevail.

Syncretic and Regional Deities

Deities Assumed to Have Hurrian Origin

In neighboring cultures, particularly among the Hittites, Luwians, and Mesopotamians, several deities exhibit characteristics and names suggesting derivation from Hurrian prototypes, often evidenced through linguistic parallels and shared cultic practices. These figures were integrated into local pantheons, reflecting the Hurrians' cultural influence during the Bronze Age, especially via the Mitanni kingdom and migrations into Anatolia. Linguistic analysis frequently points to Hurrian etymologies, while ritual texts from Hattusa demonstrate syncretism, where Hurrian elements were adapted to fit indigenous frameworks. Kašku, known as the moon god in Luwian and Hittite texts, is proposed to have a Hurrian etymology linked to Kušuh, the Hurrian lunar deity whose holy number was and who was equated with the Hittite counterpart Kaskuh in ritual contexts. This connection is supported by inscriptions from , where Kušuh's attributes, such as oversight of the , appear in Hurrian-influenced festivals adopted by the during the BCE. The deity's worship spread from Hurrian centers like to Anatolian sites, illustrating cross-cultural transmission without fully displacing local moon gods like Arma. The grain goddess Šala, consort of the weather god Adad in Mesopotamian traditions, bears a name derived from the Hurrian term šāla, meaning "daughter," indicating a northern Mesopotamian or Hurrian origin rather than Akkadian or Semitic roots. This etymology suggests her cult influenced Hittite agricultural rituals, where similar fertility aspects appear in syncretic practices blending Hurrian and Anatolian elements, though direct Hittite attestations remain sparse. Her role in crop fertility, tied to storm god cycles, parallels Hurrian motifs of divine familial bonds in agrarian cults. Tišpak, a warrior god prominent in Eblaite and later Mesopotamian contexts, particularly as patron of Eshnunna, exhibits possible Hurrian aspects through identification with the storm god Teššub, implying an origin in Hurrian warrior traditions before adaptation in Diyala region cults. Textual evidence from Old Babylonian myths portrays Tišpak as a dragon-slaying figure, echoing Teššub's combative role, with his integration into non-Hurrian pantheons likely occurring via trade routes connecting northern Syria to Mesopotamia around the 2nd millennium BCE. The protective pair Hahharnum and Hayyashum functioned as tutelary deities in Anatolian cults, with names of clear Hurrian origin denoting primordial guardians, adopted into Hittite state rituals as ancestral figures shielding the land and king. In Hattusa archives, they received offerings alongside Hurrian imports during empire-period festivals, their roles emphasizing defense against chaos, akin to broader Hurrian concepts of cosmic order. Their worship persisted in southeastern Anatolian sites, blending with local traditions without dominant cult centers. Pidray (or Pidar), an goddess associated with love and sometimes interpreted in connection with mountains or fate, has a name possibly stemming from the Hurrian pedari (""), and has been considered analogous to Ḫepat, the consort of the , in Levantine contexts. link her to storm god consorts, suggesting Hurrian linguistic and cultic influence from , where she embodied aspects of strength and . This highlights Hurrian contributions to regional deities in non-Hurrian environments. Šiduri, the wise alewife encountered by Gilgamesh in the Standard Babylonian epic, may derive from a Hurrian epithet šiduri ("young woman"), as proposed in scholarly analyses of the text's translations. This linguistic tie positions her as a mediator of wisdom and fermentation in Mesopotamian lore, potentially reflecting Hurrian motifs of female divinities offering counsel at cosmic boundaries, integrated via scribal traditions in 2nd-millennium BCE Assyria. The obscure warrior Umbidaki, attested in Neo-Assyrian temples like that of Ishtar in Arbela, is assumed to have Hurrian roots through equation with Nupatik, a pan-Hurrian god of uncertain attributes, introduced via Hurrian migrations and name forms suggesting martial prowess. His cult's limited scope in Assyrian contexts underscores selective adoption of Hurrian warrior elements, distinct from core Mesopotamian figures. Scholarly debate, as articulated by Alfonso Archi in 2013, supports these Hurrian origins through analysis of pantheon structures and linguistic evidence, emphasizing Babylonian and Syrian influences on western Hurrian forms, though cautioning against direct equations due to syncretic variations. Recent 2023 studies on Hittite Anatolia further affirm this via archival texts, highlighting Hurrian linguistic persistence in rituals but noting challenges in tracing precise transmissions amid multicultural exchanges.

Local and Regional Variants

The Hurrian pantheon exhibited significant regional variation, with certain deities serving as patrons or protectors tied to specific cities, rivers, or locales in northern Mesopotamia and Syria, reflecting the decentralized nature of Hurrian religious practices during the Bronze Age. These local figures often blended indigenous Hurrian elements with influences from neighboring cultures, such as Amorite or Syrian traditions, and were invoked in rituals, oaths, and theophoric names particular to their areas. Unlike the core pantheon, which emphasized universal deities like Teššub, these variants underscored geographic identity and community protection. Adamma was a Syrian-Hurrian fertility goddess particularly associated with the city of Emar in northern Syria, where she appears in local ritual texts and theophoric names as a benevolent figure linked to agricultural abundance and possibly paired with deities like Kubaba. In Emarite documents, Adamma is listed among the pantheon, suggesting her adoption by Hurrian populations in the region during the Late Bronze Age, though her origins may predate full Hurrian integration. Her cult emphasized fertility rites, distinguishing her from broader Hurrian goddesses like Ḫebat. Aštabi functioned as a god centered in the city of Šehna, identified with modern Tell Fekheriye in northeastern , where he was revered as a local protector in Hurrian-influenced contexts. Texts from the area equate him with Mesopotamian deities like , highlighting his attributes and in regional conflicts, though he remained distinctly tied to Šehna's Hurrian cultural sphere. Belet Nagar served as the protective city of Nagar (modern Tell Brak), a key Hurrian settlement in the Khabur plain, where she was invoked as a patron deity ensuring the welfare of the urban center. In inscriptions and ritual inventories, Belet Nagar appears as a Hurrian-influenced figure assimilated into local Akkadian traditions, emphasizing her in safeguarding the city's prosperity and boundaries during the third millennium BCE. Mukišānu was the of the of Mukish, corresponding to the area around in northwestern , often depicted as a or sukkal to higher deities like in Hurrian mythology. His name derives directly from the toponym Mukish, underscoring his localized protective function in administrative and cultic texts from the Late . Pinikir represented an astral with Amorite-Hurrian characteristics, prominently featured in Mari texts from western , where she was associated with celestial omens and . In Mari's archival , Pinikir appears in dedications and prayers, blending Hurrian astral with Amorite practices, and was later syncretized in Elamite contexts as a maternal figure. Šuwala displayed notable local variants in cities like Harran and Urkesh, where she was venerated as a chthonic or netherworld queen in Hurrian rituals adapted to regional needs. In Harran, Šuwala's cult incorporated lunar elements tied to the local moon god, while in Urkesh, she featured in palace offerings alongside figures like Adamma, reflecting her role in funerary and protective rites specific to northeastern Syrian Hurrian communities. Uršui was a Hurrian goddess linked to the city of Uršu (modern location uncertain, possibly near Carchemish), often appearing in theophoric names and paired with Iškalli in local oaths and dedications. Her name likely derives from the toponym Uršu, emphasizing her as a regional tutelary deity in southern Anatolian Hurrian contexts during the Late Bronze Age. These regional variants illustrate how Hurrian religion adapted to local geographies, with deities like Adamma and Belet Nagar embodying the intimate ties between divine protection and urban identity in Bronze Age Syria and Mesopotamia.

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  43. https://www.academia.edu/82830100/The_Gods_of_Arbail
  44. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77414/EmarPanth.pdf?sequence=1
  45. https://urkesh.org/attach/Salvini1998.pdf
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  47. https://urkesh.org/EL-MZ/Mozan_3_OCR.pdf
  48. https://ia801406.us.archive.org/22/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.108463/2015.108463.Lost-World-Of-Elam_text.pdf
  49. https://turkishstudies.net/turkishstudies?mod=makale_ing_ozet&makale_id=18187
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