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Ninura

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Not to be confused withNunura.
Ninura
Tutelary goddess ofUmma
Major cult centerUmma, Gišaba[1]
SuccessorInanna of Zabalam
Animalslion,[2]possibly swan or goose[3]
TempleEula
Genealogy
SpouseShara

Ninura(dNin-ur4(-ra);[4]also romanized asNinurra[5]) was aMesopotamian goddessassociated with the state ofUmma.The godShara,worshiped in the same area, was regarded as her husband. She is only attested in sources from the third millennium BCE. Her cult started to decline in theUr III period,and she no longer appears inOld Babyloniantexts. Other goddesses replaced her in both of her major roles, withInanna of Zabalambecoming the goddess of Umma, and Usaḫara or Kumulmul taking her place as Shara's spouse.

Character

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The meaning of Ninura's name is unknown,[6]though it is agreed that neither of the two attested writings, olderdnin-ur4(𒀭𒊩𒌆𒌴) and newerdnin-ur4-ra(𒀭𒊩𒌆𒌴𒊏), supports the view that it was agenitive construction.[4]Manfred Krebernik and Jan Lisman suggest that in the light of wool production being a major industry atUmma,where Ninura was worshiped, theur4sign refers to the plucking of sheep in this context.[7]

Ninura's best attested epithet is "mother ofUmma",[8]ama-tu-da Ĝiššaki.[6]The toponym Ĝišša is presumed to be an alternate name of Umma.[9]However, it was originally a separate settlement corresponding to modern Umm al-ʿAqārib, which came to be abandoned by the end of theEarly Dynastic period.[10]The inhabitants presumably moved to nearby Umma (HI×DIŠ or UB.MEki,modern Tell Jokha), which might explain why ĜEŠ.KUŠU2ki,originally read as Ĝišša, came to function as a designation of Umma.[11]

The godSharawas regarded as Ninura's husband, and they (or theirtemples) are commonly mentioned side by side.[12]In theZame Hymns,she precedes him.[6]She is similarly placed before him in early offering lists, and it has been suggested that she might have been the original tutelary deity of Umma, only replaced by Shara in this role later on.[13]Hartmut Waetzoldt notes that while this theory is plausible, in historical times Ninura had fewer temples in the area surrounding the city than Shara did.[14]

The existence of an emblem (šu-nir) of Ninura is mentioned in texts from Umma.[4]According to Julia M. Asher-Greve,sealsfrom this city depicting a goddess accompanied by a lion are likely to be representations of her, as the animal was seemingly the city's emblem and appears both alongside inscriptions of members of upper classes of local society and as a symbol of Shara.[15]It is also possible that analogously to spouses of a number of other city gods, for exampleNanna's wifeNingal,she could be depicted in the company of birds presumed to be swans or geese, who might have functioned as a symbol of both love between the divine couples and of their protective qualities.[3]

Aside from theZame Hymnsonly a single literary text describes Ninura.[10]An earlyUD.GAL.NUNsource from Abu Salabikh describes her "making the heaven treamble" and "beating down the earth" to guarantee the city of IRI×A (reading uncertain) will submit to EN.MES, presumed to be a human hero.[16]

Worship

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Ninura is only mentioned in sources from the third millennium BCE.[6]The earliest attestations come fromEarly DynasticAbu Salabikh,and include theZame Hymns,a god list and a literary text.[4]She was associated with Umma and territories surrounding it.[7]One of its rulers,Gishakidu,referred to himself as an "enpriest attached to the side of Ninura ".[17]Her temple located in this city bore the ceremonial name Eula, possibly "house of sleep".[5]The name appears in an inscription of Nammaḫani, a local ruler contemporary with the period ofGutian rule in Mesopotamia,[4]who rebuilt it.[5]The position of "temple administrator" is only attested among the clergy of Ninura and Shara in texts from Umma.[8]Agudu4priest in her service is also attested.[4][18]Furthermore, she had an 'egi-zi'priestess, associated with the settlement Gišaba.[1]In early sources,theophoric namesinvoking Ninura were common in the state of Umma due to her status as a local deity, similarly to howNansheandBaucommonly appear in names from the state ofLagash.[19]Examples include Ku-Ninura, Lu-Ninura, Lugal-Ninura, Ninura-amamu, Ninura-da and Ninura-kam.[4]However, only a single seal with the formula "servant of Ninura" is known.[8]

Ninura's importance in theUr III periodwas comparatively minor, and only a few references to offerings made to her are known.[8]The scope of her cult shrank, and she was only worshiped in Umma and its proximity, in settlements such as A.KA.SALki,Anneĝar, DU6-na and KI.AN.KI.[4]However, administrative documents nonetheless indicate her temple was considered to be the second highest ranked house of worship in Umma itself.[5]Preparation of bricks for the construction of temples of Ninura and Shara is mentioned on a tablet from theYale Babylonian Collectionpresumed to originate in Umma, and might be related toShu-Sin's building projects in the area, though according to Douglas Frayne the known copy is likely only a school exercise.[20]It is also possible that a goddess depicted on the seal of Ninḫilia, the wife of Aakala, the governor of Umma during the reign of the same king, can be identified as Ninura.[8]

No attestations of Ninura postdating the Ur III period are known.[4]In theOld Babylonian periodInanna of Zabalamseemingly came to be seen as the tutelary goddess of Umma instead.[21]In later sources, Ninura no longer appears as Shara's wife either, and he is instead accompanied by Usaḫara or Kumulmul, with both attested at once in the Old Babylonian forerunner to the later god listAn = Anum.[22]

References

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  1. ^abSteinkeller 2005,p. 304.
  2. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 203.
  3. ^abAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 218–219.
  4. ^abcdefghiCavigneaux & Krebernik 1998,p. 510.
  5. ^abcdGeorge 1993,p. 152.
  6. ^abcdAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 53.
  7. ^abKrebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 120.
  8. ^abcdeAsher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 202.
  9. ^Waetzoldt 2014,p. 318.
  10. ^abKrebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 119.
  11. ^Krebernik & Lisman 2020,pp. 119–120.
  12. ^Waetzoldt 2014,p. 321.
  13. ^Sibbing-Plantholt 2022,p. 31.
  14. ^Waetzoldt 2014,pp. 321–322.
  15. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 202–203.
  16. ^Zand 2023,pp. 129–130.
  17. ^Waetzoldt 2014,p. 319.
  18. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 208.
  19. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 209.
  20. ^Frayne 1997,p. 294.
  21. ^Sibbing-Plantholt 2022,pp. 30–31.
  22. ^Huber Vulliet 2011,p. 32.

Bibliography

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  • 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).Academic Press Fribourg.ISBN978-3-7278-1738-0.
  • Cavigneaux, Antoine; Krebernik, Manfred (1998),"Nin-ura",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-10-24
  • Frayne, Douglas (1997).Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC).RIM. The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia. University of Toronto Press.doi:10.3138/9781442657069.ISBN978-1-4426-5706-9.
  • George, Andrew R. (1993).House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia.Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.ISBN0-931464-80-3.OCLC27813103.
  • Huber Vulliet, Fabienne (2011),"Šara",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in French),retrieved2022-10-24
  • Krebernik, Manfred; Lisman, Jan J. W. (2020).The Sumerian Zame Hymns from Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ.ISBN978-3-96327-034-5.
  • 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.ISBN978-90-04-51241-2.OCLC1312171937.
  • Steinkeller, Piotr (2005). "The Priestess Égi-zi and Related Matters". In Sefati, Yitzhak (ed.).An experienced scribe who neglects nothing: ancient Near Eastern studies in honor of Jacob Klein.Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.ISBN1-883053-83-8.OCLC56414097.
  • Waetzoldt, Hartmut (2014),"Umma A. Philologisch",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-10-24
  • Zand, Kamran Vincent (2023). "Mesopotamia and the East: The Perspective from the Literary Texts from Fāra and Tell Abū Ṣalābīḫ".Susa and Elam II.Brill.doi:10.1163/9789004541436_005.ISBN978-90-04-54143-6.
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