Šubula
| Šubula | |
|---|---|
Underworld god | |
| Major cult center | Ṣupur-Šubula |
| Genealogy | |
| Spouse | Tadmuštum |
| Equivalents | |
| Amorite equivalent | Ġalamu |
Šubula(Shubula) was aMesopotamian god.He was associated with the underworld, and commonly appears in association withNergal,Ishum,Laṣand other deities of similar character. He was worshiped in small settlements such as Ṣupur-Šubula andLagaba,likely located in the proximity ofKutha,but also inSusaandUruk.
Character
[edit]Šubula was a minor god.[1]It is assumed that the name is etymologically connected with the Akkadian wordābalu(m),"to dry" or "to be dry."[2]A less likely proposal instead derives it fromwābalu(m),"to carry."[2]He was most likely associated with theunderworld.[3]In known sources he is often mentioned alongside other gods of the underworld. In an offering list fromPuzrish-Daganfrom theUr III periodconcerned with rites ofKuthahe appears alongside Tadmuštum,Laṣand Meslamtaea.[3]On akudurru(boundary stone) ofMarduk-apla-iddina I(the "land grant to Munnabittu kudurru") he appears alongside Nergal, his wifeLaṣ,Šar-ṣarbati,the pairLugal-irra and Meslamta-eaandMammitum.[4]This is the only known kudurru inscription mentioning him, and he appears on the thirty third place among the deities invoked.[5]InŠurpuhe appears alongside Nergal,Ishumand Šar-ṣarbati (Bēl-ṣarbi).[6]In theNippurgod list, he appears after Nergal and Mammitum.[7]
Associations with other deities
[edit]Many researchers assume that Šubula was Nergal's son. Among the supporters of this interpretation areAndrew R. George,[8]Frans Wiggermann[2]and Julia Krul.[9]It has been argued that such a connection could be a reflection of the location of his cult center, Ṣupur-Šubula, in the proximity of Nergal's city,Kutha.[10]However, as noted by Jeremiah Peterson, it is unclear if the god listAn = Anum,usually used to support this theory, recognizes him as Nergal's son, as the corresponding section contains a lacuna.[2]Another possible restoration would instead make him the son of Ishum.[2]Those two gods appear together very commonly in known sources, but the nature of the connection between them is not certain.[6]In one text, Ishum and Šubula are called the "gods ofTigrisandEuphrates."[6]
According to the god listAn = Anum,Šubula's wife wasTadmuštum,who was also an underworld deity.[11]
In abilingualAkkadian-Amoritelexical listdated to theOld Babylonian period,[12]Šubula's Amorite counterpart was Ġalamu (ḫa-la-mu), whose name is presumed to be a cognate ofUgariticġlm,literally "boy, youth", but as anepithetalso metaphorically "the noble".[13]Presumably this figure was a minor deity in theAmorite pantheon.[14]A connection with Ḫalmu and Ḫalamu, a pair of sparsely attested primordial ancestral deities known from the lexical listDirifrom Old BabylonianNippur,has been ruled out.[13]
Worship
[edit]In theReallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie,Piotr Michalowski describes Šubula as "known only from Ur III and earlyIsinsources ",[3]but more recent publications show that he is also attested in documents from later periods.[15]He was still worshiped under the rule of theSeleucid Empirein the late first millennium BCE.[9]
The village Ṣupur-Šubula, located near Kutha, was a cult center of Šubula, and atemplededicated to him was located in it.[10]Locally he was invoked in oath formulas alongsideShamashandMarduk.[10]According to documents from the archive of Ubarum, a soldier who lived in Ṣupur-Šubula in theOld Babylonian period,the temple served as a place for signing contracts and resolving legal disputes for the local community.[16]There is also evidence that it was responsible for collecting taxes from the inhabitants on behalf of the ruler.[17]He was also worshiped inLagaba,[8]a small town located in northern Babylonia known only from records from the reigns ofHammurabiandSamsu-iluna.[18]It is possible that it was also located near Kutha, as deities worshiped in the later settlement, such as Laṣ, appear intheophoric namesfrom Lagaba.[18]A temple of Šubula is also mentioned in the so-calledCanonical Temple List,but its name and location are lost.[19]A feast of Šubula is mentioned in a document from Old BabylonianSippar.[20]
In SeleucidUruk,Šubula was worshiped during theakītufestival alongside Nergal.[9]However, he is absent from legal texts and no theophoric names invoke him.[21]There is also no evidence that he was worshiped there in theneo-Babylonian period.[21]Julia Krul proposes that he was only introduced to the pantheon of the city late and entirely due to his connection with Nergal, similar to Ishum and theSebitti.[22]
Šubula is attested as a family deity incylinder sealinscriptions.[1]A single reference to an unknown individual making his subordinates swear an oath by Šubula because he was his family god is known.[23]He appears in bothSumerianand Akkadian theophoric names, such as Šu-Šubula and Ur-Šubula.[3]One man bearing the latter name was a high-ranking official during the reign ofIshbi-ErraofIsin.[24]It is also present in model contracts which formed a part of scribal school curriculum in Old Babylonian Nippur.[2]Two theophoric names invoking Šubula are also known from documents from this city from theKassite period.[15]
Outside Mesopotamia
[edit]Theophoric names attested in administrative documents indicate Šubula was also worshiped inSusainElamin the Old Babylonian period.[25]One known example of an Elamite theophoric name invoking him is Kuk-Šubula.[26]Ran Zadok proposes that like many other Mesopotamian deities worshiped in this city, he might have been introduced there from the "trans-Tigridian" orSealandregions of Mesopotamia.[25]
References
[edit]- ^abToorn 1996,p. 80.
- ^abcdefPeterson 2009,p. 54.
- ^abcdMichalowski 2013,p. 241.
- ^Simons 2016,p. 9.
- ^Bartelmus 2017,p. 303.
- ^abcEdzard 1980,p. 213.
- ^Peterson 2009,p. 14.
- ^abGeorge 1993,p. 37.
- ^abcKrul 2018,p. 67.
- ^abcToorn 1996,p. 38.
- ^Krebernik 2013,p. 398.
- ^George & Krebernik 2022,p. 114.
- ^abGeorge & Krebernik 2022,p. 119.
- ^George & Krebernik 2022,p. 139.
- ^abBartelmus 2017,p. 311.
- ^Toorn 1996,pp. 37–38.
- ^Toorn 1996,p. 40.
- ^abLeemans 1983,p. 417.
- ^George 1993,p. 170.
- ^Földi 2021,p. 49.
- ^abKrul 2018,p. 72.
- ^Krul 2018,p. 75.
- ^Veenhof 2018,p. 53.
- ^Frayne 1990,p. 7.
- ^abZadok 2018,p. 155.
- ^Tavernier 2014,p. 62.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bartelmus, Alexa (2017). "Die Götter der Kassitenzeit. Eine Analyse ihres Vorkommens in zeitgenössischen Textquellen".Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites.De Gruyter. pp. 245–312.doi:10.1515/9781501503566-011.ISBN9781501503566.
- Edzard, Dietz-Otto(1980),"Išum",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-05-20
- Földi, Zsombor J. (2021)."The Lost Seal of a Tax Collector".In Baragli, Beatrice (ed.).Distant Worlds and Beyond: Special Issue Dedicated to the Graduate School Distant Worlds.Vol. 3. Heidelberg: Propylaeum. pp. 47–59.doi:10.11588/propylaeum.886.c11948.ISBN978-3-96929-066-8.Retrieved2022-05-20.
- Frayne, Douglas (1990).Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC).Early periods. University of Toronto Press.ISBN978-0-8020-5873-7.Retrieved2022-05-20.
- George, Andrew R. (1993).House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia.Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.ISBN0-931464-80-3.OCLC27813103.
- George, Andrew; Krebernik, Manfred (2022). "Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite-Akkadian Bilinguals!".Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale.116(1). CAIRN: 113–166.doi:10.3917/assy.116.0113.ISSN0373-6032.S2CID255918382.
- Krebernik, Manfred (2013),"Tadmuštum",Reallexikon der Assyriologie,retrieved2022-05-20
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- Leemans, Wilhelmus François (1983),"Lagaba",Reallexikon der Assyriologie(in German),retrieved2022-05-20
- Michalowski, Piotr (2013),"Šubula",Reallexikon der Assyriologie,retrieved2022-05-20
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- Simons, Frank (2016)."The God AlammušdLÀL /d.mùšLÀL ".Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires(1).
- Tavernier, Jan (2014)."What's in a name: Hallušu, Hallutaš or Hallutuš".Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale.108.Presses Universitaires de France: 61–66.doi:10.3917/assy.108.0061.ISSN0373-6032.JSTOR44646360.Retrieved2022-05-20.
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- 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.doi:10.3917/assy.112.0049.ISSN0373-6032.Retrieved2022-05-20.
- Zadok, Ran (2018). "The Peoples of Elam".The Elamite world.Abingdon, Oxon.ISBN978-1-315-65803-2.OCLC1022561448.
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