Ninurima
| Ninurima | |
|---|---|
| Major cult center | Ur |
| Genealogy | |
| Spouse | Alammuš |
Ninurima was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the spouse of Alammuš, an attendant of the moon god Nanna. She is best attested in texts from the Ur III period from Ur, though she also occurs in a number of god lists, including An = Anum.
Character
[edit]Ninurima, the "lady of Ur", was regarded as the spouse of Alammuš, the divine attendant (sukkal) of the moon god Nanna.[1] The nature of the connection between them is confirmed by the god list An = Anum,[2] where she occurs in line 38 of tablet III, before Ningal's sukkal Meme.[3] The pair Ninurima and Alammuš could also appear in association with Ninpumuna,[4] the goddess of salt springs.[5]
Worship
[edit]While Ninurima is already present in an Early Dynastic god list from Fara, her cult is best attested in the Ur III period.[1] She belonged to the group of deities worshiped in Ur, which at this time also included, among others, Nanna, Ningal, Ninkununa, Ningublaga, Nineigara, Ninsun, Gula, Annunitum and Ulmašītum.[6]
A foundation tablet of Shulgi commemorates the construction of a temple dedicated to her in Karzida (Ga’eš).[7] It presumably belonged to the complex of the local temple of Nanna.[1] Andrew R. George maintains that since this settlement was a cult center of the moon god, it can be assumed that the deity meant was understood as a manifestation of Ningal as the "Lady of Ur," Nin-Urimma[8]
Offerings to Ninurima are recorded in texts from Ur, though they do not occur as commonly as these made to the lead deities of the city, Nanna and Ningal.[6] She is listed a recipient of "pure" (lú-tu5-a) flour.[1] In a single case, she received a sacrifice alongside Alammuš.[2]
A single theophoric name invoking Ninurima, Geme-Ninurima, has been identified in the corpus of texts from the Ur III period.[1] She is also attested in An = Anum,[2] in an Old Babylonian god list where her name is apparently a scribal error and Ninirigal was likely meant, and in a school exercise from Susa.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, p. 511.
- ^ a b c Sallaberger 1993, p. 184.
- ^ Litke 1998, p. 122.
- ^ Staiger 2010, p. 228.
- ^ Staiger 2010, p. 225.
- ^ a b Sallaberger 1993, p. 159.
- ^ Frayne 1997, p. 115.
- ^ George 1993, p. 108.
Bibliography
[edit]- Cavigneaux, Antoine; Krebernik, Manfred (1998), "Nin-Urima", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-10-24
- Frayne, Douglas (1997). Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC). RIM. The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia. University of Toronto Press. doi:10.3138/9781442657069. ISBN 978-1-4426-5706-9.
- George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 0-931464-80-3. OCLC 27813103.
- Litke, Richard L. (1998). A reconstruction of the Assyro-Babylonian god lists, AN:dA-nu-um and AN:Anu šá Ameli (PDF). New Haven: Yale Babylonian Collection. ISBN 978-0-9667495-0-2. OCLC 470337605.
- Sallaberger, Walther (1993). Der kultische Kalender der Ur III-Zeit. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110889253. ISBN 978-3-11-013932-7.
- Staiger, Annabelle (2010). Shehata, Dahlia; Weiershäuser, Frauke; Zand, Kamran V. (eds.). Von Göttern und Menschen: Beiträge zu Literatur und Geschichte des Alten Orients. Festschrift für Brigitte Groneberg. Cuneiform Monographs (in German). Vol. 41. Brill. pp. 225–236. doi:10.1163/9789004187474_014. ISBN 978-90-04-18748-1. Retrieved 2022-10-01.