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| Anshar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Anshar |
| Type | Mesopotamian deity |
| Cult center | Akkad, Nippur, Babylon |
| Consort | Ki |
| Parents | Apsu, Tiamat |
| Equivalents | Anšar |
Anshar
Anshar was a primordial sky deity in ancient Mesopotamian religion associated with the horizon and succession of divine kingship. He appears in Babylonian and Akkadian mythological narratives and temple lists connected with cosmological schemes, genealogies, and theogonies associated with Enuma Elish, Marduk, Ea and other Mesopotamian divinities. Textual attestations span from Old Babylonian to Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions, mythic epics, and god lists preserved at archaeological sites such as Nineveh, Nineveh Palace, Sippar, and Uruk.
The name is conventionally read as Anšar in cuneiform editions; scholars analyze its Sumerian and Akkadian components alongside parallels in Sumerian theonyms such as An and Ki. Comparative philology links the element אנׁ (An) to sky deities attested at Eridu, Kish, and Uruk and the element šar to royal or totalizing epithets found in inscriptions of Sargon of Akkad, Naram-Sin, and Neo-Assyrian kings. Epigraphic studies cite variations in spellings from Old Babylonian lexical lists, Emesal dialect entries, and late Babylonian god lists compiled under Ashurbanipal and Nabonidus.
Anshar functions within the Mesopotamian theogonic sequence that includes primordial figures such as Apsu, Tiamat, Lahmu, Lahamu, and culminates in later gods like Anu, Enlil, and Ea. In the canonical Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, the narrative situates Anshar as a progenitor maintaining cosmic order and as a link in the chain that validates the elevation of Marduk through negotiation and combat with Tiamat and her allies. Royal commentary and temple hymns associate Anshar with dynastic legitimacy portrayed in inscriptions of Hammurabi, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar II that echo Mesopotamian notions of divine succession and kingship.
Primary literary attestations derive from copies of Enuma Elish discovered at the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, alongside lexical and god-list tablets from Nippur and Sippar. Anshar appears in the so-called An = Anum god list tradition and in Middle Babylonian incantation series, Old Babylonian royal colophons, and Neo-Assyrian administrative archives mentioning temple endowments linked to Esagila and provincial cult centers. Comparative philological work cross-references tablets from Mari, Ebla, and archaeological strata at Ur to trace orthographic variants and theophoric personal names recorded in economic texts, legal contracts, and palace correspondence attributed to rulers like Zimri-Lim and Shamshi-Adad I.
Cultic traces attributed to Anshar are inferred from priestly lists, temple inventories, and festival calendars preserved in archives associated with Esagila, E-kur, and local sanctuaries in Kish and Nippur. Liturgical material—hymns, offering lists, and ritual instructions—often pairs Anshar with Ki or integrates him into syncretic rites honoring Anu, Enlil, and Marduk. Administrative tablets record sacrifices of livestock, grain, and incense and allocations for cult personnel similar to those documented in temples of Nergal, Ishtar, and Sin, suggesting institutionalized priesthoods and involvement in New Year (Akitu) ceremonial cycles preserved in royal annals of Nebuchadnezzar I and Assurbanipal.
Scholars compare Anshar to primordial sky figures across Near Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, linking him to Sumerian An, Hurrian sky deities attested in texts from Ugarit and Alalakh, and Anatolian parallels in Hittite corpus materials associated with the cultic archives of Hattusa. Comparative studies reference correspondences with El in Northwest Semitic inscriptions, echoes in Canaanite mythic motifs preserved at Ras Shamra, and thematic analogies with Indo-European sky-father concepts invoked in comparative philology alongside names appearing in Tell Brak and Mari archives. Cross-cultural reception is tracked through lexical borrowings and theological reinterpretations during the kassite, neo-Assyrian, and neo-Babylonian periods involving contacts with Elam, Iran, and Egypt.
Contemporary research on Anshar draws on philology, comparative religion, and archaeological contextualization. Key scholarly debates concern his precise cultic status versus purely literary role, reconstruction of lost mythic episodes via fragmentary tablets from collections excavated at Nineveh and Nippur, and reinterpretations influenced by works of Assyriologists such as Samuel Noah Kramer, Thorkild Jacobsen, Benjamin R. Foster, and Francesca Rochberg. Recent articles in journals of Near Eastern studies reassess Anshar's place within Babylonian theology using digital corpora from the CDLI and typological models employed by researchers at institutions like the British Museum, University of Chicago Oriental Institute, and Louvre Museum collections. Ongoing excavations and cuneiform publications continue to refine understanding of Anshar's textual attestations and ritual significance in Mesopotamian religion.
Category:Mesopotamian deities