View source for Apladad

{{short description|Mesopotamian god}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Mesopotamian
| name = Apladad
| image = Dura Europos, Temple of Aphlad, Relief of Aphlad.jpg
| caption = A stela depicting Aphlad (Apladad) from Hellenistic [[Dura-Europos]].
| deity_of = God of [[Suhum]]
| cult_center = [[Anah|Anat]], Kannu’, [[Dura-Europos]]
| spouse = <sup>d</sup>GAB.KA
| father = [[Adad]]
}}
'''Apladad''' (later '''Aphlad'''), "son of [[Adad]]", was a [[Mesopotamian god]] first attested in the eighth century BCE. He was chiefly worshiped in [[Suhum]] in cities such as [[Anah|Anat]] and Āl-gabbāri-bānî. He is mentioned in many inscriptions of local rulers, who built a number of houses of worship dedicated to him. He was also venerated in the city of Kannu’, whose location is presently unknown. While most of the evidence pertaining to him comes from between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE, he was still worshiped in Dura-Europos in the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] periods.
==Name and character==
The [[theonym]] Apladad, also spelled as Apladdu{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=489}} or Apla-Adad{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=281}} can be translated as "son of [[Adad]]"{{sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=144}} or "heir of Adad",{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=290}} Adad being the Mesopotamian [[weather god]].{{sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=125}} Attested [[cuneiform]] writings include <sup>[[dingir|d]]</sup>A.10, and less commonly <sup>d</sup>IBILA.<sup>d</sup>IŠKUR, <sup>d</sup>A.<sup>d</sup>IŠKUR, A.IŠKUR, <sup>d</sup>A.IŠKUR, <sup>d</sup>DUMU.<sup>d</sup>IŠKUR, <sup>d</sup>IBILA''-ad-du'', or ''ap-la-du'', while in alphabetic scripts (such as [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]) it was written as ''‘pld'' or ''pld''.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=626}} In early scholarship, the name was incorrectly interpreted as ''<sup>d</sup>mār šarri'', "son of the king".{{sfn|Dalley|1986|p=90}}
Not much is known about Apladad's associations with other deities, and while a single late [[Babylonia]]n seal inscription indicates that he was believed to have a wife, the reading of her name, <sup>d</sup>GAB.KA, remains uncertain, with Gabra being proposed by [[Edward Lipiński (orientalist)|Edward Lipiński]].{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=626}} Whether Apladad was related to Būru, a divine bull calf attested as a deity subordinate to Adad mostly in [[Arameans|Aramean]] sources from the [[Neo-Assyrian period]] and later, remains unknown.{{sfn|Schwemer|2008|p=7}} This proposal relies on the analogous distribution of references to both deities in known texts, and on a possible analogy between the pairs Adad-Būru/Apladad and [[Teshub]]-[[Šarruma]], but no conclusions can be reached based on available evidence.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=489}}
==Worship==
Introduction of Apladad to the [[Mesopotamian pantheon]] is considered to be a late development.{{sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=144}} He first appears in sources from the eighth century BCE, and it is presumed he only developed in this period.{{sfn|Masetti-Rouault|2009|pp=146-147}} He is absent from most god lists, with the exception of a late text from this type from [[Sultantepe]].{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=626}} Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault suggests that he was linked to the royal ideology of the new dynasty which arose in the region known as [[Suhum]], whose members despite their [[Assyria]]n origin seemingly developed a distinct cultural identity, which created the need for a new deity as well.{{sfn|Masetti-Rouault|2009|p=147}} One of the local rulers, [[Šamaš-reša-uṣur]], in one of his inscriptions states that he built a new city, Āl-gabbāri-bānî, and "settled" Apladad (as well as [[Adad]], [[Shala]] and [[Mandanu]]) in it.{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=281}} His son, [[Ninurta-kudurrī-uṣur]], attributed his position as king to [[Shamash]], [[Marduk]], Adad and Apladad.{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=288}} In an inscription he refers to Apladad as his lord, and credits him with leading him to emerge victorious over his enemies in battle.{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=293}} Another text from his reign mentions the construction of a new city, Kār-Apladad, "quay of Apladad", and the establishment of a temple and regular offerings of bread and beer to him.{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=298}} Yet another inscription attributed to him indicates that a temple dedicated jointly to Adad and Apladad existed in the city of [[Anah|Anat]].{{sfn|Frame|1995|p=319}} It bore the ceremonial name Enamḫe,{{sfn|George|1993|p=130}} which can be translated as "house of plenty".{{sfn|George|1993|p=129}}
Outside of Suhu, Apladad's main cult center was Kannu’, a city whose location remains uncertain.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=627}} Additionally, a penalty clause in a single [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] document from [[Assur]] invokes Apladad alongside Adad.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=599}} [[Theophoric name]]s invoking him are also known.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=54}} One example is Kullum-kī-Apladdu, "he is free through Apladad",{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=55}} presumed to belong to an inhabitant of Kannu’.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=627}}
While most evidence for the worship of Apladad comes from between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE,{{sfn|Dalley|2002|p=207}} his [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] persisted in the middle [[Euphrates]] area through the [[Hellenistic period]], well into [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times.{{sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=144}} It is presumed that the god Aphlad, worshiped by culturally [[hellenized]] [[Arameans]] in [[Dura-Europos]] and attested both in inscriptions and theophoric names, can be identified as a later form of Apladad.{{sfn|Schwemer|2001|p=628}}{{sfn|Dalley|2002|p=203}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{cite journal|last=Dalley|first=Stephanie|title=The God Salmu and the Winged Disk|journal=Iraq|publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq|volume=48|year=1986|issn=0021-0889|jstor=4200253|pages=85–101|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4200253|access-date=2022-11-13}}
*{{cite book|last=Dalley|first=Stephanie|title=Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities|publisher=Gorgias Press|publication-place=Piscataway, NJ|date=2002|isbn=978-1-4632-0773-1|doi=10.31826/9781463207731}}
*{{cite book|last=Frame|first=Grant|title=Rulers of Babylonia.From the Second Dynasty of Isin to the End of Assyrian Domination (1157-612 BC)|chapter=Sūḫu|series=The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia|publisher=University of Toronto Press|date=1995|isbn=978-1-4426-5705-2|doi=10.3138/9781442657052}}
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|title=House Most High: the Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake|year=1993|isbn=0-931464-80-3|oclc=27813103}}
*{{cite journal|last=Masetti-Rouault|first=Maria Grazia|title=Cultures in contact in the Syrian Lower Middle Euphrates Valley: Aspects of the Local Cults in the Iron Age II|url=https://www.academia.edu/53871129|journal=Syria|publisher=OpenEdition|issue=86|year=2009|issn=0039-7946|doi=10.4000/syria.522|pages=141–147}}
*{{cite book | last=Schwemer| first=Daniel | title=Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen |url=https://www.academia.edu/16999070| publisher=Harrassowitz | publication-place=Wiesbaden | year=2001 | isbn=978-3-447-04456-1 | oclc=48145544 | language=de}}
*{{cite journal| last=Schwemer|first=Daniel|title=The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies Part I|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/7075/1/JANER7%3A2offprint.pdf|journal=Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions|publisher=Brill|volume=7|issue=2|year=2007|issn=1569-2116|doi=10.1163/156921207783876404| pages=121–168}}
*{{cite journal|last=Schwemer|first=Daniel|title=The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part II|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/7076/1/JANER8%3A1offprint.pdf|journal=Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions|publisher=Brill|volume=8|issue=1|year=2008|issn=1569-2116|doi=10.1163/156921208786182428|pages=1–44}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
*[https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/34191 Cult Stele to the God Aphlad] on the website of the [[Yale University Art Gallery]]
[[Category:Mesopotamian gods]]