View source for Ninegal

{{Short description|Mesopotamian goddess}}
{{Distinguish|Ningal}}
{{Infobox deity
|type=Mesopotamian
|name=Ninegal
|other_names=Belet Ekalli, Pentikalli
|deity_of=Goddess of palaces
|consort= {{plainlist|
*[[Urash (god)|Urash]] (in Mesopotamia)
*[[Teshub]] (in Hurrian sources)}}
|children= possibly [[Nanaya]] and [[Lagamal]]
|cult_center = [[Ur]], [[Dilbat]], [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], [[Qatna]]
|equivalent1_type=Hittite
|equivalent1= possibly Tešimi
}}
'''Ninegal''' (also spelled '''Ninegalla'''{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=342}}) or '''Belat Ekalli''' ('''Belet-ekalli''') was a [[Mesopotamian goddess]] associated with palaces. Both her [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] name mean "lady of the palace."{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}}
From [[Mesopotamia]] the worship of Ninegal spread to [[Elam]] in the east and to [[Syria]] and the [[Hittite Empire]] in the west. She was particularly venerated in [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] and [[Qatna]], and due to her presence in the pantheon of ancient Syria she was also incorporated into [[Hurrian religion]]. The [[Hurrians]] transcribed her name as '''Pentikalli''' ('''Pendigalli''').
Especially in literary works, Ninegal could function as an epithet of [[Inanna]], and they could be also associated with each other in other contexts. However, it is now generally assumed that they were distinct deities in origin. Additionally, Ninegal could be associated with the goddess of prisons, [[Nungal]].
==Character==
While in the past it has been proposed that Ninegal was a form of Inanna in origin, or, as argued by [[Thorkild Jacobsen]], that the name designated Inanna in a proposed [[hieros gamos]] ceremony, today it is considered more plausible that she originally developed as a distinct minor goddess, who served as the tutelary deity of palaces of [[lugal|kings]] and governors, and whose role was to guarantee their sovereignty.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} She only started to function as an epithet in literary works in the second and first millennia BCE.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=111}} It has been pointed out that various cultic objects associated with Ninegal according to administrative texts, such as jewelry, are not identical with these dedicated to Inanna.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}}  The oldest source identifying Ninegal with Inanna might be a building inscription from the [[Isin-Larsa period]] which refers to her as a daughter of [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} In god lists Ninegal usually appears near groupings of Inanna manifestations, though in the [[Nippur]] god list she and [[Ninsianna]] are placed together in a different section.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}}
Belat Ekalli/Ninegal could be implored to act as an intermediary between a praying worshiper and her husband [[Urash (god)|Urash]], similar to other divine wives ([[Aya (goddess)|Aya]], [[Shala]]) in the case of their respective husbands{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=119}} or the attendant goddess [[Ninshubur]] in the case of Inanna.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=273}}
==Worship==
The oldest known attestation of Ninegal comes from a god list from [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] [[Shuruppak|Tell Fara]], in which she appears between two deities the reading of whose names is uncertain.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} Other early references include a dedicatory inscription of a servant of Nammaḫ-abzu, an [[Ensi (Sumerian)|ensi]] of [[Nippur]], and a month name in the local calendar of [[Ur]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} During the reign of [[Gudea]], Ninegal was worshiped in [[Lagash]], where she had a temple.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} Evidence for popular devotion to her from that city includes two minor officials who referred to themselves as "servant (''arad'') of Ninegal."{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}}
Multiple attestations are known from the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III period]], and it is assumed Ninegal was worshiped in all of the major cities of southern Mesopotamia at the time.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} There is evidence that the first kings of the Ur III dynasty, [[Ur-Nammu|Ur-Namma]] and [[Shulgi]], were active participants in the cult of Ninegal.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} She also appears in offering lists from Nippur and [[Puzrish-Dagan]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|pp=343-344}} A temple dedicated to her, Egalmah (Sumerian: "exalted palace"), possibly built by Ur-Namma, existed in Ur.{{sfn|George|1993|p=88}} It is possible that [[Warad-Sin]] later rebuilt it as a temple of the medicine goddess [[Ninisina]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} Another temple of Ninegal existed in [[Umma]]. In this city she was apparently closely associated with offerings for deceased ensis.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} Further evidence for worship of this goddess in the Ur III period is a detailed list of cultic paraphernalia dedicated to her from [[Eresh (city)|Eresh]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}}
Her Akkadian name, Belet Ekalli, is attested for the first time in the Ur III period texts from [[Assur]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}} She had a temple in this city, Ekinam (Sumerian: "house, place of destinies"), first mentioned in an inscription of Zariqqu, a governor during the reign of [[Amar-Sin]], who rebuilt it.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|pp=346-347}} In the [[Middle Assyrian Empire|Middle Assyrian period]], it was repaired by [[Adad-nirari I|Adad-Nirari I]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}}  A month named after her is mentioned in [[Old Assyrian period|Old Assyrian]] texts from [[Kanesh]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}}
It is unclear when Ninegal started to be worshiped in [[Dilbat]], though it is possible she already belonged to the pantheon of this city in the Ur III period.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} Her temple in this city was  Esapar (Sumerian: "house of the net"), possibly a part of E-ibbi-Anum, the temple of the local god Urash, rather than a fully separate building.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} However, in a document listing various temples Esapar is instead said to be the name of a temple of [[Nungal]], with no location listed.{{sfn|Cavigneaux|Krebernik|1998|p=618}}  As these two goddesses were associated, it is possible that there was only one Esapar.{{sfn|Cavigneaux|Krebernik|1998|p=618}}
Ninegal continued to be worshiped in the [[Old Babylonian period]], especially in Ur and in [[Larsa]], where a temple dedicated to her, ''E-a-ag-ga-kilib-ur-ur'' (Sumerian: "house which gathers all the instructions") was rebuilt by queen Simar-Eshtar, wife of [[Rim-Sîn I]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} She is however only sporadically mentioned in letters, compared to deities popular in the sphere of personal worship, such as Aya, [[Gula (goddess)|Gula]] or Ishtar.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=251}}
A late reference to Belet-Ekalli can be found in a letter from [[Babylon]], in which a certain Mār-isar relays to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|neo-Assyrian]] king [[Esarhaddon]] that a statue of Belet Ekallim meant for the [[Esagila|Esagil]] temple complex was not yet finished.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=347}}
Both the forms Ninegal{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} and Belet Ekallim are attested in [[theophoric name]]s.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=347}}
===Outside Mesopotamia===
In the second millennium BCE the worship of Ninegal/Belet Ekallim spread from Mesopotamia to other areas in the [[ancient Near East]]. from the [[Hittite Empire]] in the west to [[Elam]] in the east.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}}
Earliest attestations of Ninegal from outside Mesopotamia come from [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], and indicate she might have been introduced to this city as early as in the Ur III period.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} It is possible that she was the tutelary deity of the [[List of kings of Mari|ruling house]] in the Old Babylonian period.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} There is evidence that during [[Zimri-Lim]]'s during some festivals she received the same number of sacrifices as the eight other most honored gods: the local tutelary god [[Itūr-Mēr]], [[Dagan (god)|Dagan]], [[Annunitum]], [[Nergal]], [[Shamash]], [[Enki|Ea]], [[Ninhursag]] and [[Hadad|Addu]].{{sfn|Nakata|2011|p=130}} In a letter Zimri-Lim's wife [[Shibtu|Šibtu]] enumerated Dagan, Shamash, Itūr-Mēr, Belet Ekalli and Addu as "the allies for me" and the deities who "go by my lord's side."{{sfn|Nakata|2011|p=131}} In offering lists she appears between Ninhursag and [[Ningal]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}}
In addition to Mari, in Syria Belet Ekalli was also closely associated with [[Qatna]], where the played the role of the city goddess.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} Some attestations are also known from [[Emar]], where she was among the deities worshiped during the ''zukru'' festival.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} She is also attested in a god list, in which Belet Ekalli in the Akkadian column corresponds to ''<sup>d</sup>We<sub>e</sub>-el-ti-ga-li'' in the [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] one.{{sfn|Trémouille|2005|p=386}}
According to Alfonso Archi, in Hurrian sources Ninegal was referred to as Pentikalli.{{sfn|Archi|1990|p=116}} The name is also sometimes transcribed as Pendigalli.{{sfn|Trémouille|2005|p=386}}  Archi assumes that the Hurrians received her from Syria, and that her importance in Mari played a role in her spread.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=12}} Marie-Claude Trémouille describes her as a goddess from the circle of [[Ḫepat|Hebat]] from Halab (modern [[Aleppo]]).{{sfn|Trémouille|2005|p=386}} In Hurrian texts, she is designated as a concubine of [[Teshub]].{{sfn|Archi|2013|pp=12-13}} She was assimilated with Pithanu, described as a goddess who sits on Teshub's throne.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=13}} The later name likely meant "daughter from Hanu," and should be understood as a sign of her association with the middle [[Euphrates]] area.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=347}} Depictions of Pentikalli are mentioned in texts from Hattarina and [[Lawazantiya]].{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=13}} She is also known from texts from [[Ugarit]], where her name is spelled [[Ugaritic alphabet|alphabetically]] as ''pdgl'', and possibly appears in a personal name, ''annpdgl'', theoretically reconstructed as Anani-Pendigalli.{{sfn|Trémouille|2005|p=386}} It has also been proposed that the Ugaritic goddess ''b'lt btm/nhtm'', "lady of the house," was derived from Belet Ekalli.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}}
A triad consisting of <sup>d</sup>NIN.E.GAL, Nergal and Ea is attested in economic texts from [[Susa]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}} A dossier of texts dealing with the sale of sheep from the same city mentions a "scribe in the service of Ninegal."{{sfn|Graef|2009|p=8}} In Susa Ninegal also occurs in an inscription of Atta-hushu, written in Akkadian, though it has been proposed in this case the name might be a logogram representing [[Pinikir]].{{sfn|Potts|2010|p=484}} Furthermore, a deity whose name was written logographically as <sup>d</sup>NIN.E.GAL was one of the many Mesopotamian and [[Elamite religion|Elamite gods]] and goddesses worshiped at [[Chogha Zanbil]], built by [[Untash-Napirisha]].{{sfn|Potts|2010|p=495}}
While [[Volkert Haas]] assumed that Hittite references to <sup>d</sup>NIN.E.GAL can be understood as indication of presence of the Mesopotamian goddess in [[Anatolia]], Piotr Taracha argues that the name was only a logographic representation of the goddess Tešimi, concubine of the [[Weather god of Nerik]], in whose circle the presumed logogram occurs.{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=56}} In the treaty between Hittite king [[Šuppiluliuma I]] and [[Mitanni]] king [[Šattiwaza]] Ninegal appears after the couples [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]] and [[Anu]] and [[Antu (goddess)|Antu]] in a list of "primeval gods" meant to serve as divine witnesses.{{sfn|Archi|2004|p=322}}
==Associations with other deities==
It is presently uncertain which deities were worshiped with Ninegal in her earliest history.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343}} In a tradition originating in [[Dilbat]], the local agricultural god [[Urash (god)|Urash]] was regarded as her husband.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} In a god list from [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|neo-Babylonian period]] they are followed by [[Lagamal]],{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=346}} who was regarded as a son of Urash.{{sfn|Lambert|1983|p=419}} In a ritual text, also from the neo-Babylonian period, Ninegal and Urash appear in a formula alongside [[Nanaya]],{{sfn|Drewnowska-Rymarz|2008|pp=76-77}} a goddess referred to as
"firstborn of the god Urash."{{sfn|Drewnowska-Rymarz|2008|p=139}} A single inscription pairs Ninegal/Belet Ekalli with [[Amurru (god)|Amurru]] (<sup>d</sup>MAR.TU).{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=96}} It is one of five similar [[Kassite period]] seals, which invoke either couples of deities ([[Marduk]] and [[Sarpanit]], [[Ninurta]] and Gula) or individual deities (Ishtar or Marduk) to secure success and material wealth for the seal owner.{{sfn|Lambert|1970|pp=46-47}} According to [[Wilfred G. Lambert]], unless an otherwise unknown tradition identified Amurru with Urash, he has nothing in common with Ninegal, making this specific inscription unusual.{{sfn|Lambert|1970|p=47}}
According to the god list ''[[An = Anum]]'', the [[sukkal]] (divine attendant) of Ninegal was the minor deity Dikum.{{sfn|Litke|1998|p=155}}
Wolfgang Heimpel proposes that in Mari, Ninegal was closely associated with [[Annunitum]], possibly due to their shared connection with Inanna/Ishtar.{{sfn|Heimpel|2003|p=260}}
===Ninegal as an epithet===
The name Ninegal could function as an [[Epithets of Inanna|epithet of Inanna]] and other goddesses,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=111}} sometimes impossible to identify.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}} Examples of texts where the identification of Ninegal with Inanna explicit include the so-called ''Ninegalla hymn'', in which the names occur in parallel.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}}
In the ''Hymn to Nungal'' the eponymous goddess is apparently referred to as Ninegal.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}} This association is also attested in a fragment of another, presently unidentified, hymn, and in two proverbs.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}}
While the use of the name as an epithet was common in literary texts, the Shulgi hymns seem to be an exception, as they treat Ninegal as a distinct goddess.{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=344}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{cite journal|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|title=The Names of the Primeval Gods|journal=Orientalia|publisher=GBPress - Gregorian Biblical Press|volume=59|issue=2|year=1990|issn=0030-5367|jstor=43075881|pages=114–129|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43075881|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{cite journal|last = Archi|first=Alfonso|title =Translation of Gods: Kumarpi, Enlil, Dagan/NISABA, Ḫalki|journal=Orientalia|year=2004|volume=73|issue=4|pages=319–336|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43078173|issn = 0030-5367|jstor=430781731|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7003610| editor1-last=Collins|editor1-first=B. J.|editor2-last=Michalowski|editor2-first=P.|title=Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman|publisher=Lockwood Press|publication-place=Atlanta|year=2013|isbn=978-1-937040-11-6|oclc=882106763}}
*{{cite book |first1=Julia M.|last1=Asher-Greve |first2=Joan G.|last2=Westenholz |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf|title=Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources|year=2013|publisher=Academic Press Fribourg |isbn=978-3-7278-1738-0}}
*{{citation|last1=Behrens|first1=Herman|last2=Klein|first2=Jacob|entry=Ninegalla|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=1998|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8599|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{citation|last1=Cavigneaux|first1=Antoine|last2=Krebernik|first2=Manfred|entry=Nungal|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=1998|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#9174|language=de|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{cite book|last=Drewnowska-Rymarz|first=Olga|title=Mesopotamian goddess Nanāja|publisher=Agade|publication-place=Warszawa|year=2008|isbn=978-83-87111-41-0|oclc=263460607}}
*{{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=Graef|first=Katrien De|title=Count Your Sheep! Doings and Dealings of Kûyâ, Trader in Small Stock during the Early Sukkalmaḫat|journal=Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale|publisher=Presses Universitaires de France|volume=103|year=2009|issn=0373-6032|jstor=23281452|pages=5–18|doi=10.3917/assy.103.0005 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23281452|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{cite book|last=Heimpel|first=Wolfgang|title=Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-57506-080-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiHwDe7JmCEC|access-date=2022-04-10}}
*{{cite journal|last=Lambert|first=Wilfred G.|title=Objects Inscribed and Uninscribed|journal=Archiv für Orientforschung|publisher=Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO)/Institut für Orientalistik|volume=23|year=1970|issn=0066-6440|jstor=41637307|pages=46–51|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41637307|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{citation|first=Wilfred G.|last=Lambert|entry=Lāgamāl|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#6869|year=1983|access-date=2022-04-09}}
*{{cite book|last=Litke|first=Richard L.|title=A reconstruction of the Assyro-Babylonian god lists, AN:<sup>d</sup>A-nu-um and AN:Anu šá Ameli|url=https://babylonian-collection.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Litke%2C%20Richard%20L_%20-%20A%20Reconstruction%20of%20the%20Assyro-Babylonian%20God-Lists_%20TBC%203%2C%201998.pdf|publisher=Yale Babylonian Collection|publication-place=New Haven|year=1998|isbn=978-0-9667495-0-2|oclc=470337605}}
*{{cite journal|last=Nakata|first=Ichiro|title=The god Itūr-Mēr in the middle Euphrates region during the Old Babylonian period|journal=Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale|publisher=Presses Universitaires de France|volume=105|year=2011|issn=0373-6032|jstor=42580244|pages=129–136|doi=10.3917/assy.105.0129|s2cid=194094468 |doi-access=free}}
*{{cite book|last=Potts| first=Daniel T.|chapter=Elamite Temple Building|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1898197|title=From the foundations to the crenellations: essays on temple building in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible|publisher=Ugarit-Verlag|publication-place=Münster|year=2010| isbn=978-3-86835-031-9|oclc=618338811}}
*{{cite book|first=Piotr|last=Taracha |title=Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia |publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009|isbn=978-3447058858}}
*{{citation|last=Trémouille|first=Marie-Claude|entry=Pendigalli|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=2005|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#9499|language=fr|access-date=2022-04-09}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite thesis|last=Clercq|first=Geeta de|title=Die Göttin Ninegal/Belet-ekallim nach den altorientalischen Quellen des 3. und 2. Jt. v.Chr. : mit einer Zusammenfassung der hethitischen Belegstellen sowie der des 1. Jt. v. Chr.|year=2006|url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/files/1749/ninegal_pub07_lebens.pdf
|language=de|access-date=2022-04-09}}
* [https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section4/tr4074.htm Hymn to Inana as Ninegala (Inana D)] in the [[Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature]]
* [https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section4/tr4281.htm A hymn to Nungal] in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Mesopotamian goddesses]]
[[Category:West Semitic goddesses]]
[[Category:Hurrian deities]]
[[Category:Hittite deities]]
[[Category:Ugaritic deities]]
[[Category:Inanna]]