RT Article
T1 The Adoption of Nabû and Tašmētu into the Babylonian Pantheon
JF Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
VO 23
IS 2
SP 166
OP 198
A1 Rubin, Zachary
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2023
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1880473739
AB Though Nabû is well known in Babylonian religion as the minister of its patron god Marduk, and Tašmētu as Nabû’s wife, this paper argues that they were not originally envisioned as such. Instead, both the god and goddess seem to have been introduced into Marduk’s circle over the course of the Old Babylonian period, having previously been venerated in independent cults. Unexpected appearances of Tašmētu within the ritual practices of Babylon also suggest that she was only recognized as Nabû’s wife after they were both integrated into the Babylonian pantheon. Evidence of their early independence and subsequent assimilation is drawn from a wide pool of contemporary sources, including god lists, onomastics, and seal inscriptions, as well as descriptions of traditional ritual arrangements from later periods.
K1 temple and ritual
K1 Pantheon
K1 Mesopotamian politics
K1 Mesopotamian religion
K1 Babylon
K1 Marduk
K1 Tašmētu
K1 Nabû
DO 10.1163/15692124-12341340