Editing Hadad (section)

==Adad in Akkad and Sumer==
In Akkadian, Adad is also known as '''Rammanu''' ("Thunderer") cognate with {{langx|arc|רעמא}} ''Raˁmā'' and {{langx|he|רַעַם}} ''Raˁam'', a byname of Hadad. Many scholars formerly took Rammanu to be an independent Akkadian god, but he was later identified with Hadad.

Though originating in northern Mesopotamia, Adad was identified by the same Sumerogram {{Transliteration|Xsux|<sup>[[Dingir|d]]</sup>IM}} that designated Iškur in the south.{{sfnp|Green|2003|pp=51-52}} His worship became widespread in Mesopotamia after the [[First Babylonian dynasty]].{{sfnp|Green|2003|p=52}} A text dating from the reign of [[Ur-Ninurta]] characterizes the two sides of Adad/Iškur as threatening in his stormy rage, and benevolent in giving life.{{sfnp|Green|2003|p=54}}

'''Iškur''' appears in the list of gods found at [[Shuruppak]] but was of far less importance, perhaps because storms and rain were scarce in [[Sumer]] and agriculture there depended on irrigation instead. The gods [[Enlil]] and [[Ninurta]] also had storm god features that diminished Iškur's distinct role, and he sometimes appears as the assistant or companion of these more prominent gods.

When Enki distributed the destinies, he made Iškur inspector of the cosmos. In one litany, Iškur is proclaimed again and again as "great radiant bull, your name is heaven" and also called son of [[Anu]], lord of Karkara; twin-brother of [[Enki]], lord of abundance, lord who rides the storm, lion of heaven.

In other texts Adad/Iškur is sometimes son of the moon god [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna/Sin]] by [[Ningal]] and brother of [[Utu]]/Shamash and [[Inanna]]/Ishtar. He is also sometimes described as the son of Enlil.{{sfnp|Green|2003|p=59}}

The bull was portrayed as Adad/Iškur's sacred animal starting in the Old Babylonian period{{sfnp|Green|2003|pp=18-24}} (early 2nd millennium BCE).

Adad/Iškur's consort (both in early Sumerian and the much later Assyrian texts) was the grain goddess [[Shala]], who is also sometimes associated with the god [[Dagon|Dagānu]]. She was also called ''Gubarra'' in the earliest texts. The fire god [[Gibil]] (Girra in Akkadian) is sometimes the son of Iškur and Shala.
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He is identified with the [[Anatolia]]n storm-god [[Teshub]], whom the Mitannians designated with the same Sumerogram {{Transliteration|Xsux|<sup>[[Dingir|d]]</sup>IM}}.{{sfnp|Green|2003|p=130}} Occasionally he is identified with the Amorite god [[Amurru (god)|Amurru]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The Babylonian center of Adad/Iškur's cult was Karkara in the south, his chief temple being {{smallcaps|É.Kar.kar.a}}; his spouse Shala was worshipped in a temple named {{smallcaps|É.Dur.ku}}. In [[Assyria]], Adad was developed along with his warrior aspect. During the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]], from the reign of [[Tiglath-Pileser I]] (1115-1077 BCE), Adad had a double sanctuary with Anu in [[Assur]], and the two are often associated in invocations. The name Adad and various alternate forms (''Dadu'', ''Bir'', ''Dadda'') are often found in Assyrian king names.

Adad/Iškur presents two aspects in hymns, incantations, and votive inscriptions. On the one hand, he brings rain in due season to fertilize the land; on the other, he sends storms to wreak havoc and destruction. He is pictured on monuments and cylinder seals (sometimes with a [[horned helmet]]) with the lightning and the thunderbolt (sometimes in the form of a spear), and in hymns his sombre aspects predominate. His association with the sun-god Shamash, with the two deities alternating in the control of nature, tends to imbue him with some traits of a solar deity.

According to Alberto Green, descriptions of Adad starting in the [[Kassites|Kassite]] period and in the region of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] emphasize his destructive, stormy character and his role as a fearsome warrior deity,{{sfnp|Green|2003|pp=59-60}} in contrast to Iškur's more peaceful and pastoral character.{{sfnp|Green|2003|pp=58-59}}

Shamash and Adad jointly became the gods of [[oracle]]s and divination, invoked in all the ceremonies to determine the divine will: through inspecting a sacrificial animal's liver, the action of oil bubbles in a basin of water, or the movements of the heavenly bodies. They are similarly addressed in royal annals and votive inscriptions as ''bele biri'' (lords of divination).