Editing Nergal (section)

==Worship==
[[File:Fragments of a vessel dedicated to the temple of god Nergal. Shalmaneser III kneels before Nergal. From Nineveh, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|thumb|Fragments of a vessel dedicated to the temple of Nergal in [[Nineveh]], showing [[Shalmaneser III]] kneeling before Nergal, currently held in the [[British Museum]] in London]]
Nergal's main cult center was [[Kutha]], where his temple E-Meslam was located.{{sfn|Lambert|1983a|p=507}}{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=46}} Andrew R. George proposes the translation "house, warrior of the netherworld" for its name.{{sfn|George|1993|p=126}} A secondary name of the E-Meslam was E-ḫuškia, "fearsome house of the underworld".{{sfn|George|1993|p=102}} It is already attested in documents from the reign of [[Shulgi]], don whose orders repair work was undertaken there.{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=59}} Later monarchs who also rebuilt it include [[Apil-Sin]], [[Hammurabi]], [[Ashurbanipal]] and [[Nebuchadnezzar II]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=126}} It continued to function as late as in the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] period.{{sfn|George|1993|p=126}} In addition to Kutha, Apak ([[Apiak]]{{sfn|George|1993|p=55}}) is well attested as a major cult center of Nergal,{{sfn|George|1993|p=50}} already attested in documents from the [[Akkadian Empire|Sargonic period]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=55}} Its precise location is not known, but it has been established that it was to the west of [[Marad]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=55}} In this city, he could be referred to as Lugal-Apiak.{{sfn|George|1993|p=55}} While absent from [[Assyria]] in the [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian period]], later he rose to the status of one of the most major gods there.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} [[Tarbisu|Tarbishu]] was a particularly important Assyrian cult center of both Nergal and his wife [[Laṣ]].{{sfn|Lambert|1983a|pp=506–507}} His temple in this city, originally built by [[Sennacherib]], also bore the name E-Meslam.{{sfn|George|1993|p=127}} A third temple named E-Meslam was located in [[Mashkan-shapir]] according to documents from the reign of Hammurabi, and it is possible it was dedicated to Nergal too.{{sfn|George|1993|p=127}} The veneration of Nergal in this city is well documented.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} 

[[Naram-Sin of Akkad]] was particularly devoted to Nergal, describing him as his "caretaker" (''rābisu'') and himself as a  "comrade" (''rū'um'') of the god.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=217}} At the same time, worship of Nergal in the southernmost cities of Mesopotamia was uncommon in the third millennium BCE, one exception being the presence of "Meslamtaea" in [[Lagash]] in [[Gudea]]'s times.{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=48}} This changed during the reign of Shulgi, the second king from the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]].{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=48}} Theological texts from this period indicate that Nergal was viewed as one of the major gods and as king of the underworld.{{sfn|George|2003|pp=122–123}} Tonia Sharlach proposes that "Nergal of TIN.TIR<sup>ki</sup>" known from this period should be understood as the original tutelary god of [[Babylon]].{{sfn|Sharlach|2002|p=98}} This interpretation is not supported by [[Andrew R. George]], who notes that Nergal of TIN.TIR<sup>ki</sup> is usually mentioned alongside [[Geshtinanna]] of KI.AN<sup>ki</sup>, [[Ninhursag]] of KA.AM.RI<sup>ki</sup>, and other deities worshiped in settlements located in the proximity of [[Umma]], and on this basis he argues that this place name should be read phonetically as Tintir and refers to a small town administered directly from said city, and not to Babylon, whose name could be written logographically as TIN.TIR<sup>ki</sup> in later periods.{{sfn|George|1992|p=238}} Other authors agree that the worship of Nergal is well attested in the area around Umma.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} George additionally points out that there is no indication that Babylon was regarded as a major cult center of Nergal in any time period.{{sfn|George|1992|p=238}} 

In the Old Babylonian period Nergal continued to be worshiped as a god of the dead, as indicated for example by an elegy in which he appears alongside [[Ningishzida]], [[Etana]] and [[Neti (deity)|Bidu]], the gatekeeper of the underworld.{{sfn|George|2003|pp=128–129}} He appears for the first time in documents from Uruk in this period.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=295}} Anam of Uruk built a temple dedicated to him in nearby Uzurpara during the reign of [[Sîn-gāmil]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=75}} It is possible that it bore the name E-dimgalanna, "house, great bond of heaven".{{sfn|George|1993|p=75}} Multiple temples of other deities ([[Sud (goddess)|Sud]], [[Aya (goddess)|Aya]] and [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|Nanna]]) bearing the same name are attested from other locations as well.{{sfn|George|1993|p=75}} [[Damiq-ilishu]] of [[Isin]] also built a temple of Nergal in this location, the E-kitušbidu, "house whose abode is pleasant".{{sfn|George|1993|p=111}} In Uruk itself, Nergal had a small sanctuary, possibly known as E-meteirra, "house worthy of the mighty one".{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=297}} A temple bearing this name was rebuilt by [[Kudur-Mabuk]] at one point.{{sfn|George|1993|p=125}} Nergal continued to be worshiped in Uruk as late as in early [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] times, and he is mentioned in a source from the 29th year of the reign of [[Darius the Great|Darius I]].{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=295}} One late document mentions an oath taken in the presence of a priest (''sanga'') of Nergal during the sale of a [[prebend]] in which Nergal and [[Ereshkigal]] were invoked as divine witnesses.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=297}}

Ancient lists of temples indicate that a temple of Nergal bearing the name E-šahulla, "house of the happy heart", was located in [[Mê-Turan]].{{sfn|George|1993|pp=143–144}} It was identified during excavations based on brick inscriptions and votive offerings dedicated to Nergal.{{sfn|Al-Rawi|1994|p=35}} It shared its name with a temple of [[Nanaya]] located in [[Kazallu]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=43}} According to Andrew R. George, its name was most likely a reference to the occasional association between Nergal and joy.{{sfn|George|1993|pp=43–44}} For example, a street named "the thoroughfare of Nergal of Joy" (Akkadian: ''mūtaq Nergal ša ḫadê'') existed in Babylon, while the god list ''An = Anum ša amēli'' mentions "Nergal of jubilation" (<sup>d</sup>U.GUR ''ša rišati'').{{sfn|George|1992|p=362}}

In [[Lagaba]], Nergal was worshiped under the name Išar-kidiššu.{{sfn|George|1993|p=37}} He could also be referred to as the tutelary god of [[Marad]], though this city was chiefly associated with [[Lugal-Marada]].{{sfn|Stol|1987|p=148}} Offerings or other forms of worship are also attested from [[Dilbat]], [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Nippur]] and [[Ur]].{{sfn|Heffron|2016}} It is possible that a temple of Nergal bearing the name E-erimḫašḫaš, "house which smites the wicked", which was at one point rebuilt by [[Rim-Sîn I]], was located in the last of these cities.{{sfn|George|1993|p=82}} Temples dedicated to him also existed in both Isin and Nippur, but their names are not known.{{sfn|George|1993|p=167}} 

In the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian period]] Nergal was regarded as the third most important god in the Babylonian state pantheon after [[Marduk]] and [[Nabu]].{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=45}} These three gods often appear together in royal inscriptions.{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=46}} Based on a cylinder of [[Neriglissar]] providing for E-Meslam in Kutha was regarded as a royal duty, similar as in the case of Marduk's and Nabu's main temples (respectively [[Esagila|E-Sagil]] in Babylon and E-Zida in Borsippa).{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=47}} However, administrative documents indicate that Nergal and his wife Laṣ received fewer offerings than Marduk or Nabu.{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=47}} In some families it was seemingly customary to give the third son a theophoric name invoking Nergal, in accordance with his position in the state pantheon.{{sfn|Da Riva|2010|p=48}}

14th and 28th days of the month were regarded as sacred to Nergal,{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}}{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=188}} as was the number 14 itself, though it was also associated with [[Šumugan|Sakkan]].{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}}

Unlike other Mesopotamian deities associated with the underworld (for example Ereshkigal), Nergal is well attested in [[Theophoric name|theophoric names]].{{sfn|Lambert|1987|p=137}}

===Hurrian reception===
[[File:Foundation tablet, dedication to God Nergal by Hurrian king Atalshen, king of Urkish and Nawar, Habur Bassin, circa 2000 BC Louvre Museum AO 5678.jpg|thumb|Foundation tablet of Atal-shen, king of [[Urkesh]] and Nawar, [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Habur]] Bassin, circa 2000 BCE. Louvre Museum AO 5678.]]
Nergal was also incorporated into the pantheon of the Hurrians,{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=9}} and it has been argued he was among the earliest foreign gods they have adopted.{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=54}} He is one of the gods considered to be "pan-Hurrian" by modern researchers, a category also encompassing the likes of [[Teshub]], [[Shaushka]] or [[Nupatik]].{{sfn|Archi|2013|pp=7–8}} He is already attested in the inscriptions of two early Hurrian kings of [[Urkesh]],{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=54}} [[Tish-atal]] and Atal-shen.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=8}} An inscription of the former is the oldest known text in [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]]:

{{quotation|Tish-atal, ''endan'' of Urkesh, has built a temple of Nergal. May the god [[Lubadaga]] protect this temple. Who destroys it, [him] may Lubadaga destroy. May the weather god not hear his prayer. May the [[Belet Nagar|mistress of Nagar]], the sun-god, and the weather-god [...] him who destroys it.{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=11}}}}

The sun god and the weather god in this inscription are most likely Hurrian [[Shimige]] and Teshub.{{sfn|Haas|2015|p=542}}

Atal-shen referred to Nergal as the lord of a location known as Hawalum:{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=54}}

{{quotation|Of Nergal the lord of Hawalum, Atal-shen, the caring shepherd, the king of Urkesh and Nawar, the son of Sadar-mat the king, is the builder of the temple of Nergal, the one who overcomes opposition. Let [[Shamash]] and [[Ishtar]] destroy the seeds of whoever removes this tablet. Shaum-shen is the craftsman.{{sfn|Buccellati|2002}}}}

Giorgio Buccellati in his translation quoted above renders the names of the other deities invoked as Shamash and Ishtar, but according to Alfonso Archi the logograms <sup>d</sup>UTU and <sup>d</sup>INANNA should be read as Shimige and Shaushka in this case.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=8}}

The worship of Nergal is also well attested in the eastern Hurrian settlements.{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=54}} These include [[Arrapha]], referred to as the "City of the Gods", which was located near modern [[Kirkuk]], as well as Ḫilamani, Tilla{{sfn|Haas|2015|p=544}} and Ulamme, where an ''entu'' priestess dedicated to him resided.{{sfn|Haas|2015|p=318}} In the last three of these cities, he was associated with a goddess referred to as "<sup>d</sup>IŠTAR Ḫumella", the reading and meaning of whose name are unclear.{{sfn|Wilhelm|2014|p=305}}{{sfn|Haas|2015|p=544}}