Editing Nergal (section)

===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}}