Azimua, also known asNinazimua,[1] was aMesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife ofNingishzida.
Ninazimua is the original spelling of the name of this goddess, attested in sources from the Ur III period.[2] Later theNIN sign was usually omitted.[2] The form Ninazimua is attested in at least one theophoric name, Geme-Ninazimua.[2]
Wilfred G. Lambert proposed that the elementa-zi in her name can be interpreted as "water of life."[3]
Azimua was regarded as the wife of Ningishzida.[2] However, multiple traditions regarding this god's marital status existed. The god listAn = Anum identifies not only Azimua, but also Ekurritum (not attested in such a role anywhere else[4]) as his wives, while other sources favorGeshtinanna, identified withBelet-Seri.[5] In some cases, Azimua and Geshtinanna/Belet-Seri were conflated, for example in inscriptions of kingGudea ofLagash.[6] A god list fromSusa treats them as two names of the same deity, identified both as the wife of Ningishzida and sister ofDumuzi.[7] According to Wilfred G. Lambert, Azimua's name could simply function as a title of Geshtinanna in contexts where the latter was identified as Ningishzida's wife.[8]
Belet-Seri could also function as an epithet ofAshratum, the wife ofAmurru, or of her Sumerian counterpart Gubarra, in at least one case leading to conflation of Amurru and Ningishzida and to an association between the former and Azimua.[9]
Azimua could serve as the scribe of theunderworld,[10] a role also assigned to Geshtinanna.[11]
It is likely that Azimua appears for the first time in a text fromEarly DynasticTell Fara, though the full name of the deity in mention is not preserved.[12] A further early uncertain attestation comes from aZame Hymn fromAbu Salabikh, though Dina Katz notes that in absence of Ningishzida from this text corpus the restoration the presence of Azimua would be unusual.[10]
She was worshiped inUr, where a temple dedicated to her existed, and inUmma.[10]
Ninazimua appears in the mythNingishzida and Ninazumua, which describes an exchange of messages between her and her temporarily deceased husband.[13] It is regarded as similar to other myths dealing with temporary death of deities:Damu and his sister,Dumuzi and his sisters,Dumuzi and Geshtinanna,Dumuzi's dream andInanna's descent.[14] However, due to small number of known copies, possible scribal mistakes and other issues it is presently impossible to fully reconstruct its plot.[15]