| Allani | |
|---|---|
Queen of the underworld | |
 A relief of Allani ("Allatum") fromYazılıkaya. | |
| Other names | Allatu, Allatum, Allanitum |
| Major cult center | possiblyḪaššum or Zimudar |
| Abode | a palace in the "Dark Earth" (Hurrian underworld) |
| Equivalents | |
| Mesopotamian | Ereshkigal |
| Hittite/Luwian | Sun goddess of the Earth |
| Hattian | Lelwani |
| Ugaritic | Arsay |
Allani, also known under theAkkadian nameAllatu (orAllatum),[1] was theHurrian goddess of the underworld. She was also associated with the determination of fate. She was closely linked withIšḫara, and they could be invoked or receive offerings together. She also developed connection with other underworld deities from neighboring cultures, such asMesopotamianEreshkigal (who eventually came to be equated with her),AnatolianSun goddess of the Earth andLelwani, and possiblyUgariticArsay. It is presumed she was chiefly worshiped in western areas inhabited by the Hurrians, though the location of her main cult center is uncertain. She is attested in texts from sites such asTigunani,Tuttul andUgarit. She was also incorporated into theMesopotamian pantheon, and was venerated inUr,Nippur andSippar.Hittite sources mentioning her are known too.
Thetheonym Allani hasHurrian origin and consists of the wordallai, lady, and thearticle-ni.[2] It has been noted that simpleepithet-like theonyms were common in Hurrian tradition, another well attested example beingŠauška, "the great".[3] In texts written in theUgaritic alphabetic script, Allani's name was rendered asaln.[4] TheAkkadian form is Allatum.[5] In 1980Wilfred G. Lambert proposed that Allatum, who he understood as the same deity asEreshkigal in origin, was the feminine counterpart, and possibly wife, of a minorMesopotamian god associated with theunderworld,Alla.[6][a] However,Gernot Wilhelm [de] already stated in 1989 that no convincing Akkadian etymology has been proposed for the name Allatum,[8] and it is now agreed that it was a derivative of Allani.[9][10] Alfonso Archi suggests this form of the name originally developed inSyria, and from there reachedMesopotamia.[1] InEmar, an ancient city in Syria, both forms were used.[11] A further variant, Allantum, is attested in texts fromTigunani.[12] It differs from the usual variant Allatum, but also represents a combination of the base Hurrian name with the Akkadian femininesuffix.[13]
Allani was regarded as the queen of theunderworld inHurrian religion.[14] According to Hurrian texts, she resided in a palace at the gate of the "Dark Earth" (Hurrian:timri eže), the land of the dead.[15] As an extension of this role she was also one of the deities who took part in the determining of fates of mortals.[16] She could be referred to with the title "the bolt of the earth",[17]negri ešeniwe.[18][b] This epithet reflected her association with the underworld, with the word "earth" functioning as a euphemism.[16] Another title applied to her wasšiduri, "young woman".[15] She was accordingly imagined to have had a youthful appearance.[19] As indicated by texts pertaining to theḫišuwa [de] festival, she was believed to wear a blue garment, with the color presumably being associated with death.[5]
Like two other of the most commonly worshiped Hurrian goddesses, Išḫara and Shaushka, Allani was regarded as unmarried.[20] A single text mentions a "daughter of Allatum", which according toVolkert Haas constitutes the only reference to this goddess having children.[21]Piotr Taracha [de] identifies the daughter in mention asḪepat,[22] but according to Lluis Feliu, it is possibleShalash was considered her mother.[23]
An association between Allani andHurrian primeval deities is also attested.[24] This group was believed to dwell in the underworld.[25]
Allani was often invoked alongsideIšḫara, who also was associated with the underworld inHurrian religion.[26][16] The connection between these two goddesses is already present in documents from theUr III period.[27][9] In the ritual of Allaituraḫi, Allani is invoked alongside Išḫara to protect a household from demonic forces.[28] Instructions for theḫišuwa [de] festival mention the clothing of statues representing Allani and Išḫara, with the former receiving a blue garment and the latter an identical red one.[29] Veneration of them as a pair was an example of a broader phenomenon frequently attested in Hurrian sources, the worship of pairs of deities with similar purposes as if they constituted an unirty, with other examples includingŠauška's attendantsNinatta and Kulitta, the fate goddessesHutena and Hutellura,Ḫepat and her sonŠarruma,[30] and the astral deitiesPinikir and DINGIR.GE6, so-calledGoddess of the Night.[31] In some cases Allani and Išḫara could receive a single offering jointly.[32]
Another Hurrian goddess connected to the underworld who sometimes appears in the proximity of Allani wasShuwala, though she was more commonly associated withNabarbi.[33]Edward Lipiński argues that Shuwala was the same deity as Allani,[34] but they appear together as two distinct deities in texts fromUr[35] andHattusa.[36]
Presumably due to her own role as a deity associated with fate, Allani was associated with Hutena and Hutellura.[37]
Allani's character was in part influenced by theMesopotamian goddessEreshkigal,[16] who similarly was associated with theunderworld.[38] ThesumerogramdEREŠ.KI.GAL could be used to represent Allani's name inHittite sources.[39] However, it is not clear if the two goddesses were already considered analogous in theUr III period.[27] Jeremiah Peterson notes that they occur apart from each other in a non-standardOld Babylonian god list fromNippur.[40] According toDoris Prechel [de], the oldest evidence for a connection between them is the Old Babylonian forerunner to the god listAn = Anum, in which they appear in sequence.[27] Another text belonging to this genre from the same period identifies Allatum both with Ereshkigal and with the termIrkalla, in this context prefaced by the so-called "divinedeterminative" and thus treated as atheonym rather than as a place name.[41] This word is best attested as a name of the underworld in literary texts, and might represent anAkkadian rendering ofSumerianurugal (variant:erigal),[42] "great city", similarly designating the land of the dead.[43] A direct equation between Allatum and Ereshkigal is also attested in theAn = Anum (tablet V, line 213).[40] According to Nathan Wasserman, the name Allatum also designates Ereshkigal in an incantation dedicated to the medicine goddessGula.[44] It credits the latter with helping a child patient whose skull sutures were loosened by Allatum and had to be sealed again.[45] The short narrative included in this text also mentionsSin, but it is not clear how the three deities involved were connected with each other.[44] In the so-calledUnderworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince, the invocation of Allatum by the protagonist, prince Kummâ, is presumed to be a case of the name being used as a synonym of Ereshkigal as well.[46] In a later section of the narrative Ereshkigal appears under her primary name.[47]
InKizzuwatna Allani came to be identified with a local underworld deity, the so-called "Sun goddess of the Earth".[16] The connection between them is first documented in the middle of the second millennium BCE.[48]Gernot Wilhelm [de] suggests the Anatolian goddess might have been achthonic aspect of the Hattiansun goddess in origin.[15]Piotr Taracha [de] instead classifies her as aLuwian deity and notes that despite her connection to the underworld her character might have been comparable to that of theUgaritic goddessShapash prior to being reshaped by the development of an association with Allani under Hurrian cultural influence.[49] Despite the development of this connection, Allani herself did not acquire the characteristics of a solar deity.[15] InKizzuwatna, where the two goddesses were regarded as identical, they presided over ritual purification and were believed to keep evil and impurity sealed in her kingdom.[16] It has been suggested that theGulšeš [de], who belonged to the entourage of the Sun goddess of the Earth, were modeled onHutena and Hutellura, who were associated with Allani.[49]
Under her Mesopotamian name Allatum Allani came to be linked withLelwani, originally a male god from theHattian pantheon, who started to be viewed as a goddess due to this equation, as already attested in sources dated to the reign ofHittite kingḪattušili III.[50] Piotr Taracha argues that Lelwani's name was effectively reassigned to Allatum, who he assumes was venerated as a separate figure from Allani inAnatolia.[16] Alfonso Archi notes thatdALLATUM, Lelwani, anddEREŠ.KI.GAL, Allani, may occur in the same texts separately from each other, which indicates that the two were not directly regarded as the same after Lelwani was reinterpreted as a female deity.[39]
It is possible that inUgaritArsay, one of the daughters of the local weather godBaal, was viewed as the equivalent of Allani (Allatum), and like her she might have been a deity linked to the underworld.[51]Volkert Haas suggested that this connection is reflected by the placement of Arsay andIšḫara in sequence in one of the Ugaritic offering lists.[52] However, Steve A. Wiggins stresses that it is important to maintain caution when attempting to define the roles of poorly attestedUgaritic deities, such as Baal's daughters, entirely based on the character of their presumed equivalents.[53]
According toGernot Wilhelm [de], based on available sources it can be assumed Allani was worshiped chiefly in the western Hurrian areas.[8] Alfonso Archi describes her as one of the primary Hurrian goddesses next toIšḫara andŠauška.[54] She appears in offering lists (kaluti [de]) focused onḪepat, in which she is typically placed after Išḫara and before the pairUmbu-Nikkal.[55] A similar enumeration of deities with Allani also placed after Išḫara is attested in the ritual of Ammiḫatna fromKizzuwatna.[56]
It is uncertain which city was considered Allani's main cult center, as documents from theUr III period seemingly connect her with Zimudar located in theDiyala area, but inHittite sources she is instead associated withḪaššum, possibly to be identified with Ḫašuanu from theEbla texts.[9] She is also attested in the text corpus fromTigunani from the reign of Tunip-Teshub (Old Babylonian period,c. 1630 BCE).[57] She occurs in an omenapodosis.[13]Theophoric names invoking her were common chiefly in theTur Abdin area located in the southeast of modernTurkey.[9] A single example is also known from the text corpus fromTuttul, Arip-Allani, "Allani gave (a child)".[58]
Allani was also among the Hurrian deities worshiped inUgarit.[4] Hurrian offering lists from this city reflect the customs from the thirteenth century BCE and show occasional incorporation ofUgaritic deities likeEl andAnat into Hurrian ceremonies.[59] In the text RS 24.261, which contains instructions for a ritual focused onAshtart andŠauška, written in bothUgaritic andHurrian,[60] she is mentioned in a list of deities who received offerings during it, after Išḫara and before Nikkal.[61] In RS 24.291, a ritual taking place over the course of three days focused onPidray,[62] she is listed as the recipient of a sacrificial cow on the second day and two rams on the third.[63] Offering lists in which she appears between Išḫara andHutena-Hutellura are known too.[59]
Under the Akkadian form of her name, Allani was also worshiped in Mesopotamia.[16] She was one of the foreign deities worshiped inUr in theUr III period.[64][c] She might have been introduced there from the areas in the proximity of the upper section of the riverKhabur.[5] Offerings made to her are well documented in the archive of queenShulgi-simti alongside these to goddesses such asIšḫara,Belet Nagar,Belet-Šuḫnir and Belet-Terraban.[66] Administrative documents fromPuzrish-Dagan (Drehem) detailing the amount of sacrifices made to various deities mention Allatum alongside both foreign and Mesopotamian deities.[67] The sacrifice of a piglet to her is documented in the textYBC 16473, but unlike other livestock these animals were not distributed by the royal administration from Puzrish-Dagan.[68] At least onetemple dedicated to Allatum, most likely located in Ur, is attested.[9] Two texts mention the staff of temples of Allatum,Annunitum andShuwala.[35] There is also evidence that she received offerings during rites held in honor of deceased kings in this city.[69]
InNippur, Allatum was venerated alongside a different group of deities than in Ur:Enlil andNinlil,Alla-gula and Ningagia.[70][d] During the seventh day of the festival ofInanna which took place annually during the sixth month in the local calendar she also received offerings alongsideIdlurugu, a god who representedriver ordeal.[72] She continued to be worshiped in this city in theOld Babylonian period.[73]
A single reference to a temple of Allatum has been identified in the corpus of texts from Old BabylonianSippar.[74] It occurs in a lawsuit dated to the reign ofSabium, and the goddess is otherwise not attested in any sources from this city, which indicates her cult had a small scope and might have not been maintained in later periods.[75]
The Old BabylonianBird Omen Compendium, adivination manual explaining how to interpret the signs on the carcass of a sacrificial bird, identifies one possible location of an ominous red spot as a portent of Allatum.[76] It has been noted that the section in which she appears seems to focus on deities chiefly worshiped in western areas, such asAdad andIšḫara, and their respective circles.[77]
The Hittite kingḪattušili I listed Allani (under the name Allatum) as one of the deities whose statues he brought toHatti as war booty, alongside thestorm god of Aleppo [de],Lelluri, and the mountain gods Adalur andAmaruk.[78] She came to be worshiped by the Hittites as one of the deities belonging to the state pantheon in the Middle Hittite period.[5]
During theḫišuwa [de] festival, which was introduced fromKizzuwatna by queenPuduḫepa and was meant to guarantee good fortune for the royal couple Allani appears alongside "TeshubManuzi,"Lelluri,Išḫara, twohypostases ofNupatik (pibitḫi - "of Pibid(a)" andzalmatḫi - "of Zalman(a)/Zalmat") andMaliya.[79] Texts describing it mention a temple dedicated to her, in which she was venerated alongsideHutena-Hutellura, Kurra,[e] Zimazalla and a further deity whose name is not preserved.[81] It is designated as a location where the king was supposed to make an offering (keldi) to her.[82]
InYazılıkaya, a sanctuary located close toHattusa and tied to the Hurrian-influenced religious practice of the royal family,[83] Allani (Allatum) is depicted in a procession of goddesses reflecting the order of thekaluti [de] ofḪepat, with the two following figures being Išḫara andNabarbi.[84]
Texts fromEmar which reflect Hittite traditions also mention Allani.[85]
Allani is one of the three deities playing main roles in theSong of Release, the other two being Teshub and Išḫara.[86] The former at one point descends to the underworld and partakes in a banquet held by Allani alongside his enemies, the "former gods" whose defeat is described in the cycle ofKumarbi, but much of the rest of the narrative is missing and both its conclusion and purpose are uncertain.[87] Volkert Haas suggests that the underworld banquet should be understood as an episode comparable to the Mesopotamian myth ofInanna's descent to the netherworld, with Teshub temporarily imprisoned in the land of the dead.[88] This interpretation has been critically evaluated by Ewa von Dassow, who points out that Haas did not depend on the text itself, as no reference to the weather god being imprisoned in it, and in his publications instead offered indirect evidence from unrelated compositions such as the aforementioned Mesopotamian myth orOvid'sMetamorphoses.[89] She instead suggests that the meeting is focused on discussing the destruction ofEbla, around which much of the plot of the composition revolves, as it would inevitably lead to an influx of new inhabitants into Allani's realm.[86]Gernot Wilhelm [de] proposes that Teshub's descent to the underworld was meant to ease his anger with the treatment of his human followers by the elders of Ebla, described in other fragments of the same text,[90] though he also considers it possible that the myth reflected rituals in which a deceased person was supposed to enter the underworld and meet their ancestors in the underworld.[91] Mary R. Bachvarova assumes that the meeting with Allani is related to the fact that the humans Teshub is concerned with in other sections of the myth are meant to care for funerary rites.[92]Walter Burkert and Erich Neu suggested that Allani presided over reconciliation between Teshub and his enemies.[87]