| Šarruma | |
|---|---|
Mountain god | |
 A relief from chamber B of theYazılıkaya sanctuary, depicting Šarruma and the Hittite kingTudḫaliya IV. | |
| Major cult center | Kummanni,Lawazantiya |
| Weapon | lance |
| Animals | bull,leopard |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Allanzu, Kunzišalli |
Šarruma, also romanized asŠarrumma[1][2] orSharruma,[3] was aHurrian god. He could be depicted in bothanthropomorphic form, sometimes riding on the back of a leopard, and in thetheriomorphic form as a bull. His character is not fully understood, though it is known that he could function as a mountain god. He was regarded as a son ofḪepat andTeshub. He was also linked to various moon deities. Additionally, the only mythological text he appears in addresses him as a messenger (sukkalu) ofKumarbi. He was worshiped by Hurrians in southeasternAnatolia and northernSyria, for example inKummanni andLawazantiya inKizzuwatna. From this kingdom he was introduced to theHittite pantheon as well. Hittite influence in turn resulted in his introduction to cities such asAleppo,Emar andUgarit. He was also venerated inLuwian religion in the first millennium BCE, withtheophoric names invoking him attested from as late as theHellenistic period inCilicia andLycia.
Multiple writings of thetheonym Šarruma are attested incuneiform texts, for examplešar-ru-ma,šar-ru-um-ma,šar-ma and partiallylogographic LUGAL-ma and LUGAL-um-ma, which depended on the well attested use of thesumerogramLUGAL to render the phonetically similarAkkadian wordšarru, "king".[4] In theUgaritic alphabetic script, it was writtenṯrmn.[5] This form of the name is vocalized as Ṯarrumannu by Dennis Pardee.[6] Inhieroglyphic Luwian it could be rendered as 80+má, 80+mi, 81+r-ma orsa5+r+ru-ma, with 80 and 81 being modern designations for two Luwian signs resembling the lower half of the human body.[4] Both of them effectively functioned as logographic representations of the name Šarruma, and they are sometimes transcribed as, respectively, SARRUMA and SARMA, with the proposed shortening of the name in Luwian context designating the simpler sign.[7] However, as noted by Ignasi-Xavier Adiego it is disputed if clear evidence for the use of the contracted form Sarma exists, as when spelled phonetically in Luwian sources, the name is never contracted.[8] Since intheophoric names logograms were typically used, the only possible attestation of Sarma is an ambiguous toponym, Urhisarma, which might instead contain the unrelated theonymArma,[9] and the names ofLuwian rulers inNeo-Assyrian sources, Sandasarme and Wassurme, which might only represent a parallel to other cases of Assyrian modification of Anatolian personal names and place names, for example Sapalulme forSuppiluliuma or Urbillu forWarpalawa.[10]
The etymology of Šarruma's name remains uncertain, with no conclusively proven proposals postulated yet.[4]Daniel Schwemer [de] refers to it as an "Anatolian" name, but acknowledges that its meaning cannot be established yet.[11] Dennis Pardee[12] andGary Beckman classify it asHurrian.[13]
In addition to the basic theonym Šarruma, adiminutive plural form, Šarrumanni, is known from a prayer ofPuduḫepa, which indicates it referred to a dyad of minor gods believed to intercede with Šarruma on behalf of petitioners.[14] According toPiotr Taracha [de] this can be considered an example of a phenomenon typical for the bronze age folk beliefs of southernAnatolia and northernSyria, with analogous derivatives also attested forAllanzu,Maliya,Ninatta and Kulitta.[15]
A plural variant of the local form of the name, Ṯarrumannūma, is attested in theUgaritic texts too.[16] RS 1.001, the first text discovered during excavations inUgarit, a set of instructions for a ritual taking place over the course of a single day and night,[17] mentions that these deities were present in the royal palace alongsideShapash through the described night.[18]
Most commonly Šarruma was depicted in art as ananthropomorphic deity, though he is portrayed in the form of abull on theHanyeri relief.[11] Taracha argues that the latter type of depictions represents his oldest iconography.[19] In theYazılıkaya sanctuary and on a relief fromMalatya he is portrayed standing on the back of aleopard.[20] His weapon was a goldenlance, as stated in the text KBo 21.34 + IBoT 1.7.[21]
Šarruma was seemingly a multifaceted deity and his character is not fully understood.[22] He is well attested as a protective deity.[23] He could also take the role of an intercessor between worshipers andTeshub andḪepat.[24] Modern authors additionally often describe him as a mountain god.[25][26]Piotr Taracha [de] argues it might have been his oldest characteristic.[19] He could be referred to as the "king of the mountains", as indicated by an inscription from Hanyeri which labels him as MONS.REX inhieroglyphic Luwian.[22] He might already be addressed as a mountain deity in an earlier prayer ofPuduḫepa.[27] Marie-Claude Trémouille has suggested that the names of a mountain located near the entrance of the realm ofMot in the UgariticBaal Cycle (KTU 1.4 VIII 1-20), which she vocalizes as Ṯarrummagi, might also be derived from Šarruma's name, which could be further evidence for his perception as a deity associated with mountains.[23] However, this proposal is not universally accepted, and while it is agreed that the name does not originate in anySemitic language and might be Hurrian, Mark S. Smith and Wayne Pitard note linking it with Šarruma does not account for the fact that this toponym, which is rendered in theUgaritic alphabetic script asṯrmg, has ag as the final consonant.[3] Ultimately its origin remains unknown.[28]
The goddessḪepat was considered Šarruma's mother.[15] In offering lists he most commonly appears directly after her, and they could be worshiped together as a dyad.[19] The latter phenomenon reflects a broader pattern of worship of dyads of deities inHurrian religion, with other well attested examples includingAllani andIshara,Hutena and Hutellura,Ninatta and Kulitta orUmbu andNikkal.[29]Volkert Haas argued that that Šarruma was originally the partner (paredros [de]) of Ḫepat.[30] However, as noted by Marie-Claude Trémouille[22] andDaniel Schwemer [de], no evidence in favor of this interpretation can be found in primary sources, and it is safe to assume the connection between them was only ever considered to be that between parent and child.[31]
Šarruma's father wasTeshub.[15] As attested in Hurro-Hittite sources, he could be referred to as the "calf" (ḫubidi, AMAR-ti) of this god.[22] It is possible that this title reflected thetheriomorphic form of Šarruma.[32] Schwemer notes it is one of the examples of a broader trend of associating bull gods with Teshub, also attested forTilla,Šeri and Ḫurri.[33]Gernot Wilhelm [de] argues that the father-son relationship between Teshub and Šarruma constituted a late development.[34] Schwemer dates it to the fifteenth century BCE, and presumes it originated inKizzuwatna.[35] Piotr Taracha notes that the connection between these two gods could be referenced in sources focusing on relations between members of the Hittite royal family, for exampleUrhi-Teshub while holding the position of thepresumptive heir (tuḫkanti) of his father used a seal depicting him with Šarruma.[2] It has also been noted a single Hittite ritual (KUB XXXIX 97) names Teshub's counterpartTarḫunna as Šarruma's father instead.[14]
Two goddesses,Allanzu and Kunzišalli, were regarded of children of Teshub and Ḫepat like Šarruma and in some cases were listed after him in enumerations of deities.[15] In sources dated toNeo-Hittite times, such as inscriptions 1 and 9 fromAncoz, he and Allanzu formed a couple instead.[23]
Šarruma could also be associated with lunar deities, including HurrianKušuḫ (or Umbu), as attested in Hurro-Hittite sources, and LuwianArma, as indicated by a dedication fromOrdekburnu.[23] InHittite military oaths, he could be invoked after a lunar deity and Ishara.[29] A reference to "Šarruma ofHarran" in an inscription from Kululu is also considered to hint at a connection to lunar deities.[23] This city was well known for its connection to moon worship.[36]
A single Hurrian texts from Ugarit (RS 1.007 =KTU 1.44) refers to Šarruma as the messenger (sukkalu) ofKumarbi.[23] This constitutes the only reference to him in mythological context.[24]
Šarruma was worshiped as a local deity by Hurrians inhabiting northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia.[37] He appears in offering lists (kaluti [de]) of bothḪepat andTeshub.[32] In the kingdom ofKizzuwatna, his cult centers wereKummanni andLawazantiya.[23] Marie-Claude Trémouille argues that he most likely originated in this area.[4]
Numerous Hurriantheophoric names invoking Šarruma are known from text corpora from Anatolia, typically with his name as the second element, for example Ari-Šarruma ("Šarruma has given"), Eḫli-Šarruma ("Šarruma, save!"), Ewri-Šarruma ("Šarruma is lord"), Ḫišmi-Šarruma ("Šarruma is shining") or Talmi-Šarruma ("Šarruma is great").[38]
Hittite texts indicate that Šarruma was at some point introduced to theHittite pantheon, presumably from the Hurrian traditions of Kizzuwatna.[22] He was worshiped inHattusa,Šapinuwa, Uda, Urikina and Laiuna.[23]
Šuppiluliuma I appointed his son Telipinu as the high priest of Šarruma and stationed him inAleppo.[20] In the same city his successorTalmi-Šarruma [de] built a temple dedicated to the dyad Ḫepat-Šarruma (DEUSḫa-pa-SARMA), though this god is otherwise unattested in sources from it.[35]Piotr Taracha [de] notes he was not a deity indigenous to the local pantheon,[19] and Marie-Claude Trémouille attributes his introduction to the local pantheon to Hittite influence.[23]Daniel Schwemer [de] suggests that this might have occurred during the life of Telipinu, who served as a priest in Kizzuwatna at first and might have introduced local theological conceptions to Aleppo after relocating there.[35] Alfonso Archi points out that the inscription might be the oldest example of ahieroglyphic Luwian text chiseled in stone, and suggests its target audience were primarilyLuwians, even though Aleppo's elite was culturally hurrianized and the local inhabitants spoke avernacularWest Semitic dialect.[39] Attestations of Šarruma fromEmar are also presumed to reflect Hittite influence.[23] They are limited to personal names.[40]
The king best known under the throne nameTudhaliya III was originally named Tašmi-Šarruma.[41] QueenPuduḫepa reportedly saw Šarruma in a dream in which he required her to create a dozen sanctuaries for him.[42]Tudhaliya IV considered him his personal protective deity.[26] In Yazilikaya, in addition to a depiction of Šarruma in the procession of deities (figure 44, standing on a leopard behind his mother, in front of his two sisters),[15] a separate relief shows him embracing Tudhaliya IV.[2] It is possible that chamber B, where it is located, served as the burial place of said king, with the presence of Šarruma reflecting the belief that protective deities of specific individuals still fulfilled that role after their death with regards to their tombs.[43]
Šarruma is also attested in theUgaritic texts, according to Marie-Claude Trémouille as a result of Hittite influence, similarly as in the case of evidence from Aleppo and Emar.[23] In the list of deities RS 24.246, parts of which correspond to ritual texts,[44] he is placed afterKothar and beforePidray.[6] He appears in a comparable position among deities receiving sacrificial cows in RS 1.001.[18] Text on a lung model fromUgarit (RS 24.277) mentions a sacrifice to Šarruma too, though it is not certain if it can be classified as a divinatory practice as sometimes proposed.[45]
Wilfred H. van Soldt notes that Šarruma was relatively commonly invoked intheophoric names of the inhabitants of Ugarit.[46] A total of twenty eight examples have been identified in texts dated to the period between 1350 and 1220 BCE, though three of them belonged to people from outside the city.[47] Two children of the Ugaritic kingNiqmepa and his wifeAḫat-Milku, who hailed fromAmurru, bore Hurrian theophoric names invoking him, Ḫišmi-Šarruma and ÌR-Šarruma, which reflected a tradition typical for their mother's place of origin.[48] However, this case is considered an outlier, as it has been noted that Hurrian personal names are otherwise uncommon among members of the Ugaritic royal family, withAr-Ḫalba being the only person with a Hurrian name to ever ascend to the throne.[49]
Šarruma was also worshiped byLuwians.[50] The construction of a temple dedicated to him is mentioned in an inscription fromTabal attributed to a servant of the local king Tuwati.[51] As noted byManfred Hutter, the local pantheon of this kingdom shows strong Hurrian influence, but it is not clear if the same was the case for earlier Luwian beliefs in the same region in the second millennium BCE.[52] Šarruma also continued to appear in theophoric names, such as Ḫuḫasarma, "Šarruma is the ancestor", or Šandašarme, a combination of two theonyms, the other beingŠanta.[53] It has been noted that most of them combine his name, consistently written logographically, with Luwian elements, in contrast with earlier largely Hurrian examples.[9] InCilicia andLycia he continued to be worshiped as late as in the Hellenistic period, as reflected in the continuous use of names invoking him.[14] It has been proposed that one possible example, Sar(ru)ma-piya (Σαρμαπιας) is attested in a Greek text from Diokaisareia, though as stressed by Ignasi-Xavier Adiego it is not certain if the restoration is correct.[54] An additional problem for interpretation of uncertain cases is the existence of Luwian names with the elementzalma, seemingly "protection", which can be confused with the theonym Šarruma.[38]
