Zababa
Encyclopedia
Zababa was the Hittite
way of writing the name of a war god, using Akkadian
writing conventions
. Most likely, this spelling represents the native Anatolian Hattian
god [Wurunkatte]. His Hurrian name was Astabis. He is connected with the Akkadian god Ninurta
. The symbol of Zababa - the eagle-headed staff was often depicted next to Ninurta's symbol.
In southern Mesopotamia, Zababa was the tutelary god of the city of Kish
, whose sanctuary was the E-meteursag. Several ancient Mesopotamia
n kings were named in honor of Zababa, including Ur-Zababa
of Kish
(early patron of Sargon of Akkad
) and Zababa-shumma-iddini (a 12th century BCE Kassite
king of Babylon
).
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
way of writing the name of a war god, using Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
writing conventions
Hittite cuneiform
Hittite cuneiform is the implementation of cuneiform script used in writing the Hittite language. The surviving corpus of Hittite texts is preserved in cuneiform on clay tablets dates to the 2nd millennium BC ....
. Most likely, this spelling represents the native Anatolian Hattian
Hattian
The word Hattian may refer to:* An ancient people of Anatolia, the Hattians.* An extinct language spoken in that region, the Hattic language....
god [Wurunkatte]. His Hurrian name was Astabis. He is connected with the Akkadian god Ninurta
Ninurta
Ninurta in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Lagash, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical...
. The symbol of Zababa - the eagle-headed staff was often depicted next to Ninurta's symbol.
In southern Mesopotamia, Zababa was the tutelary god of the city of Kish
Kish (Sumer)
Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....
, whose sanctuary was the E-meteursag. Several ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
n kings were named in honor of Zababa, including Ur-Zababa
Ur-Zababa
Ur-Zababa is listed on the Sumerian king list as the second king in the 4th Dynasty of Kish, the son of Puzur-Suen and the grandson of Kug-Bau. The king list also says Sargon of Akkad was a cup-bearer for Ur-Zababa before becoming king of Akkad.-See also:...
of Kish
Kish (Sumer)
Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....
(early patron of Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great "the Great King" , was an Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned in the last quarter of the third millennium BC...
) and Zababa-shumma-iddini (a 12th century BCE Kassite
Kassites
The Kassites were an ancient Near Eastern people who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca. 1531 BC to ca. 1155 BC...
king of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
).