Manzat (goddess)

Manzat (Manzât), also spelled Mazzi'at, Manzi'at and Mazzêt, sometimes known by the name Tir-anna (dTIR.AN.NA)[1] was a Mesopotamian and Elamite goddess representing the rainbow. She was also believed to be responsible for the prosperity of cities.

This article is about the Mesopotamian and Elamite goddess. For the French commune, see Manzat.
Manzat
Goddess of the rainbow
Major cult centerDeh-e Now, Tappeh Horreeye, Nippur, Der
Abodethe sky
Personal information
ParentsSin and Ningal (in a single Maqlû incantation)
SiblingsShamash (as above)
Consort
Simut (in Elam)

Ishtaran (in Der)

ChildrenLugalgidda

In Elam she was worshiped in the lowlands in the proximity of Susa, especially in the area known as Hubshen, associated with the archaeological sites Deh-e Now and Tappeh Horreeye, while in Mesopotamia she was associated with Der, though there is also evidence that she was venerated in Nippur, Larsa and other cities.

Name

Manzat is a common Akkadian noun and means "rainbow," though the word's precise etymology is uncertain.[1] A Sumerian form of the goddess' name, Tir-anna ("bow of heaven") is also known, but it was most likely an artificial construct as the sign TIR generally stands for the Sumerian word qištu, "forest," which only acquired the additional meaning "bow" due to similarity to the Akkadian word qaštu, "bow."[1] Tir-anna is listed as an alternate name of Manzat in the Weidner (line 3')[2] and An = Anum god lists.[3] The writing dTIR.AN.NA was also used in the offering lists of the First Sealand dynasty,[4] and sometimes in the writing of personal names elsewhere, to logographically represent the name Manzat.[5]

Origin

The view that Manzat had Akkadian origin is conventionally accepted in scholarship, and is regarded as a fact by researchers such as Wilfred G. Lambert,[1] Daniel T. Potts[6] and Alfonso Archi.[7] Odette Bowin argues that it is possible that Manzat nonetheless had Elamite origin, as the earliest texts indicating she was worshiped in Mesopotamia were initially incorrectly dated to the Akkadian period, but in reality are from the later Ur III period.[4] As such they are more recent than the mention of this goddess in a treaty between the Akkadian Empire and an unspecified Elamite kingdom, and it is therefore possible that she appears there as an Elamite, rather than Mesopotamian, goddess.[4] However, the gods invoked in it are not exclusively Elamite, as indicated by the presence of Ilaba, Ishara, Ninkarrak and Ninurta.[6] Additionally, there is presently no evidence for the introduction of any Elamite deities in the archives of the Third Dynasty of Ur.[8] It is however assumed that Pinikir, an Elamite astral goddess, was received by Hurrians from a Mesopotamian intermediary in the late third millennium BCE.[9][10][11] The worship of Manzat and Pinikir was centered in roughly the same area of Elam, in the proximity of Susa.[12]

Functions
An Elamite figure of a woman cupping her breasts. Louvre.
The horse head symbol (bottom row, second from the right) on a kudurru. British Museum.

As a representation of the rainbow, Manzat was a heavenly deity.[13] Her epithets include Ningishuranna (Sumerian: "lady of regulations of heaven"), Tabanna ("companion of heaven") and Urualsharra ("she who makes the city flourish").[3] Based on the last epithet, it is assumed she is the same deity as Belet-ali, "lady of the city," and that she was believed to be responsible for the well-being of cities.[14] Another argument for identification with Belet-ali is the fact that she was paired with Simut, a god who was also associated with Manzat.[14]

The star Tir-anna

It is possible Manzat shared her name with a star, mul(d)TIR.AN.NA, though Wilfred G. Lambert pointed out only the logographic Sumerian writing of the name (rather than the syllabic Akkadian and Elamite one) was used to refer to this celestial body, indicating that the star's name was Tir-anna, perhaps meant to be understood as "the Bow Star" rather than "rainbow" in this case.[15] According to Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, who unlike Lambert identify it simply as "Manzat", this star was represented as a horse head surrounded by a so-called "gate" on kudurru.[16] However, Ursula Seid in her study of kudurru iconography does not associate the horse head symbol with Manzat, the Tir-anna star, or any other celestial bodies, but rather with an unidentified possibly non-Mesopotamian local deity worshiped by highland communities in the proximity of modern Kirkuk.[17] Tallay Ornan proposes the identification of the horse head as a Kassite symbol.[18]

Maurits van Loon does propose that "gate" symbols in art represent the rainbow, but he explicitly states that his theory is not linked to Manzat, but rather to the rain goddess Shala.[19] He points out that the temple of Shala and Adad at Chogha Zanbil was adjacent to that of Manzat.[19] He considers it a possibility that figures of naked women cupping their breasts found at this site might represent a weather goddess (Shala or Manzat), and their jewelry - the rainbow.[19]

Worship

Theophoric names attesting the worship of Manzat are known from both Elam and Mesopotamia, including Manzat-ili ("Manzat is my god"), Manzat-ummi ("Manzat is my mother"), Danum-Manzat ("Manzat is mighty"), Sha-Manzat ("He of Manzat"), Manzat-rabat ("Manzat is great") and Puzur-Manzat.[5]

In Mesopotamia

Evidence for the worship of Manzat in Mesopotamia is relatively scarce.[3] The earliest attestation of it are Akkadian personal names from Ur III period Girsu.[4] She was also venerated in Larsa in the Old Babylonian period.[4] Later she was among the deities worshiped in the territory of the First Dynasty of Sealand, where she received offerings during New Year celebrations.[4] In offering lists from this area, she appears alongside Inanna of Larsa,[20] and it is possible that her presence in the Sealand pantheon was the result of continuation of traditions of this city.[4] Only a single theophoric name attesting the worship of Manzat is present in known Sealand documents.[4]

Worship of Manzat is also attested from Nippur from between the Old Babylonian and Middle Babylonian periods.[4] A sanctuary dedicated to her was located in that city, though its name is presently unknown.[21] Additional evidence from the Kassite period includes two theophoric names.[22]

According to a topographical text, four shrines dedicated to Manzat existed in Babylon.[21]

In the first millennium BCE, Manzat was worshiped in Der, as attested in a late hymn to Nanaya which lists her among city goddesses and spouses of city gods, alongside the likes of Shala (Karkar), Bau (Kish) or Ishtar (Uruk).[23]

Manzat also appears in a god list from Mari, where she is placed between the medicine goddess Nintinugga and Mamu, a dream deity.[3] It is assumed that this text originated in southern Mesopotamia.[3] Another western document mentioning her is a Hurrian god list from Emar, which explains Tir-an-na as ka-aš-te, "bow" in Hurrian.[24]

In Elam

In Elam Manzat she appears for the first time in Naram-Sin's treaty with an unknown monarch,[1] though it is commonly assumed that she should be regarded as an Akkadian deity in this case.[6]

The worship of Manzat is known chiefly from the Elamite lowlands (Susa and its surroundings), similar to deities such as Lagamal, Pinikir,[12] Adad and Shala.[25] The sites Deh-e Now and Tappeh Horreeye in particular are closely associated with her,[12] and it is possible she was the city goddess of these locations.[26] Based on epigraphic evidence it has been proposed that the city corresponding to the modern Deh-e Now was known as Hubshen in antiquity, but Daniel T. Potts notes inscriptions only refer to a land, rather than specifically a city, bearing this name.[27] Elamite king Igi-Halki restored an old kukunnu (Elamite: "high temple") of Manzat in Deh-e Now[28] and left behind an inscription written in Akkadian according to which "Manzat-Ishtar" gave him "kingship over Susa and Anshan."[29] Shutruk-Nahhunte claimed that he repaired a temple in this location built by his predecessors.[30] The same king also built a temple dedicated to her and the enigmatic NIN.DAR(.A) in Tappeh Horreeye, stating in his inscriptions that he hopes the invoked deity (presumably Manzat) will make the land of Hubshen happy.[31] Kutir-Nahhunte likewise renovated a Manzat temple in Hubshen, presumably the same one as his predecessors.[32]

Inscriptions of Untash-Napirisha state that he built a temple of Manzat, referred to with the epithet siyan kuk ("lady of the sacred precinct") in Chogha Zanbil.[33] Belet-ali was worshiped in the same location alongside Simut.[34]

According to inscriptions of kings Shutruk-Nahhunte and Hutelutush-Inshushinak sites of worship of Manzat and Simut treated as a pair existed in Susa.[3] The latter ruler addressed Manzat as zana rišarri (Elamite: "great lady").[3]

A siyan husame (Elamite: "temple in a grove") dedicated to her is also attested, and on this basis it has been argued that such sanctuaries had no funerary function, contrary to a common assumption in scholarship based on the existence of siyan husame dedicated to underworld deities such as Inshushinak and Lagamal.[35]

No attestations of Manzat from Elam are more recent than 1050 BCE, which might indicate that she was no longer worshiped there in the first millennium BCE, or that she only appears under a presently unidentified alternate name.[3]

Associations with other deities

There is some evidence that in Mesopotamia Manzat was viewed as the wife of Ishtaran, the tutelary god of Der.[13] Frans Wiggermann describes the source documenting this tradition as a "late theological text."[36]

In Elamite sources Manzat often appears side by side with Simut,[3] a deity known as "herald of the gods" and associated with the planet Mars, and in Mesopotamia by extension with Nergal.[37] It is a common assumption in scholarship that they were regarded as a couple.[3][38] In inscriptions from Deh-e Now Manzat appears with the deity NIN.DAR.A, who Daniel T. Potts identifies as a goddess.[31] However, Wouter Henkelman assumes that NIN.DAR.A was male and that perhaps he can be identified with Simut.[39] The name Nindara or Nindar originally belonged to a male Mesopotamian deity, the husband of the goddess Nanshe, who was worshiped in Lagash, Girsu and Ki'esa.[40] It is uncertain if "Nergal of Hubshen" and "Aya of Hubshen" known from Assyrian sources are related to NIN.DAR.A and Manzat, also associated with this location.[39]

In the Mesopotamian god list An = Anum Manzat appears without a husband, though an otherwise unknown son, Lugalgidda, as well as a sukkal (attendant deity), Sililitum, are assigned to her.[3] Only one known copy of the list preserves the lines mentioning these deities, so a degree of textual corruption cannot be ruled out according to Wilfred G. Lambert.[3] Lugalgidda's name is Sumerian, while Sililitum's is likely Semitic in origin.[3] Sililitum was a female deity, as indicated by the label munusSUKKAL, "female vizier."[41] She shared her name with the tenth month in the local calendar of Susa[41] and according to Wilfred G. Lambert with a type of bird (šinūnūtu).[3] The possibility that Sililitum was related to Silili, a deity known exclusively from a single passage in the Epic of Gilgamesh, has been deemed unlikely by Andrew R. George.[42]

In a single Maqlû incantation, Manzat appears as the sister of the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash, and by extension as daughter of his parents, Ningal and Sin.[43]

Occasionally an association between Manzat and Ishtar is proposed in scholarship, usually based on the fact that (d)Tir-an-naki is a late writing of the name of Uruk, but according to Wilfred G. Lambert there is no strong evidence in favor of this theory.[15] While a goddess known from the Old Assyrian trading colony Kanesh, Ištar-ZA-AT, is sometimes interpreted as "Ishtar of the rainbow"[44] or outright as Manzat,[45] it is unlikely that this is the proper reading of the name,[15] and other interpretations, such as "Ishtar-erbat" have also been proposed.[45] According to Daniel T. Potts the occurrence of "Manzat-Ishtar" in the Igi-Halki inscription from Deh-e Now is also not an indication of syncretism, and the name should be understood "the goddess Manzat."[28] The use of ištar or ištarum as a common noun which could refer to any goddess, a synonym of iltum, the feminine form of ilu ("god"), goes back to the Old Babylonian period.[46] To differentiate it from the name Ishtar, it was consistently written without the divine determinative.[47] An example can be found in the brief description of Ishara in Atrahasis.[48]

In a single Assyrian god list, Manzat's epithets were reassigned to Ninhursag.[3] A temple bearing the name Etiranna (E.dTIR.AN.NA, "house of the rainbow/Tir-anna") existed in Kesh,[49] one of two cult centers of Ninhursag.[50]

References
  1. Lambert 1987, p. 344.
  2. Zaia 2017.
  3. Lambert 1987, p. 345.
  4. Boivin 2018, p. 229.
  5. Lambert 1987, pp. 344–345.
  6. Potts 1999, p. 111.
  7. Archi 2020, p. 18.
  8. Sharlach 2002, p. 106.
  9. Beckman 1999, p. 28.
  10. Beckman 2002, p. 41.
  11. Taracha 2009, p. 120.
  12. Álvarez-Mon 2015, p. 19.
  13. Woods 2004, p. 68.
  14. Lambert 1987, pp. 345–346.
  15. Lambert 1987, p. 346.
  16. Black & Green 1992, p. 153.
  17. Seidl 1989, p. 145.
  18. Ornan 2005, p. 51.
  19. van Loon 1992, p. 152.
  20. Boivin 2018, p. 210.
  21. George 1993, p. 166.
  22. Bartelmus 2017, p. 311.
  23. Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 117.
  24. Laroche 1989, p. 10.
  25. Henkelman 2008, p. 313.
  26. Potts 2010, p. 63.
  27. Potts 1999, p. 233.
  28. Potts 2010, p. 487.
  29. Malbran-Labat 2018, p. 468.
  30. Potts 2010, pp. 499–500.
  31. Potts 2010, p. 500.
  32. Potts 1999, p. 237.
  33. Potts 2010, p. 492.
  34. Potts 1999, p. 223.
  35. Potts 2010, p. 58.
  36. Wiggermann 1997, p. 44.
  37. Henkelman 2011, p. 512.
  38. Henkelman 2011, p. 511.
  39. Henkelman 2008, p. 258.
  40. Edzard 1998, p. 338.
  41. Krebernik 2011, p. 496.
  42. George 2003, p. 835.
  43. Abusch 2015, p. 11.
  44. Barjamovic 2015, p. 53.
  45. Michel 2020, p. 339.
  46. Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, pp. 80–81.
  47. Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 80.
  48. Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 82.
  49. George 1993, p. 150.
  50. Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 61.

Bibliography

See also
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