In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology Asaruludu is one of the

Anunnaki The Anunnaki (Sumerian: , also transcribed as Anunaki, Annunaki, Anunna, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of deities of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which c ...

. His name is also spelled Namshub, Asarludu, and Asarluhi (). The etymology and meaning of his name are unclear. Asaruludu served as an exorcist in Sumerian religious rituals.. As Namshub (''shining''), he is considered a protective deity, "the shining god that illuminates our path". The '' Enuma Elish'' describes Asaruludu as "the light of the gods". Another version states he is "the wielder of the flaming sword" and "ensures the most perfect safety".

History

Early evidence does not associate Asaruludu with incantations and magic, but rather with the city of Kuara. Asaruludu, as the patron deity of Kuara, may have been subsumed into the pantheon of

Eridu Eridu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic language, Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was l ...

(Enki's city) and thus acquired his role as a god of incantations. Sometimes Asalluhi plays an intermediary role, introducing the patient to Enki/Ea. Later texts describe Asaruludu as the son of Enki/Ea, who shares Enki/Ea's qualities of intelligence, counsel and "wide reason", as well as expertise in incantations. Asaraludu often bears the epithets "son of Eridu" or the "son of

Abzu The Abzu or Apsu ( Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ), also called (Cuneiform:, ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: — ='water' ='deep', recorded in Greek as ), is the name for fresh water from underground aquifers which was given a religious fertilising qualit ...

," Enki/Ea's realm of subterranean waters. Asaruludu was later syncretized with

Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...

; in the ''Enuma Elish'', Asalluhi is one of Marduk's fifty names.

Time Periods

Asaruludu is first attested in the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...

, and appears most frequently in

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

, and

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

incantations. The so-called "

Weidner god list Weidner god list is the conventional name of one of the known ancient Mesopotamian lists of deities, originally compiled by ancient scribes in the late third millennium BCE, with the oldest known copy dated to the Ur III or Isin-Larsa period. Fur ...

," mentions Asalluhi right before Marduk.

Use in popular culture

* The term ''nam-shub'' was used by

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work e ...

in his novel ''

Snow Crash ''Snow Crash'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's novels, it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography ...

'' for an information hazard.

References

''This page includes text adapted from th
Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses Project
a production of the UK Higher Education Academy's Subject Centre for History, Classics, and Archaeology.''

History

Time Periods

Use in popular culture

References

Further reading