Birtum (, also spelled Birdu) was a

Mesopotamian god Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', a ...

who was the husband of Nungal. He was regarded as a deity associated with the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

Character

Birtum's name means "

fetter Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foo ...

" or "

shackle A shackle (or shacklebolt), also known as a gyve, is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or Bolt (fastener), bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also appl ...

" in Akkadian, and he was likely a deification of such objects. While the word is grammatically feminine, the deity was regarded as male. A similar word, ''birdu'' ("pimple"), is etymologically unrelated to his name. In god lists he appears in the circle of

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; ) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult surv ...

as one of the gods associated with the underworld.

Associations with other deities

Birtum was the husband of Nungal, the goddess of prisons. It has been proposed that he was a son of

Enlil Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...

, as his wife was on occasion addressed as the daughter in law of this god. His

sukkal Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various com ...

(attendant deity) was the god Eturammi (also spelled Eturame), whose name means "do not slacken." It is assumed that he was one of the sukkals who were simply personification of specific commands of their masters, similar to Id's sukkal Nēr-ē-tagmil ("kill, do not spare") or

's sukkal Ugur ("destroy"). Birtum could be regarded as a twin brother of the god Šarrab(u), though sometimes the latter is instead paired with Šâbu instead. The former tradition is documented in the god list ''

An = Anum ''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...

''. The names of both Birtum and Šarrabu could be written logographically as ^dKAL.EDIN, which literally meant "youngster of the steppe" or "strong one of the steppe." Šarrabu itself might mean "cheater" or "slanderer," though other possibilities have also been proposed, including a possible association with the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''sārab'', " Fata Morgana." In a single source the names of the pair are explained as "

Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea Lugal-irra () and Meslamta-ea () were a pair of Mesopotamian gods who typically appear together in cuneiform texts and were described as the "divine twins" (Maštabba). They were regarded as warrior gods and as protectors of doors, possibly due t ...

of MAR.KI"

Worship

Wilfred G. Lambert proposed that originally Birtum was worshiped alongside Nungal in a presently unknown city which declined in the third millennium BCE, which lead to transfer of its tutelary deities to

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, ''The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory'': Vol. 1, Part 1, Ca ...

. A well known example of such a process is the case of

Nisaba Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian language, Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of History of Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian history. She was commo ...

, whose cult was transferred from Eresh, which disappears from records after the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur or Ur III was a Sumerian dynasty based in the city of Ur in the 22nd and 21st centuries BC (middle chronology). For a short period they were the preeminent power in Mesopotamia and their realm is sometimes referred to by ...

, to Nippur.

Mythology

In a late version of the myth of Anzû, Enlil asks his assistant

Nuska Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as ...

to summon Birtum. While the fragment in which he explains to Birtum why he needs his help is missing, in the subsequent section of the text he congratulates

Ninurta Ninurta (: , possible meaning "Lord fBarley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (: , meaning "Lord fGirsu"), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was f ...

(who he addresses as his lord) on behalf of Enlil and urges him to return the

Tablet of Destinies Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the ...

after his defeat of Anzû. Ninurta rebukes him and states that he will keep this item for himself.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{refend Mesopotamian gods Underworld gods