104 research outputs found
A look at Hatrene society: the role of the rbyt in light of the Mesopotamian rab bīti
No full textThe incompleteness of the Hatrene documentation allows us to propose a limited number of hypotheses concerning the role of the Hatrene official named rbyt “major-domo”. A substantial help is supplied by the confrontation with the abundant Assyrian and Babylonian documentation dated to the first millennium BC, and coming from palace, temple, and private archives.
It is likely that the rbyt at Hatra maintained the principal characteristics of the temple administrator of Mesopotamian tradition. He could also act within the secular sphere, as witnessed by the title rbyt d(y) ʽrb “major-domo of Arabia”, and play a prominent role in the administration of justice. It is possible that the hierarchical structure of the pantheon was mirrored into the relations among these different officials, and that the major-domo of the god Maren benefited from the highest prestige
The Onomastics of Hatra as Evidence for Cultural Interactions
No full textThe study of onomastics is an effective way to highlight some social and cultural features of a community and the presence of cultural interactions in different contexts. At present, with regard to Hatra, the only monograph about the topic is Sabri Abbadi's Die Personennamen der Inschriften aus Hatra (1983), in which the author investigates a documentary corpus of 341 inscriptions. Although this remains a remarkable reference work and a substantial part of its analysis is still valid, the publication of roughly two hundred new inscriptions and the numerous new readings and interpretations that have been offered in the last thirty years make a new investigation of the onomastic corpus desirable.\ud
The research offered here originates from a detailed examination of all published Hatrene texts, which demonstrate the significant onomastic variety of the city. This presentation of the principal characteristics of Hatrene onomastics will be complemented by relevant case-studies.\ud
The picture resulting from this analysis is that of a city acting as a crossroads of different cultures (most noticeably of Semitic and Iranian origin), mainly thanks to the prestige of the temple of Šamaš. Interestingly, we are able to discern the persistence of ancient Mesopotamian cultural elements, such as theophoric elements, and in some cases even complete names
An Aramaic Incantation Bowl and the Fall of Hatra
No full textThe present paper offers an analysis of certain Northern Mesopotamian demons attested on an Aramaic incantation bowl in square script. This object displays at its centre a list of evil entities drawn from a Mandaic forerunner, some of which are paralleled in the epigraphic corpus of Hatra and nearby sites. The analysis explores whether this may provide new evidence regarding the fate of Hatra’s inhabitants and cults in the aftermath of the fall of the city in 240/1 AD; the suggested scenario is that some Hatrenes could have been deported to Babylonia, where they encountered the Mandaean culture in its early phases and acquainted it with a part of their pantheon.The present paper offers an analysis of certain Northern Mesopotamian demons attested on an Aramaic incantation bowl in square script. This object displays at its centre a list of evil entities drawn from a Mandaic forerunner, some of which are paralleled in the epigraphic corpus of Hatra and nearby sites. The analysis explores whether this may provide new evidence regarding the fate of Hatra’s inhabitants and cults in the aftermath of the fall of the city in 240/1 AD; the suggested scenario is that some Hatrenes could have been deported to Babylonia, where they encountered the Mandaean culture in its early phases and acquainted it with a part of their pantheon
The God Zaqīqā at Hatra
No full textThe pantheon of the Parthian North Mesopotamian city of Hatra is characterized, as is well known, by the presence of deities of diverse origins: Aramaic, Arab, Iranian, and Greek, not to mention the significant influence of more ancient Mesopotamian traditions. Their coexistence created a unique religious and cultural environment, which facilitated assimilation and interaction between deities—phenomena that still require
further investigation. Among the so-called lower-rank deities recorded at Hatra, Zaqīqā (zqyqʾ), the god of dreams and the afterlife, stands out as particularly intriguing. A reexamination of the attributes of this deity not only allows for a deeper understanding of the general structure of the Hatrene pantheon and its connections to older Mesopotamian models but also provides an opportunity to reassess its relationships and interactions with other deities, particularly the third member of the Triad, Barmārēn, and the god of the underworld Nērgōl
Dinamiche cultuali ad Assur in età arsacide: alcune osservazioni
No full textThe massive Temenos of Assor and Serū (Assyrian Aššur and Šerūʾa) in Arsacid Ashur
testifies to the cult of ancient Assyrian deities in this venerable, albeit peripheric, city
in Northern Mesopotamia between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. It is also well known
that the temple of Assor and Serū proper, built exactly above the Neo-Assyrian temple
of Aššur, has yielded several Aramaic inscriptions that provide substantial evidence
for the continuity of some Assyrian cults, onomastic, and religious calendar. Thanks to
the joint analysis of epigraphic and archaeological data from the temple, the present
paper aims at highlighting some aspects of cultic practice, namely the regular presence
of some individuals during solemn festivities
Personal Names in the Aramaic Inscriptions of Hatra
No full textThis book offers a comprehensive linguistic evaluation of the 376 personal names attested in the roughly 600 Aramaic inscriptions of Hatra, the famous Northern Mesopotamian city that flourished in the Parthian age, between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD. This study benefits from the publication of many Hatran inscriptions during recent decades, which have yielded rich onomastic data, and some fresh readings of these epigraphic sources. This work is subdivided into
three main parts: an “Onomastic Catalogue”, a “Linguistic Analysis”, and a “Concordance” section. The “Catalogue” is organized as a list of entries, in which every name is transliterated, translated (whenever possible), discussed from an etymological perspective, provided with onomastic parallels, and accompanied by its attestations in the Hatran Aramaic corpus. The “Catalogue” is followed by a “Linguistic Analysis” which describes, firstly, the principal orthographic, phonological, morphological, and syntactical features of Hatran names. The linguistic discussion proper is followed by a semantic taxonomy of the names which make up the corpus and an overview of the religious significance of the theophoric names. Charts of “Concordance” end the book
Nanaya "il re" e il bramoso Nergal: divinità assire e babilonesi nelle fonti aramaiche della Mesopotamia arsacide e sasanide
No full textIl presente lavoro esamina le attestazioni delle divinità del pantheon assiro e babilonese nelle fonti epigrafiche aramaiche dalla Mesopotamia arsacide e sasanide. I corpora studiati sono le iscrizioni nord-mesopotamiche di Hatra, Assur e dei siti circostanti, di età arsacide (I-III sec. d.C.), e i testi magici in mandaico, o da Vorlage mandaica, su coppe di terracotta e amuleti metallici, per lo più dalla Babilonia sasanide (IV-VII sec. d.C.). A questi si aggiungono passi di opere letterarie cristiane in siriaco che trattano culti pagani.
Queste fonti aramaiche sono il corpus di riferimento per lo studio delle dinamiche culturali che interessano la Mesopotamia dopo la fine del cuneiforme e presentano una grande ricchezza di teonimi, epiteti, espressioni fraseologiche e concetti che derivano dal milieu assiro e babilonese, cui si fa spesso riferimento in letteratura. Il lavoro si concentra sulle maggiori divinità del pantheon più antico attestate in questi materiali: a partire dal corrente dibattito storiografico sulla portata e sull’impatto dell’eredità culturale mesopotamica, ci si propone di esaminare i tratti di continuità e di cambiamento nella caratterizzazione delle divinità, sottolineandone i tratti condivisi così come le specificità locali. Una discussione di questi materiali in chiave comparata è favorita dalla derivazione di consistenti porzioni di incantesimi sasanidi da Vorlagen tardo-arsacidi o di poco successive, coeve alle iscrizioni nord-mesopotamiche
Demon names, onomastic sequences, and incantation specialists in Mandaic incantations from late-antique Mesopotamia
No full textMandaic incantations on earthenware bowls and metal lamellae from Sasanian Mesopotamia (4th – 7th centuries AD) mention a profusion of demons that must be annihilated for the well-being of a client, his/her family, and possessions. Demons are frequently former Babylonian and Iranian gods and goddesses and their names are often arranged in lists. These lists derived from written Vorlagen that incantation specialists consulted to look for the formulas best suited to the case they had to tackle. This paper offers a preliminary investigation into some onomastic strategies employed by incantation specialists to characterise demons and to emphasise their behaviour and geographical location. These strategies include association with toponyms, wordplay, etymological figures, and detailed onomastic sequences
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