The God Asar/Asalluḫi in the early Mesopotamian pantheon

Abstract

Väitekirja eesmärk on diakrooniliselt uurida muistse Mesopotaamia jumala Asari/Asalluḫi arengulugu Mesopotaamia ajaloo eri perioodidel alates tema esmamainimisest kirjalikes allikates u 2600–2500 e.m.a kuni u teise eelkristliku aastatuhande keskpaigani. Kuigi Asar/Asalluḫi ei kuulunud Mesopotaamia panteoni kõige tähtsamate jumalate hulka, oli ta lähedalt seotud mitme Mesopotaamia usundiloo sõlmküsimusega nagu loitsukirjandus ja n-ö „suurte jumalate“ (nt Enki/Ea, Marduk) evolutsioon. Doktoritöö peamine eesmärk on sumeri- ja akkadikeelste tekstiallikate analüüsi põhjal piiritleda jumalikke rolle, mida Asarile/Asalluḫile vaatluse all olevatel perioodidel omistati. Eesmärgi saavutamiseks tuli kokku koguda, süstematiseerida ning lahti mõtestada tekstilõigud, milles töös käsitletava jumala nimi esineb. Allikate analüüsi põhjal kokkuvõttes esitatud sünteesis on väidetud, et üks Asari/Asalluḫi peamisi tunnusjooni oli tema seotus vee kui raviva, rituaalselt puhastava ja viljakust edendava substantsiga. Asari/Asalluḫi ja tema isa Enki suhete kohta on järeldatud, et peale vahendajarolli jumalate ja inimeste sfääri vahel, ei omistatud Asarile/Asalluḫile tekstides ühtki rolli, mis oleks tema isa jumalikest karakteristikutest selgelt eristunud. Lisaks on tähelepanu juhitud mõningale tõendusmaterjalile, mis räägib vastu tänapäeva assürioloogiateaduses levinud käibetõele, et Asar/Asalluḫi oli ennekõike inimeste suhtes heasoovlikult meelestatud jumalus.

This study offers a diachronic investigation of the ancient Mesopotamian god Asar/Asalluḫi in different periods of Mesopotamian history beginning with the earliest sources available for the deity from ca. 2600–2500 BCE and spanning to the sources dated to the middle of the second millennium BCE. Although Asar/Asalluḫi was a relatively minor deity in the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon he was intimately connected to some of the crucial issues in the history of ancient Mesopotamian religion such as incantation literature and the evolvement of the divine figures of the “great gods” Enki/Ea and Marduk. The main objective of this thesis was to outline the divine roles attributed to the god Asar/Asalluḫi in each period under study based on an analysis of various types of textual sources written in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. In an attempt to achieve this goal, passages of cuneiform texts relating to the deity were gathered, systematised and interpreted. Based on the analysis of the sources it is argued in the final synthesis that one of the main characteristics of Asar/Asalluḫi was his connection to water as a purifying, healing and abundance-bringing substance. For the relations that Asar/Asalluḫi had to his father Enki it is claimed that besides his role as a mediator between the divine and human realms no roles were attributed to Asar/Asalluḫi that were clearly distinguishable from his father’s divine characteristics. In addition, some counterevidence is pointed out to balance the common truism in modern Assyriological scholarship according to which Asar/Asalluḫi was first and foremost a deity benevolent towards humans.