Английская Википедия:Azimua
Azimua, also known as Ninazimua,Шаблон:Sfn was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Ningishzida.
Name
Ninazimua is the original spelling of the name of this goddess, attested in sources from the Ur III period.Шаблон:Sfn Later the NIN sign was usually omitted.Шаблон:Sfn The form Ninazimua is attested in at least one theophoric name, Geme-Ninazimua.Шаблон:Sfn
Wilfred G. Lambert proposed that the element a-zi in her name can be interpreted as "water of life."Шаблон:Sfn
Position in the pantheon
Azimua was regarded as the wife of Ningishzida.Шаблон:Sfn However, multiple traditions regarding this god's marital status existed. The god list An = Anum identifies not only Azimua, but also Ekurritum (not attested in such a role anywhere elseШаблон:Sfn) as his wives, while other sources favor Geshtinanna, identified with Belet-Seri.Шаблон:Sfn In some cases, Azimua and Geshtinanna/Belet-Seri were conflated, for example in inscriptions of king Gudea of Lagash.Шаблон:Sfn A god list from Susa treats them as two names of the same deity, identified both as the wife of Ningishzida and sister of Dumuzi.Шаблон:Sfn According to Wilfred G. Lambert, Azimua's name could simply function as a title of Geshtinanna in contexts where the latter was identified as Ningishzida's wife.Шаблон:Sfn
Belet-Seri could also function as an epithet of Ashratum, the wife of Amurru, or of her Sumerian counterpart Gubarra, in at least one case leading to conflation of Amurru and Ningishzida and to an association between the former and Azimua.Шаблон:Sfn
Azimua could serve as the scribe of the underworld,Шаблон:Sfn a role also assigned to Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn
Worship
It is likely that Ninazimua appears for the first time in a text from Early Dynastic Tell Fara, though the full name of the deity in mention is not preserved.Шаблон:Sfn A further early uncertain attestation comes from a zami hymn.Шаблон:Sfn
She was worshiped in Ur, where she had a temple, and in Umma.Шаблон:Sfn
Mythology
Ninazimua appears in the myth Ningishzida and Ninazumua, which describes an exchange of messages between her and her temporarily deceased husband.Шаблон:Sfn It is regarded as similar to other myths dealing with temporary death of deities: Damu and his sister, Dumuzi and his sisters, Dumuzi and Geshtinanna, Dumuzi's dream and Inanna's descent.Шаблон:Sfn However, due to small number of known copies, possible scribal mistakes and other issues it is presently impossible to fully reconstruct its plot.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Bibliography
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Citation
