{{short description|Mesopotamian goddess}} {{Infobox deity | type = Mesopotamian | name = Tashmetum | deity_of = Protective intercessory goddess | cult_center = [[Assur]], [[Babylon]], [[Borsippa]], [[Kalhu]] | spouse = [[Nabu]] | father = [[Urash (god)|Urash]] }} '''Tashmetum''' ({{cuneiform|𒀭𒌨𒈨𒌈}}, ''<sup>[[dingir|d]]</sup>taš-me-tum'', '''Tašmētum'''{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=473}}) was a [[Mesopotamian goddess]]. Her character is poorly understood, and she is best attested as the spouse of [[Nabu]], though they only came to be associated with each other in the eighteenth century BCE. She was worshiped in [[Assyria]] as early as in the nineteenth century BCE, and reached [[Babylonia]] in the [[Old Babylonian period]]. Sources from the first millennium BCE indicate she was venerated alongside Nabu in cities such as [[Borsippa]] and [[Kalhu]].
==Name== The [[theonym]] Tashmetum has [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] origin.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=168}} It is derived from the [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''šemû'', "to hear".{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=169}} The translations "hearing" and "reconciliation" have been suggested, though neither is certain, as the term is not attested as an abstract noun, only as a theonym and personal name.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|pp=169-170}} Zachary Rubin proposes translating it as "she hears" instead.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=190}} Franscesco Pomponio suggested the alternate translation "intelligence", relying on the association between Tashmetum and [[Nabu]],{{sfn|Pomponio|1998|p=21}} but no evidence for the term ''tašmētum'' ever being assigned such a meaning exists.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=170}}
A secondary [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] name of Tashmetum, Ningutešasiga, first appears in bilingual texts from the [[Middle Babylonian period]], where it corresponds to her Akkadian title ''bēlet tešmê u salīme'', "lady of listening and peace".{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=169}} It might have originally developed as an ancient scholarly justification for [[folk etymologies]] of her name.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=171}} In an inscription from [[Sippar]] she is referred to as Ninsiga (''<sup>[[dingir|d]]</sup>nin-sig-ga''), "good lady", though elsewhere this name belongs to a deity from the entourage of [[Ninisina]] instead.{{sfn|Cavigneaux|Krebernik|1998|p=488}} A further possible alternate name or title of Tashmetum, Emagar-qabûša, "her speech showed favor", appears in a ''lipšur'' litany, though it might alternatively be interpreted as an otherwise unattested attendant deity in her service.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=183}}
==Character== Tashmetum's character is poorly known.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|pp=92-93}} A prayer from the reign of [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (tablet KAR 128) refers to her as the "''[[lamassu]]'' of the land", in this context a designation of a minor protective deity.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=137}} She is also attested in an intercessory role, though this was a standard function of all goddesses regarded as spouses of major gods in [[Mesopotamian religion]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=184}}
Zachary Rubin proposes that Tashmetum originated as a deified ancestor, similarly to deities such as [[Yakrub-El]], [[Itūr-Mēr]] or [[Ikšudum]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=170}} He points out that ''tàš-má-tum'' and ''tá-áš-má-tum'', which might be [[hypocoristic]] forms of common names combining the word ''tašme'' (in this context: "listens to prayers") and a theonym, already appear as ordinary personal names in sources from the [[Akkadian Empire|Old Akkadian]] and [[Ur III]] periods, for example in texts from the temple of [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] in [[Tutub]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=173}} However, he stresses that there is no evidence that Tashmetum and other similar deities were imagined as a deified human within their historical cults.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=171}} He concludes that even if they originated as real or imagined ancestors, they were eventually re-imagined as fully divine.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=190}}
The iconography of Tashmetum is unknown.{{sfn|Acker Grueske|Oshima|2021|p=59}}
==Associations with other deities== Tashmetum was regarded as the spouse of [[Nabu]], as already attested in sources from the [[Old Babylonian period]].{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=186}} Zachary Rubin argues they first came to be associated with each other in the eighteenth century BCE,{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=168}} possibly due to the respective meanings of their names, with Nabu's derived from ''nabû'', "to call", and Tashmetum's from ''šemû'', "to hear".{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=184}} The oldest source attesting they were associated with each other is a copy of the [[Weidner god list]] from [[Tell Taban]] dated to the late eighteenth century BCE.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|pp=184-185}}
As Nabu's wife, Tashmetum came to be referred to as the daughter-in-law of [[Marduk]], once Nabu started to be viewed as Marduk's son.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=186}} However, she was already associated with Marduk independently from Nabu, as evidenced for example by her incorporation into his circle in Old Babylonian [[Sippar]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=182}} She might have been viewed either as his courtier or courtesan, prior to the development of her standard role as a spouse of Nabu.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=183}} It is possible that she initially fulfilled a similar role in the court of [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] or [[Epithets of Inanna#Geographical epithets|Ištar-Aššurītu]] in [[Assur]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=190}}
No references to any deities as children of Tashmetum are known.{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=473}}
[[Urash (god)|Urash]], the tutelary god of [[Dilbat]], could be regarded as the father of Tashmetum.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=187}} Anne Löhnert argues that while the evidence is limited to sources from the first millennium BCE, they reflect an older tradition in which she was a member of the circle of this god.{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=473}} Zachary Rubin points out that Tashmetum does not appear in many [[theophoric name]]s from Dilbat, and concludes that the connection between her and Urash might have only developed during the reign of [[Samsu-iluna]] (c. 1749–1712 BC) or later.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=187}} He suggests that the association of [[Babylon]]'s Urash gate with ceremonies focused on Nabu might indicate that it was perceived as Tashmetum's [[dowry]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=189}} No sources directly refer to Urash as the father-in-law of Nabu, but this might be explained by Urash's minor position in the [[Mesopotamian pantheon]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=187}}
By the end of the [[Kassite period]], Tashmetum came to be associated with [[Nanaya]] through an extension of the connection between this goddess and Nabu.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=185}} They appear as a triad in an inscription on a ''[[kudurru]]'' from the reign of [[Marduk-apla-iddina I]] (1171-1159 BCE), which refers to them as the "lords of judgment and decision" (EN.MEŠ ''šip-ṭi u'' EŠ.BAR).{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|pp=185-186}} In [[Borsippa]] Tashmetum was regarded as Nabu’s official spouse, while Nanaya was apparently his mistress.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=116}} As a result of this connection, both of them could be referred to as the "queen of Borsippa".{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=105}} However, [[Paul-Alain Beaulieu]] concludes that while a degree of [[syncretism]] did occur between them,{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=186}} they were not fully conflated.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|pp=77-78}} [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] argued that sharing an epithet in this case might only reflect equal status in the pantheon, as opposed to syncretism.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=105}}
A late syncretic hymn to [[Ishtar]] equates her with Tashmetum (as well as [[Zarpanit]], [[Ereshkigal]], [[Ninmah]], [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]]).{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=127}} However, Alison Acker Grueske and Takayoshi M. Oshima stress that she cannot be considered an Ishtar-like figure overall.{{sfn|Acker Grueske|Oshima|2021|p=59}}
In the [[Hittite language|Hittite]] text KUB 60.147 Tashmetum's name is used as a [[logogram]] to designate an unidentified deity worshiped in Ištaḫara,{{sfn|Corti|2018|p=47}} a northern province of the [[Hittite Empire]] located in the proximity of the plain of [[Merzifon]].{{sfn|Corti|2018|p=46}}
==Worship== According to [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] Tashmetum originated in [[Assyria]] in the [[Old Assyrian period]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=92}} She was already worshiped in this area in the nineteenth century BCE, as evidenced by references to her enshrinement in the [[cella]]s of [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] and [[Epithets of Inanna#Geographical epithets|Ištar-Aššurītu]] and to personal devotion to her among Assyrians.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=179}} A letter found in [[Kanesh]] mentions a votive gift offered to her by the trader Pūšu-kēn,{{sfn|Veenhof|2018|p=74}} though there is no evidence she was his family's tutelary deity mentioned in other letters.{{sfn|Veenhof|2018|p=79}} In the same text corpus the [[theophoric name]]s Ikun-pî-Tašmētim and Šāt-Tašmētim have been identified.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=179}}
In the [[Old Babylonian period]] the worship of Tashmetum spread to the north of [[Babylonia]], as evidenced by sources from [[Sippar]], [[Borsippa]] and [[Dilbat]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=92}} Zachary Rubin notes that her absence from the Old Babylonian [[Nippur]] god list might support the assumption she was still relatively poorly known in the south in this period.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|pp=180-181}}
Sources from the final years of the reign of [[Hammurabi]] indicate that at some point Tashmetum came to be enshrined in [[Babylon]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=182}} In the forty first year of his reign, the king dedicated red gold and a precious stone to her,{{sfn|Wasserman|Bloch|2023|p=116}} possibly in hopes of warding off potential infirmity caused by his advanced age.{{sfn|Wasserman|Bloch|2023|p=446}} While no other royal inscriptions of the rulers from the [[First Dynasty of Babylon]] mention her, it is presumed she might have been enshrined in [[Marduk]]'s [[É (temple)|temple]] [[Esagila|Esagil]] in this period, and by its end she was worshiped in Sippar as a member of the circle of Marduk and [[Zarpanit]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=182}} A letter found in this city sent by the Assyrian Tarīša to her relatives includes a blessing by [[Ishtar]] and Tashmetum, which might additionally indicate that by the Old Babylonian period she came to be seen as one of the tutelary deities of [[Assur]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=180}}
Tashmetum came to be seen as the main goddess of [[Borsippa]] in the late second millennium BCE due to the exaltation of Nabu which occurred in the local pantheon.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=186}} However, she was eventually overshadowed by [[Nanaya]] in this city.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=105}}
In Assyria in the first millennium BCE Tashmetum was worshiped in [[Kalhu]], where she was venerated in the local temple of Nabu, as well as in [[Nineveh]] and Assur.{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=474}} She appears in a ''[[tākultu]]'' ritual from the reign of [[Ashurbanipal]].{{sfn|Pongratz-Leisten|2015|p=397}} In other [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] sources, she is often grouped with [[Šerua|Šērūa]] and the poorly known goddess [[Kippat-māti]] ("circumference of the earth"), presumably because all three of them were enshrined in the temple of Ashur in Assur.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=180}}
===Uncertain or disproved attestations=== Anne Löhnert argues Tashmetum is attested for the first time in a text from the [[Ur III period]], VAT 6563.{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=473}} However, the dating of this tablet, which is now lost, is uncertain, and it might be younger, specifically [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=185}}
Tešmit-māti, a deity attested in offering lists from the [[First Sealand dynasty|Sealand]], is unlikely to be related to Tashmetum, and might be either the deified wife of the local king [[Gulkišar]] or a member of the circle of [[Shamash]].{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=183}}
The theonym <sup>[[dingir|d]]</sup>U''-te-eš-me-tu<sub>4</sub>'' known from [[Nuzi]] is sometimes interpreted as a variant of Tashmetum's name.{{sfn|Löhnert|2013|p=474}} However, according to Zachary Rubin there is no evidence that this deity, who is only attested in the name of a gate of the town Zizza, is related to her, and it is possible her name should be translated as "Ishtar (<sup>d</sup>U) is the one who hears", which would instead indicate a connection with Ištar-tašmê, "Ishtar of hearing", worshiped in the north of Babylonia.{{sfn|Rubin|2024|p=170}}
While Tashmetum is not attested in [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian]] sources from [[Uruk]], [[Paul-Alain Beaulieu]] argues she might have been introduced to the local pantheon as the spouse of Nabu.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=343}} In the past, attempts have been made to prove the theophoric name Ina-ṣilli-Uridimmu attested in a text from this site should be read as Ina-ṣilli-Tašmētum based on alternate sign values, but this proposal has been abandoned by the early 2000s, and it is now assumed it reflects the worship of deified [[Uridimmu]],{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=357}} a mythical lion-like hybrid creature.{{sfn|Beaulieu|2003|p=355}}
==References== {{reflist}}
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==External links== *[http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/tametu/ Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Tašmetu (goddess)]
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[[Category:Mesopotamian goddesses]]