Muati

Muati was a Mesopotamian god. His character is poorly known. He was regarded as the spouse of Nanaya in Old Babylonian sources. He was later syncretised with Nabu, who likely came to be associated with Nanaya for this reason. Muati is attested in a poem from the reign of Abi-Eshuh, in which he is implored to mediate with his wife on behalf on this ruler. Additionally, he is mentioned in a single text from Isin, possibly in a document from Larsa, and in a god list counting him among the deities of Uruk.

Muati
Personal information
SpouseNanaya

Character

Muati's character is poorly understood, though it is known that he was regarded as the spouse of Nanaya.[1] According to Giole Zisa, it is possible that her nameless partner in love incantations, where they are listed in parallel with couples Inanna and Dumuzi and Ishara and Almānu, might be Muati.[2] From the reign of Marduk-apla-iddina I onward, Nanaya could instead be associated with Nabu.[3] Since Nabu and Muati came to be equated at some point, it is possible that the spousal connection with Nanaya was transferred between them.[4] In the first millennium BCE, Muati was effectively an alternate name of Nabu.[1] Marten Stol treats Muati and Nabu interchangeably in his discussion of deities associated with Nanaya in the Old Babylonian period already,[5] but Francesco Pomponio[6] and Wilfred G. Lambert stress that they were most likely fully separate at first.[7]

The god list An = Anu ša amēli refers to Muati as "Nabu of Dilmun".[8] Ebbe Egede Knudsen on this basis suggested a connection between him and the personal name of an inhabitant of Dilmun, me-a-ti-a-nu-um.[9] However, Khaled Al-Nashef concluded that the god list entry linking Muati with Dilmun is most likely an ancient error, and points out the existence of multiple other lists designating the Dilmunite deity Enzag as the "Nabu of Dilmun".[10] He also stated that due to lack of evidence me-a-ti-a-nu-um cannot be considered an example of a theophoric name invoking Muati.[11] Daniel T. Potts also considers the connection to be doubtful.[12]

Worship

A poem focused on the relationship between Muati and Nanaya known from only one copy implores him to intercede with her on behalf of Abi-Eshuh, the king of Babylon between 1711 and 1684 BCE.[13] Presumably it was composed during his reign.[14] According to Aage Westenholz and Joan Goodnick Westenholz, Muati is additionally attested in a single text from Old Babylonian Larsa which might indicate a statue representing him stood in the local temple of Nanaya.[15] However, Dominique Charpin has expressed doubts about the restoration of the theonym, and thus about the worship of Muati in Larsa.[16] A single reference to him has also been identified in a hitherto unpublished text from Isin.[15] In a fragmentary Old Babylonian god list (VAT 6563) he appears among deities linked with Uruk alongside Nanaya.[6]

References
  1. Beaulieu 2003, p. 186.
  2. Zisa 2021, p. 434.
  3. Beaulieu 2003, pp. 185–186.
  4. Schmidtchen 2018, p. 326.
  5. Stol 1998, p. 148.
  6. Pomponio 1998, p. 21.
  7. Lambert 2013, p. 275.
  8. Al-Nashef 2012, pp. 346–347.
  9. Knudsen 1982, p. 17.
  10. Al-Nashef 2012, p. 347.
  11. Al-Nashef 2012, p. 352.
  12. Potts 1983, p. 43.
  13. Foster 2005, p. 160.
  14. Zisa 2021, p. 139.
  15. Westenholz & Westenholz 2006, p. 15.
  16. Charpin 2007, p. 165.

Bibliography
  • Al-Nashef, Khaled (2012) [1986]. "The Deities of Dilmun". In Al Khalifa, Shaikha Haya Ali; Rice, Michael (eds.). Bahrain Through The Ages: The Archaeology. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-14178-2. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  • Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2003). The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian period. Leiden Boston: Brill STYX. ISBN 978-90-04-13024-1. OCLC 51944564.
  • Charpin, Dominique (2007). "Chroniques bibliographiques 10. Économie, société et institutions paléo-babylonienne : nouvelles sources, nouvelles approches". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale (in French). CAIRN. 101 (1): 147–182. doi:10.3917/assy.101.0147. ISSN 0373-6032.
  • Foster, Benjamin R. (2005). Before the Muses: an Anthology of Akkadian Literature. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press. ISBN 1-883053-76-5. OCLC 57123664.
  • Knudsen, Ebbe Egede (1982). "An Analysis of Amorite: A Review Article". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. University of Chicago Press. 34 (1–2): 1–18. doi:10.2307/1359989. ISSN 0022-0256.
  • Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013). Babylonian Creation Myths. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-861-9. OCLC 861537250.
  • Pomponio, Francesco (1998), "Nabû A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2023-10-12
  • Potts, Daniel T. (1983). Dilmun: new studies in the archaeology and early history of Bahrain. Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient. D. Reimer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-496-00744-9. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  • Schmidtchen, Eric (2018). "The Edition of Esagil-kīn-apli's Catalogue of the Series Sakikkû (SA.GIG) and Alamdimmû". Assyrian and Babylonian Scholarly Text Catalogues. De Gruyter. pp. 313–334. doi:10.1515/9781501504914-011. ISBN 978-1-5015-0491-4.
  • Stol, Marten (1998), "Nanaja", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2023-10-12
  • Westenholz, Joan Goodnick; Westenholz, Aage (2006). Cuneiform inscriptions in the collection of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem: the old Babylonian inscriptions. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-0838-3. OCLC 320326253.
  • Zisa, Gioele (2021). The Loss of Male Sexual Desire in Ancient Mesopotamia. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110757262. ISBN 978-3-11-075726-2. S2CID 243923454.
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