Back Zababa AF زبابا Arabic Zababa German Zababa French Zababa Hungarian Զաբաբա HY Zababa ID Zababa Italian ザババ Japanese 자바바 Korean
| Zababa | |
|---|---|
God of war | |
| Major cult center | Kish |
| Animals | eagle |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Spouse | Bau |
| Equivalents | |
| Hurrian | Ḫešui, Aštabi |
| Hittite | Wurunkatte, Šulinkatte |
Zababa (𒀭𒍝𒂷𒂷, dza-ba4-ba4, /ˈzɑːbɑːbɑː/) was a Mesopotamian god. He was the tutelary deity of the city of Kish and was regarded as a god of war. He was initially seen as a son of Enlil, though in Assyria during the reign of Sennacherib he started to be viewed as a son of Ashur instead. The goddess Bau came to be viewed as his wife after her introduction to Kish in the Old Babylonian period.
The worship of Zababa is first documented in sources from the Early Dynastic period, including texts from both Kish and other cities in Mesopotamia, for example the Zame Hymns from Abu Salabikh. His importance declined in the Sargonic and Ur III period, but he regained a more prominent position in the Old Babylonian period. Through the first millennium BCE he was worshiped both in Babylonia and in Assyria.
No myths focused on Zababa are known, though he is referenced in an UD.GAL.NUN composition about the construction of Enlil's temple, in a number of legends about rulers of the Akkadian Empire, and in texts known from late copies such as Urash and Marduk and Enmesharra's Defeat.