Šubtu: Difference between revisions
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The Akkadian word ''šubtu'', with its wide range of meanings related to domiciles and locations large and small, from seats to thrones to throne daises to temples to army camps to even more extended territories, is applied to deities on a few occasions in astronomical contexts. In the Astrolabes MUL [[IKU]] 'the Field' ([[Pegasus|Pegasu]]<nowiki/>s) is the 'seat of Anu,' and in MUL.APIN the asterism MUL [[AL.LUL|AL LUL]], 'The Crab,' also the 'seat of Anu' with MUL IKU here being the seat of Ea. | |||
==Concordance, Etymology, History== | ==Concordance, Etymology, History== | ||
... | [[File:BabGlobe Fig5 hoffmann+krebernik.png|thumb|Schema of the Babylonian Globe devided into the paths of three main gods of the Babylonian pantheon in the early 2nd millennium BCE (by Susanne M Hoffmann, published in Hoffmann and Krebernik 2023). Anu's path is around the celestial equator, ±17° (roughly, not always accurate).]] | ||
The exact significance of the term in these contexts is uncertain but it is notable that 'The Crab' whose seat belongs to Anu is in the Path of Enlil, north of the Path of Anu. Likewise, 'The Field' whose seat belongs to the Path of Ea is further north in the Path of Anu. Thus, the picture one can gather from these two entries is that the seats of the gods are placed above the position of their stars. Given that both Ea and Anu are both royal figures in the Mesopotamian pantheon - Anu (the King of Heavaen), and Ea (the King of the Apsu), the image of the asterisms serving as a throne seems most likely. As such, it is interesting to note that both 'The Field' and 'The Crab' include square elements suggestive of seats. For MUL IKU, the square of Pegasus, for MUL AL.LUL, the square within a square outline of Cancer the Crab. For the older tradition of Standing and Sitting Gods, astral deities preserved in the later MUl.APIN compendium see Hoffmann and Horowitz 2023. | |||
'''''Wayne look for more stuff''''' | |||
see glossary of Hoffmann and Krebernik (2023):<ref>Hoffmann, S. M. and Krebernik, M. (2023). What do deities tell us about the celestial positioning system, in: R. Rollinger, I. Madreiter, M. Lang, C. Pappi (eds.). The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Papers held at the 64th Rencontre Assyriologique International and 12th Melammu Symposium July 16-20 2018, Innsbruck. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 539-579</ref><blockquote>“seat”, “throne”. ''šu-bat'' dA-num (MUL.APIN I i 7, EN 9r). ''šu-bat'' dÉ-a (MUL.APIN I i 40, EA 1r). </blockquote> | |||
=== Kurtik with Hilder, Hoffmann, Horowitz, Kim === | === Kurtik with Hilder, Hoffmann, Horowitz, Kim === | ||
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! Sources !! Identifications | ! Sources !! Identifications | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''MUL.APIN (AL.LUL).''' | ||
* (1) The list of the stars of Enlil (no. 7): | |||
** <sup>mul</sup>AL.LUL ''šu-bat <sup>d</sup>A-nim'' | |||
** "Constellation Crab, the seat of Anu" (I i 7), parallel in MLC 1866 (col. ii 18). | |||
| [[File:CNC Cancer TF Anu kosmosInv.jpg|thumb|Throne of Anu in constellation Cancer, drawing by Kay Elzner in Hoffmann (2021),<ref>Hoffmann (2021), Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam, Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart.</ref> ]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''''"Three Stars Each (Astrolabes).”''''' | ||
* Astrolabe B. | |||
** '''(1)''' Menology: [<sup>iti</sup>bara<sub>2</sub>] <sup>mul</sup>AŠ.GAN<sub>2</sub> bar<sub>2</sub>.an.na: <sup>iti</sup>bara<sub>2</sub> ''i-ku-u''<sub>2</sub> ''šu-bat'' <sup>d</sup>''A-nim'' "Nisanu month, the Field, dwelling of Anu" (A i 1, 7); for a parallel see. [Çağirgan 403:1], see also [BPO 2, 81; CAD I, 69b; Emelyanov 1999, 50, Horowitz 2014: 54]. | |||
|[[File:Cnc AlRawi2001 details 300dpi.jpg|thumb|Drawing of AL.LUL on the Sippar Planisphere (W. Horowitz and F. N. H. Al-Rawi 2001), highlighting by Hoffmann 2024.]] | |||
|- | |||
|'''''MUL.APIN.''''' | |||
* '''(1)''' The stars of Anu (no. 1): | |||
** <sup>mul</sup>AŠ.IKU ''šu-bat'' <sup>d</sup>''E''<sub>2</sub>-''a a-lik'' IGI MUL.MEŠ ''šu-ut'' <sup>d</sup>''A-nim'' | |||
** "The field, the seat of Ea which goes before the stars of Anu" (I i 40), | |||
** for a parallel see. MLC 1866 i 1; see also (Kurtik s19) [[SIM.MAḪ]]. | |||
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! scope="col" style="width: 40%;" | Gössmann (1950) | ! scope="col" style="width: 40%;" | Gössmann (1950) | ||
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| | | rowspan="2" | no entry for Šubtu || Example | ||
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| Example | |||
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Latest revision as of 16:35, 26 February 2026
Authors: Gennady Kurtik, Susanne M Hoffmann, Wayne Horowitz, Euin Choung Kim
The Akkadian word šubtu, with its wide range of meanings related to domiciles and locations large and small, from seats to thrones to throne daises to temples to army camps to even more extended territories, is applied to deities on a few occasions in astronomical contexts. In the Astrolabes MUL mulIKU 'the Field' (Pegasus) is the 'seat of Anu,' and in MUL.APIN the asterism MUL AL LUL, 'The Crab,' also the 'seat of Anu' with MUL IKU here being the seat of Ea.
Concordance, Etymology, History

The exact significance of the term in these contexts is uncertain but it is notable that 'The Crab' whose seat belongs to Anu is in the Path of Enlil, north of the Path of Anu. Likewise, 'The Field' whose seat belongs to the Path of Ea is further north in the Path of Anu. Thus, the picture one can gather from these two entries is that the seats of the gods are placed above the position of their stars. Given that both Ea and Anu are both royal figures in the Mesopotamian pantheon - Anu (the King of Heavaen), and Ea (the King of the Apsu), the image of the asterisms serving as a throne seems most likely. As such, it is interesting to note that both 'The Field' and 'The Crab' include square elements suggestive of seats. For MUL IKU, the square of Pegasus, for MUL AL.LUL, the square within a square outline of Cancer the Crab. For the older tradition of Standing and Sitting Gods, astral deities preserved in the later MUl.APIN compendium see Hoffmann and Horowitz 2023.
Wayne look for more stuff
see glossary of Hoffmann and Krebernik (2023):[1]
“seat”, “throne”. šu-bat dA-num (MUL.APIN I i 7, EN 9r). šu-bat dÉ-a (MUL.APIN I i 40, EA 1r).
Kurtik with Hilder, Hoffmann, Horowitz, Kim
| Sources | Identifications |
|---|---|
MUL.APIN (AL.LUL).
|
|
"Three Stars Each (Astrolabes).”
|
|
MUL.APIN.
|
additional
Historical Dictionaries
| Kurtik (2022) | Gössmann (1950) |
|---|---|
| no entry for Šubtu | Example |
| Example |
References
- ↑ Hoffmann, S. M. and Krebernik, M. (2023). What do deities tell us about the celestial positioning system, in: R. Rollinger, I. Madreiter, M. Lang, C. Pappi (eds.). The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Papers held at the 64th Rencontre Assyriologique International and 12th Melammu Symposium July 16-20 2018, Innsbruck. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 539-579
- ↑ Hoffmann (2021), Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam, Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart.








