Itaran (god)

The male patron deity of Der, who is associated with justice.

Functions
Itaran is a male deity associated with justice. This role can be inferred from his assertion of the borders of Umma and Laga, while Gudea (ca. 2144-2124 BCE), the ruler of Girsu, said of himself, "I justly decide the lawsuits of my city like Itaran" (ETCSL 2.1.7, line 273). In the poems praising the Ur III king, ulgi (2094-2047 BCE), his justice is "comparable to that of Itaran" (ETCSL 2.4.2.02, line 264), and a song to Nergal praises the god thus: "Like Itaran ... you reach correct judgments" (ETCSL 4.15.3: 41). There is a suggestion of an ophidian nature of Itaran. Depictions from the Akkadian period show a snake-like form, an element which may have later split off and become Nirah, Itaran's messenger, whose logogram was dMU, or dMU.TUR, 'snake' and 'little snake' respectively (Wiggerman 1998-2001a). Further, a Kurigalzu dated brick from Der shows a snake above the inscription, which mentions Dagan (see below).

Divine Genealogy and Syncretisms

Itaran is often equated with Anu rab "Great Anu", and in the Babylonian Chronicles relating to Esarhaddon (680-669 BCE) the usual writing for his name is replaced with AN.GAL. Both these factors place Itaran high in the pantheon. In the god list AN = Anum Itaran is assigned a vizier Qudmu, a counsellor Rasu, a son Zizanu, and two 'standing gods' Turma and Itur-matiu (Lambert 1976-80a). While the god-list AN = Anum does not attest a spouse, arrat-Deri, "Queen of Der", or Deritum, seems to be Itaran's wife at the time of Esarhaddon (Reiner 1958: II 160). Itaran also had a minister, Nirah, "Little snake", a minor male chthonic deity, who carried the title, "the radiant god, the son of the house of Der" (Wiggerman 1998-2001a).

Cult Place(s)
Itaran was the chief deity of Der (Logogram: BAD 3.AN ki), Tell al-'Aqar, near modern Badra, which is on the ancient border between Mesopotamia and Elam. A stamped brick of the Kassite king Kurigalzu II (1332-1308 BCE), which was found near Badra, records the renewal of a temple of Itaran, the -dim-gal-kal-am-ma, "House, great bond of the land" (Clayden 1996: 112), and in the Sumerian text The Temple Hymns, Itaran's temple is similarly said to be located in Der ETCSL 4.80.1, lines 416-423). In the Early Dynastic period (2900-2350 BCE) there may have been a cultic installation on the border between Umma and Laga because the border between these two regions was said to be fixed "in accordance with the command of Itaran" (Sollberger 1959: 344).

Time Periods Attested

In Early Dynastic Laga and Umma Itaran is invoked in personal names. This practice continues through the third millennium, e.g., Simat-Itaran, "Symbol of Itaran", the sister of the Ur III king u-Suen (2037-2029 BCE) (Zettler 2003: 16). Similar attestations are found until the end of the Kassite Dynasty (1374-1159 BCE) (Lambert 1976-80a). As mentioned earlier, Itaran's cult in Der is attested in the Babylonian Chronicle's references to the time of Esarhaddon (Grayson 1975: 84), and the cult at Der may have continued into the Seleucid period (312-63 BCE) (Lambert 1976-80a).

Iconography

There are references to this deity's beautiful face in Sumerian literature, "Itaran of the bright visage" (ETCSL 1.7.3, line 6), while other depictions reflect his snake-like nature (Wiggerman 1998-2001a).

Name and Spellings

The reading of the logographic writing dKA.DI is now well established as Itaran, but it was previously misread Gusilim and Sat(a)ran. Itaran has an Emesal variant Ez(z)eran, and an Akkadian variant Iltaran (Lambert 1976-80a). Written forms: dKA.DI Normalised forms: Itaran, Itaran (incorrect, outdated readings: Gusilim, Sataran, Satran)