Nipas

Short description: God worshiped in Kanesh

Nipas (also spelled Nipaš[1] or Nepaš[2]) was a god worshiped in Kanesh. His name might have been derived from the Hittite word nepis, "heaven", and he might have been a weather god. While he was most likely one of the main deities of the city, and a temple, festival and clergy associated with him are attested, for unknown reasons he does not appear in any later sources.

## Contents

* 1 Name and character
* 2 Worship
* 3 References
* 3.1 Bibliography

## Name and character

Nipas' name was rendered as Ni-pá-as in cuneiform.[3] According to Piotr Taracha (de), it most likely originated in a language he refers to as a "central Anatolian substrate", similar to these of other local deities of Kanesh: Ḫariḫari, Ḫigiša, Parka, Tuḫtuḫani and possibly Anna.[1] Guido Kryszat instead connects it with the Hittite word nepis, "heaven".[4] This explanation is also accepted by authors such as Manfred Hutter[5] and Gojko Barjamovic.[6] However, it has been criticized by Daniel Schwemer, who argues that as a neuter noun, this word would be an unusual theonym, and additionally points out that to accept Kryszat's view one has to assume the word preserved the initial n as in Hittite, but developed the same suffix as its Luwian cognate, which starts with a t.[7]

Nipas might have been was a weather god, though the deity represented by the logogram dIM in texts from Kanesh is more likely to be Hittite Tarḫunna than him.[8]

It has been proposed that seals from Kanesh showing a family of deities might depict Nipas and Anna accompanied by divine children, but this interpretation is far from certain.[9]

## Worship

Since Nipas, Anna and Parka appear particularly often in known texts from Kanesh from the karum period, it is possible that they formed the core of the local pantheon.[10] Guido Kryszat outright refers to him as the most important deity of this city next to Anna.[8] Despite their prominence, these deities are largely absent from theophoric names.[4]

A temple dedicated to Nipas existed in Kanesh.[11] A festival held in his honor is also attested.[12] It is presumed it occurred in the fourth month in the contemporary Assyrian calendar, in which the year started in October.[13] It took place after the festival of Anna,[14] the city goddess.[15] The local ruler visited Nipas' temple during it.[14] In one text, "when the ruler leaves the temple of Nipas" is the date by which a loan has to be repaid.[16]

A priest of Nipas named Šulili is mentioned in a single document.[17] However, the name is otherwise unattested in the entire corpus of texts from this site.[9]

Nipas is not attested in any Hittite texts postdating the Kanesh tablets.[14] Later Assyrian texts similarly do not mention him in any capacity.[3] The reasons behind his apparent loss of relevance are not known.[4]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Taracha 2009, p. 28.
2. ↑ Barjamovic 2022, p. 529.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Schwemer 2008, p. 19.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kryszat 2006, p. 121.
5. ↑ Hutter 2021, p. 45.
6. ↑ Barjamovic 2022, p. 536.
7. ↑ Schwemer 2008, p. 20.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kryszat 2006, p. 113.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Barjamovic 2022, p. 537.
10. ↑ Barjamovic 2022, pp. 536–537.
11. ↑ Veenhof & Eidem 2008, p. 236.
12. ↑ Haas 2015, p. 676.
13. ↑ Veenhof & Eidem 2008, pp. 242–243.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Taracha 2009, p. 29.
15. ↑ Kryszat 2006, p. 117.
16. ↑ Veenhof & Eidem 2008, p. 237.
17. ↑ Veenhof & Eidem 2008, p. 231.

### Bibliography

* Barjamovic, Gojko (2022). "Before the Kingdom of the Hittites". The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume II. Oxford University Press. pp. 497–565. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190687571.003.0017. ISBN 978-0190687571.
* Haas, Volkert (2015) (in de). Geschichte der hethitischen Religion. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-29394-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=EOh5DwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
* Hutter, Manfred (2021) (in de). Religionsgeschichte Anatoliens: Vom Ende des dritten bis zum Beginn des ersten Jahrtausends. Kohlhammer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-17-026975-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=Rfc4EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
* Kryszat, Guido (2006). "Herrscher, Herrschaft und Kulttradition in Anatolien nach den Quellen aus den altassyrischen Handelskolonien - Teil 2: Götter, Priester und Feste Altanatoliens" (in de). Altorientalische Forschungen (Walter de Gruyter GmbH) 33 (1). doi:10.1524/aofo.2006.33.1.102. ISSN 2196-6761. https://www.academia.edu/16263158.
* Schwemer, Daniel (2008). "The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part II". Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (Brill) 8 (1): 1–44. doi:10.1163/156921208786182428. ISSN 1569-2116. https://www.academia.edu/14077557.
* Taracha, Piotr (2009). Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Dresdner Beiträge zur Hethitologie. 27. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3447058858.
* Veenhof, Klaus R.; Eidem, Jesper (2008). Mesopotamia: the Old Assyrian period. Fribourg: Academic Press. ISBN 978-3-525-53452-6. OCLC 244654503. https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/151184/.

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