Simut (god)

Simut or Šimut was an Elamite god. He was known as "god of Elam," berir napirra ("herald of the gods") and silhak perir nappipir ("mighty one, herald of the gods").^[1]

Character and cult[]

Simut is, like many other Elamite gods (such as Pinikir, Humban, Inshushinak and Manzat), attested for the first time in the treaty of Naram-Sin, where he appears in a prominent position, right after Inshushinak.^[2]

Functions[]

It's possible he was a warrior god, and that the word tentatively translated as "herald" refers to a specific administrative or military position. Like Humban, Simut was associated with the concept of kittin. He also shared the role of a divine witness and guardian of contracts with Inshushinak and Shamash.^[3]

While Wilfred G. Lambert also regarded Simut as an "infernal" god^[4] due to his association with Nergal, Wouter F. M. Henkelman and Daniel T. Potts state that he had no funerary or underworld associations.^[5]

Evidence of cult[]

Untash-Napirisha dedicated temples in Susa and Chogha Zanbil to Simut, while Hutelutush-Inshushinak built a temple to Inshushinak, Napirisha, Kiririsha and Simut in another important center of Elamite culture, Anshan.^[6]

The Neo-Elamite ruler Hanni of Ayapir left behind an inscription dedicated to Humban, Tepti, Napir and Simut.^[7]

Worship of Simut continued under the rule of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, and in the Persepolis fortification archive he is attested alongside Auramazda (Ahura Mazda).^[8]

Simut and Manzat[]

In Elam Simut was likely viewed as the husband of Manzat, the goddess of the rainbow, and a number of temples dedicated to the worship of them as a pair are known. He was also associated with Belet Ali ("lady of the city"), most likely an epithet of Manzat.^[9]

In Mesopotamia[]

In Mesopotamia Simut appeared for the first time in Old Babylonian personal names.^[10] In god lists he was equated with Nergal.^[11]

Simut was frequently associated with Mars in Babylonian astrological texts, and the planet was often called "the star Simut" (other Babylonian names of Mars include "strange star" and "the Elam star").^[12] Mars was also a symbol of Nergal,^[13] which is likely why these two gods were equated with each other by Mesopotamian scribes.

While another Elamite god, Lagamar, was also equated with Nergal in Mesopotamia,^[14] there is no evidence that Lagamar and Simut were linked to each other, nor even that Simut was an underworld god himself.

"Nergal of Hubshan"[]

Mentions of "Nergal of Hubshan," possibly a war god, likely refer to Simut.^[15] Hubshan was a settlement particularly closely associated with the worship of Manzat, Simut's presumed wife, according to Elamite royal inscriptions.^[16]

References[]