Religion in the Mittani Empire
Creators: name: Homan, Zenobia
Publisher: name: Database of Religious History (DRH)
Year: 2023

description: The Mittani people were composed of a Late Bronze Age Hurrian-speaking set of communities, situated in the region around the Euphrates river between modern-day Aleppo, Erbil and Diyarbakır. At its peak in the 14th century BCE, the Mittani Empire or state would have included at least Aššur, Alalaḫ, Arrapḫa, Kizzuwatna, Tunip, and probably Yamḫad and Ḫana. These were semi-independent, and sometimes ruled by their own Kings under the overlordship of Mittani with models of governance probably adapted on a case-by-case basis. This region has been difficult to access in recent times, which means that many potentially Mittani sites remain unexcavated and much about Mittani is still unknown. To complicate matters further, in the past data about Mittani and Assyria were often added together, and to date no large (royal) Mittani archive has been identified. A huge number of mostly economic documents is available from Nuzi, which was part of the Mittani vasal state of Arrapḫa – but it should not be assumed that any religious practices we can discern from these for Nuzi would reflect those of the entire Mittani Empire. There is only a handful of published cuneiform tablets that can be said with certainty to have been Mittani. The biggest source of information is perhaps the Mittani series of Amarna letters, and Mittani is also frequently mentioned in other contemporary letters and treaties, e.g. by the Assyrians and Hittites. Also significant are the so-called 'Assyro-Mittani' tablets found at Boğazköy, which describe witchcraft and rituals. It is usually unclear however who wrote these, when, and where – and as with Nuzi, it should not be assumed that the practices described in these texts would have consistently applied across the entire Mittani Empire. While it is likely that the Mittani people would have primarily identified as Hurrian, not all Hurrians were Mittani. In addition, the Hurrians did not necessarily have homogenous theology, mythology, cults or rituals nor did they have a name for their religion – and as such should not be understood as a religious group. With that said – many people likely believed in a particular array of named deities, and held a related collection of beliefs with associated institutions and practices. For instance, Hurrian texts refer to an idea of heaven, earth and the underworld. The most significant Hurrian deity was the weather god Teššub. He would have yielded storm, rain, and lighting, and travelled the skies in a chariot drawn by bulls. He was joined by the goddess of love and war, Šauska, who would have played an important role e.g. blessing marriages. There were likely also a sun and mood god, Šimike and Kušuh, linked to different omens and oaths; and of course many deities, such as Nergal and Ea, borrowed from other traditions. Deities were anthropomorphic and they were given offerings. Rituals, festivals, divination and incantation all played important roles in society, and cities had temples dedicated to deities. Many more details are available about Hurrian religious beliefs, but not necessarily from Mittani sources or the Mittani period.