Apladad

The theonym Apladad, also spelled as Apladdu[1] or Apla-Adad[2] can be translated as "son of Adad"[3] or "heir of Adad",[4] Adad being the Mesopotamian weather god.[5] Attested cuneiform writings include ^dA.10, and less commonly ^dIBILA.^dIŠKUR, ^dA.^dIŠKUR, A.IŠKUR, ^dA.IŠKUR, ^dDUMU.^dIŠKUR, ^dIBILA-ad-du, or ap-la-du, while in alphabetic scripts (such as Aramaic) it was written as ‘pld or pld.[6] In early scholarship, the name was incorrectly interpreted as ^dmār šarri, "son of the king".[7]

Not much is known about Apladad's associations with other deities, and while a single late Babylonian seal inscription indicates that he was believed to have a wife, the reading of her name, ^dGAB.KA, remains uncertain, with Gabra being proposed by Edward Lipiński.[6] Whether Apladad was related to Būru, a divine bull calf attested as a deity subordinate to Adad mostly in Aramean sources from the Neo-Assyrian period and later, remains unknown.[8] This proposal relies on the analogous distribution of references to both deities in known texts, and on a possible analogy between the pairs Adad-Būru/Apladad and Teshub-Šarruma, but no conclusions can be reached based on available evidence.[1]

Introduction of Apladad to the Mesopotamian pantheon is considered to be a late development.[3] He first appears in sources from the eighth century BCE, and it is presumed he only developed in this period.[9] He is absent from most god lists, with the exception of a late text from this type from Sultantepe.[6] Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault suggests that he was linked to the royal ideology of the new dynasty which arose in the region known as Suhum, whose members despite their Assyrian origin seemingly developed a distinct cultural identity, which created the need for a new deity as well.[10] One of the local rulers, Šamaš-reša-uṣur, in one of his inscriptions states that he built a new city, Āl-gabbāri-bānî, and "settled" Apladad (as well as Adad, Shala and Mandanu) in it.[2] His son, Ninurta-kudurrī-uṣur, attributed his position as king to Shamash, Marduk, Adad and Apladad.[11] In an inscription he refers to Apladad as his lord, and credits him with leading him to emerge victorious over his enemies in battle.[12] Another text from his reign mentions the construction of a new city, Kār-Apladad, "quay of Apladad", and the establishment of a temple and regular offerings of bread and beer to him.[13] Yet another inscription attributed to him indicates that a temple dedicated jointly to Adad and Apladad existed in the city of Anat.[14] It bore the ceremonial name Enamḫe,[15] which can be translated as "house of plenty".[16]

Outside of Suhu, Apladad's main cult center was Kannu’, a city whose location remains uncertain.[17] Additionally, a penalty clause in a single Neo-Assyrian document from Assur invokes Apladad alongside Adad.[18] Theophoric names invoking him are also known.[19] One example is Kullum-kī-Apladdu, "he is free through Apladad",[20] presumed to belong to an inhabitant of Kannu’.[17]

While most evidence for the worship of Apladad comes from between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE,[21] his cult persisted in the middle Euphrates area through the Hellenistic period, well into Roman times.[3] It is presumed that the god Aphlad, worshiped by culturally hellenized Arameans in Dura-Europos and attested both in inscriptions and theophoric names, can be identified as a later form of Apladad.[22][23]

• Cult Stele to the God Aphlad on the website of the Yale University Art Gallery