Nahhunte

In the Elamite religion, Nahhunte was the solar god and, accordingly, the bringer of life. In addition, he was the divinity of justice, making him the exact Elamite equivalent of the Mesopotamian Shamash. His name and etymology are still unclear, but his name is also the Elamite word for “sun.” Contrary to what might be expected of a solar god who is at the same time responsible for justice, an important domain in human life, Nahhunte does not appear abundantly in the textual source material. He appears sometimes in Akkadian and Elamite royal inscriptions and documentary texts from Susiana. He is also mentioned in some Mesopotamian religious/medical texts. Other than that, a small number of personal names (especially royal names) have Nahhunte as an element, mostly in the second position. His oldest attestations can be found in the so‐called Treaty of Naram‐Sin (ca. 2250 bce ). His latest known attestation is in a documentary text from the Achaemenid period. Nahhunte was remarkably active in Elamite curse formulas, where he appears as the sun and as the divinity who must carry out the curse. This may have a connection with his role as guarantor of justice. His role as divine witness in legal texts must be placed in the same context.