The God Ishum is the sukkal or divine attendant of Nergal, Lord of the Underworld, death and disease. Like many deified sukkals, Ishum has other duties. He's a divine night watchman and benevolent fire god of Mesopotamia.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
His origin springs from the Akkadian Empire (c. 2350-2150 BCE). Akkad is the first major Empire after the Sumerians (c. 5000-2300 BCE). They dominate Mesopotamian regions such as today's Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Levant, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
The Akkadian King Sargon the Great is considered the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire. His armies wreak a swath of conquest through Sumerian cities such as Ur, Eninmar, Lagash and Umma.
During this time Ishum is a popular deity. Son of the Sun God Shamash and Aya, Goddess of Dawn, he's associated with fires of the hearth but not considered a true fire god like Gibil.
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
On his nightly rounds he can warn of fire danger. His symbol is a torch, representing illumination, security and protection. For the people it's a comfort to think of his vigilance in the streets while they slumber.
Although he's lower in the pantheon than some gods, Ishum is a popular figure of worship. An older deity, divine night watchman Hendursaga of the Sumerians, may have passed the torch to him. Hendursaga keeps his worshipper base for close to three thousand years and is often equated with Ishum.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Ishum's wife is Ninmug, a goddess of artisans. Among her epithets is tibira kalamma, "Metalworker of the Land." The working of metals, fire and magic of the earth connects her to the Underworld. She's also associated with birth.
The possible son of Ishum and Ninmug is Šubula (Shubula), a god of the Underworld. He may appear in the court of Nergal with his father. His name means 'to dry' or 'to be dry', which could be an association with drought, or the dusty wastelands of Kur.
READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries
Ishum appears in the Epic of Erra as a god connected with fire, called a 'firebrand'. Erra himself is an Akkadian deity of mayhem, plague, pestilence and political confusion. A fierce warrior god, Erra hates being awakened and flies into a murderous rage.
Similarly the Greek God Pan, modeled on an older Proto-Indo-European goat god, is in a terrible mood if he's woken from his slumber. His roar is so mighty it sends humans and beasts into a state of panic.
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
Besides Divine Night Watchman, the many epithets of Ishum include
Herald (nimgir) of the Street
Headman of the Street
Hero who Goes about at Night
Minister (sukkal) of the Night
Herald of the Night, Lord of the Street
Ishum is also popular as a household protection god. Unlike similar domestic deities he guards the household from outside. Ishum patrols the streets, casts light into the shadows and repulses evil both mortal and demonic.
READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries
Worship of Ishum goes back to the third millenium BCE. Theophoric names, or personal names incorporating that of a god, are common attestations to Ishum in the Early Dynastic period (c. 2900 - 2350 BCE). He's also a common figure on cylinder seals.
In the Middle Babylonian period (c. 1595 - 1155 BCE) a shrine of Ishum is attested in Nippur (south central Iraq, above). He's also worshiped in Tarbiṣu, Assyria. There, he receives offerings beside Nergal and Laṣ, Nergal's sometime consort.
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
During the Neo Assyrian Period (c. 911 BCE), the popularity of Ishum rises again. His traits of protection and connection to resolution of chaos correspond to times of upheaval and war.
Ishum is a force of intervention in arguments and wars, seeking a peaceful solution. In the myth Ishum and Erra, he pacifies the bloodthirsty rage of Erra and lets the god take the credit. He also acts as Erra's conscience.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Sukkals always tend toward diplomacy. When Nergal is married to Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld, their legendary fights often require the divine intervention of Ishum or Ereshkigal's sukkal, the disease demon Namtar.
See also:
As the sukkal of Nergal, Ishtum is immortalized in The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince (7th century BCE). The hero is about to be killed by Nergal, who believes he insulted Nergal's wife, Ereshkigal. Only the intervention of Ishum saves the prince.