Shumugan (Šumugan, Šamagan, Šumuqan, Šakkan) is an ancient Syrian and Mesopotamian god associated with animals. He's a patron of quadrupeds and herd animals such as cows, sheep, goats, wild sheep and especially donkeys and mules.
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In Ebla he's connected to mules. A shepherd god, he cares for the pasture lands and the safety of the animals grazing there. In ancient times, herds are stalked by predators such as lions, tigers, wolves, jackals and leopards.
One of his epithets calls him the "shepherd of everything". Shumugan is also named "god of wool," "god of herd animals," "god of grass-eating animals" and "god of watering places."
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He's a god of prosperity and agricultural fertility, often worshipped together with grain goddess Ezina and Ninkasi, Mesopotamian goddess of beer. Shumugan is thought to dwell on the Steppe, which is connected to the Underworld, Kur.
His sacred number is 14, which he shares with the Underworld God of War, Death and Disease, Nergal. The Mesopotamians develop the number system not for numerological reasons but as a nickname or symbol for a certain god.
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Enlil is number 50 and Inanna is 15. Like Nergal and Shumugan some gods share numbers, which can be tricky in translation. In earliest history Shumugan has sites of worship in Kish, Ur, Lagash and Farra.
Later he becomes a major deity of Assur, the capital of Assyria. There he's worshipped in the Urmashtur or 'pen of lions and wild beasts' alongside the God Urma. In some areas such as Ebla, overseers of mules make sacrifice to him.
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On the god list Anu ša amēli, Šamagan is equal to Sharshar, the god of the Sutean nomads. The Suteans are warriors with a reputation for ferocity. They dwell in the Levant, Canaan and Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian age (c. 2003 -1595 BCE). They often hire themselves out as mercenaries.
The wife of Shumugan is Ellamesi, goddess of wool. Since the 4th-3rd millenium, wool is an important item of trade and home use. Before wool for clothing, flax is spun and woven into linen, beginning c. 9000 BCE. The long fibers of the flax plant are used.
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Before wool, sheep fleece and animal furs are used for warmth. The first evidence of sheep bearing wool long enough to spin appears around 6000 BCE, showing early practice of animal husbandry or selective breeding.
Shumugan appears in the poem Death of Gilgamesh (c. 1800 BCE), which solidifies his connection to the Underworld Kur. His symbols are a ram-headed shepherd's crook and fleece.
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Other gods connected to animals are Ninkilim, god governing wild animals, rats, mice, crop-eating insects such as locusts and other pests. The God/dess Lahar is associated with animals and herds, especially sheep.
Shumugan bears similarity to the later Greek Pan in his pastoral role. He lives in the wild, is patron of wild animals but best known as a god of flocks and pastures. His worship is broadest as a god associated with donkeys and mules.
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A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and female horse. As a rule mules are infertile but on rare occasions female mules have been known to get pregnant by a male horse or donkey. Mules first came into use in Anatolia (today's Turkey). By c. 3000 BCE use of mules is widespread.
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