religion 133
is that the cult came from southern Mesopotamia, possibly from Ur, and
migrated from there to harran. another holds that the sin cult of harran
was originally native to the region and contact between Ur and harran
existed only at a later point. the latter seems to be the most plausible
concept since lunar cults are traced independently of each other in many
places in the ancient near east.
During the 1st millennium B.c. the aramaeans adopted the cult of
the moon-god of harran and identified him with the West semitic lunar
deity Šaḥr/Śahr.25 in addition, the moon-god of harran appears in vari-
ous inscriptions as “lord of harran”26 or as the theophoric element in
personal names, such as siʾgabbar and sin-zera-ibni in neirab.27
the great popularity of the moon-god of harran can hardly be under-
estimated. this is reflected not only in a plethora of personal names with
the theophoric element Šaḥr/Śahr, respectively siʾ or sin, but also in the
distribution of the lunar deity cult throughout syria.
in semitic cultures the moon-god was generally assigned four spheres
of action.28 in the first, the moon-god provided the nomads and their
herds with orientation during the night. the second is the sphere of di -
vination. this is also why the moon-god was often called on to witness
an oath or contract. in the third sphere, the moon in its different phases
offered a determining factor to measure time, which is where the word
for “month” originates. lastly, the moon-god was responsible for the fer-
tility of the herds and humans. the last two aspects are connected in so
far as the moon-god gave an indication of the fertility cycle of the herds.
this led to a close connection between the moon-god and the weather-
god, as both deities retained a bull as a symbol of fertility or could be
represented by a bull. this close link between the two deities can be seen
on an iconographic level, such as on the stele from Betsaida (pl. xliii).29
likewise, the divine name ʿaglibol (“young bull of Bol”) attested much
later in palmyra still points to this link.30 Furthermore, the crescent moon,
25 on the etymology of the divine name Šaḥr/Śahr, cf. Krebernik 1993–1997: 364, who
refers to the syrian word sahrā (“moon”). less likely is the interpretation “the vigilant”
favored by green 1992: 39 and theuer 2000: 368 n. 222.
26 cf. lemaire 2001b: 15, 20, the inscriptions from arslan tash (see section 2.5), and an
inscription of King Bar-rakkab of samʾal (see Kai 218 in section 3.1).
27 on neirab, see sections 3.1 and 3.6. For personal names containing the element sin,
cf. lipiński 1994: 174–181 and Zadok 1995a.
28 cf. on the following especially theuer 2000 and novák 2001.
29 see section 4.3.
30 cf. tubach 2006: 200–206.