140 herbert niehr
the votive statue from sikani (tell Fekheriye) reveals, because of its
existence and especially because of its inscription (Kai 309), several
aspects of the city’s cult. First of all, it was said of the god hadad that he
resided in sikani (Kai 309: 5–6). in the language of ancient near east-
ern cults, this means that the god was present in the temple through
his statue or cult symbol. according to the inscription, the weather-god
appears as “hadad of sikani.” the main temple of the city was, therefore,
dedicated to this god’s cult. Furthermore, the inscription shows that the
statue of haddayisʿi was placed before the god hadad (Kai 309: 1, 15–16),
representing the permanent presence of the votive statue’s donor in the
temple of hadad.
additionally, the inscriptions offer some insight into the cult. it was
practiced by prayers (lines 5, 9–10) and the offering of sacrifices and
libations (lines 17–19). the goddess Šuwala was also included in these
practices (line 18). With these offerings hadad, as the highest god of the
pantheon, provided for the deities of sikani who were subordinate to him
(lines 3–4).
even though the votive statue provides some evidence for the existence
of a temple to the weather-god hadad, the excavation of said temple is
still pending. however, it is clear that the statue was found in the southern
part of the upper city of tell Fekheriye. since the northern part of the
upper city is occupied by a hilani building it is possible that the temple of
the city’s chief god, that is the temple of hadad, was located in the south.
the location where the statue was found favors this interpretation, as it
is unlikely that it was removed far from the temple.59
another noteworthy aspect regarding the statue is its damage. it had
already been decapitated in ancient times. this type of damage is typical
during hostile conquests, with the aim of making certain cults impossible.
in this sense the “execution” of the statue can be tied to the assyrian con-
quest of the city.
the first mention of the sin temple in harran is found in a letter from
Mari (18th century B.c.). it mentions the conclusion of a treaty between
the Benjaminites and several kings of northern syria conducted in the sin
temple of harran (arM xxVi 24: 10–15).60 in the Šattiwazza treaty (second
59 on the find spot of the statue, cf. the references in abou-assaf – Bordreuil – Millard
1982: 2–4, and on the most recent excavation in tell Fekheriye, cf. Bonatz – Bartl –
gilibert – Jauss 2008.
60 text and translation in Durand 1988: 152f; cf. also lipiński 1994: 172f.