Inzak

Inzak was a god worshipped by the people of Dilmun.[1] The ancient Sumerians regarded him as the chief god of the Dilmunite pantheon,[1] but the Dilmunites themselves regarded him as a god of Agaru, a land in eastern Arabia.[1] His main cult center was on Failaka Island,[1] where a temple was dedicated to him.[1] During the Neo-Babylonian Period, Inzak was identified with Nabu.[1]

According to Khaled al-Nashef (1986), Inzak was the deity of date-palms. He was also worshiped in Susa. It is difficult to determine whether the cult spread from Dilmun to Susa or vice versa, but either way this probably happened in prehistoric times, without Mesopotamian influence. Inzak's divine spouse was the goddess Meskilak. Together they were worshiped as the main deities of Dilmun. Both names lack plausible Sumerian etymologies and are likely native; Sumerians equated the two with Enki and Ninhursag.[2]

References
  1. Black & Green 1992, p. 66.
  2. Nashef 1986, pp. 340-366.

Bibliography
  • Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum * Press, ISBN 0714117056CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Al-Nashef, Khaled: "The Deities of Dilmun"; Bahrain Through the Ages: The Archaeology, edited by Scheich ʿAbdāllah Bahrain, Haya Ali Khalifa, Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa & Michael Rice. Routledge, 1986. ISBN 9780710301123.
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