Provenance: Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian)
Gender: Female
Divine Attributes: Vizier of Anu
Name’s Meaning: Mother who cannot be pushed aside
Titles, Epithets, and other Descriptors: Lady of the Gate
Consort/s: Papsukkal
Patron City and/or Shrine: Uruk
Attested in Literature: An=Anum
Regional/Cultural Identity: Amasagnudi, Ninkagal (Sumerian), Ninabul (Babylonian)
Amasagnudi
She was the divine vizier of Anu, and later of Inanna, but very little is known of her. Only featured in a few sources of literature, none of which are very prominent or revealing as to her identity or persona.
Name
Amasagnudi 𒀭𒂼𒉺𒃶𒉡𒁲 means “mother who cannot be pushed away” or “mother who cannot be pushed aside.” As a supposed vizier, her name could imply persistence, constant oversight, or perhaps the stereotypical nagging motherly mentality. In a late Seleucid lexical glossary text, she is equated to Ninshubur.
Titles and Epithets
Also referred to as Ninkagal or Ninabul, which means “Lady of the Gate.”
Divine Portfolio
She is understood to be the vizier or sukkal of Anu, and in other texts to Inanna.
Attested Chronological Range
As Amasagnudi, her earliest appearance in literature comes to us in the An=Anum list, composed during the Neo Assyrian Period, but perhaps compiled from earlier fragments. Aside from this, there doesn’t appear to be any other mentions in literature until Seleucid scribes record the name in numerous god lists. Her Babylonian counterpart Ninabul on the other hand, is mentioned in earlier texts from around 1800 BCE.
Ancestry
According to the An=Anum list, as well as in later sources, Amasagnudi is considered to be the wife of Papsukkal. No literature mentions her parents, if she had any siblings, or children.
Syncretism
Amasagnudi’s widespread popularity with little to no references in literature causes us to suspect that she is an aspect of Ninshubur. Some scholars accept they are the same goddess, while others consider them to have been conflated by Seleucid scribes. Not enough information exists to properly determine if they are indeed the same, but there is enough connection to consider it a strong possibility.
Attested in Literature
Originally mentioned in the An=Anum list and later Seleucid Period lexical texts.