Namni and Ḫazzi

Lore & Background

Namni and Ḫazzi were deified mountains whose names could be written with determinatives for divinity or mountain. They commonly appear together in sources from the Bogazköy Archive and other Hurrian and Hittite religious texts. Ḫazzi was the divine representation of Jebel al-Aqra (historically Saphon and Cassius), while Namni might have represented the Anti-Cassius or a peak of Jebel al-Aqra itself. The spelling Hazzi is sometimes used for Ḫazzi, and Namni could also be referred to as Nanni, though in an offering list from Mari the theonym Nanni might be a variant of Nanaya instead.

Reader's Guide

Namni and Ḫazzi are significant as members of the circle of deities surrounding the Hurrian weather god Teššub, appearing in offering lists, rituals, and festivals such as the ḫišuwa festival. They were incorporated into the Hittite Empire pantheon and venerated in Šapinuwa and Emar. Though they play no active role in major Hurrian myths like the Kumarbi Cycle, allusions to a conflict involving them appear in the myth of Mount Pišaiša and in texts dealing with the deity Eltara. Their pairing influenced Ugaritic literature, referenced once in the Epic of Kirta. Seals and reliefs showing an armed weather god straddling two mountains are usually presumed to depict them.

Did You Know?

• Ḫazzi corresponds to Jebel al-Aqra, historically known as Saphon and Cassius.
• The identification of the mountain Namni represented is disputed; it may be the Anti-Cassius or a peak of Jebel al-Aqra.
• In the Song of Ullikummi, Ḫazzi is the peak from which Teššub observes the eponymous monster.
• Individuals bearing theophoric names invoking Ḫazzi are attested in texts from Alalakh and Ugarit.