Nny dy ḥṭrʼ: The Characterisation of the Goddess Nanaya in the Pantheon of Hatra, as to Epigraphic Evidence.

The present paper focuses on the cult of the goddess Nanaya at Hatra - the famous North-Mesopotamian Aramaic-speaking holy city that flourished between the first century BC and the third century AD - according to epigraphic and onomastic evidence. This Mesopotamian deity, attested since the late third millennium BC, had a high rank in the pantheon of Hatra. Here, epigraphic evidence for her cult was scanty until Shrine 14, dedicated to her, was excavated in 1992. A significant number of inscriptions were found in this building, some of which include epithets of paramount importance for a more accurate understanding of Nanaya’s features. The examination of these epithets will be complemented by the study of Hatrene personal names that include the theonym Nanaya.