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{{Infobox demon
|name=Nergal,Nirgal,Nirgali,Erra,Irra,Aplu,Apal Enlil,Meslamtaea
|image=Ancient Parthian relief carving of the god Nergal from Hatra.jpg
| god_of           = God of [[war]], [[epidemic|plague]], [[death]], and [[disease]]
| abode            = [[Kur]] or [[Irkalla]]
| symbol           =
| consort          = [[Ereshkigal]] (according to some myths)
| parents          = [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]]
| siblings         = [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]] and [[Ninurta]]
| Roman_equivalent =
}}

Ancient Parthinian relief carving of Nergal from [[w:Hatra|Hatra]] in [[w:Iraq|Iraq]], dating to the first or second century AD (right)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Drijvers|first1=H. J. W.|title=Cults and Beliefs at Edessa|date=1980|publisher=E. J. Brill|location=Leiden, The Netherlands|isbn=90-04-06050-2|page=105|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69YUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=Nergal+Hatra#v=onepage&q=Nergal%20Hatra&f=false|ref=harv}}</ref>

'''Nergal''', '''Nirgal''', or '''Nirgali''' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{lang|sux-Latn|<sup>[[w:dingir|d]]</sup>GÌR-UNUG-GAL }}{{cuneiform|𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲}};<ref> Borger R. (2004), ''Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon'', Münster, p.402 </ref> {{Hebrew name|נֵרְגַל|Nergal|Nērḡál}}; [[Aramaic Language|Aramaic]] ܢܹܪܓܵܐܠ; {{lang-la|Nergel}}) is a [[deity]] that was worshipped throughout ancient [[w:Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] ([[w:Akkadian Empire|Akkad]], [[w:Assyria|Assyria]], and [[w:Babylonia|Babylonia]]) with the main seat of his worship at [[w:Kutha|Cuthah]] represented by the mound of [[w:Tell Ibrahim|Tell-Ibrahim]]. Other names for him are Erra and Irra.  

Nergal is mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as the deity of the city of Cuth (Cuthah): "And the men of Babylon made [[Succoth-benoth]], and the men of Cuth made Nergal" ([[Books of Kings|2 Kings]], 17:30). According to the Talmudists, his emblem was a [[w:rooster|cockerel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clarke.biblecommenter.com/2_kings/17.htm|title=Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 17:30|website=biblecommenter.com}}</ref> and Nergal means a "''dunghill cock''",<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6-DQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA268 Dictionary of phrase and fable: giving the derivation, source, or origin of common phrases, allusions, and words that have a tale to tell] - Ebenezer Cobham Brewer - 1900 - p268</ref> although standard iconography pictured Nergal as a lion. He is a son of [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]], along with [[Nanna]] and [[Ninurta]].

==Attributes==
[[File:Nergal symbol, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Nippur, Southern Mesopotamian, Iraq.jpg|thumb|Nergal symbol, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Nippur, Southern Mesopotamian, Iraq]]
[[File:Fragments of a vessel dedicated to the temple of god Nergal. Shalmaneser III kneels before Nergal. From Nineveh, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Fragments of a vessel dedicated to the temple of Nergal in [[Nineveh]], showing [[Shalmaneser III]] kneeling before Nergal, currently held in the British Museum in London]]

Nergal seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with [[Shamash]], but only representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle. He has also been called "the king of sunset".<ref name=Zolyomi /> Over time Nergal developed from a war god to a god of the underworld.<ref name=Munnich>{{cite book|last1=Munnich|first1=Maciej M.|title=The God Resheph in the Ancient Near East|date=2013|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|location=Tubingen, Germany|pages=62–63}}</ref> In the mythology, this occurred when [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]] gave him the underworld.<ref name=Zolyomi>{{cite book|last1=Zolyomi|first1=Gabor|title="Hymns to Ninisina and Nergal on the Tablets Ash 1911.235 and Ni 9672" in Your Praise Is Sweet:  A Memorial Volume for Jeremy Black from Students, Colleagues, and Friends|date=2010|publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq|location=London|pages=413–428}}</ref>

Nergal was also the deity who presides over the [[Underworld|netherworld]], and who stands at the head of the special [[wikt:pantheon|pantheon]] assigned to the government of the dead (supposed to be gathered in a large subterranean cave known as Aralu or [[w:Irkalla|Irkalla]]). In this capacity he has associated with him a goddess [[Allatu]] or [[Ereshkigal]], though at one time Allatu may have functioned as the sole mistress of Aralu, ruling in her own person. In some texts the god [[Ninazu]] is the son of Nergal and Allatu/Ereshkigal.

Ordinarily Nergal pairs with his consort '''Laz'''. Standard iconography pictured Nergal as a [[lion]], and  boundary-stone monuments symbolise him with a [[Ceremonial mace|mace]] surmounted by the head of a lion.

Nergal's fiery aspect appears in names or epithets such as ''Lugalgira'', ''[[Lugalbanda|Lugal-banda]]'' (Nergal as the fighting-cock),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=00ATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA645&lpg=PA645&dq=nergal+fighting+cock&source=bl&ots=7h_HtSDE0_&sig=fWnm9pmqHE0yxDyYP1RiXX8nrZw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rsX5T9mLPIOc8QSK_5yBBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=nergal%20fighting%20cock&f=false ''Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics''], Volume 6 – edited by James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie, Louis Herbert Gray – p.645</ref> ''Sharrapu'' ("the burner", a reference to his manner of dealing with outdated teachings),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbvDAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA198&lpg=PA198&dq=Sharrapu+burner+nergal&source=bl&ots=Lmf-wRGx3m&sig=VQR7VOiwKuj3Op1OW-PsrCYprtw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivqOies9vaAhUBoywKHWCVBqUQ6AEISDAD#v=onepage&q=Sharrapu+burner+nergal&f=false|title=Maskim Hul: Babylonian Magick|first=Michael|last=Ford|date=18 August 2018|publisher=Lulu.com|via=Google Books}}</ref> ''Erra'', ''Gibil'' (though this name more properly belongs to [[Nusku]]), and ''[[Sibitti]]'' or Seven.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tn8PG4XfuBAC&pg=PA334&lpg=PA334&dq=Sibitti+bible&source=bl&ots=WcL8-Rqdpg&sig=AH10bZNGzmfF1hGqoW2pQjgN9W0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DMP5T4T5Jof69QSZ2amJBw&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Sibitti%20bible&f=false ''David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King''] by Baruch Halpern – p.334 Reference 1</ref> A certain confusion exists in [[w:Cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] literature between [[Ninurta]] (slayer of [[Asag]] and wielder of [[Sharur]], an enchanted mace) and Nergal. Nergal has epithets such as the "raging king", the "furious one", and the like. A play upon his name—separated into three elements as ''Ne-uru-gal'' (light of the great Ûru;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=Ne-uru-gal&source=bl&ots=tXwcq7nwbM&sig=6HvaFWQkzawW6pd9yae78C2s-m0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRv6jGs9vaAhWGhSwKHbsGAIMQ6AEIVjAK#v=onepage&q=Ne-uru-gal&f=false|title=Amurru: The Home of the Northern Semites|first=Albert T.|last=Clay|date=1 March 2014|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|via=Google Books}}</ref> lord of the great dwelling)—expresses his position at the head of the nether-world pantheon.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

In the late [[Babylonian Gods#Babylonia and Assyria|Babylonian astral-theological system]] Nergal is related to the [[planet]] [[Mars]]. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] to the war-god [[Ares]] (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet. In Assyro-Babylonian ecclesiastical art the great lion-headed colossi serving as guardians to the temples and palaces seem to symbolise Nergal, just as the bull-headed colossi probably typify Ninurta.

Nergal's chief temple at Cuthah bore the name ''Meslam'', from which the god receives the designation of ''Meslamtaeda ''or ''Meslamtaea'', "the one that rises up from Meslam". The name Meslamtaeda/Meslamtaea indeed is found as early as the list of gods from Fara while the name Nergal only begins to appear in the [[w:Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] period. Amongst the [[w:Hurrians|Hurrians]] and later [[w:Hittites|Hittites]] Nergal was known as '''Aplu''', a name derived from the Akkadian ''Apal Enlil'', (''Apal'' being the construct state of ''Aplu'') meaning "the son of Enlil".{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} As god of the plague, he was invoked during the "plague years" during the reign of the [[Hittites|Hittite]] king [[Suppiluliuma]], when this disease spread from Egypt.

The [[worship]] of Nergal does not appear to have spread as widely as that of [[w:Ninurta|Ninurta]], but in the late Babylonian and early Persian period, [[syncretism]] seems to have fused the two divinities, which were invoked together as if they were identical. Hymns and votive and other inscriptions of Babylonian and [[w:Assyria|Assyria]]n rulers frequently invoke him, but we do not learn of many temples to him outside of Cuthah. The [[w:Assyria|Assyria]]n king [[w:Sennacherib|Sennacherib]] speaks of one at Tarbisu to the north of the Assyrian capital of [[Nineveh]], but significantly, although [[w:Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar II]] (606–586 BC), the great temple-builder of the neo-Babylonian monarchy, alludes to his operations at Meslam in Cuthah, he makes no mention of a sanctuary to Nergal in Babylon. Local associations with his original seat—Kutha—and the conception formed of him as a god of the dead acted in making him feared rather than actively worshipped.

== Myths ==

=== The Wrath of Erra ===
In this myth, Nergal is feeling dull and bored. To wake himself up, he decided to attack Babylon. However, Babylon is under the protection of [[Marduk]], the most powerful of the gods. Nergal travels to Babylon on the ruse of a friendly visit. Pretending to show shock at the appearance of Marduk's clothing, he convinces the god to get a change of clothing and leave the city. Once Marduk has left Babylon, Irra attacks the city. People are slain in the streets. Soon Irra is satisfied and stops the attack and makes a prophecy about a great leader to protect the people.<ref name="ancient">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancient.eu/Nergal/|title=Nergal|work=Ancient History Encyclopedia|access-date=2018-04-15}}</ref>

=== Nergal and Ereshkigal ===
According to this myth, the gods have created a banquet for which all deities are invited. However, [[Ereshkigal]] is unable to leave the underworld. Instead, she sends her son [[Namtar]] to take a share of the feast. When Namtar arrives, the other deities rise out of respect except for Erra. Insulted, Namtar goes home and tells his mother. [[Enki]] and other gods tell Nergal to enter the underworld. Nergal takes with him 14 demons. When he arrives, the gatekeeper [[Neti]] gets orders from Ereshkigal to allow him through the seven gates, stripping him of everything until the throne room, where he would be killed. But at each gate, Nergal posts two demons. When he gets to the throne he knocks over Namtar and drags Ereshkigal to the floor. He is about to kill her with his ax when she pleads for her life, promising her as his wife and to share her power with him. He consents. However, Nergal must still leave the underworld for six months, so Ereshkigal gives him back his demons and allows him to traverse  the  upper world for that time, after which he returns to her. This myth shows how war is fought in seasons.<ref name="ancient"/>

==Cult places==
The main cult centre of Nergal was [[Kutha]], and also enjoyed patronage over [[Mashkan-shapir]]. Cults are also attested for [[Dilbat]], [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Nippur]], [[Ur]] and [[Uruk]].<ref name=oracc>{{cite web|url=http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/nergal/|title=Nergal (god)|website=oracc.museum.upenn.edu}}</ref>

==Time periods attested==
Earliest evidence on Nergal is as the god ''Meslamtaea'' in Kutha, in god-lists from [[Shuruppak|Fara]] and [[Abu Salabikh]].  The name Nergal first appears in the [[Ur III]] period (22nd to 21st century BC). In the second millennium, Nergal comes to co-rule the underworld with Ereškigal. In the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian period]], he is attested as a significant figure in official Assyrian religious veneration.<ref name=oracc/>

==In demonology==
Because he was a god of fire, the desert, and the [[Kur|Underworld]] and also a god from ancient [[paganism]], later Christian writers sometimes identified Nergal as a [[demon]] and even identified him with [[Satan]]. According to [[Collin de Plancy]] and [[Johann Weyer]], Nergal was depicted as the chief of [[Hell]]'s "[[secret police]]", and worked as "an honorary spy in the service of [[Beelzebub]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/hierarchy_201505|title=Maunal 2 on the Occult|publisher=|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Apollo]], connected to [[Aplu]]
* [[Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions]]
* [[Hades]]
* [[Mamitu]]
* [[Mars (god)|Mars]]
* [[Mot]]
* [[Odin]]
* [[Pazuzu]]
* [[Set]]
* [[Tyr]]

==References==
<references />
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Nergal}}

==External links==
* ETCSL "A hymn to Nergal" and "A ''tigi'' to Nergal": [https://web.archive.org/web/20090113233004/http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.15* Unicode] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114023629/http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.15*&charenc=j ASCII]
* Ereskigal.net&nbsp;– "Ereshkigal and Nergal": [https://web.archive.org/web/20050422212706/http://www.mindwidth.com/ereshkigal/index.php?ID=1009&cat=3 Assyrian version] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20050308042708/http://www.mindwidth.com/ereshkigal/index.php?ID=1010&cat=3 Amarna version]
* [http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/myths/texts/classic/ereshner1.htm Gateway to Babylon: Nergal and Ereshkigal]

[[Category:Mesopotamian gods]]
[[Category:Underworld gods]]
[[Category:Death gods]]
[[Category:Plague gods]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]]