Utu (also known as Shamash, Samas, and Babbar) is the Sumerian god of the sun and divine justice. He is the son of the moon god Nanna and the fertility goddess Ningal in the Sumerian tradition but was known as Shamash (Samas) to the Akkadians who claimed Anu or Enlil as his father.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 3500 BCEUtu the Moon God first mentioned in Sumerian writing.
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c. 2600 BCEFirst literary hymns composed to Utu using the name Shamash.
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1792 BCE - 1750 BCEReign of Hammurabi of Babylon who credits Shamash with his famous law code.
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c. 912 BCE - 612 BCEUtu/Shamash worshiped throughout Neo-Assyrian Empire, represented as solar disc with wings.
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c. 100 BCEUtu/Shamash mentioned less frequently as cuneiform writing is replaced by the alphabet.