Papsukkal comes from Kish from the Old Babylonian period. In later times a temple in this city dedicated to him was also known as E-Akkil, originally the name of Ninshubur's temple in her cult center Akkil, located near Bad-tibira. A ritual known from a text from Sultantepe meant to solve "door troubles" (lumun dalti) involved making offerings to Papsukkal and Ninhedu. In the first millennium BCE, Papsukkal was worshiped in Kish, Babylon (where he had a temple), Arbela, Assur and Bīt-Bēlti. Additionally, a city named Dur-Papsukkal existed near Der. It is mentioned in a document according to which it was besieged by the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad V, opposed by Babylonian king Marduk-balassu-iqbi and his Elamite allies. Papsukkal was also worshiped in Uruk, but he was only introduced there in the Seleucid period, when the entire pantheon of this city was restructured. Ishtar, Nanaya and their court, encompassing deities such as Uṣur-amāssu, were surpassed in prominence by Anu and Antu. While Anu was not completely absent from Uruk at any point in time between the third and first millennium BCE, his position was that of a "figurehead" and "otiose deity" according to Paul-Alain Beaulieu. He proposes that Anu's rise was the result of Babylon losing its influence after Persian conquest, which resulted in the development of a new local theology relying on the god list An = Anum (which starts the divine hierarchy with Anu), meant to enhance local pride. A side effect of the process was the introduction of deities connected with Anu, such as Papsukkal and his wife Amasagnudi, to the pantheon of the city. In Seleucid Uruk, Papsukkal was believed to guard the main gate of Bīt Rēš, the temple complex of Anu. A socle dedicated to him located within it was known as the E-gubiduga, "house whose voice is pleasing." A festival dedicated to him, which took the form of a ceremonial meal, took place each year on the seventeenth day of the month Tašritu. Theophoric names invoking Papsukkal are well attested from the Neo-Babylonian period. However, in Seleucid Uruk he is only attested in a single one, which belonged to a scribe. They were also rare in the Old Babylonian period, and unlike Ninshubur he was rarely chosen as a family deity. References Bibliography External links Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Papsukkal (god) Mesopotamian gods Messenger gods