{"id":5907,"date":"2026-05-13T20:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/tarhunna-weather-god-of-the-hittites\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:33:00","slug":"tarhunna-weather-god-of-the-hittites","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/tarhunna-weather-god-of-the-hittites\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarhunna: Weather God of the Hittites"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"5907\" class=\"elementor elementor-5907 elementor-2614 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-hero e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-hero\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-hl e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-hl\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-htxt e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-htxt\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-h1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-h1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tarhunna, Hittite Weather God and Imperial Lord<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-lead elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-lead\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tarhunna, usually written in cuneiform texts as <em>D U<\/em> or <em>Tar\u1e2bunna<\/em>, is the supreme weather god of the Hittite empire in the second millennium before the common era.<\/p><p>As god of thunderstorm and storm he rules the sky above Anatolia, protects the Great King in battle, and stands at the center of numerous state treaties that seal their oaths in his name.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-pillc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-pillc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-pills elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-pills\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Weather god of the Hittite tradition.\">Weather God<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hittite-anatolian-tarhunna-thousands-of-gods-and-protective-practice\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Mythology of the Hittite tradition.\">Hittite<\/a><span class=\"iwg-tradition-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"High deity.\">High Deity<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-tocc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-tocc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-toc elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-toc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-tarhunna-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-tarhunna-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__iwgw-tarhunna-toc\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-hr e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-hr\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-heroimg iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-heroimg\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_hethitisch_tarhunna-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-5908\" alt=\"Tarhunna - Gods from the Hittite tradition, historical and illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_hethitisch_tarhunna-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_hethitisch_tarhunna-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_hethitisch_tarhunna-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_hethitisch_tarhunna.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s0h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s0h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Classification and Short Profile<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s0c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s0c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s0t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s0t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tarhunna belongs to the innermost circle of the Hittite state pantheon and appears in texts from the archives of \u1e2aattu\u0161a (today Bo\u011fazkale) as the supreme male imperial god.<\/p><p>In his <em>Geschichte der hethitischen <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">Religion<\/span><\/em> (1994), Volkert Haas showed that Tarhunna is continuously attested from the Old Hittite period of the 17th and 16th centuries BCE and remained the central weather <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> until the fall of the empire around 1180 BCE.<\/p><p>His sphere of activity is broad: thunderstorm, rain, the violence of battle, royal protection, the treaty oath, and the fertility of the fields.<\/p><p>Within the <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hittite-anatolian-tarhunna-thousands-of-gods-and-protective-practice\/\">Hittite tradition<\/a> he holds a position similar to that of <a href=\"\/en\/teshub-hurrian-weather-god\/\">Teshub<\/a> in the Hurrian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>, with whom he was increasingly identified in the imperial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> of the Great Kings.<\/p><p>In <em>The Kingdom of the Hittites<\/em> (2005), Trevor Bryce calls this merging one of the most important developments in the religious history of the late <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Prehistoric epoch in which bronze was the most important metal for tools.\" tabindex=\"0\">Bronze Age<\/span> of Anatolia.<\/p><p>Tarhunna appears in local variants, for example as the weather god of Nerik, of Aleppo, of Ziplanda, or of \u1e2aattu\u0161a, and each maintained its own cult sites, festival calendars, and priestly hierarchies.<\/p><p>In religious-studies terms, Tarhunna belongs to the widespread type of the Indo-European weather god who rules from the peak of a high mountain or from a seat in the clouds.<\/p><p>Parallels are found in Indra, Zeus, and the Germanic Donar; Tarhunna, however, differs from these through the strong contractual and legal component that marks him as the guarantor of oaths.<\/p><p>Hittite <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The scholarly doctrine of God and of the faith of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span> wove the weather god together with kingship to a unique degree: the Great King is the &#8216;son&#8217; or &#8216;beloved servant&#8217; of Tarhunna, and his legitimacy depends on divine favor.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s1h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s1h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Name and Etymology<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s1c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s1c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s1t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s1t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The name Tarhunna derives from the Indo-European root <em>*terh\u2082-<\/em> &#8216;to cross, to overcome, to be strong&#8217;. In <em>How to Kill a Dragon<\/em> (1995), Calvert Watkins showed in detail that the root yielded in Hittite the verb <em>tar\u1e2b-<\/em> &#8216;to be victorious, to subdue&#8217;. Tarhunna is therefore literally the &#8216;victor&#8217; or &#8216;subduer&#8217;, a speaking name that programmatically anticipates his principal mythological battle against the serpent Illuyanka.<\/p><p>The formation of the name with the element <em>-na<\/em> is productive in Anatolian and forms divine names from verbal stems.<\/p><p>In the cuneiform texts the name is almost always written with the Sumerian logogram DU (read: <em>I\u0161kur\/Adad<\/em>) or DIM, followed by Hittite phonetic complements such as <em>-a\u0161, -un, -ni<\/em>. A rare phonetic spelling <em>Tar-\u1e2bu-na-a\u0161<\/em> is found in Old Hittite festival rituals.<\/p><p>In Luwian the form <em>Tar\u1e2bunt<\/em> appears, in Palaic <em>Tar\u1e2bunna<\/em>. The variation of the form is an important trace in the history of the language and is discussed in detail in the works of H. Craig Melchert (<em>Anatolian Historical Phonology<\/em>, 1994).<\/p><p>Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions of the late and post-Hittite period in Karkami\u0161, Mara\u015f, and Tabal show a standing god with axe and bundle of lightning; the logogram DEUS.TONITRUS designates him directly as &#8216;thunder god&#8217;. In Akkadian god-list material he is identified with Adad, who in turn corresponds to the West Semitic Hadad; this chain of identification shows the consistent perception of Tarhunna as &#8216;the weather god&#8217; par excellence in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> Near Eastern context.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s2h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s2h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Description and Iconography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s2c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s2c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s2t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s2t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In imagery Tarhunna appears as a bearded man in a short, belted kilt, a pointed cap with horns on his head, in one hand a three-pronged lightning fork, in the other a battle axe.<\/p><p>This <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The study of pictorial content and its meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">iconography<\/span> is recorded in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the authoritatively recognized body of writings of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">canonical<\/span> form on the rock reliefs of Yaz\u0131l\u0131kaya, the great pictorial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> near \u1e2aattu\u0161a. In <em>Die Hethiter<\/em> (1976), Kurt Bittel described Tarhunna in the main chamber A of the sanctuary as the leader of the male <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A solemn religious procession.\" tabindex=\"0\">procession<\/span> of gods.<\/p><p>Characteristic is his mount, or rather his team: Tarhunna drives a chariot drawn by two bulls named \u0160eri (&#8216;Day&#8217;) and \u1e2aurri (&#8216;Night&#8217;). This bull-team iconography is a direct indication of Hurrian influence; it closely links Tarhunna with <a href=\"\/en\/teshub-hurrian-weather-god\/\">Teshub<\/a>.<\/p><p>The bull itself is his <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacred<\/span> animal and is sacrificed in his <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>; in numerous reliefs a bull stands beside the weather god or carries him on its back.<\/p><p>The bronze figurine of a striding Tarhunna from Tarsus shows the god with raised axe and is one of the best-known individual objects of Hittite minor art.<\/p><p>In addition, rock reliefs are known in which Tarhunna assumes royal protection: at Yaz\u0131l\u0131kaya the weather god of \u1e2aattu\u0161a embraces the Great King Tud\u1e2baliya IV and thus places him under divine protection.<\/p><p>The pictorial formula of the divine embrace is referred to in scholarship as the &#8216;tutelary gesture&#8217; and is a hallmark of royal legitimation. In Karkami\u0161, Aleppo, and other Late Hittite sites the Tarhunna iconography remains present into the 8th century BCE, frequently in connection with the winged sun-disk <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands representatively for an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> of kingship.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s3h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s3h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Mythological Narratives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s3c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s3c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s3t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s3t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most important Tarhunna narrative is the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted story about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> of the dragon battle against <em>Illuyanka<\/em>, an enormous serpent. The text survives in two versions from the Old Hittite <em>purulli<\/em> spring festival (CTH 321) and was edited by Gary Beckman in <em>Hittite Myths<\/em> (1998).<\/p><p>In the first version Tarhunna is defeated by Illuyanka and loses his heart and his eyes; only the cunning of the goddess Inara and the mortal \u1e2aupa\u0161iya leads to the destruction of the dragon.<\/p><p>Inara holds a feast, invites Illuyanka, lets him become drunk and full, then \u1e2aupa\u0161iya binds the serpent with a rope, and Tarhunna is able to kill it.<\/p><p>In the second version Tarhunna fathers a son with a mortal woman, who, against expectation, becomes Illuyanka&#8217;s son-in-law and brings back to his father the stolen organs. The son then demands that his father kill him, because he cannot maintain loyalty to both sides. Tarhunna fulfills this tragic request and regains his power.<\/p><p>The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A recurring element of content in art or narrative.\" tabindex=\"0\">motif<\/span> of the weather god&#8217;s dragon battle is, in the history of religion, one of the oldest Indo-European narrative patterns. Watkins showed that the formula &#8216;the hero slew the dragon&#8217; (Indo-European <em>*gwhen- h\u2083egwhim<\/em>) is preserved in almost all Indo-European languages.<\/p><p>With Tarhunna it becomes a seasonal myth: the victory over the dragon marks the change from the dead winter season to the fruitful spring.<\/p><p>Further narratives in which Tarhunna appears are the <a href=\"\/en\/telipinu-vegetation-god-of-the-hittites\/\">Telipinu<\/a> <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted story about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>, in which Tarhunna searches for his vanished son, as well as the <a href=\"\/en\/ullikummi-stone-giant-against-the-gods\/\">Ullikummi<\/a> cycle, in which as <a href=\"\/en\/teshub-hurrian-weather-god\/\">Teshub<\/a> he fights against the stone giant. In all three narratives Tarhunna does not appear as infallible; he is vulnerable, can lose, and needs allies and cleverness.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s4h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s4h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Cult and Veneration<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s4c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s4c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s4t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s4t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tarhunna&#8217;s <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> was spread across the entire Hittite imperial territory. His most important <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> lay in Nerik, a North Anatolian city that was for a time lost to the hostile Kaska people and whose recovery became a religio-political imperative.<\/p><p>The weather god of Nerik was an independent local hypostasis and the addressee of numerous prayers of the Great King Mur\u0161ili II (for example CTH 376).<\/p><p>A second principal place of veneration was Aleppo (\u1e2aalab), already since Old Syrian times the seat of an important weather god; after his integration into the Hittite <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>, his local <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A building that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span> was rebuilt in \u1e2aattu\u0161a.<\/p><p>The <em>purulli<\/em> spring festival was the annual main festival of Tarhunna. Volkert Haas reconstructed its course: festival procession, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> repetition of the dragon battle, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A gift to a deity to express thanks, request, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacrifice<\/span> of bulls, hosting of the gods with bread, beer, and wine.<\/p><p>In the imperial temple of \u1e2aattu\u0161a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A gift to a deity to express thanks, request, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacrifices<\/span> were offered daily; the Hittites kept extensive temple inventories in which cult implements, garments, and statuettes are recorded. A detailed study of these inventories is available in Jared Miller&#8217;s <em>Royal Hittite Instructions<\/em> (2013).<\/p><p>In the law of state treaties Tarhunna is the supreme oath god.<\/p><p>Treaties between Hittite kings and vassal rulers regularly begin with a long list of gods, at the head of which stands &#8216;the weather god of heaven&#8217;. If a party violates the oath, Tarhunna is to &#8216;smash it like a clay jar&#8217;, as attested in the treaties with Aziru of Amurru or with \u0160attiwaza of Mittani.<\/p><p>The priestly organization of his cult comprised several classes: <em>SANGA<\/em> priests for daily service, <em>L\u00daAZU<\/em> conjurers for special rituals, and <em>SAL \u0160U.GI<\/em> priestesses (&#8216;Old Women&#8217;) for <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off evil: of signs and objects intended to keep harmful influences away.\" tabindex=\"0\">apotropaic<\/span> and healing rituals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s5h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s5h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Practice of Protection and the Apotropaic<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s5c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s5c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s5t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s5t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In Hittite everyday life Tarhunna was frequently <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> to ward off weather damage, droughts, and hostile incursions. Numerous prayers (Hittite <em>arkuwar<\/em>) to the weather god of \u1e2aatti survive, for example the plague prayers of Mur\u0161ili II (CTH 378), in which the king asks for the ending of a great epidemic.<\/p><p>In religious-studies terms these texts are significant because they contain a differentiated <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the doctrines of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theological<\/span> argumentation: the king reasons with the god, points to his own acts of atonement, and admonishes the gods not to abandon their servants entirely.<\/p><p>Apotropaic rites frequently used the symbols of Tarhunna: the axe and the three-pronged lightning. On seals and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A worn object to which a protective, misfortune-averting effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">amulets<\/span> the striding weather god with raised weapon appears as a protective image.<\/p><p>At building sacrifices, bronze figurines bearing the Tarhunna iconography were deposited in the foundations of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> and palaces; the \u1e2aattu\u0161a area has yielded a larger number of such statuettes.<\/p><p>In <em>Materia Magica et Medica Hethitica<\/em> (2003), Volkert Haas showed that thunder tools (stone axes, presumably Neolithic finds interpreted as thunderbolts) were kept in houses to ensure protection from lightning.<\/p><p>From a religious-studies perspective, the close connection between imperial rule and the promise of protection is of interest: Tarhunna guarantees protection primarily not to the individual, but to the king and through him to the people, against chaos and enemies.<\/p><p>The individual <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or conjuring address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> for protection is documented more rarely in the Hittite material than in Mesopotamia or Ugarit, but is certainly present in the texts of the &#8216;Old Women&#8217; (<em>\u1e2aAR.\u1e2aAR<\/em>). The iWell Guard regards Tarhunna as a figure of historical and religious history, not as a present-day addressee of protection.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s6h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s6h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Parallels in Other Cultures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s6c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s6c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s6t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s6t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tarhunna belongs to the great type of the Indo-European weather god and is closely related to the Hurrian <a href=\"\/en\/teshub-hurrian-weather-god\/\">Teshub<\/a>, the West Semitic Hadad, and Indra.<\/p><p>With the dragon-battle <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A recurring element of content in art or narrative.\" tabindex=\"0\">motif<\/span>, parallels can be drawn to Indra&#8217;s victory over Vritra in the Rigveda, Zeus&#8217; battle against Typhon, and Thor&#8217;s battle against the Midgard serpent. In <em>Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens<\/em> (2001), Daniel Schwemer presented a comprehensive comparative study of this <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span>; the work remains the standard reference to this day.<\/p><p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/phoenicians-and-carthage-baal-tanit-and-the-tradition-of-protection\/\">Phoenician pantheon<\/a> the god Baal-Hadad corresponds very closely, in function and dragon-battle <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted story about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>, to the Tarhunna profile. Here too the weather god fights against the chaotic water, here Yam, structurally corresponding to Tarhunna&#8217;s antagonist Illuyanka.<\/p><p>These parallels are no coincidence, but the result of intensive cultural exchange in the Late Bronze Age between Anatolia, North Syria, and the Levant.<\/p><p>In terms of the history of religion, the spread of the dragon-battle motif rests on an Indo-European heritage as well as on Northwest Semitic storm-god traditions; the Hittite variant is a particularly well-documented mixed form.<\/p><p>The Luwian and Palaic material also records independent weather-god traditions that are in part identified with, in part distinguished from, Tarhunna.<\/p><p>In <em>From Hittite to Homer<\/em> (2016), Mary Bachvarova traced in detail the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">transmission<\/span> of these Anatolian weather-god myths into the Greek narrative material, referring in particular to the Typhon <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted story about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>, which shows structural borrowings from the Anatolian-Syrian region.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s7h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s7h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Present-Day Reception and Research<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s7c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s7c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s7t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s7t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Modern Hittitological research begins with the decipherment of Hittite cuneiform by Bed\u0159ich Hrozn\u00fd in 1915. Since then the texts on Tarhunna have appeared in numerous editions, above all in the series <em>Keilschrifttexte aus Boghazk\u00f6y<\/em> (KBo) and <em>Keilschrifturkunden aus Boghazk\u00f6y<\/em> (KUB).<\/p><p>Volkert Haas, Trevor Bryce, Daniel Schwemer, and Gary Beckman are among the most important authorities of the 20th and early 21st centuries. In <em>Hittite Prayers<\/em> (SBL 2002), Itamar Singer translated and commented on the most important prayers to Tarhunna.<\/p><p>In popular reception Tarhunna is less well known than his Indo-European relatives Thor or Zeus. In the Turkish cultural sphere he has been experiencing a modest return since the late 2020s through the marketing of Yaz\u0131l\u0131kaya and Bo\u011fazkale as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<\/p><p>A spiritual revival in the neo-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Synonymous with heathen; belonging to a pre-Christian religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">pagan<\/span> sense, by contrast with Germanic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted stories of gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>, is hardly to be observed.<\/p><p>In religious-studies terms, Tarhunna is today present above all as an object of study in comparative <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted stories of gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span> and ancient Near Eastern religious history.<\/p><p>Current research focuses on the investigation of local hypostases (weather god of Nerik, Aleppo, Ziplanda), on the relationship between Tarhunna and <a href=\"\/en\/teshub-hurrian-weather-god\/\">Teshub<\/a>, and on the Hieroglyphic Luwian tradition of the Late Hittite <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Prehistoric epoch after the Bronze Age, marked by the working of iron.\" tabindex=\"0\">Iron Age<\/span>. The iWell Guard records Tarhunna within this historical and philological framework.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s8h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s8h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Literature and Sources<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s8c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s8c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-s8t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-s8t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The following works are the most important standard references for Tarhunna and the Hittite weather-god <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span> and are also cited in the further lexicon work.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2ba3ac4e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2ba3ac4e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2fd93c83 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2fd93c83\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tarhunna in the Hittite State Treaties<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2a9ea383 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp2a9ea383\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp258c629f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp258c629f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A particularly informative group of sources for Tarhunna are the Hittite state treaties. When a Hittite Great King concluded a treaty with a vassal or a foreign ruler, it was authenticated by a long list of gods of both sides, who were invoked as witnesses and as guarantors of the treaty.<\/p><p>In these god lists the weather god regularly stands in first or foremost place.<\/p><p>The treaties often name a whole series of weather gods of various places: the weather god of heaven, the weather god of Hatti, the weather god of Nerik, the weather god of Zippalanda, and many further local manifestations.<\/p><p>This enumeration shows that Tarhunna was not conceived as a single, centrally organized figure, but as a god who possessed his own, locally anchored presence at every significant cult site.<\/p><p>The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A verbal formula intended to inflict misfortune on a person or thing.\" tabindex=\"0\">curse<\/span> formulas at the end of the treaties are especially striking. Whoever breaks the treaty is to be destroyed by the weather god and the other gods, together with his land, his descendants, and his property. The weather god appears here as the guardian of the oath and of the interstate order.<\/p><p>The famous treaty between Hattusili III and Ramses II of Egypt, of which both a Hittite and an Egyptian version survive, expressly invokes the weather god on the Hittite side. These treaties are thus a first-rank source for the towering role that Tarhunna played in the political and legal order of the Hittite empire.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2476cc38 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2476cc38\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp218f24de elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp218f24de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Weather God of Nerik and the Problem of Local Manifestations<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp28b609ad e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp28b609ad\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp23309475 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp23309475\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Among the many local weather gods of the Hittite empire, the weather god of Nerik holds a special importance. Nerik was an old cult city in the north of the Hittite core territory, which was for a time occupied by the Kaska, a hostile mountain people.<\/p><p>The loss and the later recovery of Nerik occupied the Hittite kings over generations, and the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> of the weather god there was closely interwoven with this history.<\/p><p>Hattusili III reports in his autobiographical text, the so-called Apology, in detail of his connection to Nerik and to its weather god. He presents himself as the one who restored the city and its <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>.<\/p><p>The weather god of Nerik was thus not only a religious but also a highly political quantity, by whose veneration the legitimacy of a ruler was measured.<\/p><p>Here a fundamental problem in dealing with Tarhunna becomes apparent. The Hittite texts carefully distinguish between the various local weather gods, yet at the same time treat them as manifestations of the same divine sphere of activity.<\/p><p>Whether an ancient Hittite understood the weather god of Nerik and the weather god of Zippalanda as two gods or as two aspects of one god cannot be answered unambiguously from the sources.<\/p><p>Scholarship speaks of local manifestations and emphasizes that the modern question of the identity of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> is in part foreign to the ancient texts. The evidence from Nerik is so important precisely because it is particularly well documented and shows how closely local <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>, imperial history, and royal ideology were connected.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2574822b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2574822b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp24676e24 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp24676e24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tarhunt in Luwian and Post-Hittite Anatolia<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp26710a68 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp26710a68\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2952e01d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp2952e01d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Hittite Tarhunna had a closely related counterpart among the Luwians, a people of Anatolia who likewise spoke an Indo-European language and whose weather god was called Tarhunt. Unlike Hittite, which disappeared after the fall of the Hittite great empire around 1180 before our era, Luwian lived on, and with it the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed toward a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> of Tarhunt.<\/p><p>In the so-called Late Hittite or Neo-Hittite minor kingdoms that existed after the collapse of the great empire in southeastern Anatolia and North Syria, Tarhunt is a central <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span>.<\/p><p>He appears in Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and on numerous reliefs, for example from Karkemish, Malatya, and other principalities. These inscriptions, composed in the Luwian hieroglyphic script, were deciphered in the course of the 20th century, with works by Emmanuel Laroche, John David Hawkins, and others being fundamental.<\/p><p>In the reliefs of this period Tarhunt frequently appears on a bull or a bull-drawn chariot, with axe and bundle of lightning. This iconography stands in the tradition of the old Anatolian weather god but also shows influences from the Syrian region.<\/p><p>Linguistically the name Tarhunt is connected with the Hittite verb for to be victorious or to be mighty, so that the divine name means roughly the Victorious or the Mighty.<\/p><p>Through Luwian and through Anatolian personal names the designation of the weather god can even be traced into the Greco-Roman period of Asia Minor. Tarhunna and Tarhunt are thus an example of how a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> could survive by centuries the fall of the empire that had borne its main cult.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-lit e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-lit\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-lith elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-lith\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Literature (Selection)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-litc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-litc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-litt elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-litt\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><ul><li>Volkert Haas: <em>Geschichte der hethitischen Religion<\/em> (Leiden 1994)<\/li><li>Trevor Bryce: <em>The Kingdom of the Hittites<\/em> (Oxford 2005)<\/li><li>Daniel Schwemer: <em>Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens<\/em> (Wiesbaden 2001)<\/li><li>Gary Beckman: <em>Hittite Myths<\/em> (SBL 1998)<\/li><li>Calvert Watkins: <em>How to Kill a Dragon<\/em> (Oxford 1995)<\/li><li>Jared Miller: <em>Royal Hittite Instructions<\/em> (SBL 2013)<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-tarhunna e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-tarhunna\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-tarhunna-t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-tarhunna-t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As weather god and <em>imperial lord<\/em>, Tarhunna guaranteed in Hittite royal ideology rain, victory, and fidelity to treaties, as state treaties and rock reliefs in Hattu\u0161a attest.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-kwd e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-kwd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-kwdc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-kwdc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-kwdt elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-kwdt\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Related key terms: Tarhunna Hittites weather god Illuyanka purulli Nerik \u1e2aattu\u0161a chariot god.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-cc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-cc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"iwg-cc-tarhunna\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccinner e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-ccinner\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-cch elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-cch\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">iWell Guard and Traditions of Protection<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-cct elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-cct\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p>iWell Guard ties in with the cultural-historical tradition of portable protective objects, in the tradition of <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hittite-anatolian-tarhunna-thousands-of-gods-and-protective-practice\/\">Hittite<\/a> and many other cultures worldwide. 41 layers, solid gold, platinum, silver, manufactured in Germany. 30-day right of return.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb iwg-cc-button iwg-cc-cta-2026-05-13 elementor-widget elementor-widget-jet-button\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-ccb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"jet-button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-jet-button jet-elements\"><div class=\"jet-button__container\"><a class=\"jet-button__instance jet-button__instance--icon-left hover-effect-1\" href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/about-iwell-guard-the-protective-pendant-in-detail\/?utm_source=iwell-guard.com&amp;utm_medium=info-box&amp;utm_campaign=wesen-tradition\"><div class=\"jet-button__plane jet-button__plane-normal\"><\/div><div class=\"jet-button__plane jet-button__plane-hover\"><\/div><div class=\"jet-button__state jet-button__state-normal\"><span class=\"jet-button__label\">More about the iWell Guard<\/span><\/div><div class=\"jet-button__state jet-button__state-hover\"><span class=\"jet-button__label\">More about the iWell Guard<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><style>.elementor-element.elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb .jet-button__instance{width:320px;height:56px;}.elementor-element.elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb .jet-button__state-normal .jet-button__label{text-align:center;margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;color:#1a1b20;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:4px;line-height:1.714em;text-transform:uppercase;}.elementor-element.elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb .jet-button__state-hover .jet-button__label{text-align:center;margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;color:#FECC76;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:4px;line-height:1.714em;text-transform:uppercase;}.elementor-element.elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb .jet-button__plane-normal{background-color:#FECC76;border-style:solid;border-color:#C99540;border-width:2px 2px 2px 2px;}.elementor-element.elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccb .jet-button__plane-hover{background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.55);border-style:solid;border-color:#FECC76;border-width:2px 2px 2px 2px;}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-ccd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-ccd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:13px;opacity:0.7;margin-top:14px\" data-nosnippet=\"true\">Personal experiences may vary. Not a medical device. No promise of healing.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-disc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-disc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgw-tarhunna-discw elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"iwgw-tarhunna-discw\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<footer data-nosnippet=\"true\" class=\"iwg-disclaimer-block\"><p data-nosnippet=\"true\">iWell Guard is <strong>not a medical device<\/strong> and does not replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment. The religious-studies content is cultural-historical classification, not a recommendation for spiritual practice.<\/p><\/footer>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tarhunna, Hittite Weather God and Imperial Lord Tarhunna, usually written in cuneiform texts as D U or Tar\u1e2bunna, is the supreme weather god of the Hittite empire in the second millennium before the common era. As god of thunderstorm and storm he rules the sky above Anatolia, protects the Great King in battle, and stands [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5908,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Tarhunna weather god Hittites","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Tarhunna: Hittite Weather God, Cult and Sources","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Tarhunna, the Hittite weather god, was regarded as imperial lord and victor in battle. A religious-studies overview with mythology and cult.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"class_list":["post-5907","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tarhunna: Hittite Weather God, Cult and Sources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tarhunna, the Hittite weather god, was regarded as imperial lord and victor in battle. 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