Second Millennium BCE The earliest known appearance of the epithet 'Lady of Arbela' comes from a fourteenth century BCE ritual text found at
Nuzi. A reference to the Egašankalamma temple has survived from the reign of
Shalmaneser I (1273-1244 BCE), who describes how he has rebuilt this temple and its ziggurat for the 'goddess Ištar, mistress of the city Arbail, my mistress' along with other temples through the empire. He claims that he rebuilt these 'cult-centres (and) shrines better than previously', implying that the temple already existed prior to this date. Given that the city probably never existed without a temple and its name is known from third millennium BCE texts from
Ebla and the
Ur III period, her cult may have existed in the third millennium BCE as well. The king of Arbela defeated by
Dadusha of
Eshnunna, an event celebrated on the Dadusha Stele, had the
theophoric name Būnu-Ištar. Cultic texts from the 12th century BCE refer to clothing and sacrifices for the temple, and a bronze statue found at
Lake Urmia for King
Aššur-Dan (1178-1133 BCE) bears the following inscription: Also from the reign of Aššur-Dan, administrative texts refer to sheep being made ready for the
nuggat ippê sacrifice to Ishtar of Arbela, and a delivery of cultic clothing for the goddess is mentioned in a text from the reign of
Enlil-kudurri-uṣur ( 1196–1192 BCE).
First Millennium BCE Ishtar of Arbela attained her highest prominence in the first millennium BCE. A shrine was built at Milqia, near Arbela, where
Shalmaneser III (859-824 BCE) reported celebrating the
akitu festival in her honour. While letters suggest that the city of Arbela and Ishtar's temple within it were poorly maintained during the reign of
Sargon II (722-705 BCE), the subsequent
Sargonid kings considered her one of their principal supporters and invested in her worship and her city. Three watercourses were built to supply Arbela with water during the reign of
Sennacherib, who described the city as "the dwelling of the goddess Ištar, the exalted lady".
Esarhaddon described the extravagant renovations he made to the temple including silver and gold overlays, and
Ashurbanipal also described renovations he had made and the assiduous care he took to support the temple's activities (RINAP Ashurbanipal 5 185:4, RINAP Ashurbanipal 7 v 98–106). Ishtar of Arbela was one of the gods listed in Esarhaddon's accession treaty, succession treaty, and his
treaty with king
Baal of Tyre as their divine guarantor. Ashurbanipal's victorious campaign against king
Teuman of
Elam began with an act of worship at the temple of Ishtar in Arbela. In the Prism B version of his annals, Ishtar of Arbela is the driver of the narrative and Ashurbanipal's unswaying supporter. She deprives Teuman of his reason so that he wishes to fight against the Assyrian king. Ashurbanipal goes to her temple, bows before her, and weeps as he invokes the goddess: The goddess then appears to one of Ashurbanipal's seers in a nocturnal vision, fully armed, and comforts Ashurbanipal before turning her rage on Teuman. Teuman was defeated at the
Battle of Ulai. When the Assyrian forces returned from their campaign, they paraded Teuman and his wife in neck-stocks before Mulissu and Ishtar of Arbela before beheading the Elamite king. When Ashurbanipal stayed in the city of Arbela, he celebrated festivals of the goddess in the months of
Abu (V, Jul/Aug) and Addaru (XII, Feb/Mar). A text known as the "Rites of Egašankalamma" describes how the temple's rites were like those performed in
Nippur. The text describes how particular ceremonial actions relate to mythological events in a ritual narrative. The narrative of ritual begins with Ishtar weeping at the death of Ishtaran.
Bēl casts
Ea down into the
Abzu,
Nabu slays the monster
Anzû, Bēl defeats
Anu and cuts off his head, and a god descends into and then returns from the underworld. Administrative texts from the 7th century refer to loans of silver made by merchants associated with the temple of Ishtar of Arbela. Contracts regarding the sale of land or slaves included 'penalty clauses' where a party in breach of contract would have to pay a fine to the temple in addition to returning money to its owner tenfold. Sources on Ishtar of Arbela during the
Neo-Babylonian and
Achaemenid periods are limited to a single administrative text from the reign of
Cyrus the Great, found in
Sippar. It mentions ten bronze rings of the 'Lady of Arbail' being moved into a storehouse in the temple of
Shamash.
First Millennium CE Assyriologist Dr.
Stephanie Dalley has suggested that the priesthood of Ishtar of Arbela continued until at least the 4th century CE. She connects the goddess Iššar-Bel known from inscriptions and theophoric names at
Hatra in the 2nd century CE with Ishtar of Arbela on the grounds of Aramaic texts that demonstrate that the Assyrians pronounced Ishtar as Iššar and her association with the Akitu festival. Further, according to the hagiographical text known as the
Acts of Aithalaha the (Pagan) Priest and Hafsai the Deacon, a priest of 'Sharbel-of-Arbela' who had recently converted to Christianity was martyred in the year 355 during the persecutions of Sasanian king
Shapur II. However, Dr. Joel Walker cautions against relying on this isolated martyr narrative, especially given that it is a fictional work modelled on older
Edessan martyriological literature. He notes that so far we have no reliable evidence of the cult of Ishtar of Arbela from after the Achaemenid period onwards, a situation which may change with further archaeology. == Temples ==