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Sin

Mesopotamian lunar god

Also known as Sin (mythology) · Sīn · Suen · Nanna · Dilimbabbar

Instance of: lunar deity

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Sin or Suen (Akkadian: 𒀭𒂗𒍪, dEN.ZU) also known as Nanna (Sumerian: 𒀭𒋀𒆠 DŠEŠ.KI, DNANNA) is the Mesopotamian god representing the moon. While these two names originate in two different languages, respectively Akkadian and Sumerian, they were already used interchangeably to refer to one deity in the Early Dynastic period. They were sometimes combined into the double name Nanna-Suen. A third well attested name is Dilimbabbar (𒀭𒀸𒁽𒌓). Additionally, the name of the moon god could be represented by logograms reflecting his lunar character, such as d30 (𒀭𒌍), referring to days in the lunar month or dU4.SAKAR (𒀭𒌓𒊬), derived from a term referring to the crescent. In addition to his astral role, Sin was also closely associated with cattle herding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that he could serve as a judge of the dead in the underworld. A distinct tradition in which he was regarded either as a god of equal status as the usual heads of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Enlil and Anu, or as a king of the gods in his own right, is also attested, though it only had limited recognition. In Mesopotamian art, his symbol was the crescent. When depicted anthropomorphically, he typically either wore headwear decorated with it or held a staff topped with it, though on kudurru the crescent alone serves as a representation of him. He was also associated with boats.

Overview

All data

37 statements · 5% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
Spouse: Ningal
Child: Shamash
Inanna
Nusku
Ningublaga
Numushda
Time period: ancient Near East
Father: Enlil
Mother: Ninlil
Said to be the same as: Kusuh
Yarikh
Arma
Moon
Worshipped by: Mesopotamian mythology
Sumerian religion
Native label: 𒀭𒂗𒍪 transliteration or transcription: Su'en, Sîn
𒀭𒋀𒆠 transliteration or transcription: ᴰŠEŠ.KI, ᴰNANNA
Different from: Sin

On other databases

17 identifiers linking Sin across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

externally sourced

Source last edited September 27, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Sin (Q217420). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/sin-Q217420