Introduction

When the Babylonian king Nabonidus wished to appoint his daughter Enningaldi-Nanna as high priestess of Ur, in 554 BC, a problem arose: the institution of the entu-priestess had disappeared so long ago that nobody could remember how she should be dressed. Fortunately, Nabonidus found a stela of Nebuchadnezzar I full of details about the consecration ritual of an entu-priestess. Nabonidus wrote in his royal inscription:

I beheld an ancient stela of Nebuchadnezzar (the 1st) son of Ninurta-nādin-šumi, a former king, upon which was fashioned the picture of an entu priestess. They had also written down her insignia, her garments, and her ornaments, and placed it in the Egipar. 1 This passage shows how important it was that the new priestess be dressed with the proper insignia (in Akkadian, simtu, 2 the symbols of her honourable position), proper clothing (lubuštu) and ornaments (tiqnu). 3 Through this example, one can see that dressing distinguished the priestess from the other people and expressed her high status. Furthermore, her outfit was specific to her function and had to conform to the old traditions and religious customs.

For the purpose of this paper, I will follow the definition of the "Babylonian priest[s]" proposed by Caroline Waerzeggers: "the persons who mediated contact with the gods as part of their positions in the institutionalized cult in Babylonian temples." 4 In 1st millennium BC Babylonia, the priests and priest-esses formed a distinct group of people characterized by their occupation, to serve the gods, and by their privileges in the temples. Examples of these privileges are the possession of prebends and access to the inner spaces of the sanctuaries, courtyard-kisallu and cellas-egipar. During the consecration cer-emony of the priests, special attention was paid to the body of the applicant. The priest had to show a "pure" bodywithout any signs of illness-and he had to be shaved by the barbers. Therefore, the priestly identity was partly expressed through his appearance, including a specific hairstyle, a healthy and clean body, and also the wearing of particular clothing. The present paper focuses on this last point.

In Mesopotamia, as in other cultures, dress was a way to express identity. To what extent does the expression of the priestly identity lie in the construction of a distinct bodily appearance through clothing? The written documentation coming from Babylonia and dating from the Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid, and Hellenistic periods provide some answers. Texts mentioning the priests' cloth-ing are rare. Some information is given in the Hellenistic ritual texts from Uruk, especially UVB 15 40 published in 1959 by Adam Falkenstein, which describes the garments worn by priests and by the king during a ritual. [START_REF]The mukkalu priest, the […… are clad in] a lubāru-garment (and) a ḫullānu-coat[END_REF] I will compare this information with the daily records from the Neo-Babylonian period that mention the same type of garments. Previous studies, fundamental for the research on Babylonian garments, are the two volumes published by Stefan Zawadzki on the garments of the gods at Sippar and the book of Paul-Alain Beaulieu on the pantheon of Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian period, as well as the study of Neo-Assyrian garments published by Salvatore Gaspa. 6 The volumes on textile terminologies edited by Cécile Michel, Marie-Louise Nosch, and Salvatore Gaspa are also essential tools for this research. 7 I will consider priestly clothing first according to the ritual texts, then through the daily records, before examining the symbolic meanings of these clothing.

Priestly Clothing According to the Ritual Texts

The Priests Received a Special Headdress at Their Consecration

According to the consecration ritual of the priest of Enlil at Nippur, whose description was found in Assurbanipal's library, new priests received a special headdress, the turban paršīgu, during this ceremony. 8 The consecration ritual implied the verification of the suitability of the applicant to priesthood and his purification by means of body-washing, shaving, and other rituals warding off evil. The reception of the headdress by the priest happened at the end of the ceremony. The paršīgu was a strip of fabric usually offered to sacred persons, animals, and objects: the Neo-Babylonian divine statues wore a paršīgu on their head, and the horns of the sacrificial ox could be adorned with a paršīgu at Uruk, as could divine standards. 9 Incantations 9 and 10 of the text, published by Rykle Borger and then by Anne Lönhert, praised the divine manufacturing of the headdress by the goddess of weaving, Uttu, and its washing by the wash-erman (ašlāku). The incantations pronounced at this moment of the ritual recall the actions performed on the priest's body: "Asalluḫi/Marduk [recited] the incantation. He may purify, he may cleanse, he may [brighten]." 10 6 Zawadzki (2006; 2013); Beaulieu (2003); Gaspa (2018). 7 Michel & Nosch (2010); Michel, Nosch, and Gaspa (2017). 8 Nippur ritual: Borger (1973); Lönhert (2007); Lönhert (2010); Sippar diviner ritual: Lambert (1998). 9 AHw, 836 "Kopfbinde"; CAD P, 267 "headdress, turban"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "turban"; Zawadzki (2006: 124) "a headdress"; Gaspa (2018: 315) "headband, turban." Paršīgu for an ox: BIN 1 132, for a standard, see Beaulieu (2003: 25-26). For a discussion on the use of this term in older periods of Mesopotamian history and especially the parallel between the emblem of Inanna/Ištar and her headdress parsikkum, see Winitzer (2018). 10 CTN 4 93: 8', Lönhert (2010: 187).

The priests certainly had to keep their garments clean. Caroline Waerzeggers has demonstrated that at Borsippa priests clothing was kept in the šutummu-storehouses, an intermediary space between the outside and the most sacred spaces of the temple. There the garments were protected from outside contamination and prebend owners had to keep them clean. Some of them paid a washerman for doing their laundry. 11 The act of cleaning the gar-ments had something to do with the purification rituals. According to the Old Babylonian tale At the Fuller, the god Ea/Enki, who is the master of purification rituals, is also the patron of the washermen.12 Garments were subjected to the same requirements of cleanness and purity as the priests' bodies. The garments worn on the head usually carried important symbolic meanings and qualified the social status of an individual. According to their function, the priests wore different types of headdresses. Neo-Assyrian letters mention the kubšuheaddress, offered to the šangû-priest at his appointment. [START_REF]˹x˺-tu 4 gada u máš šá la sis-sik-ti šub-˹ma˺ 4' ina túg ḫu-ṣa-an šu II -nu murub 4 -meš-šú kešda e-liš gada meš babbar-babbar meš túg l[u-bar[END_REF] According to Salvatore Gaspa, this headdress was in the shape of a caudal fin and may recall the Apkallu, the mythic creatures, part men and part fish. 14 He also remarks that receiving a garment and putting it on is an important step in the rites of passage; in this case the appointment of a new priest. The Hellenistic ritual text UVB 15 40 from Uruk states that the mukkalu-priest has to put a tapšû-headdress (perhaps a linen fabric wrapped around the head) 15 and the chief lamentation priest, a sūnu-band. Other priests, according to this ritual, did not wear a headdress; therefore there was no obligation to have the head covered for the priests when entering a Babylonian temple.

To Each Priest His (or Her?) Outfit

The garments identified different categories of priests. The Hellenistic ritual text UVB 15 40 (W 18728, perhaps in Iraq today) from Uruk contains a detailed description of the ceremonial outfit of the temple personnel during the king's "taking the hand of the gods" ceremony. According to this text, each member of the temple personnel is identified by a specific outfit, which was made up of a unique association of garment, coat, belts, and headdress. It expressed his identity, his place in the hierarchy of the clergymen and his role in the ritual. For instance, the non-consecrated priests and the personnel identified by profession (brewers, bakers, etc.) only wore a ?ibtu garment, with two strips (mēzeḫu) over it. Among the temple personnel, they had the simplest outfit. The ?ibtu is usually a rectangular woollen fabric wrapped around the body and the mēzeḫu is a large band of fabric, perhaps worn as a stole or a scarf. 16 The consecrated priests, like the lamentation priests, had the privilege to wear linen lubāru, a draped garment. 17 Linen was a precious fabric. The chief lamentation priest was distinguished by his luxurious headdress: a red-purple sūnuheadband. 18 The next class of priests, the mukkalu, the ērib-bīti, and those of one other category (its name is lost) also wore the lubāru garment. But they wore also a ḫullānu garment. The ḫullānu could have sleeves and be decorated: the ērib-bīti priests wore a rich ḫullānu decorated with the images of seven gods. 19 Some priests, including the king, wore complex outfits with several layers: the second category of priests in the table (missing on the broken tablet) wore a linendraped garment, ?ibtu, tied with a thin ḫu?annu linen belt, and over it two layers of lubāru and ḫullānu garments tied with large belts, nēbeḫu. 20 As for the king, a part of his clothing is similar to the consecrated priests (he wears the lubāru-garment and the nēbeḫu-belt), and another part is different: under 16 Ṣibtu: AHw, 1099 "ein Gewand fÜr Kultbilde"; CAD Ṣ, 162 "a garment, used mainly in cloth-ing sacred images"; Zawadzki (2006: 95) "the ?ibtu was not a specific garment but a piece of material of unique shape (probably rectangular in size) and colours, which could have been used both to wrap a statue or altar (...) and also for other purposes, i.e. as a bed cov-erlet"; (Beaulieu 2003: 15) "a garment"; mēzeḫu: Beaulieu (2003: 15) "scarf"; CAD M/II, 46 "a scarf or a belt," AHw, 650 "Schärpe." 17 Lubāru: AHw, 560 "altes (gutes) Gewand"; CAD L, 228 "1. clothing 2. a specific piece of female apparel, NB only 3. piece of cloth, rag"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "a garment"; Zawadzki (2006: 87) "it was not a specific item of clothing but a kind of cover, coverlet or tablecloth, (...) the dressing of the god's statue would be important but only one among its many functions." 18 Sūnu: AHw, 1059 "ein Tuch od Binde"; CAD S, 388 "a piece of clothing or part thereof"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "loincloth"; Zawadzki (2006) "a loincloth." 19 ḫullānu: AHw, 354 "Decke"; CAD Ḫ, 229 "a blanket or wrap of linen or wool"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "blanket, wrap"; Zawadzki (2006: 111) "a coverlet or shirt." 20 Óu?annu: CAD H, 259 "1. sash 2. belt"; AHw, 261 "Leibbinde," Zawadzki (2006: 100) "a belt" or "a sort of a decorative element in the shape of a sash or a ribbon; nēbeḫu: AHw, 773 "GÜrtel, Binde"; CAD N/II, 143 "a belt or a sash"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "belt." According to Zawadzki (2006: 118-119), the nēbeḫu at Sippar is more heavy than the ḫu?annu, and "two different types of nēbeḫu might be recognize: one much heavier and larger used as a type of cover, and the other much lighter and used as a belt."

the lubāru he has a naḫlaptu-garment of linen tied with a patinnu-belt. 21 The outfit of the king is specially enhanced by his jewellery and regalia. The iden-tity, status, and role of each priest in the religious ceremonies were expressed by their specific outfit, composed of different kinds of garments.

2.3.

Garments and Ritual Gestures During the rituals, wearing garments is associated with permission or interdiction to perform specific gestures. For instance, the ērib-bīti, who had the right to enter the cellae of the gods, wore a distinctive embroidered ḫullānu-garment. Ritual UVB 15 40 states that the lamentation priests, who usually wore a lubāru-garment, had to remove it when they sat at the bronze lilissu-drum, and be dressed only in a tú gkur-ra, which was a much more common garment:

When he is covered by the lubāru-garment, he does not sit at the lilissu-drum; when he will sit at the bronze lilissu-drum, he will remove the lubāru-garment. 22 Another ritual text from Uruk makes mention of the lubāru of the lamentation priests. It is a Hellenistic ritual from Uruk, BRM 4 6, published by Marc Linssen. 23 During the lunar eclipse ceremony, the lamentation priests wore a torn lubāru and covered their head with it, in an outward expression of mourn-ing, while reciting incantations against bad fate:

As soon as the eclipse of the moon begins, the lamentation priests will put on a linen garment. With their torn lubāru garment, their head will remain covered. 24 It is interesting to see that, during this ritual, members of the population ("peo-ples of the land") had to remove their headdresses and cover their heads with the same garment in order to collectively ward off the bad omen of the lunar eclipse. This shows that, on some occasions, the population participated in rituals by imitating the actions of priests:

21 Naḫlaptu: AHw, 715 "Gewand, Mantel"; CAD N/I, 238 "wrap, outer garment"; Beaulieu (2003: 15) "wrap, outer garment"; Zawadzki (2006: 117) "a kind of a decorative shirt or blouse"; patinnu: AHw, 848 "Binde"; CAD P, 276 "an article of clothing, perhaps a sash or headdress"; Zawadzki (2006: 122) "a belt tied at the height of the waist or the hips." 22 UVB 15 40: 10'-11'. 23 Linssen (2004: 306-316). 24 BRM 4, 6: 43'.

Until he (the lamentation priest) clears up the eclipse, the people of the land will remain with their headdresses removed, (and) they will keep their heads covered with their lubāru clothing. 25 Therefore, the garments worn by the priests also served to materialize the different stages of the ritual, and the gestures performed with these clothes (to put on, remove, rip off, cover the head) certainly had meanings. Was the Hellenistic ritual text representative of the garments worn by the priests dur-ing the Neo-Babylonian period?

Priestly Clothing in the Daily Records

Clothes for the Temple and Clothes for Civil Life

Some of the garments mentioned in the rituals are indeed found in the Neo-Babylonian temple records and private archives, in contexts involving prebendary priests. Text PTS 3853 26 from Uruk, published by Karlheinz Kessler, is a trial account dated from Nabonidus's reign that lists all the clothes stolen from Mušēzib-Marduk in the bītšutummu-storehouse:

(1) Anu-zēr-ibni son of Šamaš-iddin and Ardīya son of Nanaia-karābi, who have opened illegally the šutummu storehouse of Mušēzib-Marduk son of Kabtia (and) carried away from it ( 5) the dates of Dilmun, the offerings, 1 ṣibtu-garment, 1 mēzeḫu-scarf ? , 2 šupālītuundergarments, 1 uzāru-tablecloth, 1 šir'am-garment, 1 túg ša qabli (belt), 1 bīt rēštû, 3 wooden planks. 27 The šutummu was a place, carefully guarded and closed, where chests, tools, and objects for the cult were kept, as well as some personal objects belonging to the priests. 28 Mušēzib-Marduk wore the same outfit as the non-consecrated 25 BRM 4, 6: 21'. 26 Kessler (1999: 245-246). 27 PTS 3853: 1-8 (Kessler [1999: 245-246]) "Ida-num-numun-dù a-šú šá Idutu-mu / u Idìr-ia a-šú šá Idna-na-asizkur-sizkur / šá é šu-tùm-mu šá Ikar-damar-utu a-šú / šá Iidim-ia ina sa-ar-ti ip-tu-ú-ma / as-né-e šá nap-ta-nu 1 tú gṣib-ti / 1 me-ze-eḫ 2 tú gšu-pa-la-tu4 / 1-et ú-za-ri 1 tú gšir-a-am 1 túg šá murub4 / 1 é re-še-tu4 3 gišdameš / ul-tu lìb-bi iš-šu-ú." 28 According to YOS 7 78, a trial text from Uruk and CT 2 2 from Sippar. Caroline Waerzeggers (2010:12) has shown that at Borsippa the šutummu was located in a peripheral area of the temple precinct of Ezida and was a place where space was attributed to priests, work-houses, and places of preparation of the offerings. The clothes kept in the šutummu were destined to be worn by the priests and were subject to purity criteria.

priests and craftsmen of the ritual text UVB 15 40: the ṣibtu-garment and the mēzeḫularge strip worn as a scarf or a stole. He also had uzāru fabric, which was perhaps a tablecloth, used by the prebendary bakers to cover the offering table. 29 On top of his religious garments, he also had a civil outfit: the šir'am was a garment worn by soldiers and workers in a non-religious context. 30 He wore it with a belt. Each outfit was completed by a šupālītu, a term meaning a lower garment, which is probably an undergarment. 31 The bīt rēštû may have been be a textile for the house. 32 Therefore, this priest had two outfits, one for performing his cultic duties in the temple, and one for his daily occupations outside the temple. The priests did not always wear their ceremonial garments. BM 29711, without date or context, which was published by Ran Zadok, pres-ents a similar list of garments: "2 uzāru-tableclothes, 6 šupālītu-undergarments, 2 ṣibtugarment, 2 mēzeḫu?, 2 ḫuṣannu-belts, 2 našub/pu, one guzguzu-coat, one gulēnucoat." 33 The tablet lists 2 sets of ṣibtu-garments possibly with mezēḫu-belts, undergarments, and two tablecloths uzāru, the same set of priestly clothing as in the previous text. In addition, one has 2 ḫuṣannu-belts (this type of belt is mentioned in the ritual UVB 15 40), which may go with 2 garments našubu/našupu (a hapax). The guzguzu and gulēnu complete the outfits, perhaps as outer clothing. 34 We have here ceremonial garments for several priests (4 complete outfits). The text may be an inventory of a storage place for priests' garments.

29 uzāru: AHw 1447 "ein Tuch dür Kultbilder ? "; CAD U, 360 "a woolen cloth or garment"; according to Kessler, the uzāru may be used in rituals to cover the offering table, because the same textile is given to a prebendary baker in VS 5 87, and to a cook in the appren-ticeship contract BOR 1, 90 n°2. Wilfried Watson (2002: 40-41) remarks that in Ugaritic language, a similar word, "uzr," means a textile used during the offerings. 30 šir'am: AHw, 1029 sari(j)iam, sir(i)jam "Panzer(hemd)"; CAD S, 313 siriam "1. leather coat, often reinforced with metal pieces 2. (a garment)"; Zawadzki (2006: 414) "long suit, close-fitting garment"; MacGinnis (2012: 3) "jerkin" and Joannès (2014: 406) "un vêtement d'extérieur, manteau ou veste militaire." 31 Šupālītu: CAD Š/III, 314 "1. undergarment 2. foundation(?)." 32 The expression bīt rēštu / rīštu appears also in CT 56 294, a list of furniture for a house, and Zawadzki (2010: 423 [BM 61494]) suggests the translation: "bolster." See also VS 6 275: 4 and Evetts Ner 28: 13. 33 BM 29711: 1-8 (Zadok [2002: 890]) "2-ta ú-za-ri meš / 6-ta šu-pa-li-tu 4 / 2 ṣib-tu 4 meš / 2 mi-zi-tu 4 (mistake for mezēḫu ?) / 2 ḫu-ṣa-an-nu / 2 na-ŠUP-PU / 1-en gu-uz-gu-zu / 1-en gu-le-nu." 34 guzguzu: Quillien 2013; gulēnu: AHw, 296 "ein Obergewand"; CAD G, 127 "(a coat)"; Zawadzki (2010: 419); Joannès (2014: 160).

The Garments of the Prebend Owner's Substitute

The following text, published by Heather D. Baker, gives information on the garments worn by the substitute of a prebend owner. 1) [Šellebi, son of] Iddinaya, descendant of Nappāḫu, will perform the duties of the [...-prebend] of Iddin-Nabû, son of Libluṭ [descendant of Mudammiq-Adad], which is (for the period) from the 18th day to the 30th day of Duzû, every [year], in the Išḫara temple, on behalf of ( 5) [Iddin]-Nabû. Each year [Iddin-Nabû will gi]ve to Šellebi in return for his service a gulēnu-garment [...we]ighing [...] and a lubāru-garment (and) a ḫullānu garment. ( 10) Šellebi bears responsibility for not interrupting (the prebendary service) and for checking [the ...] Šellebi has received a gulēnu-garment [...] from Iddin-Nabû [...]. In the month Kislīmu, Iddin-Nabû [...Šelle]bi shall not consume [...(and)] the meat, of the meal table [...].( 15)" Witnesses, scribe and date. 35 According to this contract from Babylon, dating from Darius I's reign, Šellibi, a descendant of Nappāḫu, will replace Iddin-Nabû with respect to his 13 days of prebendary service. Owing to a break in the tablet, the prebend in question remains unknown. It is unlikely that it was a weaver prebend for the manufacturing of the garments mentioned in the text, because these items cannot be produced in such a short time. The contract states that, each year, Iddin-Nabû has to give to his substitute a set of garments comprising a lubāru-garment and a hullānu-coat. These two garments make up the outfit of the consecrated priests in the ritual text UVB 15 40. This text shows that the supply of the religious garments was the expense of the prebend owner. The fact that he has to provide a set of garments each year does not necessary mean that the garments had to be new; they could have been borrowed just for the time of the prebendary service that, in this text, lasts only twelve days a year. One can assume that some priestly clothing was used by different prebend owners that succeeded one another in the same cultic task.

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Another example, in the same archive, is the text VS 5 87-88 (Baker 2004, no. 39). According to this text, the owner of a baker prebend hires a substitute. The prebendary service comprised the preparation of four cakes per months for the offerings for Marduk. The owner of the prebend is committed to give to his substitute one uzāru. This textile is a tablecloth covering the offering table that was used by the priests during rituals. This dossier of texts of daily records, dated from the Neo-Babylonian period, shows the continuity of the terminology of priestly clothing. Similar terms for these garments are found in these documents and in the Hellenistic ritual of Uruk. Furthermore, this vocabulary is shared by different cities of Babylonia.

And the Priestesses?

Some rare are mentioned in the cuneiform documentation 1st millennium BC Babylonia. Much more rare are the texts that evoke their attire. The already mentioned inscription by Nabonidus about the appointment of his daughter as an entu-priestess does not detail her clothing. Nevertheless, a tablet from the Esagil archive, dated to the late Achaemenid or Hellenistic period and published by Michael Jursa, mentions a garment for a priestess. 36 The "temple enterers" (ērib-bīti), the initiated women, and the chief of the female singers request two linen fabrics and a gammidatu-garment for the female officer sag-ki-kud-da (a hapax). 37 The gammidatu-garment is mentioned in other documents, from Sippar and Uruk, dated from the Neo-Babylonian period. 38 The temple craftsmen of Sippar made gammidatu, and this kind of textile is also found in dowries. The daily records occasionally mention the garments worn by priests and priestesses, in their cultic activities as well as in their civil life. How does the priestly clothing express their identity?

The Symbolic Meanings of the Priestly Clothing

The Garments of the Priests Position Them in the Divine World

In the 1st millennium BC texts, the terminology of the garments worn by the gods is radically different from the terminology of ordinary people's garments. Whereas the etymology of the divine garments often dates back to the 2nd mil-lennium BC (Old or Middle Babylonian period), the terminology of the clothes worn by common people contains mostly new words that appear during the 1st millennium BC. It is very probable that the garments of the gods were conservative, expressing respect to old religious traditions and the immortal-ity of the gods. The terminology of the garments of the priests is similar to that of gods, as the following table shows. Šamaš, Bunene, Adad, Annunītu (Sippar), Ištar, Nanaia, Bēltu-ša-Rēš, Gula, Uṣur-amāssu, the Goddess, Urkayītu, IGI-DU (Uruk) naḫlaptu-garment Annunītu, Aia, Daughter of the Ebabbar, Šarrat-Sippar, Šala, Gula (Sippar), Ištar, Nanaia, Bēltu-ša-Rēš, Gula, Uṣur-amāssu, the Goddess, Ahlmayitu, IGI-DU (Uruk) patinnu-belt Šamaš, Bunene, Adad, Annunītu (Sippar)

All the garments of the ritual text UVB 15 40 are also found in Uruk and Sippar temple archives dealing with the manufacturing of the garments of the gods. The garments worn by the priests when they enter the temple and perform religious service position them in the divine world. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the priests were clothed exactly like the gods: the combination of garments they wore was not the same, and most significantly, some garments, especially headdresses and tiaras, were reserved for the gods. Some of the garments belonging to priests and mentioned in the daily records are not known to be garments for gods or goddesses, like the gammi-datu, which was worn by the priestess of Babylon.

Materials, Decorations and Symbolism of the Priests' Garments

Priests' garments were made of linen and wool, like the garments of gods. It is likely that the garments made of differently coloured wool were adorned with woven or embroidered patterns. For instance, at Sippar the gammidatu (a garment worn by a priestess at Uruk), as the first text shows, were made with three different colours of wool: red, apple-colour and blue-purple, that surely formed motifs on the fabric. 39 According to the ritual text UVB 15 40, some of the priests' garments were decorated with patterns and symbols. For instance, the ṣibtu-garment of spe-cific priests was adorned with celestial patterns: stars and a rainbow. In the same text, the outer hullānugarment of the temple enterers (ērib-bīti) is said to be embroidered with the figures of seven gods:

(Here are) the names of the gods, the seven images which are embroi-dered (šapû) on the ḫullānu-garment of the ērib-bīti priests: two little Geminis, Ennun-silimma, Maškim-silimma, Udug-azida, Udug-agabbu and Nin-ki-šarra. 40 According to the list An=Anum, Nin-ki-šarra, Ennun-silimma, and Maškim-silimma are minor gods connected with the god Anu: the first one is Anu's cook and second two are his advisors (mušēdû). 41 Udug-azida and Udug-agabbu, literally the "Demon of the Right" and "Demon of the Left," are divine gatekeep-ers. All these minor gods, advisors and gatekeepers share the same function of intercessor between the men and the greater gods. 42 This is precisely the role of priests, and it explains why their garments feature these deities. The divine gatekeepers were in charge of welcoming visitors at the main door of the temple and passing on their salutations and prayers to the great gods, who dwelt inside the sanctuary. The demon Udug was one of the 39 BM 64798; Zawadzki (2010: 425-426). 40 UVB 15, 40: r 13'-15'. 41 Litke (1998: 30), An=Anum, entrées 87, 93 and 94. 42 Charpin (2017: 246-248).

gods welcoming the king Rīm-Sîn at the gate of the temple at Ur during his enthronement, according to a Old Babylonian ritual discussed by Dominique Charpin. 43 Together with other gatekeeper gods, Udug escorted Rīm-Sîn inside the temple. Text UVB 15 40 is also a ritual involving the king, but the broken text does not describe his entry before the god Anu. Perhaps the ērib-bīti priests performed, like actors, the role of each of these seven deities during the rituals. Their garments may have assimilated the priests to the gods surrounding Anu, such that they would enter the cella under a god's identity or at least under divine protection.

Iconography

The iconographic representations of priests on cylinder seals are stereo-typed. The clothing of the shaved-headed characters consists of a long tunic with fringes at the bottom and short sleeves, one side of which is folded down in the front. The tunic is attached by a belt worn around the waist, and a strip (scarf?) crosses the chest. We find on the seals the same combination of one garment plus one or two belts/scarfs that we find in the texts, such as the gar-ment ṣibtu and the two mēzeḫu strips, or the lubāru with the nebēḫu belt. But it is impossible to associate with certainty an Akkadian word with its icono-graphic representation.

Figure 1 : Priest holding a bucket and a cup facing an offering table and gods symbols, cylinder seal, British Museum, BM 89311, Late Babylonian period (700-500 BC) © TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM 43 Charpin (1986: 280-286). I thank Dominique Charpin for drawing my attention to this text.

Conclusion

Priests' clothing reflected their identity and their social position within the population and among the cultic personnel. Outside the temple, the priests seem to have worn civil garments. The religious garments were kept in closed storehouses inside the temple, where they had to be kept clean in order to respect the injunctions of "purity" applied to the priest's body and his out-fit. The vocabulary used for the specific garments worn by the priests in the

Figure 2 :Figure 3 :

 23 Figure2: Priest praying facing gods symbols, imprint of a cylinder seal, Louvre, Neo-Babylonian period(Holtzmann 1997, 268 fig. 314; Menant 1886, fig. 120)

Table 1 : Comparison of the terminology of priest's garments with divine

 1 Bunene, Adad, Annunītu, Annunītu, Aia, Daughter of the Ebabbar, Šarrat-Sippar, Šala, Gula (Sippar), Ištar, Nanaia, Bēltu-ša-Rēš, Gula, Uṣur-amassu, Bēlēte, Urkayītu, Ahlmayitu, IGI-DU, Urdimmu (Uruk) ḫullānu

	Garments of the priests	Gods bearing the said garment
	(UVB 15 40)
	ṣibtu-garment	Šamaš, Bunene, Adad, Annunītu (Sippar), Ištar,
	Nanaia, Bēltu-ša-Rēš, Gula, Uṣur-amassu, the Goddess, Urkayītu, IGI-DU (Uruk)
	mēzeḫu-large strips	Ištar (Uruk)
	lubāru-garment	Šamaš, Bunene, Adad, Annunītu (Sippar), Ištar, Bēltu-
	ša-Rēš, Gula, Uṣur-amāssu, the Goddess, Urkayītu, IGI-DU (Uruk)
	sūnu-headband	Šamaš, Bunene, Adad, Annunītu, Daughter of the
	Ebabbar, Šarrat-Sippar, Šala, Gula (Sippar)
	ḫuṣānu-belt	Šamaš,

ND

col. 1: 29-33; translation Beaulieu (1989: 130). 2 From simtu, CAD S, 278 and following "3. appurtenances, ornament, characteristics, insigne, proper appearance or behavior or ways, figural representation." 3 Tiqnu, CAD T, 422 and f. "1. embellishment, ornament, insigna." 4 Waerzeggers (2008: 1, n. 1).5 Falkenstein (1959).

Waerzeggers (2010: 11-13);[START_REF] Kessler | Ein Einbruch in ein Bīt-Šutummu eines Tempelbäckers[END_REF]; BRM 1 82: payment to a washerman, by a pre-bend owner.

Guichard and Marti (2013: 55);Reiner (1995: 407-412).

Gaspa (2018: 221). He also remarks that on Nineveh wall panels, several categories of priests are depicted wearing different types of garments. The term kubšu includes differ-ent types of caps that can be worn by gods, kings and high officials, according toLönhert (2007: 276-279). kubšu = CAD K, 485-486 "1. headdress, cap."

In ritual BBR No 70:6 "you place it (the image of the god) on a reed mat on a linen tapšû"; CAD T, 194.

VS 6 168; edition byBaker (2004: no. 67). Babylon, Nappāḫu archive, 14th year of Darius I.

Jursa (2002: 107-108, no. 1 [BM 80711]).

It may be composed of sakkû, "rites," and kud, for parāsu, "separate, isolate," and would mean an officer isolated for specific rituals.

AHw, 279 "ein Gewand"; CAD G, 36, "a cloth";Zawadzki (2010: 418-419);Joannès (2014: 450).

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (10')The consecrated lamentation-priest in clad in a linen lubāru-garment, when he is covered by the lubāru-garment, he does not sit at the lilissu-drum ; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------The non-consecrated lamentation priest is clad in a ṣibtu-garment with two mēzeḫu-large strips put over the ṣibtu-garment ; - --------------------------------------------------------------------------The chief lamentation-priest is clad in a linen lubāru-garment and his head is surrounded by a redpurple sūnu-headband ; when he will sit at the bronze lilissu-drum, he will remove the lubāru-coat ; -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------(2'') [The ...... priest] put on a linen [undergarment(?)] and a ṣibtu-garment without fringe, he ties a thin ḫuṣanu-belt around his waist, over the white linen clothes, [he has put on a lubāru-garment] (5'') he ties a nebēḫu-belt around his waist ; over the lubāru garment, [in a] ḫul[lānu?-garment] of linen he is clad, he puts on a di-a-a-ni-in zaḫū garment and he ties (another) nebēḫu-belt around his waist ; (thus) he will be dressed in (his) dress (of ceremony) ; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------(8'') Clothing of the king, in which, for taking the hand of the gods, he is dressed : a naḫlaptugarment of linen, a patinnu-belt, and a lubāru-coat with a stylus symbol (10'') then, (another) lubārucoat (with) a collar and a nebēḫu-belt, a stardard in leather/skin, a white standard, a green standard and a (jewel called) Ištar's charm, a moon crescent, a cylinder seal of jasper, a necklace and a bracelet of gold. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------(13'') (Here are) the names of seven images of the gods wich are embroidered on the ḫullānu-coat of the ērib-bīti priests, the two little Gemini, Ennun-silimma, Maškim-silimma, (15'') Udug-azida, Udug-Agabbu and Nin-ki-šarra ---------------------------------------------------------------------------(16'') [……] in front of the holy water vessel of/for the head, he stands. (17'') [……] the gods, he stands.