Why were Inanna and Ishtar identified with each other?

In Mesopotamian religion, the identification of the Sumerian goddess Inanna with the Akkadian goddess Ishtar was primarily driven by their striking functional and thematic similarities. While it is possible that Inanna had Semitic origins, scholars generally believe that the two deities were identified with each other because they shared overlapping roles and characteristics.1

Both goddesses were prominent figures associated with fertility, sexual love, and war. Inanna’s early associations with the storehouse, rain, and thunderstorms—which likely informed her connection to warfare—mirrored the complex, multifaceted nature that Ishtar later embodied. As Ishtar’s popularity spread throughout the ancient Middle East, she frequently subsumed the attributes and identities of various local goddesses, with the established traditions of Inanna serving as a foundational influence on her development.1