Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir, Pirinkir, and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs.

Due to her presence in pantheons of many parts of the Ancient Near East, from Anatolia to Iran, modern researchers refer to her as a "cosmopolitan deity.

[11] Multiple spellings are attested both in Elamite (Pi-ni-gir, Bi-ni-gir, Bi-ne-en-gi-ir, Pi-in-gi-ir-ra)[12] and Hurro-Hittite (Pi-ri-in-kir, Pi-re-en-kir, Pi-ri-kir, Pi-ri-ki-ir, Pi-ri-in-ki-ir) sources.

[14] In Elam she was known as kikki galirra, "mistress of heaven"[15] According to Kamyar Abdi, in Elamite context she was additionally considered the goddess of love and sex.

[27] The worship of pairs of goddesses with similar domains (for example Ishara and Allani, Hutena and Hutellura, Ninatta and Kulitta) as dyads was a common feature of Hurrian religion.

"[32] The other signatory is commonly assumed to be king Khita of Awan, and therefore it has been proposed that the first deities invoked - Pinikir and Humban - originate in the area under his rule.

[32] Pinikir is attested for the first time in the aforementioned document alongside many other deities worshiped in Elam, such as Humban, Manzat (whose origin was Akkadian[9]) and Simut.

[16] The temple was located to the right of the royal entrance to the structure, followed by these dedicated to Adad (whose name was represented in inscriptions logographically as dIM[35]), Shala, Simut and Belet Ali ("Lady of the City," possibly an epithet of Manzat[36]), and the Napratep gods.

[43] Wouter Henkelman considers these to be generic collective terms for evildoers or enemies rather than proper names,[43] but Daniel T. Potts assumes they refer to specific groups.

[51] Piotr Taracha considers her to be one of the deities received by the Hurrians from Mesopotamia, possibly as early as in the third millennium BCE, alongside the likes of Ea and Ningal.

"[53] Records of relations between Mesopotamian (for example Third Dynasty of Ur) and Hurrian (for example Nineveh, Urkesh, Nagar) polities in that time period show interchange of religious ideas.

[55] Additionally, there is evidence that kings of Ur showed interest in the temples of Elamite deities: Inshushinak's in Susa (Shulgi) and Ruhurater's in Huhnur (Amar-Sin).

[56] It has also been noted that Hurro-Hittite ritual texts preserve knowledge about Pinikir’s association with Susa, which was likely derived from older Mesopotamian scholarly literature.

[57] In one Hurrian offering list (KUB 34.102), Pinikir appears among the deities from the circle of Teshub, alongside "Ishtar of Heaven," Allani, Ḫešui (a war god) and Iršappa.

[62] Due to a number of linguistic peculiarities it is possible that the texts were copied from presently unknown compositions compiled in a peripheral area of Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period.

[63][11] In a Luwian curse formula from this city Pinikir (“Parakaras”) appears alongside Tarhunza, Karhuha, Kubaba, the moon and the sun.

[11] While due to its incomplete preservation the linguistic affinity of the bearer is unknown,[11] multiple individuals bearing Hurrian names are attested from this location,[65] while none have been identified as Elamite.

[7] Kiririsha and Pinikir have their origin in pantheons of different parts of Elam (Liyan and Awan, respectively),[8] were worshiped separately at Chogha Zanbil,[37] and both appear in an inscription accompanying a bronze relief from Susa.

[8] Heidemarie Koch, who accepts many of Hinz's assumptions about Elamite religion, concludes that Pinikir at most could have absorbed the maternal traits of other deities.

[69] Hinz also asserted that Pinikir was originally the main deity of Elam,[70] but there is no evidence for that outside of her position in the Naram-Sin treaty,[71][33] and she is attested very infrequently in known Elamite texts.