The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

M >> Morris Jastrow >> The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

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Ramman.

The association of Ramman with Shamash in the name of the old ruler of
Assyria, Samsi-Ramman, is not accidental or due to mere caprice. Only
such deities are combined in proper names that are, or may be,
correlated to one another. Ramman, as the god of storms, is naturally
viewed as a power complementary to the great orb of light.[266] The two
in combination, viewed as the beneficent and the destructive power,
constitute the most powerful elements of nature, whose good will it was
most important, especially for a nation of warriors, to secure. Some
such thought surely underlies this association of Shamash with Ramman.
The Assyrian Ramman differs in no way from the Ramman of Babylonia, but
he is much more popular in the north than in the south. The popularity
of the god is but a reflection of the delight that the Assyrians took in
military pursuits. Ramman is hardly anything more than another Ashur.
Tiglathpileser I., who once calls the god Mar-tu, _i.e._, "the West
god,"[267] has left us an admirable description of him. He is the hero
who floods the lands and houses of the country's enemies. The approach
of the Assyrian troops is compared to an onslaught of Ramman. His curses
are the most dreadful that can befall a nation or an individual, for his
instruments of destruction are lightning, hunger, and death. Reference
has several times been made to the manner in which Tiglathpileser honors
Ramman by making him a partner of Anu in the great temple of the latter
at Ashur. But the successors of Tiglathpileser are no less zealous in
their reverence for Ramman. It is to Ramman that the kings offer
sacrifices during the campaign, and when they wish to depict in the
strongest terms the destruction that follows in the wake of an onslaught
of the Assyrian troops, they declare that they swept over everything
like Ramman. It is natural, in view of this, that Ramman should have
been to the Assyrians also the 'mightiest of the gods.'[268] Through the
Assyrian inscriptions we learn something of the consort of Ramman.

Shala.

Sennacherib tells us that in the course of his campaign against
Babylonia he removes out of the city of Babylon, and replaces in
Ekallate[269] the statues of Ramman and Shala. This, he says, he did 418
years after the time that they had been carried captive from Ekallate to
Babylon by Marduknadinakhi.[270] We know nothing more of this Ekallate
except that it lay in Assyria,--probably in the southern half,--and that
Ramman and Shala are called the gods of the city. The name 'Shala'
appears to signify 'woman.' It reminds us, therefore, of 'lady' (Ninni,
Nana, etc.), which we have found to be the designation for several
distinct goddesses. It is possible that Shala, likewise, being a name of
so indefinite a character, was applied to other goddesses. A 'Shala of
the mountains,' who is stated to be the wife of Marduk, is mentioned in
a list of gods.[271] The wife of Bel, too, is once called Shala, though
in this case the confusion between Marduk and Bel may have led to
transferring the name from the consort of one to the consort of the
other. Too much importance must not be attached to the data furnished by
these lists of gods. They represent in many cases purely arbitrary
attempts to systematize the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon, and in
other cases are valuable only as reflecting the views of the
theologians, or rather of certain schools of theological thought, in
Babylonia. In the religious hymns, too, the consort of Ramman finds
mention, and by a play upon her name is described as the 'merciful one.'
The attribute given to her there is the 'lady of the field,' which puts
her in contrast to Ramman, rather than in partnership with him. Since we
hear little of her worship in Assyria, beyond the notices of
Sennacherib, we may conclude that, like so many goddesses, Shala
dwindled to the insignificant proportions of a mere pale reflection of
the male deity.

Nin-ib.

Another god, who by virtue of his violent traits enjoys the favor of the
Assyrian rulers, is the old Babylonian deity whose name is provisionally
read Nin-ib. In the very first mention of him, in the inscription of
Ashurrishishi (_c._ 1150 B.C.), he is called the 'mighty one of the
gods.' Through the protection of Nin-ib, Ashurrishishi secures victory
over his enemies on all sides. Similarly, other of the Assyrian rulers
emphasize the strength of Nin-ib. Tiglathpileser I. calls him the
courageous one, whose special function is the destruction of the king's
enemies. In doing so he becomes the god 'who fulfills the heart's
desire.' The unmistakable character of the god as a god of war is also
shown by his association with Ashur.[272] If Ashur is the king of Igigi
and Anunnaki, Nin-ib is the hero of the heavenly and earthly spirits. To
him the rulers fly for help. Of all the kings, Ashurnasirbal seems to
have been especially devoted to the service of Nin-ib. The annals of
this king, instead of beginning, as is customary, with an invocation of
all or many of the gods, starts out with an address to Nin-ib, in which
the king fairly exhausts the vocabulary of the language in his desire to
secure the favor of this powerful deity. Almost all the attributes he
assigns to him have reference to the god's powers in war. Dwelling in
the capital Calah, he is 'the strong, the mighty, the supreme one,' the
perfect hero, who is invincible in battle, the 'destroyer of all
opposition, who holds the lock of heaven and earth, who opens the deep;
the strong one, endowed with youthful vigor, whose decree is
unchangeable, without whom no decision is made in heaven or on earth,
whose attack is like a flood, who sweeps away the land of his enemies,'
and so forth, through a bewildering array of epithets. The inscriptions
of the Assyrian kings, especially in the introductions, manifest little
originality. One king, or rather his scribe, frequently copies from
earlier productions, or imitates them. Hence, it happens that the
grandson of Ashurnasirbal, Shamshi-Ramman (_c._ 825-812 B.C.), furnishes
us with an almost equally long array of epithets, exalting the strength
and terror of Nin-ib. Like Ashurnasirbal, he declared himself to have
been chosen by this god to occupy the throne. A comparison of the two
lists makes it evident that the later one is modeled upon the earlier
production. The conclusion is justified that in the century covered by
the reigns of Ashurnasirbal[273] and Shamshi-Ramman, the cult of Nin-ib
must have acquired great popularity, though suffering, perhaps, an
interruption during the reign of Shalmaneser II.,--midway between these
two kings,--whose favorite we have seen was Shamash. The great temple of
Nin-ib stood in Calah, which Ashurnasirbal chose as his official
residence, and it was in this temple that the king deposited a long
inscription commemorating his deeds. In the temple, he also places a
colossal statue of the god. Upon the completion of the edifice, he
dedicates it with prayer and sacrifices. The special festivals of the
god are fixed for the months of Shabat and Ulul,--the eleventh and sixth
months,--and provision is made for the regular maintenance of the cult.
It must, of course, not be supposed that, because Nin-ib appears to be a
favorite of the king, the latter concentrates his attentions upon this
god. He appears to have been specially fond of temple building, and,
besides the one to Nin-ib, he tells us of sanctuaries to 'Belit of the
land,' _i.e._, Ishtar,[274] Sin, Gula, Ea, and Ramman,--that he erects
or improves. One might be led to regard it as strange that a god like
Nin-ib, or Shamash, should claim so large a share of the attention of
the Assyrian rulers, to the apparent neglect of Ashur, but it must be
borne in mind that the position of Ashur was so assured as to be beyond
the reach of rivalry. The fact also that Ashur's popular symbol was the
movable standard was no doubt a reason why so few temples were erected
to him. He did not stand in need of temples. For the very reason that
Ashur was the universally acknowledged master of everything, the kings
felt called upon to choose, by the side of Ashur, some additional
deity,--a patron under whose special protection they placed themselves.
The natural desire for novelty--together with other circumstances that
escape us--led one to choose Ramman, another Nin-ib, a third Shamash,
and a fourth, as we shall see, Nabu. In doing so they were not conscious
of any lack of respect towards Ashur, of whose good will they always
felt certain.

Besides the service rendered by Nin-ib in war, his aid was also invoked
by the kings in their recreations, which partook of the same violent
character as their vocation. Their favorite sport was hunting,
especially of lions, wild horses, elephants, stags, boars, and bulls.
They either proceeded to districts where these animals were to be found,
or they had large parks laid out near their residences, which were then
stocked with material for the chase. Ashurnasirbal does not shun a long
journey to distant mountainous regions to seek for sport, and it is
Nin-ib whom he invokes, together with Nergal. These two, he declares,
who, like Ashur and Ishtar, "love his priesthood," are the ones that
convey into his hands the hunting spoils. Tiglathpileser I. was
especially fond of lion and elephant hunting. He declares that on one
occasion he killed 10 elephants and 920 lions in various parts of
northwestern Mesopotamia; and he ascribes his success to Nin-ib, who
loves him, and who, again, in association with Nergal, and Ashur, has
placed in the king's hands the mighty weapons and the glorious bow.
After the days of Shamshi-Ramman we hear of Nin-ib chiefly in the formal
lists of gods which the later kings of Assyria, from Sargon[275] on, are
fond of placing at the beginning and end of their inscriptions. These
lists, again, copied the one from the other, are of value only as
indicating the chief gods of the pantheon, but warrant no conclusions as
to the activity reigning in the cults of the gods there mentioned.
Before leaving Nin-ib a few words need be said as to his relations to
the other gods. In the chapter on the pantheon before Hammurabi,[276]
the identity of Nin-ib with the chief god of Gudea's district,
Nin-girsu, has been pointed out. The solar character of the latter being
clear, it follows that Nin-ib, too, is originally a personification of
the sun, like Nin-gish-zida and Nin-shakh, whose roles are absorbed by
Nin-ib.[277] This has long been recognized, but it is the merit of
Jensen[278] to have demonstrated that it is the east sun and the morning
sun which is more especially represented by Nin-ib. On this supposition,
some of the titles given to him in the inscriptions of Ashurnasirbal and
Shamshi-Ramman become perfectly clear. Like Marduk, who, it will be
remembered, is also originally a phase of the solar deity, Nin-ib is
called the first-born of Ea; and as the rising sun he is appropriately
called the offspring of Ekur,--_i.e._, the earth,--in allusion to his
apparent ascent from a place below the earth. Ekur and Eshara being
employed as synonyms, Shamshi-Ramman replaces Ekur by Eshara, and since
Bel is the lord of Ekur-Eshara, Nin-ib also becomes the first-born son
of Bel. Other epithets, such as 'the light of heaven and earth,' 'the
one who pursues his path over the wide world,'[279] are all in keeping
with the solar character of the deity, and date, therefore, from a
period when the more purely 'nature' phases of the god were dwelt upon.
But just as in the case of Shamash and Nergal (also, as we have seen, a
solar deity), so in that of Nin-ib, the violent, fiery, and destructive
character that the sun has in a climate like that of Babylonia brought
it about that Nin-ib was viewed as a destructive force, whose assistance
was of great value in military strife. He becomes the god of the cloud
storm, before whom, as he passes along, heaven and earth tremble. By his
strong weapon he humiliates the disobedient, destroys the enemies of the
kings, and grants all manner of protection to his favorites. Only in the
religious literature are other qualities dwelt upon, such as his
'holiness.'[280] For Hammurabi, it will be recalled, Nin-ib is already
the god of war, and it is natural that in a country like Assyria this
side of the god's nature should become accentuated to the point of
obscuring all others, until nothing more is left of his solar character
than is indicated by stray bits of mythological phrases, perhaps only
half understood, and introduced to add to the imposing array of epithets
that belong to the terrible god of war. As the consort of Nin-ib, the
Assyrians recognized

Gula.

She is only occasionally invoked by the Assyrian rulers. A sanctuary to
Gula, as the consort of Nin-ib, is erected by Ashurnasirbal, and a
festival in honor of the goddess is referred to by Ashurbanabal.

Nergal.

Nergal not only shares with Nin-ib, as already mentioned, the honor of
being the god under whose auspices the royal chase is carried on, but he
is also, like Nin-ib, invoked in that other sport of which the Assyrian
rulers were so fond,--war. He is scarcely differentiated from Nin-ib.
Like the latter he is the perfect king of battle, who marches before the
monarch together with Ashur, and he is pictured as carrying the mighty
weapons which Ashur has presented to the king. In an inscription of
Shalmaneser II.[281] there is an interesting reference to the city
sacred to Nergal--Cuthah. The king, who in the course of his campaign
against Babylonia reaches Cuthah, brings sacrifices to Nergal, whom he
speaks of as 'the hero of the gods, the supreme raging sun.' A later
king, Sargon, also honors the god by giving a fortress in the distant
land of Nairi, to the northeast of Assyria, the name of Kar[282]-Nergal.
It would seem as though, through the influence of Sargon, a revival of
the Nergal cult took place. His successor, Sennacherib, erects a temple
in honor of the god at Tarbisu, a suburb to the north of Nineveh proper,
and Ashurbanabal, who dwells at Tarbisu for a while, is engaged in
adding to the beauty of the edifice,--an indication of the honor in
which the god continued to be held. Nergal's consort is Laz, but she is
not referred to by the Assyrian rulers.

Sin.

The old Babylonian moon-god plays a comparatively insignificant role in
Assyria. Ashurnasirbal speaks of a temple that he founded in
Calah--perhaps only a chapel--in honor of Sin. It could not have been of
much importance, for we learn nothing further about it. Sargon, too, who
manifests a great fondness for reviving ancient cults, erects
sanctuaries to Sin along with a quantity of other gods in his official
residence at Khorsabad and beyond the northeastern confines of Assyria
at Magganubba. But when invoked by the kings, Sin shows traces of the
influence which the conceptions current about Ashur exerted upon his
fellow deities. He takes on, as other of the gods, the attributes of the
war-god. Instead of being merely the lord of the crescent, as in
Babylonia, and one of the sources of wisdom because of the connection of
astrology with lunar observations, he is pictured as capable of
inspiring terror. At the same time he is also the lord of plenty, and in
his capacity as the wise god he is regarded as the lord of decisions.
But by the side of new epithets that are attached to him in the Assyrian
inscriptions, there is one which, just as in the case of Nin-ib,
connects the Assyrian Sin cult with the oldest phase of moon-worship in
the south. It is one of the last kings of Assyria, Ashurbanabal, who
calls Sin 'the firstborn son of Bel.' He appears in this relationship to
Bel in the religious texts of Babylonia. The Bel here meant can only be
the great god of Nippur, and the title 'son of Bel' accordingly shows
that the moon-worship of Assyria is ultimately derived from that which
had its seat in the south. Sin's secondary position is indicated by
making him a son of Bel. The rise of the science of astronomy in
connection with astrology, was, as already suggested, an important
factor in spreading and maintaining the Sin cult in the south, while the
lack of intellectual originality in Assyria would equally account for
the comparatively subordinate position occupied by Sin in the Assyrian
pantheon.

Nusku.

That Nusku is a Babylonian god, meriting a place in the pantheon of
Hammurabi, if not of the days prior to the union of the Babylonian
states, is shown by the fact (1) that he had a shrine in the great
temple of Marduk at Babylon, along with Nebo, Tashmiyum, and Ea;[283]
and (2) that he appears in the religious texts. In view of this it might
appear strange that we find no reference to the god in historical texts
till we reach the Assyrian period. The reason, or at least one reason,
is that Nusku is on the one hand amalgamated with Gibil, the fire-god,
and on the other identified with Nabu. The compound ideogram with which
his name is written includes the same sign--the stylus or sceptre--that
is used to designate Nabu, the second part of the ideogram adding the
idea of 'force and strength.' Whether this graphical assimilation is to
be regarded as a factor in bringing about the identification of Nusku
and Nabu, or is due to an original similarity in the traits of the two
gods, it is difficult to say. Hardly the latter, for Nusku is a solar
deity, whereas, as we have tried to show, Nabu is originally a
water-deity.[284] But however we may choose to account for it, the
prominence of Nusku is obscured by Nabu. As a solar deity, it is easy to
see how he should have been regarded as a phase of the fire-god, and if
the various other solar deities were not so regarded, it is because in
the course of their development they were clothed with other attributes
that, while obscuring their origin, saved them from the loss of their
identity. Apart from the formal lists of gods drawn up by Sargon and his
successors, Shalmaneser II. and Ashurbanabal are the only kings who make
special mention of Nusku. The former calls him the bearer of the
brilliant sceptre, just as Nabu is so called; and again, just as Nabu,
he is termed the wise god. The two phases of the ideogram used in his
name--the sceptre and the stylus--are thus united in the personage of
Nusku precisely as in Nabu. On the other hand, the manner in which
Ashurbanabal speaks of him reflects the mythological aspect of Nusku. In
the religious literature Nusku is the messenger of Bel-Marduk, who
conveys the message of the latter to Ea. From being the messenger of
Bel, he comes to be viewed as the messenger of the gods in general, and
accordingly Ashurbanabal addresses him as 'the highly honored messenger
of the gods,' but, combining with the mythological the more realistic
aspect of Nusku, refers to him also as the one who glorifies sovereignty
and who, at the command of Ashur and Belit, stands at the king's side to
aid in bringing the enemies to fall. As for the fire-god Gibil, with
whom Nusku is identified, we have merely a reference to a month of the
year sacred to the servant of Gibil in a passage of the inscriptions of
Sargon.[285]

Bel-Marduk.

From the time that the Assyrian rulers claimed a greater or small
measure of control over the affairs of Babylonia, that is, therefore,
from about the twelfth century, they were anxious to make good their
claim by including in their pantheon the chief god of Babylonia. The
Assyrian inscriptions prove that, as early as the twelfth century, the
theoretical absorption on the part of Marduk, of the role taken by the
old god Bel of Nippur, which was enlarged upon in a preceding
chapter,[286] had already taken place. Marduk is not only frequently
known as Bel, but what is more, Babylonia is the country of Bel, or
simply Bel, and the Babylonians are referred to as 'the subjects of
Bel,' or the 'humanity of Bel.' There can be no doubt that in all these
cases Bel-Marduk is meant and not the older Bel. In the days of
Ashurrishishi we already come across the title 'governor of Bel,' that
to the latest days remains the official designation for political
control over the southern empire. So general is this use of Bel for
Marduk that the latter name does not occur until we reach Shalmaneser
II., _i.e._, the ninth century. There seems to be no reason to question,
therefore, that even when Tiglathpileser I. applies to Bel titles that
certainly belong to the older Bel, such as 'father of the gods,' 'king
of all the Anunnaki,' 'who fixes the decrees of heaven and earth,' he
means Marduk, a proof for which may be seen in the epithet _bel matati_,
'lord of lands,' which follows upon these designations and which, as we
saw, is a factor in the evolution of Marduk into Bel-Marduk.[287] The
importance that Tiglathpileser I., and therefore also his successors,
attached to their control over the old southern district, is shown by
his according to Bel the second place in the pantheon, invoking him at
the beginning of his inscriptions immediately after Ashur. The control
over Babylonia was an achievement that stirred the pride of the Assyrian
rulers to the highest degree. Its age and its past inspired respect.
Besides being the source of the culture that Assyria possessed,
Babylonia had sacred associations for the Assyrians, as the original
dwelling-places of most of the gods worshipped by them. The old sacred
centers like Ur, Nippur, Uruk, Sippar, with their great temples, their
elaborate cults, their great storehouses of religious literature, and
their great body of influential priests and theologians and astrologers
were as dear to the people of the north as to those of the south; and in
proportion as these old cities lost their political importance, their
rank as sacred centers to which pilgrimages were made on the occasion of
the festivals of the gods was correspondingly raised. Hence the value
that the Assyrian rulers attached to the possession of Babylonia. They
do not like to be reminded that they rule the south by force of arms.
They prefer, as Tiglathpileser I. declares, to consider themselves
'nominated by the gods to rule over the land of Bel.' They want to be
regarded as the favorites of Bel, and they ascribe to him the greatness
of their rule. It is he who fulfills the wishes of the kings; and when
the kings enter upon a campaign against Babylonia, as they frequently
did to quell the uprisings that were constantly occurring in the one or
the other of the southern districts, they emphasize, as Shalmaneser II.
does, that he enters upon this course at the command of Marduk. They set
themselves up as Marduk's defenders, and it must be said for the
Assyrian rulers that they were mild and sparing in their treatment of
their southern subjects. They do not practise those cruelties--burning
of cities, pillage, and promiscuous slaughter--that form the main
feature in their campaigns against the nations to the northeast and
northwest, and against Elam. They accord to the Babylonians as much of
the old independence as was consistent with an imperial policy. The
internal affairs continue for a long time to be regulated by rulers who
are natives of Babylonia, and it is not until a comparatively late
day--the time of Sennacherib--that in consequence of the endless trouble
that these native rulers gave the Assyrians through their constant
attempt to make themselves independent, it became customary for the
Assyrian kings to appoint a member of the royal house--a son or
brother--to the lieutenancy over Babylonia. As for the cult, the
Assyrian kings were at great pains to leave it undisturbed, or where it
had been interrupted to restore it, and thus secure the favor of the
southern gods. So Shalmaneser II. upon the completion of his campaign
enters Marduk's great temple at Babylon, E-sagila, and offers prayers
and sacrifices to Bel and Belit, _i.e._, Marduk and Sarpanitum. From
E-sagila he crosses over to Borsippa, and pays homage to Nabu and to
Nabu's consort, whom he calls Nana.[288] The kings are fond, especially
when speaking of the Babylonian campaigns, of slipping in the name of
Marduk after that of Ashur. With the help of Ashur and Marduk their
troops are victorious. Marduk shares Ashur's terrible majesty. At times
Shamash, or Shamash and Ramman, are added to form a little pantheon
whose assistance is invoked in the Babylonian wars. From being used in
restricted application to Babylonian affairs, Ashur and Marduk came to
be invoked in a general way. Esarhaddon expressly sets up the claim of
being the savior of Marduk's honor, as a kind of apology for proceeding
against Babylonia with his armies. Sargon, to emphasize his legitimate
control over Babylonia as well as Assyria, says that he has been called
to the throne by Ashur and Marduk, but Ashurbanabal goes further even
than his predecessors. He proceeds to Babylon on the occasion of the
formal installation of his brother Shamash-shumukin as viceroy of the
district, enters the temple of Marduk, whom he does not hesitate to call
'the lord of lords,' performs the customary rites, and closes the
ceremonies by a fervent prayer to Marduk for his continued good will and
blessing.[289] The great gods Nergal, Nabu, and Shamash come from their
respective shrines to do homage to Marduk. Ashurbanabal's brother
Shamash-shumukin, when he attempts as governor of Babylon to make
himself independent of his brother, endeavors by means of sacrifices and
other devices to secure the favor of Marduk, well aware that in this way
he will also gain the support of the Babylonians. On another occasion,
incidental to a northern campaign, Ashurbanabal mentions that the day on
which he broke up camp at Damascus was the festival of Marduk,--an
indication that the Babylonian god was in his thoughts, even when he
himself was far away from Babylonia. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal, when
approaching the sun-god to obtain an oracle, make mention of Marduk by
the side of Shamash. There are, however, a number of passages in the
Assyrian inscriptions in which when Bel is spoken of, not Marduk but the
old god Bel is meant.