The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

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

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The assembly of the gods presupposes a systematization of the pantheon,
and the fact that it is only the papakhu in Marduk's temple which is
known as Du-azagga[1360] is a sufficient indication of the influences at
work which produced this conception. In the creation epic, there is a
reference to the Ubshu-kenna[1361] which shows the main purpose of a
divine assembly in the eyes of the priests of Babylon. The gods meet
there in order to do homage to Marduk. They gather around the victorious
vanquisher of Tiamat, as the princes gather round the throne of the
supreme ruler,--the king of Babylon and of Babylonia.

One can see, however, that, as is generally the case with theological
doctrines, there is a popular starting-point from which these views were
developed. The Du-azagga is older than the Ubshu-kenna. Situated in the
extreme east, the 'brilliant chamber' is evidently the place whence the
sun rises in the morning. A hymn to Shamash[1362] expressly speaks of
the sun rising out of the Du-azagga, and, since the sun also appears to
rise up out of the ocean, the Du-azagga is placed at a point close to
the great Apsu, which flows underneath the mountain. In confirmation of
this view, a syllabary[1363] identifies the Du-azagga with the Apsu.
Marduk, by virtue of his original quality as a solar deity, would
naturally be pictured as coming forth from Du-azagga. In this sense the
title Mar-Du-azaga,[1364] 'son of Du-azagga,' is applied to him, just as
he is called Mar-Apsi, the son of Apsu. But the same conception would
hold good of Shamash, of Ninib, and of some other solar deities, though
not of all. That Du-azagga came to be especially associated with Marduk
is due simply to the preeminent rank that he came to occupy. Whether
there was also a popular basis for the conception of an Ubshu-kenna, an
'assembly room' of the gods, is a question more difficult to answer.
Certainly, the view that the gods gathered together in one place belongs
to an age which attempted to fix, at least in some measure, the
relationship of the divine beings to one another. The popular phase of
the conception of a general assembly house could, in any case, hardly
have proceeded further than the assumption of some particular part of
the great mountain, where the gods were wont to come together. The
connection of this assembly place with the Du-azagga is distinctly the
work of the theologians of Babylon. In their desire to make Marduk the
central figure of the pantheon, they bring all the gods to his side. The
Ubshu-kenna is thus transferred to the region whence the sun issues on
his daily journey. The 'chamber' of Marduk becomes the most sacred spot
in this region, and the Ubshu-kenna the general name for the region
itself. As Marduk in Babylon was surrounded by his court, so in
Ubshu-kenna the gods assemble to pay homage to the one freely
acknowledged by them as the greatest, and who is pictured as sitting on
his throne in Du-azagga. The further speculation which brought the gods
together yearly on the occasion of the great Marduk festival belongs
likewise, and as a matter of course, to the period when Marduk's sway
was undisputed.

The ideas that were thus attached to the papakhu in E-Sagila are a
valuable indication of the sanctity attached to that part of the temple
where the god sat enthroned. In a general way, what holds good of
Marduk's papakhu applies to every sacred chamber in a temple, and no
doubt views were once current of the papakhu of Bel at Nippur and of the
'holy of holies' in E-Babbara[1365] and elsewhere that formed in some
measure, a parallel to what the Marduk priests told of their favorite
sanctuary.

Coming back now to the large hall which led into the papakhu, the
absence of bas-reliefs in this hall in the case of the Assyrian temples
excavated by Layard, suggests that the walls of this hall were not lined
with sculptured slabs, as was the case in the large rooms of the
palaces; and we may conclude that in Babylonian temples, likewise, the
decoration of the walls was confined as a general thing to enameled
bricks, interspersed, perhaps, with metallic panels, and that
mythological scenes--such as the contest with Tiamat or Gilgamesh's
adventures--were only occasionally portrayed. An aim which, as the
rulers themselves tell us in their inscriptions, they always kept in
view was to make both the exterior and interior of the temples
resplendent with brilliant coloring--"brilliant as the sun." At the
entrances to the Assyrian temples stood lions, chiseled out of soft
limestone or the harder alabaster. At Telloh various fragments of large
lion heads were found,[1366] so that there is every reason not only to
trace this custom to Babylonia, but to carry it back to a very early
period. Besides the lion, a favorite religious symbol, as we have
seen,[1367] was the bull, and, since Nebuchadnezzar speaks of retaining
the "bull" statue of the old temple to Nana (or Ishtar) at Erech, we may
suppose that the representation of colossal bulls at the entrances to
the temples also belongs to the characteristic features of Babylonian
religious architecture. The lion, it will be recalled, is more
particularly the symbol of Nergal, but he appears originally, like the
bull, to have been a symbol of other gods as well--perhaps, indeed, of
the gods in general. Similarly, the eagle, which becomes the special
symbol of Ashur, appears prominently on the monuments of Entemena[1368]
and other ancient rulers, centuries before the Ashur cult comes into
prominence.

In the large court in front of the zikkurats there stood the jars used
in connection with the cult, and the presence of these jars furthermore
suggests that there was an altar in the great court, precisely as in the
case of the Solomonic temple.[1369] In the larger of the temples found
by Layard, there was a smaller hall in front of the large one. We may
assume that the same was the case with the larger temples of Babylonia,
and this three-fold division of the interior,--the vestibule, or
_pronaos_, the main hall, or _naos_, and the papakhu,--further warrants
the comparison of a Babylonian sacred edifice with the Solomonic
temple,[1370] where likewise we have the vestibule, the hall known as
the 'holy' part, and the 'holy of holies,' the one leading into the
other. As to the further disposition of the rooms in the main temple, we
must be content to wait for further excavations. What we know is
sufficient to warrant the supposition that there was practical
uniformity in the interior arrangement of the Babylonian and Assyrian
temples. What variation there existed was probably confined to the
decoration of the walls, doorways, and to the facades. Meanwhile, it is
something to have reached general results. The zikkurat was surrounded
by a varying number of shrines that were used as places of assembly for
worshippers. The latter gathered also in the large court in front of the
zikkurat, where the chief altar probably stood.[1371] In the large halls
of the shrines, there were in all probabilities likewise altars. It
seems natural to suppose that the hall of judgment, mentioned already in
Gudea's inscription,[1372] was attached to some shrine. Besides the
zikkurats and shrines, there were smaller structures used as dwellings
for the priests and temple officials, for storehouses, for the archives,
and as stalls for the animals to be used in the sacrifices. At Nippur a
smithy was found near the temple precinct. There were workshops near the
temple where the furnishings for the temple, such as the curtains and
the utensils, were made, and there were magazines where votive tablets
and offerings were manufactured and sold. The number of these structures
varied, naturally, in each religious center, and increased in proportion
to the growth of the center. The zikkurat, the great court, the shrines,
and the smaller structures formed a sacred precinct, and it was this
precinct as a whole that constituted the temple in the larger sense, and
received some appropriate name. Thus E-Kur at Nippur, E-Sagila at
Babylon, E-Zida at Borsippa are used to denote the entire sacred
precinct in these cities, and not merely the chief structure. The
zikkurat always had a special name of its own.

A factor that contributed largely to the growth of the sacred precinct
in the large centers was the circumstance that the political importance
of such centers as Nippur, Lagash, Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh led the
rulers to group around the worship of the chief deity, the cult of the
minor ones who constituted the family or the court of the chief god. The
kings measured their importance by the number of the gods upon whose
assistance they could rely. The priests came to the assistance of the
kings in connecting the gods of the royal pantheon in such a way, as to
satisfy the pride of both their royal and divine masters.[1373] The
ambition of the kings, more especially of the Assyrian empire, led also
to the addition of foreign deities to the pantheon. For these also
shrines were built within or near the sacred precinct.

Gudea sets the example for his successors by parading a large pantheon
at the close of his inscriptions,[1374] and a list of temples in Lagash,
recently published by Scheil,[1375] shows that most, if not all, of the
gods invoked by the ruler had a sanctuary erected in his or her honor.
There were, as we have seen, several quarters in Lagash, and therefore
several sacred precincts, so that we cannot be certain that all of these
sanctuaries stood in one and the same quarter. But, since the list in
question furnishes the name of no less than thirteen sacred edifices, we
are certain that as many as four or five smaller chapels surrounded the
precinct in which stood the great temple E-Ninnu, sacred to Gudea's
chief god Ningirsu-Ninib.

The list is headed by the sanctuary to Nin-girsu. There follow temples
to Bau, to Nin-gishzida, Nin-mar, Nina, Dumuzi-zu-aba, Nin-si-a,
Ga-tum-dug known to us from the inscriptions of Gudea, besides others,
like Shabra (?), Nin-sun, Nin-tu, that appear here for the first time.
In Nippur, we find traces of the worship of Belit (or Nin-lil), of
Ninib, and of Nusku, though with the exception of the first named, the
worship of these gods has not been traced back further than the days of
the Cassite dynasty. Subsequent excavations may, of course, change the
present aspect; but one gains the impression from the most ancient
inscriptions found at Nippur that at an early period Bel was a god much
like the Hebrew Yahwe, "jealous" of having others at his side. Such a
conception would help to account for the title 'lord' being applied to
him above all others, and also aids us in understanding the lasting
impression he made upon the people of Babylonia,--an impression so
profound that when the time came for En-lil to yield his supremacy to
Marduk, no better means could be found of emphasizing the latter's
authority, than by transferring to him the names and titles of the older
Bel.[1376] In this respect, however, Nippur was an exception, and in
later times the Bel cult was affected by the same influences that led
Gudea to group around the sanctuary to Nin-girsu, edifices sacred to
other gods and goddesses. Lugalzaggisi[1377] of Erech enumerates an
extensive pantheon,[1378] which contains most of the chief deities, and
from which we may conclude that the temple of Nana was similarly the
center of a large precinct in which the cult of other deities was
carried on. When we come to the cult of Marduk at Babylon and of Nabu at
Borsippa, the inscriptions, chiefly those of Nebuchadnezzar, come to our
aid in showing us the arrangement of the various chapels that were
comprised within the sacred precincts of E-Sagila and E-Zida,
respectively. In the first place, the close relationship between Marduk
and Nabu was emphasized by placing a papakhu to Nabu in the precinct of
E-Sagila, which--built in imitation of E-Zida at Borsippa--was called by
the same name.[1379] This papakhu, it would seem, was independent of a
special temple to Nabu known as E-Makh-tila, and which lay in Borsippa.
The consort of Marduk, Sarpanitum, likewise had her temple in Babylon,
and naturally close to the chief sanctuary of Marduk.[1380] Ea, the
father of Marduk, had a small sanctuary known as E-kar-zaginna in the
sacred precinct.[1381] It does not follow, of course, that all the
temples in a center like Babylon or Borsippa were concentrated in one
place. Indeed, when Nebuchadnezzar speaks of three temples to Gula being
erected in Borsippa,[1382] it is certain that they could not have been
within the precinct of E-Zida, and so the temples to Shamash and Ramman,
Sin and Ishtar, as well as to Nabu in Babylon, had an independent
position; but we are at least warranted in concluding that they were not
far removed from E-Sagila, and so, likewise, the numerous temples
enumerated by Nebuchadnezzar as erected or improved by him in Borsippa
were not far distant from Nabu's sanctuary,--the famous E-Zida. The
palaces of the kings were also erected near the temples. In Babylon, we
know that before Nebuchadnezzar's days, the palace stood so close to
E-Sagila that an enlargement of it was impossible without encroaching on
the sacred quarter.[1383] The tendency to combine with the worship of
the chief god, the cult of others is as characteristic of Assyrian
rulers as of their Babylonian predecessors. We are fortunate in
possessing an extensive list,[1384] enumerating the various deities
worshipped in the temples of Assyria, and the occasions on which they
are to be invoked. The information to be gained from this list is all
the more welcome since the Assyrian kings are chiefly interested in
transmitting an account of their military expeditions, and tell us
comparatively little of the religious edifices in their capitols. From
this list we learn that in the old temple sacred to Anu and
Ramman,[1385] in the city of Ashur--the oldest Assyrian temple known to
us,[1386]--some twenty deities were worshipped. Images at least of these
deities must have stood in the temple;[1387] but, since there is a
distinct reference _zikkurats_[1388] in the list, for some of them
special sanctuaries of some kind must have been erected within the
precinct. From the same list we learn that there was a temple to
Marduk[1389] in Ashur in which the cult of the Shamash, Sarpanitum,
Ramman, Ninib, Anunit was also carried on; similarly, in the temples of
Ashur, of Gula, and of Ninib, other gods were worshipped. Provisions of
some kind for the cult of these deities must have been made, and one
cannot escape the conclusion that in the Assyrian capitols, the sacred
precincts likewise covered considerable territory, and that the tendency
existed towards a steady increase of the structures erected in
connection with the cult of the patron deity. Sennacherib proudly
describes Nineveh as the city which contained the shrines of all gods
and goddesses.[1390]

The Names of the Zikkurats and Temples.

We have seen that every sacred edifice had a special name by which it
was known. This custom belongs to the oldest period of Babylonian
history, and continues to the latest. Through these names, to which, no
doubt, considerable significance was attached, we obtain a valuable
insight into the religious spirit of the Babylonians; but it is
important to note that the custom does not appear to have been as
general[1391] in Assyria, where the temples are simply known as the
house of this or that god or goddess. Of special interest are those
names which were suggested by the original design of the temples. Such
are E-Kur, 'the mountain house' at Nippur, E-kharsag-kurkura, 'the house
of the mountain of all lands,' the name of several temples.[1392] The
same idea finds expression also in such names as E-kharsag-ella, or
'house of the glorious mountain,' the name of a temple to Gula in
Babylon; E-kharsag, 'the mountain house,' a temple in Ur;[1393]
E-khur-makh, 'the house of the great mountain,' which a text[1394]
declares to be equivalent to E-kharsag-kalama. Closely allied with these
names are those indicating in one way or the other, the height or
greatness of the buildings, as the general aim of the builders.
Prominent among such names are E-Sagila, 'the lofty house,' the famous
temple and temple area at Babylon; E-makh, 'the great house,' a chapel
to Nin-kharsag, situated perhaps within E-Sagila; E-gal-makh, 'the great
palace,' an old temple in Ur; E-anna, 'the heavenly house,' that is, the
house reaching up to heaven, which is the name of the temple of Ishtar
or Nana at Erech; E-lgi-e-nir-kidur-makh,[1395] 'the tower of the great
dwelling' sacred to Ninni at Kish. To the same class belong such
designations as E-dur-an-ki, 'the link of heaven and earth,'[1396] the
name of a zikkurat at Larsa; E-an-dadia, 'the house reaching to heaven,'
the zikkurat at Agade; E-pa, 'the summit house,' the zikkurat to
Nin-girsu at Lagash; E-gubba-an-ki, 'the point of heaven and earth,' one
of the names of the zikkurat in Dilbat; E-dim-anna, 'the house of
heavenly construction,' the chapel to Sin within the precinct of E-Zida
at Borsippa,--a name that again conveys the notion of an edifice
reaching up to heaven. The names of the zikkurats at Erech and Borsippa,
'the house of seven zones' and 'the house of the seven divisions of
heaven and earth,' respectively, while conveying, as we saw,[1397]
cosmological conceptions of a more specific character, may still be
reckoned in the class of names that embody the leading purpose of the
tower in Babylonia, as may also a name like E-temen-an-ki, 'the
foundation stone of heaven and earth,' assigned to the zikkurat to
Marduk in Babylonia.

The sacred edifice, as the dwelling of the god to whom it is dedicated,
leads to such names as E-Zida, 'the true house or fixed house,'[1398]
the famous temple to Nabu in Borsippa; E-dur-gina,[1399] 'the house of
the established seat,' a temple of Bel-sarbi[1400] in Baz;
E-ki-dur[1401]-garza, 'the sacred dwelling,' a temple to Nin-lil-anna in
Babylon; E-kua, 'the dwelling-house,' the name of the papakhu of Marduk
in E-Sagila; E-gi-umunna, 'the permanent dwelling'; E-esh[1402]-gi, a
shrine to Nin-girsu at Lagash with the same meaning, 'permanent house.'

Another class is formed by such names as are suggested by the attributes
of the deity to whom the edifices are dedicated. Such are E-babbara,
'the brilliant house,' which, as the name of the temples to Shamash at
Sippar and Larsa, recalls at once the character of the sun-god.
Similarly, E-gish-shir-gal, 'the house of the great luminary,' was an
appropriate name for the temple to the moon-god at Ur. The staff or
sceptre being the symbol of the god Nabu, suggests as the name of a
sanctuary to him in Babylonia, the name E-pad-kalama-suma, 'the house of
him who gives the sceptre of the world,' while the character of Shamash
as the god of justice finds an expression in the name E-ditar-kalama,
'the house of the universal judge,' given to his temple or chapel in
Babylon. The association of the number fifty with Ningirsu-Ninib leads
to the name E-ninnu, 'house of fifty,'[1403] for his temple in Lagash.
Again, the position of Anu in the pantheon accounts for the name E-adda,
'house of the father,' given to his temple, just as E-nin-makh, 'the
house of the great lady,' the name of a chapel in Babylon, at once
recalls a goddess like Ishtar. Other names that describe a temple by
epithets of the gods to whom they are sacred, are E-nun-makh, 'the house
of the great lord,' descriptive of Sin; E-me-te-ur-sagga, 'the house of
the glory of the warrior,' a temple sacred to Zamama-Ninib; E-U-gal,
'the house of the great lord,' a temple to En-lil. A name like E-edinna,
'house of the field,' a temple to the consort of Shamash at Sippar, may
also have been suggested by some attribute of the goddess.[1404]

Lastly, we have a class of names that might be described as purely
ornamental, or as embodying a pious wish. Of such we have a large
number. Examples of this class are E-tila, 'house of life.' Names
extolling the glory and splendor of the temples are common. In a list of
temples[1405] we find such designations as 'house of light,' 'house of
the brilliant precinct,' 'great place,' 'lofty and brilliant
wall,'[1406] 'house of great splendor,' 'the splendor of heaven and
earth,' 'house without a rival,' 'light of Shamash.' The seat of
Sarpanitum in E-Sagila, is known as 'the gate of widespread splendor';
E-salgisa, 'the treasury,' as the name of a temple in Girsu, may belong
here. A temple to Gula in Sippar was called E-ulla; that is, 'the
beautiful house.' The old temple to Sin at Harran bore the significant
name E-khulkhul, 'house of joys,' while the pious wish of the worshipper
is again expressed in the name 'threshold of long life,' given to the
zikkurat in Sippar.[1407] Among a series of names,[1408] illustrating
the religious sentiments of the people are the following: 'the heart of
Shamash,' 'the house of hearkening to prayers,'[1409] 'the house full of
joy,' 'the brilliant house,' 'the life of the world,' 'the place of
fates,' and the like.

These various classes of names are a valuable index of the varied and
often remarkable conceptions held of the gods. To call a temple, for
example, 'court of the world'[1410] may have been due originally to a
haughty presumption on the part of some one deeply attached to some god;
but such a name must also have led to regarding the god as not limited
in his affections to a particular district. Whatever tendencies existed
in Babylonia and Assyria towards universalistic conceptions of the
divine beings were brought out in the temple names, and in part may have
been advanced by these names. The custom still surviving in the Jewish
Church of giving names to synagogues may be traced back to a Babylonian
prototype.[1411]

The History of the Temples.

The history of the temples takes us back to the earliest period of
Babylonian history, and the temples of Assyria likewise date from the
small beginnings of the Assyrian power. The oldest inscriptions of
Mesopotamian rulers commemorate their services as builders of temples.
Naram-Sin and Sargon glory in the title 'builder of the temple of En-lil
in Nippur.' Of the rulers of the first period of Babylonian history, it
so happens that we know more of Gudea than of any other. We may feel
certain that he but follows the example of his predecessors, in devoting
so large a share of his energies to temple building. Hammurabi is an
active builder of sanctuaries, and so on, through the period of Assyrian
supremacy down to the closing days of the Babylonian monarchy, the
thoughts of the rulers were directed towards honoring the gods by
improving, restoring, rebuilding, or enlarging the sanctuaries, as well
as by endowing them with rich gifts and votive offerings. The Assyrian
kings, though perhaps more concerned with embellishing their palaces, do
not neglect the seats of the gods. Anxious to maintain the connection
between their kingdom and the old cities of the south, the Assyrian
monarchs were fond of paying homage to the time-honored sanctuaries of
Babylonia. This feeling, which is of course shared by the Babylonian
rulers, results in bringing about the continuity of the Babylonian and
Assyrian religion. If, despite the changes that the religious doctrines
underwent, despite the new interpretations given to old myths and
legends, despite the profound changes introduced into the relationship
of the gods to one another through the systematization of the pantheon,
if, despite all this, the Babylonians and Assyrians--leaders and
people--continued to feel that they were following the religion of their
forefathers, it was due to the maintenance of the old sanctuaries. We
can actually trace the history of some of these sanctuaries for a period
of over 3000 years. In their restorations, the later builders were
careful not to offend the memory of their predecessors. They sought out
the old dedicatory inscriptions, and took steps to preserve them. They
rejoiced when they came upon the old foundation stones. In their
restorations they were careful to follow original designs; and likewise
in the cult, so far from deviating from established custom, they
strongly emphasized their desire to restore the cult to its original
character, wherever an interruption for one reason or the other had
taken place. In all this, the rulers were acting in accord with the
popular instincts, for the masses clung tenaciously to the old
sanctuaries, as affording an unfailing means of protection against the
ills and accidents of life.

To enumerate all the temples of Babylonia and Assyria would be both an
impossible and a useless task. Besides those mentioned in the historical
texts and in the legal literature, we have long lists of temples
prepared by the pedagogues. Some of these lists have been
published;[1412] others are to be found among the unpublished material
in the British Museum collections.[1413] It is doubtful whether even
these catalogues were exhaustive, or aimed at being so; moreover, a
large number of gods are known to us only from the lists of the
pedagogues.[1414] So, to mention some, taken from a valuable list[1415]
which gives chiefly the names of foreign gods, together with the places
where they were worshipped, we learn of such gods as Lagamal, Magarida,
Lasimu, A-ishtu, Bulala, Katnu, Kannu, Kishshat, Kanishurra, Khiraitum.
Knowing, as we do, that at various periods foreign deities were
introduced into Babylonia and Assyria,[1416] it was necessary to make
some provision for their cult; and, while no doubt most of these minor
deities and foreign gods were represented only by statues placed in some
temple or temple precinct, it is equally certain that some had a shrine
or sanctuary of some kind specially erected in their honor. In hymns,
too, deities are mentioned that are otherwise unknown. So in a litany,
published by Craig,[1417] a long series of gods is introduced. Some are
identical with those included in the list just referred to,[1418] others
appear here for the first time, as Mishiru, Kilili Ishi-milku. Epithets
also occur in lists and hymns, that appear to belong to deities
otherwise unknown. We are safe, therefore, in estimating the number of
temples, zikkurats, and smaller shrines in Babylonia and Assyria to have
reached high into the hundreds. Sanctuaries must have covered the
Euphrates Valley like a network. By virtue of the older culture of the
south and the greater importance that Babylonia always enjoyed from a
religious point of view, the sanctuaries of the south were much more
numerous than those of the north. For our purposes, it is sufficient to
indicate some of the most important of the temples of the south and
north. The oldest known to us at present is the frequently mentioned
temple of E-Kur at Nippur, sacred to En-lil or the older Bel. Its
history can be carried back to a period beyond 4000 B.C.; how far beyond
cannot be determined until the early chronology is better known than at
present. We know, however, that from the time of Sargon[1419] and
probably even much earlier, the rulers who had control of Nippur devoted
themselves to the embellishment of the temple area. Climatic conditions
necessitated frequent repairs. The temple also suffered occasionally
through political tumults, but with each century the religious
importance of E-Kur was increased. Ur-Bau, we have seen, about 2700
B.C., erected a zikkurat in the temple area. Some centuries later we
find Bur-Sin repairing the zikkurat and adding a shrine near the main
structure. As the political fortunes of Nippur varied, so E-Kur had its
ups and downs. Under the Cassitic rule, an attempt was made to recover
for Nippur the position which it formerly occupied, but which had now
passed over to Babylon. It was of little avail. Bel had to yield to
Marduk, and yet, despite the means that the priests of Marduk took to
transfer Bel's prerogatives to the new head of the pantheon, the rulers
would not risk the anger of Bel by a neglect of E-Kur. Kurigalzu, a king
of the Cassite dynasty (_c._ 1400 B.C.) brings back from Elam[1420] a
votive object which, originally deposited by Dungi in the Ishtar temple
at Erech, was carried to Susa by an Elamitic conqueror about 900 years
before Kurigalzu. The latter deposits this object not in Marduk's temple
at Babylon, but in Bel's sanctuary at Nippur. During the entire Cassitic
period, the kings continued to build or make repairs in the temple
precinct, and almost every ruler is represented by more or less costly
votive offerings made to Bel's sanctuary. In this way, we can follow the
history of the temple down to the Assyrian period. In the twelfth
century the religious supremacy of E-Kur yields permanently to E-Sagila.
The temple is sacked, part of it is destroyed, and it was left to rulers
of the north like Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal to once more restore E-Kur
and its dependencies to its former proportions. These kings, especially
the latter, devote much time and energy in rebuilding the zikkurat and
in erecting various buildings connected with the temple administration.
Under the new Babylonian dynasty, however, E-Kur was again destroyed,
and this time by the ruthless hands of southern rulers. Nebuchadnezzar,
so devoted to Marduk and Nabu, appears to have regarded E-Kur as a
serious rival to E-Sagila and E-Zida. Some traces of building operations
at E-Kur appear to date from the Persian period, but, practically, the
history of E-Kur comes to an end at the close of the seventh century.
The sanctity of the place, however, remained; a portion of the old city
becomes a favorite burial site, while other parts continue to be
inhabited till the twelfth century of our era. The city of Bel becomes
the seat of a Christian bishop, and Jewish schools take the place once
occupied by the "star-gazers of Chaldea."