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that the tablet published by Dr. Pinches, to which I have
already alluded in the last lecture, identifies the chief gods of the
pantheon with Merodach in his various phases and functions; it
is also true that Nabonidos, the last Babylonian king, shocked
the consciences and violated the rights of the local priesthoods
by bringing the images of their gods into the central sanctuary;
but such speculations and efforts remained isolated and without
effect. It was otherwise, however, in Assyria. There the deities for
the most part, like the culture and language, had been imported
from the south; there were no time-honoured temples and [366]
venerable traditions to contend against; and, above all, there was
a national god who represented the State rather than a Semitic
Baal, and was therefore a symbol of the unity which bound the
State together.
The supreme god of Assyria was Assur; the other gods were of
Babylonian origin. And in the name of Assur we have the name
of the country itself and its primitive capital. Assur, in short, was
the deified city of Assur, the divine State which from the days of
its successful revolt from Babylonia was predominantly military,
with all the union and discipline of a military organisation. Such
at least was the view taken of the god in the historical age of
Assyria, though some modern scholars have doubted whether,
like Nineveh, which derived its name from the goddess Ninâ, it
was not originally rather the city that took its name from the god
than the god from the city.
Such doubts, however, are set at rest by an examination
of the proper names found in the Babylonian contracts of the
early Semitic period, more especially in those of the age of
Khammurabi. Many of them are compounded with the names of
cities which are treated as deities, and are preceded by the prefix
of divinity. Thus we have Sumu-Upi (Bu. 91-5-9. 2182. 16),
like`umu-Rakh or Sumu-Râ and Samuel, as well as Upi-rabi
(Bu. 91-5-9. 377. 25), where the deified Upi or Opis plays
exactly the same part as the deified rivers Euphrates and Tigris