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7, 

■<7. 


THE  CIVILIZATION 


OP 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


LECTURES  DELIVERED 


RICHARD  B.  WESTBROOK  LECTURESHIP  FOUNDATION 

at  en 

WAGNER  FREE  INSTITUTE  OF  SCIENCE 

PHUADELFH  i  a 


SECOND  EDITION 


OTHER  WORKS  BT 

MORRIS  JASTROW.JR. 

THE  WAR  AND  THE  BAGDAD 
RAILWAY 

THE  WAR  AND  THE  COMING 
PEACE 

THE  RELIGION  OF  BABYLONIA 
AND  ASSYRIA 

Qermta  edition,  enlarged  to  3  vol- 
ume wit*  portfolio  of  aiustratioBi 

THE  STUDY  OF  RELIGION 

ASPECTS  OF  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF 

AND  PRACTICE  IN  BABYLONIA 

AND  ASSYRIA 

HEBREW  AND  BABYLONIAN 
TRADITIONS 

BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  BIRTH 

OMENS  AND  THEIR  CULTURAL 

SIGNIFICANCE 


COPYRIGHT.  1915.  BY  J.  B.  UPPINOOTT  COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,  U.  S.  A. 


To 
JOSEPH  GEORGE  ROSENGARTEN.  A.M.,  LLJ>. 

SCHOLAB  AND  ISIXND  OF  BCHOLABS 


-V>v/ 


PREFACE 


To  my  knowledge  this  is  the  first  time  that  the 
attempt  has  been  made  on  a  somewhat  large  scale  to 
cover  the  entire  subject  of  Babylonian- Assyrian  civili- 
zation for  English  readers. 

The  aim  of  this  work  is  to  present  a  survey  of  the 
remarkable  civilization  which  arose  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley  thousands  of  years  ago  and  which,  spreading 
northwards,  continued  to  flourish  till  close  to  the  thresh- 
old of  the  Christian  era.  As  a  result  of  the  combined 
activities  of  explorers,  decipherers  and  investigators 
of  many  lands  during  the  past  seventy  years,  we  can 
follow  the  unfolding  of  the  growth  of  the  centres  of 
settlement  in  the  south  which  led  ultimately  to  the 
formation  of  the  Babylonian  Empire,  and  of  the  off- 
shoot of  Babylonian  civilization  which  resulted  in  the 
rise  of  a  rival  empire  to  the  north,  known  as  Assyria. 
While  much  still  remains  to  be  done  before  we  can  be 
said  to  have  solved  the  problems — historical,  linguistic, 
archaeological  and  ethnological — raised  by  the  discov- 
eries made  beneath  the  mounds  which  concealed  the 
remains  of  forgotten  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  cities 
for  so  many  centuries,  we  have  learned  to  know  the 
customs  and  manners,  the  religion,  the  law,  the  com- 
merce and  art  of  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria  quite 
intimately.  We  know  how  these  peoples  lived  and  how 
they  died,  the  arrangement  of  their  houses,  palaces  and 
temples,  as  well  as  of  their  tombs ;  their  daily  life  and 
their  religions  aspirations.  The  various  occupations 
of  the  people  are  revealed  in  thousands  upon  thousands 


VII 


of  clay  documents,  found  in  the  mounds,  which  tell  of 
business  activities,  of  commercial  intercourse,  of  legal 
disputes,  of  the  growing  complications  of  social  life,  and 
of  judicial  decisions  affecting  all  classes  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  beliefs  and  practises  prevailing  in  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria  are  illustrated  by  abundant  literary 
material,  dating  from  the  oldest  period  down  to  the  fall 
of  Babylonia  and  beyond  that  into  the  era  of  Persian 
and  Greek  control.  A  considerable  amount  of  liter- 
ature in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  term  has  also  come 
down  to  us  on  the  clay  tablets ;  and  finally  monuments, 
the  remains  of  temples  and  palaces,  with  wall  sculpt- 
ures, statues,  votive  offerings,  cult  objects  and  orna- 
ments enable  us  to  trace  the  course  of  art  development 
along  the  centuries  that  span  the  existence  of  the  Baby- 
lonian and  Assyrian  Empires. 

The  moment  seems,  therefore,  opportune  for  grou] 
ing  together  the  large  amount  of  material  at  our  dis 
posal,  with  a  view  of  presenting  a  general  picture  of 
Babylonian- Assyrian  civilization.  In  this  endeavor  I 
have  utilized  the  results  of  the  researches  of  many 
others,  besides  embodying  those  of  my  own,  for  the 
field  of  investigation  embracing  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
is  now  too  large  to  be  cultivated  in  its  entirety  by  any 
single  investigator.  It  has  been  my  aim  throughout 
to  present  only  such  results  as  may  safely  be  regarded 
as  definite,  and  to  abstain  from  mere  haphazard  and 
conjectural  views.  Naturally,  in  a  work  of  a  general 
character  and  intended  for  the  larger  public,  some 
details  had  to  be  passed  over  for  fear  of  crowding 
the  picture.  In  such  a  selection  personal  judgmen 
must  inevitably  be  the  guiding  factor,  but  I  trust  tha 
I  have,  on  the  whole,  succeeded  in  picking  out  what  i 


by- 
iis- 


PREFACE 


IX 


most  important  for  a  general  view  of  the  civilization 
and  also  most  characteristic. 

I  hope  that  the  liberal  use  which  has  been  made 
of  illustrations  will  be  looked  upon  as  contributing  to 
the  clearer  setting  forth  of  the  results.  Here,  too,  a 
selection  was  called  for,  and  I  have  had  in  mind  to 
place  at  the  disposal  of  the  reader  reproductions  of 
all  the  more  important  monuments,  as  well  as  of  many 
less  known  objects,  so  as  to  furnish  a  series  that  may 
form  a  tolerably  complete  companion  to  the  text,  I 
have  included  specimens  also  of  cuneiform  documents 
so  as  to  show  the  kind  of  material  from  which  Assyri- 
ologists  obtain  their  results.  Special  attention  may 
also  be  called  to  the  attempt  to  illustrate  the  course 
of  decipherment  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  with 
the  aid  of  reproduction  and  selection  of  cuneiform 
signs  and  combinations  of  such  signs  into  words.  The 
decipherment  of  an  unknown  script  is  a  fascinating 
theme  even  to  the  layman,  and  I  feel  that  I  owe  no 
apology  for  taking  the  space  necessary  to  make  clear 
to  the  general  reader  how  it  was  possible  to  find  a 
key  to  the  reading  of  the  puzzling  combinations  of 
wedges  that  became  the  medium  of  written  expression 
in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  Equally  interesting  is  the 
story  of  the  way  in  which  the  ancient  cities  of  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria  were  dug  up  by  explorers,  undaunted 
by  difficulties  that  at  times  seemed  insurmountable.  I 
have  tried  to  tell  the  story  without  belaboring  the  gen- 
eral reader  with  too  many  details,  but  with  due  regard 
to  setting  forth  the  merits  of  each  one  of  the  pioneers 
to  whom  the  world  owes  a  lasting  debt.  To  emphasize 
this  debt  I  have  united  in  one  plate  the  portraits  of 
Layard,  Bawlinson,  Grotef end,  Hincks,  Oppert,  George 


x  PREFACE 

Smith,  de  Sarzec,  and  Harries,  whose  names  are  indis- 
solubly  linked  with  the  recovery  of  our  knowledge  of 
the  long-forgotten  civilization  of  Babylonia  and  As- 
syria. Three  of  these  men,  George  Smith,  Ernest  de 
Sarzec  and  John  Henry  Haynes,  went  to  premature 
graves  as  the  result  of  their  arduous  labors  in  the  inter* 
est  of  science,  which  claims  its  martyrs  no  less  than  re- 
ligion. But  for  circumstances  beyond  my  control,  I 
would  have  included  the  portrait  of  P.  E.  Botta,1  the 
pioneer  among  the  explorers  of  Assyrian  mounds,  as  well 
as  those  of  two  scholars  still  with  us,  of  Robert  Koldewey, 
the  leader  of  the  German  expedition  which  has  con- 
ducted excavations  in  Babylonia  for  upwards  of  four- 
teen years,  and  of  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  the  distinguished 
Professor  of  Assyriology  at  the  University  of  Berlin, 
who  has  done  more  than  any  other  living  scholar  to 
stimulate  the  study  of  Assyriology  through  the  training 
of  scholars,  now  scattered  in  various  pails  of  the  world, 
and  through  his  own  contributions  in  advancing  our 
knowledge  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  language 
and  literature.  Besides  these,  there  is  a  long  honor  roll 
among  living  scholars,  who,  in  this  country,  in  England, 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  Austria,  Russia,  Holland  and 
the  Scandinavian  countries,  are  devoting  their  careers 
to  the  further  elucidation  of  the  subject,  and  through 
whom  contributions  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge  are 
being  constantly  made.  To  all  of  these,  from  whose  re- 
searches I  have  derived  help,  I  wish  to  make  a  hearty 
acknowledgment. 

In  the  closing  chapter  I  have  added  specimens  from 
the  various  branches  of  the  literature  of  Babylonia  and 

1  There  is  a  portrait  of  Botta  in  the  Louvre  Museum,  but  un- 
fortunately, on  account  of  the  war,  no  photograph  of  it  could  be 
taken. 


PREFACE 


XI 


Assyria,  which  are  intended  to  serve  in  part  as  amplify- 
ing the  references  to  such  literary  products  in  the  body 
of  the  book,  and  partly  to  give  the  reader  a  view  at 
closer  range  of  literary  composition  as  developed  in 
the  Euphrates  Valley,  and  as  further  carried  on  in 
Assyria.  The  translations,  it  may  be  added,  aim  at 
being  literal,  with  due  regard,  however,  to  reproducing 
in  English  the  effect  of  the  original. 

A  sense  of  deepest  gratitude  leads  me  to  express, 
as  on  former  occasions,  my  indebtedness  to  my  dear 
wife  for  her  aid  in  preparing  this  work,  an  aid  ever 
generously  and  lovingly  given.  In  addition  to  other 
services  she  has  read  a  proof  of  the  entire  work  and  if, 
as  a  result,  the  pages  are  comparatively  free  from 
those  slips  which  are  so  difficult  to  avoid,  and  which  one 
likes  to  ascribe  to  the  pranks  of  devilish  imps  by  whom 
in  proof-reading  one  is  surrounded,  it  is  due  to  the  care 
which  she  has  bestowed  on  her  task. 

The  index  is  the  work  of  my  pupil  and  colleague, 
Dr.  B.  B.  Charles,  Instructor  in  Semitic  Languages  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  co-operation 
has,  as  on  former  occasions,  been  most  cheerfully  given. 
To  the  publishers  my  thanks  are  due  for  the  interest 
that  they  have  displayed  in  the  progress  of  the  work, 
for  their  patience  in  waiting  for  the  completion  of  the 
manuscript,  prepared  under  many  inevitable  interrup- 
tions, and  for  the  handsome  form  that  they  have  given 
to  the  text  and  to  the  illustrations. 

My  thanks  are  due  also  to  the  authorities  of  the 
British  Museum,  of  the  Musee  de  Louvre,  of  the  Berlin 
Museum,  to  Dr.  G.  B.  Gordon,  the  director  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  Archaeological  Museum,  to  Mr. 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan  Jr.  and  to  Miss  Belle  Da  Costa 


Xll 


PREFACE 


Greene,  the  efficient  Librarian  and  custodian  of  the 
Morgan  collection,  and  to  the  Deutsche  Orient  Gesell- 
schaf t,  for  permission  to  use  illustrations  from  publica- 
tions, and  reproductions  from  antiquities  and  monu- 
ments in  their  possession ;  likewise,  for  similar  permis- 
sion, most  generously  given,  to  a  number  of  publishers  in 
this  country  and  abroad,  namely,  Behrend  &  Co.  Berlin; 
Chapman  and  Hall,  London;  Chatto  &  Windus,  Lon- 
don ;  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  Leipzig;  Curts  and  Jennings,  Cin- 
cinnati ;  Ernest  Leroux,  Paris ;  Luzac  &  Company,  Lon- 
don ;  Macmillan  &  Company,  New  York ;  W.  A.  Mansell 
and  Co.,  London;  John  Murray,  London;  Martinus 
Nijhoff,  The  Hague;  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York; 
Georg  Reinier,  Berlin ;  The  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeol- 
ogy, London;  W.  Speman,  Berlin;  Sundcri/  School 
Times,  Philadelphia;  Alfred  Toepelmann,  Giessen;  and 
thirdly  to  a  large  number  of  colleagues,  who  either 
placed  photographs  at  my  disposal  or  have  allowed  me  to 
reproduce  illustrations  from  books  published  by  them. 
It  gives  me  particular  pleasure  to  acknowledge  in  this 
way  the  kindness  of  such  friends  of  many  years'  stand- 
ing as  Prof.  Paul  Haupt  of  Johns  Hopkins  University; 
Dr.  W.  Hayes  Ward ;  Prof.  A.  T.  Clay  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity, Prof.  A.  Y.  Williams  Jackson  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity; Prof.  Carl  Bezold  of  the  University  of  Heidel- 
berg ;  Mr.  L.  W.  King  of  the  British  Museum,  Mr,  R.  C. 
Thompson,  M.  Salomon  Reinach  of  Paris;  Dr.  T.  G. 
Pinches  of  London ;  Prof.  R.  W.  Rogers  of  Drew  Theo- 
logical Seminary;  Rev.  Dr.  John  P.  Peters  of  New 
York ;  Dr.  E.  J.  Banks ;  Prof.  Friedrich  Delitzsch  of  the 
University  of  Berlin ;  Prof.  Eduard  Meyer  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Berlin,  and  M.  Francois  Thureau-Dangin  of 
Paris. 


PREFACE  xiii 

Lastly,  I  wish  to  record  here  the  debt  of  gratitude 
that  I  owe  to  the  friend  of  so  many  years  to  whom  it 
is  a  pleasure  and  a  great  privilege  to  be  permitted  to 
dedicate  this  work.  What  I  owe  to  the  friendship  of 
Joseph  George  Rosengarten  and  to  my  association  with 
him  cannot  be  adequately  expressed  in  words.  Him- 
self a  scholar,  active  and  fruitful  in  many  fields,  he  has 
been  the  guide  and  friend  of  many  scholars  connected 
with  the  institution  in  whose  service  I  have  now  spent 
thirty  years.  Keenly  appreciative  of  scholarly  efforts 
in  every  field,  he  has  done  much  to  promote  by  his  ex- 
ample and  by  his  aid  researches  among  the  members 
of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
more  than  anything  else  redound  to  the  honor  and  glory 
of  an  institution  of  learning.  In  dedicating  this  book 
to  him  I  feel  that  I  am  also  acknowledging,  though  in 
poor  coin,  the  debt  of  my  colleagues  as  well  as  my  own. 

Mobbis  Jastbow,  Jr. 

UmvBBanT  or  Pennsylvania 
Skftembbr,  1915 


CONTENTS 

I.  Excavations  at  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Sites 1 

II.  The  Decipherment  of  the  Cuneiform  Script 63 

III.  Survey  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  History 120 

IV.  The  Gods  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria 187 

-<  V.  The  Cults  and  the  Temples  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  237 

VX  Law  and  Commerce 283 

**Vn.  The  Art  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria 367 

VIII.  Specimens  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Literature  . .  427 
Index 497 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FLATS  PAG1 

1.  Group  or  Explorers  op  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  or 
Early  Decipherers  or  Cuneiform  INSCRIPTIONS:  Sir 
Austen  Henry  Layard,  (1817-1894)  Sir  Henry  C.  Raw- 
unson  (1810-1895),  Georq  Friedrich  Grotefend  (1775- 
1863),  Rev.  Edward  Hincks  (1 792-1 SG6),  Jules  Oppert 
(1825-1905),  George  Smith  (1840-1876),  Ernest  de  Sarzec 
(1837-1901),  John  Henry  Haynes  (1849-1910)  Frontispiece 

II.  Map  or  Babylonia  and  Assyria 5 

From  Jaatrow,  Aspects  of  Religious  Belief  and  Practice  in  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria,  N.  Y.,  1910,  by  kind  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers, G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

HI.  Fig.  1.  Mound  and  Village  or  Khorsabad,  the  Site  or  the 

First  Excavations  in  Assyria 14 

Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  dc  Xinive,  Paris,  1849-50,  PI.  3 
Fw.  2.  Bibs   Nimbud,  the  Site  or  the   Ancient  City  or 
Borsippa.    The  Ruined  Edifice  is  the  Remains  op  the 

8even-storied  stage-tower 14 

Peters,  Nippur,  Putnam's,  N.  Y.,  1897,  facing  page  214 

IV.  Fig.  1.  Hunting  Scene  in  a  Forest  (Khorsabad) 16 

Fig.  2.  Procession  or  Captives,  Bearing  Tribute  (Khor- 
sabad)   16 

Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  Paris,  I8G7,  PI.  127  and 
108 

V.  Fia.  1.  Winged  Bull  wtth  Human  Face  from  the  Palace 
op  Sargon  at  Khorsabad,  Guarding  the  Entrance  to 

One  of  the  Large  Halls 18 

Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  N'inive,  PI.  45 

Fio.  2.  Attempted  Restoration  of  Sargon's  Palace 18 

Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  Paris,  1867-70,  PL  18bis 

VI.  Obelisk  of  Shalmaneser  III,  Kino  op  Assyria  (858-824  b.c.), 
Illustrating  His  Triumphant  Wars.  The  Second  Row 
Shows  the  King  Receiving  the  Tribute  of  Jehu,  the 
King  of  Israel 20 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  Series,  John  Murray,  London, 

1849,  PI.  53 

VII.  Fio.  1.  King  Sennacherib  of  Assyria  (705-681  b.c.)  in  His 

Chariot  (Kouyunjik) 22 

Fio.  2.  Carrying  Material  Across  a  Stream — Palace  of 
Sennacherib  at  Kouyunjik  (Nineveh) 22 

Paterson,  Assyrian  Sculptures,  Martinua   Nijhoff,  The  Hague, 

1912,  PI.  42  and  26 

VIII.  Hunting  Scenes  from  the  Palace  op  Ashurbanapal,  Kino 

of    Assyria  (668-626  b.c.) 24 

Fio.  L  Lion  Hunt 

Fig.  2.  Hunting  Wild  Horse* 

W.  A.  Mansell  &  Co.,  London.    Photographs  of  Assyrian  Antiqui~ 

ties  in  the  British  Museum,  Part  III,  Nos.  477  and  485 

xvii 


xviu  ILLUSTRATIONS 

DC  Tablets  from  Ashubbanapal's  Ldrart 96 

Fio.  1.  Omen  Tablet,  with  Colophon  at  thb  Bottom  or 

thb  Left-hand  Column 
Fio.  2.  Syllababy,  Fobnibhino  Explanations  op  Cuneipobm 

Signs 
Besold,  Catalogue  of  the  Cuneiform  Tablet*  in  the  Kouyunjik  Col- 
lection of  the  British  Museum,  London,  1889-1809,  vol.  v,  PI.  X 

and  XII 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 

X.  Shamash,  thb  Sun-god,  Seated  in  Hib  Shbinb  at  Sippab 37 

Rawlinson,  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  London, 
1884,  vol.  v,  PI.  60 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 

XI.  Fio.  1.  Specimen  op  Babylonian  Boundabt  Stone,  Contain- 
ing Record  op  Grant  op  Land,  with  Numerous  Designs 
Representing  Symbols  op  the  Gods:  Found  at  Abu  Habba    39 
King,  Babylonian  Boundary  Stone  and  Memorial-Tablets  tn  the 
British  Museum,  London,  1912,  PI.  83 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 

Fig.  2.  Stone  Pedestal  (Steatite)  with  Grouching  Figures, 

prom  Telloh 39 

De  Sarsec  et  Heusey,  DScouveries  en  ChaldSe,  Ernest  Leroux, 
Paris,  1884-1912,  PI.  21,  No.  5 

XII.  Figs.  1  and  2.  Excavations  op  Palace  op  Gudea,  Ruler 
op  Lagash  (c.  2450  B.C.)  and  op  Later  Edifice  Erected 
on  the  Same  Site 41 

Fig.  3.  Terra-cotta  Cylinder,  Containing  Detailed  Record 
op  Gudea's  Building  Achievements  and  of  His  Devo- 
tion to  the  Gods 41 

Dtcouvcrtes  en  ChaldSe,  PI.  53bia  and  36 

XIII.  Fig.  1.  Diortte   Seated   Statue    of   Gudea,   Ruler  op 

Lagash  (c.  2450  B.C.) 43 

DScouvertes  en  ChaldSe,  PI.  20 

Fig.  2.  Standing  Statue  op  Gudea 43 

Cros,  Heusey  et  Thureau-Dangin,  Nouvclles  FouUles  de  Tetto, 
Leroux,  Paris,  1910,  PI.  1 

XIV.  Fig.  1.  Specimens  op  Tablets  and  Inscribed  Cones  Found 

at  Telloh 45 

Dicouvertes  en  ChaldSe,  PI.  41 

Fig.  2.  Necropolis  at  Telloh,  Showing  Methods  op  Burial    45 
Cros,  Heusey  and  Thureau-Dangin,  Nouvelles  Fouiiles  de  Tetto, 
Leroux,  Paris,  1910,  p.  126 

XV.  Fig.  1.  Slipper-shaped  Coffins   (Persian  Period)   Found 

at  Nippur    48 

Fig.  2.  Incantation   Bowls   with   Aramaic    Inscriptions 

Found  at  Nippur 48 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Series 
A,  vol.  ix,  PI.  16,  and  Series  D,  vol.  i,  p.  447 

XVI.  Fig.  1.  White  Stone  Statue  of  the  Goddess  Ninlxl  (Bismya)    53 
Fig.  2.  Design  on  an  Inscribed  Boat-shaped  Vase  (Bismya)    53 

Fig.  3.  Design  on  an  Inlaid  Vase  (Bismya) 53 

Banks,  Bismya  or  the  Lost  City  of  Adah.   Putnam's,  New  York, 
1912,  pp.  258, 139  and  268 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


xix 


XVII.  Fig.  1.  Excavations  at  Kaleh-Shergat,  the  8it»  of  Abhtjr, 

the  Ancient  Capitol  of  Assyria 57 

Andrae,  Die  Fesiungswerke  von  Awr,  Hinrichs,  Leipzig,  1913, 

PI.  LXXIV 

Fio.  2.  Memorial  Steles  Erected  at  Ashur  in  Honor  or 
Rulers  and  High  Officials 57 

Andrae,  Die  Stelenreihen  in  Assur,  Hinrichs,  Leipzig,  1913,  PI.  IX 


XVIII.  Fio.  1.  The  Lion  of  Babylon.    Glazed  Tile  Work  of  thb 
Days  of  Nebuchadnezzar  II.,  King  of  Babylonia,  (604- 

561  B.C.),,  

Koldewey,  Dob  Wieder  Erstehende  Babylon,  HinrichB,  Leipzig, 
1913,  Fig.  16 

Fig.  2.  Abchway  of  Colored,  Glazed  Tiles  (Khorsabad)  . . 
Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  PI.  15 


60 


60 


XIX.  Fig.  1.  Ruins  at  Persepolis 64 

Jackson,  Persia,  Past  and  Present,  Macmillan  A  Co.,  New  York, 

1906,  facing  p.  311 

Fia.  2.  Remains  of  the  Propyi^ea  of  the  Palace  of  Xerxes 

I  (486-465  B.C.)  at  Persepolis 64 

Perrot  and  Cbipiez,  History  of  Art  in  Persia,  Chapman  and  Hall, 
London,  1892,  facing  p.  292 

XX.  Specimens  of  the  Three  Classes  of  Cuneiform  Characters 
on  the  Monuments  at  Persepolis.  B  and  G  (Through 
Which  Grotefend  Discovered  His  Key)  Represent 
Class  I,  i.e.,  Old  Persian;  C  Represents  Class  III,  i.e., 
Babylonian- Assyrian;  D  Represents  Class  II,  i.  e.t  Neo- 

Elamitic 70 

Careten  Niebuhr,  Reisebeschretbuna  naeh  Arabien  und  andern 
umlieaenden  Ldndern,  Copenhagen  1776-1778  vol.  ii,  PI.  XXIV. 

XXI.  Fig.  1.  Portion  of  the  Great  Rock  Sculpture  and  Inscrip- 
tion of  Darius  I  (522-486  b.  c.)  Showing  Darius  Receiv- 
ing the  Nine  Rebels  and  Pretenders  to  the  Throne  ...  83 
King  and  Thompson,  The  Sculpture*  and  Inscriptions  of  Darius 
the  Great  on  the  Rock  of  Behistun  in  Persia,  British  Museum 
Publication  London,  1907,  PI.  Ill 

Reproduced  by  permiMioa  of  the  Truateea  of  the  Britiab  Museum 

Fig.  2.  Vase  of  Xerxes  I  (486-466  b.  a),  Containing  the 
Name  of  the  King  in  the  Three  Classes  of  Cuneiform 
Characters  (Old  Persian,  Neo-Elamitic  and  Baby- 
lonian-Assyrian) and  in  Egyptian  Hieroglyphics. 83 

A.  de  Caylus,  Recuetl  d'AntiquiUs  Eguptiennes  etc.,  Paris,  1762, 

vol.  v,  PI.  XXX 

XXII.  Fig.  1.  Sumerian  Type 121 

Dicouvertes  en  Chaldie,  Ft.  6bis  No.  la 

Fig.  2.  Limestone  Head  (Bismya),  Showing  Early  Semite 

Type  in  Babylonia 121 

Banks,  Bismya,  Putnam's,  New  York,  1912,  p.  256 

XXIII.  Fig.  1.  Obelise  or    Manishtusu,    King    of   Kish    (c.2600 

B.C.) .134 

Fig.  2.  Bust  of  Manibhtubu 1H4 

Both  found  at  Susa,  whither  they  were  carried  by  an  Elamite 
conqueror  in  the  12th  century  B.C.  DeUgation  en  Perse, 
Memoires,  vol.  ii,  (Ernest  Leroux,  Paris,  1900,)  PL  IX,  and  voLx, 
(Paris,  1908,)  PI.  I 


XX 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


XXIV.  Fig,  I.  Lugal-daudu,  Kino  op  Adab,  as  Ttpe  op  Sumerian  143 

Banks,  Bismya,  p.  191 

Fig.  2.  Marduk-nadin-akhi,  King  op  Babylonia  (c.  1140- 
1066  b.c.)  From  a  Boundary  Stone  op  the  King's  Reign,  as 
Type  op  Semite 143 

Fung,  Babylonian  Boundary  Stones  and  Memorial-Tablets  in  the 

British  Museum,  London,  1918,  PI.  LIV 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustee*  of  the  British  Museum 

XXV.  Fig.  I.  Prism  Containing  in  Ten  Columns  the  Annals  op 

Ashurbanapal,  King  of  Assyria  (Gl>S-62G  b.c.) 174 

Fio.  2.  Clay  Clyinder,  Containing  the  Account  of  Cyrus' 
Capture  op  Babylon  (539  b.c.) 174 

Rassam,  Asshur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod,  Curts  and  Jennings, 

Cincinnati,  1897,  facing  pages  21 8  and  268 

XXVI.  Fio.  1.  Stele  op  Ashurnasirpal  III,  King  op  Assyria  (883- 

859  b.c.) 178 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  Series,   Murray,  London, 

1863,  PL  4 

Fig.  2.  Stele  or  Esarhaddon,  King  of  Assyria  (680-669 
b.c.)  with  Two  Royal  Prisoners,  Tirhaka,  King  op 
Ethiopia,  and  Ba'alu,  Kino  op  Tyre 178 

Ausgrabungen  in  Sendschirlit  W.  Speman,  Berlin,  1893,  vol.  i, 

PL  I 

XXVII.  Terra-cotta  Votive  Images  of  the  God  Enlil  and  op  His 

Consort  Ninlil  (Nippur) 188 

Clay,  Light  on  the  Old  Testament  from  Babel,  Sunday  School 
Times  Co.,  Philadelphia,  1907,  p.  194 

XXVIII.  Fig.  1.  The  God  Marduk  in  Conflict  with  the  Monster 

Tiamat,  the  Symbol  op  Primeval  Chaos.  .  211 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  Series,  PL  5 
Fig.  2.  Procession    of   Gods,   Mounted   on  Animals   with 
Which    They    Were    Symbolically    Associated;     Rock 
Sculpture   at  Malthiyeh   in  the   Mountains  op  Kur- 
distan, Two  Days  North  of  Mosul 211 

Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  PI.  45 

XXIX.  Fig.  1.  Nabu,  thb  Chief  Deity  op  Borsippa 218 

Budge  and  King,  A  Guide  to  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Antiq- 
uities of  the  British  Museum,  (2d  ed.)  London,  1908.  p.  31 
Reproduced  by  pemunion  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 

Fio.  2.  Isutar  as  the  Mother  Goddess. 218 

Koldewey,  Die  Tempel  von  Babylon  und  Borsippa,  Hinricha, 
Leipzig,  1911,  Fig.  13 

Fig.  3.  Ishtar  as  the  Goddess  op  War.  Rock  Sculpture 
in  the  Zagros  Mountains,  with  Votive  Inscription  op 
Anubanint,  King  op  the  Lulubi  (c.  2400  b.c),  to  Whom 

the  Goddess  is  Bringing  Prisoners  of  War 218 

de  Morgan,  Mission  Scientifique  en  Perse,  Leroux,  Paria  {1894- 
1901)  vol.  iv,  PL  IX,  and  J  as  trow,  Bildermappe  rur  Religion 
Bahyloniens  und  Assyriens,  Tdpelmann,  Giessen,  1912,  No.  24 

XXX.  Fig.  1.  Marduk,  the  Chief  Deity  of  Babylon 223 

Fig.  2.  Adad,  the  God  op  Storms 223 

Mitteilungen  der  Deutschen  Orientgcsellschafl,  No.  5,  pp.  12-15 

XXXI.  Fig.  1.  Ashur  (?),  the  Chief  Deity  of  Assyria 229 

Meyer,  Sumerier  und  Semiten  in  BabyUmien,  Berlin,  1906,  PL  VI 

Figs.  2  and  3.  Winged  Discs  as  Symbols  of  the  God  Ashur, 

Originally   a   Sun    Deity,  but   as   the    Head    of    the 

Assyrian  Pantheon,  Also  a  God  op'War 229 

Jastrow,  Bildermappe  eur  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens, 
Tdpelmann,  Giessen  1912,  No.  49  and  50a 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


xxi 


XXXII.  Fig.  1.  Types  of  Demons 241 

Fig.  2.  Human-headed  Lion,  a  Type  of  Monstrous  Being 

Akin  to  the  Demons 241 

W.  A.  Mansell  &  Co.,  London,  Photographs  of  Assyrian  Antiqui- 
ties in  the  British  Museum,  Part  III,  No.  461 

XXXIII.  Assyrian   King   Worshipping  the  Tree   of   Life,   Accom- 

panied by  Winged,  Semi-divine  Beings  as  Guardians  and 
Fertilizer*  of  the  Tree.  The  Scene  is  Symmetrically 
Repeated.    Above  the  Tree  is  the  Winged  Disc  as  the 

Symbol  of  the  God  Ashur 265 

Lavard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  Series,   Murray,   London 
1849,  PI.  25 

XXXIV.  Diorite  Stele,  Containing  the  Code  of  Hammtjrapi  (c.  2123- 

2081  b.c),  with  Picture  of  the  King  in  Attitude  of 
Adoration  Before  Shamash,  the  Sun-god,  Who  is  the 

God  of  Law  and  Justice 284 

Delegation  en  Perse, Mimoires,  vol.  iv,  (Leroux,  Paris,  1902)  PI.  4-5 

XXXV,  The  First  Eight  Columns  of  the  Code  of  Hammurapi .  287 

Diligation  en  Perse,  Mimoires,  vol.  iv,  Leroux,  Paris,  1902,  PL  4-5 

XXXVI.  Fig.  1.  Legal  Tablet  with  Seal,   Records?  Sal*    jf   \ 
Portion  of  a  House  and  Dated  in  the  13th  Year  or  n. 

f  Babylonia  (c.  20S0-2043  B.C.) 66i 

Figs.  2  and  3,  Specimens  of  Seal  Impressions  on  Legal 

and  Commercial  Tablets 334 

1 1  ,.  4.  Nail  Marks  on  Legal  Tablet,  as  Substitute  for 

Seal. . 334 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  vi, 
2,  PI.  VII;  vol.  vi,  1,  PI.  IV;  vol.  viii,  1,  PI.  IV;  vol,  viii,  1,  PL  V 

XXXVII.  Fig.  1.  Dragon  as  Symbol  of  the  God  Marduk;  Colored, 

Glazed  Tiles  on  the  Gate  of  Ishtar  in  Babylon 370 

Fig.  2.  Bull  ab  Symbol  of  TnE  God  Ad  ad  (?);   Colored, 

Glazed  Tiles  on  the  Gate  of  Ishtar  in  Babylon 370 

Kuli'Iewcy,  Das  Wittier  Erslehende  Babylon,  Hinrichs,  Leipzig, 
1913,  Fig.  30  and  31 

XXXVIIL  Fig.  1.  Restoration  of  the  Temple  of  the  God  Ninib  in 

Babylon 372 

Fig.  2.  Plan  of  the  Temple  of  the  Goddess  Nin-Makh 
r  ("The  Great  Lady"),  i.  e.,  Ishtar  of  Babylon — ......  372 

Koldewey,   Die   Tempel  von   Babylon  und  Borsippu,   Hinrichs, 
Leipzig,  1911,  Fig.  25  and  PI.  Ill 

XXXIX.  Fig.  1.   Restoration   of   Zikkurats   or   Stage-towers  of 

the  Anu-Adad  Temple  at  Ashur. ,  376 

Andrae,  Der  Anu-Atlad  Tempel,  Hinrichs,  Ix»ip*ig  1909,  PL  VIII 
Fig.  2.  Mohammedan   Tower   at  Samarra  on  the  Tigris 

(9th  Century  ad. ) 376 

Herzfeld,  Samarra,  Behrend  &  Co.,  Berlin,  1907,  PL  3 

XL.  Fig.  1.  Shapes    of    Babylonian    Coffins    of    the    Older 

Periods 379 

Jastrow,  Bildermappe  zur  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens, 
Topelmann,  Giessen  1912,  No.  115 

Fig.  2.  Assyrian  Grave  Vault 379 

Mitteilungen  der  Deutschen  OrientgeseUschaft,  No.  27,  p.  29 

XLI.  Fig.  1.  Specimens  of  Babylonian  Pottery 381 

Dtcouvertes  en  Chaldte,  PL  '12 

Fig.  2.  Shapes  of  Pottery  from  Bismya 381 

Banks,  Bismya,  Putnam's,  New  York,  1912,  p.  349 


XX11 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


XLII,  Figs.  1  and  2.  Votive  Statuettes  or  Clay 382 

Croe,  Hcuaey  and  Thureau-Dangin,  NouvelUa  FouUles  de  Tello, 
Leroux,  Paris,  1910,  PL  VII,  Nos.  7  and  8 

Fig.  3.  The  God  Ningirsu  and  His  Consort  Bau  383 

Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  25,  No,  5 

XLIII,  Fio.  1.  Babylonian  Goddess  with  Uplifted  Hands 383 

Dtcowerks  en  Chaldie,  PL  40,  No.  2 

Fig.  2.  Votive  Tablet  or  Ub-Enlil  (c.  3000  B.C.),  Found 

at  Nippur 383 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  I.  2, 
PL  XVI 

XLTV,  Fio.  1.  Goddess  Seated  on  Bird 384 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Series 
D,  vol.  i,  p.  474 

Fig.  2.  Sumerian  Chief 384 

Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  1,  No.  1 

XLV.  Fig.  1.  Procession  of  Warriors 385 

Fig.  2.  Limestone   Bas-relief,    Representing  a  Religious 

Ceremony 385 

Dicouverles  en  Chaldie,  PL  47,  No.  1  and  PL  23 

■»    »*» .  „  tio.  1.  Ur-Nina,  King  of  Lagasq   (c.  3000  B.C.),  and  His 

Family 386 

Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PI.  2bia,  No.  1 

Flo.  2.  The  Goddess  Ninsun 386 

Jaetrow,  Biidermappe  tur  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Aasyriena, 
Topelmann,  Giessen,  1912,  No.  21 

XLVII,  Fragments  of  the  "Stele  of  Vultures" 387 

Fig.  1.  Marching  Army  of  Eannatum,  Ruler  of  Lagash 

(c.  2920  B.C.). 
Fig.   2.  The   God   Ningirsu,   Capturing  the  Enemies  of 

Lagahh  in  his  Net. 
Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  3bia  and  4bis 

XLVIII,  Fragments  of  the  "Stele  of  Vultures" 388 

Fig.  1.  Heads  of  Enemies  Being  Carried  Off  by  Vultures 
Fig.  2.  Burial  of  Soldiers  of  Eannatum,  Ruler  of  Lagash 

(c.  2920  b.c.) 
Fio.  3.  The  Conflict  Between  Lagash  and  Umma. 
Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  3 

XLLX,  Fig.  1.  Heraldic  Design  of  Lagash-   Votive  Plaque 390 

Fondalion  Eugbne  Plot,  Monuments  et  Mimoires,  Leroux,  Paris, 
1894,  vol.  i,  PL  II;  also  Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  5  bis  No.  2 
Fig.  2.  Fragment  ok  a  Stele  Depicting  a  Conflict  with 

an  Enemy 390 

Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  3bia,  No.  3a 

L.  Fio.  1.  Stele  of  Nabam-Sin,  King  of  Agade  (c.  2550  b.c).  . .  393 
Dttigation  en  Perse,  Memairea.  {Leroux,  Paris  1898)  vol.  i,  PL  IX 

Fio.  2.  Bas-relief  of  Naram-Sin,  King  of  Agade 393 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  I,  2, 
PL  XVI 

LI.  Fio.  1.  Diorite  Statue  of  a  Woman. 395 

Dicouvertea  en  Chaldie,  PL  24bis,  No.  2a 

Fio.  2.  Doo  with  Attachment  of  Later  Date  (?) ;    Votive 

Offering  of  King  Sumulailu  (a  2211-2176  b.c.) 395 

Croa,  Heuzey  et  Thureau-Dangin,  Nouvclka  Fouillea  de  Tello, 
Leroux,  Paris  1910,  PL  V 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xxiii 

LH.  Figs,  1,  2  and  3.  Heads  of  Lions.  396 

Dicouvtrtes  en  Chaldie,  PL  25bis,  Nos.  la,  4  and  5 
LIII.  Figs.  1   and  2.    Human-headed    Bulls,    one    with   Inlaid 

Shell*  to  Indicate  .Streaks , .  39S 

Fondation  Eugene  Piot,  Monument*  ei  Mimoires,  Leroux,  Paris, 
1899,  vol.  vi,  PL  XI,  and  vol.  vii,  (Paris,  1900,)  PL  I 

LTV\  Fio.  1.  Sphinxes    in    Hittite    Aet,    Showing    BABYLONIAN- 
ASSYRIAN    InPLFENCE    IN    PORTRAYAL   OF    FANTASTIC    HtBBID 

Figures,    and    Relationship   to    Winged  Creatures  in 

Assyrian  Art 400 

AusgrabungeninSendschirti,  Reimer,  Berlin,  191 1,  vol.  iv,  PL  LVI 
Fig.  2.  Assyrian  Army  Attacking  a  Fort,  from  the  Palace 

of  Saroon,  Kino  of  Assyria   (721-706  b.c.)   4C0 

Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  PL  6Sbie 

LV.  Fio.  1.  Ashurnasirpal  III,  Kino  of  Assyria  (883-859  B.C.) 

Hunting  Lions 402 

Fio.  2.  Ashurnasirpal  Pourino  Libation  Over  Wild  Bull 

Killed  in  the  Chase 402 

Layard,   Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  Series,   Murray,  London 
1849,  PL  10  and  12 

LVI.  Fig.  1.  Attendants  Carrying  Throne  (Khorsabad) 403 

Fio.  2.  Transporting  Wood  Across  a  Stream  (khorsabad)  408 
Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  PL  17  and  34 

LVTI.   GlLGAMESH,  THE  HERO  OF  THE  BABYLONIAN  EPIC 404 

Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  PL  41 

L.VIII.  Kino    Sennacherib    of  Assyria    (705-681  b.c)    Receiving 

Captives  at  Lachibh  (Palestine) 406 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  Series,  Murray,  London  1853, 
PL  23 

LIX.  Transporting  Colossal  Figure  op  a  Winged  Bull,  Palace 

op  Sennacherib  at  Nineveh 406 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Ninci>e)i,  2d  Series,  PL  13 

LX.  Fio.  1.  Dying  Lioness 407 

Fig.  2.  Attendants  Carryino   Nets  for  the  Chase,  and 

Leading  Dogs 407 

W.  A.  Mansell  &  Co.,  LoDdon,  Photographs  of  Assyrian  Antiq- 
uities in  the  British  Museum,  Part  III,  Nos.  462  and  504 

UQ.  Fig.  1.  Battle    Scene,    Conflict    Between    Assyria    and 

Elam  in  the  Reign  op  King  Abhurbanapai .  408 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  Series,  PL  45 

Fig.  2.  Assyrian  Army  and  Captives 408 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  Series,  PL  48 

LXII.  King  Ashurbanapal  of  Assyria    (668-626    b.c.)    with   His 

Queen <09 

W.  A.  Mansell  it.  Co.,  London,   Photographs  of  Assyrian  Antiq- 
uities in  the  British  Museum,  Part  III,  No.  5226  and  522c 

LXIII.  Votive  Offerings  (Copper)  from  Tellob  (Laqash) 410 

Dicouvtrtes  en  Chaldie,  PL  28 

LXTV.  Fig.  1 .  Votive  Statuettes  (Copper) 410 

Fig.  2.  Statuette,  with  Flat  Rino  Attachment  410 

Decouvertes  en  Chaldie,  PL  Ibis,  Nos.  3  to  7,  and  PL  2bis,  No,  3 


XXIV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


LXV.  Fig,  1.  Bronze  Dm 411 

Fondatwn  Eughte  Piot,  Monuments  H  M (moires,  Leroux,  Paris, 
1900,   vol.  vii,  H.  1 

Fig.  2.  Goat  with  Crumpled  Horns  (Copper) 41 J 

Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Series 
D,  vol.  i,  p.  540 


LXVI.  Figs.  1  and  2.  Bronze  Plaque    (Obverse 
Showing  Exorcising  Ceremony. 
Revue  Archeotogiquc  1879,  p.  337 


and   Reverse), 


412 


LXVII.  Fig    1.  Babylonian  Bronze  Bell  (Berlin  Museum) 413 

Fio.  2.  Demons  on  Bronze  Bell 413 

Jasbrow,  BUdermappe  ear  Religion  Babuloniens  und  Assyriens, 
Topelmann  Giessen,  1912,  Nos.  70  and  70o 

LXVni.  Fios.  1  and  2.  Bronze  Coverings  op  Gates  op  an  Assyr- 
ian Palace  at  Balawat,  Depicting  Scenes  in  the   Cam- 
paigns op  Shalmaneser  111,  Kino  on  Assyria  (858-S24  b.c.)  414 
Birch  and  Pinches,  The  Bronze  Ornaments  of  the  Palace  Gates  of 
Balawat,  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  London,  18S0,  PI.  A.  1 
and  C.  3 

LXLX,  Figs,  1  and  2.  Bronze  Coverings  or  Gates  op  an  Assyria  I 
Palace  at  Balawat,  Showing  King  Shalmaneser  III 
Receiving  Prisoners;  Cavalry  and  Infantry  op  the  Assyr- 
ian Army,  Charioteers,  and  Barbarous  Treatment  op 
the  Captured  Enemy 415 

Birch  and  Pinches,  The  Bronze  Ornaments  of  the  Palace  Gates  of 

BalaiMt,  PL  D  3  and  D  4 

LXX.  Figs.  1  and  2.  Assyrian  Bronze  Bowls  op  the  8th  Cen- 
tury b.c 416 

Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  Series,  Murray,  Loudon,  1849 
PI.  60  and  63 

LXX1.  Fig.  1.  Silver  Vase  op  Entemena,  Ruler  op  Laoash  (c. 

2S50  b.c.) 417 

Decouvertes  en  ChaLlee,  PI.  43bis 

Fig,  2.  Libation  Vase  op  Green  Stone 417 

Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  PI.  44,  No.  2u-c  and  Heuzey,  Catalogue 
des  AntiquiUs  Ckaldecnnes  du  Musee  National  du  Louvre.  Paris 
1902,  No.  125 

LXXIL  Figs,  1  and  2.  Symbols  op  the  Gods  on  Babylonian  Boun- 
dary Stones 419 

King,  Babylonian  Boundary  Stones  and  Memorial-Tablets  in  the 
British  Mvseum,  London,  1912,  PI.  LXX VI  and  LXXVII 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 


LXXIII.  Figs.  I  and  2.  Winged   and    Non-winged    Hippocentaurs 

un  Babylonian  Boundary  Stones 419 

L.  \V.  King,  Babylonian  Boundary  Stones  and  Memorial-Tablets 

in  the  British  Museum,  London,  1912,  PL  XXIX 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 

LXXIV.  Figs.  1,  2  and  3.  Engravlng  on  Bone  and  Shells 420 

Decouvertes  en  Cliaidee,  PL  46,  Nos.  2,  3,  and  5 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xxv 

LXXV.  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Seal  Cylinders 423 

Fio.  1.  Man  and  Woman  Drinking  Through  Tubes,  Prob- 
ably a  Sacrificial  Scene. 

Jastrow,  BUdermappe  tar  Religion  Babylonienn  und  Assyrians, 

Topelmann,  Giessen,  1912,  No.  125 

Fig.  2.  Monstrous  Being  (with  Head  op  Enkidu,  the 
Companion  op  Gilgamesh),  Fighting  a  Lion— Symmetri- 
cally Repeated. 

W.  H.  Ward,  Cylinders  and  Other  Ancient  Seals  in  the  Library  of 

J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  N.  Y.,  1909,  No.  44 

Fig.  3.  The  Sun-god  Shamash,  with  Divine  Attendants. 

Morgan  Collection,  No.  60 

Fig.  4.  Gilgamesh,  Fighting  Lion — Symmetrically  Re- 
peated. 

King,  History  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  Chatto  &  Windus,  London, 

1910,  facing  p.  76 

LXXVI.  Fig.  1.  Contests  with  Wild  Beasts 425 

King,  History  of  Swner  and  Akkad,  facing  p.  76 

Fig.  2.  Winged  Seml-divine  Being  Before  The  Tree  of 

Life— Symmetrically  Repeated 425 

Morgan  Collection.  No.  159 

Fig.  3.  Winged  Being,  Plucking  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree 

of  Life 425 

Morgan  Collection,  No.  160 

Fig.  4.  Conflict  with  the  Dragon  Tiamat 425 

Morgan  Collection,  No.  154 

LXXVII.  Fig.  1.  Shamash,  the  Sun-god,  Stepping  Forth  Over  the 
Mountain  to  Pass  Through  the  Gate  of  Sunrise— 
Symmetrically  Repeated 426 

Morgan  Collection.  No.  70 

Fig.  2.  Sin,  the  Moon-god,  Receiving  a  Worshipper  Led 
by  a  Goddess,  Probably  the  Consort  of  Sin.  Inscrip- 
tion of  the  Days  of  Ur-Engur,  King  of  Ur  (c.  2450  B.C.)  426 

Clay,  Ligtd  on  the  Old  Testament  from  Babel,  Sunday  School 

Times,  Philadelphia,  1907,  p.  199 

Fig.  3.  Seal  of  a  Babylonian  Physician 426 

Dtcouvcrtes  en  Chaldie,  PI.  30bis 

Fig.  4.  Divine  Beings,  Seated  Before  the  Tree  of  Life, 
with  Serpent  Behind  the  Female  Figure 426 

Clay,  Light  on  the  Old  Testament  from  Babel,  p.  83 

LXXVm.  Fig.  1.  Third  Tablet  of  the  Babylonian  Story  op  Creation  430 
King,  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  Luzac  &  Co.,  London,  1902,  vol. 
ii,  frontispiece 
Fig.  2.  Portion  of  the  Babylonian  Story  of  the  Deluge, 

Forming  the  Eleventh  Tablet  of  the  Gilgamesh  Epic. .  430 
Rassam,  Asshur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod,  Curts  and  Jennings, 
Cincinnati,  1897,  facing  p.  34 


THE  CIVILIZATION  OF 
BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

CHAPTER  I 
EXCAVATIONS  AT  BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  SITES 


The  land  to  which  we  are  led  in  the  exposition  of  this 
subject  lies  thousands  of  miles  away  and  the  time  with 
which  we  are  concerned  lies  thousands  of  years  behind 
us.  The  question  may,  therefore,  properly  be  asked, 
what  is  our  interest  in  the  civilization  that  flourished  in 
the  Euphrates  Valley  as  early,  at  least,  as  3500  years  be- 
fore our  era,  and  that  spread  northwards  into  the  region 
lying  along  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  as  early  as  2500  B.C., 
if  not  earlier.1 

In  the  case  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  the  very  re- 
moteness of  the  theme,  of  the  place,  and  of  the  time  con- 
stitute three  reasons  why  its  history,  culture,  and  re- 
ligion should  be  of  real  interest  to  us,  for  the  past,  and 

1  See  the  accompanying  map.  Babylonia  is  the  name  given  to 
the  southern  portion,  Assyria  to  the  northern  portion.  For  the 
oldest  period,  Sumer  and  Akkad  may  be  used  as  designations  of  the 
southern  and  northern  sections  of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  while  Chal- 
dea  represents  an  early  name  for  a  part  of  the  southern  section 
which,  owing  to  the  accidental  circumstance  that  the.  latest  dynasty 
of  Babylonia — the  so-called  neo-Babylonian  period  (G25  to  the 
advent  of  Cyrus  in  539  B.C.) — came  from  Chaldea,led  Roman  writers 
to  use  this  term  for  the  whole  region,  i.e.,  for  Babylonia  and  Assyria, 
Mesopotamia,  the  land  "between  the  rivers,"  properly  applies  only 
to  the  section  included  between  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  from  their 
junction  northwards.  It  is,  therefore,  an  inaccurate  designation  for 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  since  it  does  not  include  the  Euphrates 
Valley. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


more  particularly  the  remote  past,  exercises  an  intense 
fascination  upon  us — a  fascination  due  to  the  conviction, 
deep-seated  within  us,  that  whereas  we  belong  to  the 
present,  the  past  belongs  to  us.  The  history  of  mankind 
is  a  continuous  series  of  links,  forming,  as  Herder 
phrased  it,  the  "  golden  chain  of  culture."  Each  civili- 
zation as  it  arises  is  the  heir  of  the  ages  that  have  gone 
before,  every  phase  of  human  culture  stands  in  some  con- 
nection with  the  preceding  phase.  Our  American  civili- 
zation is  an  offshoot  of  European  culture  to  which  we 
have  made  some  contributions.  The  culture  of  Western 
and  Northern  Europe  represents  the  extension  of  Ro- 
man civilization.  Rome  owes  its  intellectual  timulusto 
Greece,  whose  heir  she  became,  and  Greek  culture,  as  we 
know,  rests  on  a  substratum  of  Asiatic  influence  and  em- 
bodies elements  derived  from  Egypt  and  Babylonia  as 
well  as  from  Asia  Minor ;  and  even  when  we  pass  to  the 
distant  East,  the  chain  is  not  broken.  Persia  looks  back 
to  India,  as  Japan  to  China.  Through  Buddhism  the 
connection  is  established  between  Chinese  and  Hindu 
civilization,  and  there  are  good  reasons  for  believing 
that  a  direct  cultural  influence  came  to  China  from 
India  at  a  period  even  earlier  than  the  introduction  of 
Buddhism,  while  the  evidence,  though  not  yet  complete, 
is  increasing  which  indicates  that  both  the  Chinese 
and  Hindu  civilizations  lie  within  the  sphere  of  influ- 
ences emanating  from  such  far  older  cultural  centres  as 
the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Valley  of  the  Nile. 

In  studying  the  past  we  are,  therefore,  in  reality 
studying  ourselves,  we  are  concerned  with  something 
that  is  not  remote,  but  on  the  contrary  with  something 
that  is  quite  close  to  us — with  flesh  of  our  flesh  and  bone 
of  our  bone.  It  is  this  direct  interest  in  the  past  as  a  part 
of  ourselves  that  underlies  the  remarkable  activity  un- 
folded in  Europe  and  in  our  own  country  in  the  task  of 
recovering  the  remains  of  the  past,  so  long  hidden  under 
the  soil.  Everywhere — in  Greece  and  Italy,  in  Asia 
Minor  and  India,  in  Palestine  and  Syria,  in  Egypt  and 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


babylonia  the  spade  of  the  explorer  has  been  busy8  re- 
vealing the  vestiges  of  ancient  civilizations — revealing 
in  many  eases  the  entirely  forgotten  annals  of  mankind 
and  enabling  us  to  replace  dimmed  traditions  by  clearly 
ascertained  facts,  to  sift  legend  and  myths  from  actual 
historical  occurrence,  to  reconstruct,  in  short,  the 
earlier  periods  of  that  endeavor  of  mankind  to  rise 
superior  to  its  surroundings  which  we  call  intellectual, 
social  and  religious  progress. 

But  apart  from  the  antiquity  of  Babylonia  and 
yria,  there  are  certain  circumstances  which  invest 
the  region  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  with  a  special 
kind  of  Merest  Time-honored  tradition  places  here  not 
only  the  Beginnings  of  civilization  but  also  the  cradle  of 
the  human  race.  The  Garden  of  Eden  is  a  section  of 
Babylonia,  as  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  express  men- 
tion of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  as  two  of  the  rivers 
which  flowed  through  the  primeval  habitation  of  man- 
kind ;  and  though  the  story  of  Adam  and  Eve  is  devoid 
of  any  historical  value,  yet  the  tradition  which  assigns 
the  first  human  pair  to  Babylonia  is  of  great  significance 
for  the  prominence  which  Babylonia  must  have  acquired 
in  the  minds  of  the  Hebrews,  whose  religious  traditions 
are  thus  indissolubly  bound  up  with  Babylonia,  Again, 
even  when  driven  out  of  the  mythical  paradise,  man  does 
not  leave  Babylonia.  The  Valley  of  Shinar  in  which  all 
of  mankind  is  represented  as  being  settled  at  the  time 
of  the  building  of  the  great  tower  that  should  reach  to 
heaven,  is  merely  a  designation  for  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Euphrates  Valley,3  while  the  tower  itself  was  sug- 
gested by  the  zikkurats  or  stage-towers,  which  were  a 

*  See  Michaelis,  A  Century  of  Archeological  Discoveries  (Trans- 
lated  by  Bettina  Kahnweilcr,  N.  T.,  1908). 

*  Shinar  is  identical  with  Sumer — the  original  force  of  which 
appears  to  have  been  u  the  land  "  par  excellence.  It  came  in  time 
to  be  the  specific  designation  of  the  southern  part  of  the  VaUey  in 
contrast  to  Akkad  as  the  designation  of  the  northern  portion.  See 
King,  History  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  pp.  13-15. 


5 


Tig 

tun 


characteristic  feature  of  the  religious  architecture  of 
Babylonia.4  In  this  story,  or  rather  in  the  two  stories  in- 
tertwined in  the  11th  chapter  of  Genesis, — one  the  build- 
ing of  the  city  which  is  given  the  name  of  Babylon,  and 

e  other  the  building  of  the  tower6 — the  significant  f  eat- 

*e  is  the  tradition  which  thus  ascribed  to  the  Euphrates 
Valley  the  distinction  of  once  harboring  all  mankind  in 
addition  to  being  the  cradle  of  the  human  race.  Where 
the  cradle  of  the  human  race  stood  is  still  a  problem  of 
Ethnology  in  our  days,  and  is  perhaps  incapable  of 
solution  by  scientific  methods,  but  the  fact  that  even  to 
the  ancient  Hebrews,  the  region  of  the  Euphrates  and 

igris  appeared  as  the  one  which  had  been  settled  from 
e  immemorial  favors  the  hypothesis  for  which  we 
have  other  evidence,  albeit  not  conclusive,  that  a  high 
order  of  civilization  first  developed  in  that  region.  Its 
only  possible  rival  is  Egypt,  and  the  indications  at  pres- 
ent are  that  while  the  actual  beginnings  of  Egyptian 
civilization  may  lie  further  back  than  the  Euphratean 
ulture,  yet  Babylonia  takes  precedence  in  the  unfold- 

g  of  an  advanced  form  of  cultural  achievements. 
Leaving  this  question  aside  for  the  present  and  re- 
turning to  Biblical  traditions,  it  is  also  of  moment  to 
note  that  the  Hebrews  traced  their  wanderings  prior  to 
their  entrance  into  Palestine  to  Babylonia,  for  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  whence  Terah  the  father  of  Abram  sets  out,  is 
a  well-known  city  in  Babylonia,  and  Harran  where  he 
sojourned  is  another  city  farther  to  the  north.  There 
is  no  reason  to  question  the  correctness  of  the  tradition 
which  traces  the  Hebrews,  or  at  least  one  of  the  groups 
that  afterwards  formed  the  combination  known  by  this 
designation,  back  to  Babylonia.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we 
come  across  traces  of  the  Euphratean  civilization  at  al- 
most every  period  of  Hebrew  history.    We  encounter  it 

4  See  Jastrow,  Aspects  of  Religi&us  Belief  and  Practice  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p.  289  seq. 

•See  an  article  by  the  writer  on  "The  Tower  of  Babel"  in 

Independent,  vol  57  (1905),  pp.  822-826. 


CU 
in 


DOK 

the 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS   5 

in  the  language  of  the  Hebrews,  in  the  codes  that  grew 
up  among  them,  in  their  art  and  architecture,  in  their 
social  life,  in  their  political  organization,  and  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  in  their  religious  rites  and  earlier  be- 
liefs.0 The  Old  Testament  is  fairly  saturated  with  Baby- 
lonian culture,  and  even  when  we  reach  the  time  and 
days  of  the  New  Testament  we  have  not  yet  passed  be- 
yond the  sphere  of  Babylonian  influence. 


II 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  some  of  the  reasons 
why  civilization  developed  at  so  early  a  period  in  the  Eu- 
phrates Valley.  The  main  feature  of  the  region  is  formed 
by  the  two  streams  that  water  it — the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris — and  bring  about  the  high  degree  of  fertility 
which  Herodotus  emphasizes.7  Of  these  rivers,  the  Eu- 
phrates— the  correct  form  of  which  is  Purattu  and  de- 
scribed in  texts  as  uthe  great  river"— is  the  stream  that 
properly  belongs  to  the  southern  district  or  Babylonia, 
while  the  Tigris  or  more  properly  Idiklat,  pictured 
as 4*  the  rapid  "  stream,  is  the  river  of  the  northern  dis- 
trict or  Assyria.  Both  rivers  start  in  the  mountain  re- 
gions of  Armenia,8  but  they  are  quite  diverse  in  charac- 
ter. The  Euphrates  is  on  the  whole  a  quiet  and,  in  parts, 
a  sluggish  stream.  It  flows  along  in  majestic  dignity, 
and  receiving  many  tributaries  on  its  way  while  still  in 
the  mountains,  proceeds  first  in  a  westerly  direction  as 
though  making  directly  for  the  Mediterranean  Sea  but 
veers  suddenly  to  the  southeast,  after  which  it  receives 
only  a  few  tributaries  until  it  is  joined  by  the  Tigris  in 
the  extreme  south.    Of  its  entire  length  of  1780  miles  it 

•This  subject  is  fully  set  forth  in  the  writer 'b  Hebrew  and 
Babylonian  Traditions  (New  York,  1914). 

T  Book  I,  §  193. 

*  See  Lehmann-Haupt,  Die  historischc  Semiramis  und  ihre  Zeit., 
(Tubingen,  1910),  p.  16  seq. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


is  navigable  for  a  short  distance  only,  cataracts  forming 
a  hinderance  in  the  north  and,  owing  to  the  increasing 
sluggishness  of  the  stream,  sand  banks  in  the  south. 
As  a  consequence,  it  never  became  at  any  time  an  impor- 
tant avenue  for  commerce,  rafts  and  wicker  baskets, 
coated  within  and  without  with  bitumen,  being  the  only 
method  of  transportation  which  was  possible  under  such 
circumstances. 

The  Tigris,  though  only  1146  miles  long,  is  quite  a 
different  stream.  After  leaving  its  source  in  the  moun- 
tains, it  gains  steadily  in  power,  forcing  its  way  through 
rugged  clefts.  It  is  joined  by  numerous  tributaries  be- 
fore it  reaches  the  plain,  its  volume  being  continually 
increased  so  that  even  when  it  reaches  the  alluvial  soil  of 
the  south,  its  rapid  course  is  not  checked.  It  flows  in 
a  slightly  fluctuating  southerly  direction,  advances 
towards  the  Euphrates  and  recedes  from  it  again  until 
at  last  the  two  livers  join  at  Kurna  and  together  pour 
their  waters  as  the  Shatt  el-Arab  or  "Arabic  River*' 
into  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  Tigris  is  navigable  from 
Diarbekr  in  the  north  to  its  junction  with  the  Euphrates. 
Large  rafts  can  be  floated  down  to  Baghdad  and  small 
steamers  can  ascend  almost  up  to  Mosul  The  Tigris  is, 
therefore,  the  avenue  of  commerce  for  Mesopotamia — to 
use  the  conventional  designation  for  the  country — and 
forms  the  link  that  connects  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
through  the  Persian  Gulf  with  India  on  the  one  hand, 
and  Egypt  and  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean  dis- 
tricts on  the  other.  The  contrast  presented  by  the  two 
streams  is  paralleled  by  the  diverse  features  distin- 
guishing Assyria,  the  northern  section,  from  Babylonia, 
the  southern  section.  Assyria,  with  a  length  of  about 
350  miles  and  a  width  ranging  from  190  to  300  miles,1* 
is  shut  off  to  the  north,  northeast,  and  northwest 
by  mountain  ranges  and  retains  for  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  its  extent,  and  particularly  towards  the  east,  a 

•  A  total  area  of  some  75,000  square  miles,  or  somewhat  smaller 
than  the  state  of  Nebraska. 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS   7 


rugged  aspect.  The  Kurdish  Mountains  run  close  to  the 
Tigris  for  some  distance  below  Mosul,  though  after  that 
the  region  changes  its  character.  Plains  without  any 
break  succeed  the  hills,  the  soil  becomes  alluvial  and  the 
Tigris  and  its  tributaries,  swollen  by  the  rains  of  winter, 
regularly  overflow  their  banks  and  submerge  entire 
districts.  As  a  consequence  of  this  overflow,  to  which 
also  the  united  rivers  were  subject,  and  which  until  a 
canal  system  was  perfected  was  also  a  source  of  danger 
to  life  and  brought  about  much  destruction,  the 
southern  region  or  Babylonia,  with  a  length  of  about 
300  miles  and  a  maximum  breadth  of  almost  125  miles,10 
developed  an  astounding  fertility.  According  to  the 
statement  of  Herodotus,11  grain  yielded  a  return  of 
"two  hundred  fold  and  even  up  to  three  hundred  fold," 
while  "the  blade  of  the  wheat  plant  and  the  barley 
phrnt  is  often  four  fingers  in  breadth,  and  the  stalks  of 
the  millet  and  sesame  are  surprisingly  tall."  It  would 
appear,  indeed,  that  Babylonia  was  the  home  of 
cultivated  cereals  whence  wheat  and  barley  were  dis- 
seminated throughout  the  ancient  world. 

The  richness  of  the  soil  in  Babylonia  is  due  to  its 
being  a  deposit  made  by  the  rivers  after  the  overflowing 
waters  during  the  rainy  season  have  receded.  This 
deposit  which  is  still  going  on  at  the  average  rate  of  90 
feet  per  year  may  in  ancient  times  have  proceeded 
more  rapidly,  but,  at  all  events,  in  this  increase  we 
have  a  fairly  definite  standard  by  means  of  which 
to  determine  the  age  of  Babylonian  settlements  through 
the  distance  at  present  separating  cities  from  the 
Persian  Gulf  that  once  lay  on  or  near  that  great  body 
of  water.  So,  e.g.,  a  city,  Eridu,  which  we  know  once 
lay  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  is  now  some  130  miles  away. 
Taking  90  feet  as  the  average  yearly  increase,  this 
would  take  us  back  some  7000  years  for  the  period 

10  A  total  area  of  about  23,000  square  miles,  or  about  the  size  of 
West  Virginia. 
"  Book  I,  §  193. 


8 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


when  Eridu  still  lay  on  the  Persian  Gulf.  Since  it 
is  also  known  that  at  one  time  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
entered  the  Persian  Gulf  independently,  it  follows  that 
the  entire  district  below  their  present  juncture  at 
Kurna  is  land  made  during  the  historical  period.  The 
natural  conditions,  therefore,  such  as  the  presence  of 
two  rivers  that  bring  about  unusual  fertility,  the  fact 
that  one  of  them  is  an  avenue  of  commerce  from  the 
extreme  north  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  that  this  gulf 
again  constitutes  a  means  of  access  to  distant  lands, 
explain  why  this  region  should  have  been  at  so  early  a 
period  the  seat  of  a  population  which  took  up  agricul- 
ture as  a  pursuit  and  imder  conditions  which  with  a 
minimum  of  effort  yielded  a  maximum  of  sustenance. 

To  these  conditions  there  is  to  be  added  as  a  third 
factor  the  climate,  which,  although  according  to  our 
views  intolerable,  is  not  unhealthy  and  is  precisely  of  the 
kind  suitable  for  a  population  that  cannot  adequately 
protect  itself  against  cold  and  inclemency.  There  are 
two  seasons  in  Babylonia — a  rainy  season,  which  sets 
in  in  November  and  lasts  until  March  or  April,  when 
the  overflow  of  the  rivers  begins,  which  reaches  its 
height  in  May  and  ceases  about  the  middle  of  June, 
and  a  dry  season,  which  lasts  from  March  to  November. 
The  heat  during  this  season  becomes  excessive  accord- 
ing to  European  ideas,  but  it  is  regarded  as  pleasant 
by  the  natives,  to  whom  even  the  moderate  cold  of  the 
rainy  season  is  decidedly  more  vexatious.  The  greater 
part  of  the  year  one  can  thus  live  in  the  open  air — an 
important  item  to  a  people  m  a  primitive  state  of 
culture. 


Ill 


Next  to  the  antiquity  of  the  civilization  of  the 
Euphrates  Valley,  perhaps  the  most  astonishing  fact 
about  it  is  the  disappearance  of  practically  all  material 
traces  of  this  civilization  and  the  loss  of  detailed  knowl- 
edge of  a  period  of  history  extending  over  a  stretch  of 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


several  thousand  years.  Until  a  few  generations  ago 
our  knowledge  of  the  history  and  culture  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  was  limited  to  references  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  to  the  accounts  in  Herodotus,  to  statements 
in  Josephus  and  to  Ctesias,  and  to  scattered  notices 
in  the  writings  of  various  Greek  and  Latin  writers. 
Comparatively  extensive  as  this  material  was,1*  it  was 
yet  entirely  inadequate  for  forming  an  estimate  of  the 
civilization  and  for  furnishing  a  historical  survey. 
In  contrast  to  Egypt,  no  picturesque  remains  sur- 
vived to  recall  to  the  wanderer  the  glory  of  the  past. 
To  be  sure,  the  profound  impression  made  upon 
the  ancient  world  by  the  achievements  of  Babylonian 
and  Assyrian  rulers,  the  great  military  power  that  they 
developed,  their  extensive  and  remarkable  building 
operations — their  temples,  palaces  and  gardens — as  well 
as  the  wisdom  for  which  the  priests  became  famous — all 
this  never  faded  out  of  the  memory  of  the  people,  but  it 
remained  to  a  large  extent  an  impression  unsupported 
by  sufficient  details  to  enable  us  to  do  more  than  draw  a 
very  general  picture,  vague  in  its  outlines  and  deficient 
in  details,  of  the  civilization  unfolded  thousands  of 
years  ago.  Fanciful  exaggerations  and  uncertain  tradi- 
tions took  the  place  of  accurate  knowledge. 

A  country  that  is  favorably  situated  for  the  early 
development  of  culture  is  also  apt  to  show  features  that 
lead  to  rapid  decline — when  the  decline  has  once  set  in. 
The  overflow  of  the  two  rivers  as  it  conditioned  and  pro- 
moted the  remarkable  fertility  of  the  region  was  also,  as 
has  already  been  intimated,  an  annual  menace  and  until 
the  introduction  of  an  elaborate  canal  system,  loss  of 
property  and  life  accompanied  the  overflow,  which  sub- 
merged entire  districts  for  weeks  and  even  months.   The 

"Put  together  by  Niebuhr,  Gesckickte  Assures  und  Babel's 
(Berlin,  1857).  See  also  Cory,  Ancient  Fragments  (London,  1832), 
for  a  collection  of  accounts  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  from  Greek 
and  Latin  writers,  in  part  based  on  a  lost  work  of  a  *' Chaldean" 
priest  Berosus — a  contemporary  of  Alexander  the  Great. 


10 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


picture  unfolded  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  which 
represents  the  primeval  chaos  before  the  appearance  of 
dry  land  as  a  state  in  which  the  waters  covered  every- 
thing, was  suggested  by  the  phenomenon  which  was  an- 
nually witnessed  throughout  a  considerable  portion  of 
Babylonia ;  and  similarly,  the  thought  that  all  mankind 
was  once  annihilated  in  consequence  of  a  deluge  lay  near 
to  the  minds  of  a  people  who  witnessed  such  a  destruc- 
tive event  on  a  small  scale  every  spring, 

The  neglect  into  which  the  canal  system  naturally 
fell  after  the  downfall  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia 
brought  about  an  even  more  lamentable  state  of  affairs 
than  that  which  existed  before  its  institution,  for  in  a 
short  time  the  work  which  generations  had  been  busy  in 
constructing  was  doomed  to  destruction.  The  cities  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  fell  into  decay,  the  process  being 
hastened  by  the  material  that  was  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  buildings.  Here  again,  the  existence  of  so 
admirable  a  building  material  as  the  clay  soil  of  Baby- 
lonia, enabling  even  untrained  workmen  to  rear  huge 
constructions  of  burnt  and  unburnt  bricks,  facilitated  on 
the  one  hand  the  unfolding  of  culture  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley,  but  on  the  other  hand  also  conduced  to  the  rapid 
destruction  of  the  buildings.  The  clay  structures  had  to 
be  constantly  repaired  and  we  learn  from  the  cuneiform 
records  of  Nebuchadnezzar  II,  that  45  years  of  neglect 
sufficed  to  reduce  a  temple  to  a  condition  bordering  on 
complete  decay.  Clay  being  the  only  building  material 
for  houses,  palaces  and  temples  in  the  south,  and  the  pre- 
vailing one  in  the  north  (though  here  stone  was  also 
employed  in  the  case  of  large  constructions),  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  what  must  have  happened  during  the  two  thou- 
sand years  that  elapsed  between  the  desertion  of  the 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  cities  and  the  effort  to  recover 
their  remains.  The  buildings  tumbled  into  shapeless 
ruins,  and  the  winds  sweeping  the  sands  across  the 
plains  completed  the  destruction,  and  hid  even  the 
debris  from  view.   Of  the  once  flourishing  cities,  one  saw 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     11 


only  huge  shapeless  mounds 13 — and  yet  nature,  in  thus 
covering  up  the  work  of  man,  proved  to  be  a  merciful 
destroyer.  But  for  the  mounds  which  formed  over  the 
sites  of  ancient  cities,  the  records  of  the  past  would  have 
been  entirely  swept  away  or  ruthlessly  destroyed.  Be- 
neath these  mounds  were  safely  preserved,  as  after- 
wards turned  out — priceless  documents,  inscribed  clay 
tablets  and  cylinders,  monuments  and  sculptures,  by 
means  of  which  we  are  now  enabled  to  rewrite  the  his- 
tory of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  Monuments  and  records 
without  number  that  would  long  ago  have  fallen  a  prey 
to  marauding  Arabs  who  infested  the  deserted  districts 
were  thus  kept  from  certain  destruction  by  the  protect- 
ing mounds. 

The  recovery  of  those  remains  and  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  history,  art,  the  religion  and  social  life,  of 
ancient  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  through  the  study  and 
interpretation  of  this  material  was  the  work  largely  <>1' 
the  19th  century,  which  will  always  be  known  as  the 
golden  age  of  epochal  discoveries  in  many  directions — 
discoveries  that  have  on  the  one  hand  profoundly  altered 
our  views  of  the  universe  and  modified  present  condi- 
tions of  life,  and  that  have  on  the  other  hand  enlarged 
our  knowledge  of  the  past  by  the  recovery  of  so  many 
pages  of  the  lost  annals  of  mankind. 

IV 

That  the  mounds  scattered  along  the  Tigris  and  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  contained  ancient  remains 

11  Only  two  ruins  in  all  the  district  that  suggested  outlines  of 
buildings  peered  out  above  these  mounds — one  at  a  place  called  Birs 
Nimrud,  and  which  proved  to  be  the  site  of  the  city  of  Borsippa, 
near  Babylon;  the  other,  still  further  to  the  south  at  Akerkuf — 
both  representing  the  remains  of  a  stage  tower.  Both  towers  were 
associated  by  native  tradition  with  the  4i  Tower  of  Babel,"  which 
story,  it  will  be  recalled  (see  p.  4),  was  suggested  by  the  high 
stage-towers  that  formed  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  sacred  ar- 
chitecture of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 


12  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

could  be  concluded  from  the  potsherds  and  fragments 
of  bricks  and  stones  with  which  the  surface  was  in  many- 
cases  strewn,  or  which  came  to  view  on  penetrating  a 
short  distance  beneath  the  surface,  but  the  question  as 
to  the  identification  of  the  settlements  that  once  flour- 
ished on  the  site  of  those  vast  rubbish  heaps  could  not 
be  answered  by  such  surface  examinations.  Tradition 
that  invar iably  survives  after  accurate  knowledge  has 
disappeared  had  connected  a  scries  of  mounds  opposite 
Mosul  with  the  site  of  Nineveh,  One  of  these  mounds 
bore  the  name  of  Nebbi  Yunus,  i.e.,  "  the  prophet 
Jonah,"  and  a  little  chapel  surmounting  it  is  revered  by 
the  natives  as  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  who  announced 
the  destruction  of  Nineveh.  The  tomb  is  fictitious,  but 
the  association  of  Jonah  with  Nineveh  embodies  the 
recollection  of  the  fact — as  was  established  by  excava- 
tions— that  Nebbi  Yunus  indeed  concealed  a  portion  of 
the  great  capital  of  Assyria.  In  the  south,  some  40 
miles  from  Baghdad,  there  was  another  series  of 
mounds,  one  of  which  bore  the  name  of  Babil — a  recol- 
lection of  the  fact  that  the  great  capital  of  the  southern 
empire  once  stood  there.  Such  were  the  clues  on  which 
the  early  travellers  and  explorers  had  to  work. 

In  the  16th  and  17th  centuries  these  and  other 
mounds  in  the  region  began  to  attract  the  attention  of 
numerous  travellers.  Indeed,  several  centuries  previ- 
ous a  famous  traveller,  Rabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela 
(1160  a.d.)  made  a  brief  reference  in  his  itinerary 14  to 
the  ruins  of  both  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  Passing  by 
a  number  of  English  travellers,  who  visited  the  region 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  16th  century,  we  come 
to  the  Italian  Pietro  della  Vaile  who  early  in  the  17th 
century  made  extensive  travels  in  the  east,  and  besides 
furnishing  a  detailed  account  of  the  famous  ruins 
at  Persepolis  and  copying  a  specimen  of  the  cuneiform 

14  First  published  in  1543  in  Constantinople.  See  M.  N.  Adler, 
"The  Itinerary  of  Benjamin  of  Tudela"  {Jewish  Quarterly  Review, 
ToLxriiL) 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     13 


inscriptions  there,  examined  the  mounds  of  Babylon  and 
Mugheir— the  site  of  Ur — in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  He 
was  the  first  to  bring  back  to  Europe  a  few  of  the  in- 
scribed bricks.15  Among  the  travellers  of  the  following 
century  whose  curiosity  was  aroused  by  the  mounds 
along  the  Tigris,  and  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  it  is  suffi- 
cient for  our  purposes  to  mention  two,  (1)  the  famous 
Danish  scholar  Carsten  Niebuhr,10  to  whom  we  owe  the 
definite  identification  of  the  site  of  ancient  Babylon  at 
the  mounds  near  Hillah,  and  (2)  the  Abbe  de  Beau- 
champ,  who  at  the  close  of  the  18th  century  specified  in 
a  more  detailed  fashion  than  any  of  his  predecessors  had 
done,  the  large  extent  of  the  mounds  covering  the  re- 
mains of  the  city  of  Babylon.  He  also  speaks  of  finding 
within  the  rubbish  heaps  enamelled  bricks,  pieces  of 
cylinders  covered  with  writing,  and  bits  of  statuettes. 

The  desire  to  put  a  spade  into  these  mounds  after  it 
had  been  definitely  ascertained  that  they  contained  re- 
mains of  antiquity  must  have  burned  strong  in  the  breast 
of  the  traveller  who  allowed  his  fancy  to  speculate  on 
the  nature  of  the  treasures  hidden  for  two  millenniums. 

Attempts  on  a  very  small  scale  were  made  by  an  Eng- 
lishman, Claudius  James  Kich,  who  utilized  a  residence 
of  about  thirteen  years  in  the  region  as  the  resident 
agent  of  the  East  India  Company,  with  his  head-quarters 
at  Baghdad,  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the  mounds  of 
Babylon  and  Nineveh  as  well  as  of  the  topography  of  the 
entire  region  from  Baghdad  to  Mosul.  This  investiga- 
tion far  surpassed  in  its  results  anything  that  had  pre- 
viously been  done.  Rich's  death  in  1821  at  the  early  age 
of  thirty-four  cut  short  an  activity  that  included  the  col- 
lection of  such  specimens  as  he  was  able  to  secure  from 

15  In  his  "Viaggi"  (Rome,  1650),  Pietro  della  Valle  reproduces 
some  of  these  inscriptions  and  gives  his  reasons  why  they  should 
be  read  from  left  to  right,  in  which  supposition  he  was  correct. 

19  Niebuhr  gave  a  detailed  account  of  his  travels  in  his  Reisebe- 
sckreibung  ivach  Arabien  und  andem  umligenden  Ldndern{ Copen- 
hagen, 1774^1837),  3  vols. 


14 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


scratchings  in  the  mounds  and  through  purchase  from 
natives  who  had  rummaged  them  more  successfully 
Rich's  collections  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  antiqui- 
ties, though  not  large  in  comparison  with  what  was  soon 
to  be  secured,  were  valuable  by  virtue  of  their  variety — 
revealing  the  various  kinds  of  objects  buried  beneath 
the  mounds.  He  published  accounts  of  his  researches,17 
and  after  his  untimely  death,  the  antiquities  gathered 
by  him,  as  well  as  a  large  collection  of  oriental 
manuscripts  and  coins,  were  purchased  by  the  British 
Museum.  In  1827-28  another  Englishman,  Robert 
Magnan,  also  in  the  employ  of  the  East  India  Company, 
in  the  course  of  a  careful  study  of  many  of  the  mounds 
in  the  south,  cut  trenches  into  a  number  of  them,  chiefly 
with  a  view  of  ascertaining  their  age  and  character. 
Quite  a  number  of  antiquities  were  discovered,  but  such 
sporadic  attempts  counted  for  little.  In  1835-37  an  im- 
portant survey  of  the  region  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
was  undertaken  by  the  English  government,  but  the 
credit  of  having  organized  the  first  excavating  expe- 
dition belongs  to  France. 


The  story  of  how  the  palaces  and  temples  of  Assyria 
and  Babylonia  with  their  rich  and  varied  contents  were 
brought  to  view  through  the  untiring  energy  of  a  long 
series  of  explorers,  is  a  most  fascinating  one.  Begin- 
ning in  1842  with  the  work  of  P.  E.  Botta  at  the  mounds 
opposite  Mosul  and  continuing  to  our  own  days  the  great 
museums  of  Europe  and  this  country — more  particu- 
larly the  British  Museum,  the  Louvre,  the  Berlin 
Museum,  and  the  Archaeological  Museum  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  bear  witness  to  the  vast  mate- 

17  His  two  Memoirs  on  the  Ruins  of  Babylon[hondon,  1816-1818) 
were  republished  in  1839  by  his  widow,  together  with  Rich  rs  diaries 
and  an  account  of  a  journey  to  Persepolis  a  few  years  previous 
under  the  title  Narrative  of  a  Residence  in  Koordistan  and  on  the 
Site  of  Ancient  Nineveh  (London,  1836),  2  vols. 


FIG.    2,    BIRB    NIURUT),    THE    STTE    OP    BORBIPPA 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  15 


rial  that  has  been  brought  together  in  the  space  of  sev- 
enty years  and  of  which  so  large  a  part  has  now,  through 
publications,  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  students.18 
Botta,  appointed  consular  agent  of  France  at  Mosul, 
in  1842,  began  work  late  that  year  on  a  large  mound 
Kouyunjikon  the  Tigris  opposite  Mosul,  and  which,  like 
the  neighboring  heap,  Nebbi  Yiums,  covered  a  portion 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Nineveh.  In'begroning  excavations 
at  these  large  mounds  it  was  at  first  largely  guesswork 
where  to  dig  the  first  trenches,  and  it  depended  upon 
chance  whether  one's  efforts  were  rewarded  with  tangible 
results.  Botta  worked  at  Kouyunjik  for  some  months 
with  only  moderate  success.  Inscriptions  and  bas- 
reliefs  were  found,  but  in  a  fragmentary  condition  and 
nothing  that  appeared  to  be  particularly  striking.  He 
accordingly,  in  March,  1843,  transferred  the  scene  of  his 
operations  to  a  mound  Khorsabad,  a  short  distance  to 
the  north  of  Kouyunjik,  where  he  was  almost  immedi- 
ately successful  in  coming  upon  two  mutilated  walls  cov- 
ered with  sculptured  bas-reliefs,  accompanied  by  in- 
scriptions in  the  ordinary  cuneiform  character.  There 
could  be  no  question  that  he  had  actually  come  across  a 
portion  of  an  Assyrian  building  and  ere  long  a  whole 
series  of  rooms  had  been  unearthed  filled  with  monu- 
ments of  the  past.  The  announcement  of  these  discov- 
eries created  tremendous  excitement,  and  soon  suffi- 
cient funds  were  placed  at  Botta's  disposal  to  enable  him 
to  carry  on  his  work  on  a  large  scale.  An  artist,  E, 
Flandin,  was  dispatched  to  sketch  the  monuments  that 
could  not  be  removed  and  to  draw  plans  of  the  excava- 
tions. By  October,  1844,  a  large  portion  of  the  palace — 
for  such  the  edifice  turned  out  to  be — had  been  excavated, 
revealing  an  almost  endless  succession  of  rooms,  the 

*•  For  detailed  accounts  of  excavations  at  Babylonia  and  Assy- 
rian mounds,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Rogers'  History  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  (New  York,  1900),  vol.  i,  pp.  1-174;  to  Hilpreeht,  Ex- 
ploration in  Bible  Lands,  (Phila,,  1903),  pp.  1-577;  and  to  Fossey, 
Manuel  d'Assyriologie,  vol.  i  (Paris,  1904). 


16 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


walls  of  which  were  covered  with  sculptured  bas-reliefs. 
These  sculptures  were  of  the  most  various  character. 
Long  processions  of  marching  soldiers  alternated  with 
scenes  illustrative  of  life  in  military  camps — showing 
the  horses,  chariots  and  tents  and  the  method  of  attack 
upon  the  enemy — the  approach  to  the  walls,  the  actual 
conflict,  the  capture  of  a  town,  and  the  carrying  away  of 
captives.  Hunting  scenes  were  represented  in  equally 
elaborate  fashion,  showing  the  king  in  his  chariot,  sur- 
rounded by  his  attendants. 

Lions  were  depicted  in  the  act  of  being  let  out  of 
their  enclosures,  or  attacked  by  the  royal  hunter.  There 
followed  a  procession  of  servants  carrying  the  dead 
lions,  as  well  as  game  of  a  smaller  character.  A  notable 
feature  of  the  excavations  were  the  huge  winged  bulls 
with  human  heads  that  were  found  at  the  entrances 
leading  to  the  great  halls.  The  bodies  of  these  bulls 
were  covered  with  cuneiform  inscriptions  which  when 
they  came  to  be  deciphered  told  in  general  outlines  of 
the  achievements  of  the  monarch  who  had  erected  this 
large  palace  for  himself,  namely,  Sargon  II,  who  ruled 
over  Assyria  from  725  to  706  B.C.  As  much  of  the  vast 
material  as  possible  was  placed  on  rafts  and  floated 
down  the  Tigris  to  Basra  whence  it  was  safely  carried 
by  a  French  man-of-war  to  Havre.  The  antiquities 
were  brought  to  the  Louvre,  while  the  detailed  results  of 
the  expedition  were  set  forth  in  Ave  large  folio  volumes 
containing  the  drawings  of  Flandin,  no  less  than  400 
plates,  with  detailed  descriptions  by  Botta.18 

The  great  value  of  the  remarkable  discoveries  stimu- 
lated further  interest  in  France;  in  1851  a  second 
expedition  was  fitted  out  by  a  vote  of  the  French  As- 
sembly. This  expedition,  which  extended  its  labors  to 
mounds  in  the  south,  was  placed  under  the  leadership 
of  Victor  Place,  a  trained  architect,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed Botta 's  successor  as  consular  agent  in  Mosul. 

iaP,  E.  Botta  et  E.  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive  (Paris,  1849- 
1850),  5  vols. 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     17 


Place's  architectural  skill  enabled  him  to  carry  on 
le  work  more  systematically,  and  demonstrated  the 
advantage  of  having  an  architect  to  conduct  b:  ti  ons 
of  ancient  buildings.  He  unearthed  many  mora  moms 
of  the  palace,  and  passing  beyond  this  building,  came 
across  a  number  of  large  gates,  decorated  with  enam- 
elled tiles  in  brilliant  colors  forming  ornamental  de- 
signs, and  pictures  of  fantastic  animals.  The  large 
courts  of  the  palace  were  laid  bare  and  several  smaller 
buildings  which,  as  was  subsequently  ascertained, 
represented  temples/  Large  quantities  of  pottery  and 
objects  of  stone,  of  glass  and  metals  were  found,  as 
well  as  iron  implements  in  an  excellent  state  of  preser- 
vation, and  even  the  magazine  in  which  the  colored  tiles 
were  stored.  In  an  elaborate  publication,80  Place  em- 
bodied the  results  of  his  successful  labors,  on  the  basis 
of  which  he  attempted  to  reconstruct  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  edifices  he  had  unearthed.  The  mounds  at 
Khorsabad,  it  thus  resulted,  represented  a  fortified 
town  erected  by  Sargon  II,  and  which  was  known  as 
Dur-Sharrukin,  i.e.,  "Port  Sargon,"  as  we  may  render 
the  term.  Surrounded  by  walls  with  eight  gates,  the 
site  covered  an  area  of  some  750  acres.  The  central 
building  was  the  royal  residence,  erected  on  a  high 
terrace  and  surrounded  by  a  number  of  smaller  build- 
ings for  the  use  of  the  royal  court.  The  building  ma- 
terial was  stone  for  the  exterior  walls,  and  in  part  for 
the  floors,  but  for  the  greater  part  of  the  structure 
baked  and  unbaked  bricks,  which  constituted  the 
ordinary  material  used  in  the  buildings  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  were  employed. 

Place  also  extended  his  excavations  to  other  mounds 
not  far  from  Mosul,  such  as  Kaleh-Shergat  (the  site 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Ashur)  and  Nirnrud  (the  site 
of  Calah)  besides  carefully  examining  many  other 
mounds,  but  without  the  same  success  that  attended  his 

10  Victor  Place,  Ninive  et  VAsayrie,  avec  des  Essais  de  Re&taura* 
tion  par  Felix  Thomas  (Paris,  1867-1870),  3  vols. 


18  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

and  Botta's  efforts  at  Khorsabad.  Unfortunately  the 
antiquities  selected  by  Place  for  shipment  to  Paris  were 
lost  through  the  sinking  of  the  two  boats  on  which  they 
were  placed.  Drawings  and  copies  had,  however,  been 
made  of  all  of  them,  so  that  the  loss  to  science  was  not 
as  great  as  it  might  have  been.  At  the  same  time 
another  French  expedition  under  the  leadership  of 
Fresnel  was  busy  conducting  excavations  in  the  south 
on  one  of  the  mounds  that  covered  the  city  of  Babylon, 
and  which  lasted  until  1855.  Before,  however,  taking  up 
an  account  of  the  excavations  on  mounds  in  Babylonia, 
we  must  consider  work  done  simultaneously  with 
Place's  excavations  at  Khorsabad  by  an  English  ex- 
plorer who  was  destine  d»to  acquire  even  greater  renown 
than  either  Botta,  Flandin,  or  Place. 


VI 


This  was   Sir  Austen  Henry  Layard,   who  was 
knighted  for  his  services  to  archaeology  and  to  diplo- 
macy.21   During  a  prolonged  series  of  travels  in  the 
east,  Layard  had,  as  early  as  1840,  visited  the  mounds 
near  Mosul  and  indulged  the  hope  of  some  day  carrying 
on  excavations  in  that  region.    It  was  not,  however, 
until  the  autumn  of  1845  that,  with  the  help  of  a  small 
fund  placed  at  his  disposal  by  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
the   British   ambassador  at   Constantinople,   he   was 
enabled  to  begin  excavations  on  a  small  scale  at  the 
mound   Nimrud,   which   he   selected   because   it  was 
sufficiently  removed  from  Mosul  to  enable  him  to  carry 
on  his  work  without  attracting  too  much  attention.  AI 
that  he  had  hoped  to  do  with  the  small  sum  at  his  dis 
posal  was  to  furnish  the  proof  of  the  existence  o.^ 
buildings  and  antiquities  beneath  the  mound,  and  thei 
to  rely  upon  the  interest  aroused  to  secure  furthe 
grants  as  well  as  an  official  firman  from  the  Turkis! 


* 


u  See  his  autobiographical  narrative,  Early  Adventures  in  Per  sin 
xmana  and  Babylonia  (2d  ed.,  London,  1894),  2  vols. 


)  EXPLORATIONS     19 


ute  chance 
•  *»  in  the  i 


On  th*  vw  >  irst  day  of  the  excavations 
two  rooms  lined  with  lime- 
iwcst  corner  of  the  mound, 

the  west  side.  The  rooms, 
liferent  buildings,  both,  as 

royal  palaces.  Gradually 
•ers,  he  carried  on  his  work 
wing  to  the  opposition  of 

*  of  sufficient  financial  sup- 
ted  him  by  the  authorities 

•  was,  however,  enabled  to 
k  :•  ;  illy  until  the  summer  of 
fete  •'  not  only  unearthed  many 
\*>  lc«6  live  palaces  tit  Nimrud, 

essful  in  the  extensive 

isul,  where  he  unearthed 

nensions,  erected  by  King 


rk  was  done  on  the  so-called 
as  the  joint  work  of  Ashur- 

•■  -  -  •"  Li.c.  j  »ad  of  Saigon  11  (721-706 
)  the  palaces  at  Nimrud  and 

at  Kanyu:  ik  yielded  an  astonishingly 
vered  with  bas-reliefs,  be- 

wir  .    or  winged  lions  with  human 

heads  that  stood  at  the  entrances  to  the  halls.  The  bas- 
reliefs  showed  the  same  large  variety  of  scenes  as  those 
found  at  Khorsabad.  In  the  palace  of  King  Ashur- 
nasirpalat  Nimrud,  or  to  give  the  ancient  name  Calah, 
the  monarch  had  hie  artists  picture  his  military  expedi- 
tions in  detail.  Most  vividly  the  army  is  portrayed 
crossing  a  river,  or  in  the  midst  of  the  fray  and  on  the 
victorious  return  march.  The  hunting  expeditions  of 
the  monarch  were  likewise  represented  in  a  long  series 
of  sculptures.  In  a  palace  occupying  the  central  part 
of  the  mound,  erected  by  Shalmaneser  III  (858-824 
B.C.)  and  Tiglathpileser  IV  (745-727  B.C.)  a  particu- 
larly striking  monument  was  discovered,  which  still 


20 


BABYLOISTCA 


<q*VT?TA 


forms  one  of  the  show  p' 
This  was  a  completely  p 
stone,  covered  with  ftv 
around  the  four  sides 
of  the  monument  w? 
cuneiform  inscription        '  ie  niom 
King  Shalmaneser  I 
ploits  during  thirty-* 
therefore  by  the  kir         i  wif  a 
death,  and  perhaps 
reign  was  approach 
represent  the  king 
conquered  by  him. 
a  different  people 
the  heads  of  the  g 
It  can  well  b 
interest  in  Assyj 
large  selection  o< 

colossal  winged  figures,  arrived  at  t.  British  Museun 
This  interest  was  still  further  increased  by  the  public  i- 
tion  of  Layard's  fascinating  narrative23  in  which, 
despite  the  fact  that  he  was  unable  to  read  the  inscrip- 
tions discovered  by  him,  he  succeeded,  by  virtue  of  his 
ingenuity,  in  piecing  together  an  interpretation  of  the 
bas-reliefs,  and  aided  by  Si]*  Henry  Rawlinson's  read- 
ings, of  the  names  of  the  royal  builders  of  the  palaces, 
could  convey  some  idea  of  the  historical  facts  revealed 
by  the  monuments.  Though  obliged  to  cover  up  again 
many  of  the  monuments  and  inscriptions  which  he  could 
not  transport,  he  made  drawings  of  the  sculptures  23  as 
best  he  could  and  copied  the  inscriptions,2*  and  in  this 

22  Nineveh  and  its  Remains  (London,  1849). 

**  He  published,  in  1841),  a  first  series  of  Monuments  of  Nineveh 
from  Drawings  Made  on  the  Spot  (100  plates). 

24  In  1851  there  appeared  a  volume  by  him  of  Inscriptions  in  the 
Cuneiform  Character  from  Assyrian  Monuments,  consisting  of  98 
plates.  Considering  that  he  was  unable  to  read  the  inscriptions,  hia 
copies  are  remarkably  good — a  monument  to  his  skill  a 


. 


and  patience. 


OBELISK   OF    KlN<j    BRALMANBSBB    III    <»K    ASSYRIA    (858-8,24    B.    C.) 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     21 


way  placed  a  large  amount  of  valuable  material,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  hopelessly  Inst,  at  the  dis- 
posal of  students.  The  direct  result  of  the  great  interest 
awakened  by  Layard  *s  marvellous  discoveries  was  the 
organization  of  a  far  better  equipped  second  expedition, 
enabling  him  to  spend  the  years  1849-1851  at  Nimrud 
and  Kouyunjik.  Already  in  his  first  expedition  he  had 
chosen  a  native  Christian ,  Hormuzd  Rassam,  whose 
brother  was  the  English  vice-consul  at  Mosul,  as  his 
companion,  Rassam,  who  was  destined  to  win  consider- 
able renown  by  his  own  work  as  an  explorer,  accom- 
panied Layard,  on  his  second  expedition  likewise,  and 
on  Layard 's  departure  in  1852,  continued  the  excava- 
tions till  1854.  A  skilful  artist,  P.  Cooper,  was  also  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  party,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  careful  drawings  of  everything  that  could  not 
be  removed.  Work  was  undertaken  simultaneously  at 
the  two  mounds,  Kouyunjik  and  Nimrud.  The  more 
important  discoveries  this  time  were  made  at  the  former 
site.  The  palace  of  Sennacherib  was  thoroughly  ex- 
plored, revealing  some  hundreds  of  sculptured  bas- 
reliefs,  illustrating  the  campaigns  and  hunting  expedi- 
tions of  this  ruler.  A  still  more  extensive  palace,  built 
by  the  greatest  of  all  Assyrian  rulers,  Ashurbanapal 
(668-626  b.c),  whose  name  was  distorted  by  Greek 
writers  to  Sardanapalus  and  who  appears  in  the  Old 
Testament  as  Asnapper  (Ezra  4, 10).  Apart  from  the 
usual  bas-reliefs  and  huge  winged  bulls  and  a  large 
number  of  inscriptions,  including  cylinders  furnishing 
the  details  of  his  many  campaigns,  Layard  found  in 
this  palace  two  rooms  tilled  with  many  thousand  frag- 
ments of  clay  tablets  which  proved  to  be  a  royal  library 
collected  by  the  king  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  stor- 
ing in  his  palace  the  literary  productions  of  Babylonia, 
as  well  as  the  official  archives — letters  and  reports — of 
the  Assyrian  empire.  Subsequent  supplementary  ex- 
cavations increased  the  number  of  tablets  to  about 
30,000,  which  now  constitute  one  of  the  most  valuable 


22 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


treasures  of  the  British  Museum.  These  clay  tablets 
form  our  main  source  of  Babylonian  literature,  sin< 
large  proportion  of  the  texts  represent  copies  made  by 
Ashurbana  pal's  scribes  of  originals  from  the  temple 
archives  of  the  great  centres  iu  the  south,  notably 
Babylon  and  Borsippa.  The  most  extensive  branch  of 
literature  represented  in  the  collection  was  formed  by 
the  divination  eompends  of  the  Babylonian  priests — 
covering  handbooks  of  divination  in  connection  with 
the  examination  of  livers  of  sacrificial  sheep  as  a  means 
of  forecasting  the  future,  astrological  handbooks,  col- 
lections of  birth-omens,  of  animal  omens,  of  dreams, 
and  of  miscellaneous  divination  texts  based  on  phenom- 
ena observed  in  rivers,  occurrences  in  houses,  streets 
and  cities.  Another  large  division  of  the  collection  is 
formed  by  the  incantation  texts,  detailing  the  formulae, 
the  symbolical  rites  and  medicinal  prescriptions  to 
drive  the  demons  of  disease  out  of  the  bodies  of  victims 
or  to  counteract  the  influence  of  witches  and  sorcerers. 
Incantations  lead  on  the  one  hand  to  medical  texts  of  a 
purer  type,  more  or  less  divorced  from  sacred  f orniula?, 
and  on  the  other  hand  to  prayers,  hymns,  and  peni- 
tential rituals.  Myths  and  legends  are  represented,  in- 
cluding creation  stories,  as  well  as  an  extensive  epic  re- 
counting the  achievements  of  a  national  hero,  Gilga- 
mesh,  whose  exploits  are  brought  into  connection 
with  all  kinds  of  tales  that  had  an  independent  origin. 
Partly  of  Babylonian  origin,  and  partly  representing 
additions  made  by  Assyrian  scribes  is  the  text-book 
literature,25  consisting  of  elaborate  sign  lists  of  various 
kinds,  compiled  as  a  means  of  instruction  for  the  young 
aspirants  to  the  priesthood,  grammatical  paradigms, 
exercises  in  the  legal  formula  used  in  commercial  and 
legal  documents,  commentaries  to  texts,  and  school 
editions  of  literary  productions.  Though  the  great  im- 
portance of  this  find  was  immediately  recognized  by 

M  See  Jastrow,  "The  Textbook  Literature  of  Babylonia "(BtMtcoZ 
World,  vol.  ix,  pp.  248-268). 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     23 


Layard,  it  was  only  when  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  Edwin 
Norris,  and  George  Smith,  the  latter  an  assistant  in 
the  British  Museum,  began  to  classify,  edit  and  study 
the  texts  of  the  library  that  its  real  character  was 
determined-  To-day,  some  sixty  years  after  the 
finding  of  the  library,  its  study  is  still  far  from  being 
exhausted.26 

At  Niinrud,  Layard  *s  chief  discoveries  consisted  in 
unearthing  the  remains  of  a  stage  tower  and  of  two 
small  temples  erected  by  Ashurnasirpal  HI  (883-859 
B.C.)  built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  covered  with  plaster.  In 
both  temples,  clay  images  of  deities,  bas-reliefs  and  in- 
scribed slabs,  were  found.  One  of  these  slabs  measured 
almost  twenty-two  feet,  and  was  covered  with  closely 
written  cuneiform  characters.  Through  this  inscrip- 
tion and  through  a  large  monolith  of  Ashurnasirpal 
foimd  in  the  second  temple,  we  have  an  almost  exhaust- 
ive record  of  the  exploits  of  this  ruler — which  means  a 
history  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  A  large  statue 
of  the  king  was  also  found  in  one  of  the  temples.  /Con- 
tinuing the  excavations  in  the  palace  of  this  king  at 
Nimrud,  Layard  was  fortunate  enough,  in  the  course 
of  the  second  expedition,  to  come  across  a  large  number 
of  objects  in  copper  and  bronze,  shields,  helmets, 
swords,  daggers,  twelve  large  cauldrons  filled  with 
smaller  vessels  and  miscellaneous  objects,  a  variety  of 
iron  instruments,  hammers,  saws,  spears,  a  number  of  \ 
beautifully  embossed  bronze  plates,  and  more  the  like. 
The  epigraphical  material  was  also  considerably  en- 
riched by  the  accompanying  inscriptions  on  the  sculp- 
tured bas-reliefs,  on  slabs,  cylinders  and  on  tablets 
which,  when  they  came  to  be  deciphered,  added  largely 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  events  of  the  last  three  centuries 

*•  A  most  valuable  publication  is  Bezold's  monumental  Catalogue 
of  the  Cuneiform  Tablets  in  the  Kouyunjik  Collection  of  the  British 
Museum  (London,  1889-1899)  in  five  large  volumes,  the  introduction 
to  which  furnishes  an  excellent  general  account  of  the  royal  library. 


24 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


before  the  fall  of  Nineveh  in  606  B.C.,  and  which  were 
the  most  glorious  in  the  eventful  history  of  Assyria. 

Over  one  hundred  boxes  of  antiquities  were  shipped, 
in  1851,  to  England,  and  arrived  safely  at  the  British 
Museum.    In  a  second  popular  volume,27  Layard  gave  a 
fascinating  account  of  his  discoveries,  and  to  the  first 
series  of  illustrations  from  the  monuments  he  added 
second  set  of  drawings  which  were  made  by  F.  Cooper.28 
The  decipherment  of  cuneiform  inscriptions  had  by  this 
time  made  sufficient  progress  to  enable  Layard,  by 
utilizing  the  results  obtained,  chiefly  through  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson  and  Edward  Hincks,  to  give  some  account 
of  the  historical  data  to  be  gleaned  from  the  monu 
ments.    He  could  also,  as  a  result  of  his  more  thoroug 
study  of  the  numerous  buildings  unearthed  by  him  at 
Nimrud  and  Kouyunjik,  illustrate  the  relationship  of 
the  various  royal  builders  to  one  another,  showing  how 
portions  of  one  edifice  were  restored  or  enlarged  b; 
some  successor,  and  how,  in  some  cases,  material  used 
in  the  construction  of  one  palace  was  transferred  an 
made  to  do  service  in  building  the  walls  or  formin 
supports  for  another. 

The  amount  of  work  achieved  by  Layard  during 
second  expedition,  which  lasted  only  two  years,  w; 
enormous.  Numerous  other  mounds,  both  in  the  north 
and  south,  were  superficially  searched  for  antiquities 
which  definitely  established  the  ancient  origin  of  the 
cities  buried  beneath  them.  At  some  places,  indeed, 
such  as  Kaleh-Shergat — the  site  of  the  ancient  city  o: 
Ashur — Arban  and  Sherif  Khan,  most  striking  an- 
tiquities and  inscribed  monuments  were  discovered, 
while  the  work  done  by  him  at  Niffer,  in  the  south — 
the  site  of  ancient  Nippur— yielded  sufficient  results  to 
furnish  a  clue  to  the  American  explorers  who  were  to 


f  7  Discoveries  among  the  Ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  (London, 
1853). 

"  The  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2d  series,  71  plates  (London, 

1853) 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     25 


undertake  the  more  thorough  excavation  of  the  mounds 
at  that  place  some  thirty  years  later. 

The  excavations  so  far  had  been  conducted  on 
Assyrian  soil,  and  as  a  result  the  three  chief  cities  of 
Assyria  were  partially  unearthed,  the  old  capital,  Ashur 
(on  the  site  of  Kaleh-Shergat),  Calah  (on  the  site  of 
Nimrud),  originally  founded  by  Shalmaneser  I  (c. 
1300  B.C.)  and  which  Ashurnasirpal  III  (883-859  B.C.) 
again  made  the  capital,  and  Nineveh  (on  the  site  of 
Kouyunjik),  which  had  been  made  the  capital  in  the 
reign  of  Ashur-bel-kala  (c.  1100  B.C.),  and  again  became 
the  official  seat  of  government  when  Shalmaneser  III 
(858-824  B.C.)  occupied  the  throne,  and  remained  so 
until  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian  Empire  in  606  b.c.  To 
these  there  is  to  be  added  Dur  Sharrukin  (on  the  site 
of  Khorsabad),  a  creation  of  Sargon  II  (721-706  B.C.), 
and  which  served  as  an  outpost  for  Nineveh.  In  addi- 
tion, a  number  of  other  Assyrian  towns  were  definitely 
identified  and  shown  to  contain  treasures  which  war- 
ranted more  systematic  excavations. 

Turning  now  to  the  mounds  of  the  south,  the  credit 
of  having  been  the  first  to  conduct  excavations  for  a 
continuous  period,  albeit  a  short  one,  on  a  site  of  an 
ancient  Babylonian  city  belongs  to  the  Englishman 
William  Kennett  Loftus,  who,  in  1850,  and  again  in 
1853-1854,  spent  some  time  in  opening  trenches  in  a 
series  of  extensive  mounds  at  Warka,  which  proved 
to  be  the  site  of  ancient  Uruk  (or  Erech),  one  of  the 
oldest  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  important  political  and 
religious  centres  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  At  first,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  the  latter  period  of  the  city  was  re- 
vealed, the  chief  finds  being  a  number  of  slipper-shaped 
coffins  covered  with  an  enamel  glaze,  which  belonged 
to  the  Persian  period,29  i.e.,  to  the  fifth  and  fourth 
centuries  b.c.  The  city  was  still  in  existence  though  it 
had  lost  much  of  its  importance,  and  through  the  odor 

,s  See  Plate  XV  for  specimens  of  such  coffins  from  Nippur, 
and  Plate  XL,  Fig.  1,  for  coffins  of  older  periods. 


26 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


of  its  time-honored  sanctity  had  become  a  favorite  place 
of  burial.  Loftus,  however,  succeeded  in  penetrating 
to  the  earlier  layers  which  revealed  the  existence  of  a 
temple  of  large  dimensions  to  which  as  at  other  sites  a 
stage-tower,  or  zakknrat,  was,  as  was  usual,  attached. 
In  another  portion  of  one  of  the  mwmh  an  exter 
edifice  was  found  which  had  all  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  a  royal  palace,  with  wall  decorations  of  glazed 
tiles,  pointing  to  a  work  of  the  neo-Babylonian  period, 
while  the  inscriptions,  chiefly  business  documents  on 
small  clay  tablets,  likewise  indicated  the  continued 
existence  of  the  city  until  the  overthrow  of  the  neo- 
Babylonian  dynasty  through  Cyrus  in  539  B.C. 

By  a  curious  chance,  this  first  Babylonian  mound, 
or  rather  series  of  mounds,  for  there  are  several  dis- 
tinct ones,  also  happens  to  be  the  scene  of  the  most 
recent  excavations,  for  in  November,  1912,  the  German 
Oriental  Society,  some  sixty  years  after  Loftus'  arrival 
at  Warka,  began  systematic  excavations  which  have  re- 
vealed details  of  the  great  temple  E-anna,  "  the  heav- 
enly house/*  in  honor  of  the  goddess  Nana  (or  Ishtar) 
whose  seat  of  worship  was  in  ancient  Uruk. 

Besides  some  surface  scratchings  at  Babylon,  Nif- 
fer  Tell  Sif r  and  other  mounds,  Loftus  also  spent  some 
time  at  a  mound  Senkereh,  about  fifteen  miles  to  the 
south  of  Warka  where  he  almost  immediately  came 
upon  remains  of  a  temple  and  of  a  stage-tower  which 
belonged  to  a  high  antiquity,  as  was  subsequently  ascer- 
tained from  the  inscriptions  of  various  kinds, — barrel- 
shaped  clay  cylinders  with  historical  data,  inscribed 
bricks  used  in  the  construction  of  the  edifices,  and  large 
numbers  of  clay  tablets  representing  business  and  legal 
documents.  Senkereh  stands  on  the  site  of  an  ancient 
city,  Larsa,  identical  with  the  Biblical  Ellasar  (Gen. 
14, 1)  and  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  the  sun-god,  whose 
temple  and  stage-tower  at  the  place  were  objects  of 
veneration  through  all  periods  of  Babylonian  history. 

At  Tell  Sifr,  still  further  to  the  south,  although  ex- 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  27 


cavations  were  carried  on  by  Lof tus  for  a  few  days  only, 
large  quantities  of  inscribed  tablets  and  a  collection  of 
miscellaneous  bronze  and  copper  utensils,  such  as  dag- 
gers, hatchets,  knives,  vases,  cauldrons  and  mirrors 
were  found  and  together  with  many  other  antiquities 
sent  to  England  to  still  further  enrich  the  British 
Museum.30 

At  the  same  time  that  the  second  French  expedition 
was  engaged  in  continuing  Botta's  work  at  Khorsabad 
and  Kouyunjik,31  Fiilgence  Fresnel  was  placed  by  the 
French  government  in  charge  of  excavations  to  be 
carried  on  at  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of  Babylon. 
Fresnel  was  accompanied  by  Jules  Oppert,  a  young 
Bcholar  destined  soon  to  become  one  of  the  leading 
Assyriologists  of  his  day,  and  Felix  Thomas,  an  archi- 
tect, who  was  to  study  the  const  ruction  of  the  buildings 
and  to  make  all  the  drawings  in  connection  with  the 
excavations.  In  the  middle  of  July,  1852,  work  was 
begun  at  one  of  the  large  mounds,  known  as  Kafir, 
which  was  afterwards  extended  to  two  other  mounds, 
Babil  and  Amran  Ibn'Ali,  forming  part  of  the  complex 
beneath  which  Babylon  lay  buried.82  The  results,  owing 
to  the  enormous  mass  of  rubbish  of  which  these  mounds 
consisted,  were  rather  disappointing.  Numerous  brick 
stamps  were  found  containing  the  name  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar II  (604-561  B.C.),  and  which  showed  that  the 
large  edifice  beneath  Kasr 33  was  the  famous  palace  of 
that  ruler.  Quantities  of  fragments  of  glazed  tiles  with 
animals  and  decorative  designs  were  also  unearthed, 
but  nothing  that  could  compare  in  interest  or  sensa- 
tional importance  to  what  was  being  found  at  the  same 

■•  The  results  of  his  labors  were  embodied  by  Loftus  in  bis  Travels 
and  Researciies  in  Chaldaea  and  Susiana  (London,  1857). 

81  Above  p.  15,  seq. 

M  The  fourth  mound,  Djumdjuma,  was  not  touched  by  this 
expedition. 

"  The  name  signifies  "castle/'  and  thus  embodies  a  tradition  of 
the  royal  residence  which  stood  there. 


BABYLONIA  AXD  ASSYRIA 


nesoper- 
e  leading 
to  the  other:  and  be  was  furthermore  ab 
with  tolerable  eeitiiwty  that  the  tower  was 
bv  a  anaD  chapel  or  eknober  in  which  pre- 
the  statue  of  the  deity,  Ea.  the  patron  deity  of 
Eridn,  or  some  symbol  of  the  god  stood.   This  would  be 


iption  of 
that  at  the 
with  a  symbol 
the  tower  was 
discovered 


in  accord  with  HerodotoB/ 
the  stage-tower  at  Babylon 
lop  off  these  towers  there  was  a  sk 
or  image  of  the  god  or  goddess  to  w 
dedicated  In  contrast  to  all  other 
Irfwtrrth  the  mounds  of  the  sooth  before  and  since 
Taylor's  days,  which  are  built  of  baked  or  unbaked 
brides,  the  structures  at  Abo  Khahrarn  showed  the  em- 
ployment of  a  considerable  amount  of  sandstone, 
granite  and  marble  which,  since  the  Euphrates  Valley 
ia  entirely  devoid  of  stone,  must  have  been  brought  to 
Eridu  by  way  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Taylor  also  used 
his  sojourn  in  this  most  southern  district  to  examine 
other  mounds  and  make  tentative  excavations  there  so 
that  until  the  advent  of  the  French  explorer,  de  Sarzec 
some  twenty  years  later,  it  was  to  Taylor  that  we  owed 
the  most  valuable  part  of  our  knowledge  of  the  mounds 
in  the  south. 

Before  taking  up  the  account  of  de  Sarzec  *s  extra- 
ordinary activity,  a  few  words  need  to  be  said  of  Sir 
Uenry  Rawlinson's  brief  but  successful  investigations 
at  Birs  Nimrud,  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of  Borsippa. 
The  striking  appearance  of  the  ruin  of  a  stage-tower 
rising  high  above  the  mounds  at  that  place18  was  no 

"Book  I,  §181. 

*  8m  p.  23  and  Plate  XXXIX.  The  name  of  the  stage-tower  at 
Borappa  was  E-ur-imin-an-ki,  "House  of  the  seven  divisions  of 
heaven  and  earth";  that  at  Babylon  was  E-temen-an-ki,  "House  of 
foundation  of  heaven  and  earth."  In  both  names  there  is  evidence 
of  a  close  association  of  earth  with  heaven,  implied  also  in  the  Bib- 
lical tale  that  is  intended  as  a  protest  against  these  religious  "sky 
scrapers." 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS    31 


doubt  a  factor  in  giving  rise  to  the  current  tradition 
in  the  region  that  this  ruin  was  the  Tower  of  Babel. 
The  tradition  was  correct  in  so  far  as  the  Biblical  legend 
was  based  on  the  general  custom,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
erecting  high  towers  in  connection  with  the  temples  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria.  Borsippa,  moreover,  lay  close 
to  Babylon,  so  close,  indeed,  that  the  two  cities  at  times 
appeared  to  form  a  single  complex.  Rawlinson,  whose 
many-sided  activity  as  decipherer,  explorer  and  editor 
of  cuneiform  texts  makes  him  on  the  whole  the  most 
prominent  figure  in  the  history  of  Assyriology,  was 
most  anxious  to  try  his  luck  at  Birs  Nimrud,  especially 
after  the  rather  negative  results  of  the  French  expedi- 
tion to  Babylon  and  surrounding  sites,  and  which  had 
dampened  the  enthusiasm  aroused  by  the  discoveries 
of  Botta,  Place  and  Lavard.  While  arranging  as 
British  resident  and  consul  general  at  Baghdad  for  the 
expeditions  of  Lof tus  and  Taylor  and  for  the  continua- 
tion of  the  work  in  the  north  under  Hormuzd  Rassam, 
who,  after  Layard's  departure  in  1852,  was  placed  in 
charge,  Rawlinson  himself  was  given  the  opportunity 
of  spending  two  months,  in  the  fall  of  1854,  at  the 
mounds  of  Babylon  and  Borsippa.  Profiting  by  the 
experience  and  knowledge  gained  through  the  course  of 
the  excavations,  he  first  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
exposed  portions  of  the  tower  at  Birs  Nimrud  with  a 
view  to  determine  its  general  construction  and  extent, 
the  number  of  its  stages  and  an  estimate  of  the  depth 
of  the  lowest  layer.  Assuming  that  at  the  four  corners 
of  the  huge  construction,  foundation  clay  cylinders  with 
dedicatory  inscriptions  would  be  found  in  situ,  he  on 
the  basis  of  his  measurements  began  to  remove  the 
bricks  at  one  of  the  exposed  angles  of  the  third  stage 
and  within  an  hour  a  perfect  cylinder  was  brought  out 
by  one  of  the  workmen  at  the  very  spot  where  Rawlin- 
son had  told  the  workmen  to  search  for  it.  A  second 
one  was  found  at  another  corner,  and  subsequently  the 


32 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


fragments  of  a  third.3*  The  inscription  proved  that 
Raw  Jin  son  had  discovered  the  famous  tower  of  Bor- 
sippa  which  bore  the  name  of  E-ur-imin-an-ki, 
"  House  of  the  seven  divisions  of  heaven  and  earth/ ■ 
indicating  that  the  tower  symbolized  the  entire  uni- 
verse, connecting  the  earth,  as  it  were,  with  the  heavens. 
Rawlinson  also  determined  that  the  tower  at  least  in 
the  form  given  to  it  by  the  restoration  through 
Nebuchadnezzar  II,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century,  B.C.,  consisted  of  seven  stages,  as  symbolized 
in  the  name,  one  superimposed  upon  the  other  and 
receding  in  circumference  as  one  proceeded  from  stage 
to  stage.  The  lowest  stage,  according  to  Rawlinson 's 
measurements,  was  272  feet  square  and  about  26  feet 
high.  Many  fragments  of  the  bricks  showed  remains 
of  glazing  in  different  colors,  black,  blue  and  red  being 
recognizable.  The  number  of  stages  varies  in  the  case 
of  the  towers  so  far  excavated,  from  two  to  seven,  the 
number  in  earliest  days  being  usually  four,  with  the 
tendency  to  increase  the  height  as  we  pass  down  the 
centuries.  The  main  purpose  was  to  build  a  high 
mass  in  imitation  of  a  mountain,  with  a  winding 
balustrade  as  a  means  of  reaching  the  top,  where  the 
shrine  of  the  deity  to  whom  the  tower  was  dedicated, 
stood. 

It  will  be  seen  that  as  a  result  of  the  work  done  at 
the  mounds  in  the  north  and  south  from  the  year  1842 
to  1855  by  the  splendid  series  of  explorers,  Botta,  Place, 
Ltytrd,  ItMBlin,  Frcsnel,  Oppert,  Loftus,  Taylor,  and 
Rav  i,  an  enormous  mass  of  material  had  been 

urn -arthed,  many  edifices,  chiefly  temples,  towers  and 
palaces,  had  been  discovered,  and  in  some  cases  quite 
thoroughly  excavated.  The  general  character  of  these 
constructions  had  been  determined  and  in  the  case  of 

19  RawHnion'i  account  of  his  work  will  be  found  in  an  article  On 
the  Bin  Nimrud  or  the  (heat  Temple  of  Borsippa  (Journal  of  the 
Royal  Atiatic  Rockty>  vol.  xviii  (1861),  pp.  1-34). 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     33 


Assyrian  palacest  many  of  the  details  had  also  been 
ascertained.  I  The  art  of  the  time  was  illustrated  by 
numerous  monuments,  dating  from  various  periods, 
valuable  historical  and  votive  inscriptions,  clay  tablets 
representing  business  and  legal  documents  of  various 
periods  and,  above  all,  the  extensive  library  archives 
gathered  in  his  palace  by  the,  greatest  of  Assyrian  kings 
had  been  brought  to  light,   j 

VII 

For  about  twenty  years  after  Rawlinson's  departure 
from  Baghdad,  no  excavations  were  carried  on  either 
in  the  north  or  the  south,  and  it  was  perhaps  just  as  well 
that  a  period  elapsed  before  excavations  were  resumed 
so  as  to  afford  the  scholars  of  Europe,  devoting  them- 
selves to  cuneiform  research,  opportunity  to  study  the 
material  which  had  been  gathered  and  which  both  the 
British  Museum  and  the  Louvre,  with  commendable 
zeal,  were  planning  to  make  accessible  to  scholars.*0 
By  the  year  1870  a  large  amount  of  the  material  had 
been  published,  besides  many  detailed  studies  on  the 
language  of  the  inscriptions  to  which  the  name  Assyrian 
was  currently  given.  The  decipherment  was  thus  placed 
on  a  securer  basis,  and  translations  of  some  of  the 
more  important  historical  and  dedicatory  texts  on 
cylinders  and  on  inscribed  slabs  and  monuments  were 
made,  which,  however  deficient  in  details,  left  no  doubt 
in  the  minds  of  impartial  judges  that  the  main  facts 
had  been  correctly  determined. 

Interest  in  continuing  the  excavations  was  aroused 

40  See  pp.  16,  17  and  28,  for  Botta's,  Place's  and  Oppert's 
publications.  In  1861  the  British  Museum  began,  under  the  editor- 
ship of  Sir  Henry  Kawlinson,  the  publication  of  the  cuneiform  texts 
in  the  British  Museum.  Five  large  folio  volumes  under  the  title  The 
Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  were  issued  (1861-1880), 
and  this  series  was  followed  by  a  second,  Cuneiform  Texts  from 
Babylonian  Tablets,  etc.,  in  the  British  Museum  (1900  to  date),  of 
which,  up  to  the  present,  34  parts,  each  containing  about  50  plates, 
have  been  issued. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

anew  through  the  discoveries  made  among  the  tablets 
of  AshurbanapaPs  library,  by  George  Smith,  first  en- 
gaged as  an  engraver  in  the  British  Museum,  and  then 
as  an  Assistant  in  the  Department  of  Assyrian  An- 
tiquities. In  the  fall  of  1872  he  came  across  a  large 
fragment  on  which,  as  he  found  by  patient  study,  there 
was  related  the  story  of  a  great  Deluge.  Upon  proceed- 
ing further  he  ascertained  that  the  cuneiform  record 
bore  striking  points  of  resemblance  with  the  Biblical 
account.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archae- 
ology, held  on  December  third  of  that  year,  he  presented 
the  results  of  his  studies  which  showed  that  the 
Assyrian  account  of  the  Deluge  formed  part  of  a  large 
composition  recounting  the  adventures  of  a  hero  whose 
name  was  provisionally  read  Izdubar,  but  who,  as  we 
now  know,  was  called  Gilgamesh.  The  resemblance 
between  the  Biblical  and  the  cuneiform  tale  of  a  great 
catastrophe  which  destroyed  all  mankind  was  the  chief 
reason  for  the  profound  sensation  aroused  by  Smith's 
discoveries.  The  London  "Daily  Telegraph"  at  once 
came  forward  with  an  offer  to  defray  the  cost  of  an  ex- 
pedition to  Kouyunjik  to  search  for  further  portions 
of  the  royal  library.  The  offer  was  accepted  by  the 
trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  and  early  in  1873 
George  Smith  left  for  the  mounds  of  Assyria  and 
Babylonia,  which  he  was  to  visit  again  in  1874  and  1876, 
only  to  meet  his  death  at  Aleppo  on  the  occasion  of  his 
third  trip,  stricken  down  with  a  malarial  fever  that 
was  sweeping  through  the  region.  His  death,  on  the 
nineteenth  of  August,  1876,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
seven  years,  was  a  severe  loss  to  science,  for  his  past 
work  had  given  promise  of  still  greater  usefulness  in 
the  future.  As  a  result  of  his  two  sojourns  at  Kou- 
yunjik several  hundred  fragments  of  the  library  tablets 
were  added  to  the  collections  of  the  British  Museum, 
besides  numerous  inscribed  cylinders,  slabs  and  other 
objects  which  he  obtained  as  a  result  of  further  search 
in  the  mounds  at  Nimrud,  Kaleh-Shergat  and  else- 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     35 


where.  Previous  to  this  Rassarn,  during  his  excava- 
tions at  Kouyunjik  after  Layard's  departure,  had  also 
found  many  hundreds  of  fragments  and  a  last  gleaning 
was  secured  many  years  afterwards  through  a  further 
search  of  the  ruins  of  the  palace  made  by  E.  A.  Wallis- 
Budge  and  by  L.  W.  King  of  the  British  Museum. 

George  Smith's  sojourn  at  the  mounds  was  too  brief 
to  allow  him  to  undertake  systematic  or  even  extensive 
excavations.  All  that  he  could  do  was  to  rummage 
through  the  ruins  uncovered  by  his  predecessors,  chiefly 
at  Kouyunjik,  Nimrud  and  Kaleh-Shergat,  to  open 
some  further  trenches  and  hunt  in  a  more  or  less  desul- 
tory manner  for  further  inscriptions  and  monuments. 
The  same  general  remark  holds  good  for  the  labors 
of  Hormuzd  Rassam  at  mounds  both  in  the  north  and 
the  south  during  the  years  following  upon  Smith's 
death.  For  a  period  of  five  years,  1878-1882,  he  spent 
several  months  each  year  at  the  mounds.  His  energy 
was  indefatigable,  and  with  added  experience  he  was 
able  frequently  to  achieve  remarkable  success  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time.  He  gathered,  during  his  pro- 
longed sojourn,  a  large  number  of  most  important  an- 
tiquities, and  definitely  identified  many  mounds  as  cov- 
ering ancient  remains.  Among  his  discoveries  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  was  the  finding  of  a  large  number 
of  strips  of  bronze  embossed  with  ornaments,  figures 
and  inscriptions  that  proved  to  be  parts  of  huge  bronze 
plates  covering  the  cedar  gates  of  a  palace  of  Shal- 
maneser  III.*1  This  discovery  was  made  at  a  site, 
Balawat,  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  east  of  Mosul,  the 
ancient  name  of  which  was  Imgur-Enlil.  The  scenes 
represented  on  the  bronze  panels  were  illustrative  of 
the  campaigns  of  Shalmaneser  III.    With  remarkable 

"  See  the  superb  publication,  Bronze  Ornaments  of  tJie  Palace 
Gates  of  Balawat,  by  Samuel  Birch  and  T.  G.  Pinches  (London, 
1881),  and  Billerbeck  and  Delitzsch,  die  Palasttore  Salmanassars  II 
van  Balawat  (Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,  vi,  1).  See  Plates  LXYIII 
and  LXIX. 


36 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


attention  to  details,  the  camp  scenes,  the  marching 
Assyrian  armies,  the  attacks  on  the  enemy,  the  capture 
of  forts,  the  taking  of  booty  and  captives,  as  well  as 
sacrificial  rites  in  connection  with  the  campaigns  were 
depicted.  Through  such  illustrations  the  costumes  of 
the  various  divisions  of  the  army,  the  trappings  of  the 
horses,  the  arrangement  of  the  camps,  the  utensils  and 
customs  of  daily  life  and  many  details  of  the  ritual 
were  revealed.  These  data  were  supplemented  and 
further  illustrated  by  the  inscriptions  accompanying 
the  designs.  Still  greater  success  awaited  Rassam  in 
his  excavations  at  a  number  of  the  southern  mounds, 
which  were  also  more  >s\  'somatically  conducted. 
Attacking  several  of  the  mounds  that  cover  the  site 
of  Babylon,  he  was  far  more  successful  than  his 
predecessors  in  securing  rich  returns  in  epigraphical 
material.  Significant  among  the  historical  records 
was  a  clay  cylinder  giving  the  account  by  Cyrus 
himself  of  his  conquest  of  Babylonia  in  539  b.c./2  that 
event  of  world-wide  import  which  was  destined  to 
bring  to  an  end  the  history  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
A  large  collection  of  business  documents  covering 
the  Neo-Baby Ionian  period  (625-539  B.C.)43  was  also 
found  which,  together  with  several  thousand  similar 
tablets  from  the  mounds  at  Babylon  secured  by 
George  Smith  shortly  before  his  death,  greatly  in- 
creased the  material  for  studying  the  legal  procedure 
and  the  many-sided  business  activity  of  Babylonia. 
Through  these  tablets  we  obtain  an  insight  into  the  life, 
the  occupations,  the  business  methods  and  the  com- 
mercial activity  of  the  people  which  supplemented  the 
view  of  the  intellectual  life  obtained  through  the 
literary  documents  and  the  picture  of  the  political  and 
military  energies  and  ambitions  resulting  from  a  study 
of  the  historical  records.  The  business  documents  cov- 
ered every  phase  of  every-day  occurrences,  sale  and  hire 

«  See  Plate  XXV,  Fig.  2. 

43  See  Chapter  VI  for  specimens  of  such  documents. 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  37 


of  fields,  rent  and  sale  of  houses,  loans  and  receipts, 
'  >r  work,  1  eports  of  business  agents,  marriage 
and  divorce,  last  r,staments  and  terms  of  adoption, 
suits  of  all  kinds  I  the  decisions  of  judges,  and  so  on 
through  th  limit  of  the  records  one  might  find 

in  the  legal  ar  my  municipality  of  the  present 

day."     Be  the  archive  of  Babylon,  Rassam  also 

discovered  ive  business  archive  in  the  temple 

area  of  W*a,  a  new  site  which  Rassam's  excava- 

tions defii  'eutified  as  the  ancient  city  Sippar,  a 

centre  of  it  of  Shamash,  the  sun-god,  wliich 

played  a  i  u  •  jtable  part  in  Babylonian  history.  The 
mounds  llabba  cover  an  enormous  extent,  no 

less  thr  acres,  according  to  recent  calculations,4* 

of  whi<  temple  area — including,  as  in  all  of  the 

large  d  f  Babylonia,  numerous  edifices,  smaller 

temples  a.  d  chapels,  besides  houses  for  the  temple  ad- 
ministration and  for  the  housing  of  the  priests — alone 
covered  al  rot  40  acres.  He  opened  up  a  large  number 
of  rooms  nd  was  rewarded  by  finding  no  less  than 
60,000  cla\  tablets  in  the  temple  archives,  most  of  them 
business  documents,  but  also  quite  a  sprinkling  of  liter- 
ary documents,  such  as  those  in  Ashurbanapal's  li- 
brary,— hymns,  reports,  omen  texts,  grammatical  exer- 
cises, mathematical  lists,  etc.  Numerous  historical 
documents  were  also  found  at  Abu  Habba  by  Rassam, 
most  valuable  among  these  being  a  superb  stone  tablet 
containing  at  the  head  a  design  representing  Shamash 
seated  in  his  shrine,  with  his  two  attendants,  holding 
ropes  attached  to  a  wheel  as  the  symbol  of  the  sun,  while 
into  the  presence  of  the  sun-god  a  king  is  being  led  pre- 
ceded by  a  priest  and  followed  by  the  goddess  A,  the 
consort  of  Shamash,  in  the  attitude  of  interceding  with 
her  divine  husband  on  behalf  of  the  king.  A  long  in- 
scription covering  both  sides  of  the  tablet  recounts  the 
history  of  the  temple,  relating  how  in  consequence  of 

"  See,  for  details,  Chapter  VI. 

*•  Hilpreeht,  Explorations  in  Bible  Lands,  p.  268. 


38  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

disasters  to  Sippar,  the  cult  of  Shaniash  had  been  neg- 
lected, and  the  old  image  of  the  god  had  disappeared, 
but  Nebopaliddin,  the  king  of  Babylonia  (c.  888-854 
B.C.),  determined  on  restoring  the  grandeur  of  the  old 
temple,  had  been  fortunate  in  finding  a  terra-eotta 
relief  of  the  image,  from  which  as  a  model  a  new 
image  was  made.  The  inscription,  full  of  interest- 
ing historical  details  and  of  regulations  of  the  cult, 
closes  with  a  list  of  gifts  and  offerings  ordered  by 
Nebopaliddin  to  be  set  aside  regularly  on  six  festive 
occasions  during  the  year.46  He  also  found  some  re- 
markable boundary-stones,  recording  grants  of  land  to 
royal  officials  and  decorated  with  symbols  of  the  gods, 
who  were  invoked  as  witnesses  to  the  transaction  and 
whose  curses  are  called  down  upon  any  one  defacing  or 
destroying  the  monument  or  altering  any  of  its  speci- 
fications. Twelve  years  later,  in  1894,  supplemental 
excavations  were  carried  on  at  Abu  Habba  by  Prof. 
Vincent  Scheil,  of  Paris,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Turkish  government,  which  resulted  in  adding  many 
hundreds  of  literary  documents  from  the  temple  ar- 
chives, terra-eotta  figurines  and  bas-reliefs,  some  repre- 
senting Shamash  and  his  consort,  others  models  of 
animals,  deposited  as  votive  offerings,  utensils  and 
weapons  in  bronze,  numerous  seal-cylinders  with 
various  designs  and  used  to  roll  over  the  soft  clay  of  the 
business  documents  as  signatures  of  the  parties  inter- 
ested, numerous  inscribed  bricks  and  pieces  of  pottery.47 
Scheil  was  also  able,  despite  the  shortness  of  his  stay  at 
Abu  Habba,  more  accurately  to  determine  the  various 

4*  For  a  summary  of  the  inscription  see  Harper,  Assyrian  and 
Babylonian  Literature,  pp.  30-33;  it  is  fully  treated  by  Johannes 
Jeremias,  "Die  Cultustafel  von  Sippar"  (Beitriige  zur  Assyriologie 
I,  pp.  268-292). 

47  A  full  account  of  Seheil's  excavations  will  be  found  in  his 
volume,  line  Saison  de  Fouilles  a  Sippar  (Memoires  de  l'lnstitut 
Franc.ais  d  'ArcMologie  Orientate  du  Caire,  (1902)  vol.  i,  fas.  1). 


FIG.    2,   STONE  PEDESTAL  (STEATITE)  FROM  EXCAVATIONS  AT  TEIXOB 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     39 


divisions  of  the  temple  and  something  of  its  interior 
arrangement,  including  the  site  of  the  temple  school. 

Rassam,  during  the  five  years  covered  by  his  fir- 
man, searched  many  other  mounds  in  the  north  and 
south,  eondncting  hurried  excavations  at  some  of  them 
with  varying  results.  Notably  at  Birs  Nimrud48  he 
laid  bare  no  less  than  eighty  rooms  in  the  huge  temple 
E-zida,  "the  legitimate  house/*  dedicated  to  Nabu,  the 
chief  deity  of  Borsippa.  Among  the  documents  found 
here,  special  mention  should  be  made  of  a  terra-cotta 
cylinder  containing  in  cuneiform  an  account  of  the 
restoration  of  the  temple  by  the  Greek  governor  of 
Babylonia,  Antiochus  Soter,  in  the  year  270  B.C.,  a  most 
interesting  proof  of  the  continued  sanctity  which  the 
temple  continued  to  enjoy  almost  three  centuries  after 
the  fall  of  Babylon.  The  mounds  at  Tell  Ibrahim,  about 
fifteen  miles  to  the  north-east  of  Hillah,  and  those  at 
Daillum,  about  ten  miles*  to  the  south  of  Hillah,  were 
among  those  included  in  his  tours  through  the  region 
with,  however,  indifferent  results.  In  an  interesting 
volume 49  he  gives  an  account  of  his  entire  career  as  an 
explorer  which,  beginning  in  the  days  of  Layard,  ex- 
tended to  the  threshold  of  the  latest  epoch  in  Babyl- 
onian and  Assyrian  excavations.  With  Rassam  a 
second  period  in  excavations  on  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  closes.  The  third,  which  begins  about  the 
time  that  Rassam  started  on  his  last  series  of  cam- 
paigns, is  marked  by  systematic  excavations  concen- 
trated on  a  single  series  of  mounds. 

VIII 

In  1877  the  French  Vice-consul  at  Basra,  Ernest 
de  Sarzec,  began  a  series  of  excavations  in  a  series  of 
mounds  at  Telluh,  in  the  extreme  southern  section  of 
the  Euphrates  Valley,  selected  by  him  after  a  recon- 
noitering  tour  as  a  most  promising  locality.     With 

48  See  above,  p.  31  seq. 

"Aashur  and  the  Land  of  Nimrod  (N.  Y.,  1897). 


40 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


short  interruptions  these  excavations  were  continued 
hy  de  Sarzec  until  his  death,  in  1901,  and  since  that 
time  under  the  guidance  of  Gaston  Cros. 

Of  the  series  of  mounds  at  Telloh  there  were  two 
which  attracted  particular  attention,  each  rising  about 
fifty  to  sixty  feet  above  the  plain.  De  Sarzec  began  his 
work  at  the  smaller  of  the  two  and  soon  came  upon  the 
remains  of  an  extensive  palace  which,  however,  turned 
out  to  be  a  late  construction  B0  belonging  to  about  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century  B.C.  Along  with  evi- 
dence of  a  late  construction,  indications  of  a  very  early 
edifice  were  found,  and  the  interesting  problem  thus 
raised  was  finally  solved  by  the  definite  proof  that  the 
palace,  dating  from  Parthian  times,  and  following  in 
its  general  construction  the  model  of  Assyrian  palaces, 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  an  ancient  Babylonian  temple, 
the  material  of  which  was  partly  used  in  the  late  con- 
struction. The  substratum  was  erected,  in  accordance 
with  a  practice  that  was  thus  shown  to  be  a  trait  of  the 
architecture  of  the  region  from  the  earliest  to  the 
latest  period  on  an  immense  terrace,  about  forty  feet 
high,  while  the  expanse  itself  covered  some  600  feet 
square.  The  older  building,  which  alone  interests  us 
proves  to  be  a  temple  of  large  proportions  and  dedicated 
to  Ningirsu,  the  patron  deity  of  Shirpurla  (or  Lagash), 
which  was  thus  identified  as  the  city  covered  by  the 
mound  Telloh.51  The  foundation  of  the  temple  can  be 
traced  back  to  Urukagina  (c.  2700  B.C.),  and  may  be 
several  centuries  older  even  than  this  ruler.  It  was 
an  object  of  veneration  to  all  rulers  of  the  city  and 
acquired  a  significance  that  prompted  rulers  of  other 
centres  to  leave  traces  of  their  devotion  to  Ningirsu, 
through  enlarging  the  dimensions  of  the  temple  or 

"Shown  by  inscribed  bricks  bearing  the  name  of  Hadad- 
nadin-akhe  in  Aramaean  and  Greek  characters. 

il  Telloh  means  the  * '  mound  of  tablets, ' '  and  thus  preserves  the 
tradition  of  the  temple  archive  which  was  discovered  by  de  Sarzec 
and  which  formed  one  of  the  features  of  the  temple  area. 


I     \S\\  2,    EXCAVATIONS    AT  TEl.l.nil  WO.  3,  INSCRlUKtl  TERRA-COTTA  CYMVDF.K  7B0M 

LOB 


- 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     41 


through  repairs  of  portions  that  had  fallen  into  decay. 
Little  was  left,  however,  of  the  old  temple  beyond  a  wall 
at  the  east  corner,  which  formed  part  of  the  work  done 
by  Ur-Bau  (e.  2450  B.C.),  and  a  tower  and  gate  con- 
structed by  Gudea  about  a  century  later,  and  some 
layers  of  bricks  in  various  sections.  In  the  course  of 
the  excavations,  however,  a  large  number  of  remarkable 
monuments  were  found,  and  a  truly  astonishing  array 
of  miscellaneous  objects,  inscribed  vases,  seal  cylinders, 
bas-reliefs,  bronze  votive  offerings,  pottery,  iron 
utensils,  terra-cotta  cylinders,  and  inscribed  cones. 
Chief  among  these  were  nine  magnificent  diorite  statues 
of  Gudea,  in  whose  days  Shirpurla,  although  no  longer 
forming  an  independent  state,  enjoyed  a  second  period 
of  grandeur.  These  statues,  representing  the  ruler  in 
sitting  posture  or  standing,  were  covered  with  inscrip- 
tions indicating  that  they  were  set  up  as  votive  offer- 
ings. Gudea  in  thus  placing  statues  of  himself  in  the 
sacred  edifice  followed  the  example  of  Ur-Bau,  of  whom 
likewise  an  inscribed  statue  wTas  found.  The  stone,  as 
Gudea  tells  us  in  his  inscriptions,  was  brought  from  a 
distant  land,  as  he  brought  copper  and  gold  and 
precious  woods  from  various  parts  of  Arabia  and  cedars 
from  northern  Syria.  Such  intercourse  with  distant 
lands  is  an  illustration  of  the  commercial  activity  pre- 
vailing at  that  early  period. 

The  interest  aroused  in  France  through  the  arrival 
of  the  statues  at  the  Louvre  was  sufficient  to  ensure 
further  grants  from  the  French  government  to  continue 
the  excavations.  The  inscriptions  proved  to  be  couched 
in  the  old  Sumerian  language  spoken  by  the  non- 
Semitic  inhabitants  who  in  the  earliest  period  were  in 
control  of  the  region.  When  they  came  to  be  deciphered, 
they  threw  a  new  light  on  early  political  conditions  ha 
the  Euphrates  Valley,  and  our  knowledge  of  those  con- 
ditions was  still  further  increased  through  the  inter- 
containing  about  2000  lines,  which  furnished  us  with 
pretation  of  the  two  large  terra-cotta  cylinders,  each 


42 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


detailed  information  regarding  Gudea's  plans  in  the 
construction  of  E-ninnn,  how  he  was  prompted  to 
undertake  this  work  at  the  direct  instance  of  Ningirsu, 
who  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  gave  him  instruc- 
tions how  to  proceed.  The  picture  of  the  earliest  cul- 
ture in  the  south  now  grew  more  distinct  and  it  became 
evident  that  Assyrian  culture  was  only  an  extension  of 
the  civilization  that  arose  in  the  south.  It  was  there- 
fore in  the  southern  mounds  that  the  origin  of  the  civili- 
zation of  the  region  was  to  be  sought,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  activity  of  exploring  expeditions  since 
de  Sarzec's  days  was  largely  directed  to  the  mounds 
in  the  south.  The  work  at  Telloh  was  by  no  means 
limited  to  the  illustration  of  the  days  of  Gudea. 
Monuments  were  found  taking  us  back  far  beyond 
this  period,  as,  e.g*t  the  fragments  of  an  elaborate  sculp- 
tured votive  offering,  showing  on  the  one  side  the 
god  Ningirsu  with  the  double-headed  eagle,  the  stand- 
ard of  Sbirpuria,  in  one  hand  and  a  great  net  in  the 
other,  in  which  he  has  gathered  the  heads  of  the 
enemy.52  The  accompanying  inscription  told  the  story 
of  the  conflict  against  the  people  of  Umma,  the  triumph 
of  Eannatum  (e.  2900  B.C.)  and  the  agreement  made 
between  the  contesting  parties."  Another  monument, 
likewise  a  votive  offering,  dating  from  the  days  of 
Eannatum  *s  grandfather  Ur-Nina,  who  placed  a  tablet 
of  sandstone  in  the  great  temple  of  Ningirsu,  inscribed 
with  his  name  and  titles  and  exhibiting  a  lion-headed 
eagle  clutching  a  lion  with  each  of  its  talons.64  Other 
votive  offerings  were  of  bronze  and  represented  a  kneel- 

"See  the  comprehensive  work  by  Ernest  de  Larzec  et  Leon 
Heuzey,  Decouvertes  en  Ckaldee  (Paris,  1884r-1912)  followed  by 
Gaston  Cros,  Leon  Heuzey  et  Francois  Thureau-Dangin,  Nouvelles 
Fouillesde  Tello  (Paris,  1910). 

68  See  the  recent  publication  of  Leon  Heuzey  et  F.  Thureau- 
Dangin,  Restitution  Materwlte  de  la  Stele  des  Vautours  (Paris, 
1909).    See  Plates  XL VII  and  XL VIII. 

"  See  Plate  XLIX,  Fig.  L 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLOEATIONS     43 


ing  deity  holding  a  pointed  cone,  others  again  crouch- 
ing bulls  surmounting  a  pointed  cone,  female  or  male 
figures  bearing  baskets  on  their  heads  and  covered  with 
dedicatory  inscriptions,  or  statuettes  terminating  in  a 
point. 

In  the  second  of  the  two  larger  mounds  de  Sarzec 
was  no  less  successful.  Remains  of  buildings  of  various 
dates  were  unearthed,  all  of  which  seemed  to  have 
served  some  purpose  connected  with  the  great  temple, 
such  as  smaller  shrines  for  the  deities  worshipped  at 
Lagash,  forming  the  court  around  Ningirsu,  store- 
rooms, granaries  and  perhaps  archive  chambers,  as  well 
as  dwellings  for  some  of  the  many  officials  connected 
with  the  constantly  growing  temple  administration. 
Many  valuable  monuments  were  likewise  found  in  this 
mound.  Prominent  among  these  was  a  superb  silver 
vase,  delicately  incised  with  representations,  running 
around  the  vase,  of  lion-headed  eagles  clutching  lions, 
ibexes  and  deers,  while  the  upper  portion  depicts  a 
series  of  crouching  bulls.  The  accompanying  inscrip- 
tion tells  us  that  the  vase,  which  is  one  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  Babylonian  art  and  reveals  the  high  devel- 
opment reached  in  very  early  days,  was  an  offering 
made  by  Entemena,  a  ruler  of  Shirpurla,  whose  date 
is  about  2850  B.C.,  and  who  was  a  son  of  Eannatum,  to 
whom  we  owe  the  monument  above  described,  which  is 
commonly  known  among  archaeologists  as  the  "Stele 
of  Vultures.' '  A  series  of  three  limestone  votive  tablets 
showing  Ur-Nina,  a  ruler  of  Shirpurla  (c.  3000  B.C.), 
accompanied  by  his  children,  is  of  special  interest  in 
revealing  to  us  an  array  of  Sumerian  types  and  further 
details  of  the  Sumerian  mode  of  dress.58 

Our  knowledge  of  the  remarkable  art  of  the  earliest 
period  was  further  enriched  through  the  discovery  of 
such  objects  as  an  elaborately  sculptured  pedestal  in 

"Plate  XL VI,  Fig.  1;  Plates  LX1II  and  LXIV  for  votive 
statuettes,  above  referred  to ;  and  Plate  LXXI,  Fig.  1,  for  the  silver 
of  Entemena. 


44 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


dark  green  steatite,  f  orming  the  support  to  some  large 
piece  and  showing  seven  small  squatting  figures  dis- 
tributed around  the  pedestal,  a  mace-head  elaborately 
carved,  dedicated  by  a  King  Mesilim  of  the  city  of  Kish 
(c.  3100  B.C.),  a  large  spear-head  of  copper  about  two 
and  a  half  feet  long  and  dedicated  to  Ningirsu  by 
another  ruler  of  Kish,  superb  lion  heads  carved  in  lime- 
stone and  serving  a  decorative  purpose,  libation  bowls 
and  sculptured  placques  of  various  kinds,  round  trays 
in  veined  onyx,  furnishing  additional  names  of  rulers 
of  Lagash,  an  unusually  large  bas-relief  in  limestone, 
over  four  feet  high  and  representing  priests  and  a 
musician  playing  a  harp  of  eleven  strings,  the  whole 
being  again  a  votive  offering  for  the  ancient  temple.58 
Through  such  objects  as  well  as  through  the  various 
designs  on  seal  cylinders,67  of  <a  religious  character  or 
illustrating  episodes  in  myths  and  popular  tales,  a 
further  insight  into  the  religious  life  and  beliefs  was 
afforded,  the  forms  and  features  given  to  the  various 
gods  and  goddesses,  their  symbols,  the  style  of  their 
altars,  the  kind  of  sacrifices  offered  to  them,  and  the 
various  phases  of  symbolism  in  the  cult.  Supplemental 
to  the  monuments,  to  the  works  of  art,  and  to  the  votive 
and  historical  inscriptions,  de  Sarzec  was  fortunate 
enough  to  discover  in  another  section  of  the  mounds 
the  extensive  temple  archive  of  clay  tablets,  dealing 
with  the  administration  of  the  temple  property  and  the 
commercial  affairs  of  the  temple  officials.  The  tablets 
were  arranged  in  layers,  evidently  according  to  some 
system  so  that  any  particular  one  could  readily  be 
picked  out.  In  all,  some  30,000  tablets  were  found,  but 
the  greater  portion  were  stolen  by  the  natives  during 
de  Sarzec's  absence  and  falling  into  the  hands  of 
dealers  are  now  scattered  throughout  the  museums  of 
Europe  and  this  country,  and  in  private  hands.  Many 
thousands  have  now  been  published,  from  which  we 

»•  See  Plate  XLV,  Pig.  2,  and  Plate  LIII  for  the  lion  heads. 
"  See  at  the  close  of  Chapter  VII,  and  Plate  LXXV-LXXVIL 


EXCAVATIONS  AJSTD  EXPLORATIONS     45 


have  secured  a  detailed  view  of  the  extent  of  temple 
activity  and  the  methods  of  temple  administration  in 
early  Babylonian  days.  The  new  series  of  excavations 
also  resulted  in  discovering  the  section  of  the  ancient 
city  in  which  the  dead  were  buried.  A  considerable 
portion  of  the  necropolis  has  been  laid  bare,  showing 
for  the  first  time  the  arrangement  of  an  ancient  Babyl- 
onian cemetery,  and  incidentally  settling  a  hitherto  dis- 
puted point  whether  burial  constituted  the  oldest  form 
of  disposing  of  the  dead  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  No 
traces  of  cremation  were  found,  but  the  methods  of 
burial  were  not  uniform.  Some  of  the  graves  were 
square  vaults  into  which  the  bodies  were  sunk,  others 
were  shaped  somewhat  like  barrels,  within  which  the 
bodies  were  placed. 

IX 

It  is  time,  however,  to  turn  to  other  excavations 
conducted  during  the  past  thirty  years  at  southern 
mounds.  Early  in  1889,  an  expedition  fitted  out  by  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  under  the  leadership  of 
Dr.  John  P.  Peters  (now  of  New  York),  began  work 
at  a  large  series  of  mounds  at  Niffer,  the  site  of  ancient 
Nippur,  at  which  Layard,  it  will  be  recalled,58  had  made 
some  tentative  explorations.  With  some  interruptions 
the  excavations  were  continued  till  the  summer  of  1900, 
Dr.  Peters  being  replaced,  after  1888,  by  the  late  John 
IL  Haynes,  who  was  the  first  to  demonstrate  the  pos- 
sibility of  continuing  work  at  the  mounds  throughout 
the  year  and  not  merely  during  the  dry  season,  though 
the  hardships  endured  no  doubt  drained  his  vitality  and 
hastened  his  early  death.  In  1889,  the  late  Prof.  R.  F. 
Harper,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  Prof.  H.  V. 
Hilprecht,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  also 
accompanied  the  expedition  as  Assyriologists  during 
the  two  and  a  half  months  of  active  work,  and  the 
latter  paid  another  short  visit  to  the  mounds  in  1900, 

68  Above,  p.  24.    The  more  accurate  native  form  is  Nuffar. 


48 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


at  that  time  of  four — possibly  five — stages,  rising  to  a 
height  of  over  150  feet.  Within  the  temple  area,  cover- 
ing a  large  extent  and  surrounded  by  two  walls,  an 
inner  and  an  outer  one,  traces  of  numerous  shrines  be- 
sides the  main  temple  were  discovered,  and,  in  the  case 
of  some  of  these,  the  definite  outlines  could  be  deter- 
mined. The  main  temple,  known  as  E-kur,  or  "  moun- 
tain house,"  was  the  special  sanctuary  of  Enlil,  whom 
the  Sumerians,  as  it  would  appear,  brought  with  them 
from  their  mountain  homes.  Nippur  became,  as  early 
at  least  as  3000  B.C.,  the  chief  religious  centre  of 
Sumerian  settlements,  which  carried  with  it  the  undis- 
puted position  of  Enlil  as  the  head  of  the  pantheon. 
We  have  seen  that  Nippur,  like  Telloh,  continued  to 
be  a  stronghold  in  Persian  days.  The  coming  of  the 
Greeks  made  no  change  in  its  status,  as  Greek  inscrip- 
tions and  Greek  figurines  attest;  and  when  finally  Ki[ 
pur  was  abandoned  as  a  settlement  of  the  living,  its  old- 
time  sanctity  made  it  a  favorite  place  of  burial.  Hun- 
dreds of  clay  bowls,  containing  magical  inscriptions  in 
Aramaic  and  Syriac  as  a  protection  of  the  dead  against 
evil  demons,  and  dating  from  about  the  sixth  century 
of  our  era  were  found  in  graves ei  of  the  uppermost 
layers  in  certain  sections  of  the  mound  as  a  proof  that 
Nippur  continued  to  be  a  sacred  necropolis  for  Je\ 
and  Christians  many  centuries  after  it  had  ceased  tc 
be  occupied  and  at  a  time  when  all  traces  and  even  the 
recollection  of  its  one-time  grandeur  had  disappeared." 

81  See  Prof,  J.  A,  Montgomery's  valuable  publication  of  the  por 
tion  of  the  collection  that  came  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  title  of  Aramaic  Incantation  Texts  from  Nippur  (PI 
delphia,  1913). 

62  To  this  day  southern  Babylonia  is  a  favorite  burial  place  for 
Mohammedans  who  bring  the  bodies  of  their  relatives  from  a  loi 
distance  to  lie  in  the  sacred  cities  of  Kerbela  and  Nedjef,  associated 
with  the  deeds  and  martyrdom  of  the  two  sons  of  Ali.  It  is  a 
question  worth  investigating,  whether  the  sanctity  of  such  places 
as  Kerbela  and  Nedjef  may  not  revert  to  the  ancient  Babylonian 


FIG,   2,    INCANTATION    BOWLS   WITH    ARAMAIC    INSCRIPTIONS    (NIPFCR) 


id 
rod 

A 


.ia% 


EXCAVATIONS  AKD  EXPLORATIONS     49 

Through  the  work  of  Peters  and  Haynes,63  scholars 
were  enabled  for  the  first  time  to  obtain  a  more  definite 
view  of  the  religious  architecture  of  early  Babylonia, 
which  was  closely  followed  in  Assyria,  though  with  some 
modifications.  The  temple  proper  was  divided  into  two 
courts,  an  outer  and  an  inner  one.  In  the  outer  one 
stood  the  altar  to  which  the  sacrifices  were  brought.'14 
It  was  here  that  the  people  assembled,  while  the  inner 
court  leadin  to  the  holy  of  holies,  in  which  the  statue 
of  the  deity  *  >od,  was  accessible  to  the  priests  only. 
Attached  to  t  3  temple,  either  behind  it  or  to  one  side 
was  the  stagt -tower,  the  stories  of  which,  as  already 
pointed  out,  v  ned  from  two  to  seven  stages,  one  set 

rv  ±Vr>  ^+i^T^  <,n(j  eaen  succeeding  stage  being  some- 
Wl  J  the  top  was  reached. 

Mention  &  old  be  made  of  the  large  number  of 
votive  inscriptions  found  in  the  Nippur  mounds,  which, 
by  nature  of  tie  historical  data  contained  in  them, 
added  much  to  our  knowledge  of  political  events  and 
conditions  in  the  third  millennium  B.C.,  and  revealed 
the  names  of  rulers  of  whom  nothing  or  little  was  known 
ere  this.65    Thus  many  fragments  of  stone  vases  were 

period,  in  wiich  case  the  Mohammedan  traditions  in  regard  to  these 
places  may  simply  be  the  adaptation  of  the  pre-Islamic  sanctity  to 
later  conditio  $.  In  a  private  communication,  Prof.  Noldeke  (June 
13,  1913)  calls  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  village  by  the  name 
of  Nineveh  in  southern  Babylonia  is  frequently  mentioned  in  Arabic 
literature  (Yakut  and  TabariJ — an  indication  of  the  continuance  of 
Babylonian  a,  d  Assyrian  traditions  far  into  the  Islamic  period. 

m  Great  credit  is  also  due  to  Mr.  C.  S.  Fisher,  now  associated 
with  Harvard  University  and  the  Boston  Museum  of  Pine  Arts, 
who  accompanied  the  expedition  in  1899-1900  as  architect  and 
through  whom  many  of  the  architectural  problems  suggested  by  the 
mounds  were  solved.  In  a  large  publication,  Nippur,  unfortunately 
not  yet  completed,  Mr.  Fisher  has  set  forth  the  results  of  his  careful 
and  important  investigations. 

44  See  Chapter  VII  and  the  temple  plan  there  given. 

••  Published  by  H.  V.  Hilprecht  in  Vol  I,  Parts  1  and  2,  of  the 
Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  in 
Poebel  's  volumes  above,  p.  46,  note  60,  referred  to. 
4 


50  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

found  which,  upon  being  pieced  together,  furnished  a 
large  inscription  of  Lugalzaggisi  (c.  2675  B.C.),  the  king 
of  Erech  or  Uruk,  who  extended  his  dominions  until 
he  could  lay  claim  to  the  title  also  of  King  of  Sinner, 
and  who  tells  us  in  the  inscription  accompanying  his 
votive  offerings  of  his  various  campaigns  and  conquests. 
In  the  lowest  strata  of  the  mounds  a  large  number 
of  vases  and  jars — some  of  them  of  unusually  large  size 
— were  found,  and  among  other  interesting  disco  \  rii.s, 
a  series  of  drain  pipes  laid  in  vaulted  tunnels  showed 
that  at  an  early  period  a  system  for  drainage  had  been 
devised.  The  monuments  unearthed  up  to  the  present 
at  Nippur  are  not  as  numerous  as  those  found  by  de 
Sarzec  and  Cros  at  Telloh,  but  include  such  interesting 
specimens  as  a  large  votive  tablet  of  Ur-Enlil  (c.  3000 
B.C.),  showing  the  ruler  in  the  act  of  offering  a  libation 
to  Enlil.  The  great  antiquity  of  the  plaque,  perforated 
in  the  centre  so  that  it  could  be  fastened  to  a  wall,  is 
proved  not  merely  by  the  characters  used  in  the  in- 
scription but  by  the  representation  of  the  ruler  in  a 
naked  state  before  his  god.  The  lower  part  of  the  tablet 
shows  a  goat  and  a  sheep  followed  by  two  attendants 
who  are  presumably  leading  the  animals,  as  sacrifices, 
into  the  presence  of  the  god.M 

Another  expedition  fitted  out  by  an  American  insti- 

68  A  detailed  account  of  the  work  during  1888-1890  was  given 
by  Dr.  Peters  in  his  work,  Nippur  (2  vols.,  New  York,  1890),  and 
an  account  of  the  entire  series  of  excavations  from  1888-1900  by 
Prof.  II.  V.  Hilprecht  in  Explorations  in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  289-568, 
though  this  account  is  unfortunately  marred  by  belittling  of  Peters' 
and  Haynes'  work,  and  by  some  statements  which  give  one  an 
erroneous  impression,  both  of  the  conditions  under  which  finds  were 
made  and  of  the  finds  themselves.  The  publication  of  texts  found 
at  Nippur  has  proceeded  steadily  since  1891.  Apart  from  the 
volumes  above  (p.  4G  and  p.  49),  instanced,  Prof.  Clay  has  issued 
seven  volumes  of  business  and  legal  documents  from  the  Cassite,  neo~ 
Babylonian  and  Persian  periods,  Drs.  H,  Ranke,  A.  Poebel  and 
D.  W.  Myhrman,  similar  documents  of  the  First  Dynasty  of  Babylon 
and  of  the  Ur  dynasty,  and  Dr.  H.  Radau  a  selection  of  official 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  51 


tiition  conducted  excavations  for  some  months  in  1903- 
1904,  at  Bismya,  with  Dr.  E.  J.  Banks  as  director,  who 
was  acting  for  the  University  of  Chicago.  In  some 
respects  this  work  of  Dr.  Banks  was  the  most  remark- 
able of  the  many  undertakings  at  the  mounds,  both  be- 
cause of  the  rich  results  obtained  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  and  because  of  the  conditions  under  which 
these  results  were  obtained-  Bismya  lies  in  the  very 
In 'art  of  the  desert  region  of  southern  Babylonia,  diffi- 
cult of  access  owing  to  the  desperate  character  of  the 
Arab  tribes  in  the  vicinity. 

Alone  and  unaided  Banks  proceeded  to  Bismya, 
organized  his  corps  of  workmen  and  began  his  excava- 
tions on  Christmas  Day,  1903.  He  kept  up  the  work 
until  well  into  May  of  the  following  year,  when  the 
excessive  heat  and  the  wretched  sanitary  conditions 
furled  an  abandonment  till  fall.  Proceeding  as  method- 
ically as  the  difficult  circumstances  could  allow,  he 
soon  determined  that  Bismya  covered  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  city  that  was  abandoned  long  before  the  Babyl- 
onian empire  came  to  an  end.  A  little  below  the  surface, 
remains  of  ancient  buildings  came  to  view,  and  it  soon 
became  evident  also  that  the  city  had  been  destroyed  by 
an  invasion.  Banks  traced  the  outlines  of  the  royal 
palace,  of  the  temple  and  its  stage-tower,  and  uncov- 
ered a  large  portion  of  the  residential  district.  The 
palace  fronting  on  the  canal  contained  a  large  number 
of  rooms  grouped  around  a  central  court,  and  Banks 
ascertained  that  the  same  general  plan  was  followed 
in  the  case  of  the  private  houses,  only  that  the  number 
of  rooms  was  of  course  much  smaller,  and  that  the 
palace  probably  contained,  besides  the  large  court,  a 
second  one  around  which  the  apartments  reserved  for 
the  harem  were  distributed.    Vertical  drains  leading 

reports  and  administrative  documents,  and  a  monograph  on  frag- 
ments of  a  Ninib  myth  found  among  the  tablets  of  the  literary  section 
of  the  temple  archive.  See  Plate  XLIII,  Fig.  2,  for  the  native  tablet 
of  Ur-Enffl. 


52 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


down  to  the  foundations  were  found  in  several  rooms, 
suggesting  their  use  as  bath  rooms  and  indicative  of  at 
least  some  attempts  at  sanitation  in  very  early  days. 
Pottery  of  various  shapes,  animals  modelled  in  clay, 
suggesting  their  use  as  toys,  statuettes  of  deities  serv- 
ing as  household  gods,  and  several  hundred  tablets  were 
among  the  finds  of  the  palace,  but  far  richer  were  the 
objects  discovered  in  the  temple  area.  Chief  among 
these  were  remains  of  various  statues  of  stone,  reveal- 
ing a  high  order  of  work  in  the  modelling  of  the  face 
and  in  the  arrangement  of  the  garments.  One  of  these 
statues,  though  f  oimd  in  several  pieces,  could  be  almost 
entirely  restored,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able specimens  of  the  art  of  early  Babylonia.  It  proved 
to  be  that  of  an  ancient  ruler  whose  name  is  probably  to 
be  read  Lugal-daudu  (Plate  XXIV,  Fig.  1)  and  the  in- 
scription on  the  right  arm  of  the  statue  also  revealed  the 
name  of  the  temple  as  E-sar,  and  that  of  the  city  as  Adab. 
Most  of  the  heads  found  show  the  ordinarv  Sumerinn 
type,  with  shaven  head,  but  there  was  one  with  distinctly 
Semitic  features  with  a  full  beard,  proving  that  at  an 
early  period  the  population  consisted  of  the  two  ele- 
ments which  we  encounter  everywhere  in  the  remains 
of  the  ancient  cities  of  the  Euphrates  region.  Sinking 
a  shaft  some  fifty  feet  through  the  mound  down  to  the 
pure  sand  of  the  desert  level,  Banks  was  able  to  de- 
termine that  below  the  temple,  erected  on  a  platform  of 
plano-convex  bricks  there  was  an  older  structure.  In- 
scribed bricks  and  vases  found  at  the  higher  level 
furnished  the  names  of  Dungi  and  Ur-Engur,  of  the 
Ur  dynasty  (c.  2450  B.C.),  and  of  Sargon  and  Naram- 
Sin,  of  Akkad,  belonging  to  c.  2650  B.c.  For  the  older 
temple  we  may  thus  go  back  to  at  least  3000  b.c.  and 
perhaps  to  a  still  earlier  date.  On  a  fragment  of  a  blue- 
stone  vase  found  in  the  temple,  a  drawing  occurs  of  a 
stage-tower  which  is  of  inestimable  value  in  illustrating 
the  ancient  shape  of  these  adjuncts  to  the  temple 
proper.    The  drawing  shows  four  stories  or  stages  of 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  53 


receding  size,  one  placed  on  the  other,  and  wfe  may  con- 
clude that  four  stories  represented  the  number  in  the 
rase  of  the  zikkiirat  in  ancient  Adab. 

Numerous  inscribed  vases,  placed  as  votive  offerings 
in  the  temple,  confirmed  E-sar  as  the  name  of  the  sacred 
edifice  and  that  it  was  sacred  to  the  goddess  Nin- 
kharsag,  "  the  lady  of  the  mountain."  Statuettes  of  the 
goddess  seated  on  a  throne  were  discovered,  and  also  a 
statue  of  white  stone,  which  enables  us  to  see  at  closer 
range  the  features  given  by  the  Babylonians  to  the 
divine  patron  of  the  place,  who  seems  to  be  identical 
with  Ninlil,  the  consort  of  Enlil,  of  Nippur,  and  whose 
cult  may  have  been  transferred  from  the  latter  place. 
Banks  was  also  fortunate  enough  to  come  across  hun- 
dreds of  fragments  of  vases  of  almost  every  conceivable 
shape  and  of  such  various  materials  as  onyx,  porphyry, 
sandstone,  limestone  and  alabaster.  Many  of  them  con- 
tained inscriptions  and  curious  designs,  such  as 
dragons,  religious  processions,  deities  in  a  boat,  and 
so  forth.  Numerous  objects  of  ivory  and  mother-of- 
pearl— fishes,  cats,  rosettes — partly  to  be  regarded  as 
votive  offerings  and  partly  merely  ornaments  alternated 
with  inscribed  copper  tablets,  copper  spikes  terminat- 
ing in  little  lions,  engraved  marble  slabs  and  fragments 
of  splendidly  moulded  alabaster  cows. 

In  a  portion  of  the  mounds  not  far  from  the  temple, 
several  thousand  clay  tablets  with  inscriptions  of  the 
oldest  period  were  unearthed  which  presumably  formed 
part  of  the  temple  archives.  Lastly,  the  excavations 
also  threw  further  light  on  the  ancient  mode  of  burial 
in  Babylonia.  Vaulted  brick  tombs  having  the  appear- 
ance of  small  houses,  on  an  average  six  feet  long  and 
three  feet  high,  were  built  to  receive  the  dead,  who 
were  placed  on  the  floor,  while  along  the  back  wall  a 
series  of  clay  pots  of  various  sizes  were  arranged. 
Beads  and  copper  rings  and  seal  cylinders  were  also 
found  in  the  graves,  showing  that  the  dead  were  buried 
with  their  ornaments,  while  some  of  the  pots  may  have 


54 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


contained  food.  Banks  remarks  that  these  little  houses 
of  the  dead  dating,  as  tablets  found  in  the  mound 
proved,  from  the  Hammurapi  period,  i.e.,  c.  2000  B.C., 
were  not  unlike  the  mounds  built  over  graves  in  modern 
Mesopotamia.  A  large  number  of  these  vaulted  tombs 
were  found  in  close  proximity  to  one  another,  indicat- 
ing that  a  portion  of  the  ancient  city  had  been  set  aside 
as  a  cemetery. 

In  his  account67  he  gives  some  specimens  of  the 
historical  material  unearthed  by  him.  Even  these  few 
specimens  furnish  names  of  rulers  hitherto  unknown, 
and  we  may  therefore  look  forward  to  a  considerable 
enrichment  of  our  knowledge  of  the  earliest  history 
of  the  Euphrates  Valley  with  the  more  complete  pub- 
lication of  the  rich  finds  made  by  him. 


The  last  comer  on  the  field  of  excavations  is  the 
German  Orient  Society,  which,  organized  in  1900,  has 
the  distinction  of  having  conducted  its  work  more  thor- 
oughly and  more  systematically  than  any  of  its  pre- 
decessors, not  even  excepting  de  Sarzec's  labors  at 
Telloh.  The  organization  of  the  Society  was  due  largely 
to  the  distinguished  Prof.  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  who  has 
done  more  than  any  other  single  individual  in  training 
a  large  body  of  Assyriologists  and  in  arousing  popular 
interest  in  the  civilizations  that  once  flourished  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley.  Among  those  whose  interest  he  se- 
cured was  the  German  Emperor,  who  has  been  a  gen- 
erous supporter  of  excavations  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria.   The  German  Orient  Society  m  has  not  limited 

*7Bwmya  or  the  Lost  City  of  Adah  (New  York,  1912). 

•8  Accounts  of  the  work  are  published  in  the  Mitteilungen  der 
Deutschen  Orientgesellschaft,  published  at  intervals  of  every  two  or 
three  months,  while  texts  and  more  detailed  reports  and  investiga- 
tions are  given  in  an  important  series  known  as  the  Wissenschaft- 
licke  Veroffentlichungen  der  Deutschen  Orientgesellschaft,  of  which, 
up  to  the  present,  eighteen  substantial  volumes  have  been  issued. 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS  55 


its  activity  to  the  region  of  the  Euphrates.  It  has 
carried  on  work  regularly  in  Egypt,  notably  at  Abusir 
and  at  El-Amarna,  and  has  also  carried  on  some  impor- 
tant explorations  in  Galilee.  Until  recently  the  work 
in  Mesopotamia  was  concentrated  on  two  sites — Kaleh- 
Shergat  in  the  north,  representing  Ashur,  the  earliest 
capital  of  Assyria,  and  the  mounds  in  the  south  that 
cover  the  remains  of  ancient  Babylon.  Some  work  has, 
however,  also  been  done  at  Fara  and  Abu  Hatab,  the 
sites  of  Shuruppak  and  Kisurra  respectively,  and  late 
in  1912  work  was  begun  on  one  of  the  most  important 
ruins  of  the  south,  Warka,  the  name  of  which  still 
preserves  the  recollection  of  the  city  of  Erech  or  Uruk, 
the  seat  of  the  cult  of  the  goddess  Nana  which  once 
flourished  there. 

The  result  of  fourteen  years  of  steady  and  uninter- 
rupted excavations  has  been  to  reveal  in  the  case  of 
Ashur  the  history  of  the  city  from  the  earliest  period, 
c.  2000  B.C.,  to  which  it  can  now  be  traced  back,  down  to 
the  time  when  it  ceased  to  be  the  capital  of  the  northern 
empire  and  even  beyond  this  period,  while  in  the  case 
of  Babylon  the  excavations  have  shown  that  King 
Sennacherib,  of  Assyria,  did  not  exaggerate  when,  in 
his  inscriptions,  he  told  us  that  weary  of  the  frequent 
uprisings  in  the  south  against  Assyrian  control,  he 
decided  to  set  an  example  by  completely  destroying 
the  city  of  Babylon — razing  its  large  structures  to  the 
ground  and  placing  the  city  under  water  in  order  to 
make  the  work  of  destruction  complete.  This  happened 
in  the  year  689  B.C.  While  some  remains  of  the  older 
Babylon,  chiefly  through  the  discovery  of  clay  tablets 
belonging  to  earlier  periods,  have  come  to  light,  the 
city  unearthed  by  the  German  Orient  Society  is  the 
new  city,  the  creation  chiefly  of  Nebopolassar  (625-604 
B.C.),  the  founder  of  the  neo-Babylonian  dynasty,  and 
of  his  famous  son,  the  great  Nebuchadnezzar  II  (604- 
561  B.C.). 

At  Ashur  the  walls,  quays  and  fortifications  of  the 


56 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ancient  city  have  been  most  carefully  arid  methodically 
excavated  and  traced  on  all  sides.  Already  in  the 
earliest  days  (c.  2000  b.c.)  the  rulers  of  the  city  made 
it  their  concern  to  strongly  fortify  their  stronghold, 
and  as  time  went  on  these  fortifications  grew  in  mas- 
siveness  and  in  strength  until,  in  the  days  of  Shal- 
maneser  III  (858-824  B.C.),  they  reached  their  highest 
point  of  perfection  through  a  series  of  double  walls — 
an  inner  and  an  outer  one — both  solidly  built  with  tur- 
reted  tops  and  eight  huge  gates  forming  the  entrances 
to  the  city." 

Within  the  city,  the  remains  of  various  palaces  dat- 
ing from  earlier  and  later  periods  and  of  the  chief 
temples  of  the  place  as  well  as  considerable  portions  of 
the  residential  section  of  the  city  and  many  graves  of 
the  earliest  period  were  thoroughly  explored.  The 
method  employed  by  the  German  explorers,  with  Walter 
Andrae  and  Robert  Koldewey  as  the  leaders  in  the 
northern  and  southern  fields  of  activity  respectively, 
was  to  dig  trenches  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred  feet 
apart,  and  in  carrying  them  down  to  the  lowest  stratum, 
carefully  to  follow  any  leads  furnished  in  doing  so. 
Under  such  conditions  it  was  hardly  possible  for  any 
noteworthy  contents  of  the  mounds  to  escape  detection. 
The  moment  an  important  structure  was  struck,  work 
was  carried  on  at  that  portion  of  the  mound  until  all 
that  remained  of  it  had  been  thoroughly  explored,  after 
which  the  combined  architectural,  archaeological  and 
engineering  skill  of  the  exploring  party  would  be 
brought  to  bear  on  the  study  of  the  remains  and  in  the 
efforts  at  reconstruction. 

The  huge  stage-tower  attached  to  the  oldest  temple 
in  Ashur,  known  as  E-kharsag-gal-kurra,  "great  moun- 
tain house  of  all  lands,' '  and  sacred  to  the  chief  deity, 

"See  W.  Andrae 's  magnificent  work,  Die  Festungswerke  von 
Assur  (Leipzig,  1913),  2  vols.,  with  several  hundred  illustrations 
and  plates. 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     57 


Ashur,  whose  name  is  derived  from  that  of  the  place,70 
was  uncovered  and  the  foundations  of  the  temple  itself 
traced  back  to  a  ruler,  Ushpia,  who  still  combined  in 
his  person  priestly  and  civic  functions.  This  temple 
stood  near  the  royal  palace,  while  at  some  distance  away 
was  another  sanctuary  hardly  less  famous,  and  which 
is  constantly  referred  to  in  the  annals  of  the  Assyrian 
rulers.  It  bore  a  double  name — "the  temple  of  Ami 
and  Adad"  and  proved  to  be  a  double  construction  with 
a  common  exterior  court.11 

With  the  help  of  a  large  number  of  inscribed  bricks 
and  clay  cylinders  found  within  the  temple  enclosure, 
we  can  trace  the  work  done  on  the  structures  by  the 
many  rulers  anxious  to  show  their  devotion  to  Anu  and 
Adad  through  additions  to  the  temple  or  through  re- 
pairs. An  interesting  feature  of  the  cult  at  Ashur  in 
later  days  as  revealed  through  the  excavations,"  has 
been  the  finding  of  a  " festival  house"  referred  to  in  the 
inscriptions  of  Sennacherib  to  accommodate  the  mul- 
titude that  made  a  pilgrimage  annually  to  the  sacred 
city  to  celebrate  the  New  Year's  festival — occurring  in 
the  spring — under  the  shadow  of  the  temples. 

Besides  unearthing  various  temples  and  palaces,  the 
German  expedition  has  also  uncovered  a  portion  of  the 
residential  quarter  of  the  city  and  has  given  us,  for  the 
first  time,  a  closer  view  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
people  lived.  Entire  rows  of  private  houses  have  been 
dug  out ;  they  were  on  the  whole  of  a  very  simple  brick 
construction,  consisting  of  one  story,  and  a  series  of 
rooms  grouped  around  a  central  court,  which  was  open 
to  the  sky.  Ordinarily  the  houses  were  quite  small,  but 
larger  ones  have  also  been  found  consisting  of  a  large 

70  He  is  the  god  of  the  city  of  Ashur  and  then  becomes  simply 
Ashur.  See  the  writer's  article,  "The  God  Ashur/'  in  the  Journal 
of  the  Am.  Or.  Soc.,  1903,  pp.  283-311, 

n  See  the  detailed  account  in  Andrae's  Der  Anu-Adad  Tempel 
(Leipzig,  1909),  and  see  Plate  XXXIX,  Fig.  1. 

n  See  MUteUungen  der  Deutschen  Qrientge&elUehaft,  Nr.  33. 


58 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


outer  court,  leading  into  a  long  room,  at  the  end  oi 
which  there  was  a  passageway,  giving  access  to  an 
inner  court  around  which  a  large  series  of  rooms,  vary- 
ing in  size,  were  grouped,  while  the  back  part  of  the 
house  again  consisted  of  a  long  room  like  the  corre- 
sponding one  at  the  end  of  the  outer  court. 

A  notable  discovery  made  in  the  space  between  the 
outer  and  inner  walls  of  the  city  and  with  which  we 
must  close  our  account  was  that  of  a  large  series  of 
steles  of  various  material — alabaster,  basalt,  limestone, 
sandstone  and  composite  material — containing  com- 
memorative inscriptions  of  rulers  and  their  consorts 
and  of  high  officials.73  No  less  than  140  of  such  steles 
were  found,  many  in  a  fragmentary  condition,  but 
enough  in  a  sufficiently  preserved  state  to  enable  us  to 
say  that  these  monuments  varied  in  height  from  about 
six  to  seven  feet.  They  were  generally  rounded  at  the 
fop  and  some  contained,  in  addition  to  the  commemora- 
tive inscription,  a  sculptured  image  of  the  individual  in 
whose  honor  the  monument  was  erected.  The  names 
of  no  less  than  twenty-five  rulers  of  Assyria  are  re- 
vealed through  these  steles.  Besides  these  twenty-five 
rulers,  we  have  steles  of  three  *' ladies  of  the  palace/' 
including  the  famous  Semiramis,  who  turns  out  to  be 
the  ''palace  lady"  of  Shamshi-Adad  IV  (or  V),  who 
ruled  from  823  to  811,  and  further  designated  in  the 
accompanying  inscription  as  the  mother  of  King  Adad- 
nirari  IV  (810-782)  and  the  daughter-in-law  of  Shal- 
maneser  III  (858-824  B.C.).  Of  officials  represented 
by  monuments,  the  names  of  forty-four  are  preserved 
in  whole  or  in  part.  The  monuments  of  the  kings  and 
their  consorts  were  found  near  the  inner  wall,  those  of 
the  officials  near  the  outer  wall.  The  steles  range  from 
c.  1400  B.C.  to  the  days  of  Ashurbanapal  (668-626  b.c), 
that  is  to  say  within  twenty  years  of  the  fall  of  the 
Assyrian  Empire.    It  is  evident  that  these  monuments 

72  See  the  publication  of  the  German  Orient  Society,  by  Andrae, 
Die  Stelenrcihen  in  Assur  (Leipzig,  1913). 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     59 


were  erected  by  the  rulers  themselves  and  set  up  in  a 
place  of  honor,  and  it  is  a  reasonable  conjecture  that 
those  of  the  officials  were  erected  by  their  royal  masters 
in  recognition  of  their  services  to  the  state  or  to  the 
royal  house.  There  has  thus  been  revealed  the  custom 
in  ancient  Assyria  of  erecting  monuments  in  public 
places. 

In  Babylon,  where  the  work  was  conducted  chiefly 
under  the  superintendence  of  Dr.  Robert  Koldewey74 
for  an  equally  long  period  as  at  Ashur,  the  chief  efforts 
of  the  German  explorers  were  directed  to  the  mound 
Kasr,  the  name  of  which,  viz.:  "fortress,"  preserved 
the  tradition  of  the  royal  palace  built  by  Nebopolassar 
and  considerably  enlarged  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  that 
once  stood  there,  and  to  the  mount  xVmran,  the  southern 
of  the  three  mounds  which  covered  the  ancient  city  and 
which  proved  to  be  the  site  of  the  famous  temple, 
E-sagila,  "the  lofty  house,"  sacred  to  the  chief  god  of 
Babylon  and  the  head  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon  after 
the  days  of  Hammurapi,  the  supreme  Marduk.  The 
entire  foundations  of  the  palace  were  uncovered,  the 
hundreds  of  rooms  that  it  comprised,  traced,  and  a  most 
careful  study  made  of  every  detail  that  was  brought  to 
light.  Of  great  importance  were  the  discoveries  made 
in  the  space  between  the  palace  and  the  chief  temple. 
A  sacred  procession  street  was  laid  bare,  a  via  sacra 
built  high  above  the  low  houses  of  the  city  and  along 
which  the  images  of  the  numerous  gods  and  goddesses, 
who  formed  a  court  around  Marduk,  were  carried  in 
procession  on  festive  occasions,  and  more  particularly 
on  the  New  Year's  day,  which  was  the  most  solemn 
occasion  of  the  year.  The  walls  along  this  street  were 
lined  with  glazed  tiles  representing  a  series  of  lions, 
surmounted  by  rows  of  rosettes  and  other  ornamental 

T4See  the  summary  of  the  results  by  Koldewey,  Das  Wieder- 
Erstehende  Babylon  (Leipzig,  1913).  English  translation  by  Agnes 
S.  Johns,  under  the  title,  The  Excavations  at  Babylon  (London, 
1914). 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


designs.  The  street  was  paved  with  large  blocks  of  a 
composite  material  and  contained  at  frequent  intervals 
a  dedicatory  inscription  indicating  the  name  of  the 
street  as  u  Aibur-shabu/'  "may  the  enemy  not  wax 
strong/'  and  the  name  of  the  builder  as  the  great 
Nebuchadnezzar.70  A  magnificent  gateway,  known  as 
the  Ishtar  gate  and  consisting  of  an  outer  and  inner 
gate,  formed  the  approach  to  the  street.  The  six  square 
towers  of  the  gateway  contained  on  all  sides  a  series  of 
glazed  tiles  with  alternate  representations  of  horned 
dragons  and  unicorns,  so  arranged  that  a  group  of 
dragons  running  as  a  pattern  around  the  four  sides  of 
the  tower  was  succeeded  by  a  group  of  unicorns 
similarly  arranged.  It  was  found  that  there  were 
eighteen  such  alternate  groups,  one  above  another*  The 
effect  of  these  brilliantly  illuminated  high  facings  of 
the  towers  must  have  been  superb  (see  Plate  XXXVII). 
Surrounding  the  chief  temple  to  Marduk  that  was 
uncovered  beneath  the  mound  Amran,  stood  numerous 
smaller  temples  and  shrines  in  honor  of  the  many  gods 
and  goddesses  who  were  worshipped  at  Babylon  and 
whose  relationship  to  Marduk  was  that  of  members  of 
the  royal  family,  ministers  and  courtiers  to  the  king, 
as  the  supreme  chief.  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  his  inscrip- 
tions, enumerates  some  forty  such  structures  within 
the  sacred  precinct  which,  from  the  name  of  Marduk *s 
temple,  was  known  as  Ensagila.  Unfortunately  the  con- 
dition in  which  these  temples  were  found  was  most 
lamentable,  so  that  little  of  their  decoration  and  of  their 
varied  contents  could  be  determined.  Lastly,  as  at 
Ashur,  a  great  part  of  the  efforts  of  the  expedition  was 
directed  to  tracing  the  walls — the  outer  and  inner  walls 
— and  the  extensive  fortifications  of  the  city  as  begun 
by  the  founder  of  the  Neo-Babylonian  dynasty  and  con- 

T6  See  Koldewey,  Die  Pflastersteine  von  Aiburschahu  (Leipzig, 

1901). 


FIG.    2,    ARCHWAY    OF    COLORED,    GLAZED   TILES    (KHoRSABAD) 


EXCAVATIONS  AND  EXPLORATIONS     61 


tinned  by  his  great  son.76  Quite  a  number  of  inscrip- 
tions have  been  found  in  connection  with  the  temples, 
and  also  several  hundred  business  documents,  chiefly 
of  the  Persian  period,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  soil  still  holds  quantities  of  literary  treas- 
ures from  the  archives  of  the  great  Marduk  temple, 
which  even  in  the  neo-Babylonian  period  must  have 
been  extensive. 

Extending  their  activities  to  Borsippa— close  to 
Babylon,  but  on  the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates— the 
German  expedition  has  been  successful  in  coming 
across  the  chief  temple,  E-zida,  "the  legitimate  house/1 
sacred  to  Nabu,  the  son  of  Marduk,  and  in  tracing  the 
outlines  and  interior  arrangement  of  that  edifice  which 
played  a  part  only  second  in  importance  to  that  of 

»E-sagila,  in  Babylon. 
Here  we  may  rest  our  survey  of  the  work  done  at 
the  mounds.  The  seventy  years  intervening  between  the 
first  larger  efforts  inaugurated  by  Botta  and  the  present 
date  have  been  marked,  as  we  have  seen,  by  a  truly 
astonishing  activity  on  the  part  of  English,  French, 
American  and  German  explorers,  as  a  result  of  which 
many  of  the  most  important  sites  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  have  been  laid  bare,  and  a  large  number  of 
others,  though  only  partially  excavated,  have  been 
identified.  Palaces  and  temples,  towers  and  archives, 
private  houses  and  graves,  walls  and  fortifications  have 
been  dug  up  from  beneath  the  mounds  so  that  we  are 
in  a  position  to  reconstruct  the  appearance  that  the 
ancient  cities  of  the  south  and  north  must  have  pre- 
sented. An  enormous  amount  of  archaeological  ma- 
terial in  the  form  of  sculptured  reliefs,  statues,  pottery 
of  all  kinds,  jewelry,  instruments,  thousands  of  seal 
cylinders  with  designs  representing  adoration  scenes, 
sacrificial  scenes,  illustrations  from  myths,  etc.,  works 
of  art  of  all  kinds  have  been  secured  through  which  we 

™  See  Koldewey,  Die  Tempel  van  Babylon  und  Borsippa  (Leip- 
zig, 1911). 


62 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


are  enabled  to  fill  out  the  picture  of  the  civilization  of 
the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  with  innumerable  details.  We 
can  follow  their  methods  of  warfare,  their  daily  Hfe, 
the  construction  of  their  public  and  private  buildings, 
their  ideals  of  art  and  their  religious  beliefs.  Still 
more  extensive  and  even  more  valuable  as  furnishing 
the  key  to  an  understanding  and  full  appreciation  of 
those  ancient  civilizations  is  the  yield  through  the  ex- 
cavations of  inscribed  material — inscriptions  on  bas- 
reliefs,  statues,  votive  offerings  and  other  monuments 
— and  of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  clay  tablets  of  all 
periods  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest,  forming  the  busi- 
ness and  legal  records  of  the  temple  administration, 
and  of  private  transactions  of  all  kinds,  and  lastly  the 
literary  collection  of  some  thirty  thousand  tablets  or 
fragments  of  tablets,  found  in  the  royal  palace  at 
Nineveh,  supplemented  by  thousands  of  tablets,  like- 
wise with  literary  contents,  discovered  among  the  re- 
mains of  archives  of  the  temples  of  the  south.  These 
invaluable  treasures  scattered  throughout  the  public 
and  private  museums  of  Europe  and  America  have  for 
the  greater  part  been  made  accessible  through  publica- 
tions, and  as  new  material  is  found  it  is  published  as 
speedily  as  possible.  Through  the  interpretation  of 
this  inscribed  material — the  oldest  portion  written  in 
characters  approaching  the  picture  stage  of  writing, 
but  soon  yielding  to  a  cursive  style  in  which  the  original 
pictures  assume  the  form  of  wedges — the  work  of  re- 
covering the  lost  story  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  has 
been  supplemented  and  completed. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  DECIPHERMENT  OF  CUNEIFORM  SCRIPTS 


The  question  may  now  be  asked,  how  was  it  made 
possible  to  read  the  wedge-shaped  characters  found  on 
the  monuments,  votive  offerings  and  the  tablets?  When 
Pietro  della  Valle '  brought  specimens  of  the  writing 
to  Europe,  it  was  the  first  time  that  such  characters 
which  did  not  resemble  any  known  alphabet  were  seen 
by  European  scholars.  They  seemed  so  strange  that  it 
is  scarcely  surprising  that  some  scholars 2  questioned 
whether  they  stood  for  real  writing  or  were  not  merely 
ornamental  decorations.  The  excavations  in  the  mounds 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  proved  conclusively  that 
cuneiform  or  wedge-shaped  writing  was  the  general  and 
only  script  used  in  the  region.  The  strange  script,  how- 
ever, was  not  limited  to  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  In 
fact,  the  first  specimens  to  reach  Europe,  copied,  as  we 
have  seen,3  by  Pietro  della  Valle,  came  from  a  place  that 
lay  outside  of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  and  it  was  on 
cuneiform  inscriptions  of  this  type  that  the  first 
attempts  at  decipherment  were  made.  Delia  Valle,  as 
well  as  other  travellers,  had  passed  in  their  travels  the 
chief  sites  of  the  old  Persian  Empire  and  were  particu- 
larly impressed  by  the  tombs  and  the  remains  of  great 
structures  still  standing  at  Persepolis,  the  name  of 
which  (" Persian  city")  preserved  the  tradition  that  it 
was  one  of  the  political  centres  in  the  days  of  the  great 
Persian  kings.  Here  at  least  there  was  a  definite  start- 
ing-point.   If  cuneiform  inscriptions  were  found  on 

1  Above,  p.  12,  Wg< 

2  Among  them  the  famous  Thomas  Hyde,  Eistoria  Religionis 
irtmun.  Pirsarum,  etc.,  (Oxford,  1700),  p.  527,  S.  S.  Witte, 
Professor  at  Rostock  University  as  late  as  1799. 

■  Above,  p.  12.    See  Plate  XIX,  Pig.  1. 


64  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

monuments  erected  by  Persian  rulers,  the  conclusion 
was  obvious  that  the  characters  represented  the  ancient 
Persian  language  which  was  the  official  speech  of  the 
empire,  At  Persepolis  it  was  not  necessary  to  dig  below 
the  surface  to  come  across  remains  of  Persian  days. 
The  ruins  of  a  great  palace  were  still  standing.*  A  large 
number  of  high  and  beautiful  columns  were  still  in 
place,  and  by  their  help  one  could  trace  the  general 
divisions  of  the  structure  of  which  they  formed  a  part. 
Besides  the  columns  and  portions  of  walls,  sculptured 
monuments  of  various  kinds  were  scattered  about,  be- 
sides magnificently  decorated  tombs  cut  in  the  rocks 
that  surrounded  the  city.  These  well  preserved  monu- 
ments were  covered  with  the  wedge-shaped  characters. 
An  English  traveller,  Herbert,6  was  among  the  first, 
towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  to  give  an 
account  of  the  strange  writing  which  he  (like  della 
Valle)  correctly  conjectured  was  to  be  read  from  left 
to  right,  and  he  also  concluded  that  the  writing  repre- 
sented the  language  spoken  by  the  Persians,  He  de- 
spaired, however,  of  the  hope  of  the  writing  ever  being 
deciphered  unless  (as  he  says)  by  another  Daniel  who 
was  able  to  read  the  mystic  writing  on  the  wall  of 
Belshazzar's  palace. 

In  1711  the  first  complete  inscription  from  Persepolis 
was  reproduced  by  a  French  traveller,  the  Chevalier 
Chardin,0  from  which  it  should  have  been  evident  that 
although  the  characters  always  had  the  form  of  wedges, 
still  the  combinations  ivaried  considerably  and  that 
there  were  in  reality  three  quite  distinct  styles  of  cunei- 
form writing  on  the  rocks  and  monuments  of  Perse- 
polis.   Although  a  number  of  intrepid  travellers  and 

*  See  the  illustrations  in  Stolze,  Persepolis  (Berlin,  1882). 

1  In  his  Some-  Years'  Travels  into  Divers  Paris  of  Africa  and 
Asia  the  Great  (London,  1677)  t  p.  141,  seq. 

•  Voyages  de  Monsieur  le  Chevalier  Chardin,  en  Perse  ei  autres 
IAeux  de  VOrient  (Amsterdam,  1711),  3  vols. 


I.    2,    THE  PROPYL.BA  OF  THE  PALACE  OF  XERXES  I  (4S6-465  B.  C.)    AT  FEJBUPOLIB 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT  65 

careful  observers  like  Engelfoert  Kaempfer7  and 
Comelis  de  Bruin8  examined  the  inscriptions,  it  was 
not,  however,  until  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  Carsten  Niebuhr,  whom  we  have  already 
come  across 9  and  who  copied  more  of  the  inscriptions 
than  any  of  his  predecessors,  recognized  the  fact  of 
three  distinct  varieties  of  the  cuneiform  characters  at 
Persepolis,  varying  in  the  complexity  of  the  combina- 
tions of  the  wedges.  Though  distinguishing  these  three 
varieties  as  Classes  I,  II  and  III,  Niebuhr  did  not  draw 
the  further  conclusion  that  the  varieties  represented 
three  distinct  languages,  but  supposed  all  three  to  be 
the  same  language,  written  in  a  threefold  form.  He 
even  correctly  analyzed  the  characters  in  Class  I  as 
consisting  of  forty-two  signs  and  concluded  that  this 
form  represented  an  alphabetic  method  of  writing.10 
On  the  basis  of  Niebuhr 's  work,  two  scholars  who  were 
trained  philologists  proceeded  to  make  the  first  at- 
tempts at  decipherment  Tychsen  M  drew  the  correct 
conclusion  that  the  three  varieties  represented  three 
distinct  languages.  He  furnished  a  tentative  transla- 
tion of  one  of  the  smaller  inscriptions  of  Class  I  which, 

T  He  embodied  the  results  of  his  travels  in  a  Latin  work  pub- 
lished in  1712,  with  a  long  title,  Amcenitatum  exoticarum  politico- 
physico-mcdicarum  fasciculi  quinti,  (Lemgo),  Kempfer  was  the 
first  to  apply  the  term  cuneiform  ("  wedge-shaped1  *)  to  the 
characters. 

•  Voyages  de  Corneille  h  Brun  par  la  Moscovie,  en  Perse  et  aux 
Indes  Orientates  (Amsterdam,  1718),  2  vols.  [French  translation 
from  the  Dutch  edition  of  1714.] 

9  See  above,  p.  13. 

10  In  Vol.  II  of  Carsten  Niebuhr 's  Reisebeschreibung  nack  Ara- 
bien  und  andern  umliegcnden  Ldndern,  completed  after  his  death 
by  his  son  (1774-1837,  Copenhagen,  3  vols.),  will  be  found  his 
account  of  his  investigations  of  the  monuments  of  Persepolis. 

"Olav  Gerhard  Tychsen,  De  citncatia  inscriptiotiibus  Perse- 
politanis  lucubratio  (Rostock,  1798). 
5 


66 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


however,  was  pure  guesswork,  and  turned  out  to  be 
entirely  erroneous,  except  for  the  fact  that  he  correctly 
assumed  a  certain  character  to  represent  the  vowel  a. 
Tychsen  proceeded  on  the  erroneous  assumption  that 
the  buildings  and  inscriptions  at  Persepolis  dated  from 
the  late  Persian  dynasty,  known  as  the  Parthian,  in  the 
third  century  of  our  era.  But  for  this  error,  he  might 
have  made  further  progress  in  the  decipherment.  The 
correct  identification  of  the  remains  at  Persepolis  with 
the  Achaemenian  kings  of  Persia  in  the  sixth  and  fifth 
centuries  before  our  era  was  made  by  a  contemporary 
of  Tychsen,  Prof.  Friedrich  Miinter  of  Copenhagen, 
who  instituted  a  comparison  between  the  monuments  at 
Persepolis  and  those  at  Naksh-i-Rustam,  which  the  re- 
searches of  a  famous  orientalist,  Sylvestre  de  Sacy,  had 
shown  to  be  the  tombs  of  kings  of  the  Arsacidian 
dynasty.  The  result  was  to  establish  the  identity  of  the 
art  at  Persepolis  and  Naksh-i-Rustam,  further  rein- 
forced by  the  occurrence  of  the  same  fabulous  animals 
or  symbols  on  the  monuments  of  both  places.  The  art 
was  distinctly  Persian,  as  were  the  costumes  and  orna- 
ments on  the  figures  at  Persepolis.  Miinter  made  some 
further  progress  also  in  unraveling  the  mystery  of  the 
inscriptions.  He  recognized  that  a  diagonal  wedge 
occurring  constantly  in  the  inscriptions  of  Class  I  was 
a  word  separator,  a  clue  that  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest 
possible  value,  since  it  enabled  scholars  to  definitely 
fix  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  word.  Another  sug- 
gestion thrown  out  by  Miinter,  that  a  series  of  seven 
characters  occurring  in  all  inscriptions  stood  for  the 
word  king,  was  finally  rejected  by  him,  though  the  con- 
jecture proved  to  be  correct. 

Fortunately,  not  long  before  the  time  that  Tychsen 
and  Miinter  were  groping  their  way  in  the  dark,  a 
French  scholar,  Anquetil-Duperron,  was  busy  in  the 
East  collecting  manuscripts  of  the  Avesta,  the  sacred 
writings  of  Zoroastrianism,  and  through  native  Parsi 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


67 


priests  was  learning  how  to  read  the  characters  and  to 
interpret  the  contents  of  the  sacred  books.12 

Through  the  publication  of  his  material,  scholars 
had  before  them  specimens  of  the  language  employed 
in  the  days  of  the  Persian  rulers.  The  characters  used 
in  the  Avestan  manuscripts  were,  however,  totally  dif- 
ferent from  those  found  on  the  Persepolitan  inscrip- 
tions ;  they  represented  a  cursive  alphabet  that  probably 
had  its  origin  in  India  and  was  adapted  to  the  old 
Persian  language.  To  be  sure  it  subsequently  turned 
out  that  the  Avestan  books  represented  a  compilation 
covering  a  long  period  of  gradual  growth  and  that  even 
the  oldest  portion  could  not  be  earlier  than  the  fourth 
century,  while  the  introduction  of  the  Avestan  alphabet 
could  not  have  taken  place  before  the  third  century. 
We  were,  therefore,  still  some  distance  from  the  time 
of  the  earliest  Achaemenian  rulers,  but  close  enough  to 
warrant  the  assumption  that  the  language  of  the  Avesta 
was  practically  identical  with  that  spoken  by  Cyrus  and 
his  successors.  The  task  of  scholars,  therefore,  lay  in 
attempts  to  recognize  in  the  wedge-shaped  characters 
the  consonants  and  vowels  corresponding  to  the  signs 
for  these  in  the  Avestan  alphabet.  There  was,  of 
course,  no  possible  connection  between  the  forms  of 
the  Avestan  and  the  cuneiform  alphabet,  but  the  same 
sounds  must  be  represented  in  both,  and  the  words 
spelled  out  in  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions  must  be 
close  enough  to  such  as  were  furnished  by  the  Avestan 
writings  to  show  that  they  were  genuine  Persian  words. 
The  problem,  therefore,  resolved  itself  into  a  species  of 
rebus,  somewhat  as  though  one  were  to  write  English 
with  Sanskrit  characters  and  then  to  determine  by  pa- 
tient endeavor  the  value  of  the  Sanskrit  characters  so 
as  to  furnish  good  English  words,  and  above  all,  a 
sequence  of  thought.     Simple  as  this  may  sound,  it 

12  See  the  account  of  the  beginnings  of  the  history  of  Avestan 
studies  in  Darmesteter  Ts  Introduction  to  his  monumental  work, 
Le  Zend-Avesta  (Paris,  1892-1893),  3  vols. 


68  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

involved  great  difficulties  because  of  the  imperfect 
knowledge,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  of  the 
Avestan  language,  the  study  of  which  was  still  in  its 
infancy,  and  because  of  the  puzzling  circumstance  that 
Class  I  of  the  Perse  poll  tan  inscriptions  showed  forty- 
two  characters — too  many  if  each  combination  of 
wedges  represented  a  single  sound,  too  few  if  the 
method  of  writing  was  syllabic,13  and  not  alphabetical. 
Now  in  many  of  the  inscriptions  from  Persepolis 
it  was  observed  that  certain  words  occurred  frequently 
in  all  of  them.  It  could  furthermore  be  concluded  on 
the  assumption  that  Class  I  represented  the  Persian  of 
the  days  of  the  Achsemenian  kings  that  the  names  of  the 
rulers  should  be  found  on  them,  and  with  the  naxnea 
also  the  titles.  The  next  step  seemed  simple  enough— 
to  try  to  fit  the  sounds  composing  the  names  of  the 
Persian  kings  which  were  known  to  us  from  the  Old 
Testament,  from  Herodotus  and  from  other  sources  to 
the  series  of  characters  in  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions 
that  might  represent  proper  names.  Had  Miinter  not 
rejected  his  conjecture  that  a  certain  series  of  char- 
acters stood  for  the  word  "king,"  ll  he  might  have  been 
the  one  to  take  the  next  step  and  to  become  the  de- 
cipherer of  the  inscriptions.  Miinter  was  led  to  seek  for 
the  word  for  king  in  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions  by 
the  analogy  which  they  presented  to  those  on  the  royal 
tombs  at  Naksh-i-Rustam.  Greek  inscriptions  at  this 
place  by  the  side  of  those  in  the  Pehlevi  script  furnished 
de  Sacy,  whom  we  have  already  mentioned,15  with  the 
clue  both  to  the  historical  character  of  the  monuments 
and  to  the  decipherment  of  the  Pehlevi  script,  which 

11  By  syllabic  is  meant  the  use  of  a  sign  to  indicate  an  entire 
syllable  j  thus  ra-ahun-al  would  be  syllabic  writing,  whereas 
F-a-t-i-o-n-a-1  is  alphabetic,  while  if  some  picture  or  a  sign  derived 
from  a  picture  were  used  to  convey  the  idea  of  rational,  the  writing 
would  be  ideographic.    The  sign  for  dollar  is  ideographic  writing. 

14  See  above,  p.  66. 

"  Memoires  sur  diverses  Antiquites  de  la  Perse  (Paris,  1793). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


69 


turned  out  to  be  a  variety  introduced  into  Persia  during 
the  rule  of  the  Sassanian  kings  (227-641  a.d.).  The 
Greek  inscriptions  based  on  Pehlevi  models,  of  which 
they  were  in  fact  translations,  revealed  a  stereotyped 
order  of  phrases  and  titles  on  these  monuments.  The 
beginning  was  made  with  the  name  of  a  ruler  followed 
by  his  titles,  and  these  in  turn  by  the  name  of  his  father 
with  his  titles.   This  gave  a  form  as  follows : 

N,  great  king,  king  of  kings,  king  of  Iran  and 
Aniran,  son  of  N,  great  king,  king  of  kings, 
king  of  Iran  and  Aniran. 

With  the  help  of  several  bilinguals — Greek  and  Pehlevi 
— de  Sacy,  through  fitting  the  proper  names  on  to  the 
characters,  the  position  of  which  could  be  determined 
by  the  place  occupied  by  proper  names  in  the  Greek 
translation,  succeeded  in  determining  the  characters 
of  the  Pehlevi  alphabet,  while  as  soon  as  he  was  able 
to  read  words,  the  practical  identity  with  the  older 
Persian,  now  revealed  through  the  researches  of 
AnquetiMhiperron,  furnished  an  unfailing  aid  in 
recognizing  the  meaning  of  the  words  written  in  the 
Pehlevi  script.  Here  then  a  rebus  was  correctly  solved 
— the  characters  fitted  on  to  the  sounds  which,  since  the 
words  thus  put  together  were  Persian  and  gave  a  con- 
nected sense,  were  shown  to  be  the  correct  ones. 

Miinter  availed  himself  of  de  Sacy's  results  as  a 
support  for  his  thesis  that  the  Persepolitan  inscrip- 
tions were  those  of  the  early  Persian  kings,  but  he 
stopped  short  at  this  point.  Had  he  clung  to  his  guess 
regarding  the  combination  of  signs  representing  the 
word  for  king,  it  would  no  doubt  have  occurred  to  him 
to  apply  the  stereotyped  form  of  the  Pehlevi  inscrip- 
tions also  to  the  Persepolitan  monuments.  This  step 
was  taken  by  the  man  who  was  destined  to  achieve  im- 
mortal fame  as  the  decipherer  of  the  Persian  cuneiform 
inscriptions — Georg  Friedrich  Grotefend  (born  1775), 
a  teacher  of  Greek  in  the  gymnasium  at  Gottingen,  who, 


70  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

on  the  fourth  of  September,  1802,  read  a  paper  before 
the  Gottingen  Academy  in  which  he  claimed  to  have 
found  the  key  to  the  reading  of  the  inscriptions  of 
Class  I.  The  paper, Ifi  consisting  of  three  parts,  began 
with  a  general  consideration  of  the  three  varieties  of 
script  on  the  monuments  of  Persepolis.  G  rote  fend 
showed  the  definite  basis  for  assuming  that  the  three 
varieties  represented  three  different  languages,  that  the 
variety  which  occupied  the  first  place  when  the  three 
scripts  were  written  one  under  the  other,  or  which  was 
above  the  head  of  a  figure — the  most  prominent  place, 
— while  the  two  others  were  grouped  to  either  side, 
represented  the  old  Persian  language  spoken  in  the 
days  of  the  Achaemenian  kings  (539-331  b.c).  If, 
therefore,  the  first  class  could  be  deciphered,  it  would 
be  possible  to  use  the  inscriptions  of  this  class  as  a  basis 
for  deciphering  the  other  two  classes  which  must  repre- 
sent translations  of  the  old  Persian  into  two  languages 
that  were  spoken  by  the  subjects  of  the  Persian  Empire. 
A  parallel  to  such  a  procedure  exists  to-day  in  the  de- 
crees of  Austro-Hungary  which  are  issued  in  German 
and  Hungarian.17  Class  I  would  serve  as  the  key  to 
Classes  II  and  III,  just  as  de  Sacy  used  the  Greek 
inscriptions  at  Naksh-i-Rustam  to  decipher  the  accom- 
panying Pehlevi  inscriptions — the  Greek  being  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Pehlevi ;  and  as  in  the  decipherment  of  the 
Egyptian  inscriptions,  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
hieroglyphic  inscription  on  the  stone  found  at  Eosetta 
served  as  a  key  to  Francois  Chanipollion.1*  Grotefend 
also  confirmed  the  results  reached  by  his  predecessors 
that  the  order  of  the  writing  in  all  three  varieties  was 

*•  The  title  was  Prmvia  de  cuncatis  quas  vocani  inscriptionibus 
Persepolitanis  legendis  et  explicandis  rclatio* 

1T  Some  of  the  decrees  of  the  Turkish  Empire  are  similarly  issued 
in  two  languages,  Turkish  and  Arabic. 

18  See  Steindorff  in  Hilprecht's  Explorations  in  Bible  Lands, 
p.  629  seq.  The  Itosetta  stone  also  contained  a  version  in  the  late 
demotic  script  of  Egypt. 


_ .  ^3  _ jfi&Jtgir 

TT-rfT .EH<r.^XTT.5  S  X<lT.^.M.T<e.T<?:Tt.  Tfyv 

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m^.^.^A.<K<<ff.M.K.!r.g.tf.^A.<Kr 


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s  rg .  &<.^  a  .  ^ .  t^t 


? 


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■  T.W.W  fcT."t.>  ,^,<K^ 


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^.^FT.X.TfT^  :TTTMfcT[Y.£^.^  J    .Yifc.T 


^r .  &  tm.Kn  .*<  ,^T .  K^aJfi .  ■£¥ ,  ff ,  -ei 


!►>-<  £T  ,T .  <££.  ^it.^T .  it.  *f .  T ;  V . 


^^£-^T:*  <eXWV , 


**> 


»fcT 


-^  >sht -r  w-,»sa'h.feTifc.iKrT-!!^¥ 


w®^^XM.\<w.^mm^.^\>m*it.& 


T^«(T.?<.in.T^<l.Tr.H-.v«[t.«.¥.  Tf  T<T .  fr.  T<r.  ftr" 


.t<^*.pmx^^^ 


,^.^<^?TA.f<W.^<K.<^.m^Klk<.^.K-A 


SPECIMEN    OF  THE   THREE   CLASSES   OF  CUNEIFORM    CHARACTERS.      B   ANTJ   C— OLD 
PERSIAN  (CLASS  l)j  C—  BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN   (CLASS  III);   D— NKO-ELAMlTir    (CLASS   ll) 


CUHEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


71 


)m  left  to  right  and  that  the  lines  followed  horizon- 
tally and  not  vertically,18  or  in  boustrophedon  fashion,30 
as  some  scholars  had  maintained.  In  one  deduction 
Grotefend  erred,  though  fortunately  it  did  not  affect 
his  key  which  he  applied  merely  to  Class  I.  He  main- 
tained that  all  three  varieties  of  cuneiform  writing 
represented  an  alphabetical  script,  not  therefore  ideo- 
graphic like  the  Chinese,  nor  syllabic  like  the  Japanese. 
He  was  right  so  far  as  Class  I  was  concerned,  but  wrong 
as  to  the  other  two  classes  which  turned  out  to  be  partly 
ideographic  and  partly  syllabic. 

Coming  in  the  second  part  of  his  paper  to  the  in- 
scriptions of  Class  I,  he  picked  out  of  the  forty-two 
characters  comprising  the  script,  eight  which  occurred 
with  great  frequency  (and  two  or  more  of  which  ap- 
peared in  every  word)  and  concluded  that  they  were 
vowels.  Availing  himself  at  this  point  of  the  stereo- 
typed form  of  the  Pehlevi  inscriptions  of  Naksh-i-Rus- 
tam  and  concluding  that  the  Sassanian  rulers  followed 
in  this  respect  the  model  of  the  old  Persian  kings  whose 
realm  they  had  taken  over,  lie  proceeded  to  pick  out  the 
proper  names  in  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions  of  which 
one  ought  therefore  to  be  found  at  the  beginning  and 
another  somewhat  further  on — the  name  with  which 
the  inscription  began  being  that  of  the  one  who  is  com- 
memorated by  the  monument,  and  the  other  the  name 
of  the  father. 

In  the  third  part  of  his  paper  he  took  up  two  of 
the  short  inscriptions  that  had  been  copied  and  pub- 
lished by  Niebuhr  and  which,  in  his  publication,  were 
numbered  B  and  G,  the  former  consisting  of  six  lines, 
the  latter  of  four  lines.  The  analogy  with  the  Pehlevi 
inscriptions  led  liim  to  look  for  the  word  king,  which 
ought  to  follow  the  name  at  the  beginning  of  the  in- 
scription, and  should  appear  several  times  even  in  a 

lf  Like  the  Chinese. 

10  One  line  from  left  to  right,  the  next  from  right  to  left,  and  bo 
alternately,  as  in  the  case  of  Hittite  inscriptions. 


72 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


short  inscription.  The  diagonal  wedge  which  Miint 
had  conjectured  to  be  a  word  separator,  made  it  easj 
to  pick  out  a  series  of  characters  constituting  a  word, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  Grotefend  hit  upon  seven 
characters  occurring  just  where  one  would  expect  the 
word  for  king.    These  signs  were 

From  the  dictionary  which  AnquetilDuperron  had 
compiled  for  his  Avestan  texts,  the  word  for  king  was 
given  as  Khsheio."  Now  some  of  the  seven  characters 
composing  the  word  for  king  occurred  in  the  series  of 
characters  that  constituted  the  first  word  in  each  of  the 
two  inscriptions,  and  which,  on  the  analogy  of  the 
Pehlevi,  ought  to  be  a  proper  name.  Grotefend 's  next 
task,  therefore,  was  to  study  the  characters  composing 
these  two  names  carefully.  They  must,  of  course, 
conceal  the  names  of  old  Persian  rulers,  known  to  us, 
as  has  been  indicated,22  from  various  sources.  Grote- 
fend observed  that  in  the  inscriptions  of  Persepolis  at 
his  disposal,  there  were  only  two  varying  series  of  char- 
acters constituting  the  beginning  of  the  inscriptions, 
which  meant  that  all  the  inscriptions  proceeded  from 
two  rulers  or,  at  all  events,  from  rulers  whose  names 
alternated  between  X  and  Y.  Taking  up  now  the  two 
inscriptions — B  and  G — selected  by  him,  he  found  the 
proper  name  in  B  to  consist  of  seven  characters  as 
follows : 

and  in  G  also  of  seven  characters 

n  Be  it  noted  once  for  all  that  kh  and  eh  in  the  transliteration 
of  oriental  languages  represent  a  single  sound  and  in  a  scientific 
transliteration  are  given  as  h  and  s.  For  the  sake  of  convenience  1 
retain  kh  and  ah. 

"  Above,  p.  68. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


73 


He  further  noted  in  G  the  occurrence  of  the  same  name 
with  which  B  begins,  forming,  to  wit,  the  second  series 
of  characters  in  the  third  line.23  The  analogy  with  the 
Pehlevi  inscriptions  made  it  certain  that  the  king  rep- 
resented by  this  series  of  characters  was  the  father  of 
the  one  whose  name  appeared  at  the  beginning  of  G. 
In  other  words,  if  we  designate  the  proper  name  with 
which  inscription  B  begins  as  X,  and  the  one  with  which 
G  begins  as  Y,  we  would  have  the  relationship 

Y  is  the  son  of  X, 

Both  X  in  inscription  B,  as  well  as  Y  and  X  in  inscrip- 
tion G,  were  followed  by  the  same  series  of  characters 
that  had  been  conjectured  to  represent  the  word  for 
king.  Grotefend  could  therefore  go  a  step  further  and 
read  in  G 

Y  king son  of  X  king. 

The  three  characters  following  the  group  X  king  in  the 
fourth  line  of  G  (after  the  word  separator)  Grotefend, 
after  the  analogy  of  the  Pehlevi  inscriptions,  assumed 
to  be  the  word  for  son.  Searching  for  these  signs  in 
inscription  B,  he  found  them  in  line  five  immediately 
after  the  word  separator,  which  closed  the  word  run- 
ning over  from  line  four.24  Hence  he  concluded  that 
the  name  of  X's  father  should  be  found  before  these 
signs  for  son.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  his  keen 
ingenuity  showed  itself.  In  G  the  name  of  X,  the  father 
of  Y,  was  followed  by  the  characters  for  king.  He 
could  not  find  these  characters  in  line  four  of  inscrip- 
tion B  and  therefore  concluded  that  the  ten  characters 

"  There  was,  to  be  sure,  one  character — the  sixth — not  found  in 
the  series  at  the  beginning  of  B,  but  Grotefend  at  once  concluded 
that  this  variation  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  name  in  G  stood  in 
the  genitive,  whereas  in  B  in  the  nominative. 

*4  The  Persian  scribes,  depending  upon  the  diagonal  wedge  as 
the  word  separator,  did  not  hesitate  to  allow  a  word  to  run  over 
from  one  line  to  the  other. 


74 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYBIA 


preceding  the  series  "son"  in  B  (beginning  in  line  four 
and  running  over  into  line  fire)  represented  the  name 
of  X's  father,  and  that  this  personage  was  not  a  king. 
This  could  only  mean  that  X  was  the  founder  of  a 
dynasty — not,  therefore,  himself  of  royal  descent.  If 
we  call  this  group  of  ten  characters  Z.  we  would  there- 
fore hare  two  series: 


.  .son  of  Z. 
.son  of  X  king, 


In  inscription  B:  X  king. . 
In  inscription  G:  Y  king. . 

which  gives  us  the  order 

Z,  X,  Y  =  grandfather,  father,  son. 

Now  in  the  lists  of  the  rulers  of  Persia  "  there  were 
during  the  first  period  two  dynasties,  (1)  the  one 
founded  by  Cyrus  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Cambyses  (539-522  B.C.),  (2)  a  second  founded  by 
Darius  I,  succeeded  by  his  son  Xerxes  I  and  grandson 
Artaxerxes  I  (522-424  B.C.).  Then  came  an  usurper, 
Xerxes  II,  who  ruled  for  forty-five  days,  followed  by 
Darius  II,  whose  son,  grandson  and  great-grandson 
followed  one  another,  Artaxerxes  II,  Artaxerxes  III 
and  Arses  (424-336  B.C.),  after  which  came  Darius  III 
(336-331  B.c),  who  succumbed  in  331  b.c.  to  Alexander 
the  Great.  Grotefend  thus  had  a  choice  for  Z,  X,  Y 
between 

(a)  the  father  of  Cyrus,  Cyrus  himself  and  Cam- 
byses, or  (b)  Hystaspes  (the  father  of  Darius), 
Darius  himself  and  Xerxes,  or  (c)  the  father  of 
Darius  II,  Darius  II  and  Artaxerxes  II.  The  first 
case  was  ruled  out  by  the  circumstance  that  the 
names  of  Cyrus  and  Cambyses  began  with  the  same 
letter,  whereas  X  and  Y  began  with  different  char- 
acters. X  and  Y  would  therefore  turn  out  to  be  either 
Darius  and  Xerxes,  or  Darius  II  and  Artaxerxes  II. 
The  latter  alternative,  if  correct,  would  involve  that 

*•  See  the  list  in  Jastrow,  Aspects  of  Belief  and  Practice  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p,  448. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


75 


le  name  Y  as  the  son  of  X  should  be  longer  than  X. 
Both  X  and  Y,  however,  consisted  of  the  same  number 
of  characters,  namely  seven.  Grotefend  was  thus 
thrown  back  on  the  second  of  the  three  possibilities, 
Darius  and  Xerxes,  as  the  one  fitting  the  required  con- 
ditions. Taking  up  his  three  names  once  more,  he 
observed  that  the  first  two  characters  of  Y  corresponded 
to  the  first  two  characters  in  the  series  that  represented 
the  word  "king,"  which  being,  as  we  have  seen,  Khsheio, 
showed  that  these  two  characters  must  stand  for  the 
sound  kh  and  sh  respectively.  King  Y  therefore  bore  a 
name  beginning  with  kh.sb.  The  fourth  and  the  seventh 
character  in  this  name  was  the  one  which,  because  of  its 
frequency,  Grotefend  assumed  to  represent  the  vowel 
a  or  e,  while  the  sixth  sign  was  again  the  sign  sh.  He 
thus  could  read  the  name  partially  as 

IK.    »H.    .   .     B    .  .     SH.       ■ 

Completing  the  word  for  king  in  the  series  of  seven 
characters,  he  assigned  values  tentatively  as  follows : 

«n£  fit  KvW.ff.K* 

eh    »h    «."    nV     i."     o.       n 

which  was  certainly  close  enough  to  the  form  Khsheio 
to  justify  Grotefend  *s  confidence  in  Ms  method.  Pro- 
ceeding to  compare  the  signs  composing  the  name  of 
King  X  with  those  in  the  word  for  king,  he  could  read 
three  of  the  seven  characters  as  follows; 

rfii?f.tM*4Wr. 


*■  Grotefend,  as  occasion  required,  assigned  the  value  d  or  i  to 
this  sign.    It  turned  out  that  the  value  was  always  a, 
*T  This  was  subsequently  shown  to  be  ya. 
m  Subsequently  shown  to  be  t. 


76  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Now  the  Old  Testament  form  of  the  name  Darius  (oc- 
curring in  the  Book  of  Daniel),  which  would  be  nearer 
to  the  original  pronunciation  of  it  than  the  Graecizcd 
form  Dareios,  was  Daryawesh.  It  was,  therefore,  like 
fitting  on  a  rebus  to  assign  the  value  d  to  the  first  sign 
and  r  to  the  third,  which  gave  him 

d.a.r.h. . . .sh 

All  that  was  needed  was  to  assume  the  value  e  and  u  for 
the  fifth  and  sixth  characters  to  obtain  the  full  name 

O       A        a       B  ■        V        « 

The  assigning  of  the  value  r  to  the  third  character  was 
confirmed  by  the  occurrence  of  the  same  character  as 
the  fifth  in  the  name  Y,  while  the  value  //  occurring  as 
the  fourth  character  in  the  scries  for  "king"  and  in  the 
name  X  also  fitted  in  with  Y,  though  it  ultimately 
proved  to  be  erroneous.   He  thus  could  read  Y  as 

Kb.  hb.  a.  a.**  b.  an.     ■ 

which  could  very  well  be  the  original  form  of  a  Persian 
name  distorted  by  the  Greeks  to  Xerxes.30 

Passing  to  the  name  of  the  father  of  Darius,  his 
decipherment  of  Darius  and  Xerxes  gave  him  the  values 
of  the  third,  fifth,  ninth  and  tenth  characters  as 


RTT.SC.  «=1rT  .TIT  .IMF.  <W  .F4-.TR 

■B.  A.  (.  .         B.         ■) 


The  eighth  because  of  its  frequent  occurrence  he  as- 

*•  Or  a.  Note  that  in  this  name  the  third  sign  has  an  additional 
horizontal  stroke  and  that  the  fifth  sign  lacks  a  third  horizontal 
stroke — <lue  to  slight  defects  in  Xiebuhr's  copies  which  were  easily- 
recognized  as  such  by  scholars. 

10  In  Babylonian  inscriptions  the  name  appears  as  Khishiarshi, 
which  is  quite  close  to  the  correct  Persian  form  Khshayarsha. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


77 


ramed  to  be  also  the  vowel  a.81  The  Greek  form  of 
Darius'  father  was  Hystaspis,  but  several  other  forma 
were  known  from  various  sources,  including  Goshtasp 
or  Gushtasp  and  Vishtaspo.  Grotefend  assumed  the 
original  consonant  to  have  been  g 33  and,  accordingly, 
he  supplied  the  values  for  the  remaining  characters 
as  g  for  the  first,  o  for  the  second,  t  for  the  fourth,  s  for 
the  sixth,  p  for  the  seventh,  and  thus  obtained  the 
reading 

O.      O.     IH.         T.         A.        ■.     P.        U.         a.         ■) 


He  had  thus  succeeded  in  puzzling  out  three  proper 
names  and  the  word  for  king;  he  could  feel  tolerably 
certain  that  he  had  correctly  identified  the  two  kings, 
Darius  and  his  son,  Xerxes,  as  the  authors  of  the  two 
inscriptions.  It  was  subsequently  shown  that  he  had 
erred  in  a  number  of  the  values  assigned  by  him  to  the 
fourteen  signs,  but  the  way  had  been  opened  for  further 
progress. 

Taking  up  the  two  inscriptions  B  and  G  for  further 
comparison,  he  noticed  that  the  third  word  in  both  was 
the  same.  The  analogy  with  the  stereotyped  form  of 
the  Pehlevi  inscriptions  suggested  that  this  word  was 
an  adjective  like  "great,"  descriptive  of  the  preceding 
word  king.  The  fourth  and  fifth  words  likewise  agreed 
in  both  B  and  G.  The  former  was  again  the  word  for 
king,  while  the  latter  was  king,  plus  four  signs,  which 
indicated  some  form  of  this  word.  The  stereotyped 
form  of  the  Pehlevi  inscriptions  read :  X  king  great, 
king  of  kings.    Grotefend  assumed  the  same  model  for 

11  It  turned  out  to  be  h. 

"  It  turned  out  to  be  v,  the  form  Vishtaspo,  found  in  Zend  liter- 
ature, being  closer  to  the  original  than  the  late  form  Gushtasp  or 
Goshtasp.  The  three  additional  signs  (8,  9,  10)  a,  b,  e,  Grotefend 
regarded  as  an  attached  ending. 


78 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  Persepolitan  inscriptions,  which  enabled  him  to 
read  B  as 

Darius,  great  king,  king  of  kings 
and  G  as 

Xerxes,  great  king,  king  of  kings. 

Then  followed  in  G  the  name  Darius  with  the  word 
king,  and  thirdly,  the  series  of  signs  which,  occurring 
in  both  inscriptions,  he  had  assumed  to  be  the  word  for 
son,  with  the  preceding  name  in  the  genitive.33  He 
thus  could  read  all  of  G  except  the  last  word,  as 

Xerxes,  great  king,  king  of  kings, 

son  of  Darius  king,34 

In  B  there  were  five  words  which  he  could  not  deter- 
mine by  this  process. 

Darius,  great  king,  king  of  kings, 

king 3r> son  of  Goshtaspa  (i.e.,  Hystaspis) 


to 


3ft 


• 


As  for  the  values  of  the  word  for  son  and  the  plural  of 
the  word  for  kings,  some  of  the  signs  had  already 
occurred  in  the  proper  names.    So  in  the  three  signs 

which  he  had  identified  as  son,  the  middle  one  was  the 
character  to  which,  in  the  name  of  Darius,  he  had  given 
the  value  u.  Prompted  by  the  existence  of  a  word 
"bun"  in  Pehlevi  in  the  sense  of  offspring,  his  guess  of 
b  or  p  for  the  first  sign  of  the  word  for  son  was  cor- 
rect,87 his  conjecture  for  the  third  as  n  was  far  off, 

33  Indicated  by  the  three  additional  signs  a,  h,  e,  as  in  the  ease 
of  Goahtasp. 

"  Of  the  last  word  consisting  of  nine  signs  he  could  read  a  .  kh .  a 
.  .o.sh.o.h,— i.e.t  all  except  the  fourth  and  fifth. 

■*  G  did  not  have  the  signs  for  king  at  this  point. 

••  Four  words  of  which  the  first  was  identical  with  the  last  word 
in  G. 

87  The  same  as  the  seventh  sign  in  Goahtasp.  The  correct 
reading  of  the  word  for  son  was  putra,  identical  with  the  Zend  word. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


79 


since  the  correct  reading  was  shown  by  Sir  Henry  Raw- 
linson,  in  1847,  to  be  tr.  Similarly  his  supposition  for 
the  second  and  fourth  signs  of  the  ending  added  to  king 
— indicating  the  plural — as  $  and  o  were  both  wrong.  A 
Danish  scholar,  Rask,  in  1826,  correctly  determined  the 
values  as  n  and  m  respectively.  Nor  did  Grotefend  have 
more  success  in  his  attempt  to  read  the  additional  words 
in  B  or  the  last  word  in  G.  There  was  thus  still  much 
left  to  do  before  it  could  be  said  that  a  firm  basis  had 
been  secured  for  the  decipherment  of  the  Persepolitan 
inscriptions. 

Grotefend 's  method  had  been  successful  in  deter- 
mining with  tolerable  certainty  the  reading  of  the 
three  proper  names,  but  when  he  attempted  to  read 
other  words,  he  floundered  about  and  generally  went 
wrong.  The  errors  made  by  Grotefend  were  seized 
upon  as  a  basis  of  attack,  and  only  scant  acknowledg- 
ment was  made  of  his  success  in  identifying  the  three 
proper  names.  The  Gottingen  Academy  published 
merely  an  extract  of  his  attempt  at  decipherment  in 
1802,3*  and  it  was  not  until  three  years  later  that  a  fuller 
account  of  his  decipherment  appeared  as  an  appendix 
to  Heeren's  work  on  the  "Politics,  Intercourse  and 
Trade  of  the  Principal  Nations  of  Antiquity,*  ** 
Meantime  Grotefend  had  profited  by  some  of  the 
criticism  passed  on  his  efforts  and  had  succeeded  in 
reading  the  last  word  in  inscription  G,  identical  with 
the  second  in  line  five  of  B  as  Ach&menian,  so  that  he 
could  read  this  inscription  completely  as 

Xerxes,  great  king,  king  of  kings,  son  of 
Darius,  king,  the  Achaemenian. 

81  Nicety  years  later  Grotefend 's  paper,  because  of  its  historic 
interest,  was  published  in  full  by  the  Gottingen  Academy,  together 
with  three  others  subsequently  presented  by  him.  See  Nachrichten 
d.  Kgl.  Gesells.  d.  Wis*.  1893,  No.  14,  pp.  573-616. 

*■  Ideen  iiber  die  Politik,  den  Verfcehr  und  den  Handel  der 
vornehmsten  Volker  der  alien  Welt,  2ded.  (Gottingen,  1805).  [Eng- 
lish translation,  London,  1854.] 


80 


JABYLONXA  AND  ASSYRIA 


To  have  thus  determined  the  ancient  designation  of 
Aclnemeniau  by  which  all  the  Persian  rulers  from 
Cyrus  down  were  known  was  a  considerable  step  in 
advance. 

A  striking  confirmation  of  Grotefend 's  identifica- 
tion of  the  name  of  Xerxes  was  furnished  by  Saint- 
Martin,  in  1823,  who  took  up  the  fourfold  inscription 
on  an  alabaster  vase,  published  as  far  back  as  1762,40  and 
which,  as  now  was  apparent,  contained  an  inscription 
in  the  three  classes  of  cuneiform  script,  besides  an 
Egyptian  inscription  enclosed  in  a  cartouche,.  The 
Egyptian  name  had  been  read  by  Champollion  as 
iL Xerxes,  great  king/'  and  Saint-Martin  showed  that 
the  cuneiform  inscription  in  Class  I  tallied  completely 
with  the  signs  read  in  inscription  G  by  Grotefend  as 
Xerxes,  followed  by  the  words  fur  "king"  and  "great." 
In  this  way  there  was  established  a  mutual  confirmation 
of  the  key  to  the  reading  of  both  the  hieroglyphic  and 
the  old  Persian  inscriptions.  Other  Oriental  philolo- 
gists now  took  up  the  task.  A  Banish  scholar,  Rask, 
in  a  study  on  the  Zend  language,41  showed  its  affilia- 
tion to  Sanskrit,  though  a  separate  language  and  quite 
as  old  as  Sanskrit,  and  that  it  was  closely  related  to  the 
language  of  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions,  as  Grotefend 
had  indeed  assumed.  He  was  able  to  correct  Grote- 
fend *s  reading  of  the  genitive  plural  attached  to  the 
word  for  "king,"  and  thus  at  one  stroke  definitely  de- 
termined the  correct  value  of  two  signs  (m  and  n)  that 
had  not  occurred  in  proper  names.  His  philological 
training  also  enabled  him  to  prove  that  each  sign  in 
Class  I  could  have  only  a  single  value  and  not,  as  Grote- 
fend supposed,  more  than  one.  The  establishment  of 
this  principle  marked  a  forward  step  in  determining 

40  By  A.  de  Caylus  in  his  Recueil  d'Antiquites  Egy-pticnnes,  etc., 
vol.  v.,  (Paris,  1762),  p.  79,  seq.t  and  Plate  XXX. 

41  Observations  sur  Em  alphabets  Zend  et  Pehlevi  (Journal 
Asiatique,  1823,  vol.  ii,  pp.  143-150),  followed  by  a  more  elaborate 
work  in  1826. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


81 


le  signs  in  this  class  that  stood  for  vowels.  Further 
progress  in  the  study  of  old  Persian,  or  Zend  as  it  was 
at  that  time  called,  was  made  by  the  most  eminent 
Persian  scholar  of  his  day,  Eugene  Boumouf,  of  Paris. 
As  a  result42  he  could  correct  Grotefend's  reading  of 
the  word  for  "great1'  following  that  of  king  and  he 
determined  the  values  of  two  more  signs,  k  and  z,  while 
Saint-Martin,  whose  name  has  already  been  mentioned, 
correctly  assumed  that  Vishtaspa  was  an  older  form 
than  Goshtasp  for  Hystaspis,  and  correctly  read  the 
initial  sign  of  the  cuneiform  form  of  the  name  as  v 
instead  of  g.  A  further  advance  was  signalled  by  the 
ippearance  of  a  comprehensive  work,  in  1836,  on  the 
old  Persian  inscriptions  (as  the  monuments  of  Class  I 

rere  henceforth  to  be  called),  by  a  German  Orientalist, 
Christian  Lassen.43  Examining  anew  the  basis  of  the 
lecipherment  so  far  as  it  had  proceeded,  he  confirmed 

le  identification  of  the  proper  names  as  made  by 

Jrotefend,  but  showed  that  the  word  for  "king"  and 
for  the  plural,  while  correctly  guessed  by  Grotefend, 

lad  been  incorrectly  read.44  In  all,  seven  signs  were 
sorrectly  determined  by  Lassen's  researches,  so  that 
next  to  Grotefend,  of  whose  identifications  eleven  were 
definitely  accepted,  he  has  a  larger  share  to  his  credit 
than  any  other  of  the  early  decipherers. 

A  result,  however,  of  Boumouf  *s  and  Lassen's  ae- 
rate studies  was  to  show  that,  while  it  was  tine,  as 

task  had  maintained,  that  each  sign  had  only  one  value, 
the  reverse  of  the  proposition  that  a  single  letter  was 

(represented  by  one  sign  was  not  true.     Thus,  three 
signs  having  the  value  d  had  been  found,  two  for  g, 

**  Commeniaire  sur  le  Yagna,  (Paris,  1833)  and  Memoir e  sur 
deux  Inscriptions  Cuneiformes  (Paris,  1836). 

**  Die     Altpersisch.cn   Keilinschriften    von   Persepolis    (Bonn, 
1836). 

"Instead  of  Kh.sh.e.h.Lo.h,  it  should  be  read  Kh.sh.a.ia. 
t.i.ia — the  fifth  sign  being  t  and  the  sixth  i,  besides  ta  instead  of 
h  for  the  fourth  and  seventh  signs. 
6 


82 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


two  for  k,  three  for  m  and  two  for  n,  r  and  t  If  the 
cuneiform  script  of  Class  I  was  an  alphabetic  form  of 
writing,  what  could  this  mean?  The  solution  of  the 
problem  was  due  to  the  combined  efforts  of  three 
scholars,  Edward  Hincks,  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  and 
Jules  Oppert,*5  who  definitely  established  the  fact  that 
the  use  of  signs  having  the  same  consonantal  value 
differed  according  to  the  vowel  that  followed.  So  the 
one  form  of  d,  g,  k,  m,  n  occurred  only  in  case  the  follow- 
ing sign  was  the  vowel  a,  whereas  the  other  sign  for  d 
and  m  was  used  before  the  vowel  i,  the  third  sign  for  d 
and  m  and  the  alternate  one  for  g,  k,  n,  r  before  the 
vowel  u,  while  in  the  case  of  the  two  signs  for  t,  one  was 
used  before  a  or  i  and  the  other  before  u. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  a  few  words  must  be  said 
of  Sir  Henry  C.  Rawlinson,  who  in  many  respects  was 
the  most  remarkable  of  the  early  decipherers,  not  even 
excluding  Grotefend.  While  in  the  service  of  the 
English  army46  in  Persia,  his  attention  was  directed 
to  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  scattered  throughout  the 
country.*7  He  copied  some  of  them  and  began  to  study 
the  strange  looking  characters.  He  prepared  a  list  of 
the  signs  used  and  without  even  knowing  of  the  work 
of  Grotefend,  de  Sacy,  Saint-Martin,  Rask,  Bournouf 
and  Lassen,  started  in  the  year  1835  to  decipher  the 
proper  names  in  the  shorter  inscriptions.  Uncon- 
sciously he  followed  exactly  the  same  method  as  Grote- 

i5  The  papers  of  Hincks  on  the  subject,  were  published  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  for  1846-1847  j  those  of 
Rawlinson  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  for  1846- 
1851;  while  Oppert's  work  on  Das  Lautsystem  des  Altpcrsischen 
appeared  in  Berlin  in  1847. 

48  See  A  Memoir  of  Major-General  Sir  Henry  Crcswicke  Rawlin- 
son, (London,  1898)  by  his  brother,  George  Rawlinson. 

tT  Besides  Persepolis,  trilingual  inscriptions  showing  the  same 
three  classes  of  cuneiform  script  had  been  discovered  at  Elvend, 
Hamadan,  Murgab,  Mesdjid,  Mader-i-Suleiman,  Naksh-i-Rustam, 
in  addition  to  the  large  one  on  the  rock  at  Behistun.    See  page  83. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


83 


fend,  and  by  a  strange  coincidence  the  first  three  names 
read  by  him  were  Darius,  Xerxes  and  Hystaspis.  The 
key  to  the  decipherment  of  Class  I  was  thus  actually 
found  twice,  though  the  credit  as  the  pioneer  belongs 
to  Grotefend.  Rawlinson  realized  that  in  order  to  de- 
termine the  full  syllabary,  that  is  to  identify  all  of  the 
forty-two  characters  used  in  Class  I,  a  study  of  a  large 
number  of  proper  names  was  required.  He,  therefore, 
devoted  his  special  attention  to  a  long  inscription  cut 
into  a  rock  at  Behistim  on  the  high  road  leading  from 
Perscpolis  westwards  into  the  Euphrates  Valley. 
While  the  inscriptions  found  elsewhere  were  brief,  con- 
sisting of  from  4  to  7  or  8  lines,  this  one  contained  some 
400  lines  in  each  of  the  three  varieties  of  the  cuneiform 
script.  The  task  of  copying  this  remarkable  document, 
on  a  rock  that  rose  several  hundred  feet  above  the 
road,  was  in  itself  a  testimony  to  Rawlinson 's  skiU  and 
endurance.  The  inscription  proved  to  have  been  placed 
there  by  King  Darius,  who  recorded  on  it  in  an  im- 
pressive manner  his  suppression  of  rebellions,  his  con- 
quests of  numerous  peoples  and  other  achievements  of 
his  reign.48  There  were  indications  that  the  king  had 
erected  some  kind  of  an  ascent  to  the  rock  so  that 
passers-by  might  mount  to  see  it,  but  all  traces  of  such 
an  approach  had  disappeared,  Rawlinson  had  to  con- 
struct a  scaffold  to  reach  the  inscription  and  at  certain 
portions  of  the  rock  was  suspended  by  a  rope  so  as  to 
obtain  as  complete  a  copy  as  possible. 

Here  he  had  an  inscription  with  several  hundred 

49  In  1907,  Messrs.  King  and  Thompson  published  the  standard 
edition  of  Sculptures  and  Inscription  of  Darius  the  Great  on  the 
Rock  of  Behistun,  in  Persia,  with  the  complete  text  of  all  three  classes 
of  the  inscription,  together  with  transliteration,  translation  and  com- 
mentary. At  the  head  of  the  inscription,  the  king  has  portrayed 
himself,  surmounted  by  the  symbol  of  his  god,  Ahura  Mazda,  in  the 
act  of  receiving  as  prisoners  a  series  of  nine  usurpers  to  the  throne, 
whom  he  had  succeeded  in  overthrowing. 


84 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


names  of  places  that  could  be  picked  out.  By  dint  of 
great  perseverance  he  managed  to  read  and  identify 
with  the  help  of  classical  writers  and  mediaeval  geog- 
raphers a  number  of  such  names,  which  furnished  him 
with  the  values  of  no  less  than  18  additional  signs.  By 
the  year  1839  he  was  able  to  read  200  lines  of  the 
Persian  text  of  the  Behistun  inscription.  Rawlinson 
thus  worked  out  for  himself  the  entire  syllabary  of  the 
old  Persian  cuneiform  script  through  the  identification 
of  the  proper  names  in  the  Behistun  inscription.48  That 
his  conclusions,  independently  reached  and  without  Iris 
ever  knowing  of  the  work  done  by  others,  agreed  in 
almost  all  particulars  with  the  results  obtained  through 
the  combined  efforts  of  Orotefend,  Saint-Martin,  Bask, 
Bournouf,  Lassen,  Kincks  and  Oppert  was  a  guarantee 
of  their  reasonableness  and  helped  to  inspire  confidence 
in  the  method  pursued.  After  the  first  steps  had  been 
taken  by  Rawlinson,  and  he  learned  of  what  the  scholars 
of  Europe  were  doing,  he  entered  into  correspondence 
with   them,  more   particularly   with   Bournouf    and 

40  To  make  the  method  pursued  by  Rawlinson  clear,  let  me  re- 
mind the  reader  of  the  illustrations  given  above,  p.  76,  of  names  of 
persons  which  could  be  identified  when  a  few  of  the  letters  com- 
prising the  name  could  be  read.  Similarly  in  the  case  of  names  of 
places.  When,  e.g.,  through  having  deciphered  the  names  of  Darius 
and  Xerxes  the  signs  for  d,  r,  u  and  a  had  been  ascertained,  it  was 
a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  complete  a  name  written  with 
seven  characters 

.  .u.d.r.a.... 


by  supplying  m  as  the  first  letter  and  filling  up  the  end  of  the  line 
by  ya  and  obtain  mudraya  which  a  Byzantine  writer  gave  as  the 
equivalent  of  Egypt  and  which,  moreover,  came  close  to  the  Arabic 
designation  of  Misr  for  Egypt.  If,  now,  the  same  character  to 
which  Rawlinson  had  assigned  the  value  m  occurred  in  another 
proper  name,  he  could  readily  decide  whether  the  supposition  was 
correct.  In  this  way,  as  in  working  out  a  rebus,  one  conjecture  was 
either  confirmed  or  refuted  by  another* 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


85 


Lassen,  Rawlinson  availed  himself  of  the  results  of 
Bournouf  *s  researches  which  revealed  the  character  of 
the  Zend  or  old  Persian  language  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  be  capable  of  being  utilized  in  the  decipherment  of 
the  Persian  inscriptions.  The  comparison  with  San- 
skrit was  another  aid  that  secured  valuable  results,  for 
after  the  real  relationship  of  Zend  to  Sanskrit  had  been 
determined  M  the  Sanskrit  could  be  used  to  settle  the 
meaning  of  words  where  Zend  failed.  By  such  methods 
the  guesses  and  conjectures  of  the  earlier  decipher- 
ments were  subjected  to  reliable  tests  and  were  con- 
firmed, rejected  or  modified  as  the  case  might  be.  The 
appearance  of  Rawlinson 's  papers  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,51  therefore,  placed  the  de- 
cipherment on  an  absolutely  sure  foundation.  The 
"rebus"  stage  had  been  definitely  passed,  and  it  merely 
remained  for  the  successors  of  Rawlinson  to  modify 
some  of  his  results  in  minor  points.  In  1862  Prof. 
Friedrich  Spiegel's  work  on  the  old  Persian  inscrip- 
tions," giving  the  text  and  translations  of  all  the  in- 
scriptions of  Class  I  and  accompanied  by  a  grammar  of 
the  language  and  a  glossary,  set  the  coping  stone  to  the 
structure  that  had  been  so  laboriously  constructed 
through  the  combined  efforts  of  some  of  the  best 
scholars  of  the  day. 

60  Thus,  e.g.,  it  was  found  that  *  in  Sanskrit  consistently  changed 
to  h  in  Zend  and  old  Persian,  Sindhus  becoming  Hindu  in  Zend, 
and  Hindus,  i.e.,  India,  in  old  Persian;  dasyu,  "people"  in  San- 
skrit, was  dakyu  in  Zend  and  old  Persian,  etc.  It  will  easily  be  seen 
how  important  such  a  law  of  consonantal  interchange  was  in  inter- 
preting endings  to  words,  as  well  as  words  themselves  in  the  Perse- 
politan  inscriptions. 

61  Above,  p.  82,  note  45. 
"  Die  Altpersischen  Kcilinschriften  im  Orundtexte  mit  Ueher- 

setzung,  Qrammatik  und  Glossar.  A  second  edition  appeared  in 
1881.  Spiegel  also  embodied  in  his  work  a  history  of  the  decipher- 
ment. 


96 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


n 

It  was  by  the  roundabout  way  of  the  old  Persian 
inscriptions  that  the  approach  to  the  decipherment  of 
the  cuneiform  material,  found  in  such  abundance 
through  the  excavations  conducted  during  the  past 
seventy  years  in  the  mounds  covering  Babylonian  and 
Assyrian  cities,  was  made.  Even  before  Botta  's  finds  at 
Khorsabad  arrived  at  the  Louvre,  it  was  apparent  from 
the  few  specimens  of  cuneiform  inscriptions  from  the 
Euphrates  Valley  brought  to  London  by  Rich  early  in 
the  nineteenth  century,"  that  the  script  was  of  the  same 
style  as  Class  III  on  the  trilingual  inscriptions  from 
Perseopolis  and  neighboring  districts.  It  was  some 
time,  however,  before  the  obvious  conclusion  was  drawn 
that  Class  III  represented  the  script  and  language  used 
in  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  Grotefend  began,  in  1814, 
to  publish  the  results  of  his  study  of  the  writing  of 
Class  III  on  the  few  inscriptions  that  had  come  from 
Babylonia,  but  it  was  not  until  1818  that  he  recognized 
the  identity  of  the  two  and  explained  the  variations  as 
merely  incidental— modifications  of  the  same  order  as 
the  differences  in  handwritings.  He  also  recognized 
the  much  larger  number  of  combinations  of  wedges 
forming  the  signs  in  Class  III  and  in  the  inscrip- 
tions from  Babylonia.  Indeed,  by  the  year  1819  he 
had  distinguished  no  less  than  287  signs.  For  all 
that,  he  assumed  that  the  Babylonian  cuneiform 
also  represented,  like  the  Persian  variety,  an  al- 
phabetic script,  though  with  this  modification, 
that  the  sign  varied  according  to  the  vowel  ac- 
companying a  consonant.  In  this  way  he  hoped  to 
account  for  the  larger  number  of  signs  in  Class  III  as 
against  Class  I. 

As  more  and  more  inscriptions  were  brought  out  of 
the  mounds  at  Khorsabad,  at  Nimrud,  at  Kouyunjik  and 
Kaleh-Shergat  and  subsequently  from  the  mounds  in 

"Above,  p.  14. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


87 


the  south,  the  identity  of  both  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian varieties  of  cuneiform  characters  with  Class  III 
of  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions  was  confirmed,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  nature  of  the  variations — entirely 
secondarv  in  character — came  to  be  better  understood. 
There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that  Class  III  rep- 
resented the  variety  of  cuneiform  writing  used  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  and,  therefore,  also  the 
language  spoken  in  these  countries.  Because  of  the 
accident  that  the  first  large  finds  were  made  at  north- 
ern mounds,  i.e.,  on  the  site  of  Assyrian  cities,  the 
language  of  Class  III  was  designated  as  Assyrian, 
and  the  science  that  grew  up  out  of  the  discoveries 
in  the  northern  and  southern  mounds,  Assyriology. 
Since,  however,  the  north  owes  her  civilization,  her 
literature  and  art  largely  to  the  south,  it  is  more 
proper  to  speak  of  the  language  'as  Babylonian  or  as 
Babylonian- Assyrian. 

That  Persian  kings  should  commemorate  themselves 
and  their  deeds  in  the  language  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  in  addition  to  doing  so  in  the  official  language 
of  the  kingdom  was  quite  natural,  seeing  that  the  old 
realm  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  formed  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  lands  conquered  by  Cyrus  and  re- 
tained by  his  successors,  just  as  the  third  variety  of 
cuneiform  script  on  the  monuments  of  Persian  rulers 
— Class  II — proved  to  be  °4  the  language  of  the  large 
district  of  Elam  within  which  the  Persian  kings  had 
established  their  capital  cities,  Persepolis,  Susa  and 
Ecbatana. 

The  Babylonian  on  all  the  trilingual  inscriptions 
from  ancient  Persia  was  evidently  a  translation.  The 
inscription  in  old  Persian  as  the  official  language  of  the 
kingdom  was  the  original — occupying,  therefore, 
always  the  first  or  most  prominent  position  of  the  three 
— of  which  those  in  the  two  other  varieties  of  script 


54  See  below,  p.  107  seq. 


88 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


were  translations.  The  decipherment  of  Class  I,  there- 
fore, served  as  a  vantage  point  for  attacking  Class  III, 
old  Persian  cuneiform  furnishing  the  same  aid  in  de- 
ciphering Babylonian  cuneiform  script  as  the  Greek 
translation  on  the  Rosetta  stone  served  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  reading  of  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics. In  both  cases,  as  indeed  in  the  decipherment 
of  any  unknown  script,  the  beginning  was  made  with 
proper  names,  which  could  be  picked  out  through  a 
comparison  of  their  relative  position  in  inscriptions  of 
Class  I  and  Class  III,  or  in  the  case  of  the  Rosetta 
Stone,  by  a  study  of  their  relative  position  in  the  Greek 
and  hieroglyphic  texts.  When  proper  names  occurred 
more  than  once  in  any  inscription  or  occurred  in  several 
inscriptions,  as  was  the  ease  in  the  old  Persian  monu- 
ments, most  of  which  dated  from  Darius  and  Xerxes, 
there  could  of  course  be  no  difficulty  in  picking  out  in 
Class  III  the  series  of  signs  corresponding  to  these 
names  in  Class  L  The  case  was  somewhat  more  difficult 
when  a  proper  name  occurred  only  once,  since  Class  III 
did  not  have  the  very  convenient  diagonal  wedge 
separating  words  from  one  another,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  with  a  large  number  of  names,  both  of  persons 
and  places  revealed  through  the  large  inscription  at 
Behistun,  the  constant  occurrence  of  the  same  signs 
in  a  variety  of  names  that  could  be  read  in  Class  I 
furnished  a  control  in  picking  out  the  series  of  signs  in 
Class  III,  corresponding  to  any  particular  name  in 
Class  I 

The  early  decipherers  like  Lowenstern,65   Long- 

"  Essai  de  dechiffrement  de  Uecriture  assyrienne  pour  servir 
a  V explication  du  monument  de  Khorsabad  (Paris,  1845).  Lowen- 
Bteni  attempted  to  explain  the  Khorsabad  inscriptions  without  hav- 
ing recourse  to  the  Persian  inscriptions,  with  results  that  were 
naturally  disastrous.  He  did  guess  correctly  that  the  Assyrians 
spoke  a  Semitic  language,  but  this  led  him  to  make  the  absurd 
attempt  to  explain  the  cuneiform  characters  as  modifications  of 
Hebrew  letters. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


89 


M  and  Saulcy"  floundered  about  considerably. 
the  successful  explorer  of  Kborsabad,  alone 


pener 
Botta, 

made  a  really  valuable  contribution  by  Ms  careful  study 
of  the  numerous  inscriptions  found  by  him  and  which 
showed  a  large  number  of  words  evidently  identical  and 
yet  written  in  different  ways.  By  making  a  list  of 
these  variants  he  paved  the  way  for  the  discovery  made 
by  Hincks — that  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  script  was 
not  alphabetical  but  syllabic  and  ideographic,  that  is  to 
say,  that  words  were  written  by  means  of  signs,  each 
having  a  syllabic  value,  or  by  means  of  a  single  sign 
standing  for  the  word.  This  discovery  was  announced 
by  Hincks,  in  I847,58  and  threw  an  entirely  new  light 
on  the  character  of  the  third  variety  of  cuneiform 
script.  With  signs  expressing  syllables  or  standing  for 
entire  words,  it  at  once  became  clear  why  there  should 
be  so  many  signs  in  this  variety  of  script  The  variant 
ways  of  writing  the  same  word,  as  shown  by  Botta,  also 
became  clear,  Not  only  could  a  word  be  written  by  a 
single  sign  used  ideographically  or  by  a  series  of  signs, 
each  having  a  syllabic  value,  but  since  syllables  were 
of  three  kinds,  (a)  consonant  and  vowel,  (b)  vowel  and 
consonant,  (c)  consonant,  vowel  and  consonant,  it  was 
possible  to  write  a  word  syllabically  in  various  ways, 
Thus  the  word  for  god,  ilu,  could  be  written  by  a  single 
sign  or  it  could  be  spelled  out  and  written  by  two  signs 
t  and  in;  and  if,  e.g.,  the  syllabic  lab  formed  part  of  a 
word,  it  might  be  written  by  one  sign  having  that  value 

••  Several  articles  in  the  Revue  Archeologique  for  1847  in  reply 
to  Lowenstern 's  second  work,  Expose  <Ls  (Utnenfs  constitutifs  du 
systtme  de  la  troisUme  icriture  cunci forme  de  Persepolis  (Paris, 
1847). 

•7  Recherches  sur  Vhriiure  cunei forme  dit  systeme  Assyrien 
(Paris,  1849).  Both  Longperier  and  Saulcy  made  some  correct  and 
ingenious  guesses,  by  the  side,  however,  of  so  many  errors  that  their 
work  did  not  mark  any  real  progress. 

"On  the  Third  Persepolitan  Writing,  etc.  (Transactions  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  voL  xxi,  Part  II,  pp.  249-256.) 


90 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


or  further  subdivided  into  la  and  ab  and  written  with 
two  signs.  Until  this  discovery  was  made  by  Hincks 
there  was  no  certainty  even  as  to  the  reading  of  the 
proper  names  that  could  be  picked  out  in  Class  III 
through  comparison  with  Class  I.  The  signs  constitut- 
ing the  names  could  be  chosen,  but  since  the  number  of 
signs  forming  a  name  in  Class  III  did  not  agree  with 
the  number  in  Class  I,  it  was  evidently  impossible  to 
determine  the  value  of  each  sign.  Guess  followed  upon 
guess,  conjecture  upon  conjecture,  until  Hincks  defi- 
nitely demonstrated  the  general  character  of  the  script 
of  Class  III,  wfhich  represented  the  same  language  as 
that  found  on  the  monuments  of  Assyria  and  Baby* 
Ionia.  It  was  now  possible  by  a  comparison  between 
proper  names  in  Classes  I  and  III  of  the  Persepolitan 
inscriptions  to  read  the  syllabic  equivalents  in  Class  III 
for  the  alphabetical  signs  in  Class  I.  Thus,  e.g.,  the 
seven  signs  representing  the  name  Xerxes  in  Class  I 

Kh.sh(a).y.a.r.sh.a 
corresponded  to  six  signs  in  Class  111,  to  be  read 

Khi-shi-  *i-ar-shi~i. 
Similarly  the  seven  signs  in  Class  I  for  the  name  Darius 

D.a.r,h,c.u.sh 
corresponded  to  five  signs  in  Class  III,  the  correct 
reading  of  which  turned  out  to  be 
Da-ri-'i-a-mush 
but  which  might  also  be  written  with  six  signs 

Da-ri-  'i-a-a-mush. 
The  word  designating  these  rulers  as  Achsemenians  ap- 
peared in  Class  I  as 

H(a)  .  kh .  a . m(a)  . n . i .  sh . i , y (a) . 
These  nine  signs  were  represented  in  Class  III  by  seven 
signs  to  be  read 

A-kha-ma-an-nish-ski-  'i 
or  by  eight  signs 

A-kha-ma-an-ni-ish-shi-  'i 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


91 


nish  could  be  written  either  by  one  sign  or  by  two 
(ni  and  ish).  An  important  resnlt  of  Hincks'  in- 
vestigations, which  greatly  facilitated  the  picking  out 
of  proper  names,  both  in  Class  III  and  in  the  unilingual 
inscriptions  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  was  the  observa- 
tion that  names  of  persons  were  preceded  by  a  vertical 
wedge,  names  of  gods  by  a  sign  which  signified 
"heaven,**  while  names  of  countries  and  of  cities  also 
had  special  "determinatives/'  as  they  were  called.  It 
was  thus  possible  to  be  quite  certain  as  to  the  beginning 
of  names  at  least,  whether  in  the  trilingual  or  in  the 
unilingual  inscriptions.  A  secure  basis  for  determin- 
ing the  correct  reading  of  signs  occurring  in  proper 
names  was  obtained  upon  the  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  the  vowels  alone  represented  the  alphabetic  ele- 
ment in  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  cuneiform  script. 
It  was  now  possible  also  to  proceed  with  a  greater  feel- 
ing of  assurance  to  the  reading  of  ordinary  words  in 
Class  III,  such  as"son,"  "king,"  "country,"  "father," 
"god,"  "heaven,"  "earth,"  which  occurred  with  suffi- 
cient frequency  to  enable  scholars,  by  a  comparison 
with  Class  I,  to  pick  out  the  series  of  signs  or  the  single 
sign  with  which  they  were  written.  At  this  juncture, 
in  1851,C0  Henry  Rawlinson  again  appeared  on  the 
scene  with  the  publication  of  the  Babylonian  section 
.,  Class  III)  of  the  great  Behistun  inscription.110 
Accepting  Hincks*  principle  of  the  syllabism  of  the 
Babylonian  cuneiform,  he  was  enabled  through  the 
comparison  of  the  several  hundred  names  of  persons 
and  places  occurring  in  Class  I  with  the  corresponding 
manner  of  writing  these  names  in  Class  III— now 
rendered  comparatively  simple  through  the  observation 
of  the  determinatives  preceding  names  of  persons,  cities 
and  countries, — to  settle  the  value  of  a  very  large 
number  of  the  signs,  in  fact  over  200  of  them.    This 

"  Analysis  of  the  Babylonian  Text  at  Behistun  (Journal  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xiv,  pp.  i-civ). 
w  See  above,  p.  83. 

1 


92 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


marked  a  great  progress  indeed.  Rawlinson  was  also 
enabled  to  add  to  the  number  of  ideographic  writings 
that  could  be  regarded  as  certain,  including  the  signs 
designating  son,  father,  great,  lord  and  more  the  like. 
Hincks  followed  up  his  own  researches  by  preparing 
lists  of  the  Assyro-Babylonian  characters  and  by  1855 
he  had  fixed  the  value  of  252  combinations  of  wedges. 

The  investigations  of  Hincks  and  Rawlinson  had 
shown  beyond  possible  doubt  another  fact  which  at  first 
sight  seemed  very  strange,  that  a  single  sign  could  have 
more  than  one  syllabic  value.  To  this  feature  the  name 
u polyphony"  was  given;  and  though  the  proposition 
encountered  opposition,  it  was  not  long  before  it  re- 
placed the  supposed  "homophony,"  proposed  by 
Luwcnstern,  according  to  which  different  signs  were 
supposed  to  have  the  same  value ;  and  that  in  this  way 
the  existence  of  so  many  signs  was  to  be  accounted 
for,  Jules  Oppert,  who  in  1855  gave  a  survey  of  the 
stage  reached  in  the  decipherment  of  Babylonian 
cuneiform,  came  to  the  support  of  Hincks  and  Rawlin- 
son and  showed  that  even  a  larger  number  of  signs  than 
Hincks  had  suspected  had  more  than  one  sound,  and  it 
subsequently  turned  out  that  outside  of  the  vowels  the 
number  that  had  only  one  syllabic  value  was  very 
limited. 

We  owe  to  Oppert  also  the  utilization  of  an  impor- 
tant help  for  determining  the  various  syllabic  values 
for  a  sign  and  for  proving  that  corresponding  to  " poly- 
phony" we  have  also  the  phenomenon  of  "polyide- 
ography"  in  Babylonian  cuneiform,  that  is  to  say,  the 
circumstance  that  the  same  sign  may  also  stand  for 
several  words,  though  usually  in  some  logical  connec- 
tion with  each  other.  Among  the  tablets  of  Ashur- 
banapaPs  library  brought  to  the  British  Museum  by 
Layard,01  were  long  lists  of  signs  arranged  in  columns. 
Oppert  went  to  the  British  Museum  to  study  these  lists 
and  found  that  they  formed  part  of  a  large  text-book 

61  See  above,  p.  22,  seq. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


93 


iterature  prepared  by  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  scribes 
to  facilitate  instruction  in  cuneiform  writing.  The 
lists  were  of  various  kinds,  consisting  usually  of  three 
columns  with  a  single  sign  in  the  central  column  and  a 
series  of  signs  in  each  of  the  two  other  columns.  Hincks 
had  recognized  that  in  some  of  these  lists  the  signs  in 
the  right  hand  column  were  intended  to  indicate  the 
syllabic  value  of  the  sign  in  the  central  column.  Thus 
a  certain  sign  $4TT  was  repeated  three  times  in  the  central 
column,  while  the  right  hand  column  contained  different 
signs,  as  f  ollows : 

m  =  ^r  hp- 
m*=*&  mi 

The  value  of  the  signs  of  the  right  hand  column  having 
been  determined  from  a  comparison  of  proper  names 
of  Class  III  with  those  of  Class  I  of  the  Persepolitan 
inscriptions,  Hincks  could  interpret  the  lines  as 
follows: 


The  sign  fflf  has  the  syllabic  value  of  li~ib 

1  da-an 
1  ka-aL 


u 


u 


a 


That  is  to  say  the  sign  in  question  may  be  read  in  the 
composition  of  words  as  lib,  dan  or  kal,  as  the  case  may 
be.  It  will  readily  be  seen  how  with  long  lists  of  such 
signs,  the  principle  of  syllabism  and  polyphony  was  not 
only  definitely  confirmed,  but  the  syllabic  values  of  the 
signs  were  ascertained  with  equal  definiteness.  It  is 
one  of  the  many  merits  of  Oppert  to  have  demonstrated 
the  full  significance  of  these  syllabaries  (as  the  lists 
were  called)  in  the  further  progress  of  decipherment 
The  right  hand  column  in  some  of  these  syllabaries  con- 
tained a  series  of  signs  which  furnished  in  syllabic 
writing  the  words  which  a  sign  represented,  or  in  other 


94 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


words  the  ideographic  values,  while  the  left  hand 
column  furnished  the  syllabic  values.  Thus  in  the  case 
of  a  sign  ^Bf  we  had  a  series  as  f ollov. 


ki-i 


u 


& 


U4u9  "side" 
ash-n<t  "pla< 
ir-si-tu, 4  *  earth  " 


which  meant  that  the  sign  in  question  as  an  ideograph 
could  be  read  ittu,  ashru  or  irsitu  with  the  meanings 
"side/*  "place"  and  "earth"  respectively,  while  when 
used  as  a  syllable  entering  in  the  composition,  written 
syllabically  it  had  the  value  ki.  BO  that  a  word  hi  rib 
meaning  "within"  could  be  written  by  the  sign  -jJH 
(i.e.,  ki)  and  the  sign  ^lf  which,  in  addition  to  the 
syllabic  values  above 02  pointed  out,  has  also  the  value 
rib.     Again,  a  sign  *£IJ  appeared  in  a  list  as  follows: 


shi-ti 

tgu 

me-nu-tu,  kl number" 

ag 

it 

it-ku,  "strong" 

la-ag 

a 

kir-ba-an-nu,  "offering" 

i.e.,  the  sign  in  question  as  an  ideograph  could  be  read 
in  one  of  the  three  fashions  indicated,  while  correspond- 
ing to  the  three  ideographic  values,  there  were  also 
three  syllabic  values.  An  invaluable  aid  had  thus  been 
secured  for  the  reading  of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian 
inscriptions  and  an  aid,  moreover,  whose  authenticity 
could  not  be  doubted,  since  we  had  before  us  the  syllabic 
and  ideographic  values  of  the  signs  that  the  school- 
masters of  ancient  Mesopotamia  had  themselves  com- 
piled as  a  help  towards  reading  the  inscriptions  on  the 
monuments  and  with  a  view  of  initiating  their  pupils 
into  the  method  of  writing  cuneiform,  as  well  as 
reading  it. 

Now  to  be  sure  the  existence  of  various  syllabic  and 
ideographic  values  for  one  and  the  same  sign  added  to 
the  difficulty  of  reading  inscriptions  of  Glass  I  IT,  but  it 

•»  Page  93, 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


95 


as  not  long  before,  through  the  combined  efforts  again 
of  Hineks,  Rawlinson  and  Oppert,  it  was  found  that  the 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  scribes  used  certain  devices 
to  simplify  the  eumbersomeness  of  their  cuneiform 
script.  In  case  of  a  sign  X  which  could  be  read  lib,  dan, 
kalr  rib,  etc.,  the  final  consonant  was  frequently  re- 
peated by  following  up  the  sign  in  question  with  a  sign 
beginning  with  that  consonant.  Thus,  if  after  the  sign 
in  question,  a  sign  Y  was  written  which  had  the  value 
hi,  it  was  an  indication  that  the  preceding  sign  was  lib; 
if  the  next  sign,  however,  was  U,  it  was  an  indication 
that  in  that  particular  instance  the  sign  X  was  to  be 
read  kal;  if  the  next  sign  was  win,  it  indicated  that  the 
sign  was  to  be  read  dan.  Resides,  when  once  the  char- 
acter of  the  Babylonian  language  was  ascertained,  it 
was  possible,  in  a  large  number  of  cases,  to  decide  with- 
out difficulty  which  of  several  values  attached  to  a  sign 
should  be  chosen  in  order  to  produce  a  word  which  could 
represent  either  a  possible  verbal  form  or  a  noun 
formation  in  the  language. 

This  brings  us  to  the  important  question  as  to  the 
language  of  Class  III  and  of  the  Babylonian- Assyrian 
inscriptions,  and  how  it  was  possible,  after  spelling  out 
the  words  of  an  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  inscription  to 
determine  to  what  class  of  languages  the  words  be- 
longed. At  first,  scholars  were  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  their  individual  guesses.  Grotefend,  who  was  the 
first  to  call  the  language  Assyrian,  refrained  from  com- 
mitting himself  beyond  expressing  his  opinion  that  he 
could  find  no  indications  that  the  language  belonged  to 
the  Semitic  class.  Gesenius,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
Semitic  scholars  of  his  day,  declared  that  it  belonged 
to  the  Medo-Persian  group.  Philoxenus  Luzatto,  the 
son  of  a  distinguished  Hebrew  scholar,  published  two 
monographs  in  1849,w  in  which  he  proposed  the  thesis 
that  the  Assyrian  was  allied  to  Sanskrit.  There  were 
others,  however,  who,  starting  from  the  Biblical  tra- 

68  Le  Sanscritisme  de  la  Langue  Assyrienne,  etc.  (Padua,  1849). 


96 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


dition,*4  wliicli  placed  Ashur  (or  the  Assyrians)  among 
the  sons  of  Shem,  conjectured  that  the  language  was 
Semitic.  The  question  could  not  be  definitely  decided 
until  it  was  possible  to  reach  a  degree  of  certainty  as  to 
the  exact  way  in  which  proper  names  and  the  mos 
common  words  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  could 
read.  With  the  recognition  of  the  syllabism  of  I 
Baby  Ionian- Assyrian  cuneiform  a  beginning  in 
direction  was  made ;  and  when,  by  following  the  methoc 
introduced  by  Hincks  and  his  successors,  such  words 
a-bu  ("father"),  ra-hu-u  ("great"),  shar-ru  ("king"), 
a-na-ku  ("I")  and  verbal  forms  like  i-zan-uan  ("] 
beautifies"),  i-kash-xhad  ("he  conquers"),  were 
spelled  out, — the  meanings  of  which  were  settled  by 
comparison  with  the  corresponding  words  in  inscrip- 
tions of  Glass  I  or  through  the  context — the  comparison 
with  the  common  Semitic  noun  ab  for  "father,"  with 
the  Semitic  stem  nib  ("great"),  with  the  Hebrew  sar 
("prince"),  with  the  Hebrew  pronoun  of  the  first  per- 
son anoki  and  with  the  common  Semitic  verbs  zandnu 
and  kashadu  in  the  sense  of  "adorning"  and  "conquer," 
the  indications  pointed  unmistakably  towards  Assyrian 
as  one  of  the  group  of  languages  known  as  Semitic*' 

fl*  Gen.  10,  22,  The  grouping  of  nations  in  this  chapter  as  soe 
of  Shem,  Ham  and  Japhet  has  of  course  no  scientific  value,  though 
the  list  is  remarkable  as  an  indication  of  the  knowledge  of  the  day 
and  because  of  the  traditions  that  it  embodies.  The  division  ap- 
pears to  be  into  three  zones.  The  peoples  living  in  the  northern 
zone  are  grouped  as  sons  of  Japhet,  those  in  the  middle  as  sons  of 
Shem  and  those  in  the  south  as  sons  of  Ham.  Babylonia  is  placed  in 
the  southern  zone,  Assyria  in  the  northern.  The  chapter  is  com- 
posite in  character  and  full  of  late  insertions  and  glosses.  The 
system  is  abandoned  in  the  case  of  the  Canaanites,  who  are  placed 
among  the  sons  of  Ham  because  of  the  hostile  feelings  of  the 
Hebrews  towards  them. 

ea  It  is  now  customary  to  range  the  Semitic  languages  into  two 
groups:  (1)  Northern  Semitic  to  which  Hebrew,  Phoenician  and 
the  various  dialects  of  Aramaic  and  Syriac  and  Babylonian- Assyrian 
belong,  and  (2)  Southern — Arabic,  Hitnyaritic,  Ethiopic  with  their 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


97 


The  peculiarities  of  the  Semitic  languages  are  so 
marked  that  one  cannot  long  be  in  doubt  in  the  case  of 
a  new  language  discovered  whether  it  belongs  to  the 
group  or  not.  The  forms  or  moods  of  the  Semitic  verb 
are  also  of  a  stereotyped  character,  and  a  Semitist  can 
tell  almost  at  a  glance  whether  any  given  verbal  f  orcn  is 
a  possible  one  in  a  Semitic  language.  Furthermore  the 
agreement  in  vocabulary  among  the  Semitic  languages 
is  also  considerable,  though  this  varies  naturally  among 
the  subdivisions  of  the  group.  Step  by  step,  little  by 
little,  the  difficulties  were  overcome,  one  problem  after 
the  other  was  solved  until,  in  1857,  a  test  was  made 
which  showed  that  the  decipherment  of  Assyrian  rested 
on  a  firm  basis.  At  the  suggestion  of  H.  Fox  Talbot, 
who  was  among  the  early  students  of  Assyriology,  an 
Assyrian  historical  text  was  chosen  and  four  scholars 
— Hincks,  Rawlinson,  Oppert  and  Talbot  himself— 
agreed  to  send  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  a  transla- 
tion independently  made.  No  translation  of  the  in- 
scription had  ever  been  published.  The  plan  was  car- 
ried out,  and  the  commission  appointed  to  compare  the 
four  translations 8fi  found  the  agreement  to  be  so  com- 
plete in  all  essentials  as  to  carry  conviction  even  to 
those  who  had  hitherto  questioned  the  soundness  of 
the  method  pursued.  But  the  skeptics  were  not  all 
silenced,  and  even  when  a  few  years  later  another  re- 
markable confirmation  of  the  correctness  of  the  de- 
cipherment was  quite  accidentally  furnished,  many 
scholars — among  them  distinguished  investigators  like 
Ernest  Renan  in  France  and  Alfred  Gutschmid  in 
Germany — continued  to  query  the  results  reached.   The 

various  dialects.  Other  scholars  prefer  a  division  into  eastern  and 
western.  See  on  these  divisions  Brockelmann  Ts  Grundriss  der 
vergleichcnden  Grammatik  der  Semitischen  Sprachen  (Leipzig, 
1908-1913),  I,  p.  5,  seq. 

••Published  by  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  1857.     The  text 
chosen  was  an  inscription  of  Tiglath-pileser  I,  King  of  Assyria, 
who  ruled  c.  1130-1100  b.c. 
7 


98 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


reason  for  the  doubt  still  existing  in  the  minds  of  such 
scholars  as  Renan  and  Gutschmid  *7  was  due  largely  to 
the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  the  polyphonic  char- 
acter of  the  signs  and  to  the  puzzling  complications  in 
the  writing  of  native  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  names 
of  persons  and  places,  in  consequence  of  their  being 
written  in  part  ideographically  and  in  part  syllabically. 
It  was  natural  to  raise  the  question,  since  writing  is  a 
medium  of  expressing  facts  and  ideas,  why  a  people 
should  have  developed  a  script  so  confusing  that  eacl 
sign  might  have  one  of  several  values,  and  furthermore 
how  could  one  ever  be  sure  in  the  case  of  signs  used 
ideographically  that  any  proposed  reading  was  the 
correct  one,  since  a  sign  could  stand  for  a  number  of 
words,  even  though  there  was  an  association  of  ideas 
between  the  words  so  represented1?  The  answer  to  these 
questions  could  not  be  furnished  until  some  light  had 
been  thrown  on  the  origin  of  cuneiform  writing.  That 
the  wedge-shaped  signs  represented  originally  pictures 
and  were  modifications  of  hieroglyphics  was  to  be  con- 
cluded from  the  fact  that  a  sign  could  stand  for  an 
entire  word.  In  the  case  of  some  of  the  signs,  the 
pictorial  origin  was,  moreover,  quite  apparent  Thus, 
the  sign  for  "god"  and  " heaven"  which  had  ordinarily 
the  form  >^~,  in  older  inscriptions,  particularly  in 
those  found  in  mounds  of  the  south,  had  a  form  like  &- 
and  it  was  an  obvious  conclusion  that  this  represented 
a  star,  A  sign  ^  signifying  "hand"  showed  even  in 
this  late  form  its  origin  from  a  picture  of  the  ringers 
of  the  hand ;  nor  was  it  difficult  to  recognize  in  the  form 
HTTT,  standing  for  "house",  its  development  from  the 
picture  of  some  kind  of  construction,  especially  when 
one  compared  the  late  form  with  a  more  elaborate  one 
S§,  found  in  some  inscriptions  of  an  older  period  or 

fT  Renan  voiced  his  doubts  in  an  elaborate  criticism  of  Qppert's 
Expedition  scientifique  en  Mhopotamie,  published  in  the  Journal 
des  Savants  for  1859,  pp.  165-186;  244-260;  360-68;  Gutschmid  in 
Neuc  Bcitragc  zur  Geschichte  des  alien  Orients  (Leipzig,  1876). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


99 


which  imitated  the  older  forms  of  the  script.  Oppert, 
as  far  back  as  1856,  had  shown  that  the  sign  TH  signi- 
fying "fish"  had  been  evolved  from  the  picture  of  a 
fish,  the  outlines  of  which — head,  body,  tail  and  fins — 
could  still  be  distinguished  in  a  more  archaic  form  $  , 
found  on  Babylonian  monuments.  As  a  means  of 
facilitating  the  reading  of  signs  used  ideographieally, 
Oppert  and  others  had  also  pointed  out  the  use  of  a  sign 
intended  to  be  read  syllabieally  and  placed  after  an 
ideograph  to  indicate  the  final  syllable  of  the  word 
designated.  By  means  of  this  phonetic  complement  it 
was  possible  to  feel  certain,  e.g.,  that  the  sign  for  "god" 
and  "heaven"  when  followed  by  a  sign  having  the  value 
/ a  was  to  be  read  elit a ,  "upper" ;  a  sign  that  could  stand 
for  umu  (day),«rrw  (light)  and  sham shtt  (sun)  was  to 
be  read  as  um  if  followed  by  ma,  whereas  if  "sun"  was 
intended,  it  was  accompanied  by  a  phonetic  complement 
shu  or  ski  or  ash,  which  indicated  that  it  was  to  be  read 
sh  a  mshu(  nominative  ease),  sham  ski  (gen.),  or  shamash 
(construct  state).  All  this  was  of  some  help,  but  un- 
certainty still  existed  in  very  many  cases,  and  even 
the  explanation  of  the  hieroglyphic  origin  of  the  wedges 
did  not  account  for  the  many  values  that  a  sign  used 
phonetically  might  have,  for  there  seemed  to  be  no  con- 
nection between  the  syllabic  and  ideographic  values. 

It  was  again  the  ingenuity  of  Hincks  that  suggested 
the  solution.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  British  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  in  1850,°* 
Hincks  threw  out  the  hint  that  while  the  oldest  cunei- 
form writing — that  of  Class  III  and  the  Assyrian- 
Babylonian  inscriptions — was  Semitic,  the  origin  of  the 
script  was  not  Semitic.  He  based  this  view  upon  the 
insufficiency  of  the  cimeif orm  syllabary  for  distinguish- 
ing between  softer  and  harder  palatals  and  dentals 
that  form  an  ingredient  of  the  consonantal  system  in 

**On  the  Language  and  the  Mode  of  Writing  of  the  Ancient 
Assyrians  (Transactions  of  the  twentieth  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  p.  140,  seq.). 


100 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  Semitic  languages,  and  that  in  other  respects  it 
was  not  suitable  for  writing  words  belonging  to  a  lan- 
guage of  the  Semitic  group.  He  drew  the  inference 
that  the  writing  had  been  adopted  by  the  Babylonians 
and  Assyrians  from  some  Indo-European  people  which 
had  conquered  the  country;  he  expressed  the  further 
belief  that  this  people  had  relations  with  Egypt  from 
which  the  cuneiform  script  was  ultimately  drawn. 
Bawlinson  at  first  also  accepted  the  Egyptian  origin 
of  the  cuneiform  script,  but  afterwards  advanced  the 
view  that  the  people  who  conquered  Babylonia  and  im- 
posed their  script  on  the  country  were  Scythians — a 
view  that  was  modified  by  Oppcrt  to  the  extent  of  desig- 
nating the  language  of  the  inventors  as  Casdo-Scythiant 
and  who  compared  it  to  some  of  the  languages  of  the 
Turanian  group  of  Russia.  On  the  assumption  of  a 
foreign  origin  for  the  cuneiform  script,  it  was  possible 
to  explain  the  circumstance  that  there  was  no  agree- 
ment between  the  ideographic  and  the  syllabic  values 
of  a  sign.  The  syllabic  values  represented  the  non- 
Semitic  words  which  were  the  equivalents  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  inventors  to  the  ideographic  values  of  the 
sign  in  the  Semitic  idiom  of  Babylonia.  Thus,  if  in  the 
class  of  three-columned  syllabaries  above  referred  to,69 
we  find  the  sign  nf-  in  the  middle  column,  explained  as 
follows : 

an   n^r    ilu 

This  meant  that  an  was  the  equivalent  in  Casdo- 
Scythian  for  the  Semitic  ilu,  "god. p '  The  Babylonians, 
when  adopting  the  foreign  script,  conceived  the  idea 
of  using  the  non-Semitic  word  an  as  a  syllable  with 
which  to  write  words — particularly  verbal  forms  and 
inflected  nouns — which  could  not  well  be  expressed 
ideographically.  Thus  the  non-Semitic  word  an  would 
be  used  syllabically  to  write  a  Semitic  word  ending  in 
an  like  dan-an,    The  theory  assumed  that  the  inventors 

••  Above,  p.  92,  seq. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


101 


script  used  it  as  an  ideographic  medium,  and  that 
the  borrowers  took  the  forward  step  of  converting  it 
into  a  mixed  ideographic  and  syllabic  script.  In  this 
way  the  various  syllabic  values  of  a  sign  admitted  of  a 
reasonable  explanation,  while  the  various  ideographic 
values  could  in  most  cases  be  accounted  for  by  asso- 
ciation of  ideas.  The  case  would  be  analogous  if  the 
French  had  adopted  a  form  of  sign-writing  from  the 
English,  and  at  the  same  time  used  the  English  sounds 
of  the  signs  to  spell  words  in  their  own  language,  while 
the  same  sign  when  standing  for  a  word  would  of  course 
be  read  as  a  French  word.  Thus  the  French  word  del 
would  be  written  with  the  sign,  which  would  be  read 
"heaven"  in  English,  or  it  would  be  written  syllabically 
ci  -f  el,  in  which  case  the  sign  which  in  English  desig- 
nated "sea"  would  be  used  because  it  had  the  same 
sound  as  the  first  syllable  of  the  French  word  for 
heaven,  while  the  second  syllable  would  be  written  by 
the  English  sign  for  iAell, "  because  the  sound  of  the 
English  word  fitted  the  case.     In  the  same  way,  the 

bylonians  wrote  their  words  in  non-Semitic  form 
but  pronounced  them  as  Semitic. 

The  designation  Scythian  or  Casdo-Scythian  was 
vehemently  contested  by  various  scholars.  Rawlinson 
himself  abandoned  it  in  1855  in  favor  of  Akkadian,  be- 
cause of  the  frequency  with  which  the  name  Akkadian — 
occurring  as  Akkad  also  in  Gen.  10,  10 — was  mentioned 
in  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  inscriptions.  In  1869/° 
Oppert,  basing  his  arguments  on  the  occurrence  of  the 
title,  "king  of  Siimer 71  and  Akkad"  in  the  inscriptions 
of  very  ancient  rulers,  proposed  the  terai  Sumerians 

70  Observations  stir  I'origine  des  Ckaldeens,  in  the  Comptes- 
Iu  nilus  de  la  Soci^te  francaise  de  Numismatique  et  d  Archeologie, 
I,  pp.  73-76. 

11  Sumer  is  represented  in  the  Old  Testament  as  Shinar,  e.g.,  in 
Gen.  11,  2,  where  mankind  is  described  as  congregated  in  the  "valley 
of  Shinar";  in  Gen.  14,  1,  Amraphel,  who  is  Hammurapi,  is  desig- 
nated as  "King  of  Shinar.*'    See  above,  p.  4,  note  3. 


the 
En 


102 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


for  the  non-Semitic  settlers  of  the  Euphrates  Valley, 
and  Akkadians  for  the  Semitic  population.  This  view, 
after  a  long  controversy  with  many  changes  of  front 
on  the  part  of  scholars,  has  been  finally  demonstrated 
to  be  the  correct  one. 

But  who  were  these  Sunierians?  Where  did  they 
come  from?  And  what  was  the  nature  of  the  language 
which  they  spoke?  Before  taking  up  this  question  a 
few  words  need  to  be  said  about  a  long  and  animated 
controversy  regarding  Sumerian  and  the  Sumerians 
which  began  in  1874,  and  which  has  continued  down 
to  the  present  time.  While  the  theory  of  the  non- 
Semitic  origin  and  character  of  the  cuneiform  script 
loomed  to  furnish  an  explanation  for  some  of  the  prob- 
lems involved  in  so  complicated  and  comprehensive  a 
form  of  writing  as  the  Babylonians  developed  and 
passed  on  to  the  Assyrians,  new  difficulties  arose  as 
more  material  was  brought  out  of  the  mounds,  difficul- 
ties that  did  not  appear  to  be  met  by  the  Sumerian 
theory  as  we  may  briefly  call  it.  In  the  first  place  it 
was  observed  that  many  of  the  syllabic  values  of  the 
signs  were  portions  of  a  Semitic  word  for  which  the 
sign  stood.  So  a  sign  *3W  which,  both  in  syllabaries 
and  in  texts,  stood  for  the  word  reshu,  "head,"  has  as 
its  syllabic  values  sag  and  fish.  The  former  was  the 
non-Semitic  word  for  head,  according  to  the  Sumerian 
theory,  but  the  other  value,  risk,  evidently  stood  in 
some  relationship  to  the  Semitic  equivalent  of  the  sign 
used  as  an  ideograph.  Again,  if  among  the  syllabic 
values  of  a  sign  which  stands  for  the  Semitic  dcmnu, 
"strong,"  we  find  dan,  it  was  evident  that  this  value 
was  an  abbreviation  of  the  Semitic  word.  Such  in- 
stances began  to  multiply  and  when  it  was  found  that 
at  least  one  hundred  syllabic  values  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  representing  pails  of  Semitic  words,  the  con- 
elusion  was  forced  upon  scholars  that  the  Babylonian- 
Assyrian  syllabary  was  in  part  at  least  Semitic.  To 
account  for  this  the  adherents  of  the  Sumerian  theory 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


103 


maintained  that  the  Babylonians  after  adopting  the 
non-Semitic  mode  of  writing  and  taking  the  step  of  con- 
verting it  from  an  ideographic  to  a  mixed  ideographic 
and  syllabic  script,  continued  to  develop  cuneiform 
writing  and  added  to  the  Sumerian  words  employed  as 
syllabic  values,  parts  of  the  Semitic  words  for  which 
the  signs  stood,  but  used  likewise  as  syllabic  values. 
Meanwhile,  cuneiform  texts  of  the  older  period  were 
earning  to  light  from  mounds  in  the  south,  from  which 
it  became  clear  that  the  Assyrian  civilization  was  merely 
an  offshoot  of  the  culture  that  arose  in  the  south,  in 
the  Euphrates  Valley.  It  was  therefore  in  the  south 
that  the  solution  of  the  problem  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
culture  and  the  script  was  to  be  sought.  Now,  as  one 
proceeded  backwards,  the  texts  appeared  to  be  more 
and  more  ideographic  in  character.  Ere  long  texts  were 
found  which  seemed  to  be  entirely  ideographic,  and 
such  texts  increased  largely  in  numbers  with  the  un- 
earthing of  the  ancient  city  of  Shirpurla  (or  Lagash) 
through  de  Sarzec.72  The  inscriptions  on  the  many 
statues  and  votive  offerings  of  Gudea  and  of  other 
rulers  were  written  in  the  older  style,  which  scholars 
now  began  to  regard  as  Sumerian ;  and  yet  even  on  these 
monuments  Semitic  words  appeared  and  again  some  of 
the  oldest  inscriptions  of  the  south  were  clearly  Semitic 
and  not  Sumerian. 

What  did  all  this  mean?  If  the  Sumerians  origi- 
nated the  Sumerian  culture  and  were  the  inventors  of 
the  script,  we  should  expect  to  find  the  oldest  inscrip- 
tions to  be  in  Sumerian  and,  what  is  more,  in  pure 
Sumerian;  and  it  ought  also  to  be  possible  to  recon- 
struct the  original  language  of  the  cuneiform  script  in 
such  a  way  as  to  place  the  language  in  some  definite 
group,  as  the  Babylonian  and  the  Persian  cuneiform 
had  been.  Various  attempts  of  this  kind  to  find  affilia- 
tions between  Sumerian  and  Turkish  or  between  Su- 
merian and  some  Ural-Altaic  groups  failed,    It  was 

12  Above,  p.  39  $eq. 


104 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


therefore  natural  that  a  douht  should  have  arisen 
whether  the  Sumerian  represented  a  real  language  or 
whether  the  Sumerians,  if  they  existed,  were  the  origi- 
nators of  the  culture  and  the  inventors  of  the  script. 
The  Sumerian  theory  manifested  at  first  such  weak- 
nesses that  one  of  the  most  eminent  Semitists  of  his  day. 
Joseph  Halevy,  was  led  to  put  forward  the  thesis  that 
what  scholars  regarded  as  the  Sumerian  language  we 
nothing  but  an  older  ideographic  method  of  writing  the 
Semitic  Akkadian  or  Babylonian,  which,  in  the  cours 
of  its  evolution,  had  adopted  many  more  or  less  arti- 
ficial devices  for  expressing  niceties  of  thought  and 
grammatical  complications.  The  thesis  carried  with  it 
the  Semitic  origin  of  the  Euphratean  culture  and  prac- 
tically eliminated  the  Suineriaus  altogether.  Sumei 
and  Akkad  as  they  appeared  on  the  tablets  of  earh 
rulers  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  were  purely  geograph- 
ical designations  of  the  southern  and  northern  portioi 
of  the  valley  respectively.73  Even  the  opponents  of 
Halevy  were  obliged  to  admit  that  he  had  revealed  weak 
points  in  the  Sumerian  theory  and  it  is  due  to  him 
that  Assyriology  was  deflected  from  the  erroneous  direc- 
tion into  which  it  had  turned.  It  is  now  admitted  that 
many  of  the  hymns  and  incantations  which  scholars 
had  been  accustomed  to  regard  as  Sumerian  are  com- 
paratively late  compositions,  or  that  they  have  come 
down  to  us  in  a  late  revised  form  betraying  Semitic 
influences.  It  is  also  generally  admitted  to  a  larger 
extent  than  was  formerly  the  case  that  the  Semitic 
settlers  of  Babylonia  had  a  large  share  in  perfecting 

"It  is  not  possible  to  present  more  than  a  bare  outUne  of 
Halevy 's  thesis,  which  has  many  ramifications.  He  has  written 
voluminously  and  always  with  critical  acumen  on  the  subject.  For 
details  the  reader  is  referred  to  Halevy  s  articles  in  the  Revue 
Semitique  edited  by  him.  An  epitome  of  his  theory  will  be  found 
in  his  recent  work,  Precis  d'Allograpkie  Assyro-Babylonienne 
(Paris,  1912).  A  summary  of  the  controversy  up  to  1898  will  be 
found  in  F.  H.  Weissbach's  Die  Sumerische  Frage  (Leipzig,  1898). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


105 


the  cuneiform  syllabary,  that  many  texts  which  are 
written  ideographical  ly  are  in  reality  Semitic  com- 
positions and  are  to  be  read  as  such,  and  that  even  in 
genuine  Sumerian  texts  Semitic  influence  is  apparent; 
>ut  for  all  that,  evidence  sufficient  in  both  quantity  and 
quality  has  been  brought  forward  to  show  that  the  early 
population  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  was  mixed  in  char- 
acter, that  by  the  side  of  Semites  we  find  a  Turanian 
race  clearly  depicted  on  the  monuments  and  demarcated 
by  their  physiognomies  and  by  differences  of  costume 
from  the  Semitic  population. 

We  owe  to  Eduard  Meyer7,1  the  definite  establish- 
ment of  this  thesis.  On  the  linguistic  side,  evidence 
for  the  existence  of  a  Sumerian  language  has  recently 
been  brought  forward  which  does  not  rest,  upon  guess- 
work or  on  pure  conjecture,  but  is  made  conclusive  by 
the  study  of  the  oldest  texts  of  Babylonia.  As  long  as 
Sumerian  was  simply  to  be  deduced  from  the  ideo- 
graphic values  of  the  signs,  one  was  justified  in  doubt- 

lg  whether  we  were  in  the  presence  of  a  real  language, 
for  since  ideographs  could  be  read  as  Semitic  as  well 
is  Sumerian,  it  was  indeed  possible  to  regard  a  "Su- 

ierianM  inscription  as  merely  another  form  of  waiting 

Babylonian — a  very  artificial  form  to  be  sure  and  yet, 
since  all  writing  is  a  more  or  less  artificial  device,  a 
possible  form.  When,  however,  the  proof  was  fur- 
nished from  the  texts  that  Sumerian  words  could  be 
written  phonetically  as  well  as  ideographically,  that 
even  in  Sumerian  the  device  existed  of  writing  a  word 
as  in  Babylonian  either  by  a  single  sign  representing 
the  word  or  by  signs  representing  the  syllables  of  which 
it  is  composed,  there  could  no  longer  be  any  question 
as  to  the  genuine  linguistic  character  of  Sumerian.  In 
addition  to  the  evidence  for  phonetic  writing,  which 

jecame  more  and  more  abundant  as  scholars  penetrated 
deeper  into  the  study  of  the  oldest  texts  from  ancient 

74  SumerUr  und  Semiten  in  Babylanien  (Berlin,  1906). 


106 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Babylonian  centres,75  the  proof  of  a  fixed  grammatical 
structure  for  nouns  and  verbal  forms  was  furnished  in 
a  manner  to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  those  who 
had  hitherto  maintained  a  skeptical  or  non-committal 
attitude  towards  the  linguistic  evidence. 

Taking  up  now  the  question  who  these  Sumerians 
were,  an  impartial  verdict  must  confess  that  the  prob- 
lem still  remains  obscure.  We  know  that  they  were  not 
Semites ;  their  features  as  depicted  on  the  monuments 
reveal  a  Turanian  type,  but  the  term  Turanian  is  too 
vague  to  furnish  any  definite  clue.  Various  indications 
point  to  their  having  come  from  a  mountainous  region. 
They  brought  the  worship  of  their  native  gods  with 
them,  and  the  nature  of  these  deities  suggests  their 
having  had  their  original  seats  on  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains. It  is  to  the  Sumerians  that  we  owe  the  construc- 
tion  of  the  stage-towers  of  which  remains  have  been 
found  in  all  the  important  centres  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria*  Built  in  imitation  of  mountains  with  an  imi- 
tation of  a  mountain  road  leading  to  the  sanctuary  at 
the  top,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  thought  of 
housing  the  gods  in  this  way  arose  in  the  minds  of  a 
people  accustomed  to  the  worship  of  gods  whose  seats 
were  on  mountain  peaks.  There  is  other  evidence 
pointing  in  the  same  direction  of  an  original  mountain 
home  whence  the  Sumerians  came  at  a  remote  period  to 
settle  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  Now  there  are  moun- 
tains to  the  east  and  north-east  of  Babylonia,  and  it  is 

T*We  owe  largely  to  F,  Thure&u-Dangm  the  progress  made 
during  the  past  decade  in  the  interpretation  of  these  texts.  See 
especially  this  author's  Lgs  Inscriptions  de  Sumer  et  d'Akkad(  Paris, 
1905) ;  also  in  German  translation,  Die  Sumerischen  und  Akkad- 
ischen  K&nig&insckriften  (Leipzig,  1907).  See  now,  for  an  exposi- 
tion of  Sumerian  grammar,  DeUtzsch's  Grundzuge  der  Sumerischen 
Qrammatik  (Leipzig,  1914)  and  Dr.  Arno  Poebel's  volume  of 
Sumerian  grammatical  texts  in  the  publication  above  referred  to 
(page  46)  and  which  represents  a  further  advance  on  DeUtzsch's 
investigations. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


107 


therefore  possible  that  the  Sumerians  entered  the 
Valley  from  this  side — perhaps  under  pressure  of  other 
mountain  hordes  coming  from  the  north.  But  they 
may  also  have  come,  as  has  been  recently  maintained, 
from  mountainous  districts  to  the  northwest  of  Meso- 
potamia. Whether  the  Sumerians  already  found  the 
Semites  in  possession  of  Babylonia  and  then  conquered 
them,  or  whether  the  Sumerians  were  the  earliest 
settlers  and  founded  the  culture  in  that  district  is 
another  question  that  has  not  been  definitely  decided, 
with  the  evidence,  however,  in  favor  of  the  view  that 
the  Semites  were  the  first  on  the  ground  and  that  they 
had  already  made  some  advance  in  culture  when  the 
Sumerians  swept  down  on  them  and  imposed  their  rule 
and  such  culture  as  they  brought  with  them  on  the 
older  settlers. 

in 

Here  we  may  rest  our  survey  of  the  decipherment 
of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  cuneiform  writing,  which 
we  have  followed  from  the  successful  unraveling  of  the 
old  Persian  inscriptions  down  to  the  time  when  a  secure 
basis  for  the  decipherment  of  Class  III  had  been  se- 
cured. The  appearance,  in  1859,  of  the  "  Expedition 
scientifique  en  Mesopofcamie  executee  de  1851  a  1854," T0 
the  second  volume  of  which  contained  Oppert's  analysis 
of  the  principles  of  the  decipherment,  may  be  said  to 
mark  the  termination  of  the  second  period  of  cuneiform 
research,  as  the  publication,  in  1849-51,  of  Rawlinson's 
researches  in  the  old  Persian  inscriptions  closed  the 
first  period.  The  third  period,  marked  by  continuous 
publications  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  texts,  chiefly 
by  French  and  English  Assyriologists,  is  one  of  steady 
progress  in  perfecting  the  details  of  the  decipherment. 
New  ideographic  and  syllabic  values  were  constantly 
being  discovered,  improved  readings  took  the  place  of 

T*  The  account  of  the   French   expedition  above   referred   to 

(P-28). 


108 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


earlier  imperfect  ones,  and  the  beginnings  were  made 
towards  a  systematic  treatment  of  the  grammatical 
features  of  the  Babylonian  language,  or  Assyrian  as 
it  continued  to  be  called.  Skepticism,  however,  still 
existed  in  sonic  quarters  and  it  was  not  until  the  ap- 
pearance, in  1872,  of  Eberhard  Schrader 's  Die  As- 
syrisch-Bahi/JotiisrltiH  K<  iliiisrhriften,17  that  what 
may  be  called  the  " trial"  period  came  to  an  end.78 

The  fourth  period  of  cuneiform  research  is  marked 
by  the  participation  of  German  scholarship,  which,  since 
the  pioneer  work  of  G  rote  fend,  had  rather  held  aloof 
in  the  further  struggle  to  unravel  the  mysteries  of  the 
various  kinds  of  cuneiform  script. 

Excepting  Grotefend,  the  work  in  Assyriology  was 
carried  on  by  English  and  French  scholars,  unless  we 
count  Jules  Oppert,  who  was  born  in  Hamburg,  but 
who,  as  a  young  man,  came  to  Paris  and  settled  there 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life,70  among  German  scholars. 
Eberhard  Schradcr  was  the  first  among  the  students  of 
Oriental  languages  in  Germany  to  take  up  Assyriology 
and  when,  in  1875,  the  University  of  Berlin  decided  to 
introduce  the  subject,  Schrader  was  called  to  fill  the 
chair  and  continued  active  till  within  a  few  years  of 
his  death,  in  1908,  Schrader 's  thoroughness  and  sound- 
ness of  scholarship  did  much  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
German  scholars  in  general  in  the  results  of  the  de- 
cipherment, and  after  Gutschinidt's  attack  in  1876,  all 
opposition  practically  ceased.    Schrader  brought  to  his 

TT  Published  in  the  Zeits.  d.  Deutsch,  Morgenlandischen  Qesell- 
sehaft,  vol.  xxvi,  pp.  1-392;  and  then  as  a  separate  volume. 

T8  Gutschmid 's  answer  to  Schrader  (above,  p.  98)  appeared  in 
1876,  hut  it  failed  to  make  any  deep  impression. 

70  See  the  sketch  by  W.  Muss-Arnolt  of  Oppert's  Ufe,  with  a 
complete  bibliography,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  523-556.  No  adequate  biography  of  Edward  Hincks  has  to  my 
knowledge  as  yet  appeared.  A  brief  sketch  with  a  complete  bibli- 
ography, compiled  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  will  be  found  in  the  Journal 
of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  vol.  xiii  and  xiv. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


109 


zij 


tnat  pMIological  nicety  for  which  German  scholar- 

ip  has  so  long  been  distinguished,  and  of  which  at 

at  time  cuneiform  research  stood  much   in   need. 

Schrader's  enthusiasm  for  the  study  attracted  a  number 

f  young  scholars  to  him,  among  them  Friedrich  De- 

itzsch,  the  son  of  the  distinguished  theologian,  Franz 

Delitzsch.    Young  Delitzsch  became  the  founder  of  the 

resent  German  school  of  Assyriology.    First  establish- 

g  himself  as  Privat-Dozent  for  Assyriology  at  Leip- 

g,  then  called  to  Breslau  to  occupy  the  chair  of 

Assyriology,  and  in  1906,  to  Berlin,  he  has  in  the  course 

f  his  career  trained  the  largest  percentage  of  Assyri- 

logists  of  Germany  and  a  large  proportion  of  those  in 

ther  parts  of  the  world,  notably  in  the  United  States 

d  Canada ;  and  those  of  the  present  day  who  did  not 

it  directly  at  his  feet  have  imbibed  inspiration  from 

elitzsch's  fruitful  researches  or  have  been  pupils  of 

elitzsch's  pupils.80 

The  activity  at  the  present  time  in  all  branches  of 

Assyriology  is  largely  due  to  the  stimulus  given  to  the 

tudy  by  Delitzsch  and  his  pupils.    The  museums  of 

London,  Berlin,  Paris  and  Philadelphia  are  steadily 

issuing  new  texts.     Specialization  within  Assyriology 

has  set  in.    Some  scholars  are  devoting  themselves  to 

the    extensive    business    and    commercial    literature, 

others  to  the  religious  texts  and  the  development  of  the 

ligious  ideas  and  the  cult,  others  to  the  study  of 

Babylonian-Assyrian  history,  some  to  the  linguistic 

problems,   some    to    the    further   elucidation   of   the 

Sumerian  texts  and  so  forth. 

Through  the  combined  activity  of  scholars  of  many 
lands,  supplementing  the  discoveries  made  by  explor- 

*°We  owe  to  Delitzsch  the  first  Assyrian  Chrestomathy  (As- 
syrische  Lesestiicke,  1st  ed.,  Leipzig,  1876;  5th  ed.,  1912} ;  the  first 
substantial  grammar  (Assyrischc  Grammatik,  2d  ed.,  Leipzig,  1906, 
also  English  translation,  Leipzig,  1889) ;  and  the  first  Assyrian 
Dictionary  (Assyrisches  Handwortcrbuch,  Leipzig,  1896)  to  which 
he  is  now  adding  a  supplement. 


110 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ing  expeditions,  and  through  the  interpretation  of 
material  unearthed,  which  has  grown,  as  we  have  seei 
to  such  huge  proportions  and  which  is  still  growing,  the 
civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  stands  reveals 
before  us  in  all  its  ramifications  as  one  of  the  great 
forces  in  the  ancient  history  of  mankind,  the  direct  or 
indirect  influence  of  which  is  to  be  seen  in  many  a  pi 
of  our  own  modern  culture. 

IV 

While  not  strictly  within  the  limits  of  our  subject, 
it  will  nevertheless  be  considered  proper  to  close  thi 
chapter  with  a  brief  account  of  the  decipherment  o 
Class  II  of  the  trilingual  inscriptions  of  Persepolis  an 
surrounding  districts.  Already  in  his  first  paper  on 
the  Persepolitan  inscriptions,  Grotefend  added  some 
remarks  on  the  script  of  Class  II  which  he  recognize 
as  more  complicated  than  Class  I,  but  not  so  com- 
plicated as  Class  III,  He  continued  his  researches  in 
this  second  variety  from  time  to  time  and  in  1837  B1 
was  able  to  recognize  the  use  of  a  vertical  wedge  (as 
in  Class  III),  placed  before  proper  names  in  order  to 
distinguish  them. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  1844  that  any  decided 
success  in  deciphering  the  script  of  Class  II  was 
achieved.  In  that  year  appeared  a  work 82  by  a  Danish 
scholar,  Westergaard,  in  which,  through  a  comparison 
of  the  proper  names  in  Class  II  and  Class  I,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  assigning  correct  values  to  18  of  the  signs. 
This  was  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  111  signs  to 


is 
h 

n 


t^Neue  Beilrage  zur  Erlauterung  der  Persepolitanischen  Keil- 
schrtft  (Hanover,  1837). 

82  N,  L.  Westergaard,  Zur  Entzifferung  der  Achamenidischen 
Keilschrift  zweiter  Qattung  (Zeits.  fur  die  Kunde  des  Morgen- 
landes,  vol.  vi,  pp.  337-466) ;  also  published  in  English,  On  the 
Deciphering  of  the  Second  Akhcemenian  or  Median  Species  of 
arrouheaded  Writing  (Memoires  de  la  Soci6te  Rcyale  des  Anti- 
quaires  du  Nord,  1840-44,  pp.  271-439). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


111 


distinguished  in  Class  II,  but  it  was  a  beginning. 

>rogress  would  have  been  more  rapid  had  not  Wester- 
gaard  fallen  into  some  serious  errors  which  had  to  be 
corrected  by  subsequent  researches.  He  picked  out  cor- 
rectly the  signs  representing  the  names  Cyrus,  Darius, 
Xerxes,  Hystaspis,  Achaemenian  and  Persian;  and  he 
also  recognized  the  mixed  syllabic  and  alphabetic  char- 
acter of  the  script,  but  he  erred,  as  was  quite  natural, 
in  the  vowel  signs  and  in  the  selection  of  signs  repre- 
senting syllables  and  those  representing  merely  a  con- 
sonant. For  twenty-two  signs  he  could  not  determine 
any  values  through  the  mere  comparison  of  proper 
names.  Hincks  again  came  to  the  rescue  in  correcting 
some  of  Westergaard's  errors.  In  two  papers  on  the 
subject*3  he  identified  the  three  signs  for  the  vowels, 
a,  i,  u.    He  recognized  the  determinative  placed  before 

le  names  of  deities,  added  nine  signs  to  those  correctly 
sed  by  Westergaard.    The  publication  of  the  version 

)f  Class  II  in  the  great  Behistun  inscription  by  Edward 

lorris,  in  1855,*4  to  whom  Rawlinson  had  given  his 
copies  and  squeezes  of  this  part  of  the  great  rock  in- 
scription, marked  a  decided  advance  through  the  recog- 

rition  by  Norris  of  the  close  relationship  of  the  signs 
of  Class  II  to  those  of  Class  III.  By  this  means  the 
value  of  a  number  of  signs  could  be  fixed  by  comparison 
with  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  signs,  and  when  later 
on  the  principles  governing  the  modifications  that  the 
signs  of  Class  III  had  undergone  in  their  transforma- 
tion to  Class  II,  had  been  ascertained,  the  bulk  of  the 
syllabary  of  the  latter  class  became  perfectly  trans- 

83  (a)  On  the  First  and  Second  Kinds  of  PersepoUtan  Writing, 
(b)  On  the  Three  Kinds  of  PersepoUtan  Writing  and  On  the 
Babylonian  Lapidary  Characters;  both  published  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxi,  Part  II,  pp.  114-131 
and  233-248. 

M  Memoir  on  the  Scythic  Version  of  the  Behistun  Inscription 
(Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv,  pp,  1-213).  The 
paper  was  read  in  1852. 


112 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


parent.  In  tliis  way  the  decipherment  of  Babylonian- 
Assyrian  became  of  service  in  reading  the  second  variety 
of  the  cuneiform  script.  Westergaard  now  took  up  the 
subject  again85  and  succeeded  in  increasing  the  number 
of  signs  correctly  read  to  sixty-seven.  Steady  progress 
was  made  tln-ough  the  efforts  of  various  scholars,  among 
whom  Mi  Haig,  A.  D.  Mordtmann,  Oppert  and  Sayce 
are  to  be  specially  mentioned,  so  that  by  the  year 
1879,  when  Oppert  published  his  work,  Le  Peuph  et 
la  Langtte  des  Medes,  the  decipherment,  so  far  as  the 
rending  of  the  signs  was  concerned,  was  practically 
completed.  The  final  work  on  the  subject,  giving  a  full 
account  of  the  course  of  the  decipherment  and  detailing 
the  results  in  the  most  exact  manner,  is  the  publication 
of  the  inscriptions  of  Class  II  by  Weissbach,  in  1890.8a 
The  question,  however,  as  to  the  language  of  the  inscrip- 
tions was  a  more  difficult  one.  Scholars  wavered  as  to 
the  name  to  be  given  to  the  language.  The  first  sug- 
gestion to  call  it  Scythic  was  abandoned  in  favor  of 
Median,  proposed  by  Oppert,  but  this  designation 
yielded  in  time  to  others  so  that  at  present  it  is  generally 
designated  from  the  region  in  which  it  was  spoken  as 
neo-Susian  or  neo-Elamitie.B7  The  resemblance  of  the 
signs  to  those  of  Class  III  showed  conclusively  that  the 
script  was  a  derivative  from  the  Babylonian- Assyrian 
cuneiform,  and  in  view  of  the  comparative  ease  in  de- 
termining through  this  resemblance  the  values  to  be 
assigned  to  the  113  signs  to  be  distinguished,  and  the 
existence  of  certain  signs  as  in  Class  III,  as  determina- 
tives indicating  whether  a  word  was  the  name  of  a 
person,  a  deity,  a  city  or  a  country,  it  was  possible, 
through  the  comparison  with  Class  I  and  III  on  the 

"In  a  paper  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Danish 
Academy  for  1854,  vol.  ii,  pp.  41-178. 

80  Die  Ach&menideninschriften  zweiter  Art,  herausgegeben  und 
bearbeitet  von  F.  H.  Weissbaeh  (Leipzig,  1890). 

87  The  second  designation  is  at  present  the  one  more  commonly 
employed. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


113 


large  Behistun  inscription  to  fix  the  sounds  of  many 
words  in  the  language,  the  meanings  of  which  were 
furnished  by  the  comparison.  This  extended  to  verbal 
forms  as  well  as  to  nouns,  to  pronouns  and  to  particles. 
The  language  turned  out  to  be  a  type  which  was  neither 
Semitic  nor  Aryan,  and  yet  totally  different  from  the 
Sumerian.  Excavations  conducted  by  the  French  gov- 
ernment for  several  years  at  Susa,  under  the  general 
direction  of  J.  De  Morgan,  brought  to  the  surface  a 
large  number  of  historical  and  votive  inscriptions  and 
hundreds  of  commercial  tablets  such  as  were  found  in 
great  abundance  in  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 
mounds.  The  material  covered  an  extensive  period; 
and  as  it  was  studied  and  interpreted  by  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  Assyriologists  of  the  day,  Vincent 
Scheil,*8  it  was  shown  that  the  language  was  closely 
related  to  that  of  Class  II.  It  was  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  inscriptions  of  this  class  represented  the  lan- 
guage spoken  hy  the  inhabitants  of  Elam,  lying  to  the 
east  and  northeast  of  Babylonia  and  which,  as  we  know 
from  the  annals  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  rulers, 
was  for  many  centuries  the  rival  of  Babylonia  and  at 
various  times  made  inroads  into  the  Euphrates  Valley.89 
The  excavations  at  Susa  confirmed  the  data  derived 
from  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  monuments  as  to  the 
great  age  of  the  Elamitic  kingdom,  for  the  material 
unearthed  carries  us  back  beyond  the  third  millennium 
before  our  era.    The  script  also  shows  traces  of  having 

M  The  results  of  the  remarkably  successful  excavations  at  Susa 
are  being  published  by  the  French  government.  Thirteen  large 
volumes  have  appeared  up  to  the  present  time  under  the  title  of 
Delegation  en  Perse,  of  which  six  are  devoted  to  the  El  ami  tic 
material,  edited  by  Scheil.  The  expedition  also  found  a  magnificent 
series  of  boundary  stones  and  the  famous  Hammurapi  Code,  all  of 
which  were  captured  as  trophies  by  the  Elamites  during  an  in- 
cursion into  Babylonia  in  the  twelfth  century  and  carried  by  them 
to  their  capital  at  Susa.    See  below,  p.  283. 

■•  See  Chapter  III. 


114 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


passed  through  a  long  development,  the  oldest  forms 
representing  a  much  closer  approach  to  the  original 
pictures  from  which  the  linear  wedges  were  derived. 
The  decipherment  of  the  older  Elamitic  inscriptions, 
successfully  inaugurated  by  Scheil,  is  not,  however,  com- 
plete, More  material  will  no  doubt  be  forthcoming 
which  will  enable  scholars  to  clear  up  doubtful  points. 
It  seems  certain  that  the  language  also  changed  some- 
what with  the  lapse  of  centuries  so  that  scholars  now 
distinguish  between  the  oldest  form  of  Elamitic  as 
proto-Elamitic,  and  the  latest  form,  represented  by 
Class  II,  as  neo-Elamitic.  The  relationship  of  the 
Elamitic  and  neo-Elamitic  cuneif  onn  to  the  Babylonian 
is  evident,  but  exactly  how  the  proto-Elamitic  char- 
acters were  derived  from  the  Babylonian  script  is  a 
question  that  must  be  left  open  for  the  present.  As  for 
the  language,  we  must  rest  content  with  the  statement 
that  it  is  of  a  Turanian  type  and  was  one  of  the  lan- 
guages spoken  in  the  districts  lying  to  the  east  of 
Babylonia.  The  Elamites  at  one  time  extended  their 
rule  far  into  Asia  Minor,  for  around  the  lake  of  Van 
in  Armenia  inscriptions  have  been  found  winch  are 
written  in  a  cuneiform  variety  practically  identical 
with  that  of  Class  II.00 

The  extensive  use  of  cuneiform  script  as  a  writing 
medium  for  various  languages  and  the  development  of 
various  distinct  forms,  all  eventually  to  be  traced  back 
to  some  early  variety  of  picture  writing,  is  a  remark- 
able testimony  to  the  profound  influence  exerted  by  the 
civilization  that  arose  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  through 
the  combination  of  the  Sumerians  and  Semites  or  as 
we  ought  to  say,  Sumerians  and  Akkadians.  Even  with 
a  consideration  of  these  chief  forms  representing  four 
distinct  languages,  Sumerian,  Babylonian-Assyrian, 
Elamitic  and  Persian,  we  have  not  exhausted  the  scope 

*°$ee  Sayce  The  Inscription  of  Mai-Amir  and  the  Language  of 
the  Second  Column  of  the  Akhmmeiiian  Inscriptions  (Actea  du  VI. 
Congres  International  des  Orientaliates,  Part  II,  pp.  639-756). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT  115 

of  cuneiform  writing.  In  Cappadocia  a  variety  derived 
from  the  more  specifically  Assyrian  form  of  cuneiform 
characters  was  used  in  connection  with  commercial  in- 
terchange. A  considerable  number  of  tablets,  all  of  a 
commercial  character,  have  been  found  dating  from 
about  the  eleventh  century,  in  which  cuneiform  is  used 
to  write  the  current  tongue  of  Cappadocia,91  while  at 
Boghaz-Keui,  a  capital  of  a  Hittite  kingdom,  a  large 
archive  of  clay  tablets  was  discovered  by  the  late  Hugo 
Winckler,92  containing  hundreds  of  tablets  in  cunei- 
form writing,  but  representing  the  Hittite  language — 
the  same  as  the  one  found  in  hieroglyphic  form  on  the 
Hittite  inscriptions.  Among  the  tablets  of  the  cunei- 
form archive  found  at  Tell  el-Amarna  to  which  refer- 
ence will  be  made,83  there  were  letters  in  cuneiform 
written  by  rulers  of  Mitanni — a  district  to  the  north- 

01  See  Delitzsch,  Beiirage  zur  Entzifferung  und  Erkldrung  der 
Kappadofcischai  Keilschrifttafeln  (Abhandlungen  der  Konigtich- 
Sachsischen  Gesellschaft  der  Wissenschaften,  Philologisch-His- 
torische  Classe,  XIV,  pp.  207-270). 

•*  See  Orientalistiscke  IAteraturzeitung,  Bee.  15,  1906,  and 
MitteiL  d.  Deutsch.  Orient  Gesellschaft,  No.  35  (Dec.,  1907),  and 
now,  also,  Delitzsch,  Sitmerisck-Akkadisck-Hettitiscke  Vokabular- 
fragmente  (Berlin,  1914;  Abh.  d.  Kgl.  Preuss.  Akd.  d.  Wiss.,  1914, 
PhiL-Hist.  Klasse,  Nr.  3),  embodying  a  study  of  26  fragments  of 
tablets  found  at  Boghaz-Keui,  containing  in  parallel  columns 
Sumerian  and  Akkadian  words  and  phrases,  together  with  the 
Hittite  equivalents  (written  in  cuneiform  characters)  in  the  third 
column.  In  this  way  a  large  number  of  words  and  forms  can  be 
identified  and,  with  the  complete  publication  of  this  kind  of  ma- 
terial, promised  in  the  near  future,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in 
determining  the  exact  character  of  the  Hittite  language.  There  is 
also  reason  to  hope  that  with  the  aid  of  these  transliterated  Hittite 
texts  it  will  be  possible  to  find  the  definite  key  for  the  decipherment 
for  the  hieroglyphic  Hittite  script.  The  publication  of  the  impor- 
tant material  found  by  the  late  Dr.  Winckler  is  now  announced 
as  ready  and  is  expected  to  be  published  within  this  year  by 
Dr.  E.  F.  Weidner. 

w  Below,  p.  164. 


116 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


east  of  Mesopotamia— in  their  own  language,  which  is 
represented  again  by  some  of  the  tablets  found  at 
Boghaz-Keui.  Even  Greek  was  written  in  cuneiform 
characters,  as  some  tablets  published  a  number  of  years 
ago  by  Pinches  showed.04 

It  is  evident  from  this  that  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  extended 
throughout  the  ancient  world,  prompting  the  Egyptian 
scribes  to  learn  cuneiform  so  as  to  carry  on  a  corre- 
spondence with  Babylonian  rulers  and  with  the  gov- 
ernors of  Palestinian  and  Phoenician  centres,  and  lead- 
ing the  Hittites  in  the  north  to  exchange  cuneiform  as 
a  more  convenient  mode  of  writing  for  their  own  hiero- 
glyphic script,95  and  resulting  in  the  adoption  of  a 
cuneiform  script  by  the  Elamites  as  well  as  by  their 
successors,  the  Persian  rulers.  Within  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  the  script,  developing  from  an  archaic  to  sev- 
eral varieties  of  more  modern  forms,  survived  the  fall 
of  the  Babylonian  empire  through  Cyrus"  conquest  and 
even  the  coming  of  the  Greeks,  for  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions from  the  days  of  the  Greek  supremacy  have  been 
found,  and  it  is  not  until  almost  the  threshold  of  the 
Christian  era  that  the  use  of  this  form  of  writing  finally 
disappears.  The  latest  cuneiform  inscription  dates 
from  the  year  80  B.C. 

**  Greek  Transcriptions  of  Babylonian  Tablets  (Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  vol  xxiv  [1902],  pp.  118-119). 
These  fragments  of  tablets,  containing  transcriptions  of  Greek  words 
in  cuneiform,  furnished  incidentally  a  further  confirmation — 
though  at  the  time  of  Pinches'  publication  no  longer  necessary — 
of  the  correctness  of  the  method  of  reading  the  Babylonian- Assyrian 
cuneiform  characters. 

••  For  the  Hittite  inscriptions  see  Messerschmidt,  Corpus  Jn- 
scriptionum  Hettiticarum  (Mittetlungen  der  Vorderasiatischen 
Gesellschaft,  1900,  No.  4-  1902,  No.  3;  1906,  No.  5} ;  Garstang,  The 
Land  of  the  Hittites  (London,  1910)  ;  Ed.  Meyer,  Reich  uud  Kultur 
der  Chet titer  (Berlin,  1914)  ;  and  the  recent  attempt  at  decipher- 
ment by  R,  C.  Thompson,  A  New  Decipherment  of  the  Hittite 
Hieroglyphics  ( Areheologia,  vol.  Ixiv,  Oxford,  1913,  pp.  1-144). 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


117 


Lastly  a  word  as  to  the  origin  of  the  cuneiform 
script  from  a  pictorial  form.  We  have  carried  back  the 
forms  of  cuneiform  writing  used  outside  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  to  the  influence  exerted  by  these  two  em- 
pires, whose  civilization  originating  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley  is  the  result  of  the  commingling  of  Sumerians 
and  Akkadians,  The  oldest  form  of  cuneiform  writ- 
ing, therefore,  is  that  represented  by  the  oldest  inscrip- 
tions of  Babylonia  which,  we  have  seen,  are  couched 
in  Sumerian.  The  script,  however,  in  these  Sumerian 
inscriptions,  while  archaic,  is  far  removed  from  the 
state  in  which  each  sign  represented  a  picture.  More- 
over, we  have  seen  that  contrary  to  the  opinion  at  first 
held  by  scholars,  the  Sumerian  in  the  form  that  we 
have  it  is  no  longer  a  purely  ideographic  mode  of  writ- 
ing, but  has  already  advanced  to  the  syllabic  stage  in 
which  a  sign  is  used  to  represent  a  sound  and  no  longer 
merely  the  word  for  which  it  stands.  A  careful  study, 
however,  of  the  forms  of  the  characters  enables  us  to 
pass  beyond  the  wedge-shaped  variety  of  cuneiform  to 
a  linear  type;  and  in  many  cases  it  is  not  difficult  to 
recognize  in  the  linear  outlines  the  remains  of  a  picture, 
representing  one  of  the  words  for  which  the  sign  stands. 
Thus  the  linear  form  fc  of  the  sign  for  sun,  day,  light, 
which  in  the  wedge-form  becomes  *T  is  clearly  a  de- 
rivative of  a  picture  of  the  sun  sending  forth  its  rays. 
The  sign  for  eye,  face,  seeing,  which  in  the  wedge-shape 
takes  on  the  form  icjt-  is  in  the  linear  form  (J-  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  recognize  in  this  the  outlines  of  an  eye. 
The  sign  for  man  *5£  is  in  the  linear  form  4fcm»,  which 
suggests  a  man  lying  on  his  back. 

To  set  forth  in  detail  how,  starting  with  a  series  of 
pictures,  the  writing,  passing  through  various  stages, 
developed  to  a  linear  form,  suitable  for  transferring 
characters  to  a  hard  material  and  then  by  further  stages 
was  transformed  to  a  wedge-shaped  variety,  better 
adapted  for  writing  on  a  soft  substance  like  clay,  would 


BABYLONIA 


carry  us  too  far.  Xor  is  it  necessary  for  our  purpose, 
which  is  merely  to  call  attention  at  the  close  of  this 
chapter  to  the  manner  in  which  the  cuneiform  script 
originated,  to  do  so.  Prof.  Barton,  who  has  recently 
published  an  elaborate  work  on  the  *' Origin  of  Cunei- 
form Writing/'  *•  in  which  he  has  embodied  the  results 
of  many  years  of  study,  has  added  valuable  tables  of 
signs  showing  the  changes  they  underwent  in  passing 
from  the  oldest  to  the  latest  period.  He  has  also  en- 
deavored to  reconstruct  the  objects  represented  by  the 
signs.  Thanks  to  the  ingenious  method  pursued  by 
him  and  to  his  wide  and  accurate  scholarship,  he  has 
succeeded  in  a  large  number  of  instances  in  giving  us 
the  picture  originally  represented.  Naturally  some  of 
his  identifications  are  open  to  question.  In  a  problem 
of  this  kind  one  must  not  expect  that  all  phases  of  it 
can  be  satisfactorily  solved.  From  a  survey  of  the 
objects  represented — animals,  parts  of  the  body,  instru- 
ments, pictures  of  water,  of  stars,  trees  and  plants — 
and  making  due  allowance  for  doubtful  cases,  we  reach 
the  general  conclusion  that  the  script  originated  at  a 
time  when  already  a  considerable  advance  in  culture 
had  been  madejand  in  a  land  in  which  agricultural  con- 
ditions prevailed,  in  which  animals  had  been  domesti- 
cated, and  the  gods  identified  with  personifications  of  the 
stars,  by  ihe  side  of  the  moon  and  sun.  There  is  nothing, 
however,  to  indicate  more  precisely  where  the  script 
originated.  It  may  have  been  brought  by  the  Sumerians 
to  the  Euphrates  Valley  and  perfected  by  them  there, 
or  it  may  have  originated  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  or 
the  neighboring  district  of  Elam.  It  is  not  impossible 
that  the  proto-Elamitic  script,  to  which  a  reference  has 
above  been  made,ST  may  revert  to  the  same  source  as 
the  picture-writing  underlying  the  oldest  form  of 
Sumerian  inscriptions.  Until  we  can  determine  more 
accurately  whence  the  Sumerians  came  and  how  far 

••Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ix  (1912-1913). 
•7  Above,  p<  113,  seq. 


CUNEIFORM  DECIPHERMENT 


119 


back  the  Smnerian  culture  can  be  traced,  it  is  idle  to 
speculate  further.  Archeology  has  given  us  so  many 
surprises  that  it  is  riot  out  of  the  question  that  we  should 
come  across  traces  of  a  still  earlier  culture  than  the 
Sunierian  or  the  proto-Elamitic,9a  from  which  both  may 
have  derived  their  inspiration,  and  with  this  a  pictorial 
script  further  developed  by  each  group  and  adapted  to 
its  purposes.90 

From  the  linear  form  we  can  without  difficulty  trace 
the  further  development  to  the  latest  stage  of  wedge- 
writing.  Variant  forms  continued  to  arise  both  in 
Assyria  and  Babylonia  and  there  can  be  no  question 
that  the  neo-Elamitic  cuneiform  or  Class  II  represents 
a  variety  of  the  Babylonian  script  simplified  and 
adapted  to  Elamitic  about  the  twelfth  century  B.C., 
further  modified  in  the  course  of  time,  while  the  Persian 
variety  represents  another  more  simplified  adaptation 
made  in  the  sixth  or  possibly  as  early  as  the  seventh 
century  B.C. 

•8  See  King 's  ingenious  suggestion  in  the  appendix  to  his  His- 
tory of  Sumer  and  Akkad  (London,  1910),  in  which  he  takes  up 
this  problem. 

••  See  further  on  this  subject  besides  Barton  Ts  book,  Possey  's 
chapter  on  the  Ideographic  Origin  and  Evolution  of  Cuneiform 
Writing  in  his  Manuel  d'Assyriologic,  pp.  245-268,  and  Delitzsch's 
Entstehung  des  altesten  Schriftsystems  oder  der  Ursprung  der 
KeHschriftzeichen  (Leipzig,  1897),  the  first  thorough  discussion  of 
the  subject,  full  of  valuable  suggestions,  though  some  of  the  views 
set  forth  must  be  modified  in  the  light  of  later  researches. 


CHAPTER  III 


SURVEY  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


In  any  general  survey  of  the  history  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  there  are  two  facts  of  fundamental  im- 
portance to  be  borne  in  mind :  first,  that  the  course  of 
civilization  in  the  land  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
proceeds  to  the  north,  and  second,  that  the  culture  is 
the  outcome  of  a  mixture  of  two  diverse  elements — of 
a  non-Semitic  with  a  Semitic  population.  The  obvious 
conclusion  from  the  first  fact  is  that  the  settlements 
in  the  south,  in  what  is  known  as  the  Euphrates  Valley, 
are  older  than  those  in  the  north — a  conclusion  con- 
firmed by  the  excavations  conducted  at  southern 
mounds,  which  have  yielded  us  the  documents  for  trac- 
ing the  civilization  to  a  very  early  period,  though  as 
yet  insufficient  for  carrying  us  back  to  the  small  be- 
ginnings. The  second  fact  prepares  us  for  the  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  the  oldest  period  as  likewise 
revealed  by  the  monuments,  to  wit,  the  struggle  between 
the  non-Semites  or  the  Sumerians,  and  the  Semites  or 
Akkadians  for  supremacy. 

This  struggle  represents  the  natural  process  in  the 
assimilation  of  two  apparently  incompatible  elements. 
Civilization  may  be  described  as  the  spark  that  ensues 
when  opposing  ethnic  elements  come  into  contact.  Cul- 
ture up  to  a  certain  grade  may  develop  in  any  centre 
spontaneously,  but  a  high  order  of  civilization  is  always 
produced  through  the  combination  of  heterogeneous 
ethnic  elements. 

There  is  no  more  foolish  boast  than  that  of  purity 
of  race.  A  pure  race,  as  I  have  it  put  elsewhere/  if  it 
exists  at  all,  is  also  a  sterile  race. 

1  Aspects  of  Religious  Belief  and  Practice  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  p.  5. 
120 


BABTLONIAN-ASSTEIAN  HISTORY     121 


Whether  the  Semitic  Akkadians  were  the  fast 
settlers  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  or  the  non-Semitic 
Sumerians  is  a  question  to  which,  as  indicated  in  the 
last  chapter,2  no  definite  reply  can  be  given  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge*  My  own  inclination  is 
to  side  with  Eduard  Meyer,8  to  give  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt  to  the  Akkadians  and  to  assume  that  the  Su- 
merians, who  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  were  a 
mountainous  people,  entered  the  Valley  from  the  north- 
east (or  northwest)  as  conquerors — bringing  a  certain 
degree  of  culture  with  them,  but  which  through  the 
contact  with  the  Akkadian  population  was  further 
stimulated  and  modified  until  it  acquired  the  traits  dis- 
tinguishing it  when  we  obtain  our  earliest  glimpse 
of  political,  social  and  religious  conditions  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley* 

Fortunately,  through  the  monuments  of  Telloh, 
Sippar,  Nippur  and  Bismya,  and  through  the  designs 
on  numerous  seal  cylinders,  we  are  in  a  position  to 
picture  to  ourselves  this  non-Semitic  race.*  They  are 
portrayed  in  contrast  to  the  Akkadians  as  beardless 
and  generally,  though  not  always,  with  shaven  heads. 
The  general  type  suggests  a  comparison  with  the  Mon- 
golian race.  The  shape  of  the  head  was  inclined 
towards  roundness,  the  cheek  bones  were  prominent 
and  the  nose  was  not  full  and  fleshy  as  was  the  case 
with  the  Akkadians.  The  dress  in  the  earliest  period 
consisted  of  a  plain  or  fringed  garment,  hanging  from 
the  waist  or  was  formed  in  more  elaborate  fashion  of 
three  to  five  flounces — yielding,  however,  at  a  later 
period  to  a  shawl  or  mantle,  decorated  with  a  border, 
drawn  over  the  left  shoulder  and  falling  in  straight 
folds.    In  contrast,  we  find  the  Akkadians  represented 

*  Page  107. 

■  Sumerier  und  Semiten  in  Babylonten,  p.  107,  seq. 

♦See  the  accompanying  illustrations,  and  further  in  Meyer, 
Sumerier  und  Semiten  in  Babylonten,  and  in  Jastrow,  BUdermappe 
zur  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  Nos.  1-7. 


122 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


with  hair  and  beard,  though  it  would  appear  that  in 
consequence  of  a  new  wave  of  Semitic  immigration 
about  the  time  of  Hammurapi  or  shortly  before,  the 
Bedouin  custom  was  introduced  of  shaving  the  mous- 
tache. The  features,  particularly  the  long-shaped  head 
and  the  fleshy  nose,  are  unmistakably  Semitic  In  dress 
the  Semites  are  represented  by  the  loin  cloth  or  by  a 
plaid  wrapped  around  the  body,  falling  in  parallel 
bands,  with  the  ends  thrown  around  the  left  shoulder. 
The  Sumerians  appear  also  to  have  had  the  custom  of 
wearing  wigs,  as  the  Egyptians,  perhaps  limited  to  cere- 
monial occasions,  though  to  what  extent  and  during 
what  periods  the  custom  prevailed  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
Curiously  enough  the  gods,  even  in  the  oldest  monu- 
ments, have  abundant  hair  and  long  beards,*  but  with 
lips  and  cheeks  often  shaven,  from  which  Professor 
Meyer  has  drawn  the  inference  that  the  Sumerians, 
while  retaining  some  of  the  customs  that  they  brought 
with  them,  assimilated  their  gods  to  those  worshipped 
in  the  land  into  which  they  came  and  therefore  repre- 
sented them  as  Semitic. 

Beside  some  form  of  writing  which,  as  pointed  out, 
the  Sumerians  may  have  brought  with  them,  but  further 
developed  after  their  conquest  of  the  Euphrates  Valley, 
they  appear  to  have  been  skilled  in  sculpturing  in  terra- 
cotta and  in  stone,  advancing  gradually  also  to  work- 
ing in  metals.  Naturally,  here  again  it  is  difficult  to 
draw  the  line  between  what  they  brought  into  the 
country  and  the  share  of  their  artistic  achievements 
due  to  their  contact  with  the  Semitic  settlers,  but  since 
the  Euphrates  Valley  is  devoid  of  stone  and  metals,  the. 
balance  is  again  in  favor  of  the  assumption  that  they 
brought  some  measure  of  artistic  skill  with  them.* 

The  architecture  in  the  earliest  period  is  conditioned 
by  the  native  soil  which  furnishes  clay  as  a  building 
material  that  was  readily  adapted  for  the  construction 

*  See  Meyer,  I.e.,  p.  95,  seq. 

•  Further  details  in  Chapter  VII, 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     123 


of  houses  and  temples,  consisting  of  both  unburnt  and 
burnt  bricks.  The  only  characteristic  structure  that, 
may  be  safely  ascribed  to  Sumerian  initiative  is  th& 
stage-tower  attached  to  the  temples  in  all  important 
centres.7 

II 

The  change  in  habitat  from  a  hilly  country  to  a  flat 
one  was  a  momentous  factor  that  brought  with  it  an 
adaptation  on  the  part  of  the  Sumerians  to  the  new 
conditions.  In  their  mountain  homes  we  may  well  sup- 
pose the  Sumerians  to  have  been  hunters — of  which  a 
trace  remains  in  the  Biblical  tradition  that  makes 
Nimrod,  pictured  as  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Euphratean  culture,  a  mighty  hunter,  whereas  the  con- 
ditions natural  to  the  rich  soil  of  southern  Babylonia 
led  to  agriculture. 

The  political  feature  at  the  earliest  period  at  pres- 
ent known  to  us,  which  may  be  roughly  fixed  on  the 
basis  of  the  material  at  our  disposal  at  4000  to  3500  B.C., 
is  the  existence  of  a  number  of  cities  under  the  control 
of  Sumerians,  each  one  of  which  formed  a  centre  for  a 
district  of  varying  extent.  These  cities  lay  along  the 
Euphrates  or  on  one  of  the  various  arms  into  which  it 
divides  in  the  marshy  districts.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  choking  up  of  the  bed  of  the  river  and  of  its  tribu- 
taries, the  direction  of  the  Euphrates  was  subject  to  fre- 
quent changes,  so  that  the  location  of  the  mounds  be- 
neath which  cities  like  Nippur,  Cuthah,  Uruk,  Sippar, 
Shuruppak  lay  buried,  is  at  some  distance  to  the  east 
from  the  bed  of  the  Euphrates,  or  from  one  of  its 
branches. 

We  find  the  south  itself  divided  into  two  sections, 
the  southern  part,  known  as  Suiner,  which  is  the  main 
stronghold  of  the  non-Semitic  conquerors,  and  the 
northern  section  of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  Akkad,  where 
the  Semites  gradually  developed  the  strength  neces- 

T  Sec  above  II,  note  13 ;  pp.  23  and  30,  scq. 


124 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


sary  to  meet  the  Sumerians  on  their  own  ground.  A 
sharp  boundary  between  Sinner  and  Akkad  probably 
never  existed,  but  in  a  general  way  Nippur  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  line  of  demarcation,  so  that  Eridu,  Larsa, 
Ur,  Adab,  Isin,  Lagash,  Shuruppak,  Urnma,  Uruk 
with  Nippur,  constitute  the  chief  centres  in  the  south, 
and  Cuthah,  Opis,  Akkad,  Kish,  Babylon  and  Sippar 
the  most  important  cities  of  the  north.  Nor  can  a 
sharp  line  be  drawn  between  the  non-Semitic  and 
Semitic  settlements,  beyond  the  general  proposition 
that  the  Semites,  while  commingling  in  part  with  the 
Sumerians,  were  also  in  part  driven  back  to  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  Euphrates  Valley.  At  all  events,  the 
south  remained  the  chief  seat  of  Sumerian  powrer, 
though  northern  centres  like  Kish,  Cuthah  and  Opis 
were  for  a  period  of  indifferent  extent  also  in  the  hands 
of  the  Sumerians. 

We  are  not  able  as  yet  to  trace  the  history  of  the 
Euphrates  Valley  back  to  the  time  when  the  Sumerians 
were  in  complete  and  absolute  control.  The  oldest 
inscriptions  so  far  recovered  already  give  evidence  of 
a  decline  of  the  south,  with  the  tendency  towards  a 
growth  of  power  in  the  northern  centres.  We  know 
nothing  of  the  earliest  history  of  Eridu  and  little  of 
such  centres  as  Uruk  and  Adab ;  and  until  excavations 
carry  us  nearer  to  the  beginnings  of  Sumerian  suprem- 
acy, we  must  rest  content  with  the  testimony  fur- 
nished by  the  material  at  our  disposal  that  there  was 
no  union  or,  at  all  events,  no  permanent  union  between 
the  cities  of  Sumer  and  that  no  ruler  of  any  Sumerian 
centre  exercised  control  over  all  of  Sumer  and  Akkad. 
The  relationship  between  the  states  would  therefore  be 
marked  by  hostilities  alternating  with  treaties  that 
served  to  keep  the  peace  for  a  while,  and  with  combina- 
tions of  some  of  these  city  states  against  other  groups. 
The  central  feature  in  each  of  these  cities  was  the 
sanctuary  dedicated  to  the  local  patron  deity.  So  close 
was  the  association  between  the  god  and  his  city,  that 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     125 


the  former  either  directly  gave  his  name  to  the  place, 
or  the  place  was  known  as  the  city  of  the  god  in  ques- 
tion. The  more  precise  character  of  these  city  gods  we 
will  have  occasion  to  consider  in  the  next  chapter.  The 
point  of  importance  to  us  in  an  historical  survey  is  to 
note  that  the  jurisdiction  of  a  deity  was  coextensive 
with  the  district  controlled  by  his  followers.  The  single 
exception  to  this  general  direction  taken  by  the  associa- 
tion of  a  deity  with  a  city  is  formed  by  the  god  Enlil, 
who,  although  the  god  of  the  city  of  Nippur,  was  in 
this  first  period  of  Euphratean  history  the  acknowl- 
edged head  of  the  pantheon.8  In  part  this  no  doubt 
was  due  to  the  important  position  occupied  by  Nippur 
when  the  Sumerians  obtained  the  mastery  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley,  but  in  large  part  the  special  position 
acquired  by  EnlU  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  circum- 
stance that  as  a  storm-god  having  his  seat  on  some 
mountain-peak,  he  was  the  chief  of  the  gods  worshipped 
by  the  conquerors  before  they  left  their  mountain 
homes. 

Curiously  enough,  however,  we  have  not  come  across 
any  records  of  a  powerful  dynasty  established  in 
Nippur  as  a  centre.  Instead,  the  earliest  traditions  of 
the  Euphrates  Valley,  carrying  us  back  to  the  mythical 
age,  in  which  rulers  are  pictured  as  deities  or  of  divine 
descent,  ruling  for  as  many  centuries  as  in  historical 
time  years,0  give  Kish  and  Uruk  as  the  first  two  dy- 

8  See  further,  p.  195,  seq. 

9  See  the  publication  of  important  lists  of  early  mythical  or 
semi-mythical  rulers,  followed  by  historical  dynasties,  in  Poebel's 
Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts,  pages  73  to  96. 

These  lists  show  us,  during  the  first  two  recorded  dynasties  of 
Kish  and  of  Uruk,  rulers  who  reign  from  410  to  1200  years,  and 
among  the  names  of  such  rulers  are  the  mythical  rulers  Etana  and 
Oilgamesh,  of  the  former  of  whom  a  story  is  told  of  an  attempted 
flight  to  heaven  on  the  back  of  an  eagle,  while  the  latter  is  the 
famous  central  figure  of  the  great  Babylonian  epic. 

The  high  figures  given  for  the  reigns  or  lives  of  these  rulers  are 


126 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


nasties,  after  which  we  come  to  <a  series  of  rulers  with 
Ur  as  a  political  centre  and  the  length  of  whose  reigns 
shows  that  we  have  reached  a  more  definite  historical 
tradition.  Beyond  names  and  indications  of  lengths  of 
reigns,  however, — and  these  often  uncertain — we  know 
nothing  further  of  this  earliest  period  until  we  come 
down  to  about  the  year  3200  B.C. 

Ill 

The  accident  that  so  much  of  our  earliest  historical 
material  comes  from  the  excavations  on  the  site  of  the 
ancient  city  of  Lagash  10  naturally  places  this  city  in 
the  foreground  of  our  horizon,  but  making  due  allow- 
ance for  this  fact,  it  is  nevertheless  certain  that  Lagash 
played  a  most  important  role  as  early  at  least  as  3000 
B.C.,  and  exercised  at  one  time  a  sway  over  a  consider- 
able portion  of  Sumer,  including  Nippur.  Its  most 
serious  rival  at  the  time  when  the  outlines  of  this  period 
become  defined  with  sufficient  clearness  to  enable  us 
to  grasp  some  details  is  the  city  of  Kish,  whose  patron 
deity  wras  a  solar  god  known  as  Zamama.  Indeed,  a 
ruler,  Mesilim,  whose  date  can  be  approximately  fixed 
at  3100  B.C.,  claimed  Lagash  as  a  part  of  his  territory. 
This  condition  must  have  lasted  for  some  time,  for  a 
patesi  of  Lagash,  Entemena,  whose  date  may  be  fixed 
as  c.  2850  B.C.,  refers  in  a  historical  survey  of  the 

of  the  same  character  as  the  ages  of  the  antediluvian  patriarchs 
in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Genesis.  Both  lists  are  no  douht  based 
upon  some  artificially  constructed  system,  though  exactly  of  what 
nature  scholars  have  not  ascertained.  To  discuss  the  bearings  of 
these  important  lists,  published  by  Poebel,  in  detail  would  carry 
us  too  far  and  must  be  left  for  some  other  occasion.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  the  existence  of  such  lists,  which  evidently  form  part 
of  the  school  archives  of  ancient  Babylonian  centres,  shows  con- 
clusively that  the  accounts  of  early  Babylonian  rulers  given  by 
Berosus  (see  Cory,  Ancient  Fragments,  page  51,  seq.)  pest  upon 
actual  material  which  was  utilized  by  Berosus. 
10  Above,  p.  39,  seq. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     127 


relations  between  Lagash  and  a  neighboring  centre, 
Umma,  to  Mesilim's  intervention  as  arbitrator  between 
the  two  hostile  districts.  Through  his  mediation  a 
treaty  was  made,  fixing  the  boundary  line  between 
Lagash  and  Umma.11 

There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  not  long  before 
the  days  of  Mesilim,  the  conditions  were  reversed  and 
that  Kish  was  in  a  state  of  dependency  upon  Lagash  or 
some  other  centre,  for  a  ruler,  Utug,12  who  is  in  all 
probabilities  older  than  Mesilim,  calls  himself  patesi 
of  Kish,  on  a  vase  offered  as  a  tribute  to  Enlil  of  Nip- 
pur, in  commemoration  of  a  victory  over  the  land  of 
KhamazL  Under  Eannatum,  Kish  again  falls  into  the 
hands  of  Lagash,  which,  however,  was  not  able  to  hold 
it  for  a  long  time.  The  Semites,  perhaps  originally 
pressed  into  service  as  mercenaries  by  the  rulers  of 
Kish,18  obtain  control  for  a  time — the  first  indication 
of  the  coming  Semitic  conquest  of  the  Euphrates  Val- 
ley, but  are  again  pushed  back  by  Sumerians.  Such  a 
constant  shift  of  political  conditions  extends  over  a 
long  period,  until  Lugalzaggisi,  of  Uruk  (c.  2675  B.C.), 
comes  to  the  fore,  puts  an  end  to  the  independence  of 

ash,  and  this  time  in  an  effective  manner. 
The  treaty  between  Lagash  and  Kish,  above  referred 

>,  took  place  c.  3050  b.c,  as  nearly  as  we  can  calculate 
it  present;  and  we  are  safe  in  assuming  that  the  su- 
premacy exercised  by  Kish  over  important  centres  in 
the  south  began  perhaps  a  century  earlier  and  lasted 
until  c.  2975  B.C.,  when  we  find  a  ruler  on  the  throne  of 
Lagash,  Ur-Nina,  who  adopts  the  title  of  king,  whose 
reign  was  marked  by  an  era  of  peace,  during  which 
commerce  flourished  and  the  ruler  was  able  to  devote 
himself  to  the  welfare  of  his  subjects  and  to  honoring 
the  gods  by  beautifying  their  temples  and  bringing  to 

1  l  Heuzey,  Decouvertes  en  Chalde'e,  PL  47,  and  Thureau-Dangiii, 
Sumer.  und  Akkad.  Komgsinschriften,  p.  36, 

Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  I,  2,  No.  108,  seq. 
18  So  Meyer,  Geschichte,  I,  2,  p.  481. 


128 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


their  shrines  evidence  of  his  loyalty  and  affection  in 
the  shape  of  tributes  and  votive  offerings.  We  have  a 
remarkable  series  of  limestone  plaques  showing  TTr- 
Nina  and  his  family  in  the  act  of  taking  part  in  the 
building  of  the  temple  E-Ninnu  to  Ningirsu — the  main 
sacred  edifice  in  Lagash.14  He  is  also  occupied  with 
strengthening  the  wall  of  Lagash  and  in  digging  nu- 
merous canals  and  reservoirs,  clearly  intended  to  regu- 
late the  annual  overflow  of  the  Euphrates  and  to  direct 
its  waters  into  the  fields.  By  the  extension  of  this 
canal  system,  upon  which  the  prosperity  and  growth  of 
the  country  so  largely  depended,  he  established  his  claim 
to  being  a  ruler  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  subjects. 
Conditions  changed  soon  after  the  death  of  Ur-Nina. 
His  successor,  Akurgal,  appears  to  have  been  troubled 
again  by  the  old-time  rival  and  enemy  to  the  north, 
Umma,  though  the  crisis  is  not  reached  until  the  days 
of  his  son,  Eannatum,  c.  2920  B.C.  The  men  of  Uinina 
removed  the  stele  set  up  by  Mesilim,  the  king  of  Kish, 
as  the  boundary  between  Lagash  and  Umma.  This  was 
the  signal  for  an  outbreak  that  ended  disastrously  for 
the  district  of  which  Umma  was  the  centre.  Eannatum 
appeals  to  his  god  Ningirsu  for  help.  Ningirsu  appears 
to  Eannatum  in  a  dream  and  promises  victory  over  the 
enemy.  Thus  encouraged,  Eannatum  gathers  his  army 
and  sets  out  for  the  encounter.  The  result  was  a  total 
defeat  of  Umma,  of  whose  warriors  Eannatum  assures 
us  that  he  slew  thirty-six  hundred.45  The  victory  was 
followed  up  by  the  pursuit  of  the  fleeing  army.  Ean- 
natum takes  Umma  by  assault,  sweeping  all  before  him, 
as  he  tells  us,  "like  a  destructive  storm."  In  commem- 
oration of  the  engagement  he  sets  up  a  monument,16  on 
which  he  depicts  in  vivid  form  the  incidents  of  the 

14  See  Plate  XL VI,  Pig.  1. 

lft  The  number  is  under  suspicion  of  being  a  round  one,  but 
nevertheless  it  furnishes  us  with  an  indication  of  the  numbers  that 
must  have  engaged  in  the  struggle. 

"  See  Plate  XLVII  and  XLVIII  and  the  description  of  the 
monument  p.  387,  seq. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     129 


IV 


battle.  The  old  boundary  stone  was  again  set  up  and 
a  new  treaty  made  between  Eannatum  and  Enakalli, 
the  successor  of  Ush,  who  probably  perished  in  the 
encounter.  The  district  of  Gu-eddin,  wrongfully  ap- 
propriated by  Umma,  was  restored  and  a  tribute  im- 
posed. A  large  booty  was  secured,  and  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  event  shrines  were  erected  on  the  frontier 
to  various  deities, — to  Enlil  and  his  consort,  Ninkhar- 
sag,  to  Ningirsu  and  Utu  (the  sun-god)  for  their  assist- 
ance. A  solemn  oath  was  sworn  by  the  two  sides.  "I 
have  sworn  the  oath,"  says  Eannatum,  "and  the  men 
of  Umma  have  sworn  the  oath  to  Eannatum,  in  the 
name  of  Enlil,  the  king  of  heaven  and  earth.  ...  If 
at  any  time  they  shall  deviate  from  this  agreement,  may 
the  great  net  of  Enlil,  in  whose  name  they  have  sworn 
this  oath,  overwhelm  them."  The  gods  thus  become 
the  active  partners  in  the  events  of  the  day. 

The  events  narrated  on  the  remarkable  monument 
which  a  fortunate  chance  has  in  part  preserved  for  us 

I  are  typical  of  the  political  history  of  the  Euphratean 
states  in  this  early  period,  marked  by  a  frequent  shift- 
ing of  the  particles  in  the  political  kaleidoscope,  as  a 
consequence  of  which  now  the  one,  now  the  other  of  the 
various  rival  states  secures  a  temporary  supremacy, 
without,  however,  any  permanent  coalition  into  a  united 
empire.  For  the  time  being  Lagash  wields  the  baton 
of  authority,  not  only  over  the  district  of  Umma,  but 
also  over  that  of  Kish,  which  appears  to  have  sided  with 
Umma  and  whose  king,  Al-zu(f),  was  captured  and 
probably  slain.  Eannatum  followed  up  his  success  by 
other  conquests,  bringing  a  troublesome  district,  Opis, 
in  the  north,  into  subjection,  exercising  supremacy  over 
Uruk,  Ur,  Larsa  and  other  centres  of  the  south  and  even 
extending  his  control  to  Elam  on  the  east,  beyond  the 
bounds  proper  of  the  Euphrates  Valley.   The  successors 

9 


130 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


of  Eannatum,  Enannatum  I  and  Entcmena,  were  able 
to  resist  the  attempt  of  Umma  to  throw  off  the  yoke, 
and  they  forced  their  own  minions  on  the  people  as 
patesis  or  governors  of  the  district ;  they  also  kept  Elam 
in  check,  though  not  without  a  severe  struggle.  But  they 
seemed  unable  to  prevent  internal  abuses  from  creeping 
in,  which  undermined  the  very  foundations  of  govern- 
ment. The  evidence  for  this  is  found  in  the  inscrip- 
tions of  a  ruler,  Urukagina  (c  2700  B.C.),17  who  tells 
us  of  his  efforts  to  rescue  the  various  classes  of  the 
population — he  names  boatmen,  shepherds,  fishermen 
and  farmers — from  the  priests,  into  whose  clutches  they 
liad  fallen.  The  temples  had  profited  by  the  general 
prosperity  and  become  powerful  commercial  organiza- 
tions which  exercised  a  pressure  on  the  land.  Urukagina 
goes  so  far  as  to  accuse  the  priests  of  robbing  the  fanner 
of  the  fruit  of  his  labors,  of  imposing  exorbitant  taxes 
on  the  fishermen,  of  taking  bribes  and  of  thwarting 
justice  in  their  capacity  as  the  controllers  of  the  courts 
of]  aw. 
f^  Urukagina  puts  an  end  to  this  shameful  state  of 
Laffairs  by  sweeping  the  corrupt  army  of  officials  out 
of  office  and  by  setting  up  a  body  of  laws,  regulating 
the  taxes  and  fees,  protecting  the  helpless  against  ex- 
tortion, providing  against  violent  alienation  of  goods 
or  property.  In  his  days  divorces  had  been  obtained 
by  means  of  bribes  given  to  the  officials,  and  even 
divination  had  been  carried  on  amidst  similar  abuses, 
the  exorbitant  fee  for  the  service  being  divided  among 
the  patesi,  his  chief  vizir  and  the  priest.  These  matters 
were  also  regulated  and  it  is  of  special  interest  to  note 
that  Urukagina 's  new  code  did  away  with  polyandry. 
"Women  were  formerly  possessed  by  two  men.  Now 
women  in  such  a  case  will  be  thrown  into  the  stream 
(?)."    Urukagina  sums  up  the  contrast  epigrammati- 

17  Thureau-Dangin,    Sunierisch-Akkadische    Konigsinschriften, 
pp.  44-57. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     131 


cally  between  former  and  present  conditions  by  declar- 
ing that  "formerly  there  was  slavery,  now  freedom  has 
been  established." 

The  movement  for  reform,  however,  came  too  late, 
as  is  often  the  case  in  history.  The  strength  of  the 
country  had  been  sapped,  and  in  a  long  inscription 
dating  from  Urukagina's  reign,  a  scribe  pathetically 
records  the  violent  acts  of  the  old-time  enemy,  Umma, 
in  invading  Lagash  and  destroying  the  sanctuaries 
there  and  elsewhere. 

Urukagina  suffered  the  fate  of  so  many  reformers 
in  reaping  the  ingratitude  of  those  whom  he  intended 
to  benefit.  The  priests  no  doubt  secured  the  cooperation 
of  the  nobles  and  officials  in  arousing  opposition  against 
the  endeavor  of  the  king  to  deprive  them  of  the  benefits 
they  had  so  long  enjoyed,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that 
they  may  have  stood  in  league  with  the  enemy  in  order 
to  humiliate  and  overthrow  their  own  ruler.  At  all 
events  Lugalzaggisi  triumphed  over  Lagash,  reduced  it 
to  a  state  of  subserviency  so  that  the  rulers  once  more 
became  merely  patesis,  and  succeeded  in  securing  a 
supremacy  over  the  districts  of  which  Nippur,  Uruk, 
Ur  and  Larsa  were  the  centres.  Indeed,  if  the  state- 
ment in  a  long  inscription  of  his  is  to  be  taken  literally 
and  not  as  a  mere  idle  boast,  he  led  his  victorious  armies 
to  the  Mediterranean,  for  he  speaks  of  conquering  the 
lands  from  the  lower  sea  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates 
to  the  upper  sea.  He  thus  foreshadows  the  world- 
conquest  which  became  the  ambition  of  the  later  Semitic 
rulers  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  there  is  only  one 
other  ruler  in  this  earlier  period  with  whom  he  is  to  be 
compared,  namely,  Naram-Sin,  whose  reign  we  shall 
take  up  presently. 

The  removal  of  Lugalzaggisi  Js  capital  from  Umma 
to  Uruk  points  to  the  greater  importance  of  the  latter 
centre,  which  is  confirmed  by  the  inscriptions  of  two 
rulers,  Lugal-M-gub-niddu  and  Lugal-kisal-si,  who  call 


132 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


themselves  kings  of  Uruk  and  kings  of  Ur.18  Uruk  had 
accordingly  succeeded  in  uniting  the  important  Su- 
xnerian  centre,  Ur,  to  her  dominion  and  Lugalzaggisi, 
conquering  the  extreme  south  of  the  Euphrates  Valley, 
falls  heir  to  the  sovereignty  exercised  by  Uruk,  plac- 
ing his  title,  "King  of  Uruk,"  before  all  others. 


Had  Lugalzaggisi  succeeded  in  maintaining  the  ex- 
tensive kingdom  organized  by  him,  the  entire  course 
of  Babylonian  history  might  have  been  changed.  The 
factor  that  blocked  his  path  was  the  advance  of  the 
power  of  the  Semites  in  the  land.  It  is  significant  that 
in  the  long  inscription  on  the  votive  vase  from  which 
we  have  quoted  and  in  which  he  sums  up  his  achieve- 
ments there  is  no  mention  of  Kish.  We  have  already 
encountered  the  influence  of  this  centre  in  the  conflicts 
between  Lagash  and  Umma,"  and  although  Mesilim, 
the  king  of  Kish,  who  intervenes  to  fix  the  boundary 
between  these  two  rival  states  is  not  a  Semite,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  as  early  as  his  day,  c.  3100 
B.C.,  Kish  contained  a  considerable  Semitic  population, 
serving  perhaps  as  mercenaries  in  the  army  which  three 
centuries  later  had  obtained  the  upper  hand.  In  an 
inscription  20  which  belongs  to  a  period  not  far  removed 
from  the  time  of  Lugalzaggisi,  we  encounter  a  ruler 
of  Kish  whose  name,  Enbi-Ishtar,  leaves  no  doubt  of 
his  being  a  Semite.  We  must  assume  that  Kish  had 
recovered  its  position,  for  it  is  through  a  ruler  of  this 
centre,  Sargon  I,  that,  according  to  a  definite  state- 
ment,21 Lugalzaggisi  is  overthrown  after  a  reign  of 
twenty-five  years,  that  is  about  2675  b.c.  With  Sargon 
we  reach  the  period  of  a  definite  advance  of  the  Semites. 
The  dynasty  founded  by  him  is  Semitic  in  character, 

18  Thureau-Dangin,  Lc<,  p.  156. 

18  See  above,  p.  127. 

*°  Thureau-Dangin,  i.e.,  p.  152. 

,l  See  Poebel,  in  Orientalist.  Litteraturzeitung,  XV,  Sp.  481,  seq. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     133 


as  is  shown  by  the  official  language  of  the  royal  inscrip- 
tions, which  is  Akkadian.  Sargon,  to  be  sure,  conies  to 
ash  as  a  conqueror.  His  starting-point  is  Agade  or 
dead,  somewhat  to  the  north,  but  the  independence 
of  Kish  is  maintained,  so  that  he  calls  himself  inter- 
changeably King  of  Kish  and  King  of  Akkad.  A  list 
recently  discovered 22  assigns  no  less  than  twelve  rulers 
to  this  dynasty  of  Akkad,  but  owing  to  the  defective 
character  of  the  tablet  at  this  point,  only  the  last  six 
names  and  the  beginning  of  the  first  are  clearly  pre- 
served so  that  we  are  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  balance. 
Through  other  sources  the  gap  can  be  partially  filled 
out,  with  the  result  that  by  the  side  of  Sargon,  the 
founder,  we  must  recognize  another  bearing  a  some- 
what similar  name,  Sharganisharri,  who  in  tradition 
became  confused  with  Shargani  or  Sargon.313  Both 
must  have  been  active  conquerors,  extending  their 
dominions  beyond  the  Euphrates  Valley,  but  it  looks 
as  though  the  older  were  the  more  aggressive  of  the 
two.  He  passes  to  the  east  and  brings  Elam  under  sub- 
jection. In  the  north  he  conquers  Subartu,  an  extensive 
district  later  known  from  its  capital  Ashur  as  the  land 
of  Ashur  or  Assyria,  and  which  at  this  time  was  the 
seat  of  a  mixed  population  of  Semitic  tribes  and  of 
Hittite  groups.  Pushing  on  to  the  northwest,  he  checks 
the  growing  power  of  the  Amorites — "the  land  of  sun- 
set in  its  totality7'— which  indicates  that  he  reached 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  A  rebellion  breaks 
out  towards  the  close  of  Sargon  ys  reign  which,  accord- 

22  Published  by  Scheil,  Coniptes  Rendus  de  l'Acad.  des  Inscrip- 
tions, 1911,  p.  606,  &eq.,  and  Revue  d'Assyriologiet  IX,  p.  69,  See 
Meyer,  Geschichte,  I,  2  (3d  ed.),  pp.  343-347,  and  the  same  author's 
paper,  Zur  JEttcsten  Geschichte  Babylonkns  (Abhandl.  d.  KgL 
Preus.  Akad.  d.  Wiss.  PhiL-Hist.  Klasse,  1912,  p.  1062,  seq,), 

"  The  confusion  was  facilitated  by  the  fact  that  the  last  element 
of  the  longer  name,  sharri,  means  "king/*  so  that  Shargani-sharri, 
meaning  " Sargon  is  king,"  could  easily  come  to  be  looked  upon  as 
embodying  a  statement  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  older  Sargon. 


134 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ing  to  an  official  chronicle,  he  suppresses,  but  in  which 
it  is  more  likely  to  assume  he  must  have  perished,  for 
his  son  tells  us,  at  the  beginning  of  a  long  inscription, 
of  a  general  uprising  of  all  lands  conquered  by  Sargon. 
The  name  of  the  son  is  broken  out,  but  we  can  definitely 
say  that  it  was  a  ruler  whose  name  can  be  read  Uni- 
mush  or  Rimush,  with  a  preference  in  favor  of  the 
latter.24  Rimush  claims  to  have  been  successful  in 
overcoming  his  enemies  who  were  led  by  an  Elamite, 
Abalgamash.  There  is  no  reason  to  quest  ion  the  sub- 
stantial accuracy  of  his  narrative,  but  it  is  significant 
that  he  calls  himself  King  of  Kish  and  not  of  Akkad. 
The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  that  Kish  became  the 
capital  and  remained  so  in  the  days  of  his  son  Manish- 
tusu,  who  also  boasts  of  his  conquests.  It  must  have 
been  difficult,  however,  for  Rimush  and  Manishtusu  to 
maintain  their  position.  The  former  we  know,  from 
other  sources,  was  put  to  death  by  a  conspiracy  hatchet" 
among  the  members  of  Ms  court,  while  Manishtusu  tells 
us  of  a  confederation  of  thirty-two  cities  fori: 
against  him.  Such  facts  point  to  disturbed  internal 
conditions  and  to  frequent  combinations  on  the  part 
of  the  conquered  districts  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  with 
the  help  of  Elam  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Semitic 
rulers,  abetted  probably  by  a  rivalry  between  Akkad 
and  Kish  for  the  privilege  of  being  the  capital  of  the 
new  kingdom.  An  interesting  trace  of  this  rivalry  is 
to  be  found  in  a  most  remarkable  monument  of  the 
days  of  Manishtusu,  a  large  obelisk  of  diorite,  describ- 
ing in  detail  the  purchase  of  enormous  tracts  of  lands 
in  Kish  and  its  environment  on  which  to  settle  citizens 
of  Akkad.25  The  names  of  eighty-seven  overseers  of 
certain  tracts  acquired  by  the  ruler  are  given;  they  are 

24  First  suggested  by  Hrozny  (Wiener  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Kunde 
des  Morgenlandes,  vol.  xxiii,  pp.  192,  seq.  and  xxvi,  pp.  152). 

*e  Published  by  Scheil,  Delegation  en  Perse,  Memoires,  II,  pp.  1- 
52.  The  monument  is  4y2  feet  high  and  is  closely  inscribed  on 
four  sides. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     135 

removed  by  Manishtusu  to  other  places,  while  in  their 
place  he  appoints  forty-nine  new  officials  whom  he 
calls  "  citizens  of  Akkad."  Their  followers  take  the 
place  of  the  1564  laborers  employed  by  the  older  over- 
seers and  who  are  likewise  sent  elsewhere.  Evidently 
Manishtusu  was  engaged  in  a  deliberate  policy  of  send- 
ing from  Akkad  as  a  disturbing  centre  portions  of  the 
population  through  offering  them  attractive  posts  in 
Kish  and  surrounding  sites,  where  they  could  be  kept 
under  surveillance.  We  are  reminded  of  the  similar 
policy  of  deportation  practised  by  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian kings  many  centuries  later,  and  which  led  to  the 
transfer  of  large  numbers  of  Hebrews,  after  the  fall 
of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem,  to  various  sites  on  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris.28 

VI 

The  upshot  of  the  activity  of  three  rulers  of  un- 
usual aggressiveness,  Sargon,  Rimush  and  Manishtusu, 
was  a  most  striking  advance  of  Semitic  influence 
throughout  the  Euphrates  Valley — an  influence  that  be- 
came a  permanent  factor  in  the  further  development  of 
political  affairs.  The  Semitic  rulers  of  Akkad  and 
Kish  took  up  the  policy  of  extending  in  all  directions 
their  dominions  left  them  as  a  legacy  by  Lugalzaggisi, 
but  this  ambition  overvaulting  itself  became  a  source 
of  weakness  instead  of  strength.  Manishtusu  succeeds 
in  keeping  Elani  under  subjection  and  gives  evidence 
of  his  control  by  dedicating  a  statue  of  himself  to  an 
Elamite  god  Naruti,27  but  under  his  successor,  Shar- 
ganisharri,  we  find  the  Elamites  strong  enough  to  make 
an  invasion  of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  advancing  as  far 
as  Opis,  not  far  from  Akkad,  where  they  received  a 
cheek.  Uruk  heads  a  coalition  of  Sumerian  forces 
which  was  likewise  repulsed.  Under  Naram-Sin,  the 
son  of  Sharganisharri,  this  disturbed  condition  reaches 

?tt  II  Kings  17,  6 ;  24,  12-16. 

ST  The  bust  of  the  statue  was  found  at  Susa.  See  Plate  XXII 1, 
Fig.  2. 


136  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

its  climax,  for  lie  speaks  of  combinations  of  nine  rulers 
and  even  of  seventeen  kings  against  him.  No  doubt  he 
exaggerates  when  he  declares  that  he  faced  an  army 
of  90,000  men  drawn  up  against  him,  and  yet  triumphal 
monuments  of  his  reign,  including  one  found  far  up  in 
the  north,  not  far  from  the  source  of  the  Tigris,28  leave 
no  doubt  of  his  far  surpassing  his  father  in  military  ex- 
peditions in  all  directions — against  Elam  in  the  east, 
against  Subartu  in  the  north,  and  the  mountainous 
borders  in  the  northeast,  as  well  as  against  regions  lying 
far  to  northwest  and  southwest.  He  thus  merited,  by 
his  achievements,  the  proud  title  of  "King  of  the  Four 
Quarters,"  which  was  equivalent  to  "King  of  the  Uni- 
verse," borne  later  by  the  Assyrian  monarehs.  Naram- 
Sin  appears  indeed  to  have  surpassed  all  of  his  pre- 
decessors in  opening  up  new  fields  of  conquest,  particu- 
larly to  the  northeast  and  to  the  southwest.  His  father 
had  crossed  arms  with  a  strong  mountainous  group 
known  as  the  Guti,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  their 
king,  Sharlak.  It  was  left  to  the  son,  however,  to  fol- 
low up  this  movement  by  more  systematic  endeavors 
and  on  a  larger  scale  to  bring  various  of  the  groups  in 
these  distant,  forbidding  regions,  so  difficult  of  access, 
to  subjection.  On  a  monument,  noteworthy  also  as  one 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  older  Babylonian  art, 
Naram-Sin  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  his  triumph  over 
the  Lulubaeans  and  other  peoples  in  the  Zagros  range.29 
No  less  significant  was  his  expedition  to  Magan,  a  dis- 
tant land  whence  diorite  was  brought  in  large  quan- 
tities for  the  manufacture  of  statues  and  large  vessels. 
Occurring  frequently  by  the  side  of  Melucha,  Magan 
and  Melucha  are  probably  designations  of  districts 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  Arabia  and  the  western  coast 

ss  At  Pir  Hussein.  See  Plate  L,  Fig.  2,  and  King,  History  of 
Sumer  and  Akkad,  p.  244. 

"  See  Plate  L,  Fig.  1.  The  monument  was  found  at  Susa,  whither 
it  was  carried  as  a  trophy  in  the  eleventh  century,  as  the  others 
mentioned  above,  p.  113. 


BABYL0NIAK-ASSYRIA2T  HISTORY     137 


of  Africa.  To  have  proceeded  to  such  distant  climes  was 
an  achievement  hitherto  without  parallel.  We  thus 
obtain  a  view  of  the  strength  unfolded  at  this  early 
period  by  the  Semitic  settlements  of  the  Euphrates  Val- 
ley which  makes  the  achievements  of  the  Sumerians, 
even  of  a  Lugalzaggisi,  dwindle  into  comparative 
insignificance. 

It  would  seem,  however,  that  a  decline  began  soon 
after  the  death  of  Naram-Sin,  who  appears  to  have  been 
succeeded  by  a  second  Sharganisharri,  of  whom  we,  to 
be  sure,  know  nothing,  A  period  of  internal  disturb- 
ances sets  in,  marked  by  a  succession  of  four  rulers 
within  three  years,  so  that,  as  the  recently  discovered 
list  of  dynasties  puts  it,  one  could  not  tell  "who  was 
king  and  who  was  not  king."30  It  is  Uruk,  the  Su- 
merian  centre  which  Lugalzaggisi  raised  to  its  highest 
glory,  that  succeeds  in  overthrowing  the  dynasty  of 
Akkad  after  an  existence  of  197  years.  We  may  fix 
this  event  approximately  in  the  year  2475  B.C. 

The  overthrow  of  so  powerful  a  dynasty  as  that  of 
Akkad  must  have  affected  the  entire  country ;  it  was  a 
signal  for  the  older,  once  independent  centres,  to  assert 
themselves.  Among  these  centres  we  find  Lagash  profit- 
ing to  a  special  degree  by  the  growing  weakness  of 
Akkad,  for  there  must  have  been  preliminary  symptoms 
of  decay  before  the  final  catastrophe  set  in.  Among  the 
most  remarkable  monuments  found  at  Lagash  are  nine 
diorite  statues  of  a  ruler,31  Gudea,  who,  although  he  still 
retains  the  title  of  patesi,  appears  to  have  been  entirely 
independent.  Inscriptions  in  large  numbers  on  the 
statues  in  question,  on  two  large  clay  barrels  and  on 
votive  objects  confirm  the  power  wielded  by  Gudea, 
whose  emissaries  are  sent  to  the  north  and  south  to 
obtain  wood  and  stone  for  his  buildings  and  works  of 
art  with  which  he  embellishes  his  seat  of  residence.   He 

"See  Poebel's  ingenious  interpretation  of  the  text  (Oriental. 
Litteraturzeitung,  XV,  Sp.  481). 

11  Above,  p.  41    See  Plate  XIII  and  Plate  XII,  Fig.  2. 


138 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


does  not,  indeed,  lay  claim  to  the  control  of  lands  out- 
side of  his  district,  but  it  is  significant  that  he  has  access 
to  them.  The  only  war  in  which  he  engages  is  a  conflict 
against  Elam  which  ends  iu  victory  and  a  large  booty 
for  Gudea.  This  booty  is  promptly  dedicated  to  his 
god,  Ningirsu,  and  deposited  in  the  temple,  E-Ninnu, 
at  Lagash,  to  the  enlargement  of  which  he  devoted  his 
chief  energy.  Gudea 's  date  can  be  approximately  fixed 
at  e.  2450  B.C.  With  him  Lagash  rises  to  new  splendor, 
though  the  way  is  paved  in  a  measure  by  his  predeces- 
sor, Ur-Bau,  from  whose  reign  we  have  a  number  of 
monuments  testifying  to  the  growing  power  of  the  dis- 
trict ruled  by  Ur-Bau  while  still  owing  nominal  allegi- 
ance to  Akkad.  Whether  Uruk  at  the  time  that  it 
became  the  heir  of  Akkad  succeeded  in  seeming  con- 
trol of  Lagash  is  uncertain,  but  with  the  coming  of 
an  invasion  from  the  north,  the  glory  of  Lagash 
vanishes  again  as  suddenly  as  it  reached  its  climax 
under  Gudea. 

The  regions  to  the  north  and  particularly  those 
groups  in  the  mountainous  district  of  the  upper  section 
of  the  Tigris  not  only  regained  their  independence  as 
the  dynasty  of  Akkad  approached  its  close,  but  one  of 
these  groups,  the  Guti,  took  their  revenge  for  the  humil- 
iation inflicted  upon  them  by  Sharganisharri  and 
Naram-Sin  by  making  an  incursion  into  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  For  a  period  of  about  fifty  years  a  Guti  dy- 
nasty actually  occupied  the  throne,  presumably  choos- 
ing Uruk  as  the  seat  of  residence.  Such,  then,  was  the 
sad  result  of  the  conflict  between  Sumerians  and 
Semites  for  control  on  the  one  hand  and  of  the  am- 
bitious efforts  on  the  other,  inaugurated  by  Lugalzag- 
gisi  and  continued  by  Sargon,  Sharganisharri  and 
Naram-Sin  to  pass  beyond  the  natural  confines  of  the 
Euphrates  Valley.  The  terror  aroused  by  this  northern 
foe,  sweeping  down  upon  the  cultivated  cities  of  the 
plain  from  their  mountain  homes  with  all  the  violence 
of  an  elemental  force,  must  have  been  extreme.   Utuche- 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     139 


gal,  who  succeeds  in  driving  the  Guti  out  of  the  coun- 
try,32 gives  ns  a  vivid  picture  of  the  ravages  committed. 
He  calls  the  Guti  "the  dragon  of  the  mountains,  the 
enemy  of  the  gods/'  and  describes  how  they  tore  the 
wives  away  from  their  husbands,  robbing  parents  of 
their  children  and  spreading  devastation  on  all  sides. 
Such  invasions  of  semi-barbarous  groups  from  the 
northwest  and  northeast  were  destined  to  repeat  them- 
selves frequently  in  the  course  of  Babylonian-Assyrian 
history  and  inflicted  a  serious  check  to  the  advance  of 
the  Euphratean  culture,  though  on  the  other  hand 
they  lead  fierce  tribes  to  take  on  at  least  a  veneer  of 
culture  through  contact  with  a  higher  civilization/'1 
Tribute  was  no  doubt  exacted  from  the  conquered 
groups,  and  relationships  were  maintained  with  Magan 
and  Melueha  to  the  extent  of  procuring  stones  and 
metals  from  these  rich  districts;  but  the  control  over 
such  sections  as  Subartu  and  the  more  distant  settle- 
ments of  the  Amorites  could  at  most  have  been  nominal. 
The  more  direct  result  was  the  check  given  to  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Semites,  and  another  period  of  250  years 
elapsed  before  the  latter  were  strong  enough  again  to 
risk  a  passage  of  arms  with  the  Sumerians. 

VII 

With  the  temporary  eclipse  of  the  power  of  the 
Semites,  the  old-time  rivalry  between  the  Sumerian 
states,  which  we  have  seen  was  typical  of  conditions 
prevailing  until  the  days  of  Lugalzaggisi,  again  sets  in. 

"  See  the  important  inscription  of  this  ruler  published  with  a 
translation  and  commentary  by  Thureau-Dangin  in  the  Revue 
d'Auyrwlogie,  IX,  pp.  114-120. 

"  We  have  an  Akkadian  inscription  of  Lasirab,  King  of  the 
Guti  (Thureau-Dangin,  Sumeriseh-Akkadische  Kanigsinschriften, 
p.  170),  of  Erridupizir,  who  calls  himself  "King  of  Guti,  King  of 
the  four  quarters"  (Hilprecht,  Earliest  Version  of  the  Deluge, 
p.  20,  $eq.)  and  of  Anubanini,  King  of  the  Lulubi  (Thureau- 
Dangin,  I.e.,  p,  172). 


140 


5ABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Ur  which  had  been  forced  to  play  a  secondary  role 
in  the  combination  with  Uruk  reasserts  itself,  and  about 
thirty  years  after  Utuehegal's  accession  Urengnr  suc- 
ceeds (c.  2450  b,c.)  in  making  Ur  once  more  the  capital 
of  a  united  Sumerian  kingdom,  For  117  years  this 
dynasty  maintained  itself  and  the  orderly  succession 
of  its  five  rulers  from  father  to  son — Urengur,  Dungi, 
Pursin,  Gimilsin  and  Ibisin — bears  witness  to  the 
tranquil  conditions  which  these  rulers  established.  The 
same  testimony  is  borne  by  the  large  number  of  busi- 
ness documents34  that  we  have  of  this  period  which 
give  evidence  of  an  extensive  commercial  activity  that 
goes  hand  in  hand  with  political  stability,  while  the 
dates  attached  to  these  documents,  the  years  being  still 
marked  in  this  period  by  important  events,85  likewise 
show  that  the  rulers  were  able  to  devote  themselves 
chiefly  to  works  of  peace,  such  as  the  rebuilding  of 
walls  or  of  temples  to  the  chief  deities  in  a  variety  of 
centres,  Nippur,  Eridu,  Uruk,  Larsa,  Lagash  and  above 
all  in  Ur,  and  in  otherwise  improving  and  embellishing 
these  and  other  cities  and  towns.  Occasionally  Elani 
to  the  east  gives  the  rulers  of  Ur  trouble,  but  far  more 
serious  was  the  menace  from  the  distant  north.  Dungi, 
the  second  ruler  of  the  dynasty,  undertakes  no  less  than 
nine  campaigns  against  the  land  of  Sumuru  and  Lu- 
lubi.  These  groups  show  the  same  resistance  to  a  for- 
eign yoke  that  formerly  characterized  the  Guti,  of 
whom  we  hear  nothing  during  the  period  of  the  Ur 
dynasty  and  who,  while  unable  to  stand  up  against 
better  disciplined  forces,  rebelled  again  and  again  as 
the  opportunity  offered. 

We  do  not  as  yet  know  the  circumstances  as  a  con- 
sequence of  which  the  Ur  dynasty  came  to  an  end, 
through  the  capture  of  its  last  representative,  Ibisin, 

»*See  Legrain,  Leg  Temps  des  Eois  d'Ur  (Paris,  1912). 

**  The  dating  of  years  by  the  reign  of  rulers  is  not  introduced 
until  the  time  of  the  Cassite  dynasty  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
See  below,  pp.  156  and  351. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     141 


by  the  Elamites,  c.  2330  B.C.  Presumably,  a  combina- 
tion of  various  centres  was  formed  which  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  call  in  the  assistance  of  the  common  enemy  to 
the  east.  Between  the  dynasty  of  Akkad  and  that  of 
Ur,  Elam  had  enjoyed  a  short  era  of  independence 
during  which  one  of  her  rulers,  Basha-Shushinak,  actu- 
ally lays  claim  to  the  control  of  the  "four  quarters." 
It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Elamites  were  aided  by 
Semites,  whose  influence,  at  all  events,  must  have  been 
considerable  in  this  district,  for  we  find  the  rulers 
using  Akkadian  instead  of  their  own  language  in  official 
inscriptions,  and  for  a  number  of  centuries  business 
documents  are  also  couched  in  Akkadian,  though  about 
the  middle  of  the  second  millennium  before  this  era  a 
reaction  sets  in  which  leads  to  the  reintroduction  of  the 
Elamite  speech.  Towards  the  close  of  the  Ur  dynasty 
there  are  indications  of  a  reassertion  of  power  in  Elam 
which  led  to  open  hostilities  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
Ur  dynasty.  In  place  of  the  latter  centre,  we  find  Isin 
the  seat  of  a  dynasty  which  maintained  itself  for  225 
years  (c.  2350-2125  b.c),  though  its  rulers  content 
themselves  with  the  title  of  "King  of  Sumer  and  Ak- 
kad" and  were  unable  to  prevent  the  simultaneous  rise 
of  an  independent,  smaller  monarchy  in  Larsa  which 
outlived  that  of  Isin  and  whose  rulers  maintained 
themselves  till  2090  B.C.,  when  its  last  representative, 
Rim-Sin,  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  great  conqueror 
Hammurapi.36  The  kings  of  Larsa  also  exercised  con- 
trol over  Ur,  sometimes  designating  themselves  as  kings 
of  Ur,  but  more  frequently  as  patrons.  These  rival 
dynasties  of  Isin  and  Larsa  must  often  have  been  in 
conflict  with  each  other,  but  unfortunately  the  century 
and  a  half  following  the  overthrow  of  Ur  is  one  for 
which  few  historical  documents  have  as  yet  been  found. 
Uruk  also  appears  to  have  had  a  number  of  independ- 
ent rulers,  until  a  ruler,  Rim-Sin,  of  Eiamitic  origin 
obtains  control  of  Larsa,  and  thence  as  a  centre  both 
M  See  below,  p.  146 


142 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


overthrows  Uruk  and  puts  an  end  to  the  Isin  dynasty. 
The  period  was  therefore  one  in  which  the  centralizing 
tendency  of  former  days  was  considerably  weakened 
and  a  gradual  return  to  the  conditions  prevailing  be- 
fore the  time  of  Lugalzaggisi  is  brought  about. 

The  rulers  of  Isin  apart  from  their  inability 
retain  control  of  important  centres  in  the  Euphrat 
Valley  were  menaced  chiefly  from  two  sides — from  the 
east  through  the  formation  of  a  new  Elamitic  state  ii 
the  district  of  Eamutbal  (or  Jamutbal),  the  borderlanc 
to  the  east  of  the  Tigris,  and  from  the  north  througt 
the  rise  of  an  Amorite  dynasty  which  established  itsel 
in  the  city  of  Babylon  c.  2225  b.c,  not  long  after  the 
death  of  the  usurper  Amel-Ninib  (c.  2256-2228  B.C.), 
and  controlled  northern  Babylonia.  The  formation  of 
an  independent  Elamitic  state  on  the  border  betweei 
Babylonia  and  Elam  proper  is  another  indication  bott 
of  the  weakness  of  the  Isin  dynasty  and  of  the  inabilit) 
of  the  central  Elamitic  power  with  its  seat  in  the  caj 
ital,  Susa,  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  empire.87 
From  AshurbanapaTs  inscriptions  we  know  that  he 
recaptured  a  statue  of  the  goddess  Nana,  of  Urul 
which  he  says  the  Elamites  had  carried  away  as 
trophy  1635  years  ago,38  which  brings  us  to  the  yes 
2280  or,  according  to  a  variant,  1535  years,  which  woulc 
be  equivalent  to  2180.  He  names  as  the  Elamite  ruler 
who  plundered  the  temples  of  the  Euphrates  Valley, 
Kudurnanchundi,  and  since  we  know  of  a  ruler  oi 
Emutbal,  Kudurmabug,  containing  the  same  element, 
Kudur,  it  is  quite  possible  that  Kudurnanchundi  be- 
longs to  the  Emutbal  dynasty  rather  than  to  one  which 
reigned  in  Susa.  If  this  be  so,  the  lower  date  is  prob- 
ably the  more  correct  of  the  two,  for  shortly  after 
2180  B.C.,  we  find  Kudurmabug  as  ruler  of  Emutbal 

17  See  further  on  the  relationship  between  this  central  kingdom 
of  Elam  and  the  rulers  of  Emutbal,  Meyer,  Geschiehte  des  Alter- 
turns,  I,  2,  p.  601-605. 

"  Rawlinson,  V,  PL  6,  107,  with  parallel  passages. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYBIAN  HISTOKY     143 

(c.  2150  B.C.)  actively  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Euphrates  Valley;  he  rescues  Larsa  out  of  the  hands 
of  a  certain  Mutiabal  and  places  his  own  son  Aradsin 
in  control.3*  This  date  is  coequal  with  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  the  last  ruler  of  the  Isin  dynasty  and 
we  have  seen  that  the  last  sixty  years  of  this  period 
were  marked  by  internal  disturbances.  After  a  reign 
of  twelve  years  Aradsin  is  succeeded  by  his  brother, 
Rim-Sin.  During  the  reign  of  these  two  sons  of  Ku- 
durmabug,  Elamitic  influences  must  have  been  para- 
mount. They  no  doubt  kept  close  relations  with 
Emutbal,  which  at  this  period  exercised  a  sway  over 
the  old  kingdom  of  Elani,  with  its  capital  at  Susa, 
whose  rulers  became  vassals  of  the  kings  of  Emutbal. 


VIII 

The  Sumerian  domination  of  the  Euphrates  Valley 
thus  comes  to  an  end.  An  entirely  new  situation  had 
been  created  by  this  astonishing  aggressiveness  of 
Elamitic  chieftains.  Instead  of  Sumerians  and  Ak- 
kadians, we  have  Amorites  and  Elamites  preparing  for 
a  final  test  of  arms. 

Chronological  lists  at  our  disposal  reveal  a  series  of 
eleven  rulers  with  their  seat  in  Babylon  and  whose 
reigns  can  now  be  approximately  fixed  as  extending 
from  c.  2225  to  1926  B.C.  The  first  of  these  rulers  is 
Sumuabu,  the  f omi  of  whose  name  is  Semitic,  but  of  a 
quite  different  formation  from  the  Akkadian  names. 
The  same  is  the  case  with  the  names  of  other  rulers  of 
this  dynasty  like  Sumulailu,  Sabu,  Hammurapi ;  in  fact 
all  but  two — Apil-Sin  and  Sin-muballit  *° — are  dis- 
tinctly foreign.  Those  bearing  these  names,  therefore, 
represent  part  of  an  immigration  into  the  Euphrates 

80  See  his  votive  inscription  to  Nergal  published  by  Thureau- 
Dangin  (Revue  d'Assyriologie,  IX,  pp.  121-124). 

in  Signifying  "Son  of  the  god  Sin"  and  "Sin  gives  life"— 
genuine  Akkadian  names. 


114 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


Valley,  and  there  is  more  than  sufficient  evidence  to 
show  that  the  new  settlers  came  from  the  northwest — 
the  large  and  not  sharply  defined  district  known  as 
Amurru,  the  land  of  the  Amorites.  In  fact  the  rulers 
in  question  speak  of  themselves  and  of  their  subjects 
as  Amorites/1  The  Semitic  character  of  these  Amorites 
is  as  pronounced  as  that  of  the  earlier  Semitic  settlers 
in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  if  not  indeed  more  so  since 
they  had  not  been  obliged  to  submit  to  an  assimilating 
process  with  Sumerians  and  other  non-Semites.  Once 
in  the  country,  however,  they  adopt  the  language,  cult 
and  customs  of  the  Akkadians,  and  only  in  their  names 
and  in  retaining  the  habit  of  the  Semitic  Bedouins  of 
shaving  the  upper  lip  do  they  reveal  externally  a  trace 
of  their  foreign  origin.  We  do  not  know  the  special  cir- 
cumstances under  which  these  Amorites  entered  Baby- 
lonia. Migrations  into  the  Euphrates  Valley  on  a  larger 
or  smaller  scale  were  probably  going  on  at  all  times, 
particularly  from  the  northwest,  whence  Bedouin  tribes 
could  easily  pass  along  the  course  of  the  Euphrates  into 
the  south. 

The  Akkadians  themselves  probably  did  not  wel- 
come these  constant  accessions  from  the  north  and 
northwest,  and  conflicts  ensued  which  must  sometimes 
have  ended  disastrously  for  the  invaders,  though  they 
generally  led  to  a  coalition.  That  appears  to  have  been 
the  case  with  the  Amorites,  who,  entering  the  country 
at  a  time  when  the  Akkadians  were  forced  to  submit 
once  more  to  Sumerian  supremacy,  were  probably  aided 
by  their  fellow  Semites  in  the  endeavor  to  re-establish 
the  power  of  the  Semites  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Valley,  which  from  the  time  of  the  dynasty  of  Agade 
becomes  definitely  known  as  Akkad,  in  contrast  to 
Sumer  as  the  designation  of  the  south.  The  Amorites 
established  themselves  in  the  city  of  Babylon,  which, 
situated  somewhat  to  the  south  of  Agade,  had  already 
in  the  days  of  the  Akkad  dynasty  begun  to  acquire 

41  See  Meyer,  Geschichie  des  Altertums,  I,  2,  p.  615,  note. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     145 


some  importance.  These  Amorite  rulers  succeeded  in 
uniting  the  Semitic  population  of  the  north  under  their 
banners.  Sumuabu  controls  the  old  Semitic  centre, 
Kish;  his  dominion  reaches  to  Dilbat  to  the  south  of 
Babylon,  but  he  makes  no  effort  to  encroach  on  Sumer. 
Indeed,  he  appears  to  have  had  some  trouble  in  con- 
trolling all  of  Akkad,  for  we  learn  of  an  expedition 
against  Kasallu  to  the  north  of  Kish  which  refused 
to  submit  to  Sumuabu's  dominion  and  which  is  there- 
fore destroyed  by  him.  The  patesi  of  Ashur — the  old 
capital  of  Assyria — llushuma,  also  makes  an  attack 
on  Sumuabu,  which  is  significant  as  foreshadowing  the 
rivalry  between  the  two  Semitic  kingdoms  of  Meso- 
potamia, that  of  Babylonia  in  the  south  and  of  Assyria 
in  the  north.  After  a  rule  of  eleven  years,  Sumuabu 
is  succeeded  by  Sumulailu,  whose  long  reign  of  thirty- 
six  years  (c.  2211-2176  B.C.)  was  largely  devoted  to 
strengthening  the  newly  established  kingdom  and  to 
overcoming  rivals  who  appeared  on  various  sides.  It 
was  not  until  near  the  close  of  his  reign  that  Sumulailu 
succeeded  in  overcoming  his  foes  and  rivals,  and  in 
establishing  himself  as  ruler  of  the  entire  north.  He 
is  the  real  founder  of  the  dynasty  of  Babylon  whose 
name  is  celebrated  as  such  by  his  successors.  His  suc- 
cessors, to  be  sure,  still  had  difficulties  to  contend  with. 
Rebellions  broke  out  here  and  there,  but  were  sup- 
pressed aparcntly  with  increasingly  less  effort,  so  that 
the  strength  of  the  kingdom  was  well  maintained. 

The  time  was  approaching  for  the  supreme  test  of 
this  strength  in  passages  of  arms  with  the  Elamitie 
rulers  who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  obtained  the  mastery 
of  Sumer.  The  kings  of  Babylon  were  unable  to  pre- 
vent the  aggressiveness  of  Kudurmabug  and  his  two 
sons,  Aradsin  and  Rim-Sin,  whom  he  had  placed  on  the 
throne  of  Larsa.  It  may  be,  indeed,  that  they  abetted 
Elam  in  its  endeavors  to  crush  the  Sumerians.  The 
seventeenth  year  of  Sin-muballit's  reign,  corresponding 
to  about  2126  B.C.,  is  entered  in  business  documents  as 

10 


146  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

the  one  in  which  Isin  was  captured.  This,  we  know, 
was  the  work  of  Rim-Sin  and  not  of  Sin-muballit,  but 
if  the  event  is  recognized  in  Babylon  as  a  basis  for  the 
official  dating  of  documents,  it  is  tempting  to  suppose 
that  Sin-muballit  was  in  some  measure  involved  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  Isin  dynasty.42  He  certainly  appears 
to  have  taken  advantage  of  disturbed  conditions  in  the 
south  by  making  an  attack  on  Ur,  which  was  recorded 
as  having  been  successful/3  But  if  a  coalition  between 
Sin-muballit  and  Rim-Sin  existed,  it  must  soon  have 
become  apparent  that  it  could  not  last.  When  two 
aggressive  kingdoms  are  brought  face  to  face,  it  is  only 
a  question  of  time  before  hostilities  between  the  two 
will  break  out.  There  was  no  room  for  both  Amorites 
and  Elamites.    The  one  or  the  other  had  to  yield. 

Within  two  years  after  the  end  of  the  Isin  dynasty, 
Sin-muballit  dies  and  is  succeeded  (c.  2123  B.C.)  by  his 
son,  Hammurapi,  who  so  amply  merits  the  title  of 
" Great"  He  at  once  inaugurates  an  aggressive  policy 
which  brings  city  after  city  into  his  control.  In  2117  he 
succeeds  in  wresting  Uruk  and  Isin  from  the  Elamites 
and  follows  up  his  advantage  by  moving  against  the 
Elamitic  border  state  Emutbal  in  the  following  year. 
A  number  of  years  passed,  however,  before  the  great 
conqueror  succeeded  in  capturing  Ur  and  Larsa  and 
in  bringing  the  booty  to  Babylon.  Emutbal  became 
a  province  of  the  Amorite  kingdom  in  2090  B.C.,  and  in 
another  year  all  Sumer  acknowledged  Hammurapi 's 
supremacy.  During  the  last  nine  years  of  his  reign 
he  displayed  the  same  energy  in  promoting  works  of 
peace,  enlarging  the  canal  system,  and  furnishing  Uruk 
and  other  cities  with  an  abundant  water  supply.    He 

41  Sin-muballit  did  not  go  so  far  as  to  actually  claim  that  he 
put  an  end  to  the  Isin  dynasty,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  in  busi- 
ness documents  for  the  seventeenth  year,  there  is  an  alternative 
dating  of  a  totally  different  character.  See  Schorr,  Altbabylonisch* 
Recktsurkunden,  p,  588. 

49  See  the  date  for  the  eighteenth  year  (Schorr,  I.e.). 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     147 


restores  the  temples  in  Larsa,  Eridu,  Lagash,  Khallab, 
Cuthah,  and  Adab,  which  had  suffered  during  the  pro- 
longed period  of  the  wars;  he  is  equally  concerned  for 
the  old  centres  of  the  north,  such  as  Opis  and  Kish. 
Naturally  his  chief  concern  is  for  his  capital,  Babylon, 
and  next  to  this  for  the  neighboring  Borsippa  and  for 
Sippar,  which  remains  in  specially  close  touch  with 
Babylon.  The  chief  cities  of  Assyria,  Ashur  and 
Nineveh,  included  in  his  empire,  are  also  the  objects  of 
his  care.  His  aim  is  evidently  to  establish  a  permanent 
union  between  the  Semitic  and  the  non-Semitic  ele- 
ments of  the  population  of  Sumer  and  Akkad.  The 
old  Sumerian  centres,  Eridu,  Nippur,  Ur,  Uruk  and 
Larsa,  retain  their  position  in  the  religious  organiza- 
tion, though  henceforth  deprived  of  political  impor- 
tance. Both  languages,  Sumerian  and  Akkadian,  are 
recognized  as  official.  Documents  are  not  infrequently 
set  up  in  both  languages,  though  in  the  cult  the  Su- 
merian continues  for  some  time  to  occupy  the  first 
place.  Hammurapi  crowns  his  career  by  a  codification 
and  formal  promulgation  of  the  laws  which  were  to 
serve  as  the  basis  of  legal  decisions  and  according  to 
which  justice  was  to  be  dealt  out.  Already  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign  he  emphasizes  his  aim  to  establish 
justice  in  his  dominions,  so  that,  in  a  measure,  his 
famous  code — discovered  at  Susa  in  1901,  whither  it 
had  been  carried  as  a  trophy  of  war  by  the  Elamites  in 
the  twelfth  century  * — is  one  of  his  earliest  works,  but 
since  it  was  not  promulgated  until  the  close  of  his 
career,  after  he  had  finished  his  long  series  of  wars  and 
had  succeeded  in  uniting  all  of  Babylonia,  as  we  may 
from  now  on  designate  the  country  brought  under  a 
single  ride,  it  represents,  as  it  were,  his  last  testament 
— the  monument  of  his  career,  which  was  of  a  more 
enduring  character  than  any  of  his  other  achievements 
in  war  or  in  peace.45 

**  See  above,  p,  113,  note  88. 

46  See  an  analysis  of  the  code  in  Chapter  VI. 


148 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


IX 

Hammurapi  \s  reign  thus  closes  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  country  and  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
new  age.  The  prolonged  struggle  between  Sumerians 
and  Akkadians  ends  in  the  definite  supremacy  of  the 
latter,  reinforced  by  the  Amorites.  Babylonia  as  a 
united  empire  with  Semitic  rulers  on  the  throne  arises 
out  of  the  issue  to  become  a  dominant  factor  in  the 
world's  history.  The  Akkadian  language  replaces  the 
Sumerian  as  the  popular  speech  and  becomes  also  the 
official  inediiun,  although  for  the  present  it  did  not 
drive  the  Sumerian  entirely  out  of  use. 

A  survey  of  the  history  such  as  we  have  attempted 
up  to  the  days  of  Hammurapi  makes  it  perfectly  clear 
why  the  culture  of  Babylonia  and  therefore  also  that 
of  Assyria  is  essentially  a  mixed  product,  due  to  the 
long-continued  process  of  alternating  conflict  and  as- 
similation between  the  Semitic  and  non-Semitic  ele- 
ments of  the  population.  If  the  Semites  come  out  of 
this  conflict  as  the  conquerors,  they  nevertheless  have 
absorbed  much  of  the  Sumerian  culture;  in  fact,  the 
ability  to  combine  these  foreign  elements — the  script, 
the  religious  beliefs,  the  rites,  the  military  organiza- 
tion and  other  features — with  their  own  points  of  view 
and  contributions  to  civilization  is  to  be  accounted  as 
an  important  factor  in  leading  to  their  ultimate 
triumph.  From  the  time  of  Hammurapi,  we  may 
drop  all  distinctions  of  Sinner  and  Akkad  and  speak  of 
the  Sumero-Akkadian  kingdom,  or  more  briefly  Baby- 
lonia, since  Babylon  as  the  political  centre  now  assumes 
a  fundamental  importance. 

A  centralizing  tendency  in  religion  also  sets  in,  as 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  point  out  in  the  following 
chapter,  leading  to  heaping  on  Marduk,  as  the  god  of 
the  city  of  Babylon,  the  powers  and  attributes  of  all 
the  chief  gods,  the  patrons  of  the  old  centres  in  the 
south  and  north.     Babylon  and  Marduk  become  the 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     149 


dominating  factors  in  the  historical  and  religious  for- 
tunes of  the  country;  and  in  view  of  the  wide  scope 
!of  religion  in  ancient  civilizations,  the  two  factors  also 
that  condition  the  further  steps  in  the  unfolding  of 
the  culture  of  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
x 
It  was  no  easy  task  for  even  so  great  a  ruler  such  as 
Hammurapi  was  to  hold  a  vast  empire  together.  The 
only  hope  lay  in  bringing  about  an  assimilation  of  the 
population  to  the  extent  at  least  of  creating  a  feeling 
of  national  pride  as  the  basis  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
political  integrity  of  the  realm.  Such  a  policy,  how- 
ever, had  its  distinct  limitations.  Sumer  and  Akkad 
could  be  brought  together  in  this  way.  Assyria  in  the 
north  was  still  too  weak  to  offer  serious  resistance,  but 
these  conditions  did  not  apply  to  districts  beyond  As- 
syria to  the  north  and  northeast — the  land  of  the  Guti, 
Lullubi  and  other  groups  of  whom,  in  fact,  we  hear 
nothing  during  the  period  of  the  dynasty  of  Babylon, 
while  Elam  to  the  East,  chafing  under  the  humiliat- 
ing yoke,  merely  waited  for  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  again  reassert  herself. 

The  opportunity  came  not  many  years  after  the 
death  of  Hainmurapi,  in  2081  B.C.  The  same  Rim-Sin 
who  overthrew  Ism,  and  who  was  himself  obliged,  after 
a  long  and  desperate  struggle,  to  yield  to  Hammurapi, 
once  more  became  active  despite  his  advanced  years.46 
After  his  defeat  by  Hammurapi,  he  appears  to  have 
returned  into  the  mountain  regions  bordering  on  Elam 
and  there  gathered  recruits  for  a  fresh  attack.  We 
hear  in  the  days  of  Samsuihma,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Hammurapi,  of  a  new  group,  the  Cassites,  who  were 
destined  to  become  the  controlling  element  in  Baby- 
lonia.   The  origin  of  these  Cassites  is  still  involved  in 

**  Assuming  that  he  was  a  very  young  man  at  his  conquest  of 
lain  in  2126  B.C.,  he  must  have  been  almost  eighty  years  old  when  he 
again  makes  the  attempt  to  regain  his  lost  prestige. 


150 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


considerable  doubt.47  They  wore  a  people  of  mountain- 
<  <  is,  semi  -barbarous,  but  capable  of  rapidly  absorbing 
the  elements  of  the  higher  civilization  with  which  they 
came  in  contact  in  Elam  and  subsequently  in  Babylonia, 
The  ninth  year  of  Sanisuiluna,  that  is  2071  B.C.,  records 
a  conflict  with  the  "Cassite  hordes"  which  stands  in 
connection  with  the  events  of  the  following  year,  in 
which  Samsuiluna  is  at  war  with  Einutbal,  Ur,  Uruk 
and  Isin.  In  the  same  year  we  find  Rim-Sin  in  pos- 
session of  Upi  (or  Opis),  the  old  border  city  in  the 
extreme  north  of  Babylonia,  and  assuming  with  the 
consent  of  the  chief  goddess  of  Upi,  Ninmakh,  the  title 
of  king  "over  the  whole  land.'*  Clearly  Rim-Sin  had 
succeeded  in  rallying  to  his  side  the  districts  in  the 
south  over  which  he  formerly  ruled  as  well  as  Emut- 
bal.  The  army  which  he  gathered  must  have  been  rein- 
forced by  the  Cassite  hosts,  aiding  him  to  march  across 
the  road  leading  from  Ecbatana  to  Babylon,  along 
which  lay  Upi  as  an  important  strategic  point.  The 
effort  of  Rim-Sin  and  his  allies,  however,  failed,  and 
Rim-Sin  appears  to  have  perished  in  the  flames  of  his 
own  palace.  Samsuiluna  took  his  revenge  on  Ur  and 
Uruk  by  destroying  the  walls  of  these  two  ancient 
centres. 

For  all  that,  he  could  not  prevent  frequent  upris- 
ings in  various  parts  of  Babylonia,  nor  the  constitution 
of  a  rival  state  in  the  marshy  districts  of  the  extreme 
south,  spoken  of  in  the  inscriptions  as  the  "sea  land." 
Here  we  find  Ilumailu  establishing  himself  as  king, 
c,  2070  b.c,  and  giving  considerable  trouble  to  Samsui- 
luna (2080-2043  b.c.)  and  to  his  son  and  successor, 
Abeshu  (2042-2015  b.c.).  The  rulers  of  the  "sea  land" 
who  maintained  their  independence  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  period  of  the  firjst  dynasty  of  Babylon 
were  probably  not  Semites,  despite  the  Semitic  forma- 
tion of  their  names.  We  may  see  in  them  the  last  faint 
and  desperate  efforts  of  Sumerians,  driven  into  the 

41  See  Meyer,  Geschichte  dea  Altertums  I,  2,  p.  652?  seq. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     151 


waste  lands  of  the  south,  difficult  of  access,  to  assert 
themselves.  Though  for  the  greater  part  obliged  to 
limit  their  jurisdiction  to  a  small  strip  bordering  on 
the  Persian  Gulf — the  portion  of  Babylonia  that  sub- 
sequently became  known  as  Chaldsea — the  successors  of 
Ilumailu,  of  whom  we  know  no  less  than  ten,  made 
incursions  from  time  to  time,  in  the  hope  of  regaining 
at  least  the  old  capital  Isin — the  last  stronghold,  as 
we  have  seen,  of  the  opponents  of  the  dynasty  of 
Babylon.  For  a  short  time,  indeed,  Damikilishu  II — 
adopting  the  name  of  the  last  ruler  of  the  Isin  dynasty 
— succeeds  in  this  aim.  He  occupies  the  city  and  re- 
builds the  wall,  but,  about  1988  B.C.,  we  have  the  record 
that  Ammiditana  (c.  2014^-1978  B.C.),  the  son  of  Abeshu, 
destroyed  this  wall,  which  naturally  involved  the  cap- 
ture of  the  place.  The  two  successors  of  Ammiditana 
appear  to  have  kept  the  rival  kings  in  check,  but  in  the 
year  1926  B.C.,  a  strange  occurrence  brings  the  dynasty 
of  Babylon  to  a  sudden  end.  This  was  an  invasion  of 
the  Hittites,  with  whom  a  new  and  entirely  unexpected 
factor  enters  into  Babylonian  history.  These  Hittites 
come  from  the  northwest,  from  the  Taurus  range  and 
beyond.48  The  name  Khatti  given  to  them  appears 
to  be  one  that  acquired  a  very  wide  and  general  signifi- 
cance and  included  a  variety  of  groups,  of  whom  the 
Mitanni  in  northwestern  Mesopotamia  represent  a  sub- 
division. The  centre,  however,  of  Hittite  dominion  was 
in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  stretching  at  an  early 
time  up  to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  Here  we 
find  a  powerful  kingdom  established  which  in  the  fif- 
teenth century  is  able  to  oppose  an  active  resistance 
against  the  attempts  of  Egyptian  rulers  to  bring  north- 
ern Syria  under  their  control.  The  entire  region  from 
northern  Syria  to  Boghaz-Keui,  near  the  Black  Sea, 
is  covered  with  mounds  containing  remains  of  Hittite 
palaces  and  forts  which,  while  showing  the  decided 

"See  Garstang,  Land  of  the  Hittites  (London,  1910),  and  Ed. 
Meyer,  Reich  und  Kuttur  dcr  Chetitcr  (Berlin,  1914) ;  also  above, 
p.  116. 


152 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


influence  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  models,49  have  yet 
distinctive  features  which  justify  us  in  speaking  of 
the  Hittites  as  a  unit,  though  it  must  always  he  borne 
in  mind  that  the  terai  is  merely  a  convenient  one  for 
massing  together  a  number  of  groups  that  combined  to 
form  powerful  kingdoms  in  central  and  northern  Asia 
Minor,  and  then,  pressing  southwards,  established  a 
number  of  independent  states  in  northern  Syria  be- 
tween the  Euphrates  and  the  Taurus  range  and  prob- 
ably also  in  the  Zagros  range,  while  offshoots  proceeded 
still  further  south  and,  entering  Palestine  proper,  be- 
came an  element  of  the  very  mixed  population  of  that 
region.  Hittite  groups  thus  covered  an  enormous  area 
and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  a  contingent, 
attracted  by  the  culture  of  Babylonia,  passing  into  this 
region  in  the  hope  of  establishing  themselves  there. 
The  Hittites  swooped  down  upon  Babylonia  and,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  weakened  conditions  through  the  con- 
stant attacks  from  the  rival  kingdom  in  the  "sea  land," 
which  had  to  be  repulsed,  actually  succeeded  in  over- 
throwing Samsuditana  in  the  year  1926  B.C.  The  attack 
was  probably  undertaken  as  a  plundering  raid,  to  which 
an  open  country  like  the  Euphrates  Valley  was  fre- 
quently subject,  but  for  the  time  being  with  the  result 
of  actually  placing  a  Hittite  chieftain  on  the  throne  of 
Babylon.  How  long  the  Hittites  remained  in  control 
we  do  not  know,  as  in  general  our  knowledge  of  the 
closing  years  of  the  dynasty  of  Babylon  is  still  very 
defective,  while  with  the  downfall  of  this  dynasty  a 
gap  of  a  most  serious  character  ensues  which  stretches 
over  the  succeeding  centuries. 


XI 


Until  a  short  time  ago  it  seemed  possible  to  join  a 
short  Hittite  occupancy  of  Babylonia  directly  on  to  the 
conquest  of  the  land  by  the  Cassites,  whose  first  en- 

"  See  Plate  LIV,  Fig.  1,  for  specimen  of  Hittite  art,  showing 
Assyrian  influence. 


. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     153 

counters  with  the  kings  of  Babylon,  it  will  be  recalled, 
took  place  in  the  reign  of  Samsuiluna.  This  is,  now 
that  a  more  definite  basis  for  dating  the  reigns  of  the 
mlers  of  the  Babylon  dynasty  has  been  secured,50  not 
easily  possible,  indeed  one  may  say  out  of  the  question. 
As  a  makeshift  it  is  assumed  that  the  rulers  of  the  "sea 
land"  availed  themselves  of  the  disturbed  condition  of 
affairs  through  the  invasion  of  the  Hittites  and  suc- 
ceeded not  only  in  gaining  control  of  Isin  and  the  land 
of  Sumer  in  general,  but  also  of  Akkad,  and  ruled  as 
kings  of  Sumer  and  Akkad  for  a  period  of  about  150 
years.  There  are  some  indications  pointing  in  this 
direction.  Until,  however,  further  documents  for  this 
period  shall  be  forthcoming,  we  cannot  trace  the  course 
of  events  which  led  (c.  1760  B.C.)  to  the  conquest  of  the 
entire  country  by  the  Cassites.  All  that  may  safely  be 
inferred  is  that  the  interval  (c.  1926-1760  B.C.)  between 
the  invasion  of  the  Hittites  and  the  establishment  of  a 
dynasty  of  Cassite  rulers  who  maintained  themselves 
on  the  throne  for  more  than  half  a  millennium  must 
have  been  marked  by  unrest,  by  frequent  shif tings  of 
the  political  kaleidoscope  and  by  internal  disturbances 
during  which  there  was  in  many  respects  a  reversion  to 
earlier  conditions  when  Sinner  and  Akkad  were  hope- 
lessly divided  up  into  a  considerable  number  of  in- 
dependent little  states. 

XII 

The  Cassites  did  not  remain  idle  during  this  inter- 
val. While  originally  perhaps  serving  merely  as  mer- 
cenaries in  the  army  of  Rim-Sin,  they  must  soon  after 
his  death  have  obtained  a  position  of  mastery  in  the 
border  state  of  Emutbal.  From  this  point  of  vantage 
they  would  be  apt  to  make  incursions  into  the 
Euphrates  Valley  and  if  we  were  better  informed  re- 
garding this  period,  we  would  probably  find  them  hold- 

50  By  Kugler,  Sternkunde  und  Sterndieiist  in  Babel,  II,  2,  Heft  I, 
p.  257,  seq.,  on  the  basis  of  notices  in  astrological  texts. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

ing  portions  of  the  laud  in  their  control.  Elam  proper 
must  also  have  been  affected  by  the  proximity  of  these 
warlike  hordes.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  ever  actu- 
ally fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Cassites,  though  in 
default  of  documents  we  cannot  be  certain  of  this. 

The  Babylonian  Chroniclers  name  Gandash  as  the 
first  Cassite  ruler  who  lays  claim  to  titles  emphasizing 
control  of  Babylonia.  In  fact  he  calls  himself  in  an 
inscription  that  has  been  preserved  in  a  late  copy,51 
"King  of  the  Four  Regions,  King  of  Sunier  and  Akl 
King  of  Babylon/1  from  which  we  are  permitted  to 
conclude  that  he  asserted  his  complete  succession  to 
the  dynasty  of  Babylon,  but  it  does  not  of  course  fol- 
low that  he  was  the  first  Cassite  who  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing the  supremacy  over  any  portion  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  Predecessors  of  Gandash  for  many  genera- 
tions back  may  have  had  parts  of  Sumer  or  Akkad  in 
their  possession,  dividing  the  authority  with  the  rulers 
of  the  *4sea  land."  All  therefore  that  is  to  be  con- 
cluded from  the  official  recognition  of  Gandash  as  the 
first  ruler  of  the  Cassite  dynasty  is  that  with  him  the 
interference  of  the  Cassites  in  the  political  fortunes  of 
the  Euphrates  Valley  assumes  a  new  and  more  definite 
phase.  For  about  forty  years  the  rulers  of  the  4*sea 
land,"  no  doubt  driven  back  to  their  limited  marshy  dis- 
trict in  the  south,  were  able  to  maintain  themselves 
until  about  1720  B.C.,  when  their  rule  was  practically 
brought  to  an  end  by  Ulamburiash,  the  Cassite  who 
calls  himself  the  brother  of  Kashfiliash  I. 

A  strange  issue  indeed  of  the  long  continued  con- 
flicts between  Sumerians  and  Akkadians  that  after  such 
various  vicissitudes  in  which  Semitic  influences  steadily 
gained  the  mastery,  the  prize  should  have  been  snatched 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  two  rivals  by  a  foreign  power, 
and  one  that  represented  a  far  lower  levd  of  culture. 
The  Cassites  indeed  brought  little  with  them  that  could 

*l  Winckler,  Untersuchungen  zur  Altorientalischen  Gcschkhte, 
pp.  34  and  156. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     155 


egarded  as  an  addition  to  the  civilization  which  they 
lated  unless  it  be  the  horse,  which  appears  to 
have  been  introduced  by  them,52  as  better  adapted  than 
the  ass  for  purposes  of  war — particularly  for  drawing 
chariots  across  mountain  regions.  Indeed  many  cen- 
turies lapsed  before  it  became  customary  to  use  the 
horse  also  as  a  riding  animal  as  we  find  it  on  the  monu- 
ments of  Assyrian  kings.  The  Cassites  appear  to 
have  adopted  the  civilization  of  Babylonia  in  a  sur- 
prisingly short  time ;  they  retain  the  names  of  the  chief 
deities  worshipped  by  them53  but  assimilated  them  to 
figures  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon,  to  whom  they  bore 
a  resemblance.84 

A  civilization  having  reached  a  certain  point  does 
not  stand  still ;  it  either  moves  forward  or  a  period  of 
decline,  albeit  temporary,  sets  in.  The  latter  appears 
to  have  been  the  result  of  the  coming  of  the  Cassite 
hordes.  The  works  of  art  of  this  period  are  few  in 
number,  which  may  of  course  be  due  to  accidental  pres- 
ervation, but  what  we  have  is  of  a  decidedly  lower 
order.  The  best  specimens  are  the  so-called  boundary 
stones,  large  steles  of  hard  or  soft  stone  or  of  a  com- 
posite material,  recording  gifts  of  lands  or  special  deeds 
illustrated  with  symbols  and  representations  of  the 
gods  and  occasionally  of  rulers  in  whose  reigns  these 

"  The  code  of  Hammurapi  does  not  mention  the  horse,  but  we 
find  it  referred  to  in  a  business  document  of  this  period.  (See 
Ungnad,  Oriental.  Litteraturzeitung,  X,  Sp.  638,  seq.)  \  it  does  not 
become  common,  however,  until  the  time  of  Cassite  control.  The 
horse  (sisu)  is  written  ideograph ically  "ass  of  the  mountain,"  an 
indication  of  the  district  whence  it  was  brought  to  Babylonia.  See 
Meyer,  Qeschirkte  des  AUeriums,  I,  2,  p,  651,  seq. 

"See  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyltmicns  und  Assyrkns,  I,  p.  180 
and  the  references  there  given. 

"  Shipak  is  identified  with  Marduk,  Khala  with  the  goddess 
Gula,  Shukamuna,  who  appears  to  have  been  the  head  of  the 
Cassite  pantheon,  with  Nergal,  Shuriash  with  Shamash,  and  Marut- 
tash  with  Ninib. 


156 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


monuments  were  set  up,55  No  literary  products  date, 
so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  from  the  five  centuries  of 
Cassite  supremacy.  The  old  was  preserved  and  we  do 
not  even  find  evidence  of  any  adaptation  of  ancient 
hymns  or  rituals  or  myths  to  the  changed  conditio 
such  as  happened  when  Babylon,  with  Marduk  as  the 
chief  deity,  took  the  place  of  Nippur  and  Enlil,56  or  as 
happened  centuries  later  when  the  Babylonian  literature 
was  carried  over  to  Assyria  and  adapted  to  conditions 
prevailing  in  the  north.  It  may  he  that  certain  divina- 
tion practises  were  brought  to  Babylonia  by  the 
Cassites,07  but  this  can  certainly  not  be  regarded  as  a 
contribution  to  culture,  as  little  as  can  changes  in  mili- 
tary organization  and  warfare  which  they  may  have 
introduced.  The  ancient  laws  were  retained  by  the 
Cassite  rulers,  as  the  business  documents,  which  from 
the  days  of  Burnaburiash  (c.  1370  B.C.)  become  quite 
numerous,88  show.  The  one  important  innovation  in 
these  documents  is  the  introduction  of  dating  according 
to  the  years  of  the  ruling  monarch,  instead  of  accord- 
ing to  significant  events. 

While  continuing  to  recognize  Babylon  as  the  official 
residence,  the  Cassite  rulers  seemed  bent  on  restoring 
to  Nippur  the  prestige  which  this  centre  lost  in  a  meas- 
ure through  the  transfer  of  the  headship  of  the  pan- 
theon to  Marduk  as  the  chief  deity  of  Babylon.  We 
find  the  Cassites  displaying  great  zeal  in  restoring  and 

"See  the  illustration  and  also  in  Chapter  VII.  Plates  LXXIII 
and  LXXIV. 

••  See  p.  212,  seq. 

5T  Probably  the  divination  through  the  play  of  oil  bubbles  in 
water,  for  which  see  p.  266  and  the'  reference  there  given. 

68  E.g.,  in  Nippur.  See  Clay,  Documents  from  the  Temple 
Archives  Dated  in  the  Reigns  of  Cassite  Rulers  (Philadelphia,  1906, 
2  vols.),  and  the  same  author's  Personal  Names  from  Cuneiform 
Inscriptions  of  the  Cassite  Period  (New  Haven,  1912) ;  in  Babylon, 
also,  business  documents  of  the  time  of  Burnaburiash  II  onwards 
have  been  found. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     157 

improving  the  sanctuary  of  Enlil  at  Nippur,  which, 
however,  did  not  hinder  them  from  paying  their  homage 
to  the  chief  patron  deities  of  other  centres,  to  Sin  or 
Nannar  at  Ui\  to  Shamash  at  Larsa,  to  Nana  in  Uruk 
and  naturally  also  to  Marduk  in  Babylon. 

XIII 

We  must  now  leave  Babylonia  for  a  while  and  turn 
our  attention  to  the  north,  for  before  the  Cassite  do- 
minion comes  to  an  end  (c.  1200  e.g.),  we  find  the  rulers 
of  Assyria  not  only  in  a  position  of  complete  independ- 
ence of  the  south,  but  inaugurating  the  aggressive 
policy  which  in  duo  course,  with  many  turns  and  twists, 
to  be  sure,  made  them  the  masters  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  ancient  world — world-conquerors  in  the  full 
sense  of  the  term. 

Despite  the  large  advance  signalled  in  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  earliest  period  of  Assyrian  history  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  thorough  excavations  that  have  been 
conducted  during  the  past  fourteen  years  by  the  Ger- 
man expedition  at  Kaleh-Shergat,50  the  site  of  the 
ancient  capital  of  Assyria,  we  are  still  in  the  dark  as 
to  the  origin  of  the  northern  state  or  the  manner  of  its 
settlement.  The  region  offers  a  ready  access  to  the 
northern  hordes  always  pressing  southwards  from  their 
mountain  recesses,  and  since  the  names  of  some  of  the 
earliest  personages  in  connection  with  the  history,  of 
Assyria  show  affiliations  with  Mitanni  names,  as,  for 
example,  Ushpia,  the  first  builder  of  the  temple  at 
Ashur,  and  Kikia  who  built  the  city  wall,  we  are  per- 
mitted to  conclude  that  Hittite  groups  formed  a  con- 
tingent in  the  earliest  settlements  of  Assyria  to  which 
the  material  f  ound  leads  us.  Waves  of  Amoritic  migra- 
tions or  invasions  must  also  have  reached  Assyria  at 
an  early  date,  and  the  circumstance  that  one  of  the 
oldest  temples  in  Ashur  is  dedicated  to  the  god  Adad, 
oi  Amoritic  origin,  in  conjunction  with  Ami,  the  patron 

■•Above,  p.  55,  seq. 


158 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


god  of  Uruk  who  becomes  the  god  of  heaven  in  gen- 
eral, is  significant.6''  The  natural  extension  northwards 
of  the  Euphratean  civilization  would  further  tend  to 
bring  a  steady  string  of  settlers  from  the  south. 

The  extension  of  the  script  and  language  of  Baby- 
lonia to  Assyria  forms  naturally  the  most  significant 
symptom  of  the  spread  of  the  culture  produced  in  the 
south,  for  with  the  script  and  language  went  the  re- 
ligious beliefs  and  practises  (adapted  so  far  as  neces- 
sary to  modified  conditions),  as  well  as  the  laws  as  an 
inherent  element  of  the  religion,  deriving  their  author- 
it)  direct  from  the  gods.  The  form  in  which  the  culture 
is  passed  on  is  that  assumed  through  the  gradual  pre- 
dominance of  the  Semitic  or  Akkadian  element  of  the 
population.  The  earliest  inscriptions  recovered,  which 
take  us  back  to  considerably  beyond  2000  B.C.,  are 
couched  in  Akkadian,  which  is  perhaps  also  to  be  taken 
as  an  indication  that  the  movement  to  the  north  was 
largely  from  Akkad,  the  centre  of  the  Semitic  settle- 
ments, rather  than  from  Sumer. 

As  already  pointed  out,  the  new  documents  found 
in  considerable  numbers  through  the  excavations  of 
Kaleh-Shergat  enable  us  to  carry  back  the  history  of 
Assyria  to  several  centuries  beyond  the  threshold  of  the 
third  millennium  before  this  era,  but  the  facts  gleaned 
from  these  documents,  usually  brief  votive  inscriptions, 
are  meagre.  We  learn  the  names  of  early  rulers,  call- 
ing themselves  at  first  patesis*1  who  record  their  ac- 
tivity in  building  walls  or  enlarging  temples  in  the 
city  of  Ashur  dedicated  to  various  gods,  as  Ashur,  Ish- 
tar,  Enlil,  Anu  and  Adad  and  the  goddess  of  the  lower 
world,  EreshkigaL  It  is  not  until  we  reach  the  days  of 
Samsi-Adad,  son  of  Ishme-Dagan,  whose  date  may  be 
provisionally  fixed  at  e.  1850  B.c,  that  we  obtain  a 

M  The  temple  is  always  spoken  of  as  the  "house  of  Anu  and 
Adad." 

fll  See  Messerschmidt,  Keilschrifttcxte  Aus  Assur  (Leipzig,  1911) . 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     159 


more  definite  picture  of  the  internal  state  of  affairs. 
This  ruler  already  bestows  on  himself  the  title  "king 
of  universal  reign,"  which  the  later  kings  of  Assyria 
so  proudly  wield  and  with  far  more  justification.  How- 
ever, Samsi-Adad  would  assuredly  not  have  used  the 
title  without  some  claim,  albeit  exaggerated,  as  a  result 
of  conquests  made  by  him.    We  find  him,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  extending  his  realm  far  beyond  the  natural 
confines  of  Assyria.     He  speaks  of  subjecting  to  his 
control  "the  land  between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates/ ' 
by  which  presumably  he  means  Mesopotamia  proper 
to  the  west  of  Assyria  and  which  would  include  the 
Hittite  settlements  of  Khani  in  that  region.     This  is 
confirmed  by  a  tablet  found  in  Tirka,  the  capital  of 
Khani,  speaking  of  Samsi-Adad  *s  activity  in  building 
a  temple  to  Dagan  in  that  centre.    He  passes  still  fur- 
ther to  the  north  into  the  mountain  districts  of  the 
Lebanon  and  erects  monuments  on  "the  coast  of  the 
great  sea,"  by  which  he  means  the  Mediterranean.63 
To  conquer  such  an  extensive  territory  was  no  small 
achievement,  and  it  points  to  a  remarkable  advance  in 
power  that  the  rulers  of  the  city  of  Ashur  should  be 
prepared  to  take  up  the  policy  of  the  old  Sumerian 
kings  like  Lugalzaggisi  and  Urukagina,  and  of  Akkad- 
ian  conquerors   like   Sargon,   Naram-Sin   and   Ham- 
murapi,  to  stretch  their  dominions  to  the  " great  sea." 
Samsi-Adad  would  not  have  been  able  to  carry  out 
such  a  plan  but  for  the  weakened  condition  of  the  south 
at  the  time,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  after  the  invasion 
of  the  Hittites  a  period  of  decided  decline  had  set  in. 

This  relationship  between  conditions  in  the  south 
and  those  in  the  north  becomes  characteristic  for  the 

•*  Hardly  the  Black  Sea  as  Meyer,  Geschickte  des  Altertums, 
1,  2,  p.  593.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  identify  Lab 'an  with  Lebanon, 
and  since  Samsi-Adad  immediately  thereafter  (col.  IV,  13-18) 
speaks  of  the  "coast  of  the  great  sea,"  he  cannot  have  in  mind 
anything  else  than  the  Mediterranean — and  in  all  probability  at  the 
point  where  the  Dog  River  enters  the  Mediterranean. 


160 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


future ;  and  we  will  have  occasion  to  see  how  constantly 
weakness  in  Babylonia  is  taken  advantage  of  by  As- 
syria for  an  aggressive  policy  and,  vice  versa,  periods 
of  decline  of  power  in  the  north  are  marked  by  a  re- 
newal of  strength  in  the  south.  With  the  triumph  of 
the  Cassites  in  Babylonia,  a  strong  central  power  was 
once  more  established  and,  correspondingly,  we  find 
Assyrian  rulers  unable  to  follow  up  the  policy  of  ex- 
tension inaugurated  by  Sanisi-Adad. 


XIV 

A  problem  in  connection  with  this  early  history 
Assyria  that  still  awaits  solution  is  to  account  for  the 
presence  of  an  extensive  settlement  in  far  distant  Cap- 
padocia,  making  use  of  the  cuneiform  script  and  Ak- 
kadian language  (with  certain  modifications)  for  re- 
cording business  transactions  on  clay  tablets  precisely 
like  those  to  which  we  are  accustomed  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  even  to  the  attachment  of  the  seals  of  the 
parties  concerned.03  Through  these  seals  furnishing 
names  of  rulers  of  the  Ur  dynasty  and  of  early  patesis 
of  Ashur,  we  are  enabled  to  say  definitely  that  these 
Cappadoeian  documents,  found  at  various  places  of  the 
extensive  district,  revert  to  a  period  as  high  as  about 
2400  B.C.,  and  come  down  to  about  1900,  though  a  defi- 
nite limit  at  the  other  end  has  not  yet  been  determined. 
The  proper  names  in  these  documents  are  unmistakably 
Assyrian,  as  is  shown  by  the  frequent  introduction  of 
the  element  Ashur — generally  written  Ashir  as  in  the 
oldest  Assyrian  inscriptions — in  names  of  individuals. 
A  further  proof  of  the  presence  of  Assyrians  in  this 
district  at  an  early  period  is  the  designation  Assyria 
given  by  early  Greek  geographers  to  the  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  Halys,  covering  precisely  the  region 

"  See  the  references  grouped  together  by  Meyer,  Oeschickte  des 
Altertums,  I,  2,  p.  613,  seq.f  and  the  note  on  page  viii  of  the  Intro- 
duction. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     161 


in  which  Cappadocian  tablets  have  been  found.  Even 
in  later  times,  the  inhabitants  of  Cappadocia  are  spoken 
of  as  Syrians  (an  abbreviation  of  Assyrians),  and  by 
way  of  contrast  to  the  Syrians  south  of  the  Taurus 
range  are  specified  as  " White  Syrians."64  How  are 
we  to  account  for  this  Assyrian  colony  in  a  district  so 
remote  from  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria  at  this  early 
date  ?  A  plausible  hypothesis  which  may  be  provision- 
ally accepted  is  to  assume  that  Assyrian  garrisons  were 
placed  here  to  maintain  some  measure  of  control  over 
the  land  and  that  around  these  garrisons,  owing  alle- 
giance to  rulers  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  settlements  of 
Assyrians  and  perhaps  also  of  Babylonians  grew  and 
maintained  commercial  and  other  relationships  with 
their  native  land.fla 

In  view  of  this  extension  of  Assyrian  influence  in 
Asia  Minor  at  so  unexpectedly  early  a  period,  even 
though  these  Semitic  settlements  represent  merely  the 
outgrowth  of  military  outposts,  the  aggressive  policy 
of  Samsi-Adad  centuries  later  appears  in  a  more 
natural  light.  What  he  did,  others  may  have  attempted 
before  him,  and  indeed  it  is  possible  that  he  endeavored 
to  secure  for  Assyria  a  control  of  lands  to  the  north- 
west that  had  been  wrested  from  her  while  her  rulers 
were  still  merely  patesis,  owing  allegiance  to  rulers  of 
the  south.  At  all  events,  the  advance  of  the  Hittites, 
marked  by  their  success  in  overthrowing  the  dynasty 
of  Babylon,  must  have  put  at  least  a  temporary  end  to 
Assyrian  control  in  Asia  Minor,  and  we  may  perhaps 
bring  the  end  of  the  settlements  in  Cappadocia  in  con- 
nection with  this  rise  of  the  Hittites  to  a  position  of 
extraordinary  power. 

64  See  the  references  given  by  Noldeke  in  Hermes,  vol.  v,  pp. 
443-468. 

"A  parallel  in  much  later  days  would  be  the  growth  of  an 
extensive  Jewish  colony  in  Upper  Egypt  out  of  a  military  frontier 
garrison  at  Elephantine.     See  Ed.  Meyer,  Papyrusfund  von  Ele- 
phantine (Leipzig,  1912). 
11 


162 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


But  for  the  presence  at  this  time  of  the  strong  Cas- 
site  rulers  in  Babylonia,  one  might  have  witnessed 
another  Hittite  invasion  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  If  we  place  Samsi-Adad  shortly 
before  the  definite  control  of  Babylonia  through  the 
Cassites,  we  obtain  a  date  for  the  decline  of  the  Hittite 
power  in  Babylonia,  c.  1750  B.C.,  which  answers  the 
required  conditions — the  weakened  state  of  the  south 
through  constant  uprisings  of  various  centres,  and  at- 
tempts of  rulers  of  the  "sea  land"  to  maintain  or  ex- 
tend their  power,  and  the  advantage  reaped  by  Assyria 
from  this  state  of  affairs  to  assert  her  independence 
and  to  push  on  to  a  renewed  control  of  the  regions  lying 
to  the  north  and  northwest. 

In  default  of  historical  documents  of  Assyrian 
rulers  for  the  succeeding  centuries  we  are  left  in  doubt 
as  to  the  further  course  of  this  extension  of  Assyrian 
power,  but  the  existence,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  of 
the  strong,  independent  state  of  Mitanni  in  northwest- 
em  Mesopotamia,  extending  to  the  Taurus  range,  and 
the  simultaneous  establishment  of  a  still  more  powerful 
Hittite  kingdom  with  a  centre  near  the  Black  Sea, 
furnish  a  date  for  the  reaction  which  must  have  forced 
Assyria  back  within  her  proper  bounds.  The  large 
admixture  of  Aryan  elements  at  this  time  to  the  Hittite 
population,  employed  perhaps  at  first  as  mercenaries 
and  then  rising  as  successful  soldiers  to  leading  posi- 
tions, is  to  be  regarded  as  an  important  factor  in  bring- 
ing new  vigor  to  the  various  Hittite  groups  throughout 
Asia  Minor. 

The  supremacy  of  the  Cassites  in  the  south,  reach- 
ing the  height  of  their  power  in  the  seventeenth  to  the 
fifteenth  centuries,  would  act  as  a  further  deterrent  in 
restricting  the  activity  of  Assyrian  rulers  to  keeping  a 
watch  on  the  formidable  neighbor,  whose  natural  am- 
bition would  be  to  re-establish  the  dependency  of 
Assyria  upon  Babylonia  which  had  prevailed  for  so 
many  centuries.    A  definite  point  of  contact  between 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     163 


the  Cassites  and  the  Assyrians  is  found  in  a  statement 
of  a  chronicler,66  that  the  Cassite  ruler  Karaindash, 
whose  reign  may  be  approximately  fixed  in  the  second 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  made  a  treaty  with  Ashur- 
rimnisheshu,  the  King  of  Assyria,  agreeing  by  a  solemn 
oath  to  respect  the  boundary  as  fixed  between  them.  That 
Assyria  is  strong  enough  to  compel  Babylonia  to  make 
an  agreement  regarding  the  boundary  between  the  two 
lands  is  extremely  significant,  pointing  as  it  does  to 
the  failure  of  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  Cassites  to 
secure  a  control  of  the  north.  The  northern  kingdom 
was  thus  steadily  growing  in  strength,  and  it  is  emi- 
nently likely  that  after  1500  B.C.  the  south  had  given  up 
all  hope  of  reducing  the  north  to  the  former  position 
of  subserviency.  Assyria,  in  fact,  was  beginning  to 
assume  the  role  of  aggressor,  though  some  time  natu- 
rally elapsed  before  she  was  ready  to  assume  a  direct 
interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  south.  This  was 
brought  about  through  the  marriage  of  an  Assyrian 
princess,  Muballitat-Sheru'a,  the  daughter  of  Ashur- 
uballit  (c.  1380-1350  B.C.),  with  Karakhardash,  the 
Cassite  ruler  of  Babylonia.  The  offspring  of  this  mar- 
riage, Karaindash,  was  murdered  in  a  rebellion  that 
broke  out  and  Ashur-uballit  proceeds  to  Babylonia  to 
wreak  vengeance  for  the  death  of  his  grandson.  He 
succeeds  in  this  to  the  extent  of  dispatching  Nazibug- 
ash,  an  usurper  and  the  ringleader  of  the  uprising.  In 
place  of  the  latter,  Kurigalzu  II,  another  son  of  Burna- 
buriash,  is  placed  on  the  throne  and  he  rules  for  twenty- 
three  years  (e.  1355-1332  B.C.). 

XV 

We  have  thus  reached  an  entirely  new  state  of 
affairs.  The  tables  are  turned  about.  The  more  vigor- 
ous Assyria  feels  called  upon  to  suppress  internal  dis- 
turbances in  Babylonia  and  to  secure  the  legitimate 
succession  to  the  throne.    There  are  other  indications 

f€  KeilinschrifUiche  BMiothek  (ed.  Schrader),  I,  p.  194. 


164 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


of  this  momentous  change  in  the  relationships  between 
the  south  and  north.  From  this  period,  the  middle  of 
the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,  date  the  important  official 
archives  found  some  twenty  years  ago  in  Tell  el- 
Amarna  in  Egypt,61  containing  a  portion  of  the  cor- 
respondence of  governors  and  other  officials  of  dis- 
tricts and  cities  in  Palestine  and  Syria  with  the  kings 
of  Egypt,  Amenophis  III  and  Amenophis  IV,  in  whose 
service  they  stood.  This  correspondence  is  carried  on 
in  Akkadian,  which,  as  a  result  of  the  spread  of  Baby- 
lonian culture,  had  become  current  beyond  the  borders 
of  Babylonia.  Included  in  the  correspondence  are  also 
letters  from  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  rulers  which 
throw  a  further  light  on  the  change  in  the  relationship 
between  the  two  countries.  The  Cassite  king  Burna- 
buriash  reproaches  Amenophis  IV  for  having  recog- 
nized Ashur-uballit  as  an  independent  monarch,  as  long 
as  Babylonia  still  laid  claim  to  a  supremacy  over  As- 
syria. This  complaint  is  a  proof  of  the  weakness  to 
which  the  south  had  been  reduced.  A  foreign  power  is 
appealed  to,  to  make  good  a  claim  that  had  long  since 
ceased  to  have  any  warrant  and  that  had  become  merely 
a  tradition  handed  clown  from  an  age  that  had  passed 
away.  The  Cassite  ruler  is  not  content  with  sending 
costly  gifts  to  Amenophis  III;  he  adds  his  daughter 
and  his  sister  to  be  incorporated  into  the  harem  of  the 
Egyptian  ruler,  and  it  is  indicative  of  the  situation  that 
Amenophis  refuses  the  request  of  the  Babylonian  king 
for  an  Egyptian  princess  in  return. 

Enlil-nirari,  the  successor  of  Ashur-uballit,  engages 
in  battle  with  Kurigalzu  II,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
latter  owed  his  throne  to  Assyrian  interference.  As- 
syria is  victorious  and  apparently  dictates  terms  in 
bringing  about  a  rearrangement  of  the  boundary  line. 
From  now  on  till  towards  the  end  of  the  Cassite  dy- 
nasty, Assyria  had  a  free  hand  in  extending  her  power 
to  the  north,  northeast  and  northwest,  with  occasional 

CT  See  the  Introduction  to  Knudtzon  's  standard  work,   Die 
El-Amarmtafcln  (Leipzig,  1908)  for  further  details. 


BABYLONIAN- ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     165 


incursions  even  into  Babylonia,  -which  the  latter,  how- 
ever, was  able  to  resist,  until,  about  1290  B.C.,  she  suc- 
cumbed for  a  while  to  the  authority  of  her  northern  foe. 
All  four  rulers  following  upon  Enlil-nirari  stand 
out  prominently  as  aggressive  warriors.  Erik-den-ilu, 
who  leads  his  armies  into  the  mountainous  regions  to 
the  northeast  as  well  as  to  the  northwest,  subdues  the 
Guti  in  the  Zagros  range  and  the  Hittite  groups  on  the 
western  side  of  Assyria  and  drives  back  the  Bedouins, 
grouped  under  Akhlami  and  Suti,  into  the  desert  lands 
to  the  southwest.  His  son,  Adadnirari  I,  continues  the 
work  of  his  father  and  claims  control  of  a  large  region 
to  the  east  as  well  as  to  the  northwest  of  Assyria.  Pie 
appears  definitely  to  have  put  an  end  to  the  Mitanni 
kingdom— ^an  important  achievement  as  a  road,  leading 
again  to  a  further  extension  of  Assyria  into  and  beyond 
the  Taurus  range.  Under  the  two  successors,  Shal- 
maneser  I  (c.  1300  B.C.)  and  Tukulti-Ninib  (c.  1290 
B.C.),  the  aggressive  policy  reaches  the  height  of  its 
success.  Chronicles  record  attacks  on  Babylonia  by 
Adadnirari  I,  by  Shalmaneser  I  and  by  Tukulti-Ninib  I, 
corresponding  to  the  reigns  of  Cassite  kings  from  Nazi- 
maruttash  (c.  1332-1307  B.C.)  to  Kashtiliash  II  (c. 
1261-1254  B.C.).  Each  attack  meant  not  only  a  weak- 
ening of  the  vitality  of  the  Cassite  rule  in  Babylonia, 
but  concessions  to  Assyria  in  the  settlement  of  the 
boundary  line  between  the  northern  and  southern  king- 
doms. Finally  after  several  campaigns,  Tukulti-ninib  I 
actually  besieges  Babylon  and  captures  the  reigning 
king,  Kashtiliash  II.  This  happened  about  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century.es  Babylonia  passes  entirely) 
into  control  of  Assyria,  as  is  indicated  by  the  titled 
"King  of  Karduniash"  (i.e.,  Babylonia  M)  and  "King 

*8  We  have  a  definite  indication  for  the  date  of  Tukulti-Ninib  in 
a  statement  in  one  of  Sennacherib's  inscriptions.  See  King, 
Records  of  Tukulti-Ninibt  I,  p.  60,  seq. 

*BFor  Kar-duniash  ("Fortress  of  the  god  Durtiash"  as  the 
Cassite  name  of  Babylonia,  see  Meyer,  Oeschichte  I,  2,  p.  659,  seq,, 
and  the  references  there  given. 


166 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


of  Sumer  and  Akkad"  which  Tukulti-Ninib  I  adds  to 
his  other  claims. 

With  Tukulti-Ninib  we  reach  the  climax  in  this 
period  of  Assyrian  aggressiveness.  Had  the  strength 
which  the  north  unfolded  at  this  time  been  maintained, 
Babylonia  would  in  a  short  time  have  become  merely  a 
province  of  Assyria.  Tukulti-Ninib,  however,  is  killed 
in  an  uprising  instituted  by  his  own  son,  and  the  de- 
cline of  Assyria  now  sets  in  with  such  rapidity  that 
she  not  only  loses  her  prestige  but  is  attacked  on  the 
north  by  the  various  mountain  groups,  while  Babylonia 
regains  her  independence  and  forces  her  favorites  on 
the  throne  of  Assyria.  For  a  short  time  indeed,  extend- 
ing from  the  reign  of  Ashur-reshishi  to  that  of  Tig- 
lathpileser  I,  covering  the  second  half  of  the  twelfth 
century  B.C.,  Assyria  recovers  her  position.  The  former 
succeeds  in  driving  back  the  Lulumi  and  the  Guti  and 
other  groups  into  their  mountain  recesses,  holds  the 
Bedouin  hordes  in  check  and  successfully  combats  an 
attack  from  Babylonia,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to 
reduce  the  district  recognized  by  previous  treaties  as 
constituting  the  extent  of  Assyria.  His  son,  Tiglath- 
pileser  I  (e.  1125-1100  B.C.),  maintains  the  prestige  re- 
covered by  his  father  and  increases  it  by  a  series  of 
campaigns  to  the  northeast  and  northwest  He  pene- 
trates to  the  sources  of  the  Euphrates,  far  up  in  the 
Nairi  district,  and  erects  a  monument  to  himself  there 
as  the  symbol  of  the  extent  of  the  dominion  once  more 
claimed  by  him.  He  forces  the  troublesome  Hittite 
groups  in  the  northwest  to  submission,  and  coming  into 
the  Taurus  range  makes  himself  master  of  an  extensive 
district  that  stretches  far  into  central  Asia  Minor. 
Egypt  once  more  acknowledges  the  independence  of 
Assyria ;  her  kings  send  gifts  to  Ashur  as  in  the  days  of 
Amenophis  III  and  IV.  Moreover,  Tiglathpileser  I 
surpasses  the  achievements  of  his  predecessors  on  the 
throne  of  Assyria,  and  in  imitation  of  the  ambition  of 
Babylonian  rulers  at  various  epochs  plants  his  stand- 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     167 


ards  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  Dog  River  he  erects  a  statue  of  himself,  with  an 
inscription  recording  his  achievements.  Tiglathpil- 
eser  I  crowns  his  achievements  by  two  campaigns 
against  Babylonia,  in  the  first  of  which  he  extends  the 
boundary  line  of  Assyria,  while  in  the  second  he  reaches 
and  captures  the  chief  cities  in  northern  Babylonia,  in- 
cluding the  capital  city,  Babylon.  Once  more,  there- 
fore, as  in  the  days  of  Tukulti-Ninib,  the  supremacy 
of  the  north  had  to  be  acknowledged  by  the  south,  but 
the  second  epoch  of  glory  was  of  even  shorter  duration 
than  the  first,  and  with  Tiglathpileser's  death  his  ex- 
tensive kingdom  once  more  crumbles  to  pieces.  For 
two  centuries  Assyria,  restricted  in  her  activity  to 
maintaining  herself  within  her  own  very  definite  and 
limited  boundaries,  plays  little  or  no  part  in  the  larger 
affairs  of  the  ancient  world, 

It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  rapid  decay 
after  the  exhibition  of  such  great  force.  The  burden 
of  military  campaigns  for  a  term  of  years,  involving 
the  annual  loss  of  thousands  of  men,  was  too  large  to 
be  borne,  nor  was  the  booty,  though  large,  or  the  tribute 
imposed  an  adequate  compensation  for  tBe  cost  and 
effort.  In  a  summary  of  five  years  of  his  reign,  Tig- 
lathpileser  speaks  of  having  conquered  no  less  than 
forty-two  countries,  covering  a  territory  that  stretched 
west  to  the  Mediterranean,  north  to  the  Black  Sea  and 
northeast  to  the  lake  of  Van  and  beyond.  In  the  case 
of  a  single  engagement,70  the  king  is  opposed  by  a  force 
of  20,000  men,  of  whom  only  six  thousand  escape.  From 
such  a  statement  we  can  infer  what  enormous  hosts 
must  have  been  gathered  together  by  him  to  carry  on 
wars  successfully  into  difficult,  aktK>9t  inaccessible, 
regions. 

Externally,  indeed,  everything  seemed  rosy  for  As- 

ria  when  Tiglathpileser  I  passed  away.  The  old 
capital  of  Ashur  had  risen  to  new  glory  in  the  enlarge- 

Vo  RawliBson,  I,  PL  9,  Col  I,  ?4. 


168 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ment  of  her  temples  and  palaces,  in  the  strengthening 
of  her  fortifications  and  in  the  tribute  that  poured  in 
from  all  sides.  He  laid  out  beautiful  parks  about  this 
palace,  bringing  trees  for  this  purpose  from  distant 
lands.  The  king  appears  also  to  have  been  the  one  who 
introduced  wild  hunting  sports  as  a  royal  pastime.  He 
hunts  elephants  on  the  banks  of  the  Chabur;  he  boasts 
of  having  killed  almost  one  thousand  lions  and  all  man- 
ner of  big  and  little  game  besides.  In  ships  he  sails 
along  the  Mediterranean  and  catches  a  sea  monster 
which  may  have  been  a  whale.71  Everything  that  the 
king  thus  does  is  on  a  huge  scale  and,  making  due  allow- 
ance for  the  exaggerations  of  his  chroniclers,  zealous  in 
flattering  their  royal  master,  enough  remains  to  show 
that,  in  peace  as  in  war,  Tiglathpileser  I  played  the 
part  of  the  grand  monarque — with  little  concern,  how- 
ever, whether  his  successors  would  be  able  to  keep  up 
the  grandeur  and  the  glory. 


XYI 


Returning  now  to  Babylonia,  we  have  still  to  trace 
her  history  after  the  first  serious  conflicts  with  Assyria 
down  to  the  close  of  the  Cassite  period.  We  have  seen 
that  the  coming  of  the  Cassites  marks  the  beginning 
of  a  period  of  stagnation  in  the  general  culture,  which 
after  some  tune  shows  itself  also  in  a  political  decline. 
Unfortunately,  owing  to  a  gap  in  our  knowledge  of  the 
events  during  the  two  centuries  that  followed  upon 
Agum  II,72  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  indicate  exactly 
when  the  decline  set  in  and  we  are  left  to  conjecture  as  to 
the  specific  causes  which  brought  it  about.  Difficulties  in 
keeping  the  native  population  in  check,  particularly  in 
the  south,  may  be  set  down  as  an  important  factor, 
for  both  Sumerians  and  Akkadians  must  have  chafed 

n  So  Haupt's  view.    See  Amer.  Jaurnal  of  Semitic  Languages, 
vol.  xxiii,  pp.  253-263.    The  Assyrian  term  is  nakhiru. 
Tt  Above,  p.  152, 


BABYL0NIAN-ASSYKIA3J  HISTORY     169 


under  the  humiliation  of  being  governed  by  foreign 
invaders.  The  jealousy  of  Elam,  seeking  every  oppor- 
tunity of  fomenting  internal  dissensions  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley  in  the  hope  of  profiting  by  the 
division,  is  a  second  factor,  but  one  more  fundamental 
was  the  general  lowering  of  the  niveau  of  culture 
through  the  mere  presence  of  rulers  who  represented  a 
cruder  element— one  that  had  to  be  assimilated  to  a 
higher  civilization.  In  the  course  of  such  a  process 
the  more  refined  element  suffers  a  temporary  eclipse. 

It  is  significant  as  a  general  symptom  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  Cassite  dynasty,  especially  from  the  six- 
teenth century  on,  that  Babylonia  was  unable  to  oppose 
the  Egyptian  control  over  Palestine  and  the  Phoenician 
coast  The  Hittites  alone  in  northeastern  Syria  and  in 
central  Asia  Minor  offered  resistance  to  the  advance  of 
Egyptian  arms,  while  Babylonian  kings  seemed  happy 
to  be  able  to  maintain  friendly  relations  through  inter- 
change of  gifts  with  the  rulers  on  the  Nile  who  were,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  their  natural  rivals  and  who  had 
wrested  from  their  control  the  important  strip  along 
the  Mediterranean  and  extending  inland  to  high  table 
lands  and  to  the  desert  region  respectively.  Babylonia 
thus  seemed  condemned  to  a  policy  of  concentration  to 
preserve  her  independence,  without  thought  of  extra- 
territorial extension.  She  is  not  even  well  prepared 
for  this  more  humble  role,  for  the  result  of  the  numer- 
ous conflicts  with  Assyria,  which  began,  as  we  saw,73 
in  the  reign  of  Karaindash  (c.  1430  B.C.),  is  a  steady 
growth  of  Assyrian  territory  by  changes  in  the  bound- 
ary lines  between  the  north  and  the  south,  until,  about 
two  centuries  later,  Babylonia  is  forced  to  accept  as 
her  rulers  the  candidates  selected  by  Assyrian  kings. 
The  south  profits  by  the  decline  in  the  power  of  Assyria 
which  sets  in  after  the  murder  of  Tiikulti-Ninib  I,  and 
through  some  of  her  rulers  is  able  to  avenge  herself 
for  the  humiliation  which  she  suffered  at  the  hands  of 

T»  Above,  p.  163. 


170 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Assyria.  In  several  successful  counter  attacks  on 
Assyria,  Babylonia  regained  some  of  the  territory  that 
she  had  been  obliged  to  yield  to  Assyria.  At  the  same 
time,  as  a  result  of  Assyrian  interference  in  Babylonian 
affairs,  the  influence  of  the  Semitic  element  of  the 
population  reasserted  itself;  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
conclude  that  the  rivalry  between  Cassites  and  the 
native  population,  not  completely  assimilated  despite 
the  lapse  of  so  many  centuries  of  coexistence  side  by 
side,  finally  led  to  a  vigorous  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Semites  to  regain  complete  possession  of  their  country. 
A  momentous  change,  however,  was  impending  in  the 
south,  for  within  four  years  after  the  death  of  Marduk- 
paliddin  (c.  1199-1187  B.C.)  the  native  chroniclers 
record  the  rise  of  a  new  dynasty  in  the  land. 

Our  knowledge  of  Babylonian  history  for  the  suc- 
ceeding two  and  one-half  centuries  is  still  quite  frag- 
mentary. Of  only  a  few  rulers  who  flourished  during 
this  period  do  we  possess  documents  of  a  historical 
character;  for  the  rest  we  are  dependent  upon  inci- 
dental references  in  the  annals  or  votive  inscriptions  of 
Assyrian  kings  and  on  short  notices  in  official  chron- 
icles. With  Enlil-nadin-akhi,  the  second  member  of 
the  new  dynasty,  the  chroniclers  close  the  Cassite  con- 
trol and  again  record  eleven  kings  of  the  Isin  dynasty 
covering  a  period  of  130  years.  It  is  no  longer  a  ques- 
tion of  a  Sumerian  Uprising,  for  that  epoch  is  long 
since  past.  The  assimilation  of  Sumerians  and  Ak- 
kadians is  an  accomplished  fact.  To  account  for 
another  Isin  dynasty,  we  must  assume  that,  during  the 
closing  years  of  the  Cassite  rule,  native  governors  in 
some  of  the  old  centres  once  more  made  themselves 
independent,  and  that  a  combination  of  such  petty 
states  headed  by  Isin  dealt  the  final  blow  which  ended 
the  foreign  rule  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  The  gov- 
ernors of  Isin  were  acknowledged  as  the  heads  of  the 
kingdom,  and  hence  officially  recognized  as  the  basis 
for  dating  legal  documents.    We  have  boundary  stones 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     171 


ated  in  the  reigns  of  several  of  these  rulers  from  which 
we  glean  some  facts  connected  with  their  reigns.  So, 
for  instance,  Nebuchadnezzar  I  (c.  1140-1110  B.C.)*  ap- 
parently an  usurper,  gains  some  successes  in  expedi- 
tions against  Elam.  He  also  claims  to  have  conquered 
the  Lulubi,  whose  seat  is  to  be  sought  in  the  Zagros 
range,  and  he  even  led  his  armies  to  the  northwest, 
though  his  achievements  here  could  not  have  been  of 
any  great  moment  Nebuchadnezzar  I  takes  the  aggivs 
sive  and  attempts  to  win  back  Assyria,  but  is  completely 
routed  by  Ashurrishishi.  Under  Ashurrishishi's  son, 
the  active  and  energetic  Tiglathpileser  I  (c.  1125-1100 
B.C.),  Assyria  recovered  her  former  prestige  and  again 
becomes  the  attacker  of  the  south,  threatening  the  very 
life  and  independence  of  Babylonia.  The  successors  of 
Tiglathpileser  were  unable  to  maintain  the  position 
won,  and  accordingly  we  find,  instead  of  a  subjection 
of  Babylonia  to  Assyria  or  a  renewal  of  hostilities  be- 
tween the  two  kingdoms,  an  era  of  mutual  good  will 
setting  in.  How  long  this  period  of  stability  lasted  is 
again  involved  in  doubt,  owing  to  a  lack  of  historical 
documents.  Internal  disturbances  lead  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  Isin  dynasty  (c.  1043  B.C.)  and  in  its  place 
we  once  more  find  rulers  of  the  "sea  land"  asserting 
themselves  and  acknowledged  as  sovereigns  over  Baby- 
lonia for  about  twenty  years.  About  1020  B.C.  we  find 
another  dynasty,  likewise  consisting  of  three  rulers, 
ruling  for  about  twenty  years,  and  whose  designation 
Bit-Bazi  is  as  yet  a  puzzle.  The  entire  period  of  forty 
years  covered  by  these  two  dynasties  must  have  been 
marked  by  rivalry  among  the  old  centres  of  Babylonia. 
The  old  enemy  to  the  east,  Elam,  taking  advantage  of 
the  situation,  overruns  the  Euphrates  Valley  in  the 
twelfth  and  again  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  for  six 
years  the  official  chronicle  records  that  an  Elamitic  sov- 
ereign (e.  1000  B.C.)  occupied  the  throne.  We  know 
from  other  sources  the  extent  to  which  Babylonia  suf- 
fered from  these  incursions  of  Elamites,  who,  among 


172 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


other  marks  of  devastation,  carried  a  large  number  of 
the  finest  monuments  of  the  country  with  them  as 
trophies  to  their  capital,  Susa,  where  they  were  founc 
in  the  course  of  excavations  in  our  own  days.74 

The  return  of  a  native  dynasty  did  not  carry  with 
it  a  renewal  of  sufficient  strength  to  inaugurate  another 
aggressive  period  during  the  succeeding  centuries. 
Gradually  but  steadily  Babylonia  sinks  to  the  position 
of  more  or  less  complete  dependency  upon  Assyria.  The 
degree  of  this  dependency  varies  somewhat,  according 
to  the  extent  to  which  the  reigning  Assyrian  king  pur- 
sues a  policy  of  vigorous  opposition  to  endeavors  on  the 
part  of  the  south  to  reassert  itself,  or  seeks  to  conciliate 
Babylonia  by  allowing  her  as  large  liberties  as  are  con- 
sistent with  a  protection  of  the  interests  of  Assyria. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  Assyrian 
kings  become  de  facto  also  the  governors  of  Babylonia. 
The  history  of  Babylonia  thus  becomes  merged  with 
that  of  Assyria,  whose  fortunes  we  must  now  briefly 
B  un  mi  arize  from  the  time  of  the  decline  which  set  in 
again  after  the  death  of  Tiglathpileser  I,  about  1100  b.c. 

XVII 

It  is  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century 
that  indications  of  a  renaissance  of  Assyrian  power 
become  marked.  With  the  advent  of  Tukulti-Ninib  II 
(c.  889-884  B.C.)  a  new  era  begins,  marked  by  a  steady 
growth  till  the  climax  of  Assyrian  glory  is  reached,  some 
two  centuries  later. 

We  find  Tukulti-Ninib  undertaking,  after  a  long 
interval,  one  of  those  campaigns  against  the  moun- 
taineers to  the  northeast  which  brings  him  up  to  Lake 
Urmiyeh  in  the  northeast,  and  Commagene  in  the  north- 
west. His  son,  Ashurnasirpal  III  (885-860  B.C.),  far 
outdistances  the  father  in  achievements.  He  inaugu- 
rates his  reign  by  a  campaign  against  the  lands  to  the 

T*  See  de  Morgan,  MSmoires  de  la  Delegattan  en  Perse,  I,  pp.  165- 
182.    See  above,  p.  113,  note  88;  136,  note  29,  and  p.  147. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     173 


northeast  and  northwest  of  a  far  mors  systematic  char- 
icter  than  the  campaigns  of  his  father,  with  the  result 

mt  in  a  few  years  the  entire  territory  comes  within 

lis  control.     A  large  hooty  is  secured,  heavy  tribute 

levied,  and  we  find  the  king  transcending  all  predeces- 

>rs  in  the  ruthless  manner  in  which  he  burned  and 
)illaged  settlements  as  he  went  along.  All  this,  how- 
ever, could  not  prevent  the  outbreak  of  rebellions  in 

ic  conquered  territory  which  the  Assyrian  governors 

ippointed  by  the  king  were  powerless  to  master,  and 

so  in  the  reigns  of  Ashurnasirpal  and  his  successors 

campaign  follows  upon  campaign  with  almost  monot- 

>nous  regularity  against  the  same  districts  to  the  north, 

lortheast  and  northwest,  varied  by  endeavors  to  force 

le  non-assimilated  Bedouin  groups,  classed  as  Akh- 

imi  and  Suti,  along  the  Euphrates  to  the  southwest 
>f  Assyria,  back  into  the  desert  lands  beyond. 

Remarkably  successful  in  conquest  by  virtue  of  the 
>verwhelming  force  of  her  attack,  Assyria  showed  her- 
self even  in  her  best  days  weak  in  establishing  a  definite 

mtrol  and  in  maintaining  order  in  the  conquered 
>rovinees.    She  failed  in  the  organizing  power  which 

lade  Rome  for  so  long  the  mistress  of  the  world. 
Shalmaneser  III  (c.  858-824  B.C.)  leads  in  person 
annual   campaigns  for   an   uninterrupted  period   of 

renty-six  years.    The  resources  at  the  command  of 

le  king  must  have  been  nigh  inexhaustible  to  provide 
for  such  a  record,  even  if  we  make  due  allowance  for 
exaggerations  in  the  number  of  the  forces  encountered 

id  in  the  enumeration  of  the  men,  horses,  camels, 
chariots,  etc.,  captured. 

The  reign  of  Shalmaneser  III  is  of  special  interest 

I  because  it  marks  the  beginning  of  the  period  which 
brings  Syria  and  Palestine  at  the  mercy  of  the  Assyrian 
power.75  The  northern  Hebrew  kingdom  joins  in  a 
combination  with  Phoenician  cities,  with  Damascus  and 
Hamath  and  with  the  groups  in  the  Taurus  range  to 
TB  See  the  illustration  above,  Plate  VI. 


174 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


oppose  the  Assyrian  advance.  At  Karkar  on  the 
Orontes  a  great  battle  was  fought  in  854  B.C.,  which 
ended  in  a  victory  for  Assyria,  This  state  of  affairs, 
however,  lasted  for  a  century  and  more  before  this  por- 
tion of  the  ancient  world  finally  succumbed,  worn  out 
by  the  drain  on  the  resources  and  vitality  of  the  petty 
states  whose  rivalry  with  one  another  prevented  the 
formation  of  a  permanently  united  kingdom  whic 
might  have  withstood  the  Assyrian  onslaught. 

In  Assyria,  on  the  other  hand,  the  chief  stumbling 
block  in  the  way  of  equable  progress,  in  addition  to 
her  inability  to  maintain  order  in  her  widely  extended 
dominions,  were  the  frequent  internal  rebellions — pre- 
cisely as  in  the  south.  Shalmaneser  hirnself  had  to 
suffer  the  pain  and  humiliation  of  seeing  one  of  his  own 
sons,  Ashurdaninapal,  lead  an  uprising  against  him  a 
few  years  before  his  death.  Shamshi-Adad  IV,  how- 
ever, succeeded  in  overcoming  his  brother  and  in  secur- 
ing an  undisputed  hold  on  the  throne,  though  his  reign 
was  of  short  duration— just  twelve  years.  Naturally, 
the  internal  disturbances  had  given  all  the  provinces 
the  desired  opportunity  to  throw  off  the  Assyrian  yoke, 
and  even  Babylonia  made  attempts  to  regain  her  in- 
dependence. Accordingly,  we  find  Shamshi-Adad 
obliged  to  go  over  the  same  territory  again  to  the  north 
and  south,  to  the  northeast,  northwest,  and  even  to  the 
southwest  in  a  series  of  campaigns  for  the  purpose  of 
regaining  Assyria's  lost  prestige. 

We  can  pass  rapidly  over  the  next  century,  during 
which  the  rulers  of  Assyria  on  the  whole  maintained 
the  strength  of  their  kingdom  and  manifested  the  same 
weaknesses  as  their  predecessors,  and  come  to  Tiglath- 
pileser  IV,  a  usurper  who  in  745  B.C.  inaugurates  an  era 
which  gives  to  Assyria  its  most  famous  rulers — Shal- 
maneser V,  Sargon,  Sennacherib,  Esarhaddon,  and 
'  Ashurbanapal.  With  him  Assyria  enters  upon  the  last 
but  also  the  most  glorious  phase  of  her  history.  Profit- 
ing by  the  abundant  experience  of  the  past,  the  rulers 


H<..   2,   CLAY  CYLINDER   OK  CYRUS   with    ACCOUIfT   OF  TOM   0AJTUB1   OF  BABYLON 

(53U 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     175 


of  the  dynasty  founded  by  Tiglathpileser  perfected  the 
organization  of  the  Assyrian  army  to  a  degree  which 
still  arouses  the  admiration  of  students  of  military 
strategy  of  our  own  days. 

With  Tiglathpileser  the  last  step  in  the  subjection 
of  Babylonia  to  Assyria  is  taken  through  the  direct 
assumption  in  its  affairs  by  the  kings  of  Assyria,  who, 
no  longer  trusting  the  government  to  Babylonians,  ap- 
pointed by  them,  either  themselves  act  as  the  governors 
— "lieutenants  of  the  god  Bel"  as  they  designate  them- 
selves— or  name  a  son  or  a  brother  as  the  ruler  of  the 
southern  province,  as  which  Babylonia  is  from  this  time 
on  reckoned.  Several  expeditions  were  needed  to  bring N 
about  a  reassertion  of  Assyrian  supremacy  in  the 
troublesome  districts  to  the  east  and  southeast.  In  both 
Babylonia  and  in  districts  to  the  east  of  Assyria,  Tig-V 
lathpileser  adopted  on  a  larger  scale  the  policy  of  set- 
tling colonists  from  parts  of  Assyria,  and  in  return  to 
transport  portions  of  the  population  to  other  countries. 
In  this  way  the  rulers  hoped  to  remove  unruly  elements 
and  to  secure  by  a  mixture  of  the  natives  with  loyal 
Assyrians,  or  with  those  who  had  no  special  interest  in 
the  district  to  which  they  were  transported  a  more 
amenable  populace. 

Hardly  less  difficult  was  Tiglathpileser 's  task  in  the 
lands  to  the  north,  including  the  northeast  and  north- 
west. Here,  after  the  reign  of  Shalmaneser  III,  Assyria 
had  steadily  lost  ground  until  new  independent  king- 
doms had  been  formed  by  combinations  of  native 
groups,  among  which  the  kingdom  of  Urartu  developed 
noteworthy  strength.  The  difficulties  of  the  situation 
were  increased  by  the  other  combinations  of  states  in 
the  interior  of  Syria  and  Palestine  and  along  the 
Phoenician  coast,  formed  to  resist  the  tribute  imposed 
upon  these  districts  by  Assyria.  The  Assyrian  king 
was  obliged  once  more  to  turn  his  attention  to  Syria 
and  Palestine,  with  the  result  that  the  northern  Hebrew 
kingdom  became  practically  a  province  of  Assyria, 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


while  Judaea's  position  was  only  a  trifle  less  precarious, 
because  its  king  had  voluntarily  submitted  to  become 
tributary  to  Assyria.  The  eighteen  years  of  Tiglath- 
pileser's  reign  (745-727  B.C.)  were  thus  filled  with 
events  of  great  importance.  By  his  more  systematic 
efforts  actually  to  govern  distant  provinces  reconquered 
by  him,  as  by  his  policy  above  outlined76  to  remove 
causes  of  fomentation  among  conquered  peoples,  he 
gave  a  more  permanent  character  to  the  results  of  his 
many  campaigns  in  Syria,  Palestine,  and  in  lands  to 
the  north  and  northeast.  Less  permanent  were  the 
efforts  to  control  the  east  and  southeast,  and  it  was  from 
this  quarter — Media  and  Elam—that  his  successors 
had  much  to  endure. 

Of  his  son  who  ruled  as  Shalmaneser  V  for  only 
five  years  (727-722  B.C.),  we  know  little  beyond  his  suc- 
cess in  putting  an  end  completely  to  the  northern 
Hebrew  kingdom  which,  relying  perhaps  upon  help 
from  Egypt,  had  refused  the  payment  of  tribute  to 
Assyria.  Before  the  capital,  Samaria,  actually  fell, 
Shalmaneser  died,  succeeded  by  an  usurper  who  on 
seizing  the  throne  adopted  as  his  name  Sargon — asso- 
ciated as  will  be  recalled  with  a  most  glorious  dynast] 
of  past  ages.77 

XVIII 

Like  Tiglathpileser  IV,  Sargon  probably  rose  from 
the  ranks,  but  he  could  hardly  have  attained  his  posi- 
tion without  some  violence  which,  perhaps,  he  deemed 
it  wiser  to  pass  over  in  silence  in  his  annals.  In  many 
respects  the  campaigns  of  Sargon  are  repetitions  of  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  the  days  of  Tiglathpileser.  In 
Babylonia  we  find  the  "sea  land"  organizing  an  attempt 
to  place  a  native  once  more  on  the  throne,  Mardukpalid- 
din,  who  starts  out  as  a  local  chief  by  ingratiating  him- 
self with  Tiglathpileser  IV,  but  as  he  grows  in  power 

™  Above,  p.  175.    See  also  p.  135. 
"  Above,  p.  133. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     177 


es  advantage  of  the  change  of  dynasty  to  make  him- 
self master  of  all  Babylonia  in  the  very  same  year  that 
Sargon  begins  his  rule.  A  first  and  immediate  attempt 
to  suppress  Mardukpaliddin  failed,  and  for  the  next 
years  Sargon  was  so  much  occupied  with  campaigns 
against  the  Hittite  state  of  which  Carchemish  was  the 
capital,  against  the  petty  kingdoms  of  northern  Syria 
and  in  the  regions  to  the  northeast  that  it  was  not  until 
the  year  710  B.C.  that  he  succeeded  in  putting  Marduk- 
paliddin out  of  the  way,  and  in  himself  again  assuming 
as  king  of  Assyria  the  direct  rule  over  the  south  as  well. 
Sargon  sets  up  the  claim  of  being  the  deliverer  of 
Babylonia  and  inaugurates  a  policy  marked  by  great 
consideration  for  the  ancient  rights  of  the  populace. 
The  policy,  however,  was  of  little  avail.  Babylonia  con^ 
tinued  to  chafe  under  the  humiliation  of  a  northern 
rule  imposed  upon  her.  The  large  centres  were  hotbeds 
of  intrigue  and  opposition  to  Assyria.  Uprisings  be- 
ginning usually  in  the  extreme  south  and  fomented  by 
Elam,  which  had  hopes  of  again  conquering  her  old 
enemy,  followed  in  frequent  succession  until  finally  in 
the  days  of  Sennacherib,  the  son  of  Sargon,  the  patience 
of  Assyria  was  exhausted,  and  in  689  B.C.  Sennacherib 
marched  against  Babylon  and  destroyed  the  ancient 
city  entirely. 

The  reigns  of  Sargon  (721-705  B.C.)  and  of  his  son 
Sennacherib  (705-681  B.C.)  thus  mark  further  steps 
leading  inevitably  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Babylonian 
kingdom  after  an  existence  of  about  two  millenniums. 
The  other  new  factor  was  the  approaching  conflict  be- 
tween Assyria  and  Egypt.  Foreshadowed  in  the  days 
of  Sargon,  the  direct  encounter  between  the  two 
mighty  powers  took  place  in  701  B.C.,  through  the 
assistance  given  by  Egypt  to  an  uprising  of  Syria,  the 
Phoenician  coast  and  Palestine  against  the  Assyrian 
yoke.  The  Egyptians  were  defeated,  the  uprising 
broken  up,  but  owing  to  disturbed  conditions  in  Baby- 
lonia, Sennacherib  was  unable  to  follow  up  the  ad- 

12 


178  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

vantage  gained  by  him  and  hastened  back  to  put  things 
in  order  nearer  home. 

It  is  surprising  that  Assyria  was  able  to  bear  the 
strain  of  these  campaigns,  organized  on  a  larger  scale 
than  before,  for  the  entire  century  intervening  between 
Tiglathpileser  IV  and  the  destruction  of  Nineveh  in 
606  b.c.  The  stretch  of  her  dominions  passed  beyond 
the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean.  Under  the  greatest 
possible  difficulties  a  fleet  was  added  to  the  equipment, 
and  Cyprus  incorporated  as  a  part  of  the  Assyrian 
power. 

Sennacherib  fell  a  victim  in  680  B.C.,  to  the  blow  of 
an  assassin,  who  was  his  own  son  or  according  to  the 
Biblical  account,™  there  were  two  sons  involved.  His 
son  Esarhaddon,  appointed  by  Sennacherib  as  the  heir 
to  the  throne,  succeeded  in  quelling  the  uprising  and 
in  establishing  himself  firmly.  Reverting  to  the  policy 
of  his  grandfather,  Sargon,  he  decided  to  make  an 
endeavor  to  reconcile  the  Babylonians  by  rebuilding 
the  city  of  Babylon.  Despite  this,  the  usea  land91  con- 
tinued to  be  a  centre  of  opposition  and  Esarhaddon 
passed  through  the  same  experiences  as  his  predecessors. 

Esarhaddon  took  the  bold  step  of  crossing  over  into 
Egypt.  The  victorious  standard  of  Assyria  was  planted 
on  the  Nile,  and  in  670  b.c.  the  ancient  capital  Memphis 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Assyrian  king.  The  ruling 
dynasty  was  overthrown,  the  government  of  the  country 
reorganized  under  Assyrian  control,  though  as  a  con- 
cession to  tradition  a  native  was  recognized  or  set  up 
by  him  as  king  of  the  twenty-two  provinces  or  nomes 
into  which  Egypt  was  divided.  In  addition  to  Egypt, 
portions  of  northern  and  southern  Arabia  which  had 
hitherto  stood  in  a  very  loose  connection  with  Assyria 
were  brought  under  a  firmer  control,  though  it  could 
hardly  be  said  that  the  enormous  tracts  of  central 
Arabia,  so  difficult  of  access  and  in  which  hordes  of 
Bedouin  tribes  roamed  at  will,  were  ever  really  subject 

to  Assyria. 

"  II  Kings  19,  36-37. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     179 


XIX 

With  the  advent  of  Ashurbanapal  in  668  B.C.,  we 
reach  the  climax  in  the  glory  of  the  Sargonide  dynasty, 
as  upon  his  death,  in  626  b.c,  the  rapid  decline  sets  in. 
Legend  soon  gathered  around  his  name  and  as  Sardan- 
apalos  among  the  Greeks  he  sums  up  as  it  were  the 
spirit  of  Assyria's  greatness.  His  efforts,  to  be  sure, 
are  largely  taken  up  with  maintaining  the  integrity  of 
the  vast  empire  claimed  by  Assyria,  His  campaigns  inN 
one  direction  or  the  other  are  therefore  on  the  whole 
attempts  to  quell  disturbances  and  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  those  governors  of  provinces  who  were  merely 
the  tools  of  Assyria.  Now  it  is  Egypt  to  which  his 
armies  turn,  now  Syria  and  Palestine  which  are  forced 
to  pledge  themselves  anew  to  do  homage  to  the  mighty 
power,  and  again  it  is  the  various  groups  of  northern 
Syria,  in  and  beyond  the  Taurus  range,  and  the  moun- 
tain hordes  to  the  northwest  which  have  to  be  kept  in 
check.  In  two  directions  Ashurbanapal  branches  out 
even  beyond  the  ambitious  scope  of  Esarhaddon,  Lydia 
comes  within  his  grasp  on  the  one  side,  while  in  a  series 
of  campaigns  he  deals  a  severe  blow  against  Elam,  the 
old  enemy  on  the  east,  and  with  the  capture  and  death 
of  Teumman,  the  Elamite  king,  puts  an  end  for  the  time 
being  to  the  independence  of  this  district. 

The  opposition  to  Ashurbanapal  began  once  more  in 
the  south,  and  it  was  the  king's  own  brother,  Shamash- 
shumukin,  whom  he  had  appointed  as  governor  of 
Babylonia,  who  organized  an  uprising  on  all  sides 
against  the  Assyrian  yoke.  Ashurbanapal  wreaked 
vengeance  on  those  who  had  assisted  his  treacherous 
brother  and,  after  quieting  Babylonia,  proceeded  to  in- 
flict punishment  on  Elam  and  Arabia  for  their  share 
in  the  great  uprising.  The  agitation  in  the  north,  too, 
gradually  subsided,  but  the  greatest  danger  to  Assyria, 
the  pressure  of  hordes  pouring  into  Asia  Minor  towards 


180 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  south,  was  one  that  even  Ashurbanapal  was  unable 
to  resist.  Already  in  the  days  of  Esarhaddon  new 
groups  like  the  Cimmerians,  Mannai  and  Ashguzeans 
make  their  appearance  in  the  royal  annals,  represent- 
ing a  wave  of  Aryan  migration  across  the  Caucasus 
range  and  that  appeal's  to  be  one  of  a  series  of  Volkcr- 
wanderungen  in  this  general  region.  Esarhaddon  and 
Ashurbanapal  were  able  to  keep  the  advance  in  check, 
but  only  by  tremendous  efforts  involving  the  dispatch- 
ing of  Assyrian  armies  of  large  size  into  the  mountain 
ranges  to  the  north  and  northeast.  Twenty  years  after 
Ashurbanapal 's  death,  Nineveh  fell,  through  a  com- 
bination between  the  Babylonians  and  the  wild  hordes 
of  the  northeast — at  that  time  grouped  under  the  gen- 
eral designation  of  Manda, 

The  rapidity  with  which  Assyria  declined  after  626 
B.C.,  when  Ashurbanapal  passed  away,  will  always  re- 
main a  puzzling  ])henomenon.  A  gradual  decline 
through  exhausted  vitality  was  to  be  expected,  but  that 
within  twenty  years  the  achievements  of  centuries 
should  have  crumbled  like  a  house  of  cards  is  a  sad 
reflection  not  only  upon  the  transitoriness  of  mere 
worldly  power,  but  upon  the  weakness  of  the  founda- 
tions upon  which  the  structure  was  reared. 

A  country  divided  against  itself  cannot  endure. 
Babylonia  fell  under  Assyrian  sway  because  the  south 
was  pitted  against  the  north  and  preferred  to  have  re- 
course to  intrigue  and  to  combinations  with  the  enemy 
to  the  east — Elam — or  with  Bedouin  hordes  from  the 
west  and  southwest  rather  than  to  unite  with  the  north. 
Only  strong  rulers,  as  they  arose  from  time  to  time, 
were  able  to  keep  the  north  and  south  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley  firmly  knit  together.  Similarly  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  although  the  latter  was  the  offshoot  of  the 
former  and  both  had  practically  everything  in  common, 
never  held  together,  while  even  within  Assyria  as  she 
expanded  factions  arose  which  threatened  her  unity  at 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     181 


frequent  intervals.  Assyria  and  Babylonia  both  suc- 
cumbed to  this  inherent  weakness,  but  Assyria  fell  first 
because  of  the  exhaustion  of  her  vitality  through 
incessant  warfare. 

XX 

We  must  not,  however,  take  leave  of  her  without 
considering  briefly  the  other  side  of  the  picture — her 
achievements  in  other  fields  than  conquest.  It  is  a 
relief  to  find  that  her  rulers,  even  those  whose  greed 
for  power  and  for  the  extension  of  Assyria's  borders 
was  strongest,  were  zealous  also  in  the  promotion  of 
works  of  peace,  more  particularly  the  embellishment  of 
the  capital  in  which  they  resided,  though  their  concern 
was  extended  also  to  other  places.  Wars  were  under- 
taken in  the  name  of  <the  gods,  and  with  their  help, 
and  when  victory  crowned  the  Assyrian  arms,  to  the 
gods  belonged  the  glory.  The  kings,  thus  feeling  at  all 
times  close  to  their  gods,  took  every  occasion  to  show 
their  homage.  Attached,  therefore,  to  the  annals  de- 
tailing their  military  expeditions  are  accounts  of  the 
enlargement  of  the  temples,  of  repairs  to  sacred  edifices, 
which  were  so  frequently  required  in  the  case  of  brick 
structures  that  building  and  rebuilding  became  synon- 
ymous terms.  Next  to  the  temples,  the  royal  palaces, 
built  in  close  proximity  to  the  chief  temples  in  each 
centre,  engaged  the  attention  of  rulers;  and  they  are 
equally  proud  of  their  efforts  at  improving  conditions 
of  life  for  the  people  by  providing  new  canals  to  pro- 
vide good  water  supply  and  transportation  facilities, 
laying  out  parks  and  gardens,  regulating  commercial 
dealings,  affording  protection  to  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity. With  the  extension  of  political  power,  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  distant  lands  also  expanded, 
and  the  priestly  organization  kept  pace  with  the  de- 
velopment of  the  military  strength. 

Ashurbanapal,  though  perhaps  not  the  greatest  of 
Assyrian  rulers,  becomes  the  typical  grand  monarque, 


i 


182 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


who,  in  addition  to  his  campaigns  organized  on  so  large 
a  scale,  is  the  promoter  of  art  and  patron  of  learning. 
Nineveh,  which  from  the  time  of  Tiglathpileser  IV 
on  is  selected  as  the  capital,  reaches  the  height  of  its 
splendor  under  the  Sargonic  dynasty.  Its  temples  and 
palaces  are  worthy  of  the  pre-eminent  position  acquired 
by  Assyria  as  the  mistress  of  the  nearer  Orient.  Ashur- 
banapal  embellishes  his  new  palace  with  sculptured 
slabs  representing  scenes  from  his  campaigns,  engag- 
ing for  this  purpose  the  services  of  the  best  artists,  and, 
following  the  initiative  of  Sennacherib,  brought  to- 
gether in  his  palace  copies  of  the  most  important  liter- 
ary productions  of  the  past  which  his  scribes  copied 
from  the  originals  in  the  temples  of  the  south.79  He 
thus  made  Nineveh  a  cultural  as  well  as  a  military  and 
political  centre,  for  he  succeeded  in  really  gathering 
together  a  collection  of  tablets  that  merits  the  terni 
royal,  embracing  as  it  did,  every  branch  of  the  literary 
activity  of  Babylonia  during  the  long  period  of  her 
existence,  together  with  the  additions  to  native  liter- 
ature made  by  Assyria. 

XXI 

The  death  of  Ashurbanapal  was  the  signal  for  the 
final  uprising  of  Babylonia,  and  in  625  B.C.,  Nebopo- 
lassar,  of  humble  birth  and  who  came  from  the  "sea 
land"  in  the  extreme  south  which  had  always  been  the 
centre  of  political  fermentation,  became  the  independ- 
ent king  of  Babylonia,  after  having  previously  served 
as  governor  under  Assyrian  supremacy.  He  not  only 
maintained  himself  against  endeavors  on  the  part  of 
Assyria  to  overthrow  him  but  he  was  able  on  his  death, 
in  604  b.c,  to  pass  over  the  succession  to  his  son, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  He  founded  a  dynasty  which  lasted 
till  close  to  the  downfall  of  Babylon.  Nebopolassar's 
reign  was  largely  devoted  to  the  strengthening  of  the 

T*  Above,  p.  21. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYBIAN  HISTORY     183 


kingdom  and  to  rebuilding  and  improving  the  capital. 
He  also  took  a  part  in  the  movement  which  led  to  the 
fall  of  Nineveh,  though  more  as  a  fomenter  of  the 
opposition  to  Assyria  than  as  a  direct  participant  in 
the  final  attack.  Nebuchadnezzar,  however,  was  an 
active  warrior  as  well  as  a  promoter  of  prosperity  in  his 
own  domain.  A  renewed  spirit  of  aggressiveness  had 
entered  Egypt  with  the  accession  of  Necho  II,  who  had 
the  ambition  once  more  to  make  the  nearer  East,  especi- 
ally Palestine  and  Syria,  subservient  to  the  Pharaohs. 
His  success  threatened  the  existence  of  Babylonia,  and 
accordingly  Nebuchadnezzar  was  sent  by  his  father  to 
an  encounter  with  the  Egyptian  army  at  Carchemish, 
the  old  Hittite  centre,  which  ended  in  a  decisive  victory 
for  the  Babylonians  and  checked  the  further  advance 
of  Egypt. 

During  the  next  twenty  years  he  made  himself 
master  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  crushing  the  little 
Hebrew  kingdom,  which  had  maintained  a  semblance 
of  independence  despite  the  weight  of  the  Assyrian 
yoke.  Egypt  came  to  the  rescue  of  Judaea  and  of  the 
other  principalities  of  this  district,  but  it  was  of  no 
avail.  The  fall  of  Jerusalem,  in  586  B.C.,  marks  another 
turning  point  in  the  affairs  of  the  nearer  east,  for  it 
meant  the  renewed  ascendency  of  Babylonia  and  the 
decline  of  Egyptian  influence.  It  was  no  easy  task, 
however,  for  Nebuchadnezzar  to  bring  the  coast  towns 
on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  notably  Tyre,  to 
subjection,  and  so  it  is  not  until  562  B.C.  that  we  find  him 
ready  to  invade  Egypt.  He  seems  to  have  proceeded 
into  the  heart  of  the  country  triumphantly,  but  never- 
theless fails  actually  to  incorporate  Egypt  as  a  part  of 
his  own  empire.  But  even  without  this  he  had  succeeded 
in  giving  to  Babylonia  an  extension  and  a  power  almost 
equal  to  that  of  Assyria  in  her  most  glorious  days. 

Nebuchadnezzar  II  followed  the  example  of  the  As- 
syrian monarchs  in  adding  to  the  glory  of  his  reign  by 
extensive  building  operations.     The  city  of  Babylon 


184 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


was  the  primary  object  of  his  concern,  and  the  boast 
recorded  in  the  Book  of  Daniel,80  "Is  not  this  the  great 
Babylon  that  I  have  built!"  correctly  associates  the 
name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  with  the  new  Babylon  that 
arose  out  of  the  ashes  of  the  destroyed  one.81  Nebuchad- 
nezzar did  not,  however,  confine  his  interest  to  the  cap- 
ital city.  The  temples  at  Borsippa,  Sippar,  Larsa,  Uruk, 
Ur  and  Dilbat  were  restored  and  beautified  by  him  dur- 
ing the  course  of  his  reign.  When  Nebuchadnezzar 
died,  in  561  B.C.,  he  left  to  his  son,  Amel-Marduk  ("man 
of  the  god  Marduk"),  a  legacy  which  only  a  strong 
monarch  could  maintain  intact  The  son  did  not  possess 
this  quality  and  after  a  reign  of  only  a  year  fell  a  victim 
to  a  conspiracy  against  his  life,  fomented  by  his  brother- 
in-law  Neriglissar.  This  act  marked  the  beginning  of 
the  decline  of  the  neo-Babylonian  empire,  though  before 
the  end  came  we  find  a  usurper,  Nabonnedos,  who  main- 
tained himself  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  from  555 
to  539  B.C.  Internal  dissensions  hastened  the  end,  so 
that  when  Cyrus  the  Mede  marched  against  Babylon  he 
was  hailed  by  the  priestly  party,  who  were  dissatisfied 
with  Nabonnedos '  policy,  as  a  deliverer  come  to  restore 
the  glory  and  dignity  of  the  god  Marduk.  So  quietly 
was  the  transfer  of  the  control  of  the  Euphrates  Valley 
made  to  the  old  enemy  to  the  east,  that  probably  the 
people  hardly  felt  that  an  epoch  in  the  world's  history 
had  come  to  an  end. 

Cyrus  himself  adopted  a  conciliatory  policy  towards 
the  conquered  land.  His  desire  was  to  leave  conditions 
undisturbed,  and  accordingly  we  find  him  and  his  suc- 
cessors maintaining  the  cult  of  the  Babylonian  gods  in 
Babylon,  Borsippa  and  in  the  other  centres.  Even  the 
introduction  of  Zoroastrianism  (or  Zarathustrianism) 
as  the  official  religion  of  Persia  in  the  days  of  Darius  I 
towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  did  not  materially 
change  conditions  in  Babylonia,  except  possibly  in  giv- 

"Chap.  4,27, 

"  See  above  p.  55,  for  the  excavation  of  this  new  city  of  Babylon. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  HISTORY     185 


ing  a  new  impetus  to  the  movement  to  look  upon  Marduk 
as  the  god  who  embodied  the  attributes  of  all  the  other 
gods — a  kind  of  Babylonian  counterpart  to  Ahura- 
Mazda.  On  the  other  hand,  the  presence  of  a  religion 
of  so  spiritualized  a  character  as  Zoroastrianism  acted 
as  a  disintegrating  factor  in  leading  to  the  decline  of 
faith  in  the  gods  of  Babylonia.  Both  the  religion  and 
the  culture  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  had  fulfilled  their 
purpose.  The  time  was  ripe  for  the  appearance  of  new 
forces  in  the  world — first  Persia  and  then,  two  centuries 
after  Cyrus,  Greece.  Alexander's  entrance  into  Baby- 
lonia in  331  b.c,  where  by  a  curious  freak  of  historical 
chance  he  dies  in  the  very  palace  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
had  erected  for  himself,  marks  another  epoch  in  the 
world's  history.  Even  after  Alexander,  the  religious 
and  social  life  of  Babylonia  goes  on  unchanged  to  out- 
ward appearances,  but  the  contact  with  Greek  civiliza- 
tion destroyed  what  little  vitality  had  survived  the  im- 
petus of  the  new  force  represented  by  Persia  and  Zoro- 
astrianism. Up  to  within  a  few  decades  of  the  Christian 
era,  the  Babylonian  language  and  script  continued  in 
use,  but  Greek  ideas  and  Greek  usages  had  made  their 
way  not  only  into  the  government  of  the  country  but 
also  into  the  life  of  the  people. 

If,  in  a  final  summing  up,  the  question  be  asked, 
What  was  the  legacy  which  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
left  to  the  world  after  an  existence  of  more  than  three 
millenniums,  the  answer  would  be,  that  through  the 
spread  of  dominion  the  culture  of  the  Euphrates  Val- 
ley made  its  way  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
ancient  world,  leaving  its  impress  in  military  organiza- 
tion, in  the  government  of  people,  in  commercial 
usages,  in  the  spread  of  certain  popular  rites  such  as 
the  various  forms  of  divination,  in  medical  practises 
and  in  observation  of  the  movements  of  heavenly 
bodies — albeit  that  medicine  continued  to  be  dependent 
upon  the  belief  in  demons  as  the  source  of  physical 
ills,  and  astronomy  remained  in  the  service  of  astrology 


186  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

— and  lastly  in  a  certain  attitude  towards  life  which  it 
is  difficult  to  define  in  words,  but  of  which  it  may  be 
said  that,  while  it  lays  an  undue  emphasis  on  might,  is 
yet  not  without  an  appreciation  of  the  deeper  yearn- 
ings of  humanity  for  the  ultimate  triumph  of  what  is 
right. 

The  most  unfortunate  blot  on  the  escutcheon  of 
Assyria  more  especially  is  the  craving  for  power,  the 
ambition  to  extend  her  rule  beyond  the  natural  bound- 
aries, and  which  affected  Babylonia  as  well  though 
not  to  the  same  degree.  Alexander,  Caesar  and 
Napoleon  are  the  natural  successors  of  the  Babylonian 
rulers  who  first  laid  claim  to  being  the  "king  of  the 
four  regions."  War  for  conquest  made  both  Assyria 
and  Babylonia  cruel  and  remorseless,  as  it  proved  to 
be  the  undoing  of  Borne. 


CHAPTEE  IV 


THE  GODS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  hybrid  character  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian 
civilization,  the  result,  as  we  have  seen,  of  the  com- 
mingling of  a  non-Semitic  or  Sumerian  element  with 
the  Semitic  or  Akkadian  contingent,  is  reflected  in  the 
religion  which  in  the  formation  of  the  pantheon,  in 
the  doctrines  and  in  the  cult  is  the  outcome  of  the 
combination  of  these  same  two  factors.  To  be  sure,  the 
mixture  of  the  two  factors  is  so  complete  that  it  is  no 
longer  possible  to  specify  the  features  contributed  by 
each,  except  along  very  general  lines.  This  is  particu- 
larly the  case  in  the  conceptions  formed  of  the  gods, 
for  both  those  of  Sumerian  origin  and  those  that  may 
with  more  or  less  probability  be  regarded  as  Semitic  in 
character  take  on  the  color  demanded  by  the  unfolding 
of  social  and  political  life.  We  know,  for  example, 
that  a  prominent  deity  in  the  earliest  period,  known  as 
Enlil,  and  who  indeed  remained  for  a  long  time  the 
head  of  the  pantheon,  was  brought  to  the  Euphrates 
Valley  by  the  Sumerians.  All  indications  point  to  his 
having  been  conceived  by  the  Sumerians  as  a  grim 
power  who  manifests  himself  in  the  storm  and  whose 
voice  is  heard  in  the  thunder.  As  such  his  seat  was 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  whence  the  storms 
sweep  down.  Such  a  deity  belongs  to  a  people  whose 
rugged  character  would  be  formed  by  the  mountainous 
region  in  which  they  dwelled.  The  Sumerians  became 
agriculturists  as  the  Akkadians  had  been,  and  they 
also  engaged  in  the  more  peaceful  pursuits  incident  to 
growing  commercial  activity.  Corresponding  to  this 
transformation,  Enlil  became  also  an  agricultural  deity, 

187 


188 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


who  was  appealed  to  as  the  power  able  to  bring  about 
the  fertility  of  the  fields  and  the  success  of  the  crops. 
Now,  agricultural  deities  are  either  conceived  as  per- 
sonifications of  the  power  residing  in  the  sun  as  the 
chief  factor  involved  in  vegetation,  or  as  the  personifica- 
tion of  the  earth  pictured  as  the  female  element  in 
whose  womb  the  seed  ripens  and  in  time  brings  forth 
fruit.  Enlil,  therefore,  while  not  losing  the  fierce 
traits  belonging  to  him  as  a  mountain  god  wThose  ele- 
ment is  the  storm,  absorbs  the  attributes  of  a  solar 
deity,  while  his  consort,  Ninlil,1  becomes  the  mother 
goddess  who  nurtures  the  seed  and  spreads  bl< 
among  mankind.  Attempts  have  been  made  by  various 
scholars  to  distinguish  in  the  case  of  religious  doctrines 
between  Sumerian  and  Akkadian  nuances,  but  without 
much  success. 

Naturally,  if  we  were  in  a  position  to  trace  t 
development  of  religious  thought  and  practice  in  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria,  we  could  differentiate  more  sharply 
between  the  Sumerian  and  the  Akkadian  elements. 
The  material,  however,  at  our  disposal,  though  ample 
for  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  details  regarding  the 
pantheon,  the  beliefs  and  the  chief  cults,  is  quite  in- 
sufficient for  tracing  the  history  of  the  religion  itself, 
except  in  general  outlines.  We  can  distinctly  see  the 
Sumerian  conquerors  imposing  the  names  of  their 
deities  on  the  country,  just  as  they  imposed  their  lan- 
guage and  script.  As  the  superior  cultural  element, 
Sumerian  beliefs  predominate  in  the  earliest  periods, 
and  the  cult  is  similarly  in  its  chief  aspects  to  be  re- 
garded as  Sumerian,  while  the  earliest  religious  liter- 
ature, including  the  form  given  to  the  popular  myths, 
is  entirely  in  Sumerian.  And  yet  we  must  not  be  mis- 
led by  these  external  features  to  set  aside  entirely  the 
participation  of  the  Akkadians  in  the  unfolding  of 
religious  belief  and  practice*     There  are  traces  of 

*Nin  designating  "lady,"  as  En  is  "lord." 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  189 


Semitic  influences  in  the  oldest  votive  inscriptions  of 
Surnerian  rulers.  Semitic  words  make  their  way  into 
the  Sumerian  language. 

Corresponding  to  these  early  Semitic  influences,  we 
find  the  Sumerians  representing  their  gods  generally 
with  beards,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Semites,  while 
they  portray  themselves  as  clean-shaven — a  further  in- 
dication that  the  Sumerians  identified  the  deities 
whose  worship  they  brought  with  them,  with  such  as 
already  formed  the  object  of  a  cult  marked  by  crude 
images  of  the  deities  to  whom  appeals  were  directed. 
Similarly,  the  characteristic  Sumerian  plain  or 
flounced  skirt,  falling  from  the  waist,  gives  way  to  a 
kind  of  plaid  draped  around  the  body  from  the  left 
shoulder  down,  with  or  without  a  slit  in  the  front, 
which  appears  to  have  been  the  Akkadian  form  of 
dress.2  We  are  therefore  justified  in  concluding  that 
the  Sumerians,  thus  assimilating  even  in  external  traits 
their  gods  with  those  which  they  already  found  in  the 
country,  also  incorporated  religious  practices  of  the 
Akkadians  into  their  cult ;  they  would  naturally  do  this 
in  order  to  ensure  the  good- will  and  favor  of  the 
indigenous  gods  whom  they  identified  with  their  own. 

In  this  way  we  can  account  for  the  striking  fact 
that  in  the  long  course  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian 
religion,  running  parallel  to  the  history  that  extends 
over  several  millenniums,  there  is  no  sudden  break, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  a  continuous  line  of  development. 
The  gods  worshipped  in  the  latest  period  of  Babylonian 
history  are  practically  the  same  as  those  found  in  the 

*  See  on  this  whole  subject  Eduard  Meyer's  important  mono- 
graph, Sumcrier  U7id  Semiten  in  Babylonien  (Berlin,  1906),  whose 
general  conclusions  seem  to  me  to  be  definitely  established,  though 
in  matters  of  detail  there  is  room  for  differences  of  opinion.  So, 
e.g.,  the  two  kinds  of  plaids  found  on  early  monuments  are  not  so 
distinct  as  to  justify  us  in  regarding  one  variety  as  Sumerian  and 
the  other  as  Akkadian.  Both  represent,  as  I  believe,  the  "Semitic" 
fashion  of  the  country,  as  against  the  plain  or  flounced  skirt. 


190 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


earlier  stages.  The  relationship  of  these  deities  to  one 
another  changes  with  the  vicissitudes  of  political 
transformations  that  the  country  undergoes.  These 
vicissitudes  also  carry  in  their  wake  the  absorption  on 
the  part  of  certain  deities  of  attributes  belonging  to 
others.  Semitic  designations  replace  in  some  cases, 
though  by  no  means  in  all,  the  Suinerian  forms,  but  the 
chief  personages  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon  in  the 
latest  period  can  all  be  traced  back  to  the  old  Baby- 
lonian epoch.  The  change  of  political  control  from  the 
Sumerians  to  the  Akkadians,  of  such  fundamental 
significance  in  the  history  of  Babylonia,  leaves  the 
religion  practically  unchanged,  except  for  the  rise  of 
the  local  god  of  Babylon,  Marduk,  to  the  head  of  the 
pantheon  by  virtue  of  the  pre-eminent  position  ac- 
quired by  Babylon  as  the  political  centre  of  the  gov- 
ernment, while  the  subsequent  rise  of  Assyria  to 
supremacy  similarly  carries  with  it  no  momentous 
changes  in  the  pantheon  or  in  the  cult,  beyond  the  rise 
of  the  god  Ashur,  originally  a  solar  deity  and  the  local 
patron  of  the  city  of  Ashur,  the  early  capital  of 
Assyria,  to  the  headship  of  the  pantheon  as  finally  con- 
stituted in  the  north. 

II 

Bearing  in  mind  this  general  aspect  presented  by 
the  religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  we  may  proceed 
to  a  consideration  of  the  chief  deities  which  we  en- 
counter in  the  pantheon.  These  deities  are  all,  at  least 
originally,  personifications  of  nature — an  indication 
that  among  the  Sumerians  as  among  the  Akkadians  the 
basis  of  worship  was  an  animistic  conception  of  nature, 
as  we  find  it  among  all  peoples  at  a  certain  stage  of 
culture,  and  which  involves  as  a  primary  supposition 
the  identification  of  all  forms  and  manifestations  of 
life  in  nature  with  that  of  which  we  are  conscious  in 
ourselves.  Life  is  power,  according  to  this  view,  and 
vice  versa  where  there  is  a  manifestation  of  power, 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   191 


lere  must  be  life  behind  it.  Moon  and  sun  are  two 
most  obvious  manifestations,  active  and  powerful,  mov- 
ing from  place  to  place,  both  spreading  light,  and  the 
sun  in  addition  to  light  also  warmth.  Behind  the 
manifestation,  therefore,  of  these  two  powers  there 
was  life,  and  the  same  conclusion  was  dirawn  with 
respect  to  trees  and  fields,  renewing  their  life  with 
uninterrupted  regularity  yearly  after  a  period  of 
steady  decay  and  apparent  death.  Storms  and  rains 
to  the  accompaniment  of  thunder  and  lightning  were 
by  a  similar  logic  ascribed  to  the  activity  of  powers 
having  the  essential  quality  of  life,  and  lastly  there  was 
life  in  the  running  waters  and  the  bubbling  springs  and 
even  in  rocks  and  stones,  wiiich  by  their  peculiar  and 
often  fantastic  formations  suggested  a  petrification  of 
objects  that  once  possessed  activity.  As  for  the  animal 
world  around  man,  the  activity  put  forth  by  the  largest 
and  the  smallest  species  and  one  in  so  many  respects 
of  the  same  character  as  his  own — -running,  feeding, 
struggling,  attacking,  growing,  languishing — forced  on 
him  the  conclusion  that  the  life  within  them  was 
identical  with  that  which  conditioned  his  being.  The 
gods  worshipped  by  a  people  in  this  stage  of  culture 
are  thus  merely  personifications  of  powers  of  nature 
— the  sun,  the  moon,  the  power  manifesting  itself  in  the 
storm,  in  trees  and  fields,  in  the  waters  and  in  stones, 
while  the  form  given  by  fancy  to  these  powers  may 
either  be  human  or  animal,  or  under  certain  conditions 
a  combination  of  the  two. 

Naturally,  the  material  at  our  disposal  for  the  study 
of  the  religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  heing  of  a 
literary  character  belongs  to  an  age  that  has  long  left 
behind  it  the  purely  animistic  conceptions  and  has  ad- 
vanced to  more  abstract  views  of  the  relationship  of 
man  to  the  powers  around  him.  The  growth  of  village 
communities  living  under  agricultural  conditions  leads 
to  the  association  of  a  particular  deity  as  the  special 
patron  and  protector  of  the  community,  though  we 


192 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


must  not  fall  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  such  a 
specific  association  excludes  the  worship  of  other 
deities.  The  importance  of  the  sun  for  an  agricultural 
community,  since  upon  his  favor  the  blessings  of  the 
fields  depend,  leads  in  many  instances  to  the  choice  of 
the  sun-god  as  the  special  deity  of  a  place,  though  a 
cognate  association  of  ideas,  with  the  earth  pictured  as 
the  gracious  and  fruit-bearing  female  element,  might 
result  elsewhere  in  making  the  great  mother  goddess 
the  patron  of  some  centre.  Again,  the  presence  of  a 
large  body  of  water  flowing  past  some  agricultural 
settlement  would  bring  about  a  close  affiliation  with  the 
life-spirit  of  the  watery  element,  personified  like  the 
sun  and  like  the  earth  as  a  divine  power.  To  a  people 
in  the  nomadic  stage  the  moon  as  the  measurer  of  time 
and  as  the  guide  for  wanderings  by  night  is  of  more 
significance  than  the  sun,  and  it  may  happen  that,  by 
force  of  tradition,  in  some  centres  the  moon-god  will 
be  chosen  as  the  patron  saint.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  find 
in  the  earliest  period  to  which  our  material  leads  us 
back,  sun-gods,  the  earth-goddess,  water  deities  and 
moon-gods  closely  bound  up  with  the  various  centres  of 
Sumerian  and  Akkadian  settlements  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  The  lists  of  deities  drawn  up  by  the  priests 
show  us  a  bewildering  array  of  local  deities,  and  in  con- 
nection with  each  deity  we  must  perforce  assume  a 
local  cult.  Many  of  these  local  gods  or  goddesses  play 
a  minor  part  in  the  history  of  Babylonia  so  far  as 
known  to  us,  and  still  more  of  them  no  part  at  all,  so 
that  they  are  little  more  than  names  for  us.  In  many 
cases  we  cannot  even  tell  whether  the  deities  concealed 
behind  the  strange-sounding  Sumerian  appellations 
are  personifications  of  the  sun  or  of  the  earth-goddess, 
of  the  moon  or  of  the  watery  element.  Only  in  the 
case  of  those  local  cults  which,  because  of  the  political 
role  played  by  the  respective  centres,  come  within  the 
historical  horizon  are  we  in  a  position  to  specify  the 
attributes  assigned  to  them.     When,  in  addition  to 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   193 

votive  inscriptions  in  their  honor,  we  have  hymns  and 
prayers  addressed  to  them,  the  details  of  the  concep- 
tions formed  of  them  are  clearly  revealed.  In  this  way 
we  obtain  a  stately  array  of  the  main  figures  of  the  old 
Babylonian  pantheon — Enlil,  Ninib,  Ningirsu,  Nergal, 
Ann,  Ea,  Shamash,  Sin,  Adad,  Marduk,  Nabu  and  their 
consorts,  and  of  the  chief  goddess,  Nana  or  Ishtar. 


Ill 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  pointed  out  that  the 
oldest  historical  and  literary  documents  reveal  a  vary- 
ing number  of  little  states  or  principalities  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley,  grouped  around  some  centre,  with 
now  one  of  these  centres,  now  another,  exercising  a 
measure  of  control  over  a  larger  section.  This  political 
picture  is  complemented  on  the  religious  side  by  the 
corresponding  growth  of  the  local  deity  to  a  position 
commensurate  in  proportion  to  the  political  control 
acquired  by  the  centre  in  question;  and  as  the  local 
deity  extends  his  sway,  he  is  endowed  with  attributes 
that  are  quite  independent  of  the  power  of  nature 
which  he  originally  personified.  The  tendency  also  be- 
comes pronounced  for  the  deity  associated  with  a 
powerful  centre  not  only  to  be  given  the  attributes  of 
other  local  deities  but  actually  to  absorb  minor  deities, 
so  that  the  names  of  the  latter  become  designations  of 
the  more  powerful  one.  The  conquest  of  a  district 
carried  with  it  the  conquest  of  its  gods,  and  in  case  the 
latter  are  not  entirely  absorbed,  they  are  placed  in  a 
dependent  position,  as  children,  servants  or  officials 
of  the  triumphant  god.  In  this  way,  through  the  close 
interrelations  between  the  states  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley — usually  hostile  in  character  and  constantly 
shifting — there  arises  a  pantheon  which  involves  a 
selection  out  of  the  large  number  of  once  existing  local 
deities,  prompted  by  the  rise  to  prominence  of  a  limited 
number  of  centres.    Naturally,  in  the  development  of 

13 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


religious  doctrines  and  in  the  unfolding  of  religious 
organization  other  factors  besides  the  political  one 
enter  into  consideration,  so  that  the  parallel  between 
the  shifting  political  panorama  and  the  relationship  of 
the  gods  of  the  various  centres  to  one  another  is  not 
complete.  The  latter  relationship,  when  once  it  be- 
en mes  definite,  is  not  changed  by  every  turn  in  political 
affairs  but  only  through  transformations  of  a  large 
character;  and  even  then  gods  whose  position  in  the 
pantheon  is  fixed  by  tradition  are  not  seriously  affected 
by  the  vicissitudes  of  the  centres  to  which  they  origi- 
nally belonged;  they  survive  the  decline  and  even  the 
complete  eclipse  of  these  centres.  The  religious  life 
of  a  people  is  always  more  enduring  than  its  political 
fortunes.  The  organization  of  a  pantheon  ensures  for 
those  gods  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  place  therein  a 
permanency,  both  theoretical  and  practical,  which  is 
often  in  contrast  to  the  political  history  of  the  centres 
in  which  their  worship  arose.  The  god  Enlil,  to  whom 
we  had  occasion  to  refer  several  times,  is  an  illustration 
in  point.  Through  circumstances  which  we  are  no 
longer  able  to  follow,  the  city  of  Nippur  became  the 
seat  of  the  cult  of  Enlil.  Nippur  became  so  thoroughly 
identified  with  Enlil  that  the  name  of  the  city  was 
written  by  a  series  of  signs  designating  it  as  the  "  place 
of  Enlil."  A  storm-god,  partaking  of  the  aggressive 
character  of  his  worshippers,  Enlil  is  naturally  pict- 
ured as  a  mighty  warrior  who  leads  his  subjects  to 
victory.  He  is  present  in  the  midst  of  the  fray.  To 
him  as  the  god  of  war  the  victories  are  ascribed  and 
paeans  are  sung  in  his  honor  in  his  temple  at  Nippur, 
which  in  view  of  his  original  seat  is  appropriately 
known  as  E-kur,  "the  mountain  house." 

An  invocation  that  occurs  frequently  in  a  series  of 
lamentation  songs,3  bewailing  catastrophes  that  have 

1  See  Langdon,  Sumerian  and  Babylonian  Psalms,  pp.  90,  106, 
seq.,  114,  126,  etc. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  195 

swept  over  the  land,  portrays  the  strength  ascribed  to 

him: 

"Lord  of  lands, 
Lord  of  the  true  word, 
Enlil,  father  of  Sumer, 
Shepherd  of  the  dark-headed  people,4 
Seeing  through  his  own  power, 
Strong  guide  of  (his)  people, 
Causing  multitudes  to  dwell  together." 

The  original  personification  of  Enlil  as  the  mighty, 
onrushing  storm  whose  voice  is  heard  in  the  roar  of  the 
thunder  leads  to  an  elaborate  symbolism  of  the  "word" 
of  the  deity,  which  becomes  a  synonym  of  his  power. 
In  many  variations  this  "word"  of  the  storm-god  is 
celebrated.5 

*  'The  word  which  rages  in  the  heavens  above, 
The  word  which  causes  the  earth  below  to  quake, 
The  word  which  strikes  terror  among  the  Anunnaki.* 
Beyond  the  seer,  beyond  the  diviner, 
An  onrushing  storm  which  none  can  oppose, 
Raging  in  the  heavens  above,  causing  the  earth  below  to  quake, 
Tearing  mother  from  daughter  like  a  burii-reed. 
It  overwhelms  the  marshes  in  full  verdure, 
It  overflows  the  harvest  in  season, 
A  flood  tearing  away  the  dams, 
It  uproots  the  huge  mesu-treea, 
Reducing  all  things  to  submission/ ' 

Such  is  Enlil  who,  as  the  chief  god  of  Nippur,  be- 
comes the  head  of  the  pantheon  with  the  Sumerian 
conquest  of  the  country  and  who  retains  this  position 
long  after  Nippur  has  ceased  to  be  the  political  centre. 
The  cult  of  Enlil,  in  fact,  lends  to  his  patron  city  a 
significance  far  outreaching  its  political  prestige  even 

1  I.e.,  the  Sumerians. 

*  E.g.,  Reisner,  Sumerisch-Babylonische  Hymnen,  No.  vii,  rev. 
13-25. 

•A  collective  name  for  a  minor  group  of  deities.  Even  the 
gods  fear  the  word  of  Enlil. 


196 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


in  the  heyday  of  its  glory.  As  a  religions  centre, 
Nippur  becomes  a  sacred  city,  not  unlike  that  of  centres 
of  pilgrimage  in  our  own  days  like  Jerusalem,  Benares, 
Mecca  and  Rome.  The  sanctity  of  Nippur  survived 
the  downfall  of  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  the 
sacred  quarter  of  the  city  in  which  the  temple  stood 
was  converted  into  a  burial  place  acquiring  sanctifica- 
tion  by  its  time-honored  associations  to  which  even 
Jews  and  Christians  manifested  their  attachment  down 
to  the  seventh  century  of  our  era.7 

The  position  of  the  god  as  the  head  of  the  pantheon 
entailed  as  a  natural  consequence  the  grouping  of  the 
other  chief  deities  and  of  many  minor  deities  about 
him.  Smaller  temples  and  shrines  were  erected  for 
these  deities,  forming  as  it  were  the  court  of  Enlil, 
around  the  chief  sanctuary.  In  the  extracts  from  re- 
ligious compositions  above  given,  he  is  regarded  also 
as  the  power  which  brings  forth  vegetation.  The  storm 
god  has  become  a  solar  deity.  The  control  of  the  watery 
element  is  likewise  assigned  to  him  so  that  he  becomes 
a  water  deity  as  well.  The  tendency  grew  to  associate 
with  Enlil  as  many  gods  as  possible,  with  the  implica- 
tion that  the  latter  derived  their  powers  from  this  asso- 
ciation. The  gods  stand  in  dread  of  him,  precisely  as 
do  his  subjects.  He  is  the  god  of  all  lands,  controlling 
gods  and  men  alike. 

IV 

There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  a  deity 
whose  name  is  provisionally  read  as  Ninib,  but  the  real 
pronunciation  of  which  was  probably  Enmasht,8  was 

T  See  Montgomery,  Aramaic  Incantation  Texts  from  Nippur 
(Philadelphia,  1913). 

8  See  Clay,  Amurru,  p.  197.    The  names  of  the  gods  (as  to  a  large 
extent  proper  names  in  general)  being  written  in  ideographic  form, 
we  cannot  in  all  cases  be  sure  of  the  exact  pronunciation,  particu- 
larly when  the  names  are  Akkadian  and  merely  written  in  their  . 
Sumerian  form. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   197 


an  earlier  patron  deity  of  Nippur  who  was  forced  to 
yield  his  position  to  the  all-conquering  EnliL  If,  as 
has  been  made  probable,8  this  deity  was  of  Ainoritic 
origin,  whose  cult  was  brought  to  Babylonia  by  Semites 
coming  from  the  northwest,  we  would  have  a  further 
proof  for  the  thesis  which  assiunes  that  the  Semitic 
settlers  preceded  the  Sumerians  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  The  secondary  position  of  Ninib  after  the  ad- 
vent of  Enlil  is  indicated  by  the  title  "son  of  Enlil"  or 
"offspring  of  E-kur," 10  almost  invariably  attached  to 
his  name  in  invocations.  This  relationship  of  father 
and  son  is  merely  the  formula  to  find  a  place  for  two 
deities  associated  with  the  same  centre,  or  to  indicate  a 
control  of  one  centre  by  the  other,  just  as  the  designa- 
tion of  one  deity  as  the  servant  of  another  or  as  holding 
some  official  rank  iu  the  service  of  a  god  is  the  manner 
in  which  Babylonian  priests  expressed,  in  the  case  of 
two  gods  representing  originally  the  same  natural 
power,  the  supremacy  of  the  one  over  the  other,  Ninib 
in  contrast  to  Enlil  is  a  solar  deity,  who  protects  the 
fields,  causes  the  verdure  to  grow  and  brings  prosperity 
and  the  blessings  of  rich  crops  to  the  population.  It  is 
from  Ninib  that  Enlil  takes  over  the  milder  attributes 
of  an  agricultural  deity,  a  Baal  or  * 4  lord ' p  of  the  fields, 
but  in  return  Ninib,  adopted  by  the  Sumerians,  be- 
comes like  his  father,  a  war-god,  armed  for  the  fray 
and  whose  presence  is  felt  in  the  thick  of  battle.  In- 
deed, so  prominently  is  this  trait  emphasized,  espe- 
cially in  the  votive  and  historical  inscriptions  of  both 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  rulers,  .that  it  overshadows 

9  Clay,  ib.,  p,  121.  If  the  god  Enmasht  is  of  Semitic  origin,  then 
we  must  assume  that  the  Sumerian  element  En,  meaning  "lord," 
was  attached  to  the  name  by  the  Sumerians  to  whom  also  the 
method  of  writing  the  name  as  Nin-ib  must  be  due.  The  problem  is 
an  exceedingly  complicated  one  and  cannot  be  discussed  here. 
"Amorite,"  it  should  be  added,  is  a  general  designation  for  north- 
western Syria. 

"  The  name  of  Enlil 's  temple  is  often  used  for  the  god  himself. 


198 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  original  solar  and  beneficent  character  of  Ninib. 
One  of  these  hymns,  shading  off  into  an  incantation 
for  the  exorcising  of  a  demon  of  disease,  begins:  ■ ' 

"O,  Ninib,  mighty  g<nl,  warrior,  ruler  of  the  Anunnaki,  controller 

of  the  Igigi" 
Judge  of  all  things,  who  shuts  off  the  door  of  darkness,  who  dis- 
sipates the  obscurity,11 
Who  renders  decisions  for  mankind  in  their  settlements, 
Resplendent  lord,  bestowing  power  on  the  land  through  his  decision, 
Who  seizes  the  demon  Ti'u  14  and  drives  him  back  to  his  place. 
Merciful  one,  granting  life,  bringing  the  dead  to  life, 
Who  controls  right  and  justice,  destroying  evil(  f), 
Whose  active  weapon  destroys  all  enemies." 

The  solar  character  of  Ninib  is  clearly  revealed  in 
the  power  ascribed  to  him  of  dissipating  darkness,  as 
well  as  in  epithets  emphasizing  his  brilliancy.  In  the 
course  of  the  hymn  he  is  expressly  described  as  a 
*' burning  fire/*  with  a  direct  allusion  to  the  glow  of 
the  sun's  rays.  The  sun-gods,  moreover,  are  always 
associated  in  the  religious  literature  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  with  justice  and  the  punishment  of  the  evil- 
doers. His  enemies  are  the  evil-doers,  the  law  breakers 
who  are  brought  to  justice  and  punished  in  accord  with 
the  righteous  decrees  that  are  traced  back  to  him.  It 
is  Ninib,  the  sun-god,  who  is  celebrated  as  the  one  who 
renders  decisions,  who  dispenses  justice  to  all  mankind, 
who  overthrows  evil  and  scatters  the  enemies  who  are 
identified  with  evil-doers.  Even  as  a  warrior,  Ninib 
does  not  cast  off  his  role  as  a  judge.  His  weapon  is 
raised  in  order  to  smite  evil.  The  cause  of  his  subjects 
is  a  just  one,  and  therefore  he  accords  them  his  power- 
ful aid.  His  temple  in  Nippur,  known  as  E-shu-me-du, 
occupies  a  rank  only  second  to  E-kur  itself ;  and  as  a 

11  See  Jensen,  Kosmologie  der  Bahylonur,  pp.  470-472, 
ia  A  collective  name,  like  Anuimaki,  for  a  group  of  minor  deities, 
"fife,  "of  the  night." 

"A  demon  of  disease,  the  cause  of  troubles  having  their  seat  in 
the  head. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   199 

trace  of  the  former's  independent  position  occupied  by 
Xinib,  the  New  Year's  day  continued,  even  after  Enlil 
had  become  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  to  be  celebrated 
as  the  festival  of  Ninib  when  gifts  were  offered  to  him 
and  his  consort  Gula,  and  ceremonies  enacted  in  his 
temple,  symbolical  of  his  marriage  at  the  beginning  of 
a  new  year.  His  festival  was  also  the  occasion  when 
the  fates  of  individuals  for  the  coming  year  were  de- 
cided by  him.  The  beneficent  character  of  Ninib  crops 
out  also  in  assigning  to  him  and  his  consort  the  power 
of  healing,  to  which  references  are  likewise  made  in  the 
quoted  hymn.  Ninib  saves  his  subjects  from  the 
clutches  of  the  demons  of  disease.  It  is  in  this  sense 
that  he  is  spoken  of  as  bringing  those  near  death  back 
to  life.  The  other  more  aggressive  aspect  leads  to 
making  Ninib  the  deity  who  presides  over  the  chase 
of  wild  animals— a  favorite  sport  of  the  Assyrian 
kings.  The  chase  is  a  species  of  warfare  and  it  seemed 
natural,  therefore,  to  dedicate  the  spoils  of  the  chase  to 
Ninib  and  to  pour  out  libations  to  him  over  the  dead 
bodies  of  lions  and  wild  bulls  w  laid  low  by  royal 
hunters. 


The  pre-eminence  enjoyed  at  one  time  by  Ninib 
over  other  solar  deities  associated  with  other  centres  is 
shown  by  the  identification  of  such  deities  with  him* 
The  names  borne  by  other  solar  deities  become  epithets 
of  Ninib.  Prominent  among  these  is  Ningirsu,  the 
chief  deity  of  a  centre,  Lagash,  in  southern  Babylonia, 
where,  it  will  be  recalled,1  a  extensive  excavations  have 
been  carried  on.  The  name  signifies  "lord  of  Girsu" 
— Girsu  being  the  name  of  a  section  or  quarter  of 
Lagash,  presumably  the  one  in  which  the  temple  of  the 
god  stood*  For  a  long  period  Lagash  played  an  impor- 
tant role  in  the  early  political  history  of  Babylonia; 

11  See  Plate  LV  in  Chapter  VII. 
ie  See  above,  p.  39,  seq. 


200 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


its  rulers  extended  their  sway  over  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  southern  Babylonia,  but  eventually  they  were 
reduced  to  a  secondary  position,  and  it  nrast  have  been 
at  this  time  that  Ningirsu  was  practically  identified 
with  Ninib,  becoming,  as  it  were,  merely  a  manifesta- 
tion of  the  great  solar  deity  of  Nippur.  Ningirsu 's 
consort,  Bau,  similarly  becomes  synonymous  with  Gula, 
the  consort  of  Ninib.  Precisely  like  Ninib,  Ningirsu 
is  commonly  designated  as  a  warrior,  the  son  of  Enlil, 
armed  with  powerful  weapons  that  create  havoc  among 
the  enemies  of  his  subjects.  On  monuments  found  at 
Lagash  he  is  thus  represented,  notably  on  a  remarkable 
stele/7  graphically  illustrating  a  severe  conflict  between 
Lagash  and  Umma — which  ended  in  the  triumph  of 
Eannatum  (c.  2920  B.C.).18  The  victory,  however,  is 
due  to  the  intervention  of  Ningirsu,  who  is  portrayed 
in  majestic  size,  holding  the  standard  of  Lagash  in  one 
hand,  while  in  the  other  he  has  a  huge  net  in  which  the 
enemy  is  held  captive.  The  temple  of  Ningirsu  at 
Lagash,  known  as  E-ninnu  ("house  of  fifty"),  was 
filled  with  votive  offerings  of  all  kinds  dedicated  by 
rulers  or  high  officials  to  Ningirsu.  Like  Ninib, 
Ningirsu  also  manifests  a  beneficent  aspect  as  the  god 
of  vegetation. 

The  fate  of  Ningirsu  in  being  absorbed  by  Ninib 
also  overtakes  another  solar  deity,  Zamama,  the  patron 
of  Kish,  which  was  a  centre  that  at  one  time  exercised 
a  wide  sway.19  Like  Ningirsu,  Zamama  becomes  little 
more  than  a  designation  of  Ninib,  and  as  a  war-god  is 
likewise  addressed  as  the  "son  of  Enlil";  and  the  same 
applies  to  the  solar  deity  of  Dilbat,  Urash,  whose  name 
becomes  an  epithet  of  Ninib.  The  force  of  the  tra- 
dition acquired  by  Nippur  seems  to  have  maintained  the 
cult  of  Ninib  even  after  Shamash  of  Sippar  becomes 
the  sun-god  par  excellence.  Ninib 's  cult  is  transferred 

1T  See  Plate  XLVII. 

ai  See  above,  p.  128. 

M  Above,  p.  126,  seq. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYEIAN  GODS  201 

to  Assyria.  A  temple  to  him  is  erected  by  Ashurnasir- 
pal  III  (883-859  B,a)  in  Calah,  for  a  time  the  capital 
of  Assyria.20  A  statue  of  the  god  of  colossal  dimensions 
is  placed  in  the  sacred  niche,  and  provision  made  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  cult  and  for  the  celebration  of 
the  time-honored  festival  of  Ninib  and  Gula.  The 
kings  of  Assyria  are  fond  of  invoking  Ninib  among 
the  powers  which  grant  victory  to  the  Assyrian  armies, 
and  we  have  seen  the  role  which  Ninib  plays  in  Assyria 
as  the  god  of  the  chase.  Despite  this,  however,  some 
of  his  prestige  is  lost  in  the  course  of  time  through  the 
pre-eminence  acquired  by  the  sun-god  of  Sippar,  whose 
Sumerian  name  is  Babbar  but  who  is  more  commonly 
known  by  the  Akkadian  designation  Shamash,  the  com- 
mon term  in  all  the  Semitic  languages  for  the  sua. 

VI 

The  great  antiquity  of  Sippar  is  vouched  for  by  the 
results  of  excavations  conducted  on  the  site,21  but  it  is 
still  an  open  question  whether  another  seat  of  Shamash 
worship  at  Larsa  is  not  even  older.  We  must,  at  all 
events,  assume  some  relationship  between  the  two 
centres,  for  in  both  places  the  names  given  to  the  patron 
deity  and  to  his  temple,  E-Babbar  ("  resplendent 
house"),  are  identical.  It  is  a  direct  consequence  of 
the  Semitic  control  of  Babylonia  which  becomes  pro- 
nounced in  the  days  of  Sargon  and  Naram-sin  **  that 
Shamash  acquires  his  pre-emineut  position  as  the  sun- 
god  par  excellence,  for  Sippar  is  in  close  proximity  to 
Agade  and  shared  with  the  latter  the  prestige  of  being 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom  that  rose  to  supremacy 
under  Sargon.  Shamash  is  represented  on  monuments 
and  on  numerous  seal-cylinders  ^  as  a  majestic  figure 

20  So  in  the  days  of  his  successor  SheLmaneser  III. 
"  Above,  p,  37,  seq. 
n  Above,  p.  135,  seq. 

n  See  Plate  LXXV,  Fig.  3,  and  Plate  LXXVII,  Fig.  1,  at  the 
close  of  Chapter  VII. 


202 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


seated  on  a  throne,  or  stepping  over  a  mountain,  or  pass- 
ing through  gates  to  symbolize  the  rise  of  the  great 
orb  of  light,  or  sailing  in  a  boat  across  the  heavens. 
Frequently  also  rays  are  depicted  as  issuing  from  his 
shoulders.  As  the  god  of  light,  he  is  the  general  object 
of  adoration,  and  the  specific  association  with  Larsa  or 
Sippar  does  not  stand  in  the  way  of  his  becoming  a 
deity  whose  worship  extends  throughout  Babylonia  and 
passes  northward  into  Assyria.  In  all  large  centres 
temples  or  shrines  to  Shamash  were  erected.  Baby- 
lonian and  Assyrian  rulers  from  the  oldest  to  the 
latest  period  include  Shamash  in  the  invocations  to  the 
chief  gods  of  the  pantheon  at  the  beginning  of  votive 
or  historical  inscriptions.  So,  to  give  an  example  of 
the  early  period,  Lugalzaggizi,  the  king  of  Uruk  (c. 
2750  b.c),  designates  himself  in  the  introduction  to 
one  of  his  inscriptions 24  as 

"The  great  patesin  of  Enlil,  endowed  with  understanding  by 
Ea,"  whose  name  was  called  -1  by  Babbar  (ue.,  Shamash),  the  chief 
minister  of  Sin,a*  the  lieutenant  of  Babbai-j  the  provider  for  Inniiia. 
the  child  of  Nisaba,™  nourished  with  the  milk  of  Ninkharaag,80 
the  servant  of  Mes,81  the  priest  of  Uruk.  * ' 


last 


At  the  other  end  of  Babylonian  history  we  find  the 
king  of  Babylon,  Nabonnedos  (555-539  B.C.),  particu- 
larly devoted  to  the  service  of  Shamash,  enlarging  and 
restoring  his  temples  in  Sippar,  Larsa  and  Babylon, 

**  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions,  I,  2,  No.  87,  Col.  I, 
15-30. 

38  A  sacerdotal  office  which,  however,  also  included  stxiular 
functions. 

aa  Written  En-ki.    See  below,  p.  210,  seq. 

11  I.e.,  called  to  his  high  station. 

28  The  moon-god,  written  En-zu.    See  below,  p.  222. 

"  A  goddess  presiding  over  vegetation. 

,0  "The  lady  of  the  mountain, "  a  title  of  the  consort  of 

11  An  otherwise  unknown  deity. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  203 


and  invoking  his  aid  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
gods  in  the  political  crisis  which  ended  in  the  advent 
of  Cyrus  and  in  the  fall  of  the  neo-Babylonian  empire.32 

The  hymns  in  honor  of  Shamash,  of  which  we  have 
a  large  number,  belong  to  the  finest  specimens  of 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  literature,  celebrating  the 
god  as  the  benefactor  of  mankind  who  sheds  his  light 
and  his  warmth  in  all  directions,  whose  rays  ripen 
the  produce  of  the  fields,  who  is  the  source  of  pros- 
perity and  of  all  manner  of  blessings,  who  spreads 
justice,  who  rewards  the  virtuous  and  punishes  the 
wicked  and  who  is  also  the  judge  who  protects  his 
people,  and  as  a  mighty  warrior  accomplishes  the  over- 
throw of  the  enemv  on  the  field  of  battle, 

A  hymn  which  was  evidently  composed  as  a  greet- 
ing to  Shamash  as  he  appears  on  the  horizon  begins 
as  follows :  ■* 


"0  l©rdt  illuminator  of  the  darkness,  opening  the  face  (of  heaven  ?), 
Merciful  god,  raising  the  humble,  protecting  the  weak; 
For  thy  light  the  great  gods  wait, 
All  the  AnunnaM  look  for  thy  appearance, 
All  tongues  "  dost  thou  direct  as  a  single  being." 
With  raised  heads  they  look  expectantly  towards  the  sunlight ; 
Thou  art  the  light  for  the  remotest  bounds  of  heaven, 
The  banner  for  the  wide  earth  art  thou; 
AU  mankind  look  upon  thee  with  joy. 


Briefly  but  effectively  the  expectant  moments  just 
before  sunrise  are  described,  the  gods  joining  with 
mankind  in  waiting  anxiously  for  the  appearance 
of  the  great  orb ;  and  when  the  tension  is  released  and 
the  light  spreads  to  all  sides,  all  creation  is  represented 

"See  above,  p,  184. 

"  Rawlinson  IV,2  PL  19,  Nr.  2. 

"  /.c,  all  peoples. 

"  The  sun  guides  all  humanity  as  one  directs  a  single  individual. 


204 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


as  breaking  out  into  joy.    No  less  impressive  is  the 
description  and  praise  of  the  sun  at  sunset: 3C 

' '  0,  Shamash,  on  thy  entrance  into  the  heavens, 
May  the  resplendent  bolts  of  heaven  greet  thee, 
May  the  gates  of  heaven  bless  thee, 
May  Meshara,"  thy  beloved  messenger,  direct  thee ! 
Over  E-Babbar,  the  seat  of  thy  rule,  let  thy  supremacy  shine, 
May  A,  thy  beloved  consort,  step  joyfully  before  thee, 
May  thy  heart  be  appeased," 
May  the  table  of  thy  divinity  be  spread,39 
0,  Shamash,  powerful  warrior,  be  thou  glorified ! 
0  lord  of  E-Babbar,  pass  on,  thy  course  be  rightly  directed ! 
Take  thy  way,  on  a  firm  path 40  move  along ! 
0  Shamash,  judge  of  the  world,  giver  of  aU  decisions  art  thou. ' 

We  find  in  all  ancient  religions  a  certain  fear  asso- 
ciated with  moments  of  transition,  whether  it  be  the 
transition  of  one  season  of  the  year  to  another,  or  the 
transition  of  one  phase  of  the  moon  to  the  succeeding 
one,  or  the  transition  of  the  child  from  the  womb  into 
the  light.  In  accord  with  this  the  appearance  of  the 
new  moon  and  the  time  of  full  moon  are  fraught  with 
special  significance,  and  similarly  in  the  case  of  the  sun, 
the  moment  of  sunrise  and  that  of  sunset.  Hence  the 
hope  expressed  in  the  hymn  that  the  sun  may  safely 
enter  into  the  midst  of  the  heavens  and  be  properly 
directed  to  pursue  the  correct  path,  so  as  to  be  certain 
to  make  its  appearance  in  the  morning  at  the  expected 
time.  If  the  sun  should  by  any  chance  lose  its  way, 
disaster  would  follow.  Emphasis  is  laid  on  the  guid- 
ance afforded  by  Shamash.  It  is  he  who  directs  man- 
kind into  the  right  path,  just  as  the  sun  pursues  the 
right  road  in  moving  across  the  heavens.    The  right 

M  Abel-Winckler,  Keilschriftexte  zum  Gebrauck  bei  Vorlesungen 
(Berlin,  1890),  pp.  59-60. 

-f  "Righteousness" — personified  as  an  attendant  of  Shamash. 
81  I.e.,  may  Shamash  show  himself  gracious  and  not  be  angry. 
••  May  rich  offerings  he  placed  before  Shamash. 
*»  The  "firm  path'1  along  which  the  sun  moves  is  the  ecliptic. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  205 

path  for  mankind  is  justice,  and  it  is  through  Shamash 
as  the  supreme  judge  that  the  cause  of  the  righteous 
is  protected  and  hidden  enemies  brought  to  light. 

In  the  case  of  a  religion  unfolding  and  developing 
hand  in  hand  with  advancing  culture,  and  following 
more  or  less  closely  the  political  vicissitudes  of  the 
country,  we  must  be  prepared  for  the  theoretical  elab- 
oration of  the  doctrinal  aspects  of  the  current  beliefs, 
by  the  side  of  a  steady  enlargement  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  cult  and  the  priesthood  in  connection  with 
the  chief  deities  of  the  pantheon.  The  result  of  such 
a  process  continued  for  many  centuries  is  to  lead  to 
attempts  at  a  systematization  of  the  currents  and 
counter-currents  of  popular  beliefs*  It  is  part  of  the 
system  devised  by  priestly  activity  to  find  a  place  in 
the  pantheon  for  deities  that  personify  the  same  power 
of  nature.  The  god  Ninib,  we  have  seen,  absorbed  the 
roles  of  the  other  local  sun-gods  in  the  earlier  Baby- 
lonian period,  but  was  obliged  to  yield  his  prerogatives 
to  a  still  greater  solar  deity,  Shamash,  Such,  how- 
ever, was  the  force  of  tradition  that  Ninib  could  not 
be  entirely  set  aside  in  favor  of  Shamash,  A  place  had 
therefore  to  be  found  for  Ninib  in  the  pantheon,  and 
this  was  done  by  differentiating  between  the  phases 
of  the  sun  according  to  the  seasons  of  the  year.  The 
sun  in  a  sub-tropical  climate  like  the  Euphrates  Val- 
ley with  only  two  seasons,  a  rainy  one  beginning  in 
the  fall  and  lasting  till  the  spring,  and  a  dry  one  dur- 
ing the  siunmer  months,  presents  two  aspects,  as  a 
beneficent  and  revivifying  force  in  the  spring,  driving 
away  the  rains  and  the  storms  and  bringing  new  life 
in  the  fields  after  the  apparent  extinction  of  all  vitality 
during  the  winter  months,  and  as  a  raging  and  de- 
structive one  during  the  torrid  months  when  its  fierce 
rays  scorch  the  earth,  and  the  intense  heat  brings  suf- 
fering, sickness  and  often  death.  Shamash  was  the  sun 
as  a  whole,  while  Ninib  became  in  the  theological 
system  of  the  priests  the  sun  of  the  springtime,  and  by 


206 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


a  natural  association  also  the  morning  sun.  The  sun 
as  a  destructive  and  hostile  force  was  symbolized  by 
another  solar  deity,  Nergal,  who,  originally  the  local 
deity  of  an  important  centre  in  southern  Babylonia, 
Cuthah,  became  the  sun  of  the  midsummer  season  and 
the  sun  of  the  noon-time.  The  cult  of  Nergal  takes 
us  back  again  to  the  old  Babylonian  period  when  Cuth- 
ah 41  was  the  political  focus  of  one  of  the  principalities 
in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  enjoying  an  independent  ex- 
istence and  exercising  sway  over  a  considerable  ter- 
ritory, even  though  the  details  of  the  history  of  the 
kingdom  of  Cuthah  still  escape  us.  Nergal  was  too 
prominent  a  solar  deity  to  be  absorbed  by  Ninib.  His 
temple  at  Cuthah,  known  as  E-shidlam,  acquired  great 
prominence  at  an  early  period.  We  find  him  repre- 
sented by  a  shrine  or  sanctuary  at  Nippur  within  the  . 
sacred  area  in  which  E-kur  stood,  and  when  Babylon 
became  the  political  and  religious  capital  of  the  coun- 
try, the  cult  of  Nergal  was  transferred  to  this  centre 
and  continued  in  force  to  the  end  of  the  Babylonian 
monarchy.  Like  Ninib  and  Shamash,  Nergal  was 
pictured  as  a  warrior  but  one  of  an  invariably  grim 
countenance,  a  god  of  battle,  whose  destructive  power 
was  directed  against  all  mankind.  True,  he  also  leads 
his  subjects  to  victory,  but  more  commonly  he  deals 
out  pestilence  and  death.  He  strikes  unawares  and 
he  strikes  apparently  without  discrimination.  He  is 
not  a  just  judge  like  Shamash,  but  a  god,  filled  with 
rage,  stalking  about  in  the  heat  of  the  day  on  the  look- 
out for  victims.  Nergal  is  thus  primarily  the  god  of 
death.  When  pestilence  sweeps  over  the  land,  it  is 
ascribed  to  Nergal  *s  activity.  Because  of  this  forbid- 
ding aspect,  it  was  all  the  more  important  to  raise  one's 
appeal  to  him  in  the  hope  of  averting  his  wrath.  The 
hymns  to  Nergal,  of  which  we  have  quite  a  number,*1 

41  See  above,  p.  124,  and  below  p.  455. 

41  See  Bollewucher,  Gebete  und  Hymncn  an  Nergal  (Leipzig, 
1904). 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   207 

all  emphasize  the  severity  and  irresistible  power  of 
the  god.  He  is  pictured  as  a  lion,  which  animal  be- 
comes his  symbol.  His  solar  character  crops  out  in 
epithets  that  describe  his  brilliancy.  Like  Ninib,  he  is 
tin-  son  of  Enlil  who  carries  out  the  commands  of  his 
father,  and  as  a  god  of  death  his  presence  is  naturally 
felt  also  in  the  midst  of  battle.  One  of  the  hymns  to 
him  begins  as  follows:  *3 

"Lord,  strong,  supreme,  first-born  of  Nunammir,44 

Riiler  of  the  Anunnaki,  lord  of  battle, 

Offspring  of  Kutushar/3  the  great  queen, 

Nergal,  mighty  one  among  the  gods,  beloved  of  Ninmenna,** 

Thou  shinest  on  the  brilliant  heaven,  high  is  thy  station; 

Great  art  thou  in  the  realm  of  the  dead,  without  a  rival  art  thou ; 

By  the  side  of  Ea,47  thy  counsel  is  supreme  in  the  assembly  of  the 

gods, 
With  Siu,*8  thou  overseest  all  in  heaven. 
Enlil,  thy  father,  entrusted  to  thee,  the  dark-headed,  all  living 

things, 
The  animals  of  the  field  and  all  swarming  creation  into  ttiy  hand." 

The  solar  character  of  Nergal  is  unmistakably  re- 
vealed in  these  lines,  which  also  indicate  the  endeavor 
to  connect  the  god  with  other  leading  figures  of  the 
pantheon.  As  the  god  of  pestilence  and  death,  his 
special  realm,  however,  is  the  lower  world  where  the 
dead  are  huddled  together  and  which  was  regarded  as 
a  dark,  gloomy  prison  with  Nergal  and  a  goddess, 
Aliatu,  as  the  merciless  overseers  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  any  of  the  prisoners  back  to  the  upper  world. 

There  is  still  another  solar  deity,  originally  a  local 
patron  of  an  ancient  centre,  and  who  retains  his  identity 
in  the  systematized  pantheon  by  being  advanced  to  the 


41  King,  Babylonian  Magic  and  Sorcery,  Nr.  27. 

44  A  title  of  Enlil,  conveying  the  force  of  "hero  of  rulership." 


45  A  goddess. 

4*  "Lady  of  the  crown"— a  title  of  Kutushar,  one  of  the  names 
of  the  consort  of  Nergal, 

47  The  god  of  humanity. 

48  The  moon-god, 


208 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


general  control  of  the  heavens  or  the  upper  regions. 
This  is  Anu  who  is  so  closely  associated  originally  with 
Uruk  in  southern  Babylonia  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of 
his  being  at  the  start  merely  the  patron  deity  of  that 
place.  The  theoretical  aspect  of  the  Babylonian  re- 
ligion to  which  attention  has  been  directed 49  is  illus- 
trated by  the  position  accorded  to  Anu.  He  becomes 
the  god  of  heaven,  just  as  Enlil  is  placed  in  control 
of  the  earth  and  the  atmosphere  above  it,  and  a  third 
deity,  Ea,  originally  the  god  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  be- 
comes the  power  in  control  of  the  watery  element  in 
general. 

This  threefold  division  of  the  universe — heaven, 
earth  and  water— with  the  assignment  of  one  deity 
each  division  is  clearly  the  work  of  the  priestly  schools 
attached  to  the  Babylonian  temples.  It  has  an  aca- 
demic flavor.  It  is  only  through  a  phase  of  speculation 
which  has  all  the  earmarks  of  the  school  that  the  notion 
arises  of  the  heavens  as  a  distinct  section  of  the  uni- 
verse with  some  god  in  general  control,  just  as  further 
speculation  of  this  character  leads  to  the  predication  of 
the  other  divisions  of  the  universe — the  earth  with  the 
atmosphere  above  it  and  the  watery  expanse ;  and  since 
even  the  advanced  speculation  unfolded  in  the  schools 
adopts  the  language  and  metaphors  of  the  animistic 
view  of  all  nature,  the  threefold  division  of  the  uni- 
verse leads  to  assigning  to  each  one  a  god  in  control, 
Anu  for  the  heavens,  Enlil  for  the  earth  with  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere,  and  Ea  for  the  waters.  As  the 
god  of  heaven,  Anu  becomes  the  "king  of  the  gods" 
and  their  "father."  The  triad  Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea  arc 
invoked  at  the  beginning  of  votive  and  historical  in- 
scriptions in  a  manner  which  shows  that  the  original 
and  specific  character  of  these  deities  has  been  entirely 
lost  sight  of.  Enlil  was  chosen  as  the  second  figure  of 
the  triad  because  he  was  the  most  prominent  of  the 
gods  whose  power  was  manifested  on  the  earth  and  in 

**  Abort,  p.  205.  — 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  209 


the  atmosphere  above  it,  while  the  choice  of  Ea  as  the 
third  member  was  a  similar  logical  process  because  he 
was  in  control  of  the  greatest  body  of  water  known  to 
the  Babylonians.  As  the  god  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  Ea 
was  naturally  selected  as  the  personification  of  the 
watery  element  in  general. 

The  conception  of  Ann  as  the  king  and  father  of 
all  the  gods  furthermore  reflects  the  period  when  the 
seat  of  the  gods  was  projected  on  the  heavens.  Such 
a  view  is  closely  entwined  with  astrological  notions,  and 
rests  upon  the  theory  which  identifies  planets  and  stars 
with  the  gods  of  the  pantheon  and  quite  independent 
of  their  original  character  places  the  seats  of  all  the 
gods,  the  one  who  presides  over  the  divisions  of  the 
drawn  up  by  Babylonian  and,  later,  by  Assyrian  priests 
are  to  a  large  extent  compiled  in  the  interest  of  the 
astrological  system  devised  in  the  schools,  and  which 
necessitated  designations  for  a  large  and  ever  increas- 
ing number  of  stars.  It  is  therefore  in  an  astrological 
sense  that  Anu  is  viewed  as  the  king  and  father  of  the 
gods,  the  one  who  presides  over  the  division  of  the 
universe  in  which  each  one  of  the  gods  has  his  assigned 
station,  and  since  sun  and  moon  are  also  suspended  in 
the  heavens,  Anu  as  the  god  of  heaven  is  supreme  also 
over  the  two  great  orbs  of  light.  In  the  actual  cult 
of  Babylonia,  Anu  plays  a  relatively  minor  part.  We 
do  not  find  hymns  and  prayers  addressed  to  him,  and 
even  in  his  original  seat  of  worship,  it  is  a  goddess, 
Nana,  the  personification  of  the  female  element  in 
nature,  who  appears  to  have  been  within  the  period 
embraced  by  historical  documents  the  chief  object  of 
worship. 

In  an  enumeration  of  the  pantheon,  however,  in  the 
old  Babylonian  period  Anu  is  rarely  omitted,  and,  in- 
stead of  Nana,  a  consort,  Antum,  is  assigned  to  him — 
a  name  representing  merely  a  feminine  form  of  the  god 
Anu.  All  the  gods  and  goddesses  being  children  of 
Anu  and  Antum,  the  name  of  Anu  is  often  added  both 
u 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


in  votive  inscriptions  and  in  the  religious  literature  in 
connection  with  the  name  of  a  deity.  So  for  example, 
Gudea  frequently  adds  to  the  name  Bau,  the  consort  of 
Ningirsu,  that  she  is  the  " daughter  of  Ami"  or  "the 
chief  daughter"60,  and  even  Enlil  is  designated  as  the 
son  of  Ami.61  Occasionally  instead  of  the  triad,  we 
find  only  Anu  and  Enlil  enumerated  as  summing  up 
the  manifestation  of  divine  power  among  mankind. 

Ordinarily,  however,  the  third  member  of  the  triad 
is  included.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  god  Ea  is  one  of 
the  most  important  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing figures  in  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  pantheon.  He 
begins  his  career  as  the  local  deity  of  Eridu,  so  that  he 
becomes  the  personification  of  the  watery  element  in 
general  because  the  Persian  Gulf  on  or  near  which 
Eridu  was  situated62  was  the  largest  body  of  water 
known  to  the  Babylonians,  the  "father"  of  all  waters. 
The  oldest  settlements  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  are 
those  nearest  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  part  that  water 
plays  in  the  life  of  mankind  and  in  the  development  of 
human  culture  is  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
unique  position  acquired  by  Ea  in  the  pantheon  as  the 
protector  of  humanity,  the  friend  and  guide  of  man  in 
his  career,  subject  to  such  constant  vicissitudes.  He 
is  the  teacher  also  who  instructs  man  in  the  various 
arts.58  It  is  Ea  who  endows  the  rulers  with  intelligence 
as  it  is  he  who  presides  over  the  fine  arts,  instructing 
men  in  architecture,  in  working  precious  metals  and 
stones  and  in  all  the  expressions  of  man's  intellectual 
activity.  Thus  Ea  may  briefly  be  denned  as  the  god 
of  civilization,  The  friend  of  mankind,  it  is  to  him 
that  one  turns  in  the  first  instance  when  other  gods 

•°  B.g.t  Statue  B,  Col.  8,  58. 

B1  By  Lugakaggisi  in  the  inscription  above  (p.  202)  referred  to. 
Col.  3,  16. 

••  Owing  to  the  steady  accumulation  of  the  soil,  Abu-Shahrein, 
the  site  of  Eridu,  is  now  some  sixty  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Quit 

"  Cory,  Ancient  Fragments,  (2d  ed.)  p.  22,  seq. 


PLATE  XXVIII 


Sfi? 

^qh|K 

1       •     -, 

^tr* .  H 

1 

.»* 

1 

«'  J^H     / 

FIO.    I,    THE    GOD    XIARDUK    IN    CONFLICT    WITH    TUt    MONSTER    TIAMAT 


FIG.  2,    PROCESSION    OF   GODS 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   211 


seem  hostile.  When  the  gods  in  counsel  decide  to  bring 
on  a  destructive  rain-storm,  it  is  Ea  who  reveals  the 
purpose  to  a  favorite  of  his  who  by  constructing  a  ship 
for  himself  and  his  family  escapes  destruction;  and 
similarly  in  another  myth  it  is  Ea  who  tries  to  secure 
immortality  for  mankind,  though  he  alas  I  fails  to  do  so. 

The  healing  qualities  of  springs,  which  man  must 
have  ascertained  at  an  early  period  by  experience,  was 
no  doubt  a  factor  in  making  Ea  a  chief  figure  in  the 
incantation  rites  for  the  purpose  of  driving  out  the 
demon  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  disease  and  bodily 
suffering.  An  elaborate  exorcising  ritual  was  devel- 
oped by  the  priests  of  Eridu  which  continued  to  be 
down  through  the  period  of  the  Assyrian  empire  the 
model  and  prototype  for  all  other  methods  of  healing 
disease.  The  sick  man  was  sprinkled  with  holy  water, 
and  various  other  rites,  symbolizing  the  hoped  for  re- 
lief from  the  clutches  of  the  demons  or  supposed  to  act 
directly  on  the  demons,  were  performed  in  the  name 
of  Ea/ 

VII 

Ea  stands  in  a  particularly  close  relation  to  the  god 
who  with  the  rise  of  the  city  of  Babylon  as  the  political 
centre  becomes  the  head  of  the  pantheon — Marduk. 
The  latter  is  invariably  designated  as  the  son  of  Ea, 
and  since  Marduk *s  sanctuary  at  Babylon  bears  the 
same  name,  E-sagila  ("the  lofty  house"),  as  that  of 
Ea  at  Eridu,  we  are  perhaps  justified  in  concluding 
that  the  settlement  of  Babylon  itself  is  an  offshoot  of 
Eridu.  Marduk  is  originally  a  solar  deity  like  Ami, 
Ninib,  Shamash  and  NergaL  Aa  such  he  may  very 
well  have  been  worshipped  at  Erid  he  side  of 

Ea  until  his  cult  was  transferred  to  Babylon.     But 
however  we  are  to  explain  the  association  of  Ea  with 
Marduk,  the  relationship  of  father  and  son  point*  * 
dependence  of  the  latter  upon  the  former,  and 
ence  of  so  decided  a  character  that,  although  V 
comes  to  be  the  lord  over  gods  and  mankind,  he  never 


212 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ceases  to  acknowledge  Ea's  priority,  even  though  in 
the  religious  literature  the  honor  of  Marduk  is  pro- 
tected by  representing  Ea  as  rejoicing  in  the  supreme 
position  attained  by  his  well-beloved  son.  So  in  the 
incantation  texts,  when  the  appeal  is  made  to  Marduk 
to  release  the  sufferer  from  the  grasp  of  the  demons, 
Marduk,  the  dutiful  son,  goes  to  his  father,  Ea,  and 
asks  what  can  be  done  for  the  sufferer.  Ea  invariably 
replies, 

"My  son,  what  dost  thou  not  know  that  I  could  tell  theef 
What  I  know,  thou  also  knowest. M l* 


ibly 


In  this  manner,  the  way  is  paved  for  the  applica- 
tion of  the  Eridu  ritual,  but  through  Marduk  Ea's 
authorship  is  acknowledged,  and  at  the  same  time 
Marduk  's  equality  with  his  father  is  indicated.  Mar- 
duk owes  his  position  in  the  pantheon  to  the  union 
of  the  Euphratean  states  definitely  brought  about  by 
Hanunurapi  (c.  2120  B.C.),  as  a  consequence  of  which 
Babylon  becomes  the  political  capital  of  the  kingdom, 
setting  aside  for  all  times  the  prerogatives  formerly 
enjoyed  by  Nippur,  Uruk,  Eridu,  Lagash,  Kish,  Sip- 
par,  Ur  or  any  of  the  other  centres  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  Even  Enlil  must  yield  some  of  his  prestige 
to  Marduk.  Naturally,  Enlil  retains  his  position  as 
the  second  member  of  the  triad,  but  Enlil  transfers  of 
his  own  accord  the  headship  of  the  pantheon  to  Mar- 
duk* He  is  represented  as  doing  this  at  the  close  of  a 
tale  in  which  Marduk 's  triumph  over  a  monster, 
Tiamat,  symbolizing  the  primeval  chaos,  is  described 
in  detail.56  All  the  gods  assemble  to  celebrate  Marduk  *s 
great  deed.  They  bestow  fifty  glorious  names  upon 
him,  the  names  symbolizing  the  attributes  of  Marduk, 
on  whom,  as  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  the  qualities  of 

64  This  conversation  occurs  again  and  again  in  the  incantation 
rituals,  e.g.,  Cun,  Texts,  xvi,  PL  20,  128-138;  45,  119-148;  xvii, 
PL  12,  20-31;  19,  31 ;  21,  118-142;  26,  48-63,  etc. 

65  See  below,  p.  442. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   213 

all  the  gods  and  goddesses  grouped  around  him  as  the 
courtiers  gather  around  the  royal  throne  are  thus 
heaped.  Enlil  steps  forward  and  bestows  his  name 
as  "lord"  upon  Marduk.  The  bestowal  of  the  name, 
according  to  the  prevalent  view  in  antiquity,  carries 
with  it  the  power  and  position  of  the  one  bearing  it. 
The  god  Ea  follows  Enlil 's  example,  and  thus  without 
a  conflict  the  rule  passes  to  Marduk. 

The  ritual  of  Nippur  is  carried  over  to  a  large  extent 
to  Babylon,  with  additions  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  cult  of 
Marduk.  Instead  of  the  "word"  of  Enlil,  that  of  Mar- 
duk is  celebrated.  The  "lord  of  lands"  is  no  longer  Enlil 
but  Marduk  who  becomes  the  belli  or  Baal  par  excellence 
to  such  a  degree  that  Bel  becomes  a  common  designa- 
tion of  a  god,  passing  beyond  the  confines  of  Babylonia 
to  other  countries.  "There  is  no  god  like  Marduk" 
is  the  burden  of  the  many  hymns  in  honor  of  the  god 
that  have  fortunately  been  preserved  for  us.  So  we 
read  in  a  text  found  at  Sippar," 

"Mighty  lord  of  gods,  Btrong  Marduk, 
Counsellor,  beloved  of  Ea,  of  all  pervading  command, 
Before  his  mighty  command  the  great  Igigi &T  bow ; 
(In  thy  I)  holy  chamber  the  Anunnaki  bow  before  thee; 
Lord  of  all  below,  merciful  one,  producer  of  fertility, 
Guardian  of  sacrifices  for  the  gods,  founder  of  cities, 
Guide  of  the  sources,  opener  of  fountains, 
Lord  of  lands,  king  of  heaven  and  earth,  granting  prosperity, 
God  without  whom  in  the  depth  the  fate  of  mankind  is  not  deter- 
mined. 
Thou  lookest  on  the  habitations  of  the  wicked  and  destroyest  their 

power. 
What  god  in  heaven  or  earth  is  like  to  thee  ? 
Supreme  art  thou  over  all  gods ; 
Among  the  gods,  thy  counsel  prevails; 
Thou  art  superior  to  Ea,  the  father  who  produced  thee." 

"Scheil,  Une  Saison  de  FouUles  £  Sippar  (Cairo,  1902)  pp. 
97-98. 

iT  A  collective  name,  like  Anunnaki,  for  a  series  of  minor  deities. 


214  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  hymn  may  well  have  been  originally  a  com- 
position in  honor  of  Ea,  composed  for  his  cult  at  Eridu 
and  then  recast  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  Marduk,  with  the 
express  purpose  of  emphasizing  the  transfer  of  Ea's 
attributes  to  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  who,  although 
the  son  of  Ea,  becomes,  as  the  hymn  declares,  superior 
to  his  father. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  hymn  with  one 5*  in 
which  in  a  similar  manner  descriptions  belonging  to 
Enlil  as  the  sbomi-god  and  whose  "word"  is  heard  in 
the  roar  of  the  thunder  are  transferred  to  Marduk. 

11  Who  can  escape  thy  gaze? 
Thy  word  is  a  great  net  stretching  over  heaven  and  earth ; 
It  encloses  the  sea,  and  the  sea  is  stirred  up, 
It  encloses  the  marsh,  and  the  marsh  groans, 
It  encloses  the  billows  of  the  Euphrates. 
The  word  of  Marduk  troubles  the  river  bed(T). 
Lord,  thou  art  supreme,  who  is  like  unto  thee? 
Marduk,  among  all  the  great  gods  thou  art  supreme." 

The  net  is  a  metaphor  for  the  storm  which  sweeps 
along  in  fury.  The  description  fits  a  storm-god  but  is 
hardly  appropriate  for  a  solar  deity,  such  as  Marduk 
is.  In  the  descriptions  of  Enlil 's  "word"  of  which  a 
specimen  has  been  given  above,™  the  same  picture  of 
a  great,  all  encompassing  net  is  introduced.  There 
is  no  reason  to  question  that  the  hymn  in  question  also 
represents  such  a  modification  of  an  old  composition 
in  honor  of  Enlil,  intentionally  made  to  emphasize  that 
Marduk  has  usurped  the  place  of  the  older  head  of  the 
pantheon. 

In  a  large  proportion  of  the  hymns  to  Marduk  that 
have  been  preserved,  these  two  aspects  of  the  god — 
his  functions  derived  from  Ea  and  those  transferred 
from  Enlil — are  prominently  dwelled  upon  and  indeed 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  overshadow  his  original  role  as 
a  solar  deity.    Anu  is  also  associated  with  Enlil  and 

»  Rawlinson  IV2  PI.  26,  No.  4, 
"  P.  195. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   215 

Ea,  in  according  to  Marduk  supremacy  over  the  gods 
so  that  all  three  figures  of  the  triad  combine  in  doing 
homage  to  him,  A  particularly  impressive  hymn  to 
Marduk 80  begins  as  follows : 

**I  pay  homage  to  thy  came,  0  Marduk,  the  strong  one  of  the  gods, 

the  ruler  of  heaven  and  earth, 
Glorious  being,  who  alone  is  supreme, 
Thou  possessest  the  power  of  Anu,  the  power  of  Enlil,  the  power  of 

Ea — rulerBhip  and  majesty, 
Thou  art  in  control  of  all  wisdom,  perfect  in  strength, 
Circumspect  counsellor,  lofty  ruler,  powerful  and  mighty, 
Whose  rule  Ami  praised  as  a  preparation  for  the  conflict.*1 
In  heaven  thou  art  supreme,  on  earth  thou  rulest,  wise  counsellor 

(of  the  gods), 
Pounder  of  all  settlements,  who  holds  the  ends  of  the  starry  heavens 

in  his  grasp. ' ' 

The  hymn  ends  in  a  direct  appeal  to  the  god  for 
divine  grace  and  long  life. 

"I  implore  thee,  mighty,  powerful  lord,  may  thy  enangercd  heart 

he  appeased,  thy  stirred  up  liver  be  quieted,02 
Have  mercy,  let  me  live  in  fear  of  thee,  ruler  of  the  gods,  supreme 

Marduk, 
The  splendor  of  Sarpanit,  thy  great  consort,  wife  of  En-bilulu,6a 

daughter-in-law  of  Ea. 
I  will  glorify,  the  son  of  Mummu"  will  I  humbly  glorify  forever." 

The  humble  petitioner  who  has  felt  the  anger  of  his 
god  is  no  doubt,  as  in  most  of  the  hymns,  the  king 
himself,    Some  misfortune  has  come  over  the  land  or 

•°  Craig,  Assyrian-Babylonian  Religious  Texts,  I  PI.,  29-31. 

ai  An  allusion  to  Marduk 's  conflict  which  Tiamat  to  which  he  is 
encouraged  by  Anu  who  declares  that  Marduk  alone  can  overthrow 
the  monster.    Set  below  p.  433  seq. 

n  Heart  and  liver  are  in  this  way  very  frequently  combined, 
the  heart  as  the  seat  of  the  intellect,  and  the  liver  as  the  seat  of  the 
emotions. 

•*  A  title  of  Marduk. 

•*A  personification  of  the  watery  deep  and  here  used  as  a 
designation  of  Ea.  The  son  of  Mununu  is,  therefore,  Marduk.  See 
p.  428. 


216  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

over  the  royal  house,  and  in  a  penitent  spirit  the  king 
seeks  out  the  divine  throne  for  forgiveness.  This 
attitude  of  the  king,  setting  the  example  for  the  people, 
is  further  illustrated  by  the  prayers  to  Marduk  which 
we  find  in  considerable  number  attached  to  royal  in- 
scriptions, particularly  those  of  the  neo-Babylonian 
dynasty. 

In  eloquent  and  impassioned  terms  the  great 
Nebuchadnezzar,  the  son  of  Nebopolassar,  addresses  his 
god  upon  ascending  the  throne  of  his  father.85 

*'0,  eternal  ruler,  lord  of  the  universe,  grant  that  the  name  of 
the  king  whom  thou  lovest,  whose  name  thou  hast  proclaimed, 
flourish  as  may  be  pleasing  to  thee.  Lead  him  in  the  right  path.  I 
am  the  prince  who  is  subservient  to  thee,  the  creature  of  thy  hand. 
Thou  hast  created  me  and  thou  hast  entrusted  the  rule  of  mankind 
to  me.  According  to  thy  mercy,  O  lord,  which  thou  bestowest  upon 
all,  may  thy  supreme  rulership  be  merciful.  The  fear  of  thy 
divinity  implant  in  my  heart.  Grant  me  what  may  seem  good  to 
thee,  for  thou  art  the  one  who  has  granted  me  life. M 


Such  prayers,66  beautiful  and  simple  in  diction  and 
filled  with  a  deep  religious  fervor,  show  us  the  religion 
of  Babylonia  at  its  best.  The  spirit  of  humility  and 
reverence  does  not  fall  short  of  the  attitude  towards 
Yahweh  in  the  Psalms,  and  the  conception  of  Marduk 
rises  to  a  height  of  spiritual  aspiration  which  comes  to 
us  as  a  surprise  in  a  religion  that  remained  steeped  in 
polytheism  and  that  was  associated  with  practices  and 
rites  of  a  much  lower  order  of  thought. 

Marduk,  as  the  supreme  god,  naturally  assumes  the 
role  of  creator  of  the  universe,  and  the  creation  mark- 
ing the  beginning  of  the  calculation  of  time,  Marduk 's 
festival  is  coincident  with  the  new  year.  This  festival 
which,  as  we  have  seen,67  was  celebrated  at  Nippur  in 
honor  of  "Nimb  and  Gula,  and  at  Lagash  was  sacred  to 

•»  RawUnson  I,  PL  53,  Col.  I,  55-11, 1. 

«  For  further  specimens  see  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyloniens  und 
Assyriens,  lf  pp.  400-420,  and  below  pp.  465-469. 
"Above,  p.  199. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GOBS  217 


Ningirsu  and  Bau,  becomes  in  Babylon  the  season  dedi- 
cated to  Marduk.  In  its  developed  form  the  New 
Year's  festival  of  Babylon  extended  over  eleven  days 
with  special  rites  for  each  day.  The  transition  motif 
was  also  carried  over  from  ancient  days,  as  shown  in 
the  current  conception  which  represents  Marduk  sitting 
in  a  sacred  chamber,  surrounded  by  the  other  members 
of  the  pantheon  and  detennining  the  fate  of  individuals 
for  the  coming  year.  This  point  of  view  lent  a  sombre 
aspect  to  the  New  Year's  festival.  The  statue  of  the 
god  in  E-sagila  was  carried  in  solemn  procession  to  the 
special  shrine  which  contained  the  u chamber  of  fates" 
as  it  was  called,  and  at  the  close  of  the  conclave  of  the 
gods  was  brought  back  to  its  resting  place,  accompanied 
as  accorded  with  his  dignity  by  the  images  of  the  other 
great  gods. 

The  process  involved  in  the  absorption  of  the  roles 
and  attributes  of  other  gods  which  we  have  noted  in  the 
case  of  Enlil,  Ninib  and  Shamash  appears  to  have  gone 
to  even  greater  lengths  in  the  case  of  Marduk,  who  is 
addressed  in  terms  which  give  one  the  impression  as 
though  he  were  the  one  and  only  deity.  The  mono- 
theistic strain  in  the  prayers  and  hymns  addressed  to 
Marduk  is  sometimes  so  pronounced  that  if  one  sub- 
stitutes Yahweh  or  God  for  Marduk,  they  might  form 
part  of  a  Jewish  or  Christian  service  of  to-day.  A  god 
on  whom  the  other  gods  bestow  fifty  names08  is  well 
advanced  on  the  way  to  become  the  one  and  only  power, 
as  the  source  of  all  the  phenomena  of  nature. 

Still,  the  limitations  of  the  monotheistic  tendency 
in  Babylonia  must  be  recognized.  Not  only  do  the 
other  gods  of  the  pantheon  continue  to  receive  recog- 
nition in  their  temples  and  sanctuaries  scattered 
throughout  the  land,  but  neither  Babylonians  nor 
Assyrians  ever  passed  beyond  the  point  of  regarding 
gods  as  personifications  of  powers  of  nature.    Marduk, 

too,  remains  on  this  jasis. 

See  above,  p.  212  and  below,  p,  443. 


218  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Just  as  Marduk  is  invariably  associated  with  Ea  as 
his  father,  so  another  deity,  Nairn,  whose  name  we  have 
already  encountered  is  closely  attached  to  Marduk  as 
his  son.  Like  all  the  other  gods  of  Babylonia,  Nabu 
starts  on  his  career  as  a  local  patron.  He  belongs  to 
the  city  of  Borsippa,  lying  in  such  close  proximity  to 
Babylon  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Euphrates  as  to  be- 
come, with  the  extension  of  Babylon,  almost  a  suburb 
of  the  latter.  It  is  this  close  relationship  between  the 
two  cities  that  finds  an  expression  in  making  Nabu  the 
son  of  Marduk.  There  are  reasons,  however,  for  be- 
lieving that  Borsippa  rose  to  importance  earlier  than 
Babylon,  and  that  for  some  time  Nabu  was  a  serious 
rival  to  Marduk.  The  original  character  of  the  deity 
of  Borsippa  is  still  in  doubt,  but  indications  point  to 
his  being  originally  a  water-god — perhaps  the  water- 
spirit  in  the  Euphrates — and  as  such  he  would  natu- 
rally become  also  a  god  of  vegetation,  since  the  fertility 
of  the  land  is  dependent  upon  the  overflow  of  the  ri\ 
during  the  rainy  season.  The  association  of  water  with 
knowledge  and  culture  which,  we  have  seen,09  domin; 
the  views  held  in  regard  to  Ea  would  account  for  the 
chief  trait  of  Nabu  as  revealed  in  inscriptions  and  in 
the  religious  literature,  to  wit,  his  role  as  the  god  of 
writing  more  particularly  and  then  in  general  as  the 
god  who  gives  understanding  and  wisdom.  His  symbol 
is  the  stylus  of  the  scribe.  He  is  the  secretary  of  the 
gods  who,  at  the  time  of  the  New  Year's  assembly  of 
the  pantheon  when  the  fates  of  individuals  are  deter- 
mined for  the  coming  year,  records  the  decisions  of  the 
gods*  It  is  he  who  inspires  the  priests  to  collect  the 
hymns,  ineantations,  omens  and  other  parts  of  the 
ritual  as  a  guide  for  further  ages.  Secular  wisdom  is 
also  due  to  him,  Writing  is  his  invention  communi- 
cated to  mankind,  and  Ashurbanapal  in  the  .subscripts 
to  the  tablets  of  his  royal  library  rarely  fails  to  ac- 
knowledge the  aid  of  Nabu  and  of  his  consort,  Tashmit, 
••  Above,  p.  210, 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   219 

as  the  ones  who  inspired  the  ruler  with  the  idea  of 
collecting  the  literary  productions  of  the  past.  The 
close  association  with  Marduk  leads  naturally  to  a 
similarity  in  the  tennis  in  which  they  are  addressed, 
but  the  distinctive  character  of  Nabu  as  the  god  of 
writing  on  whose  tablets  one  can  read  the  future  is 
rarely  omitted  even  in  the  prayers  of  late  Babylonian 
rulers  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  where  Nabu  is  generally 
invoked  only  in  connection  with  his  father.  A  prayer 
of  this  ruler  on  the  completion  of  the  tower  attached 
to  Nabu's  temple  at  Borsippa  reads  as  follows:70 

"Oh  Nabu,  legitimate  son,71  sublime  messenger,  triumphant,  be- 
loved of  Marduk,  graciously  look  in  joy  on  my  handiwork.  Long 
life,  numerous  progeny,  a  firmly  established  throne,  enduring  rule, 
conquest  of  the  enemy's  land  grant  me  m  a  gift !  On  thy  unchange- 
able tablet  which  marks  the  bounds  of  heaven  and  earth,  proclaim 
length  of  days  for  me,  inscribe  offspring  (for  me)  5  Before  Marduk, 
the  king  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  father  who  produced  thee,  make 
my  deeds  pleasing,  intercede  on  my  behalf  and  proclaim  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar is  indeed  a  king  who  beautifies." 

The  tablet  of  Nabu  is  the  starry  expanse  on  which 
the  future  is  written  for  him  who  can  read  the  signs 
in  the  heavens-  Nabu,  however,  is  merely  the  recorder 
of  the  decision  which  rests  with  Marduk. 

This  close  association  of  Nabu  with  Marduk  finds 
many  other  expressions  both  in  the  cult  and  in  the 
religious  literature.  Babylon  and  Boisippa  were  com- 
bined so  as  to  form  practically  a  single  conception  in 
the  minds  of  priests  and  populace.  The  one  could 
hardly  be  thought  of  without  the  other.  In  Babylon, 
shrines  and  sanctuaries  to  the  leading  members  of  the 
pantheon  were  grouped  around  the  central  temple, 
E-sagila,  as  was  done  in  earlier  days  at  Nippur,72 
where  E-kur,  the  temple  of  Enlil,  grew  to  be  the  desig- 
nation of  the  sacred  quarter  of  the  city. 

n  Rawlinson  I,  PI.  51,  No.  1,  CoL  II,  16-31. 
n  Sc.  of  Marduk. 
"  Above,  p.  196. 


220  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

In  the  official  correspondence  it  became  customary 
to  introduce  in  the  greeting  with  which  the  letters  be- 
gan the  names  of  Marduk  and  Nabu,  and  similarly  in 
historical  inscriptions  the  two  names  were  constantly 
entwined.  Indeed  it  would  appear  that  at  times  at- 
tempts were  made  to  play  off  the  one  god  against  the 
other.  It  is  probably  not  accidental  that  three  of  the 
rulers  of  the  neo-Babylonian  empire 73  bear  names  com- 
pounded with  Nabu,  and  it  looks  as  though  the  founder 
of  this  dynasty  wished  to  place  the  son  on  an  equality 
with  the  father.  Cyrus,  who  overthrew  this  empire, 
claims  to  have  come  to  Babylon  to  reinstate  Marduk 
in  his  full  dignity.  In  Assyria,  where  Marduk  was  re- 
garded as  in  a  manner  the  rival  of  Ashur,  the  head  of 
the  Assyrian  pantheon,  we  find  the  kings  disposed  to 
pay  their  homage  to  the  son  rather  than  to  the  father 
as  the  chief  figure  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon.  An 
official  of  one  of  these  kings,  Adad-nirari  IV  (810-782 
B.C.),  erects  a  statue  to  Nabu  and  inscribes  on  it: T4 

"0  offspring,  rely  on  Nabu.    Pnt  your  trust  in  no  other  god." 

Ashurbanapal,  the  greatest  of  the  Assyrian  kings 
(668-626  B.C.),  is  among  those  who  pay  homage  to 
Nabu  in  a  manner  which  betrays  the  tendency  to  make 
him  more  than  a  mere  appendage  to  Marduk. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  cult  of  Nabu  (as 
that  of  Marduk)  survives  the  fall  of  the  Babylonian 
empire  and  even  the  substitution  of  Greek  governors 
for  the  Persian  rule.  We  have  a  prayer  of  the  Seleucid 
ruler,  Antiochus  Soter  (281-261  B.C.),  addressed  to 
Nabu  on  the  occasion  of  that  ruler's  restoration  of 
Nabu's  temple,  E-zida,  at  Borsippa.  The  prayer, 
though  modelled  upon  those  of  the  rulers  of  the  neo- 
Babylonian  dynasty,  is  nevertheless  of  sufficient  in- 
terest to  warrant  an  extract  here.75 

78  See  above,  p.  182,  seq. 

'*  Rawlinson  I,  PI.  35,  No.  2,  line  12. 

Ti  Rawlinson  V,  PL  66,  Col.  I,  16-11,  29. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  221 

**0  Nabu,  sublime  son,  mighty  lord  of  the  great  gods,  whom  to 
praise  seems  meet,  first-born  son  of  Marduk,  offspring  of  Erua,7e 
the  queen,  creator,  look  in  joy!  At  thy  supreme  unchangeable 
command  which  has  brought  about  my  victory  over  the  enemy, 
grant  a  just  kingdom,  an  auspicious  rule,  years  of  prosperity, 
plentiful  progeny  to  the  kingdom  of  Antiochus  and  of  Seleucus, 
his  son. 


By  thy  supreme  stylus  which  fixes  the  bounds  of  heaven  and 
earth,  through  thy  glorious  utterance  may  my  salvation  be  pro- 
claimed. May  my  hands  conquer  the  lands  from  sunrise  to  sun- 
set,77 compel  their  tribute  in  order  to  complete  E-sagila  and  E-zida. 
O  Nabu,  royal  son,  upon  thy  entering  into  thy  legitimate  temple,78 
proclaim  favor  for  Antiochus,  the  king  of  (all)  lands,  for  the  king 
Seleucus,  his  son,  and  for  the  queen  Stratonike.'  * 

Even  in  this  late  composition  Nabu  is  still  the  scribe 
who  writes  down  the  decrees  of  the  gods.  The  king  is 
careful  also  to  drag  in  Marduk  and  his  temple,  and  as 
an  interesting  new  touch  he  includes  in  his  prayer  his 
son,  associated  presumably  with  the  father  in  the  gov- 
ernment, and  his  queen. 

vni 

We  have  still  to  consider  one  of  the  most  notable 
figures  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  pantheon,  one 
whose  cult  assumed  great  prominence  in  the  earliest 
days  to  which  we  can  trace  back  the  history  of  the 
country  with  which  we  are  concerned,  and  who  re- 
tained his  position  despite  all  political  and  social  vicis- 
situdes, throughout  all  changes  in  religious  thought 
down  to  the  disappearance  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian 
civilization — the  moon-god,  Sin.  There  were  chiefly 
two  centres  of  Sin  worship  in  Babylonia,  one  at  Ur  in 
the  extreme  south,  and  the  other  at  Harran  in  the  north. 

7S  A  title  of  Sarpanit,  the  consort  of  Marduk, 

77  I.e.,  from  east  to  west 

"With  an  allusion  to  the  name  of  Nabu's  temple,  E-zida,  "the 

legitimate  house." 


222 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  older  and 


the 


The  former  of  these  two 
more  important.  By  the  side  of  Sin,  the  moon-god 
also  bears  a  name,  Nannar,  which  designates  him  as  a 
"luminary."  In  Sumerian  the  name  is  written  with 
two  signs,  En-zu,  which  describes  him  as  the  "lord 
of  knowledge"  and  of  which  Sin — divided  into  Si-in — 
may  be  a  derivative  by  an  inversion  of  the  two  syllables, 
which  is  not  uncommon.™  These  two  qualities,  as  a 
light-giving  power  and  as  a  god  of  wisdom,  are  the  two 
traits  of  Sin  most  prominently  dwelt  upon  in  votive 
and  historical  inscriptions  and  in  religious  texts.  In 
the  art,*0  the  moon-god  is  represented  as  an  old  man 
with  a  flowing  beard,  with  the  moon's  crescent  as  his 
symbol.  On  the  so-called  Boundary  Stones,81  the  cres- 
cent alone  is  used  for  the  moon,  as  the  circle  with 
numerous  rays  stands  for  the  sun.  The  horns  sug- 
gested  by  the  moon's  crescent  were  probably  a  factor 
in  representing  him  also  figuratively  as  a  bull,  and  a 
frequent  epithet  given  to  him  is  "the  young  bullock  of 
Enlil, "  which  illustrates  also  the  endeavor  to  associate 
him  with  the  old  Babylonian  pantheon  grouped  around 
the  god  of  Nippur.  The  crescent  also  suggests  a  bark, 
and  in  very  old  invocations  he  is  pictured  as  sailing 
across  the  heavens  in  a  bark.  One  of  these  reads  in 
part  as  follows : 82 

"In  the  resplendent  bark  of  heaven,  0  self-appointed  ruler, 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  Ur, 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  E-gishshirgal,M 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  Namrasit,8* 

Lord  Nannar,  first-born  son  of  Enlil, 

As  thou  sailest  along,  as  thou  sail  est  along, 

*•  So  we  have  Zu-ab,  *' house  of  knowledge,"  becoming  apsxi. 
60  See  Plate  LXXVII,  Fig.  2. 
§I  See  p.  416,  scq. 

n  Cun,  Texts,  XV,  PL  17,  and  Reisner,  Sumcriseh-Babyloniscke 
Hymnen,  No.  38. 

•"  Name  of  Sin's  temple  in  Ur. 

"  "Rising  in  light/'  an  epithet  of  the  moon-god. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   223 

In  the  presence  of  thy  father,  in  the  presence  of  Enlil,  thou  art 

ruler; 
Father  Nannar,  thou  art  ruler,  thou  art  leader, 
In  the  hark  riding  through  the  heavens, — thou  art  ruler. '  ' 

In  this  maimer  the  litany  proceeds,  the  lines  of 
which  are  evidently  intended  to  be  chanted  by  a  leader 
and  chorus  alternatively,  or  by  two  choruses  of  priests. 
Though  Sin  or  Nannar  is  constantly  addressed  as 
father  in  his  capacity  as  the  chief  luminary  in  the 
starry  heavens,  the  endeavor  is  clearly  made  to  bring 
him  into  association  with  Enlil  whose  first-born  son 
he  is  therefore  declared  to  be,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
process  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Sin  cult  into  that 
centring  around  Enlil,  the  "word"  which  we  have 
seen  is  the  specific  quality  of  the  chief  god  of  Nippur 
in  his  role  of  a  storm  deity  is  likewise  transferred  to 
Nannart  as  it  was  transferred  to  Marduk,  to  Shamash, 
to  Ea  and  in  fact  to  all  the  chief  figures  of  the  pantheon, 
quite  independently  of  their  original  character. 

IX 

A  totally  different  god  is  Adad,  the  storm-god,  who 
is  represented  as  brandishing  the  thunderbolt  and 
hurling  the  lightning.  Adad  is  a  counterpart  of  Enlil, 
but,  unlike  the  latter,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  takes  on 
other  traits,  Adad  or  Ramnian  ("the  thunderer"),  as 
he  was  also  called,  retains  his  forbidding  character  of 
a  god  who  when  he  manifests  himself  does  so  because 
his  wrath  has  been  aroused.  Gods  as  well  as  men  stand 
in  terror  of  Adad  as  is  well  brought  out  in  one  of  the 
hymns  to  him.85 

"When  the  lord  is  enraged,  the  heavens  tremble  before  him, 
When  Adad  is  enangered,  the  earth  quakes  before  him. 
Great  mountains  are  east  down  before  him. 
At  his  auger,  at  his  wrath, 
At  his  roar,  at  his  thunder, 

89  Rawliuson  IV2  PL  28,  No.  2. 


224  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  gods  of  heaven  retire  into  the  heavens, 
The  gods  of  earth  recede  into  the  earth, 
The  sun  passes  into  the  foundation  of  heaven, 
The  moon  disappears  into  the  zenith  of  heaven." 

He  is  the  destroyer  who  sweeps  across  "the  heavens, 
the  land  and  the  waters*'  as  we  read  in  another  invoca- 
tion to  him.  When  the  gods  decide  to  bring  on  a 
deluge,  it  is  Adad  who  is  the  chief  executive  of  the 
divine  decree. 

But  just  because  of  his  power  and  his  violence,  the 
attempt  is  made  to  gain  his  favor.  When  the  storm 
ceases,  the  rainbow  appears  in  the  sky  and  the  sun 
comes  out  from  the  clouds,  it  is  a  sign  that  Adad  has 
been  reconciled.  Applying  the  association  to  human 
conditions,  sickness,  loss  of  life,  destruction  of  crops, 
as  a  result  of  storms  lead  king  and  subjects  to  appeal 
to  Adad's  mercy,  if  happily  they  can  arouse  it.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  god  may  feel  flattered  by  being  ad- 
dressed as  merciful  and  forgiving.  So  in  a  series  of 
invocations  to  Adad  we  actually  read  :88 

*' Merciful  one  among  the  (great)  gods, 
I  have  directed  my  thoughts  to  thee,  I  implore  thee  humbly  ( T) 
Be  merciful,  O  lord,  hear  my  prayer, 
Destroy  my  enemies,  drive  away  my  opponents, 
May  the  poison,  poison,  poison  of  the  sorcerers  not  touch  me, 
Have  mercy  and  proclaim  grace  for  me.11 

While  Adad  is  also  brought  into  association  with 
the  Nippur  pantheon  and  with  that  grouped  around 
Marduk,  he  is  to  a  larger  extent  than  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  pantheon  an  independent  figure.  This  may 
be  due  to  the  fact  that  so  far  as  our  material  enables 
us  to  judge,  he  is  not  brought  into  connection  with  any 
important  political  centre.  In  this  respect  he  marks  a 
decided  exception.  He  impresses  one  as  an  intruder 
whose  cult  may  have  been  brought  to  the  Euphrates 
Valley  from  the  north,  for  in  Assyria  we  find  one  of 

••  King,  ib.,  No,  21,  lines  61-66. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  225 


the  oldest  temples  dedicated  to  Anu  and  Adad — Anu  as 
the  old  solar  deity,  afterwards  replaced  in  Assyria  by 
Ashur,87  and  Adad  the  storm-god. 

There  is  still  another  phase  of  the  cult  of  Adad  to 
be  briefly  considered.  He  is  a  god  of  oracles  and  in 
this  capacity  is  invariably  associated  with  the  sun-god, 
Shamash.  In  addition  to  divining  the  future  through 
reading  the  signs  in  the  heavens  at  night— in  the  moon, 
planets,  stars,  and  constellations — the  phenomena  ob- 
served in  the  sun  and  those  seen  in  storms,  hurricanes, 
clouds,  rain,  thunder,  lightning  and  earthquakes  were 
gathered  into  an  elaborate  system,  supplemental  to 
astrology  proper.88  The  deities  presiding  over  these 
phases  of  divination  are  naturally  Shamash  and  Adad, 
who  therefore  become,  as  the  "lords  of  divination," 
oracle  gods,  frequently  designated  as  such  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  rulers. 

It  is  as  a  further  reflex  of  astrology  and  supple- 
mental forms  of  divination  that  by  the  side  of  the  com- 
bination of  Shamash  and  Adad  into  a  duality,  we  have  a 
triad,  Sin,  Shamash  and  Adad,  very  frequently  appear- 
ing in  invocations  attached  to  votive  and  historical  in- 
scriptions as  well  as  in  religious  texts,  by  the  side  of 
the  greater  triad  Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea.89  As  the  latter 
symbolize  the  three  cliief  divisions  of  the  universe — 
heaven,  earth  and  water — so  the  second  triad  sum  up 
the  chief  manifestations  of  nature,  the  sun  which  con- 
ditions vegetation,  the  moon  standing  for  the  entire 
starry  heaven,  and  the  storm  with  all  its  accompany- 
ing phenomena,  rain,  floods,  thunder,  lightning,  earth- 
quakes and  all  other  abnormal  occurrences,  more  or 
less  directly  connected  with  the  activity  of  the  storm- 
god. 

There  are,  however,  two  elements  of  nature  not 

BT  See  below,  p.  229. 

■*  See,  for  details,  Jastrow,  Religion  Babylonians  und  Assyriens, 
II,  p.  577-612  and  705-748,  and  also  below  p.  262,  seq. 
99  See  above,  p.  208. 
15 


226 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


represented  in  this  triad,  the  earth  itself  and  fire.  As 
to  fire,  this  element  appears  to  have  been  in  part  asso- 
ciated with  the  sun  and  with  lightning,  and  in  part  to 
have  been  looked  upon  as  an  independent  force.  Both 
views  come  to  the  surface,  but  of  the  two  the  latter  may 
be  regarded  as  the  more  popular  belief,  while  the 
derivation  of  fire  from  the  sun  and  from  lightning 
assumes  a  point  of  view  of  a  more  speculative  char- 
acter. Among  all  peoples  of  antiquity  we  find  fire 
looked  upon  as  a  separate  element,  in  the  possession  of 
the  gods  to  be  sure,  but  not  identified  with  any  par- 
ticular one,  not  even  with  the  sun-god. 

The  fire-god  appears  under  various  designations, 
Gibil — also  written  in  the  reversed  form,  Bil-ge — 
Girru,  Gisbbar,  Ishum  and  Nusku — the  la»tter  designa- 
tion being  the  common  one  in  Assyria.  We  do  not  find 
in  connection  with  any  of  these  names  a  special  place 
selected  as  the  centre  of  the  cult,  and  this  is  quite  what 
we  should  expect  in  the  case  of  a  god  who  does  not 
represent  a  personification  of  a  specific  power  of 
nature  like  the  sun,  moon,  the  water  or  the  earth,  for 
fire  is  to  be  found  everywhere,  on  the  earth  and  in  the 
heaven  and  even  within  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  The 
fire-god  is  a  free  lance  as  it  were  who,  however,  per- 
forms service  for  both  gods  and  mankind.  He  is  ap- 
propriately termed  therefore  the  "messenger  of  the 
gods."  Of  the  actual  cult  of  the  fire-god  we  learn  little. 
His  chief  function  is  in  connection  with  incantation 
rites  to  drive  off  the  evil  demons.  As  a  sacred  element, 
the  fire  is  regarded  like  water  as  a  purifying  element. 
Hence  by  the  side  of  a  water  ritual,  associated  as  we 
have  seen  primarily  with  the  god  Ea,  we  have  a  fire 
ritual  which  consists  of  such  ceremonies  as  burning 
images,  made  of  various  materials,  of  the  sorcerer  or 
sorceress  by  whose  direct  intervention  some  victim  has 
been  bewitched,  or  consigning  to  the  fire  such  objects  as 
onions,  dates,  palm  blossoms,  seeds  or  bits  of  wool  to 
the  accompaniment  of  magic  formulas  emphasizing  the 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  227 


hope  that  as  these  materials  are  consumed,  so  the 
demons  as  the  cause  of  the  disease  and  suffering  may 
be  consumed  or  forced  by  the  heat  to  abandon  their 
victim.™  All  this  falls  within  the  category  of  sympa- 
thetic magic,  involving  a  symbolical  action  to  bring 
about  the  reality.  Thus  we  have  two  series  of  incanta- 
tion rituals  which,  because  of  the  prominence  given  to 
fire  in  the  rites,  are  known  as  "Maklu"  and  "Shurpu" 
— both  terms  having  the  force  of  u burning M  or  con- 
sumption through  fire.  Hymns  to  Nusku,  illustrating 
the  current  conceptions  in  regard  to  him,  are  inter- 
spersed in  these  rituals.  One  of  these  reads  as 
follows : 91 

1 '  Nusku,  great  god,  prince  of  the  great  gods, 
Guardian  of  the  offerings  of  all  Igigi, 
Founder  of  cities,  renewer  of  sanctuaries, 
Resplendent  deity,  whose  command  is  supreme, 
Messenger  of  Anu,  earning  out  the  decrees  of  Enlil, 
Obedient  to  Enlil,  prince,  leader  of  the  strong  Igigi, 
Mighty  in  battle,  whose  attack  is  powerful, 
Nusku,  consumer,  conqueror  of  enemies, 
Without  thee  no  sacrificial  meal  is  given  in  the  temple, 
Without  thee  the  great  gods  do  not  inhale  any  sweet  smelling 

offering, 
Without  thee  Shaoiash,  the  judge,  does  not  make  a  decision."  M 

But  the  fire  is  also  the  indispensable  aid  to  man  in 
his  advance  along  the  path  of  civilization.  The  bricks 
for  the  construction  of  houses,  temples  and  walls  are 
burnt  in  the  fire,  the  metals  are  tempered  through  the 
sacred  element,  and  so  in  almost  all  the  operations  of 
man  the  fire  is  his  faithful  ally.  Nusku  is  therefore 
hailed  as  the  founder  of  cities,  through  whom  sanctu- 

"  See  specimens  in  Jastrow,  Religion  Babylonien*  und  Auyriem, 

I,  p.  305,  $eq.,  and  328,  seq. 

m  Tallqvist,  Die  Assyrische  Beschworungsseri*  Maqlu,  II,  1-1 L 
•*  Referring  to  offerings  in  connection  with  securing  an  oracle 

from  the  sun-god. 


228 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


aries  are  built  and  renewed.  The  fire  associated  with 
Shamash  becomes  like  the  latter  the  judge  to  whom 
the  appeal  for  a  just  decision  is  made.  So  in  the 
formulae  accompanying  the  symbolical  burning  of  a 
bronze  image  of  the  sorcerer  or  sorceress,  Nusku  is 
apostrophized  as  " 

"Mighty  fire-god,  awe-inspiring  glow,94 
Guiding  gods  and  princes, 

Judging  the  cruel  one  and  the  wicked  woman,*8 
Step  forward  to  my  cause  like  Shamash,  the  warrior, 
Judge  my  cause,  proclaim  my  decision, 
Burn  the  sorcerer  and  the  sorceress, 
Destroy  my  enemies,  censure  my  opponents, 
May  thy  raging  glow  come  upon  them!" 


We  have  several  times  had  occasion  to  point  out 
the  dependence  of  Assyria  upon  Babylonia,  extending 
to  all  aspects  of  Assyrian  civilization  though  we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  some  additions  made  to  Babylonian 
culture  by  the  northern  empire,  or  of  the  modifications 
introduced  by  Assyria  in  what  she  took  over  from  the 
south.  In  the  case  of  the  pantheon  we  have  only  one 
striking  figure,  embodying  the  spirit  of  Assyria  and 
who  represents  an  entirely  original  contribution — the 
god  Ashur.  We  now  know  that  the  city  bearing  the 
name  Ashur  on  the  site  of  which  successful  and  most 
thorough  excavations  have  been  carried  on  for  the 
past  fifteen  years,00  represents  the  oldest  capital  of  the 
northern  kingdom,  and  that  in  fact  from  Ashur  as  a 
centre  Assyria  begins  to  extend  her  dominion  about  2000 
B.C.,  though  the  settlements  in  the  north  by  migrations 
from  the  south  as  well  as  through  incursions  from  the 
northwest  are  to  be  carried  back  to  a  much  earlier 

"  Maqlu  II,  114-121. 

"Literally  M day." 

••  I.e.,  the  sorcerer  and  sorceress. 

••  See  above,  p.  55,  scq. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  229 

period.  The  name  of  the  god  being  dependent  upon 
that  of  the  city,  Ashur  is  thus  the  god  of  the  city  of 
Ashur.  The  original  solar  character  follows  from  the 
common  symbol  of  the  god,  a  reproduction  of  the  solar 
disc,  frequently  with  the  rays  of  the  sun  clearly  in- 
dicated.*7 He  is  addressed  also  in  hymns  and  invoca- 
tions in  terms  which  betray  the  original  conception, 
though  this  trait  is  naturally  overshadowed  by  the 
supreme  position  accorded  in  Assyria  to  Ashur,  who, 
taking  the  place  assigned  to  Marduk  in  the  south,  be- 
comes like  the  latter  the  creator  of  everything,  the  ruler 
of  gods  as  well  as  of  all  mankind.  At  the  dedication 
of  an  image  of  Ashur  made  at  the  instance  of  King 
Sennacherib  (705-681  B.C.),  the  king  addresses  his  god 
as  f  ollows : 98 

"To  Ashur,  the  king  of  the  totality  of  the  gods,  Mb  own  creation, 

father  of  the  gods, 
Whose  power  is  unfolded  in  the  deep,  king  of  heaven  and  earth, 
Lord  of  all  gods,  controller  of  the  Igigi  and  Anunnaki,M 
Creator  of  the  heaven  of  Anu  and  of  the  world  below,  creator  of 

mankind, 
Dwelling  in  the  resplendent  heavens,  Enlil  10°  of  the  gods,  deter- 

miner  of  fates, 
Dwelling  in  E-sharra  in  Ashur — for  his  lord,  Sennacherib,  King  of 

Assyria,  has  made  an  image  of  Ashur. ' ' 

The  god  who  dwells  in  the  heavens  is  a  solar  deity 
like  Anu  himself  was,  as  we  have  seen.  Naturally, 
Ashur  takes  on  the  traits  also  of  Marduk.  The  role  of 
creator  is  transferred  by  virtue  of  national  pride  from 
Marduk  to  Ashur.  As  the  universal  creator,  Ashur 
controls  the  deep  as  well  as  the  heavens.    He  is  Anu, 

•T  See  Plate  XXXIII,  Figs.  2  and  3,  and  Plate  XXXII,  above 
the  tree  of  life. 

88  Craig,  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Religious  Texts,  I,  PI.  83. 

M  The  gTOup  designation  for  the  minor  order  of  heavenly  and 
earthly  deities. 

100  In  the  sense  of  ' c  supreme  lord. ' ' 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Bnlil,  and  Ea  thrown  into  one.  The  process  towards 
concentrating  all  divine  attributes  in  one  being  is  car- 
ried to  even  further  lengths  in  Assyria  than  in  Baby- 
lonia, for  Marduk  is  always  associated  with  Ea  as  the 
father  and  with  Nabu  as  the  son.  Ashur  stands  entirely 
alone  in  his  majesty.  Representing  the  spirit  of  As- 
syria which  was  so  intensely  martial  as  to  make  her 
at  one  time  the  greatest  military  power  of  the  ancient 
world,  Ashur  naturally  becomes  primarily  a  warrior. 
The  artists  of  Assyria  yield  to  this  influence  and  spoil 
the  beautiful  symbol  of  the  god  by  placing  a  warrior 
with  bow  and  arrow  within  the  solar  disc.  Without 
this  addition,  the  disc  might  indeed  have  become  a 
symbol  of  a  spiritualized  power,  as  the  swastika  and 
tie  cross  became.  For  the  rulers,  more  particularly, 
Ashur  is  merely  the  warrior  whose  standard  is  carried 
into  the  midst  of  the  battle  field  so  as  to  ensure  the 
presence  and  aid  of  the  god.  "By  the  might  of  Ashur" 
is  the  standing  phrase  in  the  votive  and  historical  in- 
scriptions of  Assyrian  kings.  It  is  Ashur  who  mows 
down  the  enemies,  who  burns  and  pillages  cities,  who 
captures  the  women  and  children,  and  who  spreads  the 
misery  and  desolation  incident  to  bloody  warfare. 

As  Ashur  reflects  the  genius  and  spirit  of  Assyria, 
so  the  god  follows  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  country. 
With  the  transfer  of  the  capital  to  Calah  and  thence  to 
Nineveh,  the  centre  of  Ashur 's  cult  shifts  to  the 
political  stronghold.  Wherever  the  longs  reside,  there 
is  Ashur *s  seat;  and  when  the  king  himself  leads  the 
military  exploits,  Ashur  follows.  Ashur  is  not  bound 
to  a  definite  centre  like  his  two  older  rivals.  He  and 
Assyria  become  synonymous  terms  in  a  sense  which 
never  applied  to  Marduk.  He  becomes  the  lord  or 
Bel,  par  excellence,  who  has  nothing  to  fear  from  any 
possible  rival.  A  centralizing  tendency  arises  more 
pronounced  than  previous  endeavors  in  this  direction, 
and  without  disturbing  the  time-honored  traditions 
that  grew  up  around  Nippur,  Sippar,  Uruk,  Cuthah, 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  231 


Eridu  and  other  sites.  Nineveh  as  the  capital  of 
Assyria  rises  to  a  supremacy  equal  to  the  rank  acquired 
by  Ashur  himself — unsurpassed  in  majesty,  without  a 
rival  in  power  and  glory. 

XI 

We  have  thus  passed  in  review  the  chief  figures  of 
the  Babylonian-Assyrian  pantheon  and  in  the  course 
of  this  review  have  endeavored  to  show  the  close  asso- 
ciation between  the  conceptions  formed  of  the  gods  and 
the  course  of  political  development  in  the  south  and 
the  north.  We  have  seen  how  as  a  consequence  of  this 
association  solar  gods,  moon  gods,  storm  gods  and 
•water  gods  lose  their  original  character  by  having 
attributes  given  to  them  which  are  intended  to  sym- 
bolize the  supremacy  they  assumed  because  of  the 
political  prestige  acquired  by  the  centres  in  which  they 
were  worshipped.  Attempts  are  made  in  earlier  and 
later  periods  to  specify  the  relationship  of  the  great 
gods  to  one  another  and  also  to  the  minor  local  deities. 
A  pantheon  arises  with  Enlil  as  the  head  which  is  sub- 
sequently replaced  by  another  with  Marduk  taking  the 
rank  of  Enlil,  while  in  Assyria,  Ashur  eclipses  both 
Enlil  and  Marduk.  Gradually,  a  selection  out  of  the 
large  number  of  local  deities  is  made.  The  pantheon 
takes  on  a  more  definite  shape.  The  hundreds  of  minor 
gods  fade  into  the  background,  becoming  merely  desig- 
nations or  attributes  of  the  more  important  gods,  or  are 
placed  in  lists  drawn  up  by  the  priests  in  the  relation 
of  members  of  the  household, — relatives,  servants, 
officials— of  a  great  god.  Through  a  process  reflecting 
the  speculations  in  the  temple  schools,  a  triad  is  evolved, 
consisting  of  Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea,  dividing  among  them- 
selves the  three  parts  of  the  universe — heaven,  earth 
and  water.  A  second  triad  is  placed  by  the  side  of  this 
one,  summing  up  the  chief  manifestations  of  divine 
power  in  the  universe,  Sin  (the  moon),  Shamash  (the 
sun)  and  A  dad  (the  storm,  including  water).    In  the 


232 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


case  of  each  triad,  a  fourth  figure  is  often  added,  2v 
lil,  originally  the  consort  of  Enlil,  or  Nin-makh  ("the 
great  lady")  to  the  first,  and  Belit  ("the  lady")  or 
Ishtar  to  the  second — both,  however,  symbolizing  the 
female  element  which,  fructified  by  the  male,  is  the 
indispensable  complement  to  the  production  of  life, 
vegetation,  fertility  and  all  blessings  that  go  with  the 
never  ending  process  of  vitality,  growth,  decay  and  re- 
generation in  nature.  This  leads  us  to  a  consideration, 
before  leaving  the  pantheon,  of  one  notable  female 
figure,  the  great  mother-goddess,  frequently  identified 
with  the  earth  viewed  as  a  fruitful  mother  but  who 
should  rather  be  regarded  in  a  still  wider  sense  as  the 
mother  of  all  that  manifests  life,  embracing  therefore 
the  life  in  man  and  the  animal  world  as  well  as  in  the 
fields  and  mountains  in  nature  in  general. 

This  natural  association  of  a  female  element  as  a 
complement  to  the  male  one  leads  to  assigning  to  every 
deity  a  consort  who,  however,  has  no  independent  ex- 
istence. So  Enlil  has  at  his  side  Nin-lil,  Ninib  has 
Gm\  ("the  great  one"),  Ningirsu  has  Bau,  Shamash 
has  A,  Sin  has  Nin-gul,  Nergal  has  Laz,  Anu  a  female 
counterpart  An  turn,  to  Ea  a  consort  Shala  ("the 
woman")  is  given,  to  Marduk,  Sarpanit  or  Nin-makh 
("the  great  lady"),  to  Nabu,  Tashmit  ("obedience 
while  Ashur's  consort  appears  as  Nin-lil  or  Belit  and 
at  times  as  Ishtar.  All  these  figures  with  the  single 
exception  of  Ishtar  are  merely  shadowy  reflections  of 
their  male  masters,  playing  no  part  in  the  cult  outside 
of  receiving  homage  in  association  with  their  male 
partners,  Ishtar,  however,  although  assimilated  in  the 
Assyrian  pantheon  to  the  consort  of  Ashur,  is  an  in- 
dependent figure,  who  has  her  own  temples  and  her 
distinct  cult,  She  appears  under  a  variety  of  names 
— Nana,  Innina,  Irnini,  Ninni,  Nina — all  of  which 
contain  an  element  having  the  force  of  "lady,"  as  is 
also  the  case  with  Nin-makh  and  Nin-lil,  likewise  used 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS   233 


as  epithets  of  the  great  mother-goddess.  Corre- 
sponding to  the  Sumerian  element,  we  have  in  Ak- 
kadian Belit  "lady"  or  "mistress"  as  one  of  the  gen- 
eric designations  of  Ishtar.  All  this  confirms  the  view 
that  Ishtar  is  merely  the  symbol  of  the  female  element 
in  the  production  of  life,  and  that  the  specific  name  is 
of  secondary  significance.  The  circumstance  that  Nin- 
lil,  the  consort  of  Enlil,  is  also  (though  in  texts  of  a 
later  period)  identified  with  the  mother-goddess  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  female  associate  of  the  head  of 
the  pantheon  was  always  an  Ishtar,  though  in  a  certain 
sense,  as  we  have  seen,  the  consorts  of  all  the  gods 
were  Ishtars. 

The  oldest  cult  of  the  mother  goddess,  so  far  as 
our  material  goes,  appears  indeed  to  have  been  in  Uruk 
where  she  is  known  as  Nana,  but  we  may  be  quite  sure 
that  the  cult  was  never  limited  to  one  place.  The 
special  place  which  Nana  has  in  the  old  Babylonian 
pantheon  is  probably  due  to  the  peculiar  development 
taken  by  the  chief  deity  of  that  centre,  Anu,  who  as 
we  have  seen  became  an  abstraction — the  god  of  heaven, 
presiding  over  the  upper  realm  of  the  universe.  Her 
temple  at  Uruk  known  as  E-anna  "the  heavenly 
house"  and  revealing  the  association  of  the  goddess 
with  Anu  as  a  solar  deity  became  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  It  is  in  connection 
with  the  cult  of  Nana  that  we  learn  of  a  phase  of  the 
worship  of  the  mother-goddess  which  degenerates  into 
the  obscene  rites  that  call  forth  the  amazement  of 
Herodotus. m  As  the  mother-goddess,  Nana  or  Ishtar 
is  not  only  the  source  of  the  fertility  displayed  by  the 
earth  and  the  kind,  gracious  mother  of  mankind,  but 
also  the  goddess  of  love — the  Aphrodite  of  Babylonia. 
The  mysterious  process  of  conception  and  the  growth 
of  the  embryo  in  the  mother's  womb  gave  rise  at  an 
early  period  to  rites  in  connection  with  the  cult  of  the 


m  Book  I,  §  199. 


234 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


mother-goddess  that  symbolized  the  fructification 
through  the  combination  with  the  male  element. 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to  Ishtar  which 
comes  particularly  to  the  fore  in  Assyria,  though  it  is 
also  indigenous  to  Babylonia.  She  is  not  only  the  loving 
mother  but,  as  the  protector  of  her  offspring,  a  war- 
like figure  armed  for  the  fray  and  whose  presence  is 
felt  in  the  midst  of  the  battle.  She  appears  to  her 
favorites  in  dreams  and  encourages  them  to  give  battle. 
It  is  she  who  places  in  the  hands  of  the  rulers  the 
weapons  with  which  they  march  to  victory.  To  Ashur- 
banapal  she  thus  appears  armed  with  bow  and  arrow 
and  reassures  him :  "Whithersoever  thou  goest,  I  go 
with  thee." loa  As  far  back  as  the  days  of  Hammurapi, 
Ishtar  is  thus  viewed  as  the  one  who  encourages  her 
followers  for  contest  and  battle. 

Both  phases  of  the  goddess,  as  the  gracious  mother 
and  as  the  grim  Amazon,  are  dwelt  upon  in  one  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  the  religious  literature  of  Baby- 
lonia in  which  a  penitent  sufferer,  bowed  down  with 
sickness  and  misfortune,  implores  Ishtar  to  grant  re- 
lief.108 The  hymn  is  addressed  to  the  goddess  of  Uruk 
but  she  has  become  the  general  mother-goddess  and 
is  instead  of  Nana  addressed  as  Ishtar.  Ishtar  is 
here  identified  with  the  planet  Venus  and  assigned  to 
a  place  therefore  in  the  heavens.  As  such  she  is  called 
"the  daughter  of  Sin,"  the  moon-god.  She  is  thus  the 
daughter  of  Anu,  of  Enlil  and  of  Sin  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  a  further  indication  that  such  epithets 
merely  symbolize  a  relationship  to  various  gods,  ac- 
cording to  the  traits  assigned  to  her.  The  composition, 
too  long  to  quote  entirely,  begins: 

101  Cylinder  B  (ed.  Geo.  Smith,  History  of  Assurbanapal,  p, 
Col.  5,  61-62,    Ishtar  is  frequently  represented  as  goddess  of  war 
on  seal  cylinders.     See  Ward,  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western 
(Washington,  1910),  Chapter  XXV. 

101  King,  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  I,  p.  222-237. 


BABYLONIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  GODS  235 

"I  pray  to  thee,  mistress  of  mistresses,  goddess  of  goddesses, 

Ishtar,  queen  of  all  habitations,  guide  of  mankind, 

Irnini 10*  praised  be  thou,  greatest  among  the  Igigi 106 

Powerful  art  thou,  ruler  art  thou,  exalted  is  thy  name, 

Thou  art  the  light  of  heaven  and  earth,  mighty  daughter  of  Sin, 

Thou  directest  the  weapons,  arrangest  the  battle  array, 

Thou  givest  commands,  decked  with  the  crown  of  rulership, 

0  lady,  resplendent  is  thy  greatness,  supreme  over  all  gods. 

"Where  is  thy  name  not?    Where  is  thy  command  not? 

Where  are  images  of  thee  not  made?    Where  are  thy  shrines  not 

erected? 
WTiere  art  thou  not  great? — where  not  supreme? 
Ann,  Enlil  and  Ea  have  raised  thee  to  mighty  rulership  among 

the  gods, 
Have  raised  thee  aloft  and  exalted  thy  station  among  all  the  Igigi. 
At  the  mention  of  thy  name,  heaven  and  earth  quake, 
The  gods  tremble,  the  AnunnaM  quake. 
To  thy  awe-inspiring  name  mankind  gives  heed, 
Great  and  exalted  art  thou ! 
All  dark-headed  ones,100  living  beings,  mankind  pay  homage  to 

thy  power. 

1  moan  like  a  dove  night  and  day, 
I  am  depressed  and  weep  bitterly, 

With  woe  and  pain  my  liver  is  in  anguish. 

What  have  I  done,  0  my  god  and  my  goddess — I  ? 

As  though  I  did  not  reverence  my  god  and  my  goddess,  am  I  treated. 

I  experience,  0  my  mistress,  dark  days,  sad  months,  years  of  mis- 
fortune.' ' 

As  the  planet  Venus,  the  movements  of  Ishtar  in 
the  heavens  form  a  basis  for  divining  what  the  future 
has  in  store.107  The  prominent  part  taken  by  the  ob- 
servation   of   Venus-Ishtar   in   Babylonian-Assyrian 

104  An  epithet  of  Ishtar.    See  above,  p.  232. 
109  Here  used  as  a  general  designation  of  all  the  gods. 
106  Here  used  for  mankind  in  general. 

10T  See  for  details,  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyrkns, 
II,  pp.  612-638. 


236  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

astrology  is  reflected  in  many  of  the  hymns  to  her.  The 
influence  of  the  priestly  speculations  in  thus  combin- 
ing the  popular  animistic  conceptions  of  the  gods  and 
goddesses  with  points  of  view  derived  from  the  pro- 
jection of  the  gods  on  to  the  starry  heavens  is  one  of 
the  features  of  the  religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
Ishtar  under  one  name  or  the  other  becomes  a 
favorite  subject  for  myths  symbolizing  the  change  of 
seasons,  her  period  of  glory  when  the  earth  is  in  full 
bloom  being  the  summer  followed  by  the  rainy  and 
winter  months  when  nature  decays,  and  which  was  pic- 
tured as  due  to  the  imprisonment  of  the  goddess  in  the 
nether  world.  She  takes  her  place  in  popular  tales, 
half  legendary  and  half  mythical,  and  we  have  a 
number  of  compositions 108  further  illustrating  how  the 
popular  myths  and  tales  were  embodied  into  the  cult 

101  See  pp.  453-461. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CULTS  AND  THE  TEMPLES  OF  BABYLONIA  AND 

ASSYRIA 


In  the  course  of  discussion  of  the  views  held  of  the 
gods  and  goddesses,  the  general  features  of  the  religion 
have  been  revealed,  as  well  as  the  relation  of  religious 
beliefs  to  the  course  taken  by  the  political  fortunes  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria.  A  close  interdependence  be- 
tween the  position  of  the  gods  and  the  changing 
political  conditions  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  needs  to 
lie  kept  in  mind  as  the  most  important  factor,  leading 
to  a  divorce  in  the  conception  of  the  gods  from  the 
animistic  starting-point  as  the  personification  of  some 
specific  power  or  manifestation  of  nature.  We  have 
seen  how  in  the  case  of  such  figures  as  Enlil,  Marduk 
and  Ashur  this  process  resulted  in  a  tendency  towards 
the  unification  of  all  such  manifestations  in  a  single 
deity.  A  spiritual  impulse  is  thus  given  to  the  view 
of  divine  government  of  the  universe,  the  significance 
of  which  is  not  diminished  by  the  limitation  pointed 
out  and  which  prevented  the  rise  of  a  genuine  mono- 
theism in  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  As  a  reflex  of  the 
higher  point  of  view  such  members  of  the  pantheon  as 
Shamash,  the  sun-god,  Sin,  the  moon-god,  Ea,  the 
water-god,  Nabu,  originally  the  god  of  Borsippa, 
Nusku,  the  fire-god,  and  Ishtar,  the  mother-goddess 
rise  far  beyond  the  original  animistic  level,  and  be- 
come in  a  measure  symbols  of  the  beneficent  influence 
exerted  by  the  powers  of  nature  on  man.  Ethical  traits 
such  as  mercy,  justice,  love,  forbearance  are  superim- 
posed on  the  original  attributes  of  strength  and  vio- 
lence, at  times  to  such  an  extent  as  to  obscure  the  older 
aspects.  As  a  result  of  this  tendency  towards  giving  the 
personifications  of  powers  of  nature  an  ethical  import, 
we  find  increasing  prominence  given  to  the  thought 

237 


238 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


that  the  gods  send  sickness,  suffering,  misfortune, 
drought,  pestilence  and  national  catastrophes  of  a 
larger  character,  defeat  in  battle  and  invasions  of  the 
country,  as  a  consequence  of  misdeeds,  primarily  on  the 
part  of  the  riders  who  stand  nearer  to  the  gods  than 
the  ordinary  individual.  To  be  sure,  the  misdeeds 
grouped  together  under  the  general  designation  of  sins, 
may  be  either  of  a  genuinely  ethical  character  or  purely 
ceremonial  neglect  or  even  ritualistic  errors.  While 
this  decided  limitation  in  the  ethics  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  which  clings  to  the  religion  down  to  the  latest 
period  must  be  given  due  consideration,  nevertheless 
it  marks  a  decided  step  forward  to  recognize  that  the 
displeasure  or  anger  of  the  gods  as  shown  by  the  pun- 
ishments sent  by  them  is  not  aroused  without  some  good 
cause, — good  naturally  from  the  limited  point  of  view 
here  emphasized.  All  misfortunes  are  looked  upon  as 
punishments  from  angry  deities,  and  the  punishment 
itself  is  the  natural  and  necessary  consequence  of  sin. 
The  obvious  corollary  is  that  the  gods  are  on  the  whole 
and  ordinarily  favorably  disposed  towards  mankind. 
Some  are  more  merciful  by  nature  than  others,  some 
like,  the  god  Ea  are  in  a  special  sense  the  protectors 
of  man,  revealing  to  him  even  the  secret  counsels  of 
the  gods,  some  like  Ishtar  bewail  catastrophes  sent 
against  mankind  by  angered  deities,  but  all  are  open 
to  appeals  and,  it  might  even  be  said,  prone  to  mercy 
and  inclined  to  be  forgiving. 

A  second  factor  of  f imdamental  importance  for  our 
estimate  of  the  religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  is 
the  recognition  of  the  part  taken  by  the  endeavors  on 
the  part  of  the  priests  to  systematize  the  current  re- 
ligious beliefs,  with  the  result  of  building  up  a  theo- 
logical system  of  no  small  proportions*  The  most 
prominent  outcome  of  this  endeavor  was  the  theory  of 
a  threefold  division  of  the  universe  with  the  assign- 
ment of  a  deity  in  control  of  each.  The  setting  up  of 
this  triad  which  may  be  traced  back  to  the  old  Baby- 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


1239 


>nian  period  marks  a  further  step  in  |the  dissocia- 
tion of  the  gods  from  their  original  limitations.  Anu, 
Enlil  and  Ea  become  symbols  of  divine  government  of 
the  universe,  and  similarly,  though  not  to  the  same  ex- 
tent, the  second  triad,  Shainash,  Sin  and  Adad,  sum  up 
the  chief  manifestations  of  divine  power  in  so  far  as  it 
affects  mankind — the  sun,  the  moon  and  atmospheric 
phenomena,  while  the  addition  of  a  further  figure  in 
the  ease  of  both  triads,  Ninlil ■  for  the  first,  and  Ishtar 
for  the  second,  symbolizes  the  female  element  which 
combines  with  the  male  to  bring  about  the  renewal  of 
nature  and  the  reproduction  of  animal  ami  human  life. 
While  the  theoretical  constructions  perfected  in  the 
temple  schools  no  doubt  exercised  a  decided  influence 
on  popular  beliefs,  yet  it  is  natural  to  find  that  the 
masses  clung  to  the  traditional  animistic  conceptions 
of  the  local  deities.    To  the  people,  the  head  of  the 

pantheon,  whether  Enlil,  Marduk  or  Ashur,  remained 
the  local  divine  patron;  and  so  in  the  other  centres, 
Shamash,  Ea,  Sin,  Nefbu,  Nergal  as  the  case  may  be, 
remained  on  the  level  of  personifications  of  powers  of 
nature,  attached  as  protecting  spirits  to  the  locality  in 
question.  The  larger  and  higher  point  of  view  comes 
to  the  fore  in  the  hymns  and  prayers  which  are  dis- 
tinctly the  product  of  the  priests  of  the  temple  schools, 
but  the  very  circumstance  that  they  are  in  most  cases 
attached  as  introductions  to  pure  incantation  formulas, 
the  popular  basis  of  which  is  just  as  evident  as  is  the 
more  scholastic  character  of  the  hymns,  shows  that  the 
consequences  of  the  expansion  in  the  conceptions  of 
the  gods  were  not  drawn  when  it  came  to  the  actual  cult. 

II 

From  this  point  of  view  it  is  therefore  significant 
to  find  the  large  place  taken  in  the  practice  of  the 
religion  by  incantation  rituals  and  divination  prae* 

1  Or  Nin-kharsag — another  designation  of  the  consort  of  Enlil. 
See  above,  p.  202. 


240 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


tices.  It  is  inconceivable  that  the  hymns  and  the  in- 
cantations should  be  the  product  of  the  same  order  of 
thought,  and  as  we  proceed  in  our  study  of  the  religion 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  the  evidence  increases  for 
the  thesis  that  the  incantation  texts,  growing  by  ac- 
cumulation from  age  to  age,  represent  the  older  prod- 
ucts which  are  retained  by  the  side  of  compositions 
expressive  of  more  advanced  thought.  The  power 
appealed  to  to  furnish  relief  must  be  addressed,  and 
naturally  the  priests  will  endeavor  to  embody  in  this 
address  the  conceptions  of  the  god  or  goddess  that  have 
been  developed  as  a  result  of  their  speculations  and 
attempts  at  systematization.  The  technical  term 
shiptu  for  " incantation "  is  therefore  attached  to  the 
hymns  as  a  further  indication  that  they  form  an  in- 
gredient part  of  this  subdivision  of  the  religious 
literature. 

Taking  up  the  incantations  proper,  we  find  the 
basic  idea  to  be  the  theory  that  sickness  and  all  forms 
of  bodily  suffering  are  due  to  the  activity  of  demons 
that  have  either  of  their  own  accord  entered  the  body 
of  the  victim,  or  that  have  been  induced  to  do  so 
through  the  power  exercised  by  a  special  class  of 
sorcerers  or  sorceresses  who  are  able  to  bewitch  one 
with  the  aid  of  the  demons.  This  theory  of  ailments 
of  the  flesh  is  of  course  the  one  commonly  held  among 
people  in  a  primitive  stage  of  culture,  and  which  is 
carried  over  to  the  higher  phases.  That  aches  and 
fevers  should  be  ascribed  to  the  activity  of  demoniac 
forces  within  one  is  a  natural  corollary  to  the  animistic 
conception  controlling  the  religion  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  and  which  ascribes  life  to  everything  that 
manifests  power.  A  cramp,  a  throbbing  of  the  head, 
a  shooting  pain,  a  burning  fever  naturally  give  the 
impression  that  something — to  speak  indefinitely — is 
inside  of  you  producing  the  symptoms;  and  modern 
science  curiously  enough  with  its  germ  theory  to 
account  for  so  many  diseases  comes  to  the  aid  of  the 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


241 


primitive  notion  of  demoniac  possession.  To  secure 
relief,  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  get  rid  of  the  demon 
— to  exorcise  the  mischievous  being.  It  was  also  natural 
to  conclude  that  the  demons,  ordinarily  invisible,  lurk- 
ing in  the  corners,  gliding  through  doors,  hiding  in 
out  of  the  way  places  to  pounce  upon  their  victims 
unawares,  should  be  under  the  control  of  the  gods  as 
whose  messengers  they  thus  acted.  The  presence  of  a 
demon  in  the  body  was  therefore  a  form  of  punishment 
sent  by  a  deity,  angered  because  of  some  sin  committed. 
But  besides  the  gods,  certain  individuals  were  supposed 
to  have  the  power  over  the  demons  to  superinduce 
them  to  lay  hold  of  their  victims.  Giants  and  dwarfs, 
the  crippled  and  deformed,  persons  with  a  strange  ex- 
pression in  their  eyes,  inasmuch  as  they  represented 
deviations  from  the  normal,  were  regarded  as  imbued 
with  such  power,  and  curiously  enough  women  were 
more  commonly  singled  out  than  men,  perhaps  because 
of  the  mysterious  function  of  the  female  in  harboring 
the  new  life  in  her  womb.  As  a  survival  from  this 
point  of  view,  we  find  the  witch  far  down  into  the 
Middle  Ages  a  commoner  figure  than  the  sorcerer,  and 
in  fact  surviving  the  belief  in  the  latter. 

In  whatever  way  the  demon  may  have  found  his 
way  into  the  victim,  the  appeal  had  to  be  made  to  a 
god  or  goddess  to  drive  him  out ;  nor  was  the  theory 
that  the  demon  represented  the  punishment  sent  by  an 
angered  deity  affected  by  the  power  ascribed  to  certain 
individuals  to  bewitch  individuals,  for  it  was  also  in 
this  case  because  the  deity  was  offended  that  the  sor- 
cerer or  sorceress  could  exercise  his  or  her  power.  With 
the  good  will  and  favor  of  the  gods  assured,  one  was 
secure  from  demons  and  sorcerers  alike. 

The  existence  of  several  elaborate  incantation  series 
in  Ashurbanapal's  library,  prescribing  a  large  number 
of  formulas  to  be  recited  in  connection  with  symbolical 
rites  to  get  rid  of  the  demons,  furnishes  the  proof  for 
the  practical  significance  attached  to  incantations  in 
id 


BABYLONIA  ANTD  ASSYRIA 


both  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  These  series,  Babylonian 
in  origin,  revert  to  Sumerian  prototypes  and  represent 
compilations  stretching  over  a  long  period,  with  addi- 
tions intended  to  adapt  them  to  conditions  prevailing 
in  Assyria.  The  scribes  of  Ashurbanapal  were  not  in- 
dulging in  a  purely  academic  exercise  in  copying  the 
archives  of  Babylonian  temples ;  their  purpose,  as  was 
also  the  aim  of  the  king,  was  to  make  Nineveh  the 
central  religious  authority  as  well  as  the  political  mis- 
tress by  having  in  their  control  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  the  past,  in  dealing  with  the  religious  needs 
and  problems  of  their  own  age. 

A  feature  which  these  incantation  series 2  have  in 
eommon  is  the  recognition  of  a  large  number  of  demons, 
with  special  functions  assigned  in  many  cases  to  the 
one  class  or  the  other.  So,  for  example,  there  is  a 
demon  Labartu,  represented  as  a  horrible  monster  with 
swine  sucking  at  her  breasts,8  who  threatens  the  life  of 
the  mother  at  childbirth;  a  group  known  as  Ashakku 
who  cause  varieties  of  wasting  diseases,  another  demon 
Ti'u,  whose  special  function  was  to  cause  diseases, 
manifesting  themselves  by  headaches  accompanied  by 
fever,  and  so  on  through  a  long  list.  It  will  be  apparent 
that  there  is  no  differentiation  between  the  demon  and 
the  disease.  The  one  is  the  synonym  of  the  other,  and 
accordingly  in  medical  texts  the  demons  are  introduced 
as  the  designations  of  the  diseases  themselves.  The 
names  given  to  the  demons  in  many  cases  convey  the 
"strength"  or  "size"  ascribed  to  them,  such  as  Utukku, 
Alu,  Shedu,  Gallu,  or  they  embody  a  descriptive  epithet 
like  Akhkhazu,  "seizer"  (also  the  name  of  a  form  of 

*  Large  portions  of  five  series  have  now  been  published,  having 
the  names:  (1)  Utukki  Umnuti  (the  evil  utukM),  (2)  Ashakki 
marsuti  (disease  ashakki),  (3)  Labartu-series,  (4)  Shurpd  (burn- 
ing), (5)  Maklu  ("consuming").  See  copious  specimens  in  Jastrow, 
Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  I,  pp.  273-392. 

1  See  the  illustration  at  the  bottom  of  the  bronse  plaque,  Plate 
LXVI,  Pig.  1  and  p,  411, 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


243 


jaundice);  Rabisu,  the  one  lying-in-wait;  Ldbasu, 
"overthrower";  Lilu  and  the  feminine  Lilitu,  "night- 
spirit";  Etimmu,  ghost  or  shade,  suggesting  an  identi- 
cation  of  some  demons  with  the  dead  who  return  to 
lague  the  living,  Namtar,  "pestilence,"  and  more  the 
like.  The  descriptions  given  of  them,  cruel,  horrible 
of  aspect,  blood-thirsty,  flying  through  space,  generally 
invisible  though  sometimes  assuming  human  or  animal 
ape  or  a  mixture  of  the  two,  further  illustrate  the 
conceptions  popularly  held.  A  group  of  seven  fre- 
uently  occurring  in  the  texts  and  depicted  on  monu- 
ents 4  is  described  as  follows : 6 

"Seven,  they  are  they  seven, 
In  the  deep  they  are  seven, 
Settling  in  heaven  they  are  seven. 
In  a  section  of  the  deep  they  were  nurtured; 
Neither  male  nor  female  are  they, 
Destructive  whirlwinds  are  they, 
They  have  no  wife,  they  produce  no  offspring. 
Mercy  and  pity  they  know  not, 
Prayer  and  petition  they  hear  not, 
Horses  raised  in  the  mountains e  are  they. 
Hostile  to  Ea T  are  they, 
Throne  bearers  of  the  gods  are  they, 
To  hem  the  way  they  set  themselves  up  in  the  streets. 
Evil  are  they,  evil  are  they, 
Seven  are  they,  they  are  seven,  twice  seven  are  they." 

Their  universality  as  well  as  their  function  in  seiz- 
lg  hold  of  their  victims,  taking  up  their  seat  in  any 
^art  of  the  human  body,  is  emphasized  in  another 
lescription. 

More  specific  is  the  description  of  the  demon  Ti'u, 
le  demon  of  head  troubles  and  of  fevers.8 

•  See  Plate  LXVI,  Fig.l,  and  Plate  LXVII,  Fig.  2. 
B  Cuneiform  Texts,  XVI,  PL  15,  28-57. 

•  I.e.t  wild  horses. 

1  The  god  of  humanity.    See  above,  p.  210,  seq. 
8  Cun.  Texts,  xvii,  PL  19,  1-30. 


244 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"The  head  disease  roams  in  the  wilderness,  raging  like  the  wind, 

Flaming  like  lightning,  tearing  along  above  and  below, 

Crushing  him  who  fears  not  his  god  like  a  reed, 

Cutting  his  sinews  like  a  khinu-reed, 

Maiming  the  limbs  of  him  who  has  not  a  protecting  goddess, 

Glittering  like  a  star  of  heaven,  flowing  like  water, 

Besetting  a  man  like  a  whirlwind,  driving  him  like  a  storm ; 

Killing  that  man, 

Piercing  another  as  in  a  cramp, * 

So  that  he  is  slashed  like  one  whose  heart  has  been  torn  out, 

Burning  like  one  thrown  into  the  fireflfl 

Like  a  wild  ass  whose  eyes  are  clouded,11 

Attacking  his  life,  in  league  with  death, 

So  is  Ti  ru,  who  is  like  a  heavy  storm  whose  course  no  one  can  follow, 

"Whose  final  goal  no  one  knows." 

Elsewhere  the  invisibility  of  the  demons  is  dwelled 
upon.  Of  the  Ashakku  it  is  said Ia  that,  sweeping  along 
like  a  storm,  driving  through  the  streets  and  highways 

* '  He  stands  at  the  aide  of  a  man,  without  anyone  seeing  him, 
He  sits  at  the  side  of  a  man,  without  anyone  seeing  him, 
He  enters  a  house,  without  anyone  seeing  his  form. 
He  leaves  a  house,  without  anyone  observing  him." 


Ill 

The  methods  of  obtaining  release  from  the  demons 
are  as  various  as  the  demons  themselves,  though  they 
all  rest  on  two  motifs — the  power  supposed  to  reside 
in  certain  formulas  urging  the  demons  to  leave  their 
victim,  and  the  performance  of  certain  rites  based  on 
sympathetic  or  symbolical  magic,  either  mimicking  the 
hoped-for  release  or  applying  certain  remedies;  but 
always  with  the  idea  that  they  will  drive  the  demon 

*  He  writhes  in  pain  like  one  seized  by  a  cramp,  literally  * '  cutting 
of  the  inside/' 

10  A  description  of  a  burning  fever. 

11  In  the  medical  texts  the  blinding  headache  is  described  in  this 
way  as  clouding  a  man 's  vision. 

11  Cun.  Texts,  xvii,  PI.  3,  21-28. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES  245 

away,  rather  than  that  they  will  have  any  direct  bene- 
ficial effect  on  the  patient. 

The  magic  formulas  invariably  involve  the  invoca- 
tion addressed  to  some  divine  agent  or  to  a  group  of 
deities.  The  names  of  the  gods  have  a  certain  power, 
the  name  being,  according  to  a  widely  prevalent  view, 
part  of  the  essence  of  the  being.  Besides,  words  as 
such  are  also  imbued  with  power — a  thought  naturally 
suggested  by  the  command  of  a  superior  which  is 
obeyed  by  the  one  dependent  upon  a  chief,  and  rein- 
forced by  the  mystery  of  writing  as  the  reflex  of  the 
spoken  word. 

A  few  specimens  of  the  formulas  will  not  be  out  of 
place.  A  brief  and  comprehensive  one  that  is  fre- 
quently found  is 

"  By  the  name  of  heaven  be  ye  forsworn,  by  the  name  of  earth  be 
ye  forsworn," 

Or  the  exorciser  appeals  to  all  the  gods  as 

"By  the  name  of  the  gods,  I  adjure  you" 

or  certain  gods  are  specifically  named  as  at  the  close  of 
a  rather  elaborate  command  to  the  demons  to  leave  the 
body" 

"Away,  away,  far  away,  far  away, 

Be  ashamed,  be  ashamed !   Fly,  fly  away  I 

Turn  about,  go  away,  far  away, 

May  your  evil  like  the  smoke  mount  to  heaven ! u 

Out  of  my  body  away, 

Out  of  my  body  far  away, 

Out  of  my  body  in  shame, 

Out  of  my  body  fly  away, 

Out  of  my  body  turn  away, 

Out  of  my  body  go  away. 

To  my  body  do  not  return, 

To  my  body  do  not  approach, 

"  MaUu  series  (ed.  Tallqvist,  Tablet  V,  166-184) .     ™™™** 
"The  line  assumes,  as  an  accompanying  rite,  the  burning  of 
images  of  the  demons. 


246 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


To  my  body  draw  not  nigh, 

My  body  do  not  afflict. 

By  Shamash,  the  powerful,  be  ye  forsworn, 

By  Ea,  the  lord  of  the  universe,  be  ye  forsworn, 

By  Marduk,  the  chief  diviner  of  the  great  gods,  be  ye  forgwc 

By  the  fire-god,  who  consumes  you,  be  ye  forsworn, 

From  my  body  be  ye  restrained !" 

The  magic  formulas  with  the  invocation  to  the  gods 
constitute,  however,  only  half  of  the  exorcising  ritual, 
the  other  and  in  many  respects  more  important  half 
being  marked  by  ceremonies,  accompanying  the 
formulas,  which  as  suggested  either  represent  dram- 
atically and  symbolically  the  destruction  or  driving 
out  of  the  demons,  or  fall  within  the  category  of  medici- 
nal charms  that  are  supposed  to  have  a  direct  effect 
on  the  demons.  We  have  already  had  occasion  in  dis- 
cussing the  views  held  of  Ea,  the  water-god,15  and 
of  Nusku  (with  various  other  designations),1*  the  fire- 
god,  to  point  out  that  water  and  fire  constitute  the  two 
chief  elements  in  the  symbolical  rites  for  exorcising 
the  demons.  The  Ea-ritual  involved  washing  or  sprink- 
ling the  body  of  the  victim  with  water  that  is  to  be 
taken  from  the  Euphrates  or  Tigris  as  the  sacred 
streams,  or  from  some  bubbling  source  coming  directly 
out  of  the  earth.    So  we  read : 1T 

"With  pure,  clear  water, 
With  bright,  shining  water, 
Seven  times  and  again  seven  times, 
Sprinkle,  purify,  cleanse  I 
May  the  evil  Rabisyu  depart  I 
May  he  step  to  one  side ! 
May  the  good  Shedu,  the  good  Ijamassu,  remain  in  my  body  I 
By  heaven,  be  ye  forsworn, 
By  earth,  be  ye  forsworn.  ■ ' 

»  Above,  p.  211. 
18  Above,  p.  226,  seq. 

11  Haupt,  Akkadische  und  Sutnerische  KeUschrifttexte  (Leipzig, 
1892),  p.  90,  col.  Ill,  1-13. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


247 


An  image  is  frequently  made  of  the  demon  or  of 
the  sorcerer  or  sorceress,  placed  on  a  little  boat  and 
sent  over  the  waters  to  the  accompaniment  of  formulas, 
voicing  the  hope  that  as  the  image  passes  along  the 
evil  spirit  may  depart.  The  little  boat  is  made  to 
capsize  and  the  image  is  drowned,  or  it  is  directly 
thrown  into  the  water  and  thus  again  the  hoped  for 
release  is  dramatically  reproduced.  The  variations  in 
the  rites  are  naturally  endless.  It  is  merely  a  further 
modification  of  the  Ea  ritual  if  we  find  elsewhere  direc- 
tions to  surround  the  bed  on  which  the  sick  man  lies 
with  some  kind  of  porridge  made  of  water  and  barley, 
to  symbolize  the  isolation  of  the  individual,  and  with 
this  isolation  to  secure  his  release  from  the  torturing 
demons. 

As  the  Ea  ritual  revolves  around  the  use  of  water, 
in  all  kinds  of  variations,  so  the  Nusku  ritual  is  pri- 
marily concerned  with  the  use  of  fire  as  a  means  of 
exorcising  the  demons,  or  of  destroying  the  sorcerer  and 
sorceress.     The  most  direct  method  was  to  make  an 
image  of  the  demon  and  burn  it,  in  the  hope  that  the 
imitation  might  bring  about  the  reality.18 
4iI  raise  the  torch,  their  images  I  burn, 
The  images  of  the  Utukku,  Shedu,  Rabiau,  Etimmu, 
Of  Labartu,  Labasu,  Akhkhazu, 
Of  Lilu,  Lilit  and  maid  of  Lilu, 
And  aU  evil  that  seizes  men. 
Tremble,  melt  and  dissolve, 
Your  smoke  rise  to  heaven, 
Your  limbs  may  the  sun-god  destroy. 
Your  strength  may  ftlarduk,  the  chief  exorcisor,  the  son  of  Ea, 

restrain!" 

Or  for  the  sorcerer  and  sorceress: 1B 

"On  this  day  step  forward  to  my  judgment, 

Suppress  the  uproar,  overpower  evil, 

As  these  images  nutter,  melt  and  disappear 

So  may  the  sorcerer  and  sorceress  flutter,  melt  and  disappear  1" 

11  Maklu,  Tablet  I,  135-143. 
">  Maklu,  Tablet  II,  132-135. 


248 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  images  were  made  of  various  materials  such  as 
pitch,  clay,  dough  and  bronze.  A  variation  of  this  fire 
ritual  consisted  in  taking  substances  such  as  onions, 
dates,  palm  cones,  bits  of  wool,  and  seeds,  and  throwing 
them  into  the  fire  to  the  accompaniment  again  of  magic 
formulas.  A  single  specimen  of  such  an  incantation 
will  suffice.20 

"As  the  onion  is  peeled  and  thrown  into  the  fire, 
Consumed  in  the  flaming  fire, 
In  a  garden  will  never  again  be  planted, 
In  furrow  and  ditch  will  never  be  imbedded, 
Its  root  will  never  again  stick  in  the  ground, 
Its  stalk  never  grow,  never  see  the  light  of  the  sun, 
Will  never  come  on  the  table  of  a  god  or  king, 
So  may  the  curse,  ban,  pain  and  torture, 
Sickness,  aches,  misdeed,  sin,  wrong,  transgression, 
The  sickness  in  my  body,  in  my  flesh,  in  my  muscles, 
Be  peeled  as  this  onion, 
This  day  be  burned  in  the  flaming  fire. 
May  the  ban  be  removed,  may  I  see  the  light ! ' ' 

Similar  formulas  are  prescribed  for  the  other  sub- 
stances. 

In  addition,  however,  to  burning  the  images  of 
demons  or  sorcerers  or  throwing  them  into  the  water,  a 
large  variety  of  other  symbolical  actions  are  introduced 
in  the  incantation  series,  all  falling  within  the  category 
of  sympathetic  magic.  The  image  is  bound,  hands  and 
feet,  so  as  not  to  be  able  to  move,  its  eyes  are  pierced 
or  filled  with  spittle,  its  tongue  pulled  out  or  tied,  its 
mouth  covered,  or  poison  dripped  into  it  or  stuffed  with 
dust,  its  body  slit  open 21  and  the  like ;  and  thus  muti- 
lated, it  is  thrown  into  water  or  fire  or  on  a  dust  heap. 
From  such  rites  it  is  not  a  long  step  to  the  endeavor 
to  transfer  the  demon  from  the  victim  to  some  sub- 
stitute^— a  lamb,  a  pig  or  a  bird,  which  appears  then  to 

20  Shurpu-series  (ed.  Zimmern),  Tablet  V-VI,  60-72. 
"See  e.g.,  Maklu-series,  Tablet  III,  89-103  and  Tablet  t™ 
97-107. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES  249 

have  been  offered  up  as  a  vicarious  sacrifice  for  the  life 
of  the  victim.22 

"The  lamb  as  a  substitute  for  a  man, 
The  lamb  he  gives  for  his  life. 

The  head  of  the  lamb  he  gives  for  the  head  of  the  man. 
The  neck  of  the  lamb  he  gives  for  the  neck  of  the  man. 
The  breast  of  the  lamb  he  gives  for  the  breast  of  the  man. " 

The  underlying  thought  is  that  the  demon  passes 
out  into  the  animal  which  is  offered  to  the  gods,  to 
appease  their  anger  against  the  human  sufferer.  We 
are  justified  in  drawing  this  conclusion  from  the  cau- 
tion expressly  given28  not  to  eat  the  animal  which  is 
declared  to  be  taboo : 

"Take  a  white  lamb  of  Tammuz,*4 
Place  it  near  the  sick  man, 
Tear  out  its  insides. 
Place  in  the  hand  of  the  man, 
And  pronounce  the  incantation  of  Eridu. 
That  lamb  whose  insides  thou  hast  torn  out, 
Cover  it  up  as  forbidden  food  for  that  man, 
Consign  it  to  the  flame  or  throw  it  into  the  street. 
That  man  shut  up  in  a  room  and  pronounce  the  incantation  of 
Eridu." 

The  animal  has  become  unclean  through  the  demon 
that  has  been  transferred  to  it;  therefore  it  is  not  to  be 
eaten,  and  while  it  is  offered  to  the  gods  as  a  means  of 
diverting  their  anger  from  the  man  on  whom  it  has 
been  visited,  it  is  not  a  sacrifice  in  the  ordinary  sense. 
The  demon  may  be  also  transferred  to  a  bird  which  is 
caught  for  the  purpose,  slaughtered  and  cut  up,  after 
which  the  blood  together  with  its  skin  and  some  por- 
tions of  the  body  is  burned  in  the  fire 25  to  the  accom- 
paniment  of  an  incantation. 

M  Cun.  Texts,  xvii,  PL  37,  Tablet  2Z,  15-22. 

*  Cun.  Texts,  xvii,  PL  10,  73-11,  87. 

M  I.e.,  born  in  the  month  of  Tammuz — the  spring  season. 

■•  See  Cun.  Texts,  Part  xxiii,  PL  49,  3-6. 


250 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


IV 

We  have  still  to  consider  an  aspect  of  the  inca 
tion  rites  which  brings  them  into  close  relationship  to 
medical  remedies.  The  incantation,  in  so  far  as  its  aim 
is  to  cure  the  patient,  is  a  precursor  of  medical  treat- 
ment, and  so  long  as  the  theory  of  disease  which  re- 
garded all  sickness  as  due  to  the  presence  of  a  demon 
in  the  hody  prevailed,  medicine  could  never  cut  itself 
loose    from    the    principle    underlying    the    various 
methods  resorted  to,  for  releasing  the  victim  from  the 
clutch  of  the  demons.    Incantations,  magic  rites,  sym- 
bolical ceremonies  had  precisely  the  same  object  in  vie* 
as  medicine  proper — to  drive  or  coax  the  demon  out  of 
the  body,  or,  vice  versa,  medical  treatment  was  supposed 
to  act  on  the  demon,  while  the  cure  of  the  patient  was 
merely  an  incidental  though  obvious  consequence  that 
followed  upon  the  exorcism  of  the  demon.    Such  we 
find  to  be  actually  the  theory  on  which  medicine  rested 
among  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  down  to  the 
latest  days;  it  formed  an  integral  part  of  the  incanta- 
tion division  of  the  religious  literature,  and  while  pre- 
scriptions of  a  purely  medical  character  are  to  be  traced 
back  to  quite  an  early  period,  they  are  invariably  ac- 
companied by  certain  magic,  rites  of  precisely  the  same 
character  as  are  found  in  incantations  proper.     But 
the  question  may  be  asked,  did  not  the  Babylonians 
and  Assyrians  recognize  that  there  were  substances  and 
certain  remedies  which  effected  a  cure  ?    Certainly,  but 
it  is  just  because  medicine  arises  as  an  empirical  science, 
based  wholly  on  experience,  that  it  could  flourish  though 
attached  to  so  primitive  a  notion  as  the  exorcism  of 
demons.    If  a  certain  treatment  was  good  for  a  pa- 
tient, it  was  so  because  it  was  bad  for  the  demon.    If 
certain  herbs  and  certain  concoctions  acted  favorably 
on  a  sick  man,  it  was  because  the  demons  did  not  like 
the  smell  or  taste  of  the  herbs,  or  because  the  ingredi- 
ents of  which  the  concoction  was  made  were  unpleasant 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


251 


to  the  demons  and  caused  them  to  leave  their  victim, 
rather  than  be  subjected  to  the  annoyance  of  unpleas- 
ant ordeals.  In  the  case  of  stomach  troubles,  for  ex- 
ample, which  naturally  belonged  to  the  most  common 
of  diseases,  the  remedies  resulted  in  vomiting  or  in 
loosening  the  bowels,  and  it  was  supposed  that  in  this 
way  the  demon  was  forced  out  of  the  body  through  one 
end  or  the  other.  Experience  taught  the  people  that 
for  cramps  and  certain  pains  manipulation  of  the  parts 
of  the  body  involved  furnished  relief,  but  in  such  cases 
it  was  again  perfectly  natural  to  conclude  that  the 
demons  did  not  enjoy  such  manipulation,  and  preferred 
to  quit  their  victim  rather  than  to  submit  to  it  again. 
The  theory  could  thus  be  made  to  fit  any  conditions. 
If  we  now  look  at  the  prescriptions  in  the  medical  texts 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  of  which  we  have  a  consider- 
able number,26  we  are  struck  by  the  large  proportion 
of  bitter,  pungent,  ill-smelling  substances  which  were 
frequently  ordered  to  be  given,  including  a  large  num- 
ber of  downright  nasty  substances,  such  as  putrid  food, 
fat,  crushed  bones,  earth,  dirt,  urine  and  excrements 
of  human  beings  and  of  certain  animals.  The  purpose 
of  these  was  evidently  to  disgust  the  demons  through 
the  evil  smell,  and  to  induce  them  to  fly  to  more  agree- 
able surroundings ;  and  if  we  also  find  pleasant  ingredi- 
ents like  milk,  honey,  cream,  sweet-smelling  herbs  and 
pleasant  oils  and  unguents,  we  are  justified  in  conclud- 
ing that  the  aim  of  these  was  to  gently  coax  the  demons 
to  leave  their  victims,  just  as  the  gods  are  bribed  and 
their  anger  appeased  by  sweet-smelling  incense  added 

■  to  the  sacrifices. 
An  incantation  in  connection  with  the  use  of  butter 
and   milk,   frequently   prescribed   in   medical    texts, 

reads:  *_ 

*•  See  a  paper  by  the  writer  on  "The  Medicine  of  the  Babylonians 
and  Assyrians'1  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medi- 
cine (London)  for  March,  1914  (pp.  109-176),  for  further  details. 
■  Cun.  Tests,  xvii,  PL  23,  170-191. 


252 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


mean- 


1 4  Butter  brought  from  a  clean  stall, 

Milk  brought  from  a  clean  fold, 

Over  the  shining  butter  brought  from  a  clean  stall  recite  an 

tation: 
May  the  man,  the  son  of  his  god/8  be  cleansed, 
May  that  man  like  butter  be  clean  1 
Like  that  milk  cleansed, 
Like  refined  silver  shine, 
Like  burnished  copper  glitter ! 
To  Shamash,  the  leader  of  the  gods,  commit  him/' 
Into  the  gracious  hands  of  Shamash,  the  leader  of  the  gods, 

salvation30  committed/' 

In  connection  with  a  medical  prescription  consist- 
ing of  eight  ingredients,  an  incantation  is  added  in 
which  by  a  play  upon  the  name  of  each  of  the  substances 
the  hope  is  expressed  that  the  power  of  the  sorceress 
may  be  broken : 30 

**Like  the  mint  may  her  charm  be  crushed,"1 
Like  the  sapru-herb  may  her  charm  destroy  her," 
Like  a  thorn  weed  may  her  charm  pierce  her," 
Like  the  sammu-weed  may  her  charm  make  her  blind, 
Like  cassia  may  her  charm  bind  her, 
Like  khaltappan-herb  may  her  charm  terrify  her, 
Like  kitmu-herb  may  her  charm  cover  her, 
Like  araru-herb  may  her  charm  curse  her, 
Like  mukhurtu-herb  may  her  charm  cut  her  lips. ' ' 

Oil  as  one  of  the  most  common  of  remedies  is  also 
introduced  into  the  incantation  texts,  and  by  a  natural 
association  with  water  is  attached  to  the  Eridu-ritual. 


The  word  used  con- 


,a  I.e.,  his  protecting  deity. 

"  Prom  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  demon, 
veys  the  idea  also  of  a  complete  cure. 

"Maklu-Series,  Tablet  V,  30-38. 

"  Ninu  (mint)  with  a  play  on  enu,  "humble." 

"  Sapru — the  name  of  a  medicinal  herb— with  a  play  on  saf 
"destroy." 

•*  Sikhlu  (a  thorny  weed),  with  a  play  on  sakhalu,  "to  pierce"; 
and,  similarly,  in  the  case  of  the  other  substances. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


253 


The  priest  in  rubbing  the  victim  with  oil  pronounces 
formulas  that  imply  the  appeal  to  Ea,  the  god  of 
Eridu.34 

"Pure  oil,  shining  oil,  brilliant  oil. 

Oil  which  makes  the  gods  shine," 

Oil  which  mollifies  the  muscles  of  man. 

The  oil  of  Eaa  incantation,  with  the  oil  of  Marduk's  incantation 

I  pour  over  thee ;  with  the  healing  oil, 

Granted  by  Ea  for  easing  (pain)  I  rub  thee; 

Oil  of  life  I  give  thee  j 

Through  the  incantation  of  Ea,  the  lord  of  Eridu, 

I  will  drive  the  sickness  with  which  thou  art  afflicted  out  of  thee. ' ' 

Not  infrequently  purely  medical  prescriptions  are 
inserted  into  the  incantation  texts,3*  and  as  a  further 
indication  of  the  close  bond  between  incantations  and 
medical  treatment,  we  have  large  groups  of  texts87  in 
which  such  prescriptions  alternate  with  purely  magic 
formulas,  accompanied  by  directions  of  a  ritualistic 
character,  just  as  in  the  medical  texts  proper  such 
directions  are  introduced  as  an  essential  adjunct.38 

Lastly,  we  have  amulets  of  various  kinds  prescribed 
as  a  protection  against  the  demon,  and  which  have  also 
the  power  of  driving  the  demons  away  after  they  have 
taken  up  their  seat  in  some  part  of  the  body.  The  most 
common  of  such  amulets  are  stones,  supposed  to  have 
magic  power,  which  are  strung  together  into  a  chain 
and  attached  to  the  hands,  feet,  eyes,  as  the  case  may 
be,  or  placed  around  the  head  or  hung  about  the  neck. 
The  directions  are  specific  to  use  white,  black  or  red 
strands  of  wool.  A  large  variety  of  stones  are  thus  in- 
troduced, and  from  other  sources  we  know  of  the  good 

"  Maklu-Series,  Tablet  VII,  31-38  and  Weissbach  in  Beitrdge 
zur  Assyriologie,  IV,  p.  160. 

"  An  allusion  to  the  anointing  of  the  statues  of  the  gods. 

■•  E.g.,  Rawlinson  IV,2  PI.  16,  No.  2;  26,  No.  7. 

87  E.g.,  Cun.  Texts,  xxiii,  PL  1-22. 

38  Many  examples  in  Cun.  Texts,  xxiii,  PL  23-50, 


254 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


luck  associated  with  some  stones,  and  of  the  bad  luck 
with  others.3*  Threads  also,  spun  from  virgin  kids  and 
knotted,  were  looked  upon  as  protections  against  the 
demons  and,  like  the  stone  charms,  were  attached  to 
the  head,  neck,  hands  or  limbs  of  the  patient,  and  even 
tied  about  the  bed.  The  ramifications  of  the  incanta- 
tion motif  are  thus  almost  endless.  It  was  no  easy  task 
to  fit  one's  self  to  become  an  exorciser,  and  so  for  the 
guidance  of  priests,  as  for  the  education  of  those  being 
trained  for  temple  service,  elaborate  handbooks  were 
compiled  in  which  all  the  details  were  set  forth  with 
almost  painful  accuracy.40  Everything  depended  upon 
the  correct  application,  upon  the  proper  arrangement 
of  the  various  ingredients  for  the  symbolical  rites  to 
accompany  the  incantations,  and  upon  the  recitation  of 
the  proper  formulas  in  the  proper  way.  The  slightest 
error  might  prove  fatal,  and  in  case  of  failure  to  heal 
the  sick,  the  explanation  was  ready  at  hand  that  some 
error  had  been  committed,  or  that  a  wrong  method  had 
been  applied  to  drive  the  demons  off. 


The  constant  fear  of  the  demons  in  which  the  people 
passed  their  lives  lent  a  somewhat  sombre  aspect  to  the 
religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  which  crops  out  also 
in  the  methods  devised  for  determining  what  the  gods 
had  in  mind,  and  thus  to  be  at  least  prepared  for  what 
the  future  had  in  store.  Incantations  which  were 
resorted  to  when  the  evil  had  come  and  had  manifested 
itself  through  disease  and  suffering  correspond  to 
curative  medicine,  into  which,  as  we  have  seen,  it  shades 

"See  Jastrow,  Religion  Rahylonicns  und  Assyriens,  I,  p.  464, 
seq.  For  stones  in  incantation  and  medical  texts  see  Jastrow,  ib.t 
I,  p.  338,  and  Cun,  Texts,  xxiii,  PI.  34,  29-31,  and  PL  42,  17-19. 

40  The  texts  published  by  Zimmern  in  Part  II  of  his  Beitrage  zur 
Kenntniss  dcr  Bahylonischen  Religion  (Leipzig,  1901),  pp.  81-219, 
represent  portions  of  such  handbooks. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


255 


over.  Divination,  as  the  endeavor  to  forestall  coming 
evil,  has  its  counterpart  in  a  measure  in  preventive 
medicine.  Sickness  and  suffering  were  so  common  that 
the  individual  needs  could  not  be  overlooked.  In  the 
case  of  a  general  pestilence,  to  be  sure,  the  anger  of  the 
gods  manifested  itself  against  the  country  as  a  whole, 
and  in  such  cases  the  guilt  attached  itself  primarily 
to  the  rulers  upon  whose  good  standing  with  the  gods 
the  general  and  public  welfare  depended,  but  when  the 
demons-  confined  their  tortures  to  certain  individuals, 
the  latter  would  naturally  repair  to  the  temples  or 
have  the  priests  come  to  them,  bring  sacrifices  and 
with  the  aid  of  the  priests  endeavor  to  rid  themselves 
of  the  demons.  Incantation  rites  thus  played  a  con- 
siderable part  in  the  religious  life  of  the  masses. 

It  was  somewhat  different  when  it  came  to  divin- 
ing the  future.  Foreknowledge  of  this  kind  was  im- 
portant before  proceeding  to  war  and  at  other  crises 
affecting  the  general  weal;  and  even  when  the  signs 
were  not  deliberately  sought  out  but  obtruded  them- 
selves on  one,  as  in  the  case  of  phenomena  in  the  heavens 
or  of  extraordinary  occurrences,  the  common  belief  was 
that  the  portent  bore  on  public  affairs  rather  than  on 
the  fate  of  the  individual,  always  excepting  the  rulers 
and  the  members  of  the  royal  family  whose  welfare 
was  so  closely  bound  up  with  the  general  condition  of 
the  people  and  the  country.  This  applies  more  par- 
ticularly to  such  cases  where  the  sign  revealing  the 
intention  of  the  gods  had  to  be  sought  out,  for  divina- 
tion methods  are  of  two  kinds,  the  one  involving  the 
interpretation  of  a  sign  which  is  looked  for  as  an  in- 
dication of  the  divine  purpose,  the  other  the  explana- 
tion of  a  sign  not  of  your  seeking  but  which  is  obtruded 
on  your  notice.  The  chief  example  of  the  former 
method  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  is  the  system  of 
divination  for  reading  the  future  in  the  liver  of  a 
sacrificial  sheep.  Before  an  impending  battle,  before 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  temple  or  palace,  before 


256 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


entering  upon  a  treaty  with  some  rival  power  and  in 
the  face  of  any  crisis  affecting  the  country,  including 
even  the  outcome  of  sickness  of  the  king  or  of  a  mem- 
ber of  his  family,  the  priests  were  directed  to  kill  a 
sheep,  which  must  be  without  blemish,  to  take  out  the 
liver  and  note  carefully  the  shape  of  the  lobes,  the  gall 
bladder  and  gall  diut,  the  two  appendices  of  the  liver, 
and  above  all  the  markings  on  the  liver  of  a  freshly 
slaughtered  sheep,  due  to  the  traces  on  the  surface  of 
the  subsidiary  ducts  carrying  the  gall  into  the  main 
duct  and  thence  into  the  gall  bladder,  there  to  be  puri- 
fied and  discharged  into  the  duodenum.  Abnormal 
peculiarities  were  particularly  noted,  such  as  the  un- 
usual shape  or  size  of  any  part  of  the  liver,  and  on  the 
general  principle  underlying  all  forms  of  divination 
that  the  unusual  sign  points  to  some  unusual  happen- 
ing, the  conclusion  was  drawn  by  an  association  of 
ideas  suggested  by  the  sign  or  by  a  record  of  what  hap- 
pened in  the  past  on  an  occasion  when  the  sign  in 
question  was  observed,  whether  the  prognostication 
was  favorable  or  unfavorable.  Thus  an  enlarged  gall 
bladder  or  an  unusually  large  finger-shaped  appendix 
attached  to  the  upper  lobe  of  the  liver  portended  in- 
crease, prosperity,  success,  added  strength.  But  the  en- 
largement may  be  limited  to  one  side,  and  in  such  a  case 
the  association  of  the  right  side  as  the  favorable  one, 
and  of  the  left  as  the  unfavorable  one,  would  lead  to  a 
further  differentiation,  a  sign  being  interpreted  as 
favorable  to  you,  or  as  favorable  to  the  enemy  and  there- 
fore unfavorable  to  you,  according  to  the  side  on  which 
the  sign  appeared.  It  will  easily  be  seen  how  by  further 
ramifications,  the  field  of  observation  could  be  extended 
almost  indefinitely,  and  the  possible  interpretations  cor- 
respondingly increased.  Handbooks  were  prepared  in 
which  all  possible  and  many  impossible  signs — 
theoretically  assumed— were  entered,  together  with  the 
interpretations,  such  collections  to  serve  as  guides  to 
the  priests  in  detemiining  the  meaning  of  signs  noted 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


257 


in  the  case  of  a  called  for  inspection  on  any  occasion, 
The  liver  was  chosen  as  the  organ  of  divination,  because 
of  the  widespread  belief  among  people  in  a  primitive 
and  in  a  more  advanced  stage  of  culture  which  regarded 
the  liver  as  the  seat  of  life,41  superinduced,  no  doubt, 
by  the  vast  amount  of  blood — always  associated  with 
life — to  be  found  in  the  livers  of  both  men  and 
animals.42  The  liver  is  the  bloody  organ  par  excellence, 
so  that  the  Chinese  speak  of  the  liver  as  the  "  mother 
of  blood/'  Life  was  synonymous  among  the  ancients 
with  what  we  would  call  soul,  and  hence  the  liver  was 
regarded  as  the  seat  of  all  manifestations  of  soul 
activity— thought  and  all  emotions  alike.  It  is  only 
gradually  as  a  reflex  of  increasing  anatomical  knowl- 
edge that  the  differentiation  takes  place  which  popu- 
larly assigns  thought  to  the  brain,  the  higher  emotions 
to  the  heart,  and  only  the  lower  ones  such  as  jealousy 
and  anger  to  the  liver.4*  The  liver  was  originally  re- 
garded as  the  one  and  only  organ  of  life.  Correspond- 
ing to  this  stage,  the  liver  of  the  sacrificial  animal, 
accepted  by  the  deity  to  whom  it  was  offered,  would 
thus  be  regarded  as  a  reflex  of  the  mind  of  the  god. 
Childish  and  naive  as  all  this  may  seem  to  us,  yet  hepa- 
toscopy  is  redeemed  in  a  measure  by  the  theory  on 
which  it  rests;  and  it  acquires  a  certain  importance 
from  a  general  cultural  point  of  view  because  of  its 

41  See  an  article  by  the  writer,  "The  Liver  as  the  Seat  of  the 
Soul/'  in  Studies  in  the  History  of  Religions,  presented  to  C.  H. 
Toy  (New  York,  1912),  pp.  143-168. 

42  One-sixth  of  the  blood  in  the  human  body  is  to  be  found  in  the 
liver ;  in  the  case  of  some  animals  the  proportion  is  even  larger. 

4S  The  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  advanced  to  the  stage  which 
saw  in  the  heart  the  seat  of  the  intellect,  and  the  liver  as  merely  the 
seat  of  the  emotions,  though  of  all  emotions  (see  above,  p.  215),  but 
there  are  no  indications  that  they  ever  recognized  the  function  of 
the  brain.  Our  term  phrenology,  derived  from  the  Greek  word  for 
"midriff,"  is  a  survival  of  the  period  which  placed  the  seat  of 
thought  below  the  diaphragm,  and  not  in  the  head. 
17 


258 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Spread  among  other  nations — the  Hittites,  Greeks  and 
Romans — as  a  direct  result  of  the  extension  of  the 
sphere  of  Babylonian- Assyrian  influence  in  the  ancient 
world. 

The  same  is  even  more  the  case  in  a  second  system 
of  divination,  elaborated  by  the  Babylonian  priests  and 
which  centred  around  the  observation  of  the  phenom- 
ena in  the  heavens.  We  have  already  had  occasion4* 
to  touch  upon  the  wide  sway  of  astrology  in  the  con- 
ceptions formed  of  the  gods,  whose  seats  under  this 
sway  were  transferred  to  the  heavens,  quite  independ- 
ent of  the  powers  of  nature  which  they  originally 
symbolized.  In  contradistinction  to  hepaioscopy,  wl 
the  sign  is  sought  out  as  a  means  of  securing  an  answer 
to  the  question  as  to  the  favorable  or  unfavorable  dis- 
position of  the  gods  at  a  given  moment,  astrology  repre- 
sents a  method  of  divination  in  which  the  sign  is  forced 
upon  one's  attention  and  calls  for  an  interpretation. 
The  sun,  moon,  planets  and  stars  are  there  and  the  con- 
stantly changing  appearance  of  the  heavens  was 
brought  into  connection  with  the  ceaseless  vieissitudes 
in  the  fortunes  of  man  here  below.  Once  the  step  was 
taken  of  identifying  planets  and  stars  with  gods,  as 
sun  and  moon  were  gods,  the  further  corollary  fol- 
lowed that  the  movements  in  the  heavens  represented 
the  activity  of  the  gods,  preparing  the  events  that  took 
place  on  earth.  Everything  being  dependent  upon  the 
gods  and  everything  in  nature  and  in  the  life  of  man- 
kind being  due  to  the  gods,  the  theory  arose  in  the 
schools  of  speculative  thought  of  a  correspondence  be- 
tween conditions  to  bd^  observed  in  the  heavens  and 
phenomena  on  earth.  Astrology,  or  the  interpretation 
of  the  signs  in  the  heavens,  thus  takes  its  rise  as  an  out- 
come of  speculation  of  a  comparatively  advanced  char- 
acter in  contrast  to  liver  divination,  which  rests  upon 
an  essentially  popular  belief  of  the  liver  as  the  seat  of 
life.    The  second  method  of  divination  thus  stands  on 

«4  See  above,  p.  209. 


CULTS  ilND  TEMPLES 


259 


a  far  higher  plane;  it  involves  a  careful  observation 
of  the  movements  of  the  sun  and  moon,  far  above  the 
reach  of  the  average  mind,  and  to  an  even  larger  extent 
is  this  the  ease  in  endeavors  to  follow  the  slower  and 
less  conspicuous  movements  of  the  planets.  The 
simplest  form  of  astrology  thus  involves  some  astro- 
nomical knowledge,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that 
the  endeavor  to  read  the  coming  events  in  the  heavens 
led  from  a  pseudo-science  to  a  real  one,  which  in  the 
later  periods  reached  an  astonishing  degree  of  per- 
fection. So  strong,  however,  was  the  hold  which 
astrology  acquired  that  even  after  the  point  had  been 
reached  of  recognizing  the  laws  presiding  over  the 
phenomena  in  the  heavens,  priests  continued  to  con- 
clude from  conditions  in  the  heavens  what  was  to  occur 
on  earth ;  and  the  priests  of  Babylonia  were  succeeded 
by  the  astronomers  of  Greece  and  the  star-gazers  of 
Rome,  who  applied  and  amplified  the  system  of  inter- 
pretation, evolved  in  the  course  of  millenniums  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley.  Until  the  threshold  of  modern 
science  astrology  was  cultivated  as  a  discipline  of 
genuine  value  throughout  Europe,  by  the  side  of  and  in 
connection  with  astronomy. 

The  supposed  correspondence  between  phenomena 
and  movements  in  the  heavens  and  occurrences  here  on 
earth  was,  however,  not  the  only  factor  involved  in 
Babylonian-Assyrian  astrology.  The  two  chief  gods 
in  the  heavens  were  the  sun  and  the  moon,  the  former 
recognized  by  experience  as  the  regulator  of  the 
seasons,  the  latter  a  means  of  calculating  time.  The 
movements  of  the  sun  and  moon  represent  a  constant 
transition,  in  the  case  of  the  sun  from  night  to  morn- 
ing, in  the  ease  of  the  moon  the  regular  succession  of 
its  four  chief  phases.  This  transition  motif  in  the 
heavens  had  its  parallel  in  the  life  of  man,  in  the  tran- 
sition of  the  new  life  issuing  out  of  the  womb  of  the 
mother,  the  transition  from  childhood  to  adolescence 
marked  by  striking  physical  phenomena  at  the  age  of 


260 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


puberty,  the  transition  from  life  to  death.  The  depend- 
ence of  man  upon  the  sun  and  moon  being  a  fact  too 
obvious  to  be  overlooked,  the  transition  periods  in  con- 
nection with  these  two  bodies  were  carefully  noted  as 
furnishing  an  indication  whether  one  could  look  for- 
ward to  a  favorable  or  unfavorable  turn  in  the  affairs 
of  mankind.  Note  was  accordingly  taken  of  the  phe- 
nomena attending  sunrise,  whether  the  sun  rose  in  a 
clear  sky  or  enveloped  in  clouds ;  and  in  addition,  any 
striking  conditions  under  which  the  sun  appeared  at 
any  time,  with  a  halo  around  it,  or  through  atmospheric 
disturbances  appearing  paler  or  brighter  than  usual, 
and  above  all  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  or  an  obscuration 
under  circumstances  which  seemed  to  suggest  an 
eclipse.  Association  of  ideas  and  the  record  of  events 
that  followed  in  the  past  upon  the  observation  of  cer- 
tain striking  phenomena  in  the  sim,  formed  again  the 
two  chief  principles  involved  in  the  interpretation.  The 
unusual  because  abnormal  pointed  to  some  occurrence 
out  of  the  ordinary — an  eclipse  or  obscuration  of  the 
sun  by  a  natural  association  portending  some  disaster 
— bad  crops,  defeat  in  war,  sickness  in  the  royal  family, 
destructive  stonns,  inundations,  pestilence,  a  plague  of 
locusts  or  what  not. 

For  the  moon  the  scope  of  observation  was  still 
wider.  Of  the  phases  of  the  moon,  the  appearance  of 
the  new  moon,  the  time  of  full-moon  and  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  moon  for  a  few  days  at  the  end  of  each 
hrnar  month  represented  the  chief  periods  of  transi- 
tion. All  three  were  marked  with  great  significance. 
The  disappearance  of  the  moon  naturally  aroused  un- 
easiness. Popular  niyths  arose,  representing  the  cause 
of  the  disappearance  as  due  to  the  capture  of  the  moon 
by  hostile  powers;  and  great  was  the  rejoicing  when 
the  new  moon  appeared.  The  time  of  the  disappear- 
ance as  of  the  reappearance  could  only  be  approx- 
imately determined,  and  according  as  the  disappear- 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


261 


ance  took  place  on  the  27th  or  28th  day,  it  presaged  a 
different  event.  Similarly,  in  the  absence  of  any  exact 
astronomical  calculation,  the  new  moon  might  appear 
to  be  delayed,  which  was  always  looked  upon  as  a  bad 
omen,  The  length  of  the  lunar  months  varying  some- 
what in  the  calendar  as  fixed  by  the  priests,  the  day 
on  which  the  moon  appeared  to  be  full  might  be  the 
14th  or  15th  day,  while  through  defective  calculations 
it  might  appear  not  to  be  full  till  the  16th  day,  or  as 
early  as  the  13th  day.  A  too  early  or  a  belated  appear- 
ance of  the  new  moon  or  full  moon  was  generally  re- 
garded as  an  evil  omen,  though  under  other  attendant 
circumstances,  the  unfavorable  sign  might  be  converted 
into  a  favorable  one. 

Thirdly,  we  have  the  further  extension  of  the  scope 
of  astrological  divination  by  the  identification  of  the 
great  gods  of  the  pantheon  with  the  planets,  Jupiter 
with  Marduk,  Mercury  with  Nabu,  Mars  with  Nergal, 
Saturn  with  Ninib,  and  Venus  with  Ishtar.  The  condi- 
tions under  which  the  planets  appeared,  whether  bright 
or  pale,  their  relative  position  to  one  another,  to  certain 
stars  and  to  the  moon,  and  such  phenomena  as  the 
phases  of  Ishtar,  were  noted  and  interpretations 
recorded.  The  ecliptic  as  the  road  along  which  the  sun 
and  the  planets  appeared  to  move  was  recognized,  and 
a  three-fold  division  set  up  corresponding  to  the  three- 
fold division  of  the  universe.  Adopting  the  terminol- 
ogy for  the  latter,  the  northern  section  of  the  ecliptic 
was  assigned  to  Ea,  the  middle  to  Anu,  and  the  southern 
to  Enlil;  and  according  to  the  position  of  any  planet 
at  any  time,  a  further  means  of  securing  differentiating 
interpretations  was  obtained.  Various  other  devices, 
all  of  a  more  or  less  artificial  character,  were  resorted 
to  in  order  to  build  up  a  system  of  interpretation,  as 
for  example  the  parcelling  out  of  the  four  directions, 
South,  North,  East  and  West  among  the  four  countries, 
Babylonia,  Assyria,  Elam  and  Amurru,  and  according 


262 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


as  a  phenomenon  was  observed  on  one  side  or  the  other 
of  the  moon  or  sun  or  of  one  of  the  planets,  the  inter- 
pretation was  applied  to  the  corresponding  country. 

"Without  entering  into  further  details,  suffice  it  to 
say  that  for  obvious  reasons  astrology  was  a  form  of 
divination  that  bore  almost  exclusively  on  the  public 
welfare — the  outcome  of  a  military  expedition,  the 
crops,  general  prosperity  or  national  catastrophes,  the 
effects  of  storms,  inundations,  the  invasion  of  the 
enemy,  the  sickness  or  death  of  the  ruler,  rebellion, 
change  of  the  dynasty,  and  the  like.  The  individual 
had  a  very  minor  share.  Only  the  faint  beginnings  of 
an  attempt  to  read  in  the  stars  the  fate  of  the  individual 
can  be  detected  in  Babylonian-Assyrian  astrology. 
That  phase  of  the  pseudo-science  was  taken  up  by  the 
Greeks,  who  appear  to  have  cultivated  astronomy  long 
before  they  came  into  contact  with  Babylonian 
syrian  astrology,  and  who,  as  we  know/5  took  over  the 
astrological  system  perfected  in  the  Euphrates  Valley 
and  grafted  it  on  to  their  own  astronomy. 

Lastly,  the  observation  of  atmospheric  phenomena 
such  as  winds,  storms,  earthquakes,  thunder  and  light- 
ning and  the  movements  and  shapes  of  clouds  was 
added  as  a  supplement  to  astrology  proper,  as  a  fertile 
field  for  determining  what  the  gods,  who  controlled 
these  phenomena  likewise,  intended  to  bring  to  pass  on 
earth.  The  factor  of  fancy  entered  into  this  subdivi- 
sion of  divination  even  more  largely,  and  according  to 
the  direction  of  the  wind,  the  number  of  thunder  claps, 
the  character  of  the  lightning,  the  fanciful  figures  of 
the  clouds,  and  the  conditions  under  which  these  and 
various  other  phenomena  appeared,  the  interpreta- 
tions, usually  bearing  on  matters  of  public  weal,  varied. 

45  See,  for  the  proof,  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyloniens  vnd  As- 
syriewt,  II,  pp.  703,  seq.,  and  744,  seq.,  and  the  monograph  of  Bezold 
and  Bali,  Reflexe  Astrologischer  Keilinschriften  bei  Qricchisckcn 
SckriftsteUern  (Heidelberg,  1911). 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


263 


VI 

A  third  system  of  divination  that  flourished  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  and,  like  the  two  others,  made 
its  influence  widely  felt  in  antiquity  was  the  interpreta- 
tion of  abnormalities  of  all  kinds  in  the  case  of  infants 
and  the  young  of  animals,  observed  at  the  time  of  birth. 
The  new  life  issuing  so  mysteriously  out  of  the  mother 
marked  a  transition  to  which  all  the  greater  importance 
was  attached  because  of  the  profound  impression  made 
by  the  mystery  of  life  in  general.  This  system  falls, 
as  does  astrology,  in  the  class  of  omens  which  are  forced 
on  one's  attention— not  deliberately  sought  out,  as  in 
the  ease  of  hepatoscopy.  The  observation  of  birth- 
signs  shares,  however,  with  hepatoscopy  its  bearing  on 
the  fate  of  the  individual  as  well  as  on  the  public 
welfare,  and  indeed  to  a  greater  extent  than  is  the  case 
in  divination  through  the  liver  of  the  sacrificial  animal, 
resorted  to,  as  we  have  seen,  chiefly  for  public  and  of- 
ficial purposes.  The  house  in  which  an  infant  with 
anomalous  features  is  born  or  the  stall  in  which  an 
animal  deviating  in  one  way  or  the  other  from  normal 
conditions  makes  its  appearance  were  supposed  to  be 
directly  affected  by  the  unusual  phenomenon,  but  in 
many  cases  an  alternative  interpretation  is  offered, 
bearing  on  public  affairs,  while  in  the  event  of  an  ex- 
traordinary deviation  such  as  the  birth  of  an  unusually 
large  litter,  or  so  rare  an  occurrence  as  triplets  or  four 
or  even  five  infants  born  to  a  woman,  or  the  birth  of 
some  monstrous  creature,  the  sign  was  an  ominous  one 
for  the  whole  country  primarily,  if  not  exclusively.  The 
range  of  anomalies  recorded  in  the  compilations  of  the 
diviners  and  in  official  reports  is  exceedingly  large  and, 
as  more  texts  come  to  light,  reaches  proportions  almost 
too  large  to  be  controlled.  In  general  the  deviation 
from  the  normal  was  regarded  as  an  evil  omen,  though 
there  are  not  infrequent  exceptions.  The  distinction 
between  the  right  as  the  favorable  side  and  the  left  as 


264 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  unfavorable  onet  is  introduced  as  a  basis  for  varying 
interpretations.  Thus,  if  a  lamb  is  born  with  the  right 
ear  lacking,  it  signifies  that  "the  rule  of  the  king  will 
come  to  an  end/'  "confusion  in  the  land,"  "loss  of 
cattle'7  and  the  like,  whereas  the  lack  of  the  left  ear 
prognosticates  corresponding  misfortunes  to  the  enemy 
and  his  country,  and  is  therefore  favorable  to  Babylonia 
and  Assyria.  Again,  two  ears  appearing  on  the  right 
side  and  none  on  the  left  is  an  unfavorable  sign, 
whereas  two  ears  on  the  left  and  none  on  the  right  is 
unfavorable  for  the  enemy  and  therefore  favorable  for 
you.  In  the  enumeration  of  anomalies  we  must  again 
take  into  account  the  factor  of  fancy  and  the  desire  to 
make  the  collections  complete  so  as  to  be  prepared  for 
all  emergencies.  Many  of  the  entries  are  therefore 
purely  * '  academic. ' '  *8 

The  factor  of  fancy  manifests  itself  in  these  hand- 
books of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  diviners  in  a  form 
which  is  especially  interesting,  because  of  the  explana- 
tion it  affords  for  the  widespread  belief  in  antiquity  in 
hybrid  creatures  such  as  satyrs,  mermaids,  fauns,  har- 
pies, sphinxes,  winged  serpents  and  the  many  fabulous 
monsters  of  mythology  and  folk-lore.  We  have  long 
lists  of  the  young  of  animals  having  the  features  or 
parts  of  the  body  of  another  animal.  Instead,  however, 
of  being  recorded  as  a  mere  resemblance,  an  ewTe  giving 
birth  to  a  lamb  having  a  head  which  suggests  that  of  a 
lion,  or  of  a  dog,  an  ass,  of  a  fox  or  a  gazelle,  or  ears  or 
eyes  which  suggest  those  of  another  animal,  it  is  stated 
that  the  ewe  has  given  birth  to  a  lion,  dog,  ass,  fox  ga- 
zelle, as  the  case  may  be.  In  the  same  way,  since  it  often 
happens  that  the  face  of  an  infant  suggests  a  bird,  a 
dog,  a  pig,  a  lamb,  or  what  not,  the  fancied  resemblance 
leads  to  the  statement  that  a  woman  has  given  birth  to 
the  animal  in  question,  which  thus  becomes  an  omen, 
the  interpretation  of  which  varies  according  to  the 

4iSee,   for  details,  Jastrow,  Babylonian- Assyrian  Birth-omens 
and  their  Cultural  Significance  (Giessen,  1914). 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


ideas  associated  with  the  particular  animal.  A  lion 
suggests  power  and  enlargement,  and  therefore  a  lamb 
or  an  infant  with  a  lion-like  face  points  to  increase  and 
prosperity  in  the  land  and  to  the  growing  strength  of 
the  ruler,  and  is  also  a  favorable  sign  for  the  stall  or 
house  in  which  such  a  creature  is  born.  Favorable  ideas, 
though  of  a  different  order,  are  associated  with  the 
lamb,  pig,  ox  and  ass,  whereas  with  the  dog  as  an  un- 
clean animal  in  the  ancient  as  well  as  in  the  modern 
Orient,  the  association  of  ideas  was  unfavorable,  and 
similarly  with  the  serpent,  wild  cow  and  certain  other 
animals,  the  interpretation  refers  to  some  misfortune, 
either  of  a  public  or  private  character,  and  occasionally 
of  both.  This  feature  of  a  fancied  resemblance  be- 
tween one  animal  and  another  and  between  an  infant 
and  some  animal  was  the  starting-point  which  led, 
through  the  further  play  of  the  imagination,  to  the 
belief  in  hybrid  creatures  and  all  kinds  of  monstros- 
ities. The  case  of  an  infant  being  born  with  feet 
united  so  as  to  suggest  the  tail  of  a  fish  is  actually 
recorded  in  our  lists  of  birth-signs,  and  from  such  an 
anomaly  to  the  belief  in  mermaids  and  tritons,  half 
human  and  half  fish,  is  only  a  small  step,  rendered  still 
more  credible  by  the  representation  in  art  which  con- 
verts the  resemblance  to  a  fish  tail  into  a  real  tail. 
Since  we  have  the  direct  proof 41  of  the  spread  of  the 
Babylonian- Assyrian  system  of  divination  from  birth- 
omens,  as  of  the  two  other  systems  above  discussed,  to 
Asia  Minor,  Greece  and  Rome,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  we  are  justified  in  tracing  back  to  this 
system  the  belief  in  fabulous  beings  of  all  kinds,  though 
it  may  of  course  be  admitted  that  there  are  also  other 
factors  involved.  We  find  this  belief  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  where  we  encounter  in  the  ancient  art  hippo- 
centaurs  as  well  as  bulls  and  eagles  with  human  faces, 
and  in  the  Assyrian  art  the  winged  monsters  with 

47  Given  in  the  author's  monograph  on  Babylonian-Assyrian 
Birth-omens,  pp.  50-64.  See  also  Plate  XXXII,  Fig.  2;  Plate 
XXXIII;  Plate  LII  and  Plate  LXXIV  for  hybrid  figures. 


266 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


human  faces  and  the  bodies  of  bulls  or  winged  human 
figures  with  eagle  faces.  The  process  once  begun  would 
naturally  lead  to  all  kinds  of  ramifications  and  com- 
binations. 

VII 

The  three  systems  of  divination  which  we  have 
analyzed  all  entered  directly  into  the  religious  life  of 
the  people  and  illustrate  some  of  the  religious  prac- 
tises which  were  maintained,  like  the  incantation 
rituals,  throughout  all  periods.  The  longing  to  pierce 
the  unknown  future,  to  pull  aside  the  veil  which  sepa- 
rates us  from  a  knowledge  of  coming  events,  is  so  strong 
in  man  as  to  have  all  the  force  of  an  innate  quality — an 
instinct  of  which  he  himself  only  gradually  becomes 
fully  conscious.  It  plays  an  unusually  prominent  part 
in  the  religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  indeed  so 
prominent  as  to  justify  us  in  asserting  that  by  the  side 
of  the  ever  present  fear  of  the  demons,  the  significance 
attached  to  omens  was  the  most  conspicuous  outward 
manifestation  of  the  religious  spirit  of  the  people  taken 
as  a  whole.  This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the 
knowledge  that  we  now  have  of  other  forms  of  divina- 
tion, such  as  pouring  a  few  drops  of  oil  into  a  basin  of 
water,  and  according  to  the  action  of  the  oil  in  forming 
rings  and  bubbles  that  sink  and  rise  and  the  directions 
in  which  they  spread,  conclusions  were  drawn  of  a  more 
or  less  specific  character,  and  suggested  by  a  more  or 
less  artificial  association  of  ideas  with  the  action  of  the 
oil — bearing  either  on  public  affairs  or  on  private 
matters,  according  to  the  questions  asked  of  the 
diviners,  to  which  they  were  expected  to  give  an 
answer.4* 

Within  the  other  category  of  involuntary  divina- 
tion where  the  sign  is  obtruded  on  your  notice,  falls  the 
importance  attached  to  dreams,  the  interpretation  of 

4SFor  details  see  Jastrow,  Religion  Babi/lonkns  und  AssyrieTis, 
II,  pp.  749-775. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


267 


which  formed  in  fact  one  of  the  most  important  func- 
tions of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  priests  acting  as 
diviners.  References  to  dreams  are  frequent  both  in 
the  older  and  later  inscriptions  of  Babylonian  and 
Assyrian  rulers.49  A  majestic  figure  reaching  from 
earth  to  heaven  appears  to  Gudea  in  a  dream;  it  turns 
out  to  be  the  god  Ningirsu,  A  female  figure  also  rises 
up  with  a  tablet  and  a  stylus  who  is  the  goddess  Nisaba. 
The  sun  mounting  up  from  the  earth  is  explained  to  be 
the  god  of  vegetation,  Ningishzida.  Various  utensils 
and  building  material  and  an  ass  to  carry  burdens 
which  the  ruler  sees  in  his  dream  leave  no  doubt  as 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  vision.  It  is  the  order  to 
Gudea  to  build  a  temple  according  to  the  plan  drawn 
on  a  tablet  by  a  second  male  figure  appearing  to  him, 
and  who  turns  out  to  be  the  god  Nin-dub.  The  inter- 
pretation is  given  to  the  ruler  in  this  instance  by  the 
goddess  Nina  as  whose  son  he  designates  himself. 
Ordinarily,  however,  it  is  to  a  priest  to  whom  rulers 
and  people  go  to  learn  the  meaning  of  dreams,  in  the 
belief  that  dreams  are  omens  or  signs  sent  by  the  gods 
as  a  means  of  indicating  what  is  about  to  happen ;  and 
even  in  Gudea  *s  case  we  may  safely  assume  that  the 
interpretation  ascribed  to  the  goddess  directly  was 
furnished  to  him  through  the  mediation  of  the  priests. 
At  the  other  end  of  Babylonian  history,  we  find  Ne- 
buchadnezzar and  a  goddess  appearing  to  Nabonnedos, 
the  last  king  of  Babylonia,  in  dreams  to  explain  certain 
strange  signs  that  had  lately  been  reported.  In  the 
inscriptions  of  Ashurbanapal,  the  great  king  of  As- 
ria,  there  are  several  references  to  dreams.  The 
)ddess  Ishtar  rises  before  him  and  encourages  the 
king  to  give  battle.  A  diviner  has  a  dream  in  which 
he  sees  certain  ominous  words  written  on  the  moon. 
The  priests  made  compilations  of  all  kinds  of  phenom- 
ena that  might  appear  to  people  in  dreams  with  the 

4*  See  examples  in  Jastrow,  Religion  Bdbyloniens  und  Assyriens, 
II,  p,  955-958, 


268 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


interpretations  added,  and  no  doubt  the  endeavor  was 
made  also  in  these  handbooks  to  be  prepared  for  all 
emergencies.  If  one  dreams  of  carrying  dates  on  one's 
head,  it  meant  distress,  if  vegetables  that  things  will 
go  well,  if  salt  that  he  will  suffer  some  injury,  if  a 
mountain  that  he  will  have  no  rival.  If  one  dreams 
that  one  is  flying  away,  it  is  a  prognostication  that  good 
fortune  will  take  wings;  if  he  descends  into  the  earth 
and  sees  dead  persons,  it  is  an  indication  of  approaching 
death.  Eating  figs  and  drinking  wine  in  a  dream  are 
good  omens;  dust,  clay  and  pitch  are  bad  signs,  and  so 
on  ad  infinitum. 

The  movements  and  actions  of  animals  formed 
another  fertile  field  of  divination.  Among  the  animals, 
snakes  and  serpents,  dogs,  cows,  sheep,  goats,  gazelles, 
falcons,  mice,  horses,  pigs,  foxes,  eagles,  chickens,  swal- 
lows, fishes  and  various  insects  occur  in  lists  of  such 
omens  preserved  for  us.  Seeing  a  snake  on  getting  up 
in  the  morning  on  New  Year's  Day  was  interpreted  as 
an  indication  of  approaching  death;  if  the  snake  falls 
on  a  man,  it  means  severe  sickness  or  serious  misfor- 
tune ;  if  it  falls  behind  a  man,  the  omen  was  a  good  one ; 
if  it  falls  on  the  right  side,  that  he  will  be  seized  by  a 
demon  of  sickness,  whereas  on  the  left  side  the  omen 
was  partly  favorable,  partly  unfavorable.  The  inter- 
pretations vary  again  according  to  the  month  and  the 
day  of  the  month  on  which  the  incident  occurs,  so  that 
once  more  the  field  is  enlarged  to  almost  limitless 
proportions. 

A  white  dog  entering  a  palace  means  siege  of  a  city ; 
a  yellow  dog,  that  the  palace  will  escape  disaster;  a 
dog  of  mixed  colors,  that  the  enemy  will  plunder  the 
palace.  Dogs  barking  at  the  gates  prognosticate  a 
pestilence,  mad  dogs  the  destruction  of  the  city,  howl- 
ing dogs  the  overthrow  of  the  city.  A  falcon  flying  into 
a  man's  house  means  that  his  wife  will  die ;  if  the  falcon 
carries  off  something  from  a  man's  house,  that  the  man 
will  die  of  a  lingering  disease ;  if  a  bird  builds  its  nest 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


269 


and  lays  its  young  in  a  man's  house,  at  the  entrance  or 
in  the  court,  the  omen  is  unfavorable. 

These  examples  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  general 
character  of  the  collections  as  well  as  the  nature  of 
the  interpretations,  based  in  part  upon  the  same  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  which  we  encountered  in  the  case  of  the 
other  systems  of  divination,  and  in  part  no  doubt  on  the 
record  of  what  happened  in  the  past  when  the  sign  in 
question  was  observed.  In  addition  we  must  always 
allow  a  large  leeway  for  fancy  and  the  purely  arbi- 
trary factor,  as  well  as  the  " academic' '  character  of 
very  many  of  the  omens  registered  which  probably 
never  occurred,  and  are  entered  merely  through  the 
desire  of  the  priests  to  be  prepared  for  all  possibilities 
— and  impossibilities. 

VIII 

To  complete  the  general  survey  of  the  religion  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  it  remains  for  us  to  summa- 
rize the  organization  of  the  temples  and  to  add  some 
indications  of  the  festal  occasions  on  which  special 
rites  were  observed  in  honor  of  the  gods,  and  the  manner 
in  which  on  such  occasions  they  were  approached. 

We  have  already  indicated,  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  the  chief  figures  in  the  pantheon,  the 
tendency  to  group  around  the  cult  of  the  patron  deity 
of  an  important  centre  the  worship  of  other  gods,  and 
we  have  seen  that  this  tendency  goes  hand  in  hand  with 
the  political  expansion  of  such  a  centre,  but  that  the 
centre  is  apt  to  retain  a  considerable  portion  at  least  of 
its  religious  prestige  even  after  the  political  decline  has 
set  in.  The  force  of  tradition,  playing  so  effective  a 
part  in  religion  everywhere,  would  help  to  maintain 
rituals  and  practices  once  established,  even  if  the  con- 
ditions giving  rise  to  such  rituals  and  practices  no 
longer  prevailed.  Confining  ourselves  to  the  larger 
centres  and  to  those  best  known  to  us,  like  Nippur, 
Lagash,  Uruk,  Ur,  Kish,  Eridu,  Sippar,  Babylon  and 


270 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Borsippa  in  the  south,  and  Ashur,  Calah  and  Nineveh 
in  the  north,  WB  note  the  gradual  extension  of  the  area 
within  which  the  main  temple  stood  to  become  a  more 
or  less  extensive  sacred  quarter.  So  in  Nippur  E-kur, 
the  name  of  EnliFs  sanctuary,  becomes  such  a  designa- 
tion to  include  the  temples  and  shrines  erected  to  the 
numerous  deities  grouped  around  Enlil  and  brought 
into  a  relationship  of  subserviency  to  their  master,  as 
his  sons,  daughi-  rvants,  body-guard,  ministers 
and  officials.  Similarly  in  Babylon,  E-sagila,  as  the 
name  of  Marduk's  temple,  grows  to  be  a  spacious 
quarter  with  numerous  sanctuaries,  large  and  small,  to 
Nabn,  Ninmakh  (or  Ishtar),  Shamash,  Ea,  Nergal, 
Ninil) — to  name  only  the  most  important.  The  general 
arrangement  of  these  temples,  as  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  see  in  more  detail  in  the  chapter  on  the  archi- 
tecture and  art,50  was  in  all  cases  the  same,  following 
an  ancient  prototype  which  provided  an  outer  and  an 
inner  court  of  almost  parallel  dimensions,  with  a  cor- 
ridor leading  from  the  inner  court  to  the  innermost 
smaller  chamber,  reserved  for  the  priests  and  the  rulers 
and  in  which,  enclosed  in  a  niche,  the  image  of  the  deity 
in  whose  honor  the  temple  was  erected  stood.  Grouped 
around  the  three  divisions  was  a  series  of  rooms,  vary- 
ing in  number  according  to  the  size  and  importance  of 
the  edifice,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  priests  and 
for  the  administration  of  the  temple,  while  in  the  case 
of  the  largest  centres,  special  buildings  were  erected  as 
store-houses  for  the  temple  possessions,  stables  for  the 
animals,  and  dwellings  for  the  numerous  attendants  and 
officials  incident  to  the  growing  complications  of  the 
larger  temple  organizations.  A  feature  of  the  main 
temple  in  every  centre  that  was  never  lacking  was  a 
stage-tower,  consisting  of  from  two  to  seven  stories, 
and  placed  either  behind  or  at  the  side  of  the  temple 
proper." __ 

M  Chap  VII.    See  alBo  Plate  XXXVIII. 

B1  See  p.  374  seq,  on  the  special  significance  of  these  towers. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


271 


Corresponding  to  the  growth  of  the  temples,  we  find 
the  organization  of  the  cult  extending  its  scope;  and 
with  this  extension,  the  steadily  increasing  power  and 
authority  of  the  priests.  In  the  small  beginnings  of 
the  Euphratean  cities,  the  priestly  and  secular  func- 

•  tions  no  doubt  rested  in  one  and  the  same  person. 
The  ruler  of  a  city  or  district,  as  we  have  seen,52  was 
regarded  as  the  representative  of  the  deity.  As  such  he 
stood  in  a  special  relation  to  the  deity,  acting  as  a 
lediator  between  the  latter  and  the  people,  while  upon 
liis  good  standing  with  the  god,  the  general  welfare  of 
le  people  depended.  On  the  very  ancient  monument 
of  Ur-Nina  r'3  we  find  the  ruler  himself  offering  the 
libation  to  the  god,  though  behind  him  stands  an  attend- 
ant who  is  probably  a  priest  to  assist  in  carrying  out 
the  rite.  As  early,  however,  as  the  days  of  Gudea  (c. 
3450  B.C.)  the  ruler  himself  is  led  into  the  presence  of 
the  deity  through  the  mediation  of  a  priest.  Gudea  is 
so  depicted  on  seal  cylinders  and  other  monuments,  and 
)resumably  therefore  the  marked  differentiation  be- 
tween priest  and  ruler  thus  illustrated  was  at  the  time 
in  established  custom  of  long  standing.  The  mediator- 
dp  may,  indeed,  be  set  down  as  the  chief  prerogative 
of  the  priest  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  With  this  as  a 
starting-point,  his  other  functions  as  sacrificer,  as  ex- 
orciser,  as  inspector  of  the  liver  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  disposition  of  the  deity,  as  astrologer 

Iand  as  diviner  in  general,  interpreting  birth-signs, 
dreams,  and  furnishing  the  answer  as  to  the  meaning 
of  all  kinds  of  occurrences  that  deviated  from  the 
normal  or  that  in  any  way  aroused  attention,  may  be 
derived.  The  people  could  proceed  as  far  as  the  inner 
court  of  the  temples,  where  an  altar  stood,  but  beyond 
that  the  priests  alone  could  venture,  and  the  rulers  only 
if  accompanied  by  a  priest  who  as  the  privileged  ser- 
vitor of  the  deity  had  access  to  the  divine  presence. 
*2  Above,  p.  127  and  Plate  XLVI. 
"  See  above,  p.  255  and  below  p,  468. 


272 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Intercession  is  thus  a  distinguishing  function  of  the 
priest,  as  a  corollary  to  his  role  as  mediator. 

The  growth  of  the  temple  organizations  along  the 
lines  above  set  forth  naturally  resulted  in  a  dif- 
ferentiation of  priestly  functions.  Besides  a  num- 
ber of  general  names  for  priest,  such  as  shangu,  enu, 
"votary"  and  itmmdmt  (expert),  with  gradations  of 
rank  as  indicated  by  the  title  shangu  makhkhu, 
"high  priest,"  we  find  over  thirty  classes  of  priests 
recorded  in  the  material  at  our  disposal.  The  "exor- 
ciser"  (mashmashu  or  ashipu)  is  separated  from  the 
"diviner"  {bdru,  literally  "inspector"),  and  these  two 
from  the  "singer"  (zammeru),  "anointer"64  (pashi- 
shu),  and  "musician"  (kalu,  lallaru,  nuru,  etc.)  am 
from  the  "snake  charmers"  (mushlakhkha),  who 
formed  a  class  by  themselves  and  perhaps  had  othei 
functions  than  the  name  suggests.  Each  of  these  hac 
numerous  subdivisions  such  as  "libationist"  (ramku, 
nisakku),  "anointer"  (pashishu),*4  "dream  intei 
preter"  and  "oracle"  (sha'ilu)  and  others  such  as  hj 
gallu,  and  the  abkallu,  abarakkit,  whose  exact  func 
tions  still  escape  us."  Women  also  took  a  large  part 
priestesses  of  one  kind  or  another  in  the  temple  sei 
vice" — as  singers,  "howlers"  (chanting  the  lamenta- 
tions), musicians,  exoreisers  and  furnishing  oracles. 
We  find  also  several  classes  of  holy  women  leading  a 
secluded  life  in  special  homes  which  would  correspond 
to  our  cloisters  and  nunneries,  and  who  were  regardec 
as  constituting  in  a  measure  the  harem  of  the  god  tc 
whose  service  they  were  dedicated.  Some  of  these  were 
"sacred  prostitutes,"  and  it  is  in  connection  with  tl 
class  of  priestesses  that  rites  were  practised  in  tl 
temples  which,  while  probably  regarded  as  purely 
symbolical  to  promote  fertility  among  mankind  and  in 

■*  Perhaps,  however,  the  one  who  merely  prepares  the  ointment 

65  See  the  full  list  with  discussion  in  Prank,  Studies  zur  Baby- 
lonischsn  Religion  (Strassburg,  1911),  I,  pp.  1-37. 
••  See  Frank,  %b.,  pp.  47-50. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


273 


the  animal  world,  were  unmistakably  obscene,  or  at 
least  degenerated  into  obscene  rites. 

In  addition  to  the  purely  religious  duties  in  con- 
nection with  the  temple  service,  the  priests  were  also 
the  scribes,  the  judges  and  the  teachers  of  the  people — 
all  three  functions  following  naturally  from  the  re- 
ligious point  of  view  involved  in  writing,  in  legal  de- 
cisions and  in  knowledge  in  general.  The  tradition 
once  established,  the  priests  continued  to  act  as  the 
official  scribes  in  the  case  of  the  thousands  upon  thous- 
ands of  legal  and  commercial  documents  that  have  come 
down  to  us  from  all  periods,  though,  to  be  sure,  in 
later  days  we  occasionally  come  across  a  scribe  who 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  temple  official. 

The  gods  are  the  law  givers,  as  all  decisions  are 
originally  divine  oracles  furnished  by  their  representa- 
tives, the  priests.  We  have  an  interesting  trace  of  this 
point  of  view  among  the  Hebrews  in  the  phrase  "to 
go  before  God,"  used  in  the  oldest  legal  code  of  the 
Pentateuch."  The  word  for  law  in  Hebrew,  torn,  has 
its  equivalent  in  the  Babylonian  iertu  which  means 
"oracle,"  that  is,  a  divine  decision.  Hammurapi  places 
as  the  headpiece  of  the  monument  containing  the  laws 
of  the  country,58  an  effigy  of  himself  in  an  attitude  of 
adoration  before  Shamash,  "the  judge,"  as  the  ultimate 
source  of  the  laws.  Down  to  the  latest  days  of  the 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  kingdoms,  the  temples  were 
also  the  law  courts,  and  in  the  large  centres,  no  doubt, 
special  quarters  were  provided  for  the  numerous  offices 
and  officials  required  to  carry  out  this  part  of  the 
temple  service,  which  grew  to  large  proportions  with 
the  spread  of  commercial  activity  and  increasing 
business  complications  incident  thereto.  Respect  for 
law  thus  deriving  its  sanction  from  the  religion  marks 
rulers  and  people  alike;  and  even  those  kings  who  ap- 

6T  Exodus  21,  6.    The  rendering  *'  judge"  in  the  English  version 
embodies  the  later  interpretation. 
"Plate  XXXIV. 


274 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


peared  to  be  most  ambitious  to  extend  their  power  and 
authority,  whose  cruelty  to  enemies  and  conquered 
nations  knew  no  bounds,  who  openly  boast  of  the  rav- 
ages they  committed  in  fierce  warfare,  bow  before  the 
majesty  of  the  law  and  emphasize  the  care  with  which 
they  protected  the  rights  of  their  subjects. 

The  temples  themselves  had  their  own  business 
affairs  which  in  the  case  of  the  larger  centres  assumed 
the  proportions  of  extensive  commercial  establish- 
ments. As  the  organization  of  the  priesthood  became 
more  complicated,  there  was  much  work  which  had  to 
be  done  for  the  temples.  The  needs  of  the  priests  and 
of  the  temple  service  had  to  be  attended  to.  Contracts 
were  given  out  for  garments  to  be  made,  for  temple 
property  to  be  tilled  and  improved,  for  necessary  re- 
pairs and  for  new  edifices  to  be  erected.  A  feature  of 
the  temple  organization  in  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
which  throws  a  less  favorable  light  on  the  religion  was 
the  gradual  increase  in  their  land  holdings,  and  the 
accumulation  of  large  resources  with  the  help  of  which 
the  priests  themselves  became  important  factors  in  the 
commercial  activity  of  the  country.  We  find  the 
temples  in  the  large  centres  engaged  in  renting  out 
lands  and  houses,  in  all  manner  of  barter  and  exchange, 
in  lending  large  and  small  sums  on  interest,  and  in  en- 
tering directly  on  the  customary  commercial  enter- 
prises, At  certain  periods,  the  temples  in  fact  assume 
somewhat  the  aspect  of  national  banks,  without,  how- 
ever, ever  becoming  financial  monopolies.  In  the  later 
days  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy  we  find  priestly  fac- 
tions arising,  who  help  to  bring  about  the  internal  dis- 
sensions which  made  Babylon  fall  such  an  easy  prey 
before  the  army  of  Cyrus.08  The  religion  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  however,  survives  the  political  downfall 
of  both  the  north  and  the  south,  and  well  on  through 
the  period  of  Greek  domination  following  upon  Persian 
control,  we  find  the  temples  in  the  old  centres  still  the 
80  See  above,  p.  184. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


object  of  veneration  and  worship,  to  which  the  new 
rulers  come  to  share  with  the  people  in  the  homage  to 
the  ancient  gods.  From  the  earliest  to  the  latest  period 
the  priests  continued  to  act  as  the  teachers  of  the 
people.  With  the  art  of  writing  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests,  the  secrets  of  the  gods  could  be  unlocked  by 
them  only.  The  mysterious  art  naturally  formed  the 
basis  of  an  education  which  the  priests  alone  could  im- 
part. On  the  tablets  all  the  extant  knowledge  was 
recorded,  and  to  the  tablets  the  wisdom  and  experience 
of  the  past  was  committed.  Only  through  the  hand- 
books was  it  possible  to  acquire  the  details  of  the 
various  rituals  and  to  carry  out  the  requirements  with- 
out danger  of  missteps.  To  provide  for  the  uninter- 
rupted continuance  of  religious  tradition  and  its  ex- 
pression in  the  cult,  the  priests  of  the  coming  genera- 
tion had  to  be  trained  by  the  present  one.  In  all  the 
larger  temples  and  no  doubt  in  the  smaller  ones  as 
well,  schools  were  established  by  the  priests  to  hand 
down  to  their  successors  the  wisdom  of  the  ages  as 
recorded  in  the  compilations  and  collections  which  each 
large  temple  made  in  response  to  practical  needs,  though 
only  in  so  far  as  these  needs  dictated.  For  the  benetit 
of  the  pupils,  lists  of  the  signs  used  in  the  script  were 
prepared  with  their  values  as  syllables  and  as  words. 
Grammatical  paradigms  both  for  the  Sumerian  and  the 
Akkadian  texts  were  drawn  up,  exercises  in  the  use  of 
the  phrases  and  terms  occurring  in  the  hymns,  incanta- 
tions, omens,  and  in  legal  and  historical  texts  were 
worked  out  in  almost  bewildering  profusion,  and  texts 
edited  with  commentaries  to  explain  difficult  or  obscure 
passages.  Much  of  the  Babylonian  literature  has  thus 
come  down  to  us  in  the  form  of  school  editions;  and 
this  applies  also  to  mathematical  tablets,  chronological 
and  geographical  lists  and  medical  prescriptions  for 
which  long  lists  of  trees,  plants,  herbs  and  stones  served 
as  supplements,  just  as  lists  of  all  kinds  of  animals,  of 
vessels  of  all  kinds  were  prepared  as  aids  for  instrue- 


276 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


tion  in  the  omen  literature.  There  followed  instruction 
in  the  temple  service  in  all  its  ramifications,  and  for  this 
purpose  the  scribes  of  each  temple  had  committed  to 
writing  all  the  necessary  details  and  had  preserved 
from  one  generation  to  the  other  the  incantation  rituals, 
the  hymns  and  prayers,  the  omen  collections  and  also 
as  supplements,  closely  bound  up  with  the  cult  and  the 
current  beliefs,  the  myths  and  fables  and  miscellaneous 
productions  of  the  past.  The  larger  the  centre,  the 
larger  naturally  the  official  and  school  archives.  The 
sciences  that  were  evolved  out  of  the  cult,  such  as  as- 
tronomy and  mathematics  in  connection  with  astrology, 
medicine  and  botany  as  an  outcome  of  the  incantation 
rituals  were  likewise  in  the  hands  of  the  priests  and  re- 
mained so  till  a  very  late  period.  The  temple  schools 
thus  continued  to  be  the  intellectual  centres  of  the 
country,  and  no  doubt  these  schools  furnished  the  incen- 
tive to  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  as  well.  The 
priest  as  scribe  and  as  judge  leads  to  the  priest  as 
teacher.  In  this  threefold  capacity  he  dominated  the 
entire  civilization  unfolded  in  the  course  of  millen- 
niums. 

IX 

The  occasions  on  which  the  people  repaired  to  the 
temples  have  been  touched  on  at  various  points  in  the 
course  of  our  survey  of  the  chief  aspects  presented  by 
the  religion.  In  general  it  was  when  sickness  or  some 
other  kind  of  misfortune  ensued,  that  the  people  sought 
the  mediating  help  of  the  priests.  On  such  occasions 
the  elaborate  incantation  rituals  were  drawn  upon,  the 
appropriate  formidas  selected  and  the  ceremonial  de- 
tails punctiliously  carried  out.  Reports  were  sent  to 
the  riders,  announcing  the  appearance  of  the  new  moon. 
and  officially  recording  the  exact  time  of  fidl  moon. 
All  strange  occurrences  in  the  heavens  and  on  earth 
were  interpreted,  and  the  priests  were  kept  busy  an- 
swering the  questions  put  to  them  by  the  rulers  at 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


277 


critical  periods,  or  by  the  people  when  strange  happen- 
ings took  place  in  houses,  streets  or  stalls,  or  when 
any  unusual  experience  occurred.  Owing  to  the  large 
aspect  taken  on  by  the  official  character  of  the  religion, 
the  times  when  the  rulers  proceeded  to  the  temples 
were  particularly  numerous.  The  official  cult  played  a 
far  larger  pail  in  the  religion  than  the  satisfaction  of 
the  religions  needs  of  the  ordinary  individual,  but  at 
the  important  festival  celebrations,  occurring  at  the 
transition  periods  of  the  year,  the  people  joined  the 
rulers  in  thronging  the  courts  of  the  temples,  witnessing 
the  offering  of  the  sacrifices  which  they  provided  for 
such  occasions  and  perhaps  taking  a  direct,  albeit  a 
minor,  part  in  the  ceremonies  incident  thereto.  The 
sacrifices  embraced  animals  and  land  produce,  as  well 
as  precious  woods  and  special  votive  gifts.  Lists  em- 
bodied in  Gudea's  inscriptions,*0  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  typical,  enumerate  oxen,  sheep  and  goats, 
doves  and  various  other  domesticated  birds,  chickens, 
ducks  and  geese (?),  various  kinds  of  fish,  dates,  figs, 
cucumbers,  butter,  oil,  cakes.  In  what  way  the  animals 
to  be  offered  were  selected  we  do  not  as  yet  know,  but 
it  is  eminently  likely  that  with  the  perfected  organiza- 
tion of  the  priesthood,  regular  tariffs  were  set  up, 
prescribing  what  was  to  be  brought  on  each  occasion 
and  in  what  amounts- — very  much  as  in  the  various 
Pentateuchal  codes  and  in  Phoenician  sacrificial  tar- 
ifs.  The  Few  Year's  festival,  celebrated  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  spring  season  and  marking  the  tran- 
sition from  the  winter — the  period  of  nature's  silence 
— to  the  reawakening  to  new  life  was  the  most  solemn 
occasion  of  the  year.  Its  celebration  may  be  traced 
back  to  the  old  Babylonian  period.  In  Lagash  it  was 
pictured  as  the  marriage  day  of  the  solar  deity  Nin- 
girsu  with  his  consort  Ban,  the  mother-goddess,  the 
union,  accordingly,  of  the  male  and  female  element, 

M  Statue  E,  cols.  5-6  and  G,  cols.  4-5  and  elsewhere  (Thureau- 
Dangin,  Sumerisck-Akkadwche  Kdnigsinschriftcn,  pp.  80-84). 


278 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


issuing  in  the  new  life  pulsating  throughout  the  earth 
in  the  joyous  springtime.  The  sacrifices  offered  at  the 
festival  were  designated  as  the  wedding  presents  for 
the  divine  pair.  No  doubt  in  other  centres  of  sun  cults 
—and  we  have  seen  that  most  of  the  patron  deities  in 
the  large  centres  were  solar  gods — similar  rites  were 
observed,  so  that  the  celebration  in  Babylon  centring 
around  Marduk  and  his  consort  Sarpanit,  of  which 
we  know  many  details,  represents  a  combination  and 
elaboration  of  ancient  traditions.  The  gods  were  car- 
ried about  in  solemn  procession,  bringing  their  homage 
in  common  with  that  of  mankind  to  the  great  solar  deity 
who  had  become  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  Nabu  came 
from  Borsippa  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  father  enthroned 
in  E-sagila.fll  The  festival  lasted  for  ten  days,  during 
which  interval  the  gods  were  supposed  to  assemble  in 
the  "sacred  chamber  of  fates/'  there  to  decide  the  fates 
of  the  individuals  for  the  coining  year,  with  Nabu 
acting  as  the  secretary  and  recording  the  divine  and 
unalterable  decisions.  A  sombre  character  was  thus 
given  to  the  festival,  the  ritual  for  which  included 
penitential  hymns,  embodying  appeals  for  forgiveness 
of  sins  and  for  divine  mercy.  The  Babylonian- Assyrian 
akUu,  as  the  New  Year's  festival  was  called,  became 
the  prototype  for  the  New  Year's  season  of  the  He- 
brews, which  likewise  embraces  a  period  of  ten  days 
and  closes  with  a  solemn  fast,  the  main  burden  of  which 
is  the  confession  of  sins  and  the  appeal  for  forgiveness 
BO  that  one  may  be  "inscribed  for  life  for  the  coming 
year,"  as  the  phrase  in  the  Jewish  ritual  inns.  The 
seventh  month,  as  the  beginning  of  the  second  half  of 
the  year  which  was  divided  into  twelve  lunar  months,02 
also  acquired  a  sacred  significance;  it  marked  the 
season  of  the  final  harvest,  preceding  the  beginning  of 
the  rainy   season.     The   transition   motif  thus   also 

"  See  above,  p.  217. 

63  Regulated  to  accord  with  the  solar  year  through  intercalating 
a  month  at  certain  intervals. 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


279 


dominates  the  fall  festival  which,  like  the  one  in  the 
spring,  appears  to  have  extended  over  a  considerable 
part  of  the  month.  Indications  point  to  its  having  beet) 
marked  by  the  rejoicings  incident  to  a  harvest  festival, 
though  the  approach  of  the  wintry  season  of  the  year 
must  have  tempered  the  joy.  There  are  indications 
that  the  Babylonians,  from  a  certain  time  on,  recog- 
nized two  "New  Year's ' '  seasons,03  one  in  the  spring 
which  remained  the  official  one,  and  one  in  the  fall 
which  appears  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  agricul- 
tural and  climatic  conditions  of  the  Euphrates  Valley. 
The  period  of  the  summer  solstice  was  also  marked 
by  a  festival,  though  we  are  still  in  the  dark  as  to  the 
character  of  the  ceremonial  prescribed  for  it;  it  is 
eminently  likely  moreover  that  we  will  come  across 
some  rites  marking  also  the  winter  solstice.  Besides 
these  occasions,  marking  the  transition  from  one  season 
to  the  other,  the  two  transition  periods  in  the  phases 
of  the  moon,  the  new  moon  and  the  full  moon,  were 
festive  occasions,  the  former  characterized  by  rejoic- 
ings at  the  reappearance  of  the  silvery  orb,  the  latter 
of  a  more  solemn  aspect  as  marking  the  transition  to 
the  waning  of  the  moon. 


Lastly,  a  few  words  as  to  the  belief  of  the  Baby- 
lonians and  Assyrians  regarding  the  fate  of  man  after 
death  has  set  in.  In  common  with  all  peoples  of 
antiquity,  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  believed  in  the 
continuation  of  conscious  existence  in  some  form  in  the 
grave.  As  an  heritage  of  the  limited  mental  horizon 
of  primitive  culture,  they  could  not  conceive  of  life  once 
begun  coming  to  an  absolute  standstill.  The  analogy 
between  sleep  and  death,  and  the  constant  renewal  of 

**  See  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  II,  p.  462, 
and  now  with  further  details,  Weidner,  Alter  und  Bedeutung  der 
Babylonischen  Astronomie  und  Astrallehre  (Leipzig,  1914),  p.  31, 
seq. 


280 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


life  in  nature  after  its  apparent  extinction  reinforcec 
the  popular  conception  that  the  dead,  though  con- 
demned to  inactivity,  yet  retained  consciousness.  The 
fate  of  the  dead  was,  however,  a  sad  and  gloomy  one. 
Earth  burial  being  the  prevailing  method  of  disposing 
of  the  dead  among  both  Sumerians  and  Akkadians, 
the  dead  were  pictured  as  huddled  together  in  a  great 
cave  under  the  ground  to  which  the  name  Aralu  was 
given.  In  poetic  compositions e4  this  dwelling  place  is 
at  times  spoken  of  as  a  city  and  again  as  a  palace,  but 
the  conception  loses  noue  of  its  gloomy  aspects  by  such 
terms.  In  Aralu  the  dead  lie,  like  prisoners,  bound 
hand  and  foot,  unable  to  move,  doomed  to  perpetual 
inactivity,  subject  to  pangs  of  hunger  and  thirst  unless 
their  needs  are  provided  for  by  surviving  relatives 
through  food  and  drink  placed  on  the  graves.  The 
method  of  burial  remained  at  all  times  exceedingly 
simple.  In  earlier  days  it  appears  to  have  been  cus- 
tomary to  bury  the  dead  naked  in  the  ground,  in  later 
days  to  cover  them  with  reed  mats,  or  to  enclose  them 
in  large  earthen  jars  or  barrels  and  to  place  them  in 
subterranean  vaults  of  a  simple  construction.  No  doubt, 
in  the  case  of  the  riders  and  of  the  high  officials  more 
elaborate  methods  of  burial  were  introduced,  but  in 
striking  contrast  to  conditions  in  Egypt,  we  find  little 
care  bestowed  on  the  preservation  of  the  body.  Liba- 
tions and  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  dead,  pots  and 
jars  with  food  were  placed  near  them  in  the  vaults,  and 
in  later  periods  models  of  objects  needed  by  them,  as 
well  as  ornaments,  trinkets,  and  perhaps  toys  for  the 
children.  There  was  a  special  pantheon  for  the  dead 
presided  over  originally  by  a  cruel  goddess,  Eresh- 
kigal  or  Allatu,  to  whom  af terwards  Nergal,  the  grim 
god  of  mid-summer,  associated  with  sickness  and  death, 
is  assigned  as  a  consort.  The  pair  act  as  prison  keepers, 

«*See  p.  454,  and  for  further  details  Chapter  IV  on  "Hebrew 
and  Babylonian  Views  of  Life  after  Death,*'  in  Jastrow,  Hebrew 
and  Babylonian  Traditions  (New  York,  1914). 


CULTS  AND  TEMPLES 


281 


assisted  bv  a  host  of  demons,  headed  by  Namtar,  the 
demon  of  pestilence,  in  keeping  the  dead  confined 
within  the  gloomy  hollow,  portrayed  as  dark  and  dusty. 

The  faint  beginnings  of  a  timid  reaction  against 
this  primitive  conception  are  to  be  seen  in  tales  of 
favorites  of  the  gods  to  whom  a  happier  future  is 
accorded.  So  the  hero  who  escapes  from  the  deluge  is 
removed  to  a  land  at  the  confluence  of  streams,  and 
there  enjoys  a  genuine  immortality  like  that  of  the 
gods.65  Another  hero,  Gilgamesh™  described  as  two 
thirds  god  and  one  third  man,  may  in  one  version  have 
also  been  accorded  this  boon,  but  in  the  composite  story 
of  his  achievements  which  became  current  as  the 
national  epic  of  Babylonia,  he  is  pictured  as  fearing 
death  like  the  rest  of  mankind.  His  companion, 
Eabani,  who  is  associated  with  him  in  some  of  his  deeds 
of  prowess  is  obliged  to  submit  to  the  "law  of  the 
earth"  as  it  is  called,  and  from  the  tomb  sends  Oilga- 
meah  a  message  describing  the  state  of  the  dead  in  the 
nether  world.  The  last  word  on  the  subject  is  there- 
fore a  note  of  despair,  an  injunction  to  enjoy  life  as 
long  as  it  lasts,  for  after  death  all  joys  cease.87 

That  under  the  circumstances  the  ethics  of  the 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians  were  nevertheless  of  a 
relatively  high  order,  as  seen  in  the  laws,  the  regula- 
tions of  the  courts,  in  the  methods  of  business,  in  the 
family  relationships,  and  even  in  the  attitude  of  the 
kings  towards  their  subjects  speaks  well  for  the  whole- 

w  See  p.  452. 

••  See  Chapter  XXIII  of  the  author *s  Religion  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  (Boston,  1898). 

•7  See  pp.  461-463. 

"Further  details  in  Chapter  V,  "Hebrew  and  Babylonian 
Ethics,"  in  the  author's  Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Traditions  (New 
York,  1914),  and  Chapter  VI,  "Ethics  and  Life  after  Death."  in  the 
author's  Aspects  of  Religions  Belief  and  Practice  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  (New  York,  1911).  See  also  "Maxims  of  Conduct,"  pp. 
464-465. 


282 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


some  influence  exerted  by  the  religion.68  No  doubt  the 
constant  fear  of  the  demons  acted  as  an  impelling  mo- 
tive in  inducing  the  people  to  maintain  favorable  re- 
lations with  the  gods,  paying  tribute  to  them  by  sacri- 
fices and  gifts,  seeking  out  their  shrines  to  obtain 
directions  through  the  priests  for  proper  conduct,  tak- 
ing the  necessary  steps  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of 
signs  sent  by  the  gods,  imploring  their  forgiveness 
when  divine  anger  had  manifested  itself  in  one  way  or 
another,  but  apart  from  all  purely  material  motives 
there  must  have  been  a  serious  realization  of  the  obliga- 
tions resting  upon  ruler  and  people  alike  to  regulate 
their  lives  according  to  fixed  standards  which,  with 
due  recognition  of  their  limitations,  must  yet  have  been 
of  a  high  order.  The  gods,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
pictured  as  on  the  whole  kindly  disposed  toward  man- 
kind, acting  from  motives  of  justice  tempered  with 
mercy.  Such  conceptions  must  have  reacted  favorably 
on  the  disposition  of  the  masses  to  carry  out  in  their 
own  lives  the  example  set  by  the  divine  rulers  from 
whom  they  believed  all  blessings  to  flow.  The  hope  of 
obtaining  these  blessings,  which  were  in  the  main  of 
a  purely  materialistic  order — long  life,  plenty  of  off- 
spring, ease,  comfort  and  joy — were  no  doubt  the  main- 
spring of  conduct,  as  they  still  dominate  the  general 
ethics  of  the  masses  at  the  present  time;  but  such  is 
the  complicated  and  contradictory  nature  of  man  that 
ideals  may  spring  up  from  a  materialistic  foundation. 
This  was  the  case  in  the  civilization  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  When  Hammurapi,  the  great  and  rather 
ruthless  conqueror,  declares  as  his  highest  ambition  to 
be  remembered  as  a  "father  to  his  people,"69  we  can 
no  longer  doubt  the  sway  exercised  by  religious  con- 
ceptions and  by  ethical  aims,  quite  independent  of  the 
material  rewards  to  be  expected  by  following  the 
standards  of  right  and  justice. 

ae  In  the  Introduction  to  his  famous  code. 


CHAPTER  VI 


LAW  AND  COMMERCE 


We  are  fortunate  in  possessing  the  code  of  laws 
according  to  which  Babylonia  was  governed  in  the  sec- 
ond millennium  before  this  era.  This  code,  the  oldest 
compilation  of  laws  in  the  world,  inscribed  on  an  obelisk 
of  black  dioritc  standing  about  eight  feet  high,  was 
found  in  1901  iu  the  course  of  excavations  conducted 
under  the  leadership  of  M.  J.  de  Morgan  on  the  site  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Busft.  The  monument,  dating  from 
the  reign  of  Hammurapi  (c.  2123-2081  B.C.),  was  origin- 
ally set  up  in  the  temple  of  Marduk  at  Babylon,  known 
as  E-sagila  ("the  lofty  house")  whence  it  was  carried 
as  a  trophy  of  war  by  an  Elamitie  conqueror  in  the 
twelfth  century  B.C.  A  striking  feature  of  this  code, 
written  in  Babylonian,  is  its  comprehensive  character, 
covering  as  it  does  almost  all  phases  of  public  and  social 
life  in  Babylonia.  No  less  significant  is  the  circum- 
stance that  the  code  reverts  to  an  older  Sumerian 
original  of  which  some  fragments  have  been  found,1 
so  that  Hammurapi  *s  share  in  this  great  compilation 
appears  to  have  been  limited  to  preparing  a  translation 
of  the  older  and  later  laws  of  the  country  into  the  Semi- 
tic speech  and  to  publish  the  Code  officially  as  the  laws 
of  the  country  for  all  times.* 

1  See  Clay,  Orientalisiische  Litteratuzdtung,  1914,  Sp.  1-3, 
*  Clay  copies  of  the  Semitic  text  were  prepared,  of  which  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  possesses  a  large  fragment,  published 
by  Dr.  Arno  Poebel,  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts  (Phila. 
1H14)  No.  93.  The  first  publication  of  the  Code  with  phototype 
reproductions,  transliteration  and  translation  into  French,  we  owe 
to  Vincent  Seheil  (Delegation  en  Perse,  Memmres,  Vol.  IV.,  Paris, 
1902,  pp.  11-162)  ;  an  English  translation  with  the  original  text 
and  transliteration,  as  well  as  a  complete  glossary  was  published  by 
the  late  Prof.  R.  F.  Harper,  The  Code  of  Hammurabi  (University 

283 


284 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


There  are  indications  in  the  code  itself  of  its  being  a 
mixture  of  older  with  later  elements.  It  opens,  in  I 
with  two  statutes  which  show  the  ordeal  as  a  test  of 
guilt  still  in  force;  it  assumes  in  certain  instances  the 
lex  talionis  as  the  basis  of  punishment,  but  by  the  side 
of  such  primitive  views  and  procedures,  it  contains 
many  statutes  revealing  an  advanced  stage  of  society 
with  highly  developed  ethical  principles  and  elaborate 
means  of  establishing  the  guilt  of  the~one  accused  of  a 
crime  or  misdemeanor,  with  correspondingly  nice  dis- 
tinctions in  the  endeavor  to  bring  about  a  coordination 
between  guilt  and  punishment,  and  accompanied  also  by 
efforts  to  curb  parental  and  marital  authority. 

The  reason  for  the  retention  of  old  laws  by  the  side 
of  later  ones  lies  in  the  view7  common  to  antiquity  of 
law  as  a  divine  decree — an  oracular  decision  of  a  deity. 
The  Hebrew  word  for  law,  torah,  has  its  equivalent  in 
the  Babylonian  tcrfu  which  means  an  "  oracle.1 '  The 
decision  in  a  dispute  between  parties  was  rendered  by 
the  deity  and  originally  no  doubt  before  the  image  of 
the  god.  It  was,  therefore,  binding  for  all  times.  But 
while  it  could  not  be  abrogated,  modifications  were 
introduced  which  practically  changed  its  tenor,  and 
since  these  modifications  take  on  the  form  of  regulations 
superimposed  on  the  original  law,  the  old  was  formally 
retained  by  the  side  of  the  new.  Thus  in  the  oldest  code 
of  the  Hebrews — the  so-called  Book  of  the  Covenant 
(Ex.  21-23,  19) — slavery,  while  formally  recognized, 

of  Chicago  Press,  1904} ;  another  English  translation  in  convenient 
form  we  owe  to  C,  H.  W.  Johns,  The  Oldest  Code  of  Laws  in  the 
World  (Edinburgh,  1903) ;  the  best  German  translation  is  that  of 
Prof.  Arthur  Ungnad  in  a  publication  in  conjunction  with  Prof. 
J.  Kohler,  Hammurabi's  Gesetz  (5  parts,  Leipzig,  1901-1911),  con- 
taining in  addition  to  the  translation  comments  on  the  legal  aspects 
by  Prof.  Kohler,  and  a  selection  of  business  and  legal  documents 
of  the  Hammurapi  period,  illustrating  the  application  of  the  code 
in  actual  practice.  The  spelling  of  the  name  with  "  p  "  appears  to 
be  a  more  correct  form  and  is  now  generally  adopted  by  scholars. 


\ 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


285 


is  changed  practically  into  an  indenture  by  the  stipula- 
tion that  when  one  buys  a  slave,  he  must  be  set  free  at 
the  end  of  six  years.  So  in  the  code  of  Hammurapi 
the  lex  talionis  is  not  infrequently  modified  into  a  fine 
regarded  as  a  quid  pro  quo,  in  place  of  the  original 
literal  interpretation.  We  are  not  in  a  position  to 
indicate  the  age  of  the  oldest  portions  in  the  laws  of 
Hammurapi,  but  from  an  important  document  of  the 
reign  of  a  far  earlier  ruler,  Urukagina  (c,  2700  B.C.), 
we  learn  of  legal  reforms  instituted  by  him,3  which  pre- 
suppose the  formulation  of  the  laws  for  the  regulation 
of  temple  fees,  of  marriage  and  divorce,  of  restitution, 
of  wrongful  acquisition  of  property,  and  the  like.  We 
are,  therefore,  safe  hi  assuming  that  as  early  at  least  as 
3000  B.C.,  and  probably  considerably  earlier,  the  en- 
deavor was  made  to  provide  for  the  orderly  conduct 
of  public  and  private  affairs  of  the  country  by  legal 
procedures. 

The  code  of  Hammurapi  is  thus  not  only  an  index 
of  the  state  of  law  in  the  second  millennium,  but  is 
also  a  witness  to  the  high  antiquity  to  which  the  formu- 
lation of  laws  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  reverts.  Taking 
Hammurapi 's  code  as  it  stands,  it  is  both  interesting 
and  important  to  detect  the  systematic  manner  in 
which  the  statutes  are  put  together.4  After  a  series  of 
introductory  regulations  on  evidence  and  judicial  de- 
cisions,  the  entire  domain  of  law  under  the  two  aspects 
of  things  and  persons  is  divided  into  six  groups,  Per- 
sonal Property,  Real  Estate,  Trade  and  Business 
Relations  being  treated  under  the  former  aspect,  and 
the  Family,  Injuries  and  Labor  under  the  second 
aspect. 

Under  Personal  Property,  we  have  theft  of  objects, 
further  subdivided  according  as  the  theft  is  from  a 

3  Thureau-Dangin,  Sumerisch-Akkadische  Konigsinschriften,  pp. 
44-56.    See  above  p.  130. 

4 1  follow  Professor  D.  G.  Lyon's  admirable  analysis  in  the 
Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  vol.  xxv,  pp.  250,  seq. 


(j+*«s+ 


286 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


k 


temple  or  palace  or  from  an  individual,  kidnapping  a 
minor,  fugitive  slaves,  aggravated  forms  of  theft,  as 
burglary,  highway  robbery,  robbery  with  murder,  and 
theft  from  a  burning  house.    Under  Real  Estate  there 
are  first  treated  the  laws  regarding  the  holdings  of  st 
officials  with  their  duties,  rights  and  restrictions,  and 
covering  such  subdivisions  as  the  loss  of  one's  holdings 
through  various  causes,  the  relation  of  the  holder 
claimants,  inalienable  holdings  of  animals  or  realty. 
There  follows  the  division  of  private  realty  with  sub- 
divisions like  hired  fields  and  payment  of  rent,  unre- 
claimed land,  subletting,  payment  of  debt  on  one 
mortgages,  damages  to  fields  and  crops,  laws  in 
to  orchards  or  date  groves,  leasing  of  productive  gro 
lease  of  houses,  etc,5    Under  Trade  and  Business,  the 
regulations   for  suits   against   or  by  merchants   and 
peddlers,  wine-selling,  debts,  suits  for  debts,  s 
and  deposits. 

This  closes  the  first  of  the  two  larger  divisions  deal- 
ing with  things.    Among  the  most  interesting  f< 
of  the  code  arc  the  statutes  in  the  second  division,  treat- 
ing of  the  family  in  all  of  its  many  aspects,  inelud 
the  definition  of  marriage,  adultery,  the  suspect  v 
remarriage,  desertion,  divorce,  rights  of  wives,  relation 
of  wives  to  concubines,  slave  wives,   deserted  wife, 
mutual  responsibility  of  wife  and  husband,  killing  of 
husband,  incest,  breach  of  promise,  dowries,  rights  of 
children,   status   of   widows,   daughters  who   became 
votaries,    adopted    children    and    disinheritance.      A 
second  of  the  larger  subdivisions  takes  up  the  important 
subject  of  injuries,  specifying  the  punishment  or  fine 
in  case  the  injury  is  done  to  males,— further  distinc- 
tions being  made   as  throughout  the   code   between 

*  There  is  a  break  in  the  text  at  this  point,  due  to  an  intentional 

erasure  on  the  part  of  the  Elamitic  conqueror  who  carried  off  the 
code,  and  who  had  intended  to  write  a  commemorative  inscription 
of  his  own  deeds  on  this  part  of  the  stone.  For  some  reason  this 
was  not  done. 


I  111.    HK8T   KIUHT   COLUMNS   OF   THE    CODE    OF   HAMMUKAPI 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


287 


injuries  to  freemen  and  to  slaves, — and  to  females,  more 
specifically  in  the  case  of  a  woman  with  child  who  is 
maltreated.  The  third  subdivision  may  be  grouped 
under  laborers  and  labor,  and  comprises  injuries  done 
by  doctors,  surgeons  and  veterinarians  whose  profession 
comes  under  the  category  of  skilled  labor,  building  and 
shipping  accidents  due  likewise  to  laborers  included 
under  the  head  of  skilful,  while  the  other  general 
category  of  unskilled  labor  covers  such  miscellaneous 
subjects  as  damages  to  or  by  oxen,  farm  bands,  wrages 
of  shepherds  and  accidents  caused  by  them,  hire  of 
laborers  of  various  kinds  and  finally  slaves. 

This  carefully  considered  arrangement  was  on  the 
whole  consistently  carried  out,  though  it  resulted  in  a 
certain  confusion  because  of  the  necessity  of  treating 
the  same  subject  (as,  for  instance,  slaves  and  injuries) 
under  various  subdivisions  instead  of  massing  them 
together,  and  because  of  the  addition  of  later  elements 
in  the  form  of  modifications  and  special  illustrations  to 
the  older  subdivisions. 

n 

Coming  now  to  the  code  itself,  it  may  be  useful  to 
give  some  illustrations  of  its  provisions  as  a  further 
means  of  grasping  the  spirit  in  which  legislation  in 
Babylonia  was  conceived.  I  have  already  referred  to 
the  survival  in  the  code  of  the  ancient  ordeal  as  a 
punishment  and  as  a  test.  After  announcing  in  the 
first  paragraph  that  the  false  accuser  shall  be  put  to 
death,  it  provides  that  if  the  accusation  is  sorcery,  the 
one  so  charged  shall  be  immersed  in  a  stream.  If,  as 
the  phrase  runs,  "  the  river  (spoken  of  as  the  river 
god)  holds  him  in  his  grasp,"  i.e.,  if  he  sinks  and  is 
drowned,  his  guilt  is  established  and  the  accuser  ob- 
tains possession  of  the  sorcerer's  property;  if,  however, 
the  river  deity  acquits  him,  Le.t  if  he  does  not  drown, 
the  one  accused  obtains  possession  of  the  property  of 
his  accuser, 


1!SS 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Now  nothing  could  conceivably  be  more  primitive, 
and  from  the  point  of  view  of  modern  justice  more 
absurd.  The  stipulations,  however,  well  illustrate  the 
ancient  point  of  view  that  all  decisions  in  cases  of  doubt 
rest  with  the  gods.  The  contestants  bring  their  suit 
before  the  deity,  who  through  a  sign  or  an  oracle  renders 
a  verdict,6  and  as  a  survival  of  such  beginnings  of  legal 
procedure,  the  custom  continues  to  prevail  till  the  la 
days  in  Babylonia  to  have  the  court  of  justice  within 
the  temple  or  the  temple  precinct,  and  to  have  priests  as 
the  representatives  of  the  deity  to  act  as  the  judges, 
though,  as  we  shall  see,  not  exclusively.  The  circum- 
stance that  the  accuser  shall  receive  the  property  of 
the  accused  in  case  the  latter 's  guilt  is  established,  and 
that  the  former  shall  forfeit  his  own  property  in  case 
of  a  false  accusation,  also  shows  a  point  of  view  totally 
different  from  the  principles  upon  which  our  ideas  of 
justice  rest.  A  fine  or  compensation  for  a  false  accusa- 
tion seems  reasonable,  but  that  the  accuser  should  re- 
ceive a  reward  for  an  accusation  which  turns  out  to  be 
correct  reveals  social  conditions  that  antedate  the  exist- 
ence of  rational  equity.  There  is  an  advance  to  a  higher 
stage  in  the  third  paragraph  which  provides  that  he 
who  bears  false  witness  or  who  cannot  prove  his  testi- 
mony in  a  criminal  case  involving  life  or  death,  shall 
himself  incur  the  death  penalty.  Here  the  principle 
underlying  the  lex  taUonis  comes  into  play.  Since  the 
testimony,  if  established,  would  lead  to  the  death  of  the 
accused  as  a  punishment,  the  false  witness — and  he  who 
cannot  prove  his  testimony  falls  within  that  category — 
should  receive  the  punishment  which  is  involved  in  the 
testimony  itself.  The  application  of  the  same  principle 
leads  to  the  further  statute,  that  if  the  case  is  a  civil 
suit  involving  as  the  phrase  runs  *'  grain  or  money,"  or 
as  we  say  merchandise  or  currency,  the  penalty  im- 

0  In  the  Book  of  the  Covenant — the  oldest  of  the  Pentateuchal 
codes — the  phrase  to  have  a  lawsuit  stUl  runs  "to  bring  before  god" 
(Ex.  21,  6). 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


289 


posed  in  case  the  testimony  is  correct  falls  on  him  who 
has  borne  false  testimony,  or  who  cannot  prove  that  to 
which  he  testifies. 

A  fifth  paragraph  which  concludes  the  section  of 
the  code  devoted  to  what  we  may  call  general  legal  pro- 
cedure tells  us  that  the  judge  who  renders  a  decision 
duly  attested  and  sealed  and  then  changes  the  decision 
shall  himself  be  called  to  account  in  court,  fined  to  the 
amount  of  twelve  times  the  sum  involved  and  expelled 
by  a  popular  assembly  from  his  " judgment  seat/' 
that  is,  deprived  forever  of  his  judicial  f mictions. 

Since  a  deity  cannot  make  a  false  decision,  it  fol- 
lows that  a  judge  who  does  so  does  not  represent  a 
deity.  Such  a  person  is  a  fraud — practically  an  incon- 
ceivable contingency,  and  therefore  the  code  merely 
provides  for  the  conceivable  case  that  a  judge  changes 
his  decision.  Since  a  deity  cannot  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  do  so — an  oracle  being  both  the  first  and  the  last 
resort — the  judge  who  is  guilty  of  this  misdemeanor 
logically  forfeits  his  claim  to  act  as  the  representative 
of  a  deity.  It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  the  statute 
with  its  severe  punishment  must  be  considered.  The 
appeal,  which  in  modern  law  is  considered  in  many 
instances  the  privilege  of  the  accused  or  of  the  loser 
in  a  suit,  is  thus  precluded  by  the  very  nature  of  a  de- 
cision as  conceived  by  the  Babylonian  spirit.  The  law 
as  an  "  oracle,"  is  infallible ;  hence  the  judge,  too,  must 
be  infallible. 

Ill 

Passing  to  the  next  group  of  statutes  dealing  with 
the  general  subject  of  theft  of  property,  we  again  note 
as  a  curious  principle  a  distinction  according  as  the 
object  stolen  is  sacred  or  profane.  Under  sacred 
property  is  included  whatever  belongs  to  a  temple  or  to 
a  palace,  for  the  palace  is  also  sacrosanct  as  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  king,  who  is  originally  also  a  priest  and  who 
continues  to  be  regarded  as  the  representative  of  the 

19 


290 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


deity  even  after  the  differentiation  of  his  religious  from 
his  secular  functions.  The  palace  is  always  adjacent  to 
the  temple,  and  indeed  the  two  edifices  are  viewed  under 
the  same  aspect,  the  temple  being  the  dwelling  of  the 
deity  and  the  palace  the  temple  of  the  deity's  repre- 
sentative on  earth.  Taking  temple  or  royal  property, 
therefore,  is  sacrilege  and  he  who  is  guilty  of  the  act 
is  put  to  death,  as  is  also  the  one  who  receives  such 
stolen  property.  Such  is  the  original  law  as  it  stands 
without  qualification  (§§  6-7).  A  later  paragraph 
(§8)  makes  an  exception  in  the  case  where  the  object 
is  an  ox,  sheep,  ass  or  pig — that  is  a  domesticated  ani- 
mal— or  a  boat.  A  fine  of  thirty- fold  the  value  is  im- 
posed, whereas  if  the  stolen  animal  or  property  is  from 
a  plebeian,  the  fine  is  only  ten-fold,  but  if  the  thief 
have  not  the  wherewithal  to  pay,  that  is  if  he  does  not 
or  cannot  pay  the  fine,  he  is  put  to  death.  Evidently 
there  is  here  a  concession  to  the  milder  spirit  of  a  more 
advanced  period  which  revolted  against  the  forfeiture 
of  life  independently  of  what  was  stolen.  The  old  rigid 
law  is  retained  in  theory,  but  the  practice  is  modified 
apparently  on  the  principle  that  it  is  not  sacrilege,  but 
merely  a  particularly  grievous  offence  to  take  from  a 
temple  or  palace  something  that  is  not  directly  con- 
nected with  the  cult,  the  specification  of  a  domestic 
animal  or  a  boat  being  introduced  as  an  illustration  of 
the  conditions  under  which  the  milder  punishment  of 
a  heavy  fine  is  substituted  for  capital  punishment. 

A  principle  which,  dating  apparently  from  an  early 
stage  and  quite  consistently  carried  out,  is  the  aggrava- 
tion of  a  crime  through  the  proof  of  intentional  fraud. 
For  this  reason  the  receiver  of  stolen  property,  if  aware 
of  the  theft,  suffers  the  severest  punishment,  and  from 
this  point  of  view  the  one  who  aids  a  slave  to  escape, 
whether  from  the  palace  or  the  city  gate,  or  harbors  a 
fugitive  slave,  is  put  to  death  (§§  15,  16,  19) — a  cruel 
law  indeed  from  the  modern  point  of  view,  but  intelli- 
gible on  the  basis  of  the  Babylonian  principle  that  con- 


COMMERCE  AKD  LAW 


291 


nivance  in  depriving  a  man  of  his  legal  property  is  more 
reprehensible  than  direct  theft.  The  severity  of  the 
code  is,  however,  one  of  its  less  favorable  features  which 
points  to  the  retention  in  it  of  enactments  reflecting  a 
crude  state  of  civilization,  for  the  progress  of  law  is 
towards  mildness  and  indulgence,  whereas  the  further 
back  we  go  the  greater  the  severity  of  punishment, 
approaching  often  to  merciless  cruelty.  The  number 
of  instances  in  which  death  is  prescribed  as  a 
punishment  may  serve  as  a  test  for  this  aspect  of  the 
code.  That  man-stealing7  and  brigandage  (§§14  and 
22)  should  have  been  regarded  as  capital  crimes  is 
natural,  but  that  a  purchase  made  without  witnesses 
or  a  formal  contract  should  involve  a  death  punishment 
( §  7),  on  the  assumption  that  a  claim  made  under  such 
circumstances  points  to  fraud  has  a  meaning  only  from 
the  Babylonian  point  of  view,  that  fraud  is  estab- 
lished by  the  mere  absence  of  a  formal  contract.  The 
punishment  no  doubt  rests  on  a  provision  that  every 
purchase  must  be  confirmed  by  a  contract,  but  to  extend 
the  law  beyond  the  establishment  of  the  validity  of  a 
transaction  indicates  extreme  crudity  in  its  interpreta- 
tion. The  primitive  law  of  retaliation  accounts  for  a 
large  number  of  the  instances  in  which  death  is  set 
down  as  the  punishment,  as,  for  example,  that  in  case 
of  the  collapse  of  a  defective  building,  the  architect  is 
to  be  put  to  death  if  the  owner  is  killed  by  the  accident, 
and  the  architect's  son  if  the  son  of  the  owner  loses  his 
life  (§§  229-230),  or  that  if  through  a  blow  inflicted 
by  some  one  on  a  man's  daughter,  the  latter  dies,  the 
daughter  of  the  one  who  inflicted  the  injury  should  be 
put  to  death  (§  210).  It  is  significant  that  these  pro- 
visions occur  within  a  group  of  statutes  (§§  195-225) 
all  dealing  with  the  application  of  the  primitive  lex 
talionis,  just  as  we  find  traces  of  this  law  in  the  Penta- 

7  The  specific  case  instanced  (§  14)  is  the  case  of  a  man  stealing 
a  minor,  but  no  doubt  the  application  is  general. 


292  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

teuchal  codes.8  The  one  who  destroys  the  eye  of  an- 
other shall  lose  his  eye;  if  he  hreaks  a  man's  bone,  his 
hone  shall  be  broken,  and  if  he  knocks  out  I  man's  tooth, 
one  of  his  teeth  shall  be  knocked  out.  It  is  likewise  the 
extension  of  the  same  principle  which  provides  that  a 
physician  who  performs  an  unsuccessful  operation  re- 
sulting in  the  loss  of  a  patient's  eye  or  in  the  patient's 
death  should  have  his  hands  cut  off,  or  that  in  case  a 
veterinary  operates  on  an  ox  or  ass  and  the  animal  dies, 
one  fourth  of  its  value  should  be  restored  to  the  owner. 
The  very  extension  of  the  principle  while  leading  to 
crudities  also  paves  the  way  for  a  juste r  valuation  of 
damages.  It  is  still  a  most  absurd  application  of  the 
principle  which  leads  to  the  enactment  that  if  a  nurse 
to  whom  a  child  has  been  entrusted  and  who  substitutes 
another  child  in  place  of  the  one  so  entrusted  which 
has  died  on  her  hands,  the  woman  is  to  have  her  breasts 
cut  off  so  as  to  deprive  her  of  the  possibility  of  the 
repetition  of  the  crime  (§  194),  but  on  the  other  hand 
a  more  advanced  stage  is  represented  by  the  provisions 
for  suitable  compensation  in  the  case  of  bodily  injuries. 
So  immediately  following  the  direct  enunciation  of  the 
lex  taVionis  in  regard  to  destroying  a  man's  eye  or 
breaking  his  bone  (§§  196-197),  we  find  the  provision 
converting  the  underlying  principle  into  a  basis  for 
adequate  compensation.  The  fine  for  destroying  the 
eye  of  a  plebeian  is  one  mina  *  of  silver,  whereas  in  ease 
the  injured  party  is  a  slave,  only  half  of  that  sum  is 
imposed. 

8  Hurt  for  hurt,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  etc.,  with  additions 
and  variations  in  the  three  principal  codes,  viz,,  Ex.  21,  24  (code 
of  Covenant) ;  Dent.  19,  21  (Deuteronoraic  code) ;  Lev.  24,  20  (Holi- 
ness code). 

0  A  mina  (or  mana)  is  60  shekels.  The  actual  silver  value  of  a 
shekel  is  less  than  50  cents  in  modern  coinage,  hnt  is  a  standard 
coin  in  antiquity.  Its  purchasing  value ,  fluctuating  according  to 
commercial  activity,  was  much  higher — perhaps  at  times  as  much 
as  five  dollars  in  our  days. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW; 


293 


IV 

This  distinction  of  classes  in  fixing  of  fines  and 
punishments  is  characteristic  of  the  code  throughout, 
and  follows  as  a  natural  corollary  from  the  principle 
of  the  lex  talionis  which  thus  reveals  its  hold  even  after 
the  stage  of  literal  interpretation  had  been  passed. 
With  class  distinctions  recognized  in  all  walks  of  life, 
it  was  a  logical  conclusion  to  connect  with  the  aim  of 
bringing  about  a  just  proportion  between  punishment 
and  crime — which  is  the  basic  principle  of  the  lex 
talionis — a  differentiation  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
injured  party.  A  free  plebeian  being  of  higher  grade 
than  the  slave,  and  the  nobleman  above  both,  the  ille- 
gality was  regarded  as  of  a  higher  or  a  lower  severity 
corresponding  to  the  difference  in  ranks.  In  other 
words,  while  according  to  modem  ideas  a  crime  is  viewed 
independently  of  the  one  by  whom  or  on  whom  it  is 
committed,  ancient  law  as  long  as  it  remained  under  the 
influence  of  the  lex  talionis  could  not  dissociate  the 
act  either  from  the  actor  or  from  the  one  who  suffered 
through  it.  So  if  a  man  injures  another,  the  fine  varies 
according  as  one  strikes  a  person  of  superior  rank,  in 
which  case  public  whipping — sixty  strokes  with  a 
leather  thong — is  prescribed  (§  202),  wThereas  if  one 
strikes  a  man  of  one 's  own  rank,  a  fine  of  one  roina  of 
silver  is  imposed,  though  in  the  case  of  any  plebeian 
striking  a  plebeian,  the  fine  is  only  ten  shekels  of  silver, 
that  is  one-sixth  of  a  mina  (§  204).  A  slave,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  more  severely  treated,  his  ear  being  cut 
off  in  case  he  strikes  a  man's  son  (§  205),  as  an  ade- 
quate punishment  for  the  assault;  and  we  may  con- 
jecture that  in  this  case  the  abandonment  of  the  more 
literal  application  of  the  lex  talionis,  which  would  have 
suggested  that  the  slave's  hand  be  cut  off,  was  due  to 
loss  in  the  value  of  the  slave  as  property  through  such 
a  punishment,  A  further  advance  in  the  direction  of 
more  humanitarian  justice  is  indicated  in  the  provisions 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


for  the  case  that  a  bodily  injury  is  inflicted  without 
intent.  According  to  the  original  spirit  of  the  lex 
talionis  this  element  does  not  enter,  but  Hanunurapi's 
code  stipulates  that  if  a  man  can  swear,  4i  I  did  nut 
strike  with  intent  "  in  a  quarrel  with  another,  he  is  let 
off  with  the  payment  of  the  doctor's  bill;  and  in  case 
the  victim  dies  of  the  blow,  a  fine  of  half  a  mina  is  im- 
posed if  the  one  who  has  inflicted  the  fatal  injury  be- 
longs to  the  general  class  of  inhabitants,  whereas  a 
plebeian  pays  only  one-third  of  a  mina.  A  miscarriage 
as  a  result  of  an  unintentional  injury  to  a  man's 
daughter  entails  a  fine  of  ten  shekels,  for  the  daughter 
of  a  plebeian  only  five  shekels,  and  for  the  daughter  of  a 
slave  only  two  shekels.  If  the  woman  dies,  in  case  she 
is  the  daughter  of  a  plebeian,  the  fine  is  one-half  of  a 
mina  of  silver,  for  a  female  slave  one-third  of  a  mina 
of  silver,  whereas— curiously  enough — the  old  law  of 
lex  talionis  is  retained  in  case  the  victim  is  the  daughter 
of  a  free  citizen,  the  code  providing  (§  210)  for  such  a 
contingency  the  death  of  the  daughter  of  the  man  who 
has  struck  the  blow  which  ended  fatally.  The  lex 
talionis  as  the  basis  of  adjustment  between  a  crime  or 
an  injury  and  the  punishment  or  fine  leads  by  a  natural 
evolution  also  to  an  equitable  compensation  for  benefits 
conferred  as  well.  Under  this  aspect,  the  physician's 
fee  in  case  of  a  cure  through  an  operation  or  otherwise 
is  regulated  with  regard  to  the  value  of  the  cure.  A 
successful  operation  which  saves  a  man 's  eye  is  valued 
at  ten  shekels  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary  citizen.  A 
plebeian  pays  only  five  shekels,  and  the  owner  of  a 
slave  two  shekels  to  the  physician  who  has  saved  a 
slave's  eye.  For  setting  a  broken  bone  or  for  an  ordi- 
nary physical  trouble,  the  fee  is  five  shekels  if  the 
patient  is  a  free  citizen,  three  shekels  for  the  plebeian 
who  is  throughout  the  code  a  somewhat  privileged  per- 
sonage, obliged  to  pay  less,  whether  a  fine  or  a  fee,  and 
for  the  slave  two  shekels  paid  for  as  usual  by  the  master. 
The  Code  in  the  same  way  endeavors  to  regulate  the 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


295 


cost  of  building  a  house,  the  hire  of  boats  and  even  of 
animals.  That  such  regulations  are  all  viewed  under 
the  general  aspect  of  the  lex  talionis  in  its  double  ex- 
tension to  all  kinds  of  injuries  on  the  one  hand,  and  to 
benefits  on  the  other,  is  shown  by  the  juxtaposition  of 
the  building  and  hiring  stipulations  with  losses  incident 
to  such  agreements,  whether  through  neglect  or  through 
unforseen  causes.  In  fact  the  principle  of  compensa- 
tion involved  in  the  primitive  lex  talionis — its  under- 
lying justification  as  it  were — becomes  the  starting 
point  for  the  further  development  of  justice  in  the 
regulation  of  dealings  of  man  with  his  fellow.  Responsi- 
bility for  damage  or  loss  of  cargo  on  a  boat  hired  to 
carry  goods  to  any  place  rests  on  the  boatman,  if  care- 
lessness on  his  part  can  be  proved.  The  cargo  must  be 
replaced  as  well  as  the  boat ;  and  in  case  the  boatman 
succeeds  in  refloating  the  original  boat,  a  compensation 
to  the  extent  of  one-half  of  the  value  of  the  boat  is  to  be 
given  the  owner,  to  make  good  the  diminished  value  of 
the  boat  by  reason  of  the  accident  (§§  237-238).  In 
the  case  of  a  collision  between  two  boats  resulting  in 
the  sinking  of  one,  it  is  assumed  that  the  ship  moving 
up  stream  is  responsible  as  the  one  which  could  more 
easily  get  out  of  the  way.  The  owner  of  the  boat  lost 
in  going  down  stream  must  make  a  sworn  declaration 
of  his  loss,  which  as  well  as  the  boat  or  its  value  must 
be  made  good  by  the  owner  of  the  other  boat  (§  240). 

The  hire  of  oxen,  of  field-laborers  and  of  herdsmen 
is  similarly  regulated  by  law  (§§  242-243;  257-258), 
and  the  same  distinction  made  between  accidents  due 
to  neglect  and  such  as  could  not  have  been  prevented 
Thus  the  one  who  hires  an  ox  or  an  ass  cannot  be  held 
responsible  if  the  animal  is  killed  by  a  lion.  The  owner 
in  that  case  must  bear  the  loss  (§  244),  but  if  the  death 
of  the  hired  animal  is  caused  by  neglect  or  abuse,  its 
value  must  be  restored ;  and  the  further  attempt  is  made 
to  regulate  the  extent  of  loss  through  an  injury  to  the 
animal.    The  loss  of  an  eye  involves  a  fine  of  one-half 


296 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


of  the  value  of  the  ox,  the  breaking  of  a  horn,  or  the 
cutting  of  the  tail  or  injury  to  its  flesh  through  the 
yoke,  one-fourth  of  its  value,  but  if  the  injury  is  such  as 
to  ruin  the  usefulness  of  the  animal,  as,  for  example,  if 
its  foot  is  crushed  or  it  is  hamstrung,  then  an  ox  of 
equal  value  is  to  be  restored  to  the  owner  (§§  246-248). 
If  an  ox  gores  a  man  as  it  goes  through  the  street,  this 
is  regarded  as  an  unavoidable  accident  and  entails  no 
penalty  (§  250),  but  if  the  ox  has  been  known  to  be 
vicious,  and  the  owner  has  been  warned  and  its  horns 
have  not  been  tied  up,  I  penalty  of  half  a  niina  of  silver 
is  imposed  if  the  ox  fatally  gores  a  man  of  the  ordinary 
class,  and  if  it  be  a  slave  one-third  of  a  mina  (§§  251- 
252). 


The  two  large  fields  of  activity  in  ancient  Baby- 
lonia were  agriculture  and  commerce.  In  the  endeavor 
to  regulate  on  an  equitable  basis  the  obligations  resting 
upon  those  who  own  and  those  who  rent  fields  for  pur- 
poses of  cultivation,  as  in  the  complications  arising 
from  contracts  and  agreements  entered  upon  by  mer- 
chants and  money  lenders,  the  code  is  equally  explicit. 
A  few  extracts  from  the  sections  dealing  with  these 
phases  of  activity  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  principles 
underlying  the  regulations.  In  renting  fields  for  culti- 
vation, the  stipulation  was  in  general  (a)  a  return 
through  a  percentage  of  the  yield,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  property,  calculated  on  an  average  crop  and 
applying  to  both  fields  and  date-tree  orchards,  or  (b) 
through  a  division  of  the  yield  in  terms  agreed  upon, 
with  further  special  provisions  in  the  case  of  virgin 
fields.  The  general  term  of  rent  was  for  one  year,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  virgin  soil  where  the  term  was 
usually  for  three  years.10  The  code  provides  that  in 
case  the  failure  of  the  crop  can  be  traced  to  the  neglect 
of  the  tenant,  the  latter  is  responsible  for  the  share 

10  See  further  below  pp.  327  and  349. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


297 


according  to  the  contract,  on  the  basis  of  the  yield  in 
adjacent  fields;  and  if  in  addition  it  is  shown  that  he 
has  not  even  cultivated  the  field,  he  must  till  and  harrow 
it  before  returning  it  to  the  owner  (  §§  42-43) .  Similarly 
in  the  case  of  a  virgin  field,  rented  out  for  three  years, 
if  the  tenant  neglects  to  carry  out  his  obligation  to  till 
it  properly,  he  must  return  the  field  in  the  f ourth  year 
hoed  and  harrowed,  and  band  over  to  the  owner  a  re- 
turn on  the  basis  of  ten  Gur  for  every  ten  Gan  "  (§  44). 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  failure  is  due  to  causes  beyond 
his  control— an  inundation  or  lack  of  sufficient  rain — 
the  tenant  is  not  obliged  to  make  any  return  for  that 
year,  and  a  new  contract  is  made  for  the  ensuing  year 
(§  48).  If,  however,  an  inundation  occurs,  ruining  the 
produee  of  the  field  after  the  tenant  has  already  paid 
the  share  of  the  crop  due  to  the  owner — who  presumably 
therefore  is  entitled  to  the  first  yield — the  tenant  must 
bear  the  loss  (§  45). 

Pasturing  sheep  in  a  field  without  an  agreement  and 
without  consent  of  the  owner  entails  as  a  fine  a  return 
of  twenty  Cur  of  grain  for  each  ten  Gan,  or  double 
the  amount  of  the  ordinary  rate  of  return  for  letting  out 
a  field  for  cultivation;  and  under  aggravated  circum- 
stances when  the  owner  of  the  flock  deliberately  turns 
his  flock  into  another's  field,  sixty  Gur  for  each  ban 
Gan,  the  assumption  in  the  former  case  being  that  the 
sheep  strayed  into  another's  field  (§§  57-58).  In  the 
case  of  money  obtained  as  a  loan  with  a  field  as  security, 
the  interest  may  be  paid  in  the  yield  or  directly  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  rate  of  interest.  If  the  latter  is  stipu- 
lated and  the  debtor  cannot  pay  cash,  then  he  must  pay 
from  the  crop  at  the  market,  rate  of  its  value;  nor  can 
the  obligation  in  either  case  be  avoided  if  the  crop  is  a 
failure.    The  contract  is  valid  even  though  it  is  stipu- 

11 A  Gur  is  about  120  litres  and  a  Gan  about  6y2  Ka.  or  25 
acres.  The  amount  is,  therefore,  based  no  doubt  on  the  average 
yield,  1200  litres  for  250  acres,  i.e.,  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
total  crop. 


298 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


lated  that  the  interest  is  to  be  paid  in  the  crop  of  that 
year.  The  basic  principle  is  throughout  that  agree- 
ments  must  be  made  in  good  faith  on  both  sides,  and 
that  exemption  from  obligations  can  only  be  claimed 
if  circumstances  beyond  control  arise,  and  then  only  if 
the  agreement  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  justify  the 
assumption  that  the  agreement  was  not  to  be  kept  in 
such  a  contingency. 

This  principle  is  well  illustrated  in  a  series  of  laws 
to  regulate  the  relationship  between  a  wholesale  mer- 
chant and  his  retail  agent  who  acts  as  a  salesman  or 
negotiator.  When  the  transaction  is  directly  in  cash 
which  the  agent  is  to  use  in  mercantile  enterprises,  the 
latter  is  to  hand  in  a  detailed  account,  and  interest  is  to 
be  charged  according  to  the  length  of  time  for  which 
the  money  is  used  ( §  100)  J8  In  other  words  it  is  not  an 
ordinary  loan  for  a  stipulated  time,  for  which  no  special 
provision  need  be  made,  but  an  agreement  with  some 
one  acting  as  the  representative  of  the  merchant.  The 
responsibility  rests  upon  the  agent,  who  takes  all  risks 
except  that  of  being  robbed.  If  he  swears  an  oath  to 
this  effect,  he  is  free  of  obligation  (§  103),  but  failure 
of  the  enterprise  through  any  other  cause  entails  a 
fine  of  double  the  amount  received  (§  101).  This  seems 
hard  and  it  is  strange  that  the  law  should  not  have  been 
content  with  the  return  of  the  capital  plus  the  interest. 
One  suspects  that  such  a  provision  is  a  survival  of  the 
period  when  transactions  of  this  kind  involved  great 
risks  on  the  part  of  the  merchant  who  was  thus  to  be 
protected  against  fraud  by  the  agent,  who  could  easily 
pretend  not  to  have  been  successful.  In  accord  with 
this  we  find  a  fine  of  threefold  the  original  sum  imposed 
as  a  fine  in  case  the  agent  is  convicted  of  fraudulent 
intent  (§106).  On  the  other  hand,  the  agent  is  pro- 
tected against  any  improper  advantage  being  taken  by 
the  merchant  by  a  written  accoimt  of  what  he  takes  on 
11  There  is  a  large  gap  just  before  this  paragraph  ao  that  the 
enumeration  of  paragraphs  from  this  point  on  is  merely  approximate. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


299 


commission — grain,  wool,  oil  or  anything  else — and  by 
taking  a  receipt  duly  sealed  in  the  presence  of  witnesses 
for  the  money  which  he  returns  to  the  merchant  ( §  104), 
though  it  is  also  stipulated  that  failure  to  take  such  a 
receipt  does  not  oblige  the  agent  to  pay  it  again  if  he 
can  prove  that  it  has  been  paid  (§  105) — a  stipulation 
which  impresses  one  as  a  later  judicial  decision  rather 
than  as  a  logical  inference.  If  fraudulent  intent  is 
proved  against  the  merchant,  the  latter  must  refund 
as  the  fine  six  times  the  amount  paid  by  the  agent 
(§  107).  In  case  the  money  is  given  to  an  agent  as  a 
favor,  by  which  presumably  is  meant  that  the  agent 
does  not  take  it  as  his  risk,  in  case  of  failure  to  carry 
out  the  enterprise,  only  the  principal  need  be  returned 
(§  102).  This  stipulation  again  impresses  one  as  of 
later  origin  to  obviate  the  earlier  and  entirely  too 
severe  law  which  placed  all  the  risks  on  the  agent  In 
this  way  the  agent  could  choose  the  conditions  on  which 
he  might  act  for  another,  or  at  all  events  the  oppor- 
tunity would  be  afforded  of  avoiding  the  consequences 
of  the  earlier  law,  provided  an  express  stipulation  was 
made  that  the  agent  received  the  commission  uas  a 
favor  " — which  must  be  regarded  in  this  instance  as  a 
technical  term  to  designate  a  commission  without  in- 
curring all  the  risks  in  case  of  failure  of  the  enterprise. 

VI 

It  is  interesting  to  note  also  the  endeavor  of  the 
Code  to  protect  the  debtor  against  undue  pressure  and 
maltreatment  when  seized  for  debt,  evidently  with  a 
view  of  counteracting  abuses  that  had  crept  into 
practice,  and  which  had  given  creditors  a  merciless 
hold  upon  those  who  had  been  unsuccessful  in  their 
enterprises.  The  general  point  of  view  of  the  Code  is 
still  that  a  man  who  contracts  a  debt  which  he  finds 
himself  unable  to  pay  is  a  criminal,  even  though  free 
from  criminal  intent  He  is  treated  as  such  in  later 
law  codes  (down  almost  to  our  own  days),  when  debtors 


300 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


could  be  thrown  into  prison.  No  one  has  the  right  to 
incur  an  obligation  which  he  is  not  certain  of  being 
able  to  carry  out.  At  all  events  if  he  takes  a  risk,  he 
must  endure  the  bitterest  consequences.  Apparently 
in  Hammurapi *B  days  a  member  of  the  debtor's  house- 
hold could  be  seized  as  a  hostage  by  the  creditor  and 
kept  as  a  prisoner  in  the  hitter's  house  till  a  settlement 
was  made,  or  he  might  seize  the  debtor's  slave  or  his 
son,  holding  him  as  a  hostage ;  and  if  the  one  so  seized 
dies  while  a  prisoner  through  natural  causes,  there  is 
no  charge  to  be  brought  against  the  creditor  (§  115). 
This  was  going  pretty  far,  and  evidently  to  prevent  the 
possibilities  of  foul  play,  it  is  provided  in  what  is  clearly 
a  later  statute,  modifying  the  earlier  one,  that  if  it  can 
be  shown  that  the  one  seized  for  a  man's  debt  died 
through  blows  or  other  inhuman  treatment  (as,  for 
example,  starvation),  then  the  old  lex  tali  on  is  comes 
into  play,  and  if  the  debtor's  son  is  the  victim,  then  the 
son  of  the  creditor  is  put  to  death,  and  if  it  is  a  slave, 
then  one-third  mina  of  silver  is  imposed  as  a  tine,  and 
the  debt  is  forfeited  (§  116).  An  unwarranted  seizure 
for  a  hostage  entails  the  same  fine  as  in  the  case  of  a 
slave  being  seized  and  allowed  to  die  through  abuse — 
one-third  of  a  mina  of  silver  ( §  114),  but  the  debt  is  not 
forfeited,  which  shows  that  even  in  Hammurapi *fc  code 
the  advantage  was  always  on  the  side  of  the  stronger, 
except  when  fraudulent  intent  or  deliberate  injury  can 
be  proved.  From  this  point  of  view  it  is  as  much  as 
could  be  expected  that  if  a  creditor,  holding  a  debt  of 
grain  or  money  against  a  man,  reimburses  himself  out 
of  the  debtor's  granary  without  the  latter's  consent, 
the  creditor  shall  be  called  to  account,  return  what  he 
has  taken,  and  because  of  his  greed  forfeit  the  total 
amount  of  his  debt  (§  113).  The  aim  of  the  statute 
is  clearly  to  protect  the  debtor  against  a  wilful  and 
cruel  creditor,  who  even  though  he  is  entitled  to  what 
he  lias  taken,  commits  a  crime  because  not  acting  by 
order  of  the  court*    The  statute  implies  that  the  proper 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


301 


procedure  is  to  bring  the  case  before  a  judge,  and  to 
secure  an  execution  to  seize  the  debtor's  granary  for 
the  amount  It  marks  a  considerable  advance  thus  to 
insist  upon  legal  procedure,  even  when  there  is  no  ques- 
tion of  what  is  due  to  the  creditor.  In  another  direction, 
the  Code  evidently  aims  to  modify  the  hard  condition  of 
the  debtor,  who  under  the  primitive  view  that  wife  and 
children  are  part  of  a  man's  chattels,  could  sell  them  for 
debt  and,  indeed,  was  in  certain  cases  probably  forced 
to  do  so.  To  curb  the  ancient  practice  without  abolish- 
ing the  underlying  principle,  the  Code  provides  that  if  a 
man  is  held  for  debt  and  sells  his  wife,  son  or  daughter 
or  hands  them  over  to  the  control  (sc.  of  the  creditor), 
he  can  do  so  for  only  three  years.  In  the  fourth  year 
their  freedom  must  be  given  them  (§  117).  The  pro- 
vision, evidently  made  in  the  interest  of  the  debtor's 
family,  practically  changes  the  legalized  sale  into  an 
indenture,  precisely  as  the  old  Hebrew  law,  desirous 
of  abolishing  slavery  in  so  far  as  it  affected  members 
of  the  group,  converts  the  sale  into  an  indenture  of  six 
years.15  On  the  other  hand,  male  or  female  slaves 
sold  for  debt  may  be  further  disposed  of  by  the  mer- 
chant into  whose  possession  they  pass.  An  exception, 
however,  in  the  further  interest  of  more  humanitarian 
conditions,  provides  that  a  maid  who  has  borne  children 
to  her  master,  if  sold  for  debt,  is  to  be  ransomed  by  her 
master  when  he  is  able  to  do  so. 

Deposits  with  any  one  of  gold  or  silver  or  anything 
else  must  be  made  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  and 
the  exact  terms  stipulated.  Accordingly,  a  claim  for  a 
deposit  without  witnesses  and  written  agreements  is 
invalid.  If  these  conditions  are  fulfilled,  and  the  one 
with  whom  the  deposit  has  been  made  disputes  the 
claim,  a  fine  of  double  the  amount  is  imposed  on  the 
fraudulent  trustee  (§§  122-124).  The  trustee  is  re- 
sponsible for  what  he  receives  on  deposit,  and  in  case 


18  Above  p.  288. 


302 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


through  his  neglect,  it  is  stolen  or  otherwise  removed, 
he  must  restore  the  full  loss  to  the  original  owner,  but 
may  reimburse  himself  if  he  succeeds  in  regaining  the 
lost  property  ( §  125 ) .  A  supplemental  provision  covers 
the  case  of  a  false  claim  on  the  part  of  one  who  has 
made  a  deposit,  entailing  a  fine  of  double  the  amount  of 
the  claim,  which  must  be  set  forth  in  detail  before  a 
decision  is  rendered  as  to  its  being  false  or  not  (§  126). 

VII 

Almost  one-fourth  of  the  Code  is  taken  up  with  the 
regulation  of  family  relationships,  including  such  sub- 
jects as  adultery,  false  accusations,  divorce,  rights  of 
wives,  slave  wives,  desertion,  widows,  adoption,  rights 
of  daughters,  and  disinheritance.  Taken  together, 
these  family  laws,  as  we  may  collectively  call  them, 
throw  more  light  on  social  conditions  prevailing  in 
ancient  Babylonia  than  any  other  portion  of  the  Code ; 
and  since  in  addition  they  furnish  further  illustrations 
of  legal  procedure  and  of  the  underlying  principles  of 
justice,  it  is  worth  while  in  concluding  our  analysis  of 
the  code  to  take  up  some  features  of  these  laws. 

A  wife  is  still  viewed  as  an  acquisition,  and  there- 
fore no  marriage  is  valid  without  a  contract  (§  128). 
Divorce  can  be  granted  in  case  of  a  childless  marriage, 
but  the  marriage  gift,  as  well  as  the  dowry  which  the 
woman  has  received  from  her  father's  house,  must  be 
returned  to  her;  and  if  there  was  no  marriage  gift 
the  husband  must  in  that  case  give  his  wife  a  mina  of 
silver1* — an  amount  which  is  reduced  to  one-third  in 
case  the  husband  belongs  to  the  plebeian  class  (§§ 
138-140).  Two  other  causes  for  divorce  are  (a)  im- 
proper conduct  on  the  part  of  the  woman  or  (b)  in- 
compatibility between  husband  and  wife.  If  the 
improper  conduct  goes  no  further  than  that  the  woman 

14  An  older  ( T)  law  (Rawlinson,  V.,  PL  25,  col.  iv,  8-13)  fixes 
the  amount  at  one-half  of  a  mina. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


303 


is  in  the  habit  of  going  out  and,  as  the  Code  puts  it, 
"  commits  indiscretions/ '  neglects  her  house  and  hus- 
band, then  the  husband  has  the  choice  of  dismissing 
her  without  giving  her  anything,  or  he  may  reduce  her 
to  the  rank  of  a  maid  and  take  another  wife  in  her 
place  (§  141).  If,  however,  the  woman  goes  further 
than  this  and  lays  herself  open  to  suspicion,  she  is 
thrown  into  the  river,  by  which  is  presumably  meant 
that  she  must  submit  to  an  ordeal  (§  143).  Incompati- 
bility is  expressed  by  a  euphemistic  phrase  to  indicate 
her  unwillingness  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with  her 
husband.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  she  is  otherwise  with- 
out reproach,  or  that  her  husband  has  neglected  his 
duties  towards  her,  then  the  woman  receives  her  dowry 
and  returns  to  her  father's  house  (§  142).  This  is  as 
far  as  the  Babylonian  law  goes,  but  the  advance  over 
former  conditions  may  be  seen  from  an  older  Sumerian 
law  which  stipulates  that  a  woman  who  refuses  to  have 
intercourse  with  her  husband  is  to  be  thrown  into  the 
river,15  without  further  investigation  as  to  the  cause 
or  whether  the  woman  is  otherwise  without  reproach. 

The  authority  of  the  husband  was  at  one  time  abso- 
lute, as  was  the  authority  of  either  parent  over  the 
children.  The  father  or  mother  could  disinherit  the 
son  by  the  formula,  **  thou  art  not  my  son,'"*  which  de- 
prives the  son  of  all  rights  and  privileges;  "  he  is  ex- 
cluded from  house  and  wall  " — as  the  phrase  runs, 
while  the  son  who  disowns  the  authority  of  his  father 
or  mother  by  the  formula,  "thou  art  not  my  father, " 
or,  "thou  art  not  my  mother,"  is  branded  as  a  slave 
and  sold  if  he  rebels  against  his  father,  and  branded 
and  driven  from  home  and  town  if  he  rebels  against  his 
mother.17 

The  Code  endeavors  to  curb  this  absolute  authority 
without  denying  the  principle — on  the  conventional 

18  Bawlinson,  V,,  PL  25,  Col,  iy,  1-7. 
M  lb,,  Col.  ii,  34-39. 
17  lb.,  Col.  ii,  22-33. 


304 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


supposition  that  a  once  existing  law  cannot  be  annulled, 
because  it  represents  a  divine  decision.  In  the  case  of 
the  son,  it  provides  that  the  father  must  bring  his  inten- 
tion to  disinherit  Ms  son  to  the  notice  of  the  court.  A 
decision  of  the  judges  is  needed  and  the  judges  are 
instructed  to  inquire  into  the  merits  of  the  case.  If 
they  find  that  the  son  has  not  been  guilty  of  a  crime 
sufficient  to  justify  the  disinheritance,  the  father  is 
restrained  fnmi  carrying  out  Ms  intention  (§  168); 
and  the  law  goes  even  further  in  providing  that  the 
first  offenee  must  be  condoned.  Only  in  case  of  a 
second  offence,  can  the  disinheritance  be  regarded  as 
legal  (§  169 J.  The  older  and  severer  law,  however,  re- 
mains in  force  in  the  case  of  an  illegitimate  child  or  one 
of  low  estate  who,  if  he  says  to  Ms  foster  father,  uthou 
art  not  my  father,"  or  to  his  foster  mother,  "  thou  art 
not  my  mother,"  i.e.,  if  he  rebels  against  their  author- 
ity, has  Ms  tongue  cut  out.  In  case  the  son  discovers  the 
identity  of  Ms  father,  and  rejects  his  foster  parents  in 
order  to  return  to  Ms  father 's  house,  Ms  eye  is  plucked 
out  (§§  192-193),  the  principle  involved  being  that  such 
a  child  if  once  adopted  belongs  absolutely  to  the  foster 
parents  and  cannot  be  reclaimed  (§  187).  A  trace  of 
the  older  status  of  absolute  authority  of  the  pater- 
familias is  to  be  seen  also  in  the  provision  that  a  legally 
adopted  child  cannot  be  reclaimed  after  it  has  been 
reared,  but  then  follows  immediately  the  later  modifica- 
tion that  if  the  child  after  being  taken,  longs  (?)  for 
Ms  father  and  mother,  it  must  be  returned  to  hie 
father's  house  (§§  185-186).  The  purpose  of  the 
modification  is  to  protect  the  child  against  forcible 
adoption.  Similarly,  the  adopted  child  must  be  given 
the  same  status  as  the  other  children,  and  if  that  is  not 
done  he  may  return  to  his  father's  house  even  after  he 
has  been  reared.  According  to  the  Babylonian  laws  an 
artisan  may  adopt  a  child  who  is  apprenticed  to  him, 
and  after  the  former  has  taught  the  apprentice  Ms 
trade,  no  claim  can  be  put  in,  but  if  he  fails  to  teach  the 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


305 


child  a  trade,  he  may  return  to  his  father's  house,  that  is, 
the  contract  of  adoption  is  annulled  (§§  188-190). 

The  Code  recognizes  the  legitimacy  of  the  children 
of  a  handmaid  or  concubine,  provided  the  father  during 
his  lifetime  recognizes  them  as  his  own  by  pronouncing 
the  formula  "my  children"  in  regard  to  them,  that  is, 
by  a  formal  adoption.  In  that  case  they  share  in  the 
paternal  estate  equally  with  the  children  of  the  main 
wife.  If  the  formal  adoption  has  not  taken  place,  then 
the  children  of  the  handmaid  have  no  share  in  the 
estate,  but  on  the  other  hand  protection  is  given  to 
them  by  the  grant  of  their  freedom  after  the  death  of 
the  father;  and  it  is  specifically  provided  that  the  chil- 
dren of  the  main  wife  have  no  claim  on  the  service  of 
their  half-brothers  or  sisters.  A  man's  heirs  are  his 
children — not  his  wife.  His  widow  receives  her  dowry 
and  the  marriage  gift  on  the  death  of  her  husband  and 
is  allowed  to  remain  in  her  husband's  house  as  long  as 
she  lives,  but  she  is  not  allowed  to  sell  it,  for  it  belongs  to 
her  children  (§  171).  If  no  marriage  gift  has  been 
made,  then  the  widow  receives  in  addition  to  her  dowry, 
an  amount  equivalent  to  the  share  of  a  son.  The  widow 
is  further  protected  from  maltreatment  by  her  children, 
who  may  not  force  her  to  leave  the  husband's  house 
without  good  cause.  If,  however,  she  leaves  of  her 
free  will,  then  she  forfeits  the  right  to  the  marriage 
gift,  but  can  dispose  as  she  pleases  of  the  dowry  and  is 
allowed  to  marry  whom  she  pleases  (§  172).  On  her 
death,  the  dowry  shall  be  divided  between  the  children 
of  the  first  and  second  marriage,  or  if  there  is  no  issue 
from  the  second  marriage,  then  the  dowry  goes  to  the 
children  of  her  first  marriage  (§§  173-174).  In  no 
case,  therefore,  does  the  husband  receive  the  dowry. 
A  widow  whose  children  are  still  minors  cannot  marry 
without  the  consent  of  the  court.  To  obtain  that  con- 
sent an  inventory  of  the  estate  must  be  made,  and  the 
woman  and  her  second  husband  must  agree  by  a  written 
contract  to  administer  the  estate  for  the  benefit  of  the 


306 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


children  whom  they  are  obliged  to  rear.  They  may  not 
dispose  of  the  estate,  and  he  who  makes  such  a  trans- 
action forfeits  his  claim  (§  177).  The  children  inherit 
the  dowry  of  the  mother.  If  the  mother  dies,  and  the 
husband  takes  a  second  wife  and  has  children  by  her 
also,  upon  the  death  of  the  father  the  children  of  the 
first  wife  receive  the  dowry  of  their  mother,  and  after 
this  is  deducted  the  paternal  estate  is  divided  between 
the  children  of  both  wives  (§  167).  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  it  would  appear  that  the  estate  was 
equally  divided,  but  the  father  had  the  right  to  favor 
one  son  if  he  so  chose.  In  that  case  the  special  property 
— field,  orchard  or  house — is  given  outright  to  the  son 
so  favored,  and  the  balance  of  the  property  divided 
(§  165).  The  question  must  have  arisen  whether  a  son 
who  had  not  reached  the  age  of  majority  on  the  death 
of  the  father  should  receive  the  same  share  as  the 
others.  The  Code  provides  that  if  all  the  other  sons 
having  reached  the  age  of  majority  are  married,  that 
is,  have  established  households  of  their  own,  they  shall 
set  aside  from  the  estate  an  amount  equivalent  to  a 
marriage  gift ia  for  the  minor  brother  so  as  to  enable 
him  to  take  a  wife  (§  166). 

18  A  passage  like  this  proves  that  the  marriage  gift  or  settlement, 
as  we  would  say,  is  made  by  the  bridegroom,  but  is  deposited 
with  the  bride's  father  for  her  benefit.  The  dowry  on  the  other 
hand  is  given  by  the  bride's  father  to  the  prospective  son-in- 
law.  Of  the  two  customs,  the  marriage  gift  on  the  part  of  the  hus- 
band appears  to  be  the  older, — a  survival  of  the  custom  of  marriage 
by  purchase,  dating  from  a  time  when  the  husband  owned  his 
wife  and  children  as  part  of  his  chattels.  The  dowry,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  originating  likewise  from  the  days  when  a  child  was 
obliged  to  do  service  for  the  father  and  representing  the  pay  for 
such  services  on  the  change  of  the  daughter's  status  to  become  the 
property  of  another,  nevertheless  represents  a  higher  stage  of  society, 
recognizing  the  obligation  not  to  send  the  daughter  away  empty- 
handed — as  though  she  were  merely  a  piece  of  property,  thus  dis- 
posed of. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


307 


VIII 

These  instances  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  great 
care  that  was  taken  to  prevent,  as  Hammurapi  says  in 
the  introduction  to  the  Code, "  the  strong  from  oppress- 
pleased.  Even  prior  to  the  promulgation  of  the  Code, 
throughout  is  to  protect  those  who  need  to  be  secured 
against  an  advantage  that  may  be  taken  of  them — 
wives,  widows  and  minor  children*  The  attempt  was 
also  made  to  make  the  position  of  daughters  more  secure 
than  it  must  have  been  in  an  earlier  period  when  the 
father  had  the  right  to  dispose  of  his  daughters  as  he 
pleased.  Even  prior  to  the  promulgation  of  the  code, 
the  period  had  been  passed  when  fathers  could  sell 
their  daughters  to  their  husbands.  The  dignity  of 
marriage  and  of  family  life  had  been  recognized  to 
the  extent  that  the  father  gives  the  daughter  a  dowry 
on  her  marriage,  and  that  a  portion  of  the  estate  is 
settled  upon  her,  though  the  latter  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  obligatory.  It  is  expressly  provided,  how- 
ever, that  if  the  father  fails  to  give  his  daughter  a 
dowry,  she  is  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  estate  on  the 
father's  death  equivalent  to  that  of  a  son,  with  the  re- 
striction, however,  that  after  her  death  it  reverts  to  her 
brothers. 

From  an  early  period,  the  custom  of  devoting 
daughters  to  the  service  of  a  deity  continued  in  force 
down  to  the  end  of  the  Babylonian- Assyrian  monarch- 
ies. In  the  earliest  fonn  of  this  custom,  such  votaries 
were  sacred  harlots.  We  know  of  several  classes  of  such 
votaries  at  the  temple  of  Nana  in  Uruk,1*  and  it  is  more 
than  likely  that  they  formed  part  of  the  organization  in 
every  religious  centre.  In  how  far  prostitution  prac- 
tices were  carried  on  as  part  of  the  temple  rites  we  do 
not  know,  but  the  circumstance  that  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  the  lay  prostitute  had  a  certain  standing  may 

"Shurpu  Series  (ed.  Zimmern),  Tablet  V-VI,  145-147. 


308 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


be  taken  as  an  indication  that  prostitution  retained, 
from  its  connection  with  the  ritual,  a  measure  of 
sanctity  which  it  is  difficult  for  us  from  the  modern 
point  of  view  to  appreciate.  But  besides  acting  as 
sacred  prostitutes,  female  votaries  performed  other 
services  including  certain  distinctly  priestly  func- 
tions.20 Such  votaries  and  priestesses  never  entered 
into  wedlock.  The  Code,  accordingly,  makes  special 
provisions  for  them  and  places,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
lay  prostitute  in  the  same  category.  Strange  to  say, 
however,  the  latter  is  placed  on  a  par  legally  with  a 
bride,  whereas  the  sacred  prostitutes,  of  which  the  Code 
recognizes  two  classes — the  kadishtu  ("pure"  or  "holy 
wt.man")21  and  zermashitu  ("disregarding  or  negl< 
ing  the  seed")22 — receive,  in  case  no  dowry  is  given 
to  them,  only  one-third  of  a  son's  portion  after  the 
father's  death  (§  181),  presumably  because  these 
votaries  were  provided  for  by  the  temple  organization 
to  which  they  belonged,  whereas  the  lay  prostitute  was 
under  necessity  of  making  her  living  by  her  trade.  The 
kadishtu  and  zermashitu  could  not  dispose  of  their 
inheritance,  which  reverted  on  their  death  to  the  male 
heirs,  whereas  a  votary  attached  to  the  Marduk  cult  at 
Babylon  could  dispose  of  her  portion,  and  will  it  to 

*°  See  the  list  of  the  various  classes  of  priestesses  occurring  in 
legal  and  other  documents  given  by  Frank,  titudicn  zur  Babylo- 
nisthen  Religion,  pp,  47-50,  and  which  can  be  still  further  extended. 
Kings  set  the  example  by  devoting  one  of  their  daughters  to  the 
service  of  a  deity.  See  the  illustration  in  the  author's  Bildermappe 
zur  Religion  Bdbylaniens  und  Assyriens,  Nr.  26  and  Dhorme's 
article  "La  fille  de  Nabonide,"  in  the  Revue  d 'Assyriologie,  xi, 
pp.  105-117. 

21  Sumerian  Nu-Gig  =  kadishtu,  (Briinnow,  Classified  List  No. 
2017).  The  same  term  kedesha  is  used  in  the  Deuteronomic  Code 
(Deut.  23,  18)  as  well  as  the  masculine  kadish  for  such  female  and 
male  votaries,  which  were  forbidden  by  the  Hebrew  legislation. 

"  Nu-Par  =  zermashitu  (Meissner,  Seltene  Assyrische  ld*o* 
gramme,  No.  1147.). 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


309 


whomsoever  she  pleased  ( §  182) .  A  genera!  name  for  a 
woman  attached  to  a  temple  was  "  entu  "  or  "  woman 
of  a  deity."  Such  votaries  lived  in  a  separate  portion 
of  the  temple  known  as  "dormitory"  and  equivalent 
to  our  nunnery,  but  there  were  also  votaries  who  were 
not  so  confined.  The  Code  is  severe  on  a  votary  who 
opens  a  wine-shop,  which  was  the  brothel  in  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  for  the  penalty  is  death  by  burning,  and 
this  law  is  applied  also  to  a  votary  or  mm  who  even 
enters  a  wine-shop,  the  assumption  being  that  she  does 
so  for  purposes  of  prostitution  with  men  who  congre- 
gate there  (§  110).  In  passing  it  may  be  noted  that 
the  Code  assumes  that  the  proprietors  of  these  wine- 
shops or  brothels  are  women ;  they  appear  to  have  been 
women  of  the  lowest  class — quite  different  from  the  lay 
prostitutes.  They  naturally  had  a  most  unsavory  repu- 
tation. Outlaws  gathered  in  the  dens  kept  by  these 
women,  and  the  Code  provides  that  if  a  woman  harbors 
such  outlaws  sought  for  by  the  courts,  she  suffers  death 
as  a  punishment  (§  109). 

The  Code  still  recognizes,  as  a  survival  of  an  earlier 
day  when  the  leading  idea  connected  with  marriage  was 
to  provide  for  offspring,  the  right  of  a  wife  to  give  her 
husband  a  concubine  whose  children  would  be  recog- 
nized as  though  they  were  her  own.  We  are  familiar 
with  this  custom  from  the  incident  in  the  cycle  of 
Abraham  stories  where  the  childless  Sarah  transfers 
her  maid  Hagar  to  her  husband  (Gen.  16, 3),  and  Bilhah, 
the  maid  of  Rachel,  is  given  to  Jacob  so  that  "she  may 
bear  on  my  knee  and  I  acquire  offspring  through  her  " 
to  indicate  that  Bilhah 's  children  will  be  regarded  as 
hers  (Gen.  30,  3).  Such  a  concubine,  however,  did  not 
have  the  rank  of  a  wife  (§  145).  With  this  as  a  start- 
ing point,  the  Code  endeavors  to  protect  both  the  wife 
and  the  concubine,  the  former  by  providing  that  in  case 
she  does  bear  children,  the  husband  may  not  take  a 
concubine  (§  144),  the  latter  by  stipulating  that  the 


310 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


mistress,  that  is,  the  legitimate  wife,  may  not  sell  the 
concubine  who  has  bora  her  husband  children,  but  she 
may  place  a  slave  mark  upon  her  and  reckon  her  with 
the  slaves  (§  146).  In  case,  however,  the  concubine  has 
not  born  any  children,  then  the  mistress  may  sell  the 
concubine  (§  147)  who,  it  is  assumed  throughout,  is  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Biblical  parallels  the  property  of  the 
wife — a  special  handmaid. 

It  was  not  obligatory  for  a  father  to  give  a  daughter 
who  becomes  a  concubine  a  dowry.  If  he  does  so,  then 
she  has  no  further  share  in  the  property  of  her  father 
upon  his  death  (§  183),  whereas  if  he  does  not  do  so, 
then  the  brothers  after  the  death  of  the  father  must 
give  their  sister  a  dowry  proportionate  to  the  amount 
of  the  paternal  estate  (§  184);  and  it  is  furthermore 
provided  that  they  shall  provide  a  husband  for  their 
sister.  In  both  cases  it  is  assumed  that  the  concubine 
may  be  given  by  her  father  to  a  husband.  In  the  former 
case  he  does  so,  in  the  latter  he  does  not.  It  would  seem 
therefore  that  the  term  concubine  is  applied  in  the 
Code  in  a  double  sense,  (a)  as  the  handmaid  of  a  wife 
brought  to  the  husband  for  the  purpose  of  bearing 
children  and  (b)  as  an  additional  wife,  not  having  the 
status  of  the  man's  wife,  but  at  the  same  time  not  a 
handmaid  of  either  the  husband  or  of  the  wife.  Bear- 
ing in  mind  the  Biblical  parallels,  the  older  practice 
appears  to  have  been  that  in  the  case  of  a  childless 
marriage,  the  wife  brings  to  her  husband  her  own  hand- 
maid, whereas  with  more  advanced  social  conditions 
husband  could  choose  any  woman  as  his  concubine  and 
place  her  in  his  household  as  a  legitimate  wife,  though 
subservient  in  status  to  the  chief  wife.  The  concubine 
thus  becomes  the  partner  or  rival  of  the  first  wife 
parallel  to  the  case  of  the  two  wives  of  Elkanah,  Han- 
nah and  Peninnah  in  the  story  of  Samuel  (I  Sam.  1,  6) 
where  Peninnah  is  spoken  of  as  the  "rival"  or  part- 
ner of  Hannah  in  the  possession  of  the  husband. 


COMMEKCE  AND  LAW 


311 


IX 

The  old  severity  towards  those  who  endangered  the 
sanctity  of  the  marriage  tie  or  of  family  relations  was 
maintained  in  full  rigor.  The  woman  caught  in  the 
act  of  adultery  is  thrown  into  the  water  together  with 
the  culprit,  though  an  additional  clause  gives  the  hus- 
band or  the  king  the  right  to  spare  the  woman's  life  if 
either  feels  so  inclined  (§  129) — a  provision  intended 
no  doubt  to  cover  cases  where  extenuating  circumstances 
existed.  If  a  betrothed  woman  is  forced  to  the  act 
which  takes  place  in  her  father's  house,  the  culprit  is 
put  to  death  but  the  woman  goes  free  (§  130),  and  if 
the  woman  accused  by  her  husband  of  adultery  can 
swear  an  oath  that  she  is  innocent,  she  may  return  to 
her  husband's  house  (§  131).  If,  however,  another 
than  her  husband  accuse  her,  then  she  must  submit  to 
the  ordeal  by  throwing  herself  into  the  water  (§  132). 
The  assumption  in  all  these  cases  of  course  is  that  she 
has  not  been  detected  in  the  act.  The  punishment  for 
the  one  who  brings  an  accusation  of  adultery  but  can- 
not prove  it  is  to  be  branded  on  the  forehead  (§  127), 
and  this  applies  to  such  a  charge  brought  against  a 
votary  as  well  as  against  a  wife. 

Starting  from  the  principle  that  a  man  must  pro- 
vide for  his  wife,  the  Code  adds  a  number  of  decisions 
to  distinguish  between  desertion  and  enforced  absence. 
If  a  man  is  captured  but  there  is  provision  made  by  him 
for  his  wife  she  must  remain  faithful  to  him.  If  she 
fails  to  do  so,  she  is  to  be  thrown  into  the  water ;  but  if 
the  husband  fails  to  provide  for  her,  she  is  free  from 
blame  if,  as  the  phrase  in  the  Code  reads,  "she  enters 
the  house  of  another  "  (§§  133-134) ;  and  if  she  bears 
children  to  her  second  husband,  and  then  the  first  one 
returns,  she  is  to  be  taken  back  by  her  first  husband, 
while  the  children  from  the  second  one  are  placed  in 
charge  of  the  father  (§  135).  Such  cases  arose  fre- 
quently in  consequence  of  the  numerous  wars  in  which 


312 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


the  petty  states  and  afterwards  the  united  states  of  the 
Euphrates  Valley  were  engaged,  as  a  consequence  of 
which  wives  might  be  in  doubt  whether  their  captured 
husbands  would  ever  return.  Making  provision  for 
the  wife  was,  however,  taken  as  an  indication  of  the 
husband's  intent  to  return,  and  therefore,  the  woman 
was  bound  to  him  until  she  heard  that  he  had  perished. 
The  same  would  apply  of  course  to  a  husband  absent 
from  home  on  business,  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare 
with  the  Code  the  discussions  and  decisions  on  the  com- 
plications arising  from  such  circumstances  in  the 
Talmudical  treatise  setting  forth  the  Jewish  practice,1* 
with  the  same  endeavor  to  distinguish  between  enforced 
absence  and  actual  desertion.  On  the  latter  subject, 
the  Babylonian  Code  is  brief  and  explicit.  The  woman 
can  marry  another,  and  if  the  first  husband  returns, 
she  is  not  to  go  back  to  him  (  §  136). 

Lastly,  as  a  further  illustration  of  the  aim  of  the 
Code  to  maintain  proper  standards  in  family  relations, 
we  may  instance  the  series  of  punishments  for  incest 
which  will  also  show  the  grades  of  such  conduct  recog- 
nized. The  man  who  violates  his  own  daughter  is  driven 
out  of  the  city,  that  is,  loses  his  right  of  citizenship 
(§  154).  If  a  father  violates  the  son's  betrothed  after 
the  son  has  known  her,  he  shall  be  bound  and  thrown 
into  the  water;  but  if  the  son  has  not  yet  known  her, 
then  the  man  is  let  off  with  a  fine  of  half  a  mina  of 
silver;  he  also  restores  to  the  girl  whatever  she  may 
have  brought  from  her  father's  house,  and  the  girl  may 
marry  whom  she  pleases  (§  155).  The  point  of  view 
is  that  found  generally  in  primitive  society  which  looks 
lightly  upon  sexual  intercourse  with  a  woman  before 
marriage  or  before  she  has  known  the  man  to  whom 
she  is  promised,  but  is  exceedingly  severe  upon  the 
same  act  with  a  married  woman.  As  a  consequence  even 
the  illicit  intercourse  between  a  father  and  his  virgin 

*■  Treatise  Kethubin,  foL  110b. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


313 


•daughter  does  not  entail  the  severest  punishment, 
whereas  if  a  son  has  intercourse  with  Jus  mother  after 
his  father's  death,  both  are  to  be  burned  (§  157).  If, 
however,  the  intercourse  be  with  one  of  his  father's 
wives  who  is  not  his  mother,  he  is  merely  expelled  from 
the  family,  because  the  grade  of  incest  is  less  than  in  the 
case  of  his  own  mother  (§  158).  The  distinction,  how- 
ever, appears  to  belong  to  a  later  age.  Breach  of 
promise  is  treated  from  two  points  of  view.  A  mar- 
riage representing  primarily  an  agreement  between 
the  father  of  the  bride  and  the  prospective  husband,  a 
refusal  to  marry  may  emanate  from  the  latter,  and  a 
refusal  to  give  in  marriage  from  the  former.  If  the 
prospective  husband  rejects  his  bride  merely  because 
he  prefers  another  woman,  that  is  to  say  without  ade- 
quate cause  and  he  has  already  fixed  a  marriage  gift 
for  the  girl,  and  in  accordance  with  prevailing  custom 
has  given  the  father-in-law  the  present  which  takes 
the  place  of  the  older  purchase-money  for  a  wife,  then 
the  father-in-law  retains  the  settlement.  If  the  father 
of  the  bride  refuses  to  give  his  daughter  in  marriage 
after  the  gift  has  been  turned  over,  then  double  the 
amount  is  to  be  returned  to  the  bridegroom.  If  the 
father-in-law,  after  the  marriage  settlement  has  been 
given,  refuses  to  abide  by  the  agreement  because  he 
listens  to  the  defamation  of  his  son-in-law,  to  some  idle 
gossip  from  a  "  friend,"  the  same  fine  of  double  the 
amount  of  what  had  been  given  is  imposed  on  the 
father-in-law.  The  "  friend  "  who  slandered  the  bride- 
groom is  not  permitted  to  marry  the  girl  (§§  159-161). 
The  three  cases  are  set  down  as  typical  and  form  the 
basis  for  deciding  other  cases  that  may  arise. 


The  Code  closes  (§5  278-282)  with  a  series  of  enact- 
ments regulating  dealings  in  slaves.  As  a  protection 
to  the  purchaser  it  is  stipulated  that  if  within  a  month 


314 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


a  purchased  slave  is  taken  with  a  bennu  sickness2** 
which  incapacitates  him,  he  is  to  be  returned  to  the 
seller  and  the  purchase  money  given  back,  the  assump- 
tion being  that  the  slave  was  not  what  he  or  she  was 
represented  to  be.  In  accord  with  this,  the  seller  is  re- 
sponsible in  case  of  a  prior  claim  on  the  slave,  in  which 
case  the  sale  is  likewise  invalid.  Similarly,  a  sale  of  a 
slave  is  invalid  if  made  in  a  foreign  land  and  the  owner 
of  the  slave  recognizes  his  former  property  when  the 
slave  is  brought  into  the  district  in  which  the  former 
owner  dwells.  Such  a  slave  is  granted  his  freedom  if 
he  belongs  to  the  district  in  which  the  original  owner 
dwells,  but  if  slaves  sold  under  such  circumstances  be 
not  natives,  they  are  to  be  bought  back  by  the  former 
owner.  The  law  is  of  interest  as  pointing  to  an  en- 
deavor to  protect  slaves  against  being  bandied  about 
without  regard  to  their  feelings  of  pride.  The  court 
decides  that  a  slave  who  is  not  sold  directly  through  his 
master  gains  his  freedom  if  he  is  brought  back  to  the 
district  to  which  he  originally  belonged.  In  this  way  a 
restriction  was  placed  on  traffic  in  slaves.  The  law  in 
thus  assuming  that  a  slave  is  purchased  to  be  put  into 
service  and  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  mere  merchandise 
marks  a  decided  step  in  advance  to  protect  the  dignity 
of  human  life.  To  be  sure,  the  underlying  principle 
that  slaves  are  chattels  is  maintained,  and  the  right  is 
accorded  to  the  owner  to  dispose  of  him,  but  if  he  is 
sold  to  a  foreigner  and  in  the  course  of  time  is  resold 
and  brought  back  to  his  native  place,  his  dignity  is 
protected  by  his  being  granted  his  freedom.  In  this 
case,  the  Code  proceeds  on  the  principle  found  in 
modern  law  emptor  caveat.  The  purchaser  takes  the 
risk  and  should  assure  himself  of  the  circumstances  of 
the  slave's  provenance  before  closing  the  bargain.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  prevent  an  abuse  of  the  privilege,  the 
old  law  providing  that  a  slave  who  rebels  against  the 

**»  Perhaps  epilepsy.    See  below  p.  343  seq. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


315 


authority  of  his  master  is  to  have  his  ear  cut  off  is 
added  (§  282),  to  cover  the  case  also  of  a  slave  who 
has  run  away  and  who  is  not  under  any  conditions  to 
have  the  privilege  of  securing  his  freedom  through  a 
fortuitous  chain  of  circumstances,  or  by  a  fictitious  sale 
in  a  foreign  district.  The  Code  of  Hamniurapi  is  par- 
ticularly severe  on  any  one  who  aids  a  slave  to  escape 
or  who  harbors  a  runaway  (§§  15-19),  death  as  a 
penalty  being  imposed  precisely  as  in  the  case  of  man 
stealing  (§  14)  ;  and  if  a  slave  escapes  from  the  person 
who  has  captured  him,  the  latter  must  swear  an  oath  to 
that  effect  (§  20),  so  as  to  free  himself  from  the  sus- 
picion of  having  connived  at  the  escape.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  reward  of  two  shekels  is  to  be  given  to  the  one 
who  returns  a  runaway  slave  (§17). 

XI 

We  may  now  pass  on  to  some  illustrations  of  the 
manner  in  which  existing  laws  were  applied  in  the 
regulation  of  commercial  transactions,  which  cover  an 
exceedingly  wide  scope  from  actual  sales  of  houses, 
land,  orchards,  goods,  cattle  and  slaves  to  loans  of 
money  or  chattels,  rent  of  houses  or  fields,  deposits, 
transfer  of  property,  covering  also  legal  transactions 
such  as  contracts  of  all  kinds,  including  marriage  deeds, 
division  of  estates,  partnerships,  hiring  of  laborers, 
commercial  agencies  and  testaments.24  Incidental  to 
such  transactions  and  contracts,  we  have  numerous 
cases  of  lawsuits  brought  before  a  tribunal  which,  after 
an  examination  of  the  facts,  renders  its  decision  on  the 
basis  of  the  prevailing  statutes.  In  this  way,  a  con- 
stant succession  of  new  cases  is  brought  before  the 
judges,  and  each  new  decision  carries  with  it  some 
supplement  to  the  recognized  code.    Law  in  Babylonia 

2*  See  the  admirably  arranged  bibliography  for  this  section  of 
Babylonian- Assyrian  literature  in  Johns,  The  Relations  Between  the 
Laws  of  Babylonia  and  the  Laws  of  the  Hebrew  Peoples  (London, 
1914),  pp.  76-S9. 


31G 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


and  Assyria  is  thus  a  progressive  process,  and  as  we 
pass  from  older  to  later  periods,  we  can  follow  in  detail 
the  modifications  in  both  legal  procedure  and  practice 
incident  to  the  growing  complications  of  commercial 
expansion  and  the  various  forms  of  social  activity.  The 
many  thousands  of  legal  and  business  documents  found 
in  the  course  of  excavations  and  that  have  been  pub- 
lished up  to  the  present  time  thus  unfold  a  picture  of 
the  inner  life  of  the  communities  in  both  the  south  and 
north,  which  complements  the  data  to  be  derived  from 
the  annals  and  votive  inscriptions  of  the  rulers  and 
from  the  official  correspondence  in  the  form  of  letters, 
orders  and  reports  of  all  kinds. 

A  striking  feature  thus  revealed  for  a  very  early 
period,  the  time  of  the  Ur  dynasty  (c.  2450-2330  B.C.) 
and  for  several  centuries  before  this  age,  is  the  great 
business  activity  displayed  by  the  temple  organizations 
in  the  larger  centres.  As  an  example  we  may  instance 
the  extensive  temple  archive  discovered  at  Telloh,  the 
site  of  the  ancient  centre  Shirpurla  or  Lagash,25  the 
most  extensive  of  the  kind  that  has  as  yet  come  to  light. 
The  temples  in  this  early  period  owned  extensive  lands 
which  were  either  farmed  out  with  stipulations  of  ade- 
quate returns  of  the  yield,  or  were  directly  cultivated 
through  a  large  body  of  officials  connected  with  the 
temple  organization.  The  temple  accounts  were  most 
accurately  maintained,  records  being  kept  of  all  trans- 
actions, of  purchases  or  sales,  of  the  income  from  temple 
property,  of  the  wages  assigned  to  the  many  workmen 
engaged,  and  the  numerous  other  details  involved  in  the 
management  of  temple  property.  Receipts  were  given, 
and  records  made  of  offerings  and  gifts  for  the  temple 
and  of  taxes  or  contributions  that  were  levied.  Such 
receipts  of  which  there  are  hundreds  upon  hundreds 
give  us  lists  of  animals — cattle,  sheep,  goats,  asses, 

,B  For  a  list  of  the  chief  publications  of  tablets  from  Telloh,  see 
Myhrman,  Sumerian  Administrative  Documents  dated  in  the  reigns 
of  the  Kings  of  the  Second  Dynasty  of  Ur,  pp.  13-15. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


317 


birds  and  fishes — tliat  were  brought  to  the  temple,  as 
were  all  kinds  of  produce  from  the  fields — fruits,  vege- 
tables, grain,  flour,  oil,  perfumes  and  the  like.  The', 
riders  in  these  early  periods  still  exercised  priestly; 
functions,  or  at  all  events  were  so  closely  associated' 
with  the  temples  that  the  management  of  their  affairs 
formed  an  integral  part  of  the  activities  of  temple 
officials.  We  find  hundreds  of  accounts  dealing  with  they 
royal  exchequer,  gifts  and  allowances  apportioned  to  the 
members  of  the  royal  household,  records  of  expenses  in- 
curred in  connection  with  the  royal  estates,  special  lists 
of  royal  offerings  to  the  gods,  payments  to  palace  officials 
and  to  the  numerous  body  of  workmen  coming  directly 
under  the  authority  of  the  palace,  and  more  the  like. 
The  functionaries  of  the  temple  and  palace  include 
commercial  agents,  overseers  of  workmen,  gardeners, 
grain  measurers,  shepherds,  fishermen,  butchers,  super- 
intendents of  temple  and  palace  granaries,  storehouses 
and  stables,  beside  various  classes  of  priests,  diviners, 
doorkeepers,  guardians,  scribes  and  judges,  including  at 
a  very  early  period  female  votaries  and  active  priest- 
esses attached  to  temple  service  in  various  capacities. 

Completing  the  picture  of  the  extensive  activities 
of  temple  and  palace,  we  have  hundreds  of  lists  of  pro- 
duce of  the  field  brought  to  the  temple  by  the  officials, 
wool  from  sheep,  garments,  oil,  bread,  salt,  spices, 
silver,  bronze,  beverages,  lists  of  workmen,  of  barges, 
inventories  of  slaves,  salary  accounts,  memoranda  of 
provisions  for  voyages  of  temple  and  palace  officials, 
of  food  for  the  cattle  and  the  flocks,  and  more  the  like. 

What  applies  to  Telloh  holds  good  for  the  other  large 
centres  like  Nippur  which  likewise  yielded  an  extensive 
temple  archive26  as  a  result  of  extended  excavations 

20  Above,  p.  46.  Many  temple  documents  from  the  older  and 
later  Babylonian  periods  are  included  in  the  series  of  publications 
of  the  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  by  Myhrman 
(Ur  dynasty),  Poebel  and  Ranke  (1st  Babylonian  Dynasty)  and 
Clay  (Cassite  and  later  periods).    See  above  p.  50,  note  66. 


320 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


merchant  to  Ur-Ish-Bau,  the  pashishu  priest,*2  is  confirmed,  Lu- 
shimashu  being  the  maskkim.  Ur-lanima  patesi,  year  when  Bur- 
Sin  became  king. ' ' 

The  attest  is  dated  in  the  accession  year  of  King 
Bur-Sin  of  the  Ur  dynasty  corresponding  to  c.  2374 
B.C.  Such  formal  attests  by  which  transactions  between 
individuals  were  made  binding  were  deposited  in  the 
temple  archives,  which  thus  in  very  early  days  must 
have  had  a  division  corresponding  to  the  office  of  the 
recorder  of  deeds  in  our  days.  The  official  character  of 
these  attests,  embodying  also  decisions  in  disputed  cases, 
follows  also  from  the  circumstance  that  two  entirely 
different  transactions  were  c<  unbilled  on  one  tablet.  An 
instance  of  this  kind  dealing  with  purchases  of  slaves 
by  different  parties  reads  as  follows  :38 

"Judicial  settlement:  6V2  shekels  of  silver,  the  price  of  (the 
woman},  Nin-mu-nanga-mu,  Lugal-azag-zu  has  received  from  Daga. 
Daga  has  confirmed  this  on  oath  in  the  presence  of  Tr-Bau  and 
Dadaga  as  witnesses,  Albamu,  the  sukkallu;*  being  the  mashkim." 

*'Two  shekels  of  silver,  the  price  of  Shab-gu-bi,  the  slave  of 
Lu-kaui,  which  Lu-kani  has  received  from  Ama-shim,  Dadaga 
claims  from  Ama-shim.  Ba-ni-nibi,  Lu-ab-sa  and  Ganab-ka  (?) 
are  witnesses  to  this,  Lugal-Dungi  being  the  mashkim." 

The  only  point  of  contact  between  the  two  trans- 
actions is  the  probable  identity  of  the  witness  Dadaga 
in  the  first  attest  with  the  claimant  in  the  second  case, 
but  it  is  not  likely  that  tins  circumstance  has  anything 
to  do  with  the  combination  of  the  two  transactions.  The 
second  case  introduces  as  a  new  feature  of  judicial 

**  A  class  of  the  priesthood,  whose  function,  to  judge  from  the 
name,  was  to  act  as  "anointer," — perhaps  they  were  also  the  ones  to 
prepare  the  oimnents.    See  above  p.  272. 

**  Thureau-Dangin,  Recueil,  etc.,  No.  294. 

14  Designation  of  some  high  functionary,  acting  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  ruler,  somewhat  like  a  viceroy.  A  god  associated 
with  a  superior  deity  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  sukkallu  of  the 
higher  one. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


321 


procedure  the  method  of  placing  an  injunction  on  a 
commercial  transaction.  Ama-shim  owes  Dadaga  some 
money  which  apparently  is  due.  To  secure  this,  or  at 
least  a  part  of  the  debt,  Dadaga  lays  claim  to  the  sum 
which  Ama-shim,  who  is  evidently  in  hard  straits,  has 
received  through  the  sale  of  a  slave.  Dadaga  goes  to 
the  mashkim  with  his  witnesses  who  testify  to  the  debt, 
and  obtains  an  order  from  the  court  for  the  money. 

We  have  among  documents  of  this  order  an  interest- 
ing one  from  which  it  appears  that  at  a  very  early  date 
slaves  with  a  family  could  not  be  transferred  without 
their  consent  from  one  master  to  another.  A  judicial 
decision  in  such  a  case  reads : 8a 

"Judicial  settlement  (in  the  ease  of)  Till,  a  slave,  Nitidam,  his 
wife,  with  son  and  daughter  were  sold  for  y2  mina  of  silver  by 
Ana-khane  .   .   .  to  Aba-bil-gimshu. 

"The  declaration  of  Nitidam,  the  wife  of  the  slave,  to  be  restored 
is  confirmed  (sc.  through  witnesses).  The  male  and  female  slave 
with  son  and  daughter  are  confirmed  for  Ana-khane,  Ur-Lamma, 
son  of  Kalla,  being  the  mashkim  and  Lu.  .  .  ,  and  Lu-Urash-gal, 
Lu-Dingirra  and  Ur-Ka-silim  being  the  judges." 

Marriage  agreements  were  likewise  confirmed  be- 
fore the  notary  in  the  presence  of  judges  whose  decree 
thus  takes  the  place  of  a  modern  license.  A  document 
of  this  order  reads :  w 

"Judicial  settlement:  Ninmar,  son  of  Lu-Nannar,  appeared 
and  said,  'In  the  name  of  the  kingtaT  Lu-Dingirra,  son  of  Guzani, 
is  to  marry  Damgula,  my  daughter.  *  Arad,  son  of  Ur-lamma,  and 
Ur-ahid,  son  of  Lu-Nannar,  take  an  oath  to  this.*8  Lu-dingirra 
has  been  married  to  Damgula." *• 

*•  Thureau-Dangin,  Recueil,  etc.,  No.  290. 

■•  Scheil,  in  Recueil  des  Travaux  relatifs  a  la  Pbilologie  et 
TArcheologie  Egyptienne  et  Assyrienne,  xxii,  p.  153-154. 

*7  I.e.,  an  oath  invoking  the  king's  name. 

n  Confirmed  the  declaration  of  the  father.  One  of  the  witnesses, 
be  it  noted,  is  the  brother  of  the  bride. 

*•  Such  is  the  court 's  confirmation. 
21 


322 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"Ninmar  for  a  second  time  appeared  and  said:  ' Nin-azag-zu, 
daughter  of  Guzani,  is  to  marry  my  son,  Sib-kini.'  It  is  attested 
that  the  name  of  the  goddess  Ninmar  and  the  name  of  the  king 
were  invoked  in  an  oath.40  Sib-kin i,  the  shepherd,  has  been  married 
to  Nin-azag-zu,  Til-e-makh-ta  being  the  mashkim,  Lu  .  .  .  and  Ur- 
ka-silim  judges.  In  the  year  following  the  destruction  of 
Simanu."*1 

Here  again  a  single  document  records  two  distinct 
transactions  which  presumably  were  settled  in  short 
succession  of  one  another.  Similarly,  settlements  of 
divorce  were  made  before  the  notary.42 

" Judicial  settlement:  Lu-Babbar,  son  of  Nig-Bau,  rejects  Gin- 
Enlil  (his  wife).  Gin-Enlil  appeared  and  said:  'In  the  name  of 
the  king  give  me  10  shekels  of  silver  in  lieu  of  a  judicial  settlement.' 
He  has  paid  her  10  shekels  of  silver.  Duggi-ul  and  Uku-il,  farmer, 
have  sworn  to  this,  Ur  .  .  .  being  the  mashkim.  In  the  patesiate  of 
Ur-Lamma."  The  year  of  the  destruction  of  Kharshi  and 
Khumurti."44 

According  to  the  older  Sumerian  law,  a  man  on 
divorcing  his  wife  must  pay  her  one-half  of  a  mina, 
which  would  be  thirty  shekels.46  Apparently,  Gin- 
Enlil  has  agreed  under  oath  to  be  satisfied  with  less 
than  that  amount,  and  this  being  confirmed,  the  notary 


4°  I.e.f  witnesses  confirmed  the  declaration  of  Ninmar  by  swear- 
ing  to  it. 

41  I.e.,  the  fourth  year  of  Gimil-Sin  of  the  Ur  dynasty,  corre- 
sponding to  c.  2361  B.o. 

**  Thureau-Dangin,  Rccucil,  etc.,  No.  289. 

48  Potest  of  Lagash. 

44  58th  year  of  Dungi,  the  second  member  of  the  Ur  dynasty, 
corresponding  to  c.  2374  B.C. 

4&  Rawlinson,  V.f  PI.  25,  Col.  IV,  8-12.  In  the  days  of  Ham- 
murapi,  the  divorce  settlement  had  advanced  to  one  mana  in  ordi- 
nary cases,  and  one-third  mana  if  the  husband  was  of  the  plebeian 
class  (Code  §§  139-140).    See  above,  p.  302. 


rre- 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


323 


formally  records  that  the  amount  has  been  paid,  and  the 
record  deposited  in  the  archives  of  Lagash,  where  the 
settlement  took  place. 

XIII 

Agreements  could  be  made,  however,  between 
parties  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  without  the  inter- 
mediary of  a  mash  hi m,  and  it  is  a  reasonable  conjecture 
that  in  time  these  formal  attests  became  restricted  to 
s  where  a  dispute  had  arisen  obliging  the  parties 
interested  to  appear  before  the  court  in  order  to  have 
the  terms  officially  recorded,  or  a  decision  rendered  and 
deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  temple.  The  legal 
fonnulae  for  all  kinds  of  transactions  and  contracts 
became  fixed  as  early  at  least  as  3000  B.C.  A  few  speci- 
mens taken  from  the  time  of  the  Ur  dynasty  (c.  2450- 
2330  B.C.)  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  general  method 
followed.  In  the  case  of  simple  receipts  for  a  loan  made 
Of  for  produce  delivered,  names  of  witnesses  are  com- 
monly not  added,  but  it  is  safe  to  assume  also  that  the 
court  would  not  ordinarily  recognize  such  receipts  as 
testimony  unless  they  bore  the  seal  of  the  party  who 
had  received  the  loan  or  produce.  The  case  was,  of 
course,  different  when  it  came  to  documents  dealing 
with  temple  affairs,  as  most  of  the  business  tablets  are, 
which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  earliest  period. 
Here  the  mere  deposit  of  a  receipt  in  the  official  archives 
would  be  a  sufficient  attest  to  the  transaction.  The 
formula  for  receipts  reads  as  follows  :46 

"One-half  mina  of  silver  at  an  interest  of  one  shekel  for  five 
shekels**  from  Ur-Dun-pa-e,  Gir-ni-ni-shag  has  received,     Month 

**  Myhrman,  Sumerian  Administrative  Documents  dated  in  the 
reigns  of  the  kings  of  the  second  dynasty  of  Vr  (Phila.,  1910), 
No.  22. 

47  I.e.,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  per  cent,  per  year. 


324  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Gan-gan-e  ••  in  the  year  when  the  lard  of  the  goddess  of  Uruk 
appointed."4* 

A  receipt  for  produce  from  the  same  Ur-Dun-pa-c 
reads :  *° 

1 '  Three  Gur  of  kharshu  grain  8t  at  an  interest  of  90  Ka, "  for 
each  Gur,  from  Ur-Dun-pa-e,  Ishme-ilu  has  received.  Month  Engar- 
du-a,"  19th  day,  in  the  year  when  Siniuru  was  destroyed."  ** 


In  the  same  way  a  receipt  for  dates  reads: 


■ 


"Two  Gur  of  dates  at  the  (usual)  interest  for  each  Gur,"  from 
Lugal-iskim-zi,  Kalam-de(T)-e  has  received.  Month  She-kin- 
kud,ST  first  day."" 

Purchases  are  recorded  in  the  presence  of  witnesses, 
the  object  being  named  first,  followed  by  the  price,  the 
purchaser  and  seller,  thirdly  the  witnesses  and  lastly 
the  date.  Thus  the  sale  of  a  slave  is  recorded  as 
follows:" 

"One  male  slave  .  .  .  -lum  by  name,  for  11  shekels  of  silver,  to 
Ur-E-Lugal-ani,  Ur-Nusku,  the  commission  broker*0  has  bought. 

*■  Ninth  month. 

♦•Perhaps  "high  priest,"    The  date  has  not  been  identified. 

••  Myhrman,  No.  23. 

11  We  find  a  large  number  of  such  specifications  of  grains 
mentioned  in  these  business  documents  the  exact  nature  of  which 
still  escapes  us ;  they  seem  to  designate  qualities  or  special  varieties. 

n  A  Gur  equals  360  Ka,  i.e.,  therefore,  at  a  rate  of  25  per  cent. 
interest 

"  Eighth  month. 

B*  35th  year  of  Dungi,  corresponding  to  c.  2397  B.C. 

M  Myhrman,  No,  31. 

"  That  is,  25  per  cent 

BT  First  month. 

"Year  broken  off. 

60  Myhrman,  No.  15. 

••  Damkar — a  general  term  for  a  commission  merchant,  and  also 
for  trader  without  specification. 


COMMEKCE  AND  LAW 

In  the  presence  of  Gudea,  the  MU  of  the  archive,81  Shu  (T)-dug- 
ga-zi-da,  the  kalu  priest.** 

as  witnesses.     Month  Azag-Shim,"  9th  day,6*  in  the  year  when 
Bur-Sin  destroyed  Urbillum.  * ' » 

An  agreement  to  refund  a  sum  advanced  in  connec- 
tion with  some  business  transaction  reads  as  follows : e6 

"One  mana  and  ten  shekels  of  silver,  which  as  the  balance  of 
a  transaction  Lu-Babbar  has  received  from  Ur-Lukh.  lie  swears 
an  oath  in  the  name  of  the  king  to  pay  back  on  the  seventh  day 
of  the  month  of  Shu-Kul."  In  case  he  does  not  pay  back  (sc.  at  the 
time  agreed  upon),  the  amount  will  be  doubled.  Sworn  to  in  the 
name  of  the  king  before  Lugal-azag-su,  Lugal-itu-da,  A-Khush-a, 
Ur-Mami,  in  the  month  of  Sig,a*  the  document  (t)  was  drawn  up, 
in  the  year  when  Gimil-Sin,  king  of  Ur,  built  the  great  ship  of  Enlil 
andNinlil."*9 

We  also  have  at  this  early  period  formal  agreements 
to  become  surety  for  repayment  of  loans.  A  document 
of  this  nature  is  worded  as  follows : T0 

11  In  case  the  obligation  of  Ur-Enlil  for  10  Gut  of  grain  is  not 
redeemed,  that  amount  of  grain  Ur-Damu  will  bring  in.  In  the 
name  of  the  king  he  swore,  Ur-shu-makh,  Adda-kalla.  Kalamma- 
ne-mu,  Ut-shag-ga  being  witnesses.  The  year  when  Simuru  was 
destroyed."  n 

61  Literally  " house  of  tablets,"  t.c,  the  official  archives.  The 
MU  is  some  official  connected  with  the  archives. 

"  The  names  of  the  other  witnesses  are  broken  off. 

•*  Unidentified  month,  perhaps  the  7th  month. 

•*  Indicated  by  10—  I  =  9,  like  the  Roman  IX. 

M  Second  year  of  Bur-Sin,  corresponding  to  c.  2372  b.c. 

•■  Myhrman,  No.  13. 

*7  Fourth  month. 

"  Third  month. 

••  Eighth  year  of  Gimil-Sin,  corresponding  to  c.  2357  B.C. 

f0  Myhrman,  No.  7.  A  detailed  study  of  surety  in  Babylonia 
and  Assyria  with  numerous  illustrations  from  legal  documents  of 
all  periods  will  be  found  in  Koschaker,  Babylonisch-Assyrisches 
Buergschaftsrecht  (Leipzig,  1911). 

71  35th  year  of  Dungi,  corresponding  to  c.  2397  B.C. 


326 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


These  specimens  of  legal  forms  perfected  at  an 
early  period,  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  general  char- 
acter of  such  documents.  Supplementing  them  by  the 
many  hundreds  of  business  documents  dating  from 
the  Ur  dynasty,  and  which  for  the  larger  part  are 
accounts  of  transactions  and  not  formal  contracts  or 
agreements,  we  obtain  a  remarkable  picture  of  the  ex- 
tent of  business  activity  in  the  third  millennium  before 
this  era  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  both  such  as  was  car- 
ried on  in  the  temples,  and  such  as  represent  private 
business  affairs.12 

The  usual  rate  of  interest  at  this  period  was  twenty 
per  cent,  for  loans  of  money,  and  thirty  per  cent,  in  the 
case  of  produce.  Slaves  varied  in  price  from  two  to 
twelve  shekels,  and  no  doubt  in  some  cases  the  price 
went  beyond  the  latter  amount.  Laborers  were  com- 
monly paid  in  produce,  though  occasionally  in  cur- 
rency. Wages  were  calculated  at  so  many  Ka  7S  of 
grain  per  month  of  thirty  days,  varying  from  forty  to 
ninety  Ka.  In  addition  we  find  the  laborers  receiving 
wool,  dates,  oil  and  drink  in  part  compensation;  and 
we  also  find  commission  agents  of  all  kinds  who  engaged 
workmen,  or  who  had  them  at  their  command  to  be  hired 
out  for  any  purpose. 

Prom  the  period  immediately  following  that  of  the 
Ur  dynasty,  we  have  specimens  of  business  documents 
which  supplement  the  picture  and  furnish  further 
illustrations  of  the  manner  in  which  purchases  were 
made  and  agreements  drawn  up.  Thus  a  document 
recording  the  purchase  of  a  house  shows  the  manner  in 
which  the  property  was  described,  beginning  with  the 

"Legrain,  Les  Temps  des  Hois  d'Ur  {Paris,  1912),  Legrain 
gives  (pp.  49-92)  a  survey  of  389  texts  of  the  Ur  period  published 
by  him,  and  which  may  serve  as  an  index  of  the  scope  covered  by 
business  documents  of  this  character. 

"  A  Ka  is  about  4/10  of  a  litre. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


327 


size  of  the  lot  and  passing  on  to  the  terms  of  the  transac- 
tion.   It  reads  as  follows : 7* 

uTtyb  Gin  improved  property,  adjoining  the  house  of  Ali- 
Akhati,  with  the  long  side  facing  the  street,  the  house  of  Adad- 
rabi  son  of  Ur-Innanna,  from  Adad-rabi,  son  of  Ur-Innanna, 
Apil-Sin,  son  of  Bulalum,,  has  bought.  As  its  price  in  full  2^ 
shekels  and  15  She  of  silver  he  weighed  out.  For  all  times,  Adad- 
rabi  shall  not  make  any  claim  on  the  house.  In  the  name  of  the  king 
he  has  sworn  an  oath,  before  Sin-ganiil,  son  of  Gubbani-dug,  Elali, 
son  of  Nabi-ilishu,  Ur-Ningishzida,  son  of  Nurum  (and)  Azag- 
Nannar  (as)  the  scribe.  Month  of  Gan-Gan-e,"  in  the  year  when 
King  Sin-ikisham  made  a  statue  of  gold  and  silver. ' '  T€ 

The  names  of  purchaser  and  seller  as  well  as  some  of 
the  names  of  the  witnesses  are  Semitic — an  indication 
that  we  are  approaching  the  period  of  growing  Semitic 
influence  as  a  reaction  against  the  Sumerian  predomi- 
nance in  the  Ur  dynasty. 

A  contract  for  the  rent  of  a  house,  the  ordinary 
period  being  one  year,  has  the  following  form: 77 

"The  house  of  Damu-ribam,  from  Damu-ribanij  Sin-idinnam, 
the  commercial  agent/8  has  rented  as  a  dwelling  and  possession '• 
at  a  yearly  rental  of  ya  of  a  shekel  of  silver.  In  the  presence  of 
Sin-magir,  son  of  Zibu'a,  (and)  Ina-ekur-rabi,80  the  scribe.  First 
day  of  the  month  Shu-Kul,*1  in  the  year  when  King  Samsu-iluna, 
in  accordance  with  the  oracle  of  Enlil,  etc."*8 


74  Chiera,  Legal  and  Administrative  Documents  from  Xippur, 
Chiefly  from  the  Dynasties  of  Isin  and  Larsa,  (Philadelphia,  1914), 
No.  22. 

76  Ninth  month,     180  She  are  one  shekel. 

79  Sin-ikisham  ruled  for  six  months  only,  c.  2195  B.C. 

77  Chiera,  No.  90. 

78  Or  merhcant  (damkar).    See  above  p.  324t  note  60. 

79  That  is,  to  do  with  it  what  he  pleases,  including  therefore  sub- 
letting for  any  purpose. 

80  Semitic  name  signifying  "Reared  in  Ekur,"  the  temple  of 
Enlil  in  Nippur. 

81  Fourth  month. 

82  Abbreviated  dating  for  the  28th  year  of  Samsu-iluna,  corre- 
sponding to  c.  2052  b.c. 


:j2S 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Despite  the  fact  that  this  deed  is  dated  in  the  reign 
of  Hammurapi's  successor,  and  that  the  parties  in- 
volved as  the  witnesses  and  the  scribe  bear  Semitic 
names,  it  is  nevertheless  written  in  Sumerian,  showing 
that  in  old  Sumerian  centres  like  Nippur  (whence  this 
tablet  comes),  Sumerian  continued  in  use  as  the  official 
language  of  the  court,  just  as  Sumerian  remained  for  a 
long  time  after  the  complete  Semitic  control  of  the 
country  the  language  of  the  cult,  though  both  in  court 
proceedings  and  in  the  cult,  Akkadian  in  time  sup- 
planted the  non-Semitic  tongue,  with  a  retention,  how- 
ever, of  Sumerian  legal  phrases  that  had  become  too 
incrustated  to  be  entirely  removed. 

Purchases  and  leases  of  fields  for  cultivation  were 
drawn  up  in  much  the  same  manner.  A  document  dated 
in  the  reign  of  a  ruler  of  the  Larsa  dynasty  reads : " 

"1  Gan  and  10  Sar 8*  of  a  clover  field,  being  part  of  a  new  ( I) 
field  adjoining  (that  of)  Nannar-me-du,  son  of  Uru-ma>kal,  being 
the  field  of  Sin-eribam,  son  of  Gir-ni-ni-shag,  from  Sin-eribam, 
the  son  of  Gir-ni-ni-shag,  Warad-Sin,  the  son  of  Khundunim  has 
bought.  As  its  full  price  of  2V3  shekels  of  silver  he  has  weighed 
out.  For  all  future  time,  neither  Sin-eribam  nor  any  heirs  of  Gir- 
ni-ni-shag,  as  many  as  there  may  be,  shall  have  any  claim  against 
the  field.  In  the  name  of  the  king  they  *5  have  sworn  in  the  presence 
of  Lugal-melam,  son  of  Alia,  Ur-pa-bil-sag-ga,  son  of  Ehambia, 
Erib-Sin,  son  of  Lugal  ibila,  Azag-Innina,  son  of  Lul-Nin-shubur, 
Niir-Shamash,  son  of  Sin-ishnieanni,  Aba-Eulil-dim,  the  scribe,  month 
of  Bil-Bil«Gar,M  in  the  year  when  Warad-Sin,  the  king,  built  the 
great  wall  of  Ur."8T 

Attached  to  the  document  is  a  reproduction  of  the 
seal  of  Sin-eribam,  son  of  Gir-ni-ni-shag,  rolled  over 
the  edge  of  the  tablet  twice  as  the  attest  of  the  seller. 

More  complicated  in  their  nature  are  business  docu- 

"Chiera,  No.  27. 

hi  A  Gan  is  about  25  acres  and  10  Sar  about  350  square  metres. 

aB  Le.,  Sin-eribam  and  the  heirs  of  his  father  from  whom 
field  descended  to  Sin-eribam. 

••  I.e.,  fifth  month. 

ST  C.  2H0  b.  c. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


329 


ments  dealing  with  such  subjects  as  divisions  of  prop- 
erty. A  case  of  this  kind  between  two  brothers  leads  to 
a  formal  agreement 8*  in  which  first  the  share  given  to 
the  one  brother  is  set  forth,  then  in  detail  what  the 
other  one  receives,  both  swearing  to  the  decision  in  the 
name  of  the  king  to  annul  any  further  claims  on  the 
part  of  either. 

To  equalize  the  division  the  younger  brother  also 
receives  a  certain  amount  of  currency,  from  which  one 
may  conclude  that  a  detailed  inventory  of  the  estate 
was  made  as  the  basis  for  the  division. 

Priests,  it  would  also  appear,  retained  their  private 
property  despite  their  being  attached  to  the  service  of 
a  specific  temple;  they  inherited  their  share  of  the 
paternal  estate,  and  we  have  plenty  of  evidence  to  show 
that  they  conducted  business  affairs  as  individuals  as 
well  as  in  their  official  capacity*  The  priestly  office 
held  by  the  father  was  also  transferred  to  his  heirs 
and  formed  part  of  the  estate.  In  view  of  this,  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  that  priestly  offices  could  be  leased 
at  a  valuation,  calculated  according  to  the  income 
through  fees  and  gifts.89 

Of  special  interest  is  a  document  of  the  time  of  the 
Isin  (or  Nisin)  dynasty  which  illustrates  the  privileges 
enjoyed  by  a  class  of  slaves  who  were  attached  to  the 
palace  service;  they  could  own  property  in  their  own 
names  and  pass  it  on  to  their  heirs.  The  document  in 
question,  drawn  up  in  the  days  of  Bur-Sin  II  (c.  2220 
B.C.),  is  a  deed  of  gift  of  a  mother's  property  to  the 
daughter,  in  return  for  which  the  daughter  agrees  to 
provide  a  specified  amount  of  food  for  the  mother  every 
month.    It  reads  as  follows : 00 

"2/3  Sar  improved  property  (and)  Tuda-Ishtar,  a  female  slave 
of  Nin-me-dugga,  the  improved  property  and  all  its  belongings,  the 
property  of  Nin-me-dugga,  her  mother,  which  Nin-me-dugga  to 

"Chiera,  No.  12. 

■•  E.g.,  Chiera,  No.  15. 

••  Chiera,  No.  1. 


330 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


A 


Nin-dingir-azag-niu,  her  daughter,  has  given.  For  all  times,  none 
of  the  children  of  Nin-me-dugga,  as  many  as  there  may  be,  will  have 
any  claim.  Nin-me-dugga  has  sworn  in  the  name  of  the  king. 
Fifteen  (!)  Ka  of  provision  Nin-dingir-azag-inu  to  Nin-me-dugga, 

her  mother,  monthly  shall  give. ' ' 

Nin-me-dugga  has  rolled  lier  seal  over  the  document 
once,  and  no  less  than  five  times  again  over  the  envel- 
ope 91  in  which  the  document  was  enclosed  and  which 
contains  in  addition,  as  a  kind  Of  docket,  the  indication 
tA  the  contents  of  the  document  together  with  the  date. 
The  .seal  designates  Nin-me-dugga  as  M  a  palace  slav 
that  is,  belonging  to  the  harem  of  the  ruler  but  Who, 
we  have  seen,  could  herself  own  a  slave  as  well  as  other 
property. 

The  business  documents  of  the  earliest  period  of 
Babylonian  history  thus  complement  the  data  derived 
from  votive  inscriptions  and  historical  records  proper 
by  showing  us  the  people  in  their  daily  life,  how  they 
lived,  what  their  occupations  were,  the  dealings  they 
had  with  one  another,  the  changing  fortunes  of  life,  the 
classes  of  the  population,  the  position  of  the  prii 
and  the  methods  of  the  administration  of  justice. 

XIV 

An  abundance  of  further  details  in  all  these  and 
other  aspects  of  social  life  is  furnished  by  the  many 
hundreds  of  business  and  legal  documents  that  have 
been  preserved  from  the  period  of  the  definite  union 
of  the  Euphratean  states  under  the  rule  of  the  Semitic 
kings  of  Babylon,  the  period  of  the  so-called  first 

n  In  most  cases  where  a  document  was  placed  in  an  envelope  of 
clay,  the  outer  case  contained  a  duplicate  of  the  text.  The  envelope 
served  as  a  protection  to  the  legal  document.  This  fashion  of 
having  a  duplicate  of  the  document  inclosed  appears  to  have  varied 
from  time  to  timej  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  obligatory  at 
any  time. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


331 


dynasty  of  Babylon,  extending  from  c.  2225-1926  B.C. 92 
In  contrast  to  the  business  documents  of  the  Agade,  Ur 
and  Isin  dynasties  which,  as  we  have  seen,  are  so  largely 
taken  up  with  mere  accounts  and  lists  connected  with 
the  temple  organization  in  one  centre  or  the  other,  those 
of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  are  of  a  much  more  mis- 
cellaneous character  and  for  the  most  part  taken  up 
with  transactions  between  laymen  dealing  with  the 
ordinary  business  affairs  and  with  more  or  less  elabor- 
ate lawsuits  brought  by  contending  persons.  There  is, 
to  be  sure,  every  reason  to  believe  that  such  documents 
will  also  be  found  some  day  in  abundance  for  earlier 
periods,  but  for  the  present  we  must  depend  upon  the 
material  dated  in  the  reigns  of  the  rulers  of  the  first 
dynasty  and  of  subsequent  periods  for  a  more  definite 
picture  of  business  activities  among  laymen  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  justice  was  carried  out  in  the  courts 
of  the  land.  The  business  and  legal  documents  of  this 
period,  moreover,  are  written  in  Semitic  or  Akkadian 
which  makes  the  task  of  interpretation  less  precarious, 
for  despite  recent  progress  in  the  interpretation  of 
Sumerian  texts,  there  is  much  in  such  material  that  is 
still  obscure.  When  we  reach  Semitic  texts,  we  are  on 
firm  soil.  It  is  also  a  great  advantage  to  have  as  a  guide 
and  control  for  the  understanding  of  the  business  and 
legal  documents  of  tins  period  the  code  of  Hanunurapi 
of  which  we  have  for  this  reason  given  a  rather  full 
analysis.93  This  great  code  became  a  standard  for  all 
times,  though  as  has  been  noted  additions  continued  to 
be  made  to  it,  and  modifications  were  introduced  to  keep 
pace  with  changing  conditions  and  to  embody  new 
decisions  that  were  constantly  being  rendered,  albeit 
on  the  basis  of  the  principles  on  which  the  code  was 
established. 

"  The  definite  determination  of  the  chronology  of  this  period 
we  owe  to  the  researches  of  P.  X.  Kugler,  Sternkunde  und  Strm- 
dienst  in  Babel  (Minister,  1910),  ii,  1,  pp.  234-311. 

•s  Above  pp.  283-315. 


JJE*- 


u* 


c+s*~ 


332  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Before  giving  some  examples  of  business  and  legal 
documents  of  the  period  of  Hammurapi,  as  we  may  also 
call  the  age  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  from  its 
most  prominent  representative,  it  will  be  well  to  out- 
line the  methods  perfected  in  his  days  for  the  legal 
administration  of  the  country.9 *  In  the  first  place, 
we  note  by  the  side  of  the  older  and  original  tribunals 
in  the  temples,  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  pries* 
class  of  civic  judges  or  magistrates  before  whom  legal 
documents  could  be  drawn  up  and  to  whom  litigants 
came  to  have  decisions  rendered.  Such  magistrates 
acted  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  it  would  appear  that 
their  f mictions  were  extended  after  the  days  of  Hani- 
murapi  so  that  only  specific  cases  requiring  an  oath  in 
the  presence  of  the  gods  were  referred  to  the  "  judges 
of  the  temple,"  as  the  priestly  officials  in  contra-dis- 
tinction  to  the  lay  judges  were  commonly  designated. 
The  institution  of  civil  courts  marks  a  decided  decline 
in  the  authority  of  the  priests,  though  as  a  court  of  last 
instance  the  temple  continued  to  maintain  itself  to  the 
closing  days  of  the  Babylonian  empire.  There  are  also 
traces  of  a  kind  of  popular  assembly  with  certain 
judicial  functions,96  and  in  addition,  the  governors  of 
provinces  and  the  chief  magistrates  of  cities  could  be 
appealed  to,  to  render  justice.  Furthermore,  the  promi- 
nence acquired  by  the  city  of  Babylon  as  the  capital  of 
the  country  gave  to  the  judges  of  Babylon  a  position 
not  unlike  that  of  a  supreme  court;  and  we  have  in- 
stances of  oases,  dealt  with  in  Sippar  and  elsewh* 

94  For  details  see  Edouard  Cuq,  "Essai  sur  Forganisation  judici- 
aire  de  la  Chaldee  a  1  'e"poque  de  la  premiere  dynastie  Babylonienne 
(Bevue  d  'Assyriologie  VII,  pp.  65-101). 

•s  This  assembly  met  at  the  "wall"  of  a  city,  and  was  accord- 
ingly known  as  the  "wall  of  Sippar,"  "wall  of  Nippur,"  etc., 
according  to  the  locality.  Such  an  assembly  may  well  have  been  a 
survival  from  primitive  days  when  the  "elders"  constituted  the 
tribunal  before  which  litigants  came — antedating,  therefore,  the 
formal  organization  of  courts  of  justice  in  the  temples. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


333 


being  referred  to  the  tribunal  of  Babylon.  All  this 
points  to  an  elaborate  system  of  administration,  keep- 
ing pace  with  the  union  of  the  states  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley  under  a  central  authority  and  to  the  growing 
complications  of  social  life,  necessitating  the  institution 
of  lower  and  higher  courts,  and  differentiating  the 
functions  of  the  many  officials  required  to  maintain 
law  and  order. 

The  large  number  of  actual  contracts  of  all  kinds 
and  legal  cases  embodied  in  the  material  at  our  disposal 
from  the  Hamimirapi  period  also  furnish  us  with  an 
extensive  legal  terminology,  as  the  result  of  many  cen- 
ries  of  legal  procedure.  This  procedure,  furthermore, 
led  to  fixing  a  definite  form  for  legal  documents  which 
all  thus  turn  out  to  be  arranged  according  to  a  definite 
sequence  in  the  arrangement  of  the  data.  Inasmuch  as 
the  legal  document  involves,  primarily,  the  disposition 
of  some  object — real  or  personal  estate  or  a  slave,  child, 
wife  or  some  member  of  the  household— the  person  or 
object  in  question  is  first  mentioned  with  such  specifica- 
tions as  are  needed  to  identify  it,  as,  for  example,  the 
definite  location  of  a  house,  field  or  orchard,  and  the 
description  of  the  produce,  article  of  merchandise,  sum 
of  money  or  individual  in  question.  After  this  come  the 
parties  concerned,  (a)  seller  and  buyer,  or  (b)  the 
parties  to  any  kind  of  an  agreement,  or  (c)  the  litigants, 
(d)  slave  owner  and  slave  (or  slaves),  (e)  father  or 
mother  and  children,  members  of  a  household,  and  the 
like.  The  business  transaction  itself  is  then  specified — 
loan,  marriage  agreement,  sale  or  lease,  gift,  adoption, 
or  claim  is  set  forth  as  the  third  division,  again  with  the 
necessary  specifications,  after  which  the  formal  deci- 

Ision  reached  is  indicated,  to  which  the  parties  involved 
agree  in  the  case  of  the  disposition  of  property  by  an 
oath  to  abide  by  the  terms  of  the  document  and  to  re- 
nounce all  further  claims.  The  names  of  the  witnesses 
and  the  date  terminate  the  document. 


334 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  attachment  of  a  seal  or  of  seals B6  to  legal  docu- 
ments was  customary  from  the  earliest  period  on,  with- 
out, however,  being  obligatory.  In  the  case  of  deeds 
of  sale,  it  is  the  seller  who  attaches  his  seal,  in  the  case 
of  a  lease  the  lessee,  in  the  case  of  a  loan  the  creditor, 
in  the  ease  of  a  work  contract  the  contractor,  in  the 
ease  of  an  inheritance  deed,  the  one  who  disposes  of  the 
projjerty,  and  the  guarantor  in  case  of  a  bond, — in 
general,  therefore,  the  one  who  gives  up  a  claim,  or  who 
takes  an  obligation  upon  himself,  while  ill  eases  where 
both  parties  take  obligations  upon  themselves,  both 
attach  their  seals.  So,  for  example,  in  marriage  con- 
tracts, the  two  contracting  parties  seal  the  docuni< 
the  same  in  the  case  of  partnership  agreements,  or  in 
deeds  involving  exchange  or  division  of  property,  while 
in  cases  of  adoption,  the  father  and  the  foster  parents, 
though  at  times  the  foster  parents  only.  The  custom 
varies  somewhat  in  different  centres  and  at  different 
times.  So,  for  example,  at  Nippur  the  seal  appears  to 
have  been  made  specifically  for  the  document;  it  is  more 
in  the  nature  of  a  formal  attest  than  the  signature  of 
the  one  party  or  of  the  two  parties,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  two  names  are  combined  on  one  seal,  and  the 
seal  itself  is  in  the  form  of  a  rectangular  stamp  made 
of  a  soft  material  and  impressed  on  the  clay  like  a  die, 
and  not  a  seal  cylinder,  made  of  some  hard  material  and 
which  is  always  that  of  an  individual,  rolled  over  the 
document.07  In  a  general  way  it  may  be  said,  therefore, 
that  the  seal  was  a  guarantee  for  the  validity  of  the 
document  on  the  part  of  the  person  or  persons  who 
yielded  certain  rights,  or  who  took  obligations  on  them- 
selves, but  in  addition  to  this  it  also  served  as  a  protec- 

••  See  for  further  details  regarding  the  seal  cylinders  which 
were  rolled  over  or  impressed  on  the  documents,  at  the  close  of 
Chapter  VIL   pp.  418-426. 

•7  See  on  this  subject  of  the  "Nippur"  seals  Poebel's  discussion 
in  Babylonian  Legal  and  Business  Documents  from  the  first  dynasty 
of  Babylon  (Phila.,  1909),  pp.  51-55. 


PLATE  XXXVI 


FIG.    I,    LEGAL   TAHLET    WITH    SEAL 


FIGS.    2    AND  3,    SEAL   IMPRESSIONS   ON    LEGAL   AND    COMMEKC1AL   TABLETS 


Hij.   4,    NAIL-MAUU   ON    LEGAL  TABLETS    AS    SUBSTITUTE    FOR 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


335 


tion  against  alterations  or  additions  to  a  document  by 
being  rolled  over  the  document  wherever  there  was 
room  for  it,  and  frequently  even  directly  over  words 
of  the  document.  This  feature  of  the  seal  is  particu- 
larly apparent  in  cases  where  the  original  document 
was  enclosed  in  a  cover  or  envelope  of  clay,  on  which 
often  a  brief  docket  of  the  nature  of  the  document  wras 
added  with  seals  to  prevent  the  cover  from  being  de- 
tached with  fraudulent  intent.  In  most  cases,  however, 
the  envelope  contains  a  duplicate  of  the  document,  the 
agreement  of  which  with  the  inner  one  would  furnish  a 
guarantee  for  the  authenticity  of  the  original  in  case 
the  question  of  genuineness  were  raised.  The  addition 
of  such  a  duplicate  was  not  obligatory,  though  it  be- 
canfe  suffieientlv  common  to  lead  to  the  decision  that 
the  absence  of  a  duplicate  was  no  ground  for  question- 
ing the  validity  of  a  legal  document.98 

In  addition  to  these  two  purposes  for  which  seals 
were  attached,  the  witnesses  or  even  parties  not  named 
as  witnesses  attached  their  seals  as  signatures  which 
might  be  appealed  to  in  cases  of  dispute  as  proof  for 
the  actual  consummation  of  an  agreement.  In  place 
of  a  seal  we  find  in  documents  down  to  the  Cassite 
period,  the  attachment  of  a  bit  of  clothing  imbedded  in 
the  clay  document  while  still  in  a  soft  condition,  and 
specifically  referred  to  in  the  document  as  a  substitute 
for  the  seal.  The  technical  term  for  such  a  guarantee 
imbedded  in  the  document  (as  in  the  case  of  the  seal) 
by  the  one  who  disposes  of  a  right  or  claim,  or  by  the 
one  who  takes  an  obligation  upon  himself  is  sissiktu 
(or  sisitu)  which  appears  to  designate  the  fringe 
attached  to  a  garment.98    Again,  in  place  of  the  seal,  the 

M  See  Winckler,  Die  GeseUe  Eammurabis  (Leipzig,  1904),  p.  86 
(§2,<W4), 

89  See  on  this  term  and  the  custom  which  it  iUustrates  Ungnad 
in  Orient.  Litteraturzeitung,  vol.  ix,  gp.  163;  xii,  sp.  479;  and 
Clay,  Babylonian  Expedition,  XIV,  pp,  12-14.    The  Hebrew  term 


:;:i(j 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


finger-nail  marks  of  the  contracting  party  or  parties 
are  scratched  on  the  tablet  in  lieu  of  a  seal.100  This 
may  have  happened  originally  in  the  case  of  persons 
who  had  no  seal,  but  in  time  became  quite  a  common 
attest  to  a  legal  document,  of  which  the  cross  or  mark, 
still  recognized  in  modern  times  as  a  signature  to  legal 
documents,  is  a  direct  successor.  The  most  solemn  fea- 
ture in  connection  with  legal  documents  was  the  oath 
which  was  by  no  means  obligatory  in  all  agreements; 
it  was  restricted  chiefly  to  cases  where  individuals 
through  sale,  exchange,  or  dissolution  of  partnership, 
or  through  a  testament  or  deed  of  gift  renounced  cer- 
tain claims  and,  as  already  pointed  out,  it  is  always  the 
person  who  gives  up  further  claims  who  swears  the 
oath,  as  it  is  he  who  attaches  his  seal  by  way  of  further 
confirmation,101  We  also  find  the  oath  where  obliga- 
tions are  imposed  on  individuals,  though  limited,  as  it 
would  appear,  to  marriage  contracts,  deeds  of  adoption, 
appointment  of  heirs  and  manumission  of  slaves — all 
being  transactions  involving  family  and  household 
affairs.  The  oath  is  not  taken  in  the  case  of  loans, 
leases,  labor  contracts,  commissions  and  the  like.  We 
have  seen  that  in  the  earliest  days  the  oath  is  taken  in 
the  name  of  the  king,  who  in  his  capacity  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  deity102  has  the  quality  of  sanctity 
attached  to  him.    In  the  days  of  Hammurapi,  the  gods 

tisit  for  the  fringe  to  be  attached  to  garments  according  to  the 
Priestly  Code  (Num.  15,  3B)  is  probably  a  loan  word  from  the 
Babylonian. 

100  Specifically  stated  as  such  in  the  document. 

101  See  on  the  oath  in  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  inscriptions  a 
monograph  by  S.  A.  B.  Mercer,  The  Oath  in  Babylonian  and 
Assyrian  Literature  (Paris,  1912),  with  supplementary  articles  in 
the  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  vols.  33  and  34,  and 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  vol.  29,  No.  2. 

102  Above,  p.  288,    The  rulers  of  Agade  and  of  Ur  have  the  deter- 
minative of  deity  attached  to  their  names.    The  divine  descent 
kings  thus  reverts  to  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  ma 


either  take  the  place  of  the  king  or  the  name  of  the  king 
is  added  to  that  of  the  gods,  and  frequently  also  the 
name  of  the  city  or  temple  in  which  the  document  is 
drawn  up.  The  change  points  to  the  growing  seculariza- 
tion of  the  royal  office,  leading  to  the  substitution  of 
the  gods  as  a  more  solemn  affirmation.  The  oath  was 
taken  by  the  "  raising  "  of  the  hand,103  and  the  place 
where  it  was  taken  was  naturally  in  the  temple.  Be- 
fore  the  civil  courts,  sitting  outside  of  the  temple,  no 
oath  could  be  taken,  and  when  it  became  necessary  in 
a  suit  brought  before  such  a  tribunal  to  introduce  the 
oath,  the  case  was  transferred  to  the  "  temple  "  judges. 

XV 

We  are  now  ready  to  take  up  some  illustrations  of 
legal  procedure  and  of  business  methods  in  the  time  of 
the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  and  of  later  periods,  re- 
stricting ourselves  mainly  to  such  specimens  as  will 
also  show  the  practical  workings  and  application  of  the 
regulations  in  the  contemporary  code  of  Hammurapi 
which  we  have  discussed.  The  scope  of  the  published 
documents  from  this  period104  is  exceedingly  exten- 
sive, covering  all  kinds  of  loans,  sales  of  houses,  fields 
and  orchards,  mercantile  transactions  in  produce,  in 
live  stock  and  goods,  leases  of  houses,  fields,  commis- 
sion brokerage,  hire  of  boats,  of  animals  and  of  work- 
men, partnership,  surety  and  guarantees,  gifts  to  mem- 
bers of  one's  family,  inheritance  and  disinheritance, 
slave  trade,  marriage  and  divorce,  adoption,  and  manu- 
mission being  some  of  the  subjects  covered,  besides 

108  From  the  stem  nashu,  "to  raise/'  a  noun  nisku  was  formed 
which  acquired  the  technical  force  of  "taking  the  oath."  See 
Schorr,  Altbabylonische  Rechtsurkunden,  p,  xzxiii,  note  1. 

104  See  the  bibliography  in  Schorr's  Altbabylonische  Rechtsur- 
kunden,  p.  xlix=lvi  Schorr's  work  itself  comprises  translations 
of  318  documents  with  commentary,  glossary  and  indices  of  proper 
names.  It  is  a  valuable  compilation,  despite  many  inconsistencies 
in  the  translations,  and  many  omissions  in  the  glossary  and  indices. 
23 


for* 


338 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


many  instances  of  lawsuits  which  illuminate  the  legal 
procedure  of  the  courts. 

The  formulae  for  loans  are  much  the  same  as  those 
which  we  have  already  come  across  in  Sumerian  docu- 
ments, with  interest  fluctuating  from  W4  to  25  per  cent, 
for  loans  of  money,  and  from  20  per  cent,  to  33%  for 
loans  of  produce.  Loans  without  interest,  naturally, 
were  made  at  all  periods  as  a  kind  of  personal  accom- 
modation. Women  often  appear  both  as  creditors  and 
debtors ;  and  it  is  significant  that  we  find  a  large  num- 
ber of  instances  of  priestesses  ,05  engaged  in  money  and 
in  produce  lending,  and  in  other  mercantile  tr- 
actions. Fines  are  occasionally  stipulated  in  case  of 
failure  to  return  the  loan  at  the  time  agreed  upon.  The 
temples  in  the  large  centres  continue  to  act  as  financial 
institxitions,  lending  money  and  produce  and  making 
investments  in  real  estate,  selling  property,  making 
labor  contracts  of  all  kinds  and  dealing  in  slaves.  The 
kings  also  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits  through  their 
accredited  agents;  they  appear  to  have  utilized  their 
large  holdings  more  particularly  for  wool-growing,  the 
extensive  sheepf olds  in  various  parts  of  the  realm  being 
directly  under  the  supervision  of  the  governors  ap- 
pointed by  the  king.1***  The  breaking  of  the  tablet 
recording  a  loan  was  the  formal  termination  of  the 
transaction.  Receipts  were  also  given,  though  not 
obligatory.  Debts  could  be  transferred,  and  in  case  of 
the  death  of  the  debtor,  the  obligation  rested  upon  the 
heirs.  Failure  to  pay  gave  the  creditor  the  right  to 
levy  on  the  produce  or  other  property  of  the  debtor; 

105  Chiefly  of  the  temple  of  Shamash  at  Sippar,  though  this  is  of 
course  largely  accidental,  owing  to  the  provenance  of  many  of  the 
documents. 

10fl  An  old  title  of  the  Babylonian  kings  frequently  introduced  in 
votive  and  historical  inscriptions  is  "shepherd/'  which  thus  turns 
out  to  be  more  than  a  mere  epithetum  ornans,  and  reflects  the  actual 
occupation  of  the  rulers,  who  naturally  became  the  largest  land 
owners  in  their  realm. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


339 


and  if  there  was  no  property,  the  person  of  the  debtor 
falls  into  the  hands  of  the  creditor,  though  he  could 
substitute  for  his  person,  his  wife,  child  or  slave.  To 
relieve  such  hardships,  the  law  provided  that  someone 
could  become  surety  for  the  debtor  at  the  expiration  of 
the  term  of  the  loan  and  agree  to  reimburse  the  creditor 
within  a  short  period.  Precautions  were  also  taken 
against  usurious  rates  of  interest,  though  the  creditor 
usually  succeeded  in  driving  a  sharp  bargain  by  being 
permitted  to  lend  produce  at  the  current  price  at  the  £/  A 
time  of  the  loan — usually  in  the  winter  or  spring,  be- 
fore the  harvest — with  a  return  of  this  amount  at  the 
harvest  season  when  the  price  was  considerably  lower, 
and  the  creditor  therefore  received  more  produce  back 
than  he  loaned. 

A  promissory  note  from  the  days  of  Darius  may  be 
taken  as  a  sample  of  the  general  form  employed.107 


f^> 


>*" 


"One  mina  and  five  shekels  of  silver  (due)  Nabu-mukin-zer, 
son  of  Idinnfi,  son  of  Gakbul,  from  Nabu-tabni-usur,  son  of  Apia, 
son  of  GakhaL  Monthly  for  each  mina  one  shekel  of  silver  shall 
increase  against  him — apart  from  his  share  of  a  record  of  a  seed 
field  on  the  Kish  highway,  held  in  partnership  with  his  brothers,  as 
a  pledge  for  Nabu-mukin-zer.  The  total  amount  of  silver  against 
him  he  shall  pay.  Witness:  Nabu-etir,  son  of  Nergal-uahalliin,  son 
of  Sha-nasbishu,  Bel-iddin,  son  of  Tabnea,  son  of  Warad-Nergal, 
Nabu-napishti-usur,  son  of  Shuma,  the  fisherman,  Nabu-mukin-zer, 
the  scribe,  son  of  Shamash-akh-iddin,  son  of  Nashishu.  Babylon, 
month  of  Simanu,108  23rd  day,  4th  year  of  Darius,10"  king  of  Babylon, 
king  of  the  lands. ' ' 

Ior  Clay,  Legal  and  Commercial  Documents  dated  in  the  Assyrian, 
N  eo-Bahylonian  and  Persian  Periods  (Philadelphia,  1908),  No.  105. 
In  the  documents  of  these  late  periods,  the  names  of  individuals 
are  carried  back  to  the  third  generation,  the  "grandfather/'  how- 
ever, being  in  many  cases  the  family  name.  The  dating  (since  the 
Cassite  period),  is  according  to  the  years  of  the  reigning  king. 

101  Third  month. 

109  Corresponding  to  c.  518  B.C. 


340 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  interest  here,  as  in  general  throughout  the  later 
periods,  is  at  the  rate  of  twenty  per  cent,  per  year, 
though  in  Assyria  it  fluctuated  from  twenty  per  cent, 
to  as  high  as  a  hundred  per  cent  Attached  to  the  record 
of  a  loan  is  a  reference  to  another  document,  previously 
drawn  up,  in  which  Nabu-tabni-usur  has  given  Nabu- 
mukin-zer  his  share  of  a  sown  field  held  in  common 
with  a  brother  as  a  guarantee — a  collateral,  as  we  would 
say,  to  obtain  the  loan. 

Loans  could  of  course  be  made  for  any  specified 
time,  but  in  an  agricultural  country  it  is  in  the  fall  and 
more  especially  in  the  spring  that  farmers  and  land 
owners  needed  money  to  pay  their  laborers  and  to  pro- 
vide seed  and  other  necessities  of  the  fields,  which  they 
could  return  at  harvest  time.  A  loan  of  this  kind  made 
in  Sippar  reads:  no 

"One  shekel  of  silver  for  M&r-irsitiin,  \fc  shekel  for  Ilu-abi, 
the  sons  of  Makhnubtim ( T),  at  the  usual  rate  of  interest  of  the 
Shamash  temple,  received  from  A-rishat,  the  priestess  of  Shamash, 
daughter  of  Shamshatum.  At  the  time  of  the  harvest  they  will  repay 
the  silver  with  the  interest  In  the  presence  of  Akhuni,  son  of  Lu- 
Gul , . .  and  of  Sin-raagirT  the  diviner,  in  the  month  of  Gan-Gan-e  U1 
in  the  year  when  the  throne  of  Innina  was  made.*' ,ia 

We  see  from  this  and  from  many  other  instances 
that  the  rate  of  interest  in  temple  transactions  was  fixed 
— presumably  twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent. — and  that 
a  priestess  could  act  as  a  money  lender.  In  the  same 
way  we  find  another  priestess  lending  produce  at 
interest.113 

"181  Gut  of  grain,  on  interest  at  the  usual  rate  (sc.  of  the  Sha- 
mash temple) ,  from  Nishi-inishu,  the  priestess  of  Shamash,  daughter 

110Ungnad  in  Tord^rasiatische  Schriftdenkmdler  der  KgL 
Museen  zu  Berlin f  Heft  viii,  Noa.  117-118  (case  tablet  with  seal  on 
the  outer  tablet). 

111  Ninth  month. 

n*  Fourteenth  year  of  Hammurapi,  corresponding  to  c.  2109  B.C. 

111  Vorderas.  Schriftdenkmiiler,  etc.  Heft  viii,  Nos.  93-94  (case 
tablet). 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


341 


of  Khuzalum,  Sin-imgurrani,  son  of  Sin-rabi,  has  received.  At  the 
harvest  in  the  month  of  Shandutim ll*  he  shall  measure  out  the  grain 
and  its  interest.  In  the  presence  of  Warad-Sin,  son  of  Mar-irsitim, 
Etel-pi-Adad,  son  of  Belanum,  son  of  Mar-ibik-irsitiin.  Month  of 
Dul-azagga,116  first  day  in  the  year  when  the  throne  of  Nannar  was 
made."1" 

An  interesting  loan  made  by  four  persons  through  a 
palace  commissioner,  payable  on  demand,  reads  as 
follows:117 

"One  talent UB  of  wool  of  the  palace,110  worth  10  shekels  of 
silver  which  Ilushu-ibni,  overseer  of  the  merchants,  has  received 
from  the  palace  through  ( t)  Utul-Ishtar,  the  scribe,  Taribum,  son  of 
Ibi-Shamash,  Ibku-Mamu(f),  Beliatum,  sons  of  Ilushu-bani,  and 
Kubburum  have  borrowed  from  Ilushu-ibni,  the  agent.  On  the 
day  that  the  palace  demands  it,  the  money  shall  be  brought  to  the 
palace.  In  the  presence  of  Warad-Uishu,  the  scribe,  month  of 
Kin-Innina,120  22d  day,  in  the  year  when  Ammi-ditana  set  up  his 
image  as  leader  of  the  army."  lxl 

In  the  case  of  purchases,  the  greatest  care  was  taken 
in  the  formal  deed  to  protect  the  purchaser  against 
fraud  or  even  unintentional  deception  by  the  assurance 
on  oath  of  the  seller  that  he  renounces  all  claims  for  all 
times  as  a  consequence  of  the  bona  fide  sale.  Not  in- 
frequently the  further  assurance  is  included  that  the 
seller  guarantees  through  a  third  party  against  any 
claims  on  the  property  or  object  sold.  This  precaution 
was  particularly  required  in  the  sale  of  land  or  houses 
which,  as  forming  part  of  a  f anrily  estate,  could  not  as  a 

114  A  designation  of  one  of  the  months  in  the  fall  of  the  year. 

1,0  Seventh  month. 

**•  Third  year  of  Hammnrapi,  c.  2120  B.C. 

m  Cun.  Texts  viii,  PI  36-. 

118  That  is,  the  weight  of  3600  shekels  (or  60  mina),  equal  to 
about  30  kilograms. 

nfl  That  is,  royal  property.    See  above  p.  338. 

1,0  Sixth  month. 

1,1 26th  year  of  Ammi-ditana,  corresponding  to  the  year  c. 
1988  b.c. 


342 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


survival  of  earlier  conditions  of  family  joint-ownership 
be  disposed  of  by  the  head  of  the  family,  to  the  detriment 
of  his  heirs,  or  of  those  otherwise  entitled  to  a  share  of 
the  estate.  The  heirs  and  possible  claimants  are  accord- 
ingly at  times  brought  into  the  proceedings  when  a  sale 
of  a  house  or  field  is  consummated,  to  guarantee  the 
purchaser  against  future  trouble.  The  purchase  was 
ordinarily  a  cash  transaction,  though  there  are  instances 
of  part  cash  payment  and  the  rest  on  credit.  Certain 
formalities  were  observed  at  the  sale,  noticeable  among 
which  is,  in  the  case  of  deeds  drawn  in  Sippar,  Babylon 
and  Dilbat,  the  handing  over  of  a  staff  by  the  seller  to 
the  purchaser  122  as  a  symbol  of  the  agreement.  A  still 
older  custom  that  can  be  traced  back  to  pre-Sargonic 
days 123  is  the  addition  of  a  small  bonus  over  and  above 
the  price  agreed  upon,  equivalent  to  about  live  per  cent. 
of  the  total  value  in  the  case  of  real  estate  and  from  one 
per  cent,  to  five  and  a  fourth  per  cent,  in  the  case  of 
slaves.12*  It  may  be,  as  has  been  suggested,  that  the 
custom  which  is  encountered  also  in  Gra&co-Egyptian 
documents  is  to  he  traced  back  to  an  earlier  prohibition 
of  disposing  of  land  as  belonging  to  the  gods,  leading 
to  a  fictitious  sale  by  giving  not  the  purchase  price  but 
a  higher  amount,  so  as  to  lend  to  the  transaction  the 
form  of  a  gift  made  by  the  seller  rather  than  an  actual 
bargain. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  these  deeds  of  sale 
is  the  various  specifications  that  they  contain,  setting 
forth  both  the  rights  and  the  restrictions  imposed  upon 
the  purchaser,  the  exact  details  regarding  the  property 
or  objects  sold  and  the  terms  of  the  sale.    A  purchase 

litBnHm^  See  Schorr  I.e.,  p.  116  and  note  on  p,  122  with  the 
references  there  given, 

1M  Genouillac,  Tablet tes  Sumcriennes  Arckatques  (Paris,  1909), 
p.  xxxv,  seq. 

1U  So  according  to  Cuq,  "Etudes  sur  les  Contracts  de  Vepoque 
de  la  prerrridre  Dynastic  babylonicnnc,"  in  Nouvelle  Revue  His- 
torique  de  droit  Frances  et  Stranger,  vol  xxxiv,  p.  463. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


343 


of  a  house  made  by  one  brother  from  another  is  recorded 
as  follows :  m 


'One- 


of  a  Sar 


six  Gin  of  improved  property,156  ad- 
joining the  house  of  Ea-idinnam,  poultry  dealer  ( ?),  being  the 
house  of  Amurru-malik,  son  of  Erish-suniatum,  from  Amurru- 
malik,  Apil-Amurru,  his  older  brother,  has  bought.  As  the  full 
value,  he  has  weighed  out  nine  shekels  of  silver.  For  all  times, 
Amurra-malik  and  his  heirs,  as  many  as  there  may  be,  renounce 
any  claim  on  that  house.    In  the  name  of  the  king  he  has  sworn.'* 

There  follow  the  names  of  four  witnesses,  of  the 
scribe  and  the  official  seal-maker,187  together  with  the 
date,  the  ninth  day  of  the  eighth  month  in  the  ninth 
year  of  Samsu-iluna.128  The  seal  of  the  seller  is  attached 
to  the  document,  rolled  twice  over  the  tablet  in  the  space 
just  before  the  date. 

In  the  ease  of  purchase  of  slaves,  the  seller  assumes 
the  responsibility  for  the  good  condition  of  the  slave 
by  agreeing  to  revoke  the  sale  in  case  within  a  month 
the  slave  is  seized  with  a  sickness  known  as  bemm  IZ8 
which  would  incapacitate  him.  This  is  in  accord  with 
§  278  of  the  Hammurapi  code.130  A  document  of  this 
class  reads  as  follows: 1SI 

*'A  female  slave,  Ina-e-ul-mash-banat  by  name,  from  the  city 
Ursum,  belonging  to  Damik-Marduk,  son  of  Libit-Ishtar,  Usria,  son 
of  Warad-za,  has  bought  from  Damik-Marduk,  Bon  of  Libit-Ishtar, 
her  master.  As  the  full  price  he  has  weighed  %  mina  and  one 
shekel 1S2  of  silver,  besides  %  of  a  shekel  as  banus.  Three  days 
are  allowed  for  investigation,  and  one  month  for  a  revocation  in 
case  of  bennu  sickness,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  king." 

"oPoebeU.c^No.aS. 

ia<  The  distinction  is  thus  made  between  land  and  ground  with 
a  house. 

117  Above  p.  334. 

121  Corresponding  to  the  year  c.  2071  b.o. 

""Perhaps  "epilepsy." 

"•Above  p.  314. 

im  Vorderas.  Sckriftdenkmnler,  Heft  vii,  No.  50. 

Iaa  That  is,  51  shekels — a  very  high  price  for  a  slave. 


344  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  names  of  five  witnesses  and  of  the  scribe  are 
attached  to  the  document  which  is  dated  15th  day  of 
the  9th  month  of  the  7th  year  of  Amnii-ditana.13* 

The  guarantee  against  the  bennu  sickness  as  an 
assurance  that  the  slave  was  sold  in  good  condition  was 
extended  in  Assyria  to  one  hundred  days,  an  indication 
of  the  frequency  with  which  the  development  of  the 
sickness  after  more  than  a  month  must  have  occurred. 
Moreover,  the  seller  in  Assyria  was  also  obliged  to 
guarantee  that  the  slave  was  tractable.  As  in  other 
purchases  and  agreements,  a  heavy  line  is  imposed  for 
any  suit  brought  in  future  to  reclaim  the  slave.  An 
Assyrian  document  of  this  kind  recording  the  sale  of 
three  slaves  reads : lu 

1 '  Seal  of  Sharrani,  owner  of  the  persona  herewith  legally  trans- 
ferred. Im-sha-i  (!),  the  slave,  .  .  .  Shar-Ashur,  Urkit-&  .  .  . 
total  three  persons,  .  .  .  Akhu-tali  ( ! ) ,  the  mayoress  of  the  central 
quarter  of  the  city  "a  has  acquired  for  four  mina  of  silver.18*  The 
silver  has  been  paid  in  full.  These  men  have  been  bought  and 
taken  over.  Revocation  or  law  suit  there  shall  not  be.  Whosoever 
presses  a  suit  against  the  mayoress,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  15  mina 
of  silver.  Against  their  being  seized  (with  bcnnu  sickness)  a 
guarantee  of  100  days,  against  rebelliousness  for  all  times.' >1,T 

The  transaction  is  attested  by  nine  witnesses, — an 
unusual  number  in  Assyrian  documents,  and  due  in 
this  case  probably  to  the  fact  that  three  slaves  are  in- 
volved. The  date  is  the  18th  of  the  12th  month  in  the 
eponymate  of  BeHmur-ani,  the  general-in-chief,  corre- 
sponding to  the  year  685  B.C.  in  the  reign  of  King 
Sennacherib.188 

m  Corresponding  to  c.  2007  b.c. 

1,4  Johns,  Assyrian  Deeds  and  Documents,  No.  232.  The  text 
is  defective  at  the  beginning. 

m  A  curious  office  to  be  held  by  a  woman ! 

1M  A  high  price,  being  an  average  of  80  shekels  per  slave. 

m  That  is,  a  guarantee  that  the  three  slaves  were  tractable. 

m  On  the  Assyrian  method  of  dating  documents  see  below  p.  351. 


COMMERCE  AM)  LAW 


345 


The  position  of  the  slaves  in  Assyria  was  much  the 
same  as  in  Babylonia,  They  could  hold  property  in 
their  own  right  and  could  even  have  slaves  of  their 
own.  They  could  act  as  witnesses  and  had  their  seals 
with  which  to  attest  transactions  made  by  them.  Slaves 
could  even  marry  daughters  of  freemen,  and  we  have 
also  instances  in  Assyria  of  a  slave  with  two  wives.13* 
The  law  also  protected  the  family  of  a  slave  so  that  the 
members  were  not  torn  away  from  their  surroundings. 
In  many  cases  slaves  formed  an  integral  part  of  landed 
estates  and  were  sold  together  with  their  families  with 
the  property  to  which  they  were  attached. 


XVI 

As  a  survival  of  early  conditions  when  women  were 
purchased  as  wives,  we  have  in  the  marriage  agreements 
of  the  Hammurapi  periods  the  same  general  form  as 
in  the  case  of  other  purchases,  even  though  this  point 
of  view  is  no  longer  present  in  the  subsequent  relations 
of  man  and  wife ;  and  the  form  undergoes  only  slight 
modifications  during  the  later  periods  of  Babylonian 
history  and  in  Assyria. 

In  the  marriage  contract,140  there  are  two  parties  as 
in  the  ordinary  bill  of  purchase — the  parents  disposing 
of  the  daughter,  or  in  default  of  both,  the  father  or 
mother,  or  if  both  are  dead,  the  brothers  and  sisters, 
while  on  the  other  side  we  have  the  bridegroom  acting 
for  himself,  though  occasionally  his  parents  act  for 
him.141  The  original  purchase  money  is  replaced  by 
the  "  gift, ' T 142  given  by  the  bridegroom  to  the  parents 
or  representatives  of  the  bride,  but  which  already  in 

"• See  Johns,  U,  No.  229, 

w«  For  details  of  marriage  in  the  Hammurapi  period,  see  Cuq's 
admirable  article,  Le  Mariage  &  Babylone  d'apris  les  Lais  de 
Hammurapi  (Revue  Biblique,  1905,  pp.  350-371). 

141  See  Cun.  Texts,  viii,  7* 

141  Tirkhatu. 


346 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  days  of  Hannnurapi  is  kept  in  trust  for  her,  to  be 
passed  down  to  her  children  and  of  which  her  husband 
can  at  most  use  the  interest  for  his  business  enterprises. 
The  gift  or  dowry  of  the  parents  to  the  daughter  ap- 
pears at  all  times  to  have  been  optional,  and  while  at 
the  husband's  disposal,  is  to  be  returned  to  the  wife  in 
case  of  a  divorce  brought  about  through  no  fault  of  the 
wife.  As  we  have  seen,143  the  wife  as  well  as  woman 
in  general  possesses  all  the  rights  of  a  person  whose 
independent  legal  status  is  recognized.  She  can  buy, 
lease  and  sell,  make  contracts  and  can  dispose  of  prop- 
erty belonging  to  her.  She  can  enter  into  business 
partnership  with  the  husband  and  both  are  held  equally 
responsible  for  obligations  thus  entered  upon.  Women 
act  as  witnesses,  as  scribes  Ui  and  even  as  judges 145  and 
hold  other  official  posts.  It  would  appear,  indeed,  that 
the  relatively  high  status  of  woman  in  ancient  Baby- 
lonia results  from  her  position  in  the  cult  as  a  priestess. 
The  woman,  as  part  of  the  temple  organization,  would 
naturally  share  in  the  growth  of  the  organization. 
Hence  the  priestess  like  the  priest  enters  into  commer- 
cial life,  and  with  this  had  to  be  given  a  legal  status 
equal  to  that  of  a  priest.  The  ordinary  form  of  a  mar- 
riage contract  reads  as  follows :  uo 

1 '  Bashtum,  daughter  of  Betizunu,  the  priestess  of  Shamash, 
daughter  of  Uzibitum,  has  been  taken  to  wife  by  Rimum,  the  son 
of  Shamkhatum.  .  .  .  shekels  of  silver  **7  as  the  amount  of  her 

1411  Above  p.  305,  seq, 

a**  E.g.,  Cun.  Texte  vi,  PL  24b  (Amat-Mamu,  the  female  scribe 
of  the  document  in  question). 

145  Cun.  Texts,  viii,  PL  28*  (Ishtar-Ummu,  daughter  of  Abba- 
nibum,  female  scribe  and  judge  in  the  temple  of  Shamash) . 

'"Meissner,  Beitrage  zum  altbabyloniscken  Privatrecht  (Leip- 
zig, 1893),  No.  90. 

"TThe  number  of  shekels  is  broken  off.  The  amount  of  the 
gift  varies  naturally  according  to  the  financial  status  of  the  parents; 
it  is  quite  frequently  very  low,  four  to  ten  shekels. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


347 


'gift'  she  has  already  received.  Her  heart  is  satisfied.  If  Bashtum 
says  to  Rimum,  her  husband,  'thou  art  not  my  husband,' 148  she  is 
bound  and  thrown  into  the  river  ;"•  and  if  Rimum  says  to  Bashtum, 
'thou  art  not  my  wife,'  he  weighs  out  to  her  ten  shekels  as  divorce 
money.  In  the  name  of  Shamash,  Marduk,  Samsu-iluna  and  the 
city  of  Sippar  they  have  sworn.1' 

Seven  witnesses,  among  them  a  woman,  bear  attest 
to  the  document.  The  circumstance  that  the  bride, 
apparently,  must  declare  her  satisfaction  with  the  mar- 
riage gift  or  settlement  for  her  benefit  shows  how  far 
removed  we  are  from  the  days  of  marriage  by  purchase. 
In  another  document, iSt>  likewise  dating  from  the  days 
of  Samsuiluna  (2080-2043  B.C.),  there  is  instead  of  a 
mention  of  a  gift  on  the  part  of  the  bridegroom,  a  clause 
in  regard  to  the  dowry  of  19  shekels  of  silver  brought 
by  the  bride  as  a  dowry  to  her  husband.  It  is  stipulated 
that  the  husband  forfeits  the  dowry  if  he  divorces  his 
wife,  besides  being  obliged  to  pay  a  compensation  of 
half  a  mina,  whereas  if  the  woman  rejects  her  husband, 
she  loses  the  dowry  and  must  pay  a  fine  of  half  a  mina. 
"  By  mutual  consent  they  have  sworn  in  the  name  of 
the  king,"  the  document  adds. 

We  have  seen 1S1  how  the  Code  endeavors  to  protect 
the  first  and  chief  wife  against  being  shoved  into  the 
background  through  more  attractive  rivals.  In  illus- 
tration, we  have  an  interesting  marriage  agreement 
between  a  man  and  two  sisters,  with  a  stipulation  re- 
garding the  status  of  the  second  in  order  to  make  clear 
her  subsidiary  position  in  the  household.     The  docu- 

148  I.e.,  refuses  to  cohabit  with  him  or  desires  to  leave  him. 

149  An  alternative  punishment  is ' '  to  be  thrown  from  a  column, ' ' 
e.g.,  Vorderas,  Sckriftdenkmaler,  Heft  viii,  No.  4,  24-25  (case  of 
a  female  slave  married  to  a  freeman),  and  in  the  text  below. 

lwFrom  Nippur  and  couched  in  Sumerian.  See  Poebel,  I.e., 
No.  40. 

m  Above,  p.  309,  seq. 


348 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


inent  from  the  days  of  Sin-muballit  (2144-2124  B.C.] 
reads:152 

"Warad-Shamash   has   married   Taram-Sagila   and    Iltani,11 
daughter  of  Sin-abushu.    If  Taram-Sagila  or  Iltani  says  to  Warad- 
Shamash,  'thou  art  not  my  husband/  they  shall  cast  her  down  from  j 
column ;  and  if  Warad-Shamash  says  to  Taram-Sagila  or  Iltani, 
wife, '  thou  art  not  my  wife,  *  he  loses  house  and  furniture.    Further- 
more,  Iltani  shall  wash  the  feet  of  Taram-Sagila  (and)  carry  ht 
chair  to  the  temple  of  her  god.    Iltani  is  to  help  Taram-Sagila  wit 
her  toilet  and  (otherwise)  assist  her  and  she  is  not  to  use  her  seal 
She  must  grind  10  Ka  of  flour  and  bake  for  her." lM 

These  curious  stipulations  are  all  evidently  intendec 
to  indicate  the  inferior  position  which  the  second  wife 
is  to  occupy  by  the  side  of  her  sister,  to  do  personal 
and  menial  service,  in  fact,  to  be  in  the  position  of  a 
handmaid  who,  as  will  be  recalled,154  might  also  be  givei 
by  the  wife  to  her  husband  as  a  concubine. 

xvn 

Li  illustration  of  the  paragraphs  in  the  Code  of 
Hammurapi  dealing  with  leasing  of  houses,  shops 
barns,  fields  and  boats,  and  the  hiring  of  workmen  anc 
of  animals,  we  have  a  large  number  of  legal  documents 
that  throw  further  light  on  business  practices  in  ancient 
Babylonia,  and  which  underwent  merely  minor  modi- 
fications in  the  transfer  to  Assyria  and  in  the  later 
periods  of  the  Babylonian  history,  down  through  the 
time  of  Persian  and  Greek  supremacy.  The  rent  of 
houses  varies  naturally  according  to  size  and  location, 

168  Cun,  Texts  ii,  PI.  44,  We  have  also  another  special  marriage 
contract  between  the  same  Warad-Shamash  and  one  of  the  sisters 
(Iltani),    See  Meissner,  %b.r  No.  89. 

161  More  literally  they  have  entered  into  a  relationship  of  "wife 
and  husband/*  with  Warad-Shamash. 

151  The  names  of  ten  witnesses  are  attached. 
l"  Above,  p.  309. 


1 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


349 


from  two-thirds  of  a  shekel  to  six  shekels  annually  in 
the  documents  of  the  Hammurapi  period,  which  appears 
to  be  very  low  from  a  modern  point  of  view.  We  must 
remember,  however,  that  the  private  houses  were  at 
all  times  very  simple  affairs,  of  one  story,  built  of  clay, 
with  a  varying  number  of  rooms  around  a  central 
court.  The  period  of  the  lease  was  usually  one  year, 
occasionally  six  months,  while  in  later  times  the  period 
is  two  years.  Repairs  during  occupancy  had  to  be  made 
by  the  occupant,  who  is  also  held  responsible  for 
damages.  The  same  applies  to  ships.  The  rent  was 
due  at  the  end  of  the  lease,  though  in  most  cases  a  por- 
tion was  paid  at  the  beginning  of  the  tenn,  amounting  to 
as  much  as  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  rent.  The  gen- 
eral form  of  a  house  lease  was  as  follows : lftft 

"The  house  of  Bibatum,  the  priestess  of  Shamash,  Ninshubur- 
nasir,  sod  of  Nur-alishu,  has  rented  from  Bibatum,  the  priestess  of 
Shamash,  daughter  of  Ibgatim,  for  one  year.  As  rent  for  one  year, 
he  is  to  weigh  out  three  shekels  of  silver.  As  part  payment  of  the 
rent,  iy2  shekels  have  been  received.  On  the  first  day  of  the 
month  Warakh-shamna  "T  he  moved  in.  Three  festival  gifts  for 
Shamash,  one  piece  of  meat  and  10  Ka  of  wine  he  shall  furnish. 
In  the  presence  of  Amel-Adad,  son  of  Sin-eribam,  and  Adad-bani, 
son  of  Marim.  Month  of  Warakh-shamna,  first  day,  the  year  of 
the  goddess  Tashmit."  15B 

"Regarding  the  outlay  for  the  house  which  rests  on  the  tenant, 
if  the  owner  of  the  house  says  to  the  tenant,  l  Get  out ! '  he  (*.«.,  the 
owner)  forfeits  the  outlay,  but  if  the  tenant  moves  out  of  his  own 
accord,  he  is  responsible  for  the  outlay. 

*'In  the  presence  of  Bur-Adad,  son  of  Bar- A  dad,  Idinnam- 
lagamal,  Akhushina,  son  of  E-Sharra,  month  of  Warakh-shamma, 
day,  the  year  of  the  goddess  Tashmit." 

••Banke,  Babylonian  Legal  and  Business  Documents  from  the 
time  of  the  first  Dynasty  of  Babylon  (Philadelphia,  1906),  No.  35 
and  36 — two  copies  of  the  tablet  with  slight  variants. 

m  Eighth  month.  The  duplicate  has  tiru  which  appears  to  be  a 
variant  name  for  the  month. 

lM  41at  year  of  Hammurapi,  corresponding  to  2083  B.c 


350 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


We  find  this  same  priestess  leasing  a  shop  to  a  cer- 
tain Atidnm  for  one  year  at  a  rental  of  1V&  shekels  of 
silver  to  be  paid  on  moving  into  the  house  on  the  20th 
of  the  fifth  month,  in  the  third  year  of  Samsu-iluna, 
corresponding  to  the  year  2077  B.C. ,B0 

As  a  curious  custom  we  find  cases  of  a  builder  being 
paid  for  the  construction  of  a  house  by  occupying 
for  a  term  of  years;  so  in  one  instance180  eight  y< 
in  return  "for  his  outlay,' '  which  implies  that  the 
builder  pays  the  cost.  The  assumption  is  of  course 
that  the  ground  belongs  to  the  one  who  engages  the 
builder.  Since  the  period  of  occupation  is  based  on 
the  cost  of  the  house,  we  may  conclude  that  on  an  aver- 
age the  yearly  rent  represents  12  Vz  per  cent,  of  the 
total  cost,  or  about  half  the  amount  of  the  average 
interest  on  money  loaned.  From  the  other  end  of 
Babylonian  history  in  the  days  of  Seleucid  rulers  (312- 
65  B.C.)  we  have  a  lease  with  stipulations  about  repairs. 
It  reads  as  follows:  m 

"A  large  house  of  Nana- id  din,  son  of  Tanittum,  son  of  Akhutn, 
which  is  in  the  district  of  the  great  park  1M  in  Uruk,  which  is  at 
the  side  of  the  large  house  of  Mushezibitum,  daughter  of  Ishtar- 
akh-iddin,  and  alongside  the  centre  of  the  field,  at  a  yearly  rental 
for  the  house  of  four  shekels  of  silver  is  at  the  disposal  of  Anu- 
uballit,  son  of  Kidin-Anu.  Half  of  the  silver  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  the  balance  of  the  silver  in  the  middle  of  the  year  he 
shall  pay.  The  bareness  (of  the  walls)  he  shall  repair,  the  cracks 
of  the  walls  he  shall  close  up.  The  amount  for  the  work,  bricks, 
reeds  and  beams,  as  much  as  he  may  need,  shaU  be  placed  to  his 
credit.  During  the  year  three  'shugurru iM  he  shall  give.  From 
the  tenth  day  of  the  month  of  Tamimiz  of  the  eighth  year  of 
King  Seleucus10*  that  large  house  is  at  the  disposal  of  Anu-uballit, 
son  of  Kidin-Anu/' 

,60Ranke  I.e.,  No.  51  (case  tablet). 

1110  Meissner,  Beitriige  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrccht,  No.  G6. 
161  Clay,  Legal  Documents  from  Erech,  dated  in  the  Seleucid 
Era  (New  York,  1913),  No.  L 
lM  A  public  park  (?), 
""Perhaps  festival  gifts. 
1M  That  is,  SeleucuB  I.  whose  eighth  year  corresponds  to  304  b.c. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


351 


The  document,  witnessed  and  sealed,  bears  the  date 
of  the  fifth  day  of  Tanimuz  (fourth  month),  eighth 
year  of  King  Seleucus,  five  days  therefore  before  the 
actual  commencement  of  the  lease.  The  stipulation 
that'the  tenant  is  to  be  credited  for  the  expense  involved 
in  attending  to  necessary  repairs  is  probably  a  special 
agreement,  due  possibly  to  the  neglected  condition  of 
the  house  at  the  time  that  the  lease  was  signed.  It 
will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  old  form  whereby  the 
tenant  must  undertake  the  repairs  is  observed — merely 
that  he  is  to  be  reimbursed  by  the  deduction  of  the  cost 
from  the  rent.  The  annual  rental  being  only  four 
shekels,  one  wonders  how  much  was  left  for  the  owner 
after  the  cost  of  repairs  had  been  deducted. 

The  changes  in  legal  procedure  wrought  through 
the  lapse  of  ages  are  all  of  a  minor  character.  Since 
the  days  of  the  Cassite  rulers  (c.  1760-1185  b.c),  the 
reigns  of  kings  were  reckoned  by  years  instead  of  by 
the  cumbersome  method  of  a  date  for  each  year  accord- 
ing to  some  event  by  which  it  was  designated,  and 
which  necessitated  recourse  to  lists  of  dates  prepared 
by  the  scribes  or  votaries.  The  name  of  the  place  where 
the  document  was  drawn  up  is  added.  The  tendency 
also  developed  to  reduce  the  number  of  witnesses 
(though  a  uniform  practice  was  never  introduced), 
and  the  word  for  "witness"  was  placed  before  the 
names  instead  of  the  phrase  "in  the  presence  of." 
In  Assyrian  legal  documents  the  chief  departure  from 
Babylonian  models  is  marked  by  the  reference  at  the 
beginning  of  the  document,  to  the  seal  or  finger-mark 
of  the  party  who  disposes  of  something  or  on  whom  an 
obligation  rests,  while  for  the  dating  of  the  years  an 
independent  method  was  followed,  each  year  being 
named  after  an  official  who  acted  as  the  eponym  165  for 
that  year,  the  ruling  king  leading  off  as  the  eponym 
for  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  followed  by  the  highest 

ia*  The  Assyrian  term  is  limu. 


352 


BABYLONIA  AKD  ASSYRIA 


officials  and  then  by  those  of  lower  grade.  The  method 
was  almost  as  cumbersome  as  the  older  system  of  Baby- 
lonia, and  it  is  only  by  reference  to  lists  of  eponyms  for 
each  reign  that  we  can  determine  the  year  of  a  ruler 
corresponding  to  the  eponym  named.186 

Ships  were  commonly  rented  for  transport  of  grain, 
and  the  return  was  generally  reckoned  in  an  amount  of 
grain,  and  not  in  currency.  The  same  was  the  case  in 
fields  which  were  rented  naturally  for  cultivation,  the 
stipulation  being  that  the  rent  was  to  be  paid  in  a  per- 
centage of  the  yield  at  the  time  of  harvest.  A  contract 
of  this  nature  is  couched  in  the  following  terms : 167 

"A  field  of  9  (!)  Gan — a  meadow  without  an  exit  (t)m  from 
Melulatum,  priestess  of  Shamash,  daughter  of  Ibkusha,  propriet- 
ress of  the  field,  { ?)  Bel-ludari,  son  of  Liwirashum,  as  a  field  for 
cultivation  on  a  return  (of  the  produce)  has  rented.  At  the  time 
of  harvest  the  field  to  its  full  extent  he  shall  garner  and  for  each 
Gan  100  Ka  of  grain,1"*  according  to  the  standard  of  Shamash,  at 
the  waU  of  Sippar),170  he  shall  measure  out." 

The  names  of  four  witnesses  and  of  the  scribe  are 
attached  to  the  document,  which  is  dated  on  the  25th 
day  of  the  6th  month  in  the  year  "when  Ammiditana 
[restored]  the  power  of  Mard^lk,,,  that  is,  the  fourth 
year  of  the  king's  reign,  corresponding  to  the  year 
2010  b,c.  1T1 

w  See  lists  of  such  eponyms,  in  Sehrader,  KeUinschriftliche 
Bibliothek,  I,  pp.  204-215,  some  having  merely  the  names  of  the 
eponyms,  others  the  name  with  brief  reference  to  some  important 
event  in  that  year.  These  lists,  however,  are  very  incomplete, 
covering  only  the  9th  and  8th  centuries. 

m  Cun.  Texts,  xxxiii,  PI.  33. 

168  The  reference  is  perhaps  to  the  lack  of  an  irrigating  canal 
leading  into  the  field. 

,M  About  40  litres. 

170  A  term  for  the  tribunal  of  Sippar,  which  had  its  seat  at  the 
wall  of  the  city.    See  above,  p.  332,  note  95. 

m  The  seals  of  Bel-ludari  and  of  three  of  the  witnesses  are  rolled 
over  the  tablet. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


353 


Workmen  and  slaves  were  hired  for  short  and  long 
periods,  from  a  few  days  172  up  to  two  years,  the  wages 
being  either  in  produce  or  more  commonly  in  currency. 
Five  shekels  a  year  seems  to  have  been  an  average 
price  for  a  workman,  though  the  amount  is  at  times 
as  low  as  two  shekels.  The  stipulation  is  frequently 
added  that  the  laborer  is  to  receive  his  clothes  during 
his  term  of  service.173  Presumably  his  board  is  taken 
for  granted,  since  as  a  laborer  he  belongs  to  the  house- 
hold. As  a  specimen  of  such  a  contract  we  may  select 
one  which  is  interesting  because  it  makes  provision 
for  three  holydays  each  month.174 

* 4  Warad-Tashmetum  baa  been  hired  for  two  months  for  team 
( f )  work m  by  Sin-ikisham,  the  keeper  of  the  archive  ( T)  in 
the  temple,  from  Idin-Lagamal,  his  brother.  As  his  wages,  he  is 
to  receive  for  two  months  1*4  shekels.  In  the  month  he  is  to  have 
three  days  for  himself.  If  he  stops  his  work  or  goes  away,  he  loses 
his  hire.  Before  Ilushu-bani,  son  of  Amurra-put-Adad,  and  Ina- 
palishu,  son  of  Warad-Ishtar.  Month  of  Airu,I7B  first  day,  in  the 
year  in  which  king  Ammi-saduka  (erected)  a  golden  throne."1" 

Similarly,  animals  were  hired,  and  their  value  ap- 
pears to  have  been  rated  higher  than  that  of  human 
beings,  We  have  a  case178  of  an  ox  hired  for  draughting 
for  one  month  at  the  rate  of  one  shekel,  of  which  one- 
half,  it  is  stipulated,  is  to  be  paid  in  advance.  Flocks 
of  considerable  size  were  hired  for  a  longer  period  with 
a  return  in  currency,  and  also  in  a  share  of  the  off- 
spring and  the  wool. 

The  hire  passes  over  by  an  agreement  of  this  kind 

173  Ten  days  in  one  instance  for  harvesting.  (Meissner,  I.e.,  No. 
57). 

171  We  have,  however,  a  case  in  which  it  is  expressly  stipulated 
that  he  is  to  provide  his  own  clothes  (Cun.  Texts,  vi,  PL  40a), 

tTt  Vorderas.    Sckriftdenknuiler,  Ileft  vii,  No.  83. 

1X6  shirbi-ir  sa-ma-di,  cf .  Cun.  Texts,  xxxiii,  PI.  32,  obv.  5. 

176  Second  month,  i/ 

m  Eighth  year,  corresponding  to  c.  1969  B.C.  ^ 

178  Vorderas.   Schriftdenkmaler,  Heft  vii,  No.  92. 
23 


^/ 


354  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

into  a  quasi  partnership  pact,  since  in  return  for  a  pay- 
ment for  the  lease  of  the  flock,  the  lessee  shares  with  the 
owner  the  profit  and  increase  during  the  period.  The 
partnership  agreement  was  usually  quite  simple  in 
form,  as  the  following  document  from  the  neo-Baby- 
lonian  period  shows : 17a 

1 '  One  mina  of  silver  It ti-Marduk-balatu,  son  of  Nabu-akhe-iddin, 
son  of  Egibis ieo  and  Marduk-shapik-zer,  son  of  Nabu-ahum-iddin, 
son  of  Nadin-sheim  have  invested  in  common.  Whatever  trans- 
actions they  engage  in  they  share  as  partners.  Witness:  Nabu- 
icr-ikisha,  son  of  Belshimu,  son  of  Epesh-ili,  Bel-udakhkhid.  son 
of  Shapik-zer,  son  of  the  surveyor,  and  the  scribe  Marduk-shum- 
iddin,  son  of  Apia,  son  of  Bel-etir.  Babylon,  month  Warakhshamna* 
third  day,  fifth  year  of  Nabonnedos,  king  of  Babylon." 


Partnerships  could  also  take  the  form  of  an  invest- 
ment in  common  of  a  sum  of  money  and  of  merchandise 
which  would  then  be  managed  for  the  partners  by  a 
third  person  as  agent1*1  In  that  case  the  agreement  is 
more  explicit,  as  for  example,  in  the  following  document, 
likewise  from  the  reign  of  Nabonnedos.1*2 

"Five  mina  of  silver  and  130  jars  of  incense  belonging  to  Itti- 
Marduk-baIatu,son  of  Nabu-akhe-iddin,  son  of  Egibi,  and  Maxduk- 
shapik-zer,  son  of  Nabu-shum-iddin,  son  of  Nadin-sheim,1*8  due 
from  Kurbat-nabu-sabit  (?),  agent  of  Nabu-akhe-iddin  and  Nabu- 
din-epush,  agent  of  Marduk-shapik-zer,  for  current  business.  WTiat- 
ever  in  the  city  or  outside  they  acquire  with  it,  is  to  be  shared  by 
Itti-Marduk-balatu    and    Marduk-shapik-zer.      Kurbat-nabu-sabit 

179  Strassmaier,  Nabotiidus  Imchriften  (Leipzig,  1889),  No.  199. 

180  In  the  neo-Babyionian  and  later  periods,  the  line  of  descent 
is  carried  further  than  the  mention  of  the  father.  The  third  mem- 
ber is  not  necessarily  the  grandfather,  but  corresponds  rather  to  our 
family  name.    See  above,  p.  339.    Warakhshaniena  is  the  8th  month, 

181  In  Strassmaier,  nabonidus  inschriften,  No.  652,  the  agent 
is  a  woman. 

"*  Strassmaier,  I.e.,  No.  572  (11th  year  of  king  =:  544  B.C.). 
188  The  same  two  partners  as  above. 


? 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


355 


(!)  and  Nabu-din-epush  while  engaged  in  this  commission  shall 
receive  from  it  (i.e.,  from  the  sum  entrusted  to  them)  food  and 
clothing/"  besides  the  use  of  the  house  at  their  disposal.'1 

During  the  continuance  of  partnership,  debts  con- 
tracted by  one  party  entailed  responsibility  for  the 
other.  Partnerships  were  dissolved  either  naturally 
by  the  death  of  one  partner  or  by  mutual  consent  The 
partners  go  before  the  tribunal  to  render  an  account, 
swear  an  oath  that  everything  has  been  divided  fairly 
and  equally,  and  are  then  formally  released  from 
further  obligations  towards  one  another.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  compare  two  f ornis  of  such  documents,  one  from 
the  days  of  Hammurapi  and  one  from  the  days  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  II.  at  the  other  end  of  Babylonian 
history,  to  see  the  substantial  continuity  of  legal  pro- 
cedure, and  at  the  same  time  note  certain  modifications 
in  terms  and  phrases. 

The  f ormer  reads :  w* 

"After  Erib-Sin  and  Nur-Shamash  had  formed  a  partnership, 
they  went  to  the  temple  of  Shamash  and  rendered  an  account.  The 
currency,  male  and  female  slaves,  everything  outstanding,  outside 
and  within  the  city,  they  divided  equally.  After  they  had  con- 
cluded this  (settlement)  of  silver,  male  and  female  slaves,  every- 
thing, outside  and  within  the  city,  from  straw  to  gold, 18e  neither 
shall  have  a  claim  against  the  other.  In  the  name  of  Shamash,  A, 
Marduk  and  Hammurapi  they  swore." 

The  names  of  seventeen  witnesses  are  attached  to 
this  document  but  no  specific  date. 

The  document  of  the  later  period  reads : 18*' 

114  That  is,  their  expenses  shall  be  paid. 

1M  Cun.  Texts,  ii,  PL  28*. 

1MA  phrase  of  frequent  occurrence  to  indicate  everything  of 
value. 

,M*  Strassmaier,  Nabuchodnosor  Inschriften  (Leipzig,  1889), 
No.  116.  Dated  8th  of  Shebat  (11th  month),  18th  year  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar (586  B.C.). 


366 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"Business  agreement  ( !)  of  Nabu-kin-apal  and  Nabu-bel-shunu, 
bis  son,  and  of  Simla,  son  of  Zer-ukin,  son  of  Mushezib-bel,  the 
shutapi  official,  under  which  they  carried  on  busiuess  from  the  eighth 
year  of  Xahopolassar,  King  of  Babylonia,187  to  the  eighteenth  year  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  King  of  Babylonia.  They  have  rendered  an  ac- 
count of  their  transactions  before  the  judges.  Fifty  shekels  of  silver 
are  still  due  from  Nabu-bel-shunu  and  Nabu-kin-apal,  his  father 
There  will  be  no  revocation  or  further  claim  among  them.  (The 
partnership)  is  dissolved,  each  one  will  go  his  own  way.  In  the 
name  of  the  people  ( T)  and  of  the  gods,  each  one  has  sworn.  Their 
account  with  one  another  has  been  settled.  The  former  documents 
in  their  names  have  been  destroyed/' 


XVIXI 


Despite  the  advance  marked  by  the  Hamimirapi 
period,  it  is  full  of  survivals  of  an  earlier  age  when  the 
father  exercised  absolute  control  over  his  children. 
Thus  a  father  could  still  sell  his  daughter  to  become  a 
concubine  and  practically  a  slave  in  the  household  to 
which  she  was  transferred,  though  she  could  not  be 
again  resold  except  for  good  reasons.  We  have  such  a 
case  in  a  document  from  the  12th  year  of  Hammu- 
rapi,m  i.e.,  c.  2111  B.C. 

"Shamash-niiri,  the  daughter  of  Ibi-Sha-a-an,  has  been  bought 
from  Ibi-Sha-a-an,  her  father,  by  Bunene-abi  and  Belizunu. l9t 
For  Bunene-abi,  she  is  a  wife,  for  Belizunu,  a  maid.  At  any 
time  that  Shamash-nuri  says  to  Belizunu,  her  mistress,  'Thou  art 
not  my  mistress,'  she  is  branded  XIW  and  sold  for  silver.  The  full 
price  of  five  shekels  has  been  weighed  out.  The  staff  {bukanu) 
has  been  handed  over.  The  transaction  is  consummated.  His 
heart  (sc.  of  the  seller)  has  been  satisfied.    For  all  times  no  claim 

187  I.e.,  617  b.c.    The  partnership  lasted  31  years. 
1H*  Cuneiform  Texts,  viii,  No,  22b. 

1M  Man  and  wife  . 

""Literally  " shorn,"  sc.,  of  her  hair,  but  which  becomes  the 


term  for  branding  a 


ttfa  sodd    slave  mark. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


357 


can  be  made  by  the  one  party  against  the  other.    In  the  name  of 
Shamash,  A,  Marduk  and  Hammnrapi  they  have  sworn." 

A  mother  could  sell  her  child.  It  appears  not  to 
have  been  uncommon  for  women  to  pass  on  their  chil- 
dren to  a  nurse  who  is  frequently  a  votary lfn  for  a  term 
of  years  at  a  stipulated  sum.  In  case  the  mother  is  un- 
able to  pay  the  amount,  the  child  is  sold  to  the  nurse, 
who  sometimes  pays  a  certain  sum  in  addition  for  the 
child  which  is  hers  to  do  with  what  she  pleases.  In  a 
document,  likewise  from  the  reign  of  Hammnrapi 
('27th  year,  c.  2096  B.C.)  we  read  as  follows: 1B2 

11  A  certain  Zukhuntum,  wife  of  Ilu-kinumt  has  given  her 
child  to  be  nursed  to  the  Iltani,  the  votary.  The  price  of  nursing 
for  three  years  including  food,  oil  and  clothing, lM  she  has  not 
given  to  Iltani.  'Take  the  little  one,  let  it  be  thy  child/  Zukluin- 
tnm  said  to  Iltani,  the  votary.  Since  she  has  so  said,  apart  from  the 
price  of  nursing  for  three  years  which  she  {i,e.t  Dtani)  has  not 
received,  Iltani  has  handed  over  three  shekels  of  silver  to  Zukliun- 
tum.  For  all  times  neither  party  will  have  a  claim  against  the 
other.    In  the  name  of  lb  l9i  and  Hammurapi  they  have  sworn," 

The  point  of  view  in  such  documents  is  still  that 
of  the  period  when  children  were  regarded  as  an  asset 
of  fixed  monetary  value  because  of  the  services  that 
they  could  render  after  they  had  reached  a  certain  age, 
just  as  the  wife  was  an  asset  to  her  husband  through 
her  own  services  and  through  the  children  that  she 
would  bear.  Hence  the  nurse  who  rears  a  child  en- 
trusted to  her  would  feel  compensated  by  the  possession 
of  the  child  in  return  for  the  pay  which  she  would  other- 
wise receive,  though  we  have  seen  that  the  evaluation 

l*lNu-Gig-Kadishtum.    See  above,  p.  303. 

xnVorderas.  SchrifUknknuifh r.  Heft  vii,  Nos.  10-11  (case 
tablet  with  seals). 

108  Three  standing  terms  for  " support' T  also  occurring  in  the 
Hammnrapi  Code,  §  178. 

1M  Perhaps  to  be  read  Uraah. 


358 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


of  the  child  might  also  entail  upon  her  to  pay  an  extra 
sum  over  and  above  the  compensation  due  her. 

The  adoption  carried  with  it  a  full  share  in  the 
estate;  and  this  stipulation  prevailed  in  Assyria  as 
well,  as  is  expressly  set  forth  in  a  document  dating  from 
the  middle  of  the  7th  century  B.C.,  which  reads  in  part 
as  follows :  m 

"Seal  of  Nabu-naid,  the  owner  of  his  son,  legally  transferred 
Ashur-sabatshu-ikbi,  a  small  child,  son  of  Nabu-naid,  has  been 
adopted  as  their  son  by  Sin-ki-Ishtar  and  (his  wife)  Ramtu. 
Should  there  be  seven 1M  children  to  Sin-ki-Ishtar  and  Ramtu, 
Aahur-sabatshu-ikbi  remains  the  oldest  son.m  Whenever  at  any 
time  be  it  Nabu-naid,  be  it  his  brother,  be  it  a  governor,  be  it  a 
relative  should  bring  suit  against  Sin-ki-Ishtar,  or  his  children,  he 
will  pay  (a  fine  of)  1  mina  silver  and  1  mina  of  gold  to  the  goddess 
Nin-lil,m  2  white  horses  he  shall  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  god  Ashur, 
his  eldest  son  he  shall  burn  at  the  khamru  *••  of  Adad.  Despite 
his  suit  he  shall  not  obtain  (sc.  the  child )." 

The  curious  reference  to  an  offering  of  horses  as 
part  of  the  fine  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Assyrian 
documents,200  as  is  also  the  allusion  to  a  free  offering 
of  children201  which  reminds  one  of  the  offering  of 
children  to  Moloch  in  the  pages  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Exactly  how  we  are  to  understand  this,  whether  literally 
or  merely  as  a  strong  threat  that  was  not  actually  car- 
ried out,  is  difficult  to  decide.    Certainly  on  the  face  of 

m  Peiser  in  Oriental  Litteraturzeititng,  vi,  Sp,  198, 

*••  Here  used  as  a  large  number,  i.*H  ever  so  many. 

1,T  It  follows  from  this  that  the  couple  was  childless  at  the  time 
that  they  adopted  the  child. 

m  An  exceedingly  heavy  fine  to  be  paid  to  the  temple  of  Ninlil 
or  Ishtar. 

m  The  altar  or  some  seetion  of  the  temple. 

70*J£.g.t  Kohler-Ungnad,  Assyrische  Rechtsurkunden  (Leipzig, 
1913),  No.  162,  164-178.  Two  to  four  horses  are  named  as  fines, 
besides  a  very  large  money  fine  for  an  unwarranted  suit. 

101  L.c,  Nos.  158  (son  or  daughter  to  be  offered  in  the  fire  to 
Belit-seri),  163  (son  offered  to  Sin;  daughter  to  Belit-seri). 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


359 


it,  the  phrase  suggests  that  at  one  time  children  were 
offered  as  sacrifices  in  the  way  indicated,  though  it  is 
hard  to  believe  that  as  late  as  the  seventh  century  the 
practice  still  prevailed. 

XIX 

The  manumission  of  slaves  is  also  placed  under  the 
legal  aspect  of  an  adoption  by  the  owner,  though  in 
time  the  adoption  became  a  mere  form — a  kind  of  legal 
fiction,  in  order  to  give  a  definite  status  to  the  f  reedman 
or  f reedwoman,  for  a  slave  as  such  is  never  designated 
as  the  son  or  daughter  of  any  one  but  merely  by  his  or 
her  name.  The  theory  of  manumission  as  an  adoption 
is  carried  out  to  the  extent  that  if  such  a  freed  slave 
rebels  against  the  authority  of  his  adopted  father,  he 
is  punished  as  a  son  would  be,  not  as  a  slave.  The  cere- 
mony of  manumission  consists  in  removing  the  brand 
mark  of  the  slave  from  the  forehead,  though  both  the 
branding  and  the  cleansing  from  the  brand  may  have 
come  in  the  course  of  time  to  have  been  a  formality — 
perhaps  only  symbolically  carried  out.  In  the  case  of 
a  female  slave,  the  manumission  is  often  accompanied 
by  the  dedication  of  the  woman  to  the  service  of  some 
deity;  she  becomes  a  votary,  in  which  case  the  temple 
as  such  adopts  her,  though  the  assumption  is  that  her 
foster  parents  have  presented  her  to  the  temple.  The 
general  form  of  such  a  document  of  manumission  reads 
as  follows:202 

4t  A  certain  Zugagum  by  name  2M  is  (acknowledged  as)  the  son 
of  Sin-abushu  80*  and  of  IMmi-tabat,  Sin-abushu  his  father  has 
cleansed  his  forehead.208  As  long  as  his  father  Sin-abushu  lives, 
Zugagum,  his  son  will  support  him.  For  all  times,  as  regards 
Zugagum,  son  of  Sin-abushu,  Xutubtum,  the  priestess  of  Shamash 

202  Cun.  Texts,  iv,  PI.  42*. 

203  This  form  designates  the  individual  as  a  slave. 
2<M  Signifying  "the  god  Sin  is  his  father." 

208  I.e.,  has  removed  the  slave  brand. 


360 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYKIA 


and  Nabi-Sin,  her  brother,  the  children  of  Sin-abushu,  will  not 
have  any  claim  on  Zugagum,  their  brother.  In  the  name  of 
Shamash,  Marduk  and  the  King  Sumu-la-ilu,  their  father,  Sin- 
abushu  has  sworn.  If  Zugagum  should  say  to  his  father,  Sin- 
abushu  'thou  art  not  my  father,'  the  punishment  as  in  the  case  of 
a  son  shall  be  imposed  upon  him.2041  According  to  the  laws  of 
Sumu-la-ilu,  they  have  destroyed  the  documents."401 

The  reference  to  the  laws  of  Sum-la-ilu,  the  second 
member  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  (&  2211-2176 
B.C.),  points  to  reforms  instituted  by  that  ruler  who, 
it  is  reasonable  to  conjecture,  compiled  a  eode  as  did 
Hamniurapi  half  a  century  later.  That  code  must  have 
provided  that  the  formal  breaking  of  the  clay  docu- 
ments represented  the  termination  of  the  agreement 
recorded  therein.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  ceremony 
of  the  destruction  of  a  document  frequently  referred 
to  either  as  an  order  of  the  court,  or  as  a  statement  of 
fact  to  indicate  the  termination  of  a  contract,  or  a  re- 
vocation or  the  cancelling  of  a  debt  or  other  obligation. 
The  manumission  of  a  female  slave  by  adoption  and 
who  is  then  presented  to  the  temple  is  recorded  as 
follows:203 

* '  The  female  slave  3<M>  Amat-Ishtar  is  the  daughter  of  Kunutum. 
Kunutum  and  Mukhadi  have  cleansed  her.  To  Shamash  and  A  they 
have  presented  her.  [As  long  as  Kunutum,  her  mother  lives,  she 
(%.€.,  Amat-Ishtar)  is  to  provide  for  her  support.    When  her  god 

t0i  According  to  the  old  Sumerian  law  (V,  Rawlinson,  PI.  25, 
col.  ii,  23-28),  such  a  rebellious  son  is  branded  as  a  slave  and 
sold  for  silver. 

,0T  Le.f  the  documents  recording  the  former  sale  of  the  slave. 

208  Thureau-Dangin,  Lettrcs  it  font  rats  de  Vcpoque  de  la 
premiere  Dynastie  Babyloniennc  (Paris,  1910).  Nos.  68-69  (case 
tablet). 

1<w  Preceding  the  names  of  the  slaves  is  an  indication  of  the 
number  as  "one  head,"  "two  heads"  and  the  like,  as  we  still  say 
one  head  of  cattle,  etc. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


°><;i 


calls  Kunutum  to  him,21*  no  one  is  to  have  any  claim  on  Amat- 
Ishtar.]  2n  Of  the  children  of  Shamash-idinnam,212  male  and  female, 
none  will  have  any  claim  on  Amat-Ishtar.  In  the  name  of  Sha- 
mash,  Marduk  and  Sin-muballit,213  they  have  sworn." 

The  inner  document— without  further  specific  date 
— bears  the  names  of  nine  witnesses,  among  them  four 
women,  while  the  case  or  envelope  has  no  less  than  thir- 
teen witnesses,  of  whom  eight  are  women.  The  remains 
of  seal  impressions  of  four  of  the  witnesses  also  appear 
on  the  envelope — all,  as  the  added  titles  show,  connected 
with  the  temple  of  Shamash  at  Sippar  where  the  docu- 
ment was  drawn  up. 

The  children  thus  adopted  took  upon  themselves  the 
obligation  to  provide  for  the  support  of  their  foster- 
parents,  but  the  phrase  was  probably  introduced  merely 
to  specify  the  duty  devolving  upon  the  adopted  son  or 
daughter  in  case  of  necessity.  The  children  as  a  sur- 
vival of  an  earlier  stage  of  society  owed  service  to  the 
father  or  mother,  and  in  lieu  of  their  eventual  share  in 
the  property  would  be  obliged  to  look  after  the  parents 
in  case  the  latter  became  incapacitated.  Sons  were 
obliged  to  care  for  their  widowed  mothers  according 
to  the  Hammurapi  code,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
parents  were  under  ordinary  circumstances  actually 
maintained  by  the  children.  On  the  other  hand,  to  en- 
sure themselves  against  want,  it  is  frequently  stipu- 
lated in  the  case  of  gifts  made  by  a  father  or  mother  to 
one  of  their  children  that  in  return,  the  support  of  the 
parent  devolves  upon  the  child  so  favored.  Such 
phrases  must,  therefore,  be  taken  as  legal  formulae, 

210  l.e.f  on  the  death  of  Kunutum.  Mukhadi,  who  is  mentioned 
with  Kunutum,  may  be  the  letter's  daughter,  who,  as  the  heir  igTtiM 
to  the  manumission  of  the  slave. 

211  These  two  sentences  on  the  outside  tablet  only. 
m  The  deceased  husband  of  Kunutum. 

*"  Sin-muballit,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Hammurapi,  ruled 
from  c.  2144  to  2124  ac. 


3(V2 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


introduced  to  provide  for  contingencies  that  might 
arise. 

The  laws  of  inheritance  as  set  forth  in  the  code  of 
Hammurapi  are  illustrated  by  numerous  documents 
from  the  period  of  the  first  dynasty.  The  practice 
varies,  however,  to  some  extent  in  different  localities. 
So,  e.g.,  in  Nippur  and  in  Uruk  and  apparently,  also, 
in  Assyria,  the  oldest  son  received  an  additional  share, 
though  this  appears  to  have  been  optional.  In  the  same 
way  the  father  could  also  make  a  special  gift  to  any  of 
his  children,  though  the  code  takes  precautions  against 
his  doing  so  to  the  serious  detriment  of  the  other  chil- 
dren. Daughters  inherit  on  equal  terms  with  sons,  and 
the  mother,  as  we  have  seen,  takes  charge  of  the  es- 
tate214 (in  case  she  survives  her  husband)  until  the 
children  reach  their  majority.  She  is  not,  however, 
under  ordinary  circumstances  the  heir  of  her  husband. 

Naturally  in  a  complicated  form  of  society,  many 
disputes  arose  in  regard  to  estates,  and  some  of  the 
documents  setting  forth  the  settlement  of  property  be- 
queathed by  a  father  to  his  children  are  very  elaborate. 
A  final  attest  to  a  division  is  formally  recorded  in  the 
following  terms.815 

"  Nur-Shamash,  Ili-ma-akha,  Palatum  and  Khummrum  have 
divided  all  the  possessions  of  their  father.  From  straw  to  gold,21* 
brother  will  not  have  any  claim  against  brother.  In  the  name  of 
Shamash,  A,  Marduk  and  Hammurapi,  they  have  sworn.  Before 
Ibik-Skamash,  Jlu-nishtama,  Sin-idinnam  and  Ibni-Shamash  in  the 
year  of  the  Hammurapi  canaL"alT 


A  more  specific  inventory  is,  however,  the  rule  and 
generally  the  document  is  drawn  up  to  settle  the  share 

S1«  Above,  p.  305. 

116  Meissner,  Beitrage  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  No.  106. 

J"A  phrase  of  frequent  occurrence  to  indicate  everything  of 
value.    See  above,  p.  355. 

su 1.e,t  when  Hammurapi  dug  a  canal,  caUed  after  him  =  the 
9th  year,  corresponding  to  c.  2114  b,c. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW  363 

of  some  one  member  of  the  family,  as  in  the  following 
instance  :M 

"Two  Sar  improved  property  at  the  side  of  the  house  of  Sin- 
eribam,  son  of  Warad-ilishu,  its  front  facing  the  street,  2  Gar  on  the 
long  side,  1  Gar  on  the  front ;  item,  one  slave  Warad-Erua,  item, 
one  slave  Iiumur-gamil-Shamash,  who  has  escaped;*10  item,  one 
female  slave  Taribom;  item,  one  female  slave  Ashratum-ummi-is 
the  share  of  Lipit-Ishtar,  son  of  Bunini,  which  (at  the  division  of 
the  paternal  estate)  with  Sinmagir,  and  Ibi-Sin,  the  sons  of  Bunini, 
with  Sin-idinam  and  Rish-Shamash,  the  children  of  Hushu-ibishu, 
[his  brother]  ,***  he  received.  Also  the  share  of  Lamazi,  the  priestess 
of  Shamash,  reverts  to  the  brothers  between  them.121  They  have 
divided  everything  from  straw  to  gold,  brother  has  no  claim  against 
brother.  In  the  name  of  Shamash,  A,  Marduk  and  Hammurapi  **' 
they  have  sworn." 

Where  in  a  deed  of  settlement,  merely  the  share  of 
one  of  the  heirs  is  set  forth,  we  must  assume  that  simi- 
lar documents  setting  forth  the  share  of  each  of  the 
others  were  drawn  up,  so  that  each  heir  would  have 
documentary  evidence  in  his  possession,  which  would 
again  become  the  basis  for  the  division  of  his  estate 
after  his  death. 

We  have,  however,  plenty  of  instances  in  which  in 
one  document  the  share  of  each  of  the  heirs  is  detailed, 
as,  e.g.,  in  one  dated  on  the  17th  of  the  1st  month  in  the 
11th  year  of  Samsu-iluna,  corresponding  to  c.  2069  b.c, 
which  reads  as  follows: ffl8 

*"  Thureau-Dangin,  lx.,  No.  98-99  (case  tablet). 

*"  Counted  in  on  the  assumption  that  he  will  be  caught  and 
returned. 

"•So  on  the  outer  tablet.  These  are  the  nephews  of  Lipit- 
Ishtar  whose  father  is  dead,  and  who  therefore  receive  the  father's 
share. 

sai  The  priestess  received  her  share  during  her  lifetime,  but  it 
reverted  to  her  brothers  on  her  death    See  above,  p.  308. 

***  Dated  in  the  37th  year  corresponding  to  c.  2086  b.o. 

•"Poebel,  l.c,  No.  32. 


364 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


f] 

/ 


"Eleven  (t)M*  Gin  of  improved  property,  adjoining 
house  of  Lugal- Amaru,  (with)  one  zaggula  dish,*25  as  a  special 
possession  because  of  his  status  as  first-born,  %  Sar  improve 
property,  by  the  side  of  the  house  as  a  special  possession, — the 
share  of  Apil-Amurru,  the  eldest  son ;  one-third  of  a  Sar,  six  Gin 
improved  property  by  the  side  of  the  house  of  Apil-Amurru,  his 
brother,  the  share  of  .Lipit-Enlil,  his  brother;  [one-third  Sar 
six]  "•  Gin  improved  property  [at  the  side  of  the  house]  of  Lipit- 
Enlil,  his  brother,  the  share  of  Lipit-Amurru,  son  of  Apil-Shaniash. 

[One-third  Sar,  six]  Gin  improved  property  [by  side  of  the 
house  of]  Ea-idinnam,  the  falconer  (t),22T  son  of  Ea-tukulti, 
share  of  Amurru-Malik.  As  heirs  of  Erisumatum  they  have 
divided  the  estate  according  to  agreement.  In  the  future,  one 
make  no  claim  against  the  other.  In  the  name  of  the  King  they 
have  sworn." m 

XX 

To  round  out  the  picture  of  law,  and  of  commerce 
and  of  social  conditions  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  we 
have  for  the  older  and  later  periods  a  large  number  of 
documents  setting  forth  the  judicial  rulings  in  law- 
suits brought  before  the  tribunals.  These  documents 
reveal  the  practical  workings  of  legal  procedure  in  civil 
cases,  for  up  to  the  present  at  least  we  have  not  come 
across  any  records  of  criminal  procedure,  and  the 
question  has  been  raised  whether  such  records  were 
kept.  The  general  form  followed  in  cases  brought  he- 
fore  the  courts  was  to  begin  with  the  statement  of  the 
case  and  of  the  claims  made.  The  testimony  on  both 
sides  was  then  set  forth  with  the  administering  of  the 
oath  where  called  for,  followed  by  the  decision  of  the 

224  The  number  is  not  clear. 

"»  Often  mentioned  in  Nippur  texts  as  a  special  possession  of  the 
first-born. 

220  Text  defective.  The  restoration  is  made  on  the  assumption 
that  the  share  of  the  remaining  brothers  is  equal. 

-7  So  Poebel's  explanation. 

22&  The  document  is  written  in  Sumerian,  which  remained  in  use 
as  the  official  language  for  a  longer  period  than  elsewhere  in  such 
strong  Sumerian  centres  like  Nippur. 


COMMERCE  AND  LAW 


365 


court.  There  was  commonly  added  an  express  pro- 
hibition against  reopening  the  case,  to  which  the  party 
losing  the  suit  consents  by  an  oath.  The  names  of  the 
judges  and  witnesses  together  with  the  date  as  usual 
complete  the  record.  The  most  important  section  in 
such  documents  is  the  portion  relating  to  the  evidence, 
which  generally  involves  the  production  of  legal  docu- 
ments and  earlier  court  records  bearing  on  the  case. 
In  complicated  affairs,  such  records  often  go  back  many 
years  and  there  are  instances  in  which  a  large  number 
of  documents  are  tested  by  the  tribunal  before  reaching 
a  decision.  With  the  advance  from  purely  religious 
tribunals  to  courts  presided  over  by  lay  judges,  as  above 
pointed  out,220  and  the  increased  prominence  given  to 
government  officials,  such  as  governors  and  city  magis- 
trates as  against  the  former  predominance  of  priests 
in  the  judicial  affairs  of  the  country,  we  also  find  a 
growth  in  the  direction  of  finer  distinctions  and  greater 
scrupulousness  in  reaching  a  conclusion  that  should  be 
fair  to  the  parties  concerned.  Efforts  are  also  made  by 
the  judges  to  bring  about  settlements  by  mutual  con- 
cessions and  by  compromises  so  as  to  avoid  bitter  con- 
tests, which  would  entail  delays  and  possibly  hard- 
ships for  both  sides.  On  the  whole,  the  picture  thu3 
resulting  is  that  of  a  country  in  which  a  high  sense 
of  justice  could  be  relied  upon  to  protect  those  seeking 
a  vindication  of  their  rights.  Law  and  order  prevailed 
in  the  land,  and  while  we  learn  occasionally  of  instances 
of  "  graft"  on  the  part  of  officials,  as  is  natural  in 
a  land  in  which  government  activities  cover  so  large 
a  field,  the  general  impression  that  one  receives — and 
this  applies  to  Assyria  as  well  as  to  Babylonia — is  that 
the  citizens  had  a  feeling  of  supreme  confidence  in 
the  courts  as  safeguards,  under  whose  protection  the 
citizens  could  pursue  their  daily  routine  of  barter  and 
exchange,  and  carry  on  their  activities  in  the  various 


229  See  above,  p.  332. 


C!^*- 


'\ 


366 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


*r 


V 
/ 


n 


A 


walks  of  life.  It  is  a  significant  testimony  to  the  spirit 
of  justice  and  right  thus  emphasized  by  the  courts  in  the 
south  and  in  the  north  that  Assyrian  rulers  who  appear 
most  ruthless  in  their  campaigns  of  conquests,  appar- 
ently concerned  to  promote  their  selfish  ambitions,  yet 
pride  themselves  in  their  annals,  as  did  Hammurapi  in 
his  code,  that  they  protected  the  rights  of  their  subjects 
and  sought  to  secure  justice  and  to  suppress  violence 
and  wrong.  In  a  document M0  found  in  Ashurbanapars 
library,  setting  forth  certain  special  privileges  accorded 
from  olden  days  to  the  people  of  Sippar,  Nippur  and 
Babylon,  some  general  sentiments  as  to  the  duty  of 
Jongs  are  introduced  which  may  be  regarded  as  illus- 
trating the  prevailing  point  of  view.  We  cannot  do 
better  than  close  our  survey  with  an  extract  from  this 
text: 

"If  the  king  does  not  hear  the  law,  his  people  will  perish,  the  power 

of  the  king  will  pass  away. 
If  he  does  not  heed  the  law  of  his  land,  Ea,8*1  the  king  of  destinies, 

will  alter  his  destiny  and  east  him  aside. 


If  he  gives  heed  to  the  wicked,  eon  fusion  will  disturb  the  land. 

If  he  follows  the  counsels  of  Ea,  the  great  gods  will  aid  him  in 

righteous  decrees  and  decisions. ' ' 

•»  Gun,  Texts,  xv,  PL  50. 

2,1  The  god  of  humanity  par  excellence.    See  above,  p.  210. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  ART  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


At  the  outset  of  a  discussion  of  the  art  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  it  is  natural  to  institute  a  comparison  with 
that  of  the  other  great  civilization  of  high  antiquity — 
Egypt  Leaving  aside  the  question  not  yet  ripe  for 
solution,  whether  the  culture  of  the  Nile  is  earlier  than 
that  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  or  vice  versa,  though  the 
indications  at  present  are  in  favor  of  the  former  alter- 
native, there  are  certain  physical  features  which  the  two 
countries  have  in  common,  which  help  to  explain  the 
rise  of  a  high  order  of  culture  in  both.  The  warm  cli- 
mate during  the  greater  portion  of  the  year,  suitable  for 
a  population  as  yet  unable  to  protect  itself  against  a 
more  rigorous  one,  is  divided  in  both  the  Euphrates 
Valley  and  in  Upper  Egypt  into  two  seasons — a  dry 
season  beginning  in  the  spring  and  extending  till  the 
late  fall,  followed  by  several  months  of  rain  and  storms 
during  which  the  Nile  in  Egypt,  and  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris  in  Babylonia  overstep  their  bounds  and  flood 
large  areas.  While  this  occurrence  often  brought  about 
devastation  prior  to  the  construction  of  protective  irri- 
gation canals,  through  the  perfection  of  a  system  to 
direct  the  overflow  into  the  fields,  it  resulted  in  a  fertil- 
ity which  rendered  agriculture  carried  on  with  primi- 
tive methods,  a  comparatively  easy  task  that  was 
rewarded  by  rich  returns. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  civilizations,  on  the 
other  hand,  which  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  art, 
is  due  to  the  abundant  presence  of  stone  and  wood  in 
the  one  country,  and  the  almost  total  absence  of  stone  in 
the  other.  In  place,  therefore,  of  the  massive  stone 
structures  of  Egypt — temples  with  large  stone  columns, 

W7 


368 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


elaborate  rock  tombs,  mastabas  and  huge  pyramids— 
we  have  in  the  Euphrates  Valley  constructions  limited 
by  the  use  of  the  clay  of  the  native  soil,  which  forms  the 
natural  and  practically  exclusive  building  material. 
Stones  of  various  kinds  from  the  hard  diorite  and  basalt 
to  several  varieties  of  limestone  and  alabaster  were,  to 
be  sure,  imported  at  an  early  period  from  the  moun- 
tainous district  to  the  east  and  northeast  as  well  as 
from  northern  Arabia  and  probably  also  from  Egypt 
and  Nubia,  while  wood  was  brought  from  the  forests  of 
Lebanon  and  other  districts ;  but  the  difficulties  involved 
in  procuring  such  material  had  as  a  natural  result  its 
rather  limited  use  in  architecture  and  proved  a  check 
to  the  artistic  instinct  in  the  development  of  stone 
sculpture.  The  hindrance  was  less  felt  in  the  case  of 
moulding  and  designing  in  copper  and  iron  and  in  the 
artistic  employment  of  silver,  gold  and  bronze  and  in 
carvings  on  bone  and  shell  in  which  a  high  degree  of 
skill  was  achieved  at  an  early  period.    (See  PL  74.) 

The  dependence  of  architecture  upon  the  material 
accessible  for  building  purposes  brings  about  a  further 
differentiation  between  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  con- 
structions, and  this  despite  the  fact  that  the  art,  as  the 
entire  civilization  of  Assyria,  is  merely  a  northward 
extension  of  the  Euphratean  culture.  Limestone  and 
alabaster  were  abundant  in  Assyria,  and  the  proximity 
to  the  mountains  made  it  possible  to  obtain  harder 
stones  with  comparatively  little  difficulty.  The  larger 
employment  of  stone  in  the  Assyrian  temples  and 
palaces  thus  became  a  characteristic  feature,  whereas 
the  use  of  such  material  at  all  times  remained  excep- 
tional in  the  large  structures  in  the  south. 

Taking  up  first  the  older  constructions  in  the  south, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  at  the  outset  the  shape  of  the 
bricks  which  during  the  period  when  the  Sumerians 
were  in  control  were  plano-convex  and  oblong,  while 
as  we  approach  the  time  when  the  Semites  assume  the 
supremacy,  the  older  form  yields  to  square  bricks  that 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


369 


were  also  large  and  flat1  In  time,  a  preference  arose 
for  a  smaller  brick  about  twelve  inches  square,  and 
this  remained  in  use  with  some  variations.  For  the 
important  parts  of  the  building,  including  the  outer 
layers,  kiln-burnt  bricks  were  used,  but  for  the  great 
brick  masses  sun-dried  bricks  of  crude  variety  appeared 
to  suffice. 

At  what  time  it  became  customary  to  paint  colored 
designs  on  the  bricks  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  from  the 
circumstance  that  painted  pottery  and  vases  of  vari- 
ous designs  were  found  in  the  lower  layers  at  Telloh 
and  Nippur,  it  is  a  fair  inference  that  the  art  reverts 
to  a  very  early  period.  At  all  events,  we  find  it  largely 
employed  in  the  bricks  of  Assyrian  palaces  of  the  ninth, 
eighth  and  seventh  centuries  B.C.,  the  colors  either 
being  simply  placed  on  a  coating  of  plaster  over  the 
bricks,  or  the  designs  were  drawn  on  the  bricks,  placed 
together  and  covered  with  a  colored  glaze  or  varnish, 
which  upon  being  burnt  accentuated  the  brilliancy  of 
the  hues.  The  chief  colors  employed  were  yellow,  blue, 
red  and  white.2  It  is  in  the  constructions  of  the  davs  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  II.  that  this  art  of  glazed  tiles  reaches 
its  highest  form  of  perfection.  The  procession  street 
leading  to  the  temple  of  Marduk  along  which  on  festive 
occasions  the  statues  of  the  gods  were  carried  in  solemn 
procession  was  lined  with  magnificently  glazed  tiles, 
representing  figures  of  lions  marcliing  along  in  majestic 
dignity.  The  background  is  dark  blue,  the  lion  itself  is 
yellow,  while  running  along  the  upper  and  lower  edges 
are  small  white  rosettes  with  a  touch  of  yellow  in  the 
centre.    Similarly,  running  along  and  around  the  outer 

1  At  Nippur,  €,g,f  the  bricks  of  the  Sargon  period  were  found  to 
measure  twenty  inches  square,  but  were  only  V/2  inches  thick. 

*An  analysis  of  the  colors  showed  that  the  yellow  was  anti- 
moniate  of  lead,  the  blue  glaze  is  copper  with  some  lead  to  facilitate 
the  fusion  of  the  lead,  the  white  is  oxide  of  tin,  and  the  red  a  sub- 
oxide of  copper.  Cf.  Layard,  Discoveries  in  the  Ruins  of  Nineveh 
and  Babylon  (New  York  ed.  1863),  p.  166. 
24 


370 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


and  inner  walls  of  the  great  Isbtar  gate,  excavated  bj 
the  German  expedition  in  Babylon  and  which  f  orme 
the  approach  to  the  temple  of  Marduk,  there  wei 
alternating  rows  of  unicorns  and  dragons  made  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  lions,  and  showing  the  same 
of  the  original,  brilliant  coloring.  It  is  estimated  1 
there  were  at  least  fifteen  rows  of  such  glazed  desi| 
rising  to  a  height  of  about  forty  feet.  From  the  Baby- 
lonians this  elaborate  and  effective  method  of  decorat 
ing  exterior  and  interior  walls  passed  to  the  Persia 
who  carried  it  to  an  even  greater  degree  of  perfection.* 
Large  numbers  of  painted  and  enamelled  bricks 
were  found  at  Khorsabad  and  Nimrud  by  Botta  anc 
Layard  respectively,  which  exhibited  the  remains  ot 
continuous  patterns  and  of  more  or  less  elaborate  dc 
signs,  serving  as  decorations  of  the  walls  and  arched 
gateways  of  the  royal  palaces.  One  of  these  decorated 
arches  restored  from  numerous  fragments  portrays  in 
conventionalized  form  the  familiar  winged  creatures 
— a  lower  order  of  deities — standing  before  a  large 
palmette  which  has  become  one  of  the  conventionalized 
substitutes  of  the  sacred  tree.4  Another  elaborate  de- 
sign in  one  of  the  palaces  of  Nimrud,  repeated  like  a 
modern  wall  paper  pattern,  showed  a  crouching  bull 
with  decorative  borders  above  and  below.  This  style 
of  decoration  was  extended  to  the  gates  and  to  the  door- 
ways leading  from  one  division  of  the  palace  to  the 
other  as  well  as  to  floors  which  were  similarly  often 
found  covered  with  elaborate  geometrical  and  flowered 
designs  that  bore  traces  of  coloring.5   We  are  therefore 

*  See  the  illustration  in  Perrot  and  Chipiez,  History  of  Art  in 
Persia  (London,  1892),  facing  p.  420. 

*  See  Plate  XVIII,  Fig.  2  and  Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie  (Paris, 
1867),  PI.  14--17, 

*  Traces  of  colored  tiles — red,  black  and  white — were  found  in 
the  case  of  the  stage* tower  at  Khorsabad  (see  Botta  et  Flandin 
Monument  de  Ninive,  PI.  155-156),  but  the  conclusions  drawn  there- 
from that  each  of  the  seven  stages  bore  a  different  color  and  that 
these  colors  stood  in  some  relationship  to  the  planets  is  not  justified, 


FIG.    2,    BULL    ON    COL<»EtEDj    tJLAZKD    TILES    (BABY1 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


371 


justified  in  concluding  that  it  was  customary  in  both 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  to  cover  the  exteriors  of  temples 
and  gateways  as  well  as  of  palaces  with  decorative  de- 
signs, flowers,  geometrical  patterns  and  pictorial  repre- 
sentations on  glazed  bricks  and  that  this  method  of 
decoration  was  extended  to  the  interior  halls  and  the 
gates  or  doors,  leading  from  one  section  of  a  temple 
or  palace  to  the  other,  and  even  to  the  exterior  of  the 
staged  towers,  though  the  extent  to  which  this  was  car- 
ried in  the  case  of  these  towers  is  still  in  doubt.  In  the 
case  of  interior  decoration,  less  exposed  to  atmospheric 
influences,  direct  painting  on  the  stucco  with  which 
the  brick  walls  were  covered  frequently  took  the  place 
of  glazed  bricks.  The  effect  of  this  manner  of  decora- 
tion and  particularly  of  the  colored  glazed  tiles  must 
have  been  striking  in  the  extreme. 

n 

Outside  of  this  feature,  however,  there  was  little  in 
the  architecture  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  to  arouse 
one's  admiration.  The  use  of  clay  as  the  building  ma- 
terial led  in  the  direction  of  hugeness,  but  a  hugeness 
without  beauty.  The  temples  and  palaces  were  large 
brick  masses  surrounded  by  equally  massive  walls. 
Some  attempts  at  relieving  the  monotony  were  made 
by  gateways  that  had  the  appearance  of  towers,  and 
by  turrets  on  the  tops  of  the  walls.  The  softness  of  the 
soil  made  it  necessary  to  exercise  great  care  in  order 
to  secure  strong  foundations  for  these  immense  struc- 

Seven  was  not  the  customary  number  of  the  stages.  Indeed  there 
was  no  fixed  number,  and  four  stages  are  more  common  than  seven. 
The  ambition  of  the  royal  builders  was  solely  directed  to  raising 
the  towers  to  as  great  a  height  as  possible  in  imitation,  as  has  been 
suggested,  of  a  mountain  peak.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  symbol- 
ism  was  associated  with  the  number  seven,  even  when  this  number 
became  a  more  common  limit  to  the  series  of  stages  heaped  on  one 
another. 


372  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

tures,  and  it  became  customary  at  an  early  period  to 
erect  a  broad  platform,  often  carried  up  to  a  consider- 
able height,  on  which  the  temple  or  palace  was  reared. 
Regarded  as  the  dwelling  of  the  god  in  whose  honor 
it  was  erected,  the  temple  became  literally  the  god's 
house,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  names  of  the  temples 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  invariably  contain  as  one 
of  their  elements  the  word  " house.' '  Thus  Marduk's 
temple  at  Babylon  was  known  as  E-sagila,  "the  lofty 
house/'  which  was  also  the  designation  of  Ea's  sanctu- 
ary at  Eridu.  Nabu's  temple  at  Borsippa  was  called 
E-zida,  "the  faithful  house,"  Shamash's  temple  at 
Sippar,  E-barra,  "the  shining  house," — an  appropriate 
designation  for  the  dwelling  of  the  sun  god ;  the  temple 
of  the  moon  god  Sin  at  Ur  was  called  E-khul-khul, 
"house  of  joys,"  and  so  on  through  the  almost  endless 
list  of  temples  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

The  prominent  feature  of  the  temple  as  the  house 
of  the  gods  was  an  outer  court  immediately  back  of  the 
entrance,  from  which  one  entered  into  a  long  vestibule 
leading  into  a  second  court  with  a  large  hall  at  one  end, 
at  the  back  of  which  there  was  a  recess  or  a  small 
chamber  to  receive  the  image  of  the  god.  Grouped 
around  the  outer  court  were  rooms  for  the  priests  and 
for  the  temple  administration.  Similarly,  corridors 
led  to  rooms  around  the  inner  court  and  adjoining  the 
inner  hall,  all  set  aside  for  the  various  needs  of  the 
temple  service.  The  number  of  such  rooms  varied  of 
course  with  the  size  of  the  temples,  just  as  the  temples 
themselves  varied  in  size  from  comparatively  small 
dimensions — more  in  the  nature  of  chapels — to  large 
areas  with  a  perfect  labyrinth  of  rooms  around  the 
outer  and  inner  court.9  The  temple  of  Ningirsu  at 
Lagash  and  known  as  E-ninnu,  "the  house  of  fifty," 
must  have  been  an  extensive  structure,  as  described  by 

*  See  Koldewey,  Die  Tempel  von  Babylon  und  Borsippa  (Leip- 
*,  1911). 


FIG.    2,    PLAN    07   THE    TEMl'LE   OK    THE    QOBMM    N'INMAIvH    IN    BABYLON 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


373 


its  builder  Gudea,  who  tells  us  of  the  many  rooms  it 
contained  for  the  accommodation  of  the  priests,  store 
rooms  for  grain,  treasure  rooms,  stalls  for  the  sacrificial 
animals,  and  various  offices  for  the  administration  of 
the  temple.  It  will  be  recalled7  that  the  temples  be- 
came in  the  course  of  time  commercial  institutions,  hav- 
ing large  holdings  of  land,  giving  out  contracts  for 
work,  hiring  laborers,  and  engaging  in  the  loan  of 
money  and  other  commercial  enterprises.  For  all  these 
purposes,  offices  and  store  rooms  had  to  be  provided, 
and  since  the  temple  officials  were  also  the  judges  and 
administrators  of  justice,  further  accommodations  were 
needed  for  this  phase  of  the  temple  activity.  An  inter- 
esting variation  of  the  Assyrian  temples  from  the  Baby- 
lonian models  which  in  other  respects  were  closely 
adhered  to,  consisted  in  the  proportions  of  the  outer  and 
inner  court.  While  in  the  case  of  the  Babylonian  edi- 
fices the  two  courts  were  about  the  same  shape,  the 
inner  court  in  the  temples  of  Assyria  was  narrow  and 
broader  than  the  outer  one,  and  led  into  a  long  and 
narrow  hall,  at  the  back  of  which  was  the  **holy  of 
holies,"  where  the  god  had  his  seat.  The  people  as- 
sembled for  worship  in  the  large  outer  court  where  the 
altar  stood  on  which  the  sacrifices  were  offered,  while 
the  inner  court  with  the  holy  of  holies  in  the  rear  was 
reserved  for  the  priests  and  for  the  rulers  who  alone 
had  access  to  it.  The  impression  conveyed  by  these 
sacred  edifices  is  well  described  in  an  inscription  of  the 
Assyrian  king  Tiglathpileser  I.  who  reigned  about 
1125  to  1100  B.c,g  He  describes  how.  after  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  restored  temple  of  Ami  and  Adad  in 
his  capital  city  on  the  solid  rock  and  enclosing  the 
whole  with  burnt  bricks,  he  built  the  temple  of  Anu  and 
Adad  of  large  stones.    He  continues:    "Its  interior 

T  Above,  p.  274  and  316  uq, 

1  Rawlinson   I.     PI.   15,   98-101.     Quoted  also  by  Handcock, 
Mesopotamian  Archeology  (New  York,  1912},  p,  142. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

I  made  brilliant  like  the  vault  of  heaven,  decorated  its 
walls  like  the  brilliancy  of  the  rising  stars  and  made 
it  superb  with  shining  brilliancy." 

There  were  thus  chiefly  two  features  in  the  temple 
architecture  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  upon  which  the 
effect  produced  depended — the  erection  of  the  struc- 
ture on  an  elevated  platform,  and  the  elaborate  decora- 
tion by  means  of  glazed  tiling  and  through  direct  paint- 
ing of  the  stucco-coated  interior  walls.  The  fondness 
for  brilliant  coloring  so  characteristic  of  Oriental  art 
at  all  times  may  thus  be  traced  back  to  the  civilization 
of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  and  in  this  respect,  at  least, 
the  temples  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  must  have  sur- 
passed the  decoration  of  the  sacred  edifices  of  Egypt 
which,  constructed  of  hard  granite,  lent  themselves  less 
to  gaudy  decoration.  The  use  of  various  kinds  of 
stone,  chiefly  a  soft  limestone  and  a  harder  alabaster, 
was  an  innovation  introduced  by  Assyrian  builders, 
but  the  stone  was  limited  to  the  outer  casings  and  to  the 
sculptured  figures  that  were  placed  at  the  entrances  to 
temples  and  palaces  and  to  the  sculptured  bas-reliefs 
with  which  the  Assyrian  kings  from  a  certain  period 
on  were  wont  to  cover  the  interior  walls  of  the  great 
palace  halls — the  throne  rooms  and  reception  halls. 
The  great  mass  of  the  Assyrian  temples  continued  to 
be  built  of  kiln-dried  and  sun-dried  bricks  down  to  the 
latest  period, — in  slavish  imitation  of  Babylonian 
prototypes.  The  main  effect,  therefore,  of  these  struc- 
tures was  at  all  times  that  of  huge  square  masses,  usually 
with  the  corners  orientated  to  the  four  directions,  and 
merely  interrupted  by  massive  gateways  and  smaller 
entrances  and  the  turreted  tops  of  the  enclosing  walls 
to  relieve  the  monotony. 

Ill 

This  hugeness  was  further  accentuated  by  the  high 
towers  that  were  attached  to  the  temples  in  the  case  of 


> 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 

the  chief  edifices  of  both  Babylonia  and  Assyria  and  of 
many  of  the  minor  ones  as  well.  The  tower,  as  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  represents  a  mountain  in 
miniature  and  is  to  be  explained  as  an  endeavor  on  the 
part  of  a  people  coming  from  a  mountain  home  to  re- 
produce in  their  new  surroundings  the  belief  which 
placed  the  seat  of  the  gods  on  mountain  tops.  The 
tower  as  a  sacred  edifice  thus  rests  on  a  totally  different 
conception  from  the  temple  proper  which  is  an  out- 
growth of  the  ordinary  house;  and  since  we  find  the 
tower  as  an  adjunct  to  the  temple  in  all  the  important 
Sumerian  centres  of  the  south,  we  may  in  connection 
with  other  evidence  ascribe  the  tower  to  the  influence 
of  the  non-Semitic  element,  and  the  temple  as  above 
described  to  be  the  sacred  edifice  expressive  of  Semitic 
ideas.  The  two  together — and  temple  and  tower  are 
thus  invariably  combined— furnish,  accordingly,  an- 
other illustration  of  the  composite  character  of  the 
Euphratean  culture. 

The  aim  of  the  builders  in  harmony  with  the  under- 
lying motif  of  the  towers  was  to  make  them  as  high  as 
possible— an  aim  that  is  well  expressed  in  the  inscrip- 
tion of  Tiglathpileser  L,  above  referred  to,  who,  speak- 
ing of  two  towers  that  he  erected  in  connection  with 
the  double  temple  of  Ann  and  Adad,  states  that  he 
reared  them  "up  to  heaven."  The  simplest  method  of 
construction  to  convey  the  picture  of  a  mountain  was 
to  place  one  stage  above  the  other,  each  stage  or  story 
being  somewhat  smaller  in  proportions  than  the  one 
immediately  below  it.  The  number  of  stages  thus 
superimposed  varied  from  four — which  seemed  in  the 
earlier  period  to  be  the  usual  number 8 — to  seven.  It 
is  of  course  possible  that  the  number  seven  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  moon,  sun  and  five  planets,  but  there  is 
no  satisfactory  evidence  that  this  was  the  ease.  Such 
symbolism  could  only  have  been  introduced  at  a  time 

•  Though  towers  of  two  and  three  stages  also  occur. 


376  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

when  the  original  purpose  which  inspired  the  building 
of  these  towers  had  been  lost  sight  of.  A  tablet  dis- 
covered by  the  late  George  Smith  and  recently  published 
furnishes  the  height  of  the  seven  stories  of  such  a  stage 
tower  in  Babylon  (zikkurat,  uhigh  place"  as  the 
Babylonians  called  it)  as  300  feet.  In  this  case  each 
story  was  not  only  smaller  in  circumference,  but  the 
stages  diminished  in  height  as  one  proceeded  to  the 
top.  Elsewhere,  however,  as  at  Khorsabad,  the  four 
lower  stages  were  of  equal  height.  Whether  in  all  cases 
the  outer  casing  of  bricks  were  glazed  and  colored  is  a 
question  that  cannot  be  answered  definitely,  though  the 
indications  arc  that  such  elaborate  decoration  was  ex- 
ceptional and  limited  to  the  towers  built  in  later  periods 
by  Assyrian  riders,  who  wfere  fired  with  the  ambition  to 
outdo  their  Babylonia  in  predecessors  in  grandeur.  It 
is  probably  safe  to  assume  also  that  in  the  earlier 
periods,  both  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  the  towers  did 
not  rise  to  more  than  100  or  150  feet.  Such  a  structure 
in  comparison  with  the  ordinary  low  one-storied  houses 
— and  even  the  temples  and  palaces,  though  higher, 
consisted  of  only  one  story — would  seem  huge  indeed. 

Up  to  the  present  the  best  preserved  zikkurat  found 
was  that  unearthed  by  Botta  at  Khorsabad,  of  which 
portions  of  four  stages  remain  with  abundant  traces 
of  coloring  in  the  case  of  the  exterior  casings.  Fortu- 
nately, we  have  two  other  means  of  forming  more 
accurate  views  of  the  appearance  presented  by  these 
towers  when  complete  than  woidd  be  possible  by  a  con- 
jectural reconstruction — in  the  first  place  by  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  tower  on  a  Babylonian  monument,  and 
secondly  through  the  preservation  of  a  structure  in  the 
Euphrates  district  which,  though  dating  from  the 
Mohammedan  period,  is  modelled  on  the  pattern  of 
a  Babylonian  zikkurat.  The  picture  of  a  zikkurat 
occurs  on  a  so-called  Boundary  stone,10  recording  the 
"See  Jastrow.  BUdermappe  zur  Babylonisck-Assyrischen  Re- 
ligion No.  38. 


FIG.    2,    MUMAMMLDAN    TUWKH    AT    SAMAHHA    UN    TUE   T1CJKIB    ^Ttt    CENTUliY    A.D.J 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART  377 

grant  of  a  certain  piece  of  property  through  a  ruler  of 
the  thirteenth  century  B.C. ;  it  shows  a  structure  of  four 
stages  superimposed,  with  indications  of  a  winding 
ascent  from  one  story  to  the  other  and  crowned  with 
a  chapel.  The  stages  decrease  in  size  as  one  proceeds 
upward,  and  the  saane  is  the  case  with  the  very  remark- 
able  stone  structure  still  standing  at  Samarra  some 
ninety  miles  above  Bagdad.  Here  we  have  a  stage 
tower  of  seven  stories  on  the  top  of  which  is  a  little 
rotunda  in  which  the  muezzin  takes  his  stand  to  call 
the  faithful  to  prayer.  A  glance  at  this  Mohammedan 
minaret  is  sufficient  to  show  the  direct  and  continuous 
line  of  tradition  leading  from  the  zikkurat  to  the 
towers  of  the  Mohammedan  mosques  on  the  one  hand, 
and  to  the  belfries,  campaniles  and  steeples  of  Christian 
churches  on  the  other.11  In  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 
architecture  the  tower  is  always  separate  from  the  tem- 
ple proper — as  though  to  symbolize  the  independent 
origin  of  the  two  structures,  the  mQxmtaxn-motif  and 
the  house-wofo/.  Generally  the  tower  is  back  of  the 
temple,  at  times  to  one  side,  but,  even  when  it  is  accorded 
a  position  immediately  adjacent  to  the  temple,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  two  zikkurats  attached  to  the  temple  of 
Anu  and  Adad  at  Ashur,  one  standing  to  the  right,  the 
other  to  the  left  of  the  double  temple,  the  tower  is  yet  a 
distinct  structure,  the  ascent  being  independent  of  the 
temple.  In  the  case  of  many  mosques  the  Babylonian- 
Assyrian  tradition  is  followed  through  the  virtual 
independence  of  the  minarets  as  adjuncts  to  the  mosque, 
though  in  others  the  minaret  is  directly  attached  and 
eventually  becomes  a  steeple  placed  on  or  at  the  side 
of  the  mosque.  Similarly  in  the  church  architecture  of 
Italy  we  find  a  tower  built  quite  independently  of  the 
church  as  in  the  case  of  St.  Mark's  in  Venice  and  of  the 
cathedrals  in  Florence  and  Pisa,  while  in  Norman  archi- 

11  See  on  this  subject  Thiersch,  Pharos,  Antike,  Islam  und  Occi- 
dent (Leipzig,  1907). 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYKIA^  ART 


379 


tion  while  illustrations  on  Assyrian  monuments  show 
us  temples  with  a  series  of  domes — not  unlike  those 
which  constitute  a  feature  of  Mohammedan  mosques 
and  chapels  at  the  present  time.  The  courts  of  the 
temples,  however,  were  uncovered  and  the  public  cult 
took  place  in  the  open  air.  Nor  are  there  any  good 
reasons  for  believing  that  either  in  the  case  of  temples 
or  palaces  or  private  houses  flat  roofs  were  ever  intro- 
duced. The  absence  of  stone  and  of  wood  to  serve  as 
beams  and  rafters  would  prevent  the  architects  from 
introducing  such  a  covering.  The  brick  arch  and  the 
dome  were  therefore  the  two  resources  which  must  have 
been  developed  at  a  comparatively  early  period,  and  in 
the  construction  of  which  the  ingenuity  of  the  builders 
had  an  opportunity  for  wide  play.  The  principle  of 
the  arch  was  further  applied  in  the  construction  of 
vaults  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  both  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria.  In  the  mound  Mukayyar — covering  the  site 
of  ancient  Ur — Taylor  in  1854  discovered  a  number  of 
such  arched  vaults,  averaging  5  feet  in  height  and  31/* 
feet  in  breadth,  and  tapering  from  a  length  of  5  feet  to 
about  7  feet.  About  fifty  years  later,  the  German 
explorers  working  at  Kaleh-Shergat,  the  site  of  the  city 
of  Ashur,  came  across  vaults  of  precisely  the  same  con- 
struction—an  interesting  and  valuable  index  of  the 
continuity  of  architectural  methods  in  both  the  south 
and  the  north.18  The  depth  at  which  these  vaults  were 
found  at  Kaleh-Shergat  showed  conclusively  that  the 
explorers  were  in  the  presence  of  tombs  belonging  to 
the  older  Assyrian  period.  The  span  of  the  arch  in 
these  Assyrian  vaults  was  about  five  feet,  the  vaulted 
portion  above  the  perpendicular  walls  on  which  the 
arch  rested  being  a  little  over  two  feet  high.  The  total 
height  of  the  tomb  was  therefore  about  five  and  a  half 

11  See  Mitteilungen  der  Deutschen  Orient  Geselhckaft  No.  8, 
facing  p.  43;  and  for  arches  from  Nippur  and  Uruk,  Handcock, 
Mesopotamia*,  Arehceohgy  p.  170. 


378  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

tecture  the  belfry  becomes  attached  to  the  church,  and 
in  Gothic  architecture  the  tower  becomes  a  steeple 
placed  on  the  church,  and  with  a  complete  departure 
from  its  Babylonian-Assyrian  counterpart  is  looked 
upon  as  a  symbol  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  calling 
upon  its  followers  to  direct  their  thoughts  heavenward, 

IV 

There  is  another  feature  of  Babylonian  architecture 
which  needs  to  be  touched  upon  before  we  leave  the 
subject.  At  Warka,  Telloh,  Nippur  and  Babylon  re- 
mains of  arches  were  found  at  a  depth  which  left  no 
doubt  as  to  the  great  antiquity  to  which  the  construction 
of  arches  is  to  be  traced  back  in  the  Euphrates  Valley — 
at  least  to  3000  B.C.  The  span  of  these  arches  is  not 
large  and  the  construction  is  very  irregular  and  crude, 
but  nevertheless  they  illustrate  the  principle  of  the  true 
arch ;  and  it  has  been  plausibly  conjectured  that  the  dis- 
covery was  suggested  by  the  arched  form  of  the  primi- 
tive reed  huts — still  in  use  by  the  natives  in  the  villages. 
These  early  arches  were  used  as  tunnels  through  which 
drains  passed  to  carry  off  the  rain  water  and  the  refuse 
from  the  structures  beneath  which  they  were  erected. 
The  extent  to  which  the  arch  may  have  been  used  in 
Babylonian  temples  and  palaces  as  a  part  of  the  con- 
struction proper  is  a  question  still  in  dispute,  but  since 
we  find  it  employed  in  connection  with  the  gateways  of 
Assyrian  palaces  in  the  eighth  century,  it  is  a  reason- 
able conclusion  that  the  Assyrians  merely  imitated  in 
this  regard  as  in  so  many  others  the  example  furnished 
by  the  architects  of  the  south.  This  is  all  the  more 
plausible  because  of  the  discovery  at  Bismya  of  a  domed 
covering 1S  for  a  structure  that  stood  in  close  vicinity  to 
the  ancient  temple  at  that  place.  We  have  at  least  one 
example  of  an  arched  gateway  uncovered  in  the  course 
of  the  excavations  at  Babylon  by  the  German  expedi- 

12  Banks,  Bismya,  p.  246. 


382 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


allr 
ieir 
)rm 


* 
ts 

I 

Ul 


to  almost  three  feet.15  The  shapes  likewise  vary- 
from  a  very  simple  and  almost  crude  design  with  mereh 
a  line  or  two  at  the  top  and  bottom  to  elaborate  decora- 
tion and  very  intricate  shapes  with  graceful  handles. 
At  Nippur  and  Telloh  several  specimens  of  unusualh 
large  jars  have  been  found,  distinguished  for  then 
regular  rope  pattern,  while  showing  a  still  higher  foi 
of  art  is  a  utensil — perhaps  an  incense  burner — of 
most  intricate  shape  and  beautifully  enamelled  with  a 
green  color.    This  specimen  was  found  at  Telloh.10 

The  clay  furnished  so  profusely  by  the  alluvial  soil, 
and  which  we  have  seen  conditions  the  entire  archi- 
tecture of  the  Euphrates  Valley,  as  it  forms  the  writing 
material,  lent  itself  to  all  kinds  of  artistic  purposes. 
The  earliest  images  of  the  gods  as  the  earliest  attempts 
at  ornamentation  and  at  sculpture  were  in  clay.  Some 
of  these  attempts  were  naturally  exceedingly  crude. 
These  little  images  must  have  been  manufactured  in 
large  quantities  and  sold  to  pious  worshippers,  to  be 
kept  in  their  homes  as  amulets  to  ward  off  the  influence 
of  evil  spirits,  or  deposited  as  offerings  in  the  temples. 
Clay  moulds  have  been  found  into  which  the  soft  clay 
was  pressed  to  bring  about  conventional  shapes. 

Considerable  skill  was  shown  in  the  modelling  ol 
the  human  face  in  these  images,  as  may  be  concluded 
from  the  figure  of  a  goddess  with  uplifted  hands.  There 
is  an  expression  of  adoration  and  servility  in  the  face 
that  is  quite  unmistakable  and  which  is  well  supportec 
by  the  position  of  the  hands,  suggesting  a  petition  to 
some  powerful  being.  Even  more  carefully  executed  is 
the  picture  of  a  goddess  leading  a  worshipper  into  the 
presence  of  the  deity.  Strangely  enough  the  portrayal 
of  animals  is  less  successful,  though  of  course  it  may 
not  be  fair  to  judge  from  the  few  specimens  at  our  dis- 

"  Banks,  Bisrmja,  pp,  175  and  261. 

uDe  Sarzec  et  Heuzey,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  PL  44 
Fig,  6a  and  6bj  for  large  jars,  Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  I,  2  PL  XXVI  and  Series  D  vol.  1,  p.  406. 


FIG.   2t   VOTIVE   TABLET   OF    OR-ENLIL    FOUND    AT    NIPPUR* 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYBIAN  ABT 


383 


posal.  Allowance,  too,  must  be  made  for  the  individual 
style  of  artists,  and  yet  we  are  probably  safe  in  saying 
that  except  for  the  animals  portrayed  on  glazed  tiles, 
there  was  something  stiff  and  grotesque  in  the  Baby- 
lonian artist's  reproduction  of  animals — presenting  a 
contrast  in  this  respect  to  Assyrian  art,  where  the 
portrayal  of  animals  is  superior  to  that  of  the  human 
face,  which  rarely  rises  above  a  conventional  leveL 

VI 

At  a  very  early  period  the  Babylonians  conceived 
the  device  to  harden  the  clay  by  the  admixture  of  sub- 
stances which  gave  it  almost  the  quality  of  a  soft  stone. 
We  have  a  variety  of  such  artificial  substances  that 
form  a  transition  to  sculpture  in  stone.  A  particularly 
good  specimen  was  found  in  Nippur,  showing  a  sacri- 
ficial scene  in  two  divisions.  The  upper  portion  repre- 
sents a  naked  worshipper  offering  a  libation  before 
Enlil,  the  chief  deity  of  Nippur,  repeated  for  the  sake 
of  symmetry.  In  the  lower  portion  are  attendants 
carrying  some  objects  and  driving  two  goats.  Despite 
the  fact  that  the  human  figures  are  drawn  in  outline  with 
the  aid  of  simple  lines,  there  is  dignity  in  the  expression 
on  the  face  of  the  deity.  The  animal — apparently  a 
gazelle — drawing  a  plough  (again  repeated  for  the  sake 
of  symmetry),  is  well  reproduced  in  a  second  plaque 
from  Nippur,  which  shows  the  same  naked  worshipper 
before  Enlil  (see  Plate  XLIII,  Fig.  2). 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  in  this  early  work 
there  is  little  expression  in  the  human  face.  The  eye 
is  lifeless,  and,  even  when  the  face  is  in  profile,  the  eye 
is  usually  given  in  full.  The  crudeness  of  the  art  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  position  of  the  feet,  though  occasionally 
an  artist  succeeds  in  correctly  representing  a  standing 
position.  So  in  the  case  of  a  bas-relief  found  at  Nippur 
which,  though  revealing  all  the  characteristic  traits  of 
the  early  art,  is  redeemed  by  the  effective  manner  in 
which  a  bearded  priest  is  shown  with  his  face  half  turned 


384 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


.v 


towards  a  worshipper  carrying  a  goat  as  an  offerin 
and  being  ted  into  the  presence  of  a  goddess  seated  o 
a  bird  (Plate  XLIV,  Fig.  1).    A  limestone  plaque  wi 
the  figure  of  a  Sumerian  chief,  standing  at  the  entran 
to  the  sanctuary  of  the  god  Ningirsu  at  La  gash,  belon 
to  the  same  period,  the  dress  of  the  worshipper  be 
again  of  the  same  primitive  character  as  in  the  Nipp 
bas-relief,  with  the  exception  that  the  single  garb  ban; 
ing  from  the  waist  reaches  to  the  feet  (Plate  XLIV, 
Fig.  2),    The  elaborate  pattern  as  well  as  the  border  of 
the  garb  which  has  a  slit  in  front  is  due  to  the  greate 
eare  in  the  artistic  execution.     Very  striking  is  th 
arrangement  of  the  hair  falling  down  the  neck  and  gath- 
ered together  by  a  fillet  around  his  head,  while  a  Ion: 
chin  beard  adorns  the  face.    The  eye  is  drawn  in  fro 
view,  and  the  positions  of  the  feet  also  reveal  the  us 
limitations  of  the  early  art.    The  long  aquiline  nose  an 
long  feathers  as  part  of  the  head  gear  suggest  a  foreig 
conqueror  who  is  here  paying  his  respects  to  the  patro 
deity  of  Lagash.    The  sacred  pules  with  mace  heads 
front  of  the  chief  who  grasps  one  of  the  poles  with 
right  hand  are  religious  symbols, — perhaps  originall 
trees — plaeed  near  altars  or  in  front  of  sanctuaries,  no 
unlike  the  totem  poles  of  the  North  American  Indians. 

A  similar  attempt  to  represent  two  different  ethnic 
types  may  be  recognized  in  a  group  of  figures  that  a 
unfortunately  only  partially  preserved.  We  have 
apparently  a  procession  of  warriors,  leading  captiv 
The  warriors  wear  their  hair  long,  but  the  drawing 
bo  conventionalized  as  to  suggest  wigs.  The  long  aqui- 
line noses  remind  one  of  the  figure  with  the  hig] 
feathers,  as  do  the  long  almond-shaped  eyes.  The  p: 
cession  appears  to  have  been  arranged  in  two  rows,  and 
it  is  evident  that  the  bald-headed  and  beardless  figure 
in  the  second  row  is  intended  to  represent  a  Sumerian. 
The  folded  arms  are  the  gesture  of  adoration  or  devo- 
tion. It  would  appear  then  that  we  have  here  a  por- 
trayal of  a  scene  in  the  early  history  of  the  Euphrates 


here 


es. 


PLATE  XLIV 


FIQ.    1,    UODDE3S    SKATED    ON    UIRU 


:MM|| 


i 


FIO.    2,    BLMEKIAN    CHIEF 


FIG.    2,    BAH-RELIEF,    REPRESENTING    A    RJBUQI0U8    I'KRRMUNY 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


385 


Valley  in  which  a  foreign  group  succeeded  in  bringing 
the  Sumerians  into  subjection.  The  two  warriors  fac- 
ing one  another  would  then  represent  the  conquerors. 
Beyond,  however,  the  indication  of  broadly  distinctive 
types  and  a  certain  dignity  and  strength  of  posture 
these  specimens  of  the  earliest  art  do  not  go,  so  far  as 
the  human  figure  is  concerned  (Plate  XLV,  Fig.  1), 

On  the  other  hand,  the  art  is  rather  remarkable  in 
the  skill  with  which  a  series  of  figures  are  grouped  so 
as  to  convey  a  unity  or  a  continuity  of  action.  A  good 
specimen  is  furnished  by  the  fragment  of  what  was, 
when  complete,  a  limestone  relief  of  an  unusually  large 
size.  The  fragment  preserved  is  about  four  feet  high. 
It  is  again  divided  into  two  sections,  the  upper  one 
representing  a  procession  of  four  figures  being  led 
into  the  presence  of  a  deity,  though  it  is  possible  that  the 
third  figure  with  uplifted  hands  represents  a  goddess, 
the  consort  of  the  god  to  whom  homage  is  to  be  paid 
and  who  acts  as  an  intercessor  between  the  gods  and  the 
worshipper.  In  the  lower  portion  the  most  significant 
feature  is  a  seated  figure — no  doubt  again  a  priest — 
playing  on  an  eleven  stringed  instrument,  the  details  of 
which  even  to  the  figure  of  a  bull  as  a  decorative  por- 
tion of  the  frame  are  drawn  with  great  precision.  De- 
spite the  fragmentary  condition  of  the  scene  portrayed, 
one  obtains  an  impression  of  unity  (Plate  XLV,  Fig.  2) . 

We  can  trace  this  artistic  method  in  detail  in  a 
series  of  bas-reliefs,  likewise  on  limestone  plaques, 
portraying  Ur-Nina,  the  king  of  Lagash  (c.  2975  B.C.)  * 
and  his  family  taking  part  in  building  the  temple  E- 
ninnu  to  Ningirsu  in  Lagash.17  In  the  upper  portion 
Ur-Nina  is  portrayed  with  the  workman's  basket  on  his 
head.  He,  as  well  as  all  the  other  personages,  is  beard- 
less and  without  hair  on  his  head.    Naked  to  the  waist, 

1T  Two  in  the  Louvre  (DecouverteSj  PL  2  bis,  fig.  1  and  2,  and  PL 
2  ter,  fig.  1)  and  two  in  the  Museum  at  Constantinople — one  of  the 
latter  in  a  very  fragmentary  condition. 
25 


386 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  customary  flounced  skirt  falls  in  three  folds  cover- 
ing the  lower  part  of  his  body.  The  dress  of  all  the 
other  figures  is  the  same,  only  that  in  place  of  the 
flounced  skirt,  all  except  one  are  clothed  in  a  simple 
form  of  skirt  across  which  the  artist  has  written  the 
name  of  the  personage  portrayed.  Behind  the  king 
stands  an  attendant  priest  with  libation  vase  and  cup; 
in  front  of  him  five  members  of  his  family  with  names 
attached,  and  it  seems  quite  certain  that  the  first  of 
these  is  a  woman  and  the  king's  daughter.  In  the  lower 
portion  the  king  is  seated  on  the  throne,  pouring  out 
a  libation  after  the  ceremonial  rite  of  building.  Behind 
him  stands  the  attendant  priest  with  the  jar  out  of 
which  a  libation  has  been  poured  into  the  cup  held  by 
the  king  in  his  right  hand,  while  before  the  king  stand 
a  priest  (I)  lfi  and  three  other  sons  of  the  king.  The 
pose  of  all  the  figures  is  entirely  conventional,  the  cross- 
ing of  the  arms  symbolizing  devotion,  and  the  same 
convention  is  observed  in  the  manner  in  which  the  left 
arm  is  portrayed  when  the  right  one  holds  an  object. 
No  attempt  is  made  to  give  any  expression  to  the  faces, 
all  of  which,  therefore,  look  alike,  but  in  keeping  with 
the  symbolism  which  pervades  the  art,  the  higher 
stature  of  Ur-Nina  is  intended  to  portray  the  supreme 
dignity  of  his  royal  office,  just  as  by  further  contrast 
between  the  human  and  divine  ruler,  the  god  is  repre- 
sented in  the  early  art  as  much  larger  than  the  king 
(Plate  XLVI,  Fig.  1). 

VII 
The  progress  of  sculptural  art  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
direction  of  an  advancing  complication  in  the  design  so 
as  to  tell  as  full  and  detailed  a  story  as  possible.  The 
best  specimen  in  this  respect  so  far  recovered  is  a  large 
limestone  stele,  unfortunately  found  in  a  broken  condi- 

"  The  name  of  this  personage  is  Dudu,  but  the  title  that  follows 
is  not  clear.  At  all  events  he  is  not  a  member  of  the  royal  family, 
but  some  official. 


7IG.    2,    THE    GOD    N*INGIR»U,    CAPTrRlNG    THE    EVEMIES    OF    LAOA8FI    Of    HI8    NET 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYKIAN  AET  387 

tion,  but  of  which  enough  is  preserved  to  make  clear  the 
various  episodes  in  a  great  struggle  which  it  illustrates. 
The  remarkable  monument  found  at  Telloh  dates  from 
the  reign  of  Eannatum  (c.  2920  B.C.)  and  portrays  Ms 
successful  engagement  against  the  people  of  Umma 
with  whom  the  rulers  of  Lagash  had  many  a  passage  at 
arms.19  Eannatum  pictures  the  great  god  of  Lagash, 
Ningirsu,  as  capturing  the  forces  of  the  enemy  in  a 
large  net.  This  symbolism  is  offset  by  a  no  less  re- 
markable realism  in  portraying  the  course  of  the  battle 
and  its  issue.  One  of  the  fragments,  divided  as  usual 
into  two  compartments,  shows  the  troops  of  Eannatum 
actually  engaged  in  the  conflict.  The  king  is  clad  in  a 
long  skirt  to  which  a  cloak  falling  over  the  left  shoulder 
is  attached.  The  king's  helmet  differs  also  from  the 
head  gear  of  the  soldiers  by  the  ear-pieces  with  which  it 
is  provided.  In  his  right  hand  he  holds  a  weapon  which 
has  the  shape  of  a  boomerang.  The  march  of  the  troops 
over  the  prostrate  bodies  of  the  enemy  is  portrayed 
with  remarkable  vividness  and  power.  They  form  a 
solid  phalanx,  with  their  long  lances  held  in  the  right 
hand,  while  with  the  left  they  protect  themselves  by 
rectangular  shields  that  cover  the  entire  body.  To 
illustrate  the  various  divisions  of  the  soldiery  partici- 
pating in  the  battle,  the  u  light1*  infantry  is  shown  in 
the  lower  compartment,  armed  with  lances  and  battle- 
axes  but  without  shields.  Again  the  king  is  portrayed 
at  the  head  of  his  anny,  but  this  time  riding  in  a 
chariot  and  brandishing  a  long  lance  to  suggest  another 
stage  in  the  engagement,  which  probably  extended  over 
a  considerable  period  of  time.  The  entire  obverse  of 
the  monument  appears  to  have  been  taken  up  with  the 
portrayal  of  the  attack  and  the  various  stages  in  the 
engagement,  while  the  reverse  illustrated  the  result  of 
the  battle.  Just  as  the  king,  to  symbolize  his  preemi- 
nent rank,  is  drawn  as  of  larger  stature  than  his  sol- 

18  See  above,  p.  128  seq. 


388  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

diers,  so  the  god  Ningirsu  is  pictured  as  huge  even  in 
comparison  with  the  king.  The  upper  part  of  the  head 
is  wanting,  but  despite  this,  one  is  struck  by  the  great 
dignity  of  the  face,  which  is  drawn  with  evident  care. 
The  eye  is  majestic,  the  mouth  firm,  while  the  long  flow- 
ing beard  adds  to  the  inrpressiveness  of  the  figure.  In 
his  right  hand  Ningirsu  holds  a  powerful  mace  as  his 
weapon,  while  in  his  left  he  clasps  the  heraldic  standard 
of  Lagash,  the  eagle  holding  two  lions  in  Ms  talons. 
This  standard  is  frequently  portrayed  on  seal  cylinders 
and  other  works  of  art,  and  well  illustrates  again  the 
symbolism  that  finds  an  expression  in  such  various  ways 
in  the  oldest  art  of  the  Euphrates  Valley.  The  central 
idea  of  the  design  is  strength — strength  in  a  superlative 
degree.  Before  the  god  is  the  huge  net  with  the 
prisoners  to  symbolize  the  capture  of  the  enemy.  To 
further  indicate  the  impossibility  of  escape  from  the 
clutches  of  Eannatum,  a  prisoner  who  has  thrust  his 
head  out  of  one  of  the  meshes  is  being  beaten  back  by 
the  weapon  in  the  hand  of  the  god.  The  same  combina- 
tion of  symbolism  with  extreme  realism — so  extreme 
as  to  be  almost  naive — marks  two  other  fragments  of 
this  monument  continuing  the  tale  of  the  victory  and 
its  results.  One  of  these  shows  several  rows  of  corpses, 
naked  and  with  shaven  heads,  but  evidently  arranged 
in  a  certain  order  with  great  care.  The  burial  of  the 
soldiers  of  Eannatum  who  had  fallen  in  battle  is  here 
depicted,  by  way  of  contrast  to  the  scene  preserved  in 
part  on  the  other  fragment,  showing  vultures  flying 
off  with  human  heads,  clearly  intended  to  symbolize 
the  punishment  meted  out  to  the  slain  forces  of  the 
enemy20  (Plates  XLVII  and  XLVIH). 

30  Because  of  this  fragment  the  monument  is  commonly  desig- 
nated as  the  "Stele  dea  Vautours"  ("Vulture  Stele").  See  for 
further  details,  Heuzey  et  Thureau-Dangin,  Restitution  materielle 

Stele  det  Vautours  (Paris,  1911). 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ABT 


389 


VHI 

It  was  evidently  regarded  as  the  highest  aim  of  the 
older  art  of  Babylonia  to  tell  a  story,  and  as  the  ten- 
dency towards  elaboration  increased,  the  result  was  an 
endeavor  to  give  a  continuous  tale  by  means  of  suc- 
cessive scenes  in  which  some  details  were  symbolically 
indicated  and  others  most  realistically  set  forth.  The 
lack,  however,  of  a  true  artistic  instinct  comes  out 
especially  in  the  manner  in  which  the  accompanying 
inscription  is  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  effect  of  the 
drawing  or  design,  frequently  running  across  figures, 
inserted  wherever  there  was  any  room  without  regard 
to  its  effect  upon  the  monument,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
sculptured  votive  offering  from  the  days  of  Entemena, 
the  nephew  of  Eannatum,  interesting  as  furnishing  a 
detailed  drawing  of  the  heraldic  device  of  Lagash  (Plate 
XLIX,  Pig.  1)  above  referred  to.  The  material  is  an 
artificial  composite  of  clay  and  bitumen,  having  the  ap- 
pearance of  black  stone.  The  drawing  is  again  divided 
into  two  compartments  with  an  ornamental  scroll-shaped 
design  below.  The  eagle  has  a  human  face,  an  interesting 
testimony  to  the  antiquity  of  the  endeavor  to  reproduce 
in  art  the  hybrid  creatures  which  led  in  the  course  of 
further  development  to  human  headed  bulls  and  lions 
in  Babylonia  and  to  the  winged  bulls  with  human  faces 
in  Assyria  as  well  as  to  the  sphinxes  in  Hittite  art.21 
The  combination  of  the  human  and  animal  form  rests 
ultimately  upon  two  features,  the  resemblance  often 
so  striking  between  the  features  of  a  child  or  a  man 
and  some  animal,  and,  secondly,  the  occurrence  of  all 
kinds  of  anomalies  in  the  young  of  animals  and  in  the 
case  of  infants,22  which  suggested  to  the  primitive  mind 
the  possibility  of  the  actual  production  of  "mixed" 

21  See  Plate  LIV,  Pig.  1  and  Meyer,  Kuitur  und  Retch  der 
Chetiter,  Figs.  9  and  61. 

"  See  the  elaboration  of  this  thesis  in  the  author's  Babylonian- 
Assyrian  Birth  Omens  and  their  Cultural  Significance  (Giessen, 
1914)  j  also  above,  Plate  V,  Fig.  1 ;  Plate  XXXII  and  Plate  LIV, 
Fig.  1. 


390 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


creatures.       Symbolism  seized  hold  of  the  belief  and 
made  of  the  combination  the  union  of  the  powers  and 
attributes  suggested  by  the  animal  represented  with 
human  features.    The  crouching  heifer  in  the  second 
compartment  is  probably  also  to  be  taken  as  a  symbol 
of  power,  just  as  on  another  monument  we  have  the 
combination   of  the   same   two    designs — the    human 
headed  eagle  clutching  lions  and  ibexes  with  crouching 
bulls.28    In  contrast  to  the  eagle  which  gives  a  decidedly 
grotesque  impression,  relieved  only  by  the  force  with 
which  he  clutches  the  lions,  the  natural  force  of  the 
heifer  full  of  life  and  vigor  raises  the  work  to  a  much 
higher  degree  of  artistic  execution.    It  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  a  stele   found  at   Telloh,   illustrating 
in  detail  the  course  of  a  conflict  with  an  enemy,  should 
have  been  discovered  in  so  fragmentary  a  state.     In 
its  complete  form  it  must  have  told  its  story  in  a 
particularly  effective  manner.    The  two  fragments  that 
have  been  pieced  together  show  us  in  the  upper  row  the 
combatants  marching  to  the  encounter,  in  the  middle 
the  engagement  itself  and  in  a  third  presumably  the 
victory,  with  a  procession  of  captives  and,  perhaps, 
offering  to  Ningirsu.    It  is  a  hand-to-hand  encounter. 
The  enemy  is  represented  as  naked,  while  the  king's 
soldiers  have  helmets  and  short  skirts.    The  scene 
full  of  life  and  dramatic  in  the  different  pose  given 
each  figure  so  far  as  preserved ( see  Plate  XLIX,  Fig.  2) . 
The  highest  point  in  this  realistic  portrayal  of  ai 
actual  conflict,  which  was  obviously  a  favorite  subject 
intrusted  to  the  official  artists  of  the  rulers,  is  reached 
in  a  remarkable  monument  discovered  in  the  eoi 
of  the  excavations  at  Susa  and  which  formed  pail  of 
the  spoil  taken  from  Babylonia  by  an  Elamite  con- 
queror in  the  twelfth  centtiry.    The  monument,  a  lime- 
stone slab,  shows  the  king  Naram-Sin  of  Agade  (c. 
2550  B.C.)  and  his  victorious  army  fighting  in  a  moun- 

*•  See  below,  Plate  LXXI,  Fig.  1. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


391 


tainous  district.  The  difficulties  of  the  region  are  sym- 
bolized by  the  high  steep  cone  which  the  king  is  about 
to  ascend.  The  manner  in  which  the  soldiers  are  dis- 
tributed is  also  intended  to  convey  the  impression  of 
an  army  marching  up  the  side  of  a  mountain.  A  tree 
is  added  to  suggest  a  thickly  wooded  district.  All  this 
is,  to  be  sure,  crude,  but  the  main  effort  of  the  artist  is 
devoted  to  the  delineation  of  the  king  as  the  central 
figure,  and  in  this  he  has  been  entirely  successful.  The 
great  stature  as  usual  is  supposed  to  accord  with  the 
royal  rank,  He  towers  over  the  enemy  as  well  as  over 
Ms  own  soldiers.  His  spear  has  sunk  deep  into  the 
neck  of  the  enemy  crouching  before  him,  and  he  holds 
a  second  spear  in  his  hand  ready  to  continue  the  attack. 
The  moulding  of  the  right  arm  showing  the  strong 
muscles  and  reproducing  the  strong  grip  of  Naram-Sin 
on  his  weapon  is  admirable.  The  face  is  unfortunately 
badly  preserved,  but  the  shape  of  the  head,  the  care- 
fully arranged  beard,  the  tightly  fitting  helmet  betray  a 
skill  in  keeping  with  the  splendid  poise  of  the  body  and 
the  well  proportioned  limbs.  The  horns  attached  to 
the  helmet  are  the  symbol  of  divinity  to  which  Naram- 
Sin  laid  claim.  The  numerous  figures  are  so  grouped 
as  to  lead  up  to  that  of  the  king  as  representing  the 
climax.  It  was  regarded  sufficient  to  indicate  by 
the  garb  and  by  the  pose  the  broad  distinction  between 
the  soldiers  of  the  king  and  those  of  the  enemy,  but 
within  these  limitations  the  stele  of  Naram-Sin  shows  an 
advance  in  the  variations  in  the  pose  of  individuals,  in 
contrast  to  the  earlier  conventional  sameness.24  This 
marked  tendency  toward  individual  treatment  is  still 
further  accentuated  in  another  monument  of  the  days 
of  Naram-Sin  found  near  Diarbekr  far  up  in  the  north- 

**  The  original  inscription  accompanying  the  monument  is  almost 
entirely  missing,  but  on  the  cone,  representing  a  mountain,  Shutruk- 
Nakhunte,  the  king  of  Elam  who  carried  the  monument  to  his  capital 
as  a  trophy  in  the  twelfth  century  B.C.,  has  written  a  record  of  this 
act. 


392 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


era  region  of  the  Tigris,  erected  there  by  the  triumpl 
ant  king  to  commemorate  his  achievements  in  the  ex- 
treme north.25  The  material  is  again  a  soft  stone 
which  a  large  figure  of  the  king  has  been  sculptured  in 
a  most  effective  manner.  This  is  no  longer  a  conven- 
tionalized face  but  an  attempt  to  give  a  portrait  of  the 
king.  Despite  the  imperfect  preservation  of  the  monu- 
ment, the  face  has  an  expression  which  is  distinctly 
individualistic.  If  we  are  justified  in  associating  this 
advance  in  sculpture  with  the  age  of  Naram-Sin,  } 
haps  as  a  result  of  the  intellectual  stimulus  incident  to 
the  advance  in  the  Semitic  control  of  the  Euphrates 
Valley,  then  we  may  ascribe  to  the  same  period  an 
exquisite  relief  on  black  steatite  which  for  grace  and 
attention  to  details  belongs  to  the  best  that  this  high 
antiquity  has  left  to  us.20  It  represents  the  goddess 
Ninsun  seated  on  a  throne.  Her  expression  is  singu- 
larly attractive.  There  is  a  softness  and  beneficence  in 
her  manner  which  add  an  element  of  great  charm.  The 
dress,  gracefully  arranged  in  folds,  covers  the  entire 
body  and  a  necklace  adorns  her  throat  The  neat 
arrangement  of  the  hair  is  in  keeping  with  the  exceed- 
ingly fine  execution  of  the  whole  figure.  The  eye  of 
the  goddess  is  correctly  shown  in  profile — another  proof 
of  the  advance  in  art.  The  same  quality  of  workman- 
ship, though  not  so  successfully  carried  out,  is  to  be 
seen  in  a  fragmentary  bas-relief  picturing  the  divine 
pair,  Ningirsu  the  patron  deity  of  Lagash  and  his 
consort  Bau.27  The  latter  is  seated  on  the  knees  of  the 
god,  who  turns  towards  her  with  a  look  of  extreme 
tenderness.  The  expression  on  the  face  of  the  goddess 
is  less  pronounced  owing  to  defective  preservation,  but 
one  can  still  recognize  the  endeavor  to  give  to  her  fea- 
tures a  softness  and  femininity  which  are  intended  to 
present  a  contrast  to  those  of  the  male  figure. 

86  See  above,  p.  136. 

"PlateXLVI,  Figr.  2. 

17  See  illustration  above,  Plate  XLII,  Fig.  3. 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


393 


V 


IX 

It  may  be  accidental  that  in  the  sculptures  in  bas- 
relief  of  the  later  periods  we  do  not  encounter  the  same 
degree  of  perfection.  In  view  of  the  many  and  large 
gaps  in  our  material  for  tracing  the  development  of 
Babylonian  art,  it  is  rather  hazardous  to  draw  con- 
clusions, but  it  ought  not  to  occasion  surprise  that  after 
a  period  of  strong  art  activity  a  reaction  through  some 
cause  or  the  other  should  have  set  in.  Comparing  the 
stele  of  Naram-Sin  with  the  sculptured  design  at  the 
head  of  the  famous  Code  of  Hammurapi 28  (c.  2123-2081 
B.C.),  one  cannot  help  being  struck  by  the  stiffness  and 
conventionality  of  the  figures  of  both  the  god  and  the 
king  on  this  diorite  block,  in  contrast  to  the  ease  and 
grace  of  the  earlier  period.  Hammurapi  is  standing  in 
an  attitude  of  adoration  before  Shamash,  the  sun-god, 
who  as  the  god  of  justice  is  symbolized  as  the  ultimate 
source  of  the  laws  compiled  in  the  code.  There  is,  to  be 
sure,  an  attempt  to  reproduce  the  features  and  the 
general  expression  on  the  face  of  the  king,  as  may  be 
seen  from  a  comparison  with  another  bas-relief  of 
Hammurapi  which  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  possess. 
In  so  far  the  art  of  the  second  millennium  continues  the 
traditions  of  the  past,  and  perhaps  may  even  have  im- 
proved upon  them,  but  the  figures  are  lifeless.  The  feet 
are  reproduced  in  the  usual  conventional  position.  We 
also  have  a  representation  of  the  seated  sun-god,  dat- 
ing from  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  and  showing 
that  in  the  interval  of  more  than  a  miUennium,  there 
had  been  no  conspicuous  change  or  improvement  in  the 
artistic  representation  of  the  gods  and  of  the  human 
figure  in  general.    (See  PL  10.) 

Turning  to  sculpture  in  the  round,  it  is  natural  in 
view  of  the  greater  difficulties  involved  to  find  the 
Sumerians  and  Babylonians  so  hampered  by  conven- 


*■  See  illustration  above,  PI.  34  j  and  for  the  other  portrait  of 
>rapi,  Jastrow,  BUdtrmappe  zur  Babylonisch-Assyrischen 
No.  5. 


394 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


k 


tionalism  that  there  is  very  little  progress  to  be  noted 
a  comparison  of  the  oldest  with  later  specimens.    One 
of  the  oldest  is  the  statue  of  a  king  of  Adab,  found  in 
the  course  of  excavations  on  that  site  and  which  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Ottoman  Museum  at  Constantinople. 
The  stone  is  hard  marble,  and  the  statue  is  noticeable 
for  its  weight,  which  is  about  two  hundred  pounds.    The 
upper  part  of  the  figure  is  naked,  and  there  is  a  total 
absence  of  any  attempt  to  show  the  muscles  of  the  body. 
The  arms  are  attached  to  the  stone,  though  less  closely 
than  in  some  other  specimens.     The  head  is  clean 
shaven,  the  eye-sockets  are  hollow,  with  indications 
however  that  they  were  once  inlaid — probably  with 
ivory.    This  in  itself  shows  the  limitations  of  the  art 
which  does  not  attempt  to  reproduce  the  individual 
features,  but  contents  itself  with  general  and  more  or 
less  conventionalized  traits.    In  comparing  this  with 
another  figure  which  may  be  somewhat  earlier,  it  will 
be  noted  that  in  the  latter  there  is  no  attempt  to  repro- 
duce the  dress,  that  the  arms  are  closely  attached  to  the 
body  and  that  the  feet  are  merely  indicated  and  are 
united  to  the  pedestal.    In  these  three  respects,  there- 
fore, the  sculpture  in  the  round  passes  through  a  stage 
of  progressive  development,  and  the  statue  of  the  king 
of  Adab  shows  us  how  the  artists  of  Babylonia  gradu- 
ally overcame  some  of  the  difficulties  which  thev  en- 
countered ( see  Plate  XXII,  Fig.  1 ;  Plate  XXIV,  Fig.  1 ) . 
The  treatment  of  the  hair  appears  to  have  occa- 
sioned special  difficulties  in  this  class  of  sculptures. 
Ordinarily,  the  Sumerian  artist  contented  himself  in 
the  case  of  male  figures  with  leaving  the  hair  out  en- 
tirely, which  is  natural  since  the  Sumerians  were  beard- 
less and  may  at  a  certain  period  have  had  the  custom  of 
also  shaving  the  hair  of  the  head.    Occasionally,  how- 
ever, the  endeavor  is  made  to  show  the  hair,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  statue  of  the  Sumerian  official  above  dis- 
cussed, which,  though  cruder  than  that  of  the  king  of 
Adab,  is  redeemed  to  a  certain  degree  by  this  feature. 


BABYLONIAN- ASSYRIAN  ART 


395 


As  a  result  of  the  growing  prominence  of  the  Semites, 
greater  attention  was  paid  to  both  hair  and  beard,  since 
the  Semites  were  bearded  and  wore  their  hair  long. 
We  have  from  Bismya,  which  yielded  the  statue  of 
Lugal-daudu,  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  early  portrait- 
ure of  a  Semite.  The  material  is  alabaster.  While  the 
strands  of  the  beard  are  not  indicated,  nevertheless  the 
general  effect  is  pleasing  and  rather  graceful.  No  doubt 
this  is  in  part  due  to  the  good  drawing  of  the  head,  the 
strong  characteristic  nose,  the  forehead  and  the  vigor 
of  the  eye,  although  the  eye-sockets  are  as  usual  hollow. 
The  statue  of  an  early  Semitic  ruler,  Manishtusu, 
(c,  2600  B.C.),  found  in  the  course  of  the  excavations  at 
Susa,  shows  that  the  more  careful  representation  of  the 
beard  was  within  the  scope  of  the  older  Sumerian  or 
Babylonian  artists.29  One  can  see  also  more  of  an 
attempt  to  reproduce  personal  features,  such  as  the 
firm  mouth  and  the  broad  nose.  The  portrayal  of 
women,  whose  headdress  at  all  times  formed  an  im- 
portant part  of  their  toilet,  acted  as  a  further  incentive 
to  artists  to  perfect  a  method  of  representing  the  hair 
in  a  natural  manner.  We  find  this  in  the  case  of  two 
heads  that  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  earliest 
period,  showing  the  hair  carefully  hanging  in  tresses 
that  cover  the  ears  and  held  back  by  a  fillet.  Nothing 
could  be  more  charming  and  more  graceful  than  the 
seated  figure  with  her  long  hair  falling  in  beautiful 
strands  down  her  back,  and  the  details  of  the  closely 
fitting  dress  so  carefully  reproduced.  Only  in  the  arms 
closely  attached  to  the  body  do  we  see  the  limitations  of 
this  early  art.  The  most  remarkable  specimens  of 
sculpture  in  the  round  that  have  come  down  to  us  from 
ancient  Babylonia  are  the  diorite  statues  from  the  days 
of  Gudea,  The  king  set  up  a  large  number  of  such 
statues  of  himself  of  which  some  are  in  sitting  and 

»  Above,  Plate  XXIII,  Pig,  2 ;  for  the  head  of  a  Semite  (found 
at  Bismya)  Plate  XXII,  Pig.  2. 


396 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


others  in  standing  posture.80  Considering  the  hardness 
of  the  material,  which  was  imported  by  Gudea  from  a 
great  distance,  it  is  surprising  to  see  how  gracefully  the 
garments  fall  over  the  body,  and  the  degree  of  perfec- 
tion reached  in  representing  the  muscles  of  the  arms 
and  shoulders,  and  the  lines  of  the  neck  and  breast.  The 
clasped  hands,  no  longer  clinging  to  the  body,  are  ad- 
mirably executed.  In  the  case  of  the  feet  of  the  stand- 
ing statues,  however,  the  artist  betrays  his  inability 
to  detach  them  from  the  background,  and  which  gives 
to  them  a  very  awkward  appearance.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  case  of  the  seated  statues  the  artist  has 
overcome  the  difficulty  and  shows  the  feet  free  from 
the  pedestal  and  from  the  background.  Ten  such 
statues  were  found,  all  decapitated, .but  through  recent 
finds,  one  statue  can  now  be  completed,  and  we  have  in 
addition  to  this  head  fitting  on  the  statue  several  other 
heads  of  diorite  which  enable  us  to  form  a  very  satis- 
factory idea  of  the  modelling  of  the  hiunan  features 
out  of  this  hard  stone.  As  was  to  be  expected  the  ex- 
pression is  somewhat  blank.  The  cheek  bones  and  chin 
are  admirably  modelled ;  the  eyes  are  large  and  repre- 
sented as  wide  open  and  with  heavy  eyebrows.  Pre- 
sumably, the  hard  substance  prevented  the  artist  from 
making  the  eye-sockets  hollow  as  in  the  case  of  statues 
sculptured  out  of  a  softer  stone,  but  there  is  a  distinct 
artistic  gain  in  thus  avoiding  the  temptation  to  insert 
pupils  of  ivory  or  of  some  other  substance.  The  turban 
relieves  the  artist  of  the  necessity  of  treating  the  hair, 
but  we  are  fortunate  in  having  a  statuette  of  a  woman, 
carved  out  of  this  hard  substance  and  belonging  to  the 
period  of  Gudea,  from  which  we  see  how  the  artist  over- 
came this  difficulty  to  a  certain  extent.  Here  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  hair  is  indicated  by  the  curls  held  in 
place  by  a  fillet,  while  the  hair  falls  in  a  thick  mass  in 

80 The  standing  ones  measuring  1.10  to  1.58  metres;  the  sitting 
ones  77  to  93  centimetres.    See  above,  Plate  XIII  and  Dicouv< 
en  Chaldce,  PL  7-20. 


nOB,     1,    2,    AND   3,    HEADS   OF    LIONS 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


397 


the  back.  The  artist  evidently  could  not  go  as  far  as 
in  the  case  of  the  two  figures  above  discussed,  but  on  the 
whole  the  effect  is  pleasing.  We  may  note  in  this  figure 
also  the  skill  of  the  artist  in  giving  a  feminine  expres- 
sion to  the  unusually  regular  features,  and  the  rather 
elaborate  dress  which  is  admirably  reproduced.  The 
proportion  of  the  head  to  the  body  is  also  correct,  in 
contrast  to  the  completed  statue  of  Gudea  where  the 
head  is  out  of  proportion  to  the  short  and  thick-set 
body,  which  gives  the  ruler  almost  the  appearance  of  a 
dwarf. 


Besides  human  figures,  we  have  specimens  of  ani- 
mals sculptured  in  the  round,  as  well  as  some  curious 
hybrid  figures  that  are  the  forerunners  of  the  huge 
winged  creatures — the  human  faces  with  the  body  of  an 
animal — which  wTere  placed  at  the  entrances  to  large 
halls  in  Assyrian  edifices.31  An  unusually  good  piece  of 
work  is  a  crouching  dog  carved  out  of  steatite.  The 
body  is  admirably  drawn,  the  legs  are  in  an  easy  posi- 
tion and  true  to  nature,  while  the  face  is  so  carefully 
reproduced  as  to  enable  us  to  specify  the  breed  of  mas- 
tiff to  which  it  belongs.  It  bears  an  inscription  on  its 
side,  indicating  that  the  object  was  a  votive  offering 
on  the  part  of  King  Sumulailu,  (c.  2211-2176  B.C.),  to 
the  goddess  Nin-Isin, '  (  lady  of  Isin. ' ' 82  Attached  to  the 
back  is  a  cylindrical-shaped  vase,  but  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  this  attachment  which  spoils  the  effect  is  of 
later  date.  At  Telloh  also  a  large  number  of  heads 
of  lions  have  been  found  serving  as  mace  heads  or  as 
decorations  on  bowls,  or  supports  for  thrones  (Plate 
LII) .  While  some  show  greater  perfection  than  others, 
they  all  testify  to  the  skill  displayed  in  representing  the 
majesty  and  fierceness  of  the  animal 's  features.  It  is  only 
when  we  come  to  the  mane  that  we  encounter  the  infiu- 

81  See  Plate  V,  Fig.  1. 

"  See  above,  Plate  LI,  Fig.  2. 


398 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


ence  of  conventionalism,  though  considerably  less 
some  specimens  than  in  others.  In  the  combination,  how- 
ever, of  the  human  with  the  animal,  neither  Babylon- 
ians nor  Assyrians  were  ever  able  to  overcome  the  im- 
pression of  grotesqueness  which  is  the  natural  result. 
We  have  nothing  in  Babylonian  or  Assyrian  art  that 
can  be  placed  by  the  side  of  the  remarkably  harmonious 
combination  of  a  human  body  with  an  animal  head 
which  we  encounter  in  Egyptian  art  In  the  case  of 
the  crouching  bull  with  the  human  head,  of  which  the 
Louvre  has  several  specimens,  the  grotesqueness  is 
heightened  by  the  lack  of  proportion  between  the  ani- 
mal body  and  the  human  body.  The  head  framed  in  by 
a  mighty  beard  suggests  that  the  symbolism  is  to  be 
traced  to  Semitic  influences.  The  features  too  are  dis- 
tinctly Semitic,  while  the  strands  of  the  beard  ending 
in  curls  suggest  the  typical  arrangement  in  the  case  of 
representations  of  Assyrian  monarchs,  merely  some- 
what simpler  than  the  later  more  elaborate  and  more 
conventionalized  style.  The  head,  however,  looks  as 
though  it  had  been  stuck  on  the  body  as  an  after 
thought  (see  Plate  LIII). 

One  of  the  two  specimens  of  this  hybrid  figure  is  an 
interesting  illustration  of  inlay  work,  of  which  the 
Babylonian  artists  were  exceedingly  fond.  The  inlay- 
ing was  done  with  yellow  shells  inserted  into  the  black 
steatite  so  as  to  give  the  effect  of  a  streaked  bull.  The 
result  is  again  a  grotesqueness  which  reflects  on  the 
good  taste  of  the  artist.  Because  of  the  subject  anc 
manner  of  execution,  mention  may  here  be  made  of  a 
steatite  vase  with  strange  mythical  monsters,  the  effect 
of  which  is  heightened  by  the  incrusted  little  shells  to 
represent  the  scaled  backs  of  the  winged  serpents  with 
scorpions'  tails  and  talons  resembling  those  of  eagles. 
Like  the  human-headed  bull,  there  is  a  latent  symbol- 
ism, though  perhaps  of  a  different  order.  The  serpent 
is  no  doubt  to  be  regarded  as  the  emblem  of  the  god 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


399 


Ningishzida  to  whom,  as  the  accompanying  inscription 
shows,  the  vase  is  dedicated  by  Gudea,  the  famous  ruler 
of  Lagash,  The  repetition  of  the  symbol  is  for  the 
sake  of  symmetry.  Each  of  the  serpents  holds  a  hilted 
weapon,  also  encountered  on  other  monuments*  The 
other  two  serpents,  more  true  to  nature,  entwined 
around  a  pole  appear  to  serve  merely  decorative  pur- 
poses, the  mouths  of  the  two  serpents  meeting  at  the 
edge  of  the  vase,  which  evidently  was  a  cult  object,  used 
in  pouring  out  libations  to  the  god  to  whom  the  vase  is 
dedicated.  The  bodies  of  these  serpents  are  likewise 
incrustated,  and  in  contrast  to  the  very  grotesque 
mythical  beings,  the  two  entwined  serpents  are  remark- 
ably realistic.  The  whole  object,  unique  in  its  design 
and  original  in  its  execution,  ranks  among  the  best 
specimens  of  Babylonian  sculpture,  and  illustrates  the 
wide  range  of  that  art.    (See  PL  71,  Fig.  2.) 

It  may  of  course  be  an  accident  that  we  have  not 
found  nearly  so  many  specimens  of  sculpture  in  the 
round  as  of  bas-reliefs,  but  it  is  perhaps  not  unrea- 
sonable to  conjecture  that  the  difficulties  involved  may 
account  for  the  fact.  Custom,  too,  which  is  so  large  a 
factor  in  the  development  of  art,  may  have  led  to  the 
stele  with  a  sculptured  design  as  the  type  of  the  monu- 
ment of  an  individual,  having  the  advantage  of  more 
space  for  the  accompanying  inscriptions  which  was  a 
chief  motive  with  those  who  set  up  such  monuments  of 
themselves,  or  who  had  votive  offerings  prepared  for 
themselves. 

XI 

It  is  time  now  to  turn  to  Assyrian  sculpture,  which, 
while  showing  its  dependence  upon  that  of  Babylonia, 
nevertheless  strikes  out  in  new  directions  and  shows 
traits  of  a  decidedly  original  character.  In  the  choice 
of  subjects  Assyrian  art  reflects  the  ambitions  of  the 
rulers  and  the  martial  spirit  of  the  people.    Our  ma- 


400  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

terial  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  follow  the  develop- 
ment of  Assyrian  sculpture  through  its  various  phases. 
We  cannot  carry  it  further  back  at  present  than  the 
twelfth  century,  and  the  specimens  up  to  the  middle  of 
the  ninth  century  are  so  few  that  we  must  for  the 
present  begin  the  survey  from  the  comparatively  late 
period  when  Assyria  was  already  approaching  the 
zenith  of  her  powTer.  It  seems,  however,  safe  to  assert 
that  the  general  traits  of  Assyrian  sculpture  are  already 
fixed  several  centuries  before  Ashurnasirpal  III.  (883- 
859  B.C.).  The  dependency  upon  Babylonian  proto- 
types is  seen  in  the  portrayal  of  the  human  figure, 
which  remains  throughout  the  entire  period  stiff,  life- 
less and  extremely  conventionalized.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  considerable  advance  in  showing  soldiers 
and  huntsmen  in  action,  though  here  too  conventional- 
ism lays  shackles  on  the  freer  development  of  the  art, 
but  the  most  striking  contrast  to  the  bas-relief  sculp- 
tures of  Babylonia  is  the  breaking  away  from  sym- 
bolism in  the  case  of  Assyrian  art  to  become  purely 
and  completely  realistic.  The  result  is  a  decided  ad- 
vance in  the  direction  of  giving  more  life  to  the  scenes 
depicted;  they  come  closer  to  reality.  The  marching 
soldiers,  being  no  longer  chosen  to  symbolize  the  kind 
that  marched  to  an  attack,  move  with  greater  ease.  The 
attack  is  effectively  pictured  in  a  continuous  series  of 
designs,  each  representing  some  striking  moment  in  the 
battle,  whether  real  or  due  to  the  fancy  of  the  artist  is 
of  little  moment.  Even  if  the  scene  is  based  on  a  real 
occurrence,  the  execution  is  fanciful- — a  circumstance 
which  affords  a  larger  and  freer  scope  to  the  artist's 
imagination,  so  essential  to  the  development  of  a  true 
art. 

The  palace  walls  of  Ashurnasirpal  were  covered 
with  bas-reliefs  illustrative  of  incidents  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  the  king,  and  picturing  his  activity  in  the 
chase,  which  was  the  favorite  sport  of  the  rulers.  A 
few  specimens  of  each  will  suffice  to  show  the  remark- 


FIU.   2,    ASSYRIAN    ARMY,    ATTACKING   A    FORT 


BABYLOHIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


401 


able  vigor  displayed  in  portraying  armies  in  action,  as, 
for  example,  in  attacking  a  city  by  means  of  a  battering 
ram,  reinforced  by  archers,  who  come  into  a  hand-to- 
hand  encounter  with  the  enemy.  The  attention  to  de- 
tails is  also  noticeable  in  the  trappings  of  the  horses  and 
in  the  military  equipment  of  rulers,  of  the  high  officers 
and  of  the  common  soldiers.  The  grouping  of  the 
figures  is  also  carried  out  with  taste  and  skill,  though 
occasionally  the  scenes  are  too  crowded,  and  the  im- 
pression is  blurred  through  the  endeavor  of  the  artist  to 
show  too  much.  A  defect  of  the  art  at  this  period  which 
is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  hunting  scenes  is  the 
stiffness  and  awkwardness  in  the  drawing  of  the  ani- 
mals, so  much  inferior  in  this  respect  to  the  representa- 
tion of  the  human  figure.  While  the  charioteer  who 
drives  the  horses  with  the  king  at  his  side,  discharg- 
ing the  arrows  at  the  approaching  lion,  admirably  dis- 
plays the  strain  on  the  muscles  of  the  arm  and  the 
tension  in  the  face  as  he  tries  to  control  the  dashing 
steeds,  the  horses  themselves  seem  to  be  suspended  in 
the  air.  The  artist  fails  to  convey  the  impression  that 
the  horses  are  speeding  along,  despite  the  posture  of 
the  forelegs,  evidently  intended  to  suggest  a  rapid  dash. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  certain  degree  of  force  in  the  faces  of 
the  horses,  but  a  comparison  between  a  number  of  the 
bas-reliefs  reveals  that  this  expression  is  stereotyped 
and  falls  therefore  under  the  ban  of  conventionalism. 
The  limitations  of  the  art  are  even  more  apparent  when 
it  comes  to  the  portrayal  of  the  lions  in  pursuit,  or 
wrounded  by  the  arrows  shot  at  them.  The  artist  suc- 
ceeds in  his  attempt  to  convey  the  impression  of  the 
pain  and  terror  endured  by  the  hunted  animal,  but  the 
convulsions  of  the  body  are  drawn  in  so  awkward  a 
manner  as  to  border  on  the  grotesque.  We  shall  note 
as  we  proceed  to  later  generations  the  progress  made  in 
this  respect  until  at  the  highest  point  of  its  develop- 
ment, the  Assyrian  art  is  remarkably  successful  also  in 
the  naturalness  and  variety  of  the  poses  given  to  lions, 

26 


402 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


wild  horses  and  other  animals  when  pursued  or  wounded 
by  the  royal  sportsmen  (see  Plate  VIII). 

The  best  specimens  of  the  art  in  the  early  period 
are  those  in  which  the  king  is  portrayed  surrounded 
by  his  attendants  or  officers.  These  are  marked  by  the 
most  scrupulous  attention  to  details,  as,  for  example, 
in  the  scene  where  the  king  is  portrayed  with  the  bow 
in  one  hand  and  a  bowl  in  the  other  containing  a  liba- 
tion to  be  offered  to  the  deity  after  the  chase.  The 
embroidery,  borders  ami  tassels  of  the  royal  garment 
are  executed  with  the  greatest  possible  care.  Not  a 
detail  is  overlooked,  down  to  the  embroidery  on  the 
edge  of  the  short  sleeves.  Necklace,  bracelets  and  ear- 
rings as  well  as  sandals  are  similarly  worked  out  in 
detail,  while  both  in  the  case  of  the  king  and  of  the 
eunuch  with  the  fly-flap  standing  before  him,  almost 
every  strand  of  the  abundant  hair  can  be  distinguished. 
The  endeavor  is  also  made  to  indicate  the  strong  mus- 
cles of  the  arm,  though  owing  to  the  substance — a  rather 
hard  limestone — this  feature  can  hardly  be  termed  an 
artistic  success.  The  pose  of  the  figures  is  easy  and 
dignified,  that  of  the  king  effectively  conveying  the 
impression  also  of  royal  majesty  (see  Plate  LV). 

The  palace  at  Khorsabad33  of  Sargon,  who  ruled 
from  721-706  B.C.,  and  the  f oimder  of  the  dynasty  which 
gave  to  Assyria  its  most  famous  rulers,  has  yielded  a 
large  number  of  specimens  of  sculptured  bas-reliefs 
which  enable  us  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  the  art  which 
manifests  itself  chiefly  in  the  growing  complexity  of 
the  designs.  The  artists  of  each  succeeding  age  evi- 
dently vied  with  their  predecessors  in  the  endeavor  to 
vary  the  monotony  of  the  two  main  subjects  chosen  for 
illustration — war  and  sport — by  the  greatest  possible 
diversity  in  the  details.  To  accomplish  this,  the  scale 
of  representation  was  magnified,  and  each  episode  of 

**  See  above  Plate  IV  and  V,  and  for  further  illustrations  Botta 
etFlandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  (Paris,  1849). 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


403 


the  campaign  or  the  chase  selected  correspondingly 
amplified  by  introducing  as  many  figures  as  possible, 
and  all  in  action. 

There  is,  however,  the  same  stiff  conventionalism 
in  the  beardless  figures  carrying  portions  of  the  royal 
throne.  Not  only  are  the  faces  devoid  of  expression, 
but  there  is  a  total  lack  of  any  indication  of  muscular 
action.  In  contrast  to  these  defects,  great  care  is  be- 
stowed on  the  dress  and  on  such  details  as  the  trappings 
of  the  horses  and  the  carving  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
throne  (see  Plate  LVI,  Fig.  1). 

An  attempt  at  introducing  variety  into  what  might 
otherwise  be  monotonous  representations  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  portrayal  of  Assyrian  workmen,  transporting 
wood  across  a  stream.  The  large  variety  of  marine  life 
is  portrayed  in  a  most  vivid  manner,  and  likewise  the 
action  of  the  sailors  rowing  the  ships  or  loading  or  un- 
loading large  bars  of  wood  which,  it  will  be  observed 
in  some  cases,  are  placed  on  a  deck  above  the  heads  of 
the  rowers,  and  in  others  are  attached  to  the  stern  of 
the  boat  (see  Plate  LVI,  Fig.  2). 

The  limits  put  upon  the  art  through  the  extreme 
conventionalism  is  shown  in  the  representation  of 
attacks  upon  forts,  such  as  the  one  here  given,  which 
despite  its  mutilated  character  is  sufficiently  well  pre- 
served to  give  the  characteristics  of  the  art  of  the  period. 
Note  the  similarity  of  posture  in  the  case  of  those  ap- 
pearing at  the  openings  of  the  various  parts  of  the  fort, 
and  the  stiff  and  naive  method  of  representing  the  vari- 
our  stories  of  the  fort  and  the  lack  of  perspective  (Plate 
LIV,  Fig.  2).  Even  more  characteristic  is  the  large 
figure  of  the  Babylonian  hero  Gilgamcsh  represented  in 
the  act  of  strangling  a  lion,  which  evidently  formed  one 
of  the  achievements  of  the  hero.  The  beard  is  drawn  in 
the  usual  conventionalized  style,  but  there  is  an  ex- 
pression of  great  power  in  the  face,  due,  to  be  sure,  more 
to  the  exaggeration  of  the  features  than  to  artistic 
delicacy.   The  expression  on  the  lion's  face  is  ludicrous, 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  AET 


405 


by  overcrowding.  Here  everything  is  drawn  on  a 
proper  scale.  There  are  just  enough  details  to  enable 
us  to  interpret  the  scene  correctly,  which  thus  answers 
the  conditions  suitable  for  the  genuine  illustration  of  an 
historical  text.  Less  satisfactory  is  the  endeavor  to 
portray  the  actual  attack  on  the  city  of  Lachisb,  which 
evidently  stood  on  an  eminence.  This  portrayal  in- 
volved problems  of  perspective  which  were  beyond  the 
range  of  the  Assyrian  artist,  but  despite  this  defect 
the  grouping  of  the  figures  is  again  skilfully  carried 
out.  We  receive  the  impression  of  a  very  large  and 
successful  army  in  the  aim  of  the  arrows  of  the  sol- 
diers, as  well  as  in  the  damage  done  by  the  machines  of 
war,  hurling  heavy  catapults  against  the  walls  of  the 
besieged  town  (see  Plate  LVIII). 

Very  effective,  again,  are  a  series  of  designs  show- 
ing the  loading  and  the  transporting  of  one  of  the  huge 
colossal  human-headed  bulls  intended  for  the  palace 
of  the  king.  The  mechanical  devices  for  moving  this 
heavy  object  are  shown  in  so  clear  a  manner  as  to  make 
any  further  commentary  useless.  The  bull  is  placed 
on  a  huge  sled  supported  by  rollers,  which  are  moved 
as  required  so  as  to  reduce  the  power  necessary  to  pull 
the  sled.  The  men  carrying  the  extra  poles  and  the 
extra  ropes  are  shown,  as  well  as  the  officers  standing 
on  the  colossal  figure  and  giving  the  necessary  direc- 
tions. Of  particular  interest  is  the  representation  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  lever  at  one  end  is  pulled  down 
through  the  united  strength  of  a  large  number  of  men, 
who  attach  themselves  by  means  of  ropes  to  the  enor- 
mous crowbar  (see  Plate  LIX). 

Through  these  illustrations  one  also  obtains  an  idea 
of  the  large  number  of  workmen  at  the  disposal  of  the 
rulers  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  their  great  buildings 
and  for  their  building  operations.  Human  life  appears 
to  have  been  an  exceedingly  cheap  commodity  in  Assy- 
rian days.  There  was  never  any  lack  of  men  to  equip 
the  enormous  armies  and,  similarly,  the  king  was  never 


406  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

in  lack  of  the  many  thousands  required  for  the  constant 
task  of  building  temples  and  palaces  and  other  huge 
edifices. 

By  far  the  most  elaborate  and  on  the  whole  the 
most  artistic  sculptural  decorations  of  the  royal  palaces 
of  Assyria  date  from  the  days  of  the  grand  monar< 
Ashurbanapal  (668-626  b.c.),  in  whose  reign  the  artis- 
tic development  of  Assyria  as  well  as  her  military  glory 
reached  its  height.  It  is  necessary  to  see  for  one's  seLf 
at  the  British  Museum,  or  in  the  series  of  photographs 
made  from  the  originals,  the  extended  group  of  the 
scenes  of  warfare  and  of  the  hunt  sculptured  on  bas- 
reliefs  that  lined  the  walls  of  the  large  rooms  of  the 
palace  of  the  king  at  Nineveh,  in  order  to  realize  the 
general  plan  followed  by  the  artists  in  thus  illustrating 
the  campaigns  of  the  king  and  their  royal  master's  sport 
(Plate  LX).  Such  is  the  attention  given  to  details 
that  by  means  of  these  bas-reliefs  we  can  follow,  even 
without  the  accompanying  descriptive  texts  and  the 
elaborate  annals  that  we  possess  of  the  king's  reign, 
the  course  of  his  mad  chase  for  power  and  glory.  The 
criticism  to  be  passed  on  many  of  the  limestone  or  ala- 
baster slabs  is  that  the  artist  attempts,  particularly  in 
the  battle  scenes,  to  put  too  much  in  a  limited  space. 
The  scenes  are  frequently  too  crowded  for  artistic  eff< 
The  horses  in  these  scenes  are  particularly  well  executed ; 
they  dash  along  with  fiery  spirit  and  add  to  the  im- 
pression of  the  fierceness  of  the  fight  (see  Plate  LXI). 

The  scenes  here  chosen  are  taken  from  the  series 
illustrative  of  the  campaign  of  Ashurbanapal  against 
Teumman,  King  of  Susa,  Assyria's  most  powerful 
rival.  We  see  the  Assyrian  monarch  in  his  chariot  in 
the  midst  of  the  fray,  hotly  intent  upon  capturing 
Teumman  himself,  who  in  one  of  the  scenes  is  depicted 
as  defended  by  his  son.  We  see  as  the  climax  of  the 
struggle  the  Eiamite  king  decapitated,  a  part  of  the 
Susian  army  thrown  into  the  river  and  the  rest  taken 


FIQ.   2,    ATTENDANTS   CARRYING   NETS   FOU   TBI    CKABM    AMD    IMMDUtQ    l>«»«;s 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART  407 

prisoners.  In  a  continuation  of  the  campaign  we  ob- 
serve the  procession  of  prisoners  and  the  head  of  Teum- 
man  carried  off  as  a  trophy  of  war  in  a  chariot;  and 
as  the  fitting  close  to  the  campaign,  Ashurbanapal  and 
his  queen  are  seated  in  a  garden,  enjoying  life,  while 
as  a  ghastly,  silent  witness  to  the  domestic  scene  the 
head  of  Teumman  hangs  in  the  arbor  overarching  the 
divans  oh  which  the  king  and  queen  are  lying  in  an 
easy  posture  (Plate  LXII). 

xin 

A  subdivision  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  art  in 
which  unusual  skill  was  developed  at  an  early  period 
and  which  reached  an  even  higher  degree  of  perfection 
in  Assyria  was  the  work  in  metals — notably  copper  and 
bronze  but  also  silver.  Abundant  evidence  has  been 
found  that  the  Euphrates  Valley  had  its  stone  age  which 
no  doubt  overlapped  as  elsewhere  into  the  age  of  metals. 
As  early  as  the  third  millennium  we  find  specimens  of 
engraving  on  copper  blades,  and  of  copper  and  bronze 
statuettes  and  other  votive  objects  that  testify  to  the 
high  antiquity  of  the  metallurgical  art.  Despite  its  bad 
state  of  preservation,  there  is  much  to  admire  in  the 
figure  of  a  lion  engraved  on  the  tang  of  a  copper  blade, 
found  at  Telloh  and  which,  measuring  about  31V2  inches 
in  length,  belonged  to  a  lance  which,  as  the  partially 
effaced  inscription  shows,  was  dedicated  by  a  "king  of 
Kish  M  to  some  deity.85  The  head  of  the  lion  is  well 
drawn  and,  but  for  the  conventionalized  shape  of  the 
mane,  the  general  effect  is  pleasing.  Another  object 
of  copper,36  belonging  perhaps  to  a  still  earlier  period, 
shows  a  lion  in  a  crouching  position  attached  to  a 

"  Decouvcries  en  Chaldee,  PL  5  ter,  No.  1 ;  see  also  ib.,  PL  6  ter 
No.  2. 

**  Found  at  Bismya  (see  Banks,  Bismya,  p.  237).  Banks  speaks 
of  the  object  as  bronze,  but  it  is  probably  copper,  as  Handcock, 
Mesopotamian  Arch&ology,  p.  251,  suggests,  with  an  accidental  alloy. 


408 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


spike.  Wliile  the  shape  of  the  head  betrays  a  certain 
crudeness,  and  the  body  is  somewhat  foreshortened,  yet 
there  is  much  life  in  the  effect  as  a  whole,  due  to  the 
admirable  manner  in  which  the  legs  are  portrayed, 
conveying  the  impression  of  an  animal  about  to  leap  at 
some  prey.  Passing  by  some  representations  of  ani- 
mals moulded  out  of  copper  but  so  covered  with  oxidiza- 
tion as  to  be  not  clearly  distinguishable,  a  fair  idea  of 
the  traits  of  this  art  may  be  obtained  from  a  series  of 
votive  statuettes,  showing  male  and  female  figures 
carrying  baskets  on  their  heads,  kneeling  gods,  female 
figures  and  animals  in  various  poses.  The  basket 
bearers  are  of  two  types,  one  in  which  only  the  upper 
part  of  the  body  is  shown,  while  the  other  portion,  sug- 
gesting a  skirt  reaching  to  the  feet,  is  taken  up  with  a 
dedicatory  inscription,  the  other  in  which  the  whole 
body  is  shown,  the  upper  part  and  the  legs  being  nude, 
while  a  short  skirt  hangs  down  from  the  waist,  afford- 
ing space  for  the  inscription  of  the  ruler  who  offers  the 
statuette  as  a  votive  gift  The  most  striking  feature  of 
these  figures  is  the  graceful  attitude  of  the  hands  in 
balancing  the  basket  on  the  head ;  the  least  satisfactory 
is  the  blank  expression  on  the  face,  and  this  despite  the 
fact  that  the  simple  features  are  drawn  in  good  propor- 
tion. In  contrast  to  the  awkward  position  of  the  feet 
on  the  sculptures  in  soft  or  hard  stone,  the  pose  is  per- 
fectly natural  here.  The  figure  stands  firm  and  yet 
easy.  There  is  also  well  expressed  in  the  dignified  atti- 
tude of  the  statues  as  a  whole  the  devotion  to  a  deity, 
symbolized,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Ur-Nina  plaques ST  by 
the  workman's  basket  indicative  of  a  direct  participa- 
tion in  the  erection  of  a  sacred  edifice.  Belonging  to  a 
period  not  far  removed  from  that  of  Gudea  we  have 
several  specimens  of  votive  objects,  consisting  of  a  cone 
to  be  fastened  to  some  part  of  a  temple  or  sanctuary  and 
to  which  the  figure  of  a  kneeling  god  is  attached — rather 

87  Above,  Plate  XL VI,  Fig.  1. 


Fir,.    2,    BATTLE    SCENE.      CONFLICT    BETWKIS     \-MftIA    AND    EL  AM 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


409 


awkwardly  to  be  sure.  The  figures  themselves,  how- 
ever, are  exceedingly  well  executed.  The  body  is  well 
moulded,  the  features  are  clean  cut,  there  is  a  vigorous 
expression  in  the  eye,  the  nose  is  powerful  and  the 
mouth  firm.  The  head  is  slightly  out  of  proportion  to 
the  body,  though  not  to  such  a  degree  as  in  the  case  of 
the  statue  of  Gudea.  We  thus  get  the  impression  of 
a  somewhat  thick-set  figure,  which,  however,  is  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Sumerians  were  a  people  of 
short  build ;  they,  therefore,  pictured  their  gods  in  the 
same  general  style,  though  this  did  not  hinder  them 
from  representing  them  as  much  taller  than  themselves, 
just  as  the  kings  were  drawn  as  larger  than  the  common 
folk  (see  Plate  LXIH). 

Much  cruder  are  a  series  of  votive  statuettes,  serv- 
ing as  amulets  and  stuck  apparently  into  the  walls  as  a 
protection  against  the  encroachment  of  evil  demons. 
They  all  have  heads  of  females,  but  only  the  upper  part 
of  the  body  is  clearly  indicated.  The  clasped  hands  are 
poorly  executed,  the  faces  somewhat  more  carefully 
modelled,  while  the  hair  hanging  about  the  neck  has  the 
appearance  of  a  wig  (Plate  LXIV,  Fig.  1) .  The  gro- 
tesqueness  is  accentuated  in  some  of  the  statuettes  which 
are  provided  with  a  large  flat  ring  shaped  like  a  bird's 
tail,  into  which  they  were  slipped  to  aid  in  bearing  the 
burden  of  a  tablet  of  stone  attached  to  the  heads  (Plate 
LXIV,  Fig.  2),  and  bearing  a  dedicatory  inscription. 
In  some  cases,  however,  these  tablets  were  bored  with 
holes  into  which  the  heads  of  the  statuettes  were  in- 
serted. Such  statuettes  were  found  in  groups,  buried  in 
hollows  and  walled  in  with  bricks  and  bitumen.  Per- 
haps the  fact  that  they  were  to  be  kept  out  of  view  ac- 
counts for  the  little  care  bestowed  on  their  execution. 
Eising  again  to  a  high  degree  of  workmanship  are  heads 
and  bodies  of  animals  belonging  likewise  to  a  very  early 
period.  A  crouehing  bull  on  the  top  of  a  nail  provided 
with  a  point  to  be  stuck  into  a  wall  is  an  admirable  piece 
of  work,  the  head  being  weU  modelled,  the  body  in  pro- 


410 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


portion  and  the  pose  natural  (Plate  LXIII).  Equally 
good  is  a  bronze  bull  standing  on  a  flat  support,  though 
the  artistic  effect  is  spoiled  somewhat  by  the  bits  of 
silver  inlaid  across  the  body  to  represent  the  variegated 
coloring  of  the  skin.  The  head  with  the  gracefully 
shaped  horns  is  particularly  well  done.  Still  finer  are 
two  animal  heads  hollowed  out  of  copper,  one  a  bull's 
head  found  at  Telloh,  the  other  that  of  a  Markhur  goat 
with  elaborately  crumpled  horns.  The  eyes  in  the  one 
head  are  inlaid  with  mother  of  pearl,  while  the  pupils 
are  of  lapis  lazuli ;  in  the  other  case,  the  eyes  are  made  of 
shell,  the  pupils  being  colored  dark  brown(Plate  LXV). 

The  extensive  use  to  which  copper  was  put  in  Baby- 
lonia is  shown  by  the  very  large  number  and  variety  of 
art  objects  and  utensils  found  in  the  excavations  at 
various  sites.  Most  of  these  utensils  being  made  for 
purely  practical  purposes,  such  as  daggers,  hatchets, 
knives,  fish  hooks,  spear-heads,  and  vases  and  dishes  of 
various  kinds,  have  no  artistic  value,  while  others  that 
may  have  had  were  found  in  such  a  bad  state  of  preser- 
vation as  to  render  them  uncertain  witnesses.  Moulds 
of  clay  for  metal  casting  appear  to  revert  to  a  very  early 
age,  and  most  of  the  smaller  copper  objects  found  were 
prepared  in  this  way.  Earrings  and  jewelry  of  various 
kinds  were  also  made  in  the  same  way,  as  well  as  bronze 
objects,  which  belong  to  a  later  period  after  the  dis- 
covery of  making  bronze  by  adding  an  alloy  of  tin  had 
been  made.  The  use  of  bronze  becomes  more  common 
as  we  pass  down  the  ages  until  in  the  best  Assyrian 
period  it  gradually  supplants  copper. 

Belonging  probably  to  the  later  Babylonian  period, 
is  a  remarkable  bronze  plaque,  detailing  a  ceremony 
of  exorcism  of  a  demon  of  disease.  The  interesting 
feature  of  this  plaque  from  the  artistic  point  of  view 
is  the  grouping  of  the  figures  in  the  second  and  third 
rows.  In  the  upper  row  we  have  a  series  of  nine  sym- 
bols of  the  chief  gods  of  the  pantheon,  the  crescent 
standing  for  Sin,  the  moon  god,  the  eight-rayed  star 


VOTIVE    OFFERINGS    (COPPER )    FROM    TKLLHU 


FIG.    1 1    BK<JNZK    HULL 


ntJ.   2,    GOAT    WITH    TRUMPLKl)    BOOHf    (COFPEK) 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


411 


for  the  goddess  Ishtar,  the  stylus  to  the  left  of  the  star 
for  Nabu,  the  god  of  writing  and  wisdom,  the  adjoining 
spear  for  Marduk,  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  and  so  on 
through  the  list.  In  the  second  row  is  a  group  of  seven 
demons,  frequently  referred  to  in  the  incantation 
formulas  against  the  demons  of  disease,  and  who  are 
regarded  as  responsible  for  the  bodily  ills  to  which 
human  flesh  is  heir.  The  third  row  pictures  the  cere- 
monies for  driving  the  demons  of  disease  out  of  the 
victim  who  lies  on  a  couch  with  uplifted  hands.  At 
either  end  of  the  couch  stands  an  exorcising  priest, 
dressed  in  a  fish  skin  to  symbolize  that  he  is  acting  for 
Ea,  the  god  of  waters,  and  of  whom  the  fish  would  be  a 
natural  symbol.  The  two  deities  chiefly  invoked  in 
incantation  rituals 3S  are  Ea  as  the  god  of  the  watery 
element,  and  Kusku  (or  an  equivalent)  as  the  god  of 
fire,  water  and  fire  being  looked  upon  as  the  two  chief 
purifying  elements  to  purge  the  sufferer  from  disease 
which  was  conceived  as  a  kind  of  impurity.  These 
exorcising  priests  are  performing  some  ceremony  to 
symbolize  the  cleansing  of  the  victim.  At  the  left  end  is 
an  altar  with  food  which  typifies  the  sacrifice  offered 
by  the  sufferer  as  part  of  the  ceremony.  To  the  right 
of  one  of  the  priests  the  demons  are  pictured  as  being 
driven  off.  In  the  lowest  compartment,  the  central 
figure  is  a  representation  of  the  demon  Labartu,  hold- 
ing a  serpent  in  each  hand,  and  with  pigs  sucking  at  her 
breasts.  She  kneels  on  an  ass,  and  is  apparently  being 
driven  off  in  a  boat  by  the  demon  to  her  left,  who 
brandishes  a  weapon  or  whip  in  his  uplifted  hand.  The 
various  specimens  of  food  to  the  right  of  Labartu  may 
again  represent  offerings  made  to  the  demons  to  induce 
them  to  release  their  hold,  or  to  the  gods  appealed  to 
for  their  aid.  The  water  below  Labartu  is  represented 
by  swimming  fishes  and  the  shore  by  two  trees  at  the 
right  end.    The  plaque  thus  tells  the  whole  story  of 

••  Above  p.  246  seq. 


412  BABYLONIA  AKD  ASSYRIA 

the  ceremony  in  a  most  realistic  manner.  The  sym- 
bolism, it  will  be  noted,  dominates  the  scenes  portrayed 
to  such  an  extent  that,  if  it  were  intelligible  to  us  in  all 
its  minutest  details,  we  would  have  a  complete  picture 
of  the  incantation  rites  and  of  the  ideas  underlying 
each  incident  in  these  rites  (Plate  LXVI). 

The  use  of  copper  in  Babylonia  either  pure  or  with 
an  alloy  which  converted  it  into  bronze  was  very  exten- 
sive, indeed,  as  is  shown  by  the  large  variety  of  objects, 
mirrors,  daggers,  spear  heads,  dishes,  cauldr 
weights,  etc.,  found  in  the  mounds.  Of  the  bronze  ob- 
jects found  in  Babylonia  a  bell,  now  in  the  Berlin  Mu- 
seum, merits  to  be  singled  out  because  of  the  unusually 
delicate  design  running  around  the  cup,  and  which 
again  represents  demons  portrayed  as  wild  animals  of 
hybrid  character,  in  an  upright  posture  and  in  a 
threatening  attitude.  Five  of  them  have  the  heads  of 
hyenas,  but  have  human  hands  and  apparently  also 
human  bodies;  they  are  clothed  in  short  skirts,  and  the 
grotesqueness  is  increased  by  the  tails  and  clawed  feet; 
the  sixth  has  a  human  shape,  while  in  the  midst  of  these 
demons  is  again  the  exorcist,  clothed  in  fish  scales  to 
symbolize  him  as  the  priest  of  the  water  god  Ea  with 
whose  aid  the  demons  are  being  driven  away.  The 
symbolism  is  extended  to  the  handles  of  the  bell  which 
are  in  the  form  of  serpents,  and  to  the  turtles  and  to 
another  design  the  exact  nature  of  which  escapes  us. 
Presumably  these  designs  are  emblems  of  the  gods  like 
those  on  the  boundary  stones,3*  added  as  further  pro- 
tection against  the  mischievous  workings  of  the  evil 
demons  (Plate  LXVII). 


XIV 


In  Assyria  we  find  bronze  gradually  supplanting 
the  use  of  copper,  though  copper  also  continued  in  use 
to  the  latest  period.    Among  the  large  variety  of  bronze 

■•  See  below  p.  416  seq. 


PLATE  LXVll 


FIO.    I,    BABYLONIAN    BRONZE    BELL 


FIG.    2,    DEMONS    ON    BRONZE    HELL 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


413 


objects  discovered  in  Assyrian  mounds  a  series  of 
bronze  weights  in  the  shape  of  animals  arrest  our  atten- 
tion by  the  admirable  drawing  of  the  body  and  head 
of  the  lions.40  It  is  clear,  of  course,  that  such  objects 
were  cast  by  means  of  moulds,  and  presumably  in  the 
case  of  large  and  heavy  objects,  the  moulds  were  of 
stone  or  of  bronze,  while  for  smaller  objects  clay 
moulds  probably  served  as  a  more  convenient  and  also 
a  simpler  method.  A  high  degree  of  art  is  reached  in 
repousse  work  and  engraving  on  bronze.  Of  the 
former  art  we  fortunately  have  some  remarkable  speci- 
mens in  strips  of  bronze  discovered  at  Balawat — the 
site  of  an  Assyrian  town,  Imgur-Bel— some  fifteen 
miles  southeast  of  Nineveh  and  which  were  originally 
attached  to  large  wooden  gates  belonging  probably  to 
the  palace  erected  by  Shalmaneser  III.  (858-824  B.C.), 
at  that  place.41  The  doors  themselves  were  over  twenty 
feet  high,  six  feet  wide  and  three  inches  thick.  The 
scenes  represented  on  the  bronze  strips  were  intended 
to  illustrate  the  campaigns  of  the  king.  The  method 
followed  was  to  beat  out  the  designs  on  the  reverse,  and 
then  to  finish  it  on!  with  a  graver  on  the  right  side. 
There  are  indications  of  the  hands  of  several  artists  in 
the  work,  for  some  of  the  strips  are  superior  in  work- 
manship to  those  on  others.  The  chief  defect  is  in  the 
lack  of  perspective,  which  makes  itself  felt  when  large 
numbers  of  personages  are  represented  together  and 
who  thus  appear  to  be  closely  crowded;  but  consider- 
ing the  difficulties  involved  in  the  indication  of  details, 
it  is  remarkable  with  what  skill  the  camp  life  of  the 
Assyrian  army  and  the  same  army  in  action  is  brought 
before  us,  and  this  despite  the  fact  that  the  animals, 

40  See  e.g.,  Mansell,  British  Museum  Photographs  No,  585  and 
Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  Series,  PL  96. 

41  Birch  &  Pinches,  The  Bronze  Ornaments  of  the  Palace  Gates 
of  Balawat  (London,  1880) ;  and  Billerbeck  and  Delitzsch,  Die 
Palasttore  Salmanassars  II  von  Balawat  (Beitr%e  zur  Assyriologie, 
vi,  pp.  1-155  and  4  plates).    See  Plate  LXVIII  and  LXIX. 


414 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


more  particularly  the  horses,  are  depicted  in  a  vei 
conventional  fashion*  On  the  other  hand  the  groups 
of  marching  men — soldiers  and  prisoners — are  fre- 
quently full  of  life  and  vigor,  as  are  the  scenes  depict- 
ing the  attacks  upon  the  walled  cities  of  the  enemy  and 
the  camp  scenes  which  are  valuable  also  as  illustrations 
of  details  in  the  life  of  an  Assyrian  army.  The  finest 
specimens,  however,  of  the  work  of  the  engraver  01 
metal  arc  a  number  of  remarkable  bronze  bowls  found  at 
Nimrud.  The  designs  repeated  like  a  pattern  ar< 
of  animals,  gazelles,  bulls,  lions,  ibexes,  depicted  with  re- 
markable vividness,  or  griffins  standing  before  a  sacred 
pole,  the  execution  of  which  is  particularly  deli< 
(Plate  LXX).  An  interesting  feature  of  these  bowls 
is  the  indication  of  foreign  influence  which  raises 
indeed  the  question  whether  they  are  native  Assyrian 
work.  The  griffins  with  the  double  crown  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Egypt  on  their  heads  are  distinctly  Egyp- 
tian, but  on  the  other  hand  the  forms  of  the  poles  agree 
with  designs  found  in  Babylonian-Assyrian  seal  cylin- 
ders. Some  of  the  platters  also  contain  inscriptions 
in  Phoenician  characters,  a  circumstance  that  may  be 
due  to  the  spread  of  Aramaic  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
during  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  for  which  there 
is  other  evidence/2  The  animals  above  referred  to  are 
precisely  the  ones  which  we  find  on  older  Babylonian 
works  of  art,  and  when,  in  addition,  we  encounter  so 
genuinely  Babylonian  a  design  as  the  conflict  between 
bulls  and  lions  on  the  bronze  bowls,  there  can  scarcely  be 
any  doubt  that  we  are  in  the  presence  of  native  work, 
which  in  the  later  centuries  of  Babylonian-Assyrian 
history  was  particularly  subject  to  foreign  influences. 
The  wide  use  of  bronze  for  the  manufacture  of 

42  We  find  on  business  documents  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  from 
the  eighth  to  the  fourth  century  endorsements  in  Aramaic. 
Clay,  Same  Aramaic  Endorsements  on  Documents  of 
in  Harper  Memorial  Studies,  vol.  i,  pp.  285-322. 


.Aramaic.     k>ee 

: 


PLATE  LXVI1I 


FIGS.    I    AND   2,    BRONZE    COVERINGS    ON    PALACE   GATES    AT   BALAWAT 


FIGS.    I    AND  2,    BRONZE    COVERINGS    ON    PALACE    GATES    AT    0  ALA  WAT 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYKIAN  AET 


415 


ornaments  such  as  rings,  bracelets,  trinkets  and  amulets 
or  talismans  is  illustrated  by  many  specimens,  though 
it  cannot  be  said  on  the  basis  of  what  has  been  found 
that  a  high  degree  of  artistic  perfection  was  reached 
until  we  come  to  the  Persian  period  when  new  influences 
found  their  way  into  Mesopotamia. 

Gold  and  silver  were  also  largely  used  for  ear-rings, 
necklaces,43  for  inlaid  work  and  as  coverings  for  ceil- 
ings and  walls  in  part  or  for  royal  thrones,  while  it  did 
not  appear  to  be  even  unusual  for  statues  of  gods  to  be 
made  entirely  of  gold.  A  Babylonian  ruler  of  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  Nabupaliddin,  tells  us  that 
he  prepared  a  statue  of  Shamash,  the  sun-god,  made  of 
gold  and  lapis  lazuli,  and  there  are  good  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  image  of  the  chief  god  Marduk  which 
stood  in  his  temple  at  Babylon  was  entirely  of  gold.  At 
Ashur  the  explorers  found  the  remains  of  a  gold  light- 
ning fork  which  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
life-size  statue  of  the  storm  god  Adad. 

We  are  fortunate  in  possessing  a  specimen  of  the 
silversmith's  art,  all  the  more  remarkable  because  of  its 
antiquity  (Plate  LXXI).  It  was  found  at  Lagash  and 
was  a  dedicatory  offering  of  Entemena  (c.  2850  B.C.). 
Resting  on  a  copper  base,  supported  by  four  lions'  feet, 
the  vase  stands  28  inches  above  the  base.  The  shape  is 
most  graceful,  but  what  adds  to  its  artistic  merit  is  the 
delicate  engraving  running  around  the  centre  of  crouch- 
ing heifers  and  of  four  fantastic  eagles  with  human 
heads,  clutching  lions  and  ibexes  alternately.  The 
upper  row  of  seven  heifers  is  particularly  well  executed, 
in  contrast  to  the  grotesqueness  of  the  lions  and  to  the 
stiff  conventionalism  of  the  ibexes.    On  the  other  hand, 

**  A  particularly  fine  specimen  of  an  early  Babylonian  gold  neck- 
lace in  private  possession  is  pictured  in  Meissner,  Grundzuege  der 
altbabyloniscken  Plastik,  p.  64  {Alte  Orient,  xv,  Heft  1  and  2). 
See  also  Botta  et  Flandin,  Monument  de  Ninive,  Vol.  II,  PL  161  and 

Handcock,  Mesopotamian  Archaeology,  p.  348. 


416 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


there  is  a  certain  dignity  in  the  eagle  with  the  human 
face,  the  symbolism  of  which  is  of  the  same  general 
character  as  in  the  case  of  the  winged  creatures  stand- 
ing before  the  sacred  tree.  Significant,  however,  in  the 
case  of  all  the  figures  on  the  silver  vase  is  the  delicacy 
of  the  work,  in  which  respect  it  has  rarely  been  excelled 
in  works  of  art  coming  down  to  us  from  antiquity. 

XV 

A  special  class  of  Babylonian  monuments  which 
enter  into  the  subject  of  the  art  because  of  the  symboli- 
cal designs  engraved  on  them  are  the  so-called  "boun- 
dary stones' '  which,  recording  either  certain  land  privi- 
leges granted  to  individuals  by  royal  decree  or  the  trans- 
fer of  property  made  by  a  legal  procedure,  were  set  up 
at  the  boundary  of  the  property  in  question  as  memo- 
rials of  the  gift  or  transfer.  A  large  number  of  such 
boundary  stones  have  been  found  in  the  course  of 
excavations,*4  dating  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  twelfth 
centuries— coincident  with  the  period  of  the  Cassite  con- 
trol of  Babylonia. 

At  the  close  of  the  inscription  on  the  monument 
describing  the  property  in  detail  and  the  terms  of  gift 
or  transfer,  there  were  added  long  series  of  curses, 
in  the  names  of  the  various  gods,  hurled  against  those 
who  interfered  with  the  rights  recorded  or  who  injured 
in  any  way  the  monument  itself*  As  a  further  warning 
against  transgressors  the  symbols  of  the  gods  were 
engraved  on  these  monuments,  and  it  is  from  this  point 
of  view  that  they  are  of  interest  to  the  student  of  Baby- 
lonian art.  The  symbols  themselves  are  very  numerous, 
consisting  of  symbols  of  the  heavens,  thrones,  and  ani- 
mals of  various  kinds.  Three  symbols  which  are  never 
missing  are  the  moon's  crescent,  the  symbol  of  the 

44  See  L.  W.  King's  Introduction  to  Memorials  and  Boundary 
Stones  in  the  British  Museum  (London,  1912),  and  Morgan  and 
Scheil,  Delegation  en  Perse,  Memoires  I,  pp,  165-182. 


k 


FlOa.    I    AND   2,    ASSYRIAN    BRONZE    BOWLS    (8TH    CENTURY,    B.  C.) 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  ART 


417 


moon-god  Sin;  the  solar  disc  and  the  rays  of  light, 
symbolizing  Shamash  the  sun-god;  and  the  sixteen- 
rayed  star,  symbolizing  the  goddess  Ishtar,  who  was 
identified  in  the  astrological  system  with  the  planet 
Venus.  The  three  thrones,  often  surmounted  by  royal 
caps,  are  the  symbols  of  the  great  triad,  Ann,  Enlil  and 
Ea,  while  among  the  animals  portrayed  on  these  monu- 
ments we  encounter  the  scorpion,  the  symbol  of  the 
goddess  Ishkhara,  the  tortoise,  the  crouching  lion,  the 
symbol  of  Nergal,  and  the  lion-headed  mace,  the  symbol 
of  Ninib  (see  Plates  LXXII  and  LXXIII). 

These  and  other  animals  are  frequently  drawn  with 
great  skill  confirming  the  characteristics  of  Babylonian 
art  in  the  portrayal  of  animals  as  we  have  had  occasion 
to  set  them  forth.  The  same  applies  to  a  remarkable 
drawing  of  a  wolf  on  one  of  these  monuments,45  and 
even  the  fantastic  figures  on  these  monuments  such  as 
winged  lions,  bulls  and  sphinxes,  show  remarkable 
vigor  as  well  as  considerable  skill.  Occasionally  the 
portrait  of  a  king  is  added.  A  particularly  good  speci- 
men showing  a  remarkable  attention  to  minute  details 
is  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  a  boundary  stone  of  the 
time  of  Marduk-nadin-akhe  in  which  the  royal  chief 
of  the  country  is  thus  portrayed.46  There  is,  to  be  sure, 
a  conventional  stiffness  about  the  face  which  applies 
also  to  the  picture  of  the  goddess  Gula,  who  is  not  in- 
frequently represented  by  the  image  of  herself  on  the 
boundary  stone,  accompanied  by  a  dog  (Plate  LXXII, 
Fig.  2).  The  combination  of  these  symbols,  which  are 
arranged  in  rows  or  in  circles,  gives  a  weird  yet  at  the 
same  time  impressive  appearance  to  the  monument.  The 
order  in  which  the  symbols  are  arranged  varies  some- 
what. The  moon,  the  eight-  or  sixteen-rayed  star  and 
the  sun-disc  are  invariably  found  at  the  head  of  the 
monument,  followed  usually  by  the  thrones  representing 

45  King,  Plate  91. 
*•  See  above,  Plate  XXIV,  Fig.  2. 
27 


418 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea,  though  at  times  the  latter  god  is  re- 
placed by  his  more  specific  symbol,  a  combination  of  goat 
and  fish,  holding  on  his  back  a  throne  with  a  ram's  head. 
Among  the  animals,  attention  might  also  be  directed  to 
the  dog  of  the  goddess  Gula  which  is  generally  exceed- 
ingly well  drawn.  Among  smaller  animals  there  is  the 
falcon  on  a  pole,  the  symbol  of  the  goddess  Bau,  and 
another  bird  generally  represented  as  marching,  and 
which  may  be  an  eagle.  The  lamp  (Plate  IjX^TTT, 
Pig,  2)  is  the  symbol  of  the  fire-god  Nusku* 

XVI 

We  have  still  to  consider  a  phase  of  the  engraver's 
art  represented  by  the  thousands  of  so-called  seal  cylin- 
ders, ranging  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  period  of 
Babylonian-Asyrian  history.  These  seals,  serving  as 
seals  still  do  in  the  modern  Orient  as  a  means  of  identi- 
fying property  or  as  an  attest  to  a  legal  document,  vary 
in  shape  and  size  from  that  of  a  large,  thick,  and  clumsy 
spool  to  a  graceful  and  elongated  cylinder,  with  the 
tendency  to  become  smaller  as  we  pass  down  the  ages 
until  in  the  Persian  period  they  become  cone  shaped. 
The  feature  common  to  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  seals 
of  all  ages  is  the  perforation  through  which  a  thread 
or  wire  was  passed,  so  that  the  seal  might  be  worn 
around  the  neck  or  carried  on  the  wrist  Herodotus  is 
our  witness 4ea  that  in  his  days  a  seal  and  a  walking 
stick  still  formed  part  of  the  outfit  of  a  Babylonian  man 
of  affairs.  The  materials  of  which  the  seals  were  made 
cover  likewise  a  large  variety  of  materials,  shell  being 
the  earliest  known  material,  and  hematite  the  most 
common,  but  chalcedony,  obsidian,  agate,  jasper,  lapis 
lazuli,  marble,  serpentine,  quartz,  carnelian,  crystal  and 
other  mineral  substances  were  also  largely  used.  In  the 
case  of  soft  stones,  the  engraver's  tool  was  probably 
made  of  flint,  for  the  harder  ones  probably  of  corundum. 

*"  Book  I,  §  195. 


F108.    I   AND  2,  SYMBOLS    OF   THE    GODS    ON    BABYLONIAN    BOUNDARY 
STONES 


mm 

|^^ 

- 

■          'MR.    * ' 

H                                                        "         1            nKr 

\    \     1 

-I  A ' 

FIOS.    I    AND   2t     WINGED     AND     KON-WINUED     H1PPOCENTAUR8     ON     BABYLONIAN 

BOUND AKV   Romn  -    • 


F108.    I    AND   2,     WINGED     AND     NON-WINGED     HIPPOCENTAFRS     ON     BABYLONIAN 

IK  1 1  \|)\nv    STONES  .     . 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAX  AET 


419 


Dr.  Ward  *7  has  shown  that  in  the  earlier  periods  the 
seals  were  entirely  made  by  hand,  and  that  drilling  was 
not  introduced  till  the  later  periods,  though  exactly 
when  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

In  addition  to  mythological  designs,  the  seal  cylin- 
ders frequently  contain  the  name  of  the  owner  or  a 
dedicatory  inscription  to  some  deity.  Through  the 
character  of  the  writing,  and  in  the  case  of  royal  seals 
or  those  of  high  officials  through  the  names  a  means  can 
be  found  of  dating  some  of  the  seals,  while  through  the 
occurrence  of  certain  designs  impressed  on  clay  tablets 
bearing  a  date,  a  further  control  is  secured  for  the  age 
of  these  designs.  The  art  in  the  earliest  seals  is  exceed- 
ingly crude,  so  crude  as  frequently  to  border  on  gro- 
tesqueness,  but  in  the  course  of  centuries  the  progress 
made  was  considerable  until  we  reach  a  time  when  the 
delicacy  of  the  execution  reaches  a  truly  remarkable 
degree  of  perfection.  By  way  of  illustration  we  may 
choose  the  representation  of  two  deities  facing  one 
another,  each  reaching  out  a  hand  to  grasp  a  tube 
through  which  to  drink  a  liquid  placed  in  a  bowl  stand- 
ing on  a  high  table.  The  scene  is  presumably  a  sacrifi- 
cial one,  though  it  may  also  represent  an  episode  in 
some  myth.  The  faces  are  indicated  in  bare  outline. 
The  drawing  throughout  is  rough  and  irregular,  and 
the  artist  found  difficulty  even  in  representing  the  two 
figures  as  actually  seated  on  the  stools  beneath  them. 
The  crescent  as  a  symbol  of  the  moon  suggests  that 
the  two  deities  are  Sin  and  his  consort  Ningal.  Con- 
trast with  this  the  design  on  a  cylinder  also  belonging 
to  an  early  period,48  representing  a  mythical  figure, 
Enkidu,  fighting  with  a  lion.    The  design  is  repeated, 

*T  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia,  p.  9.  This  is  the  most  com- 
prehensive investigation  of  the  subject,  and  one  that  will  for  many 
years  retain  its  place  as  the  authoritative  work. 

48  Ward,  Cylinders  and  Other  Ancient  Oriental  Seals  in  the 
library  of  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  (N.  Y.,  1909),  No.  60. 


420 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


as  is  frequently  the  case  on  cylinders.  While  the  atti- 
tude of  both  man  and  lion  leaves  much  to  be  desired, 
the  drawing  of  both  figures  is  remarkably  good.  Note 
particularly  the  shaggy  mane  of  the  lion  and  the  care- 
fully drawn  strands  of  Enkidu's  beard.  The  roar  of 
the  lion  as  Enkidu  plunges  the  weapon  into  the  lion's 
breast  is  admirably  suggested  by  the  open  mouth.  In 
the  case  of  both  man  and  animal  the  attempt  at  least 
is  made  to  indicate  the  muscles  of  the  body.  Even  finer 
in  execution  is  the  representation  of  the  sun-god 
Shamash  with  streams  of  water  issuing  from  his 
shoulders,  into  whose  presence  a  two-headed  figure  is 
introducing  two  others,  the  one  carrying  a  bunch  of 
dates  on  a  staff  slung  over  his  shoulder,  the  other  carry- 
ing a  bound  man  strung  up  by  the  heel  on  the  club,  like- 
wise slung  over  his  shoulder.  The  three  figures  move 
towards  the  god  in  a  most  graceful  fashion,  the  position 
is  easy,  the  garments  fit  admirably  to  the  bodies,  while 
in  the  case  of  Shamash,  there  is,  despite  the  conven- 
tionality in  the  drawing  of  the  flounced  skirt  and  upper 
garment,  a  certain  dignity  about  the  figure  as  a  whole 
which  suggests  a  superior  being  (Plate  LXXV,  Fig.  3) . 
The  most  striking  feature  of  these  seal  cylinders 
is  the  variety  of  the  designs.  Through  them  we  obtain 
an  insight  into  the  manner  in  which  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians  represented  their  gods  and  goddesses.  The 
rich  symbolism  of  the  cult  also  finds  an  illustration  in 
the  various  designs,  and  lastly  the  current  myths  and 
popular  tales  are  revealed  to  us  in  a  most  graphic  man- 
ner through  the  engravings  on  the  seal  cylinders.  Epi- 
sodes in  popular  tales  formed  a  favorite  subject  for  the 
artists  who,  while  bound  to  certain  conventionalism, 
yet  astonish  us  by  the  variations  which  they  introduce 
in  the  portrayal  of  one  and  the  same  subject.  A  large 
number  of  seal  cylinders  of  the  earliest  periods  show  a 
contest  among  wild  beasts — lions,  ibexes,  bulls,  ante- 
lopes. No  two  are  exactly  alike,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
note  even  in  this  early  age  the  endeavor  to  reproduce 


FIGS.    I,    2    AND   3,    ENGRAVING    ON    UUNE    AND   bUELL 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYKIAN  ART 


421 


a  continuous  story  by  a  division  into  registers40  as  in 
the  case  of  sculptured  plaques,  though  at  times  the  two 
divisions  are  not  even  separated  by  a  dividing  line.  An 
example  which  illustrates  the  thoroughly  archaic  char- 
acter of  the  art  shows  in  the  upper  portion  an  eagle, 
the  heraldic  standard  of  the  city  of  Lagash,50  clutching 
with  one  of  his  claws  a  bull  lying  prostrate.  The  bull  has 
evidently  been  killed  and  a  vulture  is  seen  feeding  on  his 
body.  In  the  lower  section  a  hunter  appears  in  the 
midst  of  lions  and  ibexes  fighting  with  one  another. 
The  star  and  the  scorpion  to  one  side  are  symbols  of 
gods. 

Closely  allied  with  these  episodes  in  some  popular 
tale  are  the  numerous  variations  on  seal  cylinders  of 
the  episode  in  the  adventures  of  the  great  hero  Gil- 
gamesh  who  with  his  companion  Enkidu  engages  in  a 
contest  with  wild  beasts.61  In  the  earliest  specimens 
both  figures  appear  entirely  nude.  Oilgamesh  is  always 
distinguished  by  his  abundant  and  usually  carefully 
arranged  hair  and  beard,  while  Enkidu  has  horns  on 
his  head  as  a  symbol  of  his  divine  character,  The  varia- 
tions of  the  scene  are  again  numerous,  though  not  to  the 
same  extent  as  in  the  case  of  the  contests  of  wild  beasts. 

Another  favorite  scene  was  the  representation  of 
the  semi-divine  beings  in  front  of  the  sacred  tree,52  ap- 
pearing again  in  many  variations.63  In  archaic  ex- 
amples the  two  figures  are  without  wings,  and  it  is  a 
distinguishing  mark  of  cylinders  of  Assyrian  origin  to 
attach  the  wings.  As  on  the  sculptured  bas-reliefs  we 
also  find  the  king  before  the  tree,  accompanied  by  the 
eagle-headed  winged  creature  with  the  standard  of 

49  See  the  illustrations  in  Ward,  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia, 
Chapter  IY. 

00  Above  p.  389  and  Plate  XLIX,  Fig.  1. 

11  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia,  Chapter  X. 

"Above  Plate  XXXIII. 

M  Ward,  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia,  Chapter  XXXVIII. 


422  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Ashur  over  the  tree.  Among  the  variations  two  call 
for  special  mention,  the  winged  figures  standing  on 
winged  sphinxes  and  the  priest  of  the  water  deity  Ea 
clad  in  fish  scales  in  place  of  the  winged  being,6*  of 
which  we  again  have  quite  a  number  of  variations  ac- 
cording as  a  king  is  added  to  the  scene  or  not.  The 
conventionalism  of  the  art  obtrudes  itself  in  these  scenes 
in  a  more  pronounced  degree  than  usual  so  as  to  give 
to  the  tree  more  particularly  most  fantastic  forms.  The 
pose  of  the  kings  and  of  the  winged  or  wingless  beings 
plucking  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life  is  always  the  same, 
and  generally  very  stiff  and  void  of  all  grace.  On  the 
other  hand  the  dress  is  commonly  most  carefully  worked 
out  to  smallest  details,  the  execution  being  delicate  as 
well  as  accurate  (see  Plate  LXXVI,  Figs.  2  and  3). 

Of  the  gods  represented  on  the  seal  cylinders,  the 
moon-god  Sin  and  the  sun-god  Shamash  are  the  ones 
most  frequently  selected.  While  it  is  certain  that  the 
appearance  of  the  moon  * s  crescent  on  or  near  the  figure 
of  a  seated  deity  into  whose  presence  a  worshipper  is 
being  led  is  not  always  intended  as  the  moon-god,  in 
many  instances  Sin  is  certainly  intended.  A  good  speci- 
men of  an  early  period  is  the  seal  cylinder  of  Ur-Engur 
of  the  Ur  dynasty  who  is  being  led  by  a  female — per- 
haps the  consort  of  Sin — followed  by  another  goddess 
with  uplifted  hands,  the  gesture  of  intercession.  The 
human  figure  is  no  doubt  intended  for  the  king  himself 
who  is  represented,  in  accordance  with  early  religious 
usage  in  approaching  a  god,  as  shaven  and  beardless. 
Despite  its  crudity,  the  figure  of  the  seated  god  in  an 
easy  posture  conveys  the  impression  of  a  certain  dig- 
nity. The  throne  on  which  the  god  sits  is  a  graceful 
piece  of  work,  and  the  artist  has  not  stopped  short  of 
such  a  detail  as  the  carving  of  one  of  the  legs  of  the 
throne  in  imitation  of  an  ox's  leg.  In  a  most  skilful 
manner  he  has  also  succeeded  in  conveying  the  femi- 


Flit.    I,    MAN    AND    WOMAN,    DRINKING    THROUGH    TUBES 


niS.    2,    MONSTROUS    BElNli,    FIGHTING    LION — SYMME  I  IlKALLY     REPEATED 


FIG,    3,    THE    £UN-UU1>    SHAM  ASH,    WITH    DIVINE    ATTENDANTS 


FIG,    4,    QILQAMBBH,    FIGHTING    LION     -SYMMETRICALLY    REPEATED 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYKIAN  AET 


423 


ninity  in  the  expression  of  the  two  goddesses — especially 
of  the  first  one — in  contrast  to  the  greater  strength  of 
the  face  of  the  god  and  of  the  worshipper  (see  Plate 
LXXVII,  Fig.  2). 

A  favorite  manner  of  representing  the  sun-god  was 
in  the  act  of  rising  over  the  mountains.  The  god  is 
naively  portrayed  as  stepping  on  a  mountain  peak  and 
about  to  pass  through  a  gate  symbolizing  sunrise,  while 
the  other  gate  is  the  one  through  which,  after  having 
run  his  course,  he  enters  the  heavens  at  evening.  In 
this  case  again  we  find  the  design  with  many  varia- 
tions65 used  from  the  oldest  to  the  latest  period— an 
interesting  proof  of  the  continuity  of  artistic  tradition 
in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  The  art,  to  be  sure,  does  not 
rise  beyond  a  very  primitive  level  in  the  specimens  pre- 
served, though  in  some  instances  the  influence  of  con- 
ventionalism is  not  so  marked  as,  for  example,  in  those 
where  the  mountain  has  been  reduced  to  a  mere  foot- 
stool on  which  the  one  foot  of  the  god  rests,  while 
instead  of  the  gate  we  find  a  worshipper  led  into  the 
presence  of  Shamash  by  the  god's  consort,  A,  whose 
uplifted  hands  portray  her  in  the  usual  role  of  inter- 
ceding on  behalf  of  the  worshipper  who  approaches  his 
god  with  a  sacrificial  offering. 

Superior  from  an  artistic  standpoint  are  some  of 
the  representations  of  the  seated  sun-god  with  a  wor- 
shipper before  him.  The  distinguishing  marks  of 
Shamash  in  these  designs  are  the  rays  issuing  from  his 
shoulders  or  streams  flowing  from  his  shoulders.  This 
combination  of  rays  and  streams  is  also  found  attached 
to  the  solar  disc  which  is  the  common  symbol  of  the 
god  Ashur,  the  rays  symbolizing  the  beneficent  warmth 
of  the  sun,  and  the  water  the  fertility  which  is  within 
the  province  of  the  great  orb,  whose  favor  is  so  essential 
to  the  well-being  of  the  agriculturist. 

Another  interesting  group  of  seal  cylinders — chiefly 
Babylonian — is  formed  by  those  showing  a  deity  in 

"  Ward,  U.,  Chapter  XHI. 


424 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


a  conflict  with  a  dragon.  The  underlying  tale  appears 
to  be  the  myth  of  the  sun-god  driving  away  the  storms 
and  rains  of  the  winter  season.  This  season  was  de- 
picted as  a  time  of  lawlessness  and  utter  confusion  for 
which  a  monstrous  being  in  control  of  the  wild  elements 
of  nature  seemed  to  be  the  appropriate  symbol.  This 
myth  became  the  basis  of  the  scheme  of  world  creation 
in  Babylonia,  the  role  of  creator  being  assigned  in  each 
of  the  large  centres  to  the  chief  deity — Ea  in  Eridu, 
Enlil  in  Nippur,  and  Marduk  in  Babylon,  When 
through  the  political  supremacy  of  Babylon,  the  god 
Marduk  became  the  head  of  the  pantheon,  the  functions 
of  other  gods  were  assigned  to  him.  He  thus  becomes  in 
the  later  forms  of  the  myth  the  vanquisher  of  primitive 
chaos,  known  as  Tiamat.66  The  springtime  when  nature 
celebrates  a  revival  was  appropriately  regarded  as  the 
time  of  the  creation  of  the  world.  Crude  as  most  of  the 
representations  of  this  conflict  are,"  there  is  neverthe- 
less in  some  of  them  much  force  and  vigor  in  the  atti- 
tude of  the  god  pursuing  the  monster  with  bow  and 
arrow  or  despatching  him  with  a  powerful  weapon.  It 
is  particularly  interesting  to  see  how  in  the  course  of 
the  endeavor  to  vary  the  scene,  elements  of  other  myths 
are  introduced — particularly  of  the  one  illustrating  the 
contest  with  wild  beasts,58  which  may  at  bottom  indeed 
represent  the  same  idea— the  portrayal  of  a  time  of 
chaos  and  confusion,  preceding  the  reign  of  law  and 
order  in  the  world  (see  Plate  LXXVI,  Figs.  1  and  4) . 
Of  special  interest  is  a  physician's  seal,  containing 
the  name  of  the  owner  Ur-Lugal-Edina  (i.e.,  the  man 
of  the  god  Lugal-Edina),  with  a  dedicatory  inscription 


M  See  the  translation  of  the  tale  of  Marduk 's  conquest  of  Tiamat 
pp.  428^43.    See  atao  Plate  XXVIII,  Fig.  h 
"  Ward,  I.e.,  Chapter  VIII. 
••  Ward,  lx.f  Chapter  VII. 


II*,.     I,    OiNTKSTa    WITH    WILD    RKASTS 


FIG.    2,    W1NUED    RKIXG    BEFORE    THE   TREE    Of    LIFE—  8YUME  NIK  'ALLY    REPEATED 


FIG.    3,    WINGED   BEING,    PLUCKING    THE    FRUIT    OF    IHK   TREK   UF   LIFE 


FIG.    .],    CUNFLH.T    WITH    THE    DRALUN    TIAMAT 


BABYLONIAN-ASSYEIAN  ART 


425 


to  a  deity,  Edina-nmgi,w  and  shows,  as  the  symbols  of 
his  profession,  a  physician's  scalpel  and  lancets  (or 
knives)  and  cups.  These  instruments  are  exceedingly 
well  drawn,  while  the  picture  of  the  deity — no  doubt 
the  one  mentioned  in  the  inscription— despite  the 
archaic  delineation  of  the  feet,  is  a  good  specimen  of  the 
delicacy  of  the  engravers1  art  at  the  early  period  to 
which  the  seal  reverts  (see  Plate  LXXVII,  Fig.  3). 

As  the  last  specimen,  a  curious  design  may  be  given 
representing  a  male  and  female  figure  sitting  opposite 
one  another  with  a  tree  between  them,  while  behind 
the  female  figure  is  an  upright  serpent.  The  resem- 
blance of  the  scene  to  the  famous  story  in  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis  has  aroused  considerable  discussion. 
We  have  the  same  elements  in  both  cases,  the  man,  the 
woman,  the  serpent  and  the  tree.  The  horns,  however, 
with  which  both  figures  on  the  seal  cylinder  are  pro- 
vided show  that  they  are  intended  to  represent  deities. 
The  tree  is  no  doubt  the  tree  of  life  as  in  the  case  of 
the  designs  above  discussed.  According  to  Baby- 
lonian beliefs,  the  gods  alone  can  pluck  the  f ruit  of  the 
tree  of  life.  The  serpent  is  a  very  common  symbol,60 
constantly  appearing  on  the  so-called  boundary  stones. 
Its  particular  significance  on  the  seal  cylinder  in  ques- 
tion escapes  us,  but  it  may  well  be  that  the  myth  of 
which  the  entire  scene  is  an  illustration  is  the  prototype 
of  the  story  in  Genesis.  It  would  be  quite  natural  in 
the  course  of  the  adaptation  of  old  folk-tales  to  later 
aspects  of  religious  beliefs,  for  the  deities  to  become 

■•  The  deity  is  designated  as  the  messenger  of  Gir,  one  of  the 
designations  of  the  god  of  pestilence — Nergal — which  suggests  a 
grim  sense  of  humor  on  the  part  of  the  physician  who  thus  chooses 
as  his  protecting  deity  the  "messenger  of  death,"  against  whom  the 
healer  of  disease  is  supposed  to  direct  his  efforts. 

•*See  an  elaborate  monograph  on  the  serpent  as  a  symbol  by 
Paul  Toscanne,  "  Etudes  sur  le  Serpent,  figure  et  symbole  dans 
FAntiquite  Islamite"  in  Delegation  en  Perse ,  Minurircs,  Vol.  xiii, 
pp.  153-226. 


426 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


human  figures,  and  the  primitive  myth,  whatever  its 
original  significance  may  have  been,  to  become  a  tale 
intended  to  illustrate  that  man  forfeited  immortality 
— the  prerogative  of  the  gods — by  an  act  of  disobedi- 
ence.61 Man,  according  to  the  earlier  form  of  the  story, 
would  thus  be  regarded  as  a  god  fallen  from  his  high 
estate.  From  this  as  a  starting  point,  the  step  would  be 
a  natural  one  to  make  the  real  fall  of  man  consist  in  his 
having  disobeyed  a  divine  command. 

91  See  Frazer,  Belief  in  Immortality  i,  p.  73,  seq.r  for  many 
other  illustrations  among  primitive  peoples  of  stories  intended  to 
explain  the  presence  of  death  in  the  world,  due  either  to  eating 
of  a  forbidden  fruit,  or  to  the  failure  to  eat  it.  Both  motifs  are 
found  in  these  primitive  tales. 


HU.     I,    SHAMASH,    THE    BUBIMi    SUN'-UOD,    STEPPING    OVER   THE    MOUNTAIN 


I        I         / 


FIC.   2,   BUI,   THE   HOOK-eODj    BKHTUKJ    \    whksHIPPEB 


FIG*    4,    DIVINE    BEINGS,    8EATEI>    ItEHUli:     ink    THEE    OF    LIFE 


I 


ll 


CHAPTER  VXH 
SPECIMENS  OP  BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN  LITERATURE. 


The  Later  Babylonian  Poem  op  Creation 

The  story  of  Creation  among  Babylonians  assumed 
the  form  of  a  nature  myth,  based  upon  the  transition  of 
winter  and  the  rainy  season  to  the  spring  and  dry  season. 
The  stormy  and  rainy  winter  was  pictured  as  a  time  of 
chaos  and  was  symbolized  by  a  monster  Tiamat,  who 
with  a  large  body  of  attendants,  likewise  monstrous  in 
form,  is  represented  as  in  control  of  things.  The  spring 
sun  driving  away  the  winter  becomes  the  vanquisher 
of  Tiamat;  and  after  chaos  has  been  overcome,  law  and 
order  prevail. 

Various  versions  of  this  nature  myth  were  produced 
in  ancient  Babylonia,  both  in  Sumerian  and  in  Akka- 
dian. The  one  here  given  celebrating  the  triumph  of 
Marduk  over  Tiamat  is  the  fonn  assumed  by  the  story 
after  Marduk  as  the  patron  deity  of  the  city  of  Baby- 
lon '  had  become  the  head  of  the  pantheon.  To  Marduk, 
therefore,  as  a  solar  deity  the  distinction  is  assigned 
of  being  the  one  strong  enough  among  the  gods  to  dis~ 
patch  Tiamat  and  her  followers.  The  poem  is  a  com- 
posite production,  and  gives  evidence  of  containing 
elements  of  a  number  of  independent  tales  that  have 
been  combined  to  add  to  the  glory  of  Marduk.2 

1  See  above,  p.  211  seq. 

8  See  an  article  by  the  writer  on  "The  Composite  Character  of 
the  Babylonian  Creation  Story"  in  the  Noldeke  Festschrift  II, 
pp.  969-982.  For  a  complete  edition  of  the  text  together  with  an 
English  translation  and  commentary,  see  L.  W,  King,  The  Seven 
Tablets  of  Creation  (2  vols.  London,  1902)  ;  also  Cuneiform  Texts, 
Part  XIII,  Plates  1-41.  For  the  relationship  of  the  Babylonian 
versions  of  Creation  to  the  Biblical  tale,  see  Jastrow,  "Hebrew  and 
Babylonian  Views  of  Creation,"  being'  chapter  II  of  the  author's 
Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Traditions  (New  York,  1914). 

427 


428 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  text  in  its  complete  form  covered  seven  tablets. 
Of  these  only  the  fourth  has  been  preserved  in  full, 
while  of  the  remaining  tablets  we  have  merely  larger  or 
smaller  fragments. 

TABLET  I 

The  poem  begins  as  follows: 

4 'When  on  high,  heaven  was  not  named, 
Below,  dry  land  was  not  named." 
Apsu,  their  first  begetter, 

Mummu  (and)  Tiamat,  the  mother  of  all  of  them,* 
Their  waters  combined  together. 
Field  was  not  marked  off,  sprout  had  not  come  forth. 
When  none  of  the  gods  had  yet  come  forth, 
Had  not  borne  a  name, 
No  destinies  had  been  fixed 5 ; 
Then  gods  were  created  in  the  midst  of  heaven." 
Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu  came  forth 
Ages  increased 7   .    .    . 
Anshar  and  Kishar  were  created." 


*'*To  have  a  name,"  according  to  ideas  widely  prevalent  in 
antiquity,  was  to  exist  Hence,  to  express  the  idea  of  non-existence 
of  heaven  and  earth  it  was  said  that  they  were  not  named. 

*  These  three  terms,  Apsu  (deep).,  Mummu  (water),  and  Tiamat 
(sea),  are  synonymous,  each  one  representing  the  name  of  the 
Being  symbolizing  primeval  chaos  in  some  version.  The  combina- 
tion of  the  three  names  and  the  endeavor  to  establish  a  relationship 
between  them  are  indications  of  the  composite  character  of  the 
poem. 

"One  of  the  functions  of  the  gods  is  to  determine  the  fate  of 
individuals,  as  well  as  the  future  in  general.    See  p.  217  and  p.  278. 

0  The  late  origin  of  this  form  of  the  poem  is  shown  by  the 
transfer  of  all  the  gods  to  the  heavens — a  reflection  of  astrological 
views.    See  above,  p.  209. 

7  Defective  lines  are  indicated  by  leaders,  (   .    . 

$An-Shar  (the  totality  of  what  is  above)  and  Ki-Shar  (the 
totality  of  what  1b  below)  are  H  theological  "  abstractions,  rather 
than  popular  figures  of  deities  in  the  system  of  the  pantheon  as 
perfected  by  the  priests  of  Babylonia.  Anshar  and  Kishar  are, 
according  to  this  By  stem,  the  ancestors  of  all  the  gods. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


429 


After  many  days  bad  passed  by  there  came  forth  .    .   . 

Anu,  their  son  .    .    , 

Anshar  and  Anu  .    .   . 

Anu  .    .    . 

Nudimmud  "  whom  his  father,  his  mother,  .  .  . 

Of  large  intelligence,  knowing"  (wise), 

Exceeding  strong  .    .    . 

Without  a  rival   .    .    . 

Then  were  established.11 

The  following  seven  lines  are  too  fragmentary  pre- 
served to  permit  of  translation,  but  it  would  appear 
that  at  this  point  a  description  is  given  of  the  confusion 
and  disturbance  aroused  among  the  monsters  of  the 
deep  through  the  creation  of  the  gods,  who  saw  in  this 
rise  of  the  gods  a  foreshadowing  of  the  end  of  their 
own  rule.  Apsu  and  Mummu  together  go  to  Tiamat  in 
order  to  consult  with  her  regarding  the  plan  to  keep  the 
gods  in  restraint. 

"Then  Apsu,  the  begetter  of  the  great  gods, 
Cried  out,  to  Mummu,  to  his  messenger,  he  spoke: 
*Oh  Mummu,  joy  of  my  liver, 
Come,  unto  Tiamat  let  us  go.' 
They  went,  and  before  Tiamat  they  crouched, 
Hatching  a  plan  with  regard  to  the  gods  .    .   , 
Apsu  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke, 
Unto  Tiamat,  the  splendid  one  addressed  a  word: 
1 .    .    .   their  course  against  me 
By  day  I  have  no  rest,  at  night  I  cannot  lie  down,  I  wish  to  destroy 

their  course, 
So  that  clamor  cease  and  we  may  again  lie  down  to  sleep. ' 
When  Tiamat  (heard)  this, 
She  raged  and  shrieked  for  ( revenge t), 
She  herself  became  furiously  enraged. 
Evil  Bhe  conceived  in  her  heart. 
1  All  that  we  have  made  let  us  destroy, 
That  their  course  may  be  full  of  misery  so  that  we  may  have 

release, ' 

*  A  designation  of  Ea,  the  god  of  the  deep. 


430 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Mummu  answered  and  counselled  Apsuf 

Hostile  was  the  counsel  of  Mummu. 

'Come,  their  course  is  strong,  destroy  it! 

Then  by  day  thou  wilt  have  rest, 

At  night  thou  wilt  lie  down/ 

Apsu(  hearkened),  and  his  face  shone; 

Evil  he  planned  against  the  gods,  his  sons.1' 

The  following  fifty  lines  tell  of  the  conflict  of 
Mummu  and  Apsu  against  the  gods  which  ends  in  the 
capture  of  the  two ;  it  appears  that  they  are  overcome 
through  the  agency  of  Ea,  the  god  of  the  deep  and  who, 
it  will  he  recalled/0  is  pictured  as  the  god  of  humanity, 
teaching  mankind  knowledge  and  saving  them  in 
distress.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  to  find  Ea  also  in  the 
role  of  the  saviuur  of  the  gods,  and  we  may  conjecture 
that  we  have  in  this  part  of  the  story  the  old  version  of 
the  overcoming  of  chaos  through  Ea,  the  patron  god  of 
Eridu — a  version,  therefore,  which  had  its  rise  in  the  old 
city  that  lay  at  or  close  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  But  Tiamat 
still  remains  at  large.  Kealizing  that  she,  too,  will 
have  to  face  the  conflict  with  the  gods,  Tiamat  gathers 
a  new  army  of  followers,  described  as  monstrous  ser- 
pents of  various  kinds,  fierce  and  merciless.  With 
these  she  associates  other  monsters,  and  places  the  en- 
tire army  under  the  generalship  of  Kingu.  The  gaps 
in  the  first  tablet  at  this  point  can  be  supplied  from 
Tablets  II  and  III  in  which  the  description  of  Tiamat 's 
army  is  repeated. 

' '  They  uttered  curses  and  at  the  side  of  Tiamat  advanced. 
In  fury  and  rage  they  devised  plans  ceaselessly  night  and  day. 
They  rushed  to  the  conflict,  raging  and  furious. 
They  grouped  themselves  and  ranged  the  battle  array. 
Ummu-Khubur,11  creator  of  all  things, 
Gathering  invincible  weapons,  she  brought  forth  huge  monsters, 

10  Above,  p.  210, 

11  A  title  of  Tiamat,  signifying  probably  '  mother  of  totality.' 
The  name  points  to  another  version,  combined  with  our  tale. 


"J 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


431 


Sharp  of  tooth  and  merciless  of  fang. 

With  poison  instead  of  blood  she  filled  their  bodies. 

She  clothed  with  terror  the  terrible  dragons, 

Decking  them  with  brilliancy,  giving  them  a  lofty  stature, 

So  that  whoever  beheld  them  would  be  overcome  with  terror. 

With  their  bodies  reared  up,  none  could  withstand  their  attack. 

She  brought  forth  great  serpents,  dragons  and  the  Lakhami," 

Hurricanes,  raging  dogs  and  scorpion  men, 

Mighty  tempests,  fish  men,  and  rams, 

Bearing  cruel  weapons,  fearless  in  combat, 

Mighty  in  command,  irresistible. 

In  all  eleven  monsters  of  this  kind  she  made. 

Among  the  gods,  the  first  born  who  formed  the  assembly, 

She  exalted  Kingu,  giving  him  high  rank  in  their  midst; 

To  march  in  advance  and  to  direct  the  host; 

To  be  foremost  in  arming  for  the  attack, 

To  direct  the  fight  in  supreme  control, 

To  his1*  hand  she  confided.  She  decked  him  out  in  costly  gar- 
ments : 

*I  have  uttered  thy  magic  formula,  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  I 
have  exalted  thee  ' 

The  dominion  over  all  the  gods  was  entrusted  unto  his  hands : 

'Be  thou  exalted,  my  one  and  only  husband; 

May  the  Anunnaki  exalt  thy  name  above  all  the  gods!' 

She  gave  him  the  tablets  of  fate,  to  his  breast  she  attached  them. 

'  Oh,  thou,  thy  command  will  be  irresistible ! 

Firmly  established  be  the  utterance  of  thy  mouth ! 

Now  Kingu  is  exalted,  endowed  with  the  power  of  Anu; 

Among  the  gods,  his  children,  he  fixes  destinies. 

By  the  word  of  thy  mouth  fire  will  be  quenched ; 

The  strong  in  battle  will  be  increased  in  strength.  *  ' ' 


TABLET  n 

In  the  second  tablet  the  gods  learn  of  the  plans  of 
Tiamat  and  hear  the  description  of  the  mighty  army 
which  she  has  gathered. 

"  Here  a  collective  name  for  a  group  of  monsters. 
11  That  is>  unto  Kingu  she  entrusted  the  destinies  of  the  army, 
forming  in  part,  at  least,  descriptions  of  constellations  in  the  heavens. 


432 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"Tiamat  finished  her  work. 

(The  evil  that)  she  contrived  against  the  gods  her  offspring, 

To  avenge  Apsu,  Tiamat  planned  evil. 

When  she  had  equipped  her  army,  it  was  revealed  to  Ea; 

Ea  heard  the  words, 

And  was  grievously  afflicted,  and  overwhelmed  with  grief. 

Days  passed  by  and  his  anger  was  appeased. 

To  Anshar,  his  father,  he  took  the  way. 

To  Father  Anshar  who  begot  him  he  went. 

All  that  Tiamat  had  planned  he  repeated  to  him. 
1  Tiamat  our  mother  has  taken  a  dislike  for  us, 

She  has  assembled  a  host,  she  rages  furiously. 

All  the  gods  are  gathered  to  her, 

Aye,  even  those  whom  thou  hast  created,  march  at  her  side.  *  ' ' 

It  would  appear  from  these  words  that  Tiamat  had 
stirred  up  a  rebellion  also  among  the  gods  descended 
from  Anshar  and  Kishar,  and  succeeded  in  gathering 
many  of  them  to  her  side  to  proceed  with  the  host  of 
monsters  against  the  gods  represented  as  her  own  off- 
spring, though  this  is  in  contradiction  to  the  other  point 
of  view  brought  forward  in  the  poem  according  to  which 
Anshar  and  Kishar  are  the  ancestors  of  all  the  gods. 

Anshar,  upon  hearing  the  description  of  the  terror- 
inspiring  army,  is  dismayed.  He  calls  upon  Ea,  who 
has  smitten  Munmiu  and  captured  Apsu  to  proceed 
against  Tiamat.  Unfortunately  the  text  at  this  point 
is  again  defective,  but  it  is  evident  that  Ea  declines  the 
task.  Anshar  then  calls  upon  another  son,  Ami,  to  fight 
the  cause  of  the  gods  which  is  the  cause  of  law  and  order 
against  choas  and  lawlessness,  represented  by  Tiamat 
and  her  followers.  But  this  son  declines  or  is  unable 
to  carry  out  the  task,  and  accordingly  we  find  Anshar 
addressing  a  third,  this  time  Marduk,  who  will  succeed 
where  others  fail. 

*Thou  art  my  son  of  strong  courage, 

.    .    .   draw  nigh  to  the  battle  t 

...  at  sight  of  thee  there  shall  be  peace. ' 

The  Lord  rejoiced  at  the  word  of  his  father. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  433 

He  drew  nigh  and  stood  in  front  of  Anshar ; 
Anshar  saw  him  and  his  heart  was  full  of  joy. 
He  kissed  him  on  the  mouth,  and  fear  departed  from  him. 
1  (Oh  my  father),  may  the  words  of  thy  lips  not  be  taken  back, 
May  I  go  and  accomplish  the  desire  of  thy  heart!' 

Marduk  repeats  these  two  lines,  after  which  begins 
another  address  of  Anshar  to  his  son  "  in  which  he  calls 
upon  Marduk  to  *  trample  swiftly  on  the  neck  of 
Tiamat '    The  text  then  continues. 

'  Oh  my  son,  full  of  all  knowledge, 
Quiet  Tiamat  with  thy  supreme  incantation ; 
Quickly  proceed  (on  thy  way)  1 

Thy  blood  wiU  not  be  poured  out,  thou  shalt  surely  return.* 
The  lord  rejoiced  at  the  word  of  his  father, 
His  heart  exulted  and  he  spoke  to  his  father. 
*Oh  Lord  of  the  gods,  (who  fixes)  the  fate  of  the  great  gods, 
If  I  become  thy  avenger, 
Conquering  Tiamat,  and  giving  life  to  thee, 
Call  an  assembly  and  proclaim  the  preeminence  of  my  lot! 
That  when  in  Upshukkinaku  "  thou  joyfully  seatest  thyself, 
My  command  in  place  of  thine  should  fix  fates. 
What  I  do  should  be  unaltered, 
The  word  of  my  lips  be  never  changed  or  annulled.*  n 

TABLET  m 

The  third  tablet  opens  with  an  address  of  Anshar 
unto  Gaga  his  messenger,  asking  the  latter  to  go  to  the 
gods  that  they  gather  together  for  a  banquet  and  listen 
to  the  message  which  Anshar  sends  them.  The  message 
itself  recounts  the  rebellious  purpose  of  Tiamat  and 
her  brood  of  monsters,  repeats  the  detailed  description 
of  the  vipers,  dragons,  hurricanes,  raging  hounds,  fish- 
men  and  the  strange  host  with  Kingu  at  the  head  which 
we  have  already  encountered  in  the  epic. 

M  Indication  of  another  version. 

u  The  u  Walhalla' '  of  the  gods  where  they  assemble  to  determine 

destinies. 
28 


434 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


1  Then  they  gathered  and  went, 

The  great  gods,  all  of  them,  who  fix  fates, 

Came  into  the  presence  of  Anshar,  they  filled  (the  assembly  hall), 

Embracing  one  another  in  the  assembly  (hall), 

They  prepared  themselves  to  feast  at  the  banquet. 

They  ate  bread,  they  mixed  the  wine, 

The  sweet  mead  confused  (their  senses). 

Drunk,  their  bodies  filled  with  drink, 

They  shouted  aloud,  with  their  spirits  *•  exalted, 

For  Marduk,  their  avenger,  they  fixed  the  destiny/ ' 


TJLBLET  IV 

"They  prepared  for  him  a  royal  chamber, 
In  the  presence  of  his  fathers  as  ruler  he  stood. 
'  Thou  art  the  weightiest  among  the  great  gods. 
Thy   (power  of  decreeing)   fate  is  unrivalled,  thy  command  is 

(like  that  of)  Ami. 
Oh  Marduk,  thou  art  mightiest  among  the  great  gods! 
Thy  power  of  decreeing  fate  unrivalled,  thy  word  is  like  that  of 

AnullT 
From  now  on  thy  decree  will  not  be  altered, 
Thine  it  shall  be  to  raise  up  and  to  bring  low, 
Thy  utterance  be  established,  against  thy  command  no  rebellion ! 
None  among  the  gods  will  transgress  the  limit  ( set  by  thee) . 
Abundance  is  pleasing  to  the  shrines  of  the  gods, 
The  place  of  their  worship  will  be  established  as  thy  place. 
Oh  Marduk,  thou  art  our  avenger ! 
We  give  thee  kingship  over  the  entire  universe, 
Take  thy  seat  in  the  assembly,  thy  word  be  exalted , 
Thy  weapon  be  not  overcome,  may  it  crush  thy  enemies. 
Oh  lord,  the  life  of  him  who  trusts  in  thee  will  be  spared, 
But  pour  out  the  life  of  the  god  who  has  planned  evil '  *■ 
Then  they  placed  in  their  midst  a  garment. 
To  Marduk,  their  first  born,  they  spoke : 
*  Thy  fate,  0  lord,  be  supreme  among  the  gods  1 

,ft  Literally/  'liver." 

"  This  trait  of  repeating  certain  particularly  emphatic  lines 
is,  as  we  have  seen  above,  p.  433,  characteristic  of  this  composition. 

11  I.e.,  Tiamat,  who  organized  the  rebellion  against  the  highest 
gods. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  435 

For  destruction  and  creation  speak,  and  it  shall  be  done ; 

Declare  that  the  garment  vanish, 

And  speak  the  word  again  that  the  garment  be  intact.' 

Then  he  gave  the  command,  and  the  garment  vanished; 

He  commanded  again,  and  the  garment  appeared. 

When  the  gods,  his  fathers,  thus  beheld  (the  power  of)  his  utter- 
ance1* 

They  rejoiced  and  paid  homage  to  Marduk,  King; 

They  bestowed  on  him  scepter,  throne  and  palu  "; 

They  gave  him  an  invincible  weapon  '  overcoming  the  enemy.' ** 

'  Go  and  cut  off  the  life  of  Tiamat, 

That  the  wind  may  carry  her  blood  to  hidden  spots. ' 

When  the  gods,  his  fathers,  had  decreed  the  fate  of  the  lord, 

They  brought  him  on  the  road  leading  to  peace  and  success. 

He  made  a  bow  and  took  it  as  his  weapon, 

He  took  a  spear  and  fastened  it  with  a  cord  ( f), 

He  raised  the  club  ( T),  taking  hold  of  it  with  his  right  hand, 

The  bow  and  quiver  he  hung  at  his  side, 

Placed  the  lightning  on  his  face, 

With  a  burning  flame  he  filled  his  body, 

He  made  a  net  to  enclose  Tiamat  therein. 

The  four  winds  he  took  hold  of,  that  nothing  whatsoever  should 
escape. 

The  South  Wind,  North  Wind,  East  Wind,  West  Wind, 

He  brought  to  the  side  of  the  net,  the  gift  of  his  father  Anu. 

He  created  the  hostile  wind,  the  tempest  and  the  hurricane, 

The  fourfold  wind  and  the  sevenfold  wind,31  the  whirlwind,  and 
the  wind  without  rival 

He  sent  forth  the  winds  which  he  had  created,  the  seven  of  them; 

To  trouble  the  spirit  of  Tiamat,  they  followed  behind  him. 

Then  the  lord  raised  on  high  the  Deluge,2*  his  mighty  weapon. 

He  mounted  the  storm  chariot,  unequalled  in  power, 

19  Meaning,  of  course,  the  result  of  his  utterance. 

*•  Some  symbol  of  royal  power,  perhaps  a  crown. 

"  We  know  from  other  sources  that  the  weapons  of  the  gods  bore 
symbolical  names,  just  as  did  the  blades  among  the  Arabs  of  the 
Middle  Ages; 

"  I.e.,  the  wind  blowing  four  and  seven  days,  respectively. 

**  One  of  the  terms  for  an  inundating  rain-storm,  and  used  in  the 
description  of  the  deluge.    See  below,  p.  446,  seq. 


436 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


He  harnessed  and  attached  to  it  four  horses, 
Merciless,  overwhelming,  swiftly  flying. 
(Sharp  of)  teeth,  bearing  poison. 

Then  the  lord  drew  nigh,  piercing  Tiamat  with  his  glance ; 

He  saw  the  purpose  of  Kingu,  her  spoils.-, 

As  he  {i.e.s  Marduk)  gazed,  he  (t.c,  Kingu)  tottered  in  his  gait.2* 

His  mind  was  destroyed,  his  action  upset, 

And  the  gods,  his  helpers,  marching  at  his  side,2* 

Saw  (the  terror  of )  the  hero  and  leader. 

But  Tiamat  {uttered  a  cry)  and  did  not  turn  her  back, 

From  her  lips  there  gushed  forth  rebellious  words  M 

...  *  coming  to  thee  as  lord  of  the  gods, 

As  in  their  own  sanctuaries  they  are  gathered  in  thy  sanctuar\ 

Then  the  lord  raised  on  high  the  Deluge,  the  great  weapon, 

And  against  Tiamat,  who  was  foaming  with  wrath,  thus  sent  forth 

(his  answer). 
'Great  art  thou  !    Thou  hast  exalted  thyself  greatly. 
Thy  heart  hath  prompted  thee  to  arrange  for  battle 


Thou  hast  (exalted)  Kingu  to  be  thy  husband, 
(Thou  hast  given  him  power  to  issue)  the  decrees  of  Anu.28 
(Against  the  gods,  my  fathers),  thou  hast  planned  evil, 
Against  the  gods,  my  fathers,  thou  hast  planned  evil. 
Let  thy  army  be  equipped,  thy  weapons  he  girded  on ; 
Stand ;  I  and  thou,  let  us  join  in  battle. ' 
When  Tiamat  heard  this, 
She  was  beside  herself,  she  lost  her  reason. 
Tiamat  shouted  in  a  paroxysm  of  fury, 
Trembling  to  the  root,  shaking  in  her  foundations. 


24  The  mere  sight  of  Marduk  terrifies  Kingu  and  bewilders 
Tiamat. 

3a  l.e,t  the  whole  army  of  Tiamat  and  Kingu. 

20  No  doubt  curses  hurled  against  Marduk. 

*T  These  two  lines,  obscure  because  of  the  break  in  the  first  part 
of  line  73,  evidently  represent  the  curse  intended  to  annihilate 
Marduk.    The  god,  however,  is  undismayed. 

**  J.*.,  To  Kingu  had  been  assigned  by  Tiamat  the  right  belonging 
to  Anu  as  supreme  arbiter. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  437 

She  uttered  an  incantation,  she  pronounced  a  magic  formula.2* 

The  gods  of  battle,  appeal so  to  their  weapons. 

Then  stepped  forth  Tiamat  and  the  leader  of  the  gods,  Marduk. 

To  the  fight  they  advanced,  to  the  battle  they  drew  nigh. 

The  lord  spread  his  net  and  encompassed  her, 

The  evil  wind  stationed  behind  him  he  drove  into  her  face. 

Tiamat  opened  her  mouth  to  its  full  extent. 

He  drove  in  the  evil  wind  before  she  could  close  her  lips. 

The  terrible  winds  filled  her  belly, 

Her  heart  was  seized,  and  she  held  her  mouth  wide  open. 

He  drove  in  the  spear  and  burst  open  her  belly, 

Cutting  into  her  entrails,  he  slit  her  heart. 

He  overcame  her  and  destroyed  her  life ; 

He  cast  down  her  carcass  and  stood  upon  it. 

When  he  had  thus  subjected  Tiamat,  the  leader, 

Her  host  was  scattered,  her  assembly  was  dissolved ; 

And  the  gods,  her  helpers,  who  marched  beside  her, 

In  fear  and  trembling  turned  about, 

Taking  to  flight  to  save  their  lives. 

But  they  were  surrounded  and  could  not  escape. 

He  captured  them  and  smashed  their  weapons, 

They  were  cast  into  the  net,  and  brought  into  the  snare ; 

After  he  (ie.,  Marduk)  had  bound  and  cast  down  his  enemies, 

Had  battered  down  the  arrogant  foe, 

Had  completely  gained  the  victory  of  Anshar  over  the  enemy, 

The  hero  Marduk  had  attained  the  aim  of  Nudimmud," 

He  strengthened  his  hold  over  the  captive  gods.*3 

To  Tiamat,  whom  he  had  bound,  he  came  back, 

And  the  lord  trampled  under  foot  the  foundation  of  Tiamat. 

With  his  merciless  weapon  he  smashed  her  skull, 

He  cut  the  channels  of  her  blood, 

**  As  a  last  resort  to  overwhelm  Marduk,  to  bring  him  within  her 
power  through  the  force  of  her  magic  formula.  See  above,  p.  244, 
seq. 

*°  Literally,  ask,  which  suggests  that  possibly  some  oracles  were 
sought  through  their  weapons. 

81  Which  Nudimmud  (or  Ea)  was  unable  to  carry  out 

"  7.6.,  he  made  sure  of  their  being  unable  to  get  away. 


438 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


And  made  the  north  wind  carry  them  to  secret  places.*" 

His  fathers  beheld  and  rejoiced  exceeding  glad, 

Presents  and  gifts  they  brought  to  him. 

Then  the  lord  rested  and  looked  at  the  carcass. 

He  divided  the  flesh  of  the  monster,  and  created  marvellous  things. 

He  split  her  like  a  fish  flattened  into  two  halves ; 

One  half  he  took  and  made  it  a  covering  for  heaven. 

He  drew  a  bolt,  he  stationed  a  watchman, 

Enjoining  that  the  waters  be  not  permitted  to  flow  out. 

He  passed  over  the  heavens,  inspecting  the  regions  (thereof), 

And  over  against  the  Apsu,"  he  set  the  dwelling  of  Nudimmud." 

The  lord  measured  the  structure  of  the  Deep. 

He  established  E-sharra  as  a  palace  corresponding  to  it 

The  palace  E-sharra  which  he  created  as  heaven, 

He  caused  Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea  to  inhabit  their  districts. ' ' 

The  creation  of  the  Universe,  which  thus  begins 
after  the  overthrow  of  Tiamat  by  the  formation  of  the 
heavens,  is  continued  in  the  fifth  tablet  which  describes 
the  constellations  and  the  fixing  of  seasons,  the  division 
of  the  year  into  months,  and  of  days  into  night  and  day. 
All  this  is  done  at  the  instance  of  Mardtik  whose  work  is 
essentially  that  of  one  who  establishes  order  in  place 
of  chaos,  rather  than  that  of  a  creator. 


TABLET    V 

"He  made  stations  for  the  great  gods, 
The  stars,  their  counterparts,  the  twin  stars  he  fixed. 
He  fixed  the  year  and  divided  it  into  divisions. 
For  the  twelve  months  he  fixed  three  stars,'* 
Also  for  the  days  of  the  year  (he  had  fashioned)  pictures" 

13  Apparently  we  have  in  these  lines  a  second  description  of  the 
way  in  which  Marduk  overcame  Tiamat.  They  may  be  taken,  there- 
fore, as  another  proof  of  the  dovetailing  of  several  originally  distinct 
versions  into  our  story, 

**  I.e.,  personification  of  the  deep. 

nI,e.t  Ea,  the  god  of  waters. 

**  Each  star  presiding  over  four  months. 

,T  I.e.,  the  constellations, 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  439 

He  founded  the  station  of  Nibir  "  to  regulate  their  limits, 

That  none  might  err  or  go  astray. 

He  placed  the  station  of  Enlil  and  Ea  "  with  him.40 

He  opened  great  gates  to  both  sides, 

He  supplied  a  strong  bolt  to  the  left  and  the  right. 

In  the  midst  (of  the  heavens)  he  fixed  the  zenith, 

He  caused  Sin  4l  to  shine  forth,  entrusting  to  him  the  night ; 

He  assigned  to  him  the  control  of  the  night  for  counting  the  days; 

Each  month  without  interruption  he  covered  him  with  a  crown.*2" 

Marduk  thereupon  addresses  the  moon-god,  though 
it  is  evident  that  the  original  address  was  made  by  Anu, 
god  of  the  heavens  and  as  such  the  one  in  supreme 
control  of  everything  above. 

"  '  At  the  beginning  of  the  month  in  rising  over  the  land 
Thou  wilt  show  a  horn  for  a  period  of  six  days. 
On  the  seventh  day  the  crown  will  be  divided  { ?). 
On  the  fourteenth  day  thou  shalt  stand  opposite,  it  being  the 

half  (of  the  month). 
When  the  sun-god  in  the  foundation  of  heaven   (is  opposite) 

thee/" 

At  this  point  unfortunately  the  tablet  again  becomes 
defective,  and  there  is  little  of  it  remaining  until  we 
reach  the  end.  We  can  only  conjecture  that  the  chief 
constellations  were  included  in  the  description  of  the 
heavens,  and  all  the  courses  fixed  for  the  planets,  as 
well  as  the  positions  for  the  stars.  At  the  close  of  the 
tablet  the  gods  gather  around  Marduk  and  formulate 
the  complaint  that,  while  order  has  been  established  and 
the  position  of  the  gods  represented  by  the  stars  fixed 
in  the  heavens,  the  universe  was  empty.  There  was  no 
one  to  do  homage  to  the  gods.  Curiously  enough  this 
complaint  of  the  gods  is  assigned  in  the  sixth  tablet  as 

88  I.e.,  Jupiter,  who  as  the  brightest  planet  is  the  leader. 

89  Variant,  Anu, 

*°  Anu,  Enlil  and  Ea  represent  three  divisions  of  the  ecliptic. 
*x  The  moon-god. 
*a  The  crescent  of  the  new  moon. 


440 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  reason  for  the  creation  of  man,  which  Marduk  un- 
dertakes in  order  to  satisfy  the  craving  of  the  gods  for 
worship.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that  this  tablet  also 
is  badly  mutilated,  so  that  only  the  first  ten  lines  and 
a  few  of  the  closing  lines  furnish  an  intelligible  se- 
quence.   It  begins  as  follows: 


TABLET    VI 

"Upon  (Marduk 's)  hearing  the  word  of  the  gods, 

His  heart  led  him  to  create   (marvellous  things)  4* 

He  opened  his  mouth  and  (spoke)  to  Ea  *4 

(What)  he  had  conceived  in  his  heart  he  imparted  to  him ; 
'My  hlood  I  will  take  and  bone  I  will  (form). 

I  will  set  up  man  that  man  .    .    . 

I  will  create  man  to  inhabit   (the  earth), 

That  the  worship  of  the  gods  be  fixed,  that  they  may  have  shrines. 

But  I  will  alter  the  ways  of  the  gods,  I  will  change   .    .    . 

They  shall  be  joined  in  concert,  unto  evil  shall  they*  .    .    . 

Ea  answered  him  and  spoke." 

The  answer  of  Ea  is  too  imperfectly  preserved  to 
warrant  even  a  conjecture.  If  the  last  two  lines  of 
Marduk 's  address  to  Ea  indicate  his  intention  to  punish 
the  gods  because  of  their  complaint,  while  granting  what 
they  desire,  it  may  be,  as  has  been  suggested,  that  Ea 
dissuaded  Marduk  from  this  purpose;  but  until  some 
fortunate  chance  may  enable  us  to  fill  the  gap  in  this 
important  tablet  it  is  idle  to  indulge  in  conjectures.  Nor 
is  it  certain  that  this  Babylonian  version  of  creation 
contained  any  account  of  the  actual  formation  of  the 

m  Conjectural  restoration  niklati,  proposed  by  King  on  the  basis 
of  Tablet  IV,  136. 

**  Ea  is  always  introduced  as  the  god  of  humanity  who  loves 
and  protects  mankind ;  and  in  the  version  of  creation  which  arose 
in  Eridu,  the  seat  of  which  Ea  was  the  patron,  it  is  Ea  who  is  also 
the  creator  of  man.  All  other  gods,  however,  must  yield  to  Marduk, 
though  there  is  a  trace  of  the  older  version  where  Marduk  is  in- 
troduced as  telling  Ea  of  his  purpose. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  441 

earth,  of  verdure,  trees  and  mountains  and  of  animals. 
The  main  purpose  of  the  poem  was  to  celebrate  the 
triumph  of  Marduk  over  Tiamat;  everything  else  is  in- 
cidental, and  even  in  describing  the  establishment  of 
order  in  the  heavens  the  chief  thought  was  to  emphasize 
the  control  of  Marduk  over  the  gods.  At  the  same  time, 
from  other  fragments  of  creation  tales,  we  know  that 
to  Marduk  (and  in  other  versions  to  other  gods)  the  de- 
tailed creation  of  everything  on  earth,  including  verd- 
ure and  animals,  was  ascribed.48 

At  the  close  of  the  sixth  tablet  there  is  a  description 
of  the  return  of  Marduk  after  his  labors  to  the  assembly 
hall  of  the  gods  in  Upshukkinnaku.  They  rejoice  at  his 
return  and  gather  to  do  him  honor. 

TABLET  VH 

The  seventh  tablet  is  entirely  taken  up  with  the 
names  bestowed  upon  Marduk  by  the  gods.  The 
names  themselves  constitute  attributes  of  Marduk, 
though  no  doubt  designating  originally  local  gods 
whose  cult  was  absorbed  by  that  of  Marduk.  In  this 
way  by  assigning  to  Marduk  the  power  of  all  the  other 
gods  he  becomes  supreme;  and  as  we  have  seen,  views 
about  Marduk  in  Babylonia  and  about  Ashur  in  Assyria 
form  the  closest  approach  to  be  found  in  Babylonian- 
Assyrian  religion  to  a  monotheistic  conception  of  di- 
vine government.46 

"Asari,  the  source  of  planting  (the  founder  of  sowing), 
Creator  of  grain  and  flour,  (causing  the  verdure  to  spring  forth). 
Asaru-alim,  honored  in  the  house  of  counsel   (abounding  in 

counsel). 
To  him  the  gods  pay  homage,  (and  of  him  they  stand  in  dread). 
Asaru-alim-nunna,  the  mighty,  the  light   (of  his  father  who 

begat  him), 
Who  prescribes  the  laws  for  Anu,  Enlil  (and  Ea), 

*•  See  Jastrow,  Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Traditions,  p.  92. 
"  See  above,  p.  217  and  229,  seq. 


442 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Who  provides  for  them,  who  fixes  (their  bounds), 

Who  provides  abundance,  brings  out     .    .    . 

Tutu,  'the  creator  who  renews  them,' 

May  their  sanctuaries  be  purified,  may  (they  be  pacified). 

May  he  bring  about  an  incantation,  that  the  gods    (may  be 

calmed). 
When  they  attack  in  fury  may  he  repulse  (their  advance)  ! 
Be  he  exalted  even  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods. 
None  among  the  gods  is  like  to  him." 


In  this  way  the  text  proceeds  somewhat  monoto- 
nously, describing  the  manifold  attributes  and  powers 
of  Marduk.  Towards  the  close  of  the  tablet  an  interest- 
ing reference  is  made  to  the  manner  in  which,  after  all 
the  other  gods  had  paid  homage,  Enlil  and  Ea  stepped 
forward  and  bestowed  their  names,  and  with  their 
names  their  power,  upon  the  favorite  Marduk. 

"Nibiru*7  be  his  name,  the  one  who  seized  the  inside;** 

May  he  maintain  the  stars  of  heaven  in  their  path, 

Shepherding  aU  the  gods  like  sheep  t 

May  he  keep  Tiamat  enchained. 

Crushing  and  putting  an  end  to  her  life. 

In  the  future  of  mankind,  when  the  days  grow  old, 

May  one  hear  this  without  ceasing,  may  it  survive  forever  I  •• 

Since  he  created  the  region  (of  heaven),  and  formed  the  earth, 

Lord  of  the  worlds,  father  Enlil 50  called  him. 

The  name  which  all  the  Igigi  proclaimed. 

Ea  heard  and  his  liver  rejoiced, 
*  He  whose  name  his  fathers  have  made  glorious, 

Be  he  like  I  am,  Ea  be  his  name ! 

All  my  commands  be  in  his  control, 

All  my  decrees  let  him  pronounce ! ' 


47  Le.,  Jupiter. 

4a  8c  of  Tiamat. 

49 1.e.t  the  story  of  Marduk  s  conquest  of  Tiamat. 

50  Enlil,  the  old  god  of  Nippur,  confers  his  own  name  upon 

Marduk. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  443 

By  the  name  'fifty"51  did  the  great  gods 

Confer  upon  him  fifty  names  to  make  his  path  supreme." 

The  poem  closes  with  an  epilogue,  calling  upon  all 
mankind  ever  to  bear  in  mind  the  great  deeds  of  Mar- 
duk, and  to  hand  down  the  memory  thereof  from  father 
to  son  to  the  end  of  days. 

"Let  them  be  remembered,  let  the  older  (man)  speak  of  them! " 
Let  the  wise  and  the  intelligent  reflect  on  them  together, 
Let  father  repeat  and  teach  them  to  his  son! 
Let  pastor  and  shepherd  open  their  ears, 
To  rejoice  in  Marduk,  the  lord  of  the  gods, 
That  his  land  may  be  fertile  and  prosper. 
His  word  (i.e.,  Marduk 's)  is  firm,  his  command  unchangeable. 
What  he  utters  no  god  annuls, 
He  casts  a  glance  and  turns  not  his  neck. 
In  his  wrath  no  god  can  withstand  him, 
But  wide  is  his  heart,  broad  is  his  mind; 
The  sinner  and  evil-doer  before  him   .    .    .    M 

The  remaining  six  lines  arc  again  too  fragmentary 

for  translation,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  epilogue  closed 
with  the  glorification  of  Marduk 's  justice  tempered  with 
mercy. 

n 

The  Babylonian  Story  of  the  Deluge 

Ae  of  the  Creation  story,  so  of  an  account  of  a  great 
flood  that  destroyed  the  world  and  mankind  we  have  a 
number  of  versions  in  Babylonian  literature.  The 
oldest  of  these  versions  is  in  Sumerian  and  is  told  as 
part  of  a  story  of  the  beginnings  of  things  leading  from 

*l  As  the  last  of  fifty  names,  they  called  Marduk  "fifty"  which 
was  transferred  presumably  from  the  god  Ninib  or  Ningorsin,  who 
was  symbolized  as  * '  fif  ty, ' '  and  whose  temple  at  Lagash  was  known 
as  E-ninnu,  i.e.,  "house  of  fifty."    See  above,  p.  200. 

M  I.e.,  hand  the  memory  of  Marduk 's  deeds  down  to  the  younger 
generation. 


444 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


creation  to  flood  myths  and  thence  to  the  oldest  tradi- 
tions of  the  earliest  dynasties  of  the  states  of  the  Eu- 
phrates Valley,63  while  the  latest  version  is  embodied 
in  the  great  Babylonian  epic,  recounting  the  adventures 
of  a  semi-mythical  hero  Gilgamesh.84  This  epic,  kno 
to  us  from  numerous  fragments  in  the  library  of  Ashu 
banapal,  is  a  composite  production  containing  a  numbe 
of  independent  tales,  loosely  strung  together,  and 
brought  into  connection  with  the  favorite  hero  Gil 
gamesh.  Some  of  the  tales  embody  dimmed  histori 
traditions  centring  around  the  ancient  centre  U 
while  others  are  nature  myths,  associated  with  occur 
rences  in  nature  and  in  which  the  gods  appear  as  the 
actors.  The  epic  in  its  final  foi*m  comprised  twelv 
tablets,  corresponding  to  the  months  of  the  year,  with  a 
least  some  of  the  episodes  told  on  tablets  the  number  o 
which  in  the  series  is  correlated  to  the  season  of  the  yea: 
to  which  the  myth  belongs.  Thus  on  the  sixth  table 
marking  the  end  of  the  summer  season,50  there  is  told  the 
story  of  Gilgamesh 's  rejection  of  the  marriage  offer 
of  the  goddess  Ishtar — symbolizing  the  loss  of  nature': 
charms.  In  the  same  way,  the  Deluge  story  is  recounted 
in  the  eleventh  tablet,  corresponding  to  the  month  whe: 
the  rainy  season  is  at  its  height  and  the  winter  sto 
reach  their  climax.  Gilgamesh  himself,  however,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Deluge.  He  is  somewhat  artifici- 
ally introduced  into  it  by  the  accident  of  his  encounter- 
ing the  hero  who  has  escaped  the  general  destruction  o 
mankind.    Gilgamesh,  smitten  with  painful  disease  a 

"  See  Poebel,  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts  (University  of 
Pennsylvania  Museum  Publications,  Philadelphia,  1914),  Plate  I 
and  pp.  9-24) .  On  this  and  other  versions,  see  Jastrow,  Hebrew  and 
Babylonian  Traditions   (Philadelphia,  1914),  pp.  335-348. 

■*  See  for  a  summary  of  the  epic,  with  copious  extracts,  Jastrow, 
Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (Boston  1898),  Chapter  XXIII ; 
and  for  a  complete  translation  of  all  the  fragments,  Ungnad-Gress- 
mann,  Das  Gilgamesch-Epos  (Goettingen,  1911). 

•a  The  Babylonian  year  began  in  the  spring. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


445 


a  punishment  for  the  insult  offered  to  the  goddess  Ishtar, 
and  fearing  death,  wanders  about  in  search  of  healing 
and  to  secure  immortality.  He  leams  of  a  remote  an- 
cestor Ut-napishtim,  who  has  been  granted  the  boon  of 
immortal  life.  After  long  and  weary  wanderings  with 
many  adventures  he  at  last  finds  himself  face  to  face 
with  Utnapishtim,  whose  name  signifies  "He  who  has 
experienced  life."  Amazed  to  find  Utnapishtim  look- 
ing like  an  ordinary  mortal,  Gilgamesh  asks  Utnapish- 
tim how  he  came  to  secure  immortality.  In  reply,  Ut- 
napishtim tells  him  the  story  of  a  great  deluge  which 
destroyed  mankind,  and  from  which  he  and  his  family 
were  rescued  through  the  contrivance  of  Ea,  the  god  of 
humanity.  The  Deluge  was  suggested,  as  was  the  pict- 
ure of  primeval  chaos,56  by  the  climatic  conditions  pre- 
vailing in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  which  before  the  per- 
fection of  an  elaborate  canal  system  experienced  a  de- 
structive overflow  at  each  recurring  rainy  and  stormy 
season.  The  tradition  of  a  particularly  destructive 
flood  entailing  much  loss  of  life  may  have  been  an  addi- 
tional factor  in  giving  to  the  deluge  myth  its  definite 
form.  The  eleventh  tablet  of  the  Gilgamesh  epic  w  be- 
gins as  follows : 


* '  Gilgamesh  speaks  to  him,  to  Utnapishtim,  the  far-removed : 
'I  gaze  at  thee,  Utnapshtim! 

Thy  appearance  is  not  different.     As  I  am,  so  art  thou. 

And  thou  are  not  different.    As  I  am,  so  art  thou. 

Thou  art  completely  ready  for  the  fray. 

.    ,    .   thou  hast  placed  upon  thee. 

(Tell  me)  how  thou  didst  enter  into  the  assembly  of  the  gods  and 
secure  life." 


M  See  above,  p.  427. 

"The  text  of  this  tablet  will  be  found  in  Rawlinson  IV. (2d, 

ed.),  PI  43-44;  the  full  text  of  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  in  Haupt's  Das 

Babylcniscke  Nimrodcpos  (Leipzig,  1891),  supplemented  by  Haupt, 

"Die  Zwolfte  Tafel  dcs  Babylonischen  Nimrodcpos"  in  Beitrage 

zur  Assyriologie,  I,  pp.  48-80. 


446 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


In  reply  Utnapishtim  tells  the  following  story: 

"I  will  reveal  to  thee,  Gilgamesh,  a  secret  story, 
And  the  decision  of  the  gods  I  will  tell  thee. 
The  city  ShuruppaV  a  city  which  thou  knowest, 
(The  one  that)  lies  on  the  Euphrates, 
That  city  was  old,  and  the  gods  thereof 
Induced  the  great  gods  to  bring  a  cyclone  over  it; 
It  was  planned  (?)  by  their  father  Anu, 
(By)  their  counsellor,  the  warrior  Enlil, 
(By)   their  herald  Ninib, 
(By)  their  leader  En-nugi. 
The  lord  of  brilliant  vision,  Ea,  was  with  them. 
He  repeated  their  decision  to  the  reed-hut." 
'Reed-hut,  reed-hut,  wall,  wall, 
Reed-hut,  hear !    Wall,  give  ear ! 
O  man  of  Shuruppak,  son  of  Ubara-Tutu, 
Break  up  the  house,  build  a  ship, 
Abandon  your  property,  seek  life ! 
Throw  aside  your  possession  and  preserve  life! 
Bring  into  the  ship  seed  of  all  living  things! 
The  ship  that  thou  shalt  build, 
Let  its  dimensions  be  measured,  (so  that) 
Its  breadth  and  length  be  made  to  correspond. 
On  a  level  with  the  deep,  provide  it  with  a  covering.  "•• 

In  another  version  the  name  of  the  hero  of  the 
Deluge  is  given  as  Atrakhasis,  signifying  "the  very 
clever  one. '  This  alternate  name  is  introduced  also  at 
the  end  of  our  version  of  the  tale,  where  Ea  says  that  he 
sent  Atrakhasis  a  dream  which  the  latter  correctlv 

■ 

understood.  Evidently  two  traditions  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  hero  of  the  deluge  was  warned  of  the  coming 
destruction  were  current.    Both  were  embodied  in  our 


"Now  identified  as  the  site  of  the  mound  Fara.  The  name 
also  appears  as  Shurippak,  but  the  spelling  with  u  is  more  correct. 

n  In  which  Utnapishtim  dwells.  The  reed  hut  points  to  the 
primitive  conditions  in  which  man  lived  when  the  Deluge  came  on. 

10  The  first  part  of  the  line  is  obscure.  I  beHeve  that  the  cover- 
ing here  meant  is  the  deck  of  the  framework. 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  447 

tale,  which  thus  is  revealed  as  itself  a  composite  pro- 
duction.   Utnapishtim  continues  his  narative : 

"I  understood "  and  spoke  to  Ea,  my  lord: 
(The  command)  of  my  lord  which  thou  hast  commanded, 
As  I  have  understood  (it),  I  will  carry  out. 
(But  what)  shall  I  answer  the  city,  the  people,  and  the  elders? 
Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke: 
Spoke  to  me,  his  servant. 
'(As  answer)  thus  speak  to  them: 
(Enow  that)  Enlil  has  conceived  hatred  towards  me, 
So  that  I  can  no  longer  dwell  (in  your  city). 
(On)  Enlil 's  territory  I  dare  no  longer  set  my  face. 
Therefore,  I  go  to  the  "deep"  to  dwell  with  Ea,  my  lord. 
Over  you  he  will  cause  blessing  to  rain  down. 
(Catch  of)  bird,  catch  of  fish,' 
And  .  .   .  rich  crops." 

At  this  point  the  tablet  is  defective.  Utnapishtim 
must  have  told  Gilgamesh  how  he  completed  the  ship, 
first  drawing  a  plan  and  building  according  to  it. 
Thereupon  the  text  proceeds: 

"On  the  fifth  day,  I  designed  its  outline. 
According  to  the  plan  ( f),  the  walls  were  to  be  ten  Gar93  high. 
Correspondingly,  ten  Gar  the  measure  of  its  width. 
I  determined  upon  its  shape  (and)  drew  it. 
I  weighted  it  six-fold.6* 

I  divided  (the  superstructure  f)  into  seven  parts. 
Its  interior  I  divided  into  nine  parts. 
Water-plugs  I  constructed  in  the  interior. 
I  selected  a  pole  and  added  accessories. 
Six  "  Sar  of  asphalt  I  poured  on  the  outer  wall. 

91  Referring,  evidently,  to  the  mysterious  dream,  and  not  to 
the  explicit  command,  which  is  so  clear  that  it  could  not  be  mis- 
understood. 

•*  A  Gar  is  12  cubits. 

•*  A  somewhat  obscure  line  to  indicate,  perhaps,  the  strong  sub- 
structure so  as  to  be  capable  of  holding  seven  stories. 

•4  A  variant  text  has  "three." 


448 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Three  Sar  of  pitch  (I  poured)  on  the  inner  wall. 

Three  Sar  the  workmen  carried  away  in  their  baskets.**    Of  oil, 

Beside  one  Sar  of  oil  which  was  used  for  the  sacrifices, 

The  boatman  secreted  two  Sar  of  oil/** 

Utnapisbtim  then  proceeds : 

"All  that  I  had  I  loaded  on  her. 
All  that  I  had  of  silver  I  loaded  on  her. 
All  that  I  had  of  gold  I  loaded  on  her. 

All  that  I  had  of  living  beings  of  all  kinds  I  loaded  on  her. 
I  brought  to  the  ship  all  my  family  and  household; 
Cattle  of  the  field,  beasts  of  the  field,  all  the  workmen  I  brought 
on  board." 

The  ship  draws  water  to  two-thirds  of  its  bulk. 
The  description  of  the  storm  which  now  follows  is 
one  of  the  finest  passages  in  the  narrative. 

"Shamash  had  fixed  the  time, 
'When  the  rulers  of  darkness  (?)  at  evening  time  shall  cause 

a  terrific  rain-storm, 
Step  into  the  ship  and  close  the  doorl  ' 
The  fixed  time  approached, 
When  the  rulers  of  darkness  ( T)  at  evening  time  were  to  cause 

a  terrific  rain-storm. 
I  recognized  the  symptoms  of  (such)  a  day, 
A  day,  for  the  appearance  of  which  I  was  in  terror. 
I  entered  the  ship  and  closed  the  door. 
To  steer  the  ship,  to  Puzur-Kurgal,  the  boatman, 
I  entrusted  the  palace  *7  together  with  its  cargo. 
As  morning  dawned, 

There  arose  on  the  firmament  of  heaven  black  clouds, 
Adad  thundered  therein ; 
Nabu  and  Lugal  marched  in  advance, 
Ira**  tears  out  the  ship's  pole. 

*B  I.e.,  "graft"  taken  by  the  workman. 
"More  "graft." 

*?  Note  this  designation  given  to  the  structure — an  indication 
of  its  large  size,  wTith  its  many  stories  and  compartments. 
"  God  of  pestilence. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  449 

Ninib  marches,  commanding  the  attack, 

The  Anunnaki  ••  lift  torches, 

Illuminating  the  land  with  their  sheen, 

Adad'8  roar  reaches  to  heaven, 

All  light  is  changed  to  darkness. 

•         ••>•••••• 

One  day  the  hurricane  raged  ^.  . 

Storming  furiously.   .   . 

Coming  like  a  combat  over  men. 

Brother  sees  not  brother : 

Those  in  heaven 70  do  not  know  one  another. 

The  gods  are  terrified  at  the  cyclone, 

They  flee  and  mount  to  the  heaven  of  Anu  n ; 

The  gods  crouch  like  dogs  in  an  enclosure. 

Ishtar  cries  aloud  like  one  in  birth  throes, 

The  mistress  of  the  gods  howls  aloud : 

'That  day  be  turned  to  clay," 

When  I  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  decreed  evil ; 

That  I  should  have  decreed  evil  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods! 

For  the  destruction  of  my  people  should  have  ordered  a  combat  I 

Did  I  bring  forth  my  people, 

That  like  fish  they  should  fill  the  sea! ' 

All  of  the  Anunnaki  weep  with  her. 

The  gods  sit  down,  depressed  and  weeping. 

Their  lips  are  closed  .   .   . 

Six  days  and  nights 

The  storm,  cyclone  (and)  hurricane  continued  to  sweep  over 
the  land. 

When  the  seventh  day  approached,  the  hurricane  and  cyclone 
ceased  the  combat, 

After  having  fought  like  warriors  ( f ) . 

The  sea  grew  quiet,  the  evil  storm  abated,  the  cyclone  was  re- 
strained. 

I  looked  at  the  day  and  the  roar  had  quieted  down. 

And  all  mankind  had  turned  to  clay. 

Like  an  enclosure  .   .   .  had  become. 

••  A  collective  name  for  the  minor  gods. 
T0 I.e.,  the  gods  in  general. 
n  The  highest  part  of  heaven. 
"  I.e.,  be  cursed  with  destruction. 
20 


450 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


I  opened  a  window  and  light  fell  on  my  face, 
I  bowed  down  and  sat  down  (and)  wept, 
Tears  flowed  over  my  face. 
I  looked  in  all  directions  of  the  sea. 
At  a  distance  of  twelve  (miles)  TI  an  island  appeared. 
At  mount  Nisir  the  ship  stood  stilL 

Mount  Nisir  took  hold  of  the  ship  so  that  it  could  not  move. 
One  day.  two  days,  Mount  Nisir  etc.7* 
Three  days,  four  days,  Mount  Nisir,  etc 
Five  days,  six  days,  Mount  Nisir,  etc. 
When  the  seventh  day  arrived, 
I  sent  forth  a  dove  letting  it  free. 
The  dove  went  hither  and  thither; 
Not  finding  a  resting-place,  it  came  back. 
I  sent  forth  a  swallow,  letting  it  free. 
The  swallow  went  hither  and  thither. 
Not  finding  a  resting-place,  it  came  back. 
I  sent  forth  a  raven,  letting  it  free. 
The  raven  went  and  saw  the  decrease  of  the  waters. 
It  ate,  croaked  (T),  but  did  not  turn  back. 
Then  I  let  (all)  out  to  the  four  regions  (and)  brought  an  offer- 
ing. 
I  brought  a  sacrifice  on  the  mountain  top. 
Seven  and  seven  adagur  jars  I  arranged. 
Beneath  them  I  strewed  reeds,  cedarwood  and  myrtle. 
The  gods  smelled  the  odor, 
The  gods  smelled  the  sweet  odor. 
The  gods  like  flies  gathered  around  the  sacrificer." 


The  gods  now  realize  what  havoc  had  been  wrought 
by  their  decision  and  begin  to  regret  it.  Ishtar,  more 
particularly  as  the  mother  goddess,  bitterly  laments  the 
destruction  of  mankind. 

Ta  Or  " after  a  space  of  twelve  double  hours." 

T*  Sign  of  reduplication,  i.e.,  "Mount  Nisir  took  hold  of  the  ship 


so  that  it  could  not  move. " 
name  therefore. 


Nisir  means  "salvation" — a  symbolical 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATUEE  451 

"As  soon  as  the  mistress  of  the  gods  ™  arrived, 
She  raised  on  high  the  large  necklace  ( f )  which  Ana  had  made 

according  to  his  art. 
'Ye  gods,  as  surely  as  I  will  not  forget  these  precious  stones  at 

my  neck, 
So  I  will  remember  these  days— never  to  forget  them. 
Let  the  gods  come  to  the  sacrifice, 
But  let  Enlil  not  come  to  the  sacrifice. 
Because  without  reflection  he  brought  on  the  cyclone, 
And  decreed  destruction  for  my  people.' 
As  soon  as  Enlil  arrived, 
He  saw  the  ship,  and  Enlil  was  enraged. 
Pilled  with  anger  at  the  Igigi.76 
'Who  now  has  escaped  with  his  life? 
No  man  was  to  survive  the  destruction ! ' 
Ninib  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke, 
Spoke  to  the  warrior  Enlil, 
'Who  except  Ea  can  plan  any  affair f 
Ea  indeed  knows  every  order. ' 
Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke, 
Spoke  to  the  warrior  Enlil : 
'Thou  art  the  leader  (and)  warrior  of  the  gods. 
But  why  didst  thou,  without  reflection,  bring  on  the  cyclone? 
On  the  sinner  impose  his  sin, 
On  the  evil-doer  impose  his  evil, 
But  be  merciful  not  to  root  out  completely,  be  considerate  not 

(to  destroy  altogether) ! 
Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 
Lions  might  have  come  and  diminished  mankind. 
Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 
Jackals  might  have  come  and  diminished  mankind. 
Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 
Famine  might  have  come  and  overwhelmed  the  land. 
Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 
Ira  "  might  have  come  and  destroyed  the  land. 

TB  Ishtar. 

76  Here  a  collective  name  for  the  gods,  though  generally  desig- 
nating, like  Anunnaki,  a  lower  group  of  divine  beings;  see  above, 
pp.  331  seq. 

17  God  of  pestilence. 


452 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


I  did  not  reveal  the  oracle  of  the  great  gods, 

I  sent  Atrakhasis  a  dream  and  he  understood  the  oracle  of  the 

gods. 
Now  take  counsel  for  him. '  ' ' 

Enlil  is  moved  by  this  eloquent  appeal  and  is  recon- 
ciled. He  himself  accords  immortal  life  to  Utnapishtim 
and  his  wife,  and  with  this  act  the  story  ends. 


"Enlil  mounted  the  ship, 
Took  hold  of  my  hand  and  led  me  up,Tt 
Led  me  up  and  caused  my  wife  to  kneel  at  my  side, 
Touched  our  foreheads,  stepped  between  us  (and)  blessed  us. 
*  Hitherto  Utnapishtim  was  a  man; 
Now  Utnapishtim  and  his  wife  shall  be  on  a  level  with  the  gods. 
Utnapishtim  shall  dwell  in  the  distance,  at  the  confluence  of  the 

streams. ' 
Then  they  took  me  and  settled  me  at  the  confluence  of  the 

streams. ' p 

The  remainder  of  the  tablet  is  taken  up  with  Gilga- 
mesh's  sojourn  with  Utnapishtim  and  his  wife  who  care 
for  the  weary  wanderer,  He  is  refreshed  by  a  deep 
sleep,  is  given  guidance  for  a  safe  return  across  the 
waters  of  death  which  he  had  to  pass  in  order  to  reach 
the  dwelling  place  of  Utnapishtim,  but  the  hero  returns 
without  having  secured  from  his  remote  ancestor  any 
hint  of  how  to  attain  the  boon  of  immortal  life.  The 
story  merely  shows  that  some  favorite  of  the  gods  may 
escape  the  general  fate  of  mankind,  but  that  is  all.  Im- 
mortality is  the  privilege  of  the  gods.  Man  must  be 
resigned  to  his  fate,  to  pass  to  Aralu,  the  general  gather- 
ing place  of  the  dead  after  life  has  fled,  and  there  to  lie 
inactive  but  conscious,  imprisoned  in  a  dark  and  gloomy 
prison,  time  without  end. 

7B  I.e.,  brought  me  on  land. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 
III 


453 


Stoby  op  the  Descent  op  the  Goddess  Ishtas  into  the  Ia>wer 

World. 

The  goddess  Ishtar,  as  the  great  mother  goddess,79 
is  the  goddess  of  vegetation  in  nature,  as  of  fertility 
among  mankind  and  animals.  She  is  pictured  as  spend- 
ing half  the  year  on  earth,  when  nature  is  in  hloom  and 
animals  throw  off  their  young,  while  during  the  remain- 
ing half,  when  nature  seems  dead,  she  is  imprisoned  in 
the  lower  world  known  as  Aralu.  The  story  of  her  de- 
scent to  Aralu  is,  therefore,  a  nature  myth,  symbolizing 
the  change  from  the  summer  to  the  winter  season,  while 
her  release  is  the  corresponding  change  from  winter  to 
summer.  The  story,  as  related  in  the  following  poem,80 
appears  to  have  had  attached  to  it  as  a  moral  the  faint 
possibility  of  a  revivification  of  the  dead;  it  may  have 
been  composed  in  connection  with  a  ritual  in  honor  of 
the  old  Sumerian  god  Tammuz  or  Dumu-Zi-Apsu  "the 
child  of  the  spirit  (or  life)  of  the  Deep,"  81  the  sun-god 
of  the  springtime  whose  departure  was  mourned  and 
whose  return  was  hailed  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
In  other  tales  Tammuz  is  pictured  as  the  lover  of  Ishtar, 
slain  by  the  goddess  because  of  his  rejection  of  her  love. 

"To  the  land  of  no  return,  the  land  of  (darkness  [  7] ) 
Ishtar,  the  daughter  of  Sin  83  (directed)  her  thought," 

70  Above,  p.  232. 

80  Cuneiform  Texts,  XV,  PI.  45-48.  See  further,  Jastrow,  Reli- 
gion of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (Boston,  1898),  chap.  XXV.  The 
poem  consists  of  lines  of  two  hemistichs,  with  three  beats  to  each 
hemistich. 

M  Tammuz  is  the  Hebrew  form  of  the  Sumerian  Dumuzi,  "child 
of  life, ' '  which  is  itself  an  abbreviation  of  the  fuller  name  "Dumu- 
Zi-Apsu."  This  name  is  an  allusion  to  the  sun's  rising  every 
morning  out  of  the  ocean,  on  which  the  earth,  according  to  Baby- 
lonian notions,  floats. 

*a  The  moon-god. 

a*  Literally  "fixed  her  ear." 


456  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  fifth  gate  he  bade  her  enter,  opened  it  wide  and  removed  the 

girdle  of  her  body  studded  with  birth-stones.** 
'Why,  0  gate-keeper,  dost  thou  remove  the  girdle  of  my  body, 

studded  with  birth-stones*' 

*  Enter,  0  lady,  for  such  are  the  decrees  of  Erishkigal.' 
The  sixth  gate,  he  bade  her  enter,  opened  it  wide  and  removed 

the  spangles  off  her  hands  and  feet 
*"  Why,  0  gate-keeper,  dost  thou  remove  the  spangles  off  my  hands 
and  feetr 

*  Enter,  0  lady,  for  thus  are  the  decrees  of  Ereshkigal/ 
The  seventh  gate  he  bade  her  enter,  opened  it  wide  and  removed 

her  loin-cloth.** 
'Why,  O  gate-keeper,  dost  thou  remove  my  loin-cloth  t  * 

*  Enter,  O  lady,  for  such  are  the  decrees  of  Ereshkigal.' 
Now  when  Ishtar  had  gone  down  into  the  land  of  no  return, 
Ereshkigal  saw  her  and  was  angered  at  her  presence. 
Ishtar  without  reflection  threw  herself  at  her.** 
Ereshkigal  opened  her  mouth  and  spoke, 
To  Namtar,  her  messenger,  she  addressed  herself: 

'Go  Namtar,"  (imprison  her)  in  my  palace. 

Send  against  her  sixty  diseases,011  (to  punish  [f]  Ishtar.) 

Eye  disease  against  her  eyes, 

Disease  of  the  side  against  her  side, 

Foot-disease  •*  against  her  foot, 

Heart  disease  against  her  heart, 

Head-disease  10°  against  her  head, 

Against  her  whole  being,  against  (her  entire  body  [1]).' 

After  the  lady  Ishtar  had  gone  down  into  the  land  of  no  return, 

M  It  is  appropriate  for  Ishtar,  as  the  goddess  who  presides  over 
the  new  life,  to  have  her  girdle  studded  with  birth-stones,  i.e>,  stones 
that  have  the  power  to  secure  an  easy  delivery  for  women.  The 
**  birth  -girdle  "  appears  elsewhere  in  folk  customs* 

••  Literally  ' '  the  garment  of  the  pudenda  of  the  body. ' ' 

M  The  two  sisters  fly  at  each  other  in  a  rage. 

"  The  god  or  demon  of  pestilence. 

**  The  diseases  are  personified  through  demons  supposed  to  be 
their  cause. 

**  Rheumatism. 

ioo  pevers  and  headaches. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


457 


The  bull  did  not  mount  the  cow,  the  ass  approached  not  the 

she-ass, 

To  the  maid  in  the  street,  no  man  drew  near, 
The  man  slept  in  his  apartment, 
The  maid  slept  by  herself." 

The  gradual  disrobing  of  Ishtar,  her  ornaments  and 
garments  being  taken  away  as  she  passes  from  one  gate 
to  the  other,  symbolizes  the  gradual  decay  of  nature 
after  the  summer  has  waned  until  at  last  Ishtar  enters 
the  lower  world  naked,  and  cold,  bare  winter  has  set  in. 
It  is  a  time  when  not  only  nature  seems  dead,  but  when 
among  animals  and  men  all  desire  for  new  life  ceases. 
Copulation  among  animals  has  stopped,  and  even  the 
sexual  passion  among  men  is  stilled — to  symbolize  the 
interruption  in  the  course  of  things  on  earth.  The  gods 
mourn  the  departure  of  Ishtar  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  and  devise  plans  for  her  return  that  life  may  not 
perish  altogether.  The  second  half  of  the  poem  con- 
tinues as  follows: 

"The  countenance  of  Papsukal,  the  messenger  of  the  great  gods 

fell,  his  face  (was  troubled). 
In  mourning  garbs  he  was  clothed,  in  soiled  garments  clad. 
Shamash  "'  went  to  Sin,  his  father,  weeping, 
In  the  presence  of  Ea,  the  king,  he  went  with  flowing  tears. 
*  Ishtar  has  descended  into  the  earth  and  has  not  come  up. 
The  bull  does  not  mount  the  cow,  the  ass  does  not  approach  the 

she-ass. 
The  man  does  not  approach  the  maid  in  the  street, 
The  man  sleeps  in  his  apartment, 
The  maid  sleeps  by  herself.* 
Ea  in  the  wisdom  of  his  heart  formed  a  being,10* 
He  formed  Asu-shu-namir,101  the  eunuch. 
'Go,  Asu-shu-namir,  to  the  land  of  no  return  direct  thy  face  i 
The  seven  gates  of  the  land  without  return  be  opened  before  thee, 

101  i.e,f  the  sun-god. 
1M^tftrK,"amale." 

,M  The  name  signifies  MHis  exit  is  resplendent" — clearly  a 
tymbolical  allusion  to  the  rising  sun  of  the  springtime. 


BABYIjOXIA  axd 


kedr.ietdsi 
ero«*«fiL' 


tm 


loftbegsstessoftfeecxtTsetay 
i  of  the  eity  be  thy  drisfc, 
r  of  the  wall  be  thy  abode, 

ifcethrdweaisgflsri; 


To  N  tartar,  he 
•Go,  Xamtar,  knock  at  the 
Strike  the  threshold  of 
Brio*  oat  the  ArimmaJri,  i 
Sprinkle  Ufa  tar  with  the 


fern    a*  ***%»*■**»* 

ten  of  life  and  take  her  out 


The  gods  at  the  mrtanre  of  Ea  dins  form  a  plan  to  re- 
lease Ishtar,  demanding  of  Ereshkigal  to  give  the  mes- 
senger of  Ea,  the  eunuch  Asu-shu-namir,  the  skin  ( t) 
out  of  which  he  is  to  drink,  and  thus  to  secure  the  power 
to  fetch  Ishtar  out  of  the  nether  world.  Ereshkigal  sees 
through  the  strategy,  and  in  her  rage  curses  Asu-shu- 
namir,  but,  nevertheless,  realizing  that  Ishtar  must  be 
released  proceeds  to  do  so  of  her  own  free  will  and  in 
her  own  way,  by  asking  the  messenger  Xamtar  to 
sprinkle  the  goddess  with  water  of  life,  that  when  thus 
filled  with  new  vigor,  Ishtar  may  pass  through  the 
seven  gates  encompassing  the  palace  of  the  nether  world 

■*  An  obscure  word — perhaps  the  name  of  some  kind  of  a  bag, 
made  of  akin,  containing  the  waters  of  life, 

"'  Le.,  the  lowest  of  the  low  show  their  contempt  for  thee. 

*••  Or  "the  just  palace "  where  the  Anunnaki,  the  minor  group 
of  gods,  dwell,  acting  as  judges  of  the  dead. 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  459 

and  at  each  gate  receive  back  the  ornaments  and  gar- 
ments that  she  was  obliged  to  leave  there.  The  gradual 
resuscitation  of  nature  after  the  imprisonment  is  thus 
symbolized,  until  when  the  last  gate  is  passed,  Ishtar 
emerges  into  the  world  in  all  her  beauty  and  glory.  The 
poem  continues  as  follows : 

"Namtar  went,  knocked  at  the  strong  palace, 
Tapped  on  the  threshold  of  precious  stones. 
He  brought  out  the  Anunnaki  and  placed  them  on  golden  thrones, 
He  sprinkled  Ishtar  with  the  waters  of  life  and  took  hold  of  her. 
Through  the  first  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  her  loin 

cloth. 
Through  the  second  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  the 

spangles  of  her  hands  and  feet. 
Through  the  third  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  the 

girdle  of  her  body,  studded  with  birth-stones. 
Through  the  fourth  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  the 

ornaments  of  her  breast. 
Through  the  fifth  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  her 

necklace. 
Through  the  sixth  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her  her 

ear-rings. 
Through  the  seventh  gate  he  led  her  out  and  returned  to  her 

the  large  crown  for  her  head.1' 

The  following  lines  are  in  the  form  of  an  address — 
apparently  to  some  one  who  has  sought  release  for  a 
dear  one  from  the  portals  of  the  lower  world. 

"  'If  she  (sc.  Ishtar)  will  not  grant  thee  her  release,107 
To  Tammuz,  the  lover  of  her  youth,108 
Pour  out  pure  waters,  (pour  out)  fine  oil ; 
With  a  festival  garment  deck  him 109  that  he  may  play  on  the  flute 
of  lapis  lazuli, 

107  i.e.f  the  release  of  the  loved  one  through  the  mediation  of 
Ishtar. 

108  %.e.,  Ishtar 's  lover. 

108  t.e.,  deck  Tammuz  *s  statue  with  a  festival  garment 


460 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


That  the  votaries  no  (may  cheer)  his  liver."1  ' 

Belili112  had  (gathered)  the  treasure, 

With  precious  stones  filled  her  bosom ( T). 

When  Belili  heard  the  lament  of  her  brother,  (she  dropped  [f]) 

her  treasure, 
She  scattered  the  precious  stones  (before  her[f]). 
'O  my  only  brother  do  not  let  me  perish! 
On  the  day  when  Tammuz  plays  for  me  on  the  flute  of  lapis  If 

playing  it  for  me  with  the  porphyry  ring. 
Together  with  him,  play  ye  for  me,  ye  weepers  and  lamenting 

women ! n* 
That  the  dead  may  rise  up  and  inhale  the  incense. '  ' ' 

The  closing  lines  are  obscure.  We  lack  the  key  to 
their  interpretation,  but  it  is  a  plausible  conjecture  that 
the  poem,  composed  for  and  perhaps  sung  at  the  ft 
val  of  Tammuz,  when,  as  the  prophet  Ezekiel  (8,  14  ) 
tells  us,  it  was  the  custom  of  women  to  wail  for  the  lost 
Tammuz,  closed  with  instructions  to  those  who  in  com- 
memorating the  departure  of  Tammuz  thought  of  their 
own  dead,  who  like  Ishtar  "had  gone  to  the  land  of  no 
return/'  to  turn  in  prayer  to  Tammuz,  pour  out  liba- 
tions of  pure  water  and  oil  to  him,  honor  him  that  he 
may  at  least  regale  the  dead  by  letting  them  hear  the 
sound  of  his  magic  flute.  There  is  a  reference  here  to 
some  rite  on  Tammuz  day — which  was  also  a  time  of 
commemorating  the  dead  in  general.  Perhaps  the  six 
lines  beginning  with  "Belili"  represent  a  Tammuz  lam- 
entation of  which  we  have  quite  a  number,114  to  be  sung 
at  the  Tammuz  festival,  with  the  last  line  as  expressing 
the  hope  that  the  dead  will  be  for  a  time  at  least  re- 

110  Shamkhate,  one  of  the  class  of  votaries,  attached  to  the  Ishtar 
cult.    See  above,  p.  307. 

111  i.e.,  his  spirit. 

113  Sister  of  Tammuz. 

111  The  professional  mourners  who  sing  the  lament  for  the  dead, 
to  the  accompaniment  of  musical  instruments. 

114 See  Ziramern,  Sumerisch-Bahylonische  Tammuzlktkr  {Be- 
richte  der  Phil.  Hist.  Klasse  der  Kgl.  Saechs.  Akad.,  d.  Wiss.t  vol. 
lix,pp  201-252). 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  461 

vivified  by  the  song  and  by  the  incense.  If  this  interpre- 
tation is  justified,  the  poem  would  thus  hold  out  a  faint 
hope  for  some  joys  for  the  unhappy  dead  in  their  dark 
and  gloomy  prison, 

►  IV 

"Eat,  Drink  and  be  Merry ' ■ 
Gilgamesh  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings  to  seek 
healing  from  a  fatal  disease  with  which  he  has  been 
smitten  by  the  goddess  Ishtar  m  comes  to  a  maiden, 
Sabitu,110  pictured  as  dwelling  by  the  sea.  In  the  tenth 
tablet  of  the  Epic  he  is  described  as  arriving  at  the  sea 
with  "his  strength  exhausted  and  his  countenance 
f  alien/ '  Sabitu  asks  him  as  to  the  cause  of  his  dejec- 
tion, and  in  reply  Gilgamesh  speaks  of  his  exploits  with 
Enkidu,  how  they  together  overcame  the  tyrant  Khum- 
baba,  and  how  they  offended  Ishtar  by  killing  the  divine 
bull,117  and  how  in  revenge  Enkidu  had  been  snatched 
away,  while  Gilgamesh  himself  is  obliged  to  go  in 

I  search  of  life,  which  he  feels  to  be  ebbing  away.  Ac- 
cording to  one  version,  Gilgamesh  addresses  Sabitu  as 
follows:11* 

115  See  above,  p.  444,  seq.  It  is  Gilgamesh,  the  personification  of 
the  sun-god,  who  thus  appears  in  the  role  of  Tammuz  stricken  by 
Ishtar,  the  goddess  of  vegetation ;  he  is  the  waning  sun,  approaching 
the  period  when  nature  lies  down  to  winter *s  sleep. 

111  Sabitu  appears  to  be  an  appellative,  perhaps  ' ( the  maid  of 
Sabu";  another  name  is  Siduri,  which  likewise  has  the  force  of 
'maid."  The  locality  described  in  Sabitu  is  regarded  by  some 
cholars  as  southern  Arabia. 

118  This  address  and  Sabitu 's  answer  are  found  in  a  fragment, 
of  Mithraism.    See  Cumont,  Mysteries  of  Mithra  (Chicago,  1910). 

"•  This  address  and  Sabitu 's  answer  is  found  in  a  fragment, 
dating  from  the  Haramurapi  period  (c.  2100  B.  C.)  published  by 
Meissner,  Ein  Altbabylomsches  Fragment  des  Gilgameschepos  (Mit- 
teilungen  der  Vorderasiatischen  Gessellschaft  VII,  No.  1,  Leipzig, 
1902),  In  this  version  both  the  name  of  Gilgamesh  and  of  his 
companion  are  written  in  different  fashion  from  the  forms  in  which 
they  appear  in  the  main  version. 


462  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

"Enkidu11*  whom  I  deeply  loved, 
Who  with  me  undertook  all  kinds  of  different  (tasks), 
Has  gone  to  the  fate  of  mankind, 
Day  and  night  I  weep  for  him, 
I  did  not  (want  to)  destine  him  for  the  grave. 
A  god  saw  (him)  and  came  at  my  cry,120 
Seven  days  and  seven  nights, 
Like  a  worm  he  lay  on  his  face, 
After  which  he  was  no  more, 

(And)  I  like  a  vagabond  wander  about  in  the  wilderness. 
Now  that  I  see  thy  face,  0  Sabitu, 
The  death  that  I  feared  I  do  not  see."1-1 

Gilgamesh 's  hope  is  revived  for  the  moment,  no\ 
that  he  has  at  last  reached  the  dwelling-place  of  Sabitu, 
from  whom  he  expects  aid  and  consolation.     He 
doomed  to  disappointment. 

4 '  Sabitu  speaks  to  him,  to  Gilgamesh. 

*0  Gilgamesh,  why  dost  thou  run  in  all  directions! 

The  life  that  thou  seekest  thou  wilt  not  find. 
-  When  the  gods  created  mankind, 

They  determined  death  for  mankind ; 

Life  they  kept  in  their  hands. 

Thou,  O  Gilgamesh,  fill  thy  belly, 

Day  and  night  be  thou  merry. 

Daily  arrange  a  merry -making, 

Day  and  night  be  joyous  and  content ! 

Let  thy  garments  be  pure,1" 


1J»Enkidu  is  stricken,  and  despite  Gilgamesh 's  hope  that 
friend  may  not  be  taken  away  and  his  appeal  to  a  god,  the  friend 
languishes  for  a  week  and  then  dies. 

110  i.e.,  "at  my  appeal, "  but  though  the  god  comes,  he  affords  no 
help. 

181  According  to  the  main  version  of  the  Epic  in  the  form  as 
found  in  the  fragments  of  Ashurbanapal's  library,  Gilgamesh  asks 
Sabitu  to  help  him  sail  across  the  sea  in  order  to  reach  Utnapishtim. 

1M  Clean  garments  are  a  sign  of  joy,  as  soiled  garments  (above, 
p.  457)  are  a  symbol  of  mourning. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATUEE  463 

Thy  head  be  washed,  wash  thyself  with  water ! 
Regard  the  little  one  "*  who  takes  hold  of  thy  hand, 
Enjoy  the  wife  (lying)  in  thy  bosom. '  " 

The  advice  is  not  unlike  some  of  the  utterances  in 
the  Biblical  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  the  resemblance  ex- 
tending even  to  a  similarity  of  phrases,  as,  for 
example,124 

"Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine  with  a 
merry  heart.  Let  thy  garments  be  always  white,  let  thy  head  not 
lack  ointment.    Live  joyfully  with  the  wife  whom  thou  lovest." 

It  was  a  natural  philosophy  of  life  for  a  people  who 
looked  forward  not  to  extinction  of  life  as  the  Nirvana 
of  Buddha,  but  to  a  continuation  of  consciousness  after 
death  under  most  depressing  conditions — imprisoned 
in  a  dark  and  gloomy  cave,  there  to  lie  forever  deprived 
of  all  activity  and  of  all  joys.  Despite  this  material- 
istic view — or  perhaps  in  consequence  of  it — the  Baby- 
lonians and  Assyrians  did  not  fail  to  emphasize  also  the 
higher  aspects  of  life,  duties  towards  one's  fellows,  a 
proper  consideration  for  the  weak  and  helpless;  and 
from  this  level  they  rose  still  higher  to  an  appreciation 
of  such  virtues  as  purity  of  heart,  self-restraint  in 
anger,  and  the  obligations  of  piety.125  It  may  be  proper 
to  add,  by  way  of  illustration,  a  specimen  from  a  col- 
lection of  moral  maxims  of  which  we  have  a  number  in 
the  library  of  Ashurbanapal. 

1,8  i.e.,  your  child. 

124  Ecc.  9,  7-9. 

125  See  further  Jastrow,  Aspects  of  Religious  Belief  and  Practice 
in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (New  York,  1911),  p.  375  seq;  and  on 
the  relation  between  Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Ethics,  the  author's 
Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Traditions  (New  York,  1914),  Chapter  V. 


466 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


The  same  Gudea  prays  to  Ban,188  the  consort  of 
Ningirsu,  as  follows : 138 
"O  my  queen,  daughter  of  the  shining  heaven,140 

"Who  gives  proper  counsel,  who  occupies  the  first  rank  in  heaven, 

Who  grants  life  to  the  land, 

Thou  art  the  queen,  the  mother  who  has  established  Lagash  ; 

The  people  on  whom  thou  lookest  is  rich  in  power, 

The  worshipper  on  whom  thou  lookest — his  life  is  prolonged. 

I  have  no  mother — thou  art  my  mother, 

I  have  no  father — thou  art  my  father. 

My  father  .    .    .   in  a  holy  place  thou  hast  produced  me, 

My  goddess  Bau  thou  knowest  what  is  good. 

Thou  hast  given  me  the  breath  of  life, 

Under  the  protection  of  my  mother,  in  thy  shadow  I  will  rever- 
ently dwell." 

Particularly  impressive  are  the  prayers  attached  to 
the  inscriptions  of  the  Neo-Babylonian  rulers,  Nebopol- 
assar  and  his  son  Nebuchadnezzar.  On  the  completion  of 
Ms  palace  in  Babylon  the  latter  prays  to  Marduk,  god 
of  Babylon  and  head  of  the  pantheon,  as  follows:141 

"As  my  precious  life,  do  I  love  thy  sublime  appearance!  Out- 
side of  thy  city  Babylon,  I  have  not  selected  among  all  settlements 
any  dwelling.  Since  I  love  the  fear  of  thy  divinity,  and  am 
zealous  for  thy  rule,  be  gracious  to  my  prayer,  hear  my  appeal, 
for  I  am  the  King  who  adorns  thee  (i.e.t  thy  temple),  who  rejoices 
thy  heart,  the  thoughtful  governor  who  beautifies  all  thy  settle- 
ments. At  thy  command,  0  merciful  Marduk,  may  the  house  that 
I  have  built  endure  forever,  may  I  be  satiated  with  its  splendor, 
attain  old  age  therein,  with  abundant  offspring,  and  receive  there- 
in tribute  of  the  kings  of  all  regions,  from  all  mankind. 


'"  He  addresses  her  as  Ga-tum-dug.     See  above,  p.  466,  and 
PI.  XLII,  Fig.  3. 

m  Thureau-Dangin  ib,  p.  02-93. 

140  i.e.t  as  the  consort  of  the  sun-god,  Bau  is  also  the  daughter  of 
Anu,  the  god  of  heaven. 

141  Rawlinson,  I,  PI.  58,  Col.  IX,  47-X,  19.    The  opening  lines 
are  similar  to  the  prayer  translated  above,  p.  216. 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE 


4(57 


On  his  completion  of  the  temple  at  Sippar,  the  same 
king  dedicates  the  edifice  by  a  prayer  to  Shamash,  the 
sun-god,ua  who,  it  will  be  recalled,"8  is  preeminently 
the  god  of  justice  and  righteousness. 

"0  Shamash,  great  lord,  on  entering  joyfully  thy  brilliant1** 
temple,  E-barra,  look  on  my  precious  handiwork!  Thy  lips  pro- 
claim grace  for  me !  By  thy  just  u*  command,  may  I  have  plenty 
of  offspring.  Grant  me  a  life  of  long  days  and  a  firm  throne. 
May  my  rule1**  stretch  out  into  eternity,  with  a  just  sceptre, 
with  good  rule.  Adorn  my  kingdom  forever  with  a  legitimate 
staff  of  authority,  bringing  salvation  to  mankind.  Protect  my 
troops  with  strong  weapons  against  the  attack.  Answer  me 
aright,  O  Shamash,  through  thy  judicial  decision  and  oracle. 
At  thy  supreme,  unchangeable  command,  may  my  sharp  weapons 
advance  and  overcome  the  weapons  of  my  enemies." 

It  was  usually  at  the  close  of  their  inscriptions  that 
the  rulers  added  these  appeals  to  grant  long  life,  hap- 
piness and  plenty  of  offspring;  and  the  custom  was 
continued  by  the  Persian  and  Greek  rulers  whose 
prayers  are  modelled  on  those  of  the  Neo-Babylonian 
rulers,  with  merely  slight  variations.  Somewhat  more 
original  are  the  prayers  of  Assyrian  rulers,  though  here, 
too,  conventionality  leads  to  certain  phrases  which  one 
ruler  copies  from  the  other. 

Esarbaddon,  the  king  of  Assyria  (680-669  B.C.),  to- 
wards the  close  of  a  long  inscription  setting  forth  his 
activity  as  a  builder  and  restorer  of  temples  and  palaces 
in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  inserts  a  long  prayer  ad- 
dressed to  all  his  gods :  UT 

l**Ball,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology, 
Vol.  ii,  p.  127,  Col.  II ;  32-111,  30. 

1#a  Above,  p.  203. 

1#*  With  a  play  on  E-barra,  which  signifies  the  "brilliant  house." 

ltfiNote  the  constant  play  throughout  the  prayer  on  "justice," 
'right"  etc.  as  the  attributes  of  Shamash. 

H,u.,  my  dynasty. 

**T  Meissner-Rost,  BauinschHfien  Asarhaddon's  (Beitrage  zur 
Assyriologie,  III,  p.  253.) 


468 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"May  the  gods,  my  helpers,  look  joyfully  on  my  pious  works  and  in 
the  fidelity  of  their  heart  bless  the  kingdom.  May  my  priestly 
seed  14B  prevail  forever  as  the  foundation  of  E-sagila  and  of 
Babylon.  May  the  kingdom  be  beneficial  to  mankind  like  the 
plant  of  life !  **9  May  I  rule  the  people  according  to  law  and 
justice!  May  I  attain  a  ripe  old  age,  have  offspring,  be  satiated 
with  a  fulness  of  life,  with  days  well  filled  I  May  I  extend  my 
family,  gather  a  large  household  and  spread  my  posterity,  may 
the  offshoot  flourish !  May  the  foundation  of  my  priestly  throne 
be  as  firm  as  a  rock  I  May  my  rule  stand  like  heaven  and  earth ! 
In  joy  and  jubilation,  in  happiness,  with  beaming  countenance 
and  in  cheerfulness  may  I  daily  wander!  A  kind  fate,  a  favor- 
able fortune  accompany  me  during  my  rule,  protecting  my  priestly 
ranki  "n» 

Of  a  more  direct  and  specific  character  is  a  prayer 
of  his  successor,  King  Ashurbanapal  (668-626  B.C.), 
who  in  the  course  of  his  campaign  against  an  inveterate 
enemy,  Teuninian,  king  of  Elam,  who  gave  Assyria  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,131  appeals  to  the  goddess  Ishtar 
for  victory  over  Teumman.  The  mighty  king  humbles 
himself  before  his  gods,  realizing  that  without  their 
help  no  battle  can  be  won,  no  victory  gained.  At  the 
same  time  the  king  voices  his  bitterness  against  his 
enemy  and  makes  the  direct  appeal  to  the  goddess  to 
crush  Teumman.162 

"0  lady  of  Arbela!10"  I  am  Ashurbanapal,  the  king  of  Assyria, 
the  creature  of  thy  hands,  (called  by)  the  father  who  produced 


148  $.e,,  his  family.  The  kings  of  Assyria  originally  were  priesta 
of  Ashur  and  retain  priestly  functions  through  all  periods  of  the 
kingdom. 

148  A  play  upon  Babylon  which  is  often  designated  as  the  * 4  abode 
of  life." 

160  The  king  thus  indicates  his  double  status  as  secular  chief 
and  as  priest, 

161  See  above,  p.  179  and  p.  406,  seq.,  and  the  illustration,  Plate 
LXI,  Fig.  2. 

183  Cylinder  B.  Col.  V,  3(M9  (Geo.  Smith,  History  of  Assur- 
banapal,  pp.  120-122), 

m  One  of  the  titles  of  Ishtar. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


469 


thee,"*  to  renew  the  templea  of  Assyria  and  to  build  up  the 
cities  of  Babylonia.  (In  humility  [f])  have  I  directed  my 
thoughts  towards  thy  holy  sites,  concerned  for  the  honor  (of  thy 
divinity),  whereas  this  Teumman,  the  king  of  Elam,  who  does 
not  honor  the  gods  (vilifies  me  [f]).1M  But  I  (appeal  to  thee), 
thou  goddess  of  goddesses,  queen  of  battle,  lady  of  battles,  princess 
of  the  gods  ...  to  intercede  for  me  with  Ashur,  the  father 
who  produced  thee,  (for  Teumman)  has  put  his  host  in  array 
for  battle,  has  gathered  his  weapons  to  proceed  to  Assyria.  Thou, 
warrior  among  the  gods  like  a  .  .  .  drive  against  him  in  the 
midst  of  battle  and  destroy  him  by  a  mighty  storm,  an  evil  wind/* 

VII 

Penitential  Psalms 

The  deep  emotions  aroused  through  the  current  be- 
liefs regarding  the  relationship  between  gods  and  wor- 
shippers receive  an  impressive  illustration  in  a  class  of 
prayers  in  which  the  sense  of  human  weakness  and  the 
confession  of  guilt  find  an  expression.  While  the  con- 
ception of  sin  never  rose  beyond  the  point  of  one's  be- 
coming conscious  of  a  wrong  committed  through  some 
misfortune,  affecting  the  country  or  the  individual, 
yet  within  this  limit  we  find  the  spirit  of  contriteness 
touchingly  brought  out,  and  the  appeal  to  the  angered 
god  or  goddess  as  eloquently  made  as  in  the  finest  of  the 
Biblical  Psalms,  While  the  penitent  in  the  specimens 
at  our  disposal 1M  is  in  most  if  not  in  all  cases  the  king 
speaking  at  times  for  himself  and  at  times  for  the 
whole  people  of  which  he  is  the  representative,  stand- 
ing close  to  the  gods  by  virtue  of  his  august  position, 
this  is  due  in  part  to  the  accident  of  the  provenance  of 

"*  The  god  Ashur. 

166  Text  defective.  From  another  passage  we  know  that  Teum- 
man called  Ashurbanapal  "insane/'  \.e.t  one  possessed  by  a  demon, 
which  was  a  bitter  insult. 

158  See  translations  of  most  of  them  in  Jastrow,  Religion  Baby- 
loniens  und  Assyrians,  II,  pp.  75-116.  See  also  above,  p.  194,  seq., 
and  234  seq. 


470 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


the  material  from  the  official  archives  of  the  temple  or 
the  palace.  To  be  sure,  worship  in  Babylonia  and  As- 
syria always  partook  largely  of  an  official  state  char- 
acter, but  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  plenty  of  evidence 
that  the  needs  of  the  individual  were  also  considered. 
In  general,  it  was  in  the  case  of  public  misfortune — a 
defeat,  a  pestilence,  the  failure  of  crops  or  devastation 
through  storms— that  the  anger  of  the  gods  was  felt. 
For  all  that,  the  form  of  expression  even  on  such  oc- 
casions is  often  distinctly  personal,  and  we  are  per- 
mitted to  conclude  that  the  individual  likewise,  when 
through  illness  or  through  some  misfortune  he  became 
conscious  of  the  divine  anger,  repaired  to  the  temple 
to  ascertain,  perhaps  through  some  form  of  divina- 
tion, what  god  he  had  offended.  There  with  the  aid  of 
the  priest  and  with  appropriate  ceremonies  he  would 
seek  to  purify  himself  from  sin  and  secure  divine  for- 
giveness. The  sin  itself  may  have  been  a  real  trans- 
gression 01  a  ceremonial  omission  or  mishap.  No  dis- 
tinction was  drawn  down  to  the  latest  periods  between 
the  two  kinds  of  guilt,  but  with  due  recognition,  like- 
wise, of  this  limitation,  the  intensity  of  the  emotions 
aroused  by  the  sense  of  guilt  is  in  no  way  affected.  The 
priest  acts  in  these  outpourings  of  the  penitents  as  the 
mediator,  bringing  the  appeal  to  the  gods  and  empha- 
sizing it  by  his  own  endorsement  of  it.  In  most  of  the 
specimens,  therefore,  the  penitent  and  priest  are  intro- 
duced alternately.  So,  for  example,  in  the  following 
psalm  addressed  to  a  goddess.107 

Penitent. 
"  (Look  graciously)  on  the  prostration  of  living  beings  I 

( I ) ,  thy  servant,  full  of  sighs  cry  to  thee. 

The  appeal  of  him  who  has  sinned,  do  thou  accept ! 

If  thou  lookest  on  a  man,  that  man  lives, 

0  almighty  lady  of  mankind, 

Merciful  one  to  whom  it  is  good  to  turn,  accept  my  petition ! 

™  Rawlinson,  IVa,  2«#»,  No.  5. 


SPECIMENS  OP  UTEEATTJRE  471 

Priest. 
"Because  his  god  and  his  goddess1"  are 

Angry  with  him,  he  cries  to  thee. 

(Turn  thy  countenance  to  him) ,  take  hold  of  his  hand  I " 

Penitent. 
"Except  thee,  there  is  no  guiding  deity, 

Faithfully  look  on  me,  accept  my  petition, 

Speak  'Atonement  is  granted,'  may  thy  liver  be  assuaged! 

How  long  yet,  0  my  lady !   Turn  thy  countenance  to  me ! 

As  a  dove  I  moan,  satiated  with  sighs. " 

Priest. 

"With  woe  and  pain,  his  spirit  is  full  of  sighs, 
Tears  he  weeps,  he  breaks  forth  in  lament." 

In  another  composition  of  this  character,  the  priest 
as  mediator  sets  forth  in  detail  the  sufferings  of  the 
penitent,  who  appears  to  have  been  stricken  with  a  pain- 
ful disease.169 

Priest. 

"  (Loosen)  his  fetters,  release  his  bonds, 
(In  mercy  [  T] )  look  on  the  one  bound ! 

(His  heart  is  full  of)  misery  and  (woe). 

Sickness,  suffering,  misery  and  distress, 

Which  have  befallen  him  have  weakened  his  sighing. 

Those  "°  who  have  overcome  him  have  silenced  his  plaint 

He  has  sinned  and  weeps  bitterly  before  thee. 

His  spirit iei  is  depressed,  he  is  consumed  before  thee. 

1M  The  priest  often  refers  thus  indefinitely  to  a  god  or  goddess 
who  has  shown  his  or  her  disfavor.  Usually  the  special  protecting 
deity  of  the  individual  is  meant.  At  times,  however,  the  indefinite- 
ness  indicates  an  uncertainty  as  to  which  one  of  the  deities  has  been 
offended. 

"•  Rawlinson,  IV1,  PI.  54,  No.  1. 

1M  The  demons  of  sickness,  etc.,  have  so  weakened  him  that  he  is 
no  longer  able  to  voice  his  complaint. 

1W Literally  "his  liver.' ' 


472  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Overpowered  by  tears  that  stream  like  a  rainstorm. 

Entirely  overcome  he  site  as  one  no  longer  living. 

Like  a  mourner  he  breaks  forth  in  lamentation, 

By  imploring  he  manifests  his  misery. 

What  has  my  lord  deeided  and  planned  in  regard  to  his  servant? 

May  his t0i  mouth  proclaim  what  I  do  not  know. ' ' 

Penitent. 

"Many  are  my  sins  which  I  have  committed, 
May  I  escape  this  (misfortune),  may  I  he  rescued  from  this  dis- 
tress!" 

Priest. 

"May  the  (sin  and)  misdeed  be  covered  up  .    .    . 
With  distorted  countenance,  robbed  of  light,  he  is  utterly  crushed. 
Because  of  thy  misdeed  thy  hands  are  tied, 
Whether  he  will  release  thee,  I  do  not  know." 

The  penitent  sinner  is  compared  to  one  languish- 
ing in  prison,  tied  hand  and  foot,  deprived  of  light. 
We  may  assume  that  accompanying  the  prayer  were 
some  exorcising  rites  to  drive  out  the  evil  demons  that 
had  taken  possession  of  him.  The  inquiry  of  the  god, 
through  some  process  of  divination,  to  ascertain 
whether  the  sufferer  will  be  relieved,  appears  to  have 
led  to  a  doubtful  answer;  and,  accordingly,  we  find  the 
priest  proceeding  to  a  second  appeal,  again  with  certain 
rites  and  accompanied  presumably  by  a  further  inquiry. 

Not  infrequently  the  penitent  asserts  that  he  is  not 
aware  of  the  deed  for  which  he  has  been  punished,  nor 
what  god  or  goddess  he  has  offended.  Misfortune  or 
sickness,  however,  has  come,  with  the  inevitable  con- 
clusion that  some  god  is  angry  for  some  wrong — cere- 
monial or  ethical — committed.  So  in  the  course  of  a 
lamentation  psahn,ie8  too  long  to  quote  in  full,  the  peni- 
tent exclaims: 

"'I.e.,  the  god's. 

1H  Bawlinson,  IV2,  PL  10, 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATUEE  473 

4 'The  transgression  that  I  have  committed,  I  know  not, 

The  sin  that  I  have  committed  I  know  not, 

The  unclean  that  I  have  eaten  I  know  not, 

The  impure  on  which  I  have  trodden  I  know  not ; 

The  lord  in  the  anger  of  his  heart  has  looked  on  me, 

The  god  in  the  wrath  of  his  heart  has  encircled  me ; 

The  goddess  who  is  angry  against  me  has  made  me  like  one  dis- 
eased.1** 

A  god,  whoever  he  may  be,in  has  oppressed  me, 

A  goddess,  whoever  she  may  be,  has  brought  misery  on  me. 

I  sought  for  help,  but  no  one  took  me  by  the  hand ; 

I  cried  but  no  one  approached  my  side  *, 

I  broke  forth  in  cries,  but  no  one  heard  me. 

Full  of  grief  I  am  overpowered,  I  dare  not  look  up. 

To  my  merciful  god,1M  I  turn,  imploringly, 

The  feet  of  my  goddess  I  kiss,  I  touch ; 

To  the  god,  whoever  he  may  be,  (I  turn  imploringly). 

0  lord,  (turn  thy  countenance  to  me,  accept  my  petition) ! 

O  goddess,  (look  in  mercy  on  me,  accept  my  petition) ! 

God,  whoever  he  may  be,  (turn  thy  countenance  to  me,  accept  my 
petition) ! 

Goddess,  (whoever  she  may  be),  look  in  mercy  on  me,  accept  my 
petition  I 

How  long  yet,  0  my  god ! — may  thy  heart  be  assuaged ! 

How  long  yet,  0  my  goddess — may  thy  liver  be  quieted ! 

God,  whoever  he  may  be, — may  the  wrath  of  thy  heart  return  to 
its  place  1 

Goddess,  whoever  she  may  be, — may  thy  hostile  heart  return  to 
its  place!" 

The  penitent  closes  with  some  general  reflections  on 
the  stubbornness  and  senselessness  of  mankind. 

"Mankind  is  stubborn,  no  one  has  understanding, 
As  many  as  there  are — who  knows  anything  ? 
Whether  they  do  shameful  acts  or  good  ones — no  one  has  under- 
standing. 
0  lord,  do  not  cast  thy  servant 

194 1.e,9  like  one  possessed  by  a  demon  of  sickness. 

1W  Literally  "known  or  unknown." 

"'  The  penitent  turns  to  his  special  protecting  god  and  goddess. 


474 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYEIA 


Into  the  waters  of  the  marsh  I    Take  hold  of  his  hand ! 

The  sin  that  I  may  have  committed,  turn  to  grace ! 

The  transgression  that  I  may  have  committed, 

May  the  wind  carry  off. 

Tear  assunder  my  many  misdeeds  like  a  garment ! 

O  my  god,  my  transgressions  are  seven  times  seven,1*7  forgive  my 

transgressions. 
O  my  goddess,  my  transgressions  are  seven  times  seven,  forgive 

my  transgressions! 
O  god,  whoever  he  may  be,  my  transgressions  are  seven  times 

seven,  forgive  me  my  transgressions  I 
0  goddess,  whoever  she  may  be,  my  transgressions  are  seven  times 

seven,  forgive  me  my  transgressions ! 
Forgive  my  transgressions  that  I  may  in  humility  serve  thee ! 
May  thy  heart  like  the  heart  of  a  mother  return  to  its  place !  **s 
Like  the  heart  of  a  mother  who  has  given  birth,  (the  heart  of) 

father  who  has  begotten — return  to  its  place!" 


VIII 

The  Pious  Sufferer 

The  sense  of  guilt  as  expressed  in  the  penitential 
laments  leads  naturally  to  the  problem  as  to  the  cause  of 
suffering  in  this  world  endured  by  those  who  are  not 
conscious  of  any  wrong-doing.  We  have  seen  how  the 
penitent  himself  confesses  at  times  that  he  does  not 
know  what  deity  he  has  offended,  which  implies  that  he 
also  does  not  know  wherein  his  guilt  consists.  The 
impossibility  of  fathoming  the  ways  of  the  gods  is  sug- 
gested in  the  frequent  outburst  of  despair  "how  long, 
how  long  yet,  O  lord,"  introduced  at  times  like  a  refrain 
in  the  appeal  for  forgiveness  and  release,  as  well  as  in 
such  utterances  that  no  one  really  has  certain  knowl- 
edge^— "no  one  has  understanding."169  This  thought 
carried  further  leads  to  a  doubt  whether  the  gods  have 
the  same  standards  as  prevail  in  human  society.    At 

l*7  i.e.t  are  very  many. 

1,8  i.e.,  be  as  before,  reconciled  and  gracious. 

"■  Above,  p,  473. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


475 


least  the  question  is  raised,  and  in  the  face  of  the  fact,  too 
evident  to  be  concealed,  that  the  wicked  often  flourish 
in  this  world,  whereas  those  who  lead  blameless  lives  are 
weighed  down  with  sickness,  distress,  and  misfortune 
of  all  kinds,  there  must  have  been  many  a  thinker  who 
straggled  with  the  problem  that  lies  at  the  basis  of  the 
Biblical  Book  of  Job — the  reason  for  the  existence  of 
evil  in  a  world  controlled  by  powers  who  are  supposed 
to  be  kindly  disposed.  The  pious  Babylonian  had  an 
answer  ready  at  hand.  The  gods  were  kind  and  gracious 
as  long  as  one  did  not  offeud  them,  but  there  were  the 
demons  lurking  everywhere,  ready  to  pounce  on  their 
victims  unawares — particularly  the  demons  of  the  vari- 
ous diseases  that  destroy  one 's  vitality.  But  the  further 
question  would  still  arise— why  do  the  gods,  superior 
to  the  demons,  allow  the  latter  to  maim  at  will  and  strike 
the  guilty  and  guiltless  alike,  and  why  are  those  whose 
wickedness  is  apparent  permitted  to  escape? 

The  tragedy  of  life,  with  its  woes  and  hardships,  and 
the  impossibility  of  penetrating  the  mysteries  of  the 
universe,  are  brought  out  with  considerable  force  in  a 
composition,  Babylonian  in  origin,  which  has  come 
down  to  us  in  several  fragments  from  the  library  of 
Ashurbanapal  and  from  the  literary  section  of  the 
temple  at  Sippar*1™  The  poem,  for  such  it  is,  is  in  the 
form  of  a  lament  of  an  individual  Tabi-utul-Enlil,  whose 
home  is  Nippur  and  who  appears  to  have  been  a  ruler  in 

m  The  popularity  of  this  valuable  composition  is  indicated 
by  portions  of  no  less  than  three  copies  that  we  have  of  the 
text  among  the  fragments  of  Ashurbanapars  library  published, 
Rawlinson,  IV  (2d  ed.)r  PL  60,  as  well  as  a  commentary  to  the  text, 
Rawlinson,  V,  PL  47,  explaining  certain  terms  and  phrases.  Two 
fragments  were  also  found  at  Sippar  for  the  publication  of  which,  as 
well  as  for  further  details,  see  Jastrow,  "A  Babylonian  Parallel  to 
Story  of  Job"  { Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  Vol.  XXV,  pp.  135- 
191)  ;  Martin,  MLe  Juste  Souffrant  Babylonien*'  {Journal  Asiatique, 
July-August,  1910}  and  Landersdorffer,  Einc  Babylonische  Quelle 
fur  das  Buck  Hiobf  (Freiburg,  1911). 


476 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


that  place.171  He  speaks  of  himself  as  obedient  to  the 
gods,  concerned  for  his  salvation,  careful  in  his  doings, 
and  yet,  despite  all  this,  he  has  been  smitten  with  painful 
disease  affecting  every  part  of  his  body,  for  which  he 
can  find  no  relief,  and  the  cause  of  which  he  has  been 
able  to  ascertain.  He  is  not  conscious  of  guilt,  and 
priests  to  whom  he  applied  offered  neither  help  nc 
consolation.  The  stoiy  is  made  the  occasion  of  phiic 
sophical  reflections  on  the  fate  of  man,  on  his  helples 
ness  in  suffering  and  his  weakness  in  combating  the  il 
to  which  human  flesh  is  heir.  These  reflections  cons 
tute  the  value  of  the  composition,  and  give  it  an  excej 
tional  place  among  the  productions  of  Babylonia 
literature.  Unfortunately  it  is  only  preserved  in  pai 
It  consisted  of  four  tablets  of  approximately  120  line 
each,  but  of  the  total  only  about  one-third  are  preserve 
and  many  of  these  lines  are  imperfect.  Fortunately 
by  a  careful  study  it  is  possible  to  follow  the  genei 
course  of  the  composition.  The  preserved  portioj 
moreover,  include  two  passages  which  belong  to  tl 
finest  specimen  of  Babylonian  literature,  noteworthj 
both  in  thought  and  in  eloquent  diction. 

In  the  first  tablet,172  beginning  with  the  praise  < 
"lord  of  wisdom" — originally  no  doubt  Enlil  of  Nippi 
but  transferred  in  the  course  of  further  redaction 
Marduk,  the  head  of  the  later  Babylonian  pantheoi 
we  have  a  description  of  the  evil  that  has  overwhelmec 
Tabi-utul-Enlil  which  reads,  so  far  as  preserved,  as 
follows:178 

171  The  name  signifies  "good  is  the  loin   (i.e.,  protection) 
Enlil." 

mOnly  10  intelligible  lines  of  the  first  tablet  are  preserve 
through  the  commentary  (V.  Rawlinson,  PI.  47,  to  which  we  ca 
add  as  an  eleventh  the  opening  line  4<I  will  praise  the  lord 
wisdom,"  derived  from  the  colophon  to  a  copy  of  a  portion  of  tl 
2nd  tablet. 

179  Conjectural  restrictions  of  the  text  are  placed  in  parenthe 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  477 

"  (My  eyeballs  he  obscured,  bolting  them  as  with)  a  lock 
(My  ears  he  bolted) ,  like  those  of  a  deaf  person. 
A  king — I  have  been  changed  into  a  slave, 
As  a  madman  (my)  companions  maltreat  me. 
Send  me  help  from  the  pit  dag  (for  me) ! 
At  the  cry  of  my  lament,  open  a  hole  for  him  ( ?),1T4 
By  day — deep  sighs,  at  night — weeping, 
The  month — cries,  the  year— distress." 

The  second  tablet  opens  with  a  reflection  on  the  sad- 
ness of  life's  experiences  and  the  difficulty  of  penetrat- 
ing the  ways  of  the  gods  to  ascertain  how  to  please 
them ;  and  as  in  the  case  of  Job,  the  reflections  are  inter- 
spersed with  laments  about  his  own  forlorn  condition. 

"I  had  reached  and  passed  the  allotted  time  of  life; 
Whithersoever  I  turned— evil  upon  evil. 
Misery  had  increased,  justice  was  gone, 
I  cried  to  my  god,  but  he  did  not  show  me  his  countenance ; 
I  prayed  to  my  goddess,  but  she  did  not  raise  her  head. 
The  diviner-priest  could  not  determine  the  future  by  an  inspec- 
tion, 
The  necromancer  did  not  through  an  offering  justify  my  suit, 
The  zaMku-priest m  I  appealed  to,  but  he  revealed  nothing, 
The  chief  exerciser  did  not  by  (his)  rites  release  me  from  the  ban. 
The  like  of  this  had  never  been  seen ; 
Whithersoever  I  turned,  trouble  was  in  pursuit" 

His  punishment  seems  inexplicable  to  him,  as  he  pro- 
ceeds to  set  forth  how  he  always  endeavored  to  perform 
his  duties  towards  the  gods  and  men  punctiliously. 

"As  though  I  had  not  always  set  aside  the  portion  for  the  god, 
And  had  not  invoked  the  goddess  at  the  meal, 
Had  not  bowed  my  face,  and  brought  my  tribute, 
As  though  I  were  one  in  whose  mouth  supplication  and  prayer 
were  not  constant, 

174  Meaning  "himself." 
171  An  oracle  priest. 


478 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


Who  had  set  aside  the  day  of  the  god,,T*  neglected  the  new-moot 

festival, 
Been  negligent,  spurned  their  images, 
Not  taught  his  people  fear  and  reverence, 
Not  invoked  his  god,  eaten  of  his  {sc.  the  god's)  food;177 
Neglected  his  goddess,  and  did  not  offer  to  her  a  libation. 
With  the  oppressor  who  has  forgotten  his  lord, 
Who  has  profaned  the  sacred  name  of  his  god,  am  I  rated. 
(Whereas)  I  thought  only  of  supplication  and  prayer-, 
Prayer  was  my  practice,  sacrificing  my  law, 
The  day  of  worship  of  the  gods  the  joy  of  my  heart, 
The  day  of  devotion  to  the  goddess  more  (to  me)  than  riches; 
Royal  prayer, — that  was  my  joy; 
Its  celebration,— my  delight. 

I  taught  my  country  to  guard  the  name  of  the  god, 
To  honor  the  name  of  the  goddess  I  accustomed  my  people. 
The  glorification  of  the  king  I  made  like  unto  that  of  a  god/Tt 
And  in  the  fear  of  the  palace  I  instructed  the  people. 
I  thought  that  such  things  were  pleasing  to  a  god. " 


Despite  all  this,  the  pious  ruler  was  smitten  with  dis- 
ease and  accordingly  he  indulges  in  the  gloomy  thought 
that  the  ways  of  the  gods  are  mysterious.  One  can 
never  be  certain  of  pleasing  them.  The  fate  of  man  is 
uncertain.  Joy  changes  to  grief  suddenly,  and  appar- 
ently without  cause  or  reason. 

"  What,  however,  seems  good  to  oneself,  to  a  god  is  displeasing, 
What  is  spurned  by  oneself  finds  favor  with  a  god ; 
Who  is  there  that  can  grasp  the  will  of  the  gods  in  heaven  T 
The  plan  of  a  god  full  of  mystery  (!) — who  can  understand  itt 
How  can  mortals  learn  the  way  of  a  god  ? 
He  who  was  alive  yester  lead  to-day ; 

In  an  instant       is  cast  into  gr       of  a  sudden  he  is  crushed ; 


For  a  mom' 

lT*i.e.,  thi 

177Tabo. 

,T*Note 

iaw 

king  as 

SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  479 

In  a  twinkling  he  wails  like  a  mourner. 

Like  opening  and  closing,17'  their  (sc.  mankind's)  spirit  changes; 

If  they  are  hungry  they  are  like  a  corpse, 

Have  they  had  enough,  they  consider  themselves  equal  to  their 

god; 
If  things  go  well,  they  prate  of  mounting  to  heaven, 
If  they  are  in  distress,  they  speak  of  descending  into  Irkalla." 1M 

The  sufferer  reverts  to  his  sufferings  and  describes 
how  the  demons  of  disease  have  laid  hi™  low. 

'  'An  evil  demon  has  come  out  of  his  (lair) ; 
Prom  yellowish,  the  sickness  became  white."1 
Itm  struck  my  neck  and  crushed  my  back, 
It  bent  my  high  stature  like  a  poplar; 
Like  a  plant  of  the  marsh,  I  was  uprooted,  thrown  on  my  back. 
Food  became  bitter  and  putrid, 
The  malady  dragged  on  its  course. 
Though  without  food,  hunger  diminished  (  f ) ; 
The  sap  of  my  blood  (he 1M  drained). 
Nourishment  was  withheld  .   .   . 
My  flesh  was  wasted,  my  body  grew  wan. 
I  took  to  my  bed,  unable  to  leave  the  couch. 
The  house  became  my  prison ; 
As  fetters  for  my  body,  my  hands  were  powerless, 
As  pinions  for  my  person,  my  feet  were  stretched  out, 
My  discomfiture  was  painful,  the  pain  severe. 
A  strap  of  many  twists  has  struck  me, 
A  sharply-pointed  spear  pierced  me. 
All  day  the  pursuer  followed  me, 
At  night  he  granted  me  no  respite  whatever, 
As  though  wrenched,  my  joints  were  torn  apart, 
My  limbs  were  shattered  and  rendered  helpless. 
In  my  stall  I  passed  the  night  like  an  ox, 
I  was  saturated  like  a  sheep  in  my  excrements; 

179  Explained  in  the  commentary  "like  day  and  night." 
190  One  of  the  names  of  the  nether  world.   See  above,  p.  454. 
m  The  color  of  his  skin  at  first  yellow  becomes  pale. 
m  i.e.,  the  sickness. 
**•  is.,  the  demon  of  disease. 


480  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  disease  of  my  joints  baffled  the  chief  exorciser, 
And  my  omens  were  obscure  to  the  diviner, 
The  exorciser  could  not  interpret  the  character  of  my  disease, 
And  the  limit  of  my  malady  the  diviner  could  not  fix 
No  god  came  to  my  aid,  taking  me  by  the  hand, 
No  goddess  had  compassion  for  me,  coming  to  my  side. 
The  grave  waa  open,  my  burial  prepared, 
Though  not  yet  dead,  the  lamentation  was  over. 
The  people  of  my  land  had  already  said  falas*  over  me.1*4 
My  enemy  heard  it  and  his  face  shone ; 

As  the  joyful  tidings  were  announced  to  him  his  liver  rejoiced, 
I  knew  it  was  the  day  when  my  whole  family, 
Besting  under  the  protection  of  their  deity  would  be  in  dis- 
tress. M1M 

The  sufferer,  paralyzed,  bed-ridden,  totally  helpless, 
blind,  deaf,  unable  to  take  food,  racked  with  unceasing 
pain,  was  thus  brought  to  the  brink  of  despair.188  All 
hope  had  rled  and  his  friends  and  family  already 
mourned  him  as  dead. 

The  third  tablet  beginning 

"His  hand  is  heavy,  I  can  no  longer  endure  it/' l,T 

evidently  continued  the  plaint  but  soon  passed  on  to  an 
account  of  a  dream  sent  to  the  sufferer  in  which  Ur-Bau, 
described  as  "a  strong  hero  decked  with  a  crown"  ap- 
pears and  apparently  gives  him  a  reassuring  message 
from  Marduk J88  that  he  will  be  released  from  his  suffer- 
ings. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  portion  of  the  com- 
position is  so  badly  preserved,  for  it  must  have  con- 
tained the  reason  why  Marduk  decided  to  come  to  the 
relief  of  the  pious  sufferer.  We  are  left  to  conjecture 
why,  but  it  is  plausible  to  assume  that  Marduk  is  seized 

m  As  over  a  dead  person. 

i«*  Two  obscure  lines,  the  general  sense  of  which  is  that  he  felt 
the  end  to  be  near. 

1M  He  is  suffering  from  a  variety  of  diseases — in  fact  from  almost 
e^ery  ill  that  can  affect  »  human  being. 

liT  Furnished  by  th  o  of  the  I  let. 

m  Originally,  no  d  agaii 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  481 

with  pity  and  recognizes  that  Tabi-utul-Enlil  did  not 
merit  the  punishment  sent  to  him.  Perhaps  it  was  even 
suggested  that  the  sufferings  were  sent  as  a  trial  of  his 
piety,  though  this  in  default  of  direct  evidence  must  not 
be  regarded  as  more  than  a  conjecture.  At  all  events, 
Tabi-utul-Enlil  is  healed,  and  we  are  given  a  vivid  pic- 
ture of  how,  as  a  result  of  his  final  appeal  to  Marduk, 
the  demons  of  disease  are  driven  away  by  a  mighty 
storm. 

.........        M 

"He  sent  a  mighty  storm  to  the  foundation  of  heaven, 
To  the  depths  of  the  earth  he  drove  it. 
He  drove  back  the  evil  demon  into  the  abyss.189 
The  nameless  Utukku  he  drove  into  his  mountain  house.190 
He  confounded  Labartu,191  forcing  him  back  into  the  mountain. 
On  the  tide  of  the  sea  he  swept  away  the  ague.192 
He  tore  out  the  root  of  my  disease  like  a  plant. 
The  bad  sleep,19*  ( disturbing  f)  my  rest,  filled  and  darkening  the 

heavens  as  with  smoke. 
The  aches  and  groans  like  (those  of)  a  lion  ( t), 
He  stirred  up  as  in  a  storm  and  filled  the  earth, 
The  violent  headache 19*  which  overthrows  (the  strong  [  t] ), 
He  tore  out   .    .    .    and  bathed  me  with  the  dew  of  the  night. 
My  eyeballs  which  were  covered  with  a  veil  of  night,198 
Through  a  mighty  wind  he  drove  away  (sc.  the  veil)  and  made 

them  shine  brilliantly. 
My  ears  which  had  been  closed  and  bolted  as  those  of  a  deaf 

person, 

189  Apsu — here  perhaps  intended  as  a  designation  of  the  depths 
of  the  earth  whence  the  demons  rise  up. 

190 Literally  "his  E-Kur"— here  a  designation  of  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  demons  in  the  mountains. 

191  On  the  demons  Utukku  and  Labartu  see  above,  p.  242. 

19*Shurupp&  "chills  and  fever"  here  personified,  as  were  all 
diseases. 

199  ♦.«.,  the  nightmare,  also  personified  as  a  demon. 

194  Again  personified  as  in  the  medical  texts.    See  above,  p.  250, 

199  Cataract  is  meant 
81 


482 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


He  removed  their  deafness  and  opened  their  hearing. 

My  nose  which  through  the  force  of  the  fever  was  choked  up, 

lie  healed  the  hurt  so  that  I  could  breathe  again. 

My  lips  which  had  been  closed  through  exhausted  strength,1** 

He  reduced  their  swelling  (?)  and  loosened  their  bonds. 

My  mouth  which  had  been  covered,  so  that  with  difficulty  (!) 

(I  uttered  sounds), 
He  purified,  like  copper  he  made  it  shine. 
My  teeth  which  had  been  seized  so  that  they  were   (pressed) 

together,"1 
He  opened  a  space  between  them  and  strengthened  their  base.*** 
The  tongue  which  was  swollen  so  that  I  could  not  move  it, 
He  took  away  its  coating  ( ?)  so  that  speech  returned 
The  throat  which  was  compressed,  closed  up  like  that  of  a  corpse, 
He  healed  so  that  my  breast  resounded  like  a  flute. 
My  spittle  which  had  been  shut  off  so  that  it  could  not  come 

forth,1** 
He  loosened  the  bonds,  opening  them  like  a  door. 

To  the  opulent 20(X  who  had  been  reduced  to  starvation,  enchained 

like  a  guilty  one, 
He  brought  food  and  provided  drink. 
My  neck  which  had  been  twisted  and  bent  low, 
He  made  erect  and  like  a  cedar  raised  up. 
He  made  my  stature  like  one  of  perfect  strength, 
Like  one  released  from  a  demon,  he  polished  my  nails, 
lie  cured  me  of  scurvy,  healed  me  of  the  itch  ( *) . 
My  knees  that  had  been  fettered  like  those  of  a  bird  of  the 

gorge,201 


My  entire  body  he  restored, 

He  wiped  away  the  blemish,  making  it 20a  resplendent, 


180  He  was  no  longer  able  to  open  his  mouth. 
m  The  teeth  were  pressed  together  as  in  lockjaw. 
1M  i*,,  fixed  them  firm  in  their  sockets. 
*••  Like  Job  he  was  unable  to  swallow  or  spit  out  the  saliva. 
809  Though  a  king  with  all  things  at  his  command,  he  is  wasted 
like  one  dying  of  famine,  since  he  could  not  eat  nor  drink. 
*M  i.e.,  he  eould  not  walk. 
••*  i.e.,  the  body. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE 


483 


The  oppressed  stature  regained  its  splendor, 

On  the  banks  of  the  stream  where  judgment  is  held  over  men t0* 

The  brand  of  slavery  was  removed,  the  fetters  taken  off." 

Thus  one  trace  after  the  other  of  the  complicated 
series  of  diseases  from  which  he  was  suffering  was  re* 
moved  till  he  was  entirely  restored  to  his  former  vigor, 
The  composition  closes  with  the  enforcement  of  the  les- 
son never  to  despair  of  divine  help. 


"Let  him  who  sins  against  E-sagila,20*  let  him  learn  from  me, 
Into  the  jaw  of  the  lion,  about  to  devour  me,  Marduk  inserted  a 

hit. 
Marduk  has  seized  the  snare  (?)  of  my  pursuer,  has  encompassed 
his  lair." 

In  this  strain  no  doubt  the  poem  continued  to  the 
close— in  illustration  of  the  lesson  to  be  derived  from 
Tabi-utul-Enlil's  terrible  yet  marvellous  experience. 
Like  the  Biblical  poem,  detailing  Job's  sufferings  and 
the  discourse  of  the  problem  involved,  our  composition 
ends  in  a  kind  of  non  sequitur.  The  problem  is  not 
solved,  at  least  not  to  our  satisfaction,  for  the  just  and 
innocent  continue  to  suffer,  The  consolation,  how- 
ever, remains  that  the  mercy  of  the  gods  in  the  end 
never  fails.  Even  though  one  may  be  already  in  the 
jaws  of  death,  a  god  if  he  be  so  inclined  as  was  Marduk 
or  as  was  Enlil,  the  god  of  Nippur,  in  the  original  form 
of  the  story,  can  still  save  one.  Though  diviners  and 
exorcisers  fail,  Marduk  can  intervene  directly  and  re- 
store the  wasted  body  to  perfect  vigor.  So  all  ends 
happily — at  least  for  Tabi-utul-Enlil. 

*•*  Referring  to  a  ceremony  of  cleansing  from  sin  by  immersion 
into  a  stream. 

204  The  name  of  Marduk 's  temple  at  Babylon,  here  used  for  the 


484 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


IX 

Business  and  Personal  Letters 
I.905  Request  for  a  loan. 

"Letter80*  of  Gula-balatsu-ikbi207  to Kurbanni-Marduk,  my  brother. 
May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  my  brother!  Shaddinnu  has  no 
grain  for  seed.  Let  my  lord  m  give  him  one  Gur  of  grain  and 
let  my  lord  take  from  him  a  promissory  note.  In  urgent  need  I 
am  sending  to  my  brother.  Let  my  lord  not  refuse  it,  and  let  my 
lord  give  him20'  grain  for  seed." 


ILai°  An  inquiry  regarding  the  welfare  of  relatives 
and  friends. 


"Letter  of  Iddina  to  the  lady  Kudashu. 
My  Lady !  Daily  I  implore  Bel 2U  and  Nabu  to  grant  long  life  and 
happiness  to  my  lady.  Through  the  protection  of  the  gods  I  am 
well  and  all  with  me  (are  well).  Do  not  worry  on  my  account 
that  you  have  not  received  word.  Since  the  month  of  Siwan  *12 
I  have  removed  to  the  land  of  Paniragana  under  the  guidance  of 
Bel  and  Nabu. 

4 'Iddina*1*  has  asked  for  news  about  Ina-Marduk,  his  father,  and 
Ina-E-sagila-ramat,  his  mother.    Iddina  has  asked  for  news  about 

205  Cuneiform  Texts  XXII,  No,  75. 

800  The  word  used  is  duppu,  meaning  tablet. 

m  Signifying  "the  goddess  Gula  has  commanded  his  life." 

*°*  The  writer  addresses  his  brother  in  this  formal  way — perhaps 
in  order  to  flatter  him.  Perhaps,  however,  "brother"  is  not  used 
literally  here.    See  below,  p.  486,  note  221. 

109  Namely,  Shaddinnu. 

210  Cuneiform  Texts,  XXII,  No.  6. 

211  Here  an  epithet  of  Marduk. 
"3  Third  month. 
411  The  writer  from  here  on  speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person, 

perhaps  playfully  or  perhaps  because  he  is  dictating  the  letter 
a  scribe. 


res 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  485 

Shullumu,  his  father,  and  Damka,  his  mother.    Iddina  has  asked 
for  news  about  Dumuk,  his  brother. 
'By  the  life  of  the  gods,  why  do  not  I  get  any  news  from  themf 

Iddina  has  asked  for  news  about  Khabasiru,  about  Shaddinnu  and 
the  lady  Ilat-akhe-shu.  Iddina  has  asked11*  for  news  about 
Itti-Nabu-balatu.  his  brother.  Why  do  I  not  hear  from  you?  And 
to  all  the  messages  which  I  have  sent  you  I  have  not  seen  any 
response.  I  have  sent  you  (a  message)  as  follows: 
'Since  the  day  that  I  left,  what  has  happened  in  the  house  .  .  . 
Why  do  I  not  receive  any  newst  Let  me  know  whether  Burku 
has  fallen  into  the  lap  m  of  the  goddess  Tashmetum.  Iddina  has 
asked  news  about  the  lady  Tashmetum-tabni,  about  Ina-Esagila- 
Belit,  about  Shirku,  about  Lublut,  about  Burku  .  .  .  and  con- 
cerning the  entire  household.  For  an  entire  month  I  have  not 
received  any  message  from  you  regarding  Bel-supe-mukhur. " 

IH.  Letter  from  a  husband  to  his  wife,  telling  her 
to  take  good  care  of  the  house.218 

"Nabu-zer-ushabshi  to  Sikku,  my  wife.  May  Bel  and  Nabu  pro- 
claim good  health  and  long  life  to  my  wife  !  Through  the  protec- 
tion of  the  gods  I  am  well,  and  Bel-iddin  also  is  well. 

"Now  I  have  sent  a  message  to  Iddin-Marduk,  the  son  of  Ikisha, 
that  he  should  give  thee  10  Gur  of  grain.  Do  not  neglect  the 
house.  Have  a  look  to  things.  Pray  to  the  gods  on  my  behalf. 
Let  me  hear  through  some  message  what  you  are  thinking  of." tlT 

21  *  These  various  inquiries  repeated  in  this  way  have  reference 
to  a  number  of  separate  messages  sent  by  the  writer  and  to  which 
he  had  not  received  reply. 

215  The  word  for  lap,  burku,  is  here  introduced  as  a  play  upon 
the  name  Burku,  ■  -  To  place  in  the  lap  of  a  god  * '  is  an  expression 
occurring  frequently  in  business  documents  meaning  to  deposit  in 
the  treasury  of  the  temple,  Iddina  jokingly  asks  whether  Burku  has 
lifted  something  out  of  the  lap, — i.e.,  whether  he  has  made  any 
money,  as  we  would  say. 

*lB  Cuneiform  Texts  XXII,  No.  151. 

21T  The  phrase  seems  to  imply  the  husband  s  desire  to  find  out 
what  his  wife  is  doing,  but  perhaps  the  words  mean  merely  that  he 
wishes  to  have  news  of  her. 


486 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


IV.218  An  urgent  request  for  money  to  settle  a 
promissory  note. 

"To  Ibi-Nin-Sbubur  speaks  as  follows  Yaum-iluma. 
May  Shamash  and  Marduk  grant  you  life ! 

"lam  responsible  for  a  note  for  (the  purchase  of)  a  female  slave. 
Now  that  the  time  of  the  payment  of  that  note  has  arrived  the 
agent  is  pressing  me.  Therefore,  I  am  sending  Arad-Innanna  to 
thee.  Give  him  three  shekels  of  silver  due  from  you  and  two 
shekels  of  your  own  money  to  be  charged  against  me  and  properly 
attested  in  Babylon.  Be  sure  to  give  Arad-Innanna  the  correct 
amount.  Do  not  detain  Arad-Innanna  "•  and  please  fix  up  the 
transaction  with  him  correctly." 

V,230  Letter  addressed  to  four  friends,  urging  them 
not  to  pay  any  attention  to  slanderous  reports  about  the 
writer's  brother. 

"Letter  of  Nabu-zer-ibni  to  Akar-apli,  Balatu,  Nabu-bel-shumate 
and  to  Shamash-udammik  his  brothers.221 

"Ever  to  Nabu  and  Nana  for  the  life  of  my  brothers  I  pray.  Bel- 
epush  who  is  with  you  is  indeed  my  brother.  Whatever  evil 
reports  may  be  spread  about  him,  may  it  please  my  brothers  (i.e., 
my  friends)  to  be  deaf  to  them.  Prom  the  beginning  to  the  end 
we  have  been  brothers  to  one  another.222  Because  of  distress  I 
am  sending  this  message  to  my  brothers.  May  my  brothers  kindly 
do  this.  I  look  forward  to  the  answer  to  this  message  from  my 
brothers.'* 


VI.  A  peremptory  request  to  send  on  money  due 
promised.823 

21S  Cuneiform  Texts  IV,  Plate  27  •. 

at*  i.e.,  send  him  back  as  soon  aB  possible. 

"°  Cuneiform  Texts  XXII,  No.  155. 

221  The  word  "brother"  is  frequently  used  in  the  tablets  as  we 
would  say  "friend." 

m  i.e.t  at  all  times  we  have  been  in  perfect  harmony  with  one  an- 
other. 

"■  Cuneiform  Texts,  XXXIII,  PI.  25  (Hammurapi  period). 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  487 

"To  Adaiatum  speaks  as  follows  Ili-ishmeanni.  May  Shamash  and 
Marduk  grant  yon  life !  Send  on  the  money  which  yon  spoke  of.  As 
I  told  thee,  I  need  it   In  any  case,  by  all  means  send  (it)  to  me." 

VII.  A  letter  with  three  commissions.214 

"To  Etiatim  speaks  as  follows,  Ili'u-Shamash. 

"May  Shamash  and  Marduk  grant  you  life!  I  am  well.  (1)  It 
is  impossible  (for  me)  to  come  to  see  you.  I  am  obliged  to  go 
to  Gatana.**8  (2)  The  she-ass  and  a  young  one  of  good  breed,  let 
the  butcher  kill  for  me.**0  The  young  one  I  got  from  Belanu,  son 
of  Sin-turrim,  for  5y2  shekels  of  silver.  Two  shekels  of  silver 
I  gave  him.  Three  and  one  half  shekels  of  silver  give  him.  Do 
not  give  him  more  or  less.  Let  him  weigh  the  silver  for  me.**7 
(3)  As  to  the  one  female  slave  which  I  left  with  you,  do  not 
put  her  to  service.**8  Sell  her  for  silver  on  my  account.  Hand 
over  7Vfc  Ka  of  sesame  and  take  a  receipt  for  2  Qur.  One  Gur  you 
have  received,  and  this  leaves  one  Gur." 

X 

Official  Letters  and  Reports 

I.  An  order  of  King  Hammurapi  to  clear  out  a 
canaL2" 

"To  Sin-idinnam,  Hammurapi  speaks  as  follows: 
"Gather  the  men  who  have  fields  along  the  Damanum  canal  to 

dig  **°  the  Damanum  canal.   Within  this  month,  let  them  complete 

the  digging  of  the  Damanum  canal. ' ' 

m  Cuneiform  Texts,  PL  22  (Hammurapi  period). 

**•  Or  possibly  Bitana — in  any  case  the  name  of  some  place. 

**•  usk-ta-zi-ba-an-ni. 

**T  To  make  sure  that  the  exact  amount  is  given. 

"•Literally  "do  not  subdue  her,"  evidently  in  the  sense  of  not 
to  use  her  for  slave  service,  but  to  sell  her. 

"•King,  Letters  and  Inscriptions  of  Hammurabi  (London, 
1900),  No.  V. 

"°  i.e.,  in  the  sense  of  clearing  out 


488 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


II.  A  royal  order  to  investigate  a  charge  of  graft 
against  an  official .2S1 

"To  Sin-idinnam,  Hamnmrapi  speaks  as  follows: 

"  Sliuinnianlailu  has  reported  as  follows:  Bribery  has  taken  place 
in  Dur-Gurgurri  The  man  who  took  the  bribe  and  the  witness 
to  these  matters  are  here.  Thus  he  (i.e.,  Shnmmanlailn)  has  re- 
ported Now  this  Shnmmanlailn  and  a  watchman  ( T)  and  one 
...  I  am  sending  down  to  thee.  When  you  receive  this  tablet, 
investigate  it  and  if  bribery  has  taken  place,  send  me  an  official 
report ,8a  of  the  silver  and  whatever  is  (involved)  in  the  bribe,  and 
(send)  to  me  the  men  who  took  the  bribe  and  the  witnesses  to 
these  matters,* * 

III.  It  is  interesting  to  see  the  king  who  compiled 
the  great  code  thus  actively  engaged  in  seeking  out  and 
punishing  miscreants.  Another  letter  to  the  same  Sin- 
idinnam  shows  us  the  king  in  the  same  capacity  of  a 
rightful  judge  ordering  the  restoration  of  grain  to  its 
owner.*38 

14  To  Sin-idinnam,  Hammurapi  speaks  as  follows : 

"Amel-tummumu,  a  Nippurian,  thus  lias  reported  to  me.  'I  stored 
up  70  Gur  of  grain  "*  in  a  granary.  Apil-ili  opened  the  granary 
and  (took  the)  grain.  Thus  he  reported  to  me.  Herewith  I  am 
sending  this  Amel-tummumu  to  thee.  Send  for  Apil-ili  and  let 
them  confirm  their  statements  to  thee.  See  to  it  that  Apil-ili  takes 
the  grain  and  returns  it  to  Amel-tummumu.'  " 

IY.  Military  report  to  an  Assyrian  king  of  the  sub- 
mission of  certain  places  in  a  mountainous  region,  and  a 
request  for  further  orders.286 


2,1  King,  Letters  and  Inscriptions  of  Hammurabi  (London, 
1900),  No.  VIII. 

1,1  Literally  "seal/*  i.e,t  an  official  document  with  witnesses  and 
seals. 

111  King,  ib.  No.  XII,  The  case  was  probably  one  covered  by 
§  113  of  the  Code  according  to  which  a  creditor  has  no  right  to  seize 
the  granary  of  a  debtor  without  an  order  of  the  court.  See  above, 
p.  300. 

*M  About  8,400  litres. 

m  K.  669  (Harper,  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters,  No.  246.) 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  489 

"To  the  king  my  lord,  thy  servant  Ashur-bel-danin,  greeting  to 
the  king,  my  lord !  The  people  of  Ushkha  and  the  people  of  Kuda 
against  whom  the  king  my  lord  sent  me  have  submitted  to  the 
authority  of  the  king  my  lord.  Cities  which  since  the  days  of 
Shamash  and  A  *88  have  never  been  subjected,  now  with  the  aid 
of  the  guard  at  my  disposal  I  subdued  completely.  Those  once 
dependent  remain  dependent,  those  (once,)  troops  remain  troops 
of  the  king.**7  The  entire  mountain  district  now  recognizes  (the 
authority  [  t] )  of  the  Mug.  May  the  heart  of  the  king  my  lord 
rejoice  I  The  troops  at  my  disposal  I  shall  retain  that  they  may 
act  as  a  guard. 

"Regarding  the  people  of  Muma  who  have  not  (yet)  submitted 
themselves,  (and)  have  not  accepted  the  authority  of  the  Mug 
and  with  whom  there  has  been  no  intercourse,***  let  the  king  send 
me  his  orders." 

V.  A  report  from  the  official  astrologer  regarding 
the  time  of  full  moon,249 

1 '  To  the  king  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu  'a.  May  Ashur,  Shamash, 
Bel  and  Nabu  bless  the  king  my  lord  !  May  my  wishes  for  the  king 
my  lord  be  fulfilled!  We  held  watch  on  the  14th  day — moon 
and  sun  were  seen  together. ' '  *40 

VI.  A  careful  watch  was  held  for  the  appearance  of 
the  new  moon,241  the  exact  time  of  which  in  default  of 
accurate  calculation  could  not  be  determined  before 
hand ;  the  lunar  months  varied  in  this  way  between  29 

»**•  i.e.,  never. 
*"7  A  characteristic  Assyrian  boast,  voicing  the  confidence  in  the 
military  supremacy  of  Assyria.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
rebellions  against  Assyrian  authority  were  constantly  taking  place. 
See  above,  p.  173,  176,  etc. 

***  i.e.,  no  negotiations  for  terms  of  submission  have  been  as  yet 
opened, 

"B  Rawlinson  III,  PL  51,  No.  2.    See  above,  p.  260,  scq. 

*40  i.e.,  were  in  opposition. 

*"  This  primitive  method  of  fixing  the  beginning  of  the  month 
through  personal  observation  of  officials  was  continued  among  the 
Jews  of  Palestine  beyond  the  threshold  of  our  era. 


490 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


and  30  days.  A  report  of  this  order  to  the  Assyrian 
king,  who  in  accordance  with  the  announcement  offi- 
cially declared  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  each 
month,  reads:242 

"To  the  king218  my  lord,  thy  servant,  Ishtar-nadinapal,  the  chief 
astrologer  of  Arbela.3*4  Greeting  to  the  kin£.  my  lord.  May 
Nabu  and  Marduk  and  Ishtar  of  Arbela  bless  the  king  my  lord. 
On  the  29th  we  kept  watch.  The  plaee  of  its  appearance  was 
clouded.  We  did  not  see  the  moon.  Month  of  Shebat,2"  first  day, 
in  the  eponymate  24"5  of  Bel-kharranu'a." 

It  follows  from  the  report  that  the  length  of  the 
month  in  question  was  fixed  at  30  days. 

VIL  Usually,  extracts  were  attached  to  the  reports 
from  the  astrological  hand-books  furnishing  the  omens 
for  the  phenomena  reported,  the  day  of  the  appearance 
of  the  new  moon,  of  full  moon,  of  the  day  of  disap- 
pearance at  the  end  of  the  month,  of  an  eclipse  and  so 
on  ad  infinitum .  A  full  report  of  this  kind  accompanied 
by  three  extracts  reads : 2n 

11  On  the  1st  day  I  reported  to  the  king  as  follows :  On  the  14th  day 
moon  and  sun  were  seen  together,14* 

a"  Rawlinson,  III,  PI.  51,  No.  6 ;  Harper,  ib.,  No.  829, 

24S  The  king  addressed  in  these  reports  is  always  either  Sen- 
nacherib, Esarhaddon  or  Ashurbanapal. 

244  Near  Nineveh. 

**■  11th  month. 

240  See  above,  p.  351. 

S4T  Thompson,  Reports  of  the  Magicians  and  Astrologers  of 
Nineveh  and  Babylon  (London,  1900),  No.  154. 

24B  i.e.,  full  moon  appeared  on  the  14th  day  of  the  month.  Like 
the  day  of  the  appearance  of  the  new  moon,  the  day  of  full  moon 
could  not  be  calculated  in  advance.  According  to  observation  it 
fell  on  the  13th,  14th  or  15th  of  the  month ;  and  in  case  the  new  moon 
day  was  not  certain  owing  to  the  cloudy  conditions  of  the  sky  but 
would  have  to  be  guessed  at,  the  variation  might  be  even  greater. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITEBATUKE 


491 


'(a)  If  moon  and  sun  are  seen  together  on  the  14th  day,  order 
and  prosperity  in  the  land.  The  gods  will  be  gracious  to  Akkad,2** 
joy  among  men.    The  cattle  of  Akkad  will  graze  in  security. 

'(b)  'If  the  moon  reaches  the  sun ti0  with  faint  illumination,  one 
horn  shading  the  other,**1  justice  will  prevail  in  the  land.  The 
son  will  be  faithful  to  the  father.'*" 

'  (c)  If  on  the  14th  day  the  moon  was  seen  with  the  sun,*6*  the  king 
of  the  land  will  be  (filled  with)  wisdom. 

f  'On  the  14th  day  sun  and  moon  were  seen  together.'  " 


254 


VIII.  Report  of  an  eclipse  of  the  moon. 


"To  the  gardener,*59  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-shumiddin,  the 
chief  astrologer  of  Nineveh.  May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  the 
gardener  my  lord !  On  the  14th  day  we  held  a  watch  for  the  moon. 
An  eclipse  of  the  moon  took  place. ' ' 


IX.  An  eclipse  to6  was  always  looked  upon  with  a 
certain  amount  of  terror.  The  evil  omen  varied,  how- 
ever, according  to  the  direction  in  which  the  shadow 
passed  over  the  moon  or  a  portion  thereof.  For  this 
purpose  the  face  of  the  moon  was  divided  into  four  sec- 
tions, one  represented  Akkad  or  Babylonia,  another 
Assyria,  a  third  Elam — a  general  term  for  the  East — 
and  a  fourth  Amurru — a  general  term  for  the  West.  A 
report  of  this  character  reads.257 

***  I.e.,  Babylonia  where  the  hand-books  were  compiled,  though 
the  good  omen  was  applicable  also  to  Assyria. 

2a0  Another  phrase  to  describe  full  moon. 

*"  A  shadow  on  one-half  of  the  moon. 

*"  I.e. ,  no  rebellion  of  the  crown  prince  against  his  father. 

*•*/.«.,  full  moon. 

*M  Rawlinson,  III  PI,  51,  No.  7 ;  Harper,  to.,  No.  816. 

*"  A  high  official — a  kind  of  major-domo. 

*"  The  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  used  a  term  for  eclipse,  atati't, 
literally  u  darkening. "  which  was  applied  to  any  kind  of  obscuration 
of  the  moon  or  sun — often  not  an  eclipse  at  all,  but  some  obscuration 
due  to  atmospheric  phenomena. 

MT  Harper,  to.,  No.  407. 


492 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


"To  the  king  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-akhe-irba.  Greeting  to 
the  king  my  lord.  It  is  a  day  of  terror.  I  cannot  report  favor- 
ably. The  eclipse  began  in  the  east258  and  moved  to  the  west 
The  planets  Jupiter  and  Venus  stood  therein  2"  till  they  wen- 
released.  Greeting  to  the  king  my  lord.  It  is  an  evil  sign  for 
Amurru.3*0  In  the  morning  the  evil  portent  of  the  moon  eclipse 
shall  have  passed  away  from  the  king  my  lord. ' '  m 

X.  A  report  regarding  favorable  days  for  certain 
undertakings.2^ 

"To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-akhe-irba.  Greetir 
the  king  my  lord  J  May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  the  king  my  lc 
Regarding  the  carrying  out  of  a  building  operation  about  which 
the  king  has  made  inquiry,  this  month  is  favorable  for  the  sacred 
service  *" — favorable,  therefore,  for  carrying  out  the  operation. 
On  the  13th,  15th  or  17th  day  let  him  carry  it  out 

"In  regard  to  sacrifices  about  which  the  king,  my  lord,  has  in- 
quired, this  month  is  favorable  for  bringing  them.  To-morrow 
or  the  morning  after  as  it  pleases  the  king,  my  lord,  let  him 
bring  them. 

"In  regard  to  Ashur-mukin-palii'a,*8*  about  whom  the  king  my  lord 
has  made  inquiries— let  him  go.    It  is  a  favorable  time  for  going. 

"May  the  king,  my  lord,  raise  his  grandchild  on  his  knees.***  Let 
him,  i.e.,  the  grandchild)  go  at  once  to  present  himself.' J 

268  That  is,  the  shadow  began  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  moon. 
The  orientation  in  Babylonia  for  astrological  purposes  was  towards 
the  south.    The  east  side  of  the  moon  was  therefore  to  the  left. 

a"  i.e.,  were  affected  by  the  shadow. 

**°  i.e.,  for  the  western  districts. 

aci  i.e.,  if  by  morning  no  evil  had  set  in,  the  danger  was  past. 

"*  Harper,  ib.,  No.  406. 

3fl"  Some  ceremony  connected  with  the  building  operation  to  en- 
sure the  favor  of  the  gods  for  the  work. 

"*A  younger  brother  of  Ashurbanapal,  king  of  Assyria.  If 
Ashur-mukin-palii 'a  is  identical  with  the  "grandson*'  mentioned  in 
this  letter,  then  the  report  must  have  been  made  to  Sennacherib 
(705-681  b.  a),  the  grandfather  of  Ashurbanapal  and  of  Ashur- 
mu  kin  -pal  u  'a. 

285  A  somewhat  obscure  phrase,  indicating  perhaps  a  formal 
presentation  at  the  court. 


SPECIMENS  OF  LITERATURE  493 

XL  A  report  regarding  a  storm  and  a  rainbow.1*6 

"If  a  heavy  storm  breaks  forth  in  the  month  of  Adar,  the  land  will 

goffer  injury.*67 
"A  rainbow  (appeared),  extending  from  the  zenith  to  the  horizon 

of  heaven  without  rain. 
"  '  If  a  rainbow  extends  through  the  city,  things  will  go  well  with  the 

city,  with  the  king  and  with  the  princes. '  *••    Prom  Akhesha, 

ofUruk." 

XTL  A  report  of  the  birth  of  a  monstrosity.2^  The 
report  begins  with  an  extract  from  a  hand-book,  giving 
the  interpretation  of  the  omen  involved  in  such  an  oc- 
currence. 

"  If  a  foetus  has  eight  feet  and  two  tails,  the  ruler  will  acquire  world- 
sovereignty. "  *70 

"A  certain  butcher,  named  Uddanu,  reported  as  follows:  A  sow 
in  throwing  off  gave  birth  to  a  foetus  that  had  eight  feet  and  two 
tails.  I  preserved  it  in  salt271  and  have  kept  it  in  the  house.* ' 
From  Nergal-etir. 

XIII.  Report  of  the  defilement  of  a  most  sacred  por- 
tion of  the  temple  of  Nabu  in  Nineveh.272 

"To  the  king  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nergal-sharrani.  Greeting  to 
the  king  my  lord!    May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  the  king,  my 

,M  Thompson,  ib.,  No.  252. 

"7  This  is  the  extract  from  the  hand-book  which  the  astrologer 
sends  the  king  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  severe 
storm  in  the  month  of  Adair — the  12th  month. 

*••  Again  an  extract. 

*••  Cuneiform  Texts,  XXVII  PI.  45.  On  the  significance  at- 
tached to  monstrosities  and  all  kinds  of  abnormal  marks  on  infants 
and  the  young  of  animals,  see  Jastrow,  Babylonian-Assyrian  Birth- 
Omens  and  their  Cultural  Significance  (Giessen,  1914),  and  above, 
p.  263,  seq. 

m  A  favorable  omen,  therefore. 

171  As  we  preserve  a  monstrosity  in  alcohol,  and  send  it  to  an 
anatomical  museum. 

m  Harper,*.,  No.  367. 


494 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


lord.  A  mouse  was  seen  in  the  court  of  the  bitanu  m  of  the  Nabu 
temple,  and  a  rat  on  the  wall  of  the  inner  chamber.27*  The 
purification  rites  have  already  been  arranged  for.  The  ceremony 
will  be  carried  out  to-morrow  without  delay  by  Adad-shumusur." 

XI 

Medical  Letters 

I.  Letter  of  the  court  physician  to  the  king  report- 
ing progress  in  the  treatment  of  an  injury  to  the  eye  of 
a  young  prince,375 

' '  Arad-Nana  to  the  king  my  Lord,  thy  servant  Arad-Nana.  Hearty 
greetings  to  the  king,  my  Lord.  May  Ninib  and  Gula17-  grant 
happiness  and  health  to  the  king  my  Lord! 

*'  Hearty  greetings  to  the  little  chap  whose  eye  causes  him  trouble. 
I  put  a  bandage  2J1  on  his  face.    Yesterday,  towards  evening,  I 

*78  Probably  near  the  "holy  of  holies"  where  the  statue  of  the  god 
stood. 

aT*  The  inner  division  of  the  temple,  leading  to  the  sacred  cham- 
ber of  the  god.  See  further  for  translations  of  several  hundreds  of 
such  official  reports  of  all  kinds,  astrological,  divinatory,  dreams, 
portents,  etc.  etc.,  Jastrow,  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens 
II,  pp.  213-445  (liver  omens  or  hepatoscopy),  pp.  457-741,  (astro- 
logical and  atmospheric)  pp.  749-775  (oil  and  water  divination) ; 
pp.  843-946  {birth  omens)  ;  pp.  946-969  (dreams,  miscellaneous 
portents) . 

m  Harper,  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters,  No.  392.  For  a 
general  survey  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  medicine,  with  copious 
extracts  from  medical  texts,  see  Jastrow,  Medicine  of  the  Baby- 
lonians  and  Assyrians  {Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medi- 
cine, 1914,  Vol.  vii,  Section  of  the  History  of  Medicine,  pages  109- 
176). 

"•  In  these  medical  letters  the  gods  invoked  in  the  greeting,  with 
which  a  letter  invariably  begins,  are  Ninib,  the  god  of  healing,  and 
his  consort  Gula.  In  other  letters  the  gods  most  commonly  invoked 
are  Marduk  and  Nabu  (or  in  reversed  order),  though  the  moon -god, 
Sin,  and  his  consort  Nin-gal  are  sometimes  substituted  for  Marduk 
and  Nabu.  Frequently,  however,  a  longer  list  of  deities  is  intro- 
duced in  the  greeting. 

m  The  word  used  is  ta'alitu,  literally  "a  covering.*' 


SPECIMENS  OP  LITERATURE  495 

took  off  the  bandage  that  had  been  applied,  removing  also  the 
dressing  below,  and  there  was  blood  on  the  dressing  as  much  as 
the  point  of  the  little  finger.  To  which  ever  one  of  thy  gods  this 
is  due,  his  command  has  surely  been  heeded. 
"Hearty  greetings.  Let  the  king  my  Lord  rest  assured;  in  seven 
or  eight  days  he  will  be  well." 

H.  Letter  of  the  same  court  physician  to  the  king, 
replying  to  a  complaint  of  the  king  that  his  physician 
has  failed  to  cure  him.278 

"The  king  my  Lord  continues  to  declare  'the  state  of  this  sickness 
of  mine  thou  dost  not  recognize,  thou  dost  not  bring  about  a  cure. ' 
Now  I  confess  that  hitherto  I  did  not  understand  this  rheuma- 
tism,379 but  now  I  seal  this  letter  to  send  it  to  the  king  my  Lord. 
Let  it  be  read  to  the  king  my  Lord  and  properly  understood. 
When  it  reaches  the  king  my  Lord  let  a  physician  .  .  .  carry 
out  the  accompanying  directions.  Let  the  king  apply  this  lini- 
ment.2*0 If  the  king  does  this,  this  fever  will  soon  leave  the  king 
my  Lord.  A  second  and  a  third  time  this  liniment  should  be 
applied  to  the  king  my  Lord.  The  king  must  see  to  this.  If  it 
please  the  king,  let  it  be  done  in  the  morning.  This  disease  is  in 
the  blood.  Let  them  bring  the  king  sUbani,2*1  as  was  twice  done 
already,  and  let  it  be  vigorously  done.  I  shall  come  to  inform 
myself,  and  as  soon  as  the  perspiration  flows  freely  from  the 
king,  my  Lord,  I  will  send  to  the  king,  my  Lord,  something  to 
apply  to  the  king's  neck.  With  a  salve  which  I  shall  send  the 
king  let  the  king  be  rubbed  at  the  appointed  time/1 

III.  Letter  of  Arad-Nana,  the  court  physician,  re- 
garding a  case  of  hemorrhages  of  the  nose  from  which 
the  king's  son  is  suffering.282 

iT8  Harper,  to.,  No.  391. 

119 Literally  "sickness  of  the  muscles." 

M0  markhushu;  evidently  the  wash  or  liniment  was  sent  with  the 
letter. 

*"  iUbanu  is  "dried  liquorice  root,"  but  in  this  passage  a  lini- 
ment or  a  massage  treatment  appears  to  be  intended. 

M1  Harper,  ib.,  No.  108. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

"To  the  king  my  Lord,  thy  servant  Arad-Nana.  Hearty  greetings 
to  the  king,  my  Lord.  May  Xinib  and  Gula  grant  the  king,  my 
Lord,  happiness  and  health. 

'  Hearty  greetings  to  the  king's  son.  The  treatment  which  we  pre- 
scribe for  him  is  to  be  given  every  two-thirds  of  a  double  hoar 
during  the  day.M*  .     .    . 

"In  regard  to  the  bleeding  of  the  nose  about  which  the  Rab-Mugi 
[a  high  official]  has  reported  to  me  that  yesterday  toward  evening 
there  was  much  bleeding,  those  dressings  are  not  properly  applied ; 
they  have  been  placed  upon  the  alae  of  the  nose,  obstructing  the 
breathing,  while  at  the  same  time  the  blood  flows  into  the  mouth. 
Let  the  nose  be  plugged  up  to  the  back  so  that  air  will  be  held 
off,  and  the  bleeding  will  cease.  If  it  please  the  king  I  will  come 
to  look  at  it  to-morrow.    Meanwhile  may  I  hear  good  news.*' 

*"The  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  divided  the  full  day  into 
twelve  double  hours.  As  a  survival  of  this  method  based  on  the 
sexagesimal  system,  we  still  have  only  twelve  numerals  on  our  watch 
dials  and  divide  day  and  night  each  into  twelve  hours,  instead  of 
counting  the  hours  of  a  full  day  consecutively  from  one  to  twenty- 
four,  as  indeed  is  now  done  in  the  time-tables  of  some  European 
railways.  Every  two-thirds  of  a  double  hour  would  therefore  be 
every  eighty  minutes.    The  following  four  lines  are  obscure. 


INDEX 

A 

Akkad,   1,  3,  101,  123  aeq.f  138,  144 

aeq.;  dynasty  of,  132  seq.,  137,  141; 

A,  consort  of  Shamash,  37,  204,  232, 

rivalry  with  KiBh,  134  aeq.;  in  as- 

423; in  oath  formula,  355,  357,  302 

trological  system,  491 

•eg. 

Akkadians,   102;   language,  101,   141, 

Abalgamash,  ruler  of   Elani,   134 

148,  160,  328;  struggle  for  suprem- 

Abarakku. a  class  of  priests,  272 

acy,  120  aeq.,  132  aeq.,  135  aeq.,  144, 

Abel,  Carl,  204 

148,  154;  racial  characteristics,  62, 

Abeshu,   150  aeq. 

121  aeq.,  305 

Abkallu,  a  class  of  priests,  272 

Akurgal,  ruler  of  Lagash,  128 

Abraham,  or  (Abram)  4,  28,  309 

Aleppo,  34 

Abft  Habba    (Sippar),  37  seq.,  318 

Alexander  the  Great,  9,  74,  185  aeq. 

Aba  Hatab    (Kisurra),  55 

All,  48 

AbQ  Shahrain  (Eridu),  29  aeq.,  210 

Allatu,  goddeaa  of  the  nether  world. 

Abuslr,  55 

207,   280 

Ach&meiuan  period,  66  aeq.,  70 

Alu,  a  demon,  242 

Adab  =  Bismya,  q.v. 

A1-/.U    <?),  King  of  Kish,  129 

Adad,   storm-god,   57,    157,    158,    223 

el-Amama,  see  Tell  el-Amarua 

aeq.,  231 ;  Arm- Adad  temple,  57,  225, 

Am&l-Marduk,     King     of     Babylonia, 

373  *eq.,  375;  associated  with  Ann, 

184 

225;  associated  with  Shamash,  225; 

AmM-Ninib    (usurper),   142 

■  lord  of  divination,"  225;  in  deluge 

Amenophis  III,  164,  166 

story,  448  aeq. 

Amenophis  IV,  164,  166 

Adadnirari  I,  King  of  Assyria,  165 

A  mm  id  i  tana,  King  of  Babylonia,  151, 

Adadnirari   IV,  King  of  Assyria,  58, 

220 
Adam  and  Eve,  story  of,  3 

841,  344,   352 

Ammi-saduka,     King     of     Babylonia, 

353 

Adler,  Cyrus,  108 

Amorites,    133,    130,    146,    148,    197; 

Adler,  M.  N„  12 

dynasty   of,    142   aeq.;   migrations, 

Adoption,  37,  286,  334,  358  aeq. 

143  aeq.,  157 ;  racial  characteristics, 

Adultery,  286,  311 

144 

Africa,  137 

Aniran   Ibn  'Ali,  one  of  the  mounds 

Agade,   133,   144,  201 

of    Babylon,   27,  59  seq. 

Agriculture,  8,   187  aeq.,  206  aeq. 

Amulets,  253  aeq.,  382,  409,  415 

Agnm  II,  168 

Amurru,  144 ;  in  astrological  system, 

Ahura  Mazda,  83,  185 

261  aeq..  401  seq. 

Aibur-shabu,    name    of    processional 

Anatomy,  257 

road  in  Babylon 

Andrae,  Walter,  56  aeq.,  380 

Airu,  second  month.   353 

Animism,  100  aeq.,  236  acq.,  240 

Akerkuf  ( mound ) ,   11 ,  28 

Anquetil-Du perron,  66,  6ft,  72 

Akhkhazu,  a  demon.  42,  247 

Anshar    (god),  428  seq. 

Akhlamt   (Bedouins),  165,  173 

Antiochus    Soter,   governor   of   Baby- 

Akitu  New  Year's  festival,  278,    See 

lonia,  39,   220,   221 

Festivals 

Anttim,  coriBort  of  Anuf  209,  232 

32 

497 

498                                 INDEX 

Anil,  57,  157,  158,  208,  224,  229.  231. 

Asaru  alim-nunna,    title   of    Marduk, 

233    acq..    486;    Anu-Adad    temple, 

441 

57,  225,  373  seq.,  position  in  eclip- 

Ashakku, a  group  of  demons,  242,  244 

tic,  261;   symbol,  417;   in  creation 

Ashguzi    (people),  180 

story,  420;   in  deluge  story,  466 

Ashipu,   "  exorciser,"   272 

Anubanini,  King  of  the  Lulubh  130 

Ashir  (Ashur),  160 

Anunnaki,    195,    198,   203,   207,   213, 

Ashur,  capital  of  Assyria,  17,  24,  25,  60, 

229,    235,    431,    458    seq,,    464;    in 

147,  160,  167,  228  seq.,  opposition  to 

deluge  story,  449,  451 

Sumuabu,  145;  standard  of,  422 

Aphrodite,   233 

Ashur,  patron  deity  of  city  Ashur,  57, 

Apil-Sin,  King  of  Babylonia,  143 

158,  166,  225,  469;  head  of  Assyrian 

Apsu,  in  creation  story,  428  seq.,  481 

pantheon,   190,  220,  228  seq.,  231; 

Arabia,  41,  136,  178,  179,  368 

solar  deity,  229 ;  receives  attributes 

Arabs,  51 

of  other  gods,  229  seq.;  as  warrior. 

Arad-Sin,  ruler  of  Lar&a,  143,  145 

230;  tendencies  toward  monotheism, 

AralQ,  usual  name  of  Nether  world, 

441 

q.v. 

Ashurbanapal,   King  of   Assyria,   21 

Arban  (mound),  24 

seq.,  58,  142,  174,  179  seq.,  220,  234, 

Arbela,  490;  Ishtar  of.  468,  490 

267,  468,  490,  492;    library  of.  21 

Arch,   in  antiquity,  378  seq. 

seq.,  34,  37,   47,  92,    162,  218  acq., 

Architecture,  religious,  4,  49;  Hebrew, 

241,  444,  475;  sculptures,  406  seq. 

influenced  by   Euphratean,  5;    ter- 

Ashur-bel kala,  King  of  Assyria,  25 
Ashurdaninapal,    174 

races,  40 ;  plan  and  construction,  49, 

66,  57  seq.,  270;  early  Babylonian, 

Ashur-mukin-palCTa.  492 

122   seq.;   influenced   by   materials, 

Ashurnasirpal   III,  King  of  Assyria, 

367  seq.,  382;   arch  and  dome,  378 

19,  23,  25,   172  seq.,  201,  400 

seq.     See  also  Building  materials, 

Ashur-reshishi,  King  of  Assyria,  166, 

stage- tower 

171 

Archives.     See  Temple 

Ashurnasirpal   III,  King  of  Assyria, 

Ark.  See  Ship 

163 

Armenia,  5,   114 

Ashur-uballit,  King  of  Assyria,  163  seq. 

Arsacidian  dynasty.  66 

Asia  Minor,  2,  114,  151.                     166, 

Arses,  74 

179,  265 

Art,   Hebrew,   influenced   by   Euphra- 

Asnapper =  Ashurbanapal.  q.v. 

tean,  5;  early  Babylonian,  43  seq., 

Assyria,  great   antiquity   of  civilisa- 

52 seq.,  59  seq.,  136,  382  seq. ;  gates 

tion,    1    seq.;    geography.    6    M 

of  Batawat,  35  seq,,  413  seq. ;  Per- 

early excavations,   14  seq.;  official 

sian,  66;  Sumertan.  122;  modelling, 

archives,  21;   culture  of,  an  erten* 

382;  Hittite,  389;  hybrid  creatures, 

sion  of  Babylonian,  42,  103;  conquest 

389,   397    seq.,    412,    416:    inlaying. 

by    Cyrus,    87;    history,    12u,     157 

398   seq.;    metallurgical,    407    seq., 

seq.,    163,    172    seq.;     deportation, 

412    seq.     See    also    Architecture, 

180,     175;      rivalry     with     Baby 

Sculpture,  Seal-cylinders 

Ionia,   145,   163  seq.;  early   popula- 

Artaxerxes I,  74 

tion,  157  ;  attacks  on  Babylonia,  164 

Artaxei-xee  II,  74 

seq.,  167;  decline,  166  teq.,  179,  180; 

Artaxerxes   III,   74 

in  astrological  system.  1                 >\ 

Aryans,  162,  180 

slavery,  344  seq.;  architecture  and 

Asari,  title  of  Marduk,  441 

art,  368,  370  seq.,  399  seq.    See  also 

Asaru  alim,  title  of  Marduk,  441 

Ashurbanapal,  Cappadocia,  Suharto 

INDEX 


409 


Astrology,  22,  185,  209,  226,  236,  258 
seg.,  428,  467,  489  seg.;  omens,  490 
•eg.    See  also  Divination 

Astronomy,  185,  259,  262 

Asu-shu-namir,  457  seg. 

Atalu,  "  eclipse,"  491 

Atrakhasis,  hero  of  the  Deluge,  446, 
452.    See  also  Ut-napishtim 

Austro-Hungary,  70 

A  vesta,  66  aeq.,  72 

Azag-Shim,  a  month,  325 

B 

Baal,  197,  213 

Babbar  =  Shamash,  q.v. 

Babel,  Tower  of,  4,  11,  31 

Babil,  one  of  the  mounds  of  Babylon, 
12,  27 

Babylon,  11,  12,  22,  26,  30,  31,  55,  61, 
124,  144,  147,  156,  212,  270,  332, 
342;  identified  by  Niebuhr,  13; 
early  excavations,  27,  28,  36;  later 
excavations,  59  seg.;  pantheon,  59, 
60;  processional  road,  59  teg.,  369; 
Amorite  dynasty,  142  seg.;  Hittite 
invasion,  151  aeq.;  besieged  by  As- 
syria, 165;  destruction  of,  177;  re- 
built, 184;  conquest  by  Cyrus,  184; 
first  dynasty,  330  aeq.,  337  aeq.; 
arch,  378;  the  "abode  of  life,"  468 

Babylonia,  great  antiquity  of  civiliza- 
tion, 1  aeq.;  in  Hebrew  tradition,  3 
aeq.;  early  excavations,  25  aeq.; 
geography,  7  seg.;  fertility,  7;  al- 
luvial deposits,  7  aeq.;  literary  pro- 
ductions, 21  aeq.,  427  seg.;  conquest 
by  Cyrus,  87;  rivalry  with  Elam, 
113;  history,  120  aeq.,  168  aeq.; 
rivalry  with  Assyria,  145,  163  aeq.; 
Cassites,  149  aeq.;  Hittite  invasion, 
151  aeq.;  attacked  by  Assyria,  164 
aeq.,  167;  decline,  168  aeq.,  184; 
province  of  Assyria,  175,  180;  in 
astrological  system,  261  seg.,  491; 
architecture  and  art,  368  aeq.,  383 
seg. 

Bagdad,  6,  12,  13,  33 

Balawat,  bronze  gates,  35,  413 

Ball,  C.  J.,  262 


Banks,  E.  J.,  61  seg.,  378,  382, 407 

Barton,  G.  A.,  118,  119 

Bart,  "  diviner,"  272 

Basha-Shushinak,  King  of  Elam,  141 

Basra,  16,  28,  39 

Bau,  consort  of  Ningirsu,  identified 

with  Gula,  200,  210,  217,  232,  277, 

392,  466;  symbol,  418 
Beauchamp,  Abbe  de,  13 
Bedouins,  122,  144,  165,  160,  173,  178, 

180 
Behistun,  82  seg.,  88,  91,  111,  113 
Bel,  title  of  Marduk,  213;   title  of 

Ashur,  230 
Belfry,  origin,  377 
Belili,  sister  of  Tammuz,  460 
Belit,  associated  with  triad,  232;  con- 
sort of  Ashur,  232;  designation  of 

Ishtar,  233 
Belit-sen,  358 
Belshazzar,  64 
Benares,  196 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  12 
Bennu,  a  sickness,  314,  343  seg. 
Berlin  Museum,  14 
Berosus,  9,  126 
Bezold,  Carl,  23,  262 
Bil-Bil-Gar,  fifth  month,  328 
Bilge  =  Gibil,  g.t>. 
Bilhah,  309 
Billerbeck,  A,  35,  413 
Birch,  Samuel,  35,  413 
Birs  Nimrud  (Borsippa),  11,  28,  30 

seg.,  39 
Bismya  (Adab),  51  seg.,  121, 124, 147, 

378,  381,  394  seg.,  407 
Bitana,  487.    See  Gatana 
Bit-Bazi,  171 
Bitumen,  6,  389 
Black  Sea,  159,  162,  167 
Boghaz-Keui,   151;    inscriptions,   115 

seg. 
BdllenrfLcher,  J.,  206 
Borsippa  (Birs  Nimrud),  11,  22,  28, 

30  aeq.,  39,  61,  147,  184,  218,  220, 

278 
Botta,  P.  E.,  14  aeq.,  18,  27,  31  seg, 

61,  86,  89,  370,  376,  402,  415 


502                                   INDEX 

Dul-azagga,  seventh  month,  341 

Elam    (country),   87,    113,   118,    129, 

Dumu-Zi-Aspu  (Tammuz),  453 

130,    134,    135,*  140,    141,    145,    149, 

Duugi,  King  of  Ur,  51,  HO,  322,  325 

150,  154,  169.  171,  170.  177.  179,  180, 

Duppu,  "  tablet,  letter,"  484 

468  acq,;  conquest  by  Sargon  I,  133; 

Dur-Gurgurri,  488 

conquest  by  Naram-Sin,   136;   con- 

Dur-Sharrukin   (Khorsabad),  15  atq.r 

quest  by  Gudea,    138;    conquest  of 

25 

Babylonia,  171;  in  astrological  sys- 

E 

tem,  261  aeq.,  491 

Ea.  patron  deity  of  Eridu,  30,  202, 

Elamites,  148;  language,  110  aeq.,  114, 

207,  208,  213,  226,  231,  238  aeq.f  270, 

141;  conquests  in  Asia  Minor,  114; 

306,  422;  personification  of  watery 

invasion  of  Euphrates  Valley,  135, 

element,  208,  210;  as  patron  of  arts, 

141,  143,  145 

210;  ritual,  246  *eq.,  253,  411 ;  posi- 

Elephantine, 161 

tion  in  ecliptic,  261;   symbol,  411, 

Elkanah,  310 

412,  417.  418;  as  creator,  424,  440; 

Ellasar,  see  Larsa 

in  creation  story,  430,  438  acq.;  in 

EUil,  see  Enlil 

deluge  story,  445  aeq. 

Elvend,  82 

Eabani,  281    (error  for  Enkidu,  q.v*\ 

Emutbal    (country),    142,    143,    146, 

Eagte,  double-headed,  42;  lion-headed, 

150,   153 

42,43 

Enakalli,  ruler  of  Umma.  129 

E-anna,  temple  of  Nana  at  Uruk,  26, 

Enannatum  I,  ruler  of  Lagash,  130 

233 

Enbi-Ishtar,  ruler  of  Kish.  132 

Eannatum,  patesi  of  Lagash,  42,  43, 

En-bilulu,  a  title  of  the  god  Mardok, 

127,  128,  130,  387  acq.;  monument 

215 

of,   128,   200,   387   aeq.;  treaty  of, 

Eiifrar-du-a,  eighth  month,  324 

129 

8 -ninnu,   temple  of  Ningirsu  at  La- 

E-Babbar, temple  of  Shamash  at  Larsa 

gash,  40,  42,  128,  138,  200,  372,  385. 

and  Sippar,  201,  204,  372 

443 

E-barra,  possible  reading  by  the  side 

En-ki,  202,  see  Ea 

of  E-Babbar,  q.  v. 

Enkidu,  419  aeq.,  461  aeq.    (Formerly 

Ecbatana,  87,  150 

read  Eabani) 

Ecclesiastes,  463 

Enlil,  patron  deity  of  Nippur.  46.  47 

Eclipse,  260,  401  aeq. 

aeq.,  53,  129,  158,  197,  202.  207,  208, 

Ecliptic,  204,  261,  439 

229,  234  aeq.,  270,  476,  head  of  early 

Eden,  Garden  of,  3 

pantheon.  48,  125,  156,  187  acq.,  194 

Edina-Mugi,  a  deity,  424 

aeq.,  213,  222,  231;  as  solar  deity 

E  gishshirgal,  temple  of  Sin  in  Ur,  222 

188;  son  of  Ami,  210;  as  storm-god, 

Egypt,  2,  4,  6,  9,  55,  84,  100,  161,  166, 

214,  223;  position  in  ecliptic,  261; 

176,  177  aeo.,  183,  280,  367,  368,  374, 

symbol,   417;    as   creator,   424;    In 

381;  cuneiform  writing;  118;   Am- 

creation  story,  438  acq.;  in  deluge 

arna  correspondence,  164;   invaded 

story,  446  aeq. 

by  Esarhaddon,  178 

Enlil-nadin-akhi,  last  Cassite  King  of 
Babylonia,  170 

E-kharsag-gal  kurra,  name  of  the  zik- 

kurat    (stage-tower)    at  Ashur,   56 

Enlil-nirari.  King  of  Assyria,  164  aeq. 

aeq. 

Enmasht,  see  Ninib 

E-khuMcuul,  temple  of  Sin  at  Ur,  372 

En-nugi,  446 

E-kur,  temple  of  Enlii  at  Nippur,  48, 

Kntemena,   ruler  of  Lagash,  43,   126, 

194,  197,  198,  206,  219,  270;  dwell- 

130, 389;  case  of.  415  aaq. 

ing-place  of  demons,  481 

Entu,  "votary,"  272 

INDEX 


503 


Enu,  class  of  priests,  272 

Envelopes,  clay,  330,  335 

En-zu,  202,  222.  See  Sin 

Epilepsy,  314,  343 

Eponyms,  344,  351  seq.,  490 

Erech,  see  Uruk 

Ereshkigal,  goddess  of  the  nether 
world,  158,  280,  454  seq. 

Eridu,  7,  8,  29,  30,  124,  140,  147,  210, 
211,430 

Erik-den-ilu,  King  of  Assyria,  165 

Erridupizir,  King  of  Guti,  139 

Erua,  a  title  of  the  goddess  Sarpanit, 
221 

E-sagila,  temple  of  Marduk  at  Baby- 
lon, 59  seq.,  211,  217,  219,  221,  270, 
278,  283,  372,  483 

E-sar,  temple  at  Adab,  52  seq. 

Esarhaddon,  King  of  Assyria,  174, 
178,  180,  467,  490 

E-sharra,  temple  in  Ashur,  229,  438 

E-shidlam,  temple  of  Nergal  at 
Cuthah,  206 

E-shu-me-du,  temple  of  Ninib  in  Nip- 
pur, 198 

Etana,  125 

E-temen-an-ki,  name  of  the  stage-tower 
in  Babylon,  30 

Ethics,  237  seq.,  281  seq.,  463  aeq., 
465  seq. 

Etimmu,  a  demon,  243,  247 

Euphratean  civilization,  62,  110,  158, 
375;  great  age,  1 ;  reflected  in  Bible, 
4  seq.;  influence,  116,  185  seq.,  257 
seq. 

Euphrates  river,  3,  4,  8,  213,  246,  367; 
description,  5  seq.;  change  of  course, 
123;  sources,  166.  See  also  Canals, 
Inundation,  Irrigation 

Euphrates  Valley,  1,  2,  4;  fertility,  5; 
survey,  14;  early  political  condi- 
tions, 41;  literature,  47;  mixed 
population,  105;  history,  120  seq.; 
Outi  invasion,  138;  Amorite 
dynasty,  142  seq.;  Elamites  in,  142 
seq.;  Hittite  invasion,  151  seq. 

E-ur-imin-an-ki,  name  of  the  stage- 
tower  of  Nabu  in  Borsippa,  30,  32, 
467 


Europe,  culture  of,  2;  museums,  14 

Excavations,  2,  3;  early  attempts,  13 
seq.;  first  conducted  systematically 
by  France,  14;  second  French  ex- 
pedition, 16  seq.;  early,  in  Baby- 
lonia, 25  seq.;  second  period,  33 
seq.;  third  period,  39  seq.;  fourth 
period,  45  seq. 

Exorcism,  211,  241,  244  seq.,  410  seq.t 
477,  480;  associated  with  medicine, 
250  seq. 

Explorations,  early,  12  seq. 

Ezekiel,  460 

E-zida,  temple  of  Nabu  at  Borsippa, 
39,  61,  219,  220  seq.,  372 

F 

Family  laws,  285  seq.,  302  seq. 

Fara  (Shuruppak),  55,  446 

Fauns,  264 

Festivals— New  Tear's,  57,  59,  199, 
216  seq.,  218,  277  seq.;  harvest,  278 
seq.;  summer  solstice,  279;  Tam- 
muz,  460;  new-moon,  478 

Fines,  286,  290,  292  seq.,  368 

Finger-nail  mark,  as  substitute  for 
seal,  336 

Fire-god,  226  seq.,  246.  See  also  Gibil, 
Girru,  Gisbar,  Ishum,  Nusku 

Fire  ritual,  246  seq. 

Fisher,  C.  S.,  49 

Flandin,  E.,  15,  16,  18,  402,  415 

Flood,  see  Deluge 

Florence,  377 

Fossey,  C,  15,  119 

France,  organizes  first  excavating  ex- 
pedition, 14;  second  expedition,  16 
aeq.;  further  excavations,  41 

Frank,  C,  272,  308 

Frazer,  J.  G.,  426 

Freemen,  287 

Fresnel,  Fulgence,  18,  27,  28,  32 

G 

Gaga,  messenger  of  Anshar,  433 
Galilee,  55 
Gallu,  a  demon,  242 
Gan,  a  measure,  297,  328 
Gandash,  Cassite  ruler  of  Babylonia, 
154 


504                                  INDEX 

Gan-gan-e,  ninth  month,  324,  327,  340 

Halys  (River),  160 

Gar,  a  measure,  447 

Ham,  96 

Garden  of  Eden,  3 

Hamadan,  82 

Garstang,  John,  116 

Hamath  (City),  173 

Gatana,  487 

Hammurapi,  King  of  Babylon,  64,  69, 

Ga- turn-dug  (Bau)  goddess,  406 

122,  141,  143,  148  $eq.t  159,  234,  282, 

de  Genouillac,  H.,  342 

322,  340  aeq.,  355;   Code.  113,  155, 

Geography,   of  Tigris-Euphrates  Val* 

273,  283  aeq.,  337,  361,  393;   con- 

ley, 5  aeq. 

quests,  146;  activities,  146  aeq.;  in 

German  Oriental  Society,  20,  54  aeq. 

oath   formula,   355,  357,   362,  363; 

Gesenius,  VVilhelm,  95 

letters,  487  aeq. 

Gibil,  fire-god,  226 

Hannah,  310 

Gilgamesh,  281,  403;  epic,  22,  34,  125, 

Handcook.  P.  S.  P.,  373,  407 

421,  444  aeq.;  Sabitu  episode,   431 

Harlots,  gee  Votaries,  Prostitution 

aeq. 

Harper,  R.  F.,  45,  283,  488,  491,  492, 

Gimil-Sin,  King  of  Ur,  140,  322,  325 

493,  494,  495 

Gir,  god  of  pestilence,  424 

Harpies,  264 

Girru,  fire-god,  226 

Harran,  4;  centre  of  Sin  worship,  221 

Girsu,  a  section  of  Lagash.  190 

Haupt.  Paul,  168,  246,  445 

Gisbar,  fire  god,  226 

Haynes,  John  H.,  45  aeq.,  47,  49 

Glass.  17 

Heart,  as  seat  of  intellect,  215,  455 

Gold,  41 

Hebrews,  traditions,  3  8eq.f  28,  30  aeq.. 

Goahtasp   (Hyataspes),  77.  78,  81 

34,   96,   300,   425   aeq.,   427;    Baby 

Gdttingen  Academy,  79 

Ionian  origin,   4   acq. ;   deportation. 

Greece,  2T  185,  259,  265 

135;   northern  kingdom,   173,    1 

Greek  period,  30,  48,   116,  220,  274, 

oracles,   273;    New  Year's   festival, 

348,  350,  467 

278;  law  codes,  284  aeq.,  301 

<;n>ssTnann,  Hugo,  444 

Heeren,  A.  H.  L.,  79 

Grotefend,   Georg   Friedrtch,   69   aeq., 

Ilcpatoacopy,  see  Divination 

73.  75,  77,  79  aeq.,  84,  86,  108,  110 

Herbert,  Thomas,  64 

Gudea,  ruler  of  Lagash,  41  aeq.,  103, 

Herder,  J.  G.  von,  2 

137  aeq.,  210,  267,  271,  OT,  395  aeq., 

Herodotus,  5,  7,  9.  30,  68.  233.  418 

465  acq.;  conquest  of  Elam,  138 

Heuzey,  Leon,  42,   127,  382,  388,  397, 

Gu-eddin    (district),  129 

398 

Quia,  consort  of  the  god  Ninib,  199, 

Hillah,  13,  39 

201,  216,  232,  417  aeq.;  Bau  identi- 

Hilprecht H.  V.,  15,  37,  45,  46,  49, 

fied  with,  200 

50,  70,  127,  139,  202 

Gur,  a  measure,  297,  486 

Hincks,  Edward,  24,  82.  84,  89  aeq., 

Gushtaep,  nee  Goshtasp 

92,  93,  95,  96,  97,  99,  108,  111 

Gutt,  136,  139,  140,  149,  1*5,  166;  con- 

Hippocentaurs,  205 

quests  in  Euphrates  Valley,  138 

Hittites,  152,  153,  162,  165,  166,  169, 

GuUchmid.  Alfred,  97  aeq.,  108 

177,  258;  inscriptions,  71,  115  acq.; 

in   Assyria,    133,   157;    invasion  of 

H 

Babylon,  151  aeq.,  161,  162;  Aryan 

Hadad  nadin  akhe,  40 

elements,  162;  art,  389 

Hagar,  309 

Horns,  as  symbol  of  divinity,  391,  421, 

Haig,  M.,  112 

425 

Halevy,  Joseph,  104 

Horse,  155,  358 

Hallab,  147 

Hronzy,  Friedrich,  134 

INDEX 


505 


Hasting,  168,  199,  201,  400  aeq. 

Hyde,  Thorn**,  63 

Hymns,  22,  46,   104,  203.    See  also 

Incantation 
^ystaspes,  74,  77,  78, 81,  111 


lb,  in  oath  formula,  357 

IM-Sin,Kingof  Ur,  140 

Idikla*  =  Tigris,  q.  v. 

Igigi,  198,  213,  227,  229,  235,  442,  451 

Uumailu,  King  of  "  Sea  Land,"  150, 
151 

Imshnma,  patesi  of  Ashur,  145 

Imgur-Enlil  (Balawat),  35,  413 

Immersion,  483 

Immortality,  211,  281,  425  aeq.,  445, 
452.  See  also  Life  after  death. 
Nether  world 

Incantation  (ahiptu),  22,  46,  104, 198, 
211,  226,  239  aeq.,  411  teg.,  433,  437, 
44* 

Incest,  286,  312  aeq. 

Indenture,  285, 301 

India,  2,  6 

Inheritance,  305  aeq.,  308,  362  aeq. 

Injuries,  285  aeq. 

Innina,  or  Innanna  (goddess),  202, 
232,  340 

Inscriptions,  votive,  49,  113,  143,  189, 
197,  202,  208,  210,  222;  bilingual, 
69;  trilingual,  65  aeq.,  82,  87; 
Elamitic,  110  aeq.,  114;  Hittite,  115 
aeq.    See  also  Cuneiform,  Offerings 

Interest,  rate  of,  326,  338,  339,  340 
aeq. 

Inundation,  in  Babylonia,  7,  8,  9,  128, 
297,  367;  suggests  deluge  story,  445 

Ira,  god  of  pestilence,  448,  451 

Irkalla  (nether  world),  454,  479 

Irnina  (goddess),  232,  235 

Iron,  17,  41 

Irrigation,  7,  9,  10,  128,  367.  See  also 
Canals 

Ishkhara  (goddess),  symbol,  417 

Ishme-Dagan,  ruler  of  Assyria,  158 

Ishtar  (goddess),  26,  238  aeq.,  270, 
468;  Gate  of,  Babylon,  60,  370;  as- 
sociated with  triad,  232;  consort  of 


Ashur,  232;  various  names,  232;  as 
Mother  goddess,  233;  as  goddess  of 
love,  233  aeq.;  as  goddess  of  war, 
234;  identified  with  Venus,  234, 
261;  symbol,  411,  417;  in  Gilga- 
mesh  epic,  444  aeq.,  461;  descent 
into  nether  world,  453  aeq. 

Ishum,  fire-god,  226 

Isin  (City),  124,  146,  149,  150,  151, 
153;  dynasty,  141  aeq.,  170  aeq.,  329 

Isdubar,  34,  see  Gilgamesh 

J 

Jacob,  309 

Jamutbal,  see  Emutbal 

Japan,  2 

Japhet,  96 

Jastrow,  Morris,  Jr.,  4,  5,  22,  74,  216, 

227,  235,  242,  251,  254,  257,  262,  264, 

265,  266, 267,  279,  280, 281,  308,  380, 

389,  427,  441, 444,  453,  463,  465, 469, 

475,  493,  494 
Jensen,  Peter,  198 
Jeremias,  Johannes,  38 
Jerusalem,  135,  196;  fall  of,  183 
Jewelry,  410,  415 
Jews,  burial,  48,  196 
Job,  475,  477,  482,  483 
Johns,  C.  H.  W„  284,  315,  344,  345 
Jonah,  12 
Josephus,  9 
Judaea,  176,  183 
Judges,   288,  366.    See  also   Courts, 

Priests 
Jupiter,  identified  with  Marduk,  261, 

439,  442,  491 
Jurisprudence,    see    Courts,    Dating, 

Law      codes,      Legal      documents, 

Judges,  Priests 

K 
Ka,  a  measure,  326 
Eadesh,  male  votary,  308 
Kadishtu,  "holy  woman,"  308.     See 

also  Votaries,  Prostitution 
Kaempfer,  Engelbert,  65 
Kalah,  see  Calah  and  Nimrud 
Kaleh-Shergat,  35,  55,  86,  157,  158, 

379  «eg.  See  also  Ashur 
Kalu,  "  musician,"  272,  325 


506 


INDEX 


KaraindAAh,  Cassite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 163,  169 

Karakhardash,  Cassite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 163 

Karkar    (City).  174 

Kasallu  (City),  145 

KaBhtiliash  I,  Cassite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 154 

Kashtiliaeh  II,  Cassite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 165 

Kasr,  one  of  the  mounds  of  Babylon, 
27,59 

KedSsba,  female  votary,  308 

Kerbela,  48 

Khala,  identified  with  goddess  Gula, 
155 

Khamazi   (Country),  127 

Khamru,  358 

Khani  (Country),  159 

Kharshi,  322 

KlutrsUu,  a  kind  of  grain,  324 

Kfaatti,  see  llittites,  Mitanni 

Khishiarshi  =  Xerxes,  76 

Khorsabad  (Dur-Sharrukin),  15,  17, 
18.  ID,  25,  27,  86,  88  aeq.f  370,  376, 
402 

Khshayarsha  —  Xerxes,  76 

Khsheio,  old  Persian  word  for 
"King/'  72,  75 

Khumurti,  322 

Kikla,  early  Assyrian  ruler,  157 

King,  L.  W.,  35,  83,  119,  136,  165,  224, 
234,  110,  417,  427,  440, 487,  488 

Kings,  as  priests,  271,  317,  468; 
divine  descent,  330,  478;  mercantile 
pursuits.  338;  titles:  "King  of  the 
Four  Quarters,"  136,  139,  141,  154, 
186;  "King  of  the  Universe,"  136, 
159;  "King  of  Sumer  and  Akkad," 
141,  154,  106;  "King  of  Babylon," 
154;  "King  of  Karduniash,"  165. 

Kingu,  in  creation  story,  430  seq. 

Kin  Tnnanna,  sixth  month,  341. 

Kish  (el-Ohemir>,  28,  44,  124  aeq., 
129.  132  aeq.,  145,  147,  339;  be- 
comes capital  of  Sargonic  dynasty, 
134  aeq. 

Kishar    (god),   428 

Knudtzon,  J.  A.,  164 


Kohler,  J.,  284,  358 

Koldewey,  Robert.  56,  69,  60,  61,  37  J 

Koschaker,  E„  325 

Kouyunjik,  one  of  the  mounds  of 
Nineveh,  15,  19,  21,  24,  25,  27,  34, 
35,  86,  404 

Ktesiaa  9 

Kudfl   (people),  489 

Kudurmabug,  ruler  of  Emutbal.  142, 
14;$,  145 

Kudurnanchundi,  ruler  of  Flam,  142 

Kugler,  F.  X.,  163,  331 

Kurdish  mountains,  7 

Kurigalzu  II,  Caasite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 163,  164 

Kurna,  6,  8 

Kutushar  (goddess),  207 

Lab'an,  159 

Labartu,  a  demon,  242,  247,  411,  481 

Labartu  b>  I 

Labasu,  a  demon,  243,  247 

Labor  285  st'q.>  405  aeq.;  wages,  326 

Lachish,  404  scq. 

Lagash  (Shirpurla,  Telloh),  30  arq., 
43  seq.t  46,  47.  48,  50,  64.  103.  121, 
124,  126,  128.  129,  IS7  arq..  14". 
147,  190  arq..  J10.  277,  310.  385,  387, 
390,  410,  415,  JOG;  treaty  with  Ki-li, 
127;  invaded  by  Uirnna,  131;  arch, 
378;  standard  of,  388,  380.  421 

Lakhami,  a  group  of  mouster- 

Lakhamu  (deity).  423 

Lakhmu   (deity  t,  428 

Lallaru,  "musician,"  272 

Lamaasu  (demon),  24(i 

Lamentation,  see  Penitential  ritual* 

Landeradorfler,  B.,  475 

Langdon.  Stephen,  194 

Lapis  lazuli,  410 

Larsa  (Senkereh,  ETlasar),  26,  124, 
129,  131,  140,  141,  143,  145  *ey..  184, 
202,  328 

Lapirab.  King  of  Guti,  139 

Lassen,  Christian,  81  sec/.,  84  acq. 

Law.  administration  of,  332  acq.  Ses 
also  Family  laws,  Law  codes,  Legal 
documents,  Property,  Real  estate, 
Temple 


INDEX 


507 


Hebrew,  5,  284  aeq.,  292, 
'  Babylonian,  130  aeq.,  283 
Iammurapi,  147,  273;  of 
a,  360 
5,  364  aeq. 
Austen    Henry,    18,   20 

_,,  ...     »,  31,  32,  35,  39,  46,  92, 

MO, 170, 404,  413 
Las,  eoasort  of  the  god  Nergal,  232 
Leases,  348  aeq. 
Lebanon,  159,  368 
Legal  documents,  26,  29,  37,  47,  50, 

273;  specimens,  319  aeq.;  formulae, 

333    aeq.    See    also    Dating,    Law 

codes 
Legrain,  Leon,  140,  326 
Lehman  Haupt,  Carl  F.,  5 
Letters,  220;  business,  484,  486  aeq.; 

personal,  484  aeq.;  official,  487  aeq.; 

medical,  494  aeq.;  gods  invoked  in, 

494 
Lex  talionis,  284,  285,  288,  291  aeq., 

300 
Libation,  50,  199,  271,  280,  399,  402, 

460,478 
Life     after     death,     277     aeq.,     380 

aeq.,  463.    See  also  Burial,  Nether 

world 
Lilitu,  a  demon,  243,  247 
Lilu,  a  demon,  243,  247 
Limu  =  Eponym,  q.  v. 
Literature,  specimens,  427   aeq.    See 

Ashurbanapal,  Temple 
Liver,  as  seat  of  emotions,  215,  455, 

471,  480;  as  seat  of  life,  257.    See 

also  Divination 
Loans,  325  aeq.,  338  aeq.,  484 
Loftus,  William  Kennett,  25  aeq.,  31 
Longperier,  A.  de,  88,  89 
Louvre  museum,  14,  16,  33,  41,  86, 

385 
Lbwenstern,  I.,  88,  89,  92 
Lower  world,  see  Nether  world 
Lugal  (god),  448 
Lugal-daudu,  king  of  Adab,  52,  394 

aeq. 
Lugal-Edina  (god),  424 
Lugal-ki-gub-niddu,  King  of  Uruk  and 

Ur,  131 


Lugal-kisal-si,  King  of  Uruk  and  Ur, 

131 
Lugalzaggisi,  King  of  Uruk,  50,  127, 

132,   135,  137,  139,  142,  159,  202, 

210;  conquest  of  Lagash,  131 
Lulubi   (people),  136,  140,  149,  166, 

171 
Luzatto,  Pbiloxenus,  95 
Lydia,  179 
Lyon,  D.  G.,  285 

M 

Macmillan,  D.  C,  464 

Mader-i- Suleiman,  82 

Magan  (Country),  136,  139 

Magic,  sympathetic,  227,  244,  249; 
formulas,  245  aeq. 

Magnan,  Robert,  14 

Maklu  ritual,  227,  228,  242,  245,  247 
aeq.,  252  aeq. 

Manda,  180 

Manishtusu,  King  of  Kish,  134  teg., 
395;  Obelisk  of,  134 

Mannai  (people),  180 

Manumission,  359  aeq.  See  also  In- 
denture, Slavery 

Marduk  god,  59  aeq.,  148, 157, 184  aeq^ 
220,  246,  270,  278,  283,  308,  369, 
466,  480,  483;  head  of  later 
pantheon,  156,  190,  212,  224,  229, 
231,  476;  tendencies  toward  mono- 
theism, 216  aeq.,  441 ;  son  of  Ea,  211 
aeq.,  247;  as  solar  deity,  211,  214; 
as  storm-god,  214;  as  creator,  216, 
424,  440;  as  determiner  of  fates, 
217 ;  identified  with  Jupiter,  261 ;  in 
oath  formula,  355,  357,  361  aeq.; 
symbol,  411;  in  creation  story,  427 
aeq.;  receives  attributes  of  other 
gods,  441  aeq. 

Mardu-nadin-akhe,  King  of  Babylonia, 
417 

Mardukpaliddin,  King  of  Babylonia, 
170,  176  aeq. 

Markhushu,  "  liniment,"  495 

Marriage,  285  aeq.,  302  aeq.,  334;  gift, 
302,  306,  306,  313,  321  aeq.,  345  aeq.; 
form  of  contract,  345  aeq. 


508 


INDEX 


Mars,  identified  with  Nergal,  261 

Martin,  Francois,  475 

Maruttash      (god),     identified     with 

Ninib,  155 
Mashkim,  title  of  official,  319  acq. 
Maalimaahu,  "  exorciser,"  272 
Mat  tamti,  see  See  land 
Measures,  297,  320,  328,  447  aeq.f  488. 

See  also  Weights 
Mecca,  196 
M..-dia,   170 

Medicine,  185,  254  acq.,  294;  texts,  22, 
242  aeq.,  251,  253,  275;  associated 
with  incantation,  250  seq.;  in  Ham- 
murapi  code,  287;  letters,  494  acq. 
See  also  Bcnnu,  Incantation,  Magic 
Mediterranean  Sea,  5,  G,  131,  133,  159, 

167,  168s  169,  178 
Meissner,  Bruno,  308,  346,  348,  350, 

353,  415,  461,  467 
Melucha  (Country),  136,  139 
Memphis,  178 
Mercer,  S.  A.  B.,  330 
Mercury,  identified  with  Nabu,  261 
Mermaids,  204  aeq. 
Me*  (god),  202 
Mesdjid,  82 
Meshara   (god),  204 
Mesilim,  King  of  Kish,  44,  126,  127  ; 

boundary  stone,  128 
Mesopotamia,  I,  0,  107,  151,  159,  102 
Messerschmidt,  L..  116,  158 
Mesu-tree,  195 

Meyer,   Eduard,    105,    110,    121,    122, 
127.  133,  142,  144,  155,  159, 160,  161, 
189,  389 
Michaelia  A.  T.  F.,  3 
Migrations,  143  acq. 
Minaret,  377 

Mitanni,  115,  151,  157,  162,  165 
Mithraism,  461 
Mohammedans,  burial,  48 
Moloch,  358 

Monotheism,  217,  230,  237 
Monsters,  263  aeq.    See  also  Divina- 
tion 
Montgomery,  J.  A.,  48,  196 
Monuments,  see  Sculptures 


Moon,  four  divisions  repr 
countries,  491  seq.;  full  moon,  204 
acq.,  27(5,  279,  489  acq.;  new-moon, 
204,  200  seq.t  276,  279,  478,  489 

Moon -god,  see  Sin,  Nannar 

Monitmann,  A.  D.,  112 

de  Morgan,  J.,  113,  172,  283 

Mosul,  0,  7,  12,  13,  14,  15,  18,  35 

Mother  goddesa,  192,  232  aeq..  237, 1 
See  also  Bau.  Belit.  Isbtar 

Moulds,  clay,  3S2,  413;  Btone,  br 
413 

Mo,  an  official,  325 

Muballitat-Sherua,  a  Queen  of  Baby- 
lonia, 163 

Mudraya-Miar  (Egypt),  84 

Mugbeir  (Ur),  13,  28  8eq. 

Mukayyar-Mugheir,  q.  v. 

Mumft,  489 

Mummu,  designation  of  Ea,  215;  la 
creation  story,  428  aeq. 

MUnter,  Friedrich,  66,  68,  69,  72 

Murashu  family,  business  documents, 
47 

Murgab,  82 

Mushlakhkhu,  "snake  charm. 

Musa-Arnolt,  \\\,  108 

Mutiabal,  ruler  of  Larsa,  143 

Myhrman,  D.  W.,  46,  50,  316,  317,  323, 
324,  32.3 

Myths,  22,  51,  236,  427,  453  aeq.; 
pictured  on  seal-cylinders,  420  arq., 
424  acq.   See  also  Creation,  Deluge 

N 
Nabonnedos,  last  King  of  Neo-Baby- 

Ionian  Dynasty,  184,  202,  267 
Nabu    (god),    3D,    270, 

Marduk,  218,  !  attributes. 

218  teq.;  identified  with   Mercury, 

201;  symbol,  411;  in  deluge  story, 

448 
Nairi  (people),  166 
Nakhiru,    a    sea    monster,    probably 

whale,  168 
Naksh-i  Ruatam,    66,   68,    70,    71,  83 
Names,  as  symbols  of  power,  213,  245, 

441  aeq.;  symbolizing  existence,  428 
Namrasit,  epithet  of  the  moon-god, ! 


INDEX 


509 


Namtar.  demon  of  pestilence,  243,  281, 
456 

Nana  (Iahtar  of  Uruk),  26,  55,  142, 
157,  209,  232  acq.,  307 

Nannar,  moon-god,  157,  222,  341 

Napoleon,    186 

Narain-Sin,  ruler  of  Agade,  52,  131, 
138,  159,  201;  conquests,  135  seq.; 
monument,    130.   990   seq.,   393 

Nam,  "  musician,"  272 

Narati,  Elamite  deity,  135 

Navigation,  on  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
6,     See  also  Commerce 

Nazibugash,  Cassite  ruler  of  Baby* 
Ionia,  103 

Nazimaruttash,  Caasite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia,  105 

Nebi  Yunua   (mound),  12,  15 

Nebopuliddin,  King  of  Babylonia,  37 

Nebopolassar,  King  of  Babylonia,  55, 
59,   182,  210,  400 

Nebuchadnezzar  I,  King  of  Babylonia, 
171 

Nebuchadnezzar  If,  King  of  Baby- 
lonia, 10,  27,  32,  55,  59,  00,  182  seq., 
185,  210,  219,  267,  355  seq.,  309,  400 
seq.,  building  operations,  183  acq. 

Necho  II,  183 

Nedjef  (city),  48 

Neo-Elamitic,    110  seq, 

Nergal,  solar  deity,  143,  200  seq.,  270; 
shrine  at  Nippur,  206;  character- 
istics, 200  seq.;  as  god  of  nether 
world,  207,  280;  identified  with 
Mars,  281;  symbol,  417 

Neriglissar,  King  of  Babylonia,  184 

Nether  world,  230,  280,  452  seq.;  gods 
of,  207,  280  seq. 

New  Testament,  5 

Nibiru  (Jupiter),  439,  442 

Niebuhr,  Caraten,  0,  13,  05,  71,  70 

Niffer  s=  Nippur,  q.v. 

Nile,  2,  178,  307 

Nimrod,  123 

Nimrud  (Calah),  17  seq.,  21,  23  seq., 
35,  80,   201,  370 

Ninft  (goddess),  232,  287,  405 

Nin-dub  (god),  267 


Nineveh,  12,  13,  15,  24,  25,  47,  02,  147, 
182,  230,  242;  fall  of,  178,  180,  183 

Nineveh  (in  S.  Babylonia),  49 

Ningal,  consort  of  Sin,  392,  419 

Ningirsu,  patron  deity  of  Lagash,  40, 
42,  43,  128,  129,  138,  217,  207,  277, 
385,  387  acq.,  390,  302,  405  seq.; 
identified  with  Ninib,  199  seq. 

Ningishzida,  god  of  vegetation,  267 

Nin-gul,  consort  of  the  god  Sin,  232 

Ninib  (Enraasht),  solar  deity,  196 
seq.f  205  seq,,  210,  270,  443;  myth 
of,  51 ;  other  deities  identified  with, 
199  seq.;  as  determiner  of  fates, 
190;  cult  in  Assyria,  200  seq.;  idea* 
tilled  with  Saturn,  201;  symbol, 
417;    in  deluge  story,  446 

Nin-Isin,  "lady  of  iBin,"  397 

Nin-kharsag,  patron  goddess  of  Adah, 
53,    129,   202,   239 

Ninlil,  consort  of  Enlil,  53,  186,  232, 
seq.,  associated  with  triad,  232, 
239;    consort   of    Marduk,    232 

Ninmakh,  chief  goddess  of  Opis,  150, 
270;  associated  with  triad,  232; 
consort   of    Marduk,    232 

Ninnienna,    (goddess),  207 

Ninni    (goddess),  232 

Nippur  (Niffer),  24  seq.,  45  seq.,  50, 
53,  121,  123,  seq.,  131,  140,  156, 
11)4,  seq.,  216,  270,  317;  arch,  378 

Nipush,  a  profession,  310 

Nirvana    463 

Nisaba   (goddess),  202,  207 

Nisakku,   H  libationist,"   272 

Ntshu,  *'  taking  the  oath,"  337 

Nisir,  Mount,  450 

Nohieke,  Theodor,  49,  101 

Norris,  Edwin,  23,  111 

Nubia,  368 

Nudimmud   (Ea),  429,  437 

Nuffar,  45.    See  Nippur 

Nu-C.ig=  Kadiahtu,  308,  357.  See 
Votaries 

Xnmimmir,  title  of  Enlil,  207 

Nu-Par  =  Zermashitu,   308 

Nflr-Sliamash,  328 

Nusku,  flre-god,  220  seq.,  237;  as 
judge,  228;   ritual,  240  seq.,  411 


510                                 INDEX 

0 

Penitential  rituals,  22,  194,  278,  460; 

Oath,    129,    311,    315,    320   §eq.,   325, 

specimena,   469   seq.     See  also   In- 
cantation 
Pennsylvania.    University   of,   Arch** 

328,   333,   336   aeq,,  341,   347,   355, 

364  seq. 

Offering*,  votive,  41  aeq.,  50,  58,  128, 

ological  Museum.  14;  excavations  at 

380,    307,    408   aeq.;    to   the   dead. 

ir,  45  acq,,  317 
Pentateuch.  273.  277.   288,  292 

289;    of  children,   358;    sacrificial, 

450,  464,  478 

Perrot.  Geo.,  370 

eJ«Obemir  (Kiah),  28 

Persepolis,  12,  63  acq.,  70,  72,  83,  86, 

Oil,   ritual,  252  $eq.;  divination,  266 

87 

Old  Testament,  5,  9,  68,  76,  358 

Persia,   2,   69,   70,    74,   82,    184  acq.; 

Omens,  see  Divination 

language,   see  Avesta 

Opis,  124,  135,  147,  150;  conquest  of, 

Persian  Gulf,  6  aeq.t  29,  30,  151,  208 

129 

acq.,  430 

Oppert,  Jules,  27,  28,  32,  33,  82.  84, 

Persian  period,  25,  29,  47,  48,  50,  61, 

92,  93,  95,  97,  98  aeq.,  101,  107,  108, 

67,  220,  274,  348,  415.  467;    seals. 

112 

418 
Peters,  John  P.,  45  seq.,  49,  50 

Oracles,  225,  227,  272,  273,  284,  280, 

437.     See  also  Divination 

Phoenicia,  116,  169,  173,  175,  177,  277 

Ordeal,  284,  287  aeq.,  303,  311 

Phonetic  complements,  05,  99 

Orientation,  374 

Phrenology,  257 

Orontes  river,  174 

Pinches,  T\  G..  35,  116,  413 

Pir  Hussein,  136 

P 

Pisa,  377 

Painting,  371 

Place,  Victor,  16  $eq.t  28,  31.  32.  33, 

Palaces,     Parthian,     40.       See     also 

370 

Architecture,  Dur-Sharrukm 

Planets,  258,  261 

Palestine,  2f  4,  28,  116,  152,  169,  173, 

Poebel,  Arno,  46,   50,   106,    125  acq., 

175   seq.,    179,    183,   404;    Amarna 

132,   137,    283,   317,   334,   343,   347, 

correspondence,   164 

363,  304,  444 

Paniragana  ( Country ) ,  484 

Polyandry,  130 

Pantheon,  187  aeq.,  193  aeq.,  205  aeq., 

Polyideography,  92 

209,  237,  239,  269;   early  Babylo- 

Polyphony, 92 

nian,  48,  103,  222,  224,  231;  later 

Polytheism,  210 

Babylonian,  59,  218,  224,  231;  Cas- 

Pottery,    17,   29,   88.  41,   50,  52.  380 

site,  155;  Assyrian,  220,  228,  231, 

aeq.    See  also  Burial  Coffins 

232;    of    nether    world,    2S0    acq.; 

Prayers,  22,  216,  220  aeq.,  464,  469. 

symbols,  410  aeq.,  417,  418,  421 

478;  specimens,  465  aeq.     See  also 

Papsukal,  messenger  of  the  gods,  457 

Incantation,   Penitential    rituals 

Par  si.  priests,  66 

Priestesses,    272,    308,    317;    financial 

Parthian  period,  palace,  40,  66;   for- 

transactions, 338,  340  aeq..  346,  349 

tress,  47 

aeq.     See  also  Votaries 

Partnership,  354  seq. 

Priests,  as  judges,  130,  288>  mtq.t  818, 

PaBhishu,  "  anointer,"  272,  320 

365;    priest-kings,    271.    317,    468: 

Paterson,  A.,  404 

various    functions.    271    «'  , 

Pehlevi,  68,  71  seq.,  77  aeq. 

477;    as   politicians,  274;    lease  of 

Peiser,  F.  E.,  358 

offices,  329 

Pelagaud,  F.,  319 

Processional   road,   Babylon,   59  seq.> 

Peninnah,   310 

369.     See  Aibur-shabu 

INDEX 


511 


Property,  personal,  285  seq. 
Prostitution,  sacred,  233  seq.,  272  seq., 

307  seq. 
Proto-Elamitic,  114,  118,  110 
Psalms,  Biblical,  460 
Purattu  =  Euphrates,  q.v. 
Purification,  246  seq.,  483,  404 
Pursin,  King  of  Ur,  140 
Puzur-kurgal,  boatman  in  deluge  story, 

448 

R 

Rabisu,  a  demon,  243,  246  seq. 

Rab-Mugi,  an  official,  406 

Radau,  Hugo,  46,  50 

Rainbow,  403 

Ramku,  "libationist,"  272 

Ram  man,  title  of  Adad,  q.  v. 

Ranke,  H.,  50,  317,  340,  350 

Rask,  R.  K.,  70,  80,  82,  84 

Rassam,  Hormuzd,  21,  31,  32,  35,  36, 
37,  30 

Rawlinson,  Sir  Henry,  20,  23,  24,  30 
seq.,  33,  82  seq.,  84  seq.,  01  seq.,  05, 
07,  100,  101,  107,  111,  142, 
167,  203,  214,  216,  210,  220,  223, 
253,  302,  303,  322,  373,  445,  466, 
467,  470,  471,  472,  475,  476,  480,  400, 
401 

Real  Estate,  285  seq. 

Red  Sea,  6 

Reisner,  G.  A.,  105,  222 

Religion,  centralizing  tendency,  148 

Renan,  Ernest,  07  seq. 

Rent,  348  seq. 

Retaliation,  see  Lex  talionis 

Rich,  Claudius  James,  13,  14,  86 

Rtm-Sin,  King  of  Larsa,  141,  143,  145, 
146,  140,  150,  153 

Rimush,  King  of  Kish,  134,  135 

Rogers,  R.  W.,  15 

Rome,  2,  173,  186,  106,  250,  265 

Rosetta  stone,  70,  88 

Rost,  P.,  467 

S 

Sabitu,  in  Gilgamesh  epic,  461  seq. 
Sabu,  King  of  Babylonia,  143 
Sabu,  southern  Arabia  (?),  461 


Sacrifice,  240,  278,  280;  codes,  277; 

human,  358  seq.   See  also  Offerings 
de  Sacy,  Sylvestre,  66,  68,  60  seq.,  82 
Saint  Mark's,  377 
de  Saint-Martin,  A.  J.  F.,  80,  81  seq., 

84 
Samaria,  135,  176 
Samarra,  stage-tower,  377 
Samsi-Adad,  King  of  Assyria,  158  seq., 

161,  162 
Samsuditana,  King  of  Babylonia,  152 
Samsuiluna,  King  of  Babylonia,  140 

seq.,  153,  327,  343,  347,  350,  363 
Sanskrit,  80,  85 
Sar,  a  measure,  447  seq. 
Sarah,  300 

Sardanapalus-Ashurbanapal,  q.  v. 
Sargon  I,  King  of  Agade,  47,  52,  136, 

138,    150,   201;    founds  a   Semitic 

dynasty,  132  seq. 
Sargon  II,  King  of  Assyria,  16,  17, 10, 

25, 174,  176  seq.,  402 
Sarpanit,  consort  of  the  god  Marduk, 

215,  221,  232,  278 
de  Sarzec,  Ernest,  30,  30  seq.,  42,  43, 

44,  50,  54,  103,  382 
Sassanian  period,  60,  71 
Saturn,  identified  with  Ninib,  261 
Satyrs,  264 
de  Saulcy,  F.,  80 
Sayce,  A.  H.,  112 
Scheil,  Vincent,  38,  113,  114,  133,  134, 

213,  283,  321 
Schorr,  M.,  146,  337 
Schrader,  Eberhard,  108,  100,  163,  352 
Scribes,  273,  484 
Sculpture,  Babylonian,  383  seq.,  386 

seq.,  303  seq.;  animals,  307  seq.,  401 

seq.,  417  seq.;  Assyrian,  300  seq., 

404  seq.  See  also  Art 
Sculptures,  early  discoveries  by  Botta, 

15  seq.;  early  discoveries  by  Layard, 

10   seq.;   from    Lagash,   41;    from 

Bismya,   52;    of   Sennacherib,   404 

seq.;  of  Ashurbanapal,  408  seq. 
Scythians,  100 
Sea  land  (mat  tamti),  150,  152  aeqn 

162, 171, 176, 178, 182 


512                                  INDEX 

Seal-cylinders,  38,   41,  44,   121,  201, 

Shem.  96 

,  330,  334  aeq.t  418  se?. 

Sherif  Khan  (mound),  24 

Seals,  160,  334  seq.,  418  seq. ;  substi- 

Shinar-Sumer, 3  aeq. 

tutes  for,  335  aeq.;  seal-maker,  343, 

Ship,  of  Ut-napishtim,  446  e*q. 

418  acq. 

Shipak,  identified  with  the  god  Mar 

geleucus,  221,  350,  351 

dukT  IM 

Semiramis,  58 

Mjirpurla,  see  Lagash 

Semites,  struggle  for  supremacy,  120 

Shrines,  see  Temple 

Meg.,  127,  132  aeq.t  135  aeq.,  139, 

Shugurru,  350 

See  also  Akkadians 

Shukamuna,  identified  with  the  god 

Semitic  languages,  groups,  06  seq. 

Nergal,  155 

Senkereh,  see  Laraa 

Shu-Kul,  fourth  month,  325,  327 

Sennacherib,  King  of  Assyria,  55,  165, 

Shuriash,    identified    with     Mm    god 

Shamash,  155 
.ShurpQ  ritual,  227.  242,  248,  307 

174,    177   aeq.,   182,   22*9,  344,  490; 

palace  of,  19,  21,  404  seq. 

Serpent,  426;  winged,  264 

Shuruppak  (City),  123,  124,  446.  See 

Sha'ilu,  "oracle"  priest,"  272 

Fara 

Shuruppfl,  "chills  and  fever."  481 

Sliala,  consort  of  the  god  Ea,  232 

Shalmaneser  I,  King  of  Assyria,  25, 

Shutruk-Nakhunte,  King  of  Elam,  391 

105 

Siduri,  461 

Shalmaneser  HI,  King  of  Assyria,  19, 

Sig,  third  month,  325 

25,  35,  56,  58,  173,  175,  413;  obelisk 

Silbanum,  "liquorice  root,"  495 

of,  20 

Simanu,  third  month,  339,  484 

Shalmaneser  V,  King  of  Assyria,  174, 

Simanu   (City),  322 

176 

Siniuru   (Country),  140,  324,  325 

Sbamash,   sun-god,   37,   38,   157,   200, 

Sin,  moon-god,  28,  157,  202,  207,  221 

201,  231,  246,  270,  420;  representa- 

aeq.,  231,   234  acq.,  358,   453   •< 

tions  of,  201  seq.;  hymns   to,  203 

tin  its     and     symbols.     222;     usual 

aeq.;  as  judge,  203  aeq.,  227,  273, 

symbol,  410  aeq.,  417,  419,  422;  in 

464  aeq.;  "lord  of  divination,"  225; 

creation  story,  439 

in  oath  formula,  355,  357,  361.  362, 

Sin-muballit,    King   of    Babylon,    143, 

363;  symbol,  417;  on  seal-cylinders, 

145.  146,  348.  361 

422  aeq.;  in  deluge  story,  448 

Sins,  238,  469  *<q 

Shamash-Bbumukin,    ruler    of    Baby- 

Sippar  (City),  37,  40.  121,   123. 

lonia,  179 

147.    184,   200   *eg„   213,   318,  475; 

Shamkhate,  a  class  of  votaries,  460 

wall  of,  as  tribunal,  332,  352 

Shamsbi-Adad   IV    (or   V),    King  of 

Sirara-shum-ta,    epithet    of    the    god 

Assyria,  58,  174 

Ningirsu,  465 

Shandutim,  name  of  month,  341 

Sissiktu   (sisitu),  "fringe,"  335 

Shangu,  "priest,"  272 

Siwan,  see  Simanu 

Shargani  =  Sargon,  q.  v. 

Slavery,   284  aeq.,  301,   310,  313  aeq. 

Sharganiaharri  I,  King  of  Agade,  133, 

See  also  Branding,  Indenture,  Manu- 

135, 138 

mission 

Sharganisharri  II,  King  of  Agade,  137 

Slaves,  price  of,  326;  sale  of,  314,  343 

Khar  Ink,  King  of  the  Guti.  136 

acq.:  as  land  holders,  329  aeq. 

Shatt  el-Arab.  6 

Smith,  George,  23,  34,  35,  36,  234,  468 

Shebat,  eleventh  month,  490 

Sorcery,  224,  240  aeq.,  287 

Shedu,  a  demon,  242,  246  aeq. 

Sphinxes,  264 

She-kin- kud,  first  month,  324 

Spiegel,  Friedrich,  85 

INDEX 


513 


Stage-tower,  11,  23,  26, 28, 29  teg.,  32, 
46,  47  teg.,  51  seq.,  56  seq.,  106,  123, 

270,  374  seq.;  coloring,  370;  repre- 
sented on  boundary  stones,  376  $eq.; 

of  Aau-Adad  temple,  377.  See  Zik- 

kurat 
Stamps,  brick,  27 
Steeple,  origin  of,  377 
Steindorff,  Georg,  70 
StoUe,H^64 
Stone  age,  407 
Storm-god,  see  Enlil,  Adad 
Strassmaier,  J.  N.,  354,  355 
Stratonike,  221 
Subartu  (Assyria),  130;  conquest  by 

Sargon  I,  133;  conquest  by  Naram- 

8in,  136 
Sukkallu,  an  official,  320 
Burner,  1,  3,  50,  101,  123  seq.,  126, 144 

«eg.;  subdued  by  Hammurapi,  146 
Sumerians,    101    seq.;   language,   41, 

105,  328;  chief  religious  centre,  48; 

racial  characteristics,  52,  105  seq., 

121,  384,  304;   theory  concerning, 

102  seq.;  origin,  106  seq.,  121,  375; 

struggle  for  supremacy,   120  seq^ 

135,  130,  144,  148,  150,  164,  327; 

early  laws  283  seq. 
Sumuabu,  King  of  Babylonia,  143, 145 
Sumulailu,  143,  145,  397;  laws  of,  360 
Sumuru,  140  (error  for  Simuru  q.  v.) 
Sun-god,  192;  of  Larsa,  26;  see  Anu, 

About,    Marduk,    Nergal,     Ninib, 

Shamash,  Utu,  Zamama 
Surely,  325,  339 
Surgery,  in  Hammurapi  code,  287, 292, 

294 
Susa,  87,  113,  142,  143,  147,  172,  283, 

395 
Suti  (Bedouins),  165,  173 
Syllabaries,  22,  46,  93  seq^  100 
Syria,  2,  41,  151,  169,  173,  175  seq., 

179,  183;   Amarna  correspondence, 

164 


Tabari  (Arabic  historian),  49 
Tabi-utul-Enlil,  poem  of,  475  seq.,  481, 
483 


Taboo,  249,  478 

Talbot,  H.  Fox,  97 

Tallqvist,  Knut  L.,  227,  245 

Talmud,  Treatise  Kethubin,  312 

Tammuz,  (1)  fourth  month,  249,  350, 
351;  (2)  god,  Dumu-Zi-Apsu,  453, 
459  seq. 

Tashmit,  consort  of  the  god  Nabu,  218, 
232,  349,  485 

Taurus  Range,  151,  152,  161, 162,  165, 
166, 173, 179 

Taylor,  J.  E.,  28  seq.,  31,  32,  379 

Tell  el-Amarna,  55,  115,  164 

Tell  Ibrahim  (mound),  39 

Telloh,  "mound  of  tablets,"  40.  See 
Lagash 

Tell  Sifr   (mound),  26 

Temple,  31,  43;  archives,  22,  37  seq., 
44,  46  seq.,  53,  62,  316,  320;  school, 
39,  46,  94,  126,  208,  239,  275  seq.; 
shrines,  43,  48,  48,  60,  129,  196, 
219,  270;  library,  47;  architecture, 
49,  270,  372  seq.;  of  Anu  and  Adad, 
57,  225,  373  seq.;  as  commercial  or- 
ganization, 130,  373;  restoration, 
147,  156;  organization,  269  seq.;  as 
law  court,  273,  286,  318;  land  hold- 
ings, 274;  as  financial  institution, 
274,  338;  orientation,  374.  See  also 
Priestesses,  Priests,  Stage-tower, 
Votaries 

Terah,  4 

Tertu,  "oracle,"  273,  284 

Teumman,  King  of  Elam,  179,  406 
seq.,  468  seq. 

Text-books,  Assyrian,  22 

Theft,  285  seq.,  289  seq. 

Thiersch,  Hermann,  377 
Thomas,  Felix,  27 
Thompson,  R.  C,  83, 116,  490 
Thureau-Dangin,    Francois,  42,     106, 
127,  132,  139,  143,  277,  285,  319, 
320,  321,  322,  361,  388,  397,  465, 
466 
Tiamat   (primeval  chaos),  212,  216, 

424,  427  seq. 
Tiglath-pileser  I,  King  of  Assyria,  97, 
166  seq.,  171,  172,  373,  875 


514 


INDEX 


Tiglatb-pileaer  IV,  King  of  Assyria, 
19,  174  acq.,  182 

Tigris,  1,  3,  4,  8,  246,  367;  descrip- 
tion of  course  6  acq.;  a  a  avenue  of 
commerce,  6;  source  of,  136 

Tiles,  enamelled,  17,  26,  27,  50  aeq., 
30!)  aeq.,  374 

Tin,  410 

Tirka  capital  of  Khani,  159 

Tirkhatu,  "marriage  gift,"  345;  see 
Marriage 

Tim,  eighth  month,  349 

Ti*u,  a  demon,  198,  242.  243  8cq, 

Tomba,  see  Burial 

Torfth,  ■  law,"  275,  284 

Toecanne,  Paul,  425 

Totem  poles,  384 

Tower,  see  Stage  tower 

Toy.  C.  H.,  257 

Traditions,  Biblical,  3  aeq.,  12,  28,  30 
acq,,  :)l,  96,  123,  100,  488  »*q.,  427; 
Mohammedan,  49;  early  Babylonian, 
123 

Transition  periods,  204,  217,  259  aeq., 
277  acq. 

Transportation,  methods,  6,  181 

T -.  atv,  between  Lagash  and  Kish,  127 

Tree,  sacred,  370,  384,  421  acq..  €ifl 

Triad,  212,  215,  238;  Anu,  Enlil  and 
Eu,  2m  st,/-  --"»•  231,  239,  417 
Shamash  and  Adad,  225,  231,  239 

Tribunal,  see  Priests,  Shamash,  Sip- 
par,  Temple 

Tritons,  2*35 

Tukulti-Ninib  I,  King  of  Assyria,  165, 
166,  167,  169 

Tukulti-Ninib  11,  King  of  Assyria,  172 

Tutu,  442 

Tychsen,  Olav  Gerhard,  65  aeq. 

Tyre,  183 

U 

Ubara-Tutu,  446 

Ulamburiash,  Casaite  ruler  of  Baby- 
lonia, 154 

Umnia,  124,  130,  200,  318,  387;  con- 
quest of,  42,  128  aeq.;  boundary 
treaty,  127 ;  invasion  of  Lagash,  131 

Ummanu  ("expert"),  a  class  of 
priest*.  272 


Ummu-Khubur,  title  of  Tiamat,  430 
Ungnad,  Arthur,  46,  155,  284,  335.  340, 

358.  444 
I'nieorn,  60 
Upi  =  0pia,  q.  v. 
UjiHhukkiuaku  (chamber  of  destinies), 

433,  441 
L'r  (Mugheir),  4,  13,  28  acq.,  124,  126, 

129,   131,   132,  146,   150,    184,  328, 

dynasty  of,  140  aeq.,  160.  316,  319; 

centre    of    Sin    cult,    221;    arched 

vaults,  379 
Urartu  (Country),  175 
Urash,  aun-god  of  Dilbat,  200. 
Ur-Bau,  ruler  of  Lagash,  41,  138 
Ur-Engur,  King  of  Ur,  52,  140. 
Ur-Enlil,  ruler  of  Nippur,  50;  votive 

tablets,  383 
UrigalJu,  a  class  of  priests 
Ur-Lugal-Edinu,  424 
Unniyeh,  Lake,  172 
Ur-Ninft,  ruler  of  Lagash,  42,  43,  127, 

128,271,385.386,408 
Uruk  <  Warka ) ,  25  acq.,  28,  60,  55,  123 

acq.,   127,    129,    131,    132,   135,    137 

aeq.,    140  acq.,    146,    147,    150,    184, 

208,  307,  318,  444;  arch,  378 
Urukagina,  ruler  of  Lagash,  40,   131, 

159,  285;  law  code  of,  130 
Urumuah,  see  Rimush 
Uuli,  ruler  of  Umma,  129 
Ushkha  (Country),  489 
Ushpia,  early  ruler  of  Ashur.  57,  1 
Usury,  399.     See  also  Interest 
Ut-napishtim,  hero  of  the  deluge,  445 

acq. 
Itu,  sun-god,  129 
Utuchegal,  ruler  of  Uruk,  139,  140 
Utug,  pateBi  of  Ki*h.  127 
Utukku,  demon,  242,  247,  481 


Valle,  Pietro  della,  12,  13,  63,  64 

Van,  Lake  of,  114,  167 

Venice  377 

Venus,  234,  235,  491 ;  identiBed  with 

Ishtar,  261,  417 
Vishtaipo  (Hystaspea),  77,  81 


INDEX 


515 


Votaries,  272,  286,  307  aeq.t  311,  317, 

357,  359,  460 
Vultures,  Stele  of,  42,  43 

W 

Wages,  326,  353 

Warad-Sin,  King  of  Ur,  328 

Warakhshamna,  eighth  month,  349 

Ward,  W.  Hayes,  234,  419  aeq. 

War-god,  see  Ninib 

Warka  (Uruk,  Erech),  25  aeq.,  28,  55 

Water-god,  see  £a,  Nabu 

Water  ritual,  246  aeq. 

Weidner,  E.  F.,  115,  279 

Weights,  341.  See  also  Measures 

Weissbach,  F.  H.,  104, 112,  253 

Westergaard,  X.  L.,  110  aeq. 

White  Syrians,  161 

Widows,  286,  305 

Winckler,  Hugo,  115,  154,  204,  335 

Witchcraft,  241 

Witte,  S.  S„  63 

Writing,  see  Cuneiform  script 


Xerxes  I,  74  aeq.,  88 
Xerxes  II,  74 

y 

Yahweh,  210,  217 

Yakut,  49 

Yamutbal.     See  Emutbal 


Zagros  mountains,  136,  152,  165,  171 
Zamama,  patron  deity  of  Kish,  126, 

200 
Zammeru,  "singer,"  272 
Zarathustrianism,  see  Zoroastrianism 
Zend,  79  aeq.,  85 
Zermashitu,  class  of  votaries,  308.  See 

also  Prostitution,  Votaries 
Zikkurat,  3.  See  Stage-tower 
Zimmern,  H.,  248,  254,  460 
Zoroastrianism,  66,  184  aeq. 
Zu-an  =  Apsu,  222 


-?><  t  *  1921