hamas as the tutelary deities under whose influence he carried on his
various wars. His son, the Black-Obelisk king, assigns to Shamas his
proper place among the gods whose favor he invokes at the commencement
of his long Inscription. The kings of the Lower Empire were even more
devoted to him than their predecessors. Sargon dedicated to him the
north gate of his city, in conjunction with Vul, the god of the air,
built a temple to him at Khorsabad in conjunction with Sin, and assigned
him the third place among the tutelary deities of his new town.
Sennacherib and Esarhaddon mention his name next to Asshur's in passages
where they enumerate the gods whom they regard as their chief
protectors.

Excepting at Khorsabad, where he had a temple (as above mentioned) in
conjunction with Sin, Shamas does not appear to have had any special
buildings dedicated to his honor. His images are, however, often noticed
in the lists of idols, and it is probable therefore that he received
worship in temples dedicated to other deities. His emblem is generally
found conjoined with that of the moon, the two being placed side by
side, or the one directly under the other. [PLATE CXLII., Fig. 3.]

VUL, or IVA.

This god, whose name is still so uncertain, was known in Assyria from
times anterior to the independence, a temple having been raised in his
sole honor at Asshur, the original Assyrian capital, by Shamas-Vul, the
son of the Chaldaean king Ismi-Dagon, besides the temple (already
mentioned) which the same monarch dedicated to him in conjunction with
Anu. These buildings having fallen to ruin by the time of
Tiglath-Pileser I., were by him rebuilt from their base; and Vul, who
was worshipped in both, appears to have been regarded by that monarch as
one of his special "guardian deities." In the Black-Obelisk invocation
Vul holds the place intermediate between Sin and Shamas, and on the same
monument is recorded the fact that the king who erected it held, on one
occasion, a festival to Vul in conjunction with Asshur. Sargon names Vul
in the fourth place among the tutelary deities of his city, and
dedicates to him the north gate in conjunction with the Sun-god, Shamas.
Sennacherib speaks of hurling thunder on his enemies like Vul, and other
kings use similar expressions. The term Vul was frequently employed as
an element in royal and other names; and the emblem which seems to have
symbolized him--the double or triple bolt--appears constantly