ace, following immediately upon the two special
deities of Assyria. One of the greatest of the northern kings erects a
temple in honor of the god, and the later Babylonian kings vie with one
another in doing honor to the two oldest sanctuaries of Shamash, at
Sippar and Larsa. Perhaps the pristine affinity between Marduk, who, as
we saw, was originally a sun-deity, and Shamash, also had a share in
Hammurabi's fondness for coupling these two gods. When describing his
operations at Sippar he speaks of himself as 'doing good to the flesh of
Shamash and Marduk.' Hammurabi felt himself to be honoring Marduk,
through paying homage to a deity having affinity with the patron
protector of Babylon.

Innanna.

We have already come across a deity of this name in a previous
chapter.[148] Hammurabi tells us, in one of his inscriptions, that he
has restored the temple in honor of Innanna at Hallabi--a town near
Sippar.[149] Innanna, or Ninni, signifying merely 'lady,' or 'great
lady,' appears to have become a very general name for a goddess, hence
the addition 'of Hallabi,' which Hammurabi is careful to make. At the
same time the designation 'lady of Hallabi' points to her being a
consort of a male deity who was the patron of the place. May this have
been the moon-god again, as in the case of the other Innanna? Our
knowledge of this goddess is confined to what the king tells us about
her. For him she is the mistress whose glory fills heaven and earth, but
when he adds that she has placed in his hands the reins of government,
this only means that the goddess recognizes his right to supreme
authority over the Babylonian states--not that he owes his power to her.
It is after he has succeeded in making Babylon the capital of a great
kingdom that he proceeds to improve the temple of Innanna.

Bel and the Triad of Babylonian Theology.

Among the literary remains of Hammurabi's days we have a hymn in which
the chief gods worshipped by the king are enumerated in succession. The
list begins with Bel, and then mentions Sin, Ninib, Ishtar, Shamash, and
Ramman. We should expect to find at the head of the list Marduk. The
hymn may be older than Hammurabi, who, perhaps, is quoting or copying
it, and since the Bel who is here at the head of the pantheon is the god
of Nippur, the hymn may originally have belonged to the ritual of that
place. For Hammurabi the highest 'Bel,' or lord, is Marduk, and there is
hardly room for doubt that in using t