prominence until the days of Hammurabi; so that whatever his age and
origin, he belongs in a peculiar sense to the pantheon of Hammurabi
rather than to that of the old Babylonian period. The successor of
Hammurabi, Samsu-iluna, dedicates a fort, known as Dur-padda, to Ramman
whom he addresses as his 'helper', along with several other gods.
Despite this fact, his worship does not appear to have been very firmly
established in Babylonia, for Agumkakrimi, who follows upon Samsu-iluna,
does not make mention of Ramman. During the reign of the Cassite
dynasty, however, the worship of Ramman appears to have gained a
stronger foothold. Several kings of this dynasty have incorporated the
name of this deity into their own names, and in an inscription dealing
with events that transpired in the reign of one of these kings, Ramman
occupies a prominent place. Immediately after the great triad, Anu, Bel,
and Ea, there is enumerated a second, Sin, Shamash, and Ramman, and only
then there follows Marduk.[176] More than this, Ramman is introduced for
a second time in conjunction with Shamash, as in the hymn of Hammurabi.
The two are appealed to as 'the divine lords of justice.' The conqueror
of the Cassites, Nebuchadnezzar I., also holds Ramman in high esteem.
For him, Ramman is the god of battle who in companionship with Ishtar
abets the king in his great undertakings. He addresses Ramman as the
great lord of heaven, the lord of subterranean waters and of rain, whose
curse is invoked against the one who sets aside the decrees of
Nebuchadnezzar or who defaces the monument the king sets up. While
acknowledging the supremacy of Marduk, upon whose appeal he proceeds to
Babylonia to rid the country of its oppressors, Nebuchadnezzar
nevertheless shows remarkable partiality for Ramman, perhaps as a matter
of policy to offset the supposed preference shown by Ramman towards the
previous dynasty. Ramman with Nergal and Nana are also enumerated as the
special gods of Namar--a Babylonian district which caused the king
considerable annoyance, and which may have been one of the strongholds
whence the Cassitic kings continued their attacks upon Nebuchadnezzar.

In order to determine more precisely the nature of this deity, it is
necessary to turn to Assyria, where his worship dates from the very
earliest times, and where he appears consistently in a single
role,--that of the god of storms, more particularly of thunder and
lightning. The oldest Assyrian