ight, and, what is most significant, the lord of law. The word
used for law, _tertu_, is identical with the Hebrew term _tora_ that is
used to designate the Pentateuchal legislation. No better testimony
could be desired to show the nature of the conceptions that must have
been current of Shamash. Sargon, again, who is fond of emphasizing the
just principles that inspire his acts, goes to the length of building a
sanctuary[265] for Shamash far beyond the northern limits of Assyria.
But the kings, in thus placing themselves under the protection of the
great judge, were not oblivious to the fact that this protection was
particularly desired on the battlefield. War being uppermost in their
thoughts, the other side of Shamash's nature--his power and
violence--was not overlooked. Tiglathpileser invokes him also as the
warrior,--a title that is often given to Shamash in the religious
literature. There can be little doubt that a nation of warriors whose
chief deities were gods of war, was attracted to Shamash not merely
because he was the judge of all things, but also, and in a large degree,
because he possessed some of the traits that distinguished Ashur and
Ishtar.

Ramman.

The association of Ramman with Shamash in the name of the old ruler of
Assyria, Samsi-Ramman, is not accidental or due to mere caprice. Only
such deities are combined in proper names that are, or may be,
correlated to one another. Ramman, as the god of storms, is naturally
viewed as a power complementary to the great orb of light.[266] The two
in combination, viewed as the beneficent and the destructive power,
constitute the most powerful elements of nature, whose good will it was
most important, especially for a nation of warriors, to secure. Some
such thought surely underlies this association of Shamash with Ramman.
The Assyrian Ramman differs in no way from the Ramman of Babylonia, but
he is much more popular in the north than in the south. The popularity
of the god is but a reflection of the delight that the Assyrians took in
military pursuits. Ramman is hardly anything more than another Ashur.
Tiglathpileser I., who once calls the god Mar-tu, _i.e._, "the West
god,"[267] has left us an admirable description of him. He is the hero
who floods the lands and houses of the country's enemies. The approach
of the Assyrian troops is compared to an onslaught of Ramman. His curses
are the most dreadful that can befall a nation or an individual, for his
ins