arfare'; Nebo, 'the Marduk of
earthly possessions'; Ninib, 'the Marduk of strength'; En-lil, 'the
Marduk of sovereignty'; and so on, in a long enumeration, the gods are
regarded as so many forms of Marduk. Pinches' conclusion that the list
points to monotheistic beliefs is, however, unwarranted. The list only
illustrates a tendency towards a centralization of divine powers in
Marduk, that accompanies the political centralization of the period.

[229] See below, pp. 228, 229.

[230] So the gods of the Assyrian pantheon are generally termed in the
inscriptions of the kings.

[231] See below, p. 195.

[232] See below, p. 220.

[233] A description of this symbol occurs in a text of Sennacherib
(Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 94). The symbol itself
is found on sculptured slabs and on seal cylinders.

[234] So Sennacherib still speaks of Images of Ashur, and of the great
gods erected by him (Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 94).

[235] See Stevenson, "The Feather and the Wing in Mythology," _Oriental
Studies of the Phila. Oriental Club_, pp. 236-239.

[236] _Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 533.

[237] For the sake of convenience it is customary to distinguish between
Ashur the god, and the country by writing the latter with a double
_sh_--Ashshur.

[238] _Geschichte_, p. 533.

[239] See Jensen _Zeits. fuer Assyr._ i. 1 _seq._ and Delitzsch, _Das
Babylonische Weltschoepfungsepos_, p. 94.

[240] By the assimilation of the _n_ to the following consonant.

[241] See above, pp. 173, 175.

[242] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 275.

[243] The combination of religious supremacy with political power, which
characterizes the social state of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, gives
to the title _patesi_ a double significance. In Babylonia, moreover, it
acquires the force of vassal-king.

[244] The full list is Anu, Ashur, Shamash, Ramman, and Ishtar.

[245] More precisely Arba-ilu, signifying 'city of the fourfold
divinity' or 'four-god' city. _Cf._ the Palestinian form Kiryath-Arba,
"four city,"--originally perhaps, likewise, a city of four gods, rather
than four roads or four quarters, as commonly explained.

[246] IR. 14, l. 86.

[247] _Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 85.

[248] See above, p. 83.

[249] See above, pp. 83, 84.

[250] Cylinder B, col. v. ll. 30 _seq._; elsewhere (Rassam Cylinder,
col. ii. ll. 115 _seq._) he prays to Ashur and Ishtar.

[251] Rassam Cylinder, col. viii. l. 92