he word to Asari, one
of the deities' names."[406] As Asari, Merodach has been compared to
the Egyptian Osiris, who, as the Nile god, was Asar-Hapi. Osiris
resembles Tammuz and was similarly a corn deity and a ruler of the
living and the dead, associated with sun, moon, stars, water, and
vegetation. We may consistently connect Ashur with Aushar, "water
field", Anshar, "god of the height", or "most high", and with the
eponymous King Asshur who went out on the land of Nimrod and "builded
Nineveh", if we regard him as of common origin with Tammuz, Osiris,
and Attis--a developed and localized form of the ancient deity of
fertility and corn.

Ashur had a spouse who is referred to as Ashuritu, or Beltu, "the
lady". Her name, however, is not given, but it is possible that she
was identified with the Ishtar of Nineveh. In the historical texts
Ashur, as the royal god, stands alone. Like the Hittite Great Father,
he was perhaps regarded as the origin of life. Indeed, it may have
been due to the influence of the northern hillmen in the early
Assyrian period, that Ashur was developed as a father god--a Baal.
When the Hittite inscriptions are read, more light may be thrown on
the Ashur problem. Another possible source of cultural influence is
Persia. The supreme god Ahura-Mazda (Ormuzd) was, as has been
indicated, represented, like Ashur, hovering over the king's head,
enclosed in a winged disk or wheel, and the sacred tree figured in
Persian mythology. The early Assyrian kings had non-Semitic and
non-Sumerian names. It seems reasonable to assume that the religious
culture of the ethnic elements they represented must have contributed
to the development of the city god of Asshur.

CHAPTER XV.

CONFLICTS FOR TRADE AND SUPREMACY

Modern Babylonia--History repeating itself--Babylonian Trade Route
in Mesopotamia--Egyptian Supremacy in Syria--Mitanni and
Babylonia--Bandits who plundered Caravans--Arabian Desert Trade
Route opened--Assyrian and Elamite Struggles with Babylonia--Rapid
Extension of Assyrian Empire--Hittites control Western Trade
Routes--Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty Conquests--Campaigns of Rameses
II--Egyptians and Hittites become Allies--Babylonian Fears of
Assyria--Shalmaneser's Triumphs--Assyria Supreme in
Mesopotamia--Conquest of Babylonia--Fall of a Great King--Civil War
in Assyria--Its Empire goes to pieces--Babylonian Wars with
Elam--Revival of Babylonian Power--Invasions of Assyrians