gods were to be consulted for the purpose of obtaining an oracle,
elaborate offerings formed a necessary preliminary. In this case, the
animals presented at the altar served a double purpose.[1480] They
constituted a means of propitiating the god in favor of the petitioner,
and at the same time the inspection of certain parts of the animal
served as an omen in determining what was the will of the god appealed
to. When the foundations were to be laid for a temple or a palace, it
was especially important to secure the favor of the gods by suitable
offerings, and, similarly, when a canal was to be built or any other
work of a public character undertaken. Again, upon the dedication of a
sacred edifice or of a palace, or upon completing the work of
restoration of a temple, sheep and oxen in abundance were offered to the
gods, as well as various kinds of birds and the produce of the orchards
and fields. The Babylonian rulers appear to have accompanied their
sacrifices on such occasions with prayers, and in a previous chapter we
had occasion to discuss some of these dedicatory invocations.[1481] In
the Assyrian inscriptions, prayers are specifically referred to only as
being offered before setting out on an expedition, before a battle, or
when the kings find themselves in distress,[1482] so that if the
Babylonian custom likewise prevailed in Assyria, it did not form a
necessary part of the sacrificial ritual. The sacrifice as a pure homage
is illustrated by the zeal which the Assyrian kings manifest towards
honoring the great temples of the south. The northern rulers were
anxious at all times to reconcile the southern population to Assyrian
control, and it was no doubt gratifying to the south to find
Tiglathpileser II.,[1483] upon entering the ancient centers like Sippar,
Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, Cuthah, Kish, Dilbat, and Erech, proceeding
to the temples in those places in order to offer his sacrifices. The
example of Tiglathpileser is followed by his successors down through the
time of Ashurbanabal. As often as the Assyrian monarchs may have had
occasion to proceed to Babylonia--and the occasions were frequent, owing
to the constant disposition of the south to throw off the hated
yoke--they emphasized their devotion to Marduk, Nabu, En-lil, Shamash,
and the other gods who had their seats in the south. Sargon[1484] goes
so far in this homage as to pose as the reorganizer of the cults of
Sippar, Nippur, Borsippa, and Babylon, and of restoring the income to
temples in other places.[1485] But there was another side to this homage
that must not be overlooked. By sacrificing in the Babylonian temples,
the Assyrian rulers indicated their political control over the south.
Such homage as they manifested was the exclusive privilege of legitimate
rulers, and it was important for the Assyrians to legitimize their
control over the south.
A phase of sacrifice is represented by the libations of oil and wine to
which frequent references are found in the historical texts. It appears
to have been customary to anoint the foundation stones of temples and
palaces with oil and wine. Over the thresholds, too, and over the
stones--bearing commemorative or votive inscriptions--libations of oil,
honey, and wine were poured.
Nebopolassar[1486] speaks of placing sweet herbs under the walls, and
Nabonnedos[1487] pours oil over the bolts and doors, as well as on the
thresholds of the Shamash temple at Sippar, and fills the temple with
the aroma of frankincense. Much importance was attached to this rite,
and the kings take frequent occasion to adjure their successors who may
in the course of restoring edifices come across stones bearing the
record of former builders, to anoint these stones with oil and offer
sacrifices.[1488] Thus, Nabonnedos,[1489] when he finds the inscription
of Ashurbanabal in the Shamash temple at Sippar, carefully obeys the
injunction. The rite bears all the marks of great antiquity. The
instances of its occurrence in the Old Testament--notably in the case of
Jacob's act of pouring oil over the holy stone at Bethel[1490]--confirm
this view; and the interpretation for the rite suggested by Robertson
Smith[1491] that the oil was originally the fat of the sacrificed animal
smeared over an object or a person, as a means of investing them with
sanctity, accounts satisfactorily for the invariable juxtaposition in
the cuneiform texts of sacrificial offerings with the anointing of the
inscribed stones.
We have no evidence that the rulers of Babylonia and Assyria were
anointed with oil on their installation, though it is not improbable
that such was the case. The use of the oil in this case is but a
modification of the same rite, which, it is to be noted, loses some of
its ancient force by the spread of the custom in the Orient of unguents
as a part of the toilet.[1492] The use of odorous herbs, which, we have
seen, were placed under the walls, and of honey and wine, which were
poured over bolts,[1493] is also directly connected with the sacrificial
cult.
The libation in its purer form appears in the custom of the Assyrian
kings of pouring wine over the animal slain by them in the hunt. The act
is intended to secure divine favor towards a deed which involved the
destruction of something that by all ancient nations was held sacred,
namely, life. Even a despot of Assyria felt that to wantonly destroy
life could not be safely undertaken without making sure of the consent
of the gods. Significantly enough, Ashurbanabal offers his libations
after the lion or bull hunts to Ishtar as the "goddess of battle."[1494]
The animal is sanctified by being devoted to a goddess, just as the
victims in a battle constitute the conqueror's homage offered to the
gods who came to his assistance.
Sacrifices with libations are so frequently represented on the seal
cylinder that this testimony alone would suffice to vouch for the
importance attached to this rite in the cult. One of the most archaic
specimens of Babylonian art[1495] represents a worshipper, entirely
naked, pouring a libation into a large cup which stands on an altar.
Behind the altar sits a goddess who is probably A or Malkatu, the
consort of the sun-god. The naked worshipper is by no means an uncommon
figure in the early Babylonian art,[1496] and it would appear that at
one time it was customary to remove one's garments preliminary to
stepping into the god's presence, just as among the Arabs the cult of
the Caaba in Mecca was conducted by the worshippers at an early period
without their clothes.[1497] The custom so frequently referred to in the
Old Testament to remove one's shoes upon entering sacred territory,--a
custom still observed by the modern Muslim, who leaves his shoes outside
of the Mosque,--may be regarded as an indication that at an earlier
period people removed their garments as well as the sandals. It may be
that the order to take off the sandal alone, as recorded in the Old
Testament, is nothing but a euphemistic phrase (suggested by a more
refined age) to strip oneself. Certainly, when we find that in the days
of Saul, the seers went about naked, there can no longer be any doubt
that there was a time when the Hebrews, too, like the Arabs and
Babylonians, entered the holy presence naked.
The institution of daily sacrifices is vouched for in the case of the
larger religious centers like Babylonia, Borsippa, Sippar, Cuthah, as
well as Nineveh for the late periods. Nebuchadnezzar, for example, tells
us[1498] that he provided for a sacrifice of six lambs daily in the
temple E-shidlam at Cuthah, sacred to Nergal and Laz; while for Nabu's
temple at Borsippa, the daily sacrifices were arranged on a still larger
scale, and included two fattened bulls of perfect form, sixteen smaller
animals, besides offerings of fish, birds, leek, various kinds of wine,
honey, cream, and the finest oil,--all intended, as the king tells us,
for the table of Nabu and his consort. No doubt the daily official
sacrifices at Marduk's temple were even more elaborate. The custom of
regular sacrifices in the larger temples may be traced back to an early
period. The technical terms for such sacrifices are _sattuku_ and
_ginu_. Both terms convey the idea of being "fixed," perpetual,[1499]
and suggest a comparison with the Pentateuchal institution of the
_tamid_,[1500] _i.e._, the daily sacrifice. Whenever the kings in their
inscriptions mention the regular sacrifices, it is in almost all cases
with reference to their reinstitution of an old custom that had been
allowed to fall into neglect (owing to political disturbances which
always affected the temples), and not as an innovation. Innovations were
limited to increasing the amounts of these regular sacrifices. So, for
example, Nabubaliddin restores and increases the _gine_ of the great
temple E-babbara at Sippar.[1501] But regular sacrifices do not
necessarily involve daily offerings. The same terms, _ginu_ and
_sattuku_, are applied frequently to monthly offerings, and except in
the large religious centers, regular sacrifices were in all
probabilities brought on certain days of each month, and not daily. The
days thus singled out, as will be shown further on, differed for various
sanctuaries. It would be important if we could determine the share in
these regular sacrifices taken by the people at large, but the material
at hand does not suffice for settling the question. There are frequent
references to tithes in the clay tablets forming part of the archives of
temples, and monthly tributes are also mentioned. We certainly may
conclude from these references that the people were taxed in some way
for the support of the temples. Ashurbanabal in one place speaks of
reimposing upon the population of the south the provision for the
_sattuku_ and _ginu_ due to Ashur and Belit[1502] and the gods of
Assyria; but, for all that, it is not certain that the regular
sacrifices at the temples partook of a popular character. One gains the
impression that, except on the occasions when the people came to the
sanctuaries for individual purposes, the masses as such had but
comparatively little share in it. In this respect the cult of the
Hebrews, which has so many points in common with the Babylonian ritual
as to justify the hypothesis that the details of sacrificial regulations
in the priestly code are largely derived from practices in Babylonian
temples, was more democratic. Closely attached as the Babylonians were
to their sanctuaries, the regular sacrifices do not appear to have been
an active factor in maintaining this attachment. A more decidedly
popular character is apparent in the votive offerings made to the
temples. These offerings cover a wide range. Rulers and people alike
felt prompted to make gifts to the sanctuaries on special occasions,
either as a direct homage to the gods or with the avowed purpose and
hope of securing divine favor or divine intercession.
The statues of themselves which the rulers from the days of Gudea[1503]
on were fond of erecting were dedicated by them as offerings to the
gods, and this avowed aim tempers, in a measure, the vanity which no
doubt was the mainspring of their action. The statues were placed in the
temples, and from Gudea[1504] we learn of the elaborate ceremonies
connected with the dedication of one of the king's colossal blocks of
diorite. For seven days all manual labor was interrupted in Lagash.
Masters and slaves shared in the festivities. The temple of Nin-girsu is
sanctified anew by purification rites, and the statue is formally
presented to the god amidst sacrifices and offerings of rich gifts. The
account given in the Book of Daniel[1505] of the dedication of
Nebuchadnezzar's statue may be regarded as an equally authentic picture
of a custom that survived to the closing days of the Babylonian
monarchy, except that we have no proof that divine honors were paid to
these statues.[1506] The front, sides, and back of Gudea's images were
covered with inscriptions, partly of a commemorative character, but in
part, also, conveying a dedication to Nin-girsu. Similarly, the steles
of the Assyrian kings, set up by them either in the temples or on the
highways beyond the confines of Assyria, and which had images of the
rulers sculptured on them in high relief, were covered with
inscriptions, devoted primarily to celebrating the deeds of the kings;
but, since the victories of the armies were ascribed to the assistance
furnished by the gods, an homage to Ashur or some other deity was
involved in the recital. That the gods were accorded a minor share of
the glory was but in keeping with the pride of the Assyrian rulers, who
were less affected than the rulers of the south by the votive character
of the statues.
Both Babylonians and Assyrians, however, unite in making images of the
gods as a distinct homage, and in giving elaborate presents of gold,
silver, precious stones, costly woods, and garments to the sanctuaries
as votive offerings to the gods. These presents were used in the
decoration of temples and shrines, as well as of the statues of the gods
or as direct contributions to the temple treasury. Celebrations of
victories were chosen as particularly appropriate occasions for making
such votive offerings. So Agumkakrimi, upon bringing back to E-Sagila
the statues of Marduk and Sarpanitum that had been taken away by
ruthless hands, bestows rich gifts upon the temples and describes[1507]
at great length the costly garments embroidered with gold and studded
with precious stones that were hung on Marduk and his consort. Equally
vivid is the description of the high, conical-shaped caps, made of lapis
lazuli and gold, and decorated, furthermore, with various kinds of
stones, that were placed on the heads of the deities. Garments for the
statues of the gods appear to have been favorite votive offerings at all
times. Nabubaliddin, in restoring the cult of Shamash at Sippar, makes
provisions for an elaborate outfit of garments,[1508] specifying
different garments for various periods of the year. It would appear from
this that for the various festive occasions of the year, the garments of
the gods were changed, much as in other religions--including the
Catholic Church--the officiating priests are robed in different garments
on the various festive or solemn occasions.
Votive tablets or discs of lapis lazuli, agate, turquoise, gold, silver,
copper, antimony, and other metals with dedicatory inscriptions were
deposited in the temples. What particular purpose they served we do not
know. As a specimen of the more common formula on these tablets, a lapis
lazuli tablet of Nippur may be chosen. It is offered by a Cassite king,
and reads[1509] as follows:
To Bel
His lord
Kadashman-Turgu
For his life
Presented.
A knob-shaped object[1510] of fine limestone contains a dedication in
similar phrases to Marduk. It is offered by Bel-epush, who is probably
identical with a Babylonian ruler of this name in the seventh
century,--a contemporary of Sennacherib:[1511]
To Marduk, his lord
Bel-epush for the preservation of his life
Made and presented.
Kings, however, do not appear to be the only ones for whom these votive
offerings were prepared. A dedication to a personage otherwise unknown
and to all appearances a layman reads:[1512]
To Ea,[1513] his lord, Bel-zir,
Son of Ea-Ban,
For the preservation of his life
Made and presented.
The formulas are thus seen to be conventional ones, though occasionally
the inscription is somewhat longer. So, for example, Nazi-Maruttash,
another Cassite king, puts a little prayer on a votive offering:
[To Bel, his lord]
Nazi-Maruttash,
Son of Kurigalzu,
To hearken to his supplication,
To be favorable to his prayer,
To accept his entreaty,
To lengthen his days,
[He made and presented].
This inscription appears, as Dr. Hilprecht informs us,[1514] on an ax
made of imitation lapis lazuli.[1515] Other votive inscriptions are
found on rings and on knobs of ivory or magnesite.[1516] These various
designs no doubt all had some symbolical significance. The ring suggests
some ultimate connection between votive offerings and amulets. The seal
cylinders, we know, although put to practical use in impressing the
design on a clay tablet as a substitute for a personal signature, were
also regarded as amulets, and this accounts for the frequency with which
scenes of religious worship were introduced as designs on the cylinders.
The ring is distinctly an amulet in Babylonia as elsewhere, and hence it
is by no means improbable that the custom of carrying little inscribed
tablets, discs, or knobs about the person as a protection against
mischances preceded the use of such tablets as votive offerings to be
placed in a temple.
A very common votive object in Babylonia, especially in the earlier
period, was the clay cone. Such cones were found in large numbers at
Lagash, while at Nippur Peters came across what may be safely regarded
as a magazine where such cones (and other votive objects) were
manufactured in large numbers.[1517] The cones of Gudea bear
conventional inscriptions of a votive character addressed to Nin-girsu.
In other temples, other gods were similarly remembered. It has been
customary to regard these cones as phallic symbols;[1518] but it should
be noted that not only is the evidence for this lacking, but that what
we know of the popular practices of the Babylonians does not warrant us
in assuming any widespread phallic symbolism. The point of the cones
suggests rather that the objects were intended to be stuck into the
ground or into walls. At Lagash De Sarzec found, besides cones, a large
number of copper statuettes[1519] of gods and goddesses and of
animals,--chiefly bulls,--all terminating in a sharp point or attached
to a cone-shaped object. Others again are clearly human figures, either
male personages holding the cone in their hands,[1520] or females
holding baskets on their heads,--the customary attitude of making an
offering. These curious statuettes frequently bear inscriptions of a
votive character, and there can be no doubt that they were used to be
stuck into some substance. At one place, De Sarzec found a series set up
in concentric circles[1521] in the corners of an edifice and under the
floor. Heuzey is of the opinion that these statuettes thus arranged were
to serve as a warning for the demons, but it is more in keeping with the
general character of the Babylonian religion to look upon these objects
simply as votive offerings placed at various parts of a building as a
means of securing the favor of the gods. The cone, I venture to think,
is merely the conventionalized shape of a votive object originally
intended to be stuck into some part of a sacred building. The large
quantity of cones that have been found at Lagash, Nippur, and elsewhere
is an indication of their popular use. It is not improbable that at one
time, and, at all events, in certain temples, the cones and statuettes
represented the common votive offerings with which worshippers provided
themselves upon entering the sacred precinct. To facilitate the
reproduction of the statuettes, moulds were used,--another indication of
the widespread use of these objects. Clay figures of gods and goddesses
were also made in moulds or modelled by hand and served as votive
offerings. At Nippur, the images represent chiefly Bel and Belit,[1522]
either separately or in combination; but figurines of Ishtar have also
been found.[1523] In some the goddess is represented as suckling a
child. Often she is pictured as naked, clasping her breasts or her womb.
The attitude which was suggested by the character of the goddess as the
promoter of fertility appears to have been too obscene to a more refined
age, and, accordingly, we find in later times the sexual parts
suppressed or the figure properly clothed. The character of these
figurines varied naturally with each religious center, and even in the
same center modifications were introduced.
Whether these clay figurines, cones, and metallic statuettes were also
placed by individuals in their dwellings, like the "plague"
tablets,[1524] we cannot as yet definitely say, but it is more than
likely that such was the case. The _teraphim_ familiar to us from the
references in the Old Testament,[1525] and evidently used as talismans,
belong to the class of votive offerings under consideration. The
figurines and cones, and also (though to a smaller degree) the copper
statuettes, thus introduce us to the popular phases of the cult. As
symbols of homage they appear to have survived to a late period, and
their use as talismans did not materially affect their character as
offerings, made by the people upon seeking the sanctuaries. The more
costly objects, as vases,[1526] artistically worked weapons, handsome
"seas" bowls, altars, and statues of the gods and other furniture for
the temples were left to the rulers. Such offerings were made with great
pomp. They were formally dedicated by large processions of priests, with
the accompaniment of hymns and music. The kings of Assyria presented the
captured gods as votive gifts pleasing to their deity.[1527] They bring
back with them from their campaigns the beams of the edifices that they
destroyed and offer them to Ishtar.[1528] Upon coming to Babylonia, they
do not fail to bring presents of gold, silver, precious stones, copper,
iron, purple, precious garments, and scented woods to Marduk and
Sarpanitum, to Nabu and Tashmitum, and the other great gods.[1529] The
first fruits of extensive groves are offered by Ashurnasirbal to Ashur
and the temples of his land.[1530] The rulers of Assyria vie with the
kings of Babylonia in presenting gardens[1531] and lands to the gods as
votive offerings; but for all that, in ancient Babylonia and Assyria, as
among other peoples of antiquity, the more fervent religious spirit was
manifested in the small tokens of the masses, whose attachment to the
temples was of a different order from that which prompted the rulers of
the north and south to a display, in which vanity and the desire to
manifest their power play a larger part as one generation succeeds the
other.
Festivals.
We have seen[1532] that in the developed system of the Babylonian
religion, every day of the year had some significance, and that certain
days in each month--so, _e.g._, the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th--had
a special significance. It has also been pointed out that in different
religious centers, the days singled out for special significance
differed. In view of this, we must be prepared to find that the festival
days were not the same in all parts of Babylonia, nor necessarily
identical in the various periods of Babylonian and Assyrian history.
The common name for festival was _isinnu_. If we may judge from the use
of _assinnu_ as a general name for priest,[1533]--a servant of a
deity,--the underlying stem appears to signify simply 'to serve.'
Another name that reveals more as to the character of the Babylonian
festivals is _tashiltu_, which is used as a synonym for 'joy, delight.'
The festivals were indeed joyous occasions, marked by abundance of
offerings and merry-making, though, as we shall see, the somber note in
the rejoicings was not absent. The kings dedicate their temples and
palaces amidst manifestation of rejoicing. They pray that the gods may
occupy the dwellings prepared for them "in joy and jubilance,"[1534] and
the reference to festivals in the historical texts are all of such a
character as to make us feel that the Babylonian could appreciate the
Biblical injunction to "rejoice"[1535] in the divine presence, on the
occasions set apart as, in a peculiar sense, sacred.
Defective as our knowledge of the ancient Babylonian festivals still is,
the material at our disposal shows that at a comparatively early period,
there was one day in the year on which a festival was celebrated in
honor of a god or goddess that had a more important character than any
other. In the developed zodiacal system of Babylonia each month is
sacred to a deity.[1536] This system was perfected under the direct
influence of the theological schools of Babylonia, but so much of it, at
all events, rests upon ancient traditions which assigns a month to each
god; and since Marduk is not accorded the first place, but takes his
position in a group of solar deities, and since, moreover, these solar
deities have a position in the calendar which accords with their
specific solar character,[1537] we may proceed a step further and assume
with some confidence that the Babylonian scholars were guided--in large
part, at least--by ancient traditions in parceling out the months as
they did. Anu, Bel, and Ea, it is true, may have been assigned to the
first three months because of the preeminent position of these three
gods as a special triad; but even here the antiquity of the triad
furnishes a guarantee that the association of some month with some deity
belongs to a very ancient period of Babylonian history. This being the
case, it would be natural that the first day of the month sacred to a
deity would be regarded as his or her festival _par excellence_, and in
the case of the cult of a deity spreading beyond its original limits,
this festival would assume a more general character. On this day the
people would come from all parts of the district within which the cult
was carried on, to pay their homage to the god or goddess. In the days
of Gudea, we find Bau occupying this superior rank. Her festival had
assumed such importance as to serve for reckoning the commencement of
the year.
Hence it became known simply as the day of zag-muku,[1538] that is, the
New Year's Day.[1539] Whether this festival of Bau was recognized as the
New Year's Day throughout Babylonia, we do not know, but it must have
been observed in a considerably extensive district, or Gudea would have
made the attempt to give some festival connected with his favorite deity
Nin-girsu this character. As it is, he can only combine Bau's festival
with the cult of Nin-girsu, by making the New Year's Day the occasion of
a symbolical marriage between the god and the goddess. Nin-girsu is
represented as offering marriage gifts to Bau,[1540] on the Zagmuku. How
early Bau came to occupy so significant a rank has not been ascertained.
It is her quality as the 'great mother,' as the goddess of fertility and
abundance,[1541] rather than any political supremacy of the district in
which she was worshipped, that constitutes the chief factor in giving
Bau this preeminence, just as we have found in the case of the other
great goddesses of Babylonia,--Nina, Nana, Ishtar,--specific traits and
not political importance lending them the significance they acquired.
At one time we may well suppose that the festival of En-lil at Nippur,
which brought worshippers from all parts of Babylonia, was recognized as
a 'New Year's Day,' and we may some day find evidence that at a still
earlier period the first day of a month sacred to some other god,--Sin
or Shamash or Nana-Ishtar of Erech,--was recognized in some districts as
the starting-point for the year; but to an agricultural community, the
spring, when the seeds are sown, or the fall, after the harvest has been
gathered, are the two most natural periods for reckoning the beginning
of the year. Since we know that at the time when Babylon acquired her
supremacy the year began in the spring, the conservatism attaching to
religious observances makes it more than probable that Bau's festival
also fell in the spring.
After the ancient religious and political centers of the south yielded
their privileges to Babylon, it was natural for the priests of Marduk to
covet the honor of the New Year's festival for the new head of the
pantheon. Accordingly, we find the Zagmuku transformed into a Marduk
festival. That it did not originally belong to Marduk follows from the
fact that it was celebrated in the month of Nisan,--the first
month,--whereas the month sacred to Marduk was Arakh-shamna (or
Marcheshwan),--the eighth month. The deliberate transfer of the Zagmuku
to Marduk is also indicated by the fact that the festival of Nisan has
another name by which it is more commonly designated,--Akitu.[1542] The
name seems to have been originally a general term for a festival, and it
is natural that Marduk's festival should have come to be known as _the_
festival, just as among the Hebrews the annual fall pilgrimage to the
sanctuary at Jerusalem became known as _the_ Hag,--the pilgrimage _par
excellence_. To distinguish it from other festivals, Marduk's festival
is sometimes spoken of as the "great" or the "lofty" Akitu. The first
day was properly the Zagmuku, whereas the Akitu itself extended at
least over the first eleven days of Nisan[1543] and may indeed have
lasted the entire month; but Zagmuku was also used for the festival
period. The New Year's Day was marked by a solemn procession. The
union of Nabu and Marduk was symbolized by a visit which the former
paid to his father, the chief of the Babylonian pantheon. In his ship,
magnificently fitted out,[1544] Nabu was carried along the street known
as Ai-ibur-shabu,[1545] leading from Borsippa across the Euphrates to
Babylon.
The street was handsomely paved,[1546] and everything was done to
heighten the impressiveness of the ceremony. The visit of Nabu marked
the homage of the gods to Marduk; and Nabu set the example for other
gods, who were all supposed to assemble in E-Sagila during the great
festival. We have already pointed out that the cult of Nabu at Borsippa
at one time was regarded with greater sanctity than the Marduk worship
in Babylon. As a concession to the former supremacy of Nabu, the priests
of E-Sagila, carrying the statue of Marduk, escorted Nabu back to
Borsippa. The return visit raises the suspicion that it was originally
Marduk who was obliged to pay an annual homage to Nabu.
However this may be, the double ceremony became to such an extent the
noteworthy feature of the Zagmuku or Akitu that when the chroniclers
wish to indicate that, because of political disturbances, the festival
was not celebrated, they use the simple formula:
Nabu did not come to Babylon.
Bel [_i.e._, Marduk] did not march out.[1547]
The Akitu festival brought worshippers from all parts of Babylonia and
Assyria to the capitol. Kings and subjects alike paid their devotions to
Marduk. The former approached the divine presence directly, and, seizing
hold of the hands of Marduk's statue, were admitted into a kind of
covenant with the god. The ceremony became the formal rite of royal
installation in Babylonia. "To seize the hands of Bel" was equivalent to
legitimizing one's claim to the throne of Babylonia, and the chroniclers
of the south consistently decline to recognize Assyrian rulers as kings
of Babylonia until they have come to Babylon and "seized the hands of
Bel."[1548] That this ceremony was annually performed by the kings of
Babylonia after the union of the southern states is quite certain. It
marked a renewal of the pledge between the king and his god. The
Assyrian kings, however, contented themselves with a single visit. Of
Tiglathpileser II.[1549] and Sargon,[1550] we know that they came to
Babylonia for the purpose of performing the old ceremony; and others did
the same.
The eighth and eleventh days of the festival month were invested with
special sanctity. On these days all the gods were brought together in
the "chamber of fates" of Marduk's temple. In symbolical imitation of
the assembly of the gods in Ubshu-kenna,[1551] Marduk sits on his throne
and the gods are represented as standing in humble submission before
him, while he decrees the fates of mankind for the coming year. The
Zagmuku festival in its developed form has striking points of
resemblance to the Jewish New Year's Day. On this day, according to the
popular Jewish tradition, God sits in judgment with a book before Him in
which He inscribes the fate of mankind. Nine days of probation are
allowed, and on the tenth day--the Day of Atonement--the fates are
sealed. The Jewish New Year is known as Rosh-hash-shana,[1552] which is
an exact equivalent of the Babylonian _resh shatti_ (or zag-muku). A
difference, however, between the Babylonian and the Jewish festival is
that the latter is celebrated in the seventh month. It is not correct,
therefore, to assume that the Hebrews borrowed their Rosh-hash-shana
from the Babylonians. Even after they adopted the Babylonian
calendar,[1553] they continued to regard the seventh month--the harvest
month--as the beginning of the year. That among the Babylonians the
seventh month also had a sacred character may be concluded from the
meaning of the ideographs with which the name is written.[1554] The
question may, therefore, be raised whether at an earlier period and in
some religious center--Nippur, Sippar, or perhaps Ur--the seventh month
may not have been celebrated as the Zagmuku. At all events, we must for
the present assume that the Hebrews developed their New Year's Day,
which they may have originally received from Babylonia, independently of
Marduk's festival, though, since the Rosh-hash-shana does not come into
prominence among the Jews until the period of the so-called Babylonian
exile, the possibility of a direct Babylonian influence in the _later_
conceptions connected with the day cannot be denied.[1555]
Of the other festivals of the Babylonians and Assyrians but few details
are known. Several references have already been made to the Tammuz
festival.[1556] Originally a solar festival, celebrated in the fourth
month at the approach of the summer solstice, it became through the
association of ideas suggested by the mourning of Ishtar for her lost
consort Tammuz a kind of 'All Souls' Day,' on which the people
remembered their dead. Dirges were sung by the wailing women to the
accompaniment of musical instruments; offerings were made to the dead,
and it is plausible to assume that visits were paid to the graves. The
mourning was followed by a festival of rejoicing, symbolizing the return
of the solar-god. The Tammuz festival appears to have had a strong hold
upon the masses, by reason of the popularity of the Tammuz myth; nor was
it limited to the Babylonians. Among the Phoenicians the cult of Tammuz,
known by his title Adon (whence Adonis), was maintained to a late
period, and the Hebrews, likewise, as late as the days of Ezekiel,[1557]
commemorated with rites of mourning the lost Tammuz. The calendar of the
Jewish Church still marks the 17th day of Tammuz as a fast, and Houtsma
has shown[1558] that the association of the day with the capture of
Jerusalem by the Romans represents merely the attempt to give an ancient
festival a worthier interpretation. The day was originally connected
with the Tammuz cult. Eerdmans[1559] has recently endeavored to show
that the festival of Hosein, celebrated by the Shiitic sect of
Mohammedanism in memory of the tragic death of the son of Ali, is in
reality a survival of the Babylonian-Phoenician Tammuz festival. The
spread of the Tammuz-Adonis myth and cult to the Greeks[1560] is but
another indication of the popularity of this ancient Semitic festival.
The old Zagmuku festival in honor of Bau and the Tammuz festival,
celebrated in spring and summer, respectively, are also closely
associated with agricultural life. The spring as the seedtime is, as we
have seen, a natural period for beginning the calculation of the New
Year, while a first harvest of the wheat and barley is reaped in
Babylonia at the time of the summer solstice. We should expect,
therefore, to find a third festival in the fall, at the close of the
harvest and just before the winter rains set in. The seventh
month--Tishri--was a sacred month among the ancient Hebrews as well as
among the Babylonians, but up to the present no distinct traces of a
festival period in Tishri have been found in Babylonian texts. We must
content ourselves, therefore, with the conjecture, above thrown out,
that an Akitu was originally celebrated in this month at some ancient
religious center of the Euphrates Valley. Further publications of
cuneiform texts may throw light upon this point. The unpublished
material in European and American museums harbors many surprises.
In Ashurbanabal's annals[1561] there is an interesting reference to a
festival celebrated in honor of the goddess Gula, the goddess of
healing,[1562] on the twelfth day of Iyyar, the second month. The
festival is described ideographically as Si-gar,[1563] but from the fact
that the same ideographs are used elsewhere to describe a day sacred to
Sin and Shamash,[1564] it would appear that Si-gar is not a specific
appellation, but a general name again for festival. This month Iyyar and
this particular day, as a "favorable one," is chosen by Ashurbanabal for
his installation as king of Assyria. The same month is selected for a
formal pilgrimage to Babylonia for the purpose of restoring to E-Sagila
a statue of Marduk that a previous Assyrian king had taken from its
place,[1565] and Lehmann is probably correct in concluding[1566] that
this month of Iyyar was a particularly sacred one in Assyria, emphasized
with intent perhaps by the kings, as an offset against the sacredness of
Nisan in Babylonia.
Festivals in honor of Ninib were celebrated in Calah in the months of
Elul--the sixth month--and Shabat--the eleventh month.[1567] The sixth
month, it will be recalled, is sacred to Ishtar.[1568] Ninib being a
solar deity, his festival in Elul was evidently of a solar character.
From Ashurbanabal,[1569] again, we learn that the 25th day of Siwan--the
third month--was sacred to Belit of Babylon, and on that day a
procession took place in her honor. The Belit meant is Sarpanitum in her
original and independent role as a goddess of fertility. The statue of
the goddess, carried about, presumably in her ship, formed the chief
feature of the procession. Ashurbanabal chooses this "favorable" day as
the one on which to break up camp in the course of one of his military
expeditions. We would naturally expect to find a festival month devoted
to the god Ashur in Assyria. This month was Elul--the sixth month.[1570]
The choice of this month lends weight to the supposition that Ashur was
originally a solar deity.[1571] The honors once paid to Ninib in Calah
in this month could thus easily be transferred to the head of the
Assyrian pantheon. Although in the calendar the sixth month is sacred to
Ishtar, her festival was celebrated in the fifth month, known as
Ab.[1572] This lack of correspondence between the calendar and the
festivals is an indication of the greater antiquity of the latter.
In the great temple to Shamash at Sippar, there appear to have been
several days that were marked by religious observances.
Nabubaliddin[1573] (ninth century) emphasizes that he presented rich
garments to the temple for use on six days of the year,--the 7th day of
Nisan (first month), 10th of Iyyar (second month), 3rd of Elul (sixth
month), 7th of Tishri (seventh month), 15th of Arakh-shamna (or
Marcheshwan, eighth month), and the 15th of Adar (twelfth month). These
garments are given to Shamash, to his consort Malkatu, and to
Bunene.[1574] Since from a passage in a Babylonian chronicle[1575] it
appears that it was customary for Shamash on his festival to leave his
temple, we may conclude that the garments were put on Shamash and his
associates, for the solemn procession on the six days in question.
The festivals in Nisan and Elul are distinctly of a solar character. The
choice of two other months immediately following Nisan and Elul cannot
be accidental. The interval of thirty-three days between the Nisan and
Iyyar festivals and thirty-four days between the Elul and Tishri
festivals may represent a sacred period.[1576] Tishri, moreover, as has
been pointed out, is a sacred month in a peculiar sense. Marcheshwan, it
may be well to bear in mind, is sacred to Marduk,--a solar deity,--while
the 15th of Adar, curiously enough, is an old solar festival that,
modified and connected with historical reminiscences, became popular
among the Jews of Persia and Babylonia during the Persian supremacy in
the Semitic Orient, and survives to this day under the name of the Purim
festival.[1577] At all events, the six days may be safely regarded as
connected in some way, direct or indirect, with solar worships, and it
is natural to find that in so prominent a center of sun-worship as
Sippar, _all_ the solar festivals were properly and solemnly observed.
It is disappointing that up to the present so little has been
ascertained of the details of the moon-cult--the great rival to Shamash
worship--in the old cities of Ur and Harran. In the Babylonian calendar,
the third month--Siwan--is sacred to Sin, but since, as we have found,
the festivals in honor of the gods do not always correspond to the
assignment of the months, we cannot be certain that in this month a
special festival in honor of Sin was observed. Lastly, besides the
regular and fixed festivals, the kings, and more especially the Assyrian
rulers, did not hesitate to institute special festivals in memory of
some event that contributed to their glory. Agumkakrimi[1578] instituted
a festival upon restoring the statues of Marduk and Sarpanitum to
Babylon, and Sargon does the same upon restoring the palace at
Calah.[1579] Dedications of temples and palaces were in general marked
by festivities, and so when the kings return in triumph from their wars,
laden with spoils and captives, popular rejoicings were instituted. But
such festivals were merely sporadic, and, while marked by religious
ceremonies, were chiefly occasions of general jollification combined
with homage to the rulers. Such a festival was not called an _isinnu_,
but a _nigatu_,[1580]--a 'merrymaking.'[1581] More directly connected
with the cult was a ceremony observed in Assyria upon the installation
of an official, known as the _limmu_, who during his year of service
enjoyed the privilege of having official documents dated with his
name.[1582] The ceremony involved a running[1583] of some kind, and
reminds one of the running between the two hills Marwa and Safa in Mekka
that forms part of the religious observances in connection with a visit
to the Kaaba.[1584] The name of the ceremony appears to have been puru
(or buru). To connect this word with the Jewish festival of Purim, as
Sayce proposes,[1585] is wholly unwarranted. The character of the Puru
ceremony points to its being an ancient custom, the real significance of
which in the course of time became lost. Fast days instituted for
periods of distress might also be added to the cult, but these, too,
like the special festivals, were not permanent institutions. For such
occasions many of the penitential psalms which were discussed in a
previous chapter[1586] were composed. To conciliate angered gods whose
temples had been devastated in days of turmoil, atonement and
purification rites were observed. So Ashurbanabal[1587] upon his
conquest of Babylonian cities tells us that he pacified the gods of the
south with penitential psalms and purified the temples by magic rites;
and Nabubaliddin,[1588] incidental to his restoration of the Shamash
cult at Sippar, refers to an interesting ceremony of purification, which
consisted in his taking water and washing his mouth according to the
purification ritual of Ea and Marduk,[1589] preliminary to bringing
sacrifices to Shamash in his shrine. Sippar had been overrun by
nomads,[1590] the temple had been defiled, and before sacrifices could
again be offered, the sacred edifice and sacred quarter had to be
purified. The king's action was a symbol of this purification. Many such
customs must have been in vogue in Babylonia and Assyria. Some--and
these were the oldest--were of popular origin. On the seal cylinders
there is frequently represented a pole or a conventionalized form of a
tree, generally in connection with a design illustrating the worship of
a deity.[1591] This symbol is clearly a survival of some tree
worship[1592] that was once popular. The comparison with the _ashera_ or
pole worship among Phoenicians and Hebrews[1593] is fully justified, and
is a proof of the great antiquity of the symbol, which, without becoming
a formal part of the later cult, retained in some measure a hold upon
the popular mind. Other symbols and customs were introduced under the
influence of the doctrines unfolded in the schools of thought in the
various intellectual centers, and as an expression of the teachings of
the priests. The cult of Babylonia, even more so than the literature, is
a compound of these two factors,--popular beliefs and the theological
elaboration and systematization of these beliefs. In the course of this
elaboration, many new ideas and new rites were introduced. The official
cult passed in some important particulars far beyond popular practices.
FOOTNOTES:
[1311] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 126-141.
[1312] Gen. xi. 4.
[1313] _E.g._, Tiglathpileser I., col. vii. ll. 102, 103; Meissner,
_Altbabylonisches Privatrecht_, no. 46; Nebopolassar Cylinder
(Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pls. 32, 33), col. i.
l. 38. Or 'as high as mountains'; _e.g._, Nebuchadnezzar II., IR. 58,
col. viii. ll. 61-63; and so frequently the Neo-Babylonian kings.
[1314] _Kosmologie_, pp. 185-195.
[1315] Or _Kharsag-gal-kurkura_; see p. 558.
[1316] See p. 458.
[1317] _Ekurrati_; Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p. 718b.
[1318] IR. 35, no. 3, 22.
[1319] See below.
[1320] Hebrew _Bamoth_. Through the opposition of the Hebrew prophets,
the term acquires distasteful associations that were originally foreign
to it.
[1321] See Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 124 _seq._
[1322] IIR. 50, obverse.
[1323] Perhaps, however, these several names all designate a single
zikkurat.
[1324] Peters' _Nippur_, i. 246; ii. 120.
[1325] For the meaning of this phrase, see Winckler's _Altorientalische
Forschungen_, iii. 208-222, and Jensen's _Kosmologie_, p. 167.
[1326] From Heuzey's note in De Sarzec, _Decourveries en Chaldee_, p.
31, it would appear that at Lagash there was a zikkurat of modest
proportions, but Dr. Peters informs me that from his observations at
Telloh, he questions whether the building in question represents a
zikkurat at all, though, as we know from other sources, a zikkurat
existed there in the days of Gudea.
[1327] _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_, xviii.
[1328] Of Sargon's zikkurat at Khorsabad, also, only four stories have
been found. Perrot and Chiplez (_History of Art in Chaldaea and
Assyria_, i. 388) suppose that there may have been seven.
[1329] _E.g._ Perrot and Chiplez, _ib._ p. 128. Hommel, _Geschichte
Babyloniens und Assyriens_, p. 19.
[1330] Peters (_Nippur_, i. 214) found many yellow-colored bricks at
Borsippa.
[1331] Book I, Sec. 98.
[1332] See a paper by E. W. Hopkins on _The Holy Numbers of the
Rig-Veda_ (Oriental Studies, Boston, 1894, pp. 141-147).
[1333] Written ideographically, as the names of the zikkurats and of all
sacred edifices invariably are.
[1334] See above, p. 459.
[1335] Inscription G, col. i. l. 14; D, col. ii. l. 11.
[1336] IIR. 50; obverse 20. See p. 472.
[1337] _Kosmologie_, pp. 171-174.
[1338] The suggestion is worthy of consideration whether the name 'seven
directions of heaven and earth' may not also point to a conception of
seven zones dividing the _heavens_ as well as the earth. One is reminded
of the 'seven' heavens of Arabic theology.
[1339] So _e.g._, Kaulen, _Assyrien und Babylonien_ (3d edition), p. 58;
Vigouroux, _La Bible et les Decouvertes Modernes_ (4th edition), i. 358.
[1340] Lit., 'house to be seen,' _Igi-e-nir_. See, _e.g._, VR. 29, no.
4, 40, and Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p. 262.
[1341] So at Babylon, at least, according to Herodotus. Traces of such a
room were also found in connection with the zikkurat at Nippur (Peters,
_Nippur_, ii. 122.)
[1342] _Bit pirishti_. IIR. 50, obverse, 6. Another name (or perhaps the
name of a second zikkurat at Nippur; see p. 616, note 2) is
_Im-kharsag_, _i.e._, 'mountain of awe.' Peters' rendering (_Nippur_,
ii. 122) of the names is inaccurate.
[1343] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. chapter vi.
[1344] Schick, _Die Stiftschuette, der Tempel, und der Tempelplatz der
Jetztzeit_, pp. 8, 9.
[1345] Snouck-Hurgronje _Mekka_ (Atlas, pl. 1). The present structure,
though comparatively modern, is built after ancient models.
[1346] Schick, _ib._ pp. 125-131.
[1347] _Die Stiftshuette, der Tempel, und der Tempelplatz der Jeiztzeit_,
p. 82.
[1348] On the significance of the gate in sacred edifices, see Trumbull,
_The Threshold Covenant_, pp. 102-108.
[1349] Dr. Peters is of the opinion that at the entrance to the temple
area proper at Nippur there also stood two large columns.
[1350] _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pp. 62-64. Heuzey, in a valuable note,
already suggests the comparison with the two columns of Solomon's which
is here maintained on the basis of the excavations at Nippur.
[1351] _Ib._ p. 64.
[1352] The best example for Assyria is furnished by the magnificent
bronze gates of Balawat, now in The British Museum. See Birch and
Pinches, _The Bronze Ornaments of the Palace Gates of Balawat_ (London,
1881).
[1353] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in
Chaldea and Assyria_, i. 142, 143.
[1354] So Puchstein and Friedrich, but see Meissner-Rost, _Noch einmal
das Bithillani und die Assyrische Saeule_ (Leipzig, 1893).
[1355] _Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon_, plan 2.
[1356] Papakhu for Pakhpakhu, from the stem _pakhu_, "to close."
Parakku, from Paraku, "to shut off, to lock."
[1357] Inscription D, col. ii. l. 9.
[1358] V. Rawlinson, pl. 60.
[1359] Book i. sec. 183.
[1360] See the chief passage, IR. 54, col. ii, ll. 54-65; another name
is E-Kua, 'dwelling.'
[1361] See p. 423.
[1362] VR. 50, col. i. l. 5.
[1363] VR. 41, No. 1, Rev. 18.
[1364] IVR. 57, 24a. Jensen's suggestion (_Kosmologie_, p. 242) to read
Mar-duku is out of the question.
[1365] What Jensen says (_Kosmologie_, p. 10) of the temple at Sippar
would apply to the papakhu in the temple, rather than to the whole
structure.
[1366] De Sarzec, _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pls. 24, 25 _bis_, etc.
[1367] See p. 537.
[1368] De Sarzec, _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pls. 4, 4 _bis_ and 43
_bis_. On the latter, bulls, lions, and eagle in combination.
[1369] See p. 653.
[1370] See the plan in Schick, _Die Stiftshuette_, pl. 5. Layard
(_Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon_, pp. 642-648)
points out some analogies between the constructions at Nimrod and
Solomon's buildings, but what he says applies chiefly to the palaces.
[1371] Herodotus, book i. sec. 183, speaks of two altars outside of the
temple of Marduk in Babylon. In the case of so important a structure,
the number of altars was naturally more numerous.
[1372] See Heuzey's note in De Sarzec's _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, p. 65.
[1373] See pp. 109 _seq._
[1374] See p. 106.
[1375] _Recueil des Travaux_, etc., xvii. 39.
[1376] See pp. 140 _seq._
[1377] The date of this king has recently been pushed down by
Thureau-Dangin, considerably later than the date assigned to him by
Hilprecht (_Revue Semitique_, v. 265-269).
[1378] See p. 110.
[1379] Nebuchadnezzar, IR. 65, col. i. ll. 34, 35.
[1380] This is to be concluded from Nebuchadnezzar, ib. l. 32.
[1381] See Tiele's note, _Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, ii. 184, note.
[1382] IR. 55, col. iv. ll. 54-57.
[1383] See Tiele, _Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, ii. 190.
[1384] III Rawlinson, pl. 66. The list also contains objects in the
temples used for the cult.
[1385] IIIR. 66. obverse, col. ii. ll. 2-25.
[1386] See p. 207.
[1387] The sign for image occurs in connection with some of the gods.
[1388] The term can hardly be used here in the strict sense of 'towers,'
but appears to have become a general word for a sacred structure.
[1389] _Ib._ col. iii. ll. 22-34.
[1390] Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 7.
[1391] See, _e.g._, the list IIIR. 66. An exception is formed by the
temple to Ramman in the city of Asshur, which has a special name. See
the following note.
[1392] Including the one to Ramman in Asshur.
[1393] IR. 2. nos. 11, 2.
[1394] IIR, 50, obverse 13.
[1395] Lge-e-nir = zikkurat; Kidur = shubtu (dwelling); Makh = rabu
(great).
[1396] The name approaches closely to the conception of a zikkurat in
the Book of Genesis, as a 'ladder' connecting heaven and earth. Gen.
xxviii. 12.
[1397] See above, p. 619.
[1398] The ideas 'true, fixed, established, eternal' are all expressed
by the element _Zida_.
[1399] I adopt this reading as the one generally used.
[1400] See above, p. 242.
[1401] Or _tush_. Cf. Bruennow, Sign List, no. 10523.
[1402] Or _ab_. See Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, i. pp. 15, 173.
[1403] See above, p. 57.
[1404] Compare the name 'Belit-seri,' 'mistress of the fields,' as the
name of a goddess who belongs to the pantheon of the lower world. See p.
588.
[1405] IIR. 61, nos. 1, 2, 6.
[1406] Text, _Kar_, _i.e._, 'dam,' 'wall,' or 'quay.'
[1407] IIR. 50, l. 8.
[1408] Bezold Catalogue, etc., p. 1776.
[1409] One is reminded of Isaiah's sentiment (lvi. 7) regarding the
temple of Yahwe, which is to be called 'a house of prayer for the
world.'
[1410] Lit., 'enclosure.'
[1411] The synagogue is called a 'house' just as the Babylonian temple
is, and among names of synagogues (or of congregations) in modern times
that form close parallels to the names of Babylonian temples may be
instanced 'house of prayer,' 'glory of Israel,' 'tree of life.' The
custom of naming Christian churches after the apostles represents a
further development along the order of ideas current in Babylonia.
[1412] _E.g._, IIR. 50 (zikkurats); IIR. 61; IIIR. 66.
[1413] See Bezold Catalogue, etc., p. 1776 and elsewhere.
[1414] _E.g._, IIR. 54-60; IIIR. 67-69; VR. 43, 46.
[1415] IIR. 60, no. 1, obverse.
[1416] See p. 172. Some of the gods invoked by Sennacherib (see p. 238),
as Gaga, Sherua, and perhaps also Khani, are foreign deities.
[1417] Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, i. 56-59.
[1418] As Lagamal, Kanishurra.
[1419] See Peters' _Nippur_, ii. chapter x, "The History of Nippur."
[1420] _Ib._ ll. 260. (Published in Hilprecht's _Old Babylonian
Inscriptions_, I. 1. pl. 21, no. 43. See also pl. 8, no. 15.)
[1421] VR. 63.
[1422] VR. pls. 60, 61.
[1423] So, _e.g._, as late as the days of Nebopolassar (Scheil, _Recueil
des Travaux_, xviii. 16).
[1424] Besides this temple, there were two others, perhaps only chapels,
dedicated to Sin at Ur: (_a_) E-te-im-ila (mentioned first by Ur-Bau,
IR. pl. 1, no. 4), and (_b_) E-Kharsag (mentioned first by Dungi, IR. 2,
II. no. 2). The zikkurat at Ur had, of course, a special name (IIR. 50,
obverse 18).
[1425] See Noeldeke, _Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, xi. 107-109.
Hilprecht's theory (_Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, 55) has not
been accepted by scholars.
[1426] VR. 64, col. i. 3-9; col. ii. 46.
[1427] See p. 444.
[1428] See p. 81.
[1429] See pp. 126 _seq._
[1430] See p. 129.
[1431] So Antiochus Soter, VR. 66, col. i. l. 3.
[1432] For a further account of the financial side of the temple
establishments, see Peiser's excellent remarks in his _Babylonische
Vertraege des Berliner Museums_, pp. xvii-xxix.
[1433] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, p. 24.
[1434] Nine magnificent diorite statues of Gudea were found by De Sarzec
at Telloh.
[1435] Ashes--the trace of sacrifices--were also found on the altar.
[1436] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in
Chaldea_, etc., i. 143, 255. Similar horns existed on the Hebrew and
Ph[oe]nician altars.
[1437] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _ib._, i. 194, 256,
257. On seal cylinders altar titles are frequently represented.
[1438] Book i. sec. 183.
[1439] See Schick, _Die Stiftshuette_, etc., pp. 119 _seq._
[1440] _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 13; see also p. 89.
[1441] Inscription G, col 1. ll. 15-17. See p. 621.
[1442] Described in De Sarzec's _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pp. 216, 217.
For other specimens, see _ib._ pp. 106, 171; and see also Hilprecht,
_Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2. p. 39, note.
[1443] Inscription D, col. iii, 1-12.
[1444] See Winckler's note, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 2, p. 16.
[1445] IR. 54, col. iii. l. 10.
[1446] _Ib._ 55, col. iv. l. 1, 2.
[1447] IIR. 61. no. 2, obverse.
[1448] See Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldea and Assyria_,
i. 75, 76.
[1449] See the illustration in Snouck-Hurgronje _Mekka_, pl. V.
[1450] _I.e._, of the god, E-Kua being the name of the sacred chamber in
Marduk's temple at Babylon. See p. 629, note 1.
[1451] See p. 60.
[1452] See p. 282.
[1453] The largest canal in Babylonia.
[1454] _E.g._, _ishakku_.
[1455] _Sha_ and _naku_, _i.e._, 'the one over the sacrifice.'
_Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, vii., 174, note.
[1456] That these terms represent classes of priests is indicated by the
fact that the abstract derivatives shangutu, kalutu, ishipputu, and also
ramkutu (see below) are used as general terms for priesthood.
[1457] IIR. 32, no. 3.
[1458] 'A spear carrier of Marduk' occurs in contract tablets.
[1459] _Dupsharru_.
[1460] _Daianu_.
[1461] _E.g._, IIIR. 48, no. 6, ll. 26, 27.
[1462] _Shangu_ = priest; _makhu_ = great.
[1463] See above, p. 657.
[1464] Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p. 149b.
[1465] See pp. 356 _seq._
[1466] On these night watches, see Delitzsch's article in the
_Zeitschrift fuer Keilschriftforschung_, ll. 284-294.
[1467] See above, pp. 267, 343.
[1468] _Kharimtu_, _Kisritu_, _Ukhatu_, _Shamuktu_. See IIR, 32, no. 2,
ll. 31-36, and above, pp. 475, 484.
[1469] See his article on "Sacrifice" in the 9th edition of the
_Encyclopaedia Britannica_ and his _Religion of the Semites_, Lectures
VI-XI.
[1470] So in the regulations of the priestly code (Lev. iii. 14-17).
[1471] Inscription G, cols, iii-vi.
[1472] Hardly 'roosters,' as Jensen (_Kosmologie_, p. 517) proposes.
[1473] See, _e.g._, Gudea, Inscription F, cols. iii, iv.
[1474] See on this general subject Marillier's admirable articles, "La
Place du Totemisme dans l'evolution religieuse" (_Revue de l'Histoire
des Religions_, xxxvi).
[1475] See pp. 397, 398.
[1476] See Peters' _Nippur_, ll. 131, and Hilprecht, _Cuneiform Texts_,
ix. pl. xiii.
[1477] See Ward, "On Some Babylonian Cylinders supposed to represent
Human Sacrifices" (_Proc. Amer. Oriental Soc._ May, 1888, pp.
xxvlii-xxx).
[1478] See, _e.g._, Layard, _Monuments of Nineveh_, 1st series, pls. 7,
23; Place, _Nineve et l'Assyrie_, pl. 46, etc.
[1479] "The Winged Figures of the Assyrian and Other Ancient Monuments,"
_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ xii. 383-393; see also Bonavia, "The Sacred
Trees of the Assyrian Monuments," _Babylonian and Oriental Record_,
vols. iii, iv, whose conclusions, however, are not always acceptable.
[1480] See chapter xix, "Oracles and Omens."
[1481] See pp. 295-299.
[1482] See, _e.g._, Sennacherib, IR. 47, col. v. ll. 50-54;
Ashurbanabal, Rassam Cylinder, col. ii. l. 116, and col. iv. l. 9.
[1483] IIR. 67, 11, 12.
[1484] Cylinder, l. 4.
[1485] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's Prunkinschrift_, ll.
134, 135.
[1486] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pl. 33, col. ii.
ll. 54-56.
[1487] VR. 65, col. ii. l. 13.
[1488] See, _e.g._, Tiglathpileser I., IR. 16, col. viii. ll. 56, 57;
Sennacherib, IR. 47, col. vi. l. 67-71.
[1489] VR. 64, col. ii. ll. 43-45.
[1490] Gen. xxviii. 18.
[1491] _Religion of the Semites_, p. 364.
[1492] See Robertson Smith, ib. p. 215.
[1493] VR. 61, col. iv. ll. 33, 34.
[1494] IR. 7, no. ix.
[1495] Heuzey in De Sarzec's _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, p. 209.
[1496] Several examples occur in De Sarzec's _Decouvertes en Chaldee_.
See also Ward, _Proc. Amer. Oriental Soc._, May, 1888, p. xxix, and
Peters' _Nippur_, ii. pl. 2.
[1497] Wellhausen, _Reste Arabischen Heidenthums_, p. 106.
[1498] Grotefend Cylinder, col. li. ll. 36-39.
[1499] They are also used in the sense of any permanent provision for a
temple through an endowment.
[1500] Lit., 'the steady' sacrifice. See the technical employment, Dan.
viii. 11.
[1501] VR. 61, col. iv. l. 48-col v. l. 6; see also Ashurbanabal, Rassam
Cylinder, col. iv. l. 90.
[1502] Belit here used for Ashur's consort; see p. 226.
[1503] See p. 652.
[1504] Inscription B, cols. vii-viii.
[1505] Chapter iii. 1-7.
[1506] This touch appears to have been added by the Hebrew writer.
Nebuchadnezzar is but a disguise for Antiochus Epiphanes.
[1507] VR. 33, col. ii. l. 22-col. iii. l. 12.
[1508] VR. 61, col. vi. ll. 1-13.
[1509] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pl. 23, no. 62.
[1510] In the museum at Copenhagen. Described by Knudtzon in the _Zeits.
f. Assyr._, xil. 255.
[1511] Tiele, _Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte_, p. 287.
[1512] In the Berlin Museum (Knudtzon, _ib._). It is also on a knob
which contains remains of an iron stick, to which, evidently, the knob
was fastened.
[1513] Written A-e.
[1514] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, p. 58.
[1515] In reality, glass colored with cobalt. On this production of
false lapis lazuli, see Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 134.
[1516] For examples, see Hilprecht, _ib._, pl. 18, no. 34; pl. 23, nos.
56, 57; pl. 25, nos. 66, 69; pl. 26, no. 70.
[1517] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 77, 133.
[1518] So, _e.g._, Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 237, 238, 378, 379.
[1519] De Sarzec, _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pls. 1 bis and 28.
[1520] The opinion has been advanced that the personage who holds the
cone-shaped object is the fire-god turning the fire drill, but this is
highly improbable.
[1521] _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, p. 239.
[1522] Peters' _Nippur_ ii. 376, and Hilprecht, _Cuneiform Texts_, ix.
pl. 12.
[1523] Peters _ib._ pp. 374, 375.
[1524] See p. 536.
[1525] _E.g._, Gen. xxxi. 19.
[1526] See the specimens and descriptions in _Decouvertes en Chaldee_,
pl. 44 and p. 234.
[1527] Tiglathpileser I. (IR. 12, col. iv. l. 23) presents twenty-five
gods of the land of Sugi.
[1528] Ashurnasirbal, IR. 25, col. iii. ll. 91, 92.
[1529] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's Prunkinschrift_, ll.
141-143.
[1530] IR. 27, 8-10.
[1531] VR. 60, col. ii. ll. 11-16.
[1532] See pp. 373-383.
[1533] See above, p. 658.
[1534] This is a standing phrase in the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar,
as well as of other kings. See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwoerterbuch_, p.
270b.
[1535] Deut. xii. 18; xvi. 14, etc.
[1536] See pp. 462, 463.
[1537] See _ib._
[1538] Or zag-mu. Gudea, Inscription G, col. iii. In the later
inscriptions we find zag-mu-ku. The _k_ or _ku_ appears to be an
afformative. See Amlaud, _Zeits. f. Assyr._ iii. 41. The reading
za-am-mu-ku is found, IR. 67, col. i. l. 34.
[1539] _resh shatti_. See p. 681.
[1540] Inscription G, _ib._, and Inscription D, col. ii. ll. 1-9. See
also p. 59.
[1541] See above, _ib._
[1542] See, _e.g._, Pognon Wadi Brissa, col. ix. ll. 12-18.
[1543] This follows from a passage in Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription, IR.
54, col. ii. l. 57.
[1544] See p. 654.
[1545] Signifying 'may the enemy not wax strong.'
[1546] See Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription, IR. 56, col v. ll. 38-54.
[1547] So, _e.g._ during the closing years of Nabonnedos' reign.
Winckler, _Untersuchungen zur Altorient. Gesch._ i. 154; obv. 6 (7th
year); 11 (9th year); 20 (10th year); 24 (11th year).
[1548] On the meaning and importance of the rite, see Winckler, _Zeits.
f. Assyr._ ii. 302-304, and Lehmann's _Shamash-shumukin_, pp. 44-53.
[1549] Eponym List, IIR. 52, no. 1 obv. 45.
[1550] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's_, pp. 52, 124; of
Ashurbanabal, the chronicler tells us that he proceeded to Babylonia in
the month of Iyyar, but, this not being the proper month, he did not
"seize the hands of Bel." See also Winckler, _ib._ p. xxxvi, note.
[1551] See pp. 423 and 629 _seq._
[1552] _I.e._, 'The beginning of the year.' See on this subject Karppe's
article, _Revue Semitique_, ii. 146-151.
[1553] See p. 464.
[1554] See _ib._, note 3.
[1555] The opinion of many scholars that the Rosh hash-shana dates from
the Babylonian exile because not referred to in the Book of Deuteronomy
is open to serious objections. The festival has traces of antiquity
(like the Day of Atonement), and appears to have been _revived_ during
the captivity, under Babylonian influence.
[1556] See especially pp. 484 and 575.
[1557] Ezekiel, viii. 14. There is probably a reference also to the
Tammuz festival in Zech, xii. 10, 11. The interpretation offered by
Robertson Smith (_Religion of the Semites_, p. 392, note) for the
mourning rites appears strained.
[1558] _Over de Israelietische Vastendagen_ (Amsterdam, 1897, pp. 4-6;
12-17).
[1559] _Zeits. f. Assyr._ ix. 290 _seq._
[1560] See Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, ii. 648 _seq._
[1561] Rassam Cylinder, col. i. ll. 11, 12.
[1562] See pp. 105 and 173 _seq._
[1563] The readings Suni-gar and Shum-gar (so Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ ii.
155) are also possible.
[1564] IVR. 32, 49b, where the 20th day of the intercalated Elul is so
designated. An official--'the great Si-gar'--is mentioned in a
list,--IIR. 31, no. 5, 33a.
[1565] See the discussion (and passages) in Lehmann's
_Shamash-shumukin_, pp. 43 _seq._ One is tempted to conclude that
Marduk's statue was removed to Nineveh, not in a spirit of vandalism,
but in order to enable Assyrian kings to 'seize the hands of Bel'
without proceeding to E-Sagila. The Babylonians, no doubt, were offended
by such an act, and in order to conciliate them, Ashurbanabal, who
pursues a mild policy towards the south, orders the statue to be
restored at the time that he appoints his brother Shamash-shumukin as
governor of the southern provinces.
[1566] _Ib._ p. 53, note.
[1567] Ashurnasirbal's Inscription, IR. 23, col. ii. l. 134.
[1568] See above, p. 462.
[1569] Rassam Cylinder, col. viii. ll. 96-100.
[1570] George Smith, _The History of Ashurbanipal_, p. 126 (Cylinder B,
col. v. l. 77). See also Rassam Cylinder, col. iii. l. 32.
[1571] See above, pp. 195, 196.
[1572] See Ashurbanabal Cylinder B, col. v. l. 16 (_Keils Bibl._ ii.
248; also Meissner, _Beitraege zum Altbabylonischen Privatrecht_, no. 14,
p. 23).
[1573] VR. 61. col. v. l. 51-vi. l. 8.
[1574] See above, pp. 74 and 176.
[1575] Winckler, _Zeits. f. Assyr._ ii. 155 (col. ii. l. 41).
[1576] One is reminded of the sanctity attaching in the Jewish ritual to
the "counting" of the seven weeks intervening between Passover (the old
Nisan festival) and Pentecost (an old summer festival). See Deut. xvi.
9. The 33d day of this period has a special significance in the Jewish
Church.
[1577] The non-Jewish origin of the Purim festival is generally accepted
by critical scholars. Lagarde (_Purim--Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der
Religions_) endeavors to trace it back to a Persian fire festival;
Zimmern (_Zeits. f. Alt. Wiss._, 1891, pp. 160 _seq._) connects it with
the Babylonian Zagmuku. Sayce's supposition (_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._
xix. 280, 281) is not to be taken seriously. The origin of the Jewish
feast and fast of Purim is still obscure. The fact that there is both a
fast (14th Adar) and a festival (15th Adar) is a safe indication of
antiquity. Zimmern's view of a possible relationship between Purim and
Zagmuku is untenable, but that there is a connection between Purim and
_some_ Babylonian festival follows from the fact that the two chief
personages in the Book of Esther--namely, Mordecai and Esther--bear
names identical with the two Babylonian deities, Marduk and Ishtar. This
cannot be an accident. On the other hand, Haman and Vashti, according to
Jensen (_Wiener Zeits. f.d. Kunde des Morgenlandes_, vi. 70), are
Elamitic names of deities corresponding to the Babylonian Marduk and
Ishtar. The case for Vashti is not clearly made out by Jensen, but, for
all that, it is certain that the Babylonian elements in the institution
have been combined with some bits of Persian mythology. The historical
setting is the work of the Jewish compiler of the tale, that has of
course some historical basis. See now Toy, _Esther as a Babylonian
Goddess_ (_The New World_, vi. 130-145).
[1578] VR. 33, col. v. l. 40.
[1579] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's_, p. 172 and p. xxvi,
note.
[1580] _E.g._, Sargon's _Annals_, l. 179; Cylinder, l. 20, VR. 33, col.
v. l. 40 (_nigatu_).
[1581] Not necessarily 'music festival,' as Delitzsch proposes (_Assyr.
Handw._, p. 447a).
[1582] For examples, see the Assyrian contract tablets translated by
Peiser, _Keils Bibl._ iv. 98 and _passim._
[1583] See the passage Shalmanaser obelisk, ll. 174, 175, and Peiser's
comment, _Keils Bibl._ iv. 106, note.
[1584] Burton, _A Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina_, iii. chapter vii.
[1585] See above, p. 686.
[1586] Chapter xviii.
[1587] Rassam Cylinder, col. iv. ll. 86-89.
[1588] VR. 61, col. ii. ll. 22-27.
[1589] Ea and Marduk, it will be recalled, are the chief gods invoked in
magic rites involving purification. See pp. 275, 276.
[1590] See p. 646.
[1591] See numerous examples in Menant's _Collection de Clercq_ (Paris,
1888).
[1592] See above, p. 662.
[1593] Stade, _Geschichte des Volkes Israel_, i. 458 seq.