is important always to bear in mind that
beyond this apparent restoration of the dead to life, the Babylonians at
no time went.

In the Ishtar story[1235] a god Irkalla is introduced. Jeremias[1236]
takes this as one of the names of Allatu, but this is unlikely.[1237]
From other sources[1238] we know that Irkalla is one of the names of the
nether world. It is in some way connected with Urugal,[1239] _i.e._,
'great city,' which is also a common designation for the dwelling-place
of the dead. Hence, Irkalla is an epithet describing a deity as 'the god
of the great city.' The Babylonian scholars, who were fond of plays upon
words, brought the name Nergal, as though compounded of Ne-uru-gal
(_i.e._, 'ruler of the great city'), into connection with Uru-gal, and
thus identified Irkalla with Nergal. But, originally, some other god
must have been meant, since Allatu appears as the sole ruler of the
lower world in the Ishtar story, unless, indeed, we are to assume that
the name has been introduced at a late period as a concession to Nergal.
It is more plausible that a god like Nin-azu was understood under 'the
god of the great city.' Besides these gods, there is another series of
beings who belong to Allatu's court,--the demons who are directly
responsible for death in the world. Of this series, Namtar is the chief
and the representative. As the one who gathers in the living to the dark
abode, it is natural that he should be pictured as guardian at the gates
of the great palace of Allatu. But by the side of Namtar stand a large
number of demons, whose task is similar to that of their chief. A
text[1240] calls the entire group of demons,--the demon of wasting
disease, the demon of fever, the demon of erysipelas,[1241] and the
like,--'the offspring of Aralu,' 'the sons and messengers of Namtar, the
bearers of destruction for Allatu.' These demons are sent out from Aralu
to plague the living, but once they have brought their victims to Aralu,
their task is done. They do not trouble the dead. The latter stand, as
we have seen, under the direct control of the gods.[1242]

The story of Ishtar's descent to the lower world[1243] shows us that the
group of spirits known as the Anunnaki, also, belong to the court of
Nergal and Allatu. Ramman-nirari I. already designates the Anunnaki as
belonging to the earth,[1244] though it is an indication of the
vagueness of the notions connected with the group that in hymns, both
the Anunnaki and the