rduk, who
conveys the message of the latter to Ea. From being the messenger of
Bel, he comes to be viewed as the messenger of the gods in general, and
accordingly Ashurbanabal addresses him as 'the highly honored messenger
of the gods,' but, combining with the mythological the more realistic
aspect of Nusku, refers to him also as the one who glorifies sovereignty
and who, at the command of Ashur and Belit, stands at the king's side to
aid in bringing the enemies to fall. As for the fire-god Gibil, with
whom Nusku is identified, we have merely a reference to a month of the
year sacred to the servant of Gibil in a passage of the inscriptions of
Sargon.[285]

Bel-Marduk.

From the time that the Assyrian rulers claimed a greater or small
measure of control over the affairs of Babylonia, that is, therefore,
from about the twelfth century, they were anxious to make good their
claim by including in their pantheon the chief god of Babylonia. The
Assyrian inscriptions prove that, as early as the twelfth century, the
theoretical absorption on the part of Marduk, of the role taken by the
old god Bel of Nippur, which was enlarged upon in a preceding
chapter,[286] had already taken place. Marduk is not only frequently
known as Bel, but what is more, Babylonia is the country of Bel, or
simply Bel, and the Babylonians are referred to as 'the subjects of
Bel,' or the 'humanity of Bel.' There can be no doubt that in all these
cases Bel-Marduk is meant and not the older Bel. In the days of
Ashurrishishi we already come across the title 'governor of Bel,' that
to the latest days remains the official designation for political
control over the southern empire. So general is this use of Bel for
Marduk that the latter name does not occur until we reach Shalmaneser
II., _i.e._, the ninth century. There seems to be no reason to question,
therefore, that even when Tiglathpileser I. applies to Bel titles that
certainly belong to the older Bel, such as 'father of the gods,' 'king
of all the Anunnaki,' 'who fixes the decrees of heaven and earth,' he
means Marduk, a proof for which may be seen in the epithet _bel matati_,
'lord of lands,' which follows upon these designations and which, as we
saw, is a factor in the evolution of Marduk into Bel-Marduk.[287] The
importance that Tiglathpileser I., and therefore also his successors,
attached to their control over the old southern district, is shown by
his according to Bel the second place in the pa