o by the
Assyrian kings, but Nabu seemed always ready to help them. Hence the
king confesses his sins and makes an appeal to the great Babylonian god
and not to Ashur. He is encouraged by the promise that his life will be
spared, and that his supremacy will be recognized in Babylonia. The
great sanctuary of Sippar is here employed figuratively for the temples
of Babylonia in general. To be glorified in that famous temple was
equivalent to a recognition of royal authority.

That these oracles served a practical purpose is definitely proved by
the manner in which they are introduced by the kings in their annals.
Ashurbanabal tells us that in the course of one of his campaigns against
Elam, he addressed a fervent prayer to Ishtar of Arbela, and in reply
the message comes, as in the texts we have been considering, "Fear not";
and she adds, "Thy hands raised towards me, and thy eyes filled with
tears, I look upon with favor."[540]

Dreams.

It is, of course, not necessary to assume that the oracles of the gods
were always delivered in the same formal manner, accompanied by
elaborate ceremonies. The gods at times reveal themselves in a more
direct manner to their favorites. In visions of the night they appear to
encourage the Assyrian army by an oracle. On one occasion, when the army
of Ashurbanabal approached a rushing stream which they were afraid to
cross, Ishtar makes her appearance at night, and declares, "I walk in
front of Ashurbanabal, the king who is the creation of my hands."[541]
The army, thus reassured, crosses the river in safety. On another
occasion, Ashurbanabal, when threatened by the king of Elam, receives a
message from Ishtar revealed to a seer in a dream at night. The seer--no
doubt a priest--reports to the king:[542] 'Ishtar, dwelling in Arbela,
came with quivers hung on her right and left side, with a bow in her
hand, and girded (?) with a pointed, unsheathed sword. Before thee
[_i.e._, the king] she stood, and like the mother that bore thee.[543]
Ishtar, supreme among the gods, addressed thee, commanding: "Be
encouraged[544] for the fray. Wherever thou art, I am."'

In connection with the importance that the Babylonians and Assyrians, in
common with all ancient nations, attached to dreams, divine messages
thus revealed had a special significance fully on a par with the oracles
that were formally delivered with an accompaniment of elaborate rites. A
god appearing to one in a dream was a manifestat