Professor Pinches, "is apparently addressing Assur-bani-apli, 'the
great and noble Asnapper':

"When the father of my king my lord went to Egypt, he was crowned (?)
in the _ganni_ of Harran, the temple (lit. 'Bethel') of cedar. The god
Sin remained over the (sacred) standard, two crowns upon his head,
(and) the god Nusku stood beside him. The father of the king my lord
entered, (and) he (the priest of Sin) placed (the crown?) upon his
head, (saying) thus: 'Thou shalt go and capture the lands in the
midst'. (He we)nt, he captured the land of Egypt. The rest of the
lands not submitting (?) to Assur (Ashur) and Sin, the king, the lord
of kings, shall capture (them)."[403]

Ashur and Sin are here linked as equals. Associated with them is
Nusku, the messenger of the gods, who was given prominence in Assyria.
The kings frequently invoked him. As the son of Ea he acted as the
messenger between Merodach and the god of the deep. He was also a son
of Bel Enlil, and like Anu was guardian or chief of the Igigi, the
"host of heaven". Professor Pinches suggests that he may have been
either identical with the Sumerian fire god Gibil, or a brother of the
fire god, and an impersonation of the light of fire and sun. In Haran
he accompanied the moon god, and may, therefore, have symbolized the
light of the moon also. Professor Pinches adds that in one inscription
"he is identified with Nirig or En-reshtu" (Nin-Girsu = Tammuz).[404]
The Babylonians and Assyrians associated fire and light with moisture
and fertility.

The astral phase of the character of Ashur is highly probable. As has
been indicated, the Greek rendering of Anshar as "Assoros", is
suggestive in this connection. Jastrow, however, points out that the
use of the characters Anshar for Ashur did not obtain until the eighth
century B.C. "Linguistically", he says, "the change of Ashir to Ashur
can be accounted for, but not the transformation of An-shar to Ashur
or Ashir; so that we must assume the 'etymology' of Ashur, proposed by
some learned scribe, to be the nature of a play upon the name."[405]
On the other hand, it is possible that what appears arbitrary to us
may have been justified in ancient Assyria on perfectly reasonable, or
at any rate traditional, grounds. Professor Pinches points out that as
a sun god, and "at the same time not Shamash", Ashur resembled
Merodach. "His identification with Merodach, if that was ever
accepted, may have been due to the likeness of t