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Updated: June 17, 2025
Something must have occurred during his reign, to bring the goddess of Arbela into such remarkable prominence, but even Ashurbanabal does not go so far as to place Ishtar of Arbela before Ishtar of Nineveh, when enumerating the gods of the pantheon. One point still remains to be mentioned before passing on. Ashurbanabal calls Ishtar he is speaking of Ishtar of Nineveh the wife of Bel.
The priests of Arbela created a school of theological thought, but all these efforts were but weak imitations of the example furnished by the temples of the south. Even Ashurbanabal, whose ambition was to make Nineveh the center of religious and intellectual progress, failed of his purpose. His empire soon fell to decay, and with that decay Nineveh disappears from the stage of history.
The wailing for the dead took place not only immediately after death, but subsequently. Ashurbanabal speaks of visiting the graves of his ancestors. He appears at the tomb with rent garments, pours out a libation to the memory of the dead, and offers up a prayer addressed to them. We have every reason to believe that the graves were frequently visited by the survivors.
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. See chapter xix, "Oracles and Omens." See pp. 295-299. See, e.g., Sennacherib, IR. 47, col. v. ll. 50-54; Ashurbanabal, Rassam Cylinder, col. ii. l. 116, and col. iv. l. 9. Cylinder, l. 4.
The prayers and hymns represent the attempt of the Babylonian mind to free itself from a superstitious view of the relationship of man to the powers around him; an attempt, but it must be added an unsuccessful one. It is rather unfortunate that many of the hymns found in the library of Ashurbanabal are in so fragmentary a condition.
It comes as a surprise, but also as a welcome testimony to the efficacy of justice in Assyria, to find Ashurbanabal emphasizing the fact that he established ordinances so that the strong should do no harm to the weak. The institution of slavery flourished in Babylonia and Assyria throughout all periods of their history, but there were various grades of slaves.
Lastly, it is interesting to note that Ashurbanabal recognizes by the side of Belit-Ishtar, the wife of Ashur, the older Belit, the wife of the Bel of Nippur, to whom, in association with Anu and Bel, he attributes his victory over the Arabs. Sarpanitum.
Several attempts are made to reorganize the cult, but it was left for Nabubaliddin in the tenth century to restore E-Babbara to its former prestige. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal, who pay homage to the old Bel at Nippur, also devote themselves to Shamash at Sippar. They restore such portions of it as had suffered from the lapse of time and from other causes.
Unfortunately only about half of the epic has been found up to the present time. The numerous fragments represent at least four distinct copies, all belonging to the library of Ashurbanabal.
The example of Tiglathpileser is followed by his successors down through the time of Ashurbanabal.
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