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Her opposition, however, is as powerless to stem Dibbarra's attack as was Marduk's grief at the onslaught on Babylon. Dibbarra's greed is insatiable. Ishum continues his address to him: O warrior Dibbarra, thou dost dispatch the just, Thou dost dispatch the unjust, Who sins against thee, thou dost dispatch, And the one who does not sin against thee thou dost dispatch.
In order to ensure Marduk's place, the relations of the other deities to him had to be regulated, the legends and traditions of the past reshaped, so as to be brought into consistent accord with the new order of things, and the cult likewise to be, at least in part, remodelled, so as to emphasize the supremacy of Marduk.
To distinguish it from other festivals, Marduk's festival is sometimes spoken of as the "great" or the "lofty" Akitu. The first day was properly the Zagmuku, whereas the Akitu itself extended at least over the first eleven days of Nisan and may indeed have lasted the entire month; but Zagmuku was also used for the festival period. The New Year's Day was marked by a solemn procession.
Marduk's protection suffices for all purposes. This, of course, does not exclude the worship of other gods. A reference has already been made to the king's care for the city of Shamash. In this respect, he was but following the example of his predecessors, who, while regarding Babylon as their capital, were zealous in doing honor to ancient centers of worship.
No doubt the daily official sacrifices at Marduk's temple were even more elaborate. The custom of regular sacrifices in the larger temples may be traced back to an early period. The technical terms for such sacrifices are sattûku and ginû. Both terms convey the idea of being "fixed," perpetual, and suggest a comparison with the Pentateuchal institution of the tamîd, i.e., the daily sacrifice.
Such a course would emphasize the central position of Marduk among the gods, and accordingly, we find that the chief gods of Babylonia are represented by shrines within the sacred precincts of his great temples at Babylon and Borsippa. First among these shrines is that of Marduk's consort, Sarpanitum.
We shall see later how much prestige great Ninevite war-lords could gain even among their own countrymen by Marduk's formal acknowledgment of their sovereignty, and how much they lost by disregarding him and doing injury to his local habitation. At their very strongest the Assyrian kings were never credited with the natural right to rule Semitic Asia which belonged to kings of Babylon.
See Perrot and Chiplez, History of Art in Chaldea and Assyria, i. 75, 76. See the illustration in Snouck-Hurgronje Mekka, pl. I.e., of the god, E-Kua being the name of the sacred chamber in Marduk's temple at Babylon. See p. 629, note 1. See p. 60. See p. 282. The largest canal in Babylonia. E.g., ishakku.
One might have supposed that when Bel became Marduk, the consort of Bel would also become Marduk's consort. Such, however, does not appear to be the case, at least so far as the epoch of Hammurabi is concerned.
It is perhaps not the kind of address that we would expect Marduk to make after the act of creation, but for the present we must content ourselves with this conjecture, as also with the supposition that the creation of mankind constituted the final act in the great drama in which Marduk is the hero. When Marduk's work is finished, the Igigi gather around him in adoration.
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