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There are, however, a number of passages in the Assyrian inscriptions in which when Bel is spoken of, not Marduk but the old god Bel is meant. Bel. Tiglathpileser I. tells us that he rebuilt a temple to Bel in the city of Ashur, and he qualifies the name of the god by adding the word 'old' to it.
Even in his old temple at Ashur, which Tiglathpileser I. on the occasion of his rebuilding it, tells us was founded 641 years before this restoration, he is no longer accorded sole homage. Ramman, the god of thunder and of storms, because correlated to Anu, is placed by the side of the latter and permitted to share the honors with Anu.
In the religious productions, this relationship is expressed by making Ramman the son of Anu. From a passage descriptive of this temple it would appear that the old temple founded by King Samsi-Ramman, who lived several centuries before Tiglathpileser, was dedicated to Ramman. It looks, therefore, as though the association of Anu with Ramman was the work of the later king.
For Tiglathpileser I., great and ruthless warrior as he is, Shamash is the judge of heaven and earth, who sees the wickedness of the king's enemies, and shatters them because of their guilt. When the king mercifully sets certain captives free, it is in the presence of Shamash that he performs this act.
Anu survives in the Assyrian as in the Babylonian pantheon by virtue of being a member of the theological triad, composed as we have seen of Anu, Bel, and Ea. Tiglathpileser I. still invokes Anu as a deity of practical importance.
The northern rulers were anxious at all times to reconcile the southern population to Assyrian control, and it was no doubt gratifying to the south to find Tiglathpileser II., upon entering the ancient centers like Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, Cuthah, Kish, Dilbat, and Erech, proceeding to the temples in those places in order to offer his sacrifices.
Anum similarly is better than Anu, but the latter has become so common that it might as well be retained. VR. 33, vii. 34-44. IR. pl. 15, col. vii. 71-pl. 16, col. viii. 88. No less than nine times. Tiglathpileser I. Ramman-nirari I. Kosmologie, p. 274. See the list IIIR. 68, 26 seq. Thureau-Dangin, Journal Asiatique, 1895, pp. 385-393.
In the meanwhile, the Assyrian king gathers strength enough to make an attack upon Babylonia. The conflict, once begun, continues, as has been indicated, with varying fortunes. Occasional breathing spells are brought about by a temporary agreement of peace between the two empires, until at the end of the twelfth century, Assyria, under Tiglathpileser I., secures control over the Babylonian empire.
Tiglathpileser I. calls him 'the great lord ruling the assembly of gods, and in similar style, Ashurnasirbal invokes him as 'the great god of all the gods. For Ramman-nirari III., he is the king of the Igigi the heavenly host of spirits. Sargon lovingly addresses him as the father of the gods.
Ashurnasirbal calls him so in his annals, e.g., col. iii. 1. 130. Bavian Inscription, ll. 48-50. See also Meissner-Rost, Bauinschriften Sanherib's, p. 102. The reading of the name of the city is not certain. It signifies 'city of palaces. c. 1120 B.C. II Rawlinson, 57, 33. So Tiglathpileser associates Ashur and Nin-ib, as those 'who fulfill his desire.
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