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There seems to be no reason to question, therefore, that even when Tiglathpileser I. applies to Bel titles that certainly belong to the older Bel, such as 'father of the gods, 'king of all the Anunnaki, 'who fixes the decrees of heaven and earth, he means Marduk, a proof for which may be seen in the epithet bêl matâti, 'lord of lands, which follows upon these designations and which, as we saw, is a factor in the evolution of Marduk into Bel-Marduk.
Tiglathpileser invokes him also as the warrior, a title that is often given to Shamash in the religious literature. There can be little doubt that a nation of warriors whose chief deities were gods of war, was attracted to Shamash not merely because he was the judge of all things, but also, and in a large degree, because he possessed some of the traits that distinguished Ashur and Ishtar. Ramman.
The example of Tiglathpileser is followed by his successors down through the time of Ashurbanabal.
Ashur gives way under the glorious reign of Ashurnasirbal to Calah, which becomes the capitol in the year 880 B.C.; and Calah, in turn, yields to Nineveh, which becomes, from the time of Tiglathpileser II., in the middle of the eighth century, the center of the great kingdom. Under Ashurbanabal, who rules from 668 to 626 B.C., the climax of Assyrian power is reached.
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