trans. Stephen Langdon
1923
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NOTE |
As early as 1910, the German Assyriologist Heinrich Zimmern believed that the Babylonian god Marduk was a dying-and-rising vegetation god whose annual return from the dead was celebrated with a great festival, having absorbed the festival celebrating the annual return of Tammuz from the dead. This claim had little basis in fact, but in 1918, Zimmern though he had proved it with the publication of a translation of a newly discovered cuneiform inscription about the trial of Marduk. Zimmern, who was a member of the both the "Christ-myth" school that denied that Jesus was a historical figure and the Panbabylonism school that traced Biblical narratives to Babylonian originals, then argued that the new text showed that the Passion and Resurrection of Christ drew directly from the trial, death, and resurrection of Marduk. Stephen Langdon published an English translation in 1923. Zimmern's claims were widely repeated but were not fully debunked until 1955, when Wolfram von Soden published a comprehensive refutation, pointing to errors Zimmern had made in both philology and Assyriology. Nevertheless, Zimmern's claims continued to be cited in works of history down to recent decades. Below, I present a translated excerpt of Zimmern's introduction to his translation, followed by Langdon's discussion and English translation, and excerpts in English translation from Soden's refutation.
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Heinrich Zimmern, On the Babylonian New Year's Festival (1918)
As already noted in the introduction, the Babylonian myth of the suffering Bel-Marduk imprisoned in the dark "mountain," but then freed again at the time of the New Year's festival in Nisan, resulting from the above, now indeed provides a Bel-Marduk myth corresponding to the Tammuz myth, also attested in inscriptions, and indeed at least from this period. The Ashur Tablet, dating from the 8th century BC, is likely to date from this period. It is noteworthy that the direct statement of a "dying" or "death" of the god Bel is apparently deliberately avoided; rather, only his "disappearance," "being imprisoned" in the mountain, etc., is mentioned. The popular opinion of a "dying" god was apparently not allowed to be expressed so bluntly in priestly literature in the case of a chief god such as Bel-Marduk. Later, when, at least, Greek writers speak of Xerxes invading the tomb of Belitañas (Ctesias § 21), or rather, of the "old Bel" (Aelian, Var Hist. XIII 3), they were apparently less reserved on this point.
Of particular interest in this Babylonian myth is the feature that a criminal is led away and then killed together with the god Bel. This scene, which, given its overall context, can also be placed in the Nisan festival, is probably the model for the “mock king” at the Babylonian Sacaea festival or the Persian Sacaea festival, about which Berossus and Dio Chrysostom recount. On the other hand, this criminal, led away and then killed with Bel, is also very reminiscent of the two criminals who are led away and crucified together with Jesus, just as this newly discovered myth of the suffering and triumphant Bel Marduk proves to be a new and important cuneiform counterpart to the New Testament descriptions of Jesus’ suffering, death, burial, and resurrection.
Of particular interest in this Babylonian myth is the feature that a criminal is led away and then killed together with the god Bel. This scene, which, given its overall context, can also be placed in the Nisan festival, is probably the model for the “mock king” at the Babylonian Sacaea festival or the Persian Sacaea festival, about which Berossus and Dio Chrysostom recount. On the other hand, this criminal, led away and then killed with Bel, is also very reminiscent of the two criminals who are led away and crucified together with Jesus, just as this newly discovered myth of the suffering and triumphant Bel Marduk proves to be a new and important cuneiform counterpart to the New Testament descriptions of Jesus’ suffering, death, burial, and resurrection.
THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF BEL-MARDUK
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STEPHEN LANGDON'S PREFACE
The German excavations at the old capital of Assyria not only provide the oldest texts of the Epic of Creation, but they also prove the existence of a New Year’s festival there, very similar to the celebration at Babylon. […] The ritual of the New Year at Babylon placed another aspect of Marduk in clear light. He, like Ninurta, upon whose cult the new Babylonian worship was based, figured as a solar god, and the chief significance of the Epic and the ritual of the spring equinox consisted in the return of the sun from the regions of winter darkness, the victory of light over the dragon of storm and night. It was, therefore, natural that a myth concerning Marduk’s descent into the lower world and his resurrection should have arisen at Babylon. This myth, and the ritual to which it gave form, was probably inspired more or less by the ancient cult of Tammuz, the young god of vegetation, who died yearly, sojourned in the lower world, and returned to the upper world. This parallel cult of Marduk as a solar deity has no direct bearing upon the Epic of Creation, but its details are so important that it cannot be omitted here. The only source at present available for this mystic ceremony of the death and resurrection of Bel was not recovered in Babylonia but at Aššur. The text has a colophon, but it makes no mention of an original at Babylon. It may be assumed, then, that this mysterious rite was also practised in Assyria. The text has attracted wide attention in theological circles, more especially for its apparent relation to the death and resurrection of the founder of Christianity. Zimmern, the first interpreter, made much of this point and drew up a parallel table of the leading features of the ritual and the arrest, trial, scourging, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. The text will undoubtedly become the subject of much theological discussion, and an authentic English version should not be omitted here. […] |
1. . . . . . . ; that is Bêl who was confined in the mountain.
2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . he brings him forth.
4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a messenger of his lords hastens (saying), 'Who brings him forth?'
5. He . . . . . . who goes and brings him forth.
6. He . . . . . . who rides; that is he who to the mountain goes.
7. To which . . . . . . he goes; that is the house on the edge of the mountain wherein they question him.
8. [Nebo who from] Barsippa comes; that is he who comes (to seek) after the welfare of his father (Marduk) who is held captive.
9. The . . . . . . who in the streets hasten; they seek for Bêl (saying), ‘Where is he held captive?’
10. The . . . . . . who stretches out her hands; she prays to Sin and Shamash saying, ‘Give life to Bêl’.
11 . [The gate of the . . . . . .]-s, to which she goes; that is the gate of the grave; she goes there seeking him.
12. The . . . . . . twins who at the gate of Esagila stand; these are his watchmen; they are appointed to guard him.
13. The . . . . . . who make lament; (that means) when the gods bound him he perished from among the living;
14. [Into the house of bondage] from the sun and light they caused him to descend.
15. The . . . . . . which touch him beneath and with which they clothe him; these are the wounds with which they wound him; with his blood [they are dyed].
16. The goddess who tarries with him has descended (to seek) for his welfare.
17. [The son of Ašur] who goes not with him, saying, ‘Not am I a sinner’, and ‘Not shall I be wounded’;
18. ‘[For the . . . . . .] of Ašur have revealed my judgement before him and have declared my judgement’;
19. [This one] who goes not with him, this son of Ašur, he is a watchman, he is appointed over him, he guards the prison over him.
20. [This head which] is bound to the door of Beltis of Babylon, that is the head of the malefactor whom they smite,
21. and slay with him. His head they bind to the neck (?) of Beltis of Babylon.
22. [Nebo ] who returns to Barsippa and who in the gate was placed,
23. after Bêl went to the mountain (lower world); (that means) the city fell into tumult because of him and fighting within it they made.
24. The reed pigsties which are before the way of Nebo, as he comes from Barsippa to adore him,
25. Nebo who comes and stands over (him), and regards him; that means this sinner who is with Bêl.
26 . . . . . . that he is with Bêl he sees.
27. The priests of incantation who go before him reciting an incantation; they are his people, who wail before him.
28. The Magi who goes before the Beltis of Babylon; that is the messenger, he weeps before her,
29. . . . saying, ‘Unto the mountain (lower world) they have taken him’; she goes down (?) saying ‘O my brother, O my brother . . . . . .’
30. . . . . his garments which he causes to be brought to Beltis of Erech; these are his raiment which they [took from him].
31. Be it silver, be it gold, be it his jewels which he causes to be brought forth from within Esagila unto the temples; that means his temple which . . . . . .
32. The šer’itu garment in which he (Marduk) was clothed; that means in a coffin (?) (kadammu)
33. The milk which before Ishtar of Nineveh they milk; that is she who reared him by suckling, showing him mercy.
34. ‘When on high’ which is recited and which before Bêl in the month Nisan they sing; because he was bound it is; he was . . . . . .
35. Their prayers he prays and their implorations he implores.
36. This high priest recites saying: ‘These benefactions for Ašur I do’; saying, ‘What is his sin?’
37. The . . . . . . who looks to heaven; that means he prays to Sin and Shamash saying, ' Restore me to life’;
38. The . . . . . . who looks toward the earth; that means that his . . . . . . has been placed thereon, and it is because he comes from within the mountain.
39. [The herald] ^ who with Bêl to the house of the New Year's festival goes not out; that means the . . . . . . of a prisoner he bears and with him he sits.
40. The Beltis of Babylon who goes not into the house of the New Year's festival; that is the woman who was placed over the house.
41. [To her they say, ‘The . . . . . . of the temple thou knowest’, and again, ‘Watch the temple and with thy hands . . . . . .’
42 . . . . . . Beltis of Babylon who binds an atû garment on her back, and a sipû of wool on her face . . . . . .
43. [That is because she with her hand] the blood of the body which was poured out [wipes away].
44. The . . . . . . before whom on the eighth of Nisan they slaughter a pig;
45. That is the woman who is placed over the temple; they question her saying, ‘Who is the malefactor?’ and again, ‘. . . . . .’
46. . . . . . . they take away and the malefactor they slay . . . . . .
47. The . . . . . . who come . . . . . . as he is slain . . . . . .
48. The . . . . . . who . . . . . . water quickly as they chant . . . . . .
49. [The waters . . . . . . which] they make muddy and cause to run away; they are the muddy waters which . . . . . .
50. The . . . . . . which they set forth which . . . . . .
51. The . . . . . . which in the month Nisan are exceedingly plentiful; that means when he was seized . . . . . .
52. The water for the hand(washing) which they bring nigh after he has been taken away; that is the misery which . . . . . .
53. The sêr’itu garment which is upon him is that of which they speak saying, ‘These waters— they (mean) sorrows’.
54. This is what they speak in the recital of ‘When on high’, ‘When heaven and earth were not created Anšar came into being,
55. When city and house were made he came into being (and) the waters, which upon Anšar [are, were separated?]
56. This one whose sin is; in a kadammû he is . . . . . . and in water is he not covered; the kadammû . . . . . .
57. The race which in the month of Nisan before Bêl and all the sacred places they run in frenzy;
58. That means; when Ašur sent Ninurta to conquer the god Zû, [Ninurta]
59. before Asur spoke saying, ‘Zû is conquered’; and Ašur spoke to the god Nusku (?)
60. saying, ‘Hasten unto all the gods, announce the tidings’; he announced the tidings to them and they rejoiced.
61. All the words which therein the psalmists recite,
62. The plunder which they take as they cause him to be felled; that means that the gods his fathers . . . . . .
63. Nusku who passes by Esabad; he is the messenger; Gula sends him on his (Bel’s) behalf.
64. The clothing and sandals which they bring into the temple of Bêltis of Babylon, this corresponds to, he brings (them) to her.
65. A . . . . . . for him whom they allow not to escape and who cannot come forth.
66. The chariot which goes speeding to the house of New Year’s sacrifice without its master; that means that without a master (Bêl) it runs swiftly.
67. And the dumbfounded goddess who from the city (goes) wailing; that is his woman wailer who from the city (goes) weeping.
68. The ‘door with aperture’ as they call it; that means that the gods confined him; he entered into the ‘house’ and before him one locked the door;
69. They bored holes into the door and there they waged battle.
70. Whosoever erases this tablet or puts it in water,
71. and (whosoever) reads it for whom it is not lawful (to read it), whom one must not permit to hear it,
72. him may Ašur, Sin, Shamash, Ramman and Ishtar, Bêl, Nebo, Nergal, Ishtar of Nineveh,
73. Ishtar of Arbela, Ishtar of Bit-kitmurri,
74. the gods of heaven and earth and the gods of Assyria, all of them,
75. curse him with a curse without deliverance and with trouble; and as long as he lives may they have no mercy upon him.
76. His name and his seed from the land may they cause to depart and may they place his flesh in the mouth of dogs.
2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . he brings him forth.
4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a messenger of his lords hastens (saying), 'Who brings him forth?'
5. He . . . . . . who goes and brings him forth.
6. He . . . . . . who rides; that is he who to the mountain goes.
7. To which . . . . . . he goes; that is the house on the edge of the mountain wherein they question him.
8. [Nebo who from] Barsippa comes; that is he who comes (to seek) after the welfare of his father (Marduk) who is held captive.
9. The . . . . . . who in the streets hasten; they seek for Bêl (saying), ‘Where is he held captive?’
10. The . . . . . . who stretches out her hands; she prays to Sin and Shamash saying, ‘Give life to Bêl’.
11 . [The gate of the . . . . . .]-s, to which she goes; that is the gate of the grave; she goes there seeking him.
12. The . . . . . . twins who at the gate of Esagila stand; these are his watchmen; they are appointed to guard him.
13. The . . . . . . who make lament; (that means) when the gods bound him he perished from among the living;
14. [Into the house of bondage] from the sun and light they caused him to descend.
15. The . . . . . . which touch him beneath and with which they clothe him; these are the wounds with which they wound him; with his blood [they are dyed].
16. The goddess who tarries with him has descended (to seek) for his welfare.
17. [The son of Ašur] who goes not with him, saying, ‘Not am I a sinner’, and ‘Not shall I be wounded’;
18. ‘[For the . . . . . .] of Ašur have revealed my judgement before him and have declared my judgement’;
19. [This one] who goes not with him, this son of Ašur, he is a watchman, he is appointed over him, he guards the prison over him.
20. [This head which] is bound to the door of Beltis of Babylon, that is the head of the malefactor whom they smite,
21. and slay with him. His head they bind to the neck (?) of Beltis of Babylon.
22. [Nebo ] who returns to Barsippa and who in the gate was placed,
23. after Bêl went to the mountain (lower world); (that means) the city fell into tumult because of him and fighting within it they made.
24. The reed pigsties which are before the way of Nebo, as he comes from Barsippa to adore him,
25. Nebo who comes and stands over (him), and regards him; that means this sinner who is with Bêl.
26 . . . . . . that he is with Bêl he sees.
27. The priests of incantation who go before him reciting an incantation; they are his people, who wail before him.
28. The Magi who goes before the Beltis of Babylon; that is the messenger, he weeps before her,
29. . . . saying, ‘Unto the mountain (lower world) they have taken him’; she goes down (?) saying ‘O my brother, O my brother . . . . . .’
30. . . . . his garments which he causes to be brought to Beltis of Erech; these are his raiment which they [took from him].
31. Be it silver, be it gold, be it his jewels which he causes to be brought forth from within Esagila unto the temples; that means his temple which . . . . . .
32. The šer’itu garment in which he (Marduk) was clothed; that means in a coffin (?) (kadammu)
33. The milk which before Ishtar of Nineveh they milk; that is she who reared him by suckling, showing him mercy.
34. ‘When on high’ which is recited and which before Bêl in the month Nisan they sing; because he was bound it is; he was . . . . . .
35. Their prayers he prays and their implorations he implores.
36. This high priest recites saying: ‘These benefactions for Ašur I do’; saying, ‘What is his sin?’
37. The . . . . . . who looks to heaven; that means he prays to Sin and Shamash saying, ' Restore me to life’;
38. The . . . . . . who looks toward the earth; that means that his . . . . . . has been placed thereon, and it is because he comes from within the mountain.
39. [The herald] ^ who with Bêl to the house of the New Year's festival goes not out; that means the . . . . . . of a prisoner he bears and with him he sits.
40. The Beltis of Babylon who goes not into the house of the New Year's festival; that is the woman who was placed over the house.
41. [To her they say, ‘The . . . . . . of the temple thou knowest’, and again, ‘Watch the temple and with thy hands . . . . . .’
42 . . . . . . Beltis of Babylon who binds an atû garment on her back, and a sipû of wool on her face . . . . . .
43. [That is because she with her hand] the blood of the body which was poured out [wipes away].
44. The . . . . . . before whom on the eighth of Nisan they slaughter a pig;
45. That is the woman who is placed over the temple; they question her saying, ‘Who is the malefactor?’ and again, ‘. . . . . .’
46. . . . . . . they take away and the malefactor they slay . . . . . .
47. The . . . . . . who come . . . . . . as he is slain . . . . . .
48. The . . . . . . who . . . . . . water quickly as they chant . . . . . .
49. [The waters . . . . . . which] they make muddy and cause to run away; they are the muddy waters which . . . . . .
50. The . . . . . . which they set forth which . . . . . .
51. The . . . . . . which in the month Nisan are exceedingly plentiful; that means when he was seized . . . . . .
52. The water for the hand(washing) which they bring nigh after he has been taken away; that is the misery which . . . . . .
53. The sêr’itu garment which is upon him is that of which they speak saying, ‘These waters— they (mean) sorrows’.
54. This is what they speak in the recital of ‘When on high’, ‘When heaven and earth were not created Anšar came into being,
55. When city and house were made he came into being (and) the waters, which upon Anšar [are, were separated?]
56. This one whose sin is; in a kadammû he is . . . . . . and in water is he not covered; the kadammû . . . . . .
57. The race which in the month of Nisan before Bêl and all the sacred places they run in frenzy;
58. That means; when Ašur sent Ninurta to conquer the god Zû, [Ninurta]
59. before Asur spoke saying, ‘Zû is conquered’; and Ašur spoke to the god Nusku (?)
60. saying, ‘Hasten unto all the gods, announce the tidings’; he announced the tidings to them and they rejoiced.
61. All the words which therein the psalmists recite,
62. The plunder which they take as they cause him to be felled; that means that the gods his fathers . . . . . .
63. Nusku who passes by Esabad; he is the messenger; Gula sends him on his (Bel’s) behalf.
64. The clothing and sandals which they bring into the temple of Bêltis of Babylon, this corresponds to, he brings (them) to her.
65. A . . . . . . for him whom they allow not to escape and who cannot come forth.
66. The chariot which goes speeding to the house of New Year’s sacrifice without its master; that means that without a master (Bêl) it runs swiftly.
67. And the dumbfounded goddess who from the city (goes) wailing; that is his woman wailer who from the city (goes) weeping.
68. The ‘door with aperture’ as they call it; that means that the gods confined him; he entered into the ‘house’ and before him one locked the door;
69. They bored holes into the door and there they waged battle.
70. Whosoever erases this tablet or puts it in water,
71. and (whosoever) reads it for whom it is not lawful (to read it), whom one must not permit to hear it,
72. him may Ašur, Sin, Shamash, Ramman and Ishtar, Bêl, Nebo, Nergal, Ishtar of Nineveh,
73. Ishtar of Arbela, Ishtar of Bit-kitmurri,
74. the gods of heaven and earth and the gods of Assyria, all of them,
75. curse him with a curse without deliverance and with trouble; and as long as he lives may they have no mercy upon him.
76. His name and his seed from the land may they cause to depart and may they place his flesh in the mouth of dogs.
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STEPHEN LANGDON'S COMMENTARY
This Aššur tablet is only a commentary on the ritual in which the death and resurrection of Bel was commemorated. The ritual itself has not been recovered. It is not clear that the ceremony, which obviously accompanied the New Year’s festival of Nisan, supposes the annual death and resurrection of Bêl: the Tammuz ceremonies are based upon the annual descent of Tammuz into the lower world, and his annual resurrection with the spring vegetation. The text leaves us to conjecture upon this point, but the Bêl myth is obviously borrowed from the older and more widely practised cult of Tammuz, and it is extremely probable that this mystic ritual of Bêl is only a local transformation of the Tammuz cult. Not satisfied with making their city-god Marduk the hero of the Epic of Creation instead of the older Sumerian Ninurta, the priests of Babylon, envious of the most powerful and attractive cult of Sumerian and Accadian religion, transformed Tammuz into Marduk. The result is that the ritual of death and resurrection is brought into intimate relation with the New Year’s festival at Babylon, and consequently with the Epic of Creation. The mystic ritual of Bel's death, descent into hell, and resurrection, when transferred to Assyria, naturally represented the god Ašur as Bêl. Of its original home in Babylon, the myth of Bel's tomb at Babylon and the numerous references to Beltis of Babylon in the ritual admit no doubt. The extraordinary grammatical comments upon the name of Esabad, temple of the mother-goddess Gula, in Babylon, in which the myth of Bel's tomb is introduced, adds substantial evidence. |
Wolfram von Soden, “Is There Any Evidence That the Babylonians Believed in the Resurrection of Marduk?” (1955)
To sum up, then, we may say that, if translated correctly, nowhere in the text is Marduk's death or descent into the underworld clearly mentioned. Lines 10, 15, 37 and 43 could be understood in this sense, but they also allow for a different interpretation. There is no indication of a triumph or resurrection of Marduk in our text, even in H. Zimmern’s translation. Even the New Year’s ritual, as far as it has been preserved, says nothing about it. The resurrection of Marduk has only been inferred from his supposed death; for if a god dies and yet remains God, and indeed a luminous divinity, then death must have been followed by the resurrection. But since we have no reliable testimony to Marduk's death either in our text or elsewhere – Strabo’s reference to an alleged ‘grave of Bel’ cannot be regarded as such a testimony! There is no reason to speak of a resurrection of Marduk. However, the already quite absurd comparison with Jesus’ death and resurrection is thus also deprived of the last foundation.
[…]
Bel is imprisoned, beaten and subjected to an ordal, the outcome of which we know nothing, and then locked up again. The consequence is that the cults for him, including the New Year's festival, cannot be carried out or cannot be carried out in the usual way. But Bel is not without advocates. Of course, his wife, here called Belet-Babili, intercedes for him, but also has to put up with dishonorable treatment for it. His son Nabû seems to be retreating to Borsippa after a futile attempt to do something for his father. Among others, however, if we read correctly in line 36, Šamaš also puts in a good word for him and refers to the good he did to Aššur. Who the accuser is is not clear from the surviving part of the text; but there can hardly be any doubt that the real leader of the enemy side is the god Aššur, who also leads the line of gods in the curse formula of the signature. However, a majority of gods appear again and again as the bearers of the court proceedings, to which Sin and Šamaš must have belonged, among others. These gods, appointed as judges, had an unnamed man beheaded as a “criminal” or “sinner”, while another was able to prove his non-participation in the conspiracy. Twice there are reports of battles, first of battles of the people in Babylon and at the end of a fight of the gods after the destruction of Bel's prison; we do not learn the outcome of any of these struggles, just as much in this text remains in a well-intentioned semi-darkness.
[…]
We have known for a long time that Sennacherib [Assyrian king, 704-681 BC] in his hatred of Babylon wanted to put Aššur in the place of Marduk. It is known that for this purpose he had the name Marduk replaced by Anšar in the epic of the creation of the world, since the Assyrian theologians equated Aššur with the primordial god Anšar in order to give him the highest rank. His hatred of Babylon led Sennacherib in 689, after the conquest of Babylon, which was always rebellious, to the decision to completely wipe the city off the face of the earth. In this extermination operation, Marduk's main temple was not spared and fell victim to destruction. Marduk was not only a Babylonian god, but also an Assyrian; he enjoyed much greater popularity among the common people than the imperial god Aššur. Marduk's temple in Babylon was therefore also a great sanctuary for the Assyrians, the destruction of which many felt was just as great a sacrilege as the destruction of an Assyrian temple. If Sennacherib nevertheless wanted to complete the work of destruction, he had to justify it to his own people. Political reasons alone were not sufficient; he also needed a religious justification. He could only find this justification in the behavior of Marduk as a representative of his believers in Babylon towards Aššur. Marduk had apparently strengthened the spirit of resistance of the Babylonians and had also raised doubts in many in Assyria about the absolute validity of Aššur's claim to rule; he had thus committed a serious offence against Aššur and placed himself in line with the gods of Syria-Palestine, Armenia and other enemy countries, whose temples Aššur had already had destroyed. Since in Assyria, as the special veneration shown to the god of justice Šamaš shows, great importance was attached to the observance of external legal norms, Marduk's punishment by the destruction of his city also had to be pronounced in a heavenly trial.
[…]
Bel is imprisoned, beaten and subjected to an ordal, the outcome of which we know nothing, and then locked up again. The consequence is that the cults for him, including the New Year's festival, cannot be carried out or cannot be carried out in the usual way. But Bel is not without advocates. Of course, his wife, here called Belet-Babili, intercedes for him, but also has to put up with dishonorable treatment for it. His son Nabû seems to be retreating to Borsippa after a futile attempt to do something for his father. Among others, however, if we read correctly in line 36, Šamaš also puts in a good word for him and refers to the good he did to Aššur. Who the accuser is is not clear from the surviving part of the text; but there can hardly be any doubt that the real leader of the enemy side is the god Aššur, who also leads the line of gods in the curse formula of the signature. However, a majority of gods appear again and again as the bearers of the court proceedings, to which Sin and Šamaš must have belonged, among others. These gods, appointed as judges, had an unnamed man beheaded as a “criminal” or “sinner”, while another was able to prove his non-participation in the conspiracy. Twice there are reports of battles, first of battles of the people in Babylon and at the end of a fight of the gods after the destruction of Bel's prison; we do not learn the outcome of any of these struggles, just as much in this text remains in a well-intentioned semi-darkness.
[…]
We have known for a long time that Sennacherib [Assyrian king, 704-681 BC] in his hatred of Babylon wanted to put Aššur in the place of Marduk. It is known that for this purpose he had the name Marduk replaced by Anšar in the epic of the creation of the world, since the Assyrian theologians equated Aššur with the primordial god Anšar in order to give him the highest rank. His hatred of Babylon led Sennacherib in 689, after the conquest of Babylon, which was always rebellious, to the decision to completely wipe the city off the face of the earth. In this extermination operation, Marduk's main temple was not spared and fell victim to destruction. Marduk was not only a Babylonian god, but also an Assyrian; he enjoyed much greater popularity among the common people than the imperial god Aššur. Marduk's temple in Babylon was therefore also a great sanctuary for the Assyrians, the destruction of which many felt was just as great a sacrilege as the destruction of an Assyrian temple. If Sennacherib nevertheless wanted to complete the work of destruction, he had to justify it to his own people. Political reasons alone were not sufficient; he also needed a religious justification. He could only find this justification in the behavior of Marduk as a representative of his believers in Babylon towards Aššur. Marduk had apparently strengthened the spirit of resistance of the Babylonians and had also raised doubts in many in Assyria about the absolute validity of Aššur's claim to rule; he had thus committed a serious offence against Aššur and placed himself in line with the gods of Syria-Palestine, Armenia and other enemy countries, whose temples Aššur had already had destroyed. Since in Assyria, as the special veneration shown to the god of justice Šamaš shows, great importance was attached to the observance of external legal norms, Marduk's punishment by the destruction of his city also had to be pronounced in a heavenly trial.
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Sources: Heinrich Zimmern, Zum babylonischen Neujahrsfest (Zweiter Beitrag), Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse (Leipzig: Bei B. G. Teubner), 10-11; S. Langdon, The Babylonian Epic of Creation Restored from the Recently Recovered Tablets of Assur (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923), 32-50; W. Soden, Gibt es ein Zeugnis dafür, daß die Babylonier an die Wiederauferstehung Marduks geglaubt haben?, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 51 (1955).
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