before Ibik-ištar, son of Ibubu;
before Sin-rabu, son of Aba-Ellila-kime;
before Idin-Sin, son of Ilu-malik;
before Sin-idinnaššu, son of Lu-Ninsaḫ;
before Aḫum-ḫibum, son of Aḫu-šina;
before Sin-idinnaššu, son of Pi-ša-Nin-Karak,”
“The light of his god,” Nûr-îli-šu apparently wished to justify his name, and to show what a faithful servant he was, and he therefore dedicated the temple to the deity mentioned. This, according to the inscriptions, should be Merodach, one of whose titles was šarru, “the king.” It is to be noted, however, that in the district of Sippar the Sun-god was “king,” and if this be the case, the pious giver of the temple, instead of wishing to honour the patron god of another district, merely intended to honour the patron god of his own in another aspect, namely, as king in the heavens, along with his consort, here called Šullat, a name which, to all appearance, simply means “the bride.” That the Sun-god was intended seems to be indicated by the name of the priest, Pî-ša-Šamaš, “Word of the Sun-god,” though it was not by any means impossible for a man bearing the name of another god as part of his own to officiate in this capacity, especially in the case of Merodach, for the latter was, in many respects, a sun-god, and therefore identified with Šamaš. In any case, the new temple was under the protection of the Sun-god, as the statement (“he is an enemy of Šamaš and Šuma-ilu”) shows. It is noteworthy that, in the names of the witnesses, Šamaš does not occur as a component part in any case.
But a small foundation like this must have had but little influence beside the great temple of the Sun-god at Sippara, with its revenues from lands, dues on grain, tithes, free-will offerings, and gifts on special occasions. In addition to all that has been mentioned above, the temple of the Sun-god was the great court of justice, and the people resorted thither to settle their disputes, and in all probability gifts were made to the Sun-god on those occasions. The gates of the city, too, were favourite places for this, especially that of Šamaš, and there is every probability that gifts to the god had to be made there also. The power and [pg 164] influence of the places of worship on account of all these temporal and sacerdotal duties invested in them can be easily imagined.