Sacrifices and offerings.--Sacrifices were offered to the stars, as to the other divinities. Besides the sacrifices, offerings were also made of meal, dates, oil, and wine. The sacrifices and offerings must have been numerous since in the larger temples there was not only 'the daily sacrifice' but also constant services both by day and night. On the great festivals, moreover, there were services of a special character, as also when days of thanksgiving or humiliation were ordained. The sacrifices and offerings were provided partly by endowments, partly by voluntary gifts (sometimes called _kurbanni_, the Hebrew _korban_), partly by obligatory contributions, the most important of which were the 'tithes.' The Sabbath.--Besides the festivals of the gods there was a _sabattu_ or 'Sabbath,' observed on the 9th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th day of the month, on which various kinds of work were forbidden to be done. Food even was not allowed to be cooked, or medicine to be taken. The _sabattu_ is described as 'a day of rest for the heart,' and a 'free-will offering' had to be made in the night of it. Monotheistic tendency.--Among the educated classes religious feeling seems to have been fervent, and at times the language used approaches that of monotheism. Thus in an early hymn to the Moon-god which was composed in the city of Ur, we read:-- 'Father, long-suffering and full of forgiveness, whose hand upholds the life of all mankind!... First-born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity, and there is none who may fathom it!... In heaven, who is supreme? Thou alone, thou art supreme! On earth, who is supreme? Thou alone, thou art supreme!' So, again, Nebuchadrezzar prays as follows to Bel-Merodach:-- 'O prince, thou art from everlasting, lord of all that exists, for the king whom thou lovest, whom thou callest by name, as it seems good to thee, thou guidest his name aright, thou watchest over him in the path of righteousness. I, the prince who obeys thee, am the work of thy hands; thou hast created me and hast entrusted to me the sovereignty over multitudes of men, according to thy goodness, O lord, which thou hast made to pass over them all. Let me love thy supreme lordship, let the fear of thy divinity exist in my heart, and give what seemeth good to thee, since thou maintainest my life.' The future life.--The mass of the people, however, were sunk in the grossest superstition, and the future to which they looked forward was sufficiently dreary. Hades lay beneath the earth, where the spirits of the dead flitted about like bats in darkness with dust only for their food. A happier lot was reserved for the few, and a prayer is made for an Assyrian king that after death he should ascend to 'the land of the silver sky.'