obscure as that of most of the ancient gods of Babylonia,--as of Sin, Marduk, Ishtar, and many more. But before leaving the subject, it will be proper to call attention to the role that a god Anshar plays in the Babylonian-Assyrian cosmological system. _Anshar_ and _Kishar_ are the second pair of deities to be created, the first pair being _Lakhmu_ and _Lakhamu_. In the great fight of the gods against the monster Tiamat, it would appear that, according to one version at least, Anshar sends Anu, Ea, and finally Bel-Marduk, in turn to destroy the monster. He appears, therefore, to have exercised a kind of supremacy over the gods. Assuming the correctness of the deductions, according to which Ashur is an epithet arising by a play upon Ash-shar (from an original Anshar), it is hardly open to doubt that this Anshar is the same as the one who appears in the cosmology. On the other hand, it is difficult to suppose that Anshar should have played so significant a part in Babylonian traditions and yet find no mention in the text of the rulers of Babylonia. Bearing in mind what has been said as to the manner in which ancient traditions and myths were remodeled by the schoolmen to conform to later ideas,--we have seen how in this process the popularity of Marduk led to his assuming the role originally played by Bel,--may not the recognition given to Anshar be a concession, made at the time that Assyria had begun her glorious career (_c._ 1400 B.C.), to the chief god of the northern empire? That such tendencies to glorify Ashur may justly be sought for in part of the religious literature is proved by a version of one of the series of tablets giving an account of the creation, and which assigns to Anshar the work of building Esharra,--_i.e._, the earth,--that, according to another version, belongs to Marduk.[242] Evidently, then, just as the Babylonian theologians sought to glorify Marduk at the expense of Bel, so Assyrian theologians, or such as stood under Assyrian influences, did not hesitate to replace Marduk by their own favorite, Anshar. In the chapter on the 'Cosmology' we will have occasion to come back to this point. For present purposes it is sufficient to have shown that the position of Anshar in the remodeled traditions is an argument in favor of regarding Anshar as the real name of the god who stands at the head of the Assyrian pantheon.