[18] See an interesting discussion of the question by Professor Hommel, "Arabia according to the Latest Discoveries and Researches."--_Sunday School Times_, 1895, nos. 41 and 43. [19] Also known as Shirpurla which Jensen (_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 5) thinks was the later name. [20] See Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 16-18. Naram-Sin signifies 'beloved of the god Sin' (the moon-god); Shargani-shar-ali-- 'the legitimate king, king of the city.' The excavations of the University of Pennsylvania have cast new light upon this most ancient period of Babylonian history. It is now known that the temple of Bel at Nippur antedates the reign of Naram-Sin, and in the further publications of the University, we may look for material which will enable us to pass beyond the period of Sargon. [21] _Sunday School Times_, 1895, no. 41. [22] For various views regarding the name and character of this dynasty see Winckler, _Geschichte_, pp. 67, 68, 328; Hilprecht, _Assyriaca_, pp. 25-28, 102, 103; Winckler, _Altorientalische Forschungen_, I. 275-277, and Rogers, _Outlines_, 32, note. [23] See Delitzsch, _Die Sprache der Kossaer_. CHAPTER III. GENERAL TRAITS OF THE OLD BABYLONIAN PANTHEON. The Babylonian religion in the oldest form known to us may best be described as a mixture of local and nature cults. Starting with that phase of religious beliefs known as Animism, which has been ascertained to be practically universal in primitive society, the Babylonians, from ascribing life to the phenomena of nature, to trees, stones, and plants, as well as to such natural events, as storm, rain, and wind, and as a matter of course to the great luminaries and to the stars--would, on the one hand, be led to invoke an infinite number of spirits who were supposed to be, in some way, the embodiment of the life that manifested itself in such diverse manners; and yet, on the other hand, this tendency would be restricted by the experience which would point to certain spirits, as exercising a more decisive influence upon the affairs of man than others. The result of this would be to give a preponderance to the worship of the sun and moon and the water, and of such natural phenomena as rain, wind, and storms, with their accompaniment of thunder and lightning, as against the countless sprites believed to be lurking everywhere. The latter, however, would not for this reason be ignored altogether. Since everything was endowed with life, there was not only a spirit of the tree which produced the fruit, but there were spirits in every field. To them the ground belonged, and upon their mercy depended the success or failure of the produce. To secure the favor of the rain and the sun was not sufficient to the agriculturist; he was obliged to obtain the protection of the guardian spirits of the soil, in order to be sure of reaping the fruit of his labors. Again, when through association, the group of arable plots grew