Aplu, it is suggested, comes from the Akkadian Aplu Enlil, meaning " the son of Enlil ", a title that was given to the god Nergal, who was linked to Shamash, Babylonian god of the sun.

Aplu, meaning the son of, was a title given to the god Nergal, who was linked to the Babylonian god of the sun Shamash.

A carving at the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from the god Shamash or possibly Marduk, and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by the gods of his people to bring the laws to them.

Sippar was the cult site of the sun god ( Sumerian Utu, Akkadian Shamash ) and the home of his temple E-babbara.

While a sometime vassal of Mitanni, the temple of Sin and Shamash was built in Ashur.

How, when or why this occurred is uncertain, but is commonly attributed to a conflation with Babylonian Shamash, who – in addition to being a Sun god – was a judicial figure like Mithra.

" Along these lines, some scholars maintain that later use of the symbol arose from Babylonian mythology in which the juxtaposition of Sin ( moon god, father of time ) and Shamash ( supreme ruling sun god, judge of heaven and earth ) was a metaphor for the cosmic powers given to the Babylonian king to rule.

Shamash was believed to be all-knowing and all-seeing, and in many seals he is seen standing between two large doors.

The personification of the two great luminaries — the Sun and the Moon — was the first step in the unfolding of this system, and this was followed by placing the other deities where Shamash and Sin had their seats.

These people exist today as the modern Assyrians who are wholly Eastern Rite Christian but retain a distinct Mesopotamian language, Neo Aramaic ( which descends from the Aramaic first spoken in Mesopotamia in 1200 BCE and still retains hundreds of Akkadian loan words ) and identity and the naming of children with ancient names such as Ashur, Shamash, Semiramis, Lamassu, Ninus, Lilitu / Lilith, Sargon, Hadad etc.

Shamash tells him that Gilgamesh will bestow great honors upon him at his funeral, and will wander into the wild consumed with grief.

# Gilgamesh argues with Shamash about the futility of his quest.

His association with the sun-god, Shamash, due to the natural combination of the two deities who alternate in the control of nature, leads to imbuing him with some of the traits belonging to a solar deity.

Whether the will of the gods is determined through the inspection of the liver of the sacrificial animal, through observing the action of oil bubbles in a basin of water or through the observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, it is Shamash and Adad who, in the ritual connected with divination, are invariably invoked.

Nergal actually seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only a representative of a certain phase of the sun.

There are two public monuments at Al-Dour, a small square fort with round corner towers and a small square temple dedicated to the Semitic sun god Shamash.

Academic discussion of a star or stars together with crescents in Sumerian representations does not always clearly indicate if they appear in isolation ( the " star and crescent " as such ) or as part of a triad of symbols, " the three celestial emblems, the sun disk of Shamash ( Utu to the Sumerians ), the crescent of Sin ( Nanna ), and the star of Ishtar ( Inanna to the Sumerians )" or " the crescent of Sin ( the moon god ), the star of Ishtar and the ray of Shamash ".

Shamash ( the Babylonian sun god ) may share some mythological basis with Shamsiel.

Other members have included Brian Lang ( drums ) and Ben Shamash ( bass ), the latter of whom went on to form Skyscraper with Andy Slopsema of Sinombre.

Lions are chiefly associated with Ishtar or with the male gods Shamash or Ningirsu.

:"... the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to sun-god Shamash "

Some of the most significant of these deities were Anu, Ea, Enlil, Ishtar ( Astarte ), Ashur, Shamash, Tammuz, Adad / Hadad, Sin ( Nanna ), Dagan, Ninurta, Nisroch, Nergal, Tiamat, Bel and Marduk.

It is frequently depicted on cylinder seals and steles, where it is always held by a god – usually either Shamash, Ishtar, and in later Babylonian images also Marduk – and often extended to a king.

There is an outward projection of the city wall, though not as pronounced as at the Shamash Gate.

Mesopotamian Shamash plays an important role during the Bronze Age, and " my Sun " is eventually used as an address to royalty.

An ancient Aramaic inscription, found at Dier Alla, identifies Balaam as a prophet of Shamash, a semitic sun-god, and consequently, it could well be the case that the unidentified Baal of Peor is Shamash.

The god Shamash sends 13 winds to bind Humbaba, and he is captured.

Despite the protestations of Shamash, Enkidu is marked for death.

In other texts Adad / Ishkur is sometimes son of the moon god Nanna / Sin by Ningal and brother of Utu / Shamash and Inana / Ishtar.

Similarly in the annals and votive inscriptions of the kings, when oracles are referred to, Shamash and Adad are always named as the gods addressed, and their ordinary designation in such instances is bele biri (" lords of divination ").

Balaam, though still a son of Beor, in this narrative is a prophet of Shamash, the Semitic sun god ( The word " shemesh " is still the Hebrew word for " sun ," which in Arabic is " shams ").

If this reflects the god that El refers to in the biblical text concerning Balaam, and the connection between Balaam and Baal Peor is accurate, then Baal Peor can be identified as Shamash.

The Assyrian god Shamash is a counterpart to Shivini.

However, in this context, there is a third element often seen, that being the sun disk of Shamash.

Enlil and Suen don ’ t reply but Ea and Shamash decide to help.

* Anu, sky god / Ea, god of water and wisdom / Shamash, Sun god – bass

Shamash and Adad became in combination the gods of oracles and of divination in general.

All religions in general use invoking prayers, liturgies, or hymns ; see for example the mantras in Hinduism and Buddhism, the Egyptian Coming Out by Day ( aka Book of the Dead ), the Orphic Hymns and the many texts, still preserved, written in cuneiform characters on clay tablets, addressed to Shamash, Ishtar, and other deities.

Gilgamesh visits his mother, the goddess Ninsun, who seeks the support and protection of the sun-god Shamash for their adventure.

In the ancient Near East, each city had a local patron deity, such as Shamash at Larsa or Sin at Ur.

Eastern city wall and Shamash Gate.

Named for the Sun god Shamash, it opens to the road to Arbil.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to the sun-god Shamash.

Similarly the Sumerian moon god Nanna became the Akkadian Sîn whilst the Sumerian sun god Utu became the Akkadian Shamash.

Assyrians to this day still use the names of ancient Mesopotamian gods and rulers as both first and last names ; Ashur, Hadad, Shamash, Lilitu / Lilith, Sennacherib, Sin ( Shinu ), Sargon, Semiramis, Ishtar and Lamassu for example are still common names, and some months in the Assyrian calendar are named after ancient gods such as Tammuz, and all periods are listed as being blessed by ancient gods.

Without any divine assistance, Enkidu and Gilgamesh attack and slay it, and offer up its heart to Shamash.

Shamash reminds Enkidu of how Shamhat fed and clothed him, and introduced him to Gilgamesh.

Shamash makes a crack in the earth, and Enkidu's ghost jumps out of it.