The name Asur is difficult. In cuneiform, it is designated for the city, country, and deity. However, it appears that the deity was named after the city, which emerged first.
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-61719-039-1
Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Apr 30,2010
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 34
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-61719-039-1
There are many difficulties associated with the word Asur. The name Asur is the designation in cuneiform literature for the country, the city, and the deity. There are a number of problems connected with the character, form, and etymology of the name of the chief god of the Assyrian pantheon that still anticipate a satisfactory solution. The oldest occurrence of Asur is in reference to the district. At this same period and until the days of Samsi-Adad II, the god appears to have been designated as A-usar. A-usar, the oldest name of the city and then extended to the district of which A-usar was the capital, furnished the name for the god of the place, who when he is first designated as A-usar is so by virtue of being the god of A-usar. The name A-usar, so far as its meaning can be determined, is more applicable to a place than to a deity. After extensive examination, it is rather clear that the name Asur originated from the city.
