{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/337456"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/337456","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Uses of ‘Bēlu’ and ‘Marduk’ in Neo-Assyrian Royal Inscriptions and other Sources from the First Millennium BC","abstract":"My dissertation seeks to understand why Marduk, the chief god of ancient Babylon, was often also called ‘Bēl’ (which means ‘lord’). Although this matter has never been investigated, a consensus seems to have formed in the field that ‘lord’ is an appropriate by-name for a chief god, and that the two names were used interchangeably. My research however has shown that the two assumptions on which the consensus rests are incorrect, and puts forward a new framework for understanding the function of these names. By consulting numerous assemblages of primary sources of different types and from both Babylonia and Assyria, I have been able to identify a distribution in the usage of the two names which not only sheds light on this particular case, but also goes to the heart of Mesopotamian concepts of divinity. Primarily - although there is significant variation across time and between Babylonia and Assyria - I show that, while the name ‘Marduk’ was used to refer to the god in all of his roles – as a god of magic, as a warrior, a creator, the patron deity of Babylon, and the king of gods etc. – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when playing the role of patron deity of Babylon. I also show that while the name ‘Marduk’ was used for the god in any of his manifestations – as an ethereal being, a planet in the sky, a statue in a temple, or in the form of his ‘symbol,’ the spade – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when manifested in his primary statue in Babylon. My dissertation further examines the implications of this distribution.","abstract_html":"My dissertation seeks to understand why Marduk, the chief god of ancient Babylon, was often also called ‘Bēl’ (which means ‘lord’). Although this matter has never been investigated, a consensus seems to have formed in the field that ‘lord’ is an appropriate by-name for a chief god, and that the two names were used interchangeably. My research however has shown that the two assumptions on which the consensus rests are incorrect, and puts forward a new framework for understanding the function of these names. By consulting numerous assemblages of primary sources of different types and from both Babylonia and Assyria, I have been able to identify a distribution in the usage of the two names which not only sheds light on this particular case, but also goes to the heart of Mesopotamian concepts of divinity. Primarily - although there is significant variation across time and between Babylonia and Assyria - I show that, while the name ‘Marduk’ was used to refer to the god in all of his roles – as a god of magic, as a warrior, a creator, the patron deity of Babylon, and the king of gods etc. – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when playing the role of patron deity of Babylon. I also show that while the name ‘Marduk’ was used for the god in any of his manifestations – as an ethereal being, a planet in the sky, a statue in a temple, or in the form of his ‘symbol,’ the spade – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when manifested in his primary statue in Babylon. My dissertation further examines the implications of this distribution.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Heath-Whyte, George Robert"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Worthington, Martin","Wisnom, Selena"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-08-31","date_published":"2021-08-31","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:01Z","subjects":["Assyriology","Assyria","Babylonia","Babylon","Religion"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.84869","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Worthington, Martin","Wisnom, Selena"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Heath-Whyte, George Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-08-31"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/337456"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Assyriology","Assyria","Babylonia","Babylon","Religion"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargodate","label":"Dc Rights Embargodate","values":["2028-05-26"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargotype","label":"Dc Rights Embargotype","values":["embargo"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.17863/CAM.84869"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/4a0ce948-3cf9-4a85-881e-e1521d2058e7/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My dissertation seeks to understand why Marduk, the chief god of ancient Babylon, was often also called ‘Bēl’ (which means ‘lord’). Although this matter has never been investigated, a consensus seems to have formed in the field that ‘lord’ is an appropriate by-name for a chief god, and that the two names were used interchangeably. My research however has shown that the two assumptions on which the consensus rests are incorrect, and puts forward a new framework for understanding the function of these names. By consulting numerous assemblages of primary sources of different types and from both Babylonia and Assyria, I have been able to identify a distribution in the usage of the two names which not only sheds light on this particular case, but also goes to the heart of Mesopotamian concepts of divinity. Primarily - although there is significant variation across time and between Babylonia and Assyria - I show that, while the name ‘Marduk’ was used to refer to the god in all of his roles – as a god of magic, as a warrior, a creator, the patron deity of Babylon, and the king of gods etc. – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when playing the role of patron deity of Babylon. I also show that while the name ‘Marduk’ was used for the god in any of his manifestations – as an ethereal being, a planet in the sky, a statue in a temple, or in the form of his ‘symbol,’ the spade – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when manifested in his primary statue in Babylon. 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My research however has shown that the two assumptions on which the consensus rests are incorrect, and puts forward a new framework for understanding the function of these names. By consulting numerous assemblages of primary sources of different types and from both Babylonia and Assyria, I have been able to identify a distribution in the usage of the two names which not only sheds light on this particular case, but also goes to the heart of Mesopotamian concepts of divinity. Primarily - although there is significant variation across time and between Babylonia and Assyria - I show that, while the name ‘Marduk’ was used to refer to the god in all of his roles – as a god of magic, as a warrior, a creator, the patron deity of Babylon, and the king of gods etc. – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when playing the role of patron deity of Babylon. I also show that while the name ‘Marduk’ was used for the god in any of his manifestations – as an ethereal being, a planet in the sky, a statue in a temple, or in the form of his ‘symbol,’ the spade – the name ‘Bēl’ was primarily only used for the god when manifested in his primary statue in Babylon. 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