Not to speak of the chronology which is still to a large extent guesswork, the identification of many of the gods occurring in the oldest inscriptions, with their later equivalents, must be postponed till future discoveries shall have cleared away the many obstacles which beset the path of the scholar.

The discoveries at Telloh and Nippur have occasioned a recasting of our views, but new problems have arisen as rapidly as old ones have been solved.

I have been especially careful in this section not to pass beyond the range of what is definitely _known_, or, at the most, what may be regarded as tolerably certain.

Throughout the chapters on the pantheon, I have endeavored to preserve the attitude of being 'open to conviction'-- an attitude on which at present too much stress can hardly be laid.
The second division of the subject is represented by the religious literature.

With this literature as a guide, the views held by the Babylonians and Assyrians regarding magic and oracles, regarding the relationship to the gods, the creation of the world, and the views of life after death have been illustrated by copious translations, together with discussions of the specimens chosen.