The capture of the statues of the patron gods points to a great humiliation which Babylon must have encountered.

Upon receiving a favorable omen from the sun-god, Agum undertakes the task of bringing Marduk and Sarpanitum back to their seats.

Their temples, too, at Babylon appear to have suffered damage during the invasion of the city, and accordingly the statues are placed in the temple of Shamash pending the restoration of E-Sagila.

Agum dwells at length upon the handsome garments and head-dress, studded with precious stones, that he prepared for the god and his consort.

In all this description, one feels that it is Marduk for whom the honors are intended, and that Sarpanitum is of less than secondary importance,--shining merely by the reflected glory of her great liege, whose presence in Babylon was essential to a restoration of Babylon's position.
There are reasons for believing, however, that Sarpanitum once enjoyed considerable importance of her own, that prior to the rise of Marduk to his supreme position, a goddess was worshipped in Babylon, one of whose special functions it was to protect the progeny while still in the mother's womb.