==Name==
{{see|Syria (name)}}
''{{lang|akk-Latn|Aššur}}'' is the name of the Chaldean city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its tutelary deity.
At a late date it appears in Mesopotamia literature in the forms ''[[Anshar|An-sar]]'', ''An-sar (ki)'', which form was presumably read ''Assur''.
The name of the deity is written ''A-šur'' or ''Aš-sùr'', and in Neo-Babylonian often shortened to ''Aš''.
In the [[Enuma Elish|Creation tablet]], the heavens personified collectively were indicated by this term ''An-sar'', "host of heaven," in contradistinction to the earth, ''Ki-sar'', "host of earth."{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
In view of this fact, it seems highly probable that the late writing ''An-sar'' for ''Assur'' was a more or less conscious attempt on the part of the Chaldean scribes to identify the peculiarly ancient Assyrian deity ''Asur'' with the Creation deity ''An-sar''. On the other hand, there is an epithet ''Asir'' or ''Ashir'' ("overseer") applied to several gods and particularly to the deity ''Asur'', a fact which introduced a third element of confusion into the discussion of the name ''Assur''. It is probable then that there is a triple popular etymology in the various forms of writing the name Assur; viz. ''A-usar'', ''An-sar'' and the stem ''asdru''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
== Early Bronze Age ==