the source of earthly royal authority. In literary texts, she could be described as responsible for appointing other deities to their positions alongside her husband. For example, a hymn credits the couple with bestowing Inanna's position upon her. Another states that Nergal was entrusted with the underworld by them both. In yet another composition, they are also credited with giving Ninisina "broad wisdom created by an august hand." Nuska was also believed to owe his position to a decree of both Enlil and Ninlil. It has been suggested that an entire standardized series of hymns describing how various deities were appointed to their positions this way existed. Due to Enlil's position as the father of gods, Ninlil could be analogously viewed as the mother of gods. In a compilation of temple hymns (ETCSL 4.80.1. in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature) she is one of the four goddesses described as ama, "mother," the other three being Nintur (a goddess of birth), Ninisina and Bau. It is possible that Ninlil could also be referred to with the epithet tamkartum, a rare feminine form of the word tamkarum, "merchant." Enlil could be described as a divine merchant (ddam-gar3), which according to Jeremiah Peterson might mean that dta-am-kart-tum attested in a fragment of a non-standard Old Babylonian god list from Nippur is a name of Ninlil referring to a similar role. Like many other deities, she could be compared to a cow, though this does not indicate an association with cattle or theriomorphic character in art. It is possible that she is depicted as a seated enthroned goddess on at least one cylinder seal from the Ur III period. Another might depict her as a tall goddess wearing the horned headdress of divinity leading a supplicant, followed by a shorter goddess, possibly representing Nintinugga, whose devotee the owner of the seal was according to accompanying inscription. In Mesopotamian astronomy, Ninlil was associated with two constellations, the mulmar-gíd-da ("wagon") corresponding to Ursa Major and the mulÙZ ("goat"), corresponding to Lyra, as attested in the compendium MUL.APIN and other sources. It has been argued that through the history of ancient Mesopotamian religion, the domain of Ninlil continued to expand, sometimes at the expense of other goddesses. Ninlil and Sud It is agreed that Ninlil fully absorbed the goddess Sud, like her viewed as the spouse of Enlil. Her association with this god goes back