Asshur, son of Shem, the son of Noah. Asshur's brothers were Elam, Aram, Arpachshad and Lud. His realm came to be ruled and expanded due to Nimrod's efforts, with whom his story has become merged.
In Egyptian myth he is Osiris or Asar an agriculturalist murdered by the nomad Set (in contrast with the nomad Abel, murdered by agriculturalist Cain). He was resurrected as the God of the dead and thus another correlation from mythology can be seen with the Jewish AzraEl the El of Death. Even today Egyptians still call themselves "Masri" meaning "From Asar" (see Mizraim).
