Shamash, sun god of Semitic origin, worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria. He was one of the great deities of ancient Middle Eastern religions, god of law, order, and justice. The chief center of his cult was Sippar. In Sumerian civilization he was called Utu.

In Mesopotamian religion, the god of the sun, who, with his father, Sin, and the goddess Ishtar, was part of an astral triad of divinities. As the solar god, Shamash was the heroic conqueror of night and death, and he became known as the god of justice and equity. He was said to have presented the Code of Hammurabi to the Babylonian king. At night he served as judge of the underworld. The chief centres of his cult were at Larsa and Sippar.

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