Synopsis of the Thirteenth Tablet
Royal cities sprout with sacred precincts for the gods
Demigods serve as
kings and priests in palaces and temples
Marduk promises his
royal followers an eternal Afterlife
In Sumer, Inanna
encourages belief in Resurrection
Celestial omens and
foretelling oracles gain followings
Marduk proclaims the
coming Age of the Ram as his sign
Ningishzidda builds
stone observatories to show otherwise
Insurrections, wars,
and invasions destabilize Enlilite lands
The mystery emissary
appears to Enlil, foretells a calamity
Instructs Enlil to
select a Worthy Man to lead survival
Enlil chooses Ibruum,
scion of priestly royal family
Armies raised by Nabu
attempt to seize the spaceport
Overruling Enki, the
gods resort to Weapons of Terror
Ninurta and Nergal
obliterate the spaceport and sinning cities
The drifting nuclear cloud
brings death to all in Sumer
THE
THIRTEENTH TABLET
In the Third Region, Civilized
Mankind did not fully blossom;
What to Inanna was entrusted she
neglected, other domains, not to her granted, in her heart she coveted.
When from Unug-ki at the count of
a thousand years, kingship away was taken,
Who the calamity by the end or
the next millennium could foresee, Who the disaster would have prevented?
That in less than a third of one
Shar a calamity unknown would befall, who could foretell?
By Inannn was the bitter end started, Marduk as Ra
with Destiny tangled;
Ninurta and Nergal the
unspeakable end with their own hands delivered!
Why was lnanna with her granted
domain not satisfied, why to Marduk did unforgiving she remain?
Journeying between Unug-ki and
Aratta, Inanna restless and ungratified was;
For her beloved Dumuzi she still
mourned, her love's desire unquenched remained.
When she flew about, in the
sunrays Dumuzi's image she saw shimmering and beckoning,
In the nighttime in dream-visions
he appeared; I will return! he was saying.
The glories of his domain in the
Lard of two Narrows to her he was promising.
291
In the sacred precinct of
Unug-ki, a House for Nighttime Pleasure she established.
To this Gigunu young heroes, on
the night of their weddings, with sweet words she lured:
Long life, a blissful future to
them she promised; that her lover Dumuzi was she imagined.
Each one in the morning in her
bed was found dead.
It was at that time that the hero
Banda, left for dead, alive to Unug-ki returned!
By the grace of Utu, of whose
seed he was, did Banda from the dead return.
A miracle! A miracle! excited
Inanna shouted. My beloved Dumuzi to me came back!
In her abode Banda was bathed,
with a sash a fringed cloak on him was fastened.
Dumuzi, my beloved! she called
him. To her bed, with flowers bedecked, she lured him.
When in the morning Banda was
alive, with joy Inanna shouted:
The power of not dying in my
hands was placed, immortality by me is granted!
Then to call herself a goddess
Inanna decided, the Power of Immortality it implied.
Nannar and Ningal, Inanna's parents, by her
proclamation were not pleased;
Enlil and Ninurta by Inanna's
words were disconcerted; Utu, her brother, was bemused;
The dead to revive is not
possible! Enki and Ninharsag to each other said.
In the lands of Ki-Engi, the
people their good fortune praised:
The gods are among us, death they
can abolish! So to each other the people said.
A very short synopsis
of the history of Gilgamesh
292
On the throne of Unug-ki Banda
his father Enmerkar succeeded; Lugal, Great Man, his title was.
The goddess Ninsun, of Enlil's
seed, took him to be her spouse,
The hero Gilgamesh, their son, on
the throne of Unug-ki Lugal-Banda followed.
As the years passed and Gilgamesh
older grew, of life and death to his mother Ninsun he spoke,
About the death of his forebears,
though of Anunnaki descended, he wondered. Do gods die? his mother he asked.
Shall I too, though two thirds
divine, as a mortal over the wall climb? So to her he said.
As long as on Earth you abide,
the death of an Earthling will you overwhelm! Ninsun to her son said.
But if to Nibiru you will be
taken, long life thereon you will attain!
To take Gilgamesh aloft, to
Nibiru journey, Ninsun to Utu the commander appealed,
Endlessly Ninsun to Utu appealed,
day after day with him she pleaded:
Let Gilgamesh to the Landing
Place go! Utu in the end agreed.
To guide and protect him,
Ninharsag a double of Gilgamesh fashioned.
Enkidu, As by Enki Created, was
he called, of a womb he was not born, blood in his veins was not.
With the comrade Enkidu Gilgamesh
to the Landing Place journeyed, Utu with
oracles his progress oversaw;
At the entrance to the cedar forest, its fire-belching
monster their way blocked.
With trickery they the monster
confused, to pieces it they broke.
When the secret entrance to the
tunnels of the Anunnaki they found,
By the Bull of Heaven, a creature
of Enlil, with deathly snorts they were challenged.
293
To the gates of Unug-ki the
monster them chased; at the city's ramparts by Enkidu it was smitten.
When Enlil this heard, with agony
he cried, in the heavens of Anu was his wailing heard;
For in his heart Enlil well knew:
Bad indeed was the omen!
For having the Bull of Heaven
slain, to perish in waters Enkidu was punished;
Gilgamesh, having by Ninsun and
Utu been instructed, of the slaying was absolved.
Still the long life of Nibiru
seeking, Gilgamesh to proceed to the Place of the Chariots by Utu was permitted.
After many adventures the Land of
Tilmun, the Fourth Region, he reached;
Through its subterranean tunnels
he proceeded, in a garden of precious stones Ziusudra he met!
The events of the Deluge Ziusudra
to Gilgamesh related, the secret of long living to Gilgamesh he revealed:
A plant in the garden's well was
growing, Ziusudra and his spouse from getting old it prevented!
Unique of all the plants on Earth
it was; by it a man full vigor can regain.
Man at Old Age Is Young Again!
This is the plant's name, Ziusudra to Gilgamesh said.
A gift of Enki, with Enlil's
blessing, on the Mount of Salvation to us was grantedl
When Ziusudra and his spouse were
asleep, Gilgamesh to his feet stones tied.
Into the well he dived, the plant
of Being Young Again he grasped and uprooted.
With the plant in his satchel through the tunnels he
hurried, to Unug-ki he made his way.
294
When he tired and was asleep, a
snake by the plant's fragrance was attracted.
The plant did the snake snatch
from the sleeping Gilgamesh; with the plant it vanished.
In the morning, his loss
discovering, Gilgamesh sat and wept.
To Unug-ki empty-handed he
returned, as a mortal therein he died.
Gilgamesh
Seven more kings in Unug-ki after
Gilgamesh reigned, then its kingship to an end came;
Precisely when the count of a
thousand Earth years was completed it was!
To Urim, the city of Nannar and
Ningal, was kingship of the First Region transferred.
To all these matters that in the
other Regions were occurring, Marduk much heed gave.
By Inanna's dreams and visions,
to Dumuzi's domain alluding, Ra was disturbed.
To counteract Inanna's schemes of
expansions he was determined;
In the matters of resurrection
and immortality he found much to ponder.
The thought of divine godship to
him greatly appealed, to be a great god himself he announced!
By what to Gilgamesh, in good measure
an Earthling, was permitted, Ra was angered,
But a clever way wherewith the
loyalty of kings and people to retain he deemed it:
If demigods the gateway to
immortality are shown, let this to the kings of my region apply!
So did Marduk, in the Second
Region by the name Ra known, to himself words say:
Let the kings of my Region of
Neteru offspring be, to Nibiru in an Afterlife journey!
295
So did Ra in his, realm decree.
The kings how to build tombs facing eastward he taught,
To the priest-scribes a long book
he dictated, the Afterlife journey in detail in it was described.
How to reach the Duat, the Place of the Celestial
Boats, in the book was told,
How to there, by a Stairway to
Heaven, to the Imperishable Planet journey,
Of the Plant of Life partake, the
Waters of Youth to satiation drink.
Of the coming of the gods to
Earth by Ra were the priests taught,
Ra - Marduk (son of Enki and Sarpanit, married to
female Earthling) sets laws and science
Gold is the splendor of Life, to
them he said. The flesh of the gods it is! to the kings Ra said.
To make expeditions to the Abzu
and the Lower Domain, gold to obtain, the kings he instructed.
When by the force of weapons the
kings of Ra lands not theirs conquer,
His brothers' realms he invaded,
their ire he caused to arise and grow:
What is Marduk up to, the
brothers each other asked, that over us he tramples?
To their father Enki they
appealed; to Ptah his father Ra did not listen.
To capture all adjoining lands
the kings of Magan and Meluhha Ra directed,
To be the master of the Four
Regions was his heart's plan.
The Earth is mine to rule! So
adamantly to his father he said.
Now this is the account of how
Marduk supreme himself declared and Babili built,
And how Inanna, warrior kings
commanding, blood made flow and sacrileges allowed.
296
After kingship to Urim from
Unug-ki was transferred, Nannar and Ningal on the people smiled.
As his Rank of Thirty befitting,
as the god of the Moon Nannar was worshiped;
As the count of the Moon months
in a year, twelve festivals each year he decreed,
To each of the twelve great
Anunnaki a month and its festival were dedicated.
Throughout the First Region to
the Anunnaki gods, great and lesser ones,
Shrines and sanctuaries were built, the people to
their gods could directly pray.
Ki-Engi
In the First Region, civilization
from Ki-Engi to other neighboring lands spread,
In Cities of Man local rulers as
Righteous Shepherds were designated;
Artisans and farmers, shepherds
and weavers their products far and wide exchanged,
Laws of justice were decreed,
contracts of trade, of espousal and divorce were honored.
In schools the young ones
studied, scribes hymns and proverbs and wisdom recorded.
Abundance and happiness were in
the lands; quarrels and encroachments there also were.
All the while Inanna in her
skyship from land to land roamed; near the Upper Sea with Utu she frolicked.
To the domain of her uncle Ishkur
she went, Dudu, Beloved, she called him.
To the people who in the upper
plain of the two rivers dwelt Inanna took a liking;
The sound of their tongue she
found pleasant, to speak their language she learned.
Inanna, Goddess of Love
297
By the name of the planet Lahamu
in their tongue Ishtar they called her,
Uruk her city Unug-ki they
called, Dudu as Adad in their language they pronounced.
Sin, Lord of Oracles, her father
Nannar they named; Urim-city by them Ur was called.
Shamash, Bright Sun, in their
tongue Utu they called, him too they worshiped.
Enlil by them Father Elil was
called, Nippur by them was Nibru-ki;
Ki-Engi, Land of the Lofty
Watchers, Sumer in their language was named.
In Sumer, the First Region, kingship
between the cities was rotated;
In the Second Region, diversity
by Ra was not permitted, alone to reign he wished.
The eldest of Heaven, firstborn
who is on Earth! Thus by the priests to be known he wanted.
The foremost from the earliest times!
So he decreed in the hymns to be called;
Lord of eternity, he who
everlastingness has made, over all the gods presiding,
The one who is without equal, the
great solitary and sole one!
So did Marduk, as Ra, above all
other gods himself emplace,
Their powers and attributes to
himself he by himself assigned;
As Enlil I am for lordship and
decrees, as Ninurta for the hoe and combat;
As Adad for lightning and
thunder, as Nannar for illuminating the night;
As Utu I am Shamash, as Nergal
over the Lower World I reign;
As Gibil the golden depths I
know, whence copper and silver come I have found;
As Ningishzidda numbers and their
count I command, the heavens my glory bespeak!
298
By these proclamations the
Anunnaki leaders were greatly alarmed,
To their father Enki the brothers
of Marduk spoke, Nergal to Ninurta their concerns conveyed.
What has you overpowered? Enki to
his son Marduk said. Unheard of are your pretensions!
The heavens, the heavens my
supremacy bespeak! Marduk his father Enki answered.
The Bull of Heaven, Enlil's
constellation sign, by his own offspring was slain,
In the heavens the Age of the
Ram, my age, is coming, unmistakable the omens are!
In his abode, in Eridu, the
circle of the twelve constellations Enki examined,
On the first day of spring, the
beginning of a year, sunrise was carefully observed;
In the constellation stars of the
Bull was the sun that day rising.
In Nibru-ki and Urim Enlil and
Nannar the observations made,
In the Lower World, where the
Instruments Station had been, Nergal the results attested:
Still remote was the time of the
Ram, the Age of the Bull of Enlil it still was!
In his domains, Marduk in his assertions did not
relent. By Nabu he was assisted,
To domains not his emissaries he
sent, to the people that his time has come to announce.
To Ningishzidda the Anunnaki
leaders appealed, how to the people the skies to observe to teach.
In his wisdom stone structures
Ningishzidda devised, Ninurta and Ishkur to erect them helped.
In the settled lands, near and
far, the people how the skies to observe they taught,
299
That the sun in the Constellation
of the Bull was still rising to the people they showed.
With sorrow did Enki these
ongoings watch, how Fate the rightful order twisted he pondered:
After the Anunnaki as gods
themselves declared, on Mankind's support they instead are dependent!
In the First Region to unify the
lands under one leader the Anunnaki decided, a warrior king they desired.
To Inanna, of Marduk the
adversary, the task of the right man to find they entrusted.
A strong man whom on her journeys
she had met and loved, Inanna to Enlil indicated,
Arbakad, of four garrisons the
commander, was his father, a high priestess his mother was.
Scepter and crown Enlil him gave,
Sharru-kin, Righteous Regent, Enlil him appointed.
As on Nibiru once was done, a new
crown city, the lands to unify, was established,
Agade, the Unified City, they
named it, not far from Kishi it was located.
By Enlil was Sharru-kin
empowered; Inanna with her weapons of brilliance his warriors accompanied.
All the lands from the Lower Sea
to the Upper Sea to his throne obedience gave,
At the borders of the Fourth
Region, to protect it, his troops were stationed.
With a cautious eye Ra on Inanna
and Sharru-kin constantly gazed, then as a falcon on his prey he pounced:
From the place where Marduk the
tower to heaven reaching to build had attempted,
Sacred soil from there to Agade
did Sharru-kin move, therein the Heavenly Bright Object to implant.
Sharu-Kin
300
Enraged did Marduk to the First Region rush,
with Nabu and followers to the tower's place they came.
Of the sacred soil, I alone the
possessor am, by me shall a gateway of the gods be established!
So did Marduk vehemently
announce, instructions the river to divert to his followers he gave.
Dikes and walls in the Place of
the Tower they raised, the Esagil, House for the Utmost
God, for Marduk
they built;
Babili, the Gateway of the Gods,
Nabu in his father's honor named it,
In the heart of the Edin, in the
midst of the First Region, Marduk himself established!
Inanna's fury no boundary knew;
with her weapons on Marduk's followers death she inflicted.
The blood of people, as never
before on Earth, like rivers flowed.
To his brother Marduk Nergal to
Babili came, for the sake of the people Babili to leave him he persuaded:
Let us peacefully wait for the
true signs of heaven! Nergal to his brother said.
To depart Marduk agreed, from
land to land the skies to watch he traveled,
Babili (Babylon ruins) today
Amun, the Unseen One, in the
Second Region was Ra henceforth called.
For a while was Inanna appeased,
two sons of Sharru-kin his peaceful successors were.
Then on the throne of Agade Sharru-kin's grandson
ascended; Naram-Sin, by Sin Loved, he was called.
In the First Region Enlil and Ninurta absent were, to
the lands beyond the oceans they went;
In the Second Region Ra was away,
as Marduk in other lands he traveled;
Her chance in her hands to seize
all powers Inanna envisioned, Naram-Sin to seize all lands she commanded.
301
To march against Magan and Meluhha, Marduk domains,
Naram-Sin she instructed.
The sacrilege of an Earthlings'
army through the Fourth Region passing Naram-Sin committed,
Magan he invaded, the sealed
Ekur, House Which Like a Mountain Is, to enter he attempted.
By the sacrileges and
transgressions Enlil was infuriated; upon Naram-Sin and Agade a curse &
put:
By a bite of a scorpion did
Naram-Sin die, by the command of Enlil was Agade wiped out.
At the count of a thousand and
five hundred Earth years did this happen.
Now this is the account of the
prophecy by Galzu to Enlil in a vision given;
About Marduk's supremacy it was,
how a calamity to survive a man to choose.
After Marduk Amun became,
kingship in the Second Region disintegrated, disorder and confusion reigned;
After Agade was wiped out, in the
First Region there was disorder, confusion reigned.
In the First Region kingship was
in disarray, from Cities of Gods to Cities of Man it moved about,
Unug-ki, Lagash, Urim and Kish,
Isin and to faraway places kingship was shifting.
Then Enlil, with Anu consulting,
kingship in the hands of Nannar deposited;
To Urim, in whose soil the divine
Heavenly Bright Object remained implanted, kingship for the third tim
was granted.
In Urim a Righteous Shepherd of
men Nannar as king appointed, Ur-Nammu was his name.
302
Equity in the lands Ur-Nammu
established, to violence and strife an end he made, in all the lands prosperity was abundant.
It was at that time that in the
nighttime Enlil a dream-vision had:
The image of a man to him
appeared, bright and shining like the heavens he was;
As he approached and by Enlil's
bed stood, Enlil the white-haired Galzu recognized!
In his left hand a tablet of
lapis lazuli he was holding, the starry heavens on it were designed;
By the twelve constellation signs
were the heavens divided, to them with his left hand Galzu pointed.
From the Bull to the Ram Galzu
his pointing shifted; three times the pointing he repeated.
Then in the dream-vision Galzu
spoke up and to Enlil thus said:
The righteous time of benevolence
and peace by evildoing and bloodshed will be followed.
In three celestial portions the
Ram of Marduk the Bull of Enlil will replace,
One who himself as Supreme God
has declared supremacy on Earth will seize.
A calamity as has never before
occurred, by Fate decreed, will happen!
As at the time of the Deluge, a
righteous and worthy man must be chosen,
By him and his seed will
Civilized Mankind, as by the Creator of All intended, be preserved!
So did Galzu, the divine
emissary, to Enlil in the dream-vision say.
When Enlil from the nighttime
dream-vision awakened, there was no tablet beside his bed.
Was it an oracle from heaven or
did I it all in my heart imagine? Enlil to himself wondered.
303
To none of his sons, Nannar among
them, nor to Ninlil did he of the dream-vision tell.
Among the priests in the Nibru-ki
temple Enlil of celestial savants inquired,
Tirhu, an oracle priest, to him
the high priest indicated.
Of Ibru, of Arbakad the grandson,
he was descended, sixth generation of Nibru-ki priests he was,
With the royal daughters of
Urim's kings they were intermarried.
Get yourself to Nannar's temple
in Urim, the heavens for celestial time observe:
Seventy-two Earth years is the
count of a Celestial Portion, the passage of three thereof carefully record!
So did Enlil to Tirhu the priest
say, the prophesied time he made him count.
While Enlil the dream-vision and
its portents pondered, Marduk from land to land went.
Of his supremacy the people he
was telling, to followers gain was his purpose.
In the lands of the Upper Sea and
the lands on Ki-Engi bordering,
Nabu, Marduk's son, was the
people inciting; to seize the Fourth Region was his plan.
Between the dwellers of the west
and the dwellers of the east clashes were occurring,
Kings hosts of warriors formed,
caravans ceased going, the walls of cities were raised.
What Galzu had foretold indeed is
happening! Enlil to himself said.
Upon Tirhu and his sons, of
worthy lineage descended, Enlil set his gaze:
This is the man to choose, by
Galzu indicated! Enlil to himself said.
To Nannar, without the
dream-vision revealing, Enlil to his son thus said:
304
In the land between the rivers whence Arbakad had
come, a city like Urim establish,
A home-abode away from Urim let
it for you and Ningal be.
In its midst a temple-shrine establish, the
Priest-Prince Tirhu in charge thereof appoint!
By his father's word abiding,
Nannar in the land of Arbakad the city of Harran established.
To be high priest in its
temple-shrine Tirhu he sent, his family with him;
When two Celestial Portions out
of the prophesied three were completed did Tirhu to Harran go.
Harran ruins in Turkey
At that time Ur-Nammu, the joy of
Urim, in the western lands from his chariot fell and died.
On the throne of Urim his son
Shulgi him succeeded; full of vile and eager for battles Shulgi was.
In Nibru-ki himself high priest
he anointed, in Unug-ki the joys of Inanna's vulva he sought;
Warriors from the mountainlands,
to Nannar not beholden, in his army he enlisted,
With their help the western lands
he overran, the sanctity of Mission Control Center he ignored.
In the sacred Fourth Region his foot
he set, King of the Four Regions himself he declared.
About the defilements Enlil was
angered, about the invadings Enki to Enlil spoke:
The rulers of your region all
bounds have exceeded! Enki to Enlil bitterly said.
Of all the troubles Marduk is the
fountainhead! Enlil to Enki retorted.
Still the dream-vision to himself
keeping, Enlil to Tirhu his attention turned.
Upon lbru-Um, the eldest son of
Tirhu, Enlil cast the choosing gaze.
305
A princely offspring, valiant and
with priestly secrets acquainted Ibruum was;
To protect the sacred places, the
chariots' ascents and descents enable, Enlil lbruum to go commanded.
No sooner did lbruum from Harran
depart than in that city Marduk arrived;
The defilements he too had observed, as birth pangs of
a New Order he them deemed.
From Harran, on the threshold of
Sumer, his final thrust he planned,
From Harran, at the edge of
Ishkur's domains situated, the raising of armies he directed.
When twenty-and-four Earth years
of his sojourn in Harran had passed,
Marduk to the other gods, of
whomever descended, tearfully an appeal made;
Confessing his transgressions but
insisting on his lordship, to them he thus said:
Oh gods of Harran, oh great gods
who judge, learn my secrets!
As I girdle my belt, my memories
I remember:
I am the divine Marduk, a great
god, in my domains as Ra am I known.
For my sins to exile I went, to
the mountains have I gone, in many lands I wandered,
From where the sun rises to where
the sun sets I went, to the land of Ishkur I came.
Twenty-four years in the midst of
Harran I nested, an omen in its temple I sought;
Until when? about my lordship an
omen in the temple I asked.
Your days of exile are completed!
to me the oracle in the temple said.
Oh great gods who the fates
determine, let me to my city set my course,
306
My temple Esagil as an
everlasting abode establish, a king in Babili install;
In my temple house let all the
Anunnaki gods assemble, my covenant accept!
So did Marduk, confessing and
appealing, to the other gods his coming announce.
By his appeal for their
submission the Anunnaki gods were disturbed and alarmed.
To a great assembly, counsel to
take, Enlil them all summoned.
All the Anunnaki leaders in
Nibru-ki gathered; Enki and Marduk's brothers also came.
About the happenings all of them
were agitated, opposed to Marduk and Nabu they all were.
In the council of the great gods,
accusations were rampant, recriminations filled the chamber.
What is coming no one can
prevent; let us Marduk's supremacy accept! Enki alone counseled.
If the time of the Ram is coming,
let us Marduk of the Bond Heaven-Earth deprive!
Enlil in anger proposed.
To obliterate the Place of the
Celestial Chariots all except Enki agreed;
To use therefore the Weapons of
Terror Nergal suggested; only Enki was opposed:
Of the decision, Earth to Anu the
words pronounced; Anu to Earth the words repeated.
What was destined to be, by your
decision to undo will fail! So did Enki say as he departed.
The evil thing to carry out
Ninurta and Nergal were selected.
307
Now this is the account of how
Fate to Destiny did lead,
How step by step, some in long
forgotten times taken, the Great Calamity made happen!
Now let it for all time be
recorded and remembered:
When the decision to use the
Weapons of Terror was made, to himself Enlil two secrets kept:
To no one, before the terrible
decision was taken, did Enlil the secret of Galzu's dreamvision reveal;
To no one, until the fateful
decision was made, did Enlil his knowledge of the terror's hiding place
disclose!
When, despite all protestations,
the council to use the Weapons of Terror permitted,
When Enki, angry and distraught
the council chamber left,
In his heart was Enki smiling:
Only he knew where the weapons were hidden! So did Enki think,
For it was he, before Enlil to
Earth had come, who with Abgal in a place unknown the weapons did hide.
That Abgal, to the exiled Enlil,
the place disclosed, that to Enki was unknown!
When Enki this second secret
heard, in his heart a wishful thought he harbored:
That after such a long sojourn,
the weapons' terror would have evaporated!
Little did Enki expect the long
sojourn a calamity as never before known on Earth to cause.
Thus it was that without Enki
needing, Enlil to the two heroes the hiding place disclosed:
Those seven Weapons of Terror, in
a mountain they abide! to them Enlil said.
In a cavity inside the earth they
dwell, with the terror to clad them is required!
308
Then the secret of how the
weapons from their deep sleep awaken, Enlil to them did reveal.
Before the two sons, one of
Enlil, one of Enki, to the hiding place departed,
Enlil to them words of
forewarning said: Ere the weapons are used,
by the Anunnaki must the chariots' place be vacated;
The cities must be spared, the
people must not perish!
In his skyship Nergal to the
hiding place soared, Ninurta by his father was delayed;
A word to his son alone Enlil
wished to say, a secret to him alone reveal:
About the prophecy of Galzu and
the choosing of lbruum to Ninurta he told.
Hot-headed is Nergal, make sure
that the cities are spared, that Ibruum is forewarned! to Ninurta Enlil said.
When Ninurta at the weapons'
place arrived, Nergal from the cavity had already them brought out,
As their ME's from the long
slumber he awakened, to each one of the seven Nergal a taskname gave:
The One Without Rival the first
weapon he called, the Blazing Flame he named the second,
The One Who with Terror Crumbles
he called the third, Mountain Melter the fourth he called,
Wind That the Rim of the World
Seeks he named the fifth, the
One Who Above and Below No One Spares was the sixth,
The seventh with monstrous venom
was filled, Vaporizer of Living Things he called it
With Anu's blessing were the
seven to Nergal and Ninurta given, therewith to destruction wreak.
When Ninurta at the place of the
Weapons of Terror arrived, to destroy and annihilate was Nergal ready.
309
I shall kill the son I will
annihilate the father! Nergal with vengeance was shouting.
The lands they covet will vanish,
the sinning cities I will upheaval! So did Nergal enraged announce.
Valiant Nergal, will you the
righteous with the unrighteous destroy? So did Ninurta his comrade ask.
The instructions of Enlil are
clear! To the selected targets the way I will lead, you behind me will follow!
The decision of the Anunnaki to
me is known! Nergal to Ninurta said.
For seven days and seven nights
the signal from Enlil the two awaited.
As was his intention, when his
waiting was completed, Marduk to Babili returned,
In the presence of his followers,
with weapons armed, his supremacy he declared;
A thousand and seven hundred and
thirty-six was the count of Earth years then.
On that day, on that fateful day,
Enlil to Ninurta the signal sent;
To Mount Mashu Ninurta departed,
behind him Nergal followed.
The Mount and the plain, in the
heart of the Fourth Region, Ninurta from the skies surveyed.
With a squeezing in his heart, to Nergal a sign he
gave: Keep off! to him he signaled.
Then the first terror weapon from
the skies Ninurta let loose;
The top of Mount Mashu with a
flash it sliced off, the mount's innards in an instant it melted.
Above the Place of the Celestial
Chariots the second weapon he unleashed,
With a brilliance of seven suns
the plain's rocks into a gushing wound were made,
The remains of Babylon
310
The Earth shook and crumbled, the
heavens after the brilliance were darkened;
With burnt and crushed stones was
the plain of the chariots covered,
Of all the forests that the plain
had surrounded, only tree stems were left standing.
It is done! Ninurta from the
skyship, his Black Divine Bird, words shouted.
The control that Marduk and Nabu
so coveted, of it they are forever deprived!
Then to emulate Ninurta Nergal
desired, to be Erra the Annihilator his heart him urged;
Following the King's Highway, to
the verdant valley of the five cities he flew.
In the verdant valley where Nabu
the people was converting, Nergal as a caged bird to squash him planned!
Over the five cities, one after
the other, Erra upon each from the skies a terror weapon sent,
The five cities of the valley he
finished off, to desolation they were overturned.
With fire and brimstones were
they upheavaled, all that lived there to vapor was turned.
By the awesome weapons were
mountains toppled, where the sea waters were barred the bolt broke open,
Down into the valley the sea's
waters poured, by the waters was the valley flooded;
When upon the cities' ashes the
waters poured, steam to the heavens was rising.
It is done! Erra in his skyship
shouted. In Nergal's heart there was no more vengeance.
Surveying their evil handiwork, the two heroes by what
they saw were puzzled:
The remains of Babylon's tower, Babylon Mount, Mashu
tower
311
By a darkening of the skies were
the brilliances followed, then a storm to blow began.
Swirling within a dark cloud,
gloom from the skies an Evil Wind carried,
As the day wore on, the Sun on
the horizon with darkness it obliterated,
At nighttime a dreaded brilliance
skirted its edges, the Moon at its rising it made disappear.
When dawn the next morning came,
from the west, from the Upper Sea, a stormwind began blowing,
The dark brown cloud eastward it
directed, toward the settled lands did the cloud spread;
Wherever it reached, death to all
that lives mercilessly it delivered;
From the Valley of No Pity, by
the brilliances spawned, toward Sumer the death was carried.
To Enlil and Enki Ninurta and
Nergal the alarm sounded: Unstoppable the Evil Wind death to all delivers!
The alarm Enlil and Enki to the
gods of Sumer transmitted: Escape! Escape! to them all they cried out.
Let the people disperse, let the
people hide!
From their cities the gods did
flee, like frightened birds from their nests escaping they were.
The people of the lands by the
Evil Storm's hand were clutched; futile was the running.
Stealthy was the death, like a
ghost the fields and cities it attacked;
The highest walls, the thickest
walls, like floodwaters it passed,
No door could shut it out, no
bolt could turn it back.
Those who behind locked doors hid
inside their houses like flies were felled,
Those who to the streets fled, in
the streets were their corpses piled up.
312
Cough and phlegm the chests
filled, the mouths with spittle and foam filled up;
As the Evil Wind the people
unseen engulfed, their mouths were drenched with blood.
Slowly over the lands the Evil
Wind blew, from west to east over plains and mountains it traveled;
Everything that lived, behind it
was dead and dying, people and cattle, all alike perished.
The waters were poisoned, in the
fields all vegetation withered.
From Eridu in the south to Sippar
in the north did the Evil Wind the land overwhelm;
Babili, where Marduk supremacy
declared, by the Evil Wind was spared.
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Synopsis of the Fourteenth Tablet
Babili, Marduk's
chosen center, survives the calamity
Enki sees it as an
omen of Marduk's inevitable supremacy
Enlil ponders the
past, Fate, and Destiny
Accepts Marduk's
supremacy, retreats to faraway lands
The brothers bid a
sentimental good-bye
Enki sees the Past as
a guide foretelling the Future
He decides to commit
all as a record for posterity.
Colophon by the
scribe Endubsar
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