Babylonian and Assyrian Literature · Chapter 4Column II
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O Moon-god,[1] hear my cry! With thy pure light Oh, take my spirit through that awful night That hovers o'er the long-forgotten years, To sing Accadia's songs and weep her tears! 'Twas thus I prayed, when lo! my spirit rose On fleecy clouds, enwrapt in soft repose; And I beheld beneath me nations glide In swift succession by, in all their pride: The earth was filled with cities of mankind, And empires fell beneath a summer wind. The soil and clay walked forth upon the plains In forms of life, and every atom gains A place in man or breathes in animals; And flesh and blood and bones become the walls Of palaces and cities, which soon fall To unknown dust beneath some ancient wall. All this I saw while guided by the stroke Of unseen pinions:
Then amid the smoke That rose o'er burning cities, I beheld White Khar-sak-kur-ra's[2] brow arise that held The secrets of the gods—that felt the prore Of Khasisadra's ark; I heard the roar Of battling elements, and saw the waves That tossed above mankind's commingled graves. The mighty mountain as some sentinel Stood on the plains alone; and o'er it fell A halo, bright, divine; its summit crowned With sunbeams, shining on the earth around And o'er the wide expanse of plains;—below Lay Khar-sak-kal-ama[3] with light aglow, And nestling far away within my view Stood Erech, Nipur, Marad, Eridu, And Babylon, the tower-city old, In her own splendor shone like burnished gold. And lo! grand Erech in her glorious days Lies at my feet. I see a wondrous maze Of vistas, groups, and clustering columns round, Within, without the palace;—from the ground Of outer staircases, massive, grand, Stretch to the portals where the pillars stand. A thousand carvèd columns reaching high To silver rafters in an azure sky, And palaces and temples round it rise With lofty turrets glowing to the skies, And massive walls far spreading o'er the plains, Here live and move Accadia's courtly trains, And see! the pit-u-dal-ti[4] at the gates, And masari[5] patrol and guard the streets! And yonder comes a kis-ib, nobleman, With a young prince; and see! a caravan Winds through the gates! With men the streets are filled! And chariots, a people wise and skilled In things terrestrial, what science, art, Here reign! With laden ships from every mart The docks are filled, and foreign fabrics bring From peoples, lands, where many an empire, king, Have lived and passed away, and naught have left In history or song. Dread Time hath cleft Us far apart; their kings and kingdoms, priests And bards are gone, and o'er them sweep the mists Of darkness backward spreading through all time, Their records swept away in every clime. Those alabaster stairs let us ascend, And through this lofty portal we will wend. See! richest Sumir rugs amassed, subdue The tilèd pavement with its varied hue, Upon the turquoise ceiling sprinkled stars Of gold and silver crescents in bright pairs! And gold-fringed scarlet curtains grace each door, And from the inlaid columns reach the floor: From golden rods extending round the halls, Bright silken hangings drape the sculptured walls.
But part those scarlet hangings at the door Of yon grand chamber! tread the antique floor! Behold the sovereign on her throne of bronze, While crouching at her feet a lion fawns; The glittering court with gold and gems ablaze With ancient splendor of the glorious days Of Accad's sovereignty. Behold the ring Of dancing beauties circling while they sing With amorous forms in moving melody, The measure keep to music's harmony. Hear! how the music swells from silver lute And golden-stringèd lyres and softest flute And harps and tinkling cymbals, measured drums, While a soft echo from the chamber comes.
But see! the sovereign lifts her jewelled hand, The music ceases at the Queen's command; And lo! two chiefs in warrior's array, With golden helmets plumed with colors gay, And golden shields, and silver coats of mail, Obeisance make to her with faces pale, Prostrate themselves before their sovereign's throne In silence brief remain with faces prone, Till Ellat-gula[6] speaks: "My chiefs, arise! What word have ye for me? what new surprise?" Tur-tau-u,[7] rising, says, "O Dannat[8] Queen! Thine enemy, Khum-baba[9] with Rim-siu[10] With clanging shields, appears upon the hills, And Elam's host the land of Sumir fills." "Away, ye chiefs! sound loud the nappa-khu![11] Send to their post each warrior bar-ru!"[12] The gray embattlements rose in the light That lingered yet from Samas'[13] rays, ere Night Her sable folds had spread across the sky. Thus Erech stood, where in her infancy The huts of wandering Accads had been built Of soil, and rudely roofed by woolly pelt O'erlaid upon the shepherd's worn-out staves, And yonder lay their fathers' unmarked graves. Their chieftains in those early days oft meet Upon the mountains where they Samas greet, With their rude sacrifice upon a tree High-raised that their sun-god may shining see Their offering divine; invoking pray For aid, protection, blessing through the day. Beneath these walls and palaces abode The spirit of their country—each man trod As if his soul to Erech's weal belonged, And heeded not the enemy which thronged Before the gates, that now were closed with bars Of bronze thrice fastened.
See the thousand cars And chariots arrayed across the plains! The marching hosts of Elam's armèd trains, The archers, slingers in advance amassed, With black battalions in the centre placed, With chariots before them drawn in line, Bedecked with brightest trappings iridine, While gorgeous plumes of Elam's horses nod Beneath the awful sign of Elam's god. On either side the mounted spearsmen far Extend; and all the enginery of war Are brought around the walls with fiercest shouts, And from behind their shields each archer shoots.
Thus Erech is besieged by her dread foes, And she at last must feel Accadia's woes, And feed the vanity of conquerors, Who boast o'er victories in all their wars. Great Subartu[14] has fallen by Sutu[15] And Kassi,[16] Goim[17] fell with Lul-lu-bu,[18] Thus Khar-sak-kal-a-ma[19] all Eridu[20] O'erran with Larsa's allies; Subartu With Duran[21] thus was conquered by these sons Of mighty Shem and strewn was Accad's bones Throughout her plains, and mountains, valleys fair, Unburied lay in many a wolf's lair. Oh, where is Accad's chieftain Izdubar, Her mightiest unrivalled prince of war?
The turrets on the battlemented walls Swarm with skilled bowmen, archers—from them falls A cloud of wingèd missiles on their foes, Who swift reply with shouts and twanging bows; And now amidst the raining death appears The scaling ladder, lined with glistening spears, But see! the ponderous catapults now crush The ladder, spearsmen, with their mighty rush Of rocks and beams, nor in their fury slacked As if a toppling wall came down intact Upon the maddened mass of men below. But other ladders rise, and up them flow The tides of armèd spearsmen with their shields; From others bowmen shoot, and each man wields A weapon, never yielding to his foe, For death alone he aims with furious blow. At last upon the wall two soldiers spring, A score of spears their corses backward fling. But others take their place, and man to man, And spear to spear, and sword to sword, till ran The walls with slippery gore; but Erech's men Are brave and hurl them from their walls again. And now the battering-rams with swinging power Commence their thunders, shaking every tower; And miners work beneath the crumbling walls, Alas! before her foemen Erech falls. Vain are suspended chains against the blows Of dire assaulting engines.
Ho! there goes The eastern wall with Erech's strongest tower! And through the breach her furious foemen pour: A wall of steel withstands the onset fierce, But thronging Elam's spears the lines soon pierce, A band of chosen men there fight to die, Before their enemies disdain to fly; The masari[22] within the breach thus died, And with their dying shout the foe defied. The foes swarm through the breach and o'er the walls, And Erech in extremity loud calls Upon the gods for aid, but prays for naught, While Elam's soldiers, to a frenzy wrought, Pursue and slay, and sack the city old With fiendish shouts for blood and yellow gold. Each man that falls the foe decapitates, And bears the reeking death to Erech's gates. The gates are hidden 'neath the pile of heads That climbs above the walls, and outward spreads A heap of ghastly plunder bathed in blood. Beside them calm scribes of the victors stood, And careful note the butcher's name, and check The list; and for each head a price they make. Thus pitiless the sword of Elam gleams And the best blood of Erech flows in streams. From Erech's walls some fugitives escape, And others in Euphrates wildly leap, And hide beneath its rushes on the bank And many 'neath the yellow waters sank.
The harper of the Queen, an agèd man, Stands lone upon the bank, while he doth scan The horizon with anxious, careworn face, Lest ears profane of Elam's hated race Should hear his strains of mournful melody: Now leaning on his harp in memory Enwrapt, while fitful breezes lift his locks Of snow, he sadly kneels upon the rocks And sighing deeply clasps his hands in woe, While the dread past before his mind doth flow. A score and eight of years have slowly passed Since Rim-a-gu, with Elam's host amassed, Kardunia's ancient capital had stormed. The glorious walls and turrets are transformed To a vast heap of ruins, weird, forlorn, And Elam's spears gleam through the coming morn. From the sad sight his eyes he turns away, His soul breathes through his harp while he doth play With bended head his agèd hands thus woke The woes of Erech with a measured stroke:
O Erech! dear Erech, my beautiful home, Accadia's pride, O bright land of the bard, Come back to my vision, dear Erech, oh, come! Fair land of my birth, how thy beauty is marred! The horsemen of Elam, her spearsmen and bows, Thy treasures have ravished, thy towers thrown down, And Accad is fallen, trod down by her foes. Oh, where are thy temples of ancient renown?
Gone are her brave heroes beneath the red tide, Gone are her white vessels that rode o'er the main, No more on the river her pennon shall ride, Gargan-na is fallen, her people are slain. Wild asses[23] shall gallop across thy grand floors, And wild bulls shall paw them and hurl the dust high Upon the wild cattle that flee through her doors, And doves shall continue her mournful slave's cry.
Oh, where are the gods of our Erech so proud, As flies they are swarming away from her halls, The Sedu[24] of Erech are gone as a cloud, As wild fowl are flying away from her walls. Three years did she suffer, besieged by her foes, Her gates were thrown down and defiled by the feet Who brought to poor Erech her tears and her woes, In vain to our Ishtar with prayers we entreat.
To Ishtar bowed down doth our Bel thus reply, "Come, Ishtar, my queenly one, hide all thy tears, Our hero, Tar-u-man-i izzu Sar-ri,[25] In Kipur is fortified with his strong spears. The hope of Kardunia,[26] land of my delight, Shall come to thy rescue, upheld by my hands, Deliverer of peoples, whose heart is aright, Protector of temples, shall lead his brave bands."
Awake then, brave Accad, to welcome the day! Behold thy bright banners yet flaming on high, Triumphant are streaming on land and the sea! Arise, then, O Accad! behold the Sami![27] Arranged in their glory the mighty gods come In purple and gold the grand Tam-u[8] doth shine Over Erech, mine Erech, my beautiful home, Above thy dear ashes, behold thy god's sign!
[Footnote 1: "O Moon-god, hear my cry!" ("Siu lici unnini!") the name of the author of the Izdubar epic upon which our poem is based.]
[Footnote 2: "Khar-sak-kur-ra," the Deluge mountain on which the ark of Khasisadra (the Accadian Noah) rested.]
[Footnote 3: "Khar-sak-kal-ama" is a city mentioned in the Izdubar epic, and was probably situated at the base of Khar-sak-kur-ra, now called Mount Elwend. The same mountain is sometimes called the "Mountain of the World" in the inscriptions, where the gods were supposed to sometimes reside.]
[Footnote 4: "Pit-u-dal-ti," openers of the gates.]
[Footnote 5: "Masari," guards of the great gates of the city, etc.]
[Footnote 6: "Ellat-gula," the queen of Erech, the capital of Babylonia.]
[Footnote 7: "Tur-tan-u" was the army officer or general who in the absence of the sovereign took the supreme command of the army, and held the highest rank next to the queen or king.]
[Footnote 8: "Dannat" (the "Powerful Lady") was a title applied to the Queen, the mother of Izdubar (Sayce's ed. Smith's "Chal. Acc. of Gen.," p. 184). We have here identified her with Ellat-gula, the Queen of Babylon, who preceded Ham-murabi or Nammurabi, whom the inscriptions indicate was an Accadian. The latter we have identified with Nimrod, following the suggestion of Mr. George Smith.]
[Footnote 9: "Khumbaba" was the giant Elamitic king whom Izdubar overthrew. We identify him with the King of the Elamites who, allied with Rimsin or Rimagu, was overthrown by Nammurabi or Izdubar.]
[Footnote 10: "Rim-siu," above referred to, who overthrew Uruk, or Karrak, or Erech. He was King of Larsa, immediately south of Erech.]
[Footnote 11: "Nap-pa-khu," war-trumpet.]
[Footnote 12: "Bar-ru," army officer.]
[Footnote 13: "Samas," the sun-god.]
[Footnote 14: "Subartu" is derived from the Accadian "subar" ("high"), applied by the Accadians to the highlands of Aram or Syria. It is probable that all these countries, viz., Subartu, Goim, Lullubu, Kharsak-kalama, Eridu, and Duran, were at one time inhabited by the Accadians, until driven out by the Semites.]
[Footnote 15: "Sutu" is supposed to refer to the Arabians.]
[Footnote 16: "Kassi," the Kassites or Elamites. The Kassi inhabited the northern part of Elam.]
[Footnote 17: "Goim," or "Gutium," supposed by Sir Henry Rawlinson to be the Goyim of Gen. xiv, ruled by Tidal or Turgal ("the Great Son").]
[Footnote 18: "Lul-lu-bu," a country northward of Mesopotamia and Nizir.]
[Footnote 19: "Kharsak-kala-ma," the city supposed to lie at the base of Kharsak-kurra, or Mount Nizir, or Mount Elwend. The same city was afterward called Echatana.]
[Footnote 20: "Eridu," the land of Ur, or Erech.]
[Footnote 21: "Duran," Babylonia.]
[Footnote 22: "Masari," guards of the palace, etc.]
[Footnote 23: See Sayce's translation in the "Chal. Acc. of Gen.," by Smith, p. 193.]
[Footnote 24: "Sedu," spirits of prosperity.]
[Footnote 25: "Tar-u-mani izzu Sarri," son of the faith, the fire of kings, or fire-king.]
[Footnote 26: "Kardunia," the ancient name of Babylon.]
[Footnote 27: "Sami," heavens (plural).]
[Footnote 28: "Tamu," dawn or sunrise, day.]