Babylonian and Assyrian Literature Part 41

THE BEGINNING

_Ashur,_ the great Lord, ruling supreme over the G.o.ds; the giver of sceptres and crowns; the appointer of sovereignty. Bel, the Lord; _King of the circle of constellations_;[1] Father of the G.o.ds; Lord of the world.

Sin;[2] the leader the _Lord of Empire_ the _powerful_ the _auspicious_ G.o.d; _Shamas_;[3] the establisher of the heavens and the earth; ...;[4]

the vanquisher of enemies; the dissolver of cold. _Vul_;[5] he who causes the tempest to rage over hostile lands and _wicked_ countries. _Abnil_[6]

Hercules; the champion who subdues _heretics_ and enemies, and who strengthens the heart. _Ishtar_, the eldest[7] of the G.o.ds; the Queen of _Victory_; she who arranges battles.

[Footnote 1: Aratnaki. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: The moon.]

[Footnote 3: The sun.]

[Footnote 4: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 5: Ninev. (Fox Talbot.) Ao. (Dr. Oppert.)]

[Footnote 6: Ninip-Sumdan. Dr. Oppert.]

[Footnote 7: Or source.]

II

The great G.o.ds, ruling over the heavens and the earth, whose attributes I have recorded and whom I have _named_; the guardians of the kingdom of Tiglath Pileser, the Prince inspiring your hearts with _joy_; the proud Chief whom in the strength of your hearts ye have made firm, (to whom) ye have confided the supreme crown, (whom) ye have appointed in might to the sovereignty of the country of Bel, to whom ye have granted pre-eminence, exaltation, and warlike power. May the duration of his empire continue forever to his royal posterity, lasting as the great temple of Bel!

III

Tiglath Pileser the powerful king; supreme King of Lash-anan;[1] King of the four regions; King of all Kings; Lord of Lords; the _supreme_; Monarch of Monarchs; the ill.u.s.trious Chief who under the auspices of the Sun G.o.d, being armed with the sceptre and girt with the girdle of power over mankind, rules over all the people of Bel; the mighty Prince whose praise is blazoned forth among the Kings: the exalted sovereign, whose servants Ashur has appointed to the government of the country of the four regions (and) has made his name celebrated to posterity; the conqueror of many plains and mountains of the Upper and Lower Country; the conquering hero, the terror of whose name has overwhelmed all regions; the bright constellation who, according to his power[2] has warred against foreign countries (and) under the auspices of Bel, there being no equal to him, has subdued the enemies of Ashur.[3]

[Footnote 1: "Various tongues." Talbot.]

[Footnote 2: Or, "as he wished."]

[Footnote 3: Or, "has made them obedient to Ashur."]

IV

Ashur (and) the great G.o.ds, the guardians of my kingdom, who gave government and laws to my dominions, and ordered an enlarged frontier to their territory, having committed to (my) hand their valiant and warlike servants, I have subdued the lands and the peoples and the strong places, and the Kings who were hostile to Ashur; and I have reduced all that was contained in them. With a host[1] of kings I have fought ...[2] and have imposed on them the bond of _servitude_. There is not to me a second in war, nor an equal in battle. I have added territory to a.s.syria and peoples to her people. I have enlarged the frontier of my territories, and subdued all the lands contained in them.[3]

[Footnote 1: The preamble concludes here.]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 3: Literally, "a sixty."]

V

In the beginning of my reign 20,000 of the _Muskayans_[1] and their 5 kings, who for 50 years had held the countries of Alza and Perukhuz, without paying tribute and offerings to Ashur my Lord, and whom a King of a.s.syria had never ventured to meet in battle betook themselves to their strength, and went and seized the country of Comukha. In the service of Ashur my Lord my chariots and warriors I a.s.sembled after me ...[2] the country of _Kasiyaia_[3] a difficult country, I pa.s.sed through. With their 20,000 fighting men and their 5 kings in the country of Comukha I engaged.

I defeated them. The ranks of their warriors in fighting the battle were beaten down as if by the tempest. Their carca.s.ses covered the valleys and the tops of the mountains. I cut off their heads. The battlements of their cities I made heaps of, like mounds of _earth_, their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I plundered to a countless amount. 6,000 of their common soldiers who fled before my servants and accepted my yoke, I took them, and gave them over to the men of my own territory.[4]

[Footnote 1: Sirki citizens. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 3: Mount Kasiyaia. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 4: As slaves.]

VI

Then I went into the country of _Comukha,_[1] which was disobedient and withheld the tribute and offerings due to Ashur my Lord: I conquered the whole country of Comukha. I plundered their movables, their wealth, and their valuables. Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and ruined.

The common people of Comukha, who fled before the face of my servants, crossed over to the city of _Sherisha_[2] which was on the further banks of the Tigris, and made this city into their stronghold. I a.s.sembled my chariots and warriors. I betook myself to _carts of iron_[3] in order to overcome the rough mountains and their difficult marches. I made the wilderness (thus) practicable for the pa.s.sage of my chariots and warriors.

I crossed the Tigris and took the city of Sherisha their stronghold. Their fighting men, in the middle of the forests, like wild beasts, I smote.

Their carca.s.ses filled the Tigris, and the tops of the mountains. At this time the troops of the _Akhe_,[4] who came to the deliverance and a.s.sistance of Comukha, together with the troops of Comukha, like chaff I scattered. The carca.s.ses of their fighting men I piled up like heaps on the tops of the mountains. The bodies of their warriors, the _roaring_[5]

waters carried down to the Tigris. Kili Teru son of Kali Teru, son of Zarupin Zihusun, their King,[6] in the course of their fighting fell into my power. His wives and his children, the delight of his heart I dispossessed him of. One hundred and eighty[7] iron vessels and 5 trays of copper, together with the G.o.ds of the people in gold and silver, and their beds and furniture I brought away. Their movables and their wealth I plundered. This city and its palace I burnt with fire, I destroyed and ruined.

[Footnote 1: Dummuk. (Dr. Oppert.)]

[Footnote 2: Sharisha. (Fox Talbot.) Siris. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 3: Bridge. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 4: Aliens. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 5: Nami River. (Fox Talbot.) Blood River. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 6: Tirikali fil Tirikali. (Fox Talbot.) Kiliantiru eldest son of Campineiyusan, (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 7: Literally, "three sixties."]

VII