THE TENTH TABLET
In Sippar all the Anunnaki gathered, the Day of the Deluge they awaited.
It was at that time, as the tension of awaiting was mounting,
That the lord Enki, asleep in his quarters, had a dream-vision.
In the dream-vision there appeared the image of a man, bright and shining like the
heavens;
And as the man Enki approached, Enki saw that the white-haired Galzu he was!
In his right hand an engraver's stylus he was holding,
And in his left hand a tablet of lapis lazuli, shining smooth, he held.
And as he approached near enough by Enki's bed to stand, Galzu spoke up and said:
Unwarranted your accusations against Enlil were, for only the truth he spoke;
And the decision that as Enlil's Decision will be known, not he but Destiny decreed.
Now into your hands Fate take, for the Earthlings the Earth will inherit;
Summon your son Ziusudra, without breaking the oath to him the coming calamity
reveal.
A boat that the watery avalanche can withstand, a submersible one, to build him tell,
The likes of which on this tablet to you I am showing;
Let him in it save himself and his kinfolk,
And the seed of all that is useful, be it plant or animal, also take;
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That is the will of the Creator of All!
And Galzu, in the dream-vision, with the stylus on the tablet an image drew,
And placed the engraved tablet by the side of Enki's bed;
And after that the image faded, the dream-vision ended, and Enki with a shudder awoke.
In his bed Enki for a while lying remained, with wonder the dream-vision he pondered:
What was thereof the meaning, what omen did it hold?
Then, as off his bed he stepped, to and behold there was the tablet;
What in a mere dream-vision he had seen now by his bedside materially was!
With trembling hands the lord Enki the tablet picked up,
A design of a curious-shaped boat upon the tablet he saw,
By the tablet's edge measuring markings there were, the boat's measures indicating!
Astir with awe and hope the lord Enki by sunrise for his emissaries quickly sent,
Find the one called Galzu, to him I must speak! So to them he said.
By sundown all came back, to Enki thus reporting: None Galzu to find was able,
Galzu, they said, to Nibiru did long ago return!
Greatly baffled Enki was, the mystery and its omen to understand he strove.
Unravel the mystery he could not, yet the message to him was clear!
That night to the reed but where Ziusudra was sleeping Enki stealthily went;
The oath not breaking, the lord Enki not to Ziusudra but to the hut's wall spoke:
Wake up! Wake up! to the reed wall Enki was saying, from behind the reed screen he was
speaking.
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When Ziusudra by the words was awakened, to him Enki from behind the reed screen
said:
Reed hut, reed hut! To my words pay attention, to my instructions heed pay!
On all the habitations, over the cities, a calamitous storm will sweep,
The destruction of Mankind and its offspring it will be.
This is the final ruling, the word of the assembly by Enlil convened,
This is the decision by Anu and Enlil and Ninmah spoken.
Now heed my words, observe the message that to you I am speaking:
Abandon your house, build a boat; spurn possessions, save the life!
The boat that you must build, its design and measurements on a tablet are shown,
By the reed hut's wall the tablet I shall leave.
Make sure that the boat shall be roofed throughout, the sun from the inside must not be
seen.
The tackle must be very strong, the pitch strong and tight to ward off the water.
Let the boat be one that can turn and tumble, the watery avalanche to survive!
In seven days build the boat, into it your family and kinfolk gather,
In the boat food and water for drinking heap up, household animals also bring.
Then, on the appointed day, a signal to you shall be given;
A boatguide who knows the waters, by me appointed, to you that day will come;
On that day the boat you must enter, its hatch tightly close you must.
An overwhelming Deluge, coming from the south, lands and life shall devastate;
Your boat from its moorings it shall lift, the boat it shall turn and tumble.
Fear not: To a safe haven the boatguide will navigate you,
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By you shall the seed of Civilized Mankind survive!
When Enki's voice fell silent, agog was Ziusudra, on his knees prostrate he fell:
My lord! My lord! he shouted. Your voice I heard, let me see your face!
Not to you, Ziusudra, have I spoken, to the reed wall did I speak! So Enki said.
By Enlil's decision, by an oath upheld am I bound to that all the Anunnaki swore;
If my face you shall see, surely like all Earthlings you will die!
Now reed hut, to my words pay heed:
The purpose of the boat, a secret of the Anunnaki with you must remain!
When the townspeople will inquire, to them you will so say:
The lord Enlil with my lord Enki has angry been,
To Enki's abode in the Abzu I am sailing, perchance Enlil will be appeased!
For a while a silence followed. Ziusudra from behind the reed wall came,
A tablet of lapis lazuli, in the moonlight shining, he saw and picked up;
The image of a boat upon it was drawn, notches its measurements gave;
Wisest of Civilized Men was Ziusudra, what he had heard he understood.
In the morning, to the townspeople he so announced:
The lord Enlil with the Lord Enki, my master, angry has been,
On that account to me the lord Enlil is hostile.
In this city I no longer reside can, nor in the Edin my foot anymore set;
To the Abzu, the lord Enki's domain, I will there a-sailing go.
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In a boat that must quickly be built I will away from here depart;
Thereby the lord Enlil's anger will subside, hardships will end,
Upon you the lord Enlil abundance henceforth will shower!
The morning was not yet gone when the people about Ziusudra gathered,
To speedily for him the boat build they each other encouraged.
Timbers of boat-wood the elders were hauling, the little ones bitumen from the marshes
carried.
As woodworkers the planks together hammered, Ziusudra in a cauldron the bitumen
melted.
With bitumen the boat he waterproofed inside and out,
As in the drawing upon the tablet the boat on the fifth day was completed.
Eager to see Ziusudra depart, the townspeople to the boat food and water brought,
From their own mouths sustenance they took; to appease Enlil they were in a hurry!
Four-legged animals into the boat were also driven, birds from the field by themselves
flew in.
Into the boat Ziusudra his spouse and sons made embark, their wives and children also
came.
Any who to the abode of the lord Enki wish to go, let them too aboard come!
So did Ziusudra to the gathered people announce.
Envisioning Enlil's abundance, only some of the craftsmen the call heeded.
On the sixth day Ninagal, Lord of the Great Waters, to the boat came,
A son of Enki he was, to be the boat's navigator he was selected.
A box of cedarwood in his hands he held, by his side in the boat he kept it;
The life essences and life eggs of living creatures it contains, by the lord Enki and
Ninmah collected,
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From the wrath of Enlil to be hidden, to life resurrect if Earth be willing!
So did Ninagal to Ziusudra explain; thus were all beasts by their twos in the boat hidden.
Now Ninagal and Ziusudra in the boat the arrival of the seventh day awaited.
In the one hundred and twentieth Shar was the Deluge awaited,
In the tenth Shar in the life age of Ziusudra was the Deluge forthcoming,
In the station of the Constellation of the Lion was the avalanche looming.
Now this is the account of the Deluge that over the Earth swept
And how the Anunnaki escaped, and how Ziusudra in the boat survived.
For days before the Day of the Deluge the Earth was rumbling, groan as with pain it did;
For nights before the calamity struck, in the heavens Nibiru as a glowing star was seen;
Then there was darkness in daytime, and at night the Moon as though by a monster was
swallowed.
The Earth began to shake, by a netforce before unknown it was agitated.
In the glow of dawn, a black cloud arose from the horizon,
The morning's light to darkness changed, as though by death's shadow veiled.
Then the sound of a rolling thunder boomed, lightnings the skies lit up.
Depart! Depart! Utu to the Anunnaki gave the signal.
Crouched in the boats of heaven, the Anunnaki heavenward were lofted.
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In Shurubak, eighteen leagues away, the bright eruptions by Ninagal were seen:
Button up! Button up the hatch! Ninagal to Ziusudra shouted.
Together the trapdoor that the hatch concealed they pulled down;
Watertight, enclosed completely, was the boat; inside riot a ray of light penetrated.
On that day, on that unforgettable day, the Deluge with a roar began;
In the Whiteland, at the Earth's bottom, the Earth's foundations were shaking;
Then with a roar to a thousand thunders equal, off its foundations the icesheet slipped,
By Nibiru's unseen netforce it was pulled away, into the south sea crashing.
One sheet of ice into another icesheet was smashing,
The Whiteland's surface like a broken eggshell was crumbling.
All at once a tidal wave arose, the very skies was the wall of waters reaching.
A storm, its ferocity never before seen, at the Earth's bottom began to howl,
Its winds the wall of water were driving, the tidal wave northward was spreading;
Northward was the wall of waters onrushing, the Abzu lands it was reaching.
Therefrom toward the settled lands it traveled, the Edin it overwhelmed.
When the tidal wave, the wall of waters, Shurubak reached,
The boat of Ziusudra the tidal wave from its moorings lifted,
Tossed it about, like a watery abyss the boat it swallowed.
Though completely submerged, the boat held firm, not a drop of water into it did enter.
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Outside the storm's wave the people overtook like a killing battle,
No one his fellow man could see, the ground vanished, there was only water.
All that once on the ground stood by the mighty waters away was swept;
Before day's end the watery wall, gathering speed, the mountains overwhelmed.
In their celestial boats the Anunnaki the Earth were circling.
Crowding the compartments, against the outer walls they crouched,
What was happening upon the Earth, down below, to see they strained.
From the celestial boat in which she was, Ninmah like a woman in travail cried out:
My created like drowned dragonflies in a pond the waters fill,
All life by the rolling sea wave away was taken! Thus did Ninmah cry and moan.
Inanna, who was with her, also cried and lamented:
Everything down below, all that lived, has turned into clay!
Thus did Ninmah and Inanna weep; they wept and eased their feelings.
In the other celestial boats the Anunnaki by the sight of unbridled fury were humbled,
A power greater than theirs they with awe those days witnessed.
For the fruits of Earth they hungered, for fermented elixir they thirsted.
The olden days, alas, to clay have turned! So to each other the Anunnaki said.
After the immense tidal wave that over the Earth swept,
The sluices of heaven opened, a downpour from the skies upon the Earth was unleashed.
For seven days the waters from above with the waters of the Great Below were mingled;
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Then the wall of water, its limits reaching, its onslaught ceased,
But the rains from the skies for forty more days and nights continued.
From their perches the Anunnaki looked down: Where there were dry lands, now was a
sea of water,
And where mountains once to the heavens their peaks raised,
Their tops now like islands were in the waters;
And all that on the dry lands was living in the avalanche of waters perished.
Then, as in the Beginning, the waters to their basins were gathered,
Waving back and forth, day by day the water level came lower.
Then, forty days after the Deluge over the Earth swept, the rains also stopped.
After the forty days Ziusudra the boat's hatch opened, his whereabouts to survey.
A bright day it was, a gentle breeze was blowing;
All alone, with no other sign of life, the boat upon a vast sea was lolling.
Mankind, all living things, off the Earth's face are wiped out,
No one except us few survived, but there is no dry land to set a foot upon!
So did Ziusudra to his kinfolk say as he sat down and lamented.
At that time Ninagal, by Enki appointed, the boat toward the twin peaks of Arrata
directed,
A sail for her he shaped, toward the Mount of Salvation he the boat guided.
Impatient Ziusudra was; birds that were on board he released
To check for dry land, for surviving vegetation to verify he sent them.
He sent forth a swallow, he sent forth a raven; both to the boat returned.
He sent forth a dove; with a twig from a tree to the boat it returned!
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Now Ziusudra knew that the dry land from under the waters had emerged.
A few more days, and the boat by rocks was arrested:
The Deluge is over, at the Mount of Salvation we are! So did Ninagal to Ziusudra say.
Opening the watertight hatch, from the boat Ziusudra emerged;
The sky was clear, the Sun was shining, a gentle wind was blowing.
Hurriedly upon his spouse and children he to come out called.
The lord Enki let us praise, to him thanks give! to them Ziusudra said.
With his sons stones he gathered, with them an altar he built,
Then a fire on the altar he lit, with aromatic incense he made a fire.
A ewe-lamb, one without blemish, for a sacrifice he selected,
And upon the altar to Enki the ewe-Iamb as a sacrifice he offered.
At that time Enlil from his celestial boat to Enki words conveyed:
Let us in Whirlwinds from the celestial boats upon the peak of Arrata descend,
The situation to review, what to be done to determine!
While the others in their celestial boats the Earth to circuit continued,
Enlil and Enki in Whirlwinds upon the peak of Arrata descended.
Smiling the two brothers met, with joy their arms they locked.
Then Enlil by the whiffs of fire and roasting meat was puzzled.
What is that? to his brother he shouted. Has anyone the Deluge survived?
Let us go and see! meekly to him Enki responded.
In their Whirlwinds to the other peak of Arrata they flew over,
The boat of Ziusudra they saw, by the altar that he had built they landed.
When Enlil the survivors saw, Ninagal among them, his fury no bounds had.
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Every Earthling had to perish! he with fury shouted; at Enki with anger he lunged,
To kill his brother with his bare hands he was ready.
He is no mere mortal, my son he is! Enki, to Ziusudra pointing, cried out.
For a moment Enlil was hesitating. You broke your oath! at Enki he shouted.
To a reed wall I spoke, not to Ziususdra! Enki said, then to Enlil the dream-vision related.
By then, by Ninagal alerted, Ninurta and Ninmah in their Whirlwinds also touched down;
When the account of events they heard, Ninurta and Ninmah by the account were not
angered.
The survival of Mankind the will of the Creator of All must be! So did Ninurta to his
father say.
Ninmah her necklace of crystals, a gift of Anu, touched and swore:
On my oath, the annihilation of Mankind shall never be repeated!
Relenting, Enlil by the hands Ziusudra and Emzara his spouse took and blessed them
thus:
Be fruitful and multiply, and the Earth replenish!
Thus were the Olden Times ended.
Now this is the account of how survival on Earth was restored,
And how a new source of gold and other Earthlings beyond the oceans were found.
It was after the encounter at Arrata that the waters of the Deluge to recede continued,
And the face of the Earth gradually from under the waters was showing.
The mountainlands were mostly unscathed, but the valleys under mud and silt were
buried.
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From the celestial boats and from the Whirlwinds the Anunnaki the landscapes surveyed:
All that in the Olden Times in the Edin and the Abzu had existed under the mud was
buried!
Eridu, Nibru-ki, Shurubak, Sippar, all were gone, completely vanished;
But in the Cedar Mountains the great stone platform in the sunlight glistened,
The Landing Place, in the Olden Times established, was still standing!
One after another the Whirlwinds upon the platform landed;
The platform was intact; at the launch corner the huge stone blocks held firm.
Clearing debris and tree branches away, the first to land to the chariots signaled;
One after the other the celestial chariots came, upon the platform they touched down.
Then to Marduk on Lahmu and Nannar on the Moon words were sent,
And they too to Earth returned, upon the Landing Place they came down.
Now the Anunnaki and Igigi who were thus gathered by Enlil to assembly were called.
The Deluge we have survived, but the Earth is devastated! So did Enlil to them say.
All ways to recover we must assess, be it on Earth, be it elsewhere!
Lahmu by the passage of Nibiru was devastated! So did Marduk relate:
Its atmosphere was sucked out, its waters thereafter evaporated, a place of dust storms it
is!
The Moon by itself life cannot sustain, only with Eagle masks is staying enabled!
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So did Nannar to the others account give, and then words of enamor he added:
Once there, that it was Tiamat's host's leader one must recall,
Of Earth a companion it is, with it Earth's destiny is connected!
Lovingly Enlil on his son's shoulders his arm put. With survival now we are concerned!
So did Enlil to Nannar mildly retort; now, sustenance is our first concern!
Let us the sealed Creation Chamber examine; perchance Nibiru's seeds we shall still find!
So did Enlil to Enki say, of the grains once created him reminding.
At the side of the platform, clearing some mud, the shaft from times remote they found,
The stone that blocked it they lifted off, the sanctuary they entered.
The diorite chests with seals were fastened, the seals with a copper key they made open.
Inside the chests, in crystal vessels, the seeds of Nibiru's grain were there!
Once outside, to Ninurta Enlil the seeds gave, to him he was thus saying:
Go, the mountainside terrace, let the grains of Nibiru once again bread provide!
In the Cedar Mountains, on other mountains too, Ninurta waterfalls dammed,
Terraces constructed, the eldest son of Ziusudra to raise crops he taught.
To Ishkur, his youngest, Enlil another task assigned:
Where the waters have receded, go and remaining fruit-bearing trees find!
To him as fruit cultivator Ziusudra's youngest son was assigned:
The first fruit they found, the vine that by Ninmah was brought it was;
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Of its juice, as the Anunnaki's elixir renowned, Ziusudra took a sip.
By one sip, then another and another, Ziusudra was overpowered, like a drunkard he fell
asleep!
Then a gift to Anunnaki and Earthlings Enki presented:
The chest that Ninagal had carried he unveiled, its surprising contents to all he
announced:
The life essences and life eggs, in the wombs of the four-legged animals from
Ziusudra's boat can be combined,
Sheep for wool and meat will multiply, cattle for milk and hides will all have,
Then with other living creatures the Earth we shall replenish!
To Dumuzi the shepherding tasks Enki gave, in the task was Ziusudra's middle son
assisting.
Then to the dark-hued landmass, where his and his sons' domains had been,
Enki his attention turned.
With Ninagal, at the confluence of mighty waters the mountains he dammed,
Fierce waterfalls to a lake he channeled to let the waters as a lake accumulate.
Then the lands between the Abzu and the Great Sea with Marduk he surveyed:
Where habitations once were, the river's valley how to drain he considered.
At midstream where the river's waters cascaded, an island from the waters he raised.
In its bowels twin caverns he carved out, above them from stones sluices he fashioned.
From there two channels in the rocks he cut, for the waters two narrows he fashioned,
Thus the flowing waters from the highlands coming he could slow or let go faster;
With dams and sluices and the two narrows the waters he regulated.
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From the Cavern Island, the island of Abu, the river's serpentine valley from under
the waters he raised:
In the Land of the Two Narrows for Dumuzi and the shepherds a habitation did Enki
fashion.
With satisfaction did Enlil all this to Nibiru words send; with words of concern Nibiru
responded:
The close passage that Earth and Lahmu affected on Nibiru too much damage caused;
The shield of gold dust was torn, the atmosphere was dwindling again,
Now new supplies of gold quickly were needed!
Fervently to the Abzu Enki went, with Gibil his son to survey and search he journeyed.
All the gold mines were gone, by the avalanche of water they were buried.
In the Edin, Bad-Tibira too no longer existed, in Sippar a place for the chariots was no
more!
The hundreds of Anunnaki who in the mines and Bad-Tibira toiled, from the Earth were
gone,
The multitude of Earthlings, as Primitive Workers serving, by the Deluge were to clay
turned;
No gold can from Earth anymore be provided! So did Enlil and Enki to Nibiru announce.
On Earth and on Nibiru there was desperation.
At that time Ninurta, his tasks in the mountains of cedars completed,
To the mountainland beyond the oceans once again journeyed.
From that land, on the other side of Earth, astounding words he delivered:
The avalanche of waters deep cuts into the mountainsides there tore,
From the mountainsides uncounted gold, in nuggets large and small,
To the rivers below fell down, without mining can the gold be hauled!
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Enlil and Enki to the distant mountainland hurried, with amazement they the discovery
viewed:
Gold, pure gold, refining and smelting not requiring, all about was lying!
A miracle it is! So was Enki to Enlil saying. What by Nibiru was wrought, by Nibiru was
amended!
The unseen hand of the Creator of All it is life on Nibiru to enable! So did Enlil say.
Now who could collect the nuggets, how to Nibiru they will be sent?
the leaders each other asked.
Of the first question, Ninurta had the answer:
In the high mountainland on this side of Earth, some Earthlings have survived!
Descendants of Ka-in they are, with the handling of metals they are knowing;
Four brothers and four sisters are their leaders, on rafts they themselves saved,
Now their mountaintop in the midst of a great lake is an island.
As the protector of their forefathers they me recall, the Great Protector they call me!
By the report that other Earthlings had survived the leaders were heartened,
Even Enlil, who the end of all flesh planned, was no longer angered.
It is the will of the Creator of All! to each other they said.
Now let us a new Place for Celestial Chariots establish, therefrom the gold to Nibiru
send!
For a new plain whose soil has dried and hardened they searched,
In the proximity of the Landing Place, in a desolate peninsula, such a plain they found.
Flat as a quiet lake it was, by white mountains it was surrounded.
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Now this is the account of the new Place of the Celestial Chariots,
And the artificed twin mounts and how the image of the lion by Marduk was usurped.
In the peninsula by the Anunnaki chosen, the heavenly Ways of Anu and
Enlil on Earth were reflected;
Let the new Place of the Chariots precisely on that boundary be located,
Let the heart of the plain the heavens reflect! So did Enlil to Enki suggest.
Once Enki to this agreed, Enlil from the skies of distances took measures;
On a tablet a grand design for all to see he marked out.
Let the Landing Place in the Cedar Mountains be a part of the facilities! he said.
The distance between the Landing Place and the Chariot Place he measured,
In the midst thereof a place for a new Mission Control Center he designated:
There a suitable mount he selected, the Mount of Way Showing he named it.
A platform of stones, akin but smaller than the Landing Place, to be built there he
ordered;
In its midst a great rock was carved inside and out, to house a new Bond Heaven-Earth it
was made.
A new Navel of the Earth, the role of Nibru-ki before the Deluge to replace.
The Landing Path on the twin peaks of Arrata in the north were anchored;
To demarcate the Landing Corridor Enlil two other sets of twin peaks required,
To delimit the Landing Corridor's boundary, ascent and descent to secure.
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In the southern part of the desolate peninsula, a place of mountains,
Twin adjoining peaks Enlil selected, on them the southern delimit he anchored.
Where the second set of twin peaks was required, mountains there were none,
Only a flatland above the water-clogged valley from the ground protruded.
Artificial peaks thereon we can raise! So did Ningishzidda to the leaders say.
On a tablet the image of smooth-sided, skyward rising peaks for them he drew.
If it can be done, let it so be! Enlil with approval said. Let them also as beacons serve!
On the flatland, above the river's valley, Ningishzidda a scale model built,
The rising angles and four smooth sides with it he perfected.
Next to it a larger peak he placed, its sides to Earth's four corners he set;
By the Anunnaki, with their tools of power, were its stones cut and erected.
Beside it, in a precise location, the peak that was its twin he placed;
With galleries and chambers for pulsating crystals he designed it.
When this artful peak to the heavens rose, to place upon it the capstone the leaders were
invited.
Of electrum, an admixture by Gibil fashioned, was the Apex Stone made.
The sunlight to the horizon it reflected, by night like a pillar of fire it was,
The power of all the crystals to the heavens in a beam it focused.
When the artful works, by Ningishzidda designed, were completed and ready,
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The Anunnaki leaders the Great Twin Peak entered, at what they saw they marveled;
Ekur, House Which Like a Mountain is, they named it, a beacon to the heavens it was.
That the Anunnaki the Deluge survived and prevailed forever it proclaimed.
Now the new Place of the Celestial Chariots gold from across the seas can receive,
From it the chariots to Nibiru the gold for survival shall carry;
From it to the east, where the Sun on the designated day rises, they will ascend,
To it to the southwest, where the Sun on the designated day sets, they will descend!
Then Enlil by his own hand the Nibiru crystals activated.
Inside eerie lights began to flicker, an enchanting hum the stillness broke;
Outside the capstone all at once was shining, brighter than the Sun it was.
The multitude of assembled Anunnaki a great cry of joy uttered;
Ninmah, by the occasion moved, a poem recited and sang:
House that is like a mountain, house with a pointed peak,
For Heaven-Earth it is equipped, the handiwork of the Anunnaki it is.
House bright and dark, house of heaven and Earth,
For the celestial boats it was put together, by the Anunnaki built.
House whose interior with a reddish light of heaven glows,
A pulsating beam that far and high reaches it emits;
Lofty mountain of mountains, great and lofty fashioned,
Beyond the understanding of Earthlings it is.
House of equipment, lofty house of eternity,
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Its foundation stones the waters touch, its great circumference in clay is set.
House whose parts are skilfully together woven,
The great ones who in the skies circle to a resting make descent;
House that for the rocketships is a landmark, with unfathomable insides,
By Anu himself is the Ekur blessed.
Thus did Ninmah at the celebration recite and sing.
While the Anunnaki their remarkable handiwork were celebrating,
Enki to Enlil words of suggestion said: When in future days it will be asked:
When and by whom has this marvel been fashioned?
Let us beside the twin peaks a monument create, the Age of the Lion let it announce,
The image of Ningishzidda, the peaks' designer, let its face be,
Let it precisely toward the Place of the Celestial Chariots gaze,
When, by whom, and the purpose let it to future generations reveal!
So did Enki to Enlil suggest. To the words Enlil consented and to Enki said:
Of the Place of the Celestial Chariots, Utu must again the commander be;
Let the gazing lion, precisely eastward facing, with Ningishzidda's image be!
When the work to cut and shape the lion from the bedrock was proceeding,
Marduk to his father Enki words of aggrievement said:
To dominate the whole Earth to me did you promise,
Now command and glory to others are granted, without task or dominion I am left.
In my erstwhile domain are the artificed mounts situated, on the lion the image mine must
be!
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By these words of Marduk Ningishzidda was angered, the other sons were also annoyed,
By the clamor for domains Ninurta and his brothers were also aroused,
Lands for themselves and devoted Earthlings everyone was demanding!
Let not the celebration a contest become! Ninmah amidst the raised voices shouted.
The Earth is still in havoc, we Anunnaki are few, of the Earthlings there are only
survivors!
Let Marduk Ningishzidda of the honor not deprive, let us Marduk's words also heed!
So did Ninmah, the peacemaker, to the contending leaders say.
For peace to prevail, the habitable lands between us should be apart set! Enlil to Enki
said.
To make the peninsula an uncontested divider they agreed, to the peacemaker Ninmah
they it allotted.
Tilmun, Land of the Missiles, they named it; to Earthlings it was beyond bounds.
The habitable lands to the east thereof to Enlil and his offspring were set apart,
For the descendants of two sons of Ziusudra, Shem and Yafet, therein to dwell.
The dark-hued landmass that the Abzu included to Enki and his clan was for domains
granted,
The people of Ziusudra's middle son, Ham, to inhabit it were chosen.
To make Marduk their lord, of their lands the master, Enki to appease his son suggested.
By your wish let it so be! Enlil to Enki about it said.
In Tilmun, in its mountainous south, an abode for Ninmah his mother Ninurta built;
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Near a spring with date trees, a verdant valley, it was located,
The mountain peak Ninurta terraced, a fragrant garden for Ninmah he planted.
When all was thus completed, a signal to all outposts on Earth was given:
From the mountainlands across the ocean Whirlwinds the gold nuggets brought,
From the Place of the Celestial Chariots to Nibiru the gold was lofted.
On that memorable day Enlil and Enki to each other said and agreed:
Let us Ninmah, the peacemaker, with a new epithet-name honor:
Ninharsag, Mistress of the Mountainhead, let us name her!
By acclamation was Ninmah the honor given, henceforth Ninharsag she was called.
Praise to Ninharsag, on Earth the peacemaker! in unison the Anunnaki proclaimed.
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Synopsis of the Eleventh Tablet
The spaceport's land, Tilmun, is declared a neutral zone
It is granted to Ninmah, who is renamed Ninharsag
Marduk gets the Dark Lands, the Enlilites the Olden Lands
Marduk's grandsons quarrel, Satu murders Asar
Impregnating herself, Asar's wife Asta bears Horon
In aerial battles over Tilmun, Horon vanquishes Satu
The Enlilites deem it prudent to prepare another spaceport
Enki's son Dumuzi and Inanna, Enlil's granddaughter, fall in love
Fearing the consequences, Marduk causes Dumuzi's death
Seeking his body, Inanna is put to death, then resurrected
Inanna launches a war to seize and punish Marduk
The Enlilites break into his hideaway in the Great Mount
They seal the uppermost chamber to entomb Marduk alive
Marduk's wife Sarpanit and his son Nabu plead for his life
Ningishzidda, knowing the Mount's secrets, reaches Marduk
Marduk, his life spared, goes into exile
Enki and Enlil divide the Earth among their other sons
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Praise to Ninharsag, on Earth the Peacemaker! In Unison the Anunnaki proclaimed.
During the first Shar after the Deluge, Ninharsag to cool down tempers managed;
Nibiru with gold to resupply was over ambitions and rivalries paramount.
Slowly the Earth to teem with life returned; with the seeds of life by Enki preserved
What by itself survived was augmented on land and in the air and waters.
Most precious of all, the Anunnaki discovered, were Mankind's own remnants!
As in bygone clays, when the primitive Workers were created,
The Anunnaki, few and strained, for Civilized Workers now clamored.
By the time the first Shar after the Deluge was completed,
The peaceful truce by an unexpected occurrence was shattered.
Not between Marduk and Ninurta, not between the Enki and Enlil clans, was the
eruption:
When Marduk's own sons, by the Igigi abetted, was tranquillity broken.
When Marduk and Sarpanit and their sons and daughters on Lahmu the Deluge
outwaited,
The two sons, Asar and Satu, to the daughters of Shamgaz, the Igigi leader, a liking took;
When to Earth they all returned, the two brothers the two sisters espoused,
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Asar the one called Asta chose, Satu the one called Nebat betrothed.
Asar with his father Marduk in the dark-hued lands to abide chose,
Satu near the Landing Place, where the Igigi dwelt, with Shamgaz his dwelling made.
About the domains on Earth was Shamgaz concerned: Where shall the Igigi the masters
be?
So did Shamgaz the other Igigi incite, of that Nebat to Satu daily spoke;
By staying with his father, Asar the successor alone shall be, the fertile lands he will
inherit!
So did Shamgaz and his daughter Nebat to Satu day after day say.
How the succession in the hands of Satu alone to retain, father and daughter schemed.
On an auspicious day they made a banquet; Igigi and Anunnaki to it they invited.
Asar, unsuspecting, to celebrate with his brother also came.
Nebat, his spouse's sister, prepared the tables, footstools she also set,
She beautified herself, with lyre in hand a song to mighty Asar she sang.
Satu before him choice roast meat cut, with salted knife for him fatlings he served.
Shamgaz in a large goblet new wine to Asar offered, an admixture for him he made,
A large vessel, mighty to look upon, with elixired wine he gave him.
In good humor was Asar; merrily he arose and sang, with cymbals in his hand he chanted.
Then by the admixtured wine he was overcome, to the ground he fell down.
Let us for a sound sleep take him! the hosts to the others at the banquet said.
They Asar to another chamber carried, in a coffin they him laid,
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The coffin with tight seals they closed, into the sea they threw it.
When word of what had happened Asta reached, to Marduk her husband's father she
raised a wailing:
Asar to his death in the sea depths was brutally thrown, quickly must the coffin be found!
They searched the sea for Asar's coffin, by the shores of the dark-hued land it was found.
Inside the stiff body of Asar lay, from its nostrils the breath of life departed.
Marduk his clothes rent, on his forehead he put ashes.
My son! My son! Sarpanit cried and wept, great were her grief and mourning.
Enki was distraught and wept: The curse of Ka-in is repeated! to his son in agony he said.
Asta to high heavens a wailing raised, to Marduk for revenge and an heir an appeal she
made:
Satu his death must meet. By your own seed a successor let me conceive,
Let by your name his name remembered be, the lineage surviving!
This, alas, cannot be done! Enki to Marduk and Asta said:
The brother who killed, the brother's brother must be the keeper,
For this Satu must be spared, by his seed an heir to Asar you must conceive!
By these twists of fate Asta was baffled; distraught, the rules to defy she was determined.
Before the body of Asar was wrapped and in the shroud in a shrine preserved,
From his phallus Asta the life seed of Asar extracted.
With it Asta herself made conceive, an heir and avenger to Asar to be born.
To Enki and his sons, to Marduk and his brothers, Satu word delivered:
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The sole heir and Marduk's successor am I, of the Land of the Two Narrows
I will be the master!
Before the Anunnaki's council Asta the claim refuted: With Asar's heir I am with child.
Among the river's bull rushes with the child she hid, the wrath of
Satu she was avoiding;
Horon she called the boy, to be his father's avenger she raised him.
Satu by this was disconcerted; Shamgaz from ambitions did not retreat.
From Earth year to Earth year the lgigi and their offspring from the Landing Place spread,
Unto the borders of Tilmun, Ninharsag's sacred region, closer they moved.
To overrun the Place of the Celestial Chariots the Igigi and their Earthlings threatened.
In the dark-hued lands the child Horon by Earth's quick life cycles to a hero grew,
By his great-uncle Gibil was Horon adopted, by him was he trained and instructed.
For him Gibil winged sandals for soaring fashioned, to fly like a falcon he was able;
For him Gibil a divine harpoon made, its arrows bolts of missiles were.
In the highlands of the south did him Gibil the arts of metals and smithing teach.
The secret of a metal called iron Gibil to Horon revealed.
From it weapons Horon made, from loyal Earthlings an army he raised.
To challenge Satu and the Igigi northward, across land and river they marched.
When Horon and his Earthlings army the border of Tilmun, the Land
of the Missiles, reached,
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Satu to Horon words of challenge sent:
Between us two alone is the conflict, let us one on one in contest meet!
In the skies above Tilmun Satu in his Whirlwind for combat Horon awaited.
When Horon toward him like a falcon skyward soared,
A poisoned dart at him Satu shot, like a scorpion's sting it Horon felled.
When Asta this saw, a cry to heaven she sent forth, for Ningishzidda she cried out
From his celestial boat Ningishzidda came down, to save the hero for his mother he
came.
With magic powers Ningishzidda the poison to benevolent blood converted,
By morning was Horon healed, from the dead was he returned.
Then with a Fiery Pillar, like a heavenly fish with fins and a fiery tail,
Ningishzidda to Horon provided, its eyes from blue to red to blue their colors changed.
Toward the triumphant Satu Horon in the Fiery Pillar soared.
Far and wide each other they chased; fierce and deadly was the battle.
At first Horon's Fiery Pillar was hit, then with his harpoon Horon Satu smote.
To the ground Satu crashing down came; by Horon in tethers he was bound.
When before the council Horon with his captive uncle came,
They saw that he was blinded, his testicles squashed, like a discarded jar he stood.
Let Satu, blind and heirless, live! So did Asta to the council say.
To end his days as a mortal, among the Igigi, the council his fate determined.
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Triumphant was Horon declared, the throne of his father to inherit;
On a metal tablet was the council's decision inscribed, in the Hall of Records they placed
it.
In his abode Marduk with the decision was pleased; by what had happened he was
sorrowed:
Though Horon a son of Asar his son was, from Shamgaz the Igigi he was descended,
A domain, one as among the Anunnaki allocated, to him was not given.
Having lost both sons, in each other Marduk and Sarpanit solace sought.
In time to them another son was born; Nabu, Prophecy Bearer, they named him.
Now this is the account of why in the faraway a new chariot's place was built,
And the love of Dumuzi and Inanna that Marduk by Dumuzi's death disrupted.
It was after the contesting of Horon and Satu, and their aerial battle over Tilmun,
That Enlil his three sons to a council summoned.
With concern to them of what was happening, he said:
In the beginning the Earthlings in our image and after our likeness we made,
Now the Anunnaki offspring in the image and likeness of the Earthlings became!
Then it was Ka-in who his brother killed, now a son of Marduk is his brother's killer!
For the first time ever, an Anunnaki offspring from Earthlings an army raised,
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Weapons from a metal, of the Anunnaki a secret, in their hands he placed!
From the days when by Alalu and Anzu our legitimacy was challenged,
Disruption and rule-breaking by the Igigi continued.
Now the beacon peaks in the domain of Marduk are located, the
Landing Place by the Igigi is held,
Now toward the Place of the Chariots the Igigi are advancing,
In the name of Satu to all the Heaven-Earth facilities they claim will lay!
So did Enlil to his three sons say, to take countersteps to them he proposed:
An alternative Heaven-Earth facility in secret establish we must!
Let it in Ninurta's land beyond the oceans, in the midst of trusted Earthlings, come to be!
Thus was the secret mission in the hands of Ninurta entrusted;
In the mountainlands beyond the oceans, beside the great lake,
A new Bond Heaven-Earth he was setting up, within an enclosure he placed it;
At the foot of the mountains where the gold nuggets were scattered
A plain with firm ground he chose; on it for ascent and descent markings he made.
Primitive are the facilities, but the purpose they will serve!
So did Ninurta to his father Enlil in good time declare:
From there gold shipments to Nibiru can continue, from there in need we too can ascend!
At that time what as a blessed event began as a horrible occurrence ended.
At that time Dumuzi, Enki's youngest son, to Inanna, Nannar's daughter, a liking took;
Inanna, Enlil's granddaughter, by the lord of herding was captivated.
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A love that knows no bounds engulfed them, a passion their hearts inflamed.
Many of the love songs that for a long time thereafter were sung,
Inanna and Dumuzi were the first to sing them, by song their love they recounted.
To Dumuzi, his youngest son, Enki a large domain above the Abzu allotted;
Meluhha, the Black Land, was its name, highland trees there grew, its waters abundant
were.
Large bulls among its river reeds roamed, greatly numbered were its cattle,
Silver from its mountains came, its copper bright as gold was aglitter.
Greatly beloved was Dumuzi; by Enki after the death of Asar he was favored.
Of his youngest brother Marduk was jealous.
Inanna by her parents Nannar and Ningal was beloved, Enlil by her cradle sat.
Beautiful beyond describing she was, in martial arts with Anunnanki heroes she
competed.
Of journeys in the heavens and of celestial boats from her brother Utu she learned;
A skyship of her own, to roam in Earth's skies, to her the Anunnaki presented.
After the Deluge, on the Landing Platform, Dumuzi and Inanna their eyes on each other
set;
At the dedication of the artificed mounts was between them a warm encounter.
Hesitant at first they were, he of Enki's clan, she of Enlil an offspring.
When Ninharsag for peace the disputing clans together brought,
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Inanna and Dumuzi away from the others to be together managed, love to each other they
professed.
As they went strolling together, sweet words of alluring love to each other they said.
Side by side they lay down, one heart with the other heart chatted;
Around her waist Dumuzi put his arm, like a wild bull to take her he wished,
Let me teach you! Let me teach you! to Inanna Dumuzi said.
Gently she kissed him, then to him of her mother she spoke:
What fib could I tell my mother? What words will you tell Ningal?
Let us of our love my mother tell, of joy cedar perfume she will on us sprinkle!
To the dwelling place of Ningal, Inanna's mother, the lovers went,
To them Ningal her blessing gave, of Dumuzi the mother of Inanna approved.
Lord Dumuzi, as a son-in-law of Nannar you are worthy! to him she said.
Dumuzi as bridegroom by Nannar himself was welcomed, Inanna's brother Utu, Let it so
be! said.
Perchance the espousing peace between the clans truly will bring! Enlil to them all said.
When of the love and bethrothal Dumuzi to his father and brothers spoke,
Enki of peace through espousal also was thinking, his blessing to Dumuzi he gave.
Dumuzi's brothers, all except Marduk, about the espousal were joyful.
A bethrothal bed of gold by Gibil was fashioned, Nergal blue-hued lapis stones sent.
Sweet dates, a fruit by Inanna favored, beside the bed they in a pile placed,
Under the fruits the beads of lapis they hid for Inanna to discover.
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As the custom was, to perfume and clothe Inanna a sister of Dumuzi was sent,
Geshtinanna, a sister-in-law-to-be, was her name.
To her Inanna what was in her heart revealed, of her future with Dumuzi to her she said:
A vision of a great nation I have, as a Great Anunnaki Dumuzi there will rise.
His name over others shall be exalted, his queen-spouse I shall be.
Princely status we will share, rebellious countries we shall together subdue,
To Dumuzi I will status give, the country I will rightly direct!
Inanna's visions of rulership and glory by Geshtinanna to her brother Marduk were
reported.
By Inanna's ambitions Marduk was greatly disturbed; to Geshtinanna a secret plan he
told.
To her brother Dumuzi, to the herder's dwelling, Geshtinanna went.
Lovely to behold and perfumed, to her brother Dumuzi thus she said:
Before with your young wife in your embrace with you will sleep,
A legitimate heir, by a sister born, you must have!
Inanna's son to succession shall not be entitled, on your mother's knees he will not be
raised!
She put his hand in her hand, she pressed her body against his body.
My brother, with you I will lie down! Bridegroom, with you a peer of Enki we shall
have!
So did Geshtinanna to Dumuzi whisper, a noble issue from her womb to have.
Into her womb Dumuzi poured the semen, by her caressing he fell asleep.
During the night Dumuzi had a dream, a premonition of death he envisioned:
In the dream seven evil bandits he saw coming into his dwelling.
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The Master has sent us for you, son of Duttur! to him they said.
They chased away his ewes, his lambs and kids they drove away,
The headdress of lordship they took off his head, the royal robe off his body they tore,
The staff of shepherding they took and broke, his cup from its peg they threw down.
Naked and barefooted they seized him, in fetters they his hands bound,
In the name of the Princely Bird and the Falcon they left him dying.
Disturbed and startled Dumuzi in the middle of the night awoke, to
Geshtinanna the dream he told.
The dream is not favorable! Geshtinanna to the distraught Dumuzi said.
Marduk of raping me will accuse you, evil he will send.
To try you and disgrace you he will order, the liaison with an Enlilite to disunite!
As a wounded beast Dumuzi a cry roared out: Betrayal! Betrayal! he shouted.
To Utu, Inanna's brother, Help me! word he sent; the name of his father
Enki as a talisman he uttered.
Through the desert of Emush, the Snakes Desert, Dumuzi rushed to escape,
To the place of mighty waterfalls from the evildoers he ran to hide.
Where the gushing waters the rocks to slippery smoothness made,
Dumuzi slipped and fell;
The onrushing waters his lifeless body in a white froth swept away.
evil emissaries to arrest you
Now this is the account of Inanna's descent to the Lower Abzu,
And the Great Anunnaki War, and how Marduk in the Ekur alive was imprisoned.
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When the lifeless body of Dumuzi from the great lake's waters by Ninagal was retrieved,
To the abode of Nergal and Ereshkigal in the Lower Abzu the body was brought.
On a stone slab was the dead body of Dumuzi, a son of Enki, placed.
When of what had happened word to Enki was sent, Enki rent his clothes, on his forehead
he put ashes.
My son! My son! for Dumuzi he lamented. What have I sinned to be so punished? out
loud he asked.
When I to Earth from Nibiru came, EA, He Whose Home Is Waters, was my name,
With waters did the Celestial Chariots obtain their thrustpower, in waters I splashed
down;
Then by an avalanche of waters the Earth was swept over,
In waters did Asar my grandchild drown, by waters my beloved Dumuzi is now dead!
Everything I had done, for righteous purpose did I do it.
Why am I punished, why has Fate against me turned?
So did Enki bewail and lament.
When from Geshtinanna the veracity of occurrences was discovered,
Greater was Enki's agony: Now Marduk, my firstborn, for his deed will also suffer!
By the disappearance and death of Dumuzi was Inanna worried, then grieved;
Then to the Lower Abzu she hurried, Dumuzi's body for burial to retrieve.
When Ereshkigal, her sister, of the arrival of Inanna at the precinct's gates was told,
Ereshkigal a devious scheme on the part of Inanna suspected.
At each of the seven gates, one of Inanna's accoutrements and weapons was from her
removed,
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Then, unclothed and powerless before Ereshkigal's throne,
Of scheming an heir by Nergal, Dumuzi's brother, she was accused!
Trembling with fury, Ereshkigal to her sister's explanations would not listen.
Let loose against her the sixty diseases! Ereshkigal her vizier, Namtar, in anger ordered.
By the disappearance of Inanna in the Lower Abzu were her parents much worried,
Nannar to Enlil in the matter went, Enlil to Enki a message sent.
From Nergal his son, Ereshkigal's spouse, Enki what had happened learned,
From clay of the Abzu Enki two emissaries fashioned, beings without blood, by death
rays unharmed,
To the Lower Abzu he sent them, Inanna to bring back, whether alive or dead.
When before Ereshkigal they came, Ereshkigal by their appearance was puzzled:
Are you Anunnaki? Are you Earthlings? with bewilderment she asked them.
Namtar the magical weapons of power against them directed, but unharmed the two were.
To the lifeless body of Inanna he took them, hanging from a stake she was.
Upon the corpse the clay emissaries a Pulser and an Emitter directed,
Then the Water of Life on her they sprinkled, in her mouth the Plant of Life they placed.
Then Inanna stirred, her eyes she opened; from the dead Inanna arose.
When the two emissaries Inanna to the Upper World were ready to return,
Inanna the lifeless body of Dumuzi to take along them ordered.
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At the seven gates of the Lower Abzu, to Inanna her accoutrements and attributes were
returned.
To the abode of Dumuzi in the Black Land the lover of her youth to take the emissaries
she ordered,
There to wash him with pure water, with sweet oil him anoint,
Then to clothe him in a red shroud, upon a slab of lapis lay him;
Then in the rocks for him a rest place carve out, the Day of Arising there to await.
As for herself, to the abode of Enki Inanna set her steps,
Retribution for her beloved's death she wanted, the death of Marduk the culprit she
demanded.
There has been death enough! Enki to her said. Marduk an instigator was,
but murder he committed not!
When Inanna learned that Marduk would not by Enki be punished, Inanna
to her parents and brother went.
To high heaven she a wailing raised: justice! Revenge! Death to Marduk! she cried for.
At Enlil's abode his sons Inanna and Utu joined, for a council of war they gathered.
Ninurta, whom the rebel Anzu defeated, for strong measures argued;
Of secret words between Marduk and the Igigi exchanged, Utu to them reported.
Of Marduk, an evil serpent, Earth must be rid! Enlil with them agreed.
When the demand for Marduk's surrender to Enki his father was sent,
Enki to his abode Marduk and all the other sons summoned.
Though for my beloved Dumuzi I am still grieving, Marduk's rights I must defend!
Though evil did Marduk instigate, by ill fate, not by Marduk's hand, did Dumuzi die;
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Marduk is my firstborn, Ninki is his mother, for succession he is destined,
From death by Ninurta's gang by us all he must be protected! So did Enki say.
Only Gibil and Ninagal their father's call heeded; Ningishzidda was opposed,
Nergal was hesitant: Only if in mortal danger he will be will I help! he said.
It was after that that a war, of ferocity unknown, between the two clans erupted.
Unlike the contending of Horon and Satu, of Earthlings descended, it was:
A battle between Anunnaki, Nibiruan-born among them, on another planet was loosed.
By Inanna was the warfare begun, in her skyship to the domains of Enki's
sons she crossed over;
Marduk to battle she challenged, to the domains of Ninagal and
Gibil she him pursued.
To assist her Ninurta from his Storm Bird withering beams at the enemy's strongholds
shot,
Ishkur from the skies with scorching lightnings and smashing thunders attacked.
In the Abzu from the rivers fish he washed away, cattle in the fields he dispersed.
To the north, the place of the artificed mounts, Marduk then retreated;
Pursuing him, Ninurta on the habitations poison-bearing missiles rained.
His Weapon That Tears Apart the people in those lands robbed of their senses,
The canals that the river's waters bore, red from blood became;
Ishkur's brilliances the nights' darkness into flaming days converted.
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As the devastating battles northward advanced, Marduk in the Ekur himself ensconced,
Gibil for it an unseen shield devised, Nergal to heaven its all-seeing eye raised.
With a Weapon of Brilliance, by a horn directed, Inanna the hiding place attacked;
Horon to defend his grandfather came; by her Brilliance was his right eye damaged.
While Utu the Igigi and their horde of Earthlings beyond Tilmun held off,
At the foot of the artificed mounts Anunnaki, this and that clan supporting, in battle
clashed.
Let Marduk surrender, let the bloodshed end! So did Enlil to Enki words convey;
Let brother talk to brother! to Enki Ninharsag a message sent.
In his hideout, within the Ekur, Marduk his pursuers to defy continued,
Within the House Which Like a Mountain Is his final stand he made.
Inanna the massive stone structure could not surmount, its smooth sides her weapons
deflected.
Then Ninurta of the secret entrance learned, the swivel stone on the north side he found!
Through a dark corridor Ninurta passed, the grand gallery he reached,
Its vault by the many-hued emissions of the crystals like a rainbow was aglitter.
Inside, by the intrusion alerted, Marduk with ready weapons Ninurta awaited;
With weapons responding, smashing the wonder crystals, Ninurta up the gallery kept
going.
Into the upper chamber, the place of the Great Pulsating Stone, Marduk retreated,
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At its entrance Marduk the sliding stone locks lowered; from one and all admission they
barred.
Into the Ekur Inanna and Ishkur Ninurta followed; what next to do they contemplated.
Let the encased hiding chamber be Marduk's stone coffin! to them Ishkur said.
To three blocking stones, ready for down gliding, Ishkur their attention drew.
Let slow death, by alive being buried, be Marduk's sentence! Inanna her consent gave.
At the end of the gallery, the three the blocking stones let loose,
Each one of them one stone for plugging slid down, Marduk as in a tomb to seal.
Now this is the account of how Marduk was saved and to exile departed,
And how the Ekur was dismantled and lordship over the lands rearranged.
Away from the Sun and light, without food or water, Marduk within the Ekur alive was
entombed;
By his imprisonment and punishment without trial Sarpanit, his spouse, a wailing raised.
To Enki her father-in-law she hurried, with the young son Nabu to him she came.
To be among the living Marduk must be returned! to Enki Sarpanit said.
He sent her to Utu and Nannar, who with Inanna can intercede.
Wearing a garment of atonement, To the lord Marduk give life! she pleaded.
Let him humbly life continue, rulership he will lay aside!
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Appeased was not Inanna, For the death of my beloved, the Instigator must die! Inanna
retorted.
Ninharsag, the peacemaker, the brothers Enki and Enlil summoned,
Punishment to Marduk must come, death is not warranted! to them she said.
Let Marduk in exile live, the succession on Earth to Ninurta submit!
Enlil by her words was pleased and smiled: Ninurta was his son, of Ninurta she was the
mother!
If between succession and life the choice is, what can I, a father, say?
So did Enki with heavy heart answer. In my lands widespread is the desolation,
Warfare must end, for Dumuzi I am still in mourning; let Marduk live in exile!
If peace is to be returned and Marduk shall live, binding arrangements must be made!
Enlil to Enki said.
All facilities that heaven and Earth bond, to my hands alone must be entrusted,
The mastery over the Land of the Two Narrows to another son of yours you must give.
The Igigi who Marduk follow, the Landing Place must give up and abandon,
To a Land of No Return, by no descendant of Ziusudra inhabited, must Marduk in exile
go!
So did Enlil forcefully declare, to be foremost among the brothers he meant.
The hand of fate Enki in his heart acknowledged: Let it so be! with bowed head he said.
Ningishzidda alone the Ekur innards knows; let him over its land the master be!
After the decisions by the Great Anunnaki were announced, Ningishzidda
for the rescue they summoned.
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How Marduk from the blocked and sealed innards to extricate was his challenge;
To let free the one who alive is buried, a task beyond conceiving to him they gave.
Ningishzidda the Ekur's secret designs contemplated, how to circumvent the blockings he
planned:
Through a chiseled upper opening Marduk will be rescued! to the leaders he said.
At a place which I will show them, a doorway in the stones they will cut,
From it upward a twisting passageway they shall bore, a rescue shaft creating.
Through hidden hollowings to the Ekur's midst they will continue,
At the vortex of the hollowings through the stones they will break through.
A doorway to the insides they will blow open, thereby the blockings circumventing;
Up the grand gallery they will continue, the three stone bars they will raise,
The uppermost chamber, Marduk's death prison, they will reach!
Anunnaki, by Ningishzidda guided, his outlined plan then followed,
With tools that crack the stones the opening they made, the rescue shaft they fashioned,
The insides of the artificed mount they reached, an exit they blew open.
Circumventing the three blocking stones, the uppermost chamber they reached.
On a small platform the portcullises they raised; Marduk, fainted, they rescued.
Carefully through the twisting shaft they the lord lowered, to fresh air they him brought;
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Outside Sarpanit and Nabu spouse and father were awaiting; a joyful reunion it was.
When to Marduk his father Enki the terms of release conveyed,
Marduk was enraged: I would rather die than my birthright forfeit! he shouted.
Sarpanit into his arms Nabu thrust. We are part of your future! she softly said.
Marduk was angered, Marduk was humbled. To Fate I yield! he inaudibly said.
With Sarpanit and Nabu to a Land of No Return he departed,
To a place where horned beasts are hunted with wife and son he went
After Marduk had departed, Ninurta the Ekur through the shaft reentered,
Through a horizontal corridor to the Ekur's vulva he went.
In its east wall, in a niche artfully fashioned, the Destiny Stone a red radiance was
emitting.
Its power to kill me grabs, with a killing tracking it me seizes! Ninurta inside the chamber
cried.
Take it away! To obliteration destroy it. to his lieutenants Ninurta shouted.
Retracing his steps, through the grand gallery to the topmost chamber Ninurta went,
In a hollowed-out chest the heart of the Ekur pulsated, its netforce by five compartments
was enhanced.
With his baton Ninurta the stone chest struck; with a resonating sound it responded.
Its Gug Stone, that directions determined, Ninurta ordered to be taken out, to a place of
his choice carried.
Coming down the grand gallery, Ninurta the twenty-seven pairs of Nibiru crystals
examined.
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Many in his fight with Marduk were damaged; some the struggle intact survived.
To remove the whole ones from their grooves Ninurta ordered, the others with
his beam he pulverized.
Outside the House Which Like a Mountain Is Ninurta in his Black Bird soared,
To the Apex Stone his attention he turned; his enemy's epitome it represented.
With his weapons he shook it loose, to the ground in pieces it toppled.
By this the fear of Marduk is forever ended! Ninurta, victorious, declared.
On the battleground the assembled Anunnaki the praise of Ninurta announced:
Like Anu you are made! to their hero and leader they shouted.
To replace the incapacitated beacon a mount near the Place of the Celestial Chariots was
chosen,
Within its innards the salvaged crystals were rearranged.
Upon its peak the Gug Stone, the Stone of Directing, was installed;
Mount Mashu, Mount of the Supreme Celestial Barque, the mount was called.
At that time Enlil his three sons summoned; Ninlil and Ninharsag also attended.
Commands over olden lands to confirm, lordships over new lands to assign they met.
To Ninurta, who Anzu and Marduk had vanquished, the Enlilship powers were granted,
In all the lands his father's surrogate to be.
Of the Landing Place in the Cedar Mountains, lordship to Ishkur was granted,
To his domain northward thereof was the Landing Place joined.
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The lands south and east thereof, where the Igigi and their offspring had spread,
To Nannar as an everlasting endowment were given, by his descendants and followers to
keep and to hold.
The peninsula wherein the Place of the Chariots was, in Nannar's lands was included,
Utu as commander of the Place and of the Navel of the Earth was confirmed.
In the Land of the Two Narrows, as agreed, Enki to Ningishzidda the lordship did assign.
To that none of Enki's other sons objected; to that Inanna was opposed!
To the heritage of Dumuzi, her deceased bridegroom, did Inanna claim lay,
A dominion of her own she of Enki and Enlil demanded.
How Inanna's demands to satisfy the leaders contemplated,
About the, lands and the peoples the Great Anunnaki who the fates decree counsel took,
Regarding the Earth and its resettling words with Anu they exchanged.
From the time of the Deluge, the Great Calamity, almost two Shars have passed,
The Earthlings have proliferated, from mountainlands to dried lowlands they went.
Of Civilized Mankind by Ziusudra there were descendants, with Anunnaki seed
they were intermixed.
Offspring of Igigi who intermarried roamed about, in the distant lands Ka-in's kinfolk
survived.
Few and lofty were the Anunnaki who from Nibiru had come, few were their perfect
descendants.
How settlements for themselves and for Earthlings to establish the Great Anunnaki
considered,
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How over Mankind lofty to remain, how to make the many the few obey and serve.
About all that, about the future the leaders with Anu words exchanged.
To come to Earth one more time Anu decided; with Antu his spouse he wished to come.
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Synopsis of the Twelfth Tablet
The soil dries, plains and river valleys are resettled
Plentiful gold comes from the Lands Beyond the Seas
Anu and his spouse Antu arrive for a memorable visit
Reminiscing, the leaders realize they are Destiny's pawns
They allocate three regions of civilization to Mankind
Pardoned by the departing Anu, Marduk remains rebellious
The First Region and space facilities are Enlilite lands
Man's first civilization begins in the First Region (Sumer)
Marduk usurps a site to build an illicit launch tower
Frustrated by the Enlilites, Marduk seizes the Second Region
He deposes and exiles Ningishzidda (Thoth) to distant lands
He declares himself Ra, supreme god, in a new religion
He introduces Pharaonic reigns to mark a new civilization
Enlil assigns his son Ishkur to protect the metal sources
Inanna is granted dominion in the Third Region (Indus Valley)
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THE TWELFTH TABLET
To come to Earth one more time Anu decided, with Antu his spouse he wished to come,
While his Arrival they awaited, the Annunnaki abodes in the Edin to reestablish began.
From the mountainlands where descendants of Shem dwelt, to the olden
land the black-headed people migrated.
Upon the newly dried soil the Anunnaki let them settle, food for all to provide.
Where Eridu, Enki's first city, before the Deluge had stood,
On top of the myriads of mud and silt a new Eridu was marked out.
In its center, upon a raised platform, an abode for Enki and Ninki was built,
House of tile Lord Whose Return Is trimphant it was called;
With gold and silver and precious metals by Enki's sons provided it was adorned.
Above in a circle skyward pointing, the twelve constellations by their signs were marked
out.
Below, as in the Abzu, waters with swimming fishes flowed.
In a sanctuary, a place that no uninvited can enter, Enki the ME formulas kept.
For Enmil and Ninlil. a next Nibru-ki atop the mud and silt was established;
Amid its people's dwellings and cattlefolds and stalls a sacred precinct was walled off.
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An abode for Enlil and Ninlil therein was built, in seven stages it arose;
A stairway, rising as to heaven, to the topmost platform led.
His Tablets of Destinies did Enlil there keep, with his weapons it was protected:
The Lifted Eye that scans the lands, the Lifted Beam that penetrates all.
In the courtyard, in its own enclosure, Enlil's fast-stepping Skybird was kept.
As the time for the arrival of Anu and Antu neared,
For their stay in the Edin a new place was selected, neither Enlil's nor Enki's to be.
Unug-ki, the Delightful Place, it was named. Shade trees in it were planted,
A pure white structure, the House of Anu, in its midst was built.
Its exterior in seven stages rose; its interior like a king's quarters was.
When the celestial chariot of Anu at Earth arrived, Anunnaki skyships toward it soared;
For a safe landing at the Place of the Chariots, in Tilmun, it was guided.
Utu, the Place's commander, his great-grandparents to Planet Earth welcomed.
The three children of Anu, Enlil and Enki and Ninharsag, stood there to greet them.
They embraced and kissed, they laughed and cried. So long, so long has the separation
been!
They to each other kept saying. At each other they looked, aging to examine:
Though greater in Shars were the parents, younger than the children they looked!
The two sons looked old and bearded; Ninharsag, once a beauty, was bent and wrinkled.
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All five of them with tears were filled; tears of joy with sorrowed tears were mingled.
In skyships were the guests and their hosts to the Edin taken,
In a prepared place beside Unug-ki the skyships landed.
All the Anunnaki that on Earth had stayed as an honor guard were standing.
Hail and welcome! Hail and welcome! in unison to Anu and Antu they were shouting.
Then in a procession, singing and music playing, the Anunnaki to the House of Anu the
guests accompanied.
In the House of Anu, Anu washed and rested, then he was perfumed and clothed;
Antu by female Anunnaki to the House of the Golden Bed was escorted;
There she too washed and rested, then she was perfumed and clothed.
In the open courtyard, as an evening breeze the tree leaves rustled,
Anu and Antu on thrones were seated. Flanking them were Enli1 and Enki and
Ninharsag.
Attendants, Earthlings who were completely naked, wine and good oil served;
Others, in a corner of the courtyard, a bull and a ram, gifts of Enlil and Enki, on a fire
were roasting.
A great banquet was for Anu and Antu prepared, for the sign in the heavens its start was
awaiting.
On Enlil's instructions Zumul, who in matters of stars and planets was learned,
The steps of the House of Anu ascended, the rising of the planets at evetime to announce.
On the first step Kishar in the eastern skies appeared, Lahamu or the second step was
seen,
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Mummu on the third step was announced, Anshar by the fourth step rose,
Lahmu on the fifth step was seen, the Moon from the sixth step was announced.
Then, on a signal from Zumul, the hymn The Planet of Anu in the Skies Rises began to
be sung,
For from the topmost step, the seventh, the red-haloed Nibiru into view came.
To music the Anunnaki clapped and danced, to music they danced and sang;
To the one who grows bright, the heavenly planet of the lord Anu, they sang.
On the signal a bonfire was lit, seen from place to place were the bonfires started:
Before the night was over, the whole land of Edin was with bonfires lit!
After a meal of bull meat and ram meat, of fish and fowl, with wine and beer
accompanied,
Anu and Antu to their overnight quarters were accompanied; by Anu and Antu were
all the Anunnaki thanked.
For several Earth days and nights Anu and Antu slept; on the sixth day his two sons and
daughter Anu summoned.
Of what had on Earth transpired their accounts he heard, of the peace and the warfare he
learned.
Of how the Earthlings, by the oath of Enlil to be wiped off, had again proliferated Anu
heard;
Of the gold discovery in the land beyond the oceans and the chariot's place there,
Enlil to him revealed.
It was then that of the dream and the tablet from Galzu Enki to his father told.
By that was Anu greatly puzzled: A secret emissary by that name
To Earth by me was never sent! So did Anu to the three leaders say.
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Puzzled were Enki and Enlil, baffled they at each other looked.
On account of Galzu Ziusudra and the seed of life were saved! Enki said.
On account of Galzu on Earth we remained! Enlil to his father said.
The day to Nibiru you return you shall die, so did Galzu to us say.
Incredulous of that was Anu; the change of cycles indeed havoc did cause,
but with elixirs cured it was!
Whose emissary, if not yours, was Galzu? Enki and Enlil in unison said.
Who the Earthlings to save wanted, who on Earth made us stay?
Ninharsag her head slowly nodded: For the Creator of All did Galzu appear!
Was the creation of the Earthlings also destined, of that I must wonder!
For a while the four of them were silent; each one past events in his heart recounted.
While fates we decreed, the hand of destiny every step directed! So did Anu say.
.
The will of the Creator of All is clear to see: On Earth and for Earthlings,
only emissaries we are
The Earth to the Earthlings belongs, to preserve and advance them we were intended!
If that is our mission here, let us accordingly act! So did Enki say.
The great Anunnaki who the fates decree counsels exchanged regarding the lands:
To create civilized regions the Great Anunnaki decided, therein knowledge
to Mankind provide;
Cities of Man to establish, therein in sacred precincts abodes for the Anunnaki create;
Kingship as on Nibiru on Earth establish, crown and scepter to a chosen man give;
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By him the word of the Anunnaki to the people convey, work and dexterity to enforce;
In the sacred precincts a priesthood to establish, the Anunnaki as
lofty lords to serve and worship.
Secret knowledge to be taught, civilization to Mankind convey.
To create four regions, three for Mankind, one restricted, the Anunnaki resolved:
The first region in the olden Edin-land to establish, for Enlil and his sons to dominate;
The second region in the Land of the Two Narrows thereafter to follow, for Enki and his
sons to lord;
The third region, with the other two not mingling, in a distant land to Inanna grant;
The fourth region, for the Anunnaki alone consecrated, the peninsula of the Place of the
Chariots will be.
Now this is the account of Anu's journey to the lands beyond the oceans,
And how in the First Region for,the Anunnaki cities were reestablished.
Having the decision about the four regions and Mankind's civilizations made,
Anu about his grandson Marduk inquired. I must see him again! to the leaders Anu said.
Whether by Dumuzi and Ningishzidda to Nibiru inviting, Marduk's ire I myself have
caused!
So did Anu wonder; to reconsider the punishment of Marduk he wished.
When to the lands beyond the oceans you journey, Marduk to meet you will be told!
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The land where he roams, in those parts of the Earth it is! So did Enlil to Anu say.
Before for the distant lands the royal couple went, the Edin and its lands Anu and Antu
surveyed;
Eridu and Nibru-ki they visited, where the cities of the first region were planned they
saw.
In Eridu Enlil about Enki complained: The ME formulas to himself Enki is keeping!
Anu, on the seat of honor seated, words of praise to Enki said:
My son for himself a magnificent house built, beautifully on a platform it is raised.
To the people that the House surround and serve, great knowledge will Enki give;
Now, the knowledge that in the ME's is secreted, with other Anunnaki must be shared!
Embarrassed was Enki; to share with all the divine formulas to Anu he promised.
In the ensuing days, in skyships traveling, Anu and Antu the other regions surveyed.
Then, on the seventeenth day, to Unug-ki the royal couple returned for one more night of
rest
In the morrow, when the younger Anunnaki before Anu and Antu for a blessing came,
Anu to his great-granddaughter Inanna took a liking; he drew her closely, he hugged and
kissed her.
Let all my words heed! to the congregated he announced:
This place, after we leave, to Inanna as a dowry is given,
Let the skyship in which we the Earth shall survey to Inanna my present be!
Joyed, Inanna to dance and sing began, her praises of Anu as hymns in times to come
were chanted.
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Thereafter, bidding farewells to the Anunnaki, for the lands beyond the oceans Anu and
Antu departed;
Enlil and Enki, Ninurta and Ishkur with them to the golden land went
To impress Anu the king with the great golden richess, Ninurta an abode for Anu and
Antu built;
Its stone blocks, to perfection cut, with pure gold inside were covered.
A golden enclosure, with flowers of carnelian stones carved, the royal couple awaited!
By the shore of the great mountain lake was the abode erected.
How the gold nuggets are collected the visitors were shown;
There is gold here enough for many Shars to come! Anu, satisfied, said.
To a place nearby Ninurta to Anu and Antu an artificed mound showed,
How to a place for melting and refining metals it was made Ninurta explained.
How a new metal from stones was extracted he showed them: Anak, Anunnaki-made, he
called it,
How by combining it with the abundant copper a strong metal he invented, he showed
them.
On the great lake, from whose shores the metals came, Anu and Antu sailed;
The Lake of Anak Anu called it, henceforth this was its name.
Then from lands from the north, lands where great horned beasts are hunted,
Marduk before his father Enki and his grandfather Anu came; Nabu his son with him
was.
When Enki about Sarpanit inquired, Marduk with sorrow of her death them told.
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Now Nabu alone with me has remained! to his father and grandfather Marduk said.
Anu Marduk to his chest pressed: Enough you have been punished! to him he said;
With his right hand on Marduk's head, Anu Marduk to be forgiven blessed.
From the golden place, high in the mountains, all who had gathered to the plain below
went.
There, stretching to the horizon, Ninurta a new place for the chariots has prepared.
Anu and Antu's celestial chariot stood there ready, with gold to the brim it was loaded.
As the time for departing came, Anu to his children words of good-bye and guidance
said:
Whatever Destiny for the Earth and the Earthlings intended, let it so be!
If Man, not Anunnaki, to inherit the Earth is destined, let us destiny help.
Give Mankind knowledge, up to a measure secrets of heaven and Earth them teach,
Laws of justice and righteousness teach them, then depart and leave!
So did Anu to his children fatherly instructions give.
Once more they hugged, embraced and kissed, and from the new
chariots' place Anu and Antu for Nibiru left.
The first to break the sorrowed silence was Marduk; with anger were his words:
What is this new Place of Celestial Chariots? of the others an explanation he demanded.
What after my exile without my knowledge has transpired?
When Enki of the decisions about the four regions to Marduk told,
Marduk's fury knew no bounds: Why will Inanna, a cause of Dumuzi's death, her own
region get?
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The decisions have been made, they cannot be altered! So did Enlil to Marduk say.
In separate skyships to the Edin and its adjoining lands they returned;
Sensing trouble, Enlil Ishkur to stay behind instructed, over the gold watch to keep.
To commemorate Anu's visit, a new count of time passage was introduced:
By Earth years, not by Nibiru Shars, was what on Earth transpired to be counted.
In the Age of the Bull, to Enlil dedicated, was the count of Earth years begun.
When to the Edin the leaders returned, the place of the first civilized region,
How to make bricks from mud the Anunnaki the Earthlings taught, therewith cities to
build.
But where once cities of the Anunnaki alone had stood, cities for both them and
Earthlings now arose;
Therein and in new cities for the great Anunnaki sacred precincts were consecrated,
Therein the Anunnaki with lofty abodes were provided, Temples by Mankind they were
called;
Therein the Anunnaki as Lofty Lords were served and worshiped,
By number-ranks were they honored, the heirship to Mankind made known:
Anu, the heavenly, the rank of sixty held, to Enlil the fifty rank was given,
On Ninurta his foremost son did Enlil the same rank bestow.
Next. in succession was the lord Enki, the rank of forty he held;
To Nannar, the son of Enlil and Ninlil, the rank of thirty was assigned.
To his son and successor, Utu, the rank of twenty was allotted;
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Ten as a number-rank to the other Anunnaki leaders' sons was granted.
Ranks by the fives between the female Anunnaki and spouses were shared.
When after Eridu and Nibru-ki and their temple-abodes were completed,
In Lagash the Girsu precinct for Ninurta was built, his Black Skybird there was kept.
Eninnu, House of Fifty, was the temple-abode for Ninurta and Bau his spouse called;
The Supreme Hunter and the Supreme Smiter, weapons a gift of Anu, the Eninnu
protected.
Where Sippar before the Deluge had been, on top of the mud-soil Utu a new Sippar
established.
In the Ebabbar, the Shining House, an abode for Utu and his spouse Aya was raised;
From there Utu for Mankind laws of justice promulgated.
Where because of silt-mud the olden plans could not be followed, new sites were chosen.
Adab, a site from Shurubak not distant, for Ninharsag as a new center was made.
The House of Succor and Healing Knowledge was her temple-abode therein named;
The ME's of how the Earthlings were fashioned Ninharsag in its holy shrine kept.
For Nannar a city with straight streets, canals, and wharves was provided; Urim was its
name,
House of the Throne's Seed was its temple-abode called, the Moon's beams to the lands it
reflected.
Ishkur to the mountainlands of the north returned, the House of Seven Storms his abode
was called;
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Inanna in Unug-ki resided, in the abode by Anu bequeathed to her she dwelt
Marduk and Nabu in Eridu dwelt, in the Edin their own abodes they did not have.
Now this is the account of the first City of Men and of kingship on Earth,
And how Marduk to build a tower schemed and wherefor Inanna the ME's stole.
In the First Region, in the lands of Edin and in the cities with precincts,
By their Anunnaki lords the Earthlings handiworks and crafts were taught
Before long were the fields irrigated, on canal and river boats soon sailed;
The sheepfolds and granaries were overflowing, prosperity the land filled.
Ki-Engi, Land of the Lofty Watchers, the First Region was called.
Then to let the black-headed people a city of their own possess it was decided;
Kishi, Scepter City, it was called, in Kishi did the kingship of Man begin.
Therein, in consecrated soil, Anu and Enlil the Heavenly Bright Object implanted.
In it Ninurta the first king appointed, Mighty Man was his royal title.
To make it a center for Civilized Mankind, Ninurta to Eridu journeyed,
The ME tablets that for kingship divine formulas hold from Enki to obtain.
Properly attired, with respect Ninurta Eridu entered, for the ME of kingship he asked:
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Enki, the lord who all the ME's safeguards, fifty ME to Ninurta granted.
In Kishi were the black headed people with numbers to calculate taught,
Heavenly Nisaba writing them taught, heavenly Ninkashi beermaking them showed.
In Kishi, by Ninurta guided, kilnwork and smithing proliferated,
Wheeled wagons, to male asses harnessed, craftily in Kishi first were fashioned.
Laws of justice and righteous behavior in Kishi were promulgated.
It was in Kishi that the people hymns of praise to Ninurta composed:
Of his heroic deeds and victories they sang, of his awe-inspiring Black Bird they chanted,
How in faraway lands the bisons he subdued, how the white metal to mix with copper he
found.
Ninurta's glorious time it was, with the Constellation of the Archer he was honored.
All the while Inanna in Unug-ki her lordship in the Third Region awaited,
All the while the domain of her own of the leaders she demanded.
The Third Region after the second one will come! her leaders thus assured her.
Having seen how Ninurta to Eridu journeyed, how the ME of kingship he obtained,
Inanna in her heart a plan devised, to obtain ME from Enki she schemed.
Her chambermaid Ninshubur to Eridu she dispatched, a visit by Inanna to announce.
On this hearing Enki to Isimud, his housemaster, quickly instructions gave:
The maiden, all alone, to my city Eridu her step is directing,
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When all alone she will arrive, my inner chambers let her enter.
Pour for her cold water to freshen her heart, barley cakes with butter give her,
Sweet wine prepare, the beer vessels to the rim fill up!
When Inanna alone the abode of Enki entered, Isimud Enki's commands followed;
Then when Enki Inanna greeted, by Inanna's beauty he was overwhelmed:
With jewelry was Inanna bedecked, by her thin dress her body she revealed;
When she bent down, her vulva by Enki was thoroughly admired.
From the wine cups sweet wine they drank, for beer drinking a competition they had.
Show me the ME's, Inanna to Enki playfully said; let me ME in my hand hold!
Seven, times in the course of the competition Enki to Inanna ME's to hold gave,
The divine formulas for lordship and kingship, for priesthood and scribeship,
For lovedressing and for warring ME's to Inanna Enki to hold gave;
For music and singing, woodworking and metals and precious stones,
Ninety-four ME's that for civilized kingdoms are needed Enki to Inanna gave.
Holding her prizes tightly, Inanna from the slumbering Enki slipped away;
To her Boat of Heaven she rushed out, to soar away her pilot she instructed.
When Enki from his slumber by Isimud was awakened, Get hold of Inanna! to Isimud he
said.
When from Isimud that Inanna had already in her Boat of Heaven departed Enki heard,
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To chase Inanna in Enki's skyship Isimud he instructed. All the ME's you must retrieve!
to him he said.
At the approach to Unug-ki Isimud Ianna's Boat of Heaven intercepted,
To return to Eridu and the wrath of Enki face he made her.
But when Inanna back to Eridu was brought, the ME's with her no more were:
To her chambermaid, Ninshubur, she gave them, to the House of Anu in Unug-ki
Ninshubur took them.
In the name of my power, in the name of my father Anu, I command you the ME's to
return!
So did Enki angrily to Inanna say, in his abode captive he held her.
When of this Enlil heard, to Eridu to face his brother he came.
By right the ME's have I obtained, Enki himself in my hand placed them!
So did Inanna to Enlil say; the truth of that Enki meekly admitted.
When the time term of Kishi shall be completed, to Unug-ki kingship shall pass! So did
Enlil declare.
When Marduk all this did hear, greatly he was enraged, his anger no bounds knew.
Enough has my humiliation been! to his father Enki Marduk shouted.
A sacred city of his own in the Edin from Enlil he forthwith demanded.
When Enlil to Marduk's appeal no heed paid, Marduk fate in his own hands grasped.
To a place that for Anu's arrival, before Unug-ki was selected, was considered,
Nabu the Igigi and their offspring from their dispersal lands summoned,
For Marduk therein a sacred city, a place for skyships, to establish!
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When his followers at the place assembled, stones to build with they found not
Marduk how to make bricks and burn them by fire, to serve as stone, to them he showed,
Therewith a tower whose head the heavens can reach they were building.
To thwart the plan Enlil to the place hurried, to placate Marduk with soothing words he
tried;
To stop Marduk and Nabu in their endeavor Enlil did not succeed.
In Nibru-ki Enlil his sons and grandchildren assembled; what to do they all considered.
Marduk an unpermitted Gateway to Heaven is building, to Earthlings it he is entrusting!
So did Enlil to his sons and grandchildren say.
If this we allow to happen, no other matter of Mankind shall be unreached!
This evil plan must be stopped! Ninurta said; all with that agreed.
It was nighttime when from Nibru-ki the Enlilite Anunnaki came,
From their skyships havoc upon the rising tower, fire and brimstones they rained;
To the tower and the whole encampment a complete end they made.
To scatter abroad the leader and his followers Enlil thereupon decided,
Henceforth their counsels to confuse, their unity to shatter, Enlil decreed:
Until now all the Earthlings one language had, in a single tongue they speak.
Henceforth their language I shall confound, that they each other's speech will not
understand!
In the three hundred and tenth year since the count of Earth years began did all this
happen:
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In each region and every land the people a different tongue he made to speak,
A different form of writing thereafter to each was given, that one the other will not
comprehend.
Twenty-three kings did in Kishi reign, for four hundred and eight years was it the Scepter
City;
It was also in Kishi that a beloved king, Etana, for a heavenly journey was taken.
At the allotted time, let kingship to Unug-ki be transferred! So did Enlil decree.
To its soil the Heavenly Bright Object from Kishi was transferred.
When the decision to the people was announced, to Inanna an exaltation hymn they sang:
Lady of the ME's, Queen, brightly resplendent,
Righteous, in radiance clothed, of heaven and Earth beloved;
By the love of Anu consecrated, great adorations wearing,
Seven times the ME's she obtained, in her hand she them is holding.
For the tiara of kingship they are appropriate, for high priesthood suitable,
Lady of the great ME's, of them she is the guardian!
In the four hundred and ninth year after the count of Earth years began,
Kingship of the First Region to Unug-ki was transferred;
Its first king was the high priest of the Eanna temple-abode, a son of Utu he was!
As for Marduk, to the Land of the Two Narrows he went,
To be the master of the Second Region, once established, he expected.
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Now this is the account of how the Second and Third Regions were established,
And how Ningishzidda was exiled and Unug-ki Aratta threatened.
When Marduk, after a long absence, to the Land of the Two Narrows returned,
Ningishzidda as its master he there found, its Lofty Lord Ningishzidda was.
With the aid of offspring of Anunnaki who Earthlings espoused did
Ningishzidda the lands oversee,
What Marduk had once planned and instructed, by Ningishzidda was overturned.
What is it that happened? Marduk of Ningishzidda to know demanded.
Of the destruction of hidden things Marduk Ningishzidda accused,
Of making Horon to a desert place depart, a place that has no water,
A boundless place where sexual pleasures are not enjoyed!
The two brothers an uproar made, upon quarreling bitterly they embarked.
Pay heed, I am here in my proper place! Marduk to Ningishzidda said.
You have been my place-taker; from now on only a deputy of mine you can be.
But if to rebellion you are inclined, to another land go away you must!
For three hundred and fifty Earth years did the brothers in the Land of the Two Narrows
quarrel,
For three hundred and fifty years was the land in chaos, between the brothers it was split;
Then Enki, their father, to Ningishzidda said: For the sake of peace, to other lands depart!
To go to a land beyond the oceans Ningishzidda chose, with a band of followers thereto
he went.
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Six hundred and fifty Earth years was at that time the count,
But in the new domain, where Ningishzidda the Winged Serpent was called,
a new count of its own began.
In the Land of the Two Narrows the Second Region under Marduk's lordship was
established;
In the annals of the First Region, Magan, Land of the Cascading River, it was called.
But by the Second Region's people, when languages were confounded,
Hem-Ta, the Dark Brown Land, it was henceforth called.
Neteru, Guardian Watchers, the Anunnaki were there in the new language called.
Marduk as Ra, the Bright One, was worshiped; Enki as Ptah, the Developer, was
venerated.
Ningishzidda as Tehuti, the Divine Measurer, was recalled;
To erase his memory Ra on the Stone Lion his image with that of his son Asar replaced.
To count by tens, not by sixty, Ra the people made; the year he also by tens divided,
The watching of the Moon by the watching of the Sun he replaced.
Whereas under the lordship of Tehuti the olden City of the North and City of the
South were reestablished,
Marduk/Ra the two lands, of the North and of the South, into one Crown City united.
A king, an offspring of Neteru and Earthling, he there appointed; Mena was his name.
Where the two lands meet and the great river divides, a Scepter City Ra established.
Splendor to surpass Kishi in the First Region he gave it, Mena-Nefer, Mena's Beauty, it
was called.
To honor his elders Ra a holy city built, to honor Nibiru's king Annu he named it;
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Therein on a platform a temple-abode for his father Enki-Ptah he erected,
Its head, within a high tower, like a sharp rocket skyward rose.
In its shrine Ra the upper part of his Celestial Barge deposited, Ben-Ben it was called;
It was the one in which from the Planet of Countless Years he had traveled.
On the day of the New Year, the king as High Priest the ceremonies performed,
On that day only alone the innermost Star Room he entered, before the Ben-Ben offerings
he put.
To benefit the Second Region, Ptah to Ra all manner of ME's gave.
What do I know that you do not know? the father his son asked.
Then all manner of knowledge, except that of the dead reviving, to Ra he gave.
As a Great One of the Twelve Celestials, Ptah to Ra the constellation sign of the Ram
allotted.
The waterflow of Hapi, the land's great river, Ptah for Ra and his people regulated,
Abundance in the fertile soils quickly came, man and cattle proliferated.
By the success of the Second Region the leaders were encouraged; the Third Region to
establish they proceeded.
To make it a domain of Inanna, as she was promised, they decreed.
As befits the mistress of a region, a celestial constellation to her was assigned:
Beforehand with her brother Utu the Station of the Twins she shared,
Henceforth, as a gift from Ninharsag, her Constellation of the Maiden to Inanna was
allotted;
In the eight hundred and sixtieth year, according to the Earth year count, was Inanna so
honored.
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Far away in the eastern lands, beyond seven mountain ranges, was the Third Region;
Zamush, Land of Sixty Precious Stones, was its highland realm called.
Aratta, the Wooded Realm, was in the valley of a meandering great river located;
In the great plain did the people cultivate crops of grains and horned cattle herd.
There too two cities with mud bricks they built, with granaries they were filled.
As by Enlil's decree required, the Lord Enki, Lord of Wisdom,
For the Third Region a changed tongue devised, a new kind of writing signs he for it
fashioned,
A tongue of man heretofore unknown, for Aratta Enki in his wisdom created;
But the ME's of civilized kingdoms for the Third Region Enki did not give:
Let Inanna what for Unug-ki had obtained with the new region share! So did Enki
declare.
In Aratta Inanna a shepherd-chief appointed, akin to her beloved Dumuzi he was.
In her skyship from Unug-ki to Aratta Inanna journeyed, over mountains and valleys she
flew.
The precious stones of Zamush she cherished, pure lapis lazuli with her to Unug-ki she
carried.
At that time the king in Unug-ki was Enmerkar, the second one to reign therein he was;
It was he who the boundaries of Unug-ki expanded, by its glories was Inanna exalted.
It was he who the wealth of Aratta coveted, to be over Aratta supreme he schemed.
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To Aratta Enmerkar an emissary dispatched as a tribute Aratta's riches to demand.
Over seven mountain ranges, through parched lands and then soaked by rains, the
emissary to Aratta went,
To the king of Aratta the demand words of Enmerkar word for word he repeated.
His language the king of Aratta to understand was unable; like the bray of a donkey its
sound was.
A wooden scepter, inscribed with a message, the king of Aratta to the emissary gave.
To share Unug-ki's ME's with Aratta the king's message requested,
As a royal gift to Unug-ki grains on donkeys were loaded, with the emissary to Unug-ki
they went.
When Enmerkar the inscribed scepter received, its message in Unug-ki no one
understood.
He brought it forth from light to shade, he brought it forth from shade to light;
What kind of wood is this? he asked. Then to plant it in the garden he ordered.
After five years, after ten years had passed, from the scepter a tree grew, a tree of shade it
was.
What shall I do? Enmerkar in frustration his grandfather Utu asked.
With heavenly Nisaba, the mistress of scribes and writing, Utu interceded.
On a clay tablet his message to inscribe Nisaba Enmerkar taught, in the tongue of Aratta
it was;
By the hand of his son Banda was the message delivered: Submission or war! it said.
By Inanna Aratta was not abandoned, to Unug-ki Aratta will not submit! the king of
Aratta said.
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If warfare Unug-ki desires, let one warrior one warrior in combat meet!
Better yet, let us peacefully treasures exchange; let Unug-ki its ME's for Aratta's riches
give!
On the way back, carrying the peace message, Banda fell sick; his spirit left him.
His comrades raised his neck, without the breath of life it was;
On Mount Hurum, on the way from Aratta, to his death was Banda abandoned,
The riches of Aratta Unug-ki did not receive, the ME's of Unug-ki Aratta did not obtain;
In the Third Region, Civilized Mankind did not fully blossom.
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