Babylonian and Assyrian Literature | Page 6

ears profane of Elam's hated race
Should hear his strains of mournful
melody:
Now leaning on his harp in memory
Enwrapt, while fitful
breezes lift his locks
Of snow, he sadly kneels upon the rocks
And
sighing deeply clasps his hands in woe,
While the dread past before
his mind doth flow.
A score and eight of years have slowly passed

Since Rim-a-gu, with Elam's host amassed,
Kardunia's ancient capital
had stormed.

The glorious walls and turrets are transformed
To a
vast heap of ruins, weird, forlorn,
And Elam's spears gleam through
the coming morn.
From the sad sight his eyes he turns away,
His
soul breathes through his harp while he doth play
With bended head
his agèd hands thus woke
The woes of Erech with a measured stroke:

O Erech! dear Erech, my beautiful home,
Accadia's pride, O bright
land of the bard,
Come back to my vision, dear Erech, oh, come!

Fair land of my birth, how thy beauty is marred!
The horsemen of
Elam, her spearsmen and bows,
Thy treasures have ravished, thy towers thrown down, And Accad is
fallen, trod down by her foes.
Oh, where are thy temples of ancient
renown?
Gone are her brave heroes beneath the red tide,
Gone are her white
vessels that rode o'er the main,
No more on the river her pennon shall
ride,
Gargan-na is fallen, her people are slain.
Wild asses[23] shall
gallop across thy grand floors,
And wild bulls shall paw them and
hurl the dust high
Upon the wild cattle that flee through her doors,

And doves shall continue her mournful slave's cry.
Oh, where are the gods of our Erech so proud,
As flies they are
swarming away from her halls,
The Sedu[24] of Erech are gone as a
cloud,
As wild fowl are flying away from her walls.
Three years did
she suffer, besieged by her foes,
Her gates were thrown down and
defiled by the feet
Who brought to poor Erech her tears and her woes,

In vain to our Ishtar with prayers we entreat.
To Ishtar bowed down doth our Bel thus reply,
"Come, Ishtar, my
queenly one, hide all thy tears,
Our hero, Tar-u-man-i izzu Sar-ri,[25]

In Kipur is fortified with his strong spears.
The hope of
Kardunia,[26] land of my delight,
Shall come to thy rescue, upheld
by my hands,
Deliverer of peoples, whose heart is aright,
Protector
of temples, shall lead his brave bands."
Awake then, brave Accad, to welcome the day!
Behold thy bright
banners yet flaming on high,
Triumphant are streaming on land and
the sea!
Arise, then, O Accad! behold the Sami![27]
Arranged in
their glory the mighty gods come
In purple and gold the grand

Tam-u[8] doth shine
Over Erech, mine Erech, my beautiful home,

Above thy dear ashes, behold thy god's sign!
[Footnote 1: "O Moon-god, hear my cry!" ("Siu lici unnini!") the name
of the author of the Izdubar epic upon which our poem is based.]
[Footnote 2: "Khar-sak-kur-ra," the Deluge mountain on which the ark
of Khasisadra (the Accadian Noah) rested.]
[Footnote 3: "Khar-sak-kal-ama" is a city mentioned in the Izdubar epic,
and was probably situated at the base of Khar-sak-kur-ra, now called
Mount Elwend. The same mountain is sometimes called the "Mountain
of the World" in the inscriptions, where the gods were supposed to
sometimes reside.]
[Footnote 4: "Pit-u-dal-ti," openers of the gates.]
[Footnote 5: "Masari," guards of the great gates of the city, etc.]
[Footnote 6: "Ellat-gula," the queen of Erech, the capital of Babylonia.]
[Footnote 7: "Tur-tan-u" was the army officer or general who in the
absence of the sovereign took the supreme command of the army, and
held the highest rank next to the queen or king.]
[Footnote 8: "Dannat" (the "Powerful Lady") was a title applied to the
Queen, the mother of Izdubar (Sayce's ed. Smith's "Chal. Acc. of
Gen.," p. 184). We have here identified her with Ellat-gula, the Queen
of Babylon, who preceded Ham-murabi or Nammurabi, whom the
inscriptions indicate was an Accadian. The latter we have identified
with Nimrod, following the suggestion of Mr. George Smith.]
[Footnote 9: "Khumbaba" was the giant Elamitic king whom Izdubar
overthrew. We identify him with the King of the Elamites who, allied
with Rimsin or Rimagu, was overthrown by Nammurabi or Izdubar.]
[Footnote 10: "Rim-siu," above referred to, who overthrew Uruk, or
Karrak, or Erech. He was King of Larsa, immediately south of Erech.]

[Footnote 11: "Nap-pa-khu," war-trumpet.]
[Footnote 12: "Bar-ru," army officer.]
[Footnote 13: "Samas," the sun-god.]
[Footnote 14: "Subartu" is derived from the Accadian "subar" ("high"),
applied by the Accadians to the highlands of Aram or Syria. It is
probable that all these countries, viz., Subartu, Goim, Lullubu,
Kharsak-kalama, Eridu, and Duran, were at one time inhabited by the
Accadians, until driven out by the Semites.]
[Footnote 15: "Sutu" is supposed to refer to the Arabians.]
[Footnote 16: "Kassi," the Kassites or Elamites. The Kassi inhabited
the northern part of Elam.]
[Footnote 17: "Goim," or "Gutium," supposed by Sir Henry Rawlinson
to be the Goyim of Gen. xiv, ruled by Tidal or Turgal ("the Great
Son").]
[Footnote