The civilization of Babylonia and Assyria

Its remains, language, history, religion, commerce, law, art, and literature

by Morris Jastrow | 1915 | 168,585 words

This work attempts to present a study of the unprecedented civilizations that flourished in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley many thousands of years ago. Spreading northward into present-day Turkey and Iran, the land known by the Greeks as Mesopotamia flourished until just before the Christian era....

The same spirit is to be found in the prayers embodied in inscriptions of Babylonian-Assyrian rulers, [1] even if the same high ethical plane is not always reached. For the older period we have a prayer addressed by Gudea, [2] the ruler of Lagash (c. 2450 B.C.), on the occasion of his decision to build a temple in honor of Ningirsu, the chief god of Lagash, in response to a dream in which he is called upon to erect a sacred edifice. [3]

"O Warrior, powerful lion, without a rival,
O Ningirsu, (ruling?) the deep,
Thou who art ruler of Nippur,
O Warrior, whose orders whatever they may be, may I carry out;
O Ningirsu, thy temple I wish to build,
Thy decrees I propose to carry out.
May thy sister [4] the child of Eridu, [5]
Who gives proper counsel,
The queen who interprets the oracles of the gods,
May thy goddess Nina, the sister of Sirara-shum-ta, [6] place her foot in her bark." [7]

The same Gudea prays to Bau, [8] the consort of Ningirsu, as follows: [9]

"my queen, daughter of the shining heaven, [10]
Who gives proper counsel, who occupies the first rank in heaven,
Who grants life to the land,
. . . . .
Thou art the queen, the mother who has established Lagash;
The people on whom thou lookest is rich in power,
The worshipper on whom thou lookest his life is prolonged.
I have no mother thou art my mother;
I have no father thou art my father.
My father . . . in a holy place thou hast produced me,
My goddess Bau thou knowest what is good.
. . . . .
Thou hast given me the breath of life,
Under the protection of my mother, in thy shadow I will reverently dwell."

Particularly impressive are the prayers attached to the inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian rulers, Nebopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar. On the completion of Ms palace in Babylon the latter prays to Marduk, god of Babylon and head of the pantheon, as follows: [11]

"As my precious life, do I love thy sublime appearance! Outside of thy city Babylon, I have not selected among all settlements any dwelling. Since I love the fear of thy divinity, and am zealous for thy rule, be gracious to my prayer, hear my appeal, for I am the King who adorns thee (i.e., thy temple), who rejoices thy heart, the thoughtful governor who beautifies all thy settlements.

At thy command, merciful Marduk, may the house that I have built endure forever, may I be satiated with its splendor, attain old age therein, with abundant offspring, and receive therein tribute of the kings of all regions, from all mankind.

. . . . . "

On his completion of the temple at Sippar, the same king dedicates the edifice by a prayer to Shamash, the sun-god, [12] who, it will be recalled, [13] is preeminently the god of justice and righteousness.

"O Shamash, great lord, on entering joyfully thy brilliant [14]temple, E-barra, look on my precious handiwork! Thy lips proclaim grace for me ! By thy just [15] command, may I have plenty of offspring. Grant me a life of long days and a firm throne.

May my rule [16] stretch out into eternity, with a just sceptre, with good rule. Adorn my kingdom forever with a legitimate staff of authority, bringing salvation to mankind. Protect my troops with strong weapons against the attack. Answer me aright, Shamash, through thy judicial decision and oracle.

At thy supreme, unchangeable command, may my sharp weapons advance and overcome the weapons of my enemies."

It was usually at the close of their inscriptions that the rulers added these appeals to grant long life, happiness and plenty of offspring; and the custom was continued by the Persian and Greek rulers whose prayers are modelled on those of the N"eo-Babylonian rulers, with merely slight variations. Somewhat more original are the prayers of Assyrian rulers, though here, too, conventionality leads to certain phrases which one ruler copies from the other.

Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria (680-669 B.C.), towards the close of a long inscription setting forth his activity as a builder and restorer of temples and palaces in Babylonia and Assyria, inserts a long prayer addressed to all his gods: [17]

"May the gods, my helpers, look joyfully on my pious works and in the fidelity of their heart bless the kingdom.
May my priestly seed [18]  prevail forever as the foundation of E-sagila and of Babylon.
May the kingdom be beneficial to mankind like the plant of life! [19]
May I rule the people according to law and justice!
May I attain a ripe old age, have offspring, be satiated with a fulness of life, with days well filled!
May I extend my family, gather a large household and spread my posterity, may the offshoot nourish!
May the foundation of my priestly throne be as firm as a rock!
May my rule stand like heaven and earth!
In joy and jubilation, in happiness, with beaming countenance and in cheerfulness may I daily wander!
A kind fate, a favorable fortune accompany me during my rule, protecting my priestly rank!" [20]

Of a more direct and specific character is a prayer of his successor, King Ashurbanapal (668-626 B.C.), who in the course of his campaign against an inveterate enemy, Teumman, king of Elam, who gave Assyria a great deal of trouble, [21] appeals to the goddess Ishtar for victory over Teumman.

The mighty king humbles himself before his gods, realizing that without their help no battle can be won, no victory gained. At the same time the king voices his bitterness agaifist his enemy and makes the direct appeal to the goddess to crush Teumman. [22]

"O lady of Arbela! [23] I am Ashurbanapal, the king of Assyria, the creature of thy hands, (called by) the father who produced thee, [24] to renew the temples of Assyria and to build up the cities of Babylonia.

(In humility [?] ) have I directed my thoughts towards thy holy sites, concerned for the honor (of thy divinity), whereas this Teumman, the king of Elam, who does not honor the gods (vilifies me [?]). [25]

But I (appeal to thee), thou goddess of goddesses, queen of battle, lady of battles, princess of the gods ... to intercede for me with Ashur, the father who produced thee, (for Teumman) has put his host in array for battle, has gathered his weapons to proceed to Assyria.

Thou, warrior among the gods like a ... drive against him in the midst of battle and destroy him by a mighty storm, an evil wind."

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A translation of most of such prayers will be found in the author's Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, I, pp. 394 — 420.

[2]:

Above, p. 137, seq.

[3]:

Thureau-Dangin, Sumerisch-Akkadische Kowigsinschriften, p. 90-91.

[4]:

The goddess Nina.

[5]:

I.e., the daughter of Ea, the god of Eridu. See above, p. 210

[6]:

An epithet of Ningirsu.

[7]:

I.e., be favorable to me.

[8]:

He addresses her as Ga-tum-dug. See above, p. 466, and PI. XLII, Fig. 3.

[9]:

Thureau-Dangin ib, p. 92-93.

[10]:

i.e., as the consort of the sun-god, Bau is also the daughter of Anu, the god of heaven.

[11]:

Rawlinson, I, PI. 58, Col. IX, 47-X, 19. The opening lines are similar to the prayer translated above, p. 216.

[12]:

Ball, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Vol. xi, p. 127, Col. II; 32-111, 30.

[13]:

Above, p. 203.

[14]:

with a play on E-barra, which signifies the "brilliant house."

[15]:

Note the constant play throughout the prayer on "justice," "right" etc. as the attributes of Shamash.

[16]:

i.e., my dynasty.

[17]:

Meissner-Rost, Bauinschriften Asarhaddon's (Beitrage zur Aseyriologie, III, p. 253.)

[18]:

i.e., his family. The kings of Assyria originally were priests of Ashur and retain priestly functions through all periods of the kingdom.

[19]:

A play upon Babylon which is often designated as the "abode of life".

[20]:

The king thus indicates his double status as secular chief and as priest.

[21]:

See above, p. 179 and p. 406, seq., and the illustration, Plate LXI, Fig. 2.

[22]:

Cylinder B. Col. V, 30-49 (Geo. Smith, History of Assurbanapal, pp. 120-122).

[23]:

One of the titles of Ishtar.

[24]:

The god Ashur.

[25]:

Text defective. From another passage we know that Teumman called Ashurbanapal "insane", i.e., one possessed by a demon, which was a bitter insult.

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: