The Burning Cauldron: The Neo Assyrian Empire Defended

[John7755 يوحنا]

573-569 BCE

Dagon-zakir-shumi appears marches to Jerusalem



Dagon-zakir-shumi departed from Babylon with the Wing of Marduk in the month of February 573 BCE. The departure was not yet to be a leaving of Karduniash however, as the king travelled about the area of central Karduniash, travelling to the city of Cutha, the cult center of Nurgle. There, Dagon-zakir-shumi made an offering to the God of looting and pillage and prayed unto him for victory in the coming war:



“Great God Nurgle, You are the Dark Flame, the Flame that is unquenched. May You gain victory ever further in the realms with which You reside, watering the enemies of the Family with flames of fury. Lord Nurgle, pray to You, doth I in a beseech for your guidance and for Your Hand in the field. Permit my victory, grant me the flames of victory, the captured bodies of foes, the symbol of victory, riches upon the home return! For You, I shall reserve a tribute, an offering for Thine temporary home here in Cutha, the city of Your furious abode.” -A Call to Nurlge, 573 BCE



Dagon-zakir-shumi after his journey to Cutha, marched thence to Dur-Kurigalzu and then to Sippar. In each city, he affirmed to local potentiates of his intention to march to Egypt. In prior years, there was much issue in the land of Karduniash. Many officials in the cities, governors and mayors were of stock risen to position prior to Dagon-zakir-shumi’s ascent and some of them had worries regarding the king’s virility in war. Dagon-zakir-shumi had been king for nearly 12 years and had yet to wage a personal campaign. His elder brother, had waged several campaigns before his tenth year personally and the mayor of Dur-kurigalzu, a certain Zababa-shehtu (Zababa [a war aspect of Marduk, sometimes,’Marduk with the lance] hath leaped) mentioned that perhaps Dagon-zakir-shumi was ill for many years. Dagon-zakir-shumi thus visiting him in Dur-kurigalzu was important as a sign. There, the mayor greeted the king and bestowed upon him gifts, including a great staff with a golden stallion attached to the tip.

Dur-kurigalzu was a large provincial town north of Babylon and the former capitol of Karduniash in parts of the Bronze Age. It was created by the Kassite migrants and nobility of Karduniash around 1400 BCE. Its chief god was then Turgu, a horse god, that still remains the local god of the city. In the city, there is a fair population of Akkadians. Yet years have turned the city into one extremely diverse, with the Akkadian population sitting at perhaps 1/3 of the population. Aramaens of various types form another 40% of the population, the largest percentage. The other percentage is made up of more recent deportees, Elamites, Cimmerians, Philistines, Lulubi and Medes. The largest single group of the newcomers being Elamites, who have already taken to the creation of their own sector in the provincial town.

The mayor of the city was appointed by the late king Assur-uballit in around 608 BCE and is of Akkadian descent, the first Akkadian mayor since the reign of Assurhadon. While the town may seem relatively unimportant, it is important as the first city along the Euphrates of large size between Mari and the heartland of Karduniash, making it of extreme import strategically. Once finished in Dur-Kurigalzu, Dagon-zakir-shumi departed north toward Mari which he reached after a journey and from there proceeded toward Hamath and then toward Damascus and finally thence toward Jerusalem.



Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Dagon-zakir-shumi and his army made a due host to the king of Jerusalem. The prior king was Yehu’ahaz, however the king Yehu’ahaz, had passed in 574 BCE and his successor was a certain don of his, Mattiyahu. Mattiyahu was a shrewd and tactical son, of 29 years of age. His skill in diplomacy was noted even when the prince of the kingdom, where he was present at major diplomacy on behalf of the king of Judah to the court of Sinbanipal and there he was respected as the son of the loyal Judahite king Yehu’ahaz. Thus, upon news od Dagon-zakir-shumi’s arrival, Mattiyahu was exceedingly gladdened by the appearance and prepared a grand feast for the Great King of Karduniash. Potentiates from across the kingdom of Judah arrived in Jerusalem to benefit from the arrival of the large Karduniash host, whose soldiers sought to expend their wages on fine wares of the peoples in the land. Not since leaving Babylon, had Dagon-zakir-shumi been so well greeted by the locals and he basked in the glad relations between he and the engorged city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem had since 597 BCE, doubled in population. The influx of Philistines and Hebrews from the countryside, made the city submerged in a rising tide of population growth which made Jerusalem one of the finest cities in the Levant. Its great temple to the chief god, Yahweh, was especially splendid, even by Assyrian standards.

Under Yehu’ahaz, the Judahite kingdom had taken a markedly pro-Assyrian approach in terms of foreign policy and annually paid a tribute exceeding the expectation. The result was a relatively pleased Assyrian government, who touted Judah as a model vassal. However, the necessity to exceed annual tribute expectations forced the Judahite kingdom to increase taxation and build revenue sources from traditionally more free peoples. This caused division in the kingdom as the poor and destitute struggled to acquire revenues to pay rates and produce for the kingdom to give the excessive tribute fees. As a result, dissatisfaction was on the rise in Judah. However, this at the moment amounted to little more than a lingering tension, a tension that would be tested if the Judahite kingdom’s Akkadian patrons were to collapse or seriously falter.

Regardless of Mattiyahu’s disposition, his kingdom was ready to assist Dagon-zakir-shumi but less than ecstatic seemingly in supporting militarily the campaign, nor was Dagon-zakir-shumi legally permitted to acquire his forces. Technically, Judah was a subject of the Wing of Gula, based in Ashkelon, an Assyrian army. As such, Dagon-zakir-shumi and his Wing of Marduk, had no military authority as of 581 BCE, to order the kingdom of Judah in a military fashion. As a result, the meeting and stay in Jerusalem was purely one of morale and purchasing of supplies from the city and so forth from king Mattiyahu.

After the stay in Jerusalem, Dagon-zakir-shumi set forth in June of 573 BCE and met with Kanapalsuhu-Marduk, the Protector General of the South, who carried with him in a carriage, Wahibre, the exiled King of the Two Horizons. Dagon-zakir-shumi accordingly made great show to make Wahibre welcome amongst his entourage and treated the exile king with great kindness. According to later customs, the two became good friends, admiring each other and establishing close discussion in their transit towards Egypt which became late in June 573 BCE. According to the Nippur Correspondence, the Wing of Marduk had brought 24,000 warriors from Babylon and was joined by 7,500 from the Southern Protectorate. Additionally, Dagon-zakir-shumi purchased deportee soldiers from Elam, that accounted for 6,000 fighters, mostly unarmored spearmen tasked with guarding the baggage and for menial labor. To add to this, Wahibre was guarded by a cadre of some 250 loyal cavalrymen and in his baggage was a grand Egyptian scythed chariot which he was to ride alongside crack archers and warriors, while his bodyguard on foot marched in a tight formation, guarding his chariot. As such, the army amounted to around 38,000 fighters. Wahibre additionally, promised that upon his arrival, surely rebels would arise who would join the side of Assyria. Much however was to be seen. Dagon-zakir-shumi set forth and entered the Sinai Peninsula, which was guarded by soldiers from the Southern Protectorate.

The so-called Turquoise Host, was a brigade and group operating under the Southern Protectorate, tasked with defense of the Sinai and operating regular raids into Egypt. The brigade was composed entirely of Arabs trained in the Southern Akkadian style and they excelled at mobile warfare in the desert. Their numbers were only however, 1-2 thousand and as such, their staying power was relatively mild. Success though was common as raids offered great loot and defense of the frontier was important. Yet, in recent years, Ahmose II and his emboldened Egyptian armies had begun to counter the brigade overtly and the time was surely coming that Ahmose II would enter the Sinai upon an offensive posture. Dagon-zakir-shumi appeared among the Turquoise Host and gave them leave and passed them and attacked Egypt proper on the 2nd of July, 573 BCE.

Ahmose II, the Great Challenger

Ahmose II was not blidn to the movements of Dagon-zakir-shumi. Spies in Assyria were rare, but Ahmose II had heard from Greek merchants in Assyria tasked with assistance in construction of monuments in the city of Kalhu, that a rumored Karduniash invasion was due for Egypt. They warned too, that rumor had it, the exiled claimant, Wahibre was in Arabia, gathering favor amongst the tribal peoples in hopes of gaining their assistance in spread word into Egypt of a returning king.

Ahmose II confident of his Egyptian army, raised an army of around 44,000 warriors from across his kingdom, of all stripes and races as the Nippur Correspondence recounts. Ahmose II in order to buy sometime and keep his army raised, marched west to the oasis of Libya and demanded subjugation with of several Libyan tribes. His army to do this, was a mostly the elites and cavalry of the Egyptian force, with Ahmose II riding fine stallion from the north. The Egyptian host made quick work of several of the Libyan tribal potentates and forced their submission in early 573 BCE, before retuning to the Nile Delta to prepare for the incoming invasion of Dagon-zakir-shumi, who had recently arrived in Jerusalem.

As preparation, garrisons in the Nome provinces in the south were made strengthened and sacrifices in the temples were made, including the sacrifice of a great white bull, followed by a reading of the stars, which foretold an enormous victory for Ahmose II. Well proud and ready, Ahmose II in anticipation, dispatched envoys to Crete and his allies making mention of a soon victorious counter made by Ahmose II.

Ahmose gathered his army and moved to match Dagon-zakir-shumi on the 5th of July, after Dagon-zakir-shumi had reportedly passed Egypt’s borderzone with Sinai and had marched upon the Nile Delta in the first week of July 573 BCE.

The War in Egypt

Dagon-zakir-shumi pushed into Egypt and divided his force ever slightly. The army related to the Southern Protectorate was given to an Arab noble, who led an Arab brigade and the Turquoise Brigade southward into the desert and launched a great raid upon the Nile Valley from the east south of Sais, while Dagon-zakir-shumi marched into the Nile Delta, besieging town after town and eventually capturing Sais.

Ahmose II did not suspect such a maneuver and was forced to distribute his armies southweard to protect against a series of raids that devastated the Nile Valley south of Sais and north of Thebes, as the Arab brigade captured towns and villages and set themselves in these resource rich areas and occupied them. Looting and pillaging in this area reigned in July, before the Arab brigades were challenged by an arm of Ahmose II from the north and a collection of militia from the south, forcing the Arab brigades to lessen their strikes and begin to evacuate east and north. Ahmose II and his main army however attempted to stymie the advance of Dagon-zakir-shumi, most especially by guarding the many towns and launching attacks upon the enemy in the form of raids on the baggage train. Egypt was able in the month of July 573 BCE, to halt the advance of the Karduniash army at Damietta.

In July, the Karduniashi captured Pelusium, Tanis, Avaris and thus their line of occupation ended at the defensive lines of Damietta to Busiris and then to Bubastis, all three being major fortified cities. Contrary to Wahibre claim, the rebellion of the common folk did not come and the Karduniashi army was forced to hammer through the war by force. The Arab brigades to the south, had managed in middle July to capture Imnew or Heliopolis, but were quickly ejected from the city by late July, forcing them back east and then hence forth north into Avaris where their tentacles of raiding pushed towards a breach between Busiris and Bubastis.

This breach was created when a Kanapalsuhu-Marduk and a force of Arab lancers attacked some Egyptian companies between the two cities, routing them in the field, while Ahmose II was guarding Busiris. This led to the Arab forces crossing the Nile and moving southwest causing further havoc and pillaging across the Delta south of Busiris. The chaos caused by the breach broke the morale of the defenders in Bubastis, who fearing a siege and lack of food, fled their posts and the city of Bubastis was captured by an army of only 9,000 Karduniash infantry and deportees.

A result was the collapse of the Egyptian Nile Defense and quickly in the month of August, Ahmose II was unable to mend the breach and the country was split in two as Kanapalsuhu-Marduk was with a large force in the south, to which Wahibre was transferred. In the north, Dagon-zakir-shumi headed the siege of Damietta, while his chamberlain, Simbar-Zababa maintained the caravan and baggage train at Tanis.

Ahmose II was placed in a difficult position, as his country was now mostly split. Ahmose II decided the best operation was to reconnect his country and as such, focused upon breaking Kanapalsuhu-Marduk, while maintaining the defense of Damietta and Busiris. Luckily for him, Damietta was a truly splendid fortress city and held strongly against the Kardunaish siege.

The siege of Damietta had lasted from late July and by the end of August, was still ongoing. Dagon-zakir-shumi feeling the main issue to be the continued transport of good from the Hellenic world, dispatched envoys in the second week of August to Tyre, requesting a blockade of Damietta. This was given an affirmative in late August around the 27th, when a fleet commanded by Bodashtart of Tyre appeared before Damietta attacking the merchant fleets of the Greeks who traded therein. Their blockade however never materialized, for in the same week, the fleet of Egypt, which had been at sale in Crete, arrived later that week and engaged the Tyrians in the bay of Damietta. There, the Egyptian fleet, led mostly by Cretan sailors, defeated miraculously the Tyrian foe at sea, to the amazement of the Karduniash soldiers watched from the coast. The defeat of the Tyrian fleet shocked the Karduniash and the Egyptian defenders, many of whom were Greeks praised the gods and their renewed morale made for a difficult situation.

Dagon-zakir-shumi was unlike his brother, who was unpredictable. Dagon-zakir-shumi was anything but erratic. He was stoic, calm, cautious, methodic, and overly decisive. Once set tod do something, Dagon-zakir-shumi was unlikely to cease its completion and would willingly blast his head against the wall further despite defeats. As such, instead of ending the siege, Dagon-zakir-shumi doubled down on the siege and attempted to assault the city constantly. Large casualties were incurred on either side. Crack Egyptian archers fired constant volleys upon the enemy, while Akkadian besiegers attempted to scale the walls, burry beneath the walls or break the walls with intense flames they had set. Initially, the attempts included a mass assault, which failed to breach the city. Secondly, the Karduniash attempted to set a massive fire outside of the city, which was constantly struggling, as the Egyptian forces hauled massive pots of water onto the brush that the Akkadians had set before the wall. However, the fire was able to be set after constant attempts and an Akkadian assault to divide attention. The fire however deadly was able to break some of the defenses but was ultimately put out and the breach was shut. Finally, on the north side of the city, the Akkadians attempted to burrow beneath the walls, amounting to little success as the ground was too wet and solders were lost in the attempts from an onset of illness.

After seven months of attempts to take the city however, Dagon-zakir-shumi and the Akkadian army was able to discover a breach in the wall due to a defection from among the enemy’s watchmen. The watchman informed the Akkadians of a part of the wall that had been grievously damaged by the prior months fire but had not been sufficiently repaired. He claimed, that the wall was weak and that the defenders of the section were ever-vigilant due to this. If the Akkadians concentrate their assault upon that section, the wall breach would be complete. Dagon-zakir-shumi did as the traitor bid him and the assault paid off and the Akkadian army surged into he city in the month of February 572 BCE, capturing it and putting it to flames. Yet the issues in the south had declined for him.

During the siege of Damietta, Kanapalsuhu-Marduk had made exceptional gains. His brigades had seemingly broken the Egyptian opposition and were ranging the southern delta with impunity. However, Ahmose II, assured of Damietta’s integrity, focused his efforts on the southern threat. Ahmose II managed to hold Merimaba against the Arabs but was unable to retake other cites and in the field, Kanapalsuhu-Marduk, defeated Ahmose II’s lieutenant named Leon from Crete in battle south of Sais. The victory over the Egyptian army, gave Kanapalsuhu-Marduk a false impression of defeating the Pharaoh and thus set upon Sais to take the city as Wahibre beckoned him to do.

The Arabs attacked Sais in the month of November 573 BCE and Ahmose II. Leaving his post at Busiris moved into Sais and defeated Kanapalsuhu-Marduk, who fled before facing great engagement. The two would chase each other across the southern delta for the month of December. Eventually however, the Arab army was wore down with fighting and was cornered in the field and defeated, Kanapalsuhu-Marduk captured with a deadly wound which killed him two days later. Thus, in January of 572 BCE, Ahmose II attacked Bubastis, recapturing it and then marched upon Avaris and Thanis.

Dagon-zakir-shumi had only recently set Damietta alight and the defeat of his army in the south and the word of the loss of Bubastis and the march upon his supplies in Thanis, led to the retreat from the captured Damietta and the flight southwest. Wahibre had escaped the melee and was in Thanis guarding the city when Dagon-zakir-shumi arrived and engaged Ahmose II in battle. The two armies, both tired and weary, forced a stalemate near Thanis, with Dagon-zakir-shumi gaining the better of the battle, forcing Ahmose II to flee the field. However, the wounds of war were heavy and Dagon-zakir-shumi called the campaign off around May of 572 BCE, where there had been some looting and counter attacks by both sides. Dagon-zakir-shumi pulled his lands captured and removed garrisons and marched east. Ahmose II followed and attacked him as he went. Dagon-zakir-shumi returned to Ashkelon and was followed by Ahmose II, who had invaded the Sinai and with the campaign draining the Turquoise brigade, Ahmose II made short work of their remnants. The Wing of Gula however quickly responded and countered Ahmose with a Sinai campaign in July of 572 BCE, defeating his army decisively. Ahmose II however, managed to defend his kingdom and ejected the Akkadian invader and slew the Southern Protector in the field.

Ahmose II lost Damietta, but the city’s morale remained good and was quickly repopulated an rebuilt in the following years was the occupation as short. Ahmose II proceeded to erect praises to himself in the city of Sais,which was now adorned with slaves from Arabia captured in the war.

These Arab captives, those of rank among them, were taken into the public and were burned alive to the enjoyment of the crowd of Sais. Those of low rank, were sold into slavery in the markets, destined for Sparta, Crete or Ionia. The two kings of Sparta, Leon I and Agasicles sent forth a praise and congratulations to Ahmose II for his prestigious victory. Truly, the 5-way alliance was looking strong, with Egypt able to defeat the Assyrian aggression, surely, there was a way to wear down Assyria!

In Assyria however, news of the defeat gained rage in the court of Kalhu and Niniveh. The Ten Fingers upon command of Sinbanipal issued an order of summons to Dagon-zakir-shumi and breached custom by nominating a successor choice to Dagon-zakir-shumi for Southern Protector, a man named Assur-kalu-sehru (Assur held the child). Dagon-zakir-shumi arrived in Mari and was met by an army under Ipanqazzu, which informed him of the summons. Dagon-zakir-shumi was in no place to refuse and was marched under arms to Kalhu, while Assur-kalu-sehru was sent south to Tima as the new Protector General.

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Shorter post than normal, next post will be longer and deal with internal issues. Thanks for reading.

 

[Samm]

Lots of good updates. I wish I could make a more insightful comment but will instead simply congragulate you on another good update.

 

[Samm]

It is interesting to see the Egyptians achieve a victory. However, it seems like this was chiefly against Arabs so may not frighten the Assyrians to much. I suspect they will need to win a bigger victory than that to win deter Assyria.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

571-567 BCE



The Court of 572 BCE



Dagon-zakir-shumi’s failed invasion of Egypt was taken with great seriousness in Assyria where the Deification faction which held firmly that the Karduniash king had overstepped his boundaries. The Ten Fingers convened a small convention in Kalhu to question and discuss with Dagon-zakir-shumi the failed invasion as well as another issue, that issue of the war in Urartu. The rebels had gained extreme amounts of momentum between 573-572 BCE and only recently were rebuffed by Assyrian field armies from the Wing of Assur on the border of Urartu. Traditionally, custom dictated that Urartu is to deal with their own internal issues, however the question will be raised as to their status in the court of late 572 BCE.

Dagon-zakir-shumi arrived in late 572 BCE and was presented with acclaim in the city of Kalhu which was increasingly the sole residence of the Assyrian king. Sinbanipal only took ceremonial trips to Niniveh and to Ashur, asserting his primary stay in Kalhu. The old palace of Assuirnasripal II was likewise Sinbanipal’s official residency. Plans existed for the construction of a secondary palace, conceived of by the Ten Fingers, however due to constant wars and difficulty in the budgets, the palace has been placed on hold. The first topic discussed at the court of 572 BCE was the issue of the new palace of Kalhu. Already named by Sinbanipal as ‘Ki’ili Ekallu’ or ‘His Ark is akin to the Divine.’ This palace was expected to exceed the palace constructed by Assurbanipal and of Assurnasirpal II, yet for the moment it was left undone.

Discussions regarding the construction of the Ki’ili Ekallu was made with the Two Kings in attendance. As a courtesy, Dagon-zakir-shumi was given a throne and symbols of his kingship next to Sinbanipal. Their seating arrangement displayed the idealism of the Brother King relationship, despite the reality of Dagon-zakir-shumi being an effective captive for the moment. Regardless, the palatial discussion was broken into two sides. One group arguing that the planned palace may begin its construction in the year 566 BCE, a year following the upcoming completion fully of the Hall of the Ancestors. This group was headed by the Deification faction, most notably the eunuchs and the Ten Fingers. All of whom wished to sink their teeth into internal affairs, especially palatial construction and away from an aggressive foreign policy.

Opposing the palatial construction as the Traditionalists, who as usual felt the Great King should focus upon military affairs for the moment and stay the construction. The nobles were likewise not too gladdened by a new palatial construct. Their opinions however sat more along the lines of not wishing to empower the eunuchs. New and grander palaces separate the Great King from the nobility. As it would give greater positions to eunuchs and palatial attendants who in ever grander palaces will dominate spaces and use the construction to promote ideologies. Much of the allure of the palace at Kalhu was that it was more appropriate for court sessions and more egalitarian in terms of presenting members.



The Ten Fingers presented the issue of the palace and discussion was had. The Ten Fingers had commissioned the Chief Butler, Ilu-Sin to present their position. Ilu Sin argued in essence that the palace is the highest goal of the state. Ilu-Sin believed that the palace was the symbol of kingship and in the times of grandeur, as a display of the symbol of power of the monarch, the palace must be built to be an abode of his. When questioned regarding funds, Ilu-Sin advocated a system of conscription of labor through a corvee and by converting ¼ of the army into so-called ‘elite labor.’ Furthermore, Ilu-Sin remarked that the Great King and his displays outweighed the necessity of financial frugality. Traditionalists levied extreme dissatisfaction, arguing that palatial construction was beneath the necessity of military incursions and argued the palace of the Great King was indeed a ‘red war chariot.’ The nobles instead took no position until the discussion of corvee was brought forward. This would entail the nobles donating their estate slaves and servants to work on the palace and also entail greater taxation and more involvement of the population as whole. Shimtu-shamie-Assur was apparently beside himself arguing in every possible way against labor conscription at higher than small levels. Shimtu-shamie-Assur also divulged concerns of finance, that the palace could not be afforded without some changes to the budget.

Ultimately, Sinbanipal ruled on the matter. He issued a proclamation that in accordance with the Era, construction of grand buildings was the goal of the Era towards Duranki. In otherwords, due the current Era, the agenda for the next many years will be construction of buildings and wars only in necessity. This, was surely a shock to the Traditionalist faction, who otherwise only countered by then requesting if a planned invasion of the west and north was not still in the works. Sinbanipal decreed therein, that despite the Era, in 570 BCE, omens would be taken regarding the campaign. Meanwhile any defensive maneuvers would be undertaken. This was an enormous victory on behalf of the Deification faction and displayed their power and friendly ties to the monarch. However, it would also draw the nobles and the traditionalists into a closer alliance with each other.

Onto the next topic, Marduk-zakir-shumi was to be questioned for his role in the invasion of Egypt. The discussion saw the Ten Fingers take a hostile stance against the King. Asking of him his intensions and alluding to potential treason. Others such as the Shimut-shamie-Assur, made mention that if Dagon-zakir-shumi was to have launched the invasion, he should have called on a larger invasion force. However, coming to protect the Karduniash king, the Traditionalists extolled the virtues of the Dual-Monarchy. Mentioning that the kings were divided monarchs, in union, rather than subjugates, making a distinction between the status of Karduniash and that of the kingdom of Judah. Karduniash had total freedom to wage war on its own behalf whenever it pleased. This position resonated more with Sinbanipal whose love for his brother held greater power than his anger with the loss in war. Dagon-zakir-shumi however was given a job by Sinbanipal to do as atonement. This job was to build a new fortress in the city of Nippur which was to eb the centerpiece of a defensive array in the south.

Finally came the topic of Urartu. The rebellion was much like the on prior but the poor state of the Wing of Shamash made the rebellion very successful and Ishpuini II was in dire straits increasingly appearing soon to lose his throne. Assyrian officials deliberated on the issue, with all agreeing that sending an army to secure the state of Urartu did not constitute a necessity of taking omens. However, the Kalhu Codex would later contest this matter. Nevertheless, Sinbanipal ordered that an army be assembled and march upon Urartu and destroy the rebels without Ishpuini II requiting so. For this matter, he tasked the duty to the Wing of Nurgle under Ipanqazzu. Ipanqazzu however had become increasingly old and was effectively working as the head of security of Kalhu, whilst the delegated successor, Ariba-Ninurta a fearsome warrior trained by Ipanazzu and a supposed heroic man in the field. Ariba-Ninurta was thus delegated the role of leading the Wing of Nurgle into Urartu to destroy the enemy in the field. Ipanqazzu for his part remained in Kalhu to command the royal protection.

Ariba-Ninurta was thus tasked with gathering the Wing of Nurgle and marching upon the rebels in Urartu and destroying them. This however may come to derail the situation and supposed sovereignty of Ishpuini II, who has effectively attempted to mask the submissive stance his kingdom has taken to Assyria and framed it merely as an alliance. If the Assyrians alone destroy the rebellion, then Ishpuini II will certainly be found to be lacking in his monarchical grandeur. Ishpuini II was however unlikely to deny the aid considering his situation.

Eastern Protectorate in 572-566 BCE

In the year 591 BCE, Dagalu-kinutu-Assur was appointed as Protector General over Marhashi or the Protectorate of the East. His rule from Sinsharruderi in central Marhashi was one of transformative rule in the region, long bereft of the forms of government now emplaced. Dagalu-kinutu-Assur created a precedence for a so-called ‘grand court.’ Daglau-kinutu-Assur presided over an intricate web of clans and chiefs who all sought to curry favor with the Protector General. These clans were a small number of Medes, with majority of the clans being of Lullubi, Kassite, Mannaean and Ardami in origin. The largest single group being the Kassites who make up the greatest allies of Dagalu-kinutu-Assur. However, there is also those peoples who have been deported into Marhashi, who have changed its ethnic layout and likewise political situation. Philistines destroyed in the early reign of Sinbanipal are especially common in the capitol city of Sinsharruderi, where they act as the base population for the city. Aramaen tribal confederates from Elam and some other areas have also been distributed across central Marhashi. In the east of Marhashi, the lands are populated by Medes, Parthians, Dahae and the new Cimmerian arrivals on behalf of Great King in Kalhu.

The Kassites as a people were readily able to accept the Assyrian rule, much more so than the other folk in the region. Their tribal lords which had been beneath Median yoke, took measures to appear Akkadian in all manners relating to names, religion and so forth. Many of their clan heads thus were made high ranking officials and great duties at the capitol were given to the Kassites, who acted as provincial officials.

Regarding this, the Eastern Protectorate operated differently than the Southern Protectorate. The Southern Protectorate was subdivided by tribal lands, that is the varied Arab clan holdings were the divisions of the realm, with its representatives being exactly that, the clan heads. With the East however, Dagalu-kinutu-Assur, a much more bureaucratically minded statesman organized the realm into provinces with appointed governors. Within Marhashi, he created the following provinces:

• Capitol province of Sinsharruderi or Central Marhashi
• Urqananu province (Hyrcania)
• Lullubum province along the border with Assyria
• Agamtanu province (Ecbatana or Lorestan)
• Eastern Marhashi province

These were the so-called Five Provinces of the Eastern Protectorate aside for Drangiana-Margiana which remained as a sort of autonomous vassal between the Eastern Protectorate and the Persian kingdom then under Cambyses I. Each of these five provinces was appointed a governor usually an Akkadian eunuch sent by the Ten Fingers in Kalhu. Dagalu-kinut-Assur however had great power over these governors and often removed and then reappointed as he wished, usually in accordance with his own whims or that of his Kassite allies in court who increasingly from 589-571 BCE took on an overt Akkadina role. In fact the Kalhu Codex lauds the situation in Marhashi and the reign of Dagalu-kinutu-Assur as superb in its display of assimilation. The notion that the Akkadian world was expanding east and subsuming others completely filled scribes in Kalhu with great joy. Hence, a series of legendary texts called the Marhashi Matter emerged from the years 577-552 BCE and continuing onward, wherein the Marhashi realm is used as an ideal example of Akkadian customs in the wilds of the east. Various stories of peoples with wild customs and barbaric ways are depicted and then the Protector General is displayed in the legends as correcting their behavior and or destroying them and sending them as slaves to Kalhu. Dagalu-kinutu-Assur is a most keen object for these myths.

Dagalu-kinutu-Assur however cannot be described as Traditionalist as the Kalhu Codex may have liked to display him though. Rather, he was a man always true to himself. In some instances he was clearly in favor of the Deification faction, especially in regards to how he used his envoys to curry favor with the Ten Fingers and accepted their power over matters of internal trade and transit. Yet, he was too a true son of the old ways and order of matter, wherein the land was to be colonized by an Akkadian cultural elite advocating its societal interests alongside an aggressive agriculturalist push. This is shown in how Dagalu-kinutu-Assur made laws first in 582 BCE and then reiterated in 578 BCE, issuing rules of settlement and forcing deportees into new farming villages operated by Akkadian eunuchs. These villages were at the time only in Central Marhashi and came with the intent to expand an agricultural base around the city and to ‘destroy pastoralism’ within the vicinity of the capitol. His agendas worked in producing such villages and promoting an Akkadian cultural expression in farming life and actively ignored the Reform of 581 BCE, which required soldiers to dress according to the style of their grandparents, for when in 573 BCE, Dagalu-kinutu-Assur is said to have sent forth an envoy to Kalhu, he sent an Aramaen dressed in full Akkadian attire and dress. Said person, whom the scribes gave the name, Habaru-Assur (he hummed to Assur), apparently challenged the Ten Fingers.

While a myth at least the way it is presented, the man Habaru-Assur appeared before the court in Kalhu to bring a report and was instead of inquired as to matters of the state, was asked regarding his ‘breed.’ Eunuchs in the court rejected his ability to wear said clothing and asked from whom his parents arose. Habaru-Assur then according to the myth, demanded a test of his knowledge through discussion and his familiarity with matters. This test was given through discussion as the eunuchs discussed what Duranki meant with him and the myths attempt to display the traditional stance taken by Habaru-Assur and contrast it with the decadent and excessive and ultimately innovative/heretical version shown by the eunuchs and their deification mindset. In the final parts of the ‘Legend of Habaru-Assur’ the writer (unknown name) states that the lowly man whose origin was from slaves was ascended on high by the wishes of the Great Gods. Making a point that the Traditionalists always enjoyed making, that the true nobles and lords of the land were the Great Gods, and the lowliest slave could become the vehicle for Duranki, whilst the greatest of men in the court of Kalhu could become its most ardent foe.

Indeed, legends such as these reflected the mentality of the Eastern Protectorate in its central and southern lands. However, in its north and east, the Protectorate was noted for its lax stance on assimilation. Cimmerians ruled the east as warrior elites who also commanded Median defectors on behalf of the Great King, no assimilation occurred in these areas and Dagalu-kinutu-Assur remained uncannily uncaring for such developments in the east, as long as the frontier remained protected.

Nevertheless, Dagalu-kinutu-Assur died in the year 572 BCE and his successor for appointment had already been chosen for him and acted as his aid. He was a certain Ishmie-Assur (He listens to Assur, Ka’ishmie Assur), who assumed the same policies as his predecessor. Centralizing Akkadianization in the central and southern areas of Marhashi, agricultural expansion and protection of the frontier of the east. Ishme-Assur however was greatly disliked by the Ten Fingers in Kalhu, who according to the KalhuCodex, began to spy upon him and attempt to catch him for various misdemeanors. Most especially breaking the 581 BCE Reform of dress and courtly civility. Ishme-Assur countered this by changing his appointment process to village expansions and began to attempt to contest governor appointments sent by the Ten Fingers. This included producing letters for the Great King requesting the need for nobles in government in the east. By 568 BCE due to his friendly ties with the nobility and by convincing Sinbanipal, approximately 3/5 of the provinces had noble governor. Yet, spying continued as the Ten Fingers expanded their grasp by taking a long march through the various functions of the state in Marhashi, mainly tax collectors, court notaries, maids, butlers and so forth, who acted as the eyes and ears of the Ten Fingers.

In other ways, the Eastern Protectorate was relatively poor and sparsely populated, even after the deportation of peoples into its lands. It however was a land relatively rich in horses and horse trade and the Eastern Protectorate was tasked with the raising of horses and acquiring horses by trade as early as 584 BCE. This made the Eastern Protectorate quite important for the Assyrian state, which made sure to provide sufficient funding for the merchants sent to and fro into its lands.

The Merchant Kings of Elam 572-566 BCE

When the Elamite monarchy was abolished in the Eastern campaign of 590 BCE, the Elam was conquered by Adad-apal-Duranki the chief sentinel and Ipanqazzu the chief guard. In its place, a series of merchants were made the governors of Elam. As such, a clique of merchants rule Elam, of mixed Elamite and Akkadian descent. All of whom, part of a post-Assurhadon Elamite faction that promoted Elam as an integral part of the Assyrian hegemony. Both for cultural reasons, but also for the sake of mercantile interests. Elam thus is now under an Assyrian-Karduniashi mandated ascendancy of the mercantile interests, who are dubbed often the merchant-kings of Elam. By the year 589 BCE, they were conferred by the Karduniash king Dagon-zakir-shumi, the title of ‘king of Elam’ however in the Nippur Correspondence, they are called Merchant Kings and in the Kalhu Codex, Mercantile Governors of Elam.

The first merchant king of Elam, was Shamash-makhir-nisie, appointed in the year 591 BCE. During his regime, Elam attempted to recover from a state of collapse. This meant repopulating the land with Akkadian settlers, deportees and rebuilding the Elamite capitol of Susa, which would be a long-term process of work and striving on the part of the leadership. Shamash-makhir-nisie gathered some funds for the rebuilding of Susa, but matters were slow and he instead thus focused upon shoring up settlers to repopulate the countryside. Using his overlord Dagon-zakir-shumi and his legal framing, greater numbers of settlers from the west arrived, allured by free farmland and an endowment of Elamite slaves which were offered to landlords who sought to settle the land.

For this matter, Shamash-makhir-nisie placed certain stipulations on this matter. This became known as the ‘Edict of Preservation and Sanity.’ As a document, it covers the requirements for settlement of the Elamite lands alongside an endowment of slaves/serfs. The most important of the edict, outlined that the landlord must have the ability to suppress any slave rebellion amongst his new tenants/slaves. If such cannot be done and accessed by the leadership, they will not be permitted the endowment. Implicit in this edict thus, is a fear of rebellion and also an indication that the Elamite governance lacked the effective military power with which to enforce slavery or social stratification pleasing to the Dual-Monarchy.

Shamash-makhir-nisie with said edict managed to create a unique situation wherein landlords from Karduniash arrived at Elam with their families alongside purchased slave fighters as overseers, the said overseers usually being purchased Levantine populaces. With such, the landlords acquired endowments by agreeing to suppress slave revolts. By the year 580 BCE, a series of first landlord estates across Southern Elam had formed. These landlords possessed an unspoken customary devotion to the Edict, making them an allied string of lords who in the state of a rebellion, would all combine their resources to destroy rebellions and suppress riots. In Northern Elam, the population displacement and trauma were less great, and landlords and settlers were less common by 580 BCE. Shamash-makhir-nisie had prioritized rebuilding Susa, but by 580 BCE, with it out of his reach, the ill king passed away. His successor was selected by Dagon-zakir-shumi, who appointed a merchant from the cartel ruling in Susa. This man took the name, Shamash-makhir-nisie II.

Shamash-makhir-nisie II took the stance that Susa need not be reconstructed as rapidly as his predecessor hoped. As such, only mild funds were used to reconstruct the city. Most importantly were improvements to the riverine docks and nearby canals. This alongside the rebuilding of the great market of Susa, one of the largest and most stupendous in the empire, made Susa once again a place to do business. The destruction of Ecbatana to the north, also allowed the city to grow without serious competition. The palace of the kings of Susa however, remained in a ruined state with only the kitchen and courtyard in effective usage. As such, the Merchant Kings had their court in a large room in the market every two days beginning at 8 in the morning. Their main court topics had to do with accepting respective landlords, seeing to trade issues, legal disputes and envoys and discussing the economic situation in the kingdom.

Tribute to Karduniash was levelled in the form of raw goods. The first two kings however succeeded in gaining exemptions and lowering of their tribute rates by presenting their low revenues in the form of customs. However, by 575 BCE, a regular tribute in grain, timber, fish, reeds, iron, jewelry, gemstones and pearls was exported to Karduniash. Shamash-makhir-nisie II made great strides in improving Elam, however the situation was still relatively poor. Shamash-makhir-nisie according to court documents possessed an army of only 3,000 fighters. It relied upon part time mercenaries which became common across the region who worked for the various landlords and they also relied obviously on the southern landlord elites. However, the 3,000 warriors they did command, guarded the city of Susa. In 573 BCE, a fortress was constructed by the Wing of Marduk outside of Susa to guard the city facing the east. This fortress was called Dur-makhi (He presented a strongpoint). This was used as the barracks for the army of Elam which acted as little more than protectors of merchants in the vicinity of Susa and as guards of the nearby river and canal. Merchants inbound to Susa from afar hired mercenary

Susa despite permission was given to rebuild the city, the Merchant Kings were disallowed to reinforce the walls of the city or rebuild them. As such, Susa possessed only a gate that was repurposed and a wooden wall was constructed hastily to fill in various gaps between the ruined stone walls, which had been dismantled in wars. This made the city relatively vulnerable, but the construction of the nearby fortress, was a promise from the Wing of Marduk to defend the city. 7,000 Wing of Marduk fighters were permanently guarding the fortress and they in turn were the technical superiors to the Elamite 3,000 guard army.

Shamash-makhir-nisie II died in 571 BCE, seeing to the fruition of the policies of his predecessor. His successor was a certain merchant named Epiru-daru-Shamash (Shamash nourishes him eternally), who upon his ascent, saw to a renewed impetus to rebuild the sanctity of the Elamite state. This meant repairs to the Dur Untash ziggurat, the greatest structure in the city of Elam. The great ziggurat was the largest temple structure east of Mesopotamia and was a truly fantastic building. Devoted to the god Inshushinak, the so-called Lord of the Sky. Inshushinak was the chief god of the city of Susa and the most important god in the early period of Elamite kingship and was known to the Akkadians as an aspect of Anu or to the Assyrians later, as a lesser form of Assur. After the conquest of Elam, the ziggurat was damaged in battles between the Aramaens and Elamites and was sacked by the Piqudu. The first two merchant kings neglected the structure, yet religious ceremony was resumed despite the damage. Epiru-daru-Shamash sought to correct the mistake and dispatched envoys to Babylon to seek funds to repair the great ziggurat.

This was rejected and thus a small rift was made between Elam and Kardunaish from 571-569 BCE. However, in 568 BCE, funds were released by Dagon-zakir-shumi for the repairs in light of the era name relating to repairs and construction. Epiru-daru-Shamash thus became elated and in his most important inscriptions in Susa, he erected a stele praising the Brother Kings for their contribution:

‘Praise be made to the Brother King, Dagon-zakir-shumi, Lord of the Lands, He who made the Mark, He who is the Champion of Marduk and the Lord whose Plume is a trail of Fire. Blessings to the King of Karduniash, whose righteous hands hath made repairs upon the House of Inshushinak, Enlil the great primordial sky. Let the rays of the sun piece the sky and bath us in the mercy of the Great Gods who take favor upon servants whose duty is well fulfilled. Indeed, doth we sing glad tidings are for those whose servitude is to the Great Gods……’ he then proceeds to discuss the reign of his predecessors and his early reign. The means, that the repairs of the ziggurat, were the most important actions of his kingship.

This symbolized a return to normalcy for the Elamite priestly classes which for years had been recalcitrant, finally began to integrate to the new normal after their hopes had been assuaged. A mercenary group was also purchased by the Elamite priests to guard the ziggurat, whose bill was paid as of 567 BCE by the Merchant King government in Susa. By 566 BCE, new plans were made by Epiru-daru-Shamash for the construction of new temples, namely to the god Shazi (the god of rivers) and the Great God Shamash (locally in Elam known as Nahunte). With customs revenue growing, Epiru-daru-Shamash even plans to do so without overlord funds and thus build structures on his own, increasing his presence and power considerably.

Hanno I, the Great Lord of Carthage

The distant colony of Tyre, Carthage has truly come into its own. Hanno I had began his rule in 580 BCE and by 575 BCE, had asserted Carthage as the premier power in Africa across the Phoenician cities. Most important of which, creating a coalition of vassals loyal to him and his crown. Supposedly, Hanno I created this hegemony across the northern coast of Africa and in Sardinia and western Sicily, as a means to impose Tyrian domination. However, even the Tyrian king Ithobaal III began noting his independent streak and the ascendency of Hanno I.

Ithobaal III spent his reign from 593 onward, focusing upon coalition building in Phoenicia. This coalition building was intended to increase Phoenician presence and power within the Assyrian hegemony. Much of this increased importance was shown in the invasion of Anatolia under the Wing of Dagon, which depended its success upon the coalition built to provide material, soldiers and logistics from Ithobaal III and his coalition of cities. However, as the coalition was formed, much of the attitude of Ithobaal III was one of cooperation of the Phoenician states, denying cross-Phoenician conflict with one another. As such, the warring Hanno I was engaged in, was seen as a blight on Phoencian unity. Ithobaal II I thus in 574 BCE sent forth a mandate to Hanno I, requesting that the king of Carthage provide him with a notification before waging wars. This would allow the Phoenician king to reject wars before they began and hence a form of control.

Hanno I rejected the terms by sending an envoy with ivory and gold alongside fine wine vases from Sicily. These gifts from Hanno I came as gifts after rejecting the request of Ithobaal III. Ithobaal III became enraged and took the gifts and shaved the head of the envoy and stole his clothing, sending him on ship naked and shaved to Carthage.

Hanno I received the snubbed envoy and treated him, but took no action against Tyre aside for ignoring them. Thus, a cold relation enveloped the two city state hegemons. Ithobaal III closed all settlers from going towards Africa and issued envoys to be sent across Phoenicia to proclaim a moratorium on colonization of the west until Carthage submitted to new rules from Tyre. Carthage did not object and instead relied on its existing Punic population, alongside locals within Africa, Sicily and Sardinia as its associates.

Hanno I however did not take hostile action against Tyre and continued to send pilgrims by 569 BCE to Tyre and the other Phoenician cities, alongside frequent tribute. The implicit attempt, to break the Phoenician league unity, by paying gifts to the lords in Sarepta, Byblos, Baalbek and so forth in order to diminish the harsh tone taken by Ithobaal III.

Otherwise, Carthage under Hanno I made gains in Sardinia against the peoples living in the interior. A large counterinvasion of the Carthaginian southern coast ended in a victory for the Punic defenders. Hanno I arrived in 568 BCE and launched an invasion of the interior. This invasion was a massive success as the Punic army captured many villages and defeated several local petty kings. In the invasion, Hanno I appointed local chiefs in each village he captured and then spared enemy petty kings. This practice inspired a certain détente between the Sardinian statelets and the Punic state. Hanno I made it his policy in this period of war and chaos, to export not direct Carthaginian control, but to export a form of exchange between different peoples and promote Carthage as the main state at the center of a web of friendly states and peoples.

For this matter, Carthage became a forerunner in peace treaties. Leaving off where Ugarit and Hatti had created, Carthage copied the old treaties of their forerunners. These treaties were complex in that they focused on reciprocity between overlord and subjects. This reciprocity was not limited only to the subject of sedentary states, but also to tribal realms without clear heads. Carthaginian treaties were said to be binding to all and Hanno made it a point to make a treaty with each individual clan, while exhausting, this ensured often a ticking improvement of relations of other peoples and also denied these peoples of unification. Precisely because the Carthaginians recognized these individualized and atomized clan and tribal distinctions, so too did this increase their esteem and assurance of independence and lack of need for unification with their kindred folk. This was done from 567-556 BCE by Hanno I to great effect, with the petty kings of Sardinia remaining divided and increasingly under Carthaginian economic and social domination. The Carthaginian port city of Slaqi in the south of the island, acted as the rally point of the Nuragic peoples of the island to proceed to make relations with the Punic settlers, merchants and from more foreign people such as Greeks, Egyptians and so forth. However, Nuragic fears of Punic domination remained and thus only the far south and near south of the island remained under a loose Carthaginian web of rule.

 

[Sphenodon]

Elam is back (in theory)! Though whether it remains anything like it once was amid the degree of Akkadianization, and a sea of larger neighbors, remains much to be seen. That Persia/Parsa has been pinioned in its infancy probably improves its odds at least marginally in the long run, though with how mercurial things are with the peoples in the East that may not mean much.

Very interesting to see the beginnings of a dominant Carthage. In particular, their diplomatic tendencies are interesting - one wonders which style of dependent satellites (Assyria's large, semi-integrated protectorates/colonies, or Carthage's tiny tribal satellites) will prove more viable towards defending their respective empires in times to come.

 

[Rooki]

Nice update! I'm not sure I like the direction the 10 fingers are trying to push things at the moment, seems like they're just out for themselves instead of working toward Duranki. I get the Great King needs a great palace but it does feel like there are more pressing concerns. The Great King did declare the current era for construction though so I suppose I can live with that, who am I to second guess him.

The developments in Elam are very interesting, looking forward to how that unfolds, hopefully they won't face to much backlash for their enthusiastic embracing of Akkadian culture.

I'm surprised Hanno rejected the request from Ithobaal III, if he's still paying tribute it seems like a small concession to let Tyre know whats going on. He could even sort of play lip service, by letting them know a conflict may occur when it's already to late to stop it. Very keen to see how the Punic world develops going forward.

The Ten Gingers presented the issue of the palace and discussion was had.

I happen to be quite ginger myself so this typo made me giggle.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Elam is back (in theory)! Though whether it remains anything like it once was amid the degree of Akkadianization, and a sea of larger neighbors, remains much to be seen. That Persia/Parsa has been pinioned in its infancy probably improves its odds at least marginally in the long run, though with how mercurial things are with the peoples in the East that may not mean much.

Very interesting to see the beginnings of a dominant Carthage. In particular, their diplomatic tendencies are interesting - one wonders which style of dependent satellites (Assyria's large, semi-integrated protectorates/colonies, or Carthage's tiny tribal satellites) will prove more viable towards defending their respective empires in times to come.

Yes, Elam is recovering, however its form is changing drastically. This occurred in otl, and the Elamite populace may not be in any place to stop this transition. The days for now, of an independent and solely strong Elam seem to be over for the foreseen future. Let us say though, that Elam's future is better protected under Assyria-Karduniash than under independence. Elam also is not unprecendented in taking friendly tones to Assyria-Karduniash. Elam always possessed multiple factions, mostly revolving around a sort of proto-nationalist Elamite resistance against the aggressive Sumero-Akkadians faced against those seeking to create detene with them for the sake of economic and safety issues.

Yes, we shall see indeed. It is a difference of export. Carthage exports economic ties and notions of economic treaties. Assyria in turn exports and imposes authoritarian governmental systems and seeks to demolish various styles of governance that are not in accordance with Duranki.

Nice update! I'm not sure I like the direction the 10 fingers are trying to push things at the moment, seems like they're just out for themselves instead of working toward Duranki. I get the Great King needs a great palace but it does feel like there are more pressing concerns. The Great King did declare the current era for construction though so I suppose I can live with that, who am I to second guess him.

The developments in Elam are very interesting, looking forward to how that unfolds, hopefully they won't face to much backlash for their enthusiastic embracing of Akkadian culture.

I'm surprised Hanno rejected the request from Ithobaal III, if he's still paying tribute it seems like a small concession to let Tyre know whats going on. He could even sort of play lip service, by letting them know a conflict may occur when it's already to late to stop it. Very keen to see how the Punic world develops going forward.



I happen to be quite ginger myself so this typo made me giggle.

Yes, my notorious mistypes. They will sometimes create funny moments.

Certainly. The Ten Fingers, see the matter of Duranki though as a mission to ascend to new internal heights, this includes the creation of great palaces and making the kingly residence to resemble that of the Divine. It is an act of display. However it is also the effect of Sinsharishkun's creation of new bureaucratic roles that had nothing to do with military, namely the Ten Attendants who were experts of the court reform of 598 BCE and earlier precedence set forth by Sinsharishkun. As such, these bureaucrats have less care for military matters; focus more upon palatial enrichment, capitol investment, court etiquette, court politics and upon enforcing propaganda of Divine Kingship.

Well the reason he would not want Ithobaal III to know is that implicit in this is making note of increasing Carthaginian influence. This entails that Tyre if it realizes the true extent of Carthaginian expansion and acquisition of allies, Tyre may decide to support other colonies and generally counteract their power. Ultimately, Ithobaal III wishes to assert a league of Phoenician states (which he does not differentiate Carthage from) wherein Tyre has the general supremacy as the foremost representative of the Phoenician states to the Assyrian court in Kalhu.

 

[Rooki]

Well the reason he would not want Ithobaal III to know is that implicit in this is making note of increasing Carthaginian influence. This entails that Tyre if it realizes the true extent of Carthaginian expansion and acquisition of allies, Tyre may decide to support other colonies and generally counteract their power.

Ahh, I didn't consider it from that angle, it appears Hanno I is quite a bit cleverer than me

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Announcement:

Sorry for the delay, a new update will be a short time ahead as my schedule has become unexpectedly busy due to a short bout with illness. This kept me from wanting to make write ups. I will build back in short order to do another full update. In the meantime, I would like to ask the readers if in the meantime, they would be interested in an update on a works I have been constructing in the universe atl.

The idea is to go through several books written in atl around the time and discuss their effects. Some of which will have already been discussed in the timeline earlier. The works I will discuss somewhat will be:


-Saaru-ushumgallu: The work on the primacy of a feminine duality deity of Ishtar-Gula.
-The Book of Rites and Custom: According to its author, an explanation of the customs and rites that uphold the throne. It is the explanation of some of the rites and etiquette of the court of Kalhu under the Ten Fingers and also an insight into how the Ten Fingers' view the Assyrian state from the words of one of its own. Composed anonymously.
-The Sublime Explanations: A work that was made in the city of Nippur by an errant priest of Ninurta. The work discusses the nature of humanity and the explanation of the sacrifice of Ilawela and promotes Ilawela, the first text to do so since the Bronze Age.
-The Master Text Volume One: A re-visitation of the old Bronze Age master warrior text by a group of military elite in the city of Mari. Their intention, to outline military matters for future generations, explain the success of Assyria and also to provide a training manual.
-The Epic of Sinsharishkun: An epic retelling of the life of Sinsharishkun. Which implicitly provides a pro-Deification message.
-The Lime Colored Sail: A formulated version of the great epic told of Sinbanipal's transit to Dilmun with great Deification messages.

What would be the thoughts of the readers on this idea?

 

[Rooki]

I'm sorry to hear that you've been unwell, wishing you a speedy recovery.

I would like to ask the readers if in the meantime, they would be interested in an update on a works I have been constructing in the universe atl.

Sounds good, the texts you've listed all sound fascinating. The Sublime Explanations and Saaru-ushumgallu in particular are very interesting to me.

 

[Taurë Eldaiva]

The idea is to go through several books written in atl around the time and discuss their effects. Some of which will have already been discussed in the timeline earlier. The works I will discuss somewhat will be:

That would be fascinating! Would be happy to read.

-Saaru-ushumgallu: The work on the primacy of a feminine duality deity of Ishtar-Gula.

I'm still fascinated with this as an idea. In particular I can see this whole thing causing a lot of internal theological arguements down the line. Admittedly, given the generally non-doctrinal nature of the religion in general, I doubt it'll go beyond scholars and priests but that's where the fun debates happen anyway. Specifically, I can see general tensions over which of the deities who compose the dual divinity is more emphasized (because, honestly, even if they're explicitly complimenting equals you're still going to have people preferring one over the other) along with argument over whether primary concern should be placed on the component goddesses or on the combined whole. I imagine the older records of Ishtar/Inanna (and possibly southern Mesopotamian traditions which aren't as focused on the bloodshed aspect) which show overlap with Gula will just make the arguments messier.

After all, while you can use Ishtar being worshiped in similar capacities as Gula as evidence of her superiority (i.e. she doesn't need Gula to embody the same aspects), you can also argue its just more evidence of their dual/unitary nature as two sides of the same entity, with the poor mortals just not being aware of it till recently.

Regardless of that, it'll be interesting to see how the belief in the syncretic fusion of the two deities affects the cults of the two seperate deities. Especially given the decentralized nature of the varying temples which sometimes do and sometimes don't acknowledge the deities of the same name being the same deity.

-The Sublime Explanations: A work that was made in the city of Nippur by an errant priest of Ninurta. The work discusses the nature of humanity and the explanation of the sacrifice of Ilawela and promotes Ilawela, the first text to do so since the Bronze Age.

While I've been reading a lot more on the various strains of Mesopotamian religion in the last year or two, before now I don't think I've heard of Ilawela, so I'm looking forward to hearing more about our favorite sacrificed god.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

That would be fascinating! Would be happy to read.

I'm still fascinated with this as an idea. In particular I can see this whole thing causing a lot of internal theological arguements down the line. Admittedly, given the generally non-doctrinal nature of the religion in general, I doubt it'll go beyond scholars and priests but that's where the fun debates happen anyway. Specifically, I can see general tensions over which of the deities who compose the dual divinity is more emphasized (because, honestly, even if they're explicitly complimenting equals you're still going to have people preferring one over the other) along with argument over whether primary concern should be placed on the component goddesses or on the combined whole. I imagine the older records of Ishtar/Inanna (and possibly southern Mesopotamian traditions which aren't as focused on the bloodshed aspect) which show overlap with Gula will just make the arguments messier.

After all, while you can use Ishtar being worshiped in similar capacities as Gula as evidence of her superiority (i.e. she doesn't need Gula to embody the same aspects), you can also argue its just more evidence of their dual/unitary nature as two sides of the same entity, with the poor mortals just not being aware of it till recently.

Regardless of that, it'll be interesting to see how the belief in the syncretic fusion of the two deities affects the cults of the two seperate deities. Especially given the decentralized nature of the varying temples which sometimes do and sometimes don't acknowledge the deities of the same name being the same deity.


While I've been reading a lot more on the various strains of Mesopotamian religion in the last year or two, before now I don't think I've heard of Ilawela, so I'm looking forward to hearing more about our favorite sacrificed god.

Ilawela was the hypothesized Great God that appeared in the myths surrounding Atrahasis and similar myths emerging from late Bronze Age Kassite ruled Karduniash. It described that Ilawela was 'the ear' or 'the listener' a certain deity of unknown origins. He placed himself up to be sacrificed ritually. His sacrifice was to be cut into pieces by his siblings, Marduk, Gula, Ishtar, Adad, Dagon, Nurgle, etc... They then took his essence which was torn asunder and distributed into the bodies of the ritually slaughtered primordial son of Tiamat, Kingu whose dismembered parts had been turned into the bodies of humans by Gula (She who Fashioned Clay). This then proceeded the ominous phrase within the myths often used as a mantra, 'the Great Gods slaughtered Ilawela, but they would hear his drumbeat eternally.' This drumbeat referred specifically to the notion of human noise and more effectively prayers. In later times in the tl, we will discuss how this will come to be interpreted in extremely esoteric ways. Indeed, while some may claim Ishtar-Gula to be the supreme deity, there will be others who will make a claim in this regard but using Ilawela.

Ilawela, is essentially a deity that has been 'killed' yet he lives on through human civilization in a sense. It may be the case that this mythos on Ilawela was invented during the high intellectuals in the 1700s BCE to reason the myths that they had inherited. Compiling the religion into a comprehensive myth and one that described some of the more fine matters of the religious doctrine.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

572-566 BCE

The Grand Duality, Mistress of the Universe

The production of Saaru Ushumgallu by Ka’anshish dagalu-Ishtar in the year 579 BCE caused little stir in his lifetime in Karduniash. Ka’anshsih was previously a priest of the Great God Marduk and was called Anaku-Marduk (Marduk orders) within the city of Babylon. However, in the year of 600 BCE, he received a revelation…



“Upon a walk through the market of Babylon, the once servant of Marduk did walk the steps forth towards his home. Anaku-Marduk, the son of nobody in particular had been interred as a youth into the care of the priesthood of Marduk…. Once thus upon his travel homeward thus, the afore described Marduk arrived upon the steps of his home, loosing the seal stamp lock, Anaku-Marduk entered unphased into his home. Closing forth his door, before making a further second step, a great beam covered his lair, a voice from an outstretched light called unto him, beckoning him the truths of the universe….



‘Why do ye tarry, prostrate, lowly servant, for this One hath made a will to commune with thee! Hence, assume ye a position conducive to listening and the heeding of words!’

The Servant of Marduk was filled with the aura of terror, a grief of fear came upon him and his back buckled and fell forth as his body contorted upon the floor and his face was placed firmly upon his dirt floor. He spoke not, for his tongue had become grasped and his ears were opened for he had been possessed by the power of the Divine.

‘Behold, it is I, the Queen of the Heavens’ whose power is immense, whose life is eternal, whose glory is famed, whose movement is fixed, yet moves across the universe freely. Great God whose sword held the lines, Great God whose hands crafted the body, Great God whose kingdom is ever expanded, Great God who bestowed kingship long ago, Great God whose face is double, Great God whose power is beyond compare.

Know me, he who submissively, hath stared! Ventured unto ye, hath I for a token to be granted unto the world abounding with the servants of the land, forgetful they of the occupation = holy. For my glory, I shall fashion ye, a slave whose role is to speak, to speak the first lines = mouthpiece. Though lowly in stature, born of flesh of the slain one, hath you a purpose in the service of this One = to point. Let my words now bring a joy unto ye, a mercy for all ages and a truth of the foundation = splendid.

This One, I, the Great God of the Boundaries, Mistress of the Two Realms, Great God of the low and high places, The Dancing Serpent, Great God of all creation, foremost commander of the Divine Host, present to the prostrated man a task to promulgate a hymn. Upon his soul, I hath etched the words. Walk, he shall to the temple of Marduk, no words, proceed him to the pinnacles and then once upon the temple, he shall release a word unto the heavens.

Say he shall: Lady of the Heavens, I heed the call, walk shall I into the city foremost of the land of Sumer and make penance, produce shall I the hymn etched upon my soul, as You command, so it shall be.’



The Kalhu Codex put it as so:



“The deranged priest, Anaku-Marduk had come upon the influence of demons. His avaricious lust for fame beckoned to him as the street walker (prostitute) does to her prey. This despicable priest fell well into the trap, for he was played by the demons of deception, they who seek to impose a negative aura upon the Lands. Regardless of such, the codpiece known as Anaku-Marduk, travelled south to Uruk. There, he composed a hymn to Ishtar-Gula, whom he called the expectation of Duranki. This raving man was despite his failings, studious and spent much time at work producing a larger text propounding his views, all of which were despicably horrendous in quality, profane to the eyes of the Gods. Unfortunate for those whose ears were to hear his fumbled words, another part of his character commendable was that he was exceptionally skilled at spreading a message. One might have confused him for an errand boy, for he travelled across Uruk, spreading his slanderous message. Claiming that praise for the Queen Ishtar and Queen Gula, acted as replacements for the devotion to other Great Gods. After he had performed this, he managed to sneak his way to greater fame, serving in the army of Sinsharishkun, he settled in Tima. There, the less intelligent people ranging in the desert, the Nabtu were more easily swayed by his message. Word of a binary deity was heard in temples in Tima. Curious travelers inquired of this entity whom they spoke, for the Great Gods are by custom unique, not united as wholes.

These moronic Arabs and Nabtu, with an arrogant quality of savages, proceeded to explain to those earnest travelers and wanderers, that the binary Deity, Ishtar and Gula had comingled and become one. They, having aspects of the Family as a whole, united into the ‘Expectation of Duranki.’ These fools then exclaimed that this binary deity was exalted above all. When pressed as to the precedence of a deity mingling, these people claimed that the process of primordial mixing that led to the creation of Great God Assur is a precedence.

Such blasphemy hold the people in shame. Failure to the Great Gods is measured in many ways and indeed by permitting these evil-doers and slanderers existence, is something for which our realm will be thrown into chaos for. Let the Great King know of the torrential terror that is soon to be upon us, if the Great Gods are not avenged in the field of debate. As such, we sent forth messages unto the priesthood abounding the region, informing them of our particulars. Their responses were of quality, the menace of these evil-doers was to be combatted, for no person might say one Great God ascends above the other. Likewise, we informed the royal court of the development and of the tacit silence of the King inf Karduniash, may the Great Gods smite him.’



The affair became known as the ‘Binary Affair.’ A growing issue that would continue alongside other sectarian issues in terms of cultic practice.

Traditionally, in Akkadian religiosity, ideas of heresy were uncommon. While there was people who denied teachings and went against them, the floor was usually free for people to expound new ideas. However, there was an inherent taboo of, to not allow the advent of slander of the Great Gods, by claiming one deity had exceeded all others. The new ideal among the priesthood generally and by the court propagandists, was that the Great Gods were co-equals and none could exceed the others except in the aspects that they were superior. Further, they were all unique entities, whose emergence was an unknown, appearing as it were from the deep. This maintained the privilege and prestige of every divine cult in the region without attacking the others. So, it was a religious custom that permitted henotheism, but did not permit one to propose that their god was greater than the others, only that they worship and seek favor with their god due to practical and prudent reasons pertaining to their lifestyle. To proclaim another deity as greater than the others was a sin, a taboo which could incur death in Assyria if heard by the wrong circles.

Prior most important issues arose in two types since the Late Bronze Age. Firstly, the question of Assur vs Marduk. Traditionally, the kingdoms of Assyria and Karduniash followed all of the same Great Gods, however both held a particular deity as the greatest. Assur, the God of the city of Assur and of Nineveh, was an odd deity, perhaps indigenous to Hurrian religiosity, his aspects early on was that of a deity of the sky, particularly that of the heavens. In this sense, he seemed much like the primordial deities that proceeded the Great Gods. Whilst Assyria held the doctrine of worship of Assur, in Karduniash, the promulgation of the most important Akkadian religious text of the Bronze Age was issued forth, Enuma Elish. In this document, the local deity, once a localized version of Zababa the chariot war god of Kish, named Marduk appeared. Riding on a chariot pulled by great northern stallions, he slays a dragon called Tiamat and alongside his siblings, the Great Gods, defeats the demon-god army led by Tiamat. This symbolized an infusion of northern Indo-European motifs into the Akkadian religious corpus via the Kassites and explains the divergence briefly in religious myth between Assyria (which maintained the primacy of primordial deities of the sky, wind and water alongside the more emotive Great Gods) and that of Kassite controlled Karduniash.

This division was solved however quite quickly, first by both accepting the two gods as co-equals and both ‘Great Gods’ the term now encompassing a class of Gods that exceeded the old gods in power, prestige and emotions. These were: Assur, Marduk, Dagon, Adad, Ishtar, Gula, Ninurta, Naboo, Nergal, Shamash, Sin and the two odd deities, Tammuz and Ilawela (whose divinity is irregular). The cultural compromise was affirmed very early in the Late Bronze Age and the effect of the compromise was that no god simply due to primacy in an area, may be seen to be made as the superior to all other deities within the albeit small pantheon.

The second issue was that of the Moon God Sin. Sin, one of the most beloved of the Gods, possessed a true infamy due to his association with persuading through the teaching his priesthood, the critical action of men of ambition to become living gods. Likewise, this coincided with the notion of changing and affecting the fate of the universe through means other than omens. As Sin was the deity of changing ways, it implied that man through his will and devotion to the Moon God, may change even the edicts and fates set forth by the Great Gods. No limits could be placed upon a true servant of Sin and no limits indeed were placed upon the shoulders of the Moon God, who took a keen almost preferential treatment of mankind. Even in early times, it would seem that some of the views of the cult of Sin, was an attempt to ascend man to a new height, free from the slavery to the Great Gods. Indeed, this is something that the priesthood greatly feared and is the primary tenant that the priesthood wished to maintain as clear dogma. No argument in favor of man’s freedom may be made, nor his ability to change the wills of the Great Gods. Duranki was the only goal of the humans, whose slavery entailed work which came in the form of the Assyrian-Karduniash dual-monarchy, its governance of the world and of its societal order imposed.

The compromise in this instance, was due to other doctrines, no explicit attack could be made upon the nature of Sin. So, Sin’s nature is described indeed as changing as phases, but that this represents a personality of his tactic, in other words, mankind is to emulate his tactics, trickery and fickleness on the field of war for the sake of Duranki. However, such trickery was not to be used to manipulate society or reality so it was to create yourself as a god or as some sort of big-man. Those who did so, were seen as secularists and called atheists in a sense, those who reject the gods.

A third and different sort of heterodoxy existed in the form of so-called evil magic. Magic usually was an accepted practice in the region and by the Akkadians. Powerful amulets of great renown were worn and used to conjure the power of the universe. Prayers with the purpose of incanting magical spells of healing or other sorts of goals were made commonly. Priests did not dislike such magic. Furthermore, offensive magic or maleficium was used by the Assyrian state against sinners and foreign enemy regimes. This magic supposedly would create auras, that would destroy enemy armies and or cause dread in their hearts upon battle. Likewise, the spells supposedly would create famines and blight upon the enemies and thus make them pay for their sins. However, such powerful magic was only to be used for the sake of state purposes, namely foreign military and diplomatic causes.

Beseeching the Great Gods with offerings or in seeking the aid of demons or spirits to cause offensive harm through magic without state sanction was seen as witchcraft and was deemed as evil. Using magic to attack others in petty disputes for vendettas or in personal matters of sadism, while not seen as immoral for revenge, was seen as bad luck. The idea that vengeance was good in Akkadian society is known, however such vendettas were supposed to be done through force or law, not through magic which was not be used by slaves (as humans were) for their petty disputes. In the view of the priesthood, such usages would bring ruin upon society as the Great Gods would punish them for wasting magical powers on vendettas and not upon their duties as purveyors and guardians of Duranki. Likewise, since the population readily believed in magical powers that could be attained through sufficient sacrifice, if all of society could delve into such things, it would lead to a society without any trust or protection. As such, witchcraft (using the Akkadian word kishpi or evil/offensive magic) of all kind was banned despite it being a form of worship if you will of the Great Gods.

However, this new issue was even more difficult. Such an offensive term as ‘expectation of Duranki’ could not be tolerated and the priesthood and scribes designate it as a new word, loosely translated as ‘heresy.’ The used word was that of Izzaratum which means, to revile something. The meaning that the heretic was someone whose existence was to revile and to abuse the Great Gods. From now on, the word heretic in the form of Akkadian society means someone whose religion is to abuse the Great Gods and the solemn religion of the ancestors.

This new heresy was taken very seriously and in 572 BCE, was made the talk of the court at Kalhu. After Ariba-Ninurta (the retainer for Ipanqazzu) was sent forth toward Urartu for his attack upon the rebellion in that land and also shoring up the borders with Colchis, the plan was that once news arrived of progress in the northern fronts, Sinbanipal would call court and discuss the issue of the Binary Affair and would call forth individuals from across the empire to both propound their views and to also intercede on one side or the other.

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A short update overall, but I am going to ease back into the groove of this. Expect longer updates in the near future. Illness slowed the development slightly, but as I am fully recovered, matters will turn back to normal.

 

[Sphenodon]

It lives! Glad to hear you've recovered from your affliction.

Very interested to see how this great theological debate occurs, not only as to see the consequences of this young branch of the faith in the long run, but for the precedence it sets with the notion of heretical ideas. Should more arise, perhaps the fluidity of the existing henotheist system could find itself more subject to codification of its tenets and views.

Given the mention of this dualist heresy being initially spread by Arabs, I am interested to see whether - regardless of being looked on in hostility by Assyrian officialdom - it might come to dominance in the southern regions of the Assyrian sphere and spread elsewhere amid the next period of Assyrian state weakness. Engraining itself as a minority group religion may preclude it from becoming a third player in the power struggle between the Sin-extolling deification faction and the traditionalists of Ashur and Marduk, but you never know how things can change with the centuries. That the dualist revelation is remembered through a text describing it in a vaguely supportive (or at least neutral) context seems indicator enough that it gets clout somewhere, though.

 

[Samm]

Really good to see you returning.
This is quite a fascinating development. If you look at history it is often in reaction to heresy that the boundaries of Orthodoxy are properly codified so this could prove an important turning point in the history of the Assyrian religion.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

It lives! Glad to hear you've recovered from your affliction.

Very interested to see how this great theological debate occurs, not only as to see the consequences of this young branch of the faith in the long run, but for the precedence it sets with the notion of heretical ideas. Should more arise, perhaps the fluidity of the existing henotheist system could find itself more subject to codification of its tenets and views.

Given the mention of this dualist heresy being initially spread by Arabs, I am interested to see whether - regardless of being looked on in hostility by Assyrian officialdom - it might come to dominance in the southern regions of the Assyrian sphere and spread elsewhere amid the next period of Assyrian state weakness. Engraining itself as a minority group religion may preclude it from becoming a third player in the power struggle between the Sin-extolling deification faction and the traditionalists of Ashur and Marduk, but you never know how things can change with the centuries. That the dualist revelation is remembered through a text describing it in a vaguely supportive (or at least neutral) context seems indicator enough that it gets clout somewhere, though.

A bit of a spoiler, but I cannot resist. This court discussion will preoccupy the Assyrian state for years to come as what can best be described as a council emerges as new ideas and 'heresies' are uncovered, leading to serious discussion that will take much of the court's time. Much of this will be based upon the notion of the prior king Sinsharishkun and his policy of reform, leading to a council like system wherein the state will discuss these matters. The Kalhu scribes unlocked the issue by warning the Ten Fingers, already on edge about the situation in the empire and unwilling to permit new religious ideas to spread that could endanger the status of the monarchy. As such, what was initially a small issue, is going to become massive as the Assyrian state will become more aware of divergent religious customs and also grapple with key theological events.

The following updates will focus primarily thus on religion and discussion of fine points of doctrine. However, at the end of each update, a summary and discussion into military and world affairs will be given. The exception being the rebellion in Urartu which will be given more spotlight.

So, be prepared for delving deeply into the religious customs of a several year long council and dispute unlocked by the Kalhu scribes and clergy. This is one of the few issues that may persuade the Traditionalists to not advocate immediate war, as internal issues of belief must be combatted. The Ten Fingers likewise and their palatial goals, will frame the council as 'building the temple foundation in the mind' in other words, to fit the action in line with the current era name.

Do you have any predictions? I am curious. Open to anyone.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Really good to see you returning.
This is quite a fascinating development. If you look at history it is often in reaction to heresy that the boundaries of Orthodoxy are properly codified so this could prove an important turning point in the history of the Assyrian religion.

Indeed.... In otl, this was not as possible, but a continued Assyrian hegemony and a unique Palatial-Traditonalist dichotomy, issues of orthodoxy are required issues to be discussed and fixed.

 

[Taurë Eldaiva]

Great to have you back and hear you're well. The update itself is pretty good, though I'll withold further comments till we see where this is going since this seems to mostly be set up for the theological 'Council'.

Do you have any predictions? I am curious. Open to anyone.

If I had to make a broad guess, it'd likely depend on a few different factors.

The first of which, would be whether the dualists can co-opt or gain support from the myriad cults of Ishtar and Gula located geographically close enough to matter for this. I imagine the question of whether they will or not will depend on whether they're viewed as threats to the individual cults, or if it's viewed as a way to further glorify their chosen deity. I imagine (I'm afraid I'm going to be using that two-word phrase a lot here) the deciding factor there will be whether this changes how the cults function. Meaning, if it's mostly a theological matter and you're still worshiping Ishtar and Gula individually, even if it's as halves of a greater whole, in the same manner as before, it might just be seen as further glorification. But if the duality requires an active change in cultic practices and a dissolution of the separate 'faces' of the dual goddess in favor of the unified whole, it might be more likely to be seen as a threat.

Another factor would be whether either the Deification or Traditionalists decide to 'jump-ship' so to speak. Namely, a unified dual-goddess who encompasses the whole pantheon would be a more theologically sound figure to ascend the King to a level where he can change the will of the gods omens and propitiative rites aside, naturally than a lone Great God (though, this requires the other Great Gods be kept around as worshiped if subordinated entities to be meaningful). So it might be attractive to some in the Deification faction. The issue with that though, is that the Deification faction seems to be quite firmly attached to Sin/Suen's cult, and there seems to be a significant overlap between devotees of Suen and the Deification Faction itself. Given that this Dual-Goddess would lessen Suen (though, as Hinduism shows us, just because you pick out a range of a few possible supreme deities doesn't mean the others go away or even necessarily lessen in importance), I have difficulty seeing the Deification Faction viewing it well.

In a sense, I think the Deification Faction, or at least the part of it composed by devotees of Sin would be more ameliorable if the Akkadian view of the gods had retained the more human family structure (i.e. gods marrying and begetting children). Mostly because Ishtar/Inanna, outside Uruk, was typically the daughter of Sin and Ningal (Unless I'm mistaken, in Harran in particular the three were worshiped as a sort of divine triad), so while it might not be as emotionally appealing as having Sin himself be the predominant deity, having him be the beloved father of said predominant deity might have its appeal.

For the Traditionalists, the Dual-Goddess represents a great affront to the traditional religious system they want to uphold, but also a major delegitimizing factor for the Deification Faction as it currently exists. Namely, a Dual Goddess who supersedes the other Great Gods both lessens Suen's importance in relative terms, but also means that elevating the King to a living god doesn't mean as much. After all, if the Great Gods are subordinate to Ishtar-Gula, would not the King remain just as subordinate to her even if elevated to divinity? Essentially, the Dual Goddess has the potential to theologically devalue the idea of a god-king. That being said, as the Traditionalists are, well, traditionalists, I can't see them being eager to lessen all of the other cults and dramatically altering the theology of another two.

In both cases though, there's also the fact that many of the people involved legitimately will not see the advantages even when they're more than intelligent enough to come to that conclusion. Namely, because to them their cultic practices aren't just a means of social control, they're the very real and very effective means of dealing with the very real and powerful gods. In their minds, even if the doctrine might have appealing factors, if they don't believe in it they'll have a hard time even considering supporting it.

Regarding the end result...I imagine that the Council will likely condemn the predominance of the Ishtar-Gula fusion over the other Great Gods, but avoid directly commenting on whether or not the deities are in anyway commingled. Essentially, try to appease the other Great Gods cults without completely pushing away the Dualists. Unless they're willing to try and kill them all, which I don't really think they'd want to bother with right now...

Actually, thinking about it, this 'heresy' might be really bad news for the Hebrews/Jews. Since the Assyrians currently think they're Adad worshipers who worship him exclusively. But if they realize (assuming the Hebrews/Jews at this point actually were strict monotheists) that they only acknowledge 'Adad' as a god...depending on how they respond to the Dualists the situation there could get ugly the next time the Assyrian court remembers they exist.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

@Taurë Eldaiva

An interesting point on the family part. Yes, and generally, there was in this period a sort of divine triad of celestials as they called. That being, Shamash, Sin and Ishtar. In Harran however, by this period, Sin is seen as certainly the most important of said celestial triad, at least for the city itself. This position of a divine triad however is not an issue as long as one says within henotheism:

'this god is the greatest, specifically for myself and my group due to our circumstances.'

Essentially every Assyrian monarch operated to some degree on the operative of henotheism and of in different parts of his reign or for its entirety, venerated a particular deity for different reasons. In traditional Assyrian royal propaganda, all Great Gods sat at the table and were lords of the universe, but as we know, particular atomized cults existed across the region of Mesopotamia who whilst acknowledging the whole family of Duranki as it were, they revered a particular deity or set as the prime and the greater set for them at the moment. So-called tyranny and secularism was when a person's devotion to a deity in this henotheistic framework began to break the custom of the unity of Duranki as a set of equal siblings. In the case of kings, we may see many examples of this:

Tukulti-Ninurta I (1234-1197 BCE) was a devotee of Nergal and his reign displays how he devoted himself to the Black Flame. Looting, pillaging, vicious punishments and emulating Nergal in all matters, he invoked terror in his enemies. His propaganda display him as a great warrior who set enemy lands ablaze in a tide of destruction followed by pillaging and taking slaves by the thousands. His emulation of the deity however went too far, when his thirst for loot led to him attacking the temples of the Great God Marduk, Ishtar and others. He was according to legend, slayed by his sons and the people for his excess and tyranny. A tyranny that in the minds of the conservatives, amounted to a devotion to Nergal taken to the extreme.

The same may be said of Naram-Sin (perhaps not reality fully, but this was the tale told in the Assyrian propaganda) and his excessive devotion to Sin. It an be said of Sennacherib and his devotion to Sin that led to his frankness and his secularism of sorts, etc...

Traditionally, in Assyrian royal propaganda, the cult we could say of the triangle of Assur, Nineveh and Kalhu, is the cult of Ninurta-Assur. Assyrian kings were to idealize these and ultimately, the Traditionalist faction revolves around seeing their king as emulating these figures in a prime way. Assur being the Great God who is the 'expectation of the primordial deities' in that he is the fusion of An, Enlil and Enki. Embodying sky as the great vault of heaven he has subsumed An... as the winds from each direction he has subsumed Enlil... And in the seas and water he has subsumed Enki. Combining all of these aspects and becoming one, this fusion in Assyrian propaganda is the God who is king of Duranki, his role is to be the coalition head if you will of the family and to oversee the governance of humanity. His aura is that of terror and he demands obedience of all creation. Ninurta meanwhile, is the god of hunters, duelists, adventurers and catchers of beasts. In this respect, the Assyrian king is to be a warrior-king, who enters battle as a duelist, slaying enemy generals and in campaign he embarks upon exploration. One of the most common Assyrian motifs is that of the king 'discovering new passages' or 'climbing hills whom their fathers knew not.' The idea is to mimic the Great God Ninurta, the boldest of the Duranki and the Great God who rules Kalhu.

In the same respect as the triangle has its preferences for monarchical emulation and views these emulations as the most important, every major cult center has the same level of henotheistic devotion and opinion. Such a religious system however cannot exist alongside the idea of the family birthing and having been reproduced. The notion by this period in the atl, is that the Heavenly Triad, An, Enki and Enlil, were born from the zodiac, emerging from the void. Once emerged, they began creating the holy hill, Duranki. As gods of elements, they created items that created 'noise.' Said noise perturbed the chaotic and void deities, Tiamat and Apsu, leading to conspiracy between these entities. After which, the deities engaged in war with each other after the Primordials slew Apsu. Upon this slaying, the Great Gods emerged from the void independent of sexual intermingling and the Primordial fused into Assur.

By removing the older Sumerian religious motif of the Gods having been born from other gods explicitly, permits the newer Akkadian motif of the Great Gods as 'independent of their predecessors.' That is, whatever came before is meaningless as the Great Gods are independently powerful. They are meant to be further, a mysterious item, which cannot be known in totality, most especially their origin. Much of this understanding is a byproduct of Enuma Elish and its implications that the Great Gods simply emerged from some unknown void. Thus abolishing the notion of a more humane set of deities who are essentially immortal humans.
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That being said, the Duality heresy is different in that it proposes the other Gods aspects as being held within this Duality. Implicit in this is that the Great Gods and their independent unique cults are meaningless, as every aspect of Duranki is held within the Dual ultimate God of Ishtar-Gula. If Ishtar-Gula is the Great Champion Queen who slew Tiamat and is the warrior god who destroys all things in fits of rage and then blesses the land after with rain and crops, then what use is the unique cults of Marduk, Adad and Dagon? This is at leas the fear of the Traditionalist camp.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

572-563 BCE



The Council of Kalhu Phase 1: Years 572-570 BCE and the Ten Fingers Consolidate

Due to the beginning of the Binary Heresy, various priests and scribes in Assyria began to assert the necessity for a court session. This court session was signed by many of the most prominent priests of the land, including those in all major cities across Assyria, colonies and in Karduniash to a lesser extent. The call was ultimately to discuss the issue of the Binary Heresy and to see to create a coherent policy on the issue. In 572 BCE, the Ten Fingers were reaching at a zenith in their power, with the palatial construction taking the highest precedence in the court.

The Ten Fingers, also had managed by the year 572 BCE, to consolidate the Deification Faction around the ideals of palatial centralization. One such example of this consolidation was the work known as ‘The Book of Rites and Custom.’ This work completed in 574 BCE, by an anonymous person among the Ten Fingers, exemplifies a particular model of government for the Assyrian state. To be brief, the work propounded a sort of government based upon a supposed ‘Divine Secret’ which is revealed to be the following:

“There exists in the wondrous realms abound us the Great Gods. They exist among us, their bodies in our midst, powerful bodies of gold, bronze and the icons of the Divine. Yet, their image, imbued with their auras hath aspects whom we may draw from, we make distinctions in their actions. No Deity exists as part of an entire whole, save the Council of Duranki, of which our Heavenly Masters are separated into roles as befits their Divine Prowess, of which we are informed of only by that which is given us by tokens enshrined in jewel and metal. The secret left unmeasured is that the Deities mingling and influencing in their actions, though unique, have amongst their midst, a Lord whose deeds concern the matters of governance. Namely, Great God Sin, the Lord of the Moon, the Changer of Ways. While Assur is Lord of Kings, Whole Heaven, Marduk the Champion who slew Tiamat, Ishtar the mother and slayer of enemies, Ninurta the intrepid fighter, and so forth, Sin is the Lord whose face is ever near, yet further and further away from us. His light is a faded shine, which embarks upon us a clue as to his magnificence, enough to be noticed yet dim enough to require man to make a study of his feature. His form changes in a way that is of a mystery and he each night beckons to us to discover the means by which he hath moved all things into position that are beneath Duranki. Whilst all the Great Gods inspire man to do acts in a correct way, Sin is the Lord who changes man into what he must become and likewise, operates the correct way forward for the gardening of Duranki (earth in this case).”

“The Great God Sin transforms man into what he is to become, he is the shaper of men and the one who inspires a divine activity amongst the creatures of the world. He is the entity whose hand is beneath acts of man. An invisible hand which directs man across the boundaries. His transformative fingers are as tendrils which choose and manipulate for the designs of Duranki. In the issue of the Deluge, the Great Gods destroyed the world, they sat atop Duranki, the heavenly plane and burst forth terror unto the universe. Man who had sinned was destroyed for their numbers and their arrogance great. The Great Gods however issued forth upon the humans who survived the destruction in the city of Nippur a token unto slaves. The voice of the Ear continued to call to the Great Gods and they bestowed upon us kingship. In that moment, Great God Sin moved along the thread which tethers and tightens and transformed the king of the land into something else. He became a God, whose image is made preeminent amongst the men of the world. Transformed he becomes a lord whose role is to subjugate the universe and for the sake of the Family, oversee all matters.”

“To become a Great God however places the Lord of Lords above that of routine governance. Sin is a lord who transforms, he beckons to man to find him and otherwise is the passive member of the Family, he is the planner whose activities are shown only whence the night emerges, the secret power among Duranki. Other Lords of Duranki procede with grandeur and pomp, they are known as their icons shine bright from the heavens or from below. Yet Sin passively awaits and makes designs for he whom he hath transformed into a God, an entity given charge to likewise cause change into the universe on behalf of his master.

“For the King if the God who mimics Sin, it follows that he too is a secret, a hidden flower whose bloom is seen only upon the right moment. Those who see him see only a glimmer of splendid might, yet they will not perceive him fully. He is to transform the people and the servants of Duranki into what they are to become, codpieces in the construction and maintenance of Duranki. Therefore, he transforms the servants of his into effigies to enact policy and maintain Duranki in his stead. These effigies are the Gentleman of the Palace whose role is to see to the completion of Duranki and to guard the flower of the chosen majestic mover of the ages.”

Critically, the Gentleman of the Palace are responsible for holding the governance of society and of upholding Duranki. The Divine Majesty possesses the role of partaking in rituals that embody and empower the universe, he is the holy relic of the state. From his glow doth the power of the state emerges and ripple across the universe. Gentleman, Nobles, priests, warriors and commoners of all kinds/occupations partake in this.” – from the ‘The Gilded Commentary’ by Buhra-Ilawela (Ilawela has been prepared) written in the year 443 BCE.

While somewhat obtuse, it discusses the Great Secret as the notion that the Great Gods having roles in the state of Duranki, Sin sits in as the changer and maneuvering of the Divine. His role is to transform creatures into better objects and or to provide the way for ambitious ones to ascend. However, once ascended, his roles are to likewise embrace a sort of distribution of governance and transform commoners into eunuchs and or officials whose roles are to govern in the place of the Great King, whose role is in more high matters of ritual, ceremonial combat and in embarking upon enforcement of correct auras entering and exiting the realm. Auras in this case, being the notion in Akkadian religion of an aura being a sense of Divine majesty existing that could create blessings or curses, a form of centralized state-level magic.

These ideals united the Deification Faction more than ever. A palace based government with strong eunuchs, generals and slave-caste peoples (not permitted to integrate) as the items used to create the government. In 572 BCE, the Ten Fingers were unsure fully of what to make of the Binary Heresy. Their envoys had mentioned the development of a certain devotion to Ishtar-Gula amongst the population of Arabia and the enigmatic presence of the so-called priest of the Duality who had composed a great cry at the top of the Temple to Marduk in Babylon. In general, such things were taken as simply praises of the feminine deities, who often incurred great levels of excessive worship. Gula as the mother of mercy and Ishtar as the deity responsible for safe child rearing, entailed that such deities would induce some of the most extreme amounts of praising.

Furthermore, the Ten Fingers always had more important matters to deal with than the praising of deities. Afterall, the Ten Fingers regarded themselves as the protectors of the Divine Glow as they called it, the emitting aura of the Great King from his palace in Kalhu. Palatial construction had been their primary goal over the last decade and thus this issue went beneath the radar so to speak.

Though clamoring for the court to act became deafening and further study led to the Ten Fingers becoming quite perturbed. The idea of a Deity which embodies all aspects would inherently remove the importance of Sin, furthermore, to assert the primacy of Ishtar above Sin was a level of heresy that the Ten Fingers felt fearful of. Nevertheless, the Ten Fingers approached most matters as if they were a minority government, that was faced against a stronger yet divided opposition in court. As such, to outright attack potential fifth columns that could be used against the opposition, was not to be denied in effectiveness. With that in mind, the Ten Fingers called the court of 572 BCE, their invitations were large and boundless, just as the Traditionalists demanded it to be. The guests to be invited were as follows:

Sinbanipal, of course the Great King.

The Gentleman of the Palace, including the Ten Fingers (in other words, the eunuchs)

Assur-Shalushtu, the Head Chamberlain

Ka’anshish-dugalu-Ishtar’s successor, Espu-kappu (Doubled is the Hand)

Priests from various cult centers, representing each of the Great Gods.

A representative of the King of Karduniash or Dagon-zakir-shumi himself.

A representative of the Southern Protectorate

Scholars and Astrologers from across the empire



The Council began these preparations in 572 BCE and began more in 571 BCE around the days of 1-9 of February.

Ariba-Ninurta Prosecutes war in Urartu

In the meantime, news of the wars in Urartu came describing how Ariba-Ninurta defeated the rebel army which had besieged Tushpa’s protective fortresses some 20 km from the city. However, he was unable to continue his press to destroy the rebellion, as Zurab II launched a raid from Colchis into Urartu, which forced Ariba-Ninurta to shore the border northward.

The disastrous series of events called into question the lasting kingship of Ishpuini II. Court correspondence shows that Ariba-Ninurta informed Ipanqazzu that Isphuini may need to be silenced and replaced. This however was not done and Ishpuini II remained on the throne, however, the Wing of Ninurta was confiscated by Ariba-Ninurta, who used the army to attack and press the rebels in the east along their riverways and protective fortresses. Furthermore, Palace orders instructed the Eastern Protectorate to attack the rebels from the east through the Zagros mountains. In late 572 BCE, this came to cause greater issues as the nobles of the lands east of Lake Van and also further east of the rebels, were recalcitrant to cooperate. This led to several skirmishes and finally a battle wherein the Assyrian expedition was driven from the area back southeast into the Zanjan hill country.

Ariba-Ninurta however succeeded in stopping Zurab II, who feeling the power of the Assyrian forces, pulled back for the moment. Ariba-Ninurta thus in December 572 BCE remained in Aniastania north of Tushpa along Lake Van. Heavy snow and bad weather in the hill country stymied military action for some time. Battles and skirmishes of logistics were waged however Wherein Ariba-Ninurta gained the upperhand. Come March of 571 BCE, he continued his advance and from March of 571 until January of 570 BCE, his army would crush the rebellion’s main power. However, a continued guerilla war remained across the hill country and preachers continued to move across the riverways speaking of a coming age of delight. These guerillas were however more akin to bandits than to the large armies of the prior years representing the cause of Shivini. Ariba-Ninurta returned to his master Ipanqazzu in March of 570 BCE and in the same month, Ipanqazzu passed away of old age and was immediately replaced by Ariba-Ninurta.

As Ariba-Ninurta replaced the elder Head of the Guard, little changed on the front, however the death of Ipanqazzu was heard and the court called a day of mourning. Sinbanipal himself was beside himself with grief. The warrior who had saved his monarchy, indeed, without Ipanqazzu, Assur-Uballit would have slew Sinbanipal and assumed the crown of kingship in Assyria. Sinbanipal however recovered and congragulated Ariba-Ninurta and ordered him to station his army in Musasir and maintain the current military status quo in Urartu. Zurab II during the defeat dispatched envoys to Tushpa and thence to Musasir, which gave gifts of amber, bronze trinkets and fine wood carven objects. These were intended to broker peace and also pay amends for the attack. According to the court records, Zurab’s envoy spoke of a repayment and of a misunderstanding.

Upon the orders of the eunuch attendant with Ariba-Ninurta, the Head Guard accepted the gifts and affirmed the treaty and the Colchis envoys returned to Ais in 569 BCE with a reaffirmed Colchis-Assyrian peace deal. For Zurab II this was a boon, after his return in 572 BCE, his kingdom was strong, but a full war with the Assyrian army would not be in his best interests, as he himself was attending to internal issues. During the period in particular, the spread of Scythian warriors and other assorted peoples trickling into the Kura river valley had caused much issues according to the new archives in Ais, which began reporting unpleasantries in the lower Karas.

In the eastern bend of the Karas, small tribes of agnatic farming peoples resided and farmed intermittingly along the river way and also embarked upon hunting trips into the mountains. These folk were diverse and often similar in lifeways to the Colcheans and the Iberians. However, their original rulers being in Tushpa, they had only recently in the last three decades, been thrust upon by the new wave of Colchean expansionism. One byproduct of this was that in order to counter Assyrian power, hosts of steppe warriors had been imported as mercenary and entire bands of fighters embarked from Scythia into the Karun river valley. There they attacked southward periodically raiding Urartu, Mania or into the deep parts of Gilan and Gula, driving peoples from the flat valleys and into high mountain forts made of wood, hastily constructed.

While the Scythian bands offered the communities much needed protection through offensive counters to the south, they also had become varyingly rapacious. Scythian warlords across the eastern valley began to take the titles of ‘warlords’ and ‘battle masters’ and they created so called territories each possessing its own collection of bands, numbering around one hundred. These bands took new high tributes from the locals in the form of forcing the local smiths and villages to produce goods for them. Scythian warlords in particular, demanded the production of clothing, iron weapons/armor and foods. Without women too, these Scythian bands took slaves from the south whom they settled into what could be called ‘harem villages’ wherein properties of these Scythian warlords were kept and children were produced. The situation had begun to take negative turns as in some communes along the river, the tribes rebelled slaying dozens of Scythians in ambushes leading to sporadic yet bloody conflicts across the river system from 573-570 BCE.

Zurab II was forced to deal with these issues in 570-569 BCE. In his court, there was great division on the issue. Many of the defected Hurrian officials advocated that Zurab II assist the Scythians in asserting their space. The arguments from such officials as the Hurrian official, Hudu-Teshub were essentially one advocating that the division of rule was necessary. Working from their experience in Urartu, the official system of governance favored that of a sort of ascendant nobility and power base which asserted a division of rule by the strong. Presumably, the Scythians were viewed as the strong and as such, must be supported. Meanwhile, the Iberian chiefs opposed greatly these Scythian warlords and their pretensions to rule the Karas valley as direct vassals to Colchis. Ultimately, Zurab II chose to side with the Scythians and in 570 BCE, issued the first of a new sort of policy in Colchis politics, that of issuance of edicts.

This edict was such that it was a declaration of war upon villages that rebelled upon the Scythian warlords. Furthermore, Zurab II officially recognized these warlords as individual vassals and bestowed upon them titles of ‘warlords’ and ‘commanders.’ This edict came to be an enormous offence to the peoples across the Karas river valley and peoples across its length came to speak of rebellion….

The Council of Kalhu, Etiquette and Emergence

With news from the north dispensed and the mourning of the passed Head Guard overed, the Ten Fingers emerged on 24th of March 570 BCE and issued forth the orders of Sinbanipal. Firstly, the gentleman of the palace were to leave with news and orders to the Wings of every region and to convey a ‘defense of the boundary marks.’ This implied that the wings were to defend the borders and not partake in offensive warfare. From what we understand, this came from the notion that during the council, the Great Gods demanded a certain adherence to discussion. Further, news of the year name to be Ariba-Ninurta was made known, essentially announcing the death of Ipanqazzu and the ascent of Ariba-Ninurta. Secondly, the court issued a message pertaining to the death of Sin-Gishru I and the appointment of his replacement, Sin-Gishru II as priest-governor over Dilmun. Then finally, the council was decreed to start in earnest.

The Ten Fingers had moved the site of the council to a new ‘mini-palace’ in Kalhu which was constructed near the current palace complex built by Assurnasirpal II. This new palace was hastily constructed as a sort of unique audience hall. It was composed of by an entrance flanked by stone carved guards dressed as semi-nude heroes. Wearing a skirt and a bare shaved chest. Around their heads was two great horned helmets and around their necks amulets of perceived great powers. After this, there was a long hallway that led to a room wherein on either side sat chairs made of carved wood from the Levant. In the center was a single circle colored red, wherein a person was to stand whilst speaking. Beforre the red spot, around 3 meters from the red spot was a step. This step thus had a series of five chairs seated on either side of a central spot where their stood a long ax held by on display. Following this, approximately 20 cm from the ax stood another step wherein sat the throne of the King of Assyria. On either side of the throne there stood two large lamassu. These lamassu were painted red, orange and yellow with blond (yellow version of blond, a true blond if you like) hair peaking from beneath their helms and red eyes beaming form the sockets. The room as a whole was constructed of stone that was painted red, orange and yellow, the chosen colors for the Era. Behind the Lamassu, but obscured by a curtain that had been draped between the two walls and behind the king by only 10-30 cm, was a back way which would serve as the exit for the King. Further, behind the curtains, stood two Cimmerian guards who according to the Kalhu Codex, both stood at 185-195 (the four total) cm and wore their hair long down their back and wore heavy scale armor. These were the so-called ‘Guardians of the Audience’ of which there were four. Two behind the curtain and two at the entrance into the courtroom from the hallway, all four being Cimmerians drawn from their noble castes and chosen for immense height. Their Akkadian names were:

Abatu-Baranu (He hath fled rebellion), Guard of the front left.

Kaluhu-Shertu (He is a prostitute for the Morning Star [Ishtar]), Guard of the front right.

Shaplu-biti-apla (He is beneath the midst of the heir), Guard of the back left.

Nebar-inu-Adad (He crossed the fountain of Adad), Guard of the back right.

Etiquette was such that each invitee was required to enter into the hallway after the king had already arrived. Once he has been admitted, alone followed by two Gentleman of the Court, is to stand for five seconds until a voice at the entrance to the audience says:

‘Greetings unto thee o’ wary traveler, Ninurta hath blessed upon thee a meeting with His Majesty. Blessings unto thee and the household from whence the traveler emerged. Gaze ahead briefly, the midst of the King of the Universe, bestowed the chain of Duranki sits in grandeur, his throne is that of the fine woods of the lands, his mind rests upon the clouds and his ax animates with fury. Give he, who is your king, the proper reverence; proceed to make prostration, do a bow, make sincere the gratitude of invitation!’

(this Gentleman of the Court is given the name, Rasmu-Tahidtu, meaning, ‘the man whose formal voice is a greeting’ his role is to greet officials. As such he is often called Gentleman of the Hallway. His requirements are to memorize certain phrases and to repeat these in overly kind tones to those who enter.)

After said pomp, the invitee is then ordered to take a seat which have been ordered. For example, the following:

‘Behold, he who hath made the journey displays a sincere devotion to the codes enjoined upon. Rest assured o’ traveler, visitor in the midst of the Divine, a seat hath been furnished, make way ahead and enter the threshold.’

Following this, a second voice begins as the man walks through the door and gives a second order:

‘Announcement: Espu-kappu hath emerged and entered the midst of His Majesty. Order: Turn thine body toward the right of His Majesty and take seat one from the entrance downward.’

(This is made by the Gentleman of the Court called the Rasmu-Pashaqu, literally, ‘the man whose formal voice is explanatory.’ His role is to give explanations of proceedings. Each of his sentences will begin with a verb describing his intention in the sentence, thus supposedly indicating what the person is to do and also what the speaker is to do. He is trained to speak loudly and in a stern formal tone and remembering to speak in this odd sentence format. Other than these instances of speech, which he can only be told to do so by his superiors, either by pre-determined notes based upon reaction from script or by orders directly. He cannot speak otherwise.)

Regarding the remainder of the Council, it is to follow the following format:

After every person has been seated, a predetermined Finger will arise and speak to the assembled audience seated on either side. He will inform them of the proceedings and of the reasons they have assembled. This speech will not have been overtly planned and will be in clear and relatively modern Akkadian. After the Finger has spoken all the situations and why they have amassed, the Rasmu-Pashaqu will give the following words:

‘Declaration: Beginning now is the Solemn Royal Court! Calrification: Listen for the voice of >this one< who hath been appointed to speak, for >this one< has been chosen to give explanations for the comfort of the visitors to the palace. Warning: He amongst the assembled dignitaries who fail to listen carefully or perform irregularities in the proceedings, will be discharged from their seat and forced into penance beyond the threshold of the entrance, be calm. Calculation: As per the designs of the oracle, the set forth allotted time for discussion will be___. Instruction: Open the ears to the voice of >this one< and upon the call of a name, stand from the seat occupied and make haste to the red spot in front of you. Instruction Further: Upon overtaking the red spot, perform a bow (not full prostration) and begin to speak as to the topic rendered to you by one of the Gentleman who frame (Ten Fingers).’

The person then discusses in the framing of the Ten Fingers. However, the Finger appointed the job as a framer, will often give an announcement, which will be something like: ‘Be at ease in speech’ which means that those currently seated may leave their seat and speak, but by customs dictate that only three may be able to speak at once among those who are guests, any more will be counted as irregularities.

Finally, a Gentleman of the Palace will occupy a role of repeating comments of the Great King. For instance, if the king asks ‘What say you, Espu-Kappu on so and so issue’ the Gentleman in question will repeat the question or any other item of the Great King, unless the King finishes his sentence with the following phrase, ‘says only this one.’ Which will mean that only the Great King may say this sentence and no repeating may be made.

(this Gentleman is called Rasmu-Shanu, meaning ‘the man whose formal voice is a repetition. His occupation requires him to practice repeating words spoken by certain people in a louder voice and so as to not force the dignitary to repeat or speak too loudly.)



Considering this as the etiquette for the court proceedings in general, we may begin the Council in the next update!