After Enlil’s frown
had slain Kic as if it were the Bull of Heaven, had slaughtered
the house of the land of Unug in the dust as if it were a mighty
bull, and then Enlil had given the rulership and kingship from
the south as far as the highlands to Sargon, king of Agade -- at
that time, holy Inana established the sanctuary of Agade
as her celebrated woman’s domain; she set up her throne in Ulmac.
Like a young man building a house for the first time, like a
girl establishing a woman’s domain, holy Inana did not sleep as
she ensured that the warehouses would be provisioned; that
dwellings would be founded in the city; that its people would
eat splendid food; that its people would drink splendid
beverages; that those bathed for holidays would rejoice in the
courtyards; that the people would throng the places of
celebration; that acquaintances would dine together; that
foreigners would cruise about like unusual birds in the sky;
that even Marhaci would be re-entered on the tribute rolls; that
monkeys, mighty elephants, water buffalo, exotic animals, as
well as thoroughbred dogs, lions, mountain ibexes (some mss.
have instead: mountain beasts (?)) (some mss. have instead:
horses), and alum sheep with long wool would jostle each other
in the public squares.
She then filled Agade’s stores for emmer wheat with gold, she
filled its stores for white emmer wheat with silver; she
delivered copper, tin, and blocks of lapis lazuli to its
granaries and sealed its silos from outside. She endowed its old
women with the gift of giving counsel, she endowed its old men
with the gift of eloquence. She endowed its young women with the
gift of entertaining, she endowed its young men with martial
might, she endowed its little ones with joy. The nursemaids who
cared for (some mss. have instead: of) the general’s children
played the aljarsur instruments. Inside the city tigi drums
sounded; outside it, flutes and zamzam instruments. Its harbour
where ships moored was full of joy. All foreign lands rested
contentedly, and their people experienced happiness.
Its king, the shepherd Naram- Suen, rose as the daylight on the
holy throne of Agade. Its city wall , like a mountain, (1 ms.
has instead: , a great mountain,) reached the heavens. It was
like the Tigris going to (some mss. have instead: flowing into)
the sea as holy Inana opened the portals of its city-gates and
made Sumer bring its own possessions upstream by boats. The
highland Martu, people ignorant of agriculture, brought spirited
cattle and kids for her. The Meluhans, the people of the black
land, brought exotic wares (some mss. have instead: wares of
foreign countries) up to her. Elam and Subir loaded themselves
with goods for her as if they were packasses. All the governors,
the temple administrators (1 ms. has instead: generals), and the
accountants of the Gu-edina regularly supplied the monthly and
New Year offerings. What a weariness all these caused at Agade’s
city gates! Holy Inana could hardly receive all these offerings.
As if she were a citizen there, she could not restrain (?) the
desire (?) to prepare the ground for a temple.
But the statement coming from the E-kur was disquieting. Because
of Enlil (?) all Agade was reduced (?) to trembling, and terror
befell Inana in Ulmac. She left the city, returning to her home.
Holy Inana abandoned the sanctuary of Agade like someone
abandoning the young women of her woman’s domain. Like a warrior
hurrying to arms, she removed (some mss. have instead: tore
away) the gift of battle and fight from the city and handed them
over to the enemy.
Not even five or ten days had passed and Ninurta brought the
jewels of rulership, the royal crown, the emblem and the royal
throne bestowed on Agade, back into his E-cumeca. Utu took away
the eloquence of the city. Enki took away its wisdom. An took up
(some mss. have instead: out) (1 ms. has instead: away) into the
midst of heaven its fearsomeness that reaches heaven. Enki tore
out its well-anchored holy mooring pole from the abzu. Inana
took away its weapons.
The life of Agade’s sanctuary was brought to an end as if it had
been only the life of a tiny carp in the deep waters, and all
the cities were watching it. Like a mighty elephant, it bent its
neck to the ground while they all raised their horns like mighty
bulls. Like a dying dragon, it dragged its head on the earth and
they jointly deprived it of honour as in a battle.
Naram- Suen saw in a nocturnal vision that Enlil would not let
the kingdom of Agade occupy a pleasant, lasting residence, that
he would make its future altogether unfavourable, that he would
make its temples shake and would scatter its treasures (1 ms.
has instead: destroy its treasuries). He realized what the dream
was about, but did not put into words, and did not discuss it
with anyone. (1 ms. adds 2 lines: ...... temples shake ......,
...... perform (?) extispicy regarding (?) his temple .......)
Because of the E-kur, he put on mourning clothes, covered his
chariot with a reed mat (1 ms. has instead: pulled out the
outside pin of his chariot), tore the reed canopy off his
ceremonial barge (1 ms. has instead: the prow of his ceremonial
barge) (1 ms. has instead: the cabin of his ceremonial barge),
and gave away his royal paraphernalia. Naram- Suen persisted for
seven years! Who has ever seen a king burying his head in his
hands for seven years? (some mss. add the line: He realized what
the dream was about, but did not put it into words, and did not
discuss it with anyone.)
Then he went to perform extispicy on a kid regarding the temple,
but the omen had nothing to say about the building of the
temple. For a second time he went to perform extispicy on a kid
regarding the temple, but the omen again had nothing to say
about the building of the temple. In order to change what had
been inflicted (?) upon him, he tried to to alter Enlil’s
pronouncement.
Because his subjects were dispersed, he now began a mobilization
of his troops. Like a wrestler who is about to enter the great
courtyard, he ...... his hands towards (?) the E-kur. Like an
athlete bent to start a contest, he treated the giguna as if it
were worth only thirty shekels. Like a robber plundering the
city, he set tall ladders against the temple. To demolish E-kur
as if it were a huge ship, to break up its soil like the soil of
mountains where precious metals are mined, to splinter it like
the lapis lazuli mountain, to prostrate it, like a city
inundated by Ickur. Though the temple was not a mountain where
cedars are felled, he had large axes cast, he had double-edged
agasilig axes sharpened to be used against it. He set spades
against its roots and it sank as low as the foundation of the
Land. He put axes against its top, and the temple, like a dead
soldier, bowed its neck before him, and all the foreign lands
bowed their necks before him.
He ripped out its drain pipes, and all the rain went back to the
heavens . He tore off its upper lintel and the Land was deprived
of its ornament (1 ms. has instead: the ornament of the Land
disappeared). From its "Gate from which grain is never
diverted", he diverted grain, and the Land was deprived of
grain. He struck the "Gate of Well-Being" with the pickaxe, and
well-being was subverted in all the foreign lands. As if they
were for great tracts of land with wide carp-filled waters, he
cast large spades (1 ms. has instead: axes) to be used against
the E-kur. The people could see the bedchamber, its room which
knows no daylight. The Akkadians could look into the holy
treasure chest of the gods. Though they had committed no
sacrilege, its lahama deities of the great pilasters standing at
the temple were thrown into the fire by Naram- Suen. The cedar,
cypress, juniper and boxwood, the woods of its giguna, were
...... by him. He put its gold in containers and put its silver
in leather bags. He filled the docks with its copper, as if it
were a huge transport of grain. The silversmiths were re-shaping
its silver, jewellers were re-shaping its precious stones,
smiths were beating its copper. Large ships were moored at the
temple, large ships were moored at Enlil’s temple and its
possessions were taken away from the city, though they were not
the goods of a plundered city. With the possessions being taken
away from the city, good sense left Agade. As the ships moved
away from (some mss. have instead: juddered) the docks, Agade’s
intelligence (1 ms. has instead: sanctuary) was removed.
Enlil, the roaring (?) storm that subjugates the entire land,
the rising deluge that cannot be confronted, was considering
what should be destroyed in return for the wrecking of his
beloved E-kur. He lifted his gaze towards the Gubin mountains,
and made all the inhabitants of the broad mountain ranges
descend (?). Enlil brought out of the mountains those who do not
resemble other people, who are not reckoned as part of the Land,
the Gutians, an unbridled people, with human intelligence but
canine instincts (some mss. have instead: feelings) and monkeys’
features. Like small birds they swooped on the ground in great
flocks. Because of Enlil, they stretched their arms out across
the plain like a net for animals. Nothing escaped their
clutches, no one left their grasp. Messengers no longer
travelled the highways, the courier’s boat no longer passed
along the rivers. The Gutians drove the trusty (?) goats of
Enlil out of their folds and compelled their herdsmen to follow
them, they drove the cows out of their pens and compelled their
cowherds to follow them. Prisoners manned the watch. Brigands
occupied (1 ms. has instead: attacked) the highways. The doors
of the city gates of the Land lay dislodged in (1 ms. has
instead: were covered with) mud, and all the foreign lands
uttered bitter cries from the walls of their cities. They
established gardens for themselves (1 ms. has instead: made
gardens grow) within the cities, and not as usual on the wide
plain outside. As if it had been before the time when cities
were built and founded, the large (some mss. add: fields and)
arable tracts yielded no grain, the inundated (some mss. add:
fields and) tracts yielded no fish, the irrigated orchards
yielded no syrup or wine, the thick clouds (?) did not rain, the
macgurum plant did not grow.
In those days, oil for one shekel was only half a litre, grain
for one shekel was only half a litre, wool for one shekel was
only one mina, fish for one shekel filled only one ban measure
-- these sold at such prices in the markets of the cities! Those
who lay down on the roof, died on the roof; those who lay down
in the house were not buried. People were flailing at themselves
from hunger. By the Ki-ur, Enlil’s great place, dogs were packed
together in the silent streets; if two men walked there they
would be devoured by them, and if three men walked there they
would be devoured by them. Noses were punched (?), heads were
smashed (?), noses (?) were piled up, heads were sown like
seeds. Honest people were confounded with traitors, heroes lay
dead on top of heroes, the blood of traitors ran upon the blood
of honest men.
At that time, Enlil rebuilt his great sanctuaries into small
reed (?) sanctuaries and from east to west he reduced their
storehouses. The old women who survived those days, the old men
who survived those days and the chief lamentation singer who
survived those years set up seven balaj drums, as if they stood
at the horizon, and together with ub , meze, and lilis (some
mss. have instead: cem, and lilis) (1 ms. has instead: and
bronze cem) drums made them resound to Enlil like Ickur for
seven days and seven nights. The old women did not restrain the
cry "Alas for my city!". The old men did not restrain the cry
"Alas for its people!". The lamentation singer did not restrain
the cry "Alas for the E-kur!". Its young women did not restrain
from tearing their hair. Its young men did not restrain from
sharpening their knives. Their laments were as if Enlil’s
ancestors were performing a lament in the awe-inspiring Holy
Mound by the holy knees of Enlil. Because of this, Enlil entered
his holy bedchamber and lay down fasting.
At that time, Suen, Enki, Inana, Ninurta, Ickur, Utu, Nuska, and
Nisaba, the great gods (1 ms. has instead: all the gods
whosoever), cooled (1 ms. has instead: sprinkled) Enlil’s heart
with cool water and prayed to him: " Enlil, may the city that
destroyed your city, be treated as your city has been treated!
May the one that defiled your giguna, be treated as Nibru! In
this city, may heads fill the wells! May no one find his
acquaintances there, may brother not recognize brother! May its
young woman be cruelly killed in her woman’s domain, may its old
man cry in distress for his slain wife! May its pigeons moan on
their window ledges, may its small birds be smitten in their
nooks, may it live in constant anxiety like a timid pigeon!"
Again, Suen, Enki, Inana, Ninurta, Ickur, Utu, Nuska and Nisaba,
all the gods whosoever, turned their attention to the city, and
cursed Agade severely: "City, you pounced on E-kur: it is as if
you had pounced on Enlil! Agade, you pounced on E-kur: it is as
if you had pounced on Enlil! May your holy walls, to their
highest point, resound with mourning! May your giguna be reduced
to a pile of dust! May your pilasters with the standing lahama
deities fall to the ground like tall young men drunk on wine!
May your clay be returned to its abzu, may it be clay cursed by
Enki! May your grain be returned to its furrow, may it be grain
cursed by Ezinu! May your timber be returned to its forest, may
it be timber cursed by Ninilduma! May the (1 ms. has instead:
your) cattle slaughterer slaughter his wife, may your (some mss.
have instead: the) sheep butcher butcher his child! May water
wash away your pauper as he is looking for ......! May your
prostitute hang herself at the entrance to her brothel! May your
pregnant (?) hierodules and cult prostitutes abort (?) their
children! May your gold be bought for the price of silver, may
your silver be bought for the price of pyrite (?), and may your
copper be bought for the price of lead!"
" Agade, may your strong man be deprived of his strength, so
that he will be unable to lift his sack of provisions and
......, and will not have the joy of controlling your superior
asses; may he lie idle all day! May this make the city die of
hunger! May your citizens, who used to eat fine food, lie hungry
in the grass and herbs, may your ...... man eat the coating on
his roof, may he chew (?) the leather hinges on the main door of
his father’s house! May depression descend upon your palace,
built for joy (1 ms. has instead: joyous palace)! May the evils
of the desert, the silent place, howl continuously!"
"May foxes that frequent ruin mounds brush with their tails your
fattening-pens (?), established for purification ceremonies! May
the ukuku, the bird of depression, make its nest in your
gateways, established for the Land! In your city that could not
sleep because of the tigi drums, that could not rest from its
joy, may the bulls of Nanna that fill the pens bellow like those
who wander in the desert, the silent place! May the grass grow
long on your canal-bank tow-paths, may the grass of mourning
grow on your highways laid for waggons! Moreover, may ......
wild rams (?) and alert snakes of the mountains allow no one to
pass on your tow-paths built up with canal sediment! In your
plains where fine grass grows, may the reed of lamentation grow!
Agade, may brackish water flow (1 ms. has instead: May brackish
water flow in the river), where fresh water flowed for you! If
someone decides, "I will dwell in this city!", may he not enjoy
the pleasures of a dwelling place! If someone decides, "I will
rest in Agade!", may he not enjoy the pleasures of a resting
place!"
And before Utu on that very day, so it was! On its canal bank
tow-paths, the grass grew long. On its highways laid for waggons,
the grass of mourning grew. Moreover, on its tow-paths built up
with canal sediment, ...... wild rams (?) and alert snakes of
the mountains allowed no one to pass. On its plains, where fine
grass grew, now the reeds of lamentation grew. Agade’s flowing
fresh water flowed as brackish water. When someone decided, "I
will dwell in that city!", he could not enjoy the pleasures of a
dwelling place. When someone decided, "I will rest in Agade!",
he could not enjoy the pleasures of a resting place!
Inana be praised for the destruction of Agade!
Fragments of an earlier version from Nippur, dating to the Third
Dynasty of Ur
Segment A
unknown number of lines missing
Enki took away its wisdom. An took up into the midst of heaven
its fearsomeness that reaches heaven. Enki tore out its
well-anchored holy mooring pole from the abzu.
unknown number of lines missing
Segment B
Naram- Suen saw in a nocturnal vision that he would make its
future altogether unfavourable, that he would make its temples
shake and would scatter its treasures!
unknown number of lines missing
Segment C
as if he were to change what had been inflicted (?) upon him.
His subjects were dispersed, so he began a mobilization of his
troops. Like a wrestler who is about to enter the great
courtyard, he ...... his hands towards (?) the E-kur. Like an
athlete bent to start a contest, he treated the giguna as if it
were worth only thirty shekels. Like a robber plundering the
city, he set tall ladders against the temple. Though the temple
was not a mountain of cedars, he had large axes cast to be used
against it. (1 ms. adds the line: He had double-edged agasilig
axes sharpened to be used against it.) As if they were for great
tracts of land with huge (1 ms. has instead: wide) carp-filled
waters, he cast large spades (1 ms. has instead: ...... to be
used against the E-kur). He put spades against its roots.
unknown number of lines missing
Segment D
and the Land was deprived of grain. He struck the "Gate of
Well-Being" with pickaxe and well-being was destroyed in all the
foreign lands.
unknown number of lines missing
Segment E
4 lines unclear
unknown number of lines missing
Segment F
Noses were punched, heads were smashed (?), noses (?) were piled
up, heads were sown like seeds. Heroes lay (?) dead on top of
heroes, the blood of traitors ran (?) upon honest men.
Enlil rebuilt his great sanctuaries into small reed (?)
sanctuaries and from the south to the uplands .......