das
Regeneration In Process
"The entire earth was once cold and barren, a desolate, miserable place. The tribes wandered from place to place, seeking to eke out a living; they hunted, fished and gathered roots. They had little, and fought each other over that little, for sometimes it was just enough to allow continued survival.
And so it was that the gods took pity on the mortals. They decided to create a better land for the most worthy of the mortals, so that they could live in a more worthwile manner and properly glorify the gods. The moon-god Kushuh set aside with his sickle a crescent of land in the middle of the earth, and the sun-god Shimegi blessed it with his light and heat; then Hepa, the wife of the great god Teshup, watered the land with rivers and granted it fertility. To guard this land from winds and enemies alike, her son Sarruma raised the great mountain ranges to the north and the east, while Nergu, though disfavoured among the gods, burned the lands to the south and the west, so creating the deserts. And Teshup himself, the mightiest of gods, flew in his chariot and sent the word: let all those who think themselves worthy come and cross the deserts or the mountains, and settle in the land.
And many peoples came there, and lived in plentitude under divine blessings. They built villages, towns and cities, and at first were grateful, as all sought to outdo the others in pleasing gods. Many sacrifices were offered, and majestic temples were erected. Yet over time, these peoples grew weak, corrupt and petty-minded; they turned away from the gods and indeed many of their ruelrs proclaimed themselves gods. And they were punished; famines and plagues weakened them, and new peoples moved in, replacing them. Yet while the old peoples were decadent and complacent, the new ones were cruel and vilent; they razed cities, desecrated temples and fought each other like the beasts they were; and darkness fell upon the fertile crescent, for none could win. Still, intimidated by Teshup, these peoples learned to recognise the gods; for they did respect power, though nothing else was sacred to them. From amongst these people came many great conquerors, who sometimes conquered the entire fertile crescent; but their great kingdoms would then collapse into bickering once more, for such was their way.
So the gods grew tired of it, and tried to tame these peoples. Neither plague nor flood could destroy that which these peoples could not destroy by themselves, however; and so instead the gods themselves attacked them, and forced them to submit. Then many were forced to settle down and interbreed with what remained of the old peoples, whom the invaders held in contempt; and so not all accepted, and instead fled to the corners of the crescent, hiding from the justice of gods to this day. The others agreed to submit, however, and were allowed to remain in Mesopotamia.
Yet as generations changed, again these mongrel people grew rebellious. They inherited the worst traits from both peoples; new greedy and arrogant kings arose in their squalorous cities, and, declaring themselves gods, set out on wars of conquest, to destroy those who remained faithful. And the gods despaired of setting those people straight - or the remnants of the new people that still raided the fields from their desert and mountain hideouts, or those of the old people that settled an remained in the west. For they were all clearly flawed from the start, and now new peoples were needed.
And so it was that my grandfather Mattivaza, the ruler of all the Huurri, was sought out by Teshup, the king of gods. And the sovereign of sky told him to lead his people south; and so my granfather did, for he was wise and knew the gods well. Through the perilous mountain passes of the northern mountains did our people go; the new peoples tried to attack us, but we were mighty and blessed, and fought them off with our mighty axes and spears. Also the desert of Sur we crossed; here the mongrels sought to subdue us, and sent forth an army of many men - but our chariots were and remain the swiftest and the most powerful in the world, and so the enemy army was scattered across the world, and we proceeded, unimpeded, to our destination. Then my grandfather saw Halab, then ruled by the old people; and he told me that it was from there that our reign will begin. So we charged into Halab, and slaughtered a great many enemies; so the old rulers were forced to submit, and we now ruled that city, and all the people there were now to serve us as we serve the gods. Alas, my grandfather died in battle, stabbed in the back by one of the old people guards.
Then my father, Saustatar, took power; and he too was visited by Teshup, whom we also call the law-giver - for that was the mistake of gods with the previous peoples, as they were bereft of true divine law, and so now Teshup came to grant us law. And so scribes were sought out amongst the conquered ones, and were made to write down the new code of law. Such was the law that my father was made king; for a kingdom must be ruled by a king, so that the king will lead its armies, defend its laws and communicate with the gods. And also great power was granted to these most important servants of the king: the charioteers, the scribes and the priests. Yet also the soldiers, the merchants and the farmers were granted some rights; for they too served the king. And indeed, the law was to make sure that not even the lowliest slaves of other nations were to be destroyed without need; for to do otherwise was to invite either decadence or chaos, while the purpose of law is to prevent both and to instill discipline.
And so my father reigned in accordance to the law, allowing our realm to prosper as new lands were conquered and trade flowed. And I, too, had reigned in accordance to the law after his death; to fulfill Teshup's divine will, I marched to conquer more lands, and battled many peoples.
This tablet I, King Tushratta, had written to tell my children and further lineage of the history of our people and our land, and of the purpose of our law, for this is advice that must always be followed: reign in accordance to the law and follow the will of the gods, and for that purpose spread our rule far and further."
- The Tablet of Tushratta, Yamkhad, 20th century BC.
And so it was that the gods took pity on the mortals. They decided to create a better land for the most worthy of the mortals, so that they could live in a more worthwile manner and properly glorify the gods. The moon-god Kushuh set aside with his sickle a crescent of land in the middle of the earth, and the sun-god Shimegi blessed it with his light and heat; then Hepa, the wife of the great god Teshup, watered the land with rivers and granted it fertility. To guard this land from winds and enemies alike, her son Sarruma raised the great mountain ranges to the north and the east, while Nergu, though disfavoured among the gods, burned the lands to the south and the west, so creating the deserts. And Teshup himself, the mightiest of gods, flew in his chariot and sent the word: let all those who think themselves worthy come and cross the deserts or the mountains, and settle in the land.
And many peoples came there, and lived in plentitude under divine blessings. They built villages, towns and cities, and at first were grateful, as all sought to outdo the others in pleasing gods. Many sacrifices were offered, and majestic temples were erected. Yet over time, these peoples grew weak, corrupt and petty-minded; they turned away from the gods and indeed many of their ruelrs proclaimed themselves gods. And they were punished; famines and plagues weakened them, and new peoples moved in, replacing them. Yet while the old peoples were decadent and complacent, the new ones were cruel and vilent; they razed cities, desecrated temples and fought each other like the beasts they were; and darkness fell upon the fertile crescent, for none could win. Still, intimidated by Teshup, these peoples learned to recognise the gods; for they did respect power, though nothing else was sacred to them. From amongst these people came many great conquerors, who sometimes conquered the entire fertile crescent; but their great kingdoms would then collapse into bickering once more, for such was their way.
So the gods grew tired of it, and tried to tame these peoples. Neither plague nor flood could destroy that which these peoples could not destroy by themselves, however; and so instead the gods themselves attacked them, and forced them to submit. Then many were forced to settle down and interbreed with what remained of the old peoples, whom the invaders held in contempt; and so not all accepted, and instead fled to the corners of the crescent, hiding from the justice of gods to this day. The others agreed to submit, however, and were allowed to remain in Mesopotamia.
Yet as generations changed, again these mongrel people grew rebellious. They inherited the worst traits from both peoples; new greedy and arrogant kings arose in their squalorous cities, and, declaring themselves gods, set out on wars of conquest, to destroy those who remained faithful. And the gods despaired of setting those people straight - or the remnants of the new people that still raided the fields from their desert and mountain hideouts, or those of the old people that settled an remained in the west. For they were all clearly flawed from the start, and now new peoples were needed.
And so it was that my grandfather Mattivaza, the ruler of all the Huurri, was sought out by Teshup, the king of gods. And the sovereign of sky told him to lead his people south; and so my granfather did, for he was wise and knew the gods well. Through the perilous mountain passes of the northern mountains did our people go; the new peoples tried to attack us, but we were mighty and blessed, and fought them off with our mighty axes and spears. Also the desert of Sur we crossed; here the mongrels sought to subdue us, and sent forth an army of many men - but our chariots were and remain the swiftest and the most powerful in the world, and so the enemy army was scattered across the world, and we proceeded, unimpeded, to our destination. Then my grandfather saw Halab, then ruled by the old people; and he told me that it was from there that our reign will begin. So we charged into Halab, and slaughtered a great many enemies; so the old rulers were forced to submit, and we now ruled that city, and all the people there were now to serve us as we serve the gods. Alas, my grandfather died in battle, stabbed in the back by one of the old people guards.
Then my father, Saustatar, took power; and he too was visited by Teshup, whom we also call the law-giver - for that was the mistake of gods with the previous peoples, as they were bereft of true divine law, and so now Teshup came to grant us law. And so scribes were sought out amongst the conquered ones, and were made to write down the new code of law. Such was the law that my father was made king; for a kingdom must be ruled by a king, so that the king will lead its armies, defend its laws and communicate with the gods. And also great power was granted to these most important servants of the king: the charioteers, the scribes and the priests. Yet also the soldiers, the merchants and the farmers were granted some rights; for they too served the king. And indeed, the law was to make sure that not even the lowliest slaves of other nations were to be destroyed without need; for to do otherwise was to invite either decadence or chaos, while the purpose of law is to prevent both and to instill discipline.
And so my father reigned in accordance to the law, allowing our realm to prosper as new lands were conquered and trade flowed. And I, too, had reigned in accordance to the law after his death; to fulfill Teshup's divine will, I marched to conquer more lands, and battled many peoples.
This tablet I, King Tushratta, had written to tell my children and further lineage of the history of our people and our land, and of the purpose of our law, for this is advice that must always be followed: reign in accordance to the law and follow the will of the gods, and for that purpose spread our rule far and further."
- The Tablet of Tushratta, Yamkhad, 20th century BC.
Is an update in the works?
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