Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy

by Margaret Horton Potter

  XIV

  STRANGE GODS[10]

  Nergal-Yukin's death, the circumstances of it, and the blatantproclamation of these things by Belshazzar's slaves, facts skilfullymanipulated by Amraphel and his order, threw all Babylon into an uproar.Naturally, the city was divided into factions. The priests and theirsatellites formed a sufficiently attractive nucleus to draw around it agreat body of the common people whose lives at best were only a round ofprayers and exorcisms; while all the army, that feared and followedBelshazzar as it feared and followed no god, drew to itself the otherfaction of citizens loyal to the crown. From the first, however, thepriests, who counted also the Jews to a man in their party, werestronger than their opponents. And Amraphel, moved as he was by the twogreat forces of hate and overweening ambition, worked early and late toincrease his majority. He seized every slightest advantage, manipulatedit dauntlessly, and expanded it incredibly. His final interview with theprince was regarded by both sides as a declaration of open hostility;and while the royal party was now apparently quiescent, the things thatAmraphel would not do to win over to his side a single man, were scarceworth considering.

  While Cyrus and Gobryas with their invading armies were still far awayin the south and in the north of the country, nothing that wouldprecipitate matters could be done in Babylon. Indeed, a prematurerebellion was the one thing that could save the Great City to her lawfulrulers; and no one in the city knew this better than its high-priest. Itwas for this reason only that Amraphel had failed to carry out histhreat with regard to Belshazzar's criers. And it was also for thisreason that Belshazzar had so openly and so recklessly defied his enemyat their last meeting. Could Amraphel have been irritated past hisself-control and so forced into some rash act that would precipitate therebellion before Cyrus was at hand, the contest would at least be anequal one. But with Beltishazzar at his elbow, and the funds of thehouse of Egibi at Daniel's command and Daniel's command only, there wasno chance of matters coming to a crisis before their appointed time. ForDaniel's whole soul and mind were in this plot; and, whatever doubtthere might be about the soul, it was quite certain that his mind was noordinary one.

  Amraphel's most telling means of influencing the common people was bytemple harangues. Every day, after the early sacrifice, a priest wouldcome before the throng of assembled people and talk to them, not oftheir duty towards the gods and the priests of the gods, but of thefalseness and the iniquity of the royal house. These preachments beganalmost immediately after the death of the rab-mag, the tale of which,with its accompanying moral, was worn threadbare in order thatBelshazzar's brutal instincts might be made sufficiently plain to thedense minds of the listening commoners. The fact that Belshazzar heldpriestly office and a priestly title was of no consequence. Indeed, itbecame a subject for further revilings. Certainly it could not be deniedthat the heir-apparent was extremely lax in his religious duties.Scarcely one day out of ten did he appear in the precincts of thetemple, much less officiate at sacrifice. Without doubt, the gods wereangry with him. How could it be otherwise?

  It was not long before Belshazzar began to feel the breath ofunpopularity. When he drove forth into the city few people took noticeof him, none did him reverence, a few eyed him askance, and once ortwice he was assailed by some opprobrious phrase. He felt rather keenlythe disfavor of the people, but made no attempt to remedy the matter. Heknew very well the direction that affairs were taking; but he could donothing but bide his time, and at night keep his eyes from the future,since sleeplessness brings back to no man his wealth. One thing,however, the prince, as governor of the city, could do, under thegeneral directorship of Nana-Babilu at Sippar. He could keep the guardsof the city in form, and this he did well. There were at this time aboutten thousand of the regular army in Babylon, and of these the finestwere Belshazzar's own regiment, under command of Shapik-Zeri, all ofthem men of Gutium--the province of which Gobryas had once beengovernor. These, the best-trained soldiers in Babylonia, were loyal totheir last drop of blood to their lord. Belshazzar was a fine soldier,iron-clad in his rules, and known to be himself fearless on the field.His men worshipped his physique, feared his strength, and delighted inpaying him the honor and obedience that he would otherwise have exactedby force of arms. Thus Belshazzar was seen no longer in the goat-skin,but he made up for the deficiency by appearing at every hour of the dayin helmet and shield, on his way either to or from the greatparade-ground where the daily reviews of the various regiments wereheld.

  It was about this time, the middle of the month of May, that Charmidesthe Greek experienced a sudden disgust for his position in the templeand left it, pleading that the illness of his wife demanded hiscontinued presence at her side. Unworldly, improvident, sentimental ashis move was, he nevertheless experienced a great relief when he turnedhis back for an indefinite period on the great House of Lies. For thingshad been done there that the young Greek could not think of withoutfurious gusts of anger and rebellion. Besides this, Ramua was ill,wretchedly ill, as the result of a fall that had caused a series ofcomplications over which both Charmides and Beltani were exceedinglyanxious. Still, she was in no real danger, and in spite of hisstatement, Charmides did not spend all of his hours at her side.

  About ten days after his leaving the temple, Charmides had cause ofrather a curious nature for regretting that he was no longer in asituation to know the inner aspects of certain things. A proclamationhad gone through the city striking astonishment to every heart, and tonone more than those of the priesthood. It was to the effect that, onthe first day of the month of Duzu, twenty new gods would take up theirresidence in the Great City.

  Poor Nabu-Nahid, reading aright the threatening signs of his own and hisson's unpopularity, believed that the time had come for his great act.As a priest of the highest order he was empowered to command thehigh-priest of every temple, with the exception of Amraphel alone, thathe, together with two Enu, two Asipu, and two Baru, should form part ofthe great procession of strange gods when these entered the city.Moreover, each temple was to be especially purified and prepared for thereception of a new statue, and henceforth double services must takeplace in each temple, that both the old god and the new one might beproperly honored. The date for the procession was set for the last ofSivan. A document explanatory of the whole matter, and signed and sealedby the house of Shamash, was sent to each of the priests, and to everymonastery of Zicaru; and these were also read aloud in the temples byeunuchs, till all Babylon was informed of the king's act, and allBabylon prepared for the holy day.

  That morning dawned like every other morning of the season, in a flushof fierce crimson, gradually melting into the living gold that floodedthe sky with a furnace heat and poured a shower of burning light uponthe river with its clinging city, and over the yellow desert far beyond.Holiday had been proclaimed, and at an early hour every street leadingto a temple was packed on either side with gayly dressed men and womenand their children. Charmides went alone. Ramua could not walk, andBeltani had preferred remaining with her to standing for hours in theglare of the sun, waiting for the procession. Both women, however, hadbegged Charmides to go and see it, that he might describe it to them onhis return. Therefore the Greek took up his position on the edge of thesquare of Istar, into the deserted temple of which the old and sacredstatue of the goddess of Erech was to be carried first of all.

  The crowd here was especially thick. Only by vigorous pushing andsqueezing, and some very rapid talking, could Charmides find a place forhimself. Having reached a vantage-point, however, he proceeded to fallinto a reverie--a reverie of a year ago, when he had stood waiting for apageant, an utter stranger to the city, hungry, friendless, andhomesick. He could recall every trivial incident of the day with ease,from Baba and the goat's milk she gave him, to the long afternoon withRamua, now for nine months his wife. He had got to a philosophical stagein his dreams when a light hand was laid on his arm, and he looked up tofind Baba at his elbow. He was glad to see her, glad of a companion totalk to; and so they two watched the
procession together, bent to thedust before the little black images dotting the line in twenty places,and borne each on its golden platform on the shoulders of six eunuchs.

  Nabu-Nahid, in white, drove first of all. Behind him, frowning andstiff, and in anything but a pleasant frame of mind, was Vul-Raman inhis car. Belshazzar came farther along the line, standing unconcernedlyin his place, his white muslin robe falling to his feet, the goat-skinfastened over his left shoulder. Everywhere he was greeted with murmursof disapproval; but though he could hardly have failed to hear some ofthem, his face gave no sign of it. Quiet, immovable, slightly scornfulin his expression, he endured the mental and physical discomforts of theday with a nonchalance that would have deceived Amraphel himself.

  The procession left the little temple by the river-bank at ten o'clockin the morning and broke ranks in the square of the temple of Mardukjust at sunset, with the last ceremony concluded--Nabonidus' last cardplayed. Twenty new gods would watch over the city that night, and twentyextra sacrifices would take place in their honor on the morrow. Perhapsit was as well that Nabonidus, in his pathetic faith, should not haveheard the comments of the tired temple-servants as they worked throughthe night, preparing for the next day's services. Twenty new gods asleepin Babylon--twice twenty demons at work in the minds of men. Could theoutcome of the fast-approaching struggle still look doubtful to anyreasonable thinker whose heart was on neither side?

  Belshazzar and his father drove home together from the square of Marduk.Weary as he was, Nabu-Nahid was in a joyous frame of mind. He talkedincessantly about the success of his great experiment. Secure in thefavor of Heaven, he could easily cast aside all fears of earthlydisfavor, and his whole person so radiated delight that Belshazzar'smood passed unnoticed, his expression of unhappiness was transfigured bythe sunset glare into one as rapt and as joyous as his father's own.

  When at last they two dismounted together before the palace gates,Belshazzar's heart gave a great throb of relief. He had that day feltagainst him all the hostility of that Great City, and though they werehis own, and he should be called upon some day perhaps to die for them,yet he felt a sensation akin to hatred for all the people whosesuperstitious and pitifully cringing hearts could be moved by thepriesthood to moods and beliefs inimical in every particular to thehopes and plans of their temporal lords.

  Belshazzar made his way straight to his private apartments and theredoffed his priest's dress, commanding it to be carried out of his sight,and vowing that never again would he put it on. Then he donned a tunicof gray cotton cloth and took his way to the seraglio, into the presenceof Istar. He found her sitting on the broad pile of rugs and cushionsthat filled half her living-room, holding the child in her arms,crooning over it as only a mother can. She welcomed her husband witheagerness, however, showing by the light in her face her delight in hiscoming.

  "And do these new gods hold not their high places in Babylon, my lord?"she asked, when, having called for food and wine, he threw himself downbeside her.

  Belshazzar's answer was a bitter little smile.

  "And they were received in silence? Tell me of the image that was put upinto the shrine of Istar. Did the people honor it--did they praise itand bow down before it?"

  "More than any other they showed it honor. Ah, my beloved, for my sakethe people hate thee! Knowest thou how they hate me? My name is taughtto be reviled in every temple. I am an enemy of the priests, therefoream I mocked in the high places. Istar--Istar--I sometimes dream that notmuch longer shall I and my father dwell in our Great City." He spoke thewords lingeringly, with his eyes fixed on her face.

  Istar answered the look well. Not a suggestion of fear, not a hint ofdread was to be found in her smile. And while her hand caressed the tinypalm of the sleeping child, she said, quietly: "Whither thou goest, dearlord, there I will go. Unto the ends of the earth--and beyond--I willfollow thee."

  "Istar! Thou art happy in me?" he cried, impulsively, leaning over andputting his hand to her lips.

  The smile still lingered as she kissed the hand; and then, taking itgently away, she answered and said: "Happy--Yea, Belshazzar, so happythat I, too, believe that our earth-time nears its end. I believe that Ihave found what I sought. It is the love for his fellows lying in theheart of every man that binds him to the greater love of the All-Father.The love of one for another sanctifies every life. Thee and this--mylittle child--I love."

  Belshazzar looked wistfully upon his wife. There were times when she wastoo far above him for his own content. Yet in her words there was alwayssomething that, vaguely understood, stirred his brain to a painfuleffort to follow her to her height. Now, as if he would hold her backwith him, he took both her hands, leaving the child to lie in her lapunheeded, and asked, with a change of tone: "Hast thou been alonethrough all the weary day, beloved?"

  "Nay, Baba of Ribata's house and Charmides the Greek came here togetherto me, after noon. Thou knowest the Greek--him whose lyre once you brokebefore me."

  "Ay. He is a temple-servant."

  "He serves no longer in the temple. Out of loyalty to us--to thee and tome--he works no more in the statue of oracles, nor does he play atsacrifice."

  "Loyalty to me!" Belshazzar laughed slightly.

  Istar gave him a quiet look, and her half-open lips closed again.

  "Art thou angered with me, O my beloved, for being forever jealous?Istar! Couldst thou but know half of my love! If thou couldst read theterror in my heart--the terror of losing thee and thy love--"

  He broke off quickly as the eunuchs brought in a table covered with meatand wine. It was placed before the prince, and Belshazzar, faint withhis long fast, applied himself to the food and drink, and the intimatelittle passage with his wife was finished.

  The following twelve days passed quietly in the palace. Belshazzarwithdrew himself absolutely from city affairs, and, beyond going dailyto the reviews and drills of his regiment of Guti and the city guards,he never passed the palace gates. Nabu-Nahid, on the other hand, workedfeverishly. The state of public affairs was beginning to trouble him.Five days after the procession of his gods he was obliged to acknowledgeto himself that his great hopes for their intercession were not to befulfilled. Just how far Nabonidus' blind faith went, no one, not evenhimself, really knew. That which was artistic in his nature--and he wasno mean artist at heart--had led him into the pursuit of architecturefor the love of it. A passion for things of antiquity had caused him toexplore the deserted ruins of many a crumbling temple, with results thatmade the soul of the seeker after knowledge tremble with delight. Many along-buried library had been brought by his efforts into the light ofday; and the religion of Accad of old, with its heroic tales, itsprayer-poems, its chronicles of war and the chase, had been opened tohis eyes and to those of the scholars that worked with him. The gods ofother days had been brought forth from their ruinous shrines and placedin newer, brighter homes. And after these things, it somehow seemed tohim that a reward should be forthcoming from his country.

  But when Nabonidus came to know that, at the instigation of Amraphel,the new gods were left unworshipped in their shrines, that sacrificeswere no longer offered up in the temples, that people were turned awayout of the holy places with the word that the great gods were angered bythe intrusion of these others, that none of them would heed prayers andburnt-offerings till the strangers were removed from the Sun-builtHouse, then the heart of the king grew sick within him, and suddenly hecame to a realizing sense of the power of the priesthood. Councils wereheld in the palace. Lords, chancellors, judges, and officers from everydepartment, together with deputies from the provinces, met in the palaceand were presided over by the king. Plans were brought up, discussed,and discarded. There was only one thing, apparently, to be done; yet thedoing of it would involve such political cataclysms that, dangerous aswas the position of the crown, Nabu-Nahid still hesitated to forceAmraphel from his place.

  At this time, when Adar's month was a third gone, came news of a greatbattle fought in the south country aroun
d Larsam, between the troops ofCyrus and the defending army, resulting in the victory of the invaderand the utter rout and defeat of the Chaldees. Before the news of thiscould have reached the north country, another army--the Persian, incommand of the traitor-governor Gobryas of Gutium, Cyrus' ablestgeneral--had gathered about Hit to begin a rapid southward march towardsSippar, by way of Agade. The meaning of this movement was only tooplain. Cyrus and Gobryas, between them sweeping Babylonia from south tonorth, would come together for their final siege before the walls of theGreat City.

  This plan unfolded itself slowly before the eyes of the king and hiscouncil, and Gobryas was within two days' march of Sippar beforeNabonidus was fully aware of the danger. Well might Amraphel and Danielthe Jew laugh together and rejoice at the success of their allies. At atime like this, what reproof for neglect of the gods could be given themby a king threatened with such certain disaster? A month now, at theoutside, and Cyrus would be at the gates of Babylon. By then the longlabor of plotting and of treachery would be over. There remained onlythe final stroke, now preparing, and then the swift, clean end.

  During this time, while Nabu-Nahid seemed to be aging a year a day underthe pressure of difficulties that he was too weak to avert or toovercome, Belshazzar was living a life of careless idleness with Istarand his child. The two of them knew that the time of their joy of lovewas nearly over. Both were unwilling that anything should come betweenthem before the inevitable end. How it was that Belshazzar could putaway all trouble, all apprehension of the future from his mind, hehimself did not know. Perhaps he had been under the spell ofapprehension for so long that now, when the dread of it had reached hisfather, he was empowered to straighten up and put down his load, till hemust pick it up again increased in weight a thousandfold. But during thedays that followed he could remember his first two weeks of summer as aforetaste of the peace eternal of the silver sky. From dawn to dawn,barring those two noon hours when Istar slept and he rode out to theparade, Belshazzar was at his wife's side. Their thoughts, their dreams,their desires, were alike. There was no need to talk one to the other.The mind of each was to the other as a written tablet; and they read insilence, clasped each in the other's arms. Istar had become very tender,very clinging, very feminine now. Those periods of divinity when herpersonality became elusive and her mind attained to unfathomable heightswere gone. She was of earth, human in her beauty and in her frailty ofphysique, radiant only with an earthly love. It was Belshazzar that wasbecoming transfigured--transfigured through his love for her; for hispassion had broadened into a power of renunciation; and he showed thewoman a glorified reverence, which, beyond her to conceive, had beenbeyond her to command.

  It was in this wise that their twelve days passed; and on the night ofthe twelfth of June Nabu-Nahid entered unannounced into the presence ofhis son, with the decree that ended Belshazzar's dream lying written inhis face.

  Istar, dressed in robes of deep crimson silk, girdled and sandalled withgold, lay back upon her divan, softly singing to a lute that she playedherself. The light from a hanging-lamp fell over her figure and left therest of the room in shadow. In this shadow, seated upon an ivory chair,was the prince, holding the murmuring child fast in his gentle arms.They had been thus for an hour when the interruption came and Nabu-Nahidentered, bringing with him the atmosphere in which he had been living ofdoubts and fears, hates and quarrels, intrigues and treacheries, anddispelling instantly the love-dreams of youth.

  Nabonidus was not yet an old man in years; but few would have been ableto make out whether it had taken fourscore years, or five, to producehis peculiar appearance. He was a vision of white. Hair, skin, hands,robes, sandals, all were white; and which the whitest one could not havetold. His face was bloodless, and resembled a piece of bleached papyruswhich, having lain in a damp place, had curled up into a thousand minutewrinkles, from the midst of which a pair of dark, dull eyes lookedwearily forth. These eyes were the only feature that one much regarded.The others sloped insignificantly into the pallid plain of the cheeks.And Nabonidus' whole mood was apparent in his walk. So dragging, soweary, so despondent was every step, that, as he entered Istar's room,Belshazzar shrank back from his presence in involuntary despair.

  Just inside the door-way the king stopped and looked about him. Istarlaid down her lute and rose, regarding the intruder with quietapprehension. Seeing her, Belshazzar, too, came forward out of thegloom, holding the child still in his arms. And his voice first brokethe silence.

  "Enter thou, my father, and sit down with us!"

  Istar supplemented the words with a little gesture.

  Nabu-Nahid listened, looked closely at his son and the burden in hisarms, and then turned slowly to the woman, gazing at her for a long timebefore he spoke. "And thou art she--whom we worshipped," he murmured,musingly.

  Istar drew back a little, and Belshazzar took two rapid strides forward."Dost thou desire speech with me, my father? Let us then retire to myapartments. There we will talk."

  "Twelve days hast thou been sought in thy apartment; twelve days haththis been thy abode. Let it then be mine for an hour. After that I willgo forth again--alone." There was a kind of strength in this last wordthat sounded strange from the lips of the king, and to which neitherBelshazzar nor Istar could find any reply.

  Istar went to her husband and took the child from him, saying, softly:"I will leave thee here and go into another room. Cause thy father tosit and talk with thee. And--if there is need of thee, I pray that mylord will come to bid me farewell before he goes." Her voice trembledslightly, and as she lifted her eyes to Belshazzar's he found themshining with tears.

  Her husband gave her the child and would have let her go; but Nabonidusraised his hand.

  "Let her take the child, Belshazzar, for it is not meet that thoushouldst sit as a nurse of infants. But as Istar is thy wife and belovedof thee, let her remain here, that ye may both hear my last wordsconcerning Babylon."

  "_Thy last words!_" cried the prince, quickly.

  "Yea, for I am come to bid ye both farewell. To-morrow I go up toSippar, which is threatened with destruction."

  "Gobryas is there?"

  "To-night he lies six kasbi[11] north of the city."

  "But Nana-Babilu and all the army are there. There will be a siege. Wewill send reinforcements from Babylon. Sippar cannot fall."

  For the first time in many years Nabonidus regarded his son withsomething akin to scorn. "In the twelve days that thou hast lain hiddenhere many things have come to pass. Sippar is in revolt. The priests ofthe sun-college have incited the people to rebel against my rule; andthey threaten to open the gates to Gobryas. Nana-Babilu sends memessengers to say that half his army will fail him when it comes to thebattle. It is for this reason that I go to Sippar."

  Belshazzar rose, his face alight with eagerness. "Not thou, O king, notthou, but I, will go up to-morrow into the city of the north. Myregiment of Gutium shall follow me. There, with those men alone, I willhold Sippar against Gobryas--ay, and Kurush, too, if--"

  "Many things I have known thee do, Bel-shar-utsur; yet boaster wert thounever before. If thou know it not, my son, then I tell thee now, for itis well that thou shouldst learn it from my lips, Babylonia hatesthee--for thy arrogance, for thy strength, for thy will, for sacrilegecommitted often against the gods; above all, for thy tyranny over thepriests. If thou shouldst set forth to Sippar, thy life would not endurea single day. And the regiment of Gutium must stay in Babylon. It is inthem that the Great City puts her trust. Thou, also, as governor of thecity, must be here to lead them. I came not to thy presence to betaught, but rather to talk with thee upon thy position here."

  Belshazzar stood silent, flushed with chagrin, yet in his heartacknowledging the truth of his father's words. Moreover, there was inhis father's manner something that had not been there before. Beset ashe was on every side, Nabu-Nahid had suddenly become a king. Istarperceived it and marvelled; and, though she did not speak, the old manfound sympathy in her presence. Belshazzar forced h
imself at last toask, in a subdued tone:

  "Where wilt thou go in Sippar, O my father? Into the household of Nana,or to the river-palace?"

  "Neither of these places. I shall go to the priests' college. It wasthere that my youth was spent. Five years ago I dwelt there through thesummer. When Nitocris died, I went there after the month of wailing. Ithath long been a refuge to me. I will seek it again. If I have yet anypower in the world, it is there that I shall find it."

  Belshazzar nodded thoughtfully. He recognized the truth of his father'swords; yet he was only beginning to realize the danger of this desperatejourney. It came over him again, in a vast wave, how great were thestraits in which his city lay. There seemed to be nothing for him tosay, so completely was his father master of the situation. And presentlyNabonidus, with a faint sigh, lifted up his voice again:

  "Belshazzar, thou seest surely the danger that all are in. Of my ownfree will I go forth to Sippar; yet I have little thought that I shallreturn thence again. All things are in the hands of the great gods. Ifit is decreed that I perish at the hands of my enemies, I pray only thatAnu will hold for me a place in the silver sky. Through seventeen yearsI have ruled over the Great City, and in that time I have neverwillingly wronged any man. Why it should be that men wrong me, I knownot; and I ask not.

  "Thou, my son, art trained to the thought of ruling over the mightykingdom of the Chaldees. I charge thee only that if word of my deathreach thine ears, rule over thy people and mine as a brave king and nota cruel one. In the years to come let thy people look to theeconfidently and in love. Be just with all; and let none know thee inhate.

  "Thou, Istar of the skies, who hast dwelt as a goddess in the holytemple of E-Ana, and art now become a princess of the king's house, ifin time thou art made queen of Babylon, let not thy heart beat withpride. Love thy king. Bear his children and rear them in temperance andpeace. Open thy lips to no words of folly. Unveil thy face before noman. Be the faithful servant and companion of him who holds thee dearerthan all others. And, having heard my bidding, hold also my memory inreverence.

  "Behold, I have said my say, and I go forth. On the morrow, Belshazzar,thou wilt be master in the palace. Take up thy duties, and leave thechild to its mother's arms. Now Anu, Ea, and Bel, the three lords of thegods, keep our fortunes, our lives, and our hearts in safety evermore!"

  Nabu-Nahid held out a thin, white hand to each of them, Belshazzar andIstar, his children, and each of them pressed it reverently to brow andbreast. Then the old man threw the corner of his white mantle once moreover his shoulder, and, with a stateliness born of his newly royalspirit, departed from the room.

  Istar and Belshazzar saw him go in silence. Their own days of happinesswere at an end; but he who had ended them had given them both the desireto meet the veiled future in a manner worthy of their God and of theking that went before.