Dawn of Empire

by H A CULLEY

  He needn’t have worried. The routed troops kept running past Hiritum and kept going. Only a couple of hundred horsemen were chasing thousands of Elamites. It would have been disastrous if someone had managed to rally the fleeing men, but no-one did. The weary horsemen stopped at dusk and watched the remainder flee into the growing darkness.

  ~#~

  Hammurabi surveyed the scene with some satisfaction and clapped his brother on the shoulder in congratulation. Two thirds of the enemy had been killed or captured and the remainder had fled towards Assyria, where they were hardy likely to find a welcome. Hiritum had been relieved and its people were now working feverishly to destroy the ramp that had so nearly given the enemy access into their city.

  It was ironic that two days after the battle the combined armies of Mari and Yamhad had finally arrived. Instead of being pleased to find that the Elamites had been vanquished, they were extremely disappointed that they had arrived too late to share in the spoils. Hammurabi and Zimri-Lim had engaged in a furious argument about sharing the prisoners. It seemed like an impasse and there was a danger that the Babylonians would have to fight another battle, this time against their erstwhile allies.

  When Hammurabi had calmed down a little Adiar suggested a compromise.

  ‘Why don’t you let him have half the prisoners to share with Yamhad on condition that he takes all of them, including ours, back to the slave markets of Mari and Aleppo now. He can send you our half of the proceeds when they are all sold.’

  Understanding dawned on Hammurabi. ‘Leaving me to negotiate about the future of Hiritum with the city elders on my own!’ He kissed her hard on the lips. ‘I don’t know what I would do without you, my love.’

  Three days later Hammurabi, Arishaka and Adiar walked into the city council chamber to be greeted like the saviours they were.

  ‘King Hammurabi,’ the chief elder began, ‘you know how grateful we all are for your help in defeating the Elamites.’

  ‘I think we did a little more than just help,’ Adiar whispered in his ear.

  ‘We are still recovering and it will take some time for us to get back to normal, even with the supplies that you have started to ship to us up river. Nevertheless, we would like to throw a victory celebration in two days’ time in your honour to which you and all your captains are invited.’

  Hammurabi expressed his appreciation then went on: ‘You mentioned the question of recovery. There is much to do, obviously, but my immediate concern is to prevent further danger to this city.’ He paused, wondering how his next statement would go down. ‘Hiritum has long been a proud and independent city, as were all the city states of Mesopotamia in the distant past. Now, nearly all have entered into alliances or unions with other city states for their mutual benefit.’

  He paused and looked around the council chamber at the members, some of whom were muttering angrily to one another and others who were listening and nodding in agreement. He calculated that he had a slim majority so far.

  ‘The other problem is that you have no king. The last surviving member of your royal house is a girl of thirteen. You need to find a husband for her who can become your king, and quickly, before those vieing for the honour start to fight amongst themselves.’

  The muttering had stopped and all the elders were paying rapt attention to him now.

  ‘What are you suggesting, King Hammurabi?’ the chief elder asked cautiously.

  ‘I am suggesting that I provide a scion of a royal house as the husband of your princess and that we enter into a treaty of mutual support. I will help you to re-establish your city state and to train a new army organised along Babylonian lines. I will even lend you some experienced officers and soldiers to train your men.’

  ‘And who is this prince you offer us? Not Samsu-Iluna, your own heir? It can’t be Mutu-Namaha; he is still too young to rule,’ one of the elders asked.

  ‘No, it’s Narem-Suen; one of my captains of a thousand and the son of the late Kudu-Zulush.’

  ‘The last King of Susa; an Elamite! You are in jest, surely?’ the chief elder got out after he had recovered from his surprise.

  ‘He was, yes.’ Hammurabi held up his hands to still the sudden uproar that had greeted his suggestion. ‘Now, no one hates the Elamites more than he does. Ever since Siwe-Palar-Hupak killed his father he has detested Elam more than any of us. He is brave, resourceful, a good organiser and the thousand he leads love him. They would follow him anywhere. What more could you ask for in a leader?’

  ‘You obviously place a great deal of faith in this young man; though, if my memory serves me correctly, he is still a boy.’

  ‘He is fifteen, a few months away from the age I was when I fought for and gained the throne of Babylon.’

  ‘Very well; could we ask if he could appear before us tomorrow so that we can satisfy ourselves as to his suitability to be our king?’

  Hammurabi smiled to himself. It was all but agreed. He just hoped that the boy had recovered sufficiently to be able to walk into the council chamber. It wouldn’t do any harm to prepare them though.

  ‘Certainly, but you should be aware that he was wounded in the battle when we destroyed the first half of the Elamite army. He is still recovering so you must make allowances for that. And perhaps he could meet your princess whilst he is in the city?’

  ~#~

  In the end, Narem-Suen had no trouble convincing the elders of his suitability. He had arrived in the city in a chariot driven by his brother and escorted by four hundred slingers. The way they cheered him when he limped out of the chariot and into the council chamber was as convincing a demonstration of the Babylonians regard for him, and his for them, as any speech.

  Rather than go to the expense of holding several special events, the victory feast was a triple celebration: the defeat of the Elamites, the marriage of Narem-Suen and his enthronement as King of Hiritum. He was still not fully recovered but he had steeled himself to put on a brave show.

  Now he sat beside his new bride, who seemed infatuated with her wounded prince. His overriding feeling was one of gratitude to Hammurabi. Instead of executing him or selling him and his brother into slavery, Hammurabi had trusted him and raised him up. Now he had made him a king, albeit a minor one of a small city state. His wife was pretty enough but she was young. Perhaps he would come to love her in time, but even if it didn’t become a love match he didn’t care. He could always take concubines. For now, he was just enjoying the moment.

  He leaned over to Hammurabi, who was seated in the place of honour on the other side from his new wife.

  ‘What are your plans now, lord king?’

  Hammurabi smiled. ‘You must get used to calling me by name, now that we are both kings.’

  The boy laughed. ‘We both know our respective positions, King Hammurabi. We are hardly equals; and you neatly sidestepped the question.’

  The man smiled. ‘Let’s talk about this when there aren’t so many ears wagging. I need to discuss the arrangements for training up your army in any case, and I need Arishaka there for that. How’s your leg by the way; you seem to be walking on it with less of a limp now?’

  Chapter Six – Eshnunna Regained – 1768 BCE

  The three of them met again the next morning. Adiar had gone to see how Samsu-Iluna was doing, otherwise she would have joined them, but she knew what her husband’s plans were anyway. Narem-Suen had suggested that the chief elder join them but Hammurabi told him that his plans were secret for now.

  ‘It’s very simple really,’ he started, ‘the Elamite army occupying Eshnunna is now severely stretched because they sent every available man they had to reinforce the besiegers of Hiritum. The Elamite kingdom is vast, of course, but their army is mainly militia-based and they don’t like fighting away from their homes. Of course, Siwe-Palar-Hupak uses mercenaries, especially tribesmen from the Zagros Mountains, as that also serves the purpose of keeping their numbers down as well as giving them something to do instead of raiding other tribes.
However, even that source of manpower must be running a bit low by now.

  ‘My plan is for the Eshnunnans to throw off the Elamite yoke themselves, with our help of course. The thousand or so Eshnunnan soldiers who are left here will travel to all ten cities and major towns in Eshnunna and spread the seeds of revolt. In the meantime we will move the army towards Eshnunna itself, once I hear that the revolts have started, that is.’

  ‘And what part do you expect Hiritum to play in this?’

  ‘Why, nothing.’ Hammurabi seemed surprised by the suggestion. ‘You have enough to do here, re-building the army and getting the economy operating again.’

  Narem-Suen smiled. ‘And so what is your grand strategy, Hammurabi? I mean once you have brought Eshnunna back into the fold. Will you invade Elam? Or perhaps Assyria? I only ask as I suspect that there will be a price that Hiritum will have to pay at some point for all the help you have given and will continue to give us.’

  ‘Us now is it? You seem to change allegiance very quickly.’

  ‘You’ve made me king here. I would be a pretty poor one if I didn’t now put the interests of my new subjects first. I will remain loyal to you, Hammurabi, if I possibly can, but I need to know what that will entail.’

  The King of Babylon smiled. ‘I respect you for that. Well then, you want to know the future? I expect you to defer to me in matters of external relations and to support me as my ally. In return, the rule of your new realm is a matter solely for you.’

  ‘In other words, I am to be a sub-king, much as my father was in Susa as part of Elam.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so, though I think that’s an unfortunate analogy.’

  ‘Very well. I know where I stand. To be honest, it is much as I expected. I knew that Hiritum could not remain an independent city-state, surrounded as it is by more powerful neighbours.’

  ‘I think your people should be grateful, Narem-Suen. If Mari had got here before we relieved the city, there wouldn’t be a king here now; the city and its surrounding territory would have been incorporated as part of Mari and you would have a governor imposed by Zimri-Lim instead.’

  ~#~

  Sullu-Sin listened carefully to what the messenger from Hammurabi was saying. The man and fifty colleagues had slipped into the city in small groups the previous day. They were taking a risk coming into Eshnunna as Siwe-Palar-Hupak had put a price on each of their heads after the Eshnunnan soldiers had changed sides at the Battle of Hiritum.

  Sullu-Sin had been a senior commander in the army of Ibal-pi-El, the previous King of Eshnunna, and his close friend and adviser, but he wasn’t a member of the ruling family and thus had no legitimate claim to the throne. Nevertheless, many Eshnunnans now looked to him to lead them. Others argued that Adiar should be recognised as queen, as she was the last surviving sibling in direct descent. But that wasn’t up for discussion now. Sullu-Sin was a convenient rallying point and so he was the one Hammurabi wanted to lead the revolt in the kingdom’s capital. Sullu-Sin himself was far from convinced, however.

  ‘And how is this revolt in all ten places to be co-ordinated?’ he sneered, convinced that he had found a major flaw in the plan.

  ‘Tonight is a new moon,’ the messenger replied. ‘the uprisings are planned for the night of the next new moon. That should give us plenty of time to prepare.’

  ‘Hmmm, I need to talk to my advisers. Come back here at the same time tomorrow.’

  ‘Could I not stay here until you decide? I don’t want to risk getting caught in the streets after curfew.’

  Sullu-Sin could see the sense in that. If he decided against the plan, he would have to kill the man anyway to prevent him ever disclosing their discussions. In that event, having him here would be more convenient than having him loose in the city. His ambition was to wear the crown, if they ever could manage to get rid of the Elamites. This did seem to be the only way to do so.

  When the messenger was called back in to see him, therefore, he told him that he would support the uprising and lead it in Eshnunna, if Hammurabi would agree to recognise him as king. The man left his men behind to help Sullu-Sin and slipped out of the city the next morning, lost in the usual traffic entering and leaving the city. All travellers were checked but the Elamites were too idle to do this themselves, leaving it to the city watch. As his brother was an officer in the city watch, the messenger had no trouble entering and leaving.

  A hour later he re-joined the two men he had left with his chariot at a local farm and headed back towards the Tigris. From there they took the road following the river upstream, reaching the ferry across to Hiritum the following afternoon.

  ‘This soldier is impertinent beyond belief, claiming the throne that is mine by right.’

  Hammurabi didn’t think that he had ever seen his wife is such an angry mood; well, at least not in the last few years. He waited for the tirade to run its course. He knew from bitter experience that it was pointless trying to reason with her. Showing sympathy was even worse, as she immediately suspected that he was up to something.

  ‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’

  Hammurabi sighed, he would have to reply.

  ‘What would you like me to do, my love?’

  She glared at him. ‘Don’t try that soft soap with me, Hammurabi. It doesn’t work!’ When he didn’t say anything she glared at him again. ‘Well, what are you going to do?’

  ‘Me? I’m going to lead the army up the Diyala Valley to draw as many Elamite troops out of the cities as possible to oppose us so that the Eshnunnans can take their cities and towns back. Then we’ll defeat the army in the field. Then we’ll all live happily ever after.’

  ‘Don’t be facetious! So you’ll let him take the throne?’

  ‘I don’t have an option. We need him to lead the revolt as he’s on the spot and has plenty of followers in the city.’

  ‘And afterwards?’

  ‘We bide our time. From what I hear, he’s an opportunist and self-centred. He’ll soon make himself unpopular as king and that’s when we’ll step in, rescue the Eshnunnans once more and put you on the throne.’

  ‘Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?’

  He laughed. ‘I would have done, if you had let me get a word in edgeways.’

  ~#~

  Once again the Babylonian army found itself advancing up the Diyala Valley. They had ignored Akshak and Tutub and the Elamite garrisons had stayed behind their walls. Then, as they neared Eshnunna, the scouts reported seeing troops marching down the valley towards them. Perfect timing, thought Arishaka. Tomorrow night would be the full moon.

  Hammurabi had left eight hundred of his men and two hundred slingers behind at Hiritum under the command of Es-Nasir to enlarge and train their army and to help protect the city until its new army were ready. He had suffered nine hundred casualties in the fight to save Hiritum, which left him seven thousand men and boys, both those who rode the camels with archers and the slingers. He could hardly afford to reduce this small number by a thousand but he considered this the minimum number needed to hold Hiritum and train up their new army.

  A hundred and twenty chariots led the main body behind a screen of a hundred and fifty horsemen. Four hundred and fifty camel archers guarded the flanks and the rear whist the nine hundred archers, nearly a thousand slingers and three and a half thousand spearmen formed the rest of the main body.

  Arishaka’s scouts estimated that there were two hundred chariots, a thousand archers and ten thousand spearmen advancing to meet them. As his spies had told the Babylonian foreign minister that there were no more than eighteen thousand Elamite troops now left in Eshnunna, there couldn’t be more than six or seven thousand left as garrisons in the ten cities and major towns in the country.

  When they camped that evening Hammurabi discussed the strategic situation with his brother.

  ‘If we can defeat this last army and the Eshnunnans can expel the rest, Elam will have lost some forty thousand men in this venture of the
irs. As we think that they couldn’t muster more than a hundred thousand men all told, this will leave them very weak, given the vast territory they have to control.’

  ‘I’ve heard rumours that the tribesmen in the Zagros Mountains are causing trouble again and there is a revolt far to the south, on the east coast of the Gulf. I’ve also heard that Siwe-Palar-Hupak is not in the best of health either,’ Arishaka said with a tight smile on his face.

  ‘That’s not necessarily good news. Illness would certainly help us, but I think we should pray to Marduk that he doesn’t die. If he does, his nephew, Atta-Merra-Halki, who he has just made his sub-king in Susa, will take over. He’s a young man who’s keen to make a name for himself and who might just be stupid enough to gamble with the continued existence of Elam as a kingdom in order to get even with us. However, as he is only fourteen, I’m sure his uncle will keep him on a tight rein for now.’

  Arishaka sighed, stretched his long legs out in front of him and yawned.

  ‘Well, we’ve got a battle to win tomorrow before we can even consider what we do in the longer term. I think I’ll try and get a little sleep now as we’ll have to be ready to move at dawn.’

  ~#~

  As usual, Hammurabi had chosen the site for the battle well. The valley broadened out at this point with the river running close to the northern side. This gave him plenty of room for his chariots and camel archers to manoeuvre. The walls of the valley sloped downwards at forty five degrees on average, which allowed his archers to take position up high with good fields of fire down into the valley. He placed the chariots in the middle and the camel archers on the flanks.