It took less than a week for Nimrod to be elected lugal.
By spring, the new Babylon’s numbers had swelled to almost three hundred. Houses, laid out on carefully straight streets and wide boulevards, were spacious and tiled in beautiful colors. Bricks were waterproofed through firing.
Wells had been dug in the center of the few squares. Nirg set up a window through which she sold Chloe’s sausage balls and other, easy-to-eat items. Chloe had fallen in love with palms and spent the winter transplanting those that had been half–dug up, to places within the city. Irrigation ditches were next.
Cheftu came for her one afternoon from his position at Nimrod’s side as a city planner and part-time justice, who mostly oversaw the writing of contracts.
“I’m busy,” she said, her hands covered in mud, after giving him a kiss.
“Come with me.”
She excused herself and followed him. They strolled through the palm groves south, hand in hand, to where they’d first seen the strange glow in the sky over Babylon.
“This is for you,” he said after they sat down.
Chloe looked at him, then unwrapped the small parcel. A cylinder of ivory fell out, intricately carved. She looked at the writing on the side, the drawing of a woman and a child writing.
“Nimrod wants you to open a school, a Tablet House.”
Yes!
It sang through her veins, a profound sense of fit. This, yes, what she was made for. This dream, this moment. Children, not born of her body, but of her heart. She examined the carving through a prism of unshed tears. The why of her future was answered. The why of here and now was answered. The why of everything, from her first step into ancient Egypt to her most recent step into this palm grove, was answered.
My whole life has led up to this moment. I’m home.
“He even turned the logograms ninety degrees,” Chloe said through a throat clogged with tears.
“He did. He said it was your school, you should hire teachers who instruct what you felt comfortable with. Teach to males, females. This cylinder seal, it’s for you.” Cheftu looked at her with golden eyes, the fringe of his blond hair framing them. “Women are going to be equals here, in politics, religion, socially. You’re a client, Chloe.”
She clutched the seal that would be her legacy in one hand, and, with the other, Chloe reached for Cheftu.
Author’s Note
If it appears to any trained student of early Mesopotamian history that I took the elements of Sumerian culture, threw them in a blender, then spread them on these pages, he or she would be correct.
These people, even more than my beloved Egyptians, fascinate me. However, definitive answers about who and where and when and why are few and far between. So while I don’t know the answers per se, many things in this, Chloe and Cheftu’s final adventure, are based in fact.
The death pits; substitution theory; exorcism with a goat; all the artifacts mentioned, the clothing worn; the school, even the translation of alumni to “Old Boys”; Ur was the first place to have a restaurant; Enkidu and Gilgamesh are characters in one of the most well-known myths from ancient times; there is record of one female Tablet Father, and an ancient school for girls in Ur; mourning the loss of extreme old age and appreciating the concept of “humanity” are common threads in both Sumerian mythology and Genesis; Shem, Kham (Ham) and Japheth (Jepheti) were the three sons of Noah (Ziusudra); Roo (Reu) is Abram’s (Abraham’s) great-great-grandfather; Lud is another Biblical relative; Nimrod is credited with founding Babylon; Asshur with Ninevah and Calneh; the cycle of eclipses was certainly not known or predictable to these people; the standards, mostly famously the Code of Hammurabi, are now thought by scholars to be examples of judgments that had been meted out rather than absolute laws; writing, in about this time period, did change direction and angle; a dictionary, or as Ningal puts it: “list of lists.”
A million books aided me in this search. Books that I could not have written this without are: The First Great Civilizations by Jacquetta Hawkes—a brilliant survey of all things Sumerian. The Birth of Writing, by Time-Life; Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East by Michael Roaf; The Genesis Hypothesis by Douglas B. Scarborough, my source for how to live to be three hundred; Return to Sodom and Gomorrah by Charles Pellegrino—one of my all-time favorite reads; The Alphabet versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain. I wasn’t able to use the information outright, but it provided me with motivation and understanding within my characters. A mind-bending book, Totality, by Mark Littman and Ken Wilcox, who shared just how many eclipses, and what kinds I could realistically have, in a celestial action-packed year.
Two authors stand head and shoulders above the other writers in this arena—one, Sir Leonard Wooley, whose excavations yielded the wealth of information we have on Sumer and whose descriptions helped me reconstruct the Great Death Pit and the King’s Tomb and Puabi’s (Shub-ab’s) Tomb. It’s all there—the hole beneath the chest, used by tomb robbers to strip the tomb beneath hers, the extra crown set beside the corpse of Puabi, the seventy-plus souls who willingly took poison and lay down to die. And most importantly, the absolute lack of explanation for such a sacrifice. I read dozens of his books, even old National Geographic articles, in order to prepare for this project.
The other author synonymous with Sumer is Samuel Noah Kramer, who brought the wonder and amazement of how creative and ingenious and downright “modern” these ancient Sumerians were, to me. The first math, the first writing, the first astrology, the first astronomy, the first irrigation, the first hybrid crops, the first arch, the first vault, the first dome, the first musical instruments, the first accounting, the first democracy, the first divorce, the first city planning, the first recorded myths, the first megaliths, the first baked bricks, the first skyscrapers, the first centralized government, the first commonwealths, the first laws, the first judicial system, the first record keepers, the first beer makers, the first goldsmiths, the first mosaicists, the first use of architectural entasis, the first loans on credit, the first banks, the first fast food, the first restaurant, the first advertising, the first calendar, the first minute and hour, the first zodiac. At one point I was going to have Chloe keep track of all of these “firsts,” but the book would have run a thousand pages. Much better for her to experience them.
What struck me most about these people is how easily they paralleled the fin de siècle world in which I wrote this book. More specifically, how like the residents of the United States Sumerians were. As in my own world, they paid little attention to the destruction they were creating for their future, they were excited by the newest thing, they wanted results immediately, they trusted little beyond money and occupation, and they searched for reasons in a world where science and faith appeared to be on a collision course. Through it all, they sought after and believed in the elusive concept of “humanity.”
Legend says that when God struck down the Tower of Babel, he banished the people rather than killing them. Not because they were any less sinful than the generations that had perished in the Deluge, but because the nature of their sins had changed. Before, man had turned on man, civil war. At the Tower, man had joined with man and pitted himself against God. To paraphrase, God thought man had at least improved, and if this particular skirmish was avoided, there was hope man would actually mature.
The Sumerians had hope. They believed twilight would promise a new day.
What better world for Chloe and Cheftu to walk into?
Acknowledgments
This journey would have been impossible without:
Hanne, who first mentioned Sumer and Gilgamesh to me, who shared her home, her library, and her extensive knowledge of ancient and modern things, and Sydney, who always encourages me; Drue my coach, and Renee, my compatriot, who independently give me a shot of confidence and curiosity to savor each week; Daniel, who believes, who supports better living through caffeine, and is my best promoter; Danny boy, who cheers and prods; George and Peter
, who edit and analyze, who ponder my theories and challenge my logic—while never doubting my ability; George, who also gave me rust, and Peter, who also gave me a map and copper toxicosis; Michka, whose conversation inspires me to look within; Melanie, whose enthusiasm buoys me; Mathias, whose introduction to Magic Hat brewery made writing about beer a simple, joyful task; Sissie and Connie, whom I love and miss; Sally, Barbara, and the SMU crowd who root me on and give me a place to teach; my students, who challenge me to be a better writer every day; Barbara, who makes me respect my business; Walter and Steve, who are in the trenches with me, who share their stories and make me laugh; Mom and Dad, who ask questions and make me ask questions, who take me to lunch weekly and pray for me daily; Kati and Brent, who are far away, but in my heart; my agent David, and Seth; my editors on this project—Susan, who guided Chloe and Cheftu; Jessica, who gave me time; and ultimately, Jackie, who completed this with me. To you all, a thousand thanks.
And strangely enough, to Chloe and Cheftu, who have been my most constant and dear companions these last years, who are as real and alive to me as anyone I know, and who now fade into the dust of history. Through them I kept alive my grandparents, my Texas heritage, my military brat upbringing, and my passion for the ancient world. How I will miss the excuse for research, for taking the journey, for dreaming this big. How much I have loved it. Thank you, dear reader, for loving it—and them—too.
TGG.
Suzanne Frank
June 17, 2001
Discussion Questions
What is the known progression of civilizations and which culture has had the most effect on Western civ?
Many cultures have a Noah-like myth. How do you explain that?
Chloe considers herself a professional time traveler. What skills did she use to survive in this time period and what skills might have helped her more?
Chloe chooses to go to school. What other options did she have?
When Chloe and Cheftu realized they could get the sought-after water of vitality, should they have gone back for it? Told Asshur its location? Given it to all the sick children? What would you have done?
At the end of the story, it seems Chloe and Cheftu are going to stay in Sumer. If you were to give them another adventure, where would they go, what would they do and why?
Ezzi and Ulu had unsaid expectations of each other. How could their relationship have been improved, and this disaster averted, if they had talked to each other?
How do Chloe and Cheftu’s relationships with the Divine differ from one another? And how do those two relationships change in the course of the story?
What would be the concerns of a world without prejudice? Where would conflict come from, if not from the differences of color and/or creed?
Each of the “journey” stories starts with a Sumerian proverb or saying. What would be the proverb or saying that would define your place in time, history and location?
Chloe and Cheftu continue to struggle through the issue of childlessness. How does Chloe come to terms with that? What other choices did she have in that time and place? (Remember the story of Isaac and Ishmael.)
What is the most important lesson Chloe learns in the course of this story? Is that a lesson you have had to learn in your own life?
The parallels between ancient Sumer and modern-day America are astounding to Chloe. What similarities did you see? Which were positive and which were negative?
Also by Suzanne Frank
Reflections in the Nile
Shadows on the Aegean
Sunrise on the Mediterranean
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Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
Part One: The Fire
Part Two: The Star
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part Three: The Tablet House
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Part Four: The Pit
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part Five: The Journey
Larsa
Uruk
Marshes
Shapir
Kish
Part Six: The Tower
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions
Also by Suzanne Frank
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2002 by J. Suzanne Frank
Cover copyright © 2013 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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ISBN 978-1-4555-9930-1
Twilight in Babylon Page 40