The Lost Book of Enki

by Zecharia Sitchin

  Ninharsag, mother of gods and men, her gaze diverted. Why is not Marduk here? she only said.

  Gibil, my own son, with gloom replied: Marduk has all entreaties put aside; by the signs of heaven his supremacy he claims!

  Only with weapons will Marduk be stopped! Ninurta, Enlil’s firstborn, shouted.

  Utu about protecting the Place of the Celestial Chariots was concerned; in Marduk’s hands it must not fall! So he said.

  Nergal, lord of the Lower Domain, ferociously was demanding: Let the olden Weapons of Terror for obliteration be used!

  At my own son I gazed in disbelief: For brother against brother the terror weapons have been foresworn!

  Instead of consent, there was silence.

  In the silence Enlil opened his mouth: Punishment there must be; like birds without wings the evildoers shall be,

  Marduk and Nabu us of heritage are depriving; let them of the Place of the Celestial Chariots be deprived!

  Let the place be scorched to oblivion! Ninurta shouted; the One Who Scorches let me be!

  Excited, Nergal stood up and shouted: Let the evildoers’ cities also be upheavaled,

  The sinning cities let me obliterate, let the Annihilator my name thereafter be!

  The Earthlings, by us created, must not be harmed; the righteous with the sinners must not be perished, I forcefully said.

  Ninharsag, my creating helpmate, was consenting: The matter is between the gods alone to settle, the people must not be harmed.

  Anu, from the celestial abode, to the discussions was giving much heed.

  Anu, who determines fates, from his celestial abode his voice made heard:

  Let the Weapons of Terror be this once used, let the place of the rocketships be obliterated, let the people be spared.

  Let Ninurta the Scorcher be, let Nergal be the Annihilator! So did Enlil the decision announce.

  To them, a secret of the gods I shall reveal; the hiding place of the terror weapons to them I shall disclose.

  The two sons, one mine, one his, to his inner chamber Enlil summoned. Nergal, as he went by me, his gaze averted.

  Alas! I cried out without words; brother has turned against brother! Are the Prior Times fated to repeat?

  A secret from the Olden Times to them Enlil was revealing, the Weapons of Terror to their hands entrusting!

  Clad with terror, with a brilliance they are unleashed; all they touch to a dust heap they turn.

  For brother against brother on Earth they were foresworn, neither region to affect.

  Now the oath was undone, like a broken jar in useless pieces.

  The two sons, full of glee, with quickened step from Enlil’s chamber emerged, for the weapons departing.

  The other gods turned back to their cities; none of his own calamity had a foreboding!

  Now this is the account of the Prior Times, and of the Weapons of Terror.

  Before the Prior Times was the Beginning; after the Prior Times were the Olden Times.

  In the Olden Times the gods came to Earth and created the Earthlings.

  In the Prior Times, none of the gods was on the Earth, nor were the Earthlings yet fashioned.

  In the Prior Times, the abode of the gods was on their own planet; Nibiru is its name.

  A great planet, reddish in radiance; around the Sun an elongated circuit Nibiru makes.

  For a time in the cold is Nibiru engulfed; for part of its circuit by the Sun strongly is it heated.

  A thick atmosphere Nibiru envelops, by volcanic eruptions constantly fed.

  All manner of life this atmosphere sustains; without it there will be only perishing!

  In the cold period the inner heat of Nibiru it keeps about the planet, like a warm coat that is constantly renewed.

  In the hot period it shields Nibiru from the Sun’s scorching rays.

  In its midst rains it holds and releases, to lakes and streams giving rise.

  Lush vegetation our atmosphere feeds and protects; all manner of life in the waters and on the land to sprout it caused.

  After aeons of time our own species sprouted, by our own essence an eternal seed to procreate.

  As our numbers grew, to many regions of Nibiru our ancestors spread.

  Some tilled the land, some four-legged creatures shepherded.

  Some lived on the mountains, some in the valleys their home made.

  Rivalries occurred, encroachments happened; clashes occurred, sticks became weapons.

  Clans gathered into tribes, then two great nations each other faced.

  The nation of the north against the nation of the south took up arms.

  What was held by hand to thrusting missiles was turned; weapons of thunder and brilliance increased the terror.

  A war, long and fierce, engulfed the planet; brother amassed against brother.

  There was death and destruction both north and south.

  For many circuits desolation reigned the land; all life was diminished.

  Then a truce was declared; then peacemaking was conducted.

  Let the nations be united, the emissaries said to one another:

  Let there be one throne on Nibiru, one king to reign over all.

  Let a leader from north or from south by lot be chosen, one king supreme to be.

  If he be from north, let south choose a female to be his spouse as equal queen to reign alongside.

  If by lot a south male be chosen, let the north’s female be his spouse.

  Husband and wife let them be, as one flesh to become.

  Let their firstborn son be the successor; let a unified dynasty thus be formed, unity on Nibiru forever to establish!

  In the midst of the ruins, peace was started. North and south by marriage were united.

  The royal throne into one flesh combined, an unbroken line of kingship established!

  The first king after peace was made, a warrior of the north he was, a mighty commander.

  By lots, true and fair, was he chosen; his decrees in unity were accepted.

  For his abode he built a splendid city; Agade, Unity meaning, was its name.

  For his reign a royal title he was granted; An it was, the Celestial One was its meaning.

  With strong arm order in the lands he reestablished; laws and regulations he decreed.

  Governors for each land he appointed; restoration and reclamation was their foremost task.

  Of him in the royal annals, thus it was recorded: An the lands unified, peace on Nibiru he restored.

  He built a new city, the canals he repaired, food to the people he provided; there was abundance in the lands.

  For his spouse the south a maiden had chosen; for both love and warring she was noted.

  An.Tu was her royal title; the Leader Who Is An’s Spouse, the given name cleverly did mean.

  She bore An three sons and no daughters. The firstborn son was by her named An.Ki; By An a Solid Foundation was its meaning.

  Alone on the throne he was seated; a spouse to choose was twice postponed.

  In his reign, concubines were brought into the palace; a son to him was not born.

  The dynasty thus begun was by the death of Anki disrupted; on the foundation no offspring followed.

  The middle son, though not the firstborn, the Legal Heir was pronounced.

  From his youth, one of three brothers, Ib by his mother was lovingly called. The One in the Middle his name did mean.

  By the royal annals An.Ib he is named: In kingship celestial; by generations, the One Who Is An’s Son the name signified.

  He followed his father An on Nibiru’s throne; by count, he was the third to reign.

  The daughter of his younger brother he chose to be his spouse. Nin.Ib she was called, the Lady of Ib.

  A son to Anib by Ninib was born; the successor on the throne he was, the fourth by the count of kings.

  By the royal name An.Shar.Gal he wished himself to be known; An’s Prince Who Is Greatest of Princes was the meaning.

  His spouse, a hal
f sister, Ki.Shar.Gal was equally named.

  Knowledge and understanding were his chief ambition; the ways of the heavens he assiduously studied.

  The great circuit of Nibiru he studied, its length a Shar to be he fixed.

  As one year of Nibiru was the measure, by it the royal reigns to be numbered and recorded.

  The Shar to ten portions he divided, two festivals thereby he pronounced.

  When nearest to the Sun’s quarters, a festival of the warmth was celebrated.

  When to its far abode Nibiru was distanced, the festival of coolness was decreed.

  Replacing all olden festivals of tribes and nations, to unify the people the two were established.

  Laws of husband and wife, of sons and daughters, by decree he established;

  Customs from the first tribes he proclaimed for the whole land.

  From the wars females greatly outnumbered males.

  Decrees he made, one male to have more than one female for knowing.

  By law, one wife as official spouse to be chosen, First Wife to be called.

  By law, the firstborn son was his father’s successor.

  By these laws, confusion soon came about; if the Firstborn son not by the First Wife was born,

  And thereafter by the First Wife a son was born, by law the Legal Heir becoming,

  Who shall be the successor: the one by the count of Shars firstborn? The one by the First Wife born?

  The Firstborn son? The Legal Heir? Who shall inherit? Who shall succeed?

  In the reign of Anshargal, Kishargal as First Wife was pronounced. A half sister of the king she was.

  In Anshargal’s reign, concubines were again brought into the palace.

  By the concubines, sons and daughters to the king were born.

  A son by one was the first to be born; the son of a concubine was the Firstborn.

  Thereafter Kishargal bore a son. The Legal Heir by law he was; the Firstborn he was not.

  In the palace Kishargal raised her voice, in anger shouting:

  If by rules my son, by a First Wife born, from succession shall be barred,

  Let the double seed not be neglected!

  Though of different mothers, of one father the king and I are offspring.

  I am the king’s half sister; of me the king is half brother.

  By that my son the double seed of our father Anib possesses!

  Let henceforth the Law of the Seed, the Law of Espousal overpower!

  Let henceforth a son by a half sister, whenever born, above all other sons rise to succession!

  Anshargal, contemplating, the Law of the Seed embraced with favor:

  Confusion of spouse and concubines, of marriage and divorce, by it would be avoided.

  In their council, the royal counselors the Law of the Seed for succession adopted.

  By the king’s order, the scribes the decree recorded.

  Thus, the next king by the Law of the Seed for succession was proclaimed.

  To him the royal name An.Shar was granted. Fifth on the throne he was.

  Now this is the account of the reign of Anshar and the kings who followed.

  When the law was changed, the other princes were contending. Words there were, rebellion there was not.

  As his spouse Anshar a half sister chose. He made her First Wife; by the name Ki.Shar she was called.

  Thus was by this law the dynasty continued.

  In the reign of Anshar, the fields diminished their yields, fruits and grains lost abundance.

  From circuit to circuit, nearing the Sun heat grew stronger; in the faraway abode, coolness was more biting.

  In Agade, the throne city, the king those of great understanding assembled.

  Learned savants, those of great knowledge, to inquire were commanded.

  The land and the soil they examined, the lakes and streams they put to the test.

  It has happened before, some gave an answer: Nibiru in the past colder or warmer has grown;

  A destiny it is, in the circuit of Nibiru embedded!

  Others of knowledge, the circuit observing, Nibiru’s destiny to blame did not consider.

  In the atmosphere a breaching has occurred; that was their finding.

  Volcanoes, the atmosphere’s forebears, less belching were spitting up!

  Nibiru’s air has thinner been made, the protective shield has been diminished!

  In the reign of Anshar and Kishar, pestilences of field made appearance; toil could them not overcome.

  Their son En.Shar then the throne ascended; of the dynasty the sixth he was.

  Lordly Master of the Shar the name did signify.

  With great understanding he was born, with much learning he mastered much knowledge.

  To remedy the afflictions ways he sought; of Nibiru’s heavenly circuit he made much study.

  In its loop, of the Sun’s family five members it embraced, planets of dazzling beauty.

  For cures to the afflictions, their atmospheres he caused to be examined.

  To each he gave a name, ancestral forefathers he honored; as heavenly couples he them considered.

  An and Antu, the twinlike planets, he called the first two to be encountered.

  Beyond in Nibiru’s circuit were Anshar and Kishar, in their size the largest.

  As a messenger Gaga among the others coursed, sometimes first Nibiru to meet.

  Five in all were Nibiru’s heavenly greeters as the Sun it circled.

  Beyond, like a boundary, the Hammered Bracelet the Sun encircled;

  As a guardian of the heaven’s forbidden region with havoc it protected.

  Other children of the Sun, four in number, from intrusion the bracelet shielded.

  The atmospheres of the five greeters Enshar set out to study.

  In its repeating circuit, the five in Nibiru’s loop carefully were examined.

  What atmospheres they possessed by observation and with celestial chariots intensely were examined.

  The findings were astounding, the discoveries confusing.

  From circuit to circuit Nibiru’s atmosphere more breaching suffered.

  In the councils of the learned, cures were avidly debated; ways to bandage the wound were urgently considered.

  A new shield to embrace the planet was attempted; all that was thrust up back to the ground came down.

  In the councils of the learned, the belching volcanoes were studied.

  The atmosphere by belching volcanoes having been created, its wound by their diminished belching had come to be.

  Let with invention new belching be encouraged, let volcanoes spew again! one savants group was saying.

  How the feat to achieve, with what tools more belching to attain, none the king could inform.

  In the reign of Enshar the breach in the skies grew bigger.

  Rains were withheld, winds blew harder; springs from the depths did not arise.

  In the lands there was an accursation; the breasts of mothers were dry.

  In the palace there was distress; an accursation therein took hold.

  As his First Wife, Enshar a half sister did espouse, by the Law of the Seed abiding.

  Nin.Shar she was called, of the Shars the Lady. A son she did not bear.

  By a concubine to Enshar a son was born; the Firstborn son he was.

  By Ninshar, First Wife and half sister, a son was not brought forth.

  By the Law of Succession, the concubine’s son the throne ascended; the seventh to reign he was.

  Du.Uru was his royal name; In the Dwelling Place Fashioned was its meaning;

  In the House of Concubines, not in the palace, was he indeed conceived.

  As his spouse a maiden from his youth beloved Duuru chose; by love, not by seed, a First Wife he selected.

  Da.Uru was her royal name; She Who Is by My Side was the meaning.

  In the royal court confusion was rampant. Sons were not heirs, wives were not half sisters.

  In the land suffering was increasing. The fields for
got their abundance, among the people fertility was diminished.

  In the palace fertility was absent; neither son nor daughter was brought forth.

  Of An’s seed, seven were the rulers; then of his seed the throne was dry.

  Dauru a child at the palace gateway found; as a son she embraced him.

  Duuru in the end as a son him adopted, Legal Heir him decreed; Lahma, meaning Dryness, was his given name.

  In the palace the princes were grumbling; in the Council of Counselors there were complaints.

  In the end Lahma the throne ascended. Though not of An’s seed, he was the eighth to reign.

  In the councils of the learned, to heal the breach there were two suggestions:

  One was to use a metal, gold was its name. On Nibiru it was greatly rare; within the Hammered Bracelet it was abundant.

  It was the only substance that to the finest powder could be ground; lofted high to heaven, suspended it could remain.

  Thus, with replenishments, the breach it would heal, protection make better.

  Let celestial boats be built, let a celestial fleet the gold to Nibiru bring over!

  Let Weapons of Terror be created! was the other suggestion; weapons that the ground shake loose, the mountains split asunder;

  With missiles the volcanoes to attack, their dormancy to bestir, their belching to increase,

  The atmosphere to replenish, the breach to make disappear!

  For a decision Lahma was too feeble; what choice to make he knew not.

  One circuit Nibiru completed, two Shars Nibiru to count continued.

  In the fields, affliction was not diminished. By volcanic belching the atmosphere was not repaired.

  A third Shar passed, a fourth was counted. Gold was not obtained.

  In the land strife was abundant; food and water were not abundant.

  In the land unity was gone; accusations were abundant.

  In the royal court, savants were coming and going; counselors were rushing in and rushing out.

  The king to their words paid no attention. Counsel from his spouse he only sought; Lahama was her name.

  If destiny it be, let us beseech the Great Creator of All, to the king she said. Beseeching, not actings, provide the only hope!

  In the royal court the princes were astir; at the king accusations were directed:

  Foolishly, unreasoning, greater calamities instead of cure he brought forth!