The Lost Book of Enki

by Zecharia Sitchin

  Henceforth their language I shall confound, that they each other’s speech will not understand!

  In the three hundred and tenth year since the count of Earth years began did all this happen:

  In each region and every land the people a different tongue he made to speak,

  A different form of writing thereafter to each was given, that one the other will not comprehend.

  Twenty-three kings did in Kishi reign, for four hundred and eight years was it the Scepter City;

  It was also in Kishi that a beloved king, Etana, for a heavenly journey was taken.

  At the allotted time, let kingship to Unug-ki be transferred! So did Enlil decree.

  To its soil the Heavenly Bright Object from Kishi was transferred.

  When the decision to the people was announced, to Inanna an exaltation hymn they sang:

  Lady of the ME’s, Queen, brightly resplendent,

  Righteous, in radiance clothed, of heaven and Earth beloved;

  By the love of Anu consecrated, great adorations wearing,

  Seven times the ME’s she obtained, in her hand she them is holding.

  For the tiara of kingship they are appropriate, for high priesthood suitable,

  Lady of the great ME’s, of them she is the guardian!

  In the four hundred and ninth year after the count of Earth years began,

  Kingship of the First Region to Unug-ki was transferred;

  Its first king was the high priest of the Eanna temple-abode, a son of Utu he was!

  As for Marduk, to the Land of the Two Narrows he went,

  To be the master of the Second Region, once established, he expected.

  Now this is the account of how the Second and Third Regions were established,

  And how Ningishzidda was exiled and Unug-ki Aratta threatened.

  When Marduk, after a long absence, to the Land of the Two Narrows returned,

  Ningishzidda as its master he there found, its Lofty Lord Ningishzidda was.

  With the aid of offspring of Anunnaki who Earthlings espoused did Ningishzidda the lands oversee,

  What Marduk had once planned and instructed, by Ningishzidda was overturned.

  What is it that happened? Marduk of Ningishzidda to know demanded.

  Of the destruction of hidden things Marduk Ningishzidda accused,

  Of making Horon to a desert place depart, a place that has no water,

  A boundless place where sexual pleasures are not enjoyed!

  The two brothers an uproar made, upon quarreling bitterly they embarked.

  Pay heed, I am here in my proper place! Marduk to Ningishzidda said.

  You have been my place-taker; from now on only a deputy of mine you can be.

  But if to rebellion you are inclined, to another land go away you must!

  For three hundred and fifty Earth years did the brothers in the Land of the Two Narrows quarrel,

  For three hundred and fifty years was the land in chaos, between the brothers it was split;

  Then Enki, their father, to Ningishzidda said: For the sake of peace, to other lands depart!

  To go to a land beyond the oceans Ningishzidda chose, with a band of followers thereto he went.

  Six hundred and fifty Earth years was at that time the count,

  But in the new domain, where Ningishzidda the Winged Serpent was called, a new count of its own began.

  In the Land of the Two Narrows the Second Region under Marduk’s lordship was established;

  In the annals of the First Region, Magan, Land of the Cascading River, it was called.

  But by the Second Region’s people, when languages were confounded,

  Hem-Ta, the Dark Brown Land, it was henceforth called.

  Neteru, Guardian Watchers, the Anunnaki were there in the new language called.

  Marduk as Ra, the Bright One, was worshiped; Enki as Ptah, the Developer, was venerated.

  Ningishzidda as Tehuti, the Divine Measurer, was recalled;

  To erase his memory Ra on the Stone Lion his image with that of his son Asar replaced.

  To count by tens, not by sixty, Ra the people made; the year he also by tens divided,

  The watching of the Moon by the watching of the Sun he replaced.

  Whereas under the lordship of Tehuti the olden City of the North and City of the South were reestablished,

  Marduk/Ra the two lands, of the North and of the South, into one Crown City united.

  A king, an offspring of Neteru and Earthling, he there appointed; Mena was his name.

  Where the two lands meet and the great river divides, a Scepter City Ra established.

  Splendor to surpass Kishi in the First Region he gave it, Mena-Nefer, Mena’s Beauty, it was called.

  To honor his elders Ra a holy city built, to honor Nibiru’s king Annu he named it;

  Therein on a platform a temple-abode for his father Enki-Ptah he erected,

  Its head, within a high tower, like a sharp rocket skyward rose.

  In its shrine Ra the upper part of his Celestial Barge deposited, the Ben-Ben it was called;

  It was the one in which from the Planet of Countless Years he had traveled.

  On the day of the New Year, the king as High Priest the ceremonies performed,

  On that day only alone the innermost Star Room he entered, before the Ben-Ben offerings he put.

  To benefit the Second Region, Ptah to Ra all manner of ME’s gave.

  What do I know that you do not know? the father his son asked.

  Then all manner of knowledge, except that of the dead reviving, to Ra he gave.

  As a Great One of the Twelve Celestials, Ptah to Ra the constellation sign of the Ram allotted.

  The waterflow of Hapi, the land’s great river, Ptah for Ra and his people regulated,

  Abundance in the fertile soils quickly came, man and cattle proliferated.

  By the success of the Second Region the leaders were encouraged; the Third Region to establish they proceeded.

  To make it a domain of Inanna, as she was promised, they decreed.

  As befits the mistress of a region, a celestial constellation to her was assigned:

  Beforehand with her brother Utu the Station of the Twins she shared,

  Henceforth, as a gift from Ninharsag, her Constellation of the Maiden to Inanna was allotted;

  In the eight hundred and sixtieth year, according to the Earth year count, was Inanna so honored.

  Far away in the eastern lands, beyond seven mountain ranges, was the Third Region;

  Zamush, Land of Sixty Precious Stones, was its highland realm called.

  Aratta, the Wooded Realm, was in the valley of a meandering great river located;

  In the great plain did the people cultivate crops of grains and horned cattle herd.

  There too two cities with mud bricks they built, with granaries they were filled.

  As by Enlil’s decree required, the Lord Enki, Lord of Wisdom,

  For the Third Region a changed tongue devised, a new kind of writing signs he for it fashioned,

  A tongue of man heretofore unknown, for Aratta Enki in his wisdom created;

  But the ME’s of civilized kingdoms for the Third Region Enki did not give:

  Let Inanna what for Unug-ki had obtained with the new region share! So did Enki declare.

  In Aratta Inanna a shepherd-chief appointed, akin to her beloved Dumuzi he was.

  In her skyship from Unug-ki to Aratta Inanna journeyed, over mountains and valleys she flew.

  The precious stones of Zamush she cherished, pure lapis lazuli with her to Unug-ki she carried.

  At that time the king in Unug-ki was Enmerkar, the second one to reign therein he was;

  It was he who the boundaries of Unug-ki expanded, by its glories was Inanna exalted.

  It was he who the wealth of Aratta coveted, to be over Aratta supreme he schemed.

  To Aratta Enmerkar an emissary dispatched as a tribute Aratta’s riches to demand.

  Over
seven mountain ranges, through parched lands and then soaked by rains, the emissary to Aratta went,

  To the king of Aratta the demand words of Enmerkar word for word he repeated.

  His language the king of Aratta to understand was unable; like the bray of a donkey its sound was.

  A wooden scepter, inscribed with a message, the king of Aratta to the emissary gave.

  To share Unug-ki’s ME’s with Aratta the king’s message requested,

  As a royal gift to Unug-ki grains on donkeys were loaded, with the emissary to Unug-ki they went.

  When Enmerkar the inscribed scepter received, its message in Unug-ki no one understood.

  He brought it forth from light to shade, he brought it forth from shade to light;

  What kind of wood is this? he asked. Then to plant it in the garden he ordered.

  After five years, after ten years had passed, from the scepter a tree grew, a tree of shade it was.

  What shall I do? Enmerkar in frustration his grandfather Utu asked.

  With heavenly Nisaba, the mistress of scribes and writing, Utu interceded.

  On a clay tablet his message to inscribe Nisaba Enmerkar taught, in the tongue of Aratta it was;

  By the hand of his son Banda was the message delivered: Submission or war! it said.

  By Inanna Aratta was not abandoned, to Unug-ki Aratta will not submit! the king of Aratta said.

  If warfare Unug-ki desires, let one warrior one warrior in combat meet!

  Better yet, let us peacefully treasures exchange; let Unug-ki its ME’s for Aratta’s riches give!

  On the way back, carrying the peace message, Banda fell sick; his spirit left him.

  His comrades raised his neck, without the breath of life it was;

  On Mount Hurum, on the way from Aratta, to his death was Banda abandoned,

  The riches of Aratta Unug-ki did not receive, the ME’s of Unug-ki Aratta did not obtain;

  In the Third Region, Civilized Mankind did not fully blossom.

  THE THIRTEENTH TABLET

  Synopsis of the Thirteenth Tablet

  Royal cities sprout with sacred precincts for the gods

  Demigods serve as kings and priests in palaces and temples

  Marduk promises his royal followers an eternal Afterlife

  In Sumer, Inanna encourages belief in Resurrection

  Celestial omens and foretelling oracles gain followings

  Marduk proclaims the coming Age of the Ram as his sign

  Ningishzidda builds stone observatories to show otherwise

  Insurrections, wars, and invasions destabilize Enlilite lands

  The mystery emissary appears to Enlil, foretells a calamity

  Instructs Enlil to select a Worthy Man to lead survival

  Enlil chooses Ibruum, scion of priestly royal family

  Armies raised by Nabu attempt to seize the spaceport

  Overruling Enki, the gods resort to Weapons of Terror

  Ninurta and Nergal obliterate the spaceport and sinning cities

  The drifting nuclear cloud brings death to all in Sumer

  God of the Mounts and the Chosen Man

  In the Third Region, Civilized Mankind did not fully blossom;

  What to Inanna was entrusted she neglected, other domains, not to her granted, in her heart she coveted.

  When from Unug-ki, at the count of a thousand years, kingship away was taken,

  Who the calamity by the end of the next millennium could foresee, who the disaster would have prevented?

  That in less than a third of one Shar a calamity unknown would befall, who could foretell?

  By Inanna was the bitter end started, Marduk as Ra with Destiny tangled;

  Ninurta and Nergal the unspeakable end with their own hands delivered!

  Why was Inanna with her granted domain not satisfied, why to Marduk did unforgiving she remain?

  Journeying between Unug-ki and Aratta, Inanna restless and ungratified was;

  For her beloved Dumuzi she still mourned, her love’s desire unquenched remained.

  When she flew about, in the sunrays Dumuzi’s image she saw shimmering and beckoning,

  In the nighttime in dream-visions he appeared; I will return! he was saying.

  The glories of his domain in the Land of the Two Narrows to her he was promising.

  In the sacred precinct of Unug-ki, a House for Nighttime Pleasure she established.

  To this Gigunu young heroes, on the night of their weddings, with sweet words she lured:

  Long life, a blissful future to them she promised; that her lover Dumuzi was she imagined.

  Each one in the morning in her bed was found dead.

  It was at that time that the hero Banda, left for dead, alive to Unug-ki returned!

  By the grace of Utu, of whose seed he was, did Banda from the dead return.

  A miracle! A miracle! excited Inanna shouted. My beloved Dumuzi to me came back!

  In her abode Banda was bathed, with a sash a fringed cloak on him was fastened.

  Dumuzi, my beloved! she called him. To her bed, with flowers bedecked, she lured him.

  When in the morning Banda was alive, with joy Inanna shouted:

  The power of not dying in my hands was placed, immortality by me is granted!

  Then to call herself a goddess Inanna decided, the Power of Immortality it implied.

  Nannar and Ningal, Inanna’s parents, by her proclamation were not pleased;

  Enlil and Ninurta by Inanna’s words were disconcerted; Utu, her brother, was bemused;

  The dead to revive is not possible! Enki and Ninharsag to each other said.

  In the lands of Ki-Engi, the people their good fortune praised:

  The gods are among us, death they can abolish! So to each other the people said.

  On the throne of Unug-ki Banda his father Enmerkar succeeded; Lugal, Great Man, his title was.

  The goddess Ninsun, of Enlil’s seed, took him to be her spouse,

  The hero Gilgamesh, their son, on the throne of Unug-ki Lugal-Banda followed.

  As the years passed and Gilgamesh older grew, of life and death to his mother Ninsun he spoke,

  About the death of his forebears, though of Anunnaki descended, he wondered. Do gods die? his mother he asked.

  Shall I too, though two thirds divine, as a mortal over the wall climb? So to her he said.

  As long as on Earth you abide, the death of an Earthling will you overwhelm! Ninsun to her son said.

  But if to Nibiru you will be taken, long life thereon you will attain!

  To take Gilgamesh aloft, to Nibiru journey, Ninsun to Utu the commander appealed,

  Endlessly Ninsun to Utu appealed, day after day with him she pleaded:

  Let Gilgamesh to the Landing Place go! Utu in the end agreed.

  To guide and protect him, Ninharsag a double of Gilgamesh fashioned.

  Enkidu, As by Enki Created, was he called, of a womb he was not born, blood in his veins was not.

  With the comrade Enkidu Gilgamesh to the Landing Place journeyed, Utu with oracles his progress oversaw;

  At the entrance to the cedar forest, its fire-belching monster their way blocked.

  With trickery they the monster confused, to pieces it they broke.

  When the secret entrance to the tunnels of the Anunnaki they found,

  By the Bull of Heaven, a creature of Enlil, with deathly snorts they were challenged.

  To the gates of Unug-ki the monster them chased; at the city’s ramparts by Enkidu it was smitten.

  When Enlil this heard, with agony he cried, in the heavens of Anu was his wailing heard;

  For in his heart Enlil well knew: Bad indeed was the omen!

  For having the Bull of Heaven slain, to perish in waters Enkidu was punished;

  Gilgamesh, having by Ninsun and Utu been instructed, of the slaying was absolved.

  Still the long life of Nibiru seeking, Gilgamesh to proceed to the Place of the Chariots by Utu was permitted.

&n
bsp; After many adventures the Land of Tilmun, the Fourth Region, he reached;

  Through its subterranean tunnels he proceeded, in a garden of precious stones Ziusudra he met!

  The events of the Deluge Ziusudra to Gilgamesh related, the secret of long living to Gilgamesh he revealed:

  A plant in the garden’s well was growing, Ziusudra and his spouse from getting old it prevented!

  Unique of all the plants on Earth it was; by it a man full vigor can regain.

  Man at Old Age Is Young Again! This is the plant’s name, Ziusudra to Gilgamesh said.

  A gift of Enki, with Enlil’s blessing, on the Mount of Salvation to us was granted!

  When Ziusudra and his spouse were asleep, Gilgamesh to his feet stones tied.

  Into the well he dived, the plant of Being Young Again he grasped and uprooted.

  With the plant in his satchel through the tunnels he hurried, to Unug-ki he made his way.

  When he tired and was asleep, a snake by the plant’s fragrance was attracted.

  The plant did the snake snatch from the sleeping Gilgamesh; with the plant it vanished.

  In the morning, his loss discovering, Gilgamesh sat and wept.

  To Unug-ki empty-handed he returned, as a mortal therein he died.

  Seven more kings in Unug-ki after Gilgamesh reigned, then its kingship to an end came;

  Precisely when the count of a thousand Earth years was completed it was!

  To Urim, the city of Nannar and Ningal, was kingship of the First Region transferred.

  To all these matters that in the other Regions were occurring, Marduk much heed gave.

  By Inanna’s dreams and visions, to Dumuzi’s domain alluding, Ra was disturbed.

  To counteract Inanna’s schemes of expansions he was determined;

  In the matters of resurrection and immortality he found much to ponder.

  The thought of divine godship to him greatly appealed, to be a great god himself he announced!

  By what to Gilgamesh, in good measure an Earthling, was permitted, Ra was angered,

  But a clever way wherewith the loyalty of kings and people to retain he deemed it:

  If demigods the gateway to immortality are shown, let this to the kings of my region apply!

  So did Marduk, in the Second Region by the name Ra known, to himself words say:

  Let the kings of my Region of Neteru offspring be, to Nibiru in an Afterlife journey!

  So did Ra in his realm decree. The kings how to build tombs facing eastward he taught,