The Annals Of Assur-Nasir-Pal Poem by Lynn W. Petty

Oh, Ninip, god of gods, great hero, chief
And forceful Lord, a god who gives relief,
To those who serve him, from his wrath and ire.
A king in mighty battle who breaths fire
Against insurgents who oppose his rule;
Against his enemies he smites with cruel,
Unyielding force, destroying them that hate
Him, lifting them who love and consecrate
His name, whose name within the speech of gods
No god has disregarded. He who lauds
His name shall vanquish all opponents. I,
Assur-nasir-pal, speak these words, hold high
His praises, chant his name in song and hymn,
Fall down upon my knees to worship him.
Oh, Ninip, first-born son of Nukimmut,
Mother of all gods, the immaculate,
In heaven and the earth, I plead thou hear
My prayer. I stand within the dark nadir
Of grace beseeching thee. I, King of all
Assyria, ask what is to befall
My empire. War, again, is close at hand.
I, the son of Tuklat-Adar, command
The great armed forces of the four countries,
Who trampled down our foes and enemies,
And built a lofty shrine in thy behalf.
I sacrificed an unblemished white calf,
An offering unto the holy one,
Exalted Anu, with adoration.
Recall, Great One, when I, the King of Kings,
Had marched against the rebel uprisings,
Cut off like grass all those who had rebelled
Against my royal authority; had quelled
The turbulence fomenting in those lands,
And forced their leaders to accept commands
As I had then proclaimed. For those who fled
My royal decree, I captured them and fed
Their flesh, alive, unto the savage wild
That roams at night. For those that had defiled
My throne I had impaled upon a pole
And left to die, reminding all the toll
Of their defiance. By thy own decree,
Oh, Ninip, thou had forged my destiny.
My aspirations, to the gods had flown
Unto their ears, steadfastly had they shown
The wishes of my heart. Uplifting my
Most princely hand was Istar, Queen on High,
Exalted Lady, who has favored me
And my intentions, who almightily,
Applied her heart to my conduct in wars,
Across these lands, beyond the Tigris shores.
When, in those days, when I was Prince, for those
Who, in the future, read my sacred scrolls,
Shall know that I, Assur-nasir-pal, first
Born grandson of Bin-nirari, traversed
The foreign lands and found an equal there
Was not. It was my first campaign. In prayer,
The Sun god, guider of the lands, did throw
His light of grace upon me; to bestow
His good beneficent protection on
The sovereign throne of my dominion.
Into my hand, the dread of man, they placed
The great scepter. Now King, they kneeled, embraced
My knees and swore their fealty to me,
Their noble Prince. Deep lies my enmity
For those who disregard established laws;
Who cease to pay their tribute. They are cause
For the destruction of their lands. I came
As guardian of peace, I overcame
Oppression. Woe unto the rebels who
Opposed my rule. The wrath of god Anu
Had favored reason, lifting up my sword
Against mine enemies, whose sole reward
Was to be scattered in the dust of death.
As if it were a living thing, the breath
Of war hung heavily upon the air.
Collecting a vast force, I brought to bear
Upon our enemies a great distress.
With chariots and bowmen did I press
Against the limits of their lands. I slew
Their fighting men. Their King I overthrew
And took possession of their wealth as spoil.
Their cities I consumed, and scorched the soil.
I stacked their dead against the city wall
Like trash, reminding them what will befall
Those who resist allegiance to my crown,
Resistance to my rule had been cut down.
Conscripting all that I allowed to live,
I added hundreds more, who swore to give
Their lives, as soldiers to their conquering King.
I warned them what their arrogance would bring.
Thus, the northern kingdom of Nairi,
Fell. I turned and took the lands of Kirruri,
Taking tribute of the territory
Of Khalaui, Zimira and Gilhi.
Bitani I had passed but Arardi
I seized and occupied. To pacify
My wrath, my countenance they made in stone.
A gesture they had thought would sure atone
Their crimes. The force of my disdain came down
Upon them fierce as flames. I burned their town,
Their temples I destroyed, their land I left
As dry as desert sand. Their heads I cleft
And piled in heaps that fronts the city gates,
The royal reward for he who vacillates.
Bubua, son of the Prefect, I found.
Alive, I staked him full upon the ground,
In honor of Istar his skin I flayed.
It was with my own sword, the holy blade
Of Dagan, god of fire, did I commit
This gift unto the gods. So it is writ
Upon this stone, that I did stretch his skin
Upon the wall, a cause to show chagrin
And my contempt. A Viceroy I had set
To rule the land since I had foiled their threat
Of insurrection. North I wheeled the might
Of my armed forces. Quaking at its sight,
In their discouragement, they chose retreat
And with a thousand chariots I beat
Them to submission. Atkum, Nithu and
Pilazi burned before my arms. In grand
Succession I had captured twenty towns
In their environs. Kingdoms fell, their crowns
Surrendered for their lives. From lands below
Pazate and Nipur I withdrew. In slow
Procession, I had moved five thousand men
To Commagene, across the Tigris, when
They brought to me intelligence. Suri,
In Bit-Khalope, had revolted. I
Had learned the people of Hamath had slain
Their governor, whom I had placed, to reign
In my behalf. Ahiyababa, son
Of Lamamana, they throned as king. None
Of my appointments had they left alive.
Not one who had betrayed me would survive.
To feed an army of this magnitude,
It must live off the land. With gratitude,
I know that Assur and our god named Yav
Provided tributes, gifts and spoils; who have
Supplied abundant sheep and oxen; who
Aggrandized my rich royalty; who knew
That by their help I could sustain and feed
That host at arms. By grace, I did proceed
Across the banks of Chaboras. I crossed
A thousand chariots, not one was lost.
Five thousand men of bow of spear and blade
Had crossed the river. All had been arrayed
In orderly arrangement to begin
The march against the coarsest rabble in
That lost, unholy city of Hamath.
As I drew near they realized what my wrath
Would bring. In fear, the multitudes had kneeled,
Submitting to my yoke. They had appealed
For mercy. Assur, Lord of earth subdued
Them, while my soldier had pursued
Their former masters. Soldiers, rebels, all
Were taken prisoners. I had made them crawl
To reach my feet. Some slain, some sightless, some
Left tongueless had I made. To my bosom
I pressed the wives of nobles who had failed
Allegiance to my crown. The nobles flailed
Their arms in grief as I had daughters sent
To fill my harems. Wives and daughters went
To marriage markets, sold as slaves, whose birth
Was from the multitudes, the crude, whose worth
Was only to have served, I sent away.
With one swift cut, to make them further pay,
Their sons were sent to guard my harems. I,
With loathing in my heart, did crucify
The rebels of Hamath. The city sacked,
Their temples toppled, burned, the bodies stacked
Four cubits high, their population lost,
What gains a man, reflecting what this cost,
To throw an arrow, that in flight, returns
Against the man who held the bow? What earns
A King's respect is victory not defeat.
Their king, I captured, who was heard to bleat
As he was dragged feet-first before my throne.
My foot, I placed upon his neck, his groan
And pleadings were to no avail. I need
Not tell thee, oh, great Ninip, I decreed
His death, to die a slow and painful end.
How long before my subjects comprehend,
That death is what they face when they rebel?
Fatigued am I that I again must quell
An uprising within the sovereignty
Of my own kingdom. I seek amity
Within the states of the Assyrian
Confederation. The barbarian,
Who live along the fringes of my realm,
Known as Aramaeans, overwhelm
The smaller settlements, which I must send
Contingents of my army to defend.
This bleeds the strength of my resolve to hold
The countries of my conquest in the mold
Which I and my forefathers held to be
Assyrian accountability.
Assur, the father of the gods, gave me
The power to make broad the boundary
Of the Assyrian domain. I cause
Great slaughter, cutting throats like sheep. The jaws
Of death are not the teeth of swords but steeds,
With prancing hoofs, that plunge into, and kneads
The welling blood of rebels with their own
Bespattered filth. Now, I and I alone
Have confiscated silver, gold with all
Their treasures I had caused to send. A pall
Of doom and dread I bring to those who rise
Against Assur-nasir-pal. They arise,
And I put down. I burn, destroy, I kill
And yet my subjects still maintain the will
For freedom from the yoke of my domain.
Exhausted are my troops. We seem to gain
Control in Sidon when rebellion shows
Itself in Babylon. Great Ninip, foes
Are many in my land. And, now I must
Prepare for yet another war. To thrust
Myself into the conflict. Will it end,
Or must I fight until my death? I spend
My years in long extended absences from
Nineveh. Body sore, my mind is numb.
I seek divine direction. I seek rest.
My sovereignty has been one in the quest
Of peace. I tire of war but, yet, once more
I fall full force, as I have done before,
Upon those fools who choose to lift the yoke
Of my most sovereign rule. I will evoke
Upon their minds the cruelty of past
Engagements. What my rule, across this vast,
Extensive Fertile Crescent land will bring.
I wait, oh, great Ninip. I wait to sing
Thy praises in this house of worship or
Upon the field of battle. I implore
Thee Ninip, all my prayers do not ignore.