Counterstroke
Historical fiction set in Ancient Sumer
by James W. Bell © 2003
“Bartan, I seek vengeance!”
Sipaddu’s sukkal cringed. “Against Nanay? My lord, careful. Nanay is a goddess. Further, she is protected by Inanna—a bigger goddess.”
Sipaddu suddenly stilled, tensed like a lion preparing to strike. “What, Bartan?” His sukkal shrank and looked confused. “Again, man. Repeat what you said.”
“My lord, I said Nanay is protected by Inanna, an even bigger goddess.”
Dabrum’s lugal thumped his fist into the palm of his hand. “By Nin! That’s it!”
“What, my lord?”
“Inanna and this business with Zadina. It was she who sent Nanay to trick me. It’s because of her, I’m married to my general’s homely daughter. Ever since, the general has watched me like a hawk. Bartan, I live in misery. I’m going to repay Inanna for all the trouble she’s caused.”
“I remind you,” my lord, “she is very powerful.”
Sipaddu smiled, showing his teeth. “Don’t worry, my good sukkal, I have the perfect plan. But, I’ll need your help. I want you to travel to Inanna’s temple in Uruk and put it into operation.”
“Yes, my lord, if that is your wish.”
>>
Dan-Inanna found the goddess lounging in the temple courtyard, reclining in a grove of cassia bushes, inhaling the fragrance of their rich cinnamon bark and enjoying the butterflies they attracted. “My lady, I hesitate to intrude.”
Inanna turned to her chief priest. “My good priest, you never interrupt unless the matter is pressing. What is it?”
“A man has arrived by boat, my lady, one who says he is sukkal to that unspeakable lugal of Dabrum.” Dan-Inanna arched an eyebrow. “He claims he brings a personal message and is bound by oath to deliver it only to you.”
“Don’t worry. Sipaddu has already taught me a lesson in trickery. I stay on guard. Bring his sukkal to me. I wish to talk with him.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
>>
The high priest returned with Bartan, a man obviously well prepared. He made a formal bow as he entered the courtyard.
Inanna took a moment to study him. After all, he was Sipaddu’s sukkal, his personal advisor. The man was of medium height, more Sumerian than Amurru, possibly a native of Dabrum. He was gowned in an impressive robe of bleached wool. His steady eye and prominent chin revealed him to be a man of determination.
“Welcome to the Eanna Temple, my good sukkal,” Inanna said. “I’m told you come bearing a message for me.”
“Glorious Goddess, I am Bartan, sukkal to Sipaddu the Magnificent, lugal of Dabrum. I bring you his greetings and his wishes for your continued happiness.”
“Thank you, my good man. Take back to your lugal my wishes for his continued happiness. He is happy now that he is married, is he not?”
“Ah - yes, my lady. Marriage has … it has helped him focus his mind.”
“Splendid.” Inanna smiled. “What favor does the magnificent one seek today?”
The sukkal flinched. “My lady, please - do not jest. My lord may have assumed an exceptional title, but his people have accepted it.”
“Good. Then, tell me, what message do you bring me?”
“An invitation, my lady. My lord wishes to advise you the remodeling of your temple is almost complete, and desires to set a date for its dedication. Sabattu is the month of good omens for temples and the seventh is a holy day. The work can be completed by then. He inquires if this would be a suitable date for you to attend.”
“My good sukkal, I question why I should even consider attending. Do I need remind you that your lugal sent his army to seize my temple? It was taken from me by force.”
“My lady, that’s the way it may have seemed, but force was never used.. Your temple staff fled before our army arrived. When our soldiers arrived, they found your temple abandoned. Our commander never had the chance to explain his mission.”
“Even if that’s so, temples are often remodeled. Why is the remodeling of my temple at Dabrum so important? Why should I put urgent tasks aside to attend its dedication?”
“My lady, Sipaddu is not named ‘Magnificent’ without reason. His remodeling of your temple has made it very impressive, more splendid even than your edifice at Zabalam.”
“Really? Dabrum is a much smaller city than Zabalam.”
“Yes, but Dabrum has a much greater lugal.”
“Sipaddu has tricked me before.”
“As I’ve explained, my lady, you have a misinterpretation of the event. In taking charge of your temple, my lugal sought only to help you.”
“I’m sorry, my good man, I cannot bring myself to trust your master.”
“What a shame. My lady, what if we sanctified your temple in Dabrum, one that became the talk of the land, and you weren’t present at its dedication? You would have forsaken the glory that could have been yours. Also, my lady, your absence may cause you an irreparable loss of stature, when all I’ve said could have easily been verified. You have only to send one of your priests to view the remodeling.”
Inanna considered the possibility of lowered stature. What to do. Being a goddess in a world of heavy-handed gods wasn’t easy. She had worked hard to attain her position and meant to keep it. “My good man, tell your master I’ll send Shatatna, high priestess of my Zabalam temple, to inspect the remodeling. If she verifies all you’ve claimed, then I’ll accept his invitation.”
Bartan bowed. “Thank you, my lady. I will so inform my lugal.”
>>
When Bartan returned, Sipaddu asked, “Did Inanna take the bait?”
“My lord, she promised to send the high priestess of her Zabalam temple to inspect the remodeled temple.”
“Excellent! Bartan, you’ve launched my plan.”
>>
Although Sipaddu the Magnificent was a lugal kept busy by many duties, he personally escorted Inanna’s high priestess to the marvelous remodeling of Inanna’s Temple. It was now an immense structure, built of fired brick on a mount of cut limestone blocks. From the terrace, the face of the temple rose forty cubits, sixty feet in the air, with an arched doorway twelve cubits high. A line of reed mats hung over the top of the temple, high above the entrance, reachable only by a fragile-looking scaffolding made of tamarisk limbs.
As they stood on the Processional Way, in front of the temple, Sipaddu said, “There it is, holy one. The temple is almost finished. Do you find it pleasing?”
“It is magnificent, my lord. Inanna told me your sukkal described it as wonderful, but I think this is more regal than she ever dreamed.”
“Then, you think the goddess will find it pleasing too?”
“Definitely.” Shatatna surveyed the monumental structure. “But, why are those mats hanging down from the top?”
“To hide a mural, holy one, an artistic work done in glazed brick. It is a masterpiece. I’m keeping it secret – until the day of dedication.”
“Oh?” Shatatna said. Her tone of voice indicated suspicion.
“But, for you, holy one, I’ll let you have a peek. Come with me,” he said and led the way up the stairs to the temple mount. “We’ll have to climb the scaffold.”
Shatatna looked at the flimsy tamarisk limbs tied together with rough cordage of coarse palm fiber. “My lord, why not send a workman up instead?”
“And let him see the mural? Please, holy one, I want it kept a secret. So far, no one but the artist and I have seen it. Today, I’m sharing it only with you.”
“Thank you, my lord, but I think I’ll stay down here and view it.”
“As you wish,” Sipaddu said. He went to the scaffolding and carefully began to climb. Up and up he went till he was five stories above the terrace. Reaching out, he grabbed a cord and pulled down a corner of the reed mat on the left, letting it drop part way so the figure of Inanna, Queen of Heaven, was revealed.
Shatatna gasped.
“What do you think of it?” he called down.
“It’s beautiful,” the high priestess answered. “A work of art. The goddess will be immensely pleased.”
“My image is on the other side,” the lugal said and shuffled along the scaffolding to lower the mat on the other side when, suddenly, the singing of men was heard. “Listen, the workers are returning. My lady, to save the unveiling for the dedication, I’ll have to cover it again.”
“I understand,” Shatatna said.
Sipaddu pulled the mat back up and reattached it before gingerly climbing down. Reaching the terrace, he asked, “Will you recommend Inanna come to the dedication?”
“My lord, after what I’ve seen and intend to report, I don’t think anything could keep her away.”
“Thank you, holy one. Come, let us celebrate with a feast before you depart.”
>>
After Shatatna left, Bartan came to see Sipaddu. “Well, my lord, was the high priestess impressed by the remodeling of the temple?”
“Bartan, Shatatna loved it. She’s going down to Uruk to tell Inanna about it.”
“Do you think the Queen of Heaven will attend the dedication?”
“If Shatatna has anything to do with it, I’m sure she will.”
“The dedication will be something, my lord. It could be the event of the century.”
“Yes, my name will go down in history.”
“But, my lord, don’t forget about afterwards. Inanna is going to be furious. She will seek retribution.”
“Let her. My good sukkal, I have an army of experienced mountain men who are afraid of nothing. What has the goddess got to compare?”
>>
Inanna questioned her high priestess, “Tell me, Shatatna, now that you’ve seen the temple Sipaddu is supposedly remodeling for me, what did you think of it?”
“It’s beautiful, my lady. It’s much larger than you had given me leave to believe and decorated in cedar and silver. I found it awe-inspiring.”
“Will it increase my stature? And bring me glory?”
“Indeed, my lady. There’s a mural of you on the front, done in glazed tile by a master craftsman. It has highlights of gold and silver. It is an artistic revelation of your divine beauty.”
“But I’m still concerned about trickery.”
“My lady, the temple is marvelous. You can hardly afford not to go.”
“Even though I worry about Sipaddu?”
“What could a mortal like him do that wouldn’t be soon forgotten? The temple is a wonder. It is forever. It would serve as an eternal monument to your greatness.”
“Yes, I see that now. You said the dedication is to be … ?”
“On the seventh day of Sabattu, my lady.”
>>
The seventh of Sabattu was a day like no other. The sun was bright and Inanna, Queen of Heaven, arrived on a ship bedecked in garlands. She was met at the quay by Sipaddu the Magnificent, who arrived in the royal cart drawn by a pair of donkeys.
They rode together in the cart down the Processional Way to the site of the remodeled temple, on its majestic limestone platform. Together, they ascended the broad stairs to the mount, where they stood in front of the great cedar doors that gated the temple.
The entire city turned out to see the dedication. Thousands more came from nearby Adab and Zabalam, and still more from as far away as the holy city of Nippur.
Sipaddu spoke first. “My friends,” he addressed the throng, “thank you for coming to help dedicate this remodeled temple to Inanna, the Queen of Heaven. Though she is immortal, as all deities are, she is earthborn, therefore one of us, one who has gained her high position by dedication and hard work. This temple has been remodeled to celebrate her many accomplishments. Help me welcome the Queen of Heaven to its dedication.”
Cheers went up for Inanna and she stepped forward to the edge of the mount to address the audience. “Friends, hard work can accomplish much, as Sipaddu proves. He was an Amurru, a lowly donkey master in the desert. He came to the frontier, where he settled, and is now lugal of Dabrum. I have been amazed at how much he has done. This remodeled temple is one of his finer accomplishments and I am here today to celebrate with him.”
Again, the audience cheered.
After Inanna gave a blessing, Sipaddu said, “And now, the dedication.” He pulled on the cords that held the reed mats covering the upper part of the temple face and they fell away. On the left, the image of Inanna was revealed, pictured in glazed brick, a figure twenty feet high. On the other side, there was the image of Sipaddu done in glazed brick, his figure also twenty feet high.
The mural’s grandeur drew a collective gasp from the crowd.
But Inanna swirled to Sipaddu and hissed, “You’ve made your image the same height as mine!”
Sipaddu grinned. “My lady, we are alike. We are both self-made, are we not?”
“Bah! You know I am an immortal while you’re no more than a short-lived mortal. My image should have been at least twice as big as yours.”
”My lady, you are about to make a scene in front of thousands. Are you going to accept this remodeled temple graciously with smiles or is the crowd going to witness a divine fit of temper?”
“You bastard! You planned this!”
“It’s no worse than you sending Nanay to trick me into getting married for life.”
“You’ll pay for this outrage!”
“Do you want to finish the dedication, or shall I call it off and dedicate the temple to a god more deserving? At least one I can work with? Maybe Ereshkigal?”
Inanna choked down jealous rage at the mention of her sister. She put on a smile and turned back to the crowd and addressed them. “It is indeed a beautiful temple, a welcomed addition to my worshippers as well as to your city. I thank all of you.”
Again, the crowd broke into cheers.
>>
At dinner, when Bartan came in, Sipaddu asked, “Where’s Inanna?”
“She’s departed, my lord. She was mad as kur. Left Dabrum without a word.”
“I know. She hardly spoke to me after the dedication.”
“My lord, I fear dark days are ahead.”
“Let them come, Bartan. I relish the challenge. As I’ve proved, it’s not without reason that I named myself Sipaddu the Magnificent. Maybe, my good sukkal, I’ll soon be able to award myself the title of Sipaddu the Great.”
The End
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