Onslaught
Historical fiction set in Ancient Sumer
by James W. Bell © 2003
“I could kill Sipaddu,” Inanna confided to her high priest.
“He is a human cockroach,” Dan-Inanna said. “One who scurries about when no one’s looking. His cleverness is more deceit than skill. Squash him, my lady, and be done.”
“If only I could.” The goddess sighed. “But it would anger grandfather Enki. To him, all black-headed people … even Sipaddu … are his children.”
“Then, why not encourage other mortals to take care of him?”
Inanna was immediately interested. “What is it you’re thinking?”
“Sipaddu’s a braggart, a natural target. In addition, having seized your temple’s treasure for himself, he is immensely wealthy, is he not?”
“He’s the richest lugal on the Iturungal. But he’s spent part on city improvements, like remodeling my temple.”
“That makes Dabrum all the riper for plunder.”
“Go on … I’m listening.”
“My lady, the Hursag is not far distant. The mountains are filled with bandits, an avaricious lot, prone to attack. Your temple in Dabrum has been defiled but it’s still yours to do with as you wish. Give it to the bandits. Let them have it and you’ll need do no more.”
“Yes, why not? As it is, the temple’s useless to me. Find me a messenger, Dan-Inanna, one I can send to the Hursag, a man capable of finding the chief of the brigands.”
> >
Bartan spotted his lugal on the city wall and called up, “How goes it, my lord?”
“Well, good sukkal.” Sipaddu looked at his advisor standing on the ground twelve cubits below—a good eighteen feet. “Come up and see what we’ve done. When our workers finish, this wall will be invincible.”
Bartan climbed the stairs and surveyed the heightened bulwark. “Remarkable, my lord, though it seemed sufficient as it was.”
“Against a goddess like Inanna?”
“Surely, you don’t expect a personal attack.”
“No, she would worry Father Enki would find out. But there’s no telling what else she might do. I fear a calamity and am preparing. In case of siege, we can draw water from the canal. I’ve also had the temple granaries filled.”
“My lord, won’t the goddess be angry at having her temple commandeered?”
“How will she know? Since I added my image to the temple, she’s believed the building corrupted and refused to staff it.”
“My lord, why not seek help from neighboring cities?”
“Who? Zabalam? Inanna is their goddess. If anything, she would have her high priestess preach a crusade against us. Adab? That city’s under the thumb of Lisin, another goddess. I ask you, Bartan, can we expect a goddess to turn on one of her own?”
“Then, my lord, may I suggest we turn to the traders?”
“Bah. They are merchants, a scurvy bunch. Much talk and little action. They care only about profit. They pray the gods leave Earth and return to Heaven, but still worship the earth they walk on. In their eyes, Bartan, I am the evil one, for it was I who dared depict myself the equal of a goddess and thus disrupted harmony in Sumer.”
“My lord, are you telling me there is no one to help us?”
“That’s just what I’m saying. Whatever may come, Bartan, we’ll have to depend on ourselves. It’s Sipaddu against Inanna, the lugal against the goddess.”
“Forgive me, my lord, but I speak solely for your own protection. You are a great lugal, but still a mortal. Inanna is immortal with powers you may not have dreamed of.”
“You forget, my sukkal, that I possess great cunning. I did not become lugal by chance.”
“Then, my lord, you have a plan?”
“Of course. Fortunately, we are situated on the Iturungal. To cover the other three sides, I’ve already sent sentries into the countryside, one to the north, one south and one east, towards the Hursag. The plain is level and a man can see for miles. When a sentry sights the enemy, he is to light his fire and use a mat to control it. The signal is three puffs of smoke by day, three flashes of flame by night. When our watchers see the signal, they will know the enemy is coming, and from which direction. In response, they will light a fire on the city wall to warn the countryside and give the sentries a chance to flee.”
“A well-thought plan, my lord.”
“Perhaps, my good sukkal, but we must also prepare the city’s defense. We need all the men we can get. Send men into the countryside to tell the settlers war is at hand. Let them know fire on the city wall is the signal and, soon as they see it, they are to come to the city with their families. To succeed, we must protect one another.”
> >
Humti, the bearded chief of the mountain bandits, returned from a successful hunt. Behind him, men dragged an A-frame holding the body of a freshly-killed mountain lion.
Shushin, his sukkal, ran out from camp to greet him. “Welcome back, brave hunter. I see you have brought us a fine trophy.”
“Done with a single thrust,” Humti bragged. “I steeled myself. When the lion leapt, I speared him in the throat, leaving his hide whole and unmarred. A prize worth the trouble.”
“Well done, Chief, but I must tell you a greater prize awaits.”
“Greater than a lion?” The warrior laughed. “By Nin, what could that be?”
“A messenger has arrived, Chief, one sent by the goddess, Inanna herself.”
“I have nothing to do with gods or goddesses. What has Inanna to do with me?”
“She has sent a messenger with the offer of a rich gift.”
“Such as?”
“Come with me, Chief, and meet the man. Let him speak for himself.”
Humti followed his sukkal through the camp, a scattering of huts constructed of oak timbers on platforms of stone. He moved swiftly along the trail, his leather boots silent but his leather pants giving him away, swishing as he followed Shushin to the common.
He saw the figure seated by the cooking fire, a thin man dressed in a flimsy tunic of bleached linen, obviously from the city. He noted the man was unarmed and felt a grudging admiration for the weakling’s courage in entering his camp.
“I am Humti,” he announced himself to the man. “Chief of the Hursag.”
The messenger stood and faced him squarely. “Great Chief, I am Zalilu, envoy from the court of the goddess of Inanna.”
“You were sitting by the dinner fire,” the chief said. “Why take the seat of a woman?”
“Chief, I thought the oven a kiln. In cities, it’s men who use fire to harden pottery and smelt copper, but that’s beside the point. I bring you an important message from the Queen of Heaven.”
“Why should I listen when it was your ladyship who left Aratta and abandoned the mountainlands and my forbearers? I ask you, man of Inanna, why does your goddess seek me when, if I could, I would seize her temple and rob it of its wealth?”
“Chief, that’s why she sent me. She offers you one of her temples as a gift.”
Humti hefted his spear. “Do you take me for a simpleton or a fool?”
“I assure you, most honored Chief, I don’t.”
The bandit put his spear against Zalilu’s chest. “Then, speak man, why would your goddess offer me one of her temples … one of her sacred places?”
“Because, Great Chief, it is no longer sacred. The lugal of Dabrum has desecrated it. He placed his image on the temple’s face. What use has a goddess for a besmirched temple?”
Humti looked at the circle of bandits gathered around to watch. Some nodded and one spoke out. “Chief, what the city man says is true. I have been to Dabrum and seen, with my own eyes, the lugal’s picture on the temple there.”
Humti withdrew his spear. “But the temple is inside city walls.”
“Dabrum is a small city. It has great wealth and little population, maybe two thousand … many elderly. I note your mountain men are young and active.”
“Don’t try to fool me. I recall the lugal of Dabrum recruiting both his general and his army from the Hursag.”
“That was long ago. How many are left? And of those, how many have grown pot-bellied drinking beer in taverns along the waterfront?”
Humti hesitated.
“Think, Chief, what your men would do if loosed in a city. Would they not become city men, passing their nights drinking in taverns and whoring at the city wall? Could they resist? In the Hursag, your men hunt and become lion killers. Any one of them could overcome ten men of the city. And you, Honored Chief, where is the general who can match your prowess?”
“That’s true,” Humti said. “I recall now. Sipaddu and his general raised an army of scarcely fifty. I have ten times that many at my command.” The chief gripped Zalilu by the arm. “My friend, you are going to lead us to Dabrum. We’ll leave now and cross the plain while it’s dark. At daybreak, we’ll take the city and claim the temple. If all goes as you say, you’ll be on your way home on the morrow.”
Inanna’s envoy had a worried expression. “And, if not?”
Humti drew his finger across his throat.
> >
Bartan interrupted Sipaddu’s sleep. “My lord, watchmen on the wall report a fire to the east. It is flashing three times, again and again.”
“It’s the signal,” Sipaddu said. “Bandits coming from the Hursag.” He climbed out of bed and reached for his protective suit of padded leather. “Have them light a fire on the wall to let the settlers know. Then have the city gates opened for them and their families.”
“Will you order out the army, sire?”
“A part of it. Have General Budum report to me.”
> >
Sipaddu addressed his father-in-law. “General, your men know the Hursag well?”
“They do, my lord, they are mountain men.”
“A signal fire has been seen to the east. Mountain bandits are on their way to attack the city.”
“I am aware, my lord. I have already assembled the army. We will go out and meet them in battle.”
“Hold, general, let’s use strategy instead. Select a handful of the fittest for a mission. While it’s still night, so they can’t be seen, send them on a roundabout trek to the mountainlands so they do not meet the armed men headed towards us. Then, post the remainder of your army on the city wall to help defend the city with spears.”
“My lord, why not face the enemy? My men are not cowards.”
“Because, general, bandits grow careless on the attack. They come running at us, to rush our defense, eager to gain as much loot as possible, leaving their home abandoned in their haste. Your men, general, will strike their base, destroy it and their supplies.”
General Budum smiled. “Yes, my lord, I see. A good plan. I’ll pick a worthy squad and send them on their way.”
> >
Sipaddu waited on the wall for the enemy to arrive. The city gates had been closed. It was still almost dark, when he heard their approach. Looking down, he made out a mass of men, possibly hundreds, nearing the wall. He took a deep breath and called out, “Who comes to the City of Dabrum?”
A desultory flurry of spears flew up out of the darkness, but fell short, and clattered against the mud city’s wall before falling to the ground. A stout man wearing a horned helmet stepped forward. “I am Humti, Chief of the Hursag. The Temple of Inanna has been given to me by the goddess Inanna. Open the city gates so I may enter and claim my due.”
“Open my city gates to a horde who descend on us at night like a pack of mad wolves? No, I’d sooner welcome fiery demons from the Netherworld.”
“You’ll pay for those words!” The chief shouted at his men and another volley of spears hit the wall.
“As you see, Chief, I have heightened the wall and fortified the city well. The wall is so tall your spears cannot reach us. I can see your scaling ladders are too short. Our wall is invincible. It is useless for you to attack.”
“Then we’ll set up camp and wait you out, till you starve.”
“We starve?” Sipaddu laughed. “Our granaries are filled. But, how will you feed yourselves? I’ve already sent half my army to your camp. When you return home, you will find desolation, your homes burned and your supplies destroyed.”
“By the gods, how did you know we were coming?”
Sipaddu took his time replying. When he did, all he said was, “A lugal knows.”
“I’ve been tricked!” the bandit chief shouted. “The goddess’s messenger will pay for this with his life.” Humti ordered his men to bring Zalilu forward.
Sipaddu saw a scared man dragged forward but said, “He means nothing to me.”
“Then watch him die,” Humti said and ordered one of his men to forward to execute him.
When the man stepped toward Zalilu and drew his sword, Sipaddu lowered his hand and two spears flew towards the swordsman. He fell to the ground, impaled.
“By Nergal, lugal!” Humti shouted. “Your streets will run with blood this morning, your children will become orphans. Charge the gate, men! Break it down.” Armed bandits swarmed towards the thick cedar doors.
Immediately, a shower of spears rained down from the wall and twenty or thirty men crumpled. Then another spate, and another score fell to the ground. The mass hesitated until a third fall of spears persuaded them to withdraw.
Sipaddu looked down on the scene and saw the goddess’s envoy still alive, crawling towards the city gate. “Fast,” he commanded his men, “open the gate. Help that wounded man get inside.”
Once the man was safe inside and the gate closed again, Sipaddu turned back to the bandit army. “Chief of the Hursag, you have already lost a tenth of your men. And you’ve lost the goddess’s envoy. I don’t know what scheme you had, but who do you think the goddess will favor now? Now that I have her personal agent, who will the goddess protect?”
There was no answer. All was silent except for the moans of the wounded rising from the ground below.
“Chief Humti, some of your fallen comrades are still alive. Agree to a truce to end this sorry affair and we’ll let you take your dead and wounded and leave in peace. If not, we’ll pick you off one by one while we watch you slowly shrivel from starvation.”
The chief stepped forward again, but not so close this time. “It seems the gods have turned against us,” he called out. “What choice is left but accept the truce? Will you help us gather our dead and wounded?”
“We remain wary of those who come in the night to attack. Our city gates will remain closed and bolted till you have gone. Hurry, before our patience wears thin.”
The mountain chief turned and ordered his men to gather their fallen comrades.
Before noon, they were gone, headed back towards the Hursag.
> >
“What comes next?” Bartan asked.
Sipaddu shook his head. “I don’t know, my sukkal, but I’m sure the chief will let Inanna know her ambassador is now in our possession. I suspect we’ll be hearing from the goddess before long. I wonder what she’ll try.”
The End
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