The epic of "Ira"... a window on Iraqi literature in the Akkadian era
The Arabic version of the book "The Epic of Ira", translated from the original in the Akkadian language, constitutes an important aspect of the rich cultural heritage of Mesopotamia (Al-Jazeera)
A few weeks ago, Iraqi cultural circles celebrated the release of the Arabic version of the book “The Epic of Era,” translated from the original in the Akkadian language (an ancient Arab/Eastern Semitic language that is considered one of the closest ancient languages to Arabic).
This epic is considered one of the important ancient Iraqi literary works, and it formed part of the rich cultural heritage of Mesopotamia and its neighboring regions culturally affiliated with it.
The saga of Ira
Researcher Abdul Salam Sobhi Taha - who reviewed the Arabic version and supervised its recent release, on behalf of Dar Al-Rafidain for Publishing and Distribution - says that research and excavation teams found numerous clay tablets and inscriptions for the texts of the epic in various parts of Iraq and the Near East, and it is believed that some of their texts were They are recorded on a number and used as amulets to ward off evil.
Regarding the date of its writing, Taha, in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, points out that specialists differ in determining it, but the most common opinion is that it is a literary piece written during (750 - 1100 BC).
The poem was contained almost complete in the Akkadian language on 5 clay tablets and contains 750 lines, as Taha explains. It was translated from the Akkadian original by several specialists in Assyriology, including George Smith, Eric Ebling, and F. Gosman. The translation that was approved for Arabization in this latest edition belongs to the Italian Assyriologist Luigi Ghani, who published its English version in 1977, followed by translations by Stephanie Daly and Benjamin Foster.
Taha emphasizes the literary value of the epic - which was translated from the English text by the archaeologist Dr. Muayyad Saeed Al-Damarji and Mrs. Soha Ahmed - as it is classified among the distinguished creative works for its embodiment of reality and life, through the use of vital religious symbols, to be reflected in its texts imbued with the spirit of a historical stage that has its own social and political specificity. It describes a state of devastation that Babylon went through as a result of the invasion of foreign peoples, and it details many of the disasters that accompanied it, including udders, crops, and humans.
The Iraqi researcher links the contents of this piece of literature to events that took place in Babylon What is happening in Iraq today, as if it reveals the extent of prophecy, as much as Iraq is constantly worried, between the chaos of wars and destruction followed by periods of peace and reconstruction, as if it is an inevitable fate for the country whose events we are still witnessing to this day.
4- Dr. Hassanein Haider Abdel Wahed: Mesopotamia witnessed the birth of most of the epics and legends that are still immortal to this day - Al Jazeera Net
Hassanein Haider Abdel Wahed: Mesopotamia witnessed the birth of epics and legends that are still immortal (Al Jazeera)
The high literary value of this poem indicates that its author must have been proficient in his tools as a poet, as he wrote a creative text for him in a form that has been described as “Zumaro”, that is, the closest thing to a musical play in our current usage, and he enriched it by choosing influential literary terms, adding to them Accurate astronomical information, according to Taha.
The Iraqi researcher links the contents of this piece of literature to events that took place in Babylon
It is worth noting that the writer of the epic is mentioned by the name “Kapti-Ilani-Marduk” and he appears to be from Babylon. He must have descended from one of the important literary and religious priestly families in Babylon at the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the first millennium BC. He claimed that he “received... The poem is directly from God Erra during his sleep, and whoever copies or recites the poem will be protected by God Erra from all harm.”
Akkadian language
The Akkadian language maintained its wide spread for many centuries, and was used as an official language throughout the existence of the Akkadian state, and the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian eras, after which its use declined, due to the Aramaic language competing with it with its simple alphabetic script, according to the academic and researcher in the Akkadian language, Dr. Hassanein Haider Abdel Wahed.
Regarding the affiliation of the Akkadian language, Abdul Wahid said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that it belongs to the Arab (Semitic) family of languages, and to the same linguistic group to which the Arabic, Canaanite, Aramaic, Hebrew, and other languages belong, and it is sister to the Ugaritic, Hebrew, Syriac, ancient Arabic, and Southern Arabic languages, adding All these languages descend from one origin.
Regarding the contribution of the Akkadian language to the development of epic literature, Abdul Wahid emphasizes that Mesopotamia witnessed the birth of most of the epics and myths that remain immortal to this day.
Ancient Iraqi literature is considered one of the richest literatures of that era in terms of the abundance and diversity of its texts, including myths, epics, hymns, poetry, lamentations, wisdom, bragging, debate, and other literary images.
Many of the literary texts that are taught in Arab and foreign universities are valuable archaeological products that were found in the Ashurbanipal Library in the ancient city of Nineveh. These texts are written in the Akkadian language, and some of them are in Babylonian and Assyrian dialects, according to Abdul Wahid.
Akkadian literature
Professor of ancient Iraqi literature, Dr. Uday Abdel Wahab Al-Nuaimi, says that literature in ancient Iraq was distinguished as one of the oldest literatures produced by man throughout the ages, and one of the important features that characterized it was the spread of its literary productions and its wide resonance in all its fields in neighboring countries.
Al-Naimi explains in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that ancient Iraqi literature is considered one of the richest ancient literatures, as it is a true and honest mirror that reflects many of the rituals, beliefs and traditions that were practiced at that time.
Dr. Uday Abdel Wahab Al-Nuaimi: Akkadian literature was reflected in Iraqi literature and was a source of inspiration for writers (Al-Jazeera)
Literary epics are considered an independent product in themselves of ancient Iraqi literature. They are independent literary texts with their main material and events that took place in different regions of ancient Iraq, according to Al-Naimi, author of the book “Epic Literature in Ancient Iraq.”
The professor of Iraqi literature believes that what was left behind by ancient Iraqi literature is like a treasure that remained until the cuneiform script was deciphered, which led to a huge shift that enabled researchers to reconsider the clay tablets on which the stories of the gods were written and the beginning of human creation and formation.
These myths and epics contributed to forming a clear perception among archaeologists and anthropologists; To understand the nature of human thinking in ancient Iraq, how to evaluate various natural phenomena, and the stages of development of his thought and reflections.
Al-Naimi points out that Akkadian literature was reflected in Iraqi literature and was a source of inspiration for writers at the present time, and they find in it fertile ground for Iraqi creativity extending through its various stages and human suffering through conflict and wars.
Inspiring texts
Researcher Abdul Salam Subhi Taha believes that ancient Iraqi literature - in its general sense - has provided researchers with what can be considered keys to many of the puzzles that the researcher may face, through the precise description of the events at that time, and he cites this epic as an example of the use of poetic language and mythological elements in describing an event. The history that Babylon went through.
Researcher Abdul Salam Subhi Taha believes that ancient Iraqi literature is ahead of ancient Greek and Egyptian literature (Al Jazeera)
He points out that the ancient Iraqi writer continued the process of adding and developing the texts themselves, in parallel with the timeline of historical events, and through it the development of ideas and the diversity of creativity can be monitored. He gives an example of this with the immortal Iraqi epic (Gilgamesh), in which the process of writing and adding to it continued in a continuous manner. Continuous for generations of scribes extending from the second millennium to the first millennium BC, and here the leadership and uniqueness of the ancient Iraqi literary achievement is centered.
The researcher confirms that this achievement - both its Sumerian and Akkadian parts - is advanced in quality and quantity over the literatures of neighboring nations in the ancient Near East, and the texts of the “Epic of Erra” and other epics played an important role in large public rituals and worship.
Taha revealed - to Al Jazeera Net - a study he is currently preparing on the effects of the “Era Epic” on the literature of the ancient world, and it mentions several aspects of the elements of the epic that have had a positive impact on enriching human thought since the era of major religious narratives, all the way to the current era of cinema.
Some of the epic
Erra goes to Babylon to visit Marduk, King of the Gods, in his temple to encourage him to leave Babylon, arguing that his sacred statue needs to be renovated, because the world will be ungovernable and chaos can reign. The city of Babylon is so polluted by bloodshed that Marduk is no longer able to remain in his temple, and in the midst of bitter lamentation, he abandons his position at the center of the universe, as the entire world is at the mercy of Erra.
You have changed your divine being and become like a human.
You were surrounded with your weapons and entered the city.
Within Babylon you spoke violently, as if you were seizing the city,
Like reeds in the marshes, without a leader, the men of Babylon have gathered around you,
The soldiers saw you and drew their weapons.
The ruler of Babylon, the protector of the city, was angry.
He ordered his forces to plunder as if he were plundering the enemy, and incited the leaders to do evil:
“You, O man, whom I sent to this city,”
“Respect no god and fear no man!”
“Have you condemned young and old to the same death?”
“And you didn't even avoid the baby!”
He who has a son and says, “This is my son,” will serve me.
I will kill the son and his father will bury him,
Then I will do the same thing to the father and no one will bury him.
Who built a house and said, “This is my house.”
When fate forces me, I will sleep inside it,
I will kill him and make his house desolate.
Then, until it's ruined, I'll give it to a stranger.
Erra vows to destroy the headquarters of the universe so that all voices of moderation will be silenced. “I will attack the headquarters of the King of the Gods. The voice of reason will not survive!” The impact of Ira's ambition becomes more terrible as the world unleashes conflicts that bring all countries into civil war:
The marsh man must not avoid the marsh man,
Nor does the Subarti avoid the Subarti, nor does the Assyrian avoid the Assyrian.
Neither the Elamite avoids the Elamite, nor does the Kashite avoid the Kashite.
Neither the Sutani avoids the Sutani, nor does the Kutian avoid the Kutti.
Nor does a Lolibi avoid a Lolibi, nor does a people avoid a people.
No city avoids a city, and no house avoids another house.
No man avoids another, nor does a brother avoid another.
Each must kill the other.
To this extent, Erra allows the slaughter to stop as a new ruler appears in Babylon. To facilitate this new order, Erra allows Ishum to put an end to his conflict by waging war on Mount Sharshar, the symbolic homeland of the nomadic peoples who have long brought chaos and civil war to Babylon. Ishom's campaign was not aggressive, but defensive, and its goal was clearly defined and bloodless, much in contrast to Ira's random attack.
Ishom set off towards Mount Sharshar.
Followed by the seven warriors,
To Mount Sharshar the warrior arrived.
He raised his hand and destroyed the mountain.
The mountain turned into a bottom,
Cutting down the trees of the cedar forest.
The forest looked as if a flood had passed through it,
He controlled the cities and turned them into desert.
He destroyed the highlands and killed the people,
It covered the oceans and eliminated their production.
He destroyed the reed forests and the wooded lands, burning them to ashes.
He cursed the livestock and turned them into dust.
As the gods look in horror at Erra returning from the field, he promptly says to them:
Everyone be silent, listen to what I say:
“I have no doubt: I intend evil.”
“I was angry and attacked people.”
“Like a servile shepherd, I will send the ram out of the fold.”
“Like someone who has never planted a garden, I will not hesitate to cut down trees.”
“Like someone who plunders the earth, I will kill the good and the bad without distinction.”
“You cannot snatch a carcass from a greedy and hungry lion.”
When one is angry, the other cannot give him advice.
?Without Ishom, the vanguard of my army, the ram of the battalion, what would exist now
?Where are those who finance, where are the high priests
!?Where are the food offerings? Why don't you smell incense
Ishom opened his mouth to speak,
He says a word to the hero Ira:
“Hero, calm down and listen to what I’m saying!”
“I have no doubt: Be calm and we will stand at your service.”
“In your time of anger, who can withstand you?”
You must return what was plundered from Babylon!
You must reconcile with the earth gods who were angry,
The gods of livestock and grain must be sent to Earth!
You must make the lands produce abundantly, and the sea yield its harvest,
You must make the plains and meadows prolific with crops!
Make the weak Babylon seize the strong Sutan,
And the Babylonian would bring seven captives like sheep.
Turn the city into ruins and the mountain into ruins.
Make the ruler of Esangel and Babylon rule them, rule all the inhabited cities,
For years without number, “A song of praise and glory to Nergal, the great Lord, and the hero Ishom,
How could I, Ira, become so possessed by anger that I trampled lands and destroyed peoples?
But his advisor, Ishom, calmed him down so that he would not continue his harsh speech.
The author of the text was Kapti-Ilani-Marduk, son of Dabibo:
It was revealed to Ishom in a night vision, and he announced it when he woke up,
The text left nothing out, and did not add a single line to it.
Let this song exist forever, let it last forever,
May all nations hear of this and glorify my actions in wars.
May people in the world learn to magnify My name.
Foreign archaeological missions October 22, 2018
Source: websites