And marrior Ninurta regained the gods’ Tablet of Destinies
for his own hand. 430
Thus the Tablets of Destinies, the original causus belli, were not returned to Enlil, but kept by Ninurta for himself, in usurpation upon usurpation!
Ninurta with his “Thunderbolts’, from a Sculpture in the Palace of Assyrian King Asburnasirpal, ca. 800 BC
But this is not the end of the story.
It seems that Ninurta had difficulty in relinquishing the ME to the pantheon after he had retrieved them from Zu. Their vulnerability in the temple of Enlil was recognized and it was decided to store them under the watchful eyes of Enki....in the Abzu...
There is a myth directly related to the battle between Zu and Ninurta and the events after that struggle. Ninurta’s Pride and Punishment has been reconstructed from fragments found at Ur and Nippur. It tells what happened after Zu handed the ME over to Ninurta.
....Ninurta...laments the loss of the ME which he had possessed briefly, with the awesome power that went with them. As the story continues, Ninurta makes a trip to the Abzu where he is greeted joyously by Enki (who) praises him as the victor over the “bird” (Anzu) and as an unrivaled hero whose name will be duly honored by all.
This blessing, however, does not satisfy the ambitious Ninurta. As the myth states, “On the whole universe the hero Ninurta set his sights,” or in other words, he coveted the ME and their power. Ninurta demanded that Enki release the power stones to him.“431
That is, the ME were some sort of technology that allowed one to tap into the “power of the universe.” What was this all-powerful “ME”, what were these enigmatic and mysterious Tablets of Destinies? The answer to this all important question must wait until the next chapter. For now we must remain focused on the total context necessary to answer this most important question.
B. The Immediate Aftermath: The Technological Inventory
But exactly what happened to the ME after the defeat of Anzu by Ninurta?
As I indicated in the first book of my Giza Death Star Trilogy, The Giza Death Star, the victors in the struggle led by Ninurta perform an inventory of the vanquished foe’s technology, slating some of it for use elsewhere, and part of it for destruction.
Another ancient Mesopotamian legend, The Exploits of Ninurta, enumerates this inventory at great length, after a brief introduction outlining the familiar motivations of the war: to recapture the ME.
In this legend, having vanquished the “mountains” arrayed against him, Ninurta was reminded by Aruru, Enlil’s elder sister, that he had not yet “fixed the destinies of the warriors that you have slain.” An interesting comment then immediately follows in the text: “The Lord (Ninurta) then addressed the U stone. He defined (?) its typical behaviour. The Lord spoke to it in anger in the Land, Ninurta, son of Enlil cursed it.”432 In other words, it is clear from the text that the “warriors” referred to are none other than the “power stones” Ninurta seized from Anzu and coveted for his own. Then follows a lengthy inventory, where Ninurta “fixes the destinies” of each stone, or group of stones. In reading the following lengthy excerpt, it should be remembered that specific modern equivalents of the names of stones are the guesses of modern scholars.
“U stone (emery), since you rose against me in the Mountains, since you barred the way (2 mss. have instead: seized me) so as to detain me, since you swore to put me to death, since you frightened me, Lord Ninurta, on my great throne; you are powerful, a youth of outstanding strength: may your size be diminished. A mighty lion, confident in its strength, will tear you into pieces, the strong man will fling you in his hand in combat (1 ms. Has instead: for strength). Young u stone, your brothers will heap you up like flour. You will lift your hand against your offspring, sink your teeth into their corpses. You, young man, though you may cry out, will end as ...... Like a great wild bull killed by many people, be divided into portons. U Stone, you will be hounded from the battlefield with clubs, like a dog chased by shepherd boys. Because I am the Lord: since cornelian is polished by you, you shall be called by its name. And now, according to the destiny fixed by Ninurta, henceforth when u stone touches it, there will be pierced cornelian.”
The Hero addressed the cu and gasura stones. The Lord enumerated their characteristics. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed their destiny:
“Cu stones, since you attacked against my weapons; gasura stones, since you stood fiercely against me like bulls, since you tossed (?) your horns in the dust at me like wild bulls, you shall be..... like butterflies. My terrifying splendour will cover you. Since you cannot escape from my (1 ms has instead: his) great strength, the goldsmith shall puff and blow on you with his breath. You shall be shaped by him to form a matrix for his creations. People shall place the first fruits of the gods on you at the time of the new moon.
My King stood before the sajkal stone, he addressed the gulgul and sajjar stones. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed their destiny:
“Sajkal stone, since you flew up against me......; gulgul stone, since you sparked lightning against me......; sajjar stone, since you shook your head at me, since you ground your teeth at me, the Lord! The sajkal stone will smash you, sajjar stone, young brave, and the gulgul stone will destroy(gul) you. You will be discarded as contemptible and valueless (saj nukala). Be a prey to the famine (Cagir) of the Land; you shall be fed by the charity of your city. You shall be accounted a common person, a warrior among slave-girls. They shall say to you, ‘Be off with you, hurry!’, it shall be your name. And now, by the destiny fixed by Ninurta, henceforth you shall be called a bad lot in the Land. So be it.”
My King stood before the esi stone...... he spoke in hymnic language. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny:
“Esi(diorite), your army in battle changed sides separately(?). You spread before me like thick smoke. You did not raise your hand. You did not attack me. Since you said, ‘It is false. The Lord is alone the Hero. Who can vie with Ninurta, son of Enlil?’ — they shall extract you from the highland countries. They shall bring(?) you from the land of Magan. You shall shape (?) Strong Copper like leather and then you shall be perfectly adapted for my heroic arm, for me, the Lord. When a king who is establishing his renown for perpetuity has had its statues sculpted for all time, you shall be placed in the place of libations - and it shall suit you well- in my temple, E-ninnu, the house full of grace. ”
My King turned to the na stone. He...... the body from the na stone. Ninurta son of Enlil cursed it:
“Stone, since you said, ‘If only it had been me”; na stones, since you bewitched my powers — like down there, you, to be worked on like a pig. Be discarded, be used for nothing, end up by being reduced to tiny fragments. He who knows you shall reduce you to liquid.’
My King turned to the elel stone. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny:
“Elel, intelligently you caused terror of me to descend on the Mountains where discord had broken out. In the rebel lands you proclaimed my name among my people who had banded together. Nothing of your wholeness shall be diminished (?). It shall be difficult to reduce your mass to small pieces. My divine ordinances shall be set out in straight lines on your body. You shall be greatly suited to the clash of weapons, when I have heroes to slay. You shall be set up on a pedestal in my great courtyard. The Land shall praise you in wonder, the foreign lands shall speak your praises (2 mss. have instead: elevate you).”
The Hero turned to the kagina (haematite) stone, he addressed it for its hardness. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny: “Young man worthy of respect, whose surface reflects the light, kagina, when the demands of the rebel lands reached you, I did not conquer you...... I did not notice you among the hostile ones. I shall make room for you in the Land. The divine rites of Utu shall become your powers. Be constituted as a judge in the foreign lands. The craftsmen, expert in everything, shall value you as if gold. Young man of whom I have taken possession, because of you I shall not sleep until you come to life. And now, according to the destiny fix
ed by Ninurta, henceforth kagina shall live! So shall it be.”
The Hero stood before the jicnugal (alabaster) stone. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny: “Icnu, whose body shines like the daylight! Purified silver, youth destined for the palace, since you alone held out your hands to me, and you prostrated yourself before me in your Mountains, I did not smite you with the club, and I did not turn my strength against you. Hero, you stood firm by me when I yelled out. Your name shall be called benevolence. The treasury of the Land shall be subject to your hand, you shall be its seal-keeper. (1 ms. adds the line: The Anuna......)”
My King turned to the algamec stone and frowned. The Lord spoke to it angrily in the Land. Ninurta son of Enlil cursed it: “What provision did you make to assist my progress? Be the first to go into my forge. Algamec, you shall be the regular sacrifice offered daily by the smiths.”
My King turned to the ducia stone. He addressed the nir, the gug (cornelian) and the zagin (lapis lazuli); the amac-pa-ed, the caba, the jurizum, the gug-gazi, and the marhali; the egi-saga, the girin-hiliba, the anzugulme and the nir-mucjir stones (1 ms.: the....... And the gazi-musud stones). The Lord Ninurta, son of Enlil, fixed their destinies for...... the waterskin: “How you came to my side, male and female in form, and in your own way! You committed no fault, and you supported me with strength. You exalted me in public. Now in my deliberation, I shall exalt you. Since you made yourself general of the assembly, you, nir, shall be chosen for syrup and for wine. You shall all be decorated with precious metal. The principal among the gods shall cause the foreign lands to prostrate themselves before you, putting their noses to the ground.”
My King turned to the jir-zu-jal (flint), and frowned. The Lord spoke to it angrily in the Land. Ninurta son of Enlil cursed it: “Ah, duplicitous jir-zu-jal, what then? They shall split your horns, wild bull, in your Mountains. Lie down before the...... You were not equal to me who supported you. I shall rip you like a sack, and people will smash you into tiny pieces. The metalworker shall deal with you, he shall use his chisel on you. Young man, massive, bearer of hatred: the carpenter, saying, ‘I wish to buy it for my work’, shall wet you with water...... and shall crush you like malt.”
My King turned to the iman stones, he addressed the alliga stones. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed their destiny:
“Iman stones, in the Mountains you cried out against me. You fiercely uttered ballet-yells. I shall enflame you like fire. Like a storm I shall overturn you. I shall strip you like rushes. I shall rip you like weeds. Who will assist you then? Iman stone: your cries shall not be valued, no attention shall be paid to them. Iman stone, alliga stone: your path shall not lead to the palace.”
My King turned to the macda stone. He addressed the dubban and urutum stones. Ninurta son of Enlil defined (?) their characteristic behaviour:
“Macda stone, dubban stgone, blazing fires; urutum stone, which nothing resists; when the gasura stone...... and you were set ablaze, you burnt against me in the rebel lands like a brazier. Since you all stood against me in the land of Saba: macda stone, they shall slaughter you like a sheep. Dubban stone, they shall crunch you for pulverizing. Urutum stones, they shall sharpen you for the battle-mace; with bronze, the arrowheads of the gods, they shall smash you with the axe, stinging with fierce swords. ”
My King turned to the cagara stone. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny:
“Cagara stone, who smash (?) your head against anyone traveling alone in the desert, in the Mountains when my arms were occupied you tried to trample on me. Since you glutted yourself in the battle, the reed-worker shall make the reeds jump with you. You shall be thrown onto your couch; the appearance(?) of your mother and father who bore you shall be forgotten(?). No one shall say to you, ”Get up“, no one shall have the feeling that he misses you, the people shall not complain about your loss. In praise of the eternally-created powers in Ninursaja’s resting place, you shall be discarded on the dais there. They shall feed you on malt, as they do for sheep; you shall content yourself with a portion of the scattered flour. This shall be the explanation for you.”
My King turned to the marhuca stone, Ninurta the son of Enlil pronounced its destiny.
“Marhuca..... The string in my place, ...... you were taken, since you did not participate in the crimes of your city,......; you shall be the bowl under the filter-jug, the water shall filter into you. Marhusa, you shall be used for inlay-work, ...... You shall be the perfect ornament for sacred brooches. Marhuca, you shall be duly praised in the temples of the gods.”
The Hero turned to the hactum stone and frowned. In the Land of the Lord addressed it angrily: Ninurta the son of Enlil pronounced its destiny:
“Hactum stone, you cried out against me in the Mountains. You yelled fiercely with wild battle-yells. With your yelling, you fixed a lila demon in the Mountains. Young man, because of your digging, Ditch (hactum) shall be your name. And now, according to the destiny of Ninurta, henceforth they shall say hactum. So be it.”
My King turned to the durul stone. Ninurta son of Enlil fixed its destiny:
“Durul stone, holy garment of mourning, blinded youth whom people carve, in the Mountains you prostrated yourself before me. Since you said to me, ‘If only it had been me who broke the bars of the gates, if only I had stood before him, before my King, Lord Ninurta’, your name shall be magnified of its own accord wherever it is mentioned. As the connoisseur says of precious metal, I will buy it’, so the foreign nations, like musicians playing the reed-pipe, shall pursue you. ”
My King turned to the cigcig stone, he addressed the engen and ezinum stones. For the ug-gun, the hem, the madanum, the sajgirmud, the ...... and the mursuh stones, Ninurta son of Enlil fixed their destiny:
“(two lines unclear)... with ribs drawn in, balancing on the haunches, heart elated, legs bent like a bear,......: I shall come to you; now, being an ally, you come forward from all of them; who shall extend the hand to them? You were the club, you stood as the doorway. (3 lines unclear) In the Land, the champion shall always look (?) with favour on you.”
The Hero turned to the kurgaranum stone. He addressed the bal stone; the Lord Ninurta, son of Enlil, fixed the destiny for the yellow-coloured cimbi (kohl):
“Since you said, ‘I will bring forth the people’, (1 line unclear) you......as if......the young man who has obtained (?) glory for you; the young artisan shall sing your praises. You shall be favoured for the festival of spirits of the dead; on the ninth day of the month, at the new moon, the young men shall...... for you.”
He assigned ...... them to the cult of Ninhursaja.
The Hero had conquered the Mountains. As he moved across the desert, he.....433
While there are obviously numerous elements here that are clearly of a purely mythological nature, and consequently make it difficult to interpret in any meaningful or conclusive “paleophysical” way, there are other elements — the elements I have emphasized — that positively invite such an interpretation.
Among the latter is the basic fact that one does have here an inventory being made for the express purpose of the disposition of the technology that the stones embody and represent. The whole lengthy process is dimly evocative of the behavior of the western Allies after World War One and Two toward their former enemy, Germany. Some of the defeated side’s technologies were confiscated by the victors and carted off, to be used, or modified and then used in different applications, elsewhere. Other technologies were simply forbidden to be developed by the vanquished. And a few especially threatening technologies and weapons were simply smashed up and destroyed.
The principle by which Ninurta makes his determinations and “fixes the destinies” of the power stones is a simple one, devolving into two basic classes: (1) those which were directly deployed against him, or from which he experienced grave personal danger to his life or power or the power of the “gods,” were destroyed; and (2) those that were not so deployed or which constituted no direct threat in and of themselves, were pre
served, and often removed and used elsewhere. As will be seen, there are also two special cases.
1. Stones to be Preserved and Adapted to Other Use
There are forty-one named stones in the text that are preserved and used elsewhere. These are the Cu, Gasura, Esi, Kagina, Jicnugal, Ducia, Nin, Gug, Zagin, Amal-Pa-Ed, Laba, Jurizum, Gug-gazi, Marhali, Egi-saga, Girin-Hihiilba, Anzugulme, Nir-muckir, Gazi-musud, Marhuca, Hactum, Durul, Cigcig, Engen, Ezinum, Ug-gun, Hem, Madanum, Sajgirmud, Mursum, Kurgaranum, Bac, and Cimbi stones. Given that there are some breaks in the text, the possibility that other stones, whose names are now lost to history, cannot be discounted.
Many on this list — the Ducia, Nin, Gug, Zagin, Amal-Pa-Ed, Laba, Jurizum, Gug-gazi, Marhali, Egi-saga, Girin-Hihiilba, Anzugulme, Nir-muckir, Gazi-musud Stones - were to be preserved and apparently used for ornamental and ceremonial purposes, since Ninurta decreed that they were to be “decorated with precious metal” and that “foreign lands” would prostrate themselves before them.
In the case of the “Kagina Stone,” whose “surface reflects the light,” Ninurta decrees an odd fate. It would, he said, be used “as a judge in foreign lands,” and that it therefore should “live.” A similar destiny for use in official functions awaited the “Jicnugal Stone,” yet another stone connected with luminous brilliance, for its “body (shone) like the daylight.” Ninurta, as has been seen, decreed that it would be the “seal-keeper” of “the treasury of the land,” perhaps indicating that it played some special security function in guarding a place of wealth.
a. The “Cu Stones, ” “Gasura Stones, ” and “Hactum Stone“
But three stones in this list are worthy of some special attention, for unlike the others, they appeared to have been more directly components of a weapon of some sort, but they, unlike the other stones in this category, were preserved.
The Cosmic War: Interplanetary Warfare, Modern Physics and Ancient Texts Page 24
