The shouts of Accad mingle with the cries Of wounded men and fiery steeds, which rise From all the fields with shrieks of carnage, war, Till victory crowns the host of Izdubar. The chariots are covered with the slain, And crushed beneath lie dead and dying men, And horses in their harness wounded fall, With dreadful screams, and wildly view the wall Of dying warriors piling o'er their heads, And wonder why each man some fury leads; And others break across the gory plain In mad career till they the mountain gain; And snorting on the hills in wild dismay, One moment glance below, then fly away; Away from sounds that prove their masters, fiends, Away to freedom snuffing purer winds, Within some cool retreat by mountain streams, Where peacefully for them, the sun-light gleams. At last the foe is scattered o'er the plain, And Accad fiercely slays the flying men; When Izdubar beholds the victory won By Accad's grand battalions of the sun, His bugle-call the awful carnage stays, Then loud the cry of victory they raise.
[Footnote 1: The above elegy is an Assyrian fragment remarkably similar to one of the psalms of the Jewish bible, and I believe it belongs to the Irdubar epic (W.A. I. IV. 19, No. 3; also see "Records of the Past," vol. xi. p. 160).]
[Footnote 3: "Nin-a-rad," literally "servant of Nin," or "Nin-mar-ad," "Lord of the city of Marad."]
[Footnote 4: "Nin," the god of the chase and war, or lord.]
[Footnote 5: "Tar-u-ma-ni izzu sar-ri," "son of the faith, the fire-king."]
[Footnote 6: "Nuk-khu," darkness (god of darkness).]
[Footnote 7: "Nin-a-zu," god of fate and death.]
[Footnote 8: "Mam-mit," or "Mam-mi-tu," goddess of fate.]
[Footnote 9: "Dragons," gods of chaos and death.]
A crowd of maidens led a glorious van; With roses laden the fair heralds ran, With silver-throated music chant the throng, And sweetly sang the coronation song: And now we see the gorgeous cavalcade, Within the walls in Accad's grand parade They pass, led by the maidens crowned with flowers, Who strew the path with fragrance;--to the towers And walls and pillars of each door bright cling The garlands. Hear the maidens joyful sing!
"Oh, shout the cry! Accadians, joyful sing For our Deliverer! Oh, crown him King! Then strew his path with garlands, tulips, rose, And wave his banners as he onward goes; Our mighty Nin-rad comes, oh, raise the cry! We crown Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri!