Word Fulfilled, The by Judisch Bruce

Author:Judisch, Bruce [Judisch, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: OakTara
Published: 2010-06-14T06:00:00+00:00

When the door closed behind Zakir and the muhhu seers, Adad-nirari slumped in his chair. “I do not have a good feeling about this.”

“My lord, we must not assume too much until Zakir—”

“Look at the signs, Ahu-duri! Sin, Nin Ur, Ea, perhaps Marduk, and who knows what other gods are upset at me.”

“It may not be you, my lord.” Ahu-duri was unnerved. He had never seen the king fret like this.

“Who else could it be? This is not a lesser god who grumbles at some commoner’s misstep. These are the high gods, whose favor or displeasure determines the fate of the realm.” Adad-nirari slammed his hands on the table. “The kingship lives or dies by the pleasure of the gods, Ahu-duri, you know that.”

Ahu-duri opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. The king was right. The vizier had no argument, nothing to comfort his master.

“Sin dims, Nin Ur quakes, the ram of Ea is diseased—and now the baru of Marduk who examines the ram is dead.” The king’s face went pale, and his voice faltered. “Could Ea have killed him?”

“My lord, this still does not mean you are to blame. Have you not honored the gods? Have you not rebuilt their temples, improved our cities to their glory, expanded their fields for planting to maintain them? Assyria has prospered under your leadership.” Ahu-duri shook his head. “No, there must be another explanation.”

Adad-nirari’s voice dropped to a murmur. “It does not matter who is to blame. Their wrath falls upon the king. Upon me.”

“Then perhaps we need another king until their wrath is assuaged.” Ahu-duri glanced at his liege.

“Do you mean—”

“Yes, my lord. We may need to consider the ugu lugal.”

Adad-nirari sat back and stroked his beard. “It has been long since the ritual of a substitute king has been invoked in Assyria.”

Ahu-duri nodded. “Since we adopted the tradition from the people from the Westland ages ago, we’ve installed a substitute king only a few times. The omens are strong, though, my lord. If wrath comes, we must avoid it falling on your head. You are too valuable a king.”

Adad-nirari raised his eyebrows. “A substitute king reigns one hundred days. Do you think that will be long enough to ensure the gods’ wrath has passed its full measure?”

Ahu-duri creased his brow. “The timing must be right. We must watch the signs closely and install the ugu lugal at the latest possible time. That will allow for his reign to span the worst. We need to start soon, though, to identify a candidate. We also need a substitute queen to replace the Queen Mother, Sammuramat.”

The king nodded. “How long do you think it will take?”

“Six or seven days, perhaps, to compile a list of candidates. It will also require time to arrange for the proper ceremony to transfer the evil omens from you to him. There may be suitable candidates among the local nobility, but we may draw from the commoners, as well. It is your decision.” Ahu-duri frowned. “I fear there may not be time to convene the full council of advisors, my lord.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.