ILLNESS AND WANDERINGS OF IZDUBAR.  
Hea-bani and the trees.—Illness of Izdubar.—Death of Hea-bani.—Journey of Izdubar.—His dream.—Scorpion men.—The Desert of Mas.—Siduri and Sabitu.—Nes-Hea the pilot.—Water of death.—Mua.—The conversation.—Xisuthrus.
 
 
F the three tablets in this section, the first one is very uncertain, and is put together from two separate sources: the other two are more complete and satisfactory.
 
Tablet VIII.
 
It is again uncertain if any of this tablet has been discovered; provisionally some fragments of the first, second, third, and sixth columns of a tablet which may belong to it are placed here, but the only fragment worth translating at present is one given in Mr. Smith’s “Assyrian Discoveries,” p. 176. In some portions of these fragments there are references to the story of Khumbaba, but as the fragment appears253 to refer to the illness of Izdubar it probably belongs here.
 
K. 3588.
 
Column I.
 
1. ....
—–———–———–———–
2. Hea-bani (his mouth opened and spake and)
3. said to ....
4. I went (?) ....
5. in the ....
6. the door ....
7. of ....
8 and 9. ....
10. in ....
11. Hea-bani ..........
12. with the door .... thy ...
13. the door on its sides does not ...
14. the creation of her ears they are not ...
15. for twenty kaspu (140 miles) I climbed up ...
16. as far as the pine tree a shrub (?) I had seen ...
17. thy tree (?) has not another ...
18. Six gars (120 feet) is thy height, two gars (40 feet) is thy breadth ....
19. thy street, thy blackness (?) thy rain ...
20. I made thee, I raised thee in the city of Nipur ....
21. yea I knew thy door like this ...
254
22. and this ...
23. I raised its face, I ...
24. I will fill thy bank (?) .....
25. .....
26. for he took ...
27. the pine tree, the cedar, ...
28. in its cover ...
29. thou also ....
30. may take ...
31. in the collection of everything ...
32. a great destruction ...
33. the whole of the trees ..
34. in thy land of the tree manubani ...
35. thy bush? is not strong ...
36. thy shadow is not great ...
37. and thy smell is not agreeable ...
—–———–———–———–
38. The manubani tree was angry ...
39. made a likeness?
40. like the tree ...
......
The second, third, fourth and fifth columns appear to be entirely absent, the inscription reappearing on a fragment of the sixth column.
 
Column II.
 
(Many lines lost.)
 
1. The dream which I saw ....
2. the tops of the mountain ....
255
3. ... he struck ....
4. he struck when thy royal raiment ....
5. he begat also in ....
6. He recounted to his friend Hea-bani the dream ...
7. My friend, the good omen of the dream ....
8. the dream was deceptive ....
9. My friend, the mountain which thou didst see ....
10. when I captured Khumbaba we ....
11. ... of his helpers Nitakh-garri ....
12. at the time of dawn ....
—–———–———–———–
13. For twenty kaspu they journeyed a stage
14. at thirty kaspu they fixed
15. in the presence of Samas they dug out a pit (?) ....
16. Izdubar ascended also over ....
17. by the side of his house he crossed over ....
18. ... he brought the dream ....
19. he made it and the god ....
Column III.
 
1. ... he brought the dream ....
2. he made it and the god ....
3. ... turban? ....
4. he cast him down and ....
5. the mountain like corn of the field ....
6. Izdubar at the destruction (?) set up ....
7. Anatu the troubler of men upon him struck,
256
8. and in the struggle his going he stayed.
9. He spake and said to his friend:
10. My friend thou dost not ask me why I am naked,
11. thou dost not inquire of me why I am spoiled,
12. because the god passed over, wherefore my limbs are hot.
13. My friend I saw a third dream;
14. that dream which I saw entirely disappeared.
15. They prayed; the god thunders on the ground.
16. He burnt up the exit of the darkness;
17. the lightning struck; a fire was kindled;
18. .... they took away; it rained death.
19. The glow also (disappeared), the fire sank,
20. .... they struck; it turned to a palm tree,
21. in the desert also thy lord took (his) path (?).
22. And Hea-bani his dream considered; he said to Izdubar:
23. .... Samas thy lord, the creator ....
The fourth and fifth columns of this tablet are lost. This part of the legend appears to refer to the illness of Izdubar.
 
Column VI.
 
1. My friend ... the dream which is not ...
2. the day he dreamed the dream, the end ...
—–———–———–———–
3. Hea-bani lay down also one day ...
4. which Hea-bani on (his) bed ...
5. the third day and the fourth day which ...
257
6. the fifth, and sixth, and seventh (days) ...
7. the eighth (and ninth, and tenth days) ....
8. when Hea-bani was sick ...
9. the eleventh and twelfth (days) ...
10. Hea-bani on (his) bed ...
11. Izdubar read also ...
12. Did my friend defend me ...
13. whenever in the midst of fight ...
14. I turn (?) to battle and ...
15. my friend who in battle ...
16. I in ......
It must here be noted that Mr. Smith’s grounds for making this the eighth tablet were extremely doubtful, and it is possible that the fragments are of different tablets; but they fill up an evident blank in the story here, and they are consequently inserted pending further discoveries as to their true position.
 
In the first column Hea-bani appears to be addressing certain trees, and they are supposed to have the power of hearing and answering him. Hea-bani praises one tree and sneers at another, but from the mutilation of the text it does not appear why he acts so. We may conjecture he was seeking a charm to open a door he mentions, and that according to the story this charm was known to the trees. The fragment of the sixth column shows Hea-bani unable to interpret a dream, while Izdubar asks his friend to fight.
 
After this happened the violent death of Hea-bani, which added to the misfortunes of Izdubar; but no fragment of this part of the story is preserved.
 
258
 
Tablet IX.
 
This tablet is in a somewhat better state than the others, and all the narrative is clearer from this point, not a single column of the inscription being entirely lost. The ninth tablet commences with the sorrow of Izdubar at the death of Hea-bani.
 
Column I.
 
1. Izdubar over Hea-bani his friend
2. bitterly weeps, and traverses the desert.
3. I have no judgment like Hea-bani here;
4. sickness entered into my stomach;
5. death I feared, and traverse the desert.
6. To the majesty of Xisuthrus, son of Ubara-tutu,
7. the road I am taking, and quickly I go;
8. to the lowlands of the mountains I take (my way) at night.
9. .... a (dream) I saw, and I feared.
10. I (bow) on my face, to Sin (the moon god) I pray;
11. and into the presence of the gods came my supplication;
12. Grant thou (health) to me, even unto me!
13. ....... dream.
14. (Through) the dream (sent by) Sin (my) life had been gladdened.
15. Precious stones (?) ... to his hand.
16. He pulled out ..... his girdle
17. like a ... their ... he struck
18. he struck .... he smote, he broke
259
19. and .... they rejoiced, and
20. he threw (?) ....
21. he removed ....
22. the former name ....
23. the new name ....
(About eight lines lost here.)
The second column shows Izdubar in some fabulous region, whither he has wandered in search of Xisuthrus. Here he sees composite monsters with their feet resting in Hades and their heads reaching heaven. These beings are supposed to guide and direct the sun at its rising and setting. This passage is as follows:—
 
Column II.
 
1. Of the mountains hearing him as many as ....
2. To the mountain of Masu in his course ....
3. who all day long guard the rising (sun).
4. Their crown was at the lattice of heaven,
5. below Hades was their footing.
6. Scorpion-men guard its gate,
7. burning with terribleness, and their appearance was death,
8. the greatness of their bulk overthrows the forests.
9. At the rising of the sun and the setting of the sun, they guard the sun, and
10. Izdubar saw them and fear and terror seized his face.
260
11. He took his counsel and approached before them.
12. The scorpion-man of his female asked:
13. Who has gone to us with his body the flesh of the gods?
14. To the scorpion-man his female answered:
15. His going (is) that of a god, but his feeble gait (is) that of a man.
16. The scorpion-man of the hero asked,
17. .... of the gods the word he recounts:
18. .... distant road
19. .... up to the presence
20. .... of which the passage is difficult.
21. .... thy .... thou puttest on.
22. .... mountains situated.
23. .... thou puttest on.
The rest of this column is lost. In it Izdubar converses with the monsters, and where the third column begins he is telling them his purpose of seeking Xisuthrus.
 
Column III.
 
(1 and 2 lost.)
3. He Xisuthrus my father .....
4. who has been established also in the assembly (of the gods)
5. death and life [are known to him].
6. The scorpion-man opened his mouth (and spake);
7. they say to Izdubar:
261
8. Izdubar was not ....
9. of the mountain ....
10. for twelve kaspu (84 miles) [is the journey];
11. on the boundary of the field did he carry himself, and (there is) no light.
12. To the rising sun ....
13. to the setting sun ....
14. to the setting sun ....
15. they descended ....
In this mutilated passage, the monster describes the journey to be taken by Izdubar; there are now many lines wanting, until we come to the fourth column.
 
Column IV.
 
1. In (his) sickness ....
2. in difficulty and ....
3. in lamentation and ....
4. again thou ....
5. the scorpion-man ....
6. (said) to Izdubar ....
7. Go Izdubar ....
8. the mountains of Mas ....
9. the mountains, the path (of the Sun) ....
10. may the women ....
11. the great gate of the land ....
12. Izdubar ....
13. for a memorial ....
14. the road of the sun ....
15. 1 kaspu (he went) ....
262
16. on the boundary of the field ....
17. he was not able (to look behind him).
18. 2 kaspu (he went) ....
This is the bottom of the fourth column; there are five lines lost at the top of the fifth column, and then the narrative reopens; the text is, however, mutilated and doubtful.
 
Column V.
 
6. 4 (kaspu he went) ....
7. on the boundary (of the field)....
8. he was not able (to look behind him).
9. 5 kaspu (he went) ....
10. on the boundary of the field ....
11. he was not able (to look behind him).
12. 6 kaspu he went ....
13. on the boundary of the field did he carry himself (and there is no light).
14. He was not able (to look behind him).
15. 7 kaspu (he went) ....
16. on the boundary of the field was it situated and not ....
17. he was not able to look behind him.
18. 8 kaspu like a .... he mounts up;
19. on the boundary of the field (did he carry himself and) there is no light.
20. He was not able to look behind him.
21. 9 kaspu he went .... to the north
22. .... his face
263
23. (on the boundary of the field did he carry himself and) there is no light;
24. (he was not able) to look behind him.
25. (10 kaspu he went) .... him
26. .... a meeting
27. .... 4 kaspu
28. .... from the shadow of the sun
29. .... sight was established
30. to the forest of the trees of the gods in appearance it was equal.
 
Izdubar among the Trees of the Gods (?) From a Babylonian cylinder found in Cyprus by Gen. di Cesnola.
31. Emeralds it carried as its fruit,
32. the branch refuses not to support a canopy.
33. Crystals they carry as shoots (?)
34. fruit they carry, and to the sight it is glistening.
Some of the words in this fragment are obscure, but the general meaning is clear. In the next column the wanderings of Izdubar are continued, and he comes to a country near the sea. Fragments of several lines of this column are preserved, but too mutilated to translate with certainty. The fragments are:—
 
264
 
Column VI.
 
(About six lines lost.)
 
1. the pine tree ....
2. its nest of stone ....
3. not sweeping away the sea .... jet stones
4. like the tree of Elam and the tree of the prince .... emeralds
5. a locust ....
6. jet stone, ka stone .... the goddess Istar
7. like bronze and .... he carried
8. like .... obstacles
9. which .... the sea
10. it has, and .... may he raise
11. Izdubar [saw this] in his travelling,
12. on this sea he carried ....
13. Colophon. The women Siduri and Sabitu (who on the shore) of the sea dwelt.
14. .... tablet of the series: “When the hero Izdubar saw the fountain.”
—–———–———–———–
This tablet brings Izdubar to the region of th............