The Babylonian World - Historia Antigua

— The Babylonian god Marduk —
is that Marduk’s statue had been captured by the Elamites, Nebuchadrezzar claims in
an ancient text that Marduk had ordered his own departure to Elam because during
the reign of his predecessor, Enlil-nadin-ahi, ‘good had departed and evil was regular,
the Lord [Marduk] became angry and got furious’. 12 Another ancient text, ‘The Marduk
Prophecy’, probably also composed during the reign of Nebuchadrezzar I, states that
the people suffered famine and political unrest after Marduk and other gods had left
Babylonia for Elam. 13 The Babylonians must have faced a serious loss of morale.
One of the priorities of Nebuchadrezzar I was, not surprisingly, reconciliation with
Marduk, i.e., the recovery of Marduk from Elam. Despite the failure in his first attempt,
Nebuchadrezzar led his army, surprising the Elamites by attacking in summer, and
successfully retrieved the statue of Marduk. 14 Although his victory over Elam did not
bring long-lasting peace to the Babylonians, it must have boosted their confidence.
Various literary works were produced to commemorate this act of bravery and the
return of Marduk to Babylon. 15 It is commonly accepted that the creation epic, known
as Enuma Elish, which canonises Marduk’s supreme position in the Mesopotamian
pantheon, was also composed during Nebuchadrezzar I’s reign. With his exaltation
during this period, Marduk assumed the name bēl, ‘the Lord’, as his proper name.
LITERATURE
In addition to a large number of religious texts (hymns, prayers, incantations, and
lamentations), there are two major long literary works of Marduk – Enuma Elish,
‘When Above’, and Ludul Bel Nemeqi, ‘Let Me Praise the Lord of Wisdom’. 16 Each
composition presents a completely different image of Marduk. Enuma Elish speaks of
Marduk’s bravery in the battle against Tiamat (‘the Sea’), the creation of the universe,
and Marduk’s accession to divine kingship, while Ludlul Bel Nemeqi is a poetic
monologue telling the sufferings of a man and his salvation by Marduk.
ENUMA ELISH17 – MARDUK AS THE KING
OF THE GODS
The epilogue of Enuma Elish describes the composition as a ‘song of Marduk [who]
defeated Tiamat and took the kingship’ (VII 161–162). In other words the Enuma
Elish tells how Marduk gained the supremacy in the Mesopotamian pantheon and
how his city, Babylon, became the ‘capital’ of the world. It is commonly accepted
that Enuma Elish was composed after the victory of Nebuchadrezzar I over Elam and
the return of Marduk from the exile, 18 but an Old-Babylonian19 and a Kassite period
date20 have also been suggested. The latest possible date of composition is no later
than the tenth century BC as some manuscripts found in Assur are written in Middle-
Assyrian script.
We now know from Late Babylonian ritual instructions that Enuma Elish was
chanted in front of Marduk’s statue on the fourth day of the month Nisannu (Month
I, March–April) 21 and the month Kislimu (Month IX, November–December), during
the Akitu-festivals. 22 Although Enuma Elish was not the climax of the Akitu festivals
of Babylon, the festivals served to affirm the position of Marduk as the king of the
gods, and that of Babylon as the centre of the universe by including recitation of
Enuma Elish.
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