,the ,babylonian ,story of the ,deluge  
as ,told by ,assyrian ,tablets from     
,nineveh4  ,by ,e4 ,a4 ,wallis ,budge4  
,the ,discovery of the ,tablets at      
,nineveh by ,layard1 ,rassam and ,smith4
  ,in #ahde-dg and again in #ahdi-ea    
,mr4 7later ,sir7 ,a4 ,h4 ,layard       
carried out a series of excavations     
among the ruins of the ancient city of  
,nineveh1 that great city1 wherein are  
more than sixteen thousand persons that 
cannot discern between their right hand 
and their left2 and also much cattle    
7,jonah iv1 ,,ii74 ,its ruins lie on the
 left or east bank of the ,tigris1      
exactly opposite the town of            
,al-,mawsil1 or ,msul1 which was founded
 by the ,sassanians and marks the site  
of ,western ,nineveh4 ,at first ,layard 
thought that these ruins were not those 
of ,nineveh1 which he placed at ,nimrd1 
about #bj miles downstream1 but of one  
of the other cities that were builded by
 ,asshur 7see ,gen4 x1 #aa1 #ab74       
,thanks1 however1 to ,christian1 ,roman 

and ,muhammadan tradition1 there is no  
room for doubt about it1 and the site of
 ,nineveh has always been known4 ,the   
fortress which the ,arabs built there in
 the seventh century was known as       
,kal'at-,nnaw1 i4e41 ,nineveh ,castle1  
for many centuries1 and all the ,arab   
geographers agree in saying that tile   
mounds opposite ,msul contain the ruins 
of the palaces and walls of ,nineveh4   
,and few of them fail to mention that   
close by them is ,tall ,nabi ,ynis1     
i4e41 the ,hill from which the ,prophet 
,jonah preached repentance to the       
inhabitants of ,nineveh1 that exceeding 
great city of three days' journey       
7,jonah iii1 #c74 ,local tradition also 
declares that the prophet was buried in 
the ,hill1 and his supposed tomb is     
shown there to this day4   ,the ,walls  
and ,palaces of ,nineveh4  ,the         
situation of the ruins of the palaces of
 ,nineveh is well shown by the          
accompanying reproduction of the plan of
 the city made by ,commander ,felix     

,jones1 ,i4,n4 ,the remains of the older
 palaces built by ,sargon ,,ii 7,b4,c4  
#gba-gje71 ,sennacherib 7,b4,c4         
#gje-fha71 and ,esarhaddon 7,b4,c4      
#fha-ffh7 lie under the hill called     
,nabi ,ynis1 and those of the palaces   
and other buildings of ,ashur-bani-pal  
7,b4,c4 #fha-fbf7 under the mound which 
is known locally as ,tall al-',armshyah1
 i4e41 ,the ,hill of ',armsh1 and       
,kuynjik4 ,the latter name is said to be
 derived from two ,turkish words meaning
 many sheep1 in allusion to the large   
flocks of sheep that find their pasture 
on and about the mound in the early     
spring4 ,these two great mounds lie     
close to the remains of the great west  
wall of ,nineveh1 which in the time of  
the last ,assyrian ,empire was washed by
 the waters of the river ,tigris4 ,at   
some unknown period the course of the   
river changed1 and it is now more than a
 mile distant from the city wall4 ,the  
river ,khausur1 or ,khoser1 divides the 
area of ,nineveh into two parts1 and    

passing close to the southern end of    
,kuynjik empties itself into the        
,tigris4 ,the ruins of the wails of     
,nineveh show that the east wall was    
#af1jjj feet long1 the north wall #g1jjj
 feet long1 the west wall #ac1fjj feet1 
and the south wall #c1jjj feet2 its     
circuit was about #ac1bjj yards or #g   
#a_/b miles4   ,discovery of the        
,library of the ,temple of ,nebo at     
,nineveh4  ,in the spring of #aheb      
,layard1 assisted by ,h4 ,rassam1       
continued the excavation of the ,south  
,west ,palace at ,kuynjik4 ,in one part 
of the building he found two small      
chambers1 opening into each other1 which
 he called the chamber of records1 or   
the house of the rolls4 ,he gave them   
this name because to the height of a    
foot or more from the floor they were   
entirely filled with inscribed baked    
clay tablets and fragments of tablets4  
,some tablets were complete1 but by far 
the larger number of them had been      
broken up into many fragments1 probably 

by the falling in of the roof and upper 
parts of the walls of the buildings when
 the city was pillaged and set on fire  
by the ,medes and ,babylonians4 ,the    
tablets that were kept in these chambers
 numbered many thousands4 ,besides those
 that were found in them by ,layard1    
large numbers have been dug out all     
along the corridor which passed the     
chambers and led to the river1 and a    
considerable number were kicked on to   
the river front by the feet of the      
terrified fugitives from the palace when
 it was set on fire4 ,the tablets found 
by ,layard were of different sizes2 the 
largest were rectangular1 flat on one   
side and convex on the other1 and       
measured about #i ins4 by #f #a_/b ins41
 and the smallest were about an inch    
square4 ,the importance of this find was
 not sufficiently recognized at the     
time1 for the tablets1 which were       
thought to be decorated pottery1 were   
thrown into baskets and sent down the   
river loose on rafts to ,basrah1 whence 

they were despatched to ,england on a   
,british man o' war4 ,during their      
transport from ,nineveh to ,england they
 suffered more damage from want of      
packing than they had suffered from the 
wrath of the ,medes4 ,among the complete
 tablets that were found in the two     
chambers several had colophons inscribed
 or scratched upon them1 and when these 
were deciphered by ,rawlinson1 ,hincks  
and ,oppert a few years later1 it became
 evident that they had formed part of   
the library of the ,temple of ,nebo at  
,nineveh4   ,nebo and ,his ,library at  
,nineveh4  ,nothing is known of the     
early history of the ,library #a of the 
,temple of ,nebo at ,nineveh4 ,there is 
little doubt that it was in existence in
 the reign of ,sargon ,,ii1 and it was  
probably founded at the instance of the 
priests of ,nebo who were settled at    
,nimrd 7the ,calah of ,gen4 ,x1 #aa71   
about #bj miles downstream of ,nineveh4 
,authorities differ in their estimate of
 the attributes that were assigned to   

,nebo 7 ,nabu7 in ,pre-,babylonian      
times1 and cannot decide whether he was 
a water-god1 or a fire-god1 or a        
corn-god1 but he was undoubtedly        
associated with ,marduk1 either as his  
son or as a fellow-god4 ,it is certain  
that as early as ,b4,c4 #bjjj he was    
regarded as one of the ,great ,gods of  
,babylonia1 and about #a1bjj years later
 his cult was general in ,assyria4 ,he  
had a temple at ,nimrd in the ninth     
century ,b4,c41 and ,king ,adad-,nirari 
7,b4,c4 #haa-ghc7 set up six statues in 
it to the honour of the god2 two of     
these statues are now in the ,british   
,museum4 ,under the last ,assyrian      
,empire he was believed to possess the  
wisdom of all the gods1 and to be the   
,all-wise and ,all-knowing4 ,he was the 
inventor of all the arts and sciences1  
and the source of inspiration in wise   
and learned men1 and he was the divine  
scribe and past master of all the       
mysteries connected with literature and 
the art of writing 71 duppu sharrute74  

,ashur-bani-pal addresses him as ,nebo1 
the beneficent son1 the director of the 
hosts of heaven and of earth1 holder of 
the tablet of knowledge1 bearer of the  
writing-reed of destiny1 lengthener of  
days1 vivifier of the dead1 stablisher  
of light for the men who are troubled   
7see tablet ,r4,m4 #acb7 ,in the reign  
of ,sargon ,,ii the temple library of   
,nebo was probably housed in some       
building at or near ,nabi ,ynis1 or1 as 
,george ,smith thought1 near ,kuynjik1  
or at ,kuynjik itself4 ,as ,layard found
 the remains of ,nebo's ,library in the 
,south ,west ,palace1 it is probable    
that ,ashur-bani-pal built a new temple 
to ,nebo there and had the library      
transferred to it4 ,nebo's temple at    
,nineveh bore the same name as his very 
ancient temple at ,borsippa 7the modern 
,birs-i-,nimrd71 viz41 ,e-,zida4        
,discovery of the ,palace ,library of   
,ashur-bani-pal4  ,in the spring of     
#aheb ,layard was obliged to close his  
excavations for want of funds1 and he   

returned to ,england with ,rassam1      
leaving all the northern half of the    
great mound of ,kuynjik unexcavated4 ,he
 resigned his position as ,director of  
,excavations to the ,trustees of the    
,british ,museum1 and ,colonel 7later   
,sir7 ,h4 ,c4 ,rawlinson1               
,consul-,general of ,baghdd1 undertook  
to direct any further excavations that  
might be possible to carry out later on4
 ,during the summer the ,trustees       
received a further grant from           
,parliament for excavations in ,assyria1
 and they dispatched ,rassam to finish  
the exploration of ,kuynjik1 knowing    
that the lease of the mound of ,kuynjik 
for excavation purposes which he had    
obtained from its owner had several     
years to run4 ,when ,rassam arrived at  
,msul in #ahec1 and was collecting his  
men for work1 he discovered that        
,rawlinson1 who knew nothing about the  
lease of the mound which ,rassam held1  
had given the ,french ,consul1 ,m4      
,place1 permission to excavate the      

northern half of the mound1 i4e41 that  
part of it which he was most anxious to 
excavate for the ,british ,museum4 ,he  
protested1 but in vain1 and1 finding    
that ,m4 ,place intended to hold        
,rawlinson to his word1 devoted himself 
to clearing out part of the ,south ,west
 ,palace which ,layard had attacked in  
#aheb4 ,meanwhile ,m4 ,place was busily 
occupied with the ,french excavations at
 ,khorsabad1 a mound which contained the
 ruins of the great palace of ,sargon   
,,ii1 and had no time to open up        
excavations at ,kuynjik4 ,in this way a 
year passed1 and as ,m4 ,place made no  
sign that he was going to excavate at   
,kuynjik and ,rassam's time for         
returning to ,england was drawing near1 
the owner of the mound1 who was anxious 
to get the excavations finished so that 
he might again graze his flocks on the  
mound1 urged ,rassam to get to work in  
spite of ,rawlinson's agreement with ,m4
 ,place4 ,he and ,rassam made           
arrangements to excavate the northern   

part of the mound clandestinely and by  
night1 and on #bjth ,december1 #ahec1   
the work began4 ,on the first night     
nothing of importance was found2 on the 
second night the men uncovered a portion
 of a large bas-relief2 and on the third
 night a huge mass of earth collapsed   
revealing a very fine bas-relief1       
sculptured with a scene representing    
,ashur-bani-pal standing in his chariot4
 ,the news of the discovery was quickly 
carried to all parts of the             
neighbourhood1 and as it was impossible 
to keep the diggings secret any longer1 
the work was continued openly and by    
day4 ,the last-mentioned bas-relief was 
one of the series that lined the        
chamber1 which was #ej feet long and #ae
 feet wide1 and illustrated a royal lion
 hunt4 #b ,this series1 that is to say1 
all of it that the fire which destroyed 
the palace had spared1 is now in the    
,british ,museum 7see the ,gallery of   
the ,assyrian ,saloon74  ,whilst the    
workmen were clearing out the ,chamber  

of the ,lion ,hunt they came across     
several heaps of inscribed baked clay   
tablets of all shapes and sizes1 which  
resembled in general appearance the     
tablets that ,layard had found in the   
,south ,west ,palace the year before4   
,there were no remains with them1 or    
near them1 that suggested they had been 
arranged systematically and stored in   
the ,chamber of the ,lion ,hunt1 and it 
seems as if they had been brought there 
from another place and thrown down      
hastily1 for nearly all of them were    
broken into small pieces4 ,as some of   
them bore traces of having been exposed 
to great heat they must have been in    
that chamber during the burning of the  
palace4 ,when the tablets were brought  
to ,england and were examined by        
,rawlinson1 it was found from the       
information supplied by the colophons   
that they formed a part of the great    
,private ,library of ,ashur-bani-pal1   
which that king kept in his palace4 ,the
 tablets found by ,layard in #aheb and  

by ,rassam in #ahec form the unique and 
magnificent collection of cuneiform     
tablets in the ,british ,museum1 which  
is now commonly known as the ,kuynjik   
,collection4 ,the approximate number of 
the inscribed baked clay tablets and    
fragments that have come from ,kuynjik  
and are now in the ,british ,museum is  
#be1jgc4 ,it is impossible to           
over-estimate their importance and value
 from religious1 historical and literary
 points of view2 besides this1 they have
 supplied the material for the          
decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions  
in the ,assyrian1 ,babylonian and       
,sumerian languages1 and form the       
foundation of the science of            
,assyriology which has been built up    
with such conspicuous success during the
 last #gj years4   ,ashur-bani-pal1     
,book-,collector and ,patron of         
,learning4  ,ashur-bani-pal 7the        
,asnapper of ,ezra iv1 #aj7 succeeded   
his father ,esarhaddon ,b4,c4 #ffh1 and 
at a comparatively early period of his  

reign he seems to have devoted himself  
to the study of the history of his      
country1 and to the making of a great   
,private ,library4 ,the tablets that    
have come down to us prove not only that
 he was as great a benefactor of the    
,library of the ,temple of ,nebo as any 
of his predecessors1 but that he was    
himself an educated man1 a lover of     
learning1 and a patron of the literary  
folk of his day4 ,in the introduction to
 his ,annals as found inscribed on his  
great ten-sided cylinder in the ,british
 ,museum he tells us how he took up his 
abode in the chambers of the palace from
 which ,sennacherib and ,esarhaddon had 
ruled the ,assyrian ,empire1 and in     
describing his own education he says3   
,i1 ,ashur-bani-pal1 within it 7i4e41   
the palace7 understood the wisdom of    
,nebo1 all the art of writing of every  
craftsman1 of every kind1 ,i made myself
 master of them all 7i4e41 of the       
various kinds of writing74 #c  ,these   
words suggest that ,ashur-bani-pal could

 not only read cuneiform texts1 but     
could write like a skilled scribe1 and  
that he also understood all the details 
connected with the craft of making and  
baking tablets4 ,having determined to   
form a ,library in his palace he set to 
work in a systematic manner to collect  
literary works4 ,he sent scribes to     
ancient seats of learning1 e4g41 ,ashur1
 ,babylon1 ,cuthah1 ,nippur1 ,akkad1    
,erech1 to make copies of the ancient   
works that were preserved there1 and    
when the copies came to ,nineveh he     
either made transcripts of them himself1
 or caused his scribes to do so for the 
,palace ,library4 ,in any case he       
collated the texts himself and revised  
them before placing them in his         
,library4 ,the appearance of the tablets
 from his ,library suggests that he     
established a factory in which the clay 
was cleaned and kneaded and made into   
homogeneous1 well-shaped tablets1 and a 
kiln in which they were baked1 after    
they had been inscribed4 ,the uniformity

 of the script upon them is very        
remarkable1 and texts with mistakes in  
them are rarely found4 ,how the tablets 
were arranged in the ,library is not    
known1 but certainly groups were        
catalogued1 and some tablets were       
labelled4 #d ,groups of tablets were    
arranged in numbered series1 with catch 
lines1 the first tablet of the series   
giving the first line of the second     
tablet1 the second tablet giving the    
first line of the third tablet1 and so  
on4  ,ashur-bani-pal was greatly        
interested in the literature of the     
,sumerians1 i4e41 the non-,semitic      
people who occupied ,lower ,babylonia   
about ,b4,c4 #cejj and later4 ,he and   
his scribes made bilingual lists of     
signs and words and objects of all      
classes and kinds1 all of which are of  
priceless value to the modern student of
 the ,sumerian and ,assyrian languages4 
,annexed is an extract from a ,list of  
,signs with ,sumerian and ,assyrian     
values4 ,the signs of which the meanings

 are given are in the middle column2 the
 ,sumerian values are given in the      
column to the left1 and their meanings  
in ,assyrian in the column to the right4
 ,to many of his copies of ,sumerian    
hymns1 incantations1 magical formulas1  
etc41 ,ashur-bani-pal caused interlinear
 translations to be added in ,assyrian1 
and of such bilingual documents the     
following extract from a text relating  
to the ,seven ,evil ,spirits will serve 
as a specimen4 ,the #ast1 #crd1 #eth1   
etc41 lines are written in ,sumerian1   
and the #bnd1 #dth1 #fth1 etc41 lines in
 ,assyrian4  ,the tablets that belonged 
to ,ashur-bani-pal's private ,library   
and those of the ,temple of ,nebo can be
 distinguished by the colophons1 when   
these exist4 ,two forms of colophon for 
each class of the two great collections 
of tablets are known1 one short and one 
long4 ,the short colophon on the tablets
 of the ,king's ,library reads3--,palace
 of ,ashur-bani-pal1 king of hosts1 king
 of the country of ,assyria and that on 

the tablets of the ,library of ,nebo    
reads3--,country of 8 ,ashur-bani-pal1  
king of hosts1 king of the country of   
,assyria4 ,see on the ,tablet of        
,astrological ,omens1 p4 #bb4 ,the      
longer colophons are of considerable    
interest and renderings of two typical  
examples are here appended3--   ,i4     
,colophon of the ,tablets of the ,palace
 ,library4 7,k4 #dhgj47  #a4 ,palace of 
,ashur-bani-pal1 king of hosts1 king of 
the country    of ,assyria1 #b4 who     
trusteth in the god ,ashur and the      
goddess ,blit1 #c4 on whom the god ,nebo
 7,nab7 and the goddess ,tasmetu #d4    
have bestowed all-hearing ears #e4 and  
his possession of eyes that are         
clearsighted1 #f4 and the finest results
 of the art of writing #g4 which1 among 
the kings who have gone before1 #h4 no  
one ever acquired that craft4 #i4 ,the  
wisdom of ,nebo as expressed in writing1
 of every kind1 #aj4 on tablets ,i      
wrote1 collated and revised1 #aa4 and   
for examination and reading #ab4 in my  

palace ,i placed--,i #ac4 the prince who
 knoweth the light of the king of the   
gods1 ,ashur4 #ad4 ,whosoever shall     
carry them off1 or his name side by side
     with mine #ae4 shall write may     
,ashur and ,blit wrathfully #af4 sweep  
away1 and his name and his seed destroy 
in the land4   #b4 ,colophon of the     
,tablets of the ,library of ,nebo4      
7,,rm4 #acb47  #a4 ,to ,nebo1 beneficent
 son1 director of the hosts of heaven   
and    of earth1 #b4 holder of the      
tablet of knowledge1 he who hath grasped
 the writing    reed of destinies1 #c4  
lengthener of days1 vivifier of the     
dead1 stablisher of light for    the men
 who are perplexed1 #d4 from the great  
lord1 the noble ,ashur-bani-pal1 the    
lord1 the    approved of the gods       
,ashur1 ,bl and ,nebo1 #e4 the shepherd1
 the maintainer of the holy places of   
the great gods1    stablisher of their  
revenues1 #f4 son of ,esarhaddon1 king  
of hosts1 king of ,assyria1 #g4 grandson
 of ,sennacherib1 king of hosts1 king of

 ,assyria1 #h4 for the life of his      
souls1 length of his days1 and          
well-being    of his posterity1 #i4 to  
make permanent the foundation of his    
royal throne1 to hear    his            
supplications1 #aj4 to receive his      
petitions1 to deliver into his hands the
 rebellious4 #aa4 ,the wisdom of ,ea1   
the precious priesthood1 the leadership1
 #ab4 what is composed for the          
contentment of the heart of the great   
gods1 #ac4 ,i wrote upon tablets1 ,i    
collated1 ,i revised #ad4 literally     
according to all the tablets of the     
lands of ,ashur     and ,akkad1 #ae4 and
 ,i placed in the ,library of ,e-,zida1 
the temple of ,nebo my lord1     which  
is in ,nineveh4 #af4 ,o ,nebo1 lord of  
the hosts of heaven and of earth1 look  
upon that     ,library joyfully for     
years 7i4e41 for ever74 #ag4 ,of        
,ashur-bani-pal1 the chief1 the         
worshipper of thy divinity1     daily   
the reward of the offering-- #ah4 his   
life decree1 so that he may exalt thy   

great godhead4   ,the tablets from both 
,libraries when unbroken vary in size   
from #ae inches by #h #e_/h inches to #a
 inch by #g_/h inch1 and they are       
usually about #a inch thick4 ,in shape  
they are rectangular1 the obverse being 
flat and tile reverse slightly convex4  
,contract tablets1 letter tablets and   
case tablets are very much smaller1 and 
resemble small pillows in shape4 ,the   
principal subjects dealt with in the    
tablets are history1 annalistic or      
summaries1 letters1 despatches1 reports1
 oracles1 prayers1 contracts1 deeds of  
sale of land1 produce1 cattle1 slaves1  
agreements1 dowries1 bonds for interest 
7with impressions of seals1 and         
fingernails1 or nail marks71            
chronography1 chronology1 ,canons of    
,eponyms1 astrology 7forecasts1 omens1  
divinations1 charms1 spells1            
incantations71 mythology1 legends1      
grammar1 law1 geography1 etc4 #e        
,george ,smith's ,discovery of the ,epic
 of ,gilgamish and the ,story of the    

,deluge4  ,the mass of tablets which had
 been discovered by ,layard and ,rassam 
at ,nineveh came to the ,british ,museum
 in #ahed-e1 and their examination by   
,rawlinson and ,norris began very soon  
after4 ,mr4 ,bowler1 a skilful          
draughtsman and copyist of tablets1 whom
 ,rawlinson employed in making transfers
 of copies of cuneiform texts for       
publication by lithography1 rejoined a  
considerable number of fragments of     
bilingual lists1 syllabaries1 etc41     
which were published in the second      
volume of the ,cuneiform ,inscriptions  
of ,western ,asia1 in #ahff4 ,in that   
year the ,trustees of the ,british      
,museum employed ,george ,smith to      
assist ,rawlinson in sorting1           
classifying and rejoining fragments1 and
 a comprehensive examination of the     
collection by him began4 ,his personal  
interest in ,assyriology was centred    
upon historical texts1 especially those 
which threw any light on the ,bible     
,narrative4 ,but in the course of his   

search for stories of the campaigns of  
,sargon ,,ii1 ,sennacherib1 ,esarhaddon 
and ,ashur-bani-pal1 he discovered among
 other important documents 7#a7 a series
 of portions of tablets which give the  
adventures of ,gilgamish1 an ancient    
king of ,erech2 7#b7 ,an account of the 
,deluge1 which is supplied by the       
,eleventh ,tablet of the ,legend of     
,gilgamish 7in more than one version72  
7#c7 ,a detailed description of the     
,creation2 7#d7 the ,legend of the      
,descent of ,ishtar into ,hades in quest
 of ,tammuz4 ,the general meaning of the
 texts was quite clear1 but there were  
many gaps in them1 and it was not until 
,december1 #ahgb1 that ,george ,smith   
published his description of the ,legend
 of ,gilgamish1 and a translation of the
 ,chaldean ,account of the ,deluge4 ,the
 interest which his paper evoked was    
universal1 and the proprietors of the   
,daily ,telegraph advocated that ,smith 
should be at once dispatched to ,nineveh
 to search for the missing fragments of 

tablets which would fill up the gaps in 
his texts1 and generously offered to    
contribute #a1jjj guineas towards the   
cost of the excavations4 ,the ,trustees 
accepted the offer and gave six months' 
leave of absence to ,smith1 who left    
,london in ,january1 and arrived in     
,msul in ,march1 #ahgc4 ,in the         
following ,may he recovered from        
,kuynjik a fragment that contained the  
greater portion of seventeen lines of   
inscription belonging to the first      
column of the ,chaldean account of the  
,deluge1 and fitting into the only place
 where there was a serious blank in the 
story4 #f ,during the excavations which 
,smith carried out at ,kuynjik in #ahgc 
and #ahgd he recovered many fragments of
 tablets1 the texts of which enabled him
 to complete his description of the     
contents of the ,twelve ,tablets of the 
,legend of ,gilgamish which included his
 translation of the story of the        
,deluge4 ,unfortunately ,smith died of  
hunger and sickness near ,aleppo in     

#ahgf1 and he was unable to revise his  
early work1 and to supplement it with   
the information which he had acquired   
during his latest travels in ,assyria   
and ,babylonia4 ,thanks to the          
excavations which were carried on at    
,kuynjik by the ,trustees of the        
,british ,museum after his untimely     
death1 several hundreds of tablets and  
fragments have been recovered1 and many 
of these have been rejoined to the      
tablets of the older collection4 ,by the
 careful study and investigation of the 
old and new material ,assyriologists    
have1 during the last forty years1 been 
enabled to restore and complete many    
passages in the ,legends of ,gilgamish  
and the ,flood4 ,it is now clear that   
the ,legend of the ,flood had not       
originally any connection with the      
,legend of ,gilgamish1 and that it was  
introduced into it by a late editor or  
redactor of the ,legend1 probably in    
order to complete the number of the     
,twelve ,tablets on which it was written

 in the time of ,ashur-bani-pal4   ,the 
,legend of the ,deluge in ,babylonia4   
,in the introduction to his paper on the
 ,chaldean ,account of the ,deluge1     
which ,smith read in ,december1 #ahgb1  
and published in #ahgc1 he stated that  
the ,assyrian text which he had found on
 ,ashur-bani-pal's tablets was copied   
from an archetype at ,erech in ,lower   
,babylonia4 ,this archetype was1 he     
thought1 either written in1 or          
translated into ,semitic ,babylonian1 at
 a very early period1 and although he   
could not assign a date to it1 he       
adduced a number of convincing proofs in
 support of his opinion4 ,the language  
in which he assumed the ,legend to have 
been originally composed was known to   
him under the name of ,accadian1 or     
,akkadian1 but is now called ,sumerian4 
,recent research has shown that his view
 on this point was correct on the whole4
 ,but there is satisfactory proof       
available to show that versions or      
recensions of the ,legend of the ,deluge

 and of the ,epic of ,gilgamish existed 
both in ,sumerian and ,babylonian1 as   
early as ,b4,c4 #bjjj4 ,the discovery   
has been made of a fragment of a tablet 
with a small portion of the ,babylonian 
version of the ,legend of the ,deluge   
inscribed upon it1 and dated in a year  
which is the equivalent of the #aath    
year of ,ammisaduga1 i4e4 about ,b4,c4  
#bjjj4 #g ,and in the ,museum at        
,philadelphia #h is preserved half of a 
tablet which when whole contained a     
complete copy of the ,sumerian version  
of the ,legend1 and must have been      
written about the same date4 ,the       
fragment of the tablet written in the   
reign of ,ammisaduga is of special      
importance because the colophon shows   
that the tablet to which it belonged was
 the second of a series1 and that this  
series was not that of the ,epic of     
,gilgamish1 and from this we learn that 
in ,b4,c4 #bjjj the ,legend of the      
,deluge did not form the ,x,ith ,tablet 
of the ,epic of ,gilgamish1 as it did in

 the reign of ,ashur-bani-pal1 or       
earlier4 ,the ,sumerian version is      
equally important1 though from another  
point of view1 for the contents and     
position of the portion of it that      
remains on the half of the tablet       
mentioned above make it certain that    
already at this early period there were 
several versions of the ,legend of the  
,deluge current in the ,sumerian        
language4 ,the fact is that the ,legend 
of the ,deluge was then already so old  
in ,mesopotamia that the scribes added  
to or abbreviated the text at will1 and 
treated the incidents recorded in it    
according to local or popular taste1    
tradition and prejudice4 ,there seems to
 be no evidence that proves conclusively
 that the ,sumerian version is older    
than the ,semitic1 or that the latter   
was translated direct from the former   
version4 ,it is probable that both the  
,sumerians and the ,semites1 each in    
their own way1 attempted to commemorate 
an appalling disaster of unparalleled   

magnitude1 the knowledge of which1      
through tradition1 was common to both   
peoples4 ,it is1 at all events1 clear   
that the ,sumerians regarded the ,deluge
 as an historic event1 which they were1 
practically1 able to date1 for some of  
their tablets contain lists of kings who
 reigned before the ,deluge1 though it  
must be confessed that the lengths      
assigned to their reigns are incredible4
  ,it is not too much to assume that the
 original event commemorated in the     
,legend of the ,deluge was a serious and
 prolonged inundation or flood in ,lower
 ,babylonia1 which was accompanied by   
great loss of life and destruction of   
property4 ,the ,babylonian versions     
state that this inundation or flood was 
caused by rain1 but passages in some of 
them suggest that the effects of the    
rainstorm were intensified by other     
physical happenings connected with the  
earth1 of a most destructive character4 
,the ,hebrews also1 as we may see from  
the ,bible1 had alternative views as to 

the cause of the ,deluge4 ,according to 
one1 rain fell upon the earth for forty 
days and forty nights 7,gen4 vii1 #ab71 
and according to the other the ,deluge  
came because all the fountains of the   
great deep were broken up1 and the      
flood-gates of heaven were opened 7,gen4
 vii1 #aa74 ,the latter view suggests   
that the rain flood was joined by the   
waters of the sea4 ,later tradition1    
based partly on ,babylonian and partly  
on ,hebrew sources1 asserts in the ,cave
 of ,treasures #i that when ,noah had   
entered the ,ark and the door was shut1 
the sluices of heaven were opened1 and  
the deeps were rent asunder1 and that   
the ,ocean1 that great sea that         
surroundeth the whole world1 vomited its
 waters1 and the sluices of heaven being
 opened1 and the deeps of the earth     
being rent asunder1 the storehouses of  
the winds were opened1 and the          
whirlwinds broke loose1 and the ,ocean  
roared and poured out its waters in     
floods4 ,the ark was steered over the   

waters by an angel who acted as pilot1  
and when that had come to rest on the   
mountains of ,kard 7,armenia7 ,god      
commanded the waters and they separated 
from each other4 ,the waters that had   
been above ascended to their place above
 the heavens1 whence they had come2 and 
the waters that had come up from under  
the earth returned to the lower deep2   
and the waters that were from the ,ocean
 returned into it 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,,ms4   
,orient4 ,no4 #be1hge1 fol4 #ag;b1 col4 
#a and fol4 #ah;a1 cols4 #a and #b74    
,many authorities seeking to find a     
foundation of fact for the ,legend of   
the ,deluge in ,mesopotamia have assumed
 that the rain flood was accompanied    
either by an earthquake or a tidal wave1
 or by both4 ,there is no doubt that the
 cities of ,lower ,babylonia were nearer
 the sea in the ,sumerian ,period than  
they are at the present time1 and it is 
a generally accepted view that the head 
of the ,persian ,gulf lay further to the
 north at that time4 ,a cyclone coupled 

with a tidal wave is a sufficient base  
for any of the forms of the ,legend now 
known4  ,a comparison of the contents of
 the various ,sumerian and ,babylonian  
versions of the ,deluge that have come  
down to us shows us that they are       
incomplete4 ,and as none of them tells  
so connected and full a narrative of the
 prehistoric shipbuilder as ,berosus1 a 
priest of ,bl1 the great god of         
,babylon1 it seems that the             
,mesopotamian scribes were content to   
copy the ,legend in an abbreviated form4
 ,berosus1 it is true1 is not a very    
ancient authority1 for he was not born  
until the reign of ,alexander the       
,great1 but he was a learned man and was
 well acquainted with the ,babylonian   
language1 and with the ancient          
literature of his country1 and he wrote 
a history of ,babylonia1 some fragments 
of which have been preserved to us in   
the works of ,alexander ,polyhistor1    
,eusebius1 and others4 ,the following is
 a version of the fragment which        

describes the flood that took place in  
the days of ,xisuthrus1 the tenth ,king 
of the ,chaldeans1 and is of importance 
for comparison with the rendering of the
 ,legend of the ,deluge1 as found on the
 ,ninevite tablets1 which follows       
immediately after4   ,the ,legend of the
 ,deluge ,according to ,berosus4  ,after
 the death of ,ardates1 his son         
,xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari4 ,in   
his time happened a great ,deluge2 the  
history of which is thus described4 ,the
 ,deity1 ,cronus1 appeared to him in a  
vision1 and warned him that upon the    
#aeth day of the month ,daesius there   
would be a flood1 by which mankind would
 be destroyed4 ,he therefore enjoined   
him to write a history of the beginning1
 procedure and conclusion of all things2
 and to bury it in the city of the ,sun 
at ,sippara2 and to build a vessel1 and 
take with him into it his friends and   
relations2 and to convey on board       
everything necessary to sustain life1   
together with all the different animals1

 both birds and quadrupeds1 and trust   
himself fearlessly to the deep4 ,having 
asked the ,deity1 whither he was to     
sail8 he was answered1 ',to the ,gods'3 
upon which he offered up a prayer for   
the good of mankind4 ,he then obeyed the
 divine admonition2 and built a vessel  
#e stadia in length1 and #b in breadth4 
,into this he put everything which he   
had prepared2 and last of all conveyed  
into it his wife1 his children1 and his 
friends4 ,after the flood had been upon 
the earth1 and was in time abated1      
,xisuthrus sent out birds from the      
vessel2 which1 not finding any food nor 
any place whereupon they might rest     
their feet1 returned to him again4      
,after an interval of some days1 he sent
 them forth a second time2 and they now 
returned with their feet tinged with    
mud4 ,he made a trial a third time with 
these birds2 but they returned to him no
 more3 from whence he judged that the   
surface of the earth had appeared above 
the waters4 ,he therefore made an       

opening in the vessel1 and upon looking 
out found that it was stranded upon the 
side of some mountain2 upon which he    
immediately quitted it with his wife1   
his daughter1 and the pilot4 ,xisuthrus 
then paid his adoration to the earth1   
and1 having constructed an altar1       
offered sacrifices to the gods1 and1    
with those who had come out of the      
vessel with him1 disappeared4 ,they1 who
 remained within1 finding that their    
companions did not return1 quitted the  
vessel with many lamentations1 and      
called continually on the name of       
,xisuthrus4 ,him they saw no more2 but  
they could distinguish his voice in the 
air1 and could hear him admonish them to
 pay due regard to religion2 and        
likewise informed them that it was upon 
account of his piety that he was        
translated to live with the gods2 that  
his wife and daughter1 and the pilot1   
had obtained the same honour4 ,to this  
he added that they should return to     
,babylonia2 and1 it was ordained1 search

 for the writings at ,sippara1 which    
they were to make known to mankind3     
moreover that the place1 wherein they   
then were1 was the land of ,armenia4    
,the rest having heard these words1     
offered sacrifices to the gods2 and     
taking a circuit journeyed towards      
,babylonia4 7,cory1 ,ancient ,fragments1
 ,london1 #ahcb1 p4 #bf;ff47    ,the    
,babylonian ,legend of the ,deluge as   
,told to the ,hero ,gilgamish by ,his   
,ancestor ,uta-,napishtim1 ,who ,had    
,been ,made ,immortal by the ,gods4     
,the form of the ,legend of the ,deluge 
given below is that which is found on   
the ,eleventh of the ,series of ,twelve 
,tablets in the ,library of ,nebo at    
,nineveh1 which described the life and  
exploits of ,gilgamish 771 an early king
 of the city of ,erech4 ,as we have seen
 above1 the ,legend of the ,deluge has  
in reality no connection with the ,epic 
of ,gilgamish1 but was introduced into  
it by the editors of the ,epic at a     
comparatively late period1 perhaps even 

during the reign of ,ashur-bani-pal     
7,b4,c4 #ffh-fbf74 ,a summary of the    
contents of the other ,tablets of the   
,gilgamish ,series is given in the      
following section of this short         
monograph4 ,it is therefore only        
necessary to state here that ,gilgamish1
 who was horrified and almost beside    
himself when his bosom friend and       
companion ,enkidu 7,eabni7 died1        
meditated deeply how he could escape    
death himself4 ,he knew that his        
ancestor ,uta-,napishtim had become     
immortal1 therefore he determined to set
 out for the place where ,uta-,napishtim
 lived so that he might obtain from him 
the secret of immortality4 ,guided by a 
dream in which he saw the direction of  
the place where ,uta-,napishtim lived1  
,gilgamish set out for the ,mountain of 
the ,sunset1 and1 after great toil and  
many difficulties1 came to the shore of 
a vast sea4 ,here he met ,ur-,shanabi1  
the boatman of ,uta-,napishtim1 who was 
persuaded to carry him in his boat over 

the waters of death1 and at length he   
landed on the shore of the country of   
,uta-,napishtim4 ,the immortal came down
 to the shore and asked the newcomer the
 object of his visit1 and ,gilgamish    
told him of the death of his great      
friend ,enkidu1 and of his desire to    
escape from death and to find           
immortality4 ,uta-,napishtim having made
 to ,gilgamish some remarks which seem  
to indicate that in his opinion death   
was inevitable1  #a4 ,gilgamish #aj said
 unto ,uta-,napishtim1 to               
,uta-,napishtim the remote3 #b4 ,i am   
looking at thee1 ,uta-,napishtim4 #c4   
,thy person is not altered2 even as am  
,i so art thou4 #d4 ,verily1 nothing    
about thee is changed2 even as am ,i so 
art thou4 #e4 ,moved is my heart to do  
battle1 #f4 ,but thou art at leisure and
 dost lie upon thy back4 #g4 ,how then  
wast thou able to enter the company of  
the gods and    see life8  ,thereupon   
,uta-,napishtim related to ,gilgamish   
the ,story of the ,deluge1 and the      

,eleventh ,tablet continues thus3--  #h4
 ,uta-,napishtim said unto him1 to      
,gilgamish3 #i4 ,i will reveal unto     
thee1 ,o ,gilgamish1 a hidden mystery1  
#aj4 ,and a secret matter of the gods ,i
 will declare unto thee4 #aa4           
,shurippak1 #aa a city which thou       
thyself knowest1 #ab4 ,on the bank of   
the river ,puratti 7,euphrates7 is      
situated1 #ac4 ,that city was old and   
the gods dwelling within it-- #ad4      
,their hearts induced the great gods to 
make a wind-storm     7a-bu-bi71 #ab    
#ae4 ,their father ,anu1 #af4 ,their    
counsellor1 the warrior ,enlil1 #ag4    
,their messenger ,en-urta and #ah4      
,their prince ,ennugi4 #ai4             
,nin-igi-azag1 ,ea1 was with them in    
council and #bj4 reported their word to 
the house of reeds4  ,first ,speech of  
,ea to ,uta-,napishtim who is sleeping  
in a reed hut4  #ba4 ,o ,house of reeds1
 ,o ,house of reeds6 ,o ,wall1 ,o ,wall6
 #bb4 ,o ,house of reeds1 hear6 ,o      
,wall1 understand6 #bc4 ,o man of       

,shurippak1 son of ,ubara-,tutu4 #bd4   
,throw down the house1 build a ship1    
#be4 ,forsake wealth1 seek after life1  
#bf4 ,abandon possessions1 save thy     
life1 #bg4 ,carry grain of every kind   
into the ship4 #bh4 ,the ship which thou
 shalt build1 #bi4 ,the dimensions      
thereof shall be measured1 #cj4 ,the    
breadth and the length thereof shall be 
the same4 #ca4 444 the ocean1 provide it
 with a roof4  ,uta-,napishtim's answer 
to ,ea4  #cb4 ,i understood and ,i said 
unto ,ea1 my lord3 #cc4 ,i comprehend my
 lord1 that which thou hast ordered1    
#cd4 ,i will regard it with great       
reverence1 and will perform it4 #ce4    
,but what shall ,i say to the town1 to  
the multitude1 and to the     elders8   
,second ,speech of ,ea4  #cf4 ,ea opened
 his mouth and spake #cg4 ,and said unto
 his servant1 myself1 #ch4 444 ,thus    
shalt thou say unto them3 #ci4 ,ill-will
 hath the god ,enlil formed against me1 
#dj4 ,therefore ,i can no longer dwell  
in your city1 #da4 ,and never more will 

,i turn my countenance upon the soil of 
,enlil4 #db4 ,i will descend into the   
ocean to dwell with my lord ,ea4 #dc4   
,but upon you he will rain riches3 #dd4 
,a catch of birds1 a catch of fish #de4 
444 an abundant harvest1 #df4 444 the   
prince 787 of the darkness #dg4 444     
shall make a violent cyclone to fall    
upon you4  ,the ,building of the ,ship4 
#dh4 ,as soon as the dawn broke444      
,lines #di-ed broken away4  #ee4 ,the   
weak man 444 brought bitumen1 #ef4 ,the 
strong man 444 brought what was needed4 
#eg4 ,on the fifth day ,i decided upon  
its plan4 #eh4 ,according to the plan   
its walls were #aj ,gar 7i4e4 #abj      
cubits7 high1 #ei4 ,and the circuit of  
the roof thereof was equally #aj ,gar4  
#fj4 ,i measured out the hull thereof   
and marked it out 787 #fa4 ,i covered   
787 it six times4 #fb4 ,its exterior ,i 
divided into seven1 #fc4 ,its interior  
,i divided into nine1 #fd4 ,water bolts 
,i drove into the middle of it4 #fe4 ,i 
provided a steering pole1 and fixed what

 was needful for it1 #ff4 ,six sar of   
bitumen ,i poured over the inside wall1 
#fg4 ,three sar of pitch ,i poured into 
the inside4 #fh4 ,the men who bear loads
 brought three sar of oil1 #fi4 ,besides
 a sar of oil which the offering        
consumed1 #gj4 ,and two sar of oil which
 the boatman hid4 #ga4 ,i slaughtered   
oxen for the workpeople1 #gb4 ,i slew   
sheep every day4 #gc4 ,beer1 sesame     
wine1 oil and wine #gd4 ,i made the     
people drink as if they were water from 
the river4 #ge4 ,i celebrated a         
feast-day as if it had been ,new ,year's
 ,day4 #gf4 ,i opened a box of ointment1
 ,i laid my hands in unguent4 #gg4      
,before the sunset the ship was         
finished4 #gh4 ,since 444 was difficult4
 #gi4 ,the shipbuilders brought the 444 
of the ship1 above and below1 #hj4 444  
two-thirds of it4  ,the ,loading of the 
,ship4  #ha4 ,with everything that ,i   
possessed ,i loaded it 7i4e4 the ship74 
#hb4 ,with everything that ,i possessed 
of silver ,i loaded it4 #hc4 ,with      

everything that ,i possessed of gold ,i 
loaded it4 #hd4 ,with all that ,i       
possessed of living grain ,i loaded it4 
#he4 ,i made to go up into the ship all 
my family and kinsfolk1 #hf4 ,the cattle
 of the field1 the beasts of the field1 
all     handicraftsmen ,i made them go  
up into it4 #hg4 ,the god ,shamash had  
appointed me a time 7saying7 #hh4 ,the  
,power of ,darkness will at eventide    
make a rain-flood to fall2 #hi4 ,then   
enter into the ship and shut thy door4  
#ij4 ,the appointed time drew nigh2 #ia4
 ,the ,power of ,darkness made a        
rain-flood to fall at eventide4 #ib4 ,i 
watched the coming of the approaching   
storm1 #ic4 ,when ,i saw it terror      
possessed me1 #id4 ,i went into the ship
 and shut my door4 #ie4 ,to the pilot of
 the ship1 ,puzur-,bl 7or               
,puzur-,amurri7 the sailor #if4 ,i      
committed the great house 7i4e4 ship71  
together with the     contents thereof4 
,the ,abubu 7,cyclone7 and its effects  
,described4  #ig4 ,as soon as the gleam 

of dawn shone in the sky #ih4 ,a black  
cloud from the foundation of heaven came
 up4 #ii4 ,inside it the god ,adad      
7,rammnu7 thundered1 #ajj4 ,the gods    
,nab and ,sharru 7i4e4 ,marduk7 went    
before1 #aja4 ,marching as messengers   
over high land and plain1 #ajb4 ,irragal
 7,nergal7 tore out the post of the     
ship1 #ajc4 ,en-urta 7,ninib7 went on1  
he made the storm to descend4 #ajd4 ,the
 ,anunnaki #ac brandished their torches1
 #aje4 ,with their glare they lighted up
 the land4 #ajf4 ,the whirlwind 7or1    
cyclone7 of ,adad swept up to heaven4   
#ajg4 ,every gleam of light was turned  
into darkness4 #ajh4 444444 the land    
444444 as if 444444 had laid it waste4  
#aji4 ,a whole day long the flood       
descended 444 #aaj4 ,swiftly it mounted 
up 44444 the water reached to the       
mountains #aaa4 ,the water attacked the 
people like a battle4 #aab4 ,brother saw
 not brother4 #aac4 ,men could not be   
known 7or1 recognized7 in heaven4 #aad4 
,the gods were terrified at the cyclone4

 #aae4 ,they betook themselves to flight
 and went up into the heaven      of    
,anu4 #aaf4 ,the gods crouched like a   
dog and cowered by the wall4 #aag4 ,the 
goddess ,ishtar cried out like a woman  
in travail4 #aah4 ,the ,lady of the     
,gods lamented with a loud voice saying3
  ,ishtar's ,lament4  #aai4 ,verily the 
former dispensation is turned into mud1 
#abj4 ,because ,i commanded evil among  
the company of the gods4 #aba4 ,when ,i 
commanded evil among the company of the 
gods1 #abb4 ,i commanded battle for the 
destruction of my people4 #abc4 ,did ,i 
of myself bring forth my people #abd4   
,that they might fill the sea like      
little fishes8  ,uta-,napishtim's ,story
 continued4  #abe4 ,the gods of the     
,anunnaki wailed with her4 #abf4 ,the   
gods bowed themselves1 and sat down1 and
 wept4 #abg4 ,their lips were shut tight
 7in distress7 444 #abh4 ,for six days  
and nights #abi4 ,the storm raged1 and  
the cyclone overwhelmed the land4  ,the 
,abating of the ,storm4  #acj4 ,when the

 seventh day approached the cyclone and 
the raging      flood ceased3 #aca4     
--now it had fought like an army4 #acb4 
,the sea became quiet and went down1 and
 the cyclone and the      rain-storm    
ceased4 #acc4 ,i looked over the sea and
 a calm had come1 #acd4 ,and all mankind
 were turned into mud1 #ace4 ,the land  
had been laid flat like a terrace4 #acf4
 ,i opened the air-hole and the light   
fell upon my face1 #acg4 ,i bowed       
myself1 ,i sat down1 ,i cried1 #ach4 ,my
 tears poured down over my cheeks4 #aci4
 ,i looked over the quarters of the     
world--open sea6 #adj4 ,after twelve    
days an island appeared4 #ada4 ,the ship
 took its course to the land of ,nisir4 
#adb4 ,the mountain of ,nisir held the  
ship1 it let it not move4 #adc4 ,the    
first day1 the second day1 the mountain 
of ,nisir held the      ship and let it 
not move4 #add4 ,the third day1 the     
fourth day1 the mountain of ,nisir held 
the      ship and let it not move4 #ade4
 ,the fifth day1 the sixth day1 the     

mountain of ,nisir held the      ship   
and let it not move4 #adf4 ,when the    
seventh day had come #adg4 ,i brought   
out a dove and let her go free4 #adh4   
,the dove flew away and then came back2 
#adi4 ,because she had no place to      
alight on she came back4 #aej4 ,i       
brought out a swallow and let her go    
free4 #aea4 ,the swallow flew away and  
then came back2 #aeb4 ,because she had  
no place to alight on she came back4    
#aec4 ,i brought out a raven and let her
 go free4 #aed4 ,the raven flew away1   
she saw the sinking waters4 #aee4 ,she  
ate1 she pecked in the ground1 she      
croaked1 she came not back4             
,uta-,napishtim ,leaves the ,ship4      
#aef4 ,then ,i brought out everything to
 the four winds and offered up      a   
sacrifice2 #aeg4 ,i poured out a        
libation on the peak of the mountain4   
#aeh4 ,seven by seven ,i set out the    
vessels1 #aei4 ,under them ,i piled     
reeds1 cedarwood and myrtle 7874 #afj4  
,the gods smelt the savour1 #afa4 ,the  

gods smelt the sweet savour4 #afb4 ,the 
gods gathered together like flies over  
him that sacrificed4  ,speech of        
,ishtar1 ,lady of the ,gods4  #afc4 ,now
 when the ,lady of the ,gods came nigh1 
#afd4 ,she lifted up the priceless      
jewels which ,anu had made according    
to her desire1 saying #afe4 ,o ye gods  
here present1 as ,i shall never forget  
the      lapis-lazuli jewels of my neck 
#aff4 ,so shall ,i ever think about     
these days1 and shall      forget them  
nevermore6 #afg4 ,let the gods come to  
the offering1 #afh4 ,but let not ,enlil 
come to the offering1 #afi4 ,because he 
would not accept counsel and made the   
cyclone1 #ag,o4 ,and delivered my people
 over to destruction4  ,the ,anger of   
,enlil 7,bl74  #aga4 ,now when ,enlil   
came nigh #agb4 ,he saw the ship2 then  
was ,enlil wroth #agc4 ,and he was      
filled with anger against the gods1 the 
,igigi saying3      #ad  #agd4 ,what    
kind of a being hath escaped with his   
life8 #age4 ,he shall not remain alive1 

a man among the destruction6  ,speech of
 ,en-,urta4  #agf4 ,then ,en-,urta      
opened his mouth and spake #agg4 ,and   
said unto the warrior ,enlil 7,bl73     
#agh4 ,who besides the god ,ea can make 
a plan8 #agi4 ,the god ,ea knoweth      
everything4 #ahj4 ,he opened his mouth  
and spake #aha4 ,and said unto the      
warrior ,enlil 7,bl71 #ahb4 ,o ,prince  
among the gods1 thou warrior1 #ahc4 ,how
 couldst thou1 not accepting counsel1   
make a cyclone8 #ahd4 ,he who is sinful1
 on him lay his sin1 #ahe4 ,he who      
transgresseth1 on him lay his           
transgression4 #ahf4 ,but be merciful   
that everything be not destroyed2 be    
long-suffering that man be not blotted  
out4 #ahg4 ,instead of thy making a     
cyclone1 #ahh4 ,would that a lion had   
come and diminished mankind4 #ahi4      
,instead of thy making a cyclone #ai,o4 
,would that a wolf had come and         
diminished mankind4 #aia4 ,instead of   
thy making a cyclone #aib4 ,would that a
 famine had arisen and laid waste the   

land4 #aic4 ,instead of thy making a    
cyclone #aid4 ,would that ,urra 7the    
,plague god7 had risen up and laid waste
      the land4 #aie4 ,as for me ,i have
 not revealed the secret of the great   
gods4 #aif4 ,i made ,atra-hasis to see a
 vision1 and thus he heard the          
secret of the gods4 #aig4 ,now therefore
 counsel him with counsel4  ,ea deifies 
,uta-,napishtim and his ,wife4  #aih4   
,then the god ,ea went up into the ship1
 #aii4 ,he seized me by the hand and    
brought me forth4 #bjj4 ,he brought     
forth my wife and made her to kneel by  
my side4 #b,o#a4 ,he turned our faces   
towards each other1 he stood between us1
      he blessed us saying1 #bjb4       
,formerly ,uta-,napishtim was a man     
merely1 #bjc4 ,but now let              
,uta-,napishtiin and his wife be like   
unto the gods1      ourselves4 #bjd4    
,uta-,napishtim shall dwell afar off1 at
 the mouth of the rivers4               
,uta-,napishtim ,ends his ,story of the 
,deluge4  #bje4 ,and they took me away  

to a place afar off1 and made me to     
dwell      at the mouth of the rivers4  
,the contents of the remainder of the   
text on the ,eleventh ,tablet of the    
,gilgamish ,series are described on p4  
#ed4   ,the ,epic of ,gilgamish4 #ae    
,the narrative of the life1 exploits and
 travels of ,gilgamish1 king of ,erech1 
filled ,twelve ,tablets which formed the
 ,series called from the first three    
words of the ,first ,tablet1 ,sha ,nagbu
 ,imuru1 i4e41 ,he who hath seen all    
things4 ,the exact period of the reign  
of this king is unknown1 but there is no
 doubt that he lived and ruled at ,erech
 before the conquest of ,mesopotamia by 
the ,semites4 ,according to a tablet    
from ,niffar he was the fifth of a line 
of ,sumerian rulers at ,erech1 and he   
reigned #abf years2 his name is said to 
mean ,the ,fire-god is a commander4 #af 
,the principal authorities for the ,epic
 are the numerous fragments of the      
tablets that were found in the ruins of 
the ,library of ,nebo and the ,royal    

,library of ,ashur-bani-pal at ,nineveh1
 and are now in the ,british ,museum4   
#ag ,the contents of the ,twelve        
,tablets may be briefly described thus3 
,the ,first ,tablet4  ,the opening lines
 describe the great knowledge and wisdom
 of ,gilgamish1 who saw everything1     
learned everything1 understood          
everything1 who probed to the bottom the
 hidden mysteries of wisdom1 and who    
knew the history of everything that     
happened before the ,deluge4 ,he        
travelled far over sea and land1 and    
performed mighty deeds1 and then he cut 
upon a tablet of stone an account of all
 that he had done and suffered4 ,he     
built the wall of ,erech1 founded the   
holy temple of ,e-,anna1 and carried out
 other great architectural works4 ,he   
was a semi-divine being1 for his body   
was formed of the flesh of the gods1 and
 ,two-thirds of him were god1 and       
one-third was man 7l4 #ea74 ,the        
description of his person is lost4 ,as  
,shepherd 7i4e41 ,king7 of ,erech he    

forced the people to toil overmuch1 and 
his demands reduced them to such a state
 of misery that they cried out to the   
gods and begged them to create some king
 who should control ,gilgamish and give 
them deliverance from him4 ,the gods    
hearkened to the prayer of the men of   
,erech1 and they commanded the goddess  
,aruru to create a rival to ,gilgamish4 
,the goddess agreed to do their bidding1
 and having planned in her mind what    
manner of being she intended to make1   
she washed her hands1 took a piece of   
clay and spat upon it1 and made a male  
creature like the god ,anu4 ,his body   
was covered all over with hair4 ,the    
hair of his head was long like that of a
 woman1 and he wore clothing like that  
of ,gira 7or1 ,sumuggan71 a goddess of  
vegetation1 i4e41 he appeared to be     
clothed with leaves4 ,he was different  
in every way from the people of the     
country1 and his name was ,enkidu       
7,eabani74 ,he lived in the forests on  
the hills1 ate herbs like the gazelle1  

drank with the wild cattle1 and herded  
with the beasts of the field4 ,he was   
mighty in stature1 invincible in        
strength1 and obtained complete mastery 
over all the creatures of the forests in
 which he lived4  ,one day a certain    
hunter went out to snare game1 and he   
dug pit-traps and laid nets1 and made   
his usual preparations for roping in his
 prey4 ,but after doing this for three  
days he found that his pits were filled 
up and his nets smashed1 and he saw     
,enkidu releasing the beasts that had   
been snared4 ,the hunter was terrified  
at the sight of ,enkidu1 and went home  
hastily and told his father what he had 
seen and how badly he had fared4 ,by his
 father's advice he went to ,erech1 and 
reported to ,gilgamish what had         
happened4 ,when ,gilgamish heard his    
story he advised him to act upon a      
suggestion which the hunter's father had
 already made1 namely that he should    
hire a harlot and take her out to the   
forest1 so that ,enkidu might be        

ensnared by the sight of her beauty1 and
 take up his abode with her4 ,the hunter
 accepted this advice1 and having found 
a harlot to help him in removing ,enkidu
 from the forests 7thus enabling him to 
gain a living71 he set out from ,erech  
with her and in due course arrived at   
the forest where ,enkidu lived1 and sat 
down by the place where the beasts came 
to drink4  ,on the second day when the  
beasts came to drink and ,enkidu was    
with them1 the woman carried out the    
instructions which the hunter had given 
her1 and when ,enkidu saw her cast aside
 her veil1 he left his beasts and came  
to her1 and remained with her for six   
days and seven nights4 ,at the end of   
this period he returned to the beasts   
with which he had lived on friendly     
terms1 but as soon as the gazelle winded
 him they took to flight1 and the wild  
cattle disappeared into the woods4 ,when
 ,enkidu saw the beasts forsake him his 
knees gave way1 and he swooned from     
sheer shame2 but when he came to himself

 he returned to the harlot4 ,she spoke  
to him flattering words1 and asked him  
why he wandered with the wild beasts in 
the desert1 and then told him she wished
 to take him back with her to ,erech1   
where ,anu and ,ishtar lived1 and where 
the mighty ,gilgamish reigned4 ,enkidu  
hearkened and finally went back with her
 to her city1 where she described the   
wisdom1 power and might of ,gilgamish1  
and took steps to make ,enkidu known to 
him4 ,but before ,enkidu arrived1       
,gilgamish had been warned of his       
existence and coming in two dreams which
 he related to his mother ,ninsunna1 and
 when he and ,enkidu learned to know    
each other subsequently1 these two      
mighty heroes became great friends4     
,the ,second ,tablet4  ,when ,enkidu    
came to ,erech the habits of the people 
of the city were strange to him1 but    
under the tuition of the harlot he      
learned to eat bread and to drink beer1 
and to wear clothes1 and he anointed his
 body with unguents4 ,he went out into  

the forests with his hunting implements 
and snared the gazelle and slew the     
panther1 and obtained animals for       
sacrifice1 and gained reputation as a   
mighty hunter and as a good shepherd4   
,in due course he attracted the notice  
of ,gilgamish1 who did not1 however1    
like his uncouth appearance and ways1   
but after a time1 when the citizens of  
,erech praised him and admired his      
strong and vigorous stature1 he made    
friends with him and rejoiced in him1   
and planned an expedition with him4     
,before they set out1 ,gilgamish wished 
to pay a visit to the goddess ,ishkhara1
 but ,enkidu1 fearing that the influence
 of the goddess would have a bad effect 
upon his friend1 urged him to abandon   
the visit4 ,this ,gilgamish refused to  
do1 and when ,enkidu declared that by   
force he would prevent him going to the 
goddess1 a violent quarrel broke out    
between the two heroes1 and they        
appealed to arms4 ,after a fierce fight 
,enkidu conquered ,gilgamish1 who       

apparently abandoned his visit to the   
goddess4 ,the text of the ,second       
,tablet is very much mutilated1 and the 
authorities on the subject are not      
agreed as to the exact placing of the   
fragments4 ,the above details are       
derived from a tablet at ,philadelphia4 
#ah    ,the ,third ,tablet4  ,the       
correct order of the fragments of this  
,tablet has not yet been ascertained1   
but among the contents of the first part
 of its text a lament by ,enkidu that he
 was associated with the harlot seems to
 have had a place4 ,whether he had left 
the city of ,erech and gone back to his 
native forest is not clear1 but the god 
,shamash1 having heard his cursing of   
the harlot1 cried to him from heaven1   
saying1 ,why1 ,o ,enkidu1 dost thou     
curse the temple woman8 ,she gave thee  
food to eat which was meet only for a   
god1 she gave thee wine to drink which  
was meet only for a king1 she arrayed   
thee in splendid apparel1 and made thee 
to possess as thy friend the noble      

,gilgamish4 ,and at present ,gilgamish  
is thy bosom friend4 ,he maketh thee to 
lie down on a large couch1 and to sleep 
in a good1 well-decked bed1 and to      
occupy the chair of peace1 the chair on 
the left-hand side4 ,the princes of the 
earth kiss thy feet4 ,he maketh the     
people of ,erech to sigh for thee1 and  
many folk to cry out for thee1 and to   
serve thee4 ,and for thy sake he putteth
 on coarse attire and arrayeth himself  
in the skin of the lion1 and pursueth   
thee over the plain4 ,when ,enkidu heard
 these words his anxious heart had      
peace4  ,to the ,third ,tablet probably 
belongs the fragment in which ,enkidu   
relates to ,gilgamish a horrifying dream
 which he had had4 ,in his dream it     
seemed to him that there were           
thunderings in heaven and quaking upon  
earth1 and a being with an awful visage1
 and nails like all eagle's talons1     
gripped him and carried him off and     
forced him to go down into the dark     
abyss of the dread goddess1 ,irkalla4   

,from this abode he who once went in    
never came out1 and he who travelled    
along that road never returned1 he who  
dwelleth there is without light1 the    
beings therein eat dust and feed upon   
mud2 they are clad in feathers and have 
wings like birds1 they see no light1 and
 they live in the darkness of night4    
,here ,enkidu saw in his dream creatures
 who had been kings when they lived upon
 the earth1 and shadowy beings offering 
roasted meat to ,anu and ,enlil1 and    
cool drinks poured out from waterskins4 
,in this ,house of ,dust dwelt high     
priests1 ministrants1 the magician and  
the prophet1 and the deities ,etana1    
,sumukan1 ,eresh-kigal1 ,queen of the   
,earth1 and ,blitsri1 who registered the
 deeds done upon the earth4  ,when      
,gilgamish heard this dream1 he brought 
out a table1 and setting on it honey and
 butter placed it before ,shamash4      
,the ,fourth ,tablet4  ,gilgamish then  
turned to ,enkidu and invited him to go 
with him to the temple of ,nin-,makh to 

see the servant of his mother1          
,ninsunna1 in order to consult her as to
 the meaning of the dream4 ,they went   
there1 and ,enkidu told his dream1 and  
the wise woman offered up incense and   
asked ,shamash why he had given to her  
son a heart which could never keep      
still4 ,she next referred to the        
perilous expedition against the mighty  
,king ,khumbaba1 which he had decided to
 undertake with ,enkidu1 and apparently 
hoped that the god would prevent her son
 from leaving ,erech4 ,but ,gilgamish   
was determined to march against         
,khumbaba1 and he and ,enkidu set out   
without delay for the mountains where   
grew the cedars4   ,the ,fifth ,tablet4 
,in due course the two heroes reached   
the forest of cedars1 and they          
contemplated with awe their great height
 and their dense foliage4 ,the cedars   
were under the special protection of    
,bl1 who had appointed to be their      
keeper ,khumbaba1 a being whose voice   
was like the roar of a storm1 whose     

mouth was like that of the gods1 and    
whose breath was like a gale of wind4   
,when ,enkidu saw how dense was the     
forest and how threatening1 he tried to 
make ,gilgamish turn back1 but all his  
entreaties were in vain4 ,as they were  
going through the forest to attack      
,khumbaba1 ,enkidu dreamed two or three 
dreams1 and when he related them to     
,gilgamish1 this hero interpreted them  
as auguries of their success and the    
slaughter of ,khumbaba4 ,the fragmentary
 character of the text here makes it    
very difficult to find out exactly what 
steps the two heroes took to overcome   
,khumbaba1 but there is no doubt that   
they did overcome him1 and that they    
returned to ,erech in triumph4    ,the  
,sixth ,tablet  ,on his return to       
,erech1 ,gilgamish  #a4 ,washed his     
armour1 cleaned his weapons1 #b4        
,dressed his hair and let it fall down  
on his back4 #c4 ,he cast off his dirty 
garments and put on clean ones #d4 ,he  
arrayed himself in the royal head-cloth1

 he bound on the    fillet1 #e4 ,he put 
on his crown1 he bound on the fillet4   
#f4 ,then the eyes of the ,majesty of   
the goddess ,ishtar lighted on the      
goodliness of ,gilgamish and she said1  
#g4 ,go to1 ,gilgamish1 thou shalt be my
 lover4 #h4 ,give me thy love-fruit1    
give to me1 ,i say4 #i4 ,thou shalt be  
my man1 ,i will be thy woman4 #aj4 ,i   
will make to be harnessed for thee a    
chariot of lapis-lazuli     and gold4   
#aa4 ,the wheels thereof shall be of    
gold and the horns of precious          
stones4 #ab4 ,thou shalt harness daily  
to it mighty horses4 #ac4 ,come into our
 house with the perfume of the cedar    
upon thee4 #ad4 ,when thou enterest into
 our house #ae4 ,those who sit upon     
thrones shall kiss thy feet4 #af4       
,kings1 lords and nobles shall bow their
 backs before thee4 #ag4 ,the gifts of  
mountain and land they shall bring as   
tribute to thee4 #ah4 ,thy 444 and thy  
sheep shall bring forth twins4 #ai4     
,baggage animals shall come laden with  

tribute4 #bj4 ,the horse in thy chariot 
shall prance proudly1 #ba4 ,there shall 
be none like unto the beast that is     
under thy yoke4  ,in answer to ,ishtar's
 invitation ,gilgamish makes a long     
speech1 in which he reviews the         
calamities and misfortunes of those who 
have been unfortunate enough to become  
the lovers of the goddess4 ,her love is 
like a door that lets in wind and storm1
 a fortress that destroys the warriors  
inside it1 an elephant that smashes his 
howdah1 etc4 ,he says1 ,what lover didst
 thou love for long8 ,which of thy      
shepherds flourished8 ,come now1 ,i will
 describe the calamity that goeth with  
thee4 ,he refers to ,tammuz1 the lover  
of her youth1 for whom year by year she 
arranges wailing commemorations4 ,every 
creature that falls under her sway      
suffers mutilation or death1 the bird's 
wings are broken1 the lion is destroyed1
 the horse is driven to death with whip 
and spur2 and his speech concludes with 
the words3 ,dost thou love me1 and      

wouldst thou treat me as thou didst     
them8  ,when ,ishtar heard these words  
she was filled with rage1 and she went  
up to heaven and complained to ,anu1 her
 father1 and ,antu1 her mother1 that    
,gilgamish had cursed her and revealed  
all her iniquitous deeds and actions4   
,she followed up her complaint with the 
request that ,anu should create a mighty
 bull of heaven to destroy ,gilgamish1  
and she threatened her father that if he
 did not grant her request she would do 
works of destruction1 presumably in the 
world4 ,anu created the fire-breathing  
787 bull of heaven and sent him to the  
city of ,erech1 where he destroyed large
 numbers of the people4 ,at length      
,enkidu and ,gilgamish determined to go 
forth and slay the bull4 ,when they came
 to the place where he was1 ,enkidu     
seized him by the tail1 and ,gilgamish  
delivered deadly blows between his neck 
and his horns1 and together they killed1
 him4 ,as soon as ,ishtar heard of the  
death of the bull she rushed out on the 

battlements of the walls of ,erech and  
cursed ,gilgamish for destroying her    
bull4 ,when ,enkidu heard what ,ishtar  
said1 he went and tore off a portion of 
the bull's flesh from his right side1   
and threw it at the goddess1 saying1    
,could ,i but fight with thee ,i would  
serve thee as ,i have served him6 ,i    
would twine his entrails about thee4    
,then ,ishtar gathered together all her 
temple women and harlots1 and with them 
made lamentation over the portion of the
 bull which ,enkidu had thrown at her4  
,and ,gilgamish called together the     
artisans of ,erech who came and         
marvelled at the size of the bull's     
horns1 for their bulk was equal to #cj  
minas of lapis-lazuli1 and their        
thickness to the length of two fingers1 
and they could contain six ,kur measures
 of oil4 ,then ,gilgamish took them to  
the temple of the god ,lugalbanda and   
hung them up there on the throne of his 
majesty1 and having made his offering he
 and ,enkidu went to the ,euphrates and 

washed their hands1 and walked back to  
the market-place of ,erech4 ,as they    
went through the streets of the city the
 people thronged about them to get a    
sight of their faces4 ,when ,gilgamish  
asked3    ,who is splendid among men8   
,who is glorious among heroes8  these   
questions were answered by the women of 
the palace who cried3    ,gilgamish is  
splendid among men4   ,gilgamish is     
glorious among heroes4  ,when ,gilgamish
 entered his palace he ordered a great  
festival to be kept1 and his guests were
 provided by him with beds to sleep on4 
,on the night of the festival ,enkidu   
had a dream1 and he rose up and related 
it to ,gilgamish4   ,the ,seventh       
,tablet4  ,about the contents of the    
,seventh ,tablet there is considerable  
doubt1 and the authorities differ in    
their opinions about them4 ,a large     
number of lines of text are wanting at  
the beginning of the ,tablet1 but it is 
very probable that they contained a     
description of ,enkidu's dream4 ,this   

may have been followed by an            
interpretation of the dream1 either by  
,gilgamish or some one else1 but whether
 this be so or not1 it seems tolerably  
certain that the dream portended        
disaster for ,enkidu4 ,a fragment1 which
 seems to belong to this ,tablet beyond 
doubt1 describes the sickness and death 
of ,enkidu4 ,the cause of his sickness  
is unknown1 and the fragment merely     
states that he took to his bed and lay  
there for ten days1 when his illness    
took a turn for the worse1 and on the   
twelfth day he died4 ,he may have died  
of wounds received in some fight1 but it
 is more probable that he succumbed to  
an attack of ,mesopotamian fever4 ,when 
,gilgamish was told that his brave      
friend and companion in many fights was 
dead1 he could not believe it1 and he   
thought that he must be asleep1 but when
 he found that death had really carried 
off ,enkidu1 he broke out into the      
lament which formed the beginning of the
 text of the next ,tablet4   ,the       

,eighth ,tablet4  ,in this lament he    
calls ,enkidu his brave friend and the  
panther of the desert1 and refers to    
their hunts in the mountains1 and to    
their slaughter of the bull of heaven1  
and to the overthrow of ,khumbaba in the
 forest of cedar1 and then he asks him3 
,what kind of sleep is this which hath  
laid hold upon thee8   ,thou starest out
 blankly 787 and hearest me not6   ,but 
,enkidu moved not1 and when ,gilgamish  
touched his breast his heart was still4 
,then laying a covering over him as     
carefully as if he had been his bride1  
he turned away from the dead body and in
 his grief roared like a raging lion and
 like a lioness robbed of her whelps4   
,the ,ninth ,tablet4  ,in bitter grief  
,gilgamish wandered about the country   
uttering lamentations for his beloved   
companion1 ,enkidu4 ,as he went about he
 thought to himself1    ,i myself shall 
die1 and shall not ,i then be as        
,enkidu8   ,sorrow hath entered into my 
soul1   ,because of the fear of death   

which hath got hold of me do ,i wander  
over the country4  ,his fervent desire  
was to escape from death1 and           
remembering that his ancestor           
,uta-,napishtim1 the son of             
,ubara-,tutu1 had become deified and    
immortal1 ,gilgamish determined to set  
out for the place where he lived in     
order to obtain from him the secret of  
immortality4 ,where ,uta-,napishtim     
lived was unknown to ,gilgamish1 but he 
seems to have made up his mind that he  
would have to face danger in reaching   
the place1 for he says1 ,i will set out 
and travel quickly4 ,i shall reach the  
defiles in the mountains by night1 and  
if ,i see lions1 and am terrified at    
them1 ,i shall lift up my head and      
appeal to the goddess ,sin1 and to      
,ishtar1 the ,lady of the ,gods1 who is 
wont to hearken to my prayers4 ,after   
,gilgamish set out to go to the west he 
was attacked either by men or animals1  
but he overcame them and went on until  
he arrived at ,mount ,mashu1 where it   

would seem the sun was thought both to  
rise and to set4 ,the approach to this  
mountain was guarded by ,scorpion-men1  
whose aspect was so terrible that the   
mere sight of it was sufficient to kill 
the mortal who beheld them2 even the    
mountains collapsed under the glance of 
their eyes4 ,when ,gilgamish saw the    
,scorpion-men he was smitten with fear1 
and under the influence of his terror   
the colour of his face changed2 but he  
plucked up courage and bowed to them    
humbly4 ,then a ,scorpion-man cried out 
to his wife1 saying1 ,the body of him   
that cometh to us is the flesh of the   
gods1 and she replied1 ,two-thirds of   
him is god1 and the other third is man4 
,the ,scorpion-man then received        
,gilgamish kindly1 and warned him that  
the way which he was about to travel was
 full of danger and difficulty4         
,gilgamish told him that he was in      
search of his ancestor1 ,uta-,napishtim1
 who had been deified and made immortal 
by the gods1 and that it was his        

intention to go to him to learn the     
secret of immortality4 ,the             
,scorpion-man in answer told him that it
 was impossible for him to continue his 
journey through that country1 for no man
 had ever succeeded in passing through  
the dark region of that mountain1 which 
required twelve double-hours to         
traverse4 ,nothing dismayed1 ,gilgamish 
set out on the road through the         
mountains1 and the darkness increased in
 density every hour1 but he struggled   
on1 and at the end of the twelfth hour  
he arrived at a region where there was  
bright daylight1 and he entered a lovely
 garden1 filled with trees loaded with  
luscious fruits1 and he saw the tree of 
the gods4   ,the ,tenth ,tablet4  ,in   
the region to which ,gilgamish had come 
stood the palace or fortress of the     
goddess ,siduri-,sabtu1 and to this he  
directed his steps with the view of     
obtaining help to continue his journey4 
,the goddess wore a girdle and sat upon 
a throne by the side of the sea1 and    

when she saw him coming towards her     
palace1 travel-stained and clad in the  
ragged skin of some animal1 she thought 
that he might prove an undesirable      
visitor and so ordered the door of her  
palace to be closed against him4 ,but   
,gilgamish managed to obtain speech with
 her1 and having asked her what ailed   
her1 and why she had closed her door1 he
 threatened to smash the bolt and break 
down the door4 ,in answer               
,siduri-,sabitu said to him3--  #cc4    
,why are thy cheeks wasted8 ,thy face is
 bowed down1 #cd4 ,thine heart is sad1  
thy form is dejected4 #ce4 ,why is there
 lamentation in thy heart8  ,and she    
went on to tell him that he had the     
appearance of one who had travelled far1
 that he was a painful sight to look    
upon1 that his face was burnt1 and      
finally seems to have suggested that he 
was a runaway trying to escape trom the 
country4 ,to this ,gilgamish replied3   
#ci4 ,why should not my cheeks be       
wasted1 my face bowed down1 #dj4 ,my    

heart sad1 my form dejected8  ,and then 
he told the goddess that his ill-looks  
and miserable appearance were due to the
 fact that death had carried off his    
dear friend ,enkidu1 the panther of the 
desert1 who had traversed the mountains 
with him and had helped him to overcome 
,khumbaba in the cedar forest1 and to   
slay the bull of heaven1 ,enkidu his    
dear friend who had fought with lions   
and killed them1 and who had been with  
him in all his difficulties2 and1 he    
added1 ,i wept over him for six days and
 nights 444 before ,i would let him be  
buried4 ,continuing his narrative1      
,gilgamish said to ,sabtu-,siduri3  #eg4
 ,i was horribly afraid4444 #eh4 ,i was 
afraid of death1 and therefore ,i fled  
through the     country4 ,the fate of my
 friend lieth heavily upon me1 #ei4     
,therefore am ,i travelling on a long   
journey through the country4     ,the   
fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me1
 #fj4 ,therefore am ,i travelling on a  
long journey through the country4 #fa4  

,how is it possible for me to keep      
silence about it8     ,how is it        
possible for me to cry out the story of 
it8 #fb4 ,my friend whom ,i loved hath  
become like the dust4     ,enkidu1 my   
friend whom ,i loved hath become like   
the dust4 #fc4 ,shall not ,i myself also
 be obliged to lay me down #fd4 ,and    
never again rise up to all eternity8    
#fe4 ,gilgamish continued to speak unto 
,sabtu saying3 #ff4 ,o ,sabtu1 which is 
the way to ,uta-,napishtim8 #fg4 ,what  
is the description thereof8 ,give me1   
give me the description     thereof4    
#fh4 ,if it be possible ,i will cross   
the sea1 #fi4 ,if it be impossible ,i   
will travel by land4 #gj4 ,then ,sabtu  
answered and said unto ,gilgamish3 #ga4 
,there is no passage most assuredly1 ,o 
,gilgamish4 #gb4 ,and no one1 from the  
earliest times1 hath been able to cross 
the sea4 #gc4 ,the hero ,shamash 7the   
,sun-god7 hath indeed crossed the sea1  
but who besides him could do so8 #gd4   
,the passage is hard1 and the way is    

difficult4 #ge4 ,and the ,waters of     
,death which block the other end of it  
are deep4 #gf4 ,how then1 ,gilgamish1   
wilt thou be able to cross the sea8 #gg4
 ,when thou arrivest at the ,waters of  
,death what wilt thou do8  ,sabtu then  
told ,gilgamish that ,ur-,shanabi1 the  
boatman of ,uta-,napishtim1 was in the  
place1 and that he should see him1 and  
added3  #ha4 ,if it be possible cross   
with him1 and if it be impossible       
come back4  ,gilgamish left the goddess 
and succeeded in finding ,ur-,shanabi1  
the boatman1 who addressed to him words 
similar to those of ,sabtu quoted above4
 ,gilgamish answered him as he had      
answered ,sabtu1 and then asked him for 
news about the road to ,uta-,napishtim4 
,in reply ,ur-,shanabi told him to take 
his axe and to go down into the forest  
and cut a number of poles #fj cubits    
long2 ,gilgamish did so1 and when he    
returned with them he went up into the  
boat with ,ur-,shanabi1 and they made a 
voyage of one month and fifteen days2 on

 the third day they reached the limit of
 the ,waters of ,death1 which           
,ur-,shanabi told ,gilgamish not to     
touch with his hand4 ,meanwhile1        
,uta-,napishtim had seen the boat coming
 and1 as something in its appearance    
seemed strange to him1 he went down to  
the shore to see who the newcomers were4
 ,when he saw ,gilgamish he asked him   
the same questions that ,sabtu and      
,ur-,shanabi had asked him1 and         
,gilgamish answered as he had answered  
them1 and then went on to tell him the  
reason for his coming4 ,he said that he 
had determined to go to visit           
,uta-,napishtim1 the remote1 and had    
therefore journeyed far and that in the 
course of his travels he had passed over
 difficult mountains and crossed the    
sea4 ,he had not succeeded in entering  
the house of ,sabtu1 for she had caused 
him to be driven from her door on       
account of his dirty1 ragged1 and       
travel-stained apparel4 ,he had eaten   
birds and beasts of many kinds1 the     

lion1 the panther1 the jackal1 the      
antelope1 mountain goat1 etc41 and1     
apparently1 had dressed himself in their
 skins4  ,a break in the text makes it  
impossible to give the opening lines of 
,uta-,napishtim's reply1 but he mentions
 the father and mother of ,gilgamish1   
and in the last twenty lines of the     
,tenth ,tablet he warns ,gilgamish that 
on earth there is nothing permanent1    
that ,mammitum1 the arranger of         
destinies1 has settled the question of  
the death and life of man with the      
,anunnaki1 and that none may find out   
the day of his death or escape from     
death4   ,the ,eleventh ,tablet4  ,the  
story of the ,deluge as told by         
,uta-,napishtim to ,gilgamish has       
already been given on pp4 #ca-dj1 and we
 therefore pass on to the remaining     
contents of this ,tablet4 ,when         
,uta-,napishtim had finished the story  
of the ,deluge1 he said to ,gilgamish1  
,now as touching thyself2 which of the  
gods will gather thee to himself so that

 thou mayest find the life which thou   
seekest8 ,come now1 do not lay thyself  
down to sleep for six days and seven    
nights4 ,but in spite of this admonition
 as soon as ,gilgamish had sat down1    
drowsiness overpowered him and he fell  
fast asleep4 ,uta-,napishtim1 seeing    
that even the mighty hero ,gilgamish    
could not resist falling asleep1 with   
some amusement drew the attention of his
 wife to the fact1 but she felt sorry   
for the tired man1 and suggested that he
 should take steps to help him to return
 to his home4 ,in reply ,uta-,napishtim 
told her to bake bread for him and she  
did so1 and each day for six days she   
carried a loaf to the ship and laid it  
on the deck where ,gilgamish lay        
sleeping4 ,on the seventh day when she  
took the loaf ,uta-,napishtim touched   
,gilgamish1 and the hero woke up with a 
start1 and admitted that he had been    
overcome with sleep1 and made incapable 
of movement thereby4  ,still vexed with 
the thought of death and filled with    

anxiety to escape from it1 ,gilgamish   
asked his host what he should do and    
where he should go to effect his object4
 ,by ,uta-,napishtim's advice1 he made  
an agreement with ,ur-,shanabi the      
boatman1 and prepared to re-cross the   
sea on his way home4 ,but before he set 
out on his way ,uta-,napishtim told him 
of the existence of a plant which grew  
at the bottom of the sea1 and apparently
 led ,gilgamish to believe that the     
possession of it would confer upon him  
immortality4 ,thereupon ,gilgamish tied 
heavy stones to his feet1 and let       
himself down into the sea through an    
opening in the floor of the boat4 ,when 
he reached the bottom of the sea1 he saw
 the plant and plucked it1 and ascended 
into the boat with it4 ,showing it to   
,ur-,shanabi1 he told him that it was a 
most marvellous plant1 and that it would
 enable a man to obtain his heart's     
desire4 ,its name was ,shbu issahir     
amelu1 i4e41 ,the old man becometh young
 again1 and ,gilgamish declared that he 

would eat of it in order to recover his 
lost youth1 and that he would take it   
home to his fortified city of ,erech4   
,misfortune1 however1 dogged his steps1 
and the plant never reached ,erech1 for 
whilst ,gilgamish and ,ur-,shanabi were 
on their way back to ,erech they passed 
a pool the water of which was very cold1
 and ,gilgamish dived into it and took a
 bath4 ,whilst there a serpent          
discovered the whereabouts of the plant 
through its smell and swallowed it4     
,when ,gilgamish saw what had happened  
he cursed aloud1 and sat down and wept1 
and the tears coursed down his cheeks as
 he lamented over the waste of his toil1
 and the vain expenditure of his heart's
 blood1 and his failure to do any good  
for himself4 ,disheartened and weary he 
struggled on his way with his friend1   
and at length they arrived at the       
fortified city of ,erech4 #ai ,then     
,gilgamish told ,ur-,shanabi to jump up 
on the wall and examine the bricks from 
the foundations to the battlements1 and 

see if the plans which he had made      
concerning them had been carried out    
during his absence4   ,the ,twelfth     
,tablet4  ,the text of the ,twelfth     
,tablet is very fragmentary1 and        
contains large gaps1 but it seems       
certain that ,gilgamish did not abandon 
his hope of finding the secret of       
immortality4 ,he had failed to find it  
upon earth1 and he made arrangements    
with the view of trying to find it in   
the kingdom of the dead4 ,the priests   
whom he consulted described to him the  
conditions under which he might hope to 
enter the ,underworld1 but he was unable
 to fulfil the obligations which they   
laid upon him1 and he could not go      
there4 ,gilgamish then thought that if  
he could have a conversation with       
,enkidu1 his dead friend1 he might learn
 from him what he wanted to know4 ,he   
appealed to ,bl and asked him to raise  
up the spirit of ,enkidu for him1 but   
,bl made no answer2 he then appealed to 
,sin1 and this god also made no answer4 

,he next appealed to ,ea1 who1 taking   
pity on him1 ordered the warrior god    
,nergal to produce the spirit of        
,enkidu1 and this god opened a hole in  
the ground through which the spirit of  
,enkidu passed up into this world like a
 breath of wind4 ,gilgamish began to ask
 the spirit of ,enkidu questions1 but   
gained very little information or       
satisfaction4 ,the last lines of the    
tablet seem to say that the spirit of   
the unburied man reposeth not in the    
earth1 and that the spirit of the       
friendless man wandereth about the      
streets eating the remains of food which
 are cast out from the cooking pots4    
,e4 ,a4 ,wallis ,budge4  ,department of 
,egyptian and ,assyrian ,antiquities1   
,british ,museum1  ,july #bdth1 #aibj4  
,note4  ,the ,trustees of the ,british  
,museum have published large selections 
of cuneiform texts from the cylinders1  
tablets1 etc41 that were found in the   
ruins of ,nineveh by ,layard1 ,rassam1  
,smith and others1 in the following     

works3--   ,,cuneiform ,,inscriptions   
,,of ,,western ,,asia4 ,vol4 ,i4 #ahfa4 
,fol4 ,il4 7,out of print47 ---- ,vol4  
,,ii4 #ahff4 ,fol4 ,il4 7,out of print47
 ---- ,vol4 ,,iii4 #ahgj4 ,fol4 ,il4    
---- ,vol4 ,,iv4 ,second edition4 #ahia4
 ,fol4 ,il4 7,out  of print47 ---- ,vol4
 ,v4 ,plates ,i4-,,xxxv4 #ahhj4 ,fol4   
#aj,s4 #f;d4  7,out of print47 ----     
,vol4 ,v4 ,plates ,,xxxvi-,,lxx4 #ahhd4 
,fol4 #aj,s4 #f;d4  7,out of print47    
---- ,vol4 ,v4 ,plates ,i4-,,lxx4       
,lithographed reprint4  #aiji4 ,fol4    
,il4 #gs4 ,,inscriptions ,,from         
,,assyrian ,,monuments4 #ahea4 ,fol4    
,i#a4 #as4 ,,cuneiform ,,texts ,,from   
,,babylonian ,,tablets1 ,c41 ,,in ,,the 
,,british ,,museum4 ,parts ,i4-,v41     
,,vii4-,,xxiii41 ,,xxv41                
,,xxvii4-,,xxxiv4 #ej plates each4      
#ahif-aiad4gs4#f;d4 each4 ---- ,part    
,,vi4 #di plates4 #ahih4 #gs4 #f;d4 ----
 ,part ,,xxiv4 #ej plates4 #aijh4 ,fol4 
#ajs4 ---- ,part ,,xxvi4 #ed plates4    
#aiji4 ,fol4 #abs4 ,,annals ,,of ,,the  

,,kings ,,of ,,assyria4 ,cuneiform texts
 with  transliterations and             
translations4 ,vol4 ,i4 #aijc4 #dto4    
#al4 ,,catalogue ,,of ,,the ,,cuneiform 
,,tablets ,,in ,,the ,,kouyunjik        
,,collection4 ,vol4 ,i4 #hvo4 #ahhi4    
#aes4 ---- ,vol4 ,,ii4 #ahia4 #aes4 ----
 ,vol4 ,,iii4 #ahid4 #aes4 ---- ,vol4   
,,iv4 #ahif4 #al4 ---- ,vol4 ,v4 #ahii4 
#al4 #cs4 ---- ,supplement4 #hvo4       
,i#iad4 #al4   ,,footnotes  #a ,a group 
of ,sumerian words for library are      
7girginakku71 and these seem to mean    
collection of writings4  #b ,these      
bas-reliefs show that lions were kept in
 cages in ,nineveh and let out to be    
killed by the ,king with his own hand4  
,there seems to be an allusion to the   
caged lions by ,nahum 7ii4 #aa7 who     
says1 ,where is the dwelling of the     
lions1 and the feeding place of the     
young lions1 where the lion1 even the   
old lion1 walked1 and the lion's whelp1 
and none made them afraid8  #c 7,brit4  
,mus41 ,no4 #ia1jbf1 ,col4 #a1 ll4      

#ca-cc74  #d ,k4 #aceb is a good        
specimen of a catalogue 7see p4 #aj72   
,k4 #adjj and ,k4 #aeci are labels 7see 
p4 #ab74  #e ,for a full description of 
the general contents of the two great   
,libraries of ,nineveh1 see ,bezold1    
,catalogue of the ,cuneiform ,tablets of
 the ,kouynjik4 ,collection1 ,vol4 ,v41 
,london1 #ahii1 p4 xviiiff42 and ,king1 
,supplement1 ,london1 #aiad1 p4 xviiiff4
  #f ,smith1 ,assyrian ,discoveries1    
,london1 #ahge1 p4 #ig4  #g ,published  
by ,scheil in ,maspero's ,recueil1 ,vol4
 ,,xx1 p4 #ee;ff4  #h ,the text is      
published by ,a4 ,poebel with           
transcription1 commentary1 etc41 in     
,historical ,texts1 ,philadelphia1      
#aiad1 and ,historical and ,grammatical 
,texts1 ,philadelphia1 #aiad4  #i ,a    
famous work composed by members of the  
,college of ,edessa in the fifth or     
sixth century ,a4,d4  #aj ,a transcript 
of the cuneiform text by ,george ,smith1
 who was the first to translate it1 will
 be found in ,rawlinson1 ,cuneiform     

,inscriptions of ,western ,asia1 ,vol4  
,,iv41 plates #dc and #dd2 and a        
transcript1 with transliteration and    
translation by the late ,prof4 ,l4 ,w4  
,king1 is given in his ,first ,steps in 
,assyrian1 ,london1 #ahih1 p4 #afa;ff4  
#aa ,the site of this very ancient city 
is marked by the mounds of ,frah1 near  
the ,shatt al-,kr1 which is probably the
 old bed of the river ,euphrates2 many  
antiquities belonging to the earliest   
period of the rule of the ,sumerians    
have been found there4  #ab ,like the   
habb of modern times1 a sort of cyclone4
  #ac ,the star-gods of the southern    
sky4  #ad ,the star-gods of the northern
 heaven4  #ae ,the name of ,gilgamish   
was formerly read ,izdubar1 ,gizdubar1  
or ,gishdubar4 ,he is probably referred 
to as ,,gr3 ,gilgamos in ,aelian1 ,de   
,natura ,animalium1 ,,xii1 #ba 7ed4     
,didot1 ,paris1 #aheh1 p4 #baj74  #af   
,langdon1 ,epic of ,gilgamish1 pp4 #bjg1
 #bjh4  #ag ,the greater number of these
 have been collected1 grouped and       

published by ,haupt1 ,das ,babylonische 
,nimrodepos1 ,leipzig1 #ahhd and #ahia2 
and see his work on the ,twelfth ,tablet
 in ,beitrge zur ,assyriologie1 ,vol4   
,i1 p4 #di;ff4  #ah ,see ,langdon1 ,the 
,epic of ,gilgamesh1 ,philadelphia1     
#aiag4  #ai ,the city of ,erech was the 
second of the four cities which1        
according to ,genesis x1 #aj1 were      
founded by ,nimrod1 the son of ,cush1   
the mighty hunter before the ,lord4 ,and
 the beginning of his kingdom was       
,babel1 and ,erech and ,accad1 and      
,calneh1 in the land of ,shinar4 ,the   
,sumerians and ,babylonians called the  
city ,uruk ,ki 2 the first sign means   
dwelling or habitation1 and the second  
land1 country1 etc41 and we may regard  
it as the inhabited country1 par        
excellence1 of ,lower ,babylonia at a   
very early period4 ,the site of ,erech  
is well-known1 and is marked by the vast
 ruins which the ,arabs call ,warkah1 or
 ,al-,warkah4 ,these lie in #ca #ai' ,n4
 ,lat4 and #de #dj' ,e4 ,long41 and are 

about four miles from the ,euphrates1 on
 the left or east bank of the river4    
,sir ,w4 ,k4 ,loftus carried out        
excavations on the site in #ahdi-eb1 and
 says that the external walls of        
sun-dried brick enclosing the main      
portion of the ruins form an irregular  
circle five and a half miles in         
circumference2 in places they are from  
#dj to #ej feet in height1 and they seem
 to have been about #bj feet thick4 ,the
 turrets on the wall were semi-oval in  
shape1 and about #ej feet apart4 ,the   
principal ruin is that of the ,ziggurat1
 or temple tower1 which in #ahej was    
#ajj feet high and #bjj feet square4    
,loftus calls it ,buwrya1 i4e41 reed    
mats1 because reed mats were used in its
 construction1 but bryah1 rush mat1 is a
 ,persian not ,arabic word1 and the name
 is more probably connected with the    
,arabic ,bawr1 i4e41 ruin place of      
death1 etc4 ,this tower stood in a      
courtyard which was #cej feet long and  
#bgj feet wide4 ,the next large ruin is 

that which is called ,waswas 7plur4     
,waswis71 i4e41 large stone ,the ,waswas
 referred to was probably the block of  
columnar basalt which ,loftus and ,mr4  
,t4 ,k4 ,lynch found projecting through 
the soil2 on it was sculptured the      
figure of a warrior1 and the stone      
itself was regarded as a talisman by the
 natives4 ,this ruin is #bdf feet long1 
#agd feet wide and #hj feet high4 ,on   
three sides of it are terraces of       
different elevations1 but the south-west
 side presents a perpendicular faade1 at
 one place #bc feet in height4 ,for     
further details see ,loftus1 ,chaldea   
and ,susiana1 ,london1 #aheg1 p4 #aei   
ff4 ,portions of the ruins of ,warkah   
were excavated by the ,german           
archaeologists in #aiad1 and large finds
 of tablets and other antiquities are   
said to have been made4