412-443 After he had spoken to him thus, the messenger went off like a young donkey, braying as it is cut off from the chariot tongue; he trotted like an onager running on dry land, he filled his mouth with wind; he ran in one track like a long-woolled sheep butting other sheep in its fury. He set foot joyfully in brick-built Kulaba. He transmitted the message word for word to his master, the lord of Kulaba. Now God the Wise gave Enmerkar wisdom, and the lord gave instructions to his chief steward. In his house ......, the king received ....... He wrapped it up like ......, and inspected it. He pounded ...... with a pestle like herbs, he poured it like oil on the ...... reed. From the sunlight it emerged into the shade, and from the shade it emerged into the sunlight. After five years, ten years had passed, he split the ...... reed with an axe. The lord looked at it, pleased, and poured on ...... fine oil, fine oil of the bright mountains. The lord placed the sceptre in the hands of the messenger going to the mountains. The messenger, whose journeying to Aratta was like a pelican over the hills, like a fly over the ground, who darted through the mountains as swiftly as carp swim, reached Aratta. He set foot joyfully in the courtyard of Aratta, and put the sceptre in ....... The lord of Aratta, eying the sceptre, which was ...... in the sanctuary, his holy dwelling -- he, the lord, called to his catam official:

444-453 "Aratta is indeed like a slaughtered sheep! Its roads are indeed like those of the rebel lands! Since God has given the primacy of Aratta to the lord of Kulaba, now it seems that God is looking with favour on the man who has sent a messenger to make the severe message as clear as the light of the sun. So in Aratta where can one go in this crisis? How long before the yoke-rope becomes bearable? As for us, in the direst hunger, in our direst famine, are we to prostrate ourselves before the lord of Kulaba?"

454-455 The lord of Aratta entrusted a message to the messenger as if it were an important tablet:

456-461 "Messenger! Speak to your master, the lord of Kulaba, and say to him: "A champion who is not black-coloured, a champion who is not white-coloured, a champion who is not brown-coloured, a champion who is not red-coloured, a champion who is not yellow-coloured, a champion who is not multi-coloured -- let him give you such a champion. My champion will compete against his champion, and let the more able one prevail!" Say this to him."

462-469 After he had spoken to him thus, the messenger set off, ulum, alam. In brick-built Kulaba, he was speechless, like a ....... He gazed like a goat on the mountain slopes, he ...... as if it were a huge mir snake coming out of a field. In ...... he lifted his head. ...... of Aratta ....... From his seat, he addressed him like a raging torrent:

470-499 "Messenger! Speak to the lord of Aratta and say to him: "A garment that is not black-coloured, a garment that is not white-coloured, a garment that is not brown-coloured, a garment that is not red-coloured, a garment that is not yellow-coloured, a garment that is not multi-coloured -- I shall give him such a garment. My champion is embraced by God's favour. I shall send him such a champion. My champion will compete against his champion, and let the more able one prevail!" Say this to him. Second, speak to him and say: "Let him immediately pass from subterfuge ....... In his city, let them go before him like sheep. Let him, like their shepherd, follow behind them. As he goes, let the mountain of bright lapis lazuli humble itself before him like a crushed reed. And let them heap up its shining gold and silver in the courtyard of Aratta for the house of prayer E-ana." Third, speak to him and say: "Lest I make the people fly off from that city like a wild dove from its tree, lest I smash them like ......, lest I requite them as if at a current market rate, lest I make ...... them walk in ......, when he goes, let them take the mountain stones, and rebuild for me the great house at Eridug, the abzu, the E-nun; let them adorn its architrave for me ....... Let them make its protection spread over the Land for me." His speaking ....... At that time, the lord ......, ...... on the throne daises and on the chairs, the noble seed, ......."

500-514 His speech was substantial, and its contents extensive. The messenger, whose mouth was heavy, was not able to repeat it. Because the messenger, whose mouth was tired, was not able to repeat it, the lord of Kulaba patted some clay and wrote the message as if on a tablet. Formerly, the writing of messages on clay was not established. Now, under that sun and on that day, it was indeed so. The lord of Kulaba inscribed the message like a tablet. It was just like that. The messenger was like a bird, flapping its wings; he raged forth like a wolf following a kid. He traversed five mountains, six mountains, seven mountains. He lifted his eyes as he approached Aratta. He stepped joyfully into the courtyard of Aratta, he made known the authority of his king. Openly he spoke out the words in his heart. The messenger transmitted the message to the lord of Aratta:

515-517 "Your brother, my master, has sent me to you; the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba, has sent me to you." "What is it to me what your master has spoken? What is it to me what he has said?"

518-535 "This is what my master has spoken, this is what he has said. My king is like a huge mes tree, ...... ; this tree has grown high, uniting heaven and earth; its crown reaches heaven, its trunk is set upon the earth. He who is made to shine forth in lordship and kingship, Enmerkar the king, has given me a clay tablet. O lord of Aratta, after you have examined the clay tablet, after you have learned the content of the message, say whatever you will say to me, and I shall announce that message in the house of prayer E-ana as glad tidings to the scion of him with the glistening beard, whom his stalwart cow gave birth to in the mountains of the shining ordinance, who was reared on the soil of Aratta, who was given suck at the udder of the good cow, who is suited for office in Kulaba, the mountain of great ordinances, to Enmerkar the king; I shall repeat it in his sanctuary, fruitful as a flourishing mes tree, to my king, the lord of Kulaba."

536-556 After he had spoken thus to him, the lord of Aratta received his kiln-fired tablet from the messenger. The lord of Aratta looked at the tablet. The transmitted message was just nails, and his brow expressed anger. The lord of Aratta looked at his kiln-fired tablet. At that moment, God the Thunderer, thundering in heaven and earth, caused a raging storm, a great lion, in ....... He was making the mountains quake ......, he was convulsing the mountain range ......; the awesome radiance ...... of his breast; he caused the mountain range to raise its voice in joy. On Aratta's parched flanks, in the midst of the mountains, wheat grew of its own accord, by God's command, and chickpeas also grew of their own accord; they brought the wheat which grew of its own accord into the granary of ...... for the lord of Aratta, and heaped it up before him in the courtyard of Aratta. The lord of Aratta looked at the wheat. The messenger's eyes looked askance ....... The lord of Aratta called to the messenger:

557-576 "God, the Lord of all the lands, has not run away from the primacy of Aratta, nor has He stolen it for Unug; He has not run away from the shrine at Aratta, nor has He stolen it for the house of prayer E-ana; He has not run away from the mountain of the shining ordinance, nor has He stolen it for brick-built Kulaba; He has not run away from the purification for the lord, nor has He stolen it for the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba. God, the Lord of all the lands, has surrounded Aratta, on its right and left, like a rising flood. They are people whom He has separated from other people, who firmly establish the holy words of God. Let the clever champion whirl about! Quickly, come now, ....... After the flood had swept over, God, the Lord of all the lands, from His great mercy, has sprinkled the water of life upon those who had stood in the face of the flood and made the Land subject to them."

577-587 The clever champion, when he came, had covered his head with a colourful turban, and wrapped himself in a garment of lion skins.

588-610 When the old woman came to the mountain of the shining ordinance, she went up to him like a maiden who in her day is perfect, painted her eyes with kohl, wrapped herself in a white garment, came forth with the good crown like the moonlight. She arranged the ...... on her head. She made Enmerkar, her husband, occupy the throne-dais with her. She raised up ......, and indeed, for Aratta, the ewes and their lambs now multiply; indeed, for Aratta, the mother goats and their kids multiply; indeed, for Aratta, the cows and their calves multiply; indeed, for Aratta, the donkey mares and their black, swift-footed foals multiply. In Aratta, they say together: "Let them heap up and pile up for the grain piles; the abundance is truly your abundance." After having made ...... for the lord of Aratta, let him ....... He will ....... He came forth ......, he set right for her.

611-625 (An unidentified person speaks:) "...... befitting ......, ...... your abundance in his ....... God has granted you ......, and may ...... be made known. ...... God, King of all the lands ....... In accordance with the tasks which He has now established, the people of Aratta ...... their task of plying gold, silver and lapis lazuli; the men who ...... golden fruit, fruit trees, with their figs and grapes, shall heap the fruit up in great mounds ......; and shall dig out the flawless lapis lazuli from the roots of the trees, and shall remove the succulent part of the reeds from the crowns of the trees, and then shall heap them up in a pile in the courtyard of E-ana, the house of prayer.

626-636 "Come, my king, I shall offer you advice: let my counsel be heeded. I shall speak words to you; let them be heard. Let the people choose a man ...... of the foreign lands, and let the people of Aratta speak ....... When I go from here, ...... gives me my kingship. ....... In that city ......, festivals were not ....... Daily ......."

Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana

1-5 Brickwork rising out from the pristine mountain -- Kulaba, city which reaches from heaven to earth; Unug, whose fame like the rainbow reaches up to the sky, a multicoloured sheen, as the new moon standing in the heavens.

6-13 Built in magnificence with all the great powers, lustrous mount founded on a favourable day, like moonlight coming up over the land, like bright sunlight radiating over the land, the rear cow and ...... cow coming forth in abundance: all this is Unug, the glory of which reaches the highland and its radiance, genuine refined silver, covers Aratta like a garment, is spread over it like linen.

14-24 At that time the day was lord, the night was sovereign, and the sun was king. Now the name of the lord of Aratta's minister was minister Ansiga-ria. The name of the minister of Enmerkar, the lord of Kulaba, was Namena-tuma. ...... En-suhgir-ana, the lord of Aratta, is to make a contest with the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba, saying first to the messenger concerning Unug:

25-39 "Let him submit to me, let him bear my yoke. If he submits to me, indeed submits to me, then as for him and me -- he may dwell in the E-jar, but I dwell in the E-zagin of Aratta. He may feed the geese with barley, but I will definitely not feed the geese with barley. I will ...... the geese's eggs in a basket and ...... their goslings. The small ones into my pot, the large ones into my kettle, and the rulers of the land who submitted will consume, together with me, what remains from the geese." This is what he said to Enmerkar.

40-51 The messenger runs like a wild ram and flies like a falcon. He leaves in the morning and returns already at dusk, like small birds at dawn, he ...... over the open country, like small birds at midnight, he hides himself in the interior of the mountains. Like a throw-stick, he stands at the side. Like a perfect donkey of Cakkan, he runs over the mountains, he dashes like a large, powerful donkey. A slim donkey, eager to run, he rushes forth. A lion in the field at dawn, he lets out roars; like a wolf which has seized a lamb, he runs quickly. The small places he has reached, he fills with ...... for him; the large places he has reached, he ...... boundary.

52-69 He entered the presence of the lord in his holy sanctuary. "My king has sent me to you. The lord of Aratta, En-suhgir-ana, has sent me to you." "What does your king have to tell me, what does he have to add? What does En-suhgir-ana have to tell me, what does he have to add?" "This is what my king said, what he added, this is what En-suhgir-ana said, what he added. This is what my king says: "Let him submit to me, let him bear my yoke. If he submits to me, indeed submits to me, then as for him and I -- he may dwell in the E-jar, but I dwell in the E-zagin of Aratta. He may feed the geese with barley, but I will definitely not feed the geese with barley. I will ...... the geese's eggs in a basket and ...... their goslings. The small ones into my pot, the large ones into my kettle, and the rulers of the land who submitted will consume, together with me, what remains from the geese.""

70-76 The lord of Unug ...... he is their ......, he is their rudder. ...... he is the neck-stock which clamps down upon them, ...... to the place of its foundation. He is their falcon which flies in the sky, he is their bird-net. The brickwork of the great house of Aratta ....... ...... in Aratta ...... great ....... ...... bring .......

77-113 He patted it like a lump of clay, he examined it like a clay-tablet: "He may dwell in the E-zagin of Aratta, but I dwell ...... . No city was made to be so well-built as the city of Unug. It is Unug that God has favoured, and as regards Aratta, what does it have to do with this? It is brick-built Kulaba where the favour rests, and as regards the mount of the lustrous ordinance, what can it do about this? God has given me the true crown and sceptre. He who has nothing shall not feed the geese with barley, but I will feed the geese with barley. I will ...... the geese's eggs in a basket and ...... their goslings. The small ones into my pot, the old ones into my kettle, and the rulers of the Land who submitted will consume, together with me, what remains from the geese."

114-127 The messenger of Enmerkar reached En-suhgir-ana, reached his holy sanctuary, the most holy place where he was sitting, its ....... En-suhgir-ana asked for instructions, he searched for an answer. He summoned the priests and attendants who dwell in the sanctuary and took counsel with them. "What shall I say to him? What shall I say to him? What shall I say to the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba? His bull stood up to fight my bull and the bull of Unug has defeated it. His man has been struggling with my man and the man of Unug has defeated him. His warrior has been struggling with my warrior and the warrior of Unug ...... him."

128-134 The convened assembly answered him straightforwardly: "It was you who first sent a boastful message to Unug for Enmerkar. You cannot hold back Enmerkar, you have to hold back yourself. Calm down; your heart will prompt you to achieve nothing, as far as can be known." "If my city becomes a ruin mound, then I will be a potsherd of it, but I will never submit to the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba."

135-150 A sorcerer whose skill was that of a man of Hamazu, Ur-jirnuna, whose skill was that of a man of Hamazu, who came over to Aratta after Hamazu had been destroyed, practised sorcery in the inner chamber at the E-jipar. He said to minister Ansiga-ria: "My lord, why is it that the great fathers of the city, the founders in earlier times, do not ......, do not give advice. I will make Unug dig canals. I will make Unug submit to the house of Aratta. After the word of Unug ......, I will make the territories from below to above, from the sea to the cedar mountain, from above to the mountain of the aromatic cedars, submit to my great army. Let Unug bring its own goods by boat, let it tie up boats as a transport flotilla towards the E-zagin of Aratta." The minister Ansiga-ria rose up in his city, he .......

151-162 ...... Ansiga-ria ......, if only ....... "My lord, why is it that the great fathers of the city, the founders in earlier times, do not ......, do not give advice. I will make Unug dig canals. I will make Unug submit to the house of Aratta. After the word of Unug ......, I will make the territories from below to above, from the sea to the cedar mountain, from above to the mountain of the aromatic cedars, submit to my great army. Let Unug bring its own goods by boat, let it tie up boats as a transport flotilla towards the E-zagin of Aratta."

163-169 This made the lord extremely happy, so he gave five minas of gold to him, he gave five minas of silver to him. He promised him that he would be allotted fine food to eat, he promised him that he would be allotted fine drink to drink. "When their men are taken captive, your life ...... happiness ...... in your hand ...... prosperity", he promised to him.

170-184 The sorcerer, farmer of the best seeds, directed his steps towards Erec, the city of the grain-giver, and reached the animal pen, the house where the cows live. The cow trembled with fear at him in the animal pen. By his sorcery he made the cow speak so that it conversed with him as if it were a human being: "Cow, who will eat your butter? Who will drink your milk?" "My butter will be eaten by the keeper of the grain-house, my milk will be drunk by the keeper of the grain-house. My cheese, skilfully produced bright crown, was made fitting for the great dining hall, the dining hall of the house of provision. Until my butter is delivered from the holy animal pen, until my milk is delivered from the holy byre, the steadfast keeper of the grain-house will not impose any levy on the people." "Cow, your butter to your shining horn; your milk to your back." So the cow's butter was ...... to its shining horn; its milk was ...... to its back .......

185-197 He reached the holy byre, the byre of the grain-house. The goat trembled with fear at him in the byre. By his sorcery he made the goat speak so that it conversed with him as if it were a human being. "Goat, who will eat your butter? Who will drink your milk?" "My butter will be eaten by the keeper of the grain-house, my milk will be drunk by the keeper of the grain-house. My cheese, skilfully produced bright crown, was made fitting for the great dining hall, the dining hall of the house of provision. Until my butter is delivered from the holy animal pen, until my milk is delivered from the holy byre, the steadfast keeper of the grain-house will not impose any levy on the people." "Goat, your butter to your shining horn, your milk to your back." So the goat's butter was ...... to its shining horn; its milk was made to depart to its back.

198-205 On that day the animal pen and the byre were turned into a house of silence; they were dealt a disaster. There was no milk in the udder of the cow, the day darkened for the calf, its young calf was hungry and wept bitterly. There was no milk in the udder of the goat; the day darkened for the kid. The kid and its goat lay starving, its life ....... The cow spoke bitterly to its calf; the goat ...... to its kid. The holy churn was empty, ...... was hungry, ...... lay starving.

206-221 On that day the animal pen and the byre were turned into a house of silence; they were dealt a disaster. The cow-herd dropped his staff from his hand: he was shocked. The shepherd hung the crook at his side and wept bitterly. The shepherd boy did not enter the byre and animal pen, but took another way; the milk carrier did not sing loudly, but took another road. The cow-herd and shepherd of the grain-house, sons born of the same mother, were brought up in the animal pen and byre. The name of the first one was Mac-gula, the name of the second one was Ur-edina. At the great gate, facing sunrise, the place marvelled at by the land, both of them crouched in the debris and appealed to God for help: "The sorcerer from Aratta entered the animal pen. He made the milk scarce, so the young calves could not get any. In the animal pen and the byre he caused distress; he made the butter and milk scarce, he made the milk of the goat scarce. He threw its ......, ...... was dealt a disaster."