The Great Battle of the Mesopotamian Religious Year.

The Conflict in the Akītu House (A

Summary)
Author(s): W. G. Lambert
Source: Iraq, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Autumn, 1963), pp. 189-190
Published by: British Institute for the Study of Iraq
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4199750
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 I89

THE GREAT BATTLE OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGIOUS YEAR

THE CONFLICT IN THE AKITU HOUSE

(A Summary)
ByW. G. Lambert(Baltimore,U.S.A.)
ABYLONIAN and Assyriangods and goddesses, being so completelyconceived
in the image of man, were not strangers to the art of war. While the
outcome of human warfare might be an expression of their will, their own
battles were of infinitely greater importance, since the stability of the whole
universe was at stake. The thesis of the present paper is that a battle was
conceived to take place annually between Tiamat and Marduk in the Akitu
rites of Babylon under the Late Babyloniankings.
Interest in the New Year festival of Babylon, and particularlyin the rites
which took place in the Akitu house outside the city, was raised in the first
two decadesof this centurylargely by Heinrich Zimmern,who, basing himself
on K.A.R. 143 and 219, reached the conclusion that Marduk died and was
resurrected. These texts and this aspect of the subject have been the dominant
interest since, until, in 1955, W. von Soden re-edited the texts, showed that
no death or resurrectionof Mardukis mentioned, and that any connexion with
the New Year riteswas unproven. Thus a re-examinationof the dataconcerning
the Akitu house is urgently needed.
The study may begin with Late Assyrian evidence. It is well known that
Sennacherib,in his attemptto substituteAshur for Mardukas the ' High God '
of the land, instituted an Assyrian Akitu ritual. A well known inscription
describes the door of this house on which was portrayedAshur advancing to
do battle with Tiamat, escorted by ten gods in front and fifteen behind. A
slightly broken list of the same ten gods occurs on a Late Assyrian ritual
fragment, K.A. V. 49, which describes them as "preceding [Ashur] to the
Akitu house ". (The continuationis broken off.) A combination of these two
items of informationsuggests, if it does not prove, that the procession of gods
from the city to the Akitu house was construed as a setting out for battle
with Tiamat. Presumablythe battle took place inside the house.
Since the reliefs on Sennacherib'sgate prove beyond question that his Akitu
house was concerned with Ashur's battle with Tiamat, we may look for
evidence of similar proceedings with Marduk in Babylon. Three pieces of
evidence offer confirmationof the suspicion raised. The first is a comment
on a late magicaltext:
This refersto Bel who sits in the middle of the Sea(Tiamat)in the Akitu.
A.f.O. XVII, p. 3I5 F 4, cf. A.f.0. XIX, p. 1I8.
I90 A SUMMARY: W. G. LAMBERT

The second piece of evidence is the first line from a section of the Topogaphy
of Babylon,which lists small cultic structuresin the city:
Tiamat(Sea) is the seat of Bel on which Bel sits.
IraqV, p. 6i, 14 = P.S.B.A. XXII, p. 367, I.
Though there is no formalproof that these two passagesrefer to one ' sitting',
they harmonize very well, and no other occasion in the year when Marduk
sat on Tiamat is known. The implications are clear. The Sea (Tiamat)was
no doubt a small cultic structurein the Akitu house (probablya dais) and when
the statueof Mardukwas takenthere,it was set on the dais to symbolizevictory
over Tiamat. The third passage is found in a hitherto unidentifiedepic which
appearsto describe Nabiu'sexaltation to equality with his father Marduk. If
the text has been correctly understood, Nabiuwent with his father, as usual,
to the Akitu house, but then insisted on performing the rites which properly
should have been done by his father. Part of the action is:
He set his feet on the rolling Sea (Tiamat).
E. Ebling, Parfiimreepte,p1 26, 13.
Circumstantialevidence that the Akitu house witnessed an annual victory
of Mardukcan also be offered. The presenceof the gods thereand theirheaping
up of gifts for Mardukis entirelyconsistentwith the idea that Mardukdelivered
them from dangerby taking their part in fighting with Tiamat. A name of the
Akitu house was E-siskur (bit ikribi), ' House of Prayer' according to the
conventional rendering. But the root krb indicates ' benediction', not the
spiritualcommunion associatedwith 'House of Prayer' in Christiantradition.
The house concerned was the place where the assembled gods congratulated
Mardukon his victory. Finally,the celebrationof the Akitu rites as an occasion
of feasting and rejoicing for the whole city of Babylon fits in the picture
presented.
There is other evidence which could be cited, but its technicalitiesrender it
unsuitablefor the present occasion. There are also many interesting questions
and implicationswhich arise. They do not, however, alter the fact that there
is every reason to hold that in the annual Akitu festival Marduk'sbattle and
victory over Tiamat was symbolized.

LIOPINION PUBLIQUE A MARI

(A Summary)
By J. R. Kupper (Liege,Belgium)
U lettre de Mari, qui doit etre publiee dans A.R.M. XIII, rapporteque
NE
Zimrilim avait ordonne a Kibri-Dagan, gouverneur de la province de
Terqa, de faire disparaitreun certainpersonnage residantdans une localite de
la province. Mais Kibri-Dagan signale qu'il n'a pas encore trouve l'occasion
favorable. On en deduira que le souverain desirait tenir l'execution secrete: