Page Content (OCR)
131 With these simple words, echoed in several Sumerian texts, the post-Diluvial fate of Earth and its inhabitants was decided. Three regions were allotted to mankind's three civilizations; the fourth was retained by the Anunnaki for their own use. It was given the name TIL.MUN, "Land of the Missiles". In The Stairway to Heaven we provided the evidence identifying Tilmun with the Sinai peninsula. Although as far as human habitation was concerned, it was the descendants of Shem—"Sand Dwellers" in Egyptian — scrip- tures—who could reside in the unrestricted areas of the peninsu- la, when it came to allotting the territory among the Anunnaki, profound differences arose. Control of the site of the post- Diluvial spaceport was tantamount to control of the links be- tween Earth and Nibiru, as the experiences with Kumarbi and Zu had so clearly shown. In the rekindled rivalry between the clans of Enlil and Enki, a neutral authority over the Land of the Mis- siles was called for. The solution was ingenious. Of equal lineage with them was their sister Sud. As a daughter of Anu, she bore the title NIN.MAH ("Great Lady"). She was one of the original group of Great Anun- naki who were pioneers on Earth, a member of the Pantheon of Twelve. She bore a son to Enlil, a daughter to Enki, and was lov- ingly called Mammi ("Mother of the Gods"). She helped create Man. With her medical skills she saved many a life and was also known as NIN.TI ("Lady Life"). But she never had her own do- minions. To make Tilmun her domain was an idea that no one op- posed. The Sinai peninsula is a barren place, occupied by high granite peaks in the south, a mountainous plateau in the center, and a hard- soiled plain in its northern third, surrounded by chains of low mountains and hills. Then there is a strip of sand dunes, sliding to the Mediterranean coast. But where water can be retained, as in several oases or in riverbeds that fill up during brief winter rains and keep the moisture below the surface, luxuriant date palms, fruits, and vegetables grow, and herds of sheep and goats can graze. The region must have been as forbidding millennia ago as it is now. But although an abode was made for Sud in one of Mesopota- mia's rebuilt sites, she decided to go and take personal possession of the mountainous region. With all her attributes of status and knowledge, she always played a secondary role. When she came to Earth, she was young and beautiful (Fig. 36a); now she was old When Earth Was Divided