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248 One day my queen. After crossing heaven, crossing earth— Inanna. After crossing heaven, crossing earth— After crossing Elam and Shubur, After crossing... The hierodule approached weary, fell asleep. I saw her from the edge of my garden; Kissed her, copulated with her. Inanna—by then awakened, we must assume—found in Sargon a man to her liking, a man who could satisfy not only her bedtime cravings but also her political ambitions. A text known as the Sar- gon Chronicle states that "Sharru-Kin, king of Agade, rose [to power] in the era of Ishtar. He had neither rival nor opponent. He spread his terror-inspiring glamor over all the countries. He crossed the sea in the east; he conquered the country of the west, in its full extent." The enigmatic reference to the "Era of Ishtar" has baffled the scholars: but it can only mean what it says: at that time, for what- ever reasons. Inanna/Ishtar was able to have a man of her choice take the throne and create for her an empire: "He defeated Uruk and tore down its wall. ... He was victorious in the battle with the inhabitants of Ur . . . he defeated the entire territory from La- gash as far as the sea. ..." There were also the conquests be- yond the olden boundaries of Sumer: "Mari and Elam are standing in obedience before Sargon." The grandeur of Sargon and the greatness of Inanna. going hand in hand, were expressed in the construction of the new capital city of Agade and in it the UL.MASH (Glittering, Luxurious") tem- ple to Inanna. "In those days," a Sumerian historiography text relates, "the dwellings of Agade were filled with gold; its bright- shining houses were filled with silver. Into its storehouses were brought copper, lead and slabs of lapis-lazuli; its granaries bulged at the sides. Its old men were endowed with wisdom, its old women were endowed with eloquence; its young men were en- dowed with the Strength-of-Weapons, its little children were en- dowed with joyous hearts. ... The city was full of music." In that beautiful and happy city, "in Agade did holy Inanna erect a temple as her noble abode; in the Ulmash she set up a throne." It was the crowning temple in a series of shrines to her that encom- passed Sumer's principal cities. Stating that "in Erech, the E-Anna THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN