Page Content (OCR)
250 He took soil from the of Babylon He took away soil from the foundation and built upon the soil another Babylon beside Agade. To understand the severity of this deed, we ought to recall the meaning of "Babylon"—Bab-Ili. "Gateway of the Gods." A title and a function claimed for Babylon by a defiant Marduk. it was symbolized by its hallowed soil. Now, encouraged by Inanna and driven by her ambitions, Sargon took away the sacred soil to spread it as a foundation for the new Bab-Ili. audaciously aiming to trans- fer the title and function to Agade. This was. as it turned out, an opportunity for Marduk—unheard from for so many centuries—to reassert himself: On account of the sacrilege Sargon thus committed. the great lord Marduk became enraged and destroyed his people by hunger. From the east to the west he alienated them from Sargon; and upon him he inflicted as punishment that he could not rest. Desperately crushing one revolt after another, Sargon "could not rest"; discredited and afflicted, he died after a reign of fifty- fa. four years. THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN foundation