The Sword Of Mercy

By Theunis

The Kassite general Agum meets Joseph in an Egyptian jail who influences him to become a great king of Babalon. The statue of Marduk disappeared and Babylon was left without devine protection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Theunis
• Release date: Jan 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215012284

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

T he camels are ready , general. The Egyptian slave helped him to load the five camels. General Agum of Ur packed enough provision for two weeks. He will brave the harsh Sinai desert and travel 350km to Egypt.

I want the strongest and fastest camels in the front and the oldest at the rear. Did you manage to load all the furniture on the third camel? This slave is meticulous. That is why General Agum is so fond of him. His name is Skippy. No, general, the furniture, sleeping mats, tents, the chest and clothes fitted on the third camel. He does not have a lot of furniture. It is basically a few low tables. The sleeping mats also serve as chairs. The chest contains mostly kitchen ware. I had to pack the rest on the fourth camel. He anticipated his dad would add some sentimental stuff as well. The second camel is made as comfortable as possible for his elderly dad. The saddle is padded with a huge soft cushion and there is a canopy attached to provide much needed shade.  Each camel will carry 50 litres of water.  The first and second camels carry the weapons and the provisions. What food did you manage to get? Skippy has a list of the exact quantities in his hand, General, we packed 1000 dates and 1000 dried figs and three boxes of raisins, 70 breads and 30 life quails in cages. Skippy did not write it down, but there was also a basket of snakes. Snakes? Skippy was a snake charmer and he used the occult via his snakes to perform white magic and cleansing rituals. General Agum himself is an excellent archer and is well trained and experienced in combat. He has permanent cuts and bruises to prove that!  This is a small caravan of simple travellers but he can burst forward and fight them out of a pickle if needs be! The last camel carries the treasure. One slave will lead the front camel, Skippy will walk with his dad’s camel, the third slave, Mali, will spy out the land ahead of them and his soldiers will follow the last camel.

They are actually sneaking away. Hush-hush... He is leaving now, today! He has postponed enough! Last night he had a meeting with king Mesannepada to warn him and the council of the threat of the Elamites, but they just laughed at him. Elam has always been one of our strongest allies and Ur trades about every product with Susa. Ur is his home town and it trades with many cities around the Persian Gulf and along the rivers like Nineveh and Babylon, but especially with Susa of the Elamites! Susa is a wealthy city south east from Ur on the far side of the Tigris. Your majesty, my intel suggests jealousy. They can see that Ur becomes more prosperous even catching up with Babylon. My informer was present when very greedy and threatening words were spoken. It is my job to warn you and to look out for the best interest of our city.

UR WAS THE FIRST CIVILIZED city in the known world, meaning it had roads according to a practical city plan, plumbing, drainage system, a standing army and a wall built around it. Ur was first, but the culture expanded and Susa and Babylon improved on it. Dark-skinned people from India settled between the Euphrates and Tigris, called Mesopotamia, land between the two rivers ...these people were called the Sumerians or dark headed people. General Agum is proud of his Indian origin, clever people, a very advanced race!    

He left the palace devastated. Not even his own family is listening to him. At least his sister allows him to complete his sentences...  My biggest concern is Marduk

Why? I am sure the king of the gods of Babylonia can look after himself. She has to play devil’s advocate because her brother is going over the top with this conspiracy theory. What if the Elamites attack and destroy the holy statue and temple of Marduk? The god of Ur is actually Nanna, the moon god, whose ziggurat is just down the road. If they attack Ur first then Babylon will be ready for them. Do you suppose they will attack Babylon first or maybe both of us at the same time? She knows her brother is an excellent strategist and she likes to tickle his creativity! General Agum worships Marduk the chief god, who also has a ziggurat (temple) in Ur. Nanna has a small little statue in comparison with the great Marduk. The mysterious spirits of the gods dwell behind their idols and they reveal themselves in rain, good harvests, fertility or ... pestilence! Agum visited Marduk after his failed meeting with Mesannepada. He stole the beloved Marduk statue and packed him on the last camel! Years of training paid off! His family and soldiers know nothing about it, just his slaves.

Skippy is an Egyptian and his Egyptian gods are very different from the Babylonian gods. They all agree that you should not entice the gods, especially the moody ones!

General Agum explains to him, The Enuma Elish" tablets teach how the universe was created by Apsu and Tiamat. In the beginning Apsu came from fresh water and Tiamat came from salt water. The union of these two entities gave birth to the