12/22/04 Notebook Blanc Chapter II: Awake at the ruins of Nineveh - and a Brief History of some places we are bombing, sacking, or Democratizing - depending on your various definitions. I awaken and stand at the ruins of Nineveh, an ancient city next to the Tigris river - and across from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. Mosul is one of the top three exporters of oil (or modern milk and honey as I like to refer to it) in the country of Iraq. It is also a center of Nestorian Christianity, and has the honor of having been the tombs of such famous people as the prophet Jonah who also once found himself on the shores of Nineveh, and Uday and Qusay Hussein, whom were shocked and awed to death. The day previously an American camp, Marez, has been the victim of an attack in Mosul, leaving many of Americas children dead, or wounded. The attackers refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sunnah. Translation: Ansar - Followers al - of the Sunnah - The way of life prescribed as normative in Islam, based on the teachings and practices of Muhammad and on exegesis of the Koran. Also called hadith. Arabic sunna, customary practice, tradition, from sanna, to sharpen, shape, enact This group has been connected with Al-Queda roughly translated: the base, foundation Queda is the feminine participle of qa‘ada, to sit. The Americans killed have been categorized as soldiers and contractors - which is a convenient way of breaking down their social ranking in the American caste system. Also killed were American trained Iraqi police forces. All of them were sitting down to eat in a tent - which many had complained previously to their superiors, might not be the best defense to stop missiles or mortars. I look around me at the desert. Nineveh was once a magnificent city - source of the earliest cultural development in Northern Mesopotamia. It grew in splendor under the leadership of the great Assyrian Kings Sennacherib and Assurbanipal. Sennacherib, who ruled until around 680 BC is known for beseiging Jerusalem, and routing many cities in Judah under King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was only saved from further defeat when a plague stopped the Assyrian armys second invasion. Isaiah, the prophet, had warned Hezekiah not to join the Egyptians in their uprising against Assyria. Cest la Vie. Sennacherib also captured and destroyed Babylon, capital of Babylonia (known for one of the seven wonders of the world - the hanging gardens of Babylon). The ruins of Babylon are about 90 miles south of modern Baghdad, Iraq. There was once a giant wall built around the city. Sennacherib built a magnificent palace in Nineveh - and was murdered by two of his sons. Assurbanipal was the last great King of Assyria - he died somewhere around 633 BC. Under his reign, Assyria lost control of Egypt, and faced a serious insurgency led by his brother who was in control of Babylon. Assurbanipal re-took Babylon and slaughtered many of the inhabitants. Assurbanipals reign was marked by extravagant living - and cultural growth. He too built a palace at Nineveh. Assurbanipal was interested in knowledge - and he built a library which housed 22,000 clay tablets - containing much of the history of the region - including the Babylonian flood and creation stories, the best preserved copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and much more historical and scientific information. While Assyria was at the height of its powers during the reign of Assurbanipal - it is his massive spending in defense of the Empire that is blamed for its downfall. Cest la Vie. Upon excavating Nineveh, archaeologists discovered a giant wall built around the city. This, I am sad to report, is a familiar pattern for doomed cities, or Empires, or people.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 13:22:41 +0000
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