A throne of weakness. A people in turmoil.
A land in ruin. Chaos. No more!
Assur, ruling supreme over the gods.
Bel, lord of the world.
Shamas, vanquisher of enemies.
Vul, who causes the tempest to rage.
Hercules, champion and subduer of heretics.
Ishtar, the eldest, the queen of victory.
The great gods speak no longer to us in words but in the language of our hearts.
Listen to your heart. Listen to the gods.
They rule the heavens and earth and inspire our hearts with joy.
To love is to serve. Obey and be blessed.
Your hearts have made me strong. Your hands have made me king.
We are servants of Assur, who has given us warlike power.
I, Tiglath Pilesar, king of kings, lord of lords.
Conquering hero, terror overwhelming the world.
With a host of kings I have fought, and imposed upon them servitude.
There is not a second to me in war, nor an equal in battle.
Kings who pay no tribute are enemies of Assur.
My chariots crushed their armies, beaten down as if by a storm.
Their carcasses covered the valley, and I cut off their heads.
Their cities I burned with fire. I destroyed and I ruined.
The common people who fled, I smote them like wild beasts.
The kings’ sons fell to my power, their queens I took for my own.
The delights of their hearts I enslaved. Their gods I bore away.
All their wealth I plundered, and upon them placed my yoke.
What Assur has commanded I have performed.
I have overrun the whole Magian world.
And still we march, my warriors and chariots.
The enemies of Assur will be brought into the fold.
Hammurabi, you were wrong.
Laws are not etched in stone, they are written in blood.