⸻ · ⸻
Tablet IV · Marduk splits Tiamat
4.129-130
Enūma eliš 4.129-130 · He smashed her skull
Marduk has caught Tiamat in his net, driven the winds into her and shot her through the heart. Now he finishes her.
· · ·
129𒅅𒁍𒊻𒈠𒁁𒈝𒊭𒋾𒀀𒈠𒌈𒄿𒋃𒊓
130𒄿𒈾𒈪𒁲𒋗𒆷𒉺𒁲𒄿𒌑𒆳𒋾𒈬𒌔𒄩
the lines as the scribe pressed them into the clay, read left to right
be-lum1
bēlum
The lord
ik-bu-us-ma2
ikbusma
trod onhe trampled
i-šid-sa3
išissa
the lower parther base
ša4
ša
of
ti-a-ma-tum5
tiāmtum
Tiamatthe Sea
; i-na6
ina
with
la7
lā
un-not
pa-di-i8
pādî
sparing
mi-ṭi-šu9
miṭṭīšu
macehis weapon
ú-nat-ti10
unatti
he smashedhe split
mu-úḫ-ḫa11
muḫḫa
skullthe top of the head
. The lord trod on the lower part of Tiamat; with his un-sparing mace he smashed [her] skull.
The lord trod on the lower part of Tiamat; with his un-sparing mace he smashed [her] skull.
4.131-132
Enūma eliš 4.131-132 · The north wind carried it away
The sea goddess bleeds, and one of Marduk’s winds takes the blood away.
· · ·
131𒌋𒌓𒊑𒀪𒈠𒍑𒆷𒀜𒁕𒈪𒊭
132𒊭𒀀𒊒𒅋𒋫𒉡𒀀𒈾𒁍𒊻𒋥𒍑𒋫𒉈
the lines as the scribe pressed them into the clay, read left to right
He cut through the arteries of her blood, [and] the north wind carried [it] off to hidden places.
“The lord” is Marduk. The young god agreed to fight Tiamat only if the other gods made him their king, and they did. Here he wins.
In this line the scribe spells her name out sign by sign, ti-a-ma-tum, and it is the ordinary Akkadian word for “the sea”, tâmtum. Langdon translated the weapon as a “toothed sickle”; most later editors call the miṭṭu a mace.