After a couple of hours celebrating with people, we went back inside. I
was very tired, and the only thing I could think about was taking a bath.
—Mother, I'm going to take a bath, then I'll sleep for a while.
She quickly showed her disapproval of what he had just asked:
—No, you can't fall asleep yet!
-Because? I asked. I'm tired and I need to sleep, especially with the
nerves I had today.
—Because later we have to go out to greet the people.
—What do you mean, go out and say hello?! —His words were beginning to
overwhelm me even more.
While we were arguing, my father appeared on the scene. However, he
didn't even have time to interfere, since my mother went ahead to scold him
too:
—Lugalbanda, don't get involved!
I always found it funny when they argued, because no matter how much of
a man my father was, he could never resist a fight from my mother.
"My love, calm down a little, I haven't even opened my mouth,"
he said, trying to calm her anger. Gilgamesh is already king, he must make
decisions his way. That's what a ruler does.
Telling her that was not at all my father's best decision, the only
thing it had done was make her more angry.
-Go away! —she shouted at him—. I am his mother and I will personally
see to it that he does things correctly.
"Yes, Ninsun, you are his mother," he stated so as not to
prolong the fight any further. Do what you want!
—Enough! —I exclaimed, tired of the situation—. Then I'll go to town.
Fed up with everything, my father left the room, because he couldn't
stand fighting with her. It was impossible to discuss anything with my mother,
when she thought she was right, he could never contradict her.
—What should I do? —I asked.
"You just have to go out for a walk through the streets, greeting
the residents and interacting with them," she responded. It's no big deal,
right?
—Okay... Give me two hours.
—I'll give you one, don't be late!
I was very angry, but I did not dare to answer him. I decided it would
be best to take a bath as soon as possible, so I would have more time to get
ready. I was already king, and I wanted to remain proud and powerful in the
eyes of the people. And there is no better way to show power than a good
appearance.
When I finished getting ready, I went out to the main hall of the palace
where my mother was waiting for me. There was also my father who still hadn't
spoken to him.
—Shall we go by carriage? —I asked him.
—I don't know... When I went out to visit the city, I did it on foot.
This way I had time to chat and interact with everyone, or at least that's what
I tried to do.
I looked at my mother who was avoiding looking at him. She pretended not
to notice the conversation, although the corner of her eye gave her away.
"Better ask your Ninsun..." he added.
—No, son, Lugalbanda is right—to our surprise, for the first time my
mother had agreed with him.
Every time they fought, and then they fixed it, I felt so happy... I
knew that, despite all the fights, they were happy with each other.
The musicians had also arrived in the room, who had the task of playing
and singing behind me as I toured the city. They made me remember that
beautiful moment that had just happened in the morning, that is, the very
special coronation that I had experienced thanks to them. Therefore, this time
I decided to give each of them an extra payment. So I didn't want to offer them
some insignificant silver coins, but rather I gave them gold coins, something
much more valuable that only royalty and few rich people had. With just ten
gold coins, you could buy a house in those days, however, I would change this
in the future.
When everything was finally ready, we headed out to the city. I wanted
everyone to be proud of me, so I ordered my subjects to carry several sacks of
silver coins. These should walk next to me and distribute the coins.
—Mother, all the people are in the street! —I said amazed, because the
streets were full—. Has everyone come out for me?
—Of course! As time goes by you will get used to it.
That day all the inhabitants welcomed me through the large streets of
Uruk, offering me multiple varieties of objects and food. To be honest,
although I was suspicious of my ever-increasing arrogance, I didn't even
imagine the damage I was going to cause to all those people in the future.
My whims grew as time went by, and the more I had, the less satisfaction
I felt. After all, I could get whatever I wanted: power, soldiers, women,
money, among many other things. These whims would be the ones that would stain
my conscience, thus disappointing the hopes that my father had placed in me
before giving me the throne.
A few months later, I publicly declared the change of the monetary
system. He hated the idea of people being torn between gold, silver and wood,
the latter being the cheapest. Therefore, from that moment on all coins would
be only gold. The same rule applied to both the rich and the poor. To my
surprise, almost no one protested at all, in fact, quite the opposite.
Honestly, even though everyone thought I did it for them, the truth is I did it
for myself. Well, that way it would be easier to collect land taxes, without
many headaches.
My father, who was getting sicker as time went by, wanted to argue with
me about this decision. He thought this would cause wars between the classes.
—Son, are you sure you want to change the currency of an entire empire?
By that time, I had learned a lot since my coronation, and I didn't like
him judging my decisions at all. Even so, I didn't want to respond to him with
arrogance or malice; after all, he was still my father.
"Yes, Lugalbanda," I answered as calmly as I could. I will not
only change the payment system of Uruk, but of all of Babylon.
—Lugalbanda?! —I was indignant. He couldn't believe she had just called
him by his name.
I had never addressed him by his name, as that was a rude way to address
a father. That's when I realized how much power corrupted my heart. Quite the
opposite of the promise he had made a long time ago.
Aware of his state of health, he didn't say another word, swallowing it
without even looking at me. But for some strange reason, I was not able to ask
for forgiveness. I guess because of my pride, the more time went by, the more
it got the best of me.
Upon hearing this, my mother came to see me furiously. I didn't have
time to speak, because he didn't take long to scold me:
—You should be ashamed!
"Mother..." I tried to speak, but she wouldn't let me.
—No! Call me Ninsun! —he said with a touch of sarcasm among all that
anger—. Do you think you are someone?! Well let me tell you that you are
nobody... And much less to disrespect your father!
—Leave my palace, and never return! —At that moment, she got the better
of me. But he had already said it, and there was no turning back.
I could see the expression of sadness and disappointment on his face. It
hurt me a lot to kick her out, however, I no longer allowed anyone to
disrespect me in my kingdom. I watched him slowly walk away, watching every
step he took. My soul screamed inside to ask for forgiveness, but I was not
able to do it. There I learned another lesson, that pride tears the heart. And
I also knew that I had exchanged an empire for a mother. I only had my father
left, and I didn't dare look for him to talk to him.
As the years passed, I had become more
powerful, arrogant and oppressive. The position of king was constantly changing
over time. And every day I felt even more invincible. I trained my physique,
strength and intelligence so much that I could lift objects weighing up to ten
tons with great ease, I could knock down walls using only my fist, and I could
create combat strategies in just two minutes. A strength that I would greatly
need for the future