There remains the fact that the cuneiform name of this hero is undeciphered, the name Izdubar being a mere makeshift. It is possible that when the phonetic reading of the characters is found it will turn out to correspond with the name Nimrod. At all events it is noteworthy that Izdubar seems to have been specially connected with the town of Marad, the original Accadian name of which was Amarda, and that the Accadian _an Amarda_ or “god of Amarda,” closely corresponds with the Biblical name of Nimrod. The translations and notes given in this book will lead, perhaps, to the general admission of the identity of the hero Izdubar with the traditional Nimrod; but this result can be firmly established only when more evidence is before us than that which we have at present. At the time of the opening of the Epic, the great city of the south of Babylonia, and the capital of this part of the country, was Uruk, called in Genesis, Erech. Erech was devoted to the worship of Anu, the god of heaven, and his wife, the goddess Anatu, as well as of Istar, the Phœnician Ashtoreth, or Astarte, the myth of whose love for the Sun-god Dumuzi or Tammuz, the Adonis of Greek story, is alluded to in the course of the poem. The worship of Anatu, however, was subsequent to the Semitic occupation of the country, since the necessity of providing a female deity by the side of every male one was not felt until the Accadians, whose language was unacquainted with genders, were succeeded by the Semites with their nouns either masculine or feminine. Here may provisionally be placed the first fragment of the Izdubar legends, K 3200. This fragment consists of part of the third column of a tablet, which is probably the first; and it gives an account of a conquest of Erech by its enemies. The fragment reads:— 1. his ..... he left 2. ....... and he goes down to the river, 3. .... in the river his ship is made good. 4. .... he is .... and he weeps bitterly 5. .... placed, the city of Ganganna which had (suffered) destruction. 6. .... their _samuri_ (were) she asses 7. .... their _raburi_ (were) great wild bulls. 8. Like cattle the people fears, 9. like doves the slaves mourn. 10. The gods of Erech the lofty 11. turned to flies and brood in swarms. 12. The spirits (_sedu_) of Erech the lofty 13. turned to cocks and went forth in outposts. 14. For three years the city of Erech does the enemy besiege, 15. the great gates were thrown down and trampled upon, 16. the goddess Istar before its enemies could not lift her head. 17. Bel his mouth opened and speaks, 18. to Istar the queen a speech he makes: 19. ..... in the midst of Nipur my hands have placed, 20. .... my country? Babylon (Din-tir) the house of my delight, 21. my .... I gave my hands. 22. ..... he was favourable to the sanctuaries 23. ..... in the day .... 24. ..... the great gods. ....