Gilgesh

All ruins tell a story-- the story of those who lived and died there. Few ruins can claim as much as the crumbling Sakkalan city of Gilgesh, however. The story of this place is of a civilization in the height of its prosperity until it fell to the wrath of a goddess scorned. The falling towers, half-buried ziggurats, and unopened treasuries tell the rest of the story.

Government

Gilgesh was once the very center of Sakkalan life. At the time, the entire kingdom was ruled by a monarchy alongside a collection of noble houses. Both the royal house and many noble ones resided there and fell along with the city, leaving only the lammasu and man-scorpions summoned to protect them.
Although the ancient Sakkalans weren't theocratic as the modern ones are, religion was very important to them. The largest and most influential of these belonged to the rain god Marduk, who was the king of the gods at that time and a patron of all Sakkal. His grandest temple was here, along with his sacred treasures that still remain.

Defences

Originally, Gilgesh was well protected by the bulk of the Sakkan military. It also was surrounded by grand city walls, decorated with elaborate scenes. Neither the army or the walls remain after the city suffered the wrath of the goddess Ishtar and was reduced to nothing more than an uninhabited ruin.
Currently, its greatest defense is its location in the deep desert. Few can make it there and fewer still have the courage to make the attempt. Those that do find the city's remaining treasures protected my magical or divine power, as well as sacred protectors, both lammasu and man-scorpions.

Infrastructure

Gilgesh was originally built on the River Eunaric, that served as the heart and soul of the community. Now that the river has moved, the water and greenery has been replaced by the desert sands. The once thriving waterfront is now totally buried and those neighborhoods that lived off of it are now entirely gone.
The city was also divided by the river. The eastern side was home to the nobility, with its lavish palaces on a hill overlooking the rest of the city. Many of these structures still stand, eroded by the desert sands and often half-buried. Most still contain the treasures that made these families so prosperous.
On the western side of town was the temple district. Temples to Enlil, Ishtar, Dagon, Nergal, and Erishkigal dominate this area, all in the form of the pyramid-like ziggurats. The grandest of these temples is the one dedicated to Marduk. Its grandeur is mostly worn away by time, but still plain to see.

History

When humans were first brought to Sakkal, they founded two cites on rivers known as the Tears of Ea. They named them after the legendary heroes of their former lands, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Of the cities of Gilgesh and Enkidd, Gilgesh was by far the grander of the two and the capital of Sakkal.
As Sakkalan civilization grew, they began to fight with the Polisians over the theft of the islands. The Sakkalans were the aggressors in these fights and eventually lost. In the wake of these wars, Ishtar, goddess of love and war overthrew Marduk as the ruler of the Anunaki.
Even as the ruler of the gods, Ishtar was still bitter over her rejection by Gilgamesh. When she saw the capital named after him, she flew into a rage. She immediately used her newfound authority and commanded the other gods to unleash one divine punishment after another upon the city.
It started with a change in the flow of the river, leaving the city completely dry. Next the walls-- decorated with scenes from the life of Gilgamesh-- crumbled into dust. A plague of locusts came next, followed by an illness that spread across the people of the city. By the time the eclipse came to warn of further wrath, none remained in Gilgesh.

It's Good to be Queen
Ishtar's coup to become the unquestioned queen of the Sakkalan pantheon is not actually a part of any Mesopotamian mythology. However, Mesopotamian cultures put their own spin on the mythos. The Babylonians put their patron god Marduk at the head of the pantheon, and Ishtar was the head of the Assyrian pantheon.
This power grab is not out of character for Ishtar. She descended into the underworld for power twice, the second time attempting to overthrow her own sister Erishkigal. It is also in character for her to destroy a city in a fit of pique, as she sent the Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk when Gilgamesh rejected her in the first place.

Architecture

The architecture of Gilgesh was much the same as rest of Sakkal, such as Enkidd. These buildings are made of worn sandstone. They were once well-decorated with carvings, but these are almost completely worn smooth by the blowing sand, leaving only a vague impression that something was once there.
Most of the buildings that have survived are either the palaces of the nobility or the temples to the gods. These palaces often have flat, teired roofs and tall spires. The temples, referred to as ziggurats, are similar to those of Cipactli, resembling multi-leveled pyramids. Some still include remains of statues to the gods they were originally dedicated to.

Type

City

Population

0 (Ruined)

Inhabitant Demonym

Gilgeshan

Location under

Nahrica

Owning Organization

Sakkal