Conflict of Empires (2010) Read Free Page B

Akkad. “Is King Eridu with them?”
    “Who can say? Eridu dreams of conquest and loot these days. He might want to partake of the glory himself.”
    “Well, I expect that any fighting will be over soon,” Yavtar said. “No doubt King Eridu knows by now that Lord Eskkar has marched south with a large force of archers and horsemen, to confront the bandits raiding across the Akkadian border.”
    “Ah, the border that is in dispute. Who is to say where the border starts or where it ends? And perhaps your King Eskkar may find getting rid of the ‘bandits’ not such an easy task. King Eridu left the city ten days ago with over a hundred soldiers, most armed with spears and shields. Twice as many more are promised to join him within a few days, all recruited and armed from the other cities. With these men, and his horsemen, Eridu intends to establish a new border, one that places all the fertile cropland to the north under Sumer’s control.”
    Yavtar’s eyes widened in surprise. A force of three hundred soldiers, supported by a large band of horsemen, would find Eskkar greatly outnumbered. If Eridu had departed ten days ago, the two forces might have already fought a battle. If not, the battle would be fought soon, long before Yavtar could return to Akkad and dispatch a warning.
    He realized the silence had dragged on. “It was more than a year ago when Akkad established its southern boundary. No one in Sumeria disputed it then.”
    “At that time, King Eridu was busy consolidating his influence over Sumer and the other Sumerian cities,” Gemama said. “Now that he has their allegiance, willing or not, the six cities of Sumeria now claim they need the rich northern farmlands to feed their growing numbers.”
    Six large villages made up the heart of Sumeria. Not really villages any more, Yavtar knew, but full sized cities, each with at least two or three thousand inhabitants. Sumer had grown into the largest of them all, but Larsa, Uruk, Isin, Nippur, and Lagash all contributed to the wealth of the region. He hadn’t heard that the other cities had submitted to Eridu’s authority. Joined together, they would form a powerful trading region,able to draw on trade from the Tigris and Euphrates, as well as the boats that crept along the coast of the Great Sea. If their fighting forces united … if Eridu had accomplished such a feat, the southern cities would present a formidable threat to Akkad.
    “Hmm, do all the other cities accept Eridu as their king?”
    Gemama chuckled. “Well, it’s only happened in the last few months, and it’s not something anyone talks about. Nor does Eridu claim to be their king, not yet, but as he says, he is now the first among equals. In truth, I think he feels a bit jealous at Lord Eskkar’s success. Too many people have been singing Akkad’s praises for driving off the barbarians, and some in the countryside, thinking they will better themselves, have migrated north to place themselves under Akkad’s protection. Eridu intends to put a stop to all that.”
    “So it will be war then.” Yavtar shook his head in dismay. And this time the war would begin with Eskkar walking into a trap. “Trading will be the first casualty.”
    “Not our trade to the east and west. That will continue without interruption. It will likely even increase. And once King Eridu establishes his claims over the disputed lands, the regular trade with the north will quickly resume, I’m sure. The crops and herds from those lands will then move south, not north.”
    Rulers came and went, but the traders and merchants always found a way to exchange goods. Gemama spoke the truth. Trade would start up again sooner or later, no matter who won the battles.
    “And the people of Sumer, are they as eager for war as their ruler?”
    “The people do as they are ordered.” Gemama lifted his shoulders and let them drop. “For the last year, Eridu’s followers have blamed every shortage, every outbreak of disease,