Why Fight?

Wars are commonly fought for various reasons. Based on what we have read in class, we have found that power struggle can lead to war, such as with Hammurabi and his desire to take over Northern Mesopotamia. He had to fight with Zimri Lim and many other Northern Mesopotamian leaders in order to gain control of the land he wanted. Another reason can be in the way that Endiku didn’t like Gilgamesh’s total power and misuse of his subjects.

In this novel, the omens tend to be reasons for war. The omens, such as the eye and lip infection before the war on Teumman as well as eventually getting beheaded, become so real, that we tend to believe that the omens are the right reasons to go to war. Additionally the precursor of an eclipse also call for the start of a war, without any particular reason, but just because of it being an evil omen of some sort. There are various reasons that wars can be started. But this novel shows us that there does not need to always be a struggle for power between two individuals or parties or states, but can actually be about omens, practices, and traditions held within a group of individuals.