Costanza Casati
Babylonia by Costanza Casati opens in Assyria in the year 823 BCE. Blending history with mythology and historical figures with fictional ones, Casati tells the story of Semiramis, a poor orphan girl who becomes queen of Assyria. An intelligent and resourceful young girl, Semiramis learns to fend for herself in Eber-Nari, an outpost of the kingdom. When Onnes, the new governor, arrives to claim the outpost for King Ninus of Assyria, Semiramis attracts his attention and he takes her back to his home in Kalhu to be his wife.
Semiramis adapts to life in the kingdom as the governor’s wife. She meets King Ninus, her husband’s half-brother, who shows little interest in her and more interest in her husband. Onnes and Ninus grew up together and share a strong bond. Their relationship is modeled on that of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as told in the 4,000- year-old Mesopotamian epic, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Semiramis soon realizes she is an outsider in their relationship.
Meanwhile, the kingdom is in the throes of a civil war. This is followed by a short period of peace. But then a new war to acquire territory and resources begins. Semiramis participates in one of the battles and distinguishes herself as a strong fighter. Her success leads to a complication since she and Ninus fall in love. Ninus becomes obsessed with her and presents Onnes the option of giving up his wife. Rather than doing so, Onnes kills himself. After her husband’s suicide, Semiramis marries Ninus. She assumes the throne as queen of Assyria when her husband dies of injuries he receives in battle. She takes on the title of Sammuramat, “High Heaven.”
The historical Semiramis ruled Assyria for five years until her son came to power. Casati conducted extensive research on Assyria and on Semiramis to write the novel. She takes the bare bones of what is known about Semiramis and her trajectory from an abused orphan in a backwater village to the queen of Assyria. Her description of court life with all its intrigue, secrets, power dynamics, and love interests is engrossing. The sights, sounds, and smells of the court as well as of the battles are vividly described in immersive detail.
Casati’s characters are authentic, well-developed, complex, and tortured. Onnes is tormented by the death of his mother and harbors a guilty secret. Ninus is tortured by his love for Onnes, by the demands placed on him as king, and by the love he later comes to feel for Semiramis. And Semiramis loves both men. She is also ambitious, politically astute, resourceful, courageous, manipulative, and a survivor. The relationship between the three main characters is complex, flawed, and riddled with apprehension and uncertainty.
Just as she did with Clytemnestra, Costanza Casati has written another compelling historical fiction. She successfully blends myth with history and transports the reader to a different time and place in clear and effective prose.
Highly recommended.