Six485 BC
Somewhere in the heart of the Persian Empire
The general sat in his tent, drinking wine. The canvas sheets were open and he was admiring the landscape revealed in front of his gaze blurred by the alcohol. The golden colossus of God Marduk lay on top of countless timber beams. The big round eye of the Babylonian god stared at him.
The moving of the huge statue from its temple had taken three days and over a hundred lives. Moving it eight leagues (author's note: a unit of length in ancient Persia; 1 league = 3.75 miles, or 6 km) away from the city walls took another four days. But with every day that passed everything became smoother. Even the number of human victims decreased significantly. Of course, nobody was counting the hundreds of worn out cattle and horses – just more me
