ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Strength of the Vizier - A Lesson of Influence

Updated on March 8, 2013
Source

Hammurabi, the King of Babylon, trained his son from the age of 3 in leadership preparation. The Prince developed into the firm but wise commander of the Western Army by the age of 23, but his learning was far from complete even then.

10 years earlier, during the victory celebration of a 4 year campaign against the Persians, the Prince sat with his mentor, General Abisare. The Prince smiled as he watched the festivities; the fire roared, blazing hot in the night, and the servants danced in a circle around it, laughing in the presence of the clapping officers. Dogs snarled over a bone at the edge of the circle, and the young soldiers embraced their wives and lovers.


Men of Skill and Wisdom

His eyes drifted to the men he admired most: Naplanum sat gazing into the fire, the deep pool of his eyes lost in thought. He was the Master of Arms, and the organizer of all training.

Marduk, the Head of Diplomacy stood tall and noble, clapping his large hands with a smile beginning to creep over his face.

Gulkishar was already drunk and danced merrily, arm in arm with the servant girls. His wisdom in the field of siege machinery and tactics had earned him a permanent pardon for his love of wine, and he was a lighthearted drunk besides.

A perplexed expression furrowed on the Prince’s brow as his gaze settled upon Sumuel, the Vizier of the Kingdom. Sumuel was powerfully built, but modest, almost humble in appearance. He did not dress up to the occasion with gold, precious stones, and fine clothing like the others, but the men flocked around him, speaking to him eagerly but respectfully, appreciative as he met their conversation on equal ground.


The Question

‘Master, I understand that Naplanum can train hound and man alike in any manner of warfare, and that Marduk can charm the above and more besides. Gulkishar can assemble and maneuver his weaponry blindfolded, probably even now after his wine, but Sumuel… what is his value? He is not of royal blood. His speech is acceptable but far from beguiling - and his knowledge? I have heard no man commend the agility of his mind as they do about you, or the power of his javelin. Why is he second in command to my father?’

The General nodded silently, drawing from his pipe twice before answering.

Source

The Strength of Sumuel the Vizier

‘Young Prince, the Vizier has strengths that these men all understand and respect, but have no name to put to it. They – we, know under the surface of our thoughts that without his rank he is still the most powerful of us all, though it will be hard to show you why.”


The General puffed again on his pipe, scratching his beard in thought, then he nodded his head again, turning to the Prince.


‘When we sleep tonight it will seem but a moment before the sun shines on our faces. The sun that wakes us does many other things we often fail to notice. Think of the plants; the sun does not command them, or wilt them as punishment, but he gives his light freely. The rays of light he shines on them bring life, and the plants turn gratefully to their giver. This is how the Sumuel became noticed, despite his common blood, and this is how he continues.’


The General then stood and pointed to the temple.



‘What is it that keeps this temple from collapsing?’



The Prince thought, then answered quickly.



‘The columns hold it together!’



‘Yes, and if I asked you whether this temple or my house would last longer, what would you say?’



‘The temple of course!’



‘And why?’



‘Because Nur-Adad is the greatest architect who ever lived; he shames even the wise men with his knowledge of mathematics! The temple is his masterpiece.’



The General smiled.



‘Now you’ll understand why Sumuel is Vizer of the Kingdom. A temple is made of many parts, and you’re right, the pillars keep it from collapsing. But what makes it a masterpiece is not the foundation or the pillars, but the craftsmanship; the detail of the measurements, the skillful mathematics.



This army and the Kingdom has many parts like the temple, and the men you admire are the pillars. But pillars do not place themselves.


Now who do you think the craftsman is?’


The Prince’s eye’s followed Sumuel as he walked with the people, and a new understanding solidified in his mind.


Source
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)