Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

E766850

Sumerian epic poem ancient Mesopotamian literary text mythological narrative

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta is an ancient Sumerian epic poem that recounts the legendary rivalry and diplomatic contest between King Enmerkar of Uruk and the distant, wealthy city of Aratta.

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Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
"Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana"	1
"Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta"	1
King of Uruk	1

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Sumerian epic poem ⓘ ancient Mesopotamian literary text ⓘ mythological narrative ⓘ
associatedCity	Aratta NERFINISHED ⓘ Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ
associatedDeity	Inanna NERFINISHED ⓘ Utu NERFINISHED ⓘ
cataloguedAs	Sumerian literary text in museum tablet collections ⓘ
culture	Sumerian ⓘ
featuresLocation	Aratta NERFINISHED ⓘ Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ
function	royal propaganda for Uruk’s primacy ⓘ
genre	epic ⓘ myth ⓘ
historicalBasis	legendary King Enmerkar of Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ
involvesMedium	oral tradition ⓘ written transmission ⓘ
language	Sumerian language NERFINISHED ⓘ
literaryCycle	Enmerkar cycle ⓘ
literaryForm	poetry ⓘ
mainCharacter	Enmerkar NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord of Aratta NERFINISHED ⓘ
mythologicalCycle	Uruk cycle NERFINISHED ⓘ
narrativePerspective	third-person narrative ⓘ
originPlace	ancient Sumer NERFINISHED ⓘ
plotElement	demand for tribute from Aratta ⓘ diplomatic contest between Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ exchange of messages via heralds ⓘ invocation of goddess Inanna’s support ⓘ
preservationStatus	fragmentary ⓘ
preservedOn	clay tablets ⓘ
relatedWork	Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana NERFINISHED ⓘ Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird NERFINISHED ⓘ Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave NERFINISHED ⓘ The Epic of Gilgamesh NERFINISHED ⓘ
scholarlyField	Assyriology ⓘ Sumerology ⓘ
settingPeriod	Early Dynastic period of Sumer ⓘ
theme	cultural supremacy of Uruk ⓘ diplomacy ⓘ divine favor ⓘ rivalry between city-states ⓘ use of writing and messengers ⓘ
timeOfComposition	early 2nd millennium BCE (approximate) ⓘ
writingSystem	cuneiform script ⓘ

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sumerian literature → notableWork → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

Sumerian religion → hasText → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

Gilgamesh → title → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

this entity surface form: King of Uruk

Eridu archaeological site → isMentionedIn → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

Enmerkar → describedIn → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

this entity surface form: "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta"

Enmerkar → describedIn → Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ⓘ

this entity surface form: "Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana"