expedition against Aratta
E812785
The "expedition against Aratta" is an ancient Sumerian epic narrative recounting Enmerkar’s legendary campaign to subdue the distant, wealthy land of Aratta through diplomacy, magic, and divine favor.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Sumerian epic
ⓘ
ancient Mesopotamian literary work ⓘ mythological narrative ⓘ |
| associatedWithCulture | Sumerian civilization NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithDeity |
Enki
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Inanna NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithRegion | southern Mesopotamia ⓘ |
| containsElement |
magical spells
ⓘ
prayers to deities ⓘ ritual speech ⓘ |
| culturalRole | example of early Near Eastern epic tradition ⓘ |
| depictsLocation |
mountainous land of Aratta
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
temple of Inanna in Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| depictsRuler | Enmerkar, king of Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describesEvent |
attempt to subdue Aratta
ⓘ
campaign of Enmerkar against Aratta ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Enmerkar
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Inanna NERFINISHED ⓘ lord of Aratta ⓘ messenger of Enmerkar ⓘ |
| hasGenre |
epic poetry
ⓘ
myth ⓘ |
| hasLanguage | Sumerian ⓘ |
| hasMainCharacter | Enmerkar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasSetting |
Aratta
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Uruk NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
conflict between cities
ⓘ
diplomacy ⓘ divine favor ⓘ kingship ⓘ magic ⓘ submission of foreign lands ⓘ |
| literaryFunction |
exaltation of Inanna’s power
ⓘ
legitimation of Uruk’s supremacy ⓘ praise of Enmerkar ⓘ |
| narrativeMode | third-person narrative ⓘ |
| partOfTradition | Enmerkar and Aratta cycle NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| preservedOn | cuneiform tablets ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta NERFINISHED ⓘ Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird NERFINISHED ⓘ Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| timeOfOrigin | Early second millennium BCE (approximate literary composition) ⓘ |
| usesMotif |
boasting and challenge exchanges
ⓘ
divinely sanctioned kingship ⓘ long-distance diplomacy ⓘ magical incantations ⓘ |
| writingSystem | cuneiform ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.