En-hedu-anna

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En-hedu-ana

En-ḫedu-ana (also En-hedu-anna, En-chedu-ana ; Sumerian En-he 2 -du 7 -an-na , also Enḫeduanna / Encheduanna / Enheduanna ) was the daughter of Sargon of Akkad , held the office of High priestess of the moon god Nanna in the southern Mesopotamian city of Ur and was also his wife. Her name is translated from Sumerian: "High priestess, ornament of heaven (god) An". She is considered the first historically known author whose works have come down to us in writing. En-ḫedu-ana, which in the 23rd century BC BC, is still considered to be the most important female figure of her millennium.

Your life

Appointment as Entu priestess

As the daughter of Sargon of Akkad, was En-ḫedu-anna Nadītum -priestess of the sky god Anu in Uruk , the Inanna in Uruk and the Nanna in Ur . After the death of the old Entu priestess , her father called her around 2270 BC. To the new high priestess in Egipar in Ur. She was thus automatically the “wife” of the moon god Nanna ( Akkadian Su'en , Babylonian-Assyrian Sîn ).

The epithet en stands for (priest) lord and pontifical supremacy. The exact meaning is unclear, but its rank was higher than ensi ( city ​​prince , later also for governor). The Sumerians made a distinction between “en-tum” (nam-en), “ ensi -tum” (nam-ensi) and “lugal-tum” (nam-lugal). The title lugal was the title of ruler par excellence.

In order to secure rule and probably in the service of the integration policy (of the subjugated Sumerian population), it remained a custom among the successors of Sargon to occupy the highest priesthood with the daughters of the rulers. En-men-ana , daughter of Naram-Sin , accordingly took over the office of Entu priestess as En-hedu-anna's successor.

The 40 temple hymns

In keeping with her father's policy, En-hedu-anna put together a collection of forty temple hymns , which in their arrangement follow the geographical principle from the south, starting with Eridu , to the north with Akkade , Sippar and Ešnunna . The collection of hymns thus includes all the important cities of Sumer and Akkad at the time of Sargon.

In a hymn to Inanna von Uruk ("Heavenly Lady") she goes beyond traditional salutations and tells in the story of the expulsion of En-hedu-anna from her position and her later return through the mercy of Inanna. In another very personal text she praises Inanna as “the generous mistress”. En-hedu-anna expresses her feelings with great passion, including gloomy thoughts about suffering and fate, about human activity and divine retribution.

She was well aware of her literary “pioneering role”: she is the first writer to mention herself by name and to write something personal in her works. In the final part of the text she mentions her name like in a colophon .

In the hymns to Inanna, En-hedu-anna mentions her name in the places where the name of the ruler was usually found in the royal hymns or inscriptions. It thus impressively documents its royal authorship. This pronounced self-confidence of a writer remained unique in Mesopotamia for a long time.

literature

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ↑ Annette Zgoll : En-hedu-Ana: Sargon's daughter - wife of the moon god: testimonies to the dramatic life of the earliest author (23rd century BC). In: J. Kügler, L. Bormann (Hrsg.): Daughters (God): Studies on the relationship between culture, religion and gender. 8th Bayreuth Forum. Lit, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-8258-1185-3 , pp. 7-21, here p. 9.
  2. ↑ Gebhard J. Selz : Sumerians and Akkadians: History - Society - Culture. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50874-X , p. 67.
  3. ↑ 2334 BC According to middle chronology.
personal data
SURNAME En-hedu-anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES En-ḫedu-anna; En-ḫedu-ana; En-chedu-ana; Enḫeduanna; Encheduanna; Enheduanna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION oldest poet of mankind, whose works have been handed down in writing
DATE OF BIRTH around 2300 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Mesopotamia
DATE OF DEATH 23rd century BC Chr.