File:Priest-king_from_Uruk,_Mesopotamia,_Iraq,_c._3000_BCE._The_Iraq_Museum_(transparent).png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Enmerkar
Sign in to saveEnmerkar () was an ancient Sumerian ruler to whom the construction of the city of Uruk and a 420-year reign was attributed. According to literary sources, he led various campaigns against the land of Aratta.
Key facts
- Royalty.name
- Enmerkar
- Royalty.dynasty
- Uruk 1
- Royalty.succession
- King of Uruk
- Royalty.image
- Priest-king from Uruk, Mesopotamia, Iraq, c. 3000 BCE. The Iraq Museum (transparent).png
- Royalty.caption
- Priest-king of Uruk from the Late Uruk Period
- Military conflict.conflict
- Enmerkar's campaigns against Aratta
- Military conflict.date
- 3250 BC
- Military conflict.place
- Aratta (now Iraq)
- Military conflict.result
- Uruk victory
- Military conflict.combatant1
- Uruk
- Military conflict.combatant2
- Aratta
- Military conflict.commander1
- Enmerkar
- Military conflict.commander2
- unknown
- Military conflict.casualties1
- unknown
- Military conflict.casualties2
- unknown
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Child
- Ninsun
- Father
- Mesh-ki-ang-gasher
- Occupation
- sovereign
- Religion
- Sumerian religion
- Image
- Priest-king from Uruk, Mesopotamia, Iraq, c. 3000 BCE. The Iraq Museum (transparent).png
Show 4 more facts
- floruit
- 2700-00-00
- date of birth
- 3100-00-00
- present in work
- Sumerian King List
- date of death
- 3000-00-00
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
14 sectionsContents
- Historical king
- Late Uruk period
- Expeditions to Aratta
- Akkad
- Matter of Aratta
- Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
- Enmerkar and Ensuhgirana
- Lugalbanda poems
- Later influence
- In antiquity
- Identification as Nimrod
- Notes
- References
- External links
Enmerkar () was an ancient Sumerian ruler to whom the construction of the city of Uruk and a 420-year reign was attributed. According to literary sources, he led various campaigns against the land of Aratta.
He is credited in Sumerian legend as the inventor of writing. An excerpt of an ancient text states "Because the messenger's mouth was heavy and he couldn't repeat (the message), the Lord of Kulaba (Enmerkar) patted some clay and put words on it, like a tablet. Until then, there had been no putting words on clay." This is the earliest known story in history about the invention of writing.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Enmerkar” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.