21_Royal Historians, Poets, and Artists - Mesopotamia

This lecture focuses on texts attributed to rulers of the Mesopotamian kingdoms. Using narratives, poetry, and the visual arts, monarchs took the opportunity to present themselves to their subjects and to the rulers of other kingdoms. Sargon of Akkad, who unified Sumer and Akkad in 2350 B.C., bequeathed to history accounts of his achievements. He dubbed himself “the ruler to whom the god Enlil has given no rival” and helped shape the model of empire in the Near East. This model and Sargon’s name were still being invoked 1,500 years after his death. Sargon appointed his daughter Enheduanna priestess of Sin, the moon goddess. She penned one of the great poems of the ancient Near East, “The Adoration of Inanna of Ur.” Remarkably, the complete text of the poem has survived. A close reading of this text yields insights into the idea of the goddess and the olace of women in religions ritual.