Enheduanna was the daughter of Sargon the Great (r. 2334-2279 BC).
Her existence was rediscovered in 1927, with the excavation of the temple complex of Giparu the ancient city of Ur, birthplace of Abraham (son of Terah). Discovered was an alabaster disk with her name, in association with that of her father's.
Sargon also known as Sargon the Akkad, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire. In a surviving inscription Sargon styles himself "Sargon, king of Akkad, overseer (mashkim) of Inanna, king of Kish*, anointed (guda) of Anu, king of the land [Mesopotamia], governor (ensi) of Enlil."
The Sumerian King List makes him the cup-bearer to King Ur-Zababa of Kish, who is listed on the Sumerian King List as the second king of the 4th Dynasty of Kish.
King Ur-Zababa's grandmother was Kubaba, the Mesopotamian queen who according to the Sumerian King List ruled over Kish for a hundred years before the rise of the dynasty of Akshak.
Ur of the Chaldeans, is mentioned in the Bible as the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites and the Ishmaelites.
King Amar-Sin may have been king at the time of Abraham. He is otherwise known to have campaigned against Elamite rulers such as Arwilukpi of Marhashi*, and the Ur Empire under his reign extended as far as the northern provinces of Lullubi and Hamazi, with their own governors. He also ruled over Ashur through the Akkadian governor Zariqum, as confirmed by his monumental inscription.
Enheduanna composed 42 temple hymns and three stand-alone poems that, like the Epic of Gilgamesh, are consider an important part of Mesopotamia's literary legacy.
The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, some of which may date back to the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BC).
She played an essential role helping bind together the northern Mesopotamian region of Akkad, where Sargon first rose to power, before he went on to capture the Sumerian city-states in the south.
*With the collapse of Sumerian civilisation in c. 2004 BC, record-keeping becomes fragmentary for a period of approximately two centuries. Elam fills the power vacuum in the east but records from that state are fragmentary at the best of times. By the time Mesopotamia has restored a level of cohesiveness, Marhashi has either ceased to exist as an entity, or is known by a different name.
"After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug."
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Like this post? Stop by and read “Puabi: Queen of the Chaldeans at Ur, Mesopotamia.” Queen Puabi ruled the Mesopotamian city-state of Ur around 2500 BC. She died around 4,500 years ago, during the First Dynasty of Ur. Inscriptions on the cylinder seal found in her tomb do not mention her husband, suggesting that she ruled in her own right.
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