Enheduanna
Sumerian high priestess and celebrated as the earliest known named author in world history.
Chronology: -2300 โ -2300
Origins & Early Life
Enheduanna (Sumerian: ๐๐ถ๐๐ญ๐พ Enแธซรฉduanna, also transliterated as Enheduana, En-he2-du7-an-na, or variants; fl. c. 2300 BC) was the entu (high) priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sฤซn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad (r. c.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
2334 โ c. 2279 BCE). She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of the religious group at Ur to cement ties between the Akkadian religion of her father and the native Sumerian religion. Enheduanna has been celebrated as the earliest known named author in world history. A number of works in Sumerian literature, such as the Exaltation of Inanna feature her as the first-person narrator, and other works, such as the Sumerian Temple Hymns may identify her as their author.
Enduring Legacy & Impact
However, there is considerable debate among modern Assyriologists based on linguistic and archaeological grounds as to whether or not she actually wrote or composed any of the rediscovered works that have been attributed to her. Additionally, the only manuscripts of the works attributed to her were written by scribes in the First Babylonian Empire six centuries after she lived, written in a more recent dialect of the Sumerian language than she would have...
Source: Wikipedia