Origins & Early Life

Enmerkar (fl. c. 2750 BC) 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.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

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. The tradition of Enmerkar as the founder of Uruk seems to date from the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BC) as found in the Ad-gi4 list. The lexical list mentions Enmerkar and his wife Enmerkarzi as the builders of a town and the bringers of agriculture.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

A bilingual edition of the list has been found at Nineveh, indicating that the tradition was transmitted into the first millennium. Despite his proclaimed divine descent from the poems, Enmerkar was not deified as were his successors Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh. These two last kings were already...

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