Enheduana of Sumer

Enheduana was the first non- anonymous author in history. Back in 2300 BC, king Sargon of the city- state Akkad had made his daughter high priestess in the Ziggurat, in the city of Ur. Enheduana worshipped the goddess Nanna and lived in the top rooms of the Ziggurat, the room closest to the heavens. She offered prayers, carried out rituals, and she made animal sacrifices. She pleased the gods, in ways such as making them perfumes from burning incense and other perfumed resins. However, the reason why Enheduana became famous was for her poems, which at that time were bestsellers. Today we have found over 50 copies of the same poem, written on clay tablets with a tool called a stylus. Enheduana was famous for her poems. Unfortunately after many years as high priestess, Enheduana got kicked off by her niece that had come to power, and he had put his own daughter in the high priestess position. It is believed that she was thrown out into the desert. However, she was the first author known by name and this is something the world won’t forget.

What did books look like during the time that Enheduana was writing? How were these books written?
Books at 2300 BC looked very different from what they look like today. They were small clay tablets, that looked more like hard pillows and not paperbacks. To write on them they used a pointed tool called a stylus, which was used when the clay was still soft.

Where did Enheduana and her family live? What did her father do?
Enheduana, her twin brothers Rimush and Manishtusu, and her father Sargon lived in a spanking-new big palace, surrounded by the city- state of Akkad in Sumer. Enheduana's father Sargon was considered the greatest of Akkadian kings. Legend says that that when he was born, he was put in a basket on the Euphrates river and raised by a gardener who found him. As a young man, Sargon overthrew the king and seized power. At the time he had expanded his rule over Kish and Akkad, and made them important cities of Sumer.

What was Enheduana's job? List three of her duties. How did she lose her job?
Sargon, Enheduana's father, appointed her to be the high priestess to Nanna, the important moon- god of Sumer. Enheduana had her room at the top of the ziggurat in the city of Ur. Enheduana wore her special cap, carried a mace, and dressed in a long embroidered gown with rows of ruffles. She would offer prayers, and she carried out rituals through the years. On top of the ziggurat she made animals sacrifices. To please the gods and godesses, she also burnt incense and other perfumed resins. However, after many years of being a high priestess she got thrown out by her niece, who might have thrown her out into the desert and put his own daughter into high priestess position.

The author says that Enhaduana's poems were so popular that they were like bestsellers today. What evidence does she use to support this claim?
Some evidence that proves that Enheduana's poems were like bestsellers today was that archaeologists have found over 50 clay tablets with the same poem on them.

Enheduana's writings are also hymns of praise, but they also tell us about the times she lived in. Describe one "current event" that Enheduana wrote about.
Enheduana wrote an exciting piece on her own father, Sargon. At one point the city states which he reigned had unites and taken in revolt against him and exiled Innana, the godess, from her temples. Finally Sargon broke the siege, beat the rebels and made Innana powerful and worshipped once more.