Cuneiform sign EN, for Lord or Master (evolution)

En (Borger 2003 nr. 164 ; U+12097 𒂗, see also

Ensí Ensi (cuneiform: , "lord of the plowland"; Emesal dialect: ''umunsik''; akk, iššakkum, script=Latn, italic=yes) was a Sumerian title designating the ruler or prince of a city-state. Originally it may have designated an independent ruler, b ...

) is the Sumerian

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

for "

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

" or "

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

". Originally, it seems to have been used to designate a high priest or priestess of a Sumerian

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

's patron-deity – a position that entailed political power as well. It may also have been the original title of the ruler of

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...

. See ''Lugal, ensi and en'' for more details. Deities including En as part of their name include ^D Enlil, ^D Enki, ^DEngurun, and ^D

Enzu Nanna, Sīn or Suen ( akk, ), and in Aramaic ''syn'', ''syn’'', or even ''shr'' 'moon', or Nannar ( sux, ) was the god of the moon in the Mesopotamian religions of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia and Aram. He was also associated ...

Enheduanna Enheduanna ( sux, , also transliterated as , , or variants) was the priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad. She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of t ...

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

2285 BC – 2250 BC was the first known holder of the title, "En Priestess."

Archaic forms

The corresponding Emesal dialect word was UMUN, which may preserve an archaic form of the word. Earlier Emeg̃ir (the standard dialect of Sumerian) forms can be postulated as ''*ewen'' or ''*emen'', eventually dropping the middle consonant and becoming the familiar EN.

Amarna letters: bêlu

The

1350 BC Events and trends * c. 1356 BC – Amenhotep IV begins the worship of Aten in Ancient Egypt, changing his name to Akhenaten and moving the capital to Akhetaten, starting the Amarna Period. * c. 1352 BC – Amenhotep III ( Eighteenth D ...

Amarna letters use EN for bêlu, though not exclusively. The more common spelling is mostly 'be' + 'li', to make "bêlí", or its equivalent. Some example letters using cuneiform 'EN' are letters EA (for 'El Amarna')

252 Year 252 ( CCLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Trebonianus and Volusianus (or, less frequently, year 1005 '' Ab urb ...

, EA 254, and EA 282,Moran, ''The Amarna Letters'', p. 239, 307, 323. titled: ''"A demand for recognition"'', by

Abimilku Abimilki ( ''Amorite'': , '' LÚa-bi-mil-ki'', ) around 1347 BC held the rank of Prince of Tyre (called "Surru" in the letters), during the period of the Amarna letters correspondence (1350–1335 BC). He is the author of ten letters to the Egypt ...

; ''"Neither rebel or delinquent (2)"'', by

Labayu Labaya (also transliterated as Labayu or Lib'ayu) was a 14th-century BCE ruler or warlord in the central hill country of southern Canaan. He lived contemporaneously with Pharaoh Akhenaten. Labaya is mentioned in several of the Amarna Letters (abb ...

; and ''"Alone"'', by Shuwardata. Most of the uses are in the letter introduction, formulaic addresses to the

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

, stating typically to effect: :"To the King (pharaoh), ''Lord-mine'', (speaking) thus...." EA 254 Bodies of the letters also repeat the phraseology of "King, my Lord", sometimes doubly as in letter EA 34, (using be-li, as bêlu), ''"The pharaoh's reproach answered"'', by the King of

Alashiya Alashiya ( akk, 𒀀𒆷𒅆𒅀 ''Alašiya'' -la-ši-ia uga, 𐎀𐎍𐎘𐎊 ''ẢLṮY''; Linear B: 𐀀𐀨𐀯𐀍 ''Alasios'' -ra-si-jo, also spelled Alasiya, also known as the Kingdom of Alashiya, was a state which existed in the Middle ...

References

Sources

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, ) {{DEFAULTSORT:En (Cuneiform) Sumerian titles Men's social titles

Archaic forms

Amarna letters: bêlu

See also

References

Sources