En-men-dur-ana (also En-men-dur-an-ki, Enmenduranki) of Zimbir (the city now known as
Sippar
Sippar (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , Zimbir) (also Sippir or Sippara) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its ''Tell (archaeology), tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell ...
) was an ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...
ian king, whose name appears in the
Sumerian King List
The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient Composition (language), literary composition written in Sumerian language, Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims ...
as the seventh pre-dynastic king of Sumer. He was also the topic of myth and legend, said to have reigned for around 21,000 years.
Name
His name means "chief of the powers of Dur-an-ki", while "Dur-
an-
ki" in turn means "the meeting-place of heaven and earth" (literally "bond of above and below").
City
En-men-dur-ana's city Sippar was associated with the worship of the
sun-god Utu, later called
Shamash
Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in t ...
in the
Akkadian language
Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...
. Sumerian and Babylonian literature attributed the founding of Sippar to Utu.
Myth
A myth written in a Semitic language tells of Emmeduranki, subsequently being taken to heaven by the gods Shamash and
Adad, and taught the secrets of heaven and of earth. In particular, Emmeduranki was taught arts of
divination
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
, such as
how to inspect oil on water and
how to discern messages in the liver of animals and several other divine secrets.
[I. Tzvi Abusch, K. van der Toorn. Mesopotamian magic: textual, historical, and interpretative perspectives. p24.]
See also
*
Apkallu
*
History of Sumer
*
Mesopotamian mythology
References
Sources
*
*
, -
{{Sumerian King List
Antediluvian Sumerian kings
Primordial teachers
Entering heaven alive
Diviners
Legendary progenitors
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Sippar