Cuneiform sign EN, for Lord or Master (evolution)

En (Borger 2003 nr. 164 ; U+12097 𒂗, see also Ensí) is the

Sumerian Sumerian or Sumerians may refer to: *Sumer, an ancient civilization **Sumerian language **Sumerian art **Sumerian architecture **Sumerian literature **Cuneiform script, used in Sumerian writing *Sumerian Records, an American record label based in ...

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 wedg ...

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 ...

" 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 particu ...

". 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.H ...

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

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...

, ^D

Enki , image = Enki(Ea).jpg , caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC , deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief ...

, ^DEngurun, and ^D Enzu. Enheduanna,

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, early writing system * Akkadian myt ...

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 Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 3000 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day ...

(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 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 urbe ...

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

; 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 th ...

, 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.

References

Sources

Moran, William L. William Lambert Moran (August 11, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States. In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his ...

''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