ACKERMANAt a glance
History, context & interpretation
The text and its story
Hymns to the goddess Inanna and the 42 Temple Hymns. Enheduanna writes in the first person about being exiled and restored, making her poetry deeply personal.
Traditional attribution
Written by Enheduanna, high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur.
Historical scholarship
Accepted by most scholars as the first author in history known by name; daughter of Sargon of Akkad.
Context and curiosity
Her name and image survive on an alabaster disc found at Ur in 1927.
Chronology and transmission
This text belongs to Mesopotamia & the Levant (Akkadian Empire). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 2285–2250 BCE and original language or script as Sumerian. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.
Sources and further reading
Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.
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