Enmebaragesi

Enmebaragesi (Sumerian:𒂗𒈨𒁈𒄄𒋛)[3] originally Mebarasi (Sumerian:𒈨𒁈𒋛)[1] was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the Sumerian King List. Like his son and successor Aga he reigned during a period when Kish had hegemony over Sumer.a[4] Enmebaragesi signals a momentous documentary leap from mytho-history to history, since he is the earliest ruler on the king list whose name is attested directly from archaeology.

Enmebaragesi
𒂗𒈨𒁈𒄄𒋛
Alabaster vase fragment with transcription of Mebaragesi as king of Kish (illustration).
𒈨𒁈𒋛 𒈗 𒆧
me-bara2-si lugal kish
"Mebarasi, King of Kish"[1]
King of the First dynasty of Kish
ReignEDI (2900-2700 BC)[2]
PredecessorIltasadum
SuccessorAga of Kish
IssueAga of Kish
DynastyKish I

Name

The name construction of "Title A Place B-e si-Ø" (Official A who is appropriate for place B) was commonly used in the Early Dynastic onomasticon.[5]

  • EN (𒂗): Honorific title that was not part of the original name,[6] used on kings associated with cities sacred to Inanna in the mythical historiography of Ur-Namma's dynasty.[7]
  • ME (𒈨): Michalowski reads it as isib (priest), while Steinkeller concludes it is an abbreviated writing form of men (crown).b
  • BARA2 (𒁈): According to the onomastic it is a cultic/political place. However, if the patern is "ME fit for Official A", it would mean "ruler".
  • SI (𒋛): Verb meaning "to fill", which has more active force than the intransitive verb TUŠ (to sit, dwell), having a highly ideological meaning.

Given both options, the name can be translated as "Priest who permeates the throne"[8] or "Crown fit for a ruler".[9]

Date

The dating of Enmebaragesi’s reign and lifespan has inspired a fair amount of debate within the scholarly community, with propositions ranging from beginning Early Dynastic I (c.2900-2800 BCE) to Early Dynastic IIIa (c.2600 BCE). Most scholars typically attribute a date of c.2600 BCE,[10][11][12] citing several inscriptions that are datable to that period, while others place these inscriptions slightly earlier at c.2700 BCE.[13][14] Gianni Marchesi and Niccolo Marchetti, in their 2006 book: Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, propose that three of the four inscriptions typically attributed to Enmebaragesi refer to a non royal personage, due to their lack of royal dedicators and the fact that they are dated later than the only known inscription referring to Enmebaragesi as king. These ideas are also reflected in the publications of the ARCANE project(Assosiated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East), the most up-to-date evaluation of the chronology of 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamia.[15][16]

Inscriptions

Four inscriptions have been found with the name Mebaragesi, however, only one specifically mentions the title of king in front of the name Mebaragesi and is housed in the Baghdad Museum; 𒈨𒁈𒋛 𒈗 ("Mebaragsi, King of Kish").[1] This inscription can be dated on palaeographic grounds to the Early Dynastic I based on the very archaic form of the sign Kish, still showing the horns of the aurochs’ heads' at the origin of the grapheme.[17][18]
Another vessel fragment from Khafajah, inscribed with the name Me-barag-[si] is usually also attributed to the king of Kish.[19][20] However, the dating of the piece is from the ED IIIa, and the Bara2 (𒁈) of the inscription is of a different shape than that of the inscription in the Baghdad Museum, which might suggest it is referring to another Mebaragesi who was not king.[15][16] He is also attested in the Sumerian King List (ETCSL 2.1.1) and in the Tummal Inscription ETCSL (2.1.3), both as the father of Aga of Kish and the first builder of the temple:

Enmebaragesi,
the king in this very city (Nippur),
built the House of Enlil,
Agga the son of Enmebaragesi,
made the Tummal pre-eminent.

— Old Babylonian tablet Tummal Inscription (1900-1600 BCE)[21][22]

Enmebaragesi is also mentioned Gilgamesh and Aga as the father of Aga who laid siege to Uruk, and in The lord to the Living One's Mountain which is offered as Gilgamesh's sister to be the wife of Huwawa.

Reign

According to the Sumerian King List (ETCSL 2.1.1), Kish had the hegemony over the entire territory of northern Babylonia and the most northern section of southern Babylonia cities such as Nippur, Isin, and Eresh, and large portions of the Diyala Region.[23] Succeeding Iltasadum on the throne, where he reigned 900 years, leading a successful campaign against Elam and capturing Dumuzid the Fisherman in Uruk. There is some scant evidence to suggest that like the later Ur III kings, the rulers of ED Kish sought to ingratiate themselves to the authorities in Nippur, possibly to legitimize a claim for leadership over the land of Sumer or at least part of it.[24] The use of the royal title King of Kish expressing a claim of national rulership owes its prestige to the fact that Kish once did rule the entire nation.[25] Archeology evidence from Kish shows a city flourishing in ED II with its political influence extending beyond the territory, however in ED III the city declined rapidly.[26]

Elamite campaign

The Sumerian King List recounts "En-me(n)-barage-si, the one who carried away as spoil the weapons of the land of Elam, became king." A tradition of the Kishite expansion into the Susiana and Iranian plateau are reflected in an inscription of an ED II king of Kish named Enna-il, which commemorates his military operations in Elam.[27] The Discoveries of the inscriptions of Enmebaragesi and an unidentified king of Kish at Khafajah and Tell Agrab respectively are convincing indicators of the Kišite presence in the Diyala Region.[28]

Invasion of Uruk

While the Sumerian King List (only in one version) mentions that Dumuzid the Fisherman king of Uruk captured Enmebaragesi, a new translation has been made, which exchanges Enmebaragesi as the one who captured Dumuzid.[29]

Sumerian King List translations
ReadingTransliterationTranslation
Before Šu aš en?-me-barag-ge4?-e-si nam-ra [i3?]-ak? Single handed he (Dumuzid) captured En-me-barage-si.
After [Šu aš] en?-me-[barag-ge4?-e-si-ta] nam-ra [ak] He (Dumuzid) was taken captive by the (single) hand of Enmebaragesi.

This allows a better perspective on the political and military struggle between Kish and Uruk, the short duration of Dumuzid rulership and why he had no hereditary successors. After the general-king Lugalbanda in Uruk, a man named from Kuara seized the throne. Enmebaragesi attacked Uruk, captured Dumuzid and subjugated the city placing Gilgamesh as his vassal-king.[30]

Defeat

The later Sumerian Renaissance (Ur III) king Shulgi addressed one of his praise poems (Shulgi Hymn O (ETCSL 2.1.1)) to Gilgamesh, that credits him with capturing and defeating Enmebaragesi of Kish instead of his son Aga as Gilgamesh and Aga recounts. While in the historical scene of the Early Dynastic period this is quite conceivable,c the assumption of two different wars is difficult to uphold because Gilgamesh emerges as victorious in both; his first victory would imply defeat and submission by the kingdom of Kish.[31]

Since Gilgamesh addresses Aga denoting military relations between them in the past and indebtedness to him for saving his life leads to Gilgamesh being dependent on Aga previously, conflicting with the assumption that he won a previous war against Kish. Another theory is since Enmebaragesi established the hegemony of Kish, defeating Aga would be less impressive than his powerful father, who therefore served the purpose of the hymn and portrays Gilgamesh as a mighty figure. Since Enmebaragesi was inserted to replace Aga, the hymn doesn't reflect a separate but rather one literary tradition from the tale.[32]

In the 2009 comedy film Year One, a film parodying historical, biblical and mythical persons, places and events, Enmebaragesi is portrayed as one of the best hunters from the village.

Notes
a.^ While Aga and his father Enmebaragesi had sumerian names, the rest of the Kish dynasty had Semitic names, such as Jushur, Zuqaqip or Mashda.[33]
b.^ The word men is rather uncommon in the Fara personal names, appearing only seven times. One of those names Men-pa-e2 only appears five times, while it's graphic variación ME-pa-e2 is attested 37 times.[34]
c.^ The prolonged war between Lagash and Umma, known from the inscriptions of five consecutive kings of Lagash.

Citations
  1. "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
  2. Pournelle, Jennifer R. (2003). Marshland of Cities: Deltaic Landscapes and the Evolution of Early Mesopotamian Civilization. San Diego: University of California. p. 267.
  3. "Sumerian Dictionary "Enmebaragesi" (RN) entry". Upenn.edu.
  4. Jacobsen The Sumerian King List pp. 82-85
  5. Steinkeller (2015) p.44
  6. Steinkeller (2015) p.44
  7. Michalowski (2003) p.205
  8. Michalowski (2003) p.205
  9. Steinkeller (2015) p.45
  10. Beaulieu A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 p. 36
  11. Scarre Ancient Civilizations p.80
  12. Lombardo Gilgamesh p. 2
  13. Roux, Georges (2015). La Mésopotamie. Essai d'histoire politique, économique et culturelle. Editions du Seuil. p. 116. ISBN 978-2-02-129163-6.
  14. Somervill, Barbara A. (2009). Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia. Infobase Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-60413-157-4.
  15. Marchesi Toward a Chronology of Early Dynastic Rulers in Mesopotamia pp. 139-156
  16. Marchesi, Gianni; Marchetti, Nicolò (2006). Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. p. 99.
  17. Mittermayer (2005) pp.23-24
  18. Marchesi & Marchetti Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia pp. 97-129
  19. Frayne, Douglas (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods. University of Toronto Press. pp. 56–57.
  20. Sollberger, Edmond; Kupper, Jean-Robert (1971). Inscriptions royales sumériennes et akkadiennes. Paris: Éditions du Cerf.
  21. "CDLI-Found Texts". cdli.ucla.edu.
  22. Kramer, S.N. (1963). The Sumerians: their history, culture, and character. University of Chicago Press. p. 46. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  23. Steinkeller An archaic “prisoner plaque” from Kiš pp.131-157
  24. Faryne "The Struggle for Hegemony in Early Dynastic II Sumer" The Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies pp.65-66
  25. Katz Gilgamesh and Akka p.30 n.83
  26. Katz Gilgamesh and Akka p.16
  27. Frayne, RIME 1, 75-76
  28. Steinkeller An archaic “prisoner plaque” from Kiš pp.131-157
  29. THE BROCKMON COLLECTION DUPLICATE OF THE SUMERIAN KINGLIST (BT 14) by Jacob Klein (Bar-Ilan University)
  30. THE BROCKMON COLLECTION DUPLICATE OF THE SUMERIAN KINGLIST (BT 14) by Jacob Klein (Bar-Ilan University)
  31. Katz Gilgamesh and Akka p.14
  32. Katz Gilgamesh and Akka p.15
  33. Katz Gilgamesh and Akka p.20
  34. Steinkeller (2015) p.44

References
  • "Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative".
  • Katz, Dina (1993). Gilgamesh and Akka (First ed.). Groningen, the Netherlands: SIXY Publication. ISBN 90-72371-67-4.
  • Beaulieu, Paul Alain (2018). A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 (First ed.). Wiley Blackway. ISBN 978-111-945-9071.
  • Mittermayer, Catherine (2005). Die Entwicklung der Tierkopfzeichen. Eine Studie zur syro-mesopotamischen Keilschriftpaläographie des 3. und frühen 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr (First ed.). Münster. ISBN 3-934628-59-1.
  • Steinkeller (2004). "Studies in Third Millennium Paleography, 4: Sign KIŠ". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archaologie. 94 (2).
  • Sallaberger, Walther (2015). Toward a Chronology of Early Dynastic Rulers in Mesopotamia (First ed.). Brepols Publishers. ISBN 978-2-503-53494-7.
  • Scarre, Chris; Fagan, Brian M. (2016). Ancient Civilizations. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-29608-9.
  • Lombardo, Stanley (2019). Gilgamesh. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62466-774-9.
  • Jacobsen, Thorkild (1939). Sumerian King List (Second ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226622736.
  • Mittermayer (2005). "Die Entwicklung der Tierkopfzeichen. Eine Studie zur syro-mesopotamischen Keilschriftpaläographie des 3. und frühen 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr". Alter Orient und Altes Testament (319).
  • Steinkeller Piotr (2015). "On the Reading of the Pre-Sargonic Personal Name di-(d)Utu and Related Matters". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 74 (1).
  • Steinkeller Piotr (2013). "An archaic "prisoner plaque" from Kiš". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 107 (1).
  • Steinkeller, Piotr (2004). "Studies in Third Millennium Paleography, 4: Sign KIŠ". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie (94).
  • Marchesi, Gianni; Marchetti, Nicolo (2011). Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-173-3.
  • Frayne, Douglas Ralph (2008). Presargonic Period (2700–2350 BC). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442690479.
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Iltasadum		 King of Sumer
Lugal of Kish
ca. 2900-2700 BCE		 Succeeded by
Aga
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