This jar, which is on display at the Met, illustrates the great skill with which the Highland potters used geometric patterns to form an empty panel. The panel was filled with living things, such as the ibex, leopards, or birds.
Although not as well known as Gilgamesh, the stories surrounding his predecessor, Enmerkar, are just as interesting. One of these, known as Enmerkar and Ensuhgirana, begins when Ensuhgirana, the king of Aratta, sends a messenger with a challenge for Enmerkar, the king of Uruk.
He must submit to me; he must bear my yoke!
If he submits to me; he must bear my yoke!
If he submits to me well and truly, then for him and me this means:
He may live with Inana in the Egara,
But I shall live with Inana in the Ezagina of Aratta.
He may lie with her on a flowery bed,
But I shall lie in sweet slumber with her on a bejeweled couch…
He may meet with Inanna in his dreams at night,
But I shall converse with Inanna between her gleaming legs!
He may fatten the geese with barley;
I shall certainly fatten no geese with barley;
No, I shall collect their eggs and goslings in a basket-
The small ones for my pot, the large ones for my kettle-
Whatever is left of the geese,
The rulers of the highland that have submitted to me shall partake
of that with me!1Vanstiphout 2003
The text proceeds in this manner with Ensuhgirana offering to let Enmerkar share in his pot of geese if he will submit to his rule. Enmerkar sent his reply to the king Aratta, which we have summarized as follows: Firstly, Inanna sleeps with Enmerkar on an even more splendid bed (there follows a lengthy description of his bed). Secondly, Inanna resides with Enmerkar in Uruk and not in Aratta. Finally, Enmerkar was raised by Ninurta and suckled by Arum!
Upon receiving Enmerkar’s insolent reply, Ensuhgirana summoned his council for war. But the elders of the council overruled their lord, reminding him that he was the one who had instigated hostilities with Uruk.
It was you who first sent a boastful message to Unug [Uruk] for Enmerkar. Calm down; your ear will prompt you to achieve nothing, as far as can be known.2Vanstiphout 2003
It was sensible advice, but the king or Aratta would not listen to it.
If my city becomes a ruin mound, then I will be a potsherd of it, but I will never submit to the lord of Unug, the lord of Kulaba.3Vanstiphout 2003
The king of Aratta may have been the first, but he would not be the last to sacrifice the life of his people on the altar of his ego!
Anshan and Aratta
The tale of Enmerkar and Ensuhgirana hearkens back to a simpler age when wealth was measured by the size of one’s bed and the number of geese in one’s pot. The identification of Aratta has received a great deal of scholarly attention over the years. Its location are a few geographical clues to go on. The city was located: 1) in the east, 2) across “five-six-seven” mountain ranges, 3) it has great mineral wealth but unstable supplies of grain, 4) Susa and Anshan are on the way.
With regards to (4), we know Susa was located on the alluvial plain formed by the Karkeh and Karun rivers, east of Uruk, while Anshan was located on a high plateau, approximately 300 miles southeast of Susa, at Tal-i Malyan. If we are standing in Uruk and strike a bearing towards Anshan, across “five-six-seven” mountain ranges, we end up somewhere deep in Iran where it borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here lies the Dasht-e Lut, a desert region which may claim the unenviable title of being the hottest place on earth. However, the region of Shahdad on the Takrut plain west of the Dasht-e Lut was home to a thriving civilization during the first half of the Early Bronze period. Likewise, the Sistan Basin east of the Dasht-e Lut was home to Shahr-e Sokhta, an important city which occupied an area of approximately 200 acres during the early 3rd millennium BC. The Greek geographer, Strabo (64 BC – 24 AD) refers to the region as Drangiana and notes that tin was mined there.4Moorey 1994, 299 This is an important clue since Sumerian texts likewise describe Aratta as a place where the “soil is tin-stone.” 5Moorey 1994, 298
It is curious to note that Aratta only features in texts that have to do with earliest period of Sumerian history. There are occasional allusions to Aratta in later texts but these exceptions prove the rule, for these passages speak of Aratta as a quasi-mythical place which belonged to a golden age. Considering Shahr-e Sokhta was abandoned towards the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, it is tempting to identify it with Aratta, although such identifications must remain highly speculative for the time being.
Tepe Sialk
Directly north of Anshan, the site of Tepe Sialk has produced fine examples of pottery produced in the Iranian highlands during the Proto-Elamite period. It clearly bears some relation to the pottery recovered from Susa I (which we looked at in an earlier entry), but belongs to a slightly later period. The two pottery styles provide a useful comparison.
The pottery found in Susa I is more geometric and abstract. While the ibex remains a favorite subject of pottery from Tepe Sialk III, leopards and birds are also common.
The pottery from Tepe Sialk III continues a tradition that started with Susa I. Some differences may nevertheless be observed between the two. The pottery from Tepe Sialk III is not so rigidly symmetric and geometric. Whereas the focus of the potters who produced the Susa I pottery was on geometric designs, now animals are the focus. New types of vessels also appear. In addition to open shapes such as bowls and cups, the potters of the Iranian Highlands produced closed vessels such as jars. Their highly decorated pottery continues to be found primarily in tombs.
Characteristics
- brown paint on a buff background
- occasional use of the pottery wheel
- the chalice and pedestalled bowl are common forms
- although animals and humans are still shown in the abstract, some attempt is made to give them realistic details
- geometric designs are not strictly symmetric
- empty space is allowed
- found primarily in tombs
Human and animals are always depicted abstractly. The pottery fragment at right preserves what appears to be an early depiction of a horse.
Spotted leopards are a common theme on these vessels. They are often shown head to tail under the rim of large drinking bowls (“kraters”).
Left: The chalice and pedestalled bowl are new forms which appear in Stratum III at Tepe Sialk. Right: In contrast with the Susa I pottery, the artist no longer feels compelled to fill all the space with geometric designs.
Frankfort, Henri.
Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt and their Earliest Interrelations. Occasional Papers, No. 6. vols.
London: Royal Anthropoligical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1924.
Vanstiphout, Herman.
Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, edited by Jerrold S. Cooper.
Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003.