Great women of ancient Middle East

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On Enheduanna, Akkadian Princess

She is the Daughter of King Sargon of Akkad and Queen Tsashlultum who lived in the ancient city of Ur (the site is in present-day Iraq). She was the High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon in her time. Enheduanna ( 2285-2250 BC) is one of the earliest female figures in ancient history whose name is recorded in Mesopotamia making her achievement of high regard especially since the Kingdom is Akkad is a kingdom of warriors whose central deity is Marduk, the God of War. She was the very first High Priestess in Akkadian and Mesopotamian history. This role held great political importance being that religion and faith had a direct impact on society and government. After her, it became tradition that women held the 'en' or 'high' Priestess role. What makes her special is the impact her poetry and literary work had in her time and generations after. She left a body of work that scholars often describe as an early attempt at creating a systematic theology. This attempt at systematic theology can be read in her "Sumerian Temple Hymns". Much of her poetry and songs are prayers directed to the goddess Inanna whose domain was sexuality, fertility and warfare. Her work is relevant in theology, cultural studies, in archaeology, history just as they are in humanities and the arts. For while the religious and artistic merits of her work are obvious, the implications of her work about her life and times provide a picture of the Akkad society mirroring their concerns, social issues and the state of their society. Inanna, her most praised deity is the deity of love and fertility as well as war, for example, and this presents a society where procreation and relationships are held important side by side with prowess for war. It suggests that women get involved in warfare just as men did. When her father died, her brother Rimush took over the kingship (Roberts, 2004). Afraid of her religious influence being that her prayers, songs and chants became very popular across Akkad, he removed her from office. An example of her poetry shows her feeling of injustice at this event. She wrote,

"Me who once sat triumphant, he has driven out of the sanctuary.
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