The Exaltation of Inanna (Nin-me-šara)

Composed by Enheduanna, high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur and daughter of Sargon of Akkad, this hymn is the earliest known literary work attributed to a named author. The text opens with a majestic invocation cataloguing the divine powers Inanna holds over all things — from warfare and lament to the descent of royalty and the granting of wisdom. Enheduanna then narrates her personal crisis: she has been driven from her temple by a rebel named Lugal-ane, who has usurped Ur and overturned sacred rites. She appeals to the moon god Nanna, who does not respond. She turns to Inanna directly, reminding the goddess of her powers over heaven and earth. The hymn reaches its emotional climax as Enheduanna declares that she will speak the midnight lament until Inanna restores justice. The text closes with Inanna's triumph: the rebel is defeated, Enheduanna is restored to her rightful place, and the hymn celebrates Inanna's supreme power. The work is both an intensely personal account of displacement and a theological statement of Inanna's sovereignty over all other deities.