View source for Biography:Meshkiangasher

{{Short description|Sumerian ruler priest of Inanna}}
{{Infobox royalty|name=Meshkiangasher <br>{{cuneiform|𒈩𒆠𒉘𒂵𒊺𒅕}}|title={{unbulleted list
   | [[Place:Uruk|King of Uruk]]
   | Ruler of Sumer
 }}|image=File:Cylinder seal king Louvre AO6620.jpg|caption=Cylinder seal depicting the king-priest and his acolyte feeding the sacred herd. Uruk period, c. 3200 BC.|succession=[[Place:Uruk|King of Uruk]]|reign=[[History:Uruk period|Uruk period]] (legendary)|predecessor=First dynasty of [[History:Kish (Sumer)|Kish]]|successor=Enmerkar|issue=Enmerkar|father=[[Religion:Utu|Utu]]}}
'''Meshkiangasher'''{{Efn|Lit. "Meski'ağ, he is mighty".<ref>Marchesi, G. (2010). The Sumerian King List and the Early History of Mesopotamia. In M. G. Biga - M. Liverani (Eds.), Ana Turri Gimilli: Studi Dedicati Al Padre Werner R. Mayer, S. J., Da Amici e Allievi (Vicino Oriente - Quaderno 5; Roma), Pp. 231-248.</ref>}}{{Efn|[[Social:Sumerian language|Sumerian:]] {{cuneiform|𒈩𒆠𒉘𒂵𒊺𒅕}} ''Meškiağašer''}} was a legendary king mentioned in the Sumerian King List as the priest of the [[Social:Eanna|Eanna]] temple in [[Place:Uruk|Uruk]], whose journey led him to the enter the sea and ascend the mountains.

== Mythology ==
The King list mentions Meshkiangasher as a descendant of the sun god [[Religion:Utu|Utu]], who became the high priest of [[Social:Inanna|Inanna]] in the Eanna temple reigning for 324 years,{{Efn|P2 has 325, however, the sum of the reigns given to Uruk restores it as 324.}} and conceived his son and successor to the throne Enmerkar. His epithet concludes with his descent to the [[Earth:Sea|sea]] and ascent to the [[Earth:Mountain|mountain]]s, a journey which has been compared to the trajectory of the [[Astronomy:Sun|sun]], believed by the Sumerians that made the exact travel and suitable for the "son of the sun-god".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jacobsen|first=Thorkild|title=The Sumerian King List|pages=85–93}}</ref>

== Historical king ==
Unlike his successors, Meshkiangasher is not found in any poem or hymn besides the King list. His reign has long been suspected to be a fabrication during the Ur III period<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Mittermayer|first=Catherine|title=Enmerkara und der Herr von Arata: Ein ungleicher Wettstreit.|year=2009|pages=93}}</ref> due to the Sumerian-Akkadian hybrid structure of his name, the element ''MES'', which occurs in historical royal names of Ur, and the tradition about his disappearance.<ref name=":0" /> The fabrication of king Meshkiangasher could be an arrangement to separate the god Utu from being the biological father of Enmerkar, as mentioned in ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'', and giving him a royal descendant instead.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Drewnowska|first1=Olga|title=Fortune and Misfortune in the Ancient Near East.|last2=Sandowicz|first2=Malgorata|publisher=EISENBRAUNS|year=2017|location=Winona Lake, Indiana|pages=201}}</ref>

==See also==
*List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef | before=First dynasty of [[History:Kish (Sumer)|Kish]]}}
{{S-ttl | title=Sumerian ruler<br>En of [[Place:Uruk|Uruk]] | years=Late Uruk Period (legendary)}}
{{S-aft | after=Enmerkar}}
{{End}}
{{Portal|Asia|Mythology
}}{{Rulers of Sumer}}
[[Category:Inanna]]

{{Sourceattribution|Meshkiangasher}}