Aratt is a land that appears in Sumerian myths surrounding Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, two early and possibly mythical kings of Uruk also mentioned on the Sumerian king list.

Role in Sumerian literature :

Aratt is described as follows in Sumerian literature :

• It is a fabulously wealthy place full of gold, silver, lapis lazuli and other precious materials, as well as the artisans to craft them.

• It is remote and difficult to reach.

• It is home to the goddess Inana, who transfers her allegiance from Aratt to Uruk.

• It is conquered by Enmerkar of Uruk.

Mentions in Sumerian literature :

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratt -

The goddess Inanna resides in Aratt, but Enmerkar of Uruk pleases her more than does the lord of Aratt, who is not named in this epic. Enmerkar wants Aratt to submit to Uruk, bring stones down from the mountain, craft gold, silver and lapis lazuli, and send them, along with "kugmea" ore to Uruk to build a temple. Inana bids him send a messenger to Aratt, who ascends and descends the "Zubi" mountains, and crosses Susa, Anshan, and "five, six, seven" mountains before approaching Aratt. Aratt in turn wants grain in exchange. However Inana transfers her allegiance to Uruk, and the grain gains the favor of Aratt's people for Uruk, so the lord of Aratt challenges Enmerkar to send a champion to fight his champion. Then the god Ishkur makes Aratt's crops grow.

Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana -

The lord of Aratt, who is here named En-suhgir-ana (or Ensuhkeshdanna), challenges Enmerkar of Uruk to submit to him over the affections of Inanna, but he is rebuffed by Enmerkar. A sorcerer from the recently defeated Hamazi then arrives in Aratt, and offers to make Uruk submit. The sorcerer travels to Eresh where he bewitches Enmerkar's livestock, but a wise woman outperforms his magic and casts him into the Euphrates; En-suhgir-ana then admits the loss of Inanna, and submits his kingdom to Uruk.

Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave -

Is a tale of Lugalbanda, who will become Enmerkar's successor. Enmerkar's army travels through mountainous territory to wage war against rebellious Aratt. Lugalbanda falls ill and is left in a cave, but he prays to the various gods, recovers, and must find his way out of the mountains.

Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird -

Lugalbanda befriends the Anzud bird, and asks it to help him find his army again. When Enmerkar's army is faced with setback, Lugalbanda volunteers to return to Uruk to ask the goddess Inana's aid. He crosses through the mountains, into the flat land, from the edge to the top of Anshan and then to Uruk, where Inana helps him. She advises Enmerkar to carry off Aratt's "worked metal and metalsmiths and worked stone and stonemasons" and all the "moulds of Aratt will be his". Then the city is described as having battlements made of green lapis lazuli and bricks made of "tinstone dug out in the mountains where the cypress grows".

Other mentions in Sumerian literature :

• Praise Poem of Shulgi (Shulgi Y) : "I filled it with treasures like those of holy Aratt."

• Shulgi and Ninlil's barge: "Aratt, full-laden with treasures"

• Proverbs:"When the authorities are wise, and the poor are loyal, it is the effect of the blessing of Aratt."

• Unprovenanced Proverbs: "When the authorities are wise, and the poor are passed by, it is the effect of the blessing of Aratt."

• Hymn to Hendursanga (Hendursanga A): "So that Aratt will be overwhelmed (?), Lugalbanda stands by at your (Hendursanga's) behest."

• Hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A): "In Aratt he (Enki?) has placed E-zagin (the lapis lazuli temple) at her (Nisaba's) disposal."

• The building of Ninngirsu's temple (Gudea cylinder)[14]: "pure like Kesh and Aratt"

• Tigi to Suen (Nanna I) : "the shrine of my heart which I (Nanna) have founded in joy like Aratt"

• Inana and Ibeh: "the inaccessible mountain range Aratt"

• Gilgamesh and Huwawa (Version B) : "they know the way even to Aratt"

• Temple Hymns: Aratt is "respected"

• The Kesh Temple Hymn: Aratt is"important"

• Lament for Ur: Aratt is "weighty (counsel)"

Location hypotheses :

Early 20th century scholars initially took Aratt to be an epithet of the Sumerian city Shuruppak related to its local name for the god Enlil; however that is no longer seen to be the case. Although Aratt is known only from myth, some Assyriologists and archaeologists have speculated on possible locations where Aratt could have been, using criteria from the myths:

1. Land travelers must pass through Susa and the mountainous Anshan region to reach it.

2. It is a source of, or has access to valuable gems and minerals, in particular lapis lazuli, that are crafted on site.

3. It is accessible to Uruk by watercourse, yet remote from Uruk.

4. It is close enough to march a 27th-century BC Sumerian army there.

In 1963, Samuel Noah Kramer thought that a "Mount Hurum" in a Lugalbanda myth (which he titled "Lugalbanda on Mount Hurrum" at the time) might have referred to the Hurrians, and hence speculated Aratt to be near Lake Urmia. However, "Mount Hurum", "hur-ru-um kur-ra-ka", in what is now called Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave,] is today read "mountain cave", and Kramer subsequently introduced the title "Lugalbanda, the Wandering Hero" for this story.

Other speculations referred to the early gem trade route, the "Great Khorasan Road" from the Himalayan Mountains to Mesopotamia, which ran through northern Iran. Anshan, which had not yet been located then, was assumed to be in the central Zagros mountain range. However, when Anshan was identified as Tall-i Malyan in 1973, it was found to be 600 km south-east of Uruk, far removed from any northerly routes or watercourses from Uruk, and posing the logistical improbability of getting a 27th-century BC Sumerian army through 550 km of Elamite territory to wage war with Aratt. Nevertheless, there have been speculations referring to eastern Iran as well. Dr. Yousef Majidzadeh believes the Jiroft culture could be Aratt.

By 1973, archaeologists were noting that there was no archaeological record of Aratt's existence outside of myth, and in 1978 Hansman cautions against over-speculation.

Writers in other fields have continued to hypothesize potential Aratt locations. A "possible reflex" has been suggested in Sanskrit Aratt a mentioned in the Mahabharat and other texts. Alternatively, the name is compared with the toponym Ararat or Urartu.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aratta