The Uses of Writing The connection between city life, trade and writing is brought out in a long Sumerian epic poem about Enmerkar, one of the earliest rulers of Uruk. In Mesopotamian tradition, Uruk was the city par excellence, often known simply as The City. Enmerkar is associated with the organisation of the first trade of Sumer: in the early days, the epic says, ‘trade was not known’. Enmerkar wanted lapis lazuli and precious metals for the beautification of a city temple and sent his messenger out to get them from the chief of a very distant land called Aratta.
‘The messenger heeded the word of the king. By night he went just by the stars. By day, he would go by heaven’s sun divine. He had to go up into the mountain ranges, and had to come down out of the mountain ranges.
The people of Susa (a city) below the mountains saluted him like tiny mice * . Five mountain ranges, six mountain ranges, seven mountain ranges he crossed...’ The messenger could not get the chief of Aratta to part with lapis lazuli or silver, and he had to make the long journey back and forth, again and again, carrying threats and promises from the king of Uruk. Ultimately, the messenger ‘grew weary of mouth’. He got all the messages mixed up.
Then, ‘Enmerkar formed a clay tablet in his hand, and he wrote the words down. In those days, there had been no writing down of words on clay.’ W RITING AND C ITY L IFE * The poet means that once the messenger had climbed to a great height, everything appeared small in the valley far below. T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY Given the written tablet, ‘the ruler of Aratta examined the clay. The spoken words were nails*.
His face was frowning. He kept looking at the tablet.’ This should not be taken as the literal truth, but it can be inferred that in Mesopotamian understanding it was kingship that organised trade and writing. This poem also tells us that, besides being a means of storing information and of sending messages afar, writing was seen as a sign of the superiority of Mesopotamian urban culture.