Enmerkar

Enmerkar, who flourished around 2750 BCE, stands among the most significant early Sumerian monarchs in historical records. Tradition attributes to him both the founding of the influential city of Uruk and an extraordinarily long reign of 420 years. According to ancient literary sources, he conducted multiple military campaigns against the distant land of Aratta.

Perhaps most significantly, Sumerian legend celebrates Enmerkar as writing's originator. An ancient text describes how, when faced with a messenger unable to accurately remember complex communications, "the Lord of Kulaba (Enmerkar) patted some clay and put words on it, like a tablet. Until then, there had been no putting words on clay." This brief passage represents humanity's earliest known account of writing's invention—a pivotal moment in the development of human civilization.