Kirta
Encyclopedia
Kirta is a legendary Hurrian king. He is thought to have founded the dynasty of Mitanni
, but no contemporary inscriptions from his time are known to exist. He may have lived around 1500 BC.
The Epic of Keret from the clay tablets of Ugarit
tells the story of the near-extinction of the royal house
of Keret. All of his children died and his wife "departed." In a dream, the creator god, El
, instructs him to appeal for help from the rain god, Baal
, and then launch an expedition to find a new wife. He journeys and on the way comes to the shrine
of the mother goddess Asherah
. He promises to give the goddess an offering of a golden statue if he finds a wife. Kirta finds a wife and has several children, but forgets his promise to Asherah. Asherah punishes Kirta with a debilitating illness, but El once again comes to the rescue. His other children are happy to have him back on the throne, but his eldest son, Yassib, had gained popularity while Kirta was ill and attempts to overtake the throne. Kirta curses Yassib, and there the text ends.
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
, but no contemporary inscriptions from his time are known to exist. He may have lived around 1500 BC.
The Epic of Keret from the clay tablets of Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
tells the story of the near-extinction of the royal house
Royal House
A royal house or royal dynasty consists of at least one, but usually more monarchs who are related to one another, as well as their non-reigning descendants and spouses. Monarchs of the same realm who are not related to one another are usually deemed to belong to different houses, and each house is...
of Keret. All of his children died and his wife "departed." In a dream, the creator god, El
El (god)
is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "deity", cognate to Akkadian and then to Hebrew : Eli and Arabic )....
, instructs him to appeal for help from the rain god, Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
, and then launch an expedition to find a new wife. He journeys and on the way comes to the shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
of the mother goddess Asherah
Asherah
Asherah , in Semitic mythology, is a Semitic mother goddess, who appears in a number of ancient sources including Akkadian writings by the name of Ashratum/Ashratu and in Hittite as Asherdu or Ashertu or Aserdu or Asertu...
. He promises to give the goddess an offering of a golden statue if he finds a wife. Kirta finds a wife and has several children, but forgets his promise to Asherah. Asherah punishes Kirta with a debilitating illness, but El once again comes to the rescue. His other children are happy to have him back on the throne, but his eldest son, Yassib, had gained popularity while Kirta was ill and attempts to overtake the throne. Kirta curses Yassib, and there the text ends.
See also
- MitanniMitanniMitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...