The Question of Aratta

Author(s): J. F. Hansman
Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct., 1978), pp. 331-336
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/544047
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THE QUESTION OF ARATTA

J. F. HANSMAN, London

IN a footnote to an article dealing with other matters and published in 1972, the
present writer noted that when considered with the evidence of recent archaeolog
excavations, references to the land of Aratta preserved in Sumerian texts suggest that
chief town of ancient Aratta may have been located at Shahr-i Sokhta.1 This is an exten
sive archaeological site located in Iranian Sistan, east of the salt desert called Dasht-i Lu
and near the western border of Afghanistan.
In a more recent paper, henceforth to be referred to as the second article, anoth
writer concludes that Aratta must be located in Kerman province.2 This is a district of
modern Iran which lies to the west of Iranian Sistan. The author of the second article
also suggests that the as yet undiscovered site of Aratta should be sought somewhere in
the partly upland country which extends west to east between the present city of Kerman
and the town of Shahdad.3 He notes that at the western edge of the Dasht-i Lut, in the
vicinity of Shahdad, archaeologists have excavated important grave-goods dating from
the first half of the third millennium B.C. This is the period reflected in two Sumerian
tales which mention Aratta.

Whenever questions of lost geographical locations are considered, objective, scholarly

research undertaken on such problems by more than one writer can be helpful and should
be encouraged, for this brings to wider notice different or differing points of view, and it
is sometimes only through the assessment of divergent views that certain problems o
historical geography have been solved or at least accepted by a consensus of informe
opinion. Occasionally, a theoretical identification has later received the support of ep
graphical evidence recovered at the relevant archaeological site. This allows absolut
identification. In the case of Aratta, however, where no inscriptions or other texts are
currently available to favor any one site, the mechanics of identification depend largely
on deductive enquiry. At best, such methods provide indications from which a location
may be postulated as being reasonable or possible. But one cannot assume too much,
for then the hypothesis becomes subjective rather than objective. It is on this point, in
reference to the location of Aratta, that I would like to comment.
We begin by considering findings given in the second article which have been conclude
from an examination of passages contained in the Sumerian tale called "Enmerkar an
the Lord of Aratta." This story concerns the journey of an emissary of Enmerkar, king o
Uruk, to Aratta where quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones are bartered fo
grain on behalf of Enmerkar, from the Lord of Aratta.4 The author of the second article
notes that in proceeding to Aratta, the emissary traversed Anshan "the modern
1 See my article in Iran 10 (1972): 118, n. 97. 2 Y. Majidzadeh, "The Land of Aratta," JNES 35
[JNES 37 no. 4 (1978)] (1976): 107 and 112.
3 Ibid., p. 113.
( 1978 by The University of Chicago. 4 S. Cohen, Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Ph.D.
All rights reserved. diss., University of Pennsylvania (Ann Arbor,
0022-2968/78/3704-0004$00.81. Michigan: University Microfilms, 1973).

331

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332 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

province of Fars" and then "before arriving at Aratta, one had t

mountains." It is suggested that "this geographical description fi
character of the mountainous region between Fars and Kerman, so t
of Enmerkar's emissary could have been nowhere but the modern pr
This proposal was based on an interpretation of the following passag
question :6

(From) Susa to the Anshan mountain-land

For her, the goddess Inanna they the emissary of Enmerkar
will humbly salute with greetings like mice,
(In) the great mountain ranges, the teeming multitudes
Groveled in the dust for her.

Five mountains, six mountains, seven mountains he traversed.

He lifted (his) eyes (as) he approached Aratta,
In the courtyard of Aratta he stepped joyfully.

Reference is also made to the seven mountains crossed en route to Aratta in a second
Sumerian tale which is sometimes entitled "Lugalbanda and Enmerkar." In this, the
hero Lugalbanda, in liege to Enmerkar, travels to Aratta to seek help from the goddess
Inanna against the Semitic Martu people who are menacing Uruk.7 The journey from
Uruk to Aratta, beginning with the leave-taking of Lugalbanda, is recounted as follows:8

When the hearts of his brothers were beating loudly,

When the hearts of his friends were beating unquietly,
Lugalbanda took besides his travel provisions, as far as he
had not yet eaten them, all his weapons.
At the bottom of the mountain, in the high mountains, down
to the plain,
He crossed over from the boundary of Anshan's five, six,
seven mountains.

The subsequent lines deal with the reception of Lugalbanda by Inanna in Ara
From the above passage we learn that Lugalbanda traveled from the foo
mountains, across the seven mountains of Anshan, down to the plain and so
By comparison, therefore, we may with some reason suggest that the seven mou
crossed by the emissary of Enmerkar en route to Aratta, as attested in the pass
the first tale quoted above, are the same seven mountains of Anshan crossed
banda en route to Aratta. It will be remembered that in the passage from the fi
the mountain-land of Anshan is also mentioned, and in the second tale it is afte
the seven mountains of Anshan that Lugalbanda reaches the plain. In this connec
textual evidence would not seem to indicate, as the author of the second article
that after the mountains of Anshan were traversed, it was necessary to cross a
seven mountains before reaching Aratta.

6 Majidzadeh, "Land of Aratta," p. 107. 8 Ibid., pp. 120 and 122 (transliteration), 121 and
6 Cohen, Enmerkar, pp. 79 (transliteration) and
123 (translation).
120 (translation).
7 C. Wilcke, Das Lugalbandaepos (Wiesbaden,
1969).

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 THE QUESTION OF ARATTA 333

In reference to another point of geographical assessment

article states that "it is impossible to accept the ancient se
located in Sistan well to the east of Kerman, as a probable
Aratta." It is argured that if Shahr-i Sokhta had been Aratta,
the Lord of Aratta," would "certainly have mentioned cro
Dasht-i Lut." 9

In considering the above question we may note the following passage from the fir
Enmerkar tale:' 0

The emissary journeying to Aratta,

Covered his feet with the dust of the road,
Stirred up the pebbles of the mountains,
Like a huge serpent prowling about in the plain, he was unopposed.
After the emissary reached Aratta,
The people of Aratta,
Stepped up to admire the pack donkeys.

Here then it appears is a further description of the journey undertaken by an emissary

of Uruk to Aratta, and of this account we note in particular line 351 which reads: "Like
a huge serpent prowling about in the plain, he was unopposed."
In view of our findings that beyond the mountains of Anshan and while en route to
Aratta Lugalbanda arrived at a plain, we may consider that the line given above could
be understood to mean that as with the serpent, the emissary of Enmerkar passed un-
opposed over a plain before reaching Aratta and after crossing the mountains.
In assessing the above suggestion, it is legitimate to consider further the account of
the journey of Lugalbanda to Aratta. As both journeys began at Uruk during the reign
of Enmerkar, we may with some recommendation propose that the relevant passages in
the two tales attest geographical features which would have been encountered by both
travelers. In this regard, attention is again drawn to the passage in the second tale which
states that after crossing the seven mountains of Anshan, Lugalbanda came to the plain.
I would like to suggest that this description and that given in the first tale could indicate
the plain of the Dasht-i Lut or the usual route leading across the southern edge of the
Lut to the vicinity of Shahr-i Sokhta.
One certainly can also accept the theoretical possibility that Aratta was located some-
where in the province of Kerman, for this is a region lying, in part at least, beyond the
mountains of Anshan. At the same time, however, the evidence of our texts does not
preclude the possibility that the city of Aratta may have been located beyond the modern
Kerman province or even that the ancient land of Aratta may have included parts of
both Kerman and Sistan. In the Sumerian tale of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, it is
not implicit, as suggested in the second article, that the city of Aratta lay in the uplands
of Kerman somewhere to the east of the city of Kerman or in the low country near the
edge of these uplands in the vicinity of Shahdad. Certainly, alternative theories of loca-
tion such as that proposing Shahr-i Sokhta should be examined with equal care. But if a

9 Majidzadeh, "Land of Aratta," p. 108.

10 Cohen, Enmerkar, pp. 79 (transliteration) and
129 (translation).

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334 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

theory is to be rejected absolutely, then it is reasonable to sugge

tions are best supported by an objective assessment of all the ava
If we examine further the tale of "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta" for indications of
the location of the land of Aratta, we may note passages which state that lapis lazuli is
obtained by the people of Aratta from their mountains in lumps." From these lumps they
fashion items.12 On this evidence one may fairly deduce that the lapis was brought from
the mountains of Badakhshan of north-eastern Afghanistan, which is the only known
source of lapis in the Middle East at the present time.'3 As the people of Aratta fetched
the lapis out of their highlands, we may further suggest that in part, Aratta was identified
with areas of Afghanistan. This point, perhaps, gains further support from a passage in
the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea where it is stated that the Arattii people live in regions
where the Arochosii are also to be found.'4 Now the Arochosii people are known to have
occupied the country around the modern town of Kandahar in eastern Afghanistan 15 and
in this context of usage we may consider that the Arattii lived near the Arochosii and
that this first name given a Greek ending in a Greek text attests a people who resided in
the ancient land of Aratta. If this is correct, we may then suggest that Aratta was indeed,
in part, to be found in the vicinity of Shahr-i Sokhta, which lies in Iran near the western
border of Afghanistan. The cultural affinity of parts of the interior regions of Afghanistan
with Shahr-i Sokhta has furthermore been demonstrated by the finding that seals,
figurines, and pottery forms of Periods II and III from this site show a remarkable
uniformity with similar objects excavated at Mundigak, a mound located at the foot of
the highlands of central Afghanistan, some 300 km. east of Shahr-i Sokhta.16
It has, on the other hand, been noted by the writer of the second article that there
does not appear to be evidence of cultural interchange between Shahr-i Sokhta and
Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, the period relating in time to that in eastern Iran with
which the lapis industry at Shahr-i Sokhta is associated.17 It is concluded that if cultural
exchange or trade had taken place between these areas at that time, the excavations at
Shahr-i Sokhta would have produced pottery or seals or other objects showing parallel
features to artifacts recovered from Early Dynastic levels at Mesopotamian sites. In con-
sequence of these findings, the writer of the second article maintains that the identifica-
tion of Shahr-i Sokhta as the city of Aratta visited by the several emissaries of Enmerkar
is precluded.s8 This is argumentum ex absentia, i.e., reasoning from the non-existence of
evidence, and within the frame of conventional scholarly enquiry, it is not considered an
acceptable argument for making definitive pronouncements. Such a proposal does not, for
example, preclude the possibility that artifacts relating to Early Dynastic Mesopotamia
may be recovered at Shahr-i Sokhta during further excavations. Moreover, only in texts
relating to the reign of Enmerkar of Uruk do we have an indication of direct trade
taking place between Mesopotamia and Aratta. Given such a relatively short period in
time, it would not necessarily seem to follow that a close cultural relationship ever existed

11 Ibid., pp. 65 (transliteration); 112 (translation). (p. 183) that the Arattii were a people of the Panjab is
12 Ibid., pp. 66 (transliteration); 113 (translation). not supported by textual evidence.
13 Lapis is also found in the Pamirs and near Lake 15 On Arochosia see W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria
Baikal in Siberia. On the various locations see F. and India (Cambridge, 1938), pp. 94-95.
Rutley, Elements of Mineralogy (London, 1948), 16pp.
C. Lamberg-Karlovsky and M. Tosi, East and
380-81. See also Iraq 30 (1968): 21-29. West 23/1 (1973): 26.
14 W. Schoff, ed., The Periplus of the Erythraean 17 Ibid., pp. 26 and 57.
Sea (New York, 1912). The suggestion by Scholl 18 Majidzadeh, "Land of Aratta," p. 112.

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 THE QUESTION OF ARATTA 335

between these two widely separated lands or that seals o

Mesopotamia should necessarily be found at the site of the c
emissaries of Enmerkar. I propose in conclusion on this p
Early Dynastic material during past excavations at Shahr-i S
possibility that trading contacts were maintained between th
southern Mesopotamia during the period of our concern.
The author of the second article agrees from the evidence
men of Shahr-i Sokhta worked with lapis lazuli'9 at a pe
archaeological levels at various Mesopotamian sites where lap
is argued that "the lapis of Badakhshan could have been
and there, after receiving some primary treatment, could b
proposed as being in Kerman province, to Uruk without
Shahr-i Sokhta and Mesopotamia."20 Certainly this is a point
doing so, it should again be noted that according to the t
Aratta obtained lapis lazuli from their mountains and a
emissary traveled directly to Aratta, and it was from the
to Uruk. Accordingly, it is reasonable to expect to find e
any site which is to be associated with the city of our enqui
Certainly beads and other objects made of lapis were found
no lapis workings have as yet been located at that site. This
bility that a local lapis industry did exist at Shahdad or e
the same measure of reasoning, we may note the textu
Arattii people in Afghanistan, the source of lapis for wo
findings, it would seem a valid proposition to suggest th
located on the Afghan border and which did have a consi
from the Early Dynastic period, may reasonably be consider
Arattian city visited by the emissaries of Uruk.
It is also of interest to note that excavations have been
archaeological sites which range to the west and south o
Fars, the ancient Anshan) and which contain occupational lev
indicated in the Aratta tales. These are Tel Iblis in north
southern Kerman, and Bampur in Makran. While the ex
Bampur produced no lapis, only a single fragment has been
seasons of digging at Tepe Yahya.21 The absence or extre
ted at these sites lying between Shahr-i Sokhta and Me
Bampur, between Shahr-i Sokhta and the Persian Gulf, woul
tions given in the Sumerian epics, that a system of direct tr
our concern between Aratta and the Sumerian states of s
other hand, the absence of any mention of commerce with
and in Akkadian texts of all periods may suggest that such d
Aratta did not continue beyond the Early Dynastic perio
As a final point, we note a passage in the second article wh
traditions of the Kerman region are entirely different from

19 On lapis lazuli at Shahr-i Sokhta

21 see
ThisM. Tosi,
was noted in a personal comm
East and West 19 (1969): 372-74. from the excavator of Tepe Yahya.
20 Majidzadeh, "Land of Aratta," pp. 112-13.

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336 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

site of Anshan], Susa and Mesopotamia." From this is it co

connecting the province of Kerman and Fars together as on
posed by one writer, "is impossible." 22 But the writer in qu
suggested that Anshan at the time of the period of Enmer
modern Osten of Kerman as did Achaemenian Parsa." 23 In this context Anshan had not
been treated as one cultural area. There is no basis to do so as the emissary of the En-
merkar tale does not refer to a Lord of Anshan. He crossed the seven mountains of
Anshan. It was thus as a geographical region that the toponym Anshan was con
In fact, this has little to do with the dissimilarity of pottery assemblages from reg
far apart as are Mesopotamia and Kerman. And indeed if, as we have proposed
textural evidence suggests that Aratta lay on a plain beyond the seven mount
Anshan, these latter uplands could be seen to extend to and to include the mountain
Kerman.

To sum up the present view: we have noted that texts relating to Aratta indicate th
the place where the Lord of Aratta resided is to be sought on a plain beyond the moun
tains of Anshan and at a place where the local population would have direct access to t
source of lapis lazuli in northeastern Afghanistan. A site in the land of Aratta propose
be that visited by the emissary of Enmerkar would also need to show evidence that lap
was worked there at that period. The present writer suggests that the site of Sha
Sokhta accords with each of these requirements. It is not, however, an exigent ma
that Shahr-i Sokhta should be the Arattian town known to Enmerkar and his ag
Other archaeological remains may be located in that or in adjoining regions which
call for further consideration of this proposal. But until or unless such sites are broug
to notice, Shahr-i Sokhta would seem to remain a reasonable candidate.
22 Majidzadeh, "Land of Aratta," p. 111. 23 See Iran 10 (1972): 118, n. 97.

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