Kirta

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 1700 BC, though the Mitanni texts place him even earlier.

The Epic of Keret or "Legend of Keret" from the clay tablets of Ugarit tells the story of the near-extinction of the royal house of Keret. Though it was written much after and by a hostile country to the descendants of the king. The text goes thus. 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.

See also

• Mitanni

Preceded by founder of the Mitanni kingdom

Mitanni king fl. 1500 BC

Succeeded by Shuttarna I