Enamtila is a Sumerian

Sumerian language

Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...

 term meaning "house of life" or possibly "house of creation". It was a sanctuary dedicated to Enlil

Enlil

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...

, likely to have been located within the Ekur

Ekur

Ekur is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer.-Origin and meaning:...

 at Nippur

Nippur

Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...

 during the Akkadian Empire. It also referred to various other temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s including those to later versions of Enlil; Marduk

Marduk

Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...

 and Bel

Bel

Bel can mean:* bel , a unit of ratio used in acoustics, electronics, etc. A derived unit of 1 decibel = 0.1 B is often used.* Bel , a Semitic deity * Belenus aka Bel; a Celtic deity...

 as well as one to Ea. It was likely another name for Ehursag

Ehursag

Ehursag is a Sumerian term meaning "house of the mountains".Sumerian ÉḪURSAG is written as a special ligature , sometimes etymologized as É.ḪAR.SAG , written with the signs É "temple" , ḪAR "mountain" and SAG "head"....

, a temple dedicated to Shulgi

Shulgi

Shulgi of Urim was the second king of the "Sumerian Renaissance". He reigned for 48 years, dated to 2029 BCE–1982 BCE...

 in Ur

Ur

Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

. A hymn to Nanna

Nanna

-Mythology:* Nanna or Sin , god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen* Nanna , goddess and wife of the god Baldr in Norse mythology-People:* Nanna , a Scandinavian female name...

 suggests the link "To Ehursag, the house of the king (we go), to the Enamtila of prince Shulgi we go!" Another reference in the Inanna

Inanna

Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....

 - Dunmuzi text translated by Samuel Noah Kramer

Samuel Noah Kramer

Samuel Noah Kramer was one of the world's leading Assyriologists and a world renowned expert in Sumerian history and Sumerian language.-Biography:...

 references the king's palace by this name and possibly makes references to the "sacred marriage": "In the Enamtila, the house of the king, his wife dwelt with him in joy

Joy

Joy may refer to:* Happiness, an emotion* Joy , people with the given name or surname Joy-Music:Bands & performers* Joy * Joy Albums* Joy ; also the title track from that album...

, in the Enamtila, the house of the king, Inanna dwelt with him in joy. Inanna, rejoicing in his house ...". A fire is reported to have broken out next to the Enamtila in an astronomical diary dated to the third millennium BC. The Enamtila is also referred to as a palace

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

 of Ibbi-Sin

Ibbi-Sin

Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 1963 BC-1940 BC . During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites...

 at Ur

Ur

Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

 in the Lament for Sumer and Ur, "Its king sat immobilised in his own palace. Ibbi-Suen was sitting in anguish in his own palace. In E-namtila, his place of delight, he wept bitterly. The flood dashing a hoe on the ground was levelling everything."