The Palm Tree King was one of the monsters later known as the "Slain Heroes" in the Sumerian epic, Lugale, which centered on the quest of

Ninurta , image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...

to recover the

Tablets of Destiny In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies ( sux, ; akk, ṭup šīmātu, ṭuppi šīmāti, script=Latn, italic=yes) was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permane ...

, which were stolen by the Slain Heroes, from Ninurta's father,

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...

, the god of wind, air, earth, and storms and head of the

Sumerian pantheon Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders. Ove ...

. The Palm Tree King, in the Lugale epic, was subservient to Imdugud (Assyrian Anzu), who held the Tablets until his defeat in combat with Ninurta. Very little is known about the Palm Tree King, but he seems to be the only one of the monsterous "Slain Heroes" to have escaped Ninurta.

References

* Mesopotamian legendary creatures {{MEast-myth-stub