Naram-Sin
Encyclopedia
Naram-Sin reigned ca. 2254–2218 BCE, short chronology, was the third successor and grandson of King Sargon of Akkad
. Under Naram-Sin the Akkadian Empire reached its zenith. He was the first Mesopotamian king known to have claimed divinity for himself, and one of the first (following the earlier Lugal-Anne-Mundu
) to be called "King of the Four Quarters".
. He was thus a nephew of King Rimush
and grandson of Sargon and Tashlultum
. Naram-Sin's aunt was the High Priestess En-hedu-ana.
(possibly corresponding to the Indus Valley civilization
), and controlled a large portion of land along the Persian Gulf
. He expanded his empire by defeating the King of Magan
at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, and conquering the hill tribes to the north in the Taurus Mountains
. His famous "Victory Stele" depicts his triumph over Satuni, chief of Lullubi
in the Zagros Mountains
. The king list gives the length of his reign as 56 years, and at least 20 of his year-names are known, referring to military actions against various places such as Uruk
and Subartu
. One unknown year was recorded as "the Year when Naram-Sin was victorious against Simurrum in Kirasheniwe, and took prisoner Baba the governor of Simurrum, and Dubul the ensi of Arame". Other year names refer to his construction work on temples in Akkad, Nippur, and Zabala
. He also built administrative centers at Nagar
and Nineveh
.
One Mesopotamian myth has it that the goddess Inanna
abandoned the former capital of Akkad
following Naram-Sin's plunder of the Ekur
(temple of the god Enlil
) in Nippur
. In his anger, Enlil brought the Gutians down from the hills east of the Tigris, to bring plague, famine and death throughout Mesopotamia. To prevent this destruction, eight of the gods decreed that the city of Akkad should be destroyed to spare the remaining cities. While this story may be mythological, it does suggest that Gutian raids were already beginning during this period.
Soon after the death of Naram-Sin, the Akkadian Empire came under increasing pressure from Gutian incursions. By around 2124 BC, all Akkad was in the hands of the Gutians. The Gutians remained there for 125 years before being replaced by the Ur III state
as the dominant political power.
depicts him as a god-king (symbolized by his horned helmet) climbing a mountain above his soldiers, and his enemies, the defeated Lullubi
. Although the stele was broken off at the top when it was stolen and carried off by the Elam
ites, it still strikingly reveals the pride, glory, and divinity of Naram-Sin. The stele broke from tradition by using successive diagonal tiers, rather than a horizontal format, to communicate the story to viewers. It is six feet and seven inches tall, and made from pink sandstone
. The stele was found at Susa
, and is now in the Louvre Museum. A similar bas-relief depicting Naram-Sin was found a few miles north-east of Diarbekr, at Pir Hüseyin.
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great "the Great King" , was an Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned in the last quarter of the third millennium BC...
. Under Naram-Sin the Akkadian Empire reached its zenith. He was the first Mesopotamian king known to have claimed divinity for himself, and one of the first (following the earlier Lugal-Anne-Mundu
Lugal-Anne-Mundu
Lugal-Anne-Mundu was the most important king of the city-state Adab in Sumer. The Sumerian king list claims he reigned for 90 years, following the defeat of Meskiaj-nanna of Ur...
) to be called "King of the Four Quarters".
Biography
Naram-Sin was born as a son of ManishtushuManishtushu
Manishtushu was a king of the Akkadian Empire from 2276 to 2261 BC. His name is also spelled as Maništušu.- Biography :Manishtushu was the son of Sargon of Akkad and Queen Tashlultum, brother of En-hedu-ana and the father of Naram-Sin...
. He was thus a nephew of King Rimush
Rimush
Rimush was the second king of the Akkadian Empire. He was the son of Sargon of Akkad and Queen Tashlultum. He was succeeded by his brother Manishtushu and was an uncle of Naram-Sin of Akkad....
and grandson of Sargon and Tashlultum
Tashlultum
Tashlultum was a queen of Akkad and wife of King Sargon of Akkad. She was the mother of his children Enheduanna, Rimush, Manishtushu, Shu-Enlil and Ilaba'is-takal. She was a grandmother of Naram-Sin of Akkad and great-grandmother of Shar-Kali-Sharri....
. Naram-Sin's aunt was the High Priestess En-hedu-ana.
Reign
Naram-Sin traded with MeluhhaMeluhha
' or Melukhkha is the Sumerian name of a prominent trading partner of Sumer during the Middle Bronze Age. Its identification remains an open question.-Trade with Sumer:...
(possibly corresponding to the Indus Valley civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
), and controlled a large portion of land along the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. He expanded his empire by defeating the King of Magan
Magan
Majan was an ancient region which was referred to in Sumerian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BC as a source of copper and diorite for Mesopotamia....
at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, and conquering the hill tribes to the north in the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
. His famous "Victory Stele" depicts his triumph over Satuni, chief of Lullubi
Lullubi
The Lullubi or Lulubi were a group of tribes during the 3rd millennium BC, from a region known as Lulubum, now the Sharazor plain of in the Zagros Mountains of modern Iran...
in the Zagros Mountains
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
. The king list gives the length of his reign as 56 years, and at least 20 of his year-names are known, referring to military actions against various places such as Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
and Subartu
Subartu
The land of Subartu or Subar is mentioned in Bronze Age literature...
. One unknown year was recorded as "the Year when Naram-Sin was victorious against Simurrum in Kirasheniwe, and took prisoner Baba the governor of Simurrum, and Dubul the ensi of Arame". Other year names refer to his construction work on temples in Akkad, Nippur, and Zabala
Zabala (Sumer)
Zabala was a city of ancient Sumer in what is now the Dhi Qar governorate in Iraq. Zabala was at the crossing of the ancient Iturungal andNinagina canals...
. He also built administrative centers at Nagar
Nagar, Syria
Tell Brak, ancient Nagar, is a tell, or settlement mound, in the Upper Khabur area in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The site was occupied between the sixth and second millennia BCE...
and Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
.
One Mesopotamian myth has it that the goddess Inanna
Inanna
Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....
abandoned the former capital of Akkad
Akkad
The Akkadian Empire was an empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia....
following Naram-Sin's plunder of 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:...
(temple of the god 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...
) in 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...
. In his anger, Enlil brought the Gutians down from the hills east of the Tigris, to bring plague, famine and death throughout Mesopotamia. To prevent this destruction, eight of the gods decreed that the city of Akkad should be destroyed to spare the remaining cities. While this story may be mythological, it does suggest that Gutian raids were already beginning during this period.
Soon after the death of Naram-Sin, the Akkadian Empire came under increasing pressure from Gutian incursions. By around 2124 BC, all Akkad was in the hands of the Gutians. The Gutians remained there for 125 years before being replaced by the Ur III state
Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also known as the Neo-Sumerian Empire or the Ur III Empire refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire...
as the dominant political power.
Victory stele
Naram-Sin's famed victory steleStele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
depicts him as a god-king (symbolized by his horned helmet) climbing a mountain above his soldiers, and his enemies, the defeated Lullubi
Lullubi
The Lullubi or Lulubi were a group of tribes during the 3rd millennium BC, from a region known as Lulubum, now the Sharazor plain of in the Zagros Mountains of modern Iran...
. Although the stele was broken off at the top when it was stolen and carried off by the Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
ites, it still strikingly reveals the pride, glory, and divinity of Naram-Sin. The stele broke from tradition by using successive diagonal tiers, rather than a horizontal format, to communicate the story to viewers. It is six feet and seven inches tall, and made from pink sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. The stele was found at Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
, and is now in the Louvre Museum. A similar bas-relief depicting Naram-Sin was found a few miles north-east of Diarbekr, at Pir Hüseyin.
See also
- Bassetki statueBassetki statueThe Bassetki statue is a monument from the Akkadian period in Mesopotamia that was found in the 1960s near the town of Bassetki in Duhok Governorate, northern Iraq. The statue was cast from pure copper, weighs and shows a seated, nude human figure on a round pedestal. Only the lower part of the...
- History of SumerHistory of SumerThe history of Sumer, taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BC, ending with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BC, followed by a transition period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BC. The first...
- Sumerian king listSumerian king listThe Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of "official" kingship...
Sources
- H.W.F. Saggs, The Babylonians, Fourth Printing, 1988, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
- J. P. Naab, E. UngerEckhard UngerEckhard Unger was a German assyriologist.In 1916, as curator of the Archeological Museum of Istanbul, he identified and described a copper-alloy object in the museum collection as an ell or measuring rod from Nippur...
, Die Entdeckung der Stele des Naram-Sin in Pir Hüseyin, Istanbul Asariatika Nesriyati XII (1934)http://cdli.ucla.edu:16080/wiki/index.php/Unger,_Eckhard.