Naram-Sin, also transcribed Narām-Sîn or Naram-Suen (: DNa-ra-am DSîn, meaning "Beloved of the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" a determinative marking the name of a god; died 2218 BC), was a ruler of the Akkad, who reigned –2218 BC (middle chronology), and was the third successor and grandson of King Sargon of Akkad. Under Naram-Sin, the kingdom reached its maximum extent. He was the first Mesopotamian king known to have claimed divinity for himself, taking the title "God of Akkad", and the first to claim the title "King of the Four Quarters". His military strength was strong as he crushed revolts and expanded the kingdom to places like Turkey and Iran. He became the patron city god of Akkade as Enlil was in Nippur.Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Divine Rulers of Akkade and Ur: Toward a Definition of the Deification of Kings in Babylonia", History, Texts and Art in Early Babylonia: Three Essays, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 107-157, 2017 His enduring fame resulted in later rulers, Naram-Sin of Eshnunna and Naram-Sin of Assyria as well as Naram-Sin of Uruk, assuming the name.Lambert, W. G., "Narām-Sîn of Ešnunna or Akkad?", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 106, no. 4, pp. 793–95, 1986von Dassow, Eva., "Narām-Sîn of Uruk: A New King in an Old Shoebox", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 61, pp. 63–91, 2009
Biography
Naram-Sin was a son of Manishtushu. He was thus a nephew of King Rimush and grandson of Sargon and Tashlultum. Naram-Sin's aunt was the High Priestess Enheduanna. Most recensions of the Sumerian King List show him following Manishtushu but the Ur III version of the king list inverts the order of Rimush and Manishtushu.Steinkeller, P., "An Ur III manuscript of the Sumerian King List", in: W. Sallaberger [e.a.] (ed.), Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien. Festschrift für Claus Wilcke, OBC 14, Wiesbaden, 267–29, 2003Thomas, Ariane, "The Akkadian Royal Image: On a Seated Statue of Manishtushu", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 105, no. 1-2, pp. 86-117, 2015 To be fully correct, rather than Naram-Sin or Naram-Suen "in Old Akkadian, the name in question should rather be reconstructed as Naram-Suyin (more precisely, /narām-tsuyin/) or Naram-Suʾin (/narām-tsuʾin/)".
Naram-Sin defeated Manium of Magan, and various northern hill tribes in the Zagros, Taurus, and Amanus Mountains, expanding his empire up to the Mediterranean Sea. His "Victory Stele" depicts his triumph over Satuni, chief of Lullubi in the Zagros Mountains. The Sumerian 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".Cohen, Mark E. “A New Naram-Sin Date Formula.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 28, no. 4, 1976, pp. 227–32Year-Names of Naram-Sin of Agade Other year names refer to his construction work on temples in Akkad, Nippur, and Zabala. He also built administrative centers at Nagar and Nineveh. In general it is not possible to assign an order to Naram-Sin's year name with the exception of his first "The year Naram-Sin received a weapon of heaven/An fr[om] the temple of the god Enlil". It is, however, possible to divide them into those before his deification and after that event (assumed to be shortly after the "Great Revolt") based on the presence of a godhood determinant in his name.
During his reign Naram-Sin increased direct royal control of its city-states. He maintained control over the various city-states by the simple expedient of appointing some of his many sons as key provincial governors, and his daughters as high priestesses. He also reformed the scribal system.Foster, B.R., "The Age of Agade. Inventing empire in ancient Mesopotamia". London New York, 2016 M. Molina, "The palace of Adab during the Sargonic period", D. Wicke (ed.), Der Palast im antiken und islamischen Orient, Colloquien der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 9, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2019, pp. 151-20
A few loyal local governors remained in place. This included Meskigal, as governor of the city-state of Adab and Karsum governor of the unlocated Niqqum (suggested to be modern Khanaqin). Another was Lugal-ushumgal of Lagash. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal, who went on to serve the successor of Naram-Sin, Shar-Kali-Sharri, are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as governor of Lagash and at the time a vassal (, arad, "servant" or "slave") of Naram-Sin.
The Great Revolt
The pivotal event of Naram-Sin's reign was a widespread revolt against the Akkadian Empire. The empire created by his grandfather, Sargon, first ruler of the Akkadian Empire stretched in the west to Syria in places like Tell Brak and Tell Leilan, to the east in Elam and associated polities in that region, to southern Anatolia in the north, and to the "lower sea" in the south encompassing all the traditional Sumerian powers like Uruk, Ur, and Lagash. All of these political entities had long histories as independent powers and would periodically re-assert their interests throughout the lifetime of the Akkadian Empire.Weiss, Harvey, " Excavations at Tell Leilan and the Origins of North Mesopotamian cities in the Third Millennium B.C.", Paléorient, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 39–52, 1983
At some point in his reign a widespread uprising occurred, a large coalition of city-states led by Iphur-Kis of Kish (Sumer) and Amar-Girid of Uruk, joined by Enlil-nizu of Nippur, and including the city-states of "Kutha, TiWA, Sippar, Kazallu, Kiritab, [Api]ak and GN" as well as "Amorite [hi]ghlanders". The rebellion was joined by the city of Borsippa, among others.Steve Tinney, A New Look at Naram-Sin and the "Great Rebellion", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 47, pp. 1-14, 1995Wilcke, Claus, "Amar-girids Revolte gegen Narām-Suʾen", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 11-32, 1997 We know of these events from a number of Old Babylonian copies of earlier inscriptions as well as one contemporary record from the Old Akkadian period. The Bassetki Statue, discovered in 1974, was the base of a life-sized copper statue of Naram-Sin. It reads:
In the aftermath, Naram-Sin deified himself as well as posthumously deifying Sargon and Manishtushu but not his uncle Rimush.William W. Hallo, "Royal Titles from the Mesopotamian Periphery", Anatolian Studies 30, pp. 89–19, 1980Stepien, Marek, "Why Some Kings Become Gods: The Deification of Naram-Sin, Ruler of the World", Here & There Across the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honour of Krystyna Lyczkowska, Warszawa: Agape, pp. 233-255, 2009 The echoes of the revolt were reflected in later Sumerian literary compositions such as the Great Revolt against Naram-Sin, "Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes" and "Gula-AN and the Seventeen Kings against Naram-Sin". Westenholz, Joan Goodnick, "Heroes of Akkad", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 327–36, 1983Westenholz, Joan Goodnick. "The Great Revolt against Naram-Sin". Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 221-262, 1997Westenholz, Joan Goodnick, "Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes”: The “Cuthean Legend” of Naram-Sin", Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 263-368, 1997
Control of Elam
Elam came under the domination of Akkad in the time of Sargon though it remained restive. The 2nd ruler of Akkad, Rimush, campaigned there afterward adding "conqueror of Elam and Parahsum" to his royal titulary. The 3rd ruler, Manishtushu, conquered the city of Anshan in Elam and also the city of Pashime, installing imperial governors in those places.
Naram-Sin added "commander of all the land of Elam, as far as Parahsum," to his royal titulary. During his rule, "military governors of the country of Elam" (shakkanakkus) with typically Akkadian names are known, such as Ili-ishmani or Epirmupi. This suggests that these governors of Elam were officials of the Akkadian Empire. Naram-Sin exercised great influence over Susa during his reign, building temples and establishing inscriptions in his name, and having the Akkadian language replace Elamite in official documents.W. G. Lambert, "The Akkadianization of Susiana under the Sukkalmahs", MHEOP 1, pp. 53-7 Mesopotamie et Elam, Ghent: Mesopotamian History and Environment Occasional Publications 1, 1991
An unknown Elamite king (sometimes speculated to be Khita) is recorded as having signed a peace treaty, in Old Elamite language written in an Old Akkadian ductus, with Naram-Sin (not deified in the text), stating: "The enemy of Naram-Sin is my enemy, the friend of Naram-Sin is my friend".Hinz, Walther, "Elams Vertrag mit Narām-Sîn von Akkade", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 58, no. Jahresband, pp. 66-96, 1967Pittman, Holly, "The “Jeweler’s” Seal from Susa and Art of Awan", Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen, edited by Erica Ehrenberg, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 211-236, 2002Scheil, V, "Textes Élamites-Anzanites", MDP XI, 1911 Old Elamite is poorly understood (all other texts being very short) as yet making interpretation of the text challenging. The text mentions about twenty gods, mostly Elamite but with a few Sumerian and Akkadian, including Inshushinak, Humban, Nahiti, Simut, and Pinikir. It has been suggested that the formal treaty allowed Naram-Sin to have peace on his eastern borders, so that he could deal more effectively with the threat from Gutium.Cameron, G.G., "History of Early Iran", Chicago/London: University of Chicago, 1936Westenholz, Aage, Pascal Attinger, and Markus Wäfler, "The Old Akkadian Period: History and Culture", Mesopotamien. Annäherungen 3: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit, pp. 17-117, 1999
Conquest of Armanum and Ebla
The conquest of Armanum (location unknown but proposed as Tall Bazi) with its ruler Rid-Adad and Ebla (55 kilometers southwest of modern Aleppo) by Naram-Sin (Ebla was also defeated by his grandfather Sargon) is known from one of his year names "The year the king went on a campaign in Amarnum" and from an Old Babylonian copy of a statue inscription (IM 85461) found at Ur. There are also three objects, a marble lamp, a stone plaque, and a copper bowl, inscribed "Naram-Sin, the mighty, king of the four quarters, conqueror of Armanum and Ebla.". I. J. Gelb, Sargonic Texts in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary 5, University of Chicago Press, 1970 Foster, B. R., "The siege of Armanum.", Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society, vol. 14, no. 1, pp 27-36, 1982 In 2010 a new stele fragment (IM 221139) describing the campaign was found at Tulul al-Baqarat (thought to be the ancient city of Kesh.Nashat Alkhafaji and Gianni Marchesi, "Naram-Sin's War against Armanum and Ebla in a Newly-Discovered Inscription from Tulul al-Baqarat", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 1-20, 2020
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