Stone jar fragment (BM 127340), with inscription mentioning king Rimush of Akkad, c. 2278-2270 BC. Inscription: "Rimush / LUGAL / KISH". From Tell Brak. British Museum[1]
According to theSumerian King List, his reign lasted nine years (though variant copies read seven or fifteen years).[6] There is one surviving year-name for an unknown year of his reign:mu ud-nun{ki} / adab{ki} hul-a "year in whichAdab was destroyed".[7] Tradition gives that he was assassinated, as recorded in theBārûtu, a compendium ofextispicy dared to the first millennium BC: "If the heart is like a testicle—an omen of king Rimuš, whom his courtiers killed with their cylinder seals".[8][9] He was succeeded by his brotherManishtushu.[10][11] The Ur III version of the Sumerian King List inverts the order of Rimush and Manishtushu.[12][13]
Stone tablet. List of various garments dedicated to the temple of E-ninnu by the Akkadian king Rimush. 23rd century BC. From Nippur, Iraq. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
To some extent, his reign was typical of a ruler of Mesopotamia with proper attention paid to the various deities and their temples. A number of his votive offerings have been found in excavated temples in several Mesopotamian cities including Ur, Sippar, Khafajah, and Brak.[14][15] After the conquest of Elam, he dedicated 30 mana (a mana was about a half kilogram) of gold, 3,600 mana of copper, and 360 slaves toEnlil, the chief deity of Nippur.[16][17] Another example of devotional activity was a statue given by Rimush at Nippur (known only from an inscription). The statue's composition is subject to how it is translated. Tin has been suggested, as well as bronze (a tin and copper alloy) as well as meteoric iron.[18][19]
"[Rimus, king of the world:] [from ancient times n]o one had fashioned a statue (made) of meteoric iron for the godEnlil. (But) Rimus, king of the world, fashioned a statue of himself (made) of meteoric iron Enlil and it (now) stands before the god Enlil. He placed his name at the side of the gods. As for the one who removes this inscription, maygods Enlil and Samas tear out his foundations and destroy his progeny."[20]
Various texts indicated economic activity continued during his reign, despite military activity, which was possibly encompassed by a short period of time.[21][22]
Akkadian Empire at the time of Rimush
Most of his short reign was taken up consolidating the empire created by his father, Sargon, first ruler of the Akkadian Empire. This empire stretched in the west to Syria in places likeTell Brak andTell 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.[23]
Akkadian archer in tufted garment, indicating a high-ranking official, from the Victory Stele of Rimush
According to his inscriptions, he faced widespread revolts, and had to reconquer the cities ofUr,Umma,Adab,Lagash,Der, KI.ANki, andKazallu from rebelliousensis (KI.ANki is thought to be at the site of Tell Shmet):[24][25][26]
"Rimuš, king of the world, in battle overAdab andZabalam was victorious, and 15,718 men he struck down, and 14,576 captives he took. Further,Meskigala, governor of Adab, he captured, and Lugalgalzu, governor of Zabalam, he captured. He conqu[ered] their two cities [and destroyed the walls of both of them]. [Further], he expelled [so many men from their two cities] and annihilated them. As for the one who removes this inscription], may the [gods] Enlil and Samas [tear out his foundations] and destroy his [pro]geny."[20][27]
"RImus, [k]in[g] of the wor[ld], was victor[iou]s over Umma and KI.AN in battle and struck down 8,900 men. He [took] 3,540 captives. Further, he captured En-x, governor of Umma, and Lugal-KA, governor of KI.AN. Further, he conquered their two cities and destroyed the walls of both of them. Further, he expelled 3,600 men from their two cities and annihilated them. As for the one who removes this inscription, may the gods Enlil and [Samas tear out his foundations and destroy his progeny]."[20][28]
Rimush introduced mass slaughter and large scale destruction of the Sumerian city-states, and maintained meticulous records of his destructions. Most of the major Sumerian cities were destroyed, and Sumerian human losses were enormous:[24] It appears that the city ofShuruppak was spared.[29]
Sumerian casualties from the campaigns of Rimush[24][30]
There are also records of victorious campaigns againstElam andMarhashi (Sumerian name for the Akkadian "Parahshum") in a longer (CBS 13972 and Ni 3200) and shorter (AO 5476) version.[31][32] According to the account, troops from (Meluhha) also participated in the conflict:[24] After the victorious campaigns of Rimush, under his successorManishtushu, Elam would be ruled by Akkadian Military Governors, starting withEshpum, andPashime, on the Iranian coast, was ruled by an Akkadian Governor namedIlshu-rabi.[33] IN another version of the text Rimush is called "king of Kish" like his father.[34][35]
"<Rimus, king of the world, in battle> was victorious over Abalgamas, king of Parahsum. Zahar, Elam, [G]upin, and [Me]luhha assembled in Pa[rah]sum for battle, but he, (Rimus) captured S[idga'u], general of [Parahsum] (and) [the king(?) of] Elam i[nbetwe]en (the cities of) [Aw]an and [Susa], by the '[Mid]dle Ri[ver]'. [Further], he [h]eaped up over [them] a [burial mo]und i[n] the [are]a of the city. In addition, he tore out the [fo]undation of Parahsum from the land of Elam and (thereby) Rimus, king of the world, rule[d] Elam. The god Enlil showed (him the way). By the gods [Samas] and [Ilaba] I swe[ar] that (these) are not falsehoods, (but) are indeed [t]ru[e]. As for the o[ne who] re[moves this inscription, may the gods Enlil and Sam]as [te]ar out [his] foundation] an [dest]roy [his progeny]. Caption - Diorite, dusu-stone and (various) stones which I took ... as booty of Parahsum."[36][20]
Fragments of the Victory Stele of Rimush. The Victory Stele also has an epigraphic fragment, mentioning Akkad andLagash.[37] It suggests the stele represents the defeat of Lagash by the troops of Akkad.[38]
A Victory Stele in several fragments, possibly three in total. Two (found in Tell K at Girsu) are in theLouvre Museum, AO 2678 (34 cm high, 28 cm wide) for the relief and AO 2679 (9 cm high, 26 cm wide) for the inscriptions are generally thought to be part of the same stele, though this is not certain. The inscription is much damaged and the only readable portion of AO 2679 not pertaining to land distribution reads "after Akkade received the kingship". Another fragment, of unknown provenance but thought to be from the Lagash region, from the Yale Babylonian Collection YBC 2409 (20 cm high, 21 cm wide, 12 cm deep) has been proposed as a join to the first two but this is in dispute.[39][40] The stele has been attributed to Rimush on stylistic and epigraphical grounds but this is also in dispute with a counter proposal dating it to the time of Naram-Sin.[41] One of the fragments mentions Akkad andLagash.[37] One fragment in the main inscription probably contains parts of the name of Rimush himself.[40]
It is thought that the stele represents the defeat of Lagash by the troops of Akkad.[38] The prisoners depicted in the relief are visibly Mesopotamian, and their slaughtering at the hand of Akkadian soldiers is consistent with the known accounts of Rimush.[40] The stele was excavated in ancientGirsu, one of the main cities of the territory of Lagash.[37] The inscription acts as a landkudurru and describes the attribution of large plots of land (totaling an area of about 40 kilometers by 40 kilometers) from Lagash to the Akkadian nobility, following the victory. Almost all the personal names in the inscription are known from the Lagash and Girsu areas.[42]
Vase in the name of "Rimush, King of Kish", albaster, Tello ancientGirsu.
The first known Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual tablet dates from the reign of Rimush. Top column is in Sumerian and bottom column is its translation in Akkadian. (Louvre AO 5477)[44][45]
^William W. Hallo, "Royal Titles from the Mesopotamian Periphery", Anatolian Studies 30, pp. 89–19, 1980
^Helle, Sophus, "Enheduana’s World", Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 103-133, 2023ISBN9780300264173
^Harris, Rivkah, "The Archive of the Sin Temple in Khafajah (Tutub)", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 31–58, 1955
^Green, Alberto R. W., "Mesopotamia: The Land between Two Rivers", The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 8-88, 2003ISBN978-1-57506-069-9
^Poebel, A., "Ein neues Fragment der altbabylonischen Königsliste", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 34, no. Jahresband, pp. 39-53, 1922
^Van De Mieroop, Marc, "The Structure of Knowledge of the Universe", Philosophy before the Greeks: The Pursuit of Truth in Ancient Babylonia, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 113-140, 2015
^Ulla Koch-Westenholz (2000).Babylonian Liver Omens: The Chapters Manzazu, Padanu, and Pan Takalti of the Babylonian Extispicy Series Mainly from Assurbanipal's Library. Museum Tusculanum.
^Mario Liverani (2002). "Reviewed Work: Mesopotamien. Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/3 by Walther Sallaberger, Aage Westenholz, P. Attinger, M. Wäfler".Archiv für Orientforschung. 48/49:180–181.JSTOR41668552.
^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, 2003
^Thomas, 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
^[1] Henri Frankfort, "Tell Asmar, Khafaje and Khorsabad: Second Preliminary Report of the Iraq Expedition", Oriental Institute Communication 16, 1933
^Eppihimer, Melissa, "Assembling King and State: The Statues of Manishtushu and the Consolidation of Akkadian Kingship", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 114, no. 3, pp. 365–80, 2010
^E. Sollberger and J.R. Kupper, "Inscriptions royales sumeriennes et akkadiennes", Paris, 1971
^Ratnagar, Shereen F., "Theorizing Bronze-Age Intercultural Trade : The Evidence of the Weights", Paléorient, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 79–92, 2003
^B. R. Foster, The Age of Agade, Inventing Empire in Ancient Mesopotamia, London, New York 2016ISBN978-1138909755
^Dayton, J. E., "The Problem of Tin in the Ancient World", World Archaeology, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 49–70, 1971
^abcd[2] Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-218, 1993ISBN0-8020-0593-4
^Foster, B. R., "Management and Administration in the Sargonic Period", in: M. Liverani (ed.) Akkad, the First World Empire: Structure, Ideology, Traditions HANES 5, Padova: Sargon srl., pp. 25–39, 1993
^Foster, Benjamin R., "New Light on the 'Mu-Iti' Texts", Orientalia, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 153–62, 1979
^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
^Foster, B., "Umma in the Sargonic Period", Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Science 20, Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1882
^Salman Fahad, Sa’ad and Abdul-Qadir Abbas, Raghad, "Cuneiform Tablets from Shmet from the Excavation Season of 2001", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 1-13, 2020
^abcHeuzey, Léon (1895). "Le nom d'Agadé sur un monument de Sirpourla".Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale.3 (4):113–117.ISSN0373-6032.JSTOR23284246.
^Z. Bahrani, "Rituals of War: The Body and Violence in Mesopotamia", New York: Zone Books, 2008
^I. J. Gelb, P. Steinkeller, and R. M. Whiting Jr, "OIP 104. Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus", Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989, 1991 ISBN 978-0-91-898656-6TextPlates
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![Possible victory stele of king Rimush (back) (Louvre AO 2678)[43]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aVictory_stele-AO_2678-IMG_9044.jpg)
![Detail of the killing of prisoners by Akkadian troops. (Louvre AO 2678)[40]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aP1150890_Louvre_st%25C3%25A8le_de_victoire_Akkad_AO2678_rwk.jpg)
![A prisoner from Lagash on the Victory Stele. The same hairstyle can be seen in other statues from Lagash.[40][38]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMan_of_Lagash%2c_circa_2270_BCE_(portrait).jpg)
![Fragment mentioning Akkad and Lagash (Louvre AO 2679)[40][38]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFragments_of_the_Victory_Stele_of_Rimush_(transcription).jpg)
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