Saʿumu was a king (
Lugal
Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big."
It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state coul ...
) of the second
Mariote kingdom who reigned c. 2416–2400 BC.
Some scholars, such as
Joseph Martin Pagan, interpreted the king's name as derived from the root "ś-y-m", a cognate of the
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
word "šâmu-m", meaning "to buy".
In a letter written by the later Mariote king
Enna-Dagan, Saʿumu is attested launching a major attack on the
Ebla
Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...
ites.
The king's campaigns recorded in the letter were concentrated in the middle
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
valley east of
Emar
)
, image = View_from_the_Byzantine_Tower_at_Meskene,_ancient_Barbalissos.jpg
, alt =
, caption = View from the Byzantine Tower at Meskene, ancient Barbalissos
, map_type = Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 200
...
,
where he defeated the cities of
Tibalat and
Ilwani, leaving ruins in the mountainous area of
Angai.
Saʿumu continued his war defeating the cities of
Ra'ak,
Nirum,
Ashaldu and
Badul, leaving ruins in the borders of
Nahal's region.
See also
*
Eblaite-Mariote war
Notes
Citations
25th-century BC rulers
Kings of Mari
25th-century BC people
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