Marhaši ( Sumerian: ''Mar-ḫa-ši^KI'' , ''Marhashi'', ''Marhasi'', ''Parhasi'', ''Barhasi''; in earlier sources Waraḫše. Akkadian: "Parahshum" ''pa2-ra-ah-shum2-ki'') was a 3rd millennium BC polity situated east of Elam, on the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

, in Makran. It is known from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

n sources, but its precise location has not been identified, though some scholars link it with the

Jiroft culture The Jiroft cultureOscar White MuscarellaJiroft(2008), in: Encyclopedia Iranica. "For archeological accuracy the terms "Jiroft" or "Jiroft culture" employed to define a specific ancient Iranian culture and its artifacts should only be cited within ...

Henri-Paul Francfort Henri-Paul Francfort is a French archaeologist and member ("directeur de recherche") of the CNRS. He is noted for his excavations at Shortugai Shortugai (Shortughai), in Darqad District of northern Afghanistan, was a trading colony of the Indu ...

and Xavier Tremblay proposed identifying the kingdom of Marhashi with Ancient Margiana on the basis of the Akkadian textual and archaeological evidence.

History

The main inscription describing the rule of

Lugal-Anne-Mundu Lugal-Anne-Mundu ( sux, , , ca. 24th century BC) was the most important king of the city-state of Adab in Sumer. The ''Sumerian king list'' claims he reigned for 90 years, following the defeat of Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II, son of Nanni, of Ur. Th ...

of Adab in the 24th century BC mentions Marhasi among the seven provinces of his empire, between the names of Elam and

Gutium The Guti () or Quti, also known by the derived exonyms Gutians or Guteans, were a nomadic people of West Asia, around the Zagros Mountains (Modern Iran) during ancient times. Their homeland was known as Gutium ( Sumerian: ,''Gu-tu-umki'' or ,''G ...

: "the Cedar Mountains, Elam, Marḫaši,

Subartu The land of Subartu (Akkadian ''Šubartum/Subartum/ina Šú-ba-ri'', Assyrian '' mât Šubarri'') or Subar (Sumerian Su-bir4/Subar/Šubur, Ugaritic 𐎘𐎁𐎗 ṯbr) is mentioned in Bronze Age literature. The name also appears as ''Subari'' in ...

Amurru Amurru may refer to: * Amurru kingdom, roughly current day western Syria and northern Lebanon * Amorite, ancient Syrian people * Amurru (god) Amurru, also known under the Sumerian name Martu, was a Mesopotamian god who served as the divine perso ...

, Sutium, or the Eanna Mountain". The same inscription also recorded that he confronted Migir-Enlil, the governor ( ensi) of Marhashi, who had led a coalition of 13 rebel chiefs against him. It is also recorded that the

Awan Awan may refer to: Places * Awan (ancient city), a city-state in Elam in the 3rd millennium BCE * Awan (region), a town in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Awan, Bhulath, a village in Kapurthala district, Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan * ...

kings of Elam were in conflict with a Sumerian ruler's attempt to seize the market at Warakshe, a kingdom apparently near Elam on the Iranian plateau, rich in luxury products of all types, especially precious stones. During the

Akkadian Empire The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one ...

, Parahshum ("Marhashi" in Sumerian) was conquered by

Sargon the Great Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...

, and king

Abalgamash Abalgamash ( ''a-ba-al-ga-masz'') was a king of Marhashi (" Parahshum" in Akkadian) circa 2370 BCE, somewhere on the Iranian plateau. He seems to have led the forces of Elam, Marhashi, Kupin, Zahara and Meluhha into a coalition against the Akka ...

of Parahshum and his general Sidgau, along with Luh-ishan of Awan, rebelled unsuccessfully against

Rimush Rimush (or Rimuš, ''Ri-mu-uš'') 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. Rimush reported having a s ...

, while Hishep-ratep of Awan in alliance with Warakshe was defeated by Naram-Sin. King

Shulgi Shulgi ( dŠulgi, formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from c. 2094 – c. 2046 BC (Middle Chronology) or possibly c. 2030 – 1982 BC (Short Chronology). His accomplishme ...

of the Ur-III dynasty gave his daughter Nialimmidashu in marriage to king Libanukshabash of Marhashi in his 18th year, in an attempt to forge an alliance, but this proved short-lived, for Shulgi's successor

Amar-Sin Amar-Sin ( akk, : '' DAmar D Sîn'', after the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine"), initially misread as Bur-Sin (c. 2046-2037 BC middle chronology, or possibly ca. 1982–1973 BC short chronology) was the third rule ...

records having to campaign against their new king, Arwilukpi.

Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...

of Babylonia's 30th year name was "''Year Hammurabi the king, the mighty, the beloved of Marduk, drove away with the supreme power of the great gods the army of Elam who had gathered from the border of Marhashi,

, Gutium, Tupliash (

Eshnunna Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in th ...

) and

Malgium Malgium (also Malkum) is an ancient Mesopotamian city identified as Tell Yassir which thrived especially in the Middle Bronze Age, ca. 2000 BC - 1600 BC. Located on the river Tigris, south of where the Diyala River branches off and upstream of ...

who had come up in multitudes, and having defeated them in one campaign, he (Hammurabi) secured the foundations of Sumer and Akkad.''" The name Marḫaši later reappears in a tablet from the

Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bei ...

, where it designates an area north of the Tigris-Euphrates valley, perhaps in Luristan, as conquered by

Nebuchadrezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

Rulers of Marhasi

The main rulers known from inscriptions are:Qashqai, 2011.Legrain, 1922; Cameron, 1936; D’yakonov, 1956; The Cambridge History of Iran; Hinz, 1972; The Cambridge Ancient History; Majidzadeh, 1991; Majidzadeh, 1997. c. 2550–c. # Migirenlil (c. 2550 BC) # Unnamed King (c. 2325 BC) #

(c. 2316 – 2312 BC) revolted against

, king of Akkad) # Hubshumkibi (c. 2270 BC contemporary with Naram-Sin king of Akkad) # Unnamed King (c. 2080 BC) # Hashibatal (c. 2070 BC contemporary with

king of Ur) # Arvilukpi (c. 2050 BC contemporary with

king of Ur) # Pariashum (c. 2045 BC contemporary with

king of Ur) # Libanugshabash (2044–c. 2033 BC) # Mashhundahli (c. 2020 BC contemporary with

Ibbi-Sin Ibbi-Sin ( sux, , ), son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned c. 2028–2004 BCE ( Middle chronology) or possibly c. 1964–1940 BCE (Short chronology). During his rei ...

king of Ur)

Artifacts

File:Abalgamash Lugal Paraahshum-ki.jpg, "Abalgamash, King of Marhashi" ( ''Abalgamash Lugal Paraahshum-ki'') on one of the Rimush inscriptions (Louvre Museum, AO 5476) File:Prisoner of the Akkadian Empire period possibly Warka ancient Uruk LOUVRE AO 5683.jpg, Prisoner of the

, nude, fettered, drawn by nose ring, with pointed beard and vertical braid. Fragment of a vase possibly from

Warka Warka ( yi, ווארקע) is a town in east-central Poland, located on the left bank of the Pilica river ( south of Warsaw), with 11,035 inhabitants (2004). It has been situated in Grójec County, in the Masovian Voivodeship, since 1999; p ...

, ancient

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...

. Thought to depict a typical Marhasi. 2350-2000 BCE,

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

AO 5683. File:Jiroft_culture_vase.jpg, The area of

Jiroft Jiroft ( fa, جیرفت, also Romanized as Jīroft; formerly, Sabzāwārān, Sabzevārān, Sabzevārān-e Jiroft, and Sabzvārān) is a city and capital of Jiroft County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 95,031, in ...

and the

may correspond to the ancient country of Marhashi.

References

Literature

*Potts, D. T., ''Total prestation in Marhashi-Ur relations'', Iranica Antiqua 37 (2002). * Olmstead, A. T., ''The Babylonian Empire'', The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures (1919), p. 72. *

Michael Witzel Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80). Witz ...

, ''Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan; 1.9. The Southern Indus language: Meluhhan'', EJVS 5 (199

*Bertrand Lafont, ''The Toponym Ligri^ki'', Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin (200

* Qashqai, Hamidreza, Chronicle of early Iran history, Tehran, Avegan press, 2011 (in Persian: گاهنمای سپیده دم تاریخ در ایران ) Elam Jiroft culture Former kingdoms {{Iran-stub

History

Rulers of Marhasi

Artifacts

See also

References

Literature