Anubanini, also Anobanini (: ''An-nu-ba-ni-ni''), was a king (

𒈗 ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lú'' " 𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great", or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state could ...

''Šàr'', pronounced ''Shar'') of the pre-

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

tribal kingdom of

Lullubi Lullubi, Lulubi (: ''Lu-lu-bi'', : ''Lu-lu-biki'' "Country of the Lullubi"), more commonly known as Lullu, were a group of Bronze Age tribes of Hurrian and Semitic languages, Semitic origin who existed and disappeared during the 3rd millennium BC ...

in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

circa 2300 BCE, or relatively later during the Isin-Larsa period of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, circa 2000-1900 BCE. He is known especially from the

Anubanini rock relief The Anubanini petroglyph, also called Sar-e Pol-e Zohab II or Sarpol-i Zohab relief, is a rock relief from the Akkadian Empire period (circa 2300 BC) or the Isin-Larsa period (early second millennium BC) and is located in Kermanshah Province, Ira ...

, located in

Kermanshah Province Kermanshah province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, bordering Iraq. Its capital is the city of Kermanshah. According to a 2014 segmentation by the Ministry of Interior (Iran), Ministry of Interior, it is the center of Regions of Iran ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. According to an inscription, Annubanini seems to have been contemporary with

Simurrum Simurrum (: ''Si-mu-ur-ri-im'') was an important city state of the Mesopotamian area from around 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE, during the period of the Akkadian Empire down to Ur III. The Simurrum Kingdom disappears from records after the Old Babylonian ...

king

Iddin-Sin Iddi(n)-Sin (: ''Iddî-Sîn'') was a King ( 𒈗 ''Šàr'', pronounced ''Shar'') of the Kingdom of Simurrum around 2000 to 1900 BCE. Simurrum was an important city state of the Mesopotamian area, during the period of the Akkadian Empire down to ...

. Another well-known Lullubi king is

Satuni Satuni, or Sutuni (: ''Sa-tu-ni''), was a king or prince of the kingdom of Lullubi Lullubi, Lulubi (: ''Lu-lu-bi'', : ''Lu-lu-biki'' "Country of the Lullubi"), more commonly known as Lullu, were a group of Bronze Age tribes of Hurrian and Semit ...

, who was vanquished by the Mesopotamian king Naram-Sin circa 2250 BCE.

Anubanini rock relief

In this rock relief, Anubanini, the king of the

, puts his foot on the chest of a captive. There are 8 other captives, two of them kneeled behind the Lullubian equivalent of the Akkadian goddess

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

(recognisable by the four pairs of horns on her headdress and the weapons over her shoulders) and six of them standing in a lower row at the bottom of the rock relief. He is faced by goddess Nini/

Innana Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

, and it is thought that he may have claimed divinity, like several rulers after the end of the

Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of Ur or Ur III was a Sumerian dynasty based in the city of Ur in the 22nd and 21st centuries BC ( middle chronology). For a short period they were the preeminent power in Mesopotamia and their realm is sometimes referred to by ...

. This rock relief is very similar to the

Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription (also Bisotun, Bisitun or Bisutun; , Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the place of god") is a multilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions, Achaemenid royal inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun i ...

and may have influenced it. In the inscription in Akkadian script and language, he declares himself as the mighty king of Lullubium, who had set up his image as well as that of

on mount Batir, and calls on various deities to preserve his monument:

Raids on Guthium, Elam, and Babylonian territory

Anubanini relief constituents prisoner king

Some later legends, such as the ''

Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin The Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin is one of the few literary works whose versions are attested in both Old Babylonian, Middle Babylonian and the Standard Babylonian of the late Neo-Babylonian period, a literary life of around 1,500 years. It seems to ...

'', describe a king Anubanini during the reign of Naram-Sin (c. 2254–2218 BCE), who used to raid the fertile lands of the Babylonian plain from his mountain territory on the eastern frontier. The epic ''Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin'' claims

Gutium The Guti (), also known by the derived exonyms Gutians or Guteans, were a people of the ancient Near East who both appeared and disappeared during the Bronze Age. Their homeland was known as Gutium ( Sumerian: , ''GutūmKI'' or , ''GutiumKI''). ...

and

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

among the lands raided by the hordes led by Anubanini. According to this account Anubanini was only stopped at the shores of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

Depictions

Anubanini Rock Relief 1.jpg, Anubanini_relief_components.jpg, File:Anubanini relief constituents King Anubanini portrait.jpg, Portrait of king Anubanini. File:Annubanini.jpg, The name ''Annubanini'' as it appears at the beginning of the

inscription. file:Lulu king 2.jpg, Drawing- Queen Lulubian from the relief of Sarpolzahab. The second half of the third millennium BC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anubanini Monarchs in the Middle East 23rd-century BC monarchs