Ikun-Shamash or Iku-Shamash (; )
was a King of the second
Mariote kingdom. According to
François Thureau-Dangin, the king reigned at a time earlier than
Ur-Nanshe
Ur-Nanshe (, ; ) also Ur-Nina, was the first king of the First Dynasty of Lagash in the Sumerian Early Dynastic Period III. He is known through inscriptions to have commissioned many building projects, including canals and temples, in the state of ...
of Lagash.
He is one of three Mari kings known from archaeology, and probably the oldest one.
Another king was
Iku-Shamagan, also known from a statue with inscription, in the
National Museum of Damascus
The National Museum of Damascus () is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range of History of Syria, Syrian history over a span of over 11 millennia. It ...
.
The third king is
Lamgi-Mari, also read Išgi-Mari, also known from an inscribed statue now in the
National Museum of Aleppo
The National Museum of Aleppo () is the largest museum in the city of Aleppo, Syria, and was founded in 1931. It is located in the heart of the northern city on Baron Street, adjacent to the famous Baron Hotel and near the Bab al-Faraj (Aleppo), ...
.
In his inscriptions, Ikun-Shamash used the
Akkadian language
Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...
, whereas his contemporaries to the south used the
Sumerian language
Sumerian ) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the a ...
.
His official title in the inscriptions was "King of Mari" and "
ensi-gal", or "supreme Prince" of the deity
Enlil
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...
.
He is known from a statue with inscription, which he dedicated to god
Shamash
Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in t ...
.
Ikun-Shamash's territory seems to have included southern
Babylonia
Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
.
Statue
Ikun-Shamash's votive statue, set by one of his officials, was discovered in the city of
Sippar
Sippar (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , Zimbir) (also Sippir or Sippara) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its ''Tell (archaeology), tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell ...
; the inscription reads:
The statue is located in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
.
File:Statue of Iku-Shamash, King of Mari circa 2400 BCE.jpg, Statue of Iku-Shamash, King of Mari c. 2400 BC (in the rear)
File:Ikun-shamash inscription.jpg, The inscription on the statue
Citations
{{Rulers of Sumer
Kings of Mari
26th-century BC monarchs
25th-century BC monarchs
3rd-millennium BC births
3rd-millennium BC deaths