Shar-kali-sharri

Shar-Kali-Sharri (, '' ^DShar-ka-li-Sharri''; died 2193 BC) reigned c. 2218–2193 BC (middle chronology) as the ruler of Akkad. In the early days of cuneiform scholarship the name was transcribed as "Shar-Gani-sharri". In the 1870s, Assyriologists thought Shar-Kali-Sharri was identical with the Sargon of Akkad, first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, but this identification was recognized as mistaken in the 1910s. His name was sometimes written with the leading Dingir sign demarking deification and sometimes without it. Clearly at some point he was deified and two of his designations marked his divine status, "heroic god of Akkade", and "god of the land of Warium". He was the son and successor of Naram-Sin who deified himself during his lifetime.Thureau-Dangin, F., "Encore la Dynastie d'Agadé", Revue d'Assyriologie 9, pp. 81–83, 1912

Biography

Shar-Kali-Sharri succeeded his father Naram-Sin around 2218 BC. According to the Sumerian King List, his reign lasted 25 years, which is closely matched by the year name from his rule. He completed the establishment of direct Akkadian rule, a process initiated by his predecessor.
M. Molina, "The palace of Adab during the Sargonic period", D. Wicke (ed.), Der Palast im antiken und islamischen Orient, Colloquien der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 9, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 151-20, 2019 It is known, from the seal impressions of three of her majordomos (example - "Sar-kali-sarri, king of the subjects of the god Enlil. Tuta-sar-libbis, the queen: Iskun-Dagan, scr beand her major mo, (is) erservant"), that the wife and queen of Shar-Kali-Shari was Tuta-sar-libbis.

Naram-Sin maintained control over the various city-states by the simple expedient of appointing some of his many sons as key provincial governors, and his daughters as high priestesses. Shar-Kali-Shari would have inherited this system on his ascension but is not known if he had any offspring or, for the most part, the nature of his provincial governors. It has been suggested that he was governor of Nippur before assuming the crown. This is supported by the fact that text show that he was crowned in Nippur, a process that included his sister Tudanapšum who had been named high priestess of Enlil at Nippur.

It was traditional for rulers in Mesopotamia to make an occasional "royal progress" visiting the major cultic sites. One such progress is known from the reign of his father Naram-Sin, fourth ruler of the Akkadian Empire. He was accompanied by three of his children, Bin-kali-šarrē, Tudanapšum, and crown prince Shar-Kali-Shari. It is known that Shar-Kali-Sharri made a royal journey to Sumer early in his reign which lasted at least six months. Cities known to have been included in the royal progress were Umma, Zabala, Isin, Girsu, and Nippur with many royal gifts dispensed and much feasting. In a show of military strength at least five sagina (generals) accompanied Shar-Kali-Shari.

It is known that the governor of Adab under Shar-Kali-Shar was Lugal-gis based on three clay sealings reading " r-kali-sam, god, hero of Agade: Lugal-gis, scribe and go ernorof Ad b, (is) hisservant." (noting that the Dingir followed the rulers name here). His successor as ensi of Adab under Shar-Kali-Shali was Ur-tur, known from tablets found there. Many Adab tablets dated to his reign remain unpublished in the Istanbul Museum. The governor of another city-state, Lagash is known. Lugal-ushumgal, was a governor ( ensi) under Naram-Sin and that continued under Shar-Kali-Shari. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as governor of Lagash and at the time a vassal (, ''arad'', "servant" or "slave") of Naram-Sin, as well as his successor Shar-kali-sharri. One of these seals proclaims:

Lugal-ushumgal was Governor of Lagash, a vassal of Naram-Sin and later of Shar-Kali-Sharri. His successor as governor Puzer-Mama declared himself ruler of Lagash, possibly on the death of Shar-Kali-Shari, and began the 2nd Dynasty of Lagash

One of the primary duties of the ruler of Mesopotamia was the maintenance of the Ekur temple of the chief god Enlil. Work on the temple, initiated by Naram-Sin, was completed by Shar-Kali-Shari. So important was this process that it was featured in seven of his year names, even naming the general appointed to lead the task, Puzur-Eshtar. Inscribed bricks of Shar-Kali-Shari were found during the excavation of Nippur:

In a tablet inscription (HS 195) he also marked, after visiting the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the giving of a cult object to Enlil at Nippur.

Shar-Kali-Shari also built new temples to Annunitum and to Ilaba (the tutelary deity deity of the Akkadian Empire) at Babylon, as reflected in a year name, with a further one to Ilaba at Zabala.

Based on his year names the reign of Shar-Kali-Shari was fairly peaceful with the usual scuffles with nomadic groups like the MAR.TU and the Gutians as well as the traditional butting of heads with the Elamites. The economic texts from that period also would indicate a reasonable degree of prosperity. Clearly the Gutians were growing in influence during his reign as at some point they made Adab their capital, though whether as a vassals of Akkad or not is unknown. That said, there was a historical tradition that the Akkadian Empire began to unravel during his rule. One much later Neo-Babylonian copy of an inscription (BM 38302) of Shar-Kali-Shari (which also marks the building of the temple of Ilaba in Zabala) indicated that he face a widespread revolt at one point which he overcame. This reflects the Great Revolt faced by his father Naram-Sin though it cannot be discounted that passage of millennia had blurred the history of one ruler with the other.

According to the Sumerian King List and later literary compositions, after Shar-Kali-Sharri's death in c. 2193 BC, the region fell into anarchy, with no king able to achieve dominance for long. The king list states:

:"Then who was king? Who was not the king? Igigi, Imi, Nanum, Ilulu: four of them ruled for only 3 years."

Akkad then resumed some resemblance of order for a time with the 21-year reign of Dudu followed by the 15-year reign of Shu-turul.

Year names of Shar-Kali-Sharri

Lists of year names can be found for many rulers from the time of the Akkadian Empire, including Shar-Kali-Sharri. They shed light on the length of his reign and the main events:

Inscriptions

File:Tablet in Akkadian language recording domestic animals, Bismaya, reign of Shar-kali-sharri, c. 2100 BC, clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07076 (cropped).jpg, Tablet in Akkadian language recording domestic animals, Bismaya, reign of Shar-kali-sharri, c. 2100 BC, clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago
File:Seal of Shar-Kali-Sharri, with devotee and seated deity.jpg, Seal of Shar-Kali-Sharri (previously attributed to Sargon), with seated deity.
File:Seal of Shar-Kali-Sharri, with Gilgamesh fighting a lion.jpg, Seal of Shar-Kali-Sharri (previously attributed to Sargon), with Gilgamesh fighting a lion.
File:P1050580 Louvre sceau-cylindre n°24 rwk.JPG, Shar-Kali-Sharri seal (Louvre)
File:Brick Stamp of Shar-Kali-Sharri, 2217-2193 BCE, from Iraq. Iraq Museum (Vertical, mirrored).jpg, Brick Stamp of Shar-Kali-Sharri National Museum of Iraq.
File:Lugal-ushumgal servant of Shar-kali-sharri (with transcription).jpg, Seal impression of Lugal-ushumgal as servant of Shar-Kali-Sharri: "Sharkalisharri, the mighty king of Agade, Lugalushumgal, '' ensi'' of Lagash, is thy servant."

See also

*List of Mesopotamian dynasties
* History of Sumer
* List of kings of Akkad

References

Further reading

*Foster, Benjamin R., "The age of Agade: inventing empire in ancient Mesopotamia", Routledge, 2015
*D. R. Frayne, "Notes on a New Inscription of Shar-kali-sharri", Ann. Rev. RIM Proj. 2, pp. 23–27, 1984
*Keetman, Jan, "Bilingualismus in Sumer zum Gebrauch des Akkadischen und Sumerischen in der Verwaltungspraxis des Reiches von Akkad unter Naram-Sujen und Sar-Kali-Sarri", Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale, vol. 108, pp. 1–14, 2014
*Mieroop, Marc Van De, "Sargon of Agade and his Successors in Anatolia", Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 42, pp. 133–59, 2000
*Pomponio, F., "Quello che accade (forse) dopo la morte di Šar-kali-šarrī", Akkade is King. A collection of papers by friends and colleagues presented to Aage Westenholz on the occasion of his 70th birthday 15 May 2009, hrsg. v. Gojko Barjamovic (Uitgaven van het Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten te Leiden 118), pp. 227–244, 2011
*Visicato, Giuseppe, "The Career of Ur-Bagara as a Chronological Indicatior of the Documents of Girsu from Šarkališarri to Gudea", Opening the Tablet Box, Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Benjamin R. Foster, hrsg. v. Sarah C. Melville, Alice L. Slotsky (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 42), pp. 435–452, 2010
*Westenholz, Aage, "Assyriologists, Ancientand Modern, on Naramsin andSharkalisharri", In Assyriologica et Semitica: Festschrift für Joachim Oelsner anläßlich seines 65. Geburtstages am 18. Februar 1997, edited by Joachim Mar-zahn and Hans Neumann, Alter Orientund Altes Testament 252. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, pp. 545–56, 2000

{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia

23rd-century BC kings of Akkad
22nd-century BC kings of Akkad
Kings of Akkad
Akkadian Empire
23rd-century BC births
22nd-century BC deaths