Mari-ki Puzur-Ishtar Shakkanakku inscription

Puzur-Ishtar (, ''Puzur4-Eš4-tár'', c. 2050–2025 BCE) was a ruler of the city of Mari, northern

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 F ...

, after the fall of 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 (city), Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and ...

. He was contemporary of the

Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century Common Era, BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians c ...

, and probably their vassal. He had several sons, who succeeded him, Hitlal-Erra and

Hanun-Dagan Hanun-Dagan (meaning " Dagan is merciful"), was the Shakkanakku and king (Lugal) of Mari reigning c. 2016-2008 BC. He was the brother of his predecessor Hitlal-Erra, and is recorded as the son of Shakkanakku Puzur-Ishtar on a seal discovered in t ...

Statue

A statue of him is known from the

Royal Palace of Mari The Royal Palace of Mari was the royal residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mari in eastern Syria. Situated centrally amidst Palestine, Syria, Babylon, Levant, and other Mesopotamian city-states, Mari acted as the “middle-man” to ...

. Statues of gods and past rulers were the most common among statues unearthed at the Palace of Zimri-Lin. The title of

Shakkanakku Shakkanakku ( Sumerian: , GIR.NITA or ''šagina'', , ''Shakkanakku''), was an Akkadian language title designating a military governor. Mari was ruled by a dynasty of hereditary Shakkanakkus which was originally set by the Akkadian Empire and gain ...

(military governor) was borne by all the princes of a dynasty who reigned at Mari in the late third millennium and early second millennium BC. These kings were the descendants of the military governors appointed by the kings of

Akkad Akkad may refer to: *Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire *Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia *Akkad SC, Iraqi football club People with the name *Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer *Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...

. The statue of Puzur-Ishtar once stood in one of the sanctuaries of the Palace of Zimri-Lim, but was discovered in the museum of

Nebuchadrezzar 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 ...

’s palace at Babylon (604-562 BCE), where it was likely transported as a trophy. The inscription on the hem of the statue’s skirt mentions Puzur-Ishtar, Sakkanakku of Mari, and also mentions his brother the priest Milaga.Gates, Henriette-Marie. "The Palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari." ''The Biblical Archaeologist'' 47 (June.,1984): 70-87. Horned caps are usually limited to divine representations in Mesopotamian art but they do not occur on depictions of kings during the Ur III period, therefore it is considered that perhaps the horns of divinity on Puzur-Ishtar’s cap qualified him (to the Babylonian soldiers) as a god to be carted home as the ultimate symbol of their victory over the people of Mari.Gates, "The Palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari," 70-87.

Inscriptions

The inscription on the arm of the statue reads: The inscription on the hem of the statue reads: File:Puzur-Ishtar statue cuneiform inscription.jpg, Puzur-Ishtar statue inscription (hem).For transcript and translation:

Other statues

A second statue of Puzur-Ishtar is known, now in the

Museum of Ancient Near East The Vorderasiatisches Museum (, '' Near East Museum'') is an archaeological museum in Berlin. It is in the basement of the south wing of the Pergamon Museum and has one of the world's largest collections of Southwest Asian art. 14 halls distri ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. File:Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin 037.jpg, Head of Puzur-Ishtar.

. File:Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin 036.jpg, A second statue of Puzur-Ishtar, with inscriptions intentionally damaged in antiquity (only the beginning remains).

References

{{Istanbul Archaeology Museums 21st-century BC rulers Kings of Mari 21st-century BC people