![Empire akkad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Empire_akkad.svg)
Shar-Kali-Sharri (, ''
DShar-ka-li-Sharri''; reigned c. 2217–2193 BC
middle chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
, c. 2153–2129 BC
short chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
) was a king 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 ...
.
Rule
Succeeding his father
Naram-Sin in c. 2217 BC, he came to the throne in an age of increasing troubles. The raids of the
Gutian, who had established a capital at
Adab, that began in his father's reign were becoming more and more frequent, and he was faced with a number of rebellions from vassal kings against the high taxes they were forced to pay to fund the defence against the Gutian threat. Contemporary year-names for Shar-kali-sharri of Akkad indicate that in one unknown year of his reign, he captured
Sharlag
Sarlagab or Zarlagab (''fl.'' late 3rd millennium BC) was the second Gutian ruler of the Gutian Dynasty of Sumer mentioned on the Sumerian King List as possibly reigning for six years.
Sarlagab may have been a contemporary of the Akkadian king ...
, king of
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 ...
, while in another year, "the yoke was imposed on Gutium".
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:
Submission of Sumerian kings
The submission of Sumerian rulers to Shar-Kali-Sharri, is recorded in the seal inscriptions of Sumerian rulers such as
Lugal-ushumgal
Lugal-ushumgal (, ''lugal-ušumgal'') was a Sumerian ruler ( ensi, formerly read "Patesi") of Lagash ("Shirpula"), circa 2230-2210 BCE. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as gov ...
, governor (
ensi) of
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
("Shirpula"), circa 2230-2210 BC. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as governor of
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
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:
Loss of Lagash
![Sharkalisharri macehead 91146](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Sharkalisharri_macehead_91146.jpg)
Although
Lugal-ushumgal
Lugal-ushumgal (, ''lugal-ušumgal'') was a Sumerian ruler ( ensi, formerly read "Patesi") of Lagash ("Shirpula"), circa 2230-2210 BCE. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as gov ...
, Governor of Lagash, proclaimed himself as a vassal of Shar-Kali-Sharri, his successor
Puzer-Mama
Puzer-Mama or Puzur-Mama (, ''puzur4- Dma-ma'') was a ruler of Lagash before Gudea, circa 2200 BCE. Though he adopted the title of King (''lugal''), Puzer-Mama shows kinship with future Lagashite kings in the religiosity of his inscriptions.
He t ...
took control of
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
during Shar-kali-sharri's reign, when troubles with the
Guti
José María Gutiérrez Hernández (born 31 October 1976), known as Guti, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager.
During his career, he played almost exclusively for Real Madrid ...
left the Sargonic king with only "a small rump state whose center lay at the confluence of the
Diyala and
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
river." Puzer-Mama started the 2nd Dynasty of Lagash.
Out of the 24 years of his reign, names survive for some 18 of them, and indicate successful campaigns against the
Gutians
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 language, Sumerian: ,''Gu ...
,
Amorite
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...
s, and
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
ites, as well as temple construction in
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
and
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. Shar-Kali-Sharri reported defeating the Elamites at
Akshak
Akshak ( Sumerian: , akšak) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated on the northern boundary of Akkad, sometimes identified with Babylonian Upi (Greek Opis).
History
Akshak first appears in records of ca. 2500 BC. In the Sumerian text ''Dumuzid' ...
.
Fall into anarchy
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
also suffered from
a terrible drought during Shar-Kali-Sharri's reign in about c. 2200 BC, leading to the complete abandonment of some cities. This is complementary to Egyptian records, which suggest there was a drought around the same time during the reign of king
Pepi II
Pepi II Neferkare (2284 BC – after 2247 BC, probably either 2216 or 2184 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom who reigned from 2278 BC. His second name, Neferkare (''Nefer-ka-Re''), means "Beautiful is ...
. After Shar-Kali-Sharri's death in c. 2193 BC, Sumer 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
Igigi are the mythological figures of heaven in the mythology of Mesopotamia. Though sometimes synonymous with the term "Anunnaki", in one myth the Igigi were the younger beings who were servants of the Annunaki, until they rebelled and were rep ...
,
Imi
IMI may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* IMI plc, a British engineering company
* IMI Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer
* Indian Music Industry, a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India
* Indonesian Motor ...
,
Nanum,
Ilulu
Ilulu or Elulu, according to the ''Sumerian King List'', was one of four rivals (the others being Igigi, Imi, and Nanum) vying to be king of the Akkadian Empire during a three-year period following the death of Shar-kali-sharri. This chaotic per ...
: four of them ruled for only 3 years."
Legacy
The next recorded king of Akkad to rule for any reasonable amount of time was
Dudu, who is said by the king list to have reigned for 21 years. However, by this time the Akkadian empire was no more, and Dudu most likely controlled no more than Akkad itself, meaning Shar-Kali-Sharri was the last Akkadian king to actually have an empire under his control.
In the 1870s, Assyriologists thought Shar-Kali-Sharri was identical with the
Sargon of Agade of Assyrian legend, but this identification was recognized as mistaken in the 1910s.
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:Cuneiform tablet in the name of Shar-Kali-Sharri.jpg, Cuneiform tablet from Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
, in the name of Shar-Kali-Sharri (4th column), 2300 - 2100 BC.
File:Shar-Kali-Sharri seal.jpg, Shar-Kali-Sharri seal
File:To Shar-kali-sharri, king of Agade, Shaki-beli his servant.jpg, Bowl with inscription "To Shar-kali-sharri, king of Agade, Shaki-beli his servant.", Penn Museum
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
.
File:Brick Stamp of Shar-Kali-Sharri, 2217-2193 BCE, from Iraq. Iraq Museum (Vertical, mirrored).jpg, Brick Stamp of Shar-Kali-Sharri (mirrored for readability). National Museum of Iraq
The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national museum ...
.
See also
*
History of Sumer
The history of Sumer spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty o ...
References
{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia
23rd-century BC kings of Akkad
22nd-century BC kings of Akkad
Sumerian rulers
Akkadian kings
Akkadian Empire