Naram-Sin, or Narām-Sîn or –Suen, inscribed in

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge- ...

on contemporary seal impressions as ^d''na-ra-am-''^dEN.ZU, had been the "waklum" (ugula, Overseer) or "'' Išši’ak Aššur''" (énsi ^d''a-šùr'', Steward of Ashur) of the city-state

Assur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'a ...

, listed as the 37th king of

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

on the later

Assyrian King List The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...

s, where he is inscribed ^m''na-ram-''^dEN.ZU,''SDAS List'', IM 60484, i 34.''Nassouhi List'', Istanbul A. 116 (Assur 8836), i 33.''Khorsabad List'', IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), i 34. or a fragmentary list where he appears as -^d30.''Assyrian Kinglist fragment'' VAT 9812 = KAV 14: ‘3 He was named for the illustrious

Naram-Sin of Akkad Naram-Sin, also transcribed Narām-Sîn or Naram-Suen ( akk, : '' DNa-ra-am D Sîn'', meaning "Beloved of the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine"), was a ruler of the Akkadian Empire, who reigned c. 2254–2218 BC ...

and took the divine determinative in his name (just like Naram-Sin's grandfather: Sargon I, who may have been named after

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...

.) Naram-Sin should not be confused with the Naram-Sin who had ruled

Eshnunna Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in the ...

for around twelve years (the successor and son, as identified on an inscription, of the long-reigning Ebiq-Adad II.) It is probable that Naram-Sin of Assur was, however, contemporaneous with the earlier part of Ebiq-Adad II’s reign (whose last attestation was in the Mari Eponym Chronicle B line 25 some 56 years after Naram-Sin’s inauguration.) Naram-Sin of Assyria was the son and successor of the short-reigning Puzur-Ashur II, filiation preserved in his seal impression on the envelopes of the waklum-letters to his expat Anatolian-based traders at the '' karum'' Kanesh and in the later Assyrian King Lists. The length of Naram-Sin's reign is uncertain, however; based on various excavated "

limmu : Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, th ...

" (eponym) lists, the reigns of Naram-Sin and his son and successor Erishum II had a combined length of 64 years. The Assyrian King List records that

Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad ( akk, Šamši-Adad; Amorite: ''Shamshi-Addu''), ruled 1808–1776 BC, was an Amorite warlord and conqueror who had conquered lands across much of Syria, Anatolia, and Upper Mesopotamia.Some of the Mari letters addressed to Shamsi ...

, “went away to Babylonia in the time of Naram-Sin.” Shamshi-Adad I did not return until he had taken

Ekallatum Ekallatum (Akkadian: 𒌷𒂍𒃲𒈨𒌍, URUE2.GAL.MEŠ, Ekallātum, "the Palaces") was an ancient Amorite city-state and kingdom in upper Mesopotamia. The exact location of it has not yet been identified, but it is thought to be located somewher ...

, after which he paused for three years and then overthrew Erishum II. The Mari Eponym Chronicle, which resumes the listing until the seizure of Ekallatum by Shamshi-Adad I, provides no clue as to when the succession of Erishum II had taken place. As the reign of Erishum II was prematurely ended by the conquests of Shamshi-Adad I, it is likely that Naram-Sin's reign was the greater part of the period, additionally; the broken figure on the Nassouhi King List ends on four, so perhaps Naram-Sin reigned 44 or 54 years (c. 1872 BC onward,

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 ...

). Despite this, there are no extant monumental inscriptions recording his activities. The following is a list of the last 27 annually-elected limmu officials listed on the extant Kültepe Eponym Lists (KEL) representing Naram-Sin's first years (ending nearly a decade before Naram-Sin's 35th year during which the karum Kanesh was destroyed c. 1837 BC, the II layer.) The city-state of Assur which Naram-Sin had inherited would have been fairly wealthy as the hub of the trading network at the height of the Assur's activity and despite the destruction of the trading post at Kanesh partway through his reign, commerce apparently continued elsewhere. A gap of up to four years is apparent between the end of the KEL and the beginning of the Mari Eponym Chronicle (MEC B.) There are no extant monumental inscriptions recording his activities. The dating on this list uses the

for the

ancient near east The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

: 1872 BC Shu-Suen, son of Bab-ilum
1871 BC Ashur-malik, son of Alahum
1870 BC Ashur-imitti, son of Ili-bani
1869 BC Enna-Suen, son of Shu-Adhur
1868 BC Akkutum, son of Alahum
1867 BC Mas.i-ili, son of Irishum
1866 BC Iddi-ahum, son of Kudanum
1865 BC Samaya, son of Shu-Balum
1864 BC Ili-Anum, son of Sukkalia
1863 BC Ennam-Anum, son of Adhur-malik
1862 BC Ennum-Ashur, son of Duni-Ea
1861 BC Enna-Suen, son of Shu-Ishtar
1860 BC Hannanarum
1859 BC Dadia
1858 BC Kapatia
1857 BC Ishma-Ashur, son of Ea-dan
1856 BC Ashur-mutappil, son of Azizum
1855 BC Shu-Nirah, son of Azuzaya
1854 BC Iddin-abum
1853 BC Ili-dan, son of Azuza
1852 BC Ashur-imitti, son of Iddin-Ištar
1851 BC Buzia, son of Abia
1850 BC Dadia, son of Shu-Ilabrat
1849 BC Puzur-Ishtar, son of Nur-ilišu
1848 BC Isaya, son of Dagan-malkum
1847 BC Abu-Shalim, son of Ili-Anum
1846 BC Ashur-re'i, son of Ili-emuqi

Inscriptions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naram-Suen of Assyria 19th-century BC Assyrian kings