Shu-turul

Shu-turul
The name "Shu-turul" (𒋗𒄙𒄒, shu-tur2-ul3) on the macehead inscription, with transcription in standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform.
King of the Akkadian Empire
Reignc. 2168 BC – 2154 BC
PredecessorDudu
SuccessorGutian Dynasty
FatherDudu of Akkad

Shu-turul (Shu-durul, 𒋗𒄙𒄒, shu-tur2-ul3)[1][2] (also Šu-Turul) was the last king of the Akkadian Empire, ruling for 15 years according to the Sumerian king list.[3] It indicates that he succeeded his father Dudu. A few artifacts, seal impressions etc. attest that he held sway over a greatly reduced Akkadian territory that included Kish, Tutub, Nippur, and Eshnunna. The Diyala river also bore the name "Shu-durul" at the time.[4]

Sumerian King List

The king list asserts that Akkad was then conquered, and the hegemony returned to Uruk following his reign.[5] It further lists six names of an Uruk dynasty; however only two of these six rulers, Ur-nigin, and Ur-gigir, have been confirmed through archaeology. With Akkad's collapse the Gutians, who had established their capital at Adab, became the regional power, though several of the southern city-states such as Uruk, Ur and Lagash also declared independence around this time.[6]

Inscriptions

A few inscriptions in his name are known.[7][8] One, on an administrative clay sealing found at Kish reads:

"Šu-Turul the mighty, king of Agade"[9][7]

A clay sealing of Shu-turl was found at Nippur.[10] Another reading "[S]u-Turul, the [m]ighty, [ki]ng of [Aga]de: ... [(is) his servant]." was found at Tell Asmar.[7]

A votive mace, made of dark green marble,[11][12] is also known with an inscription mentioning Shu-turul and the dedication of a temple to Nergal:

Votive mace of Shu-turul, with an inscription with his name on the flange. Room 56, display case 11, British Museum[13][12]

𒀀𒈾 𒀭𒊊𒀕𒃲 𒀀𒈾 𒈾𒂍𒋛 𒋗𒄙𒄒 𒈗𒌷 𒀀𒂵𒉈𒆠 𒆷𒁀?𒋳 𒉺𒀠𒂍 𒀀𒈬𒊒
 a-na {d}ne3-iri11-gal a-na na-'a3-si szu-tur2-ul3 szar3-ri2 a-ga-de3{ki} la-ba-'a3?-szum szabra e2 a mu-ru

"To Nergal, for the life of Shu-turul king of Akkad, Laba-erishum the palace soothsayer has dedicated this"

— Mace of Shu-turul (British Museum, BM 114703)[14][2]

A seventeen centimeter long copper axe, acquired on the antiquities market, reads "Su-Turul, the mighty, king of Agade".[7]

A tablet found at Adab contains the year name "year when Shu-Durul assumed the kingdom".[15][16]

A one manna weight(in the shape of a duck), now held at the Urfa Museum, is inscribed with the name of an official of Akkadian ruler Shu-durul was recovered from a looted context in Titris Hoyuk.[17]

  • Transcription of the inscription on the flange of the votive hammer of Shu-turul.[18][12][19]
    Transcription of the inscription on the flange of the votive hammer of Shu-turul.[18][12][19]
  • Shu-turul in the Akkadian family tree
    Shu-turul in the Akkadian family tree

See also

Sources

  1. ^ "Sumerian Dictionary". oracc.iaas.upenn.edu.
  2. ^ a b Gadd, C. J. (Cyril John) (1921). The early dynasties of Sumer and Akkad. London, Luzac & co. p. Plate III, BM 114703.
  3. ^ Handbook To Life In Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman
  4. ^ Donald M. Matthews, The Early Glyptic of Tell Brak: Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Syria 1997, p. 15.
  5. ^ Who's Who in the Ancient Near East by Gwendolyn Leick
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334-2113), pp. 5-218, University of Toronto Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8020-0593-4
  8. ^ "CDLI-Found Texts". cdli.ucla.edu.
  9. ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
  10. ^ Gibson, McGuire, "A Re-Evaluation of the Akkad Period in the Diyala Region on the Basis of Recent Excavations at Nippur and in the Hamrin", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 531–38, 1982
  11. ^ "BM 114703".
  12. ^ a b c "Shu-turul mace". British Museum.
  13. ^ "BM 114703".
  14. ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
  15. ^ F. Pomponio, G. Visicato, A. Westenholz, Le tavolette cuneiformidi Adab delle collezioni della Banca d’Italia", Vol. I. Roma, 2006
  16. ^ Kogan, L. and Markina, K., "R. Hasselbach. Sargonic Akkadian. A Historical and Comparative Study of the Syllabic Texts", Babel und Bibel 3: Annual of Ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament and Semitic Studies, edited by Leonid E. Kogan, Natalia Koslova, Sergey Loesov and Serguei Tishchenko, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 555-588, 2006
  17. ^ T. Matney, "Urban planning and the archaeology of society at Early Bronze Age Titris ̧Höyük" In: D. C. Hopkins (Hrsg.), Across the Anatolian Plateau. Readings in the archaeology of ancient Turkey. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 57, pp. 19–34, Boston, 2002
  18. ^ "BM 114703".
  19. ^ Pognon (January 1913). "Journal asiatique : ou recueil de mémoires, d'extraits et de notices relatifs à l'histoire, à la philosophie, aux sciences, à la littérature et aux langues des peuples orientaux... / publié par la Société asiatique". Gallica: 418–430.
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Akkad
King of Kish, Uruk, Lagash, and Umma
Overlord of Elam
ca. 2168 – 2154 BC (Middle) 		Succeeded by