Ili-Ishar

Ili-Ishar
Military governor of Mari
Brick with inscription of "Ili-Ishar, Shakkanakku of Mari", commemorating a canal-building project.
Reignc.2100 BCE
PredecessorIddi-ilum
SuccessorTura-Dagan (brother)
DynastyShakkanakku dynasty

Ili-Ishar, also Ilum-Ishar (𒀭𒄿𒊬, Il3-Ishar), was a ruler of the city of Mari, northern Mesopotamia, after the fall of the Akkadian Empire c. 2084-2072 BCE. His father was Apil-Kin (𒀀𒉈𒆠𒅔), and his brother was Tura-Dagan, who succeeded him.

He held the title of Shakkanakku (military governor), which 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. He was contemporary of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and probably their vassal.

Several brick inscriptions in the name of Ili-Ishar have been found in Mari, describing the building of a canal:

"Ilum-išar, šakkanakku of Mari, made the Ḫubur go down to Bāb-Mēr"

— Mari inscriptions of Ili-Ishar.

On some of his inscriptions, Ili-Ishar uses the title dannum' ("the Great") in front of his function Shakkanakku ("Military Governor"), a practice which is first attested at Mari from the inscriptions of Apil-Kin, and was initially introduced by Naram-Sin of the Akkadian Empire.

References

  1. ^ Leick, Gwendolyn (2002). Who's Who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-134-78795-1.
  2. ^ Leick, Gwendolyn (2002). Who's Who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-134-78795-1.
  3. ^ Leick, Gwendolyn (2002). Who's Who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-134-78796-8.
  4. ^ Louvre. "The Statuette of Iddi-Ilum," Department of Near Eastern Antiquities: Mesopotamia. Accessed December 1, 2014. http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/statuette-iddi-ilum
  5. ^ Unger, Merrill F. (2014). Israel and the Aramaeans of Damascus: A Study in Archaeological Illumination of Bible History. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-62564-606-4.
  6. ^ Loisel, Anne-Caroline Rendu. "Ilum-Isar et Apil-Kin, deux nouvelles inscriptions de Mari/Tell Hariri". In L. Feliu / J. Llop / A. Millet Alba / J. Sanmartin (Ed), Time and History in the Ancient Near East, Proceedings of Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale 56, Barcelone, Juillet 2010, Pp.633-643.
  7. ^ THUREAU-DANGIN, F. (1936). "TEXTES DE MÂRI". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 33 (4): 177–179. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 23284100.
  8. ^ Loisel, Anne-Caroline Rendu. "Ilum-Isar et Apil-Kin, deux nouvelles inscriptions de Mari/Tell Hariri". In L. Feliu / J. Llop / A. Millet Alba / J. Sanmartin (Ed), Time and History in the Ancient Near East, Proceedings of Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale 56, Barcelone, Juillet 2010, Pp.633-643: 649.