Naram-Suen of Akkad
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- This article is about the Akkadian king. For other historical figures of the name, see Naram-Suen.
Naram-Suen (also transcribed Narām-Sîn, Naram-Sin), ca. 2190 – 2154 BC short chronology, was the third successor and grandson of Sargon of Akkad; under Naram-Suen the Akkadian Empire reached its zenith. He was the first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity for himself, and the first to be called "King of the Four Quarters". He traded with Meluhha (possibly corresponding to the Indus Valley civilization), and controlled a large portion of land along the Persian Gulf. Naram-Suen expanded his empire by defeating the King of Magan at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, and conquering the hill tribes northwards in the Taurus Mountains. He built administrative centers at Nagar (Tell Brak) and Nineveh.
One Mesopotamian myth has it that the goddess Inanna abandoned the former capital of Akkad following Naram-Suen's plunder of the Ekur (temple of the god Enlil) in Nippur. In his anger, Enlil brought the Gutians down from the hills east of the Tigris, to bring plague, famine and death throughout Mesopotamia. To prevent this destruction, eight of the gods decreed that Agade (Akkad) should be destroyed to spare the remaining cities. While this story may be mythological, it does suggest that Gutian raids were already beginning during this period.
Soon after the death of Naram-Suen, the Gutians invaded Akkad. By ca. 2124 BC, all Akkad was in the hands of the Gutians. The Gutians remained there for 125 years before being thrown out by the neo-Sumerian Empire.[1][2]
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[edit] Victory stele
Naram-Suen's famed victory stele (illustration) depicts him as a god-king (symbolized by his horned helmet) climbing a mountain above his soldiers and enemies. Although the stele was broken off at the top when it was stolen and carried off by the Elamites, it still strikingly reveals the pride, glory, and divinity of Naram-Suen. This may be the first instance in history when a king was depicted as a god. The stele broke from tradition by using successive diagonal tiers, rather than a horizontal format, to communicate the story to viewers. It is six feet and seven inches tall, and made from pink sandstone.[3]
The stele was found at Susa, and is now in the Louvre Museum.[4] A similar bas-relief depicting Naram-Suen was found a few miles north-east of Diarbekr, at Pir Hüseyin.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Babylonian Life and History, by E. A. Wallis Budge
- ^ Julian Reade (2000). Mesopotamia (in English). British Museum Press, pp. 67-68. ISBN 0714121819. OCLC 43501084.
- ^ Kleiner, Fred (2005). Gardner's Art Through The Ages. Thomson-Wadsworth, 41. ISBN 0-534-64095-8.
- ^ Louvre ( Arts and Architecture). Köln: Könemann. ISBN 3-8331-1943-8.
[edit] Sources
- H.W.F. Saggs, The Babylonians, Fourth Printing, 1988, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
- J. P. Naab, E. Unger, Die Entdeckung der Stele des Naram-Sin in Pir Hüseyin, Istanbul Asariatika Nesriyati XII (1934)[1].
[edit] External links
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