Manishtushu (Man-ištušu) (, Ma-an-ish-tu-su; died 2255 BC) was the third king of the Akkadian Empire, reigning 15 years c. 2270 BC until his death c. 2255 BC. His name means "Who is with him?".[Vinnichenko, Olga I., "On the Prepositions ‘Issu’ and ‘Isse’ in Neo-Assyrian", Orientalia, vol. 85, no. 2, pp. 149–75, 2016] He was the son of Sargon the Great, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, and he was succeeded by his son, Naram-Sin who also deified him posthumously.[William W. Hallo, "Royal Titles from the Mesopotamian Periphery", Anatolian Studies 30, pp. 89–19, 1980] A cylinder seal, of unknown provenance, clearly from the reign of Naram-Sin or later, refers to the deified Manishtushu i.e. "(For) the divine Man-istusu: Taribu, the wife of Lugal-ezen, had (this seal) fashioned".[Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Divine Rulers of Akkade and Ur: Toward a Definition of the Deification of Kings in Babylonia", History, Texts and Art in Early Babylonia: Three Essays, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 107-157, 2017]
Biography
Manishtushu was the third king of the
Akkadian Empire according to Old Babylonian tradition though listed as the 2nd, after Sargon, in the Ur III recension of the
Sumerian King List.
[P. Steinkeller, "An Ur III Manuscript of the Sumerian King List", in Literatur, Politic und Recht in Mesopotamien: Festschrift für Claus Wilcke, ed. W. Sallaberger, K. Volk, and A. Zgoll, 267–92. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2003] He was the son of Sargon of Akkad, brother of
Enheduanna,
Rimush, and
Shu-Enlil, and the father of Naram-Sin. Only one year name is known. An unprovenanced tablet at the
Iraq Museum from the Umma region on epigraphic grounds reads "In the year that Dūr-Maništusu was established". From this it is also known that a "fortress of Manishtusu" was built though the location is unknown.
[Alkhafaji, Nashat Ali Omran, "A Double Date Formula of the Old Akkadian King Manishtusu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 71, pp. 3–9, 2019]
He became king c. 2270 BC after the death of his brother Rimush. Manishtushu, freed of the rebellions of his brother's reign, led campaigns to distant lands. According to a passage from one of his inscriptions, he led a fleet down the Persian Gulf where 32 kings allied to fight him. Manishtushu was victorious and consequently looted their cities and silver mines, along with other expeditions to kingdoms along the Persian Gulf. He also sailed a fleet up the Tigris River that eventually traded with 37 other nations, conquered the city of Anshan in Elam, and rebuilt the destroyed temple of Inanna in Nineveh c. 2260 BC.[Reade, Julian, "The Ishtar Temple at Nineveh", Iraq 67.1, pp. 347-390, 2005] In Elam and Pashime, in the coastal area of Iran, Manishtushu had governors installed for the Akkadian Empire: Eshpum was in charge of Elam, while Ilshu-rabi was in charge of Pashime.
An ellipsoidal axehead (copper or bronze) from the region of Elam (provenance is uncertain as it is in a private collection) reads "(For) Maništušu, king of Kiš, Māšum, the charioteer, his servant". This form of axehead is known from other examples and from Akkadian Empire iconography.[[1] Molina, Manuel, "An axehead from Iran dedicated to Maništušu", ISIMU 25, pp. 163-176, 2022] A marble mace head found at Sippar (BM 91018) reads "Man-istusu, king of the world, dedicated (this mace) to the goddess Belat-Aia".[Braun-Holzinger, E.A., "Mesopotamische Weihgaben der frühdynastischen bis altbabylonischen Zeit", Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient 3, Heidelberg, 1991] An alabaster mace head found at Isin (IB 1878 - Iraqi Museum number unknown), in the shrine of Ninurta of the Gula temple, reads "Man-istusu, king of the world, dedicated (this mace) to the goddess Ninisina.".[Gelb, I.J., and Kienast, B., "Die altakkadischen Königsinschriften des Dritten Jahrtausends v. Chr.", Freiburger Altorientalische Studien 7, Stuttgart, 1990] Some inscriptions of the underlings of Manishtushu are known. A votive statue found at Susa reads "Man-istusu, king of the world: Espum, his servant, dedicated (this statue) to the goddess Narunte." and a copper spear point found at Assur (VA 8300) read "Man-istusu, king of the world: Azuzu, his servant, dedicated (this spear) to the god Be'al-SI.SL".
Around 2255 BC, Manishtushu died, possibly assassinated by members of his own court, and was succeeded by his son Naram-Sin. This supposed manner of his death is based on an Old Babylonian period extispicy omen text which reads "if the heart is like the testicle(s) of a sheep, it is an omen of Manishtushu, whom his palace killed".[Goetze, Albrecht, "Historical Allusions in Old Babylonian Omen Texts", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 253–65, 1947] He held the title "King of Kish" in some of his inscriptions.
The Manishtushu "standard inscription" is known from at least eight exemplars, statue fragments found at Nippur (CBS 19925), Sippar (BM 56630 and BM 56631), Susa (SB 51 and SB 15566), and Khafajah (KH II 162) as well as Old Babylonian tablet copies of Manishtushu inscriptions found at Nippur (CBS 13972 and NI 3200) and Ur (U 7725):
An inscribed door socket was found at an unexcavated mound on the Adaim river near where it meets the Tigris river, Khara'ib Ghdairife. It read "Manistusu, king of Kis, builder of the temple of the goddess Ninhursaga in HA.A KI. Whoever removes this tablet, may Ninhursaga and Samas uproot his seed and destroy his progeny."[Al-Rawi, F. N. H., and J. A. Black, "A Rediscovered Akkadian City", Iraq, vol. 55, pp. 147–48, 1993]
Cruciform Monument of Manishtushu
In the early days of ancient Near Eastern archaeology a cross shaped (from above) monument of Manishtushu (BM 91022), inscribed in twelve columns, was discovered in 1881 by
Hormuzd Rassam at Sippar.
[[2] Hormuzd Rassam, Asshur and the Land of Nimrod: Being an Account of the Discoveries Made in the Ancient Ruins of Nineveh, Asshur, Sepharvaim, Calah, etc..., Curts & Jennings, 1897] The monument mainly deals with the refurbishment of the Ebabbar temple in Sippar. It was assumed to be a legitimate Old Babylonian period copy of an Old Akkadian period monument.
[King, L. W., "The Cruciform Monument of Manishtusu", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 91–105, 1912][[3] Prince, John Dyneley, "An Akkadian Cruciform Monument", Fragments from Babel, New York Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, pp. 67-85, 1939] Later research showed that it was actually an Old Babylonian forgery.
[Gelb, I. J., "The Date of the Cruciform Monument of Maništušu", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 346–48, 1949] More recently, scholarship has dated the forging of the cruciform monument even later, to the Neo-Babylonian period.
[Finkel, Irving, and Alexandra Fletcher, "Thinking outside the box: The case of the Sun-God Tablet and the Cruciform Monument", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 375.1, pp. 215-248, 2016] Several Late Babylonian copies of the cruciform monument have also been found.
[Sollberger, E, "The Cruciform Monument", Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux, 20, pp. 50–70, 1968]
Manishtushu Obelisk
The diorite obelisk, damaged at the top and bottom, was found at the site of Susa in Elam in 1897 by Jacques de Morgan.
["MM. J. De Morgan's Excavations in the Akropolis and Palaces of Susa", Scientific American, vol. 82, no. 11, pp. 169–70, 1900] The origin of the monument, considered a
kudurru i.e. a land grant, is unknown though generally thought to be from Sippar based on locations mentioned in it and the fact that most texts carried back to Susa by the Elamites came from the Ebabbar temple of the god Shamash in Sippar. It is currently held in the
Louvre Museum (SB 20).
[ The Manishtushu Obelisk at the Louvre Museum] It records the purchase by Manishtushu of eight parcels of land totaling 3430 hectares. The kudurru is 144 centimeters in height (including a small plaster base added to the bottom to stabilize it). It has four inscribed sides (A-50 centimeters wide, B-45 centimeters wide, C-52 centimeters wide, and D-39 centimeters wide) which include a total of 76 columns of text with some lines at the top lost.
[I. J. Gelb, P. Steinkeller, and R. M. Whiting Jr, "OIP 104. Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus", Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989, 1991 ISBN 978-0-91-898656-6 Text Plates] The text is written in Akkadian language but with Sumerian orthography.
[Crisostomo, Jay, "The Foundations of Cuneiform Translation", in Translation as Scholarship: Language, Writing, and Bilingual Education in Ancient Babylonia, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 16-50, 2019] This is the first written use of the talent measurement "3 talents 33 minas silver (as) the price of a field".
[Bartash, Vitali, "From burden to talent", in Establishing Value: Weight Measures in Early Mesopotamia", Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 16-35, 2019]
A sample passage:
A number of locations and personal names are mentioned on the long text of the obelisk. The fields being procured are noted as being around four cities, Dur-Sin, Girtab, Marad, and Kish, with only the location of Dur-Sin unknown in modern times.[[7] Altaweel, M. R., and Studevent Hickman, B., "Tell Abu Sheeja/Ancient Pašime. Report on the First Season of Excavations, 2007", Akkadica 131, pp. 47–65, 2010]
File:P1050576 Louvre Oblélisque de Manishtusu rwk.JPG|Manishtushu Obelisk, Louvre Museum[Full transcription of the Manishtusu obelisk: ]
File:P1050578 Louvre Obélisque de Manishtusu détail rwk.JPG|Detail of inscription on the obelisk
File:Ilshu-rabi (name).jpg|The name "Ilshu-rabi" on the stele
Miscellaneous fragments
Various bits and pieces of the statues and monuments of Manishtushu have been found.
[[8] I. J. Gelb, "Old akkadian writing and Grammar. Material for the Assyrian dictionary no 2", second édition, revised and enlarged, Chicago, 1961] They are identified by contemporary inscriptions, by added later inscriptions (mostly in the Elamite language where the name was rendered Ma-an-iš-du-uz-z) and, somewhat more controversial, on stylistic and iconographic bases.
[Tavernier, J., "On the Sounds Rendered by the s-, š- and s/z-Series in Elamite", Proceedings of the 53th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Vol. 1: Language in the Ancient Near East (2 parts), edited by Leonid E. Kogan, Natalia Koslova, Sergey Loesov and Serguei Tishchenko, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1059-1078, 2010] An example is the combination of fragment SB 49 (stool) and SB 50 (legs), held at the Louvre Museum, sometimes referred to as the "throne of Manishtushu". It was found at Susa and carried an Elamite language inscription by ruler
Shutruk-Nahhunte (c. 1184 to 1155 BC) who carried it away from Eshnunna after a raid.
[Thomas, Ariane, "The Akkadian Royal Image: On a Seated Statue of Manishtushu", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 105, no. 1-2, pp. 86-117, 2015][Eppihimmer, Melissa, "Assembling King and State: The Statues of Manishtushu and the Consolidation of Akkadian Kingship", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 114, no. 3, pp. 365–80, 2010][Amiet, P., "Les Statues de Manishtusu, Roi d'Agadé", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 97–109, 1972]
Another exemplar, found at Susa and inscribed a millennium later by Shutruk-Nakhunte is the statue composed of fragments SB 47 (body) + SB 9099 (hands) said by Shutruk-Nakhunte to be of Manishtushu.
See also
-
History of Sumer
-
List of kings of Akkad
-
List of Mesopotamian dynasties
Further reading
-
Amiet, P., "Sculptures de l’époque d’Agadé provenant de Suse", La Revue du Louvre et des Musées de France 15, pp. 239–24, 1965
-
Buccellati, G., "Through a tablet darkly. A reconstruction of Old Akkadian monuments described in Old Babylonian copies", in: M. E. Cohen e.a. (ed.), The tablet and the scroll. Near Eastern studies in honor of William W. Hallo, Bethesda, pp. 58–71, 1993
-
[9]Dayton, John, "On the Logistical Probabilities of Maništušu’s ‘Magan’Campaign", Eating and Drinking in the Ancient Near East, pp. 227-241, 2024
-
Eppihimer, Melissa, "Exemplars of kingship: art, tradition, and the legacy of the Akkadians", Oxford University Press, 2019
-
Hoschander, Jakob, "Die Personennamen auf dem Obelisk des Maniṡtusu"' , vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 246–302, 1907
-
Hrozný, Friedrich, "Der Obelisk Maništusu’s", Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes, vol. 21, pp. 11–43, 1907
-
Pinches, Theophilus G, "Man-istisu, in the Temple of Sara", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 52.1, pp. 21–24, 1920
-
Scheil, V., "Inscription de Maništusu", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 103–06, 1910
-
Scheil, V., "Maništusu on Maništu irba?", Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, vol. 4, no. 1–6, pp. 81–81, 1901
-
E. Sollberger and J.R. Kupper, "Inscriptions royales sumeriennes et akkadiennes", Paris, 1971
-
Steinkeller, P., "Man-ištūšu. A. Philologisch", RlA 7, pp. 334–335, 1989
-
Steinkeller, P., "Puzur-Inšušinak at Susa. A Pivotal Episode of Early Elamite History Reconsidered", MDP 58, pp. 294–317, 2013
-
Strommenger, E., "Das Menschenbild in der Altmesopotamischen Rundplastik von Mesilim bis Hammurapi", BM 1, pp. 1–103, 1960
