Ili-Ishar

Ili-Ishar
Military governor of Mari
Brick with inscription of "Ili-Ishar, Shakkanakku of Mari", commemorating a canal-building project.[1]
Reignc.2100 BCE
PredecessorIddi-ilum
SuccessorTura-Dagan (brother)
DynastyShakkanakku dynasty
Mari is located in Near East
Mari
Mari
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Location of Mari, where Ili-Ishar ruled.

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.[2] His father was Apil-Kin (𒀀𒉈𒆠𒅔), and his brother was Tura-Dagan, who succeeded him.[3]

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.[4] He was contemporary of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and probably their vassal.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.[8]

  • Inscription "Ili-Ishar Shakkanakku Mari-ki" (𒀭𒄿𒊬 𒄊𒀴 𒈠𒌷𒆠, "Ili-Ishar, Military Governor of Mari") on the brick
    Inscription "Ili-Ishar Shakkanakku Mari-ki" (𒀭𒄿𒊬 𒄊𒀴 𒈠𒌷𒆠, "Ili-Ishar, Military Governor of Mari") on the brick
  • Inscriptions of Ilum-Ishar, excavated in Mari
    Inscriptions of Ilum-Ishar, excavated in Mari
Ili-Ishar of Mari
Regnal titles
Preceded by Shakkanakku of Mari
c.2084-2072 BCE 		Succeeded by
  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 Archived 2015-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
  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.