Gutian rule in Mesopotamia explained

Conventional Long Name:Gutian Dynasty of Sumer
Common Name:Gutian Dynasty of Sumer
Era:Bronze Age
Government Type:Monarchy
Year Start: 2141 BC
Year End: 2050 BC
P1:Akkadian Empire
Flag P1:Empire akkad.svg
S1:Third Dynasty of Ur
Flag S1:Map of Ur III.svg
Capital:Adab
Common Languages:Gutian language and Sumerian language
Leader1:Erridu-pizir (first)
Leader2:Tirigan (last)
Year Leader1:fl. 2141—2138 BC
Year Leader2:fl. 2055—2050 BC
Today:Iraq

The Gutian dynasty (Sumerian:, gu-ti-umKI) was a line of kings, originating among the Gutian people. Originally thought to be a horde that swept in and brought down Akkadian and Sumerian rule in Mesopotamia, the Gutians are now known to have been in the area for at least a century by then. By the end of the Akkadian period, the Sumerian city of Adab was occupied by the Gutians, who made it their capital.[1] [2] The Gutian Dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia near the end of the 3rd millennium BC, after the decline and fall of the Akkadian Empire. How long Gutian kings held rulership over Mesopotamia is uncertain, with estimates ranging from a few years up to a century. The end of the Gutian dynasty is marked by the accession of Uruk ruler Utu-hengal (2055–2048 BC), marking the short-lived "Fifth dynasty of Uruk", followed by Ur ruler Ur-Nammu (2047–2030 BC), founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur.

There are very few hard facts available regarding the rulers of the Gutian Dynasty, still fewer about the Gutian people; even their homeland is not known. We have a few royal inscriptions from one ruler, Erridu-pizir, an inscribed macehead from another, La-erabum, a handful of passing mentions from contemporary Mesopotamian rulers, and one long inscription by Uruk ruler Utu-hengal. And there are the many versions of the Sumerian King List, most recensions of which were written long after the time of the Gutian Dynasty and give different, sometimes conflicting versions of history. The earliest version of the Sumerian King List, written in the Ur III period, not long afterward in time, does not mention the Gutians and lists a Gutian ruler, Tirigan, as a king of Adab.[3] Yet the SKL remains our only source for most Gutian kings.

Still, clearly the Gutian rulers had a huge impact on late–3rd-millennium Mesopotamia, reflected in the vast array of literary compositions featuring them, continuing for almost two millennia.

History

At one time it was believed that Gutium was known from the 24th century BC, well before the timeof the Gutian Dynasty. This was based on a tablet purportedly from the Early Dynastic ruler of Adab Lugal-Anne-Mundu. The inscription included Gutium in the area paying tribute to the ruler. This inscription is now understood to be an Old Bablylonian period literary composition written many centuries after the time of Lugal-Anne-Mundu.[4] [5] The first attestation of Gutium came from early in the Sargonic period when the Gutians are mentioned in year names of Akkadian rulers and established a capital at the prominent Early Dynastic Sumerian city of Adab.

The full history of the Gutian dynasty is not known. It is known that it lies roughly between two major empires of the late 3rd millennium BC, the Akkadian Empire and the later Ur III Empire. Towards the end of the reign of the last notable Akkadian ruler, Shar-Kali-Sharri (2153–2129 BC), the Akkadian Empire went on to a period of disarray under several weak rulers beginning a tumultuous time in Mesopotamia as Early Dynastic city-states such as Lagash and Uruk began to re-assert themselves. The Gutian newcomers in Adab also asserted their claim to rulership. This contentious time ended with the rise of Ur III under Ur-Nammu (2048–2030 BC).[6]

The end point of the Gutian dynasty is felt to be certain based on a long inscription of Utu-hengal (2055 – 2048 BC) who was ruler of Uruk (and thought to be the brother of the first Ur II ruler Ur-Nammu) which described the destruction of the Gutians under their king Tirigan. For what happened up to then our only sources are the many conflicting recensions of the Sumerian King List (SKL) and the various literary compositions that were produced in the following centuries and millennia. Neither are historically reliable sources but can be mined for insights into the events of the Gutian period.[3] [7] [8] [9]

Contemporary sources

Shar-kali-sharri Year Names

In the period before the Gutian Dynasty gained rulership over Mesopotamia the Akkadian Empire controlled the region. Two year names of Akkadian ruler Shar-kali-sharri (the last before the empire began to unravel) reflect of interaction with Gutium.

Ur-Nammu Year Name

One year name of Ur ruler Ur-Nammu mentions Gutium. It is uncertain if the year name was from the time when he was only governor at Ur, leaving the possibility it was a reflected year name of Utu-hengal, or was later after he had assumed rulership over Mesopotamia.

Tablet of Lugalannatum

The tablet marks the building of a temple, E-gidru, in Umma. In passing it mentions the name of a Gutian ruler.

Cylindrical Tablet of Nammahni

The Umma ruler Nammahni, marking the construction of a temple to the goddess Ninura, mentioned in passing the name of a Gutian ruler.

Tablet of Išarum

A tablet from Umma, dating to the waning days of the Akkadian empire, mentions a Gutian governor.

Tablet of Utu-hengal

An inscription of the Uruk ruler Utu-hengal, known from 3 Old Babylonian copies, commemorated the defeat of Gutian (and its king Tirigan) and the return of rulership to Sumer. Note the Mesopotamian names of Tirigan's generals.

In later literature

Great Revolt against Naram-Sin

This source lives on the borderline between history and literary composition. Some elements of it are from Old Babylonian copies of Naram-Sin royal inscriptions. That core was transformed into a wide variety of literary efforts with names like "Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes". A relevant one is "Gula-AN and the Seventeen Kings against Naram-Sin". The narrative is that Gutian king Gula-AN, leading 17 other kings, attacks Akkad and is defeated, captured, and then paroled by Naram-Sin, only to attack again resulting in a huge battle the results of which are unknown.

Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad's Empire

Another source of uncertain historicity or dating. It is known from a single tablet, findspot thought to be Qalat Sherqat, which was translated in 1925, in the early days of cuneiform studies. Gutium is listed among the area in Sargon's domain.

Weidner Chronicle

The Weidner Chronicle is a literary composition, known from 7 mostly fragmentary Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian (1st Millennium BC) recensions purportedly a copy of a damaged Old Babylonian Period (1894 - 1595 BC) original which described events of centuries earlier. In the case of the Gutians the premise is that the Gutians destroyed the Akkadian Empire because Naram-Sin was mean to the city of Babylon.[19] There are scholars who state that the description of the Gutian rule over parts of Mesopotamia was fiction or that it at least gave undue importance to the Guti horde. This is believed to be perpetuated by the chroniclers of Uruk to turn Utu-hegal's minor victory into an event of universal significance for the purpose of solidifying support for his emergent regime. This view is based on the varying accounts of the surviving manuscripts, with many of them in total disagreement as to the length of the king's reign and even the identities of the Guti kings.[20] The Weidner Chronicle accounts for the Gutian period as follows:

Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin

In this text, the Gutians are "scattered" by an unknown horde, the Umman Manda on their way to attacking Naram-Sin with the Gutians then picking up the pieces afterward.[22] An excerpt reads

Tablet of Islikun-Dagan

A tablet, thought to be from Uruk and from the period following the fall of the Akkadian Empire Islikun-Dagan, known from another tablet read:

Lugal-Ane-mundu inscription

Originally thought to be an authentic inscription of the 24th century BC ruler it is now known to be a pseudoautobiographical literary composition. It is known from 3 Old Babylonian tablet copies. The fragmentary text lists areas that are tributary to Lugal-Ane-mundu.[4]

Curse of Akkad

More commonly called the Curse of Agade (known by Sumerians as "The Frown of Enlil"), this is a Sumerian literary composition, many sources and versions of which have been found, purporting to describe the fall of the Akkadian Empire because it had been cursed by the gods. On the Gutians it says:

Religion

We know little about what deities the Gutian rulers worshiped though we do know that they did follow gods (both their own, and those of Mesopotamia based on inscriptions of their first known ruler, Erridu-pizir such as this one:

and

And on the mace head of a later Gutian ruler La-erabum

One possible god of Gutium has been proposed, Abublab, identified with Ninurta.[28]

List of Gutian kings

Aside from a few inscriptions, mostly from a single ruler, Erridupizir, most of what is known about the names and reigns of Gutian rulers comes from the Sumerian King List. There are about two dozen sources, most fragments, for the SKL which often conflict. The earliest source is from the Ur III period, well after some of the events described. Unlike the literary narratives, which have the Akkadian Empire falling to the Gutian hordes, the SKL has rulership passing from Akkad to Uruk, which then falls to the Gutians. It is also unknown if the dynasties listed in the SKL are all sequential or if there is overlap in rulership.

Gutian kings on the SKL

Note that the order and dates vary in different recensions of the Sumerian King List. The listed reign lengths throughout much of the Gutian period are comparatively short and uniform:

RulerEpithetLength of reignApproximate dates (short chronology)Comments
Imta3 yearsfl. 2138—2135 BC
Inkishush6 yearsfl. 2135—2129 BC
Sarlagab6 yearsfl. 2129—2123 BCPossibly the same person as the Gutian king Sharlag (who was captured by the Akkadian king Shar-kali-sharri).[30]
Shulme6 yearsfl. 2123—2117 BC
Elulmesh6 yearsfl. 2117—2111 BC
Inimabakesh5 yearsfl. 2111—2106 BC
Igeshaush6 yearsfl. 2106—2100 BC
Yarlagab5 yearsfl. 2100—2095 BC
Ibate3 yearsfl. 2095—2092 BC
Yarla or Yarlangab3 yearsfl. 2092—2089 BC
Kurum3 yearsfl. 2089—2086 BC
Apilkin3 yearsfl. 2086—2083 BC
La-erabum or Lasirab2 yearsfl. 2083—2081 BCKnown from a alabaster mace head inscription found at Sippar.
Irarum2 yearsfl. 2081—2079 BC
Ibranum1 yearfl. 2079—2078 BC
Hablum2 yearsfl. 2078—2076 BC
Puzur-Suen7 yearsfl. 2076—2069 BCthe son of Hablum (according to SKL)
Yarlaganda7 yearsfl. 2069—2062 BCKnown from inscription of Nammahni of Umma.
Si'um or Si'u7 yearsfl. 2062—2055 BCKnown from a foundation inscription of Lugalannatum at Umma.[31]
Tirigan40 daysfl. 2055—2055 BCDefeated by the Uruk king Utu-hengal according to victory stele erected in Uruk.[32]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. 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 2019, pp. 151-20
  2. Susanne Paulus, "Fraud, Forgery, and Fiction: Is There Still Hope for Agum-Kakrime?", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 70, pp. 115–66, 2018
  3. Steinkeller, Piotr., "An Ur III Manuscript of the Sumerian King List.", In Literatur, Politic und Recht in Mesopotamien: Festschrift für Claus Wilcke, ed. Walther Sallaberger et al. 267–92, 2003 Orientalia Biblica et Christiana 14. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
  4. Douglas Frayne, "ADAB". Presargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC), RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 1, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 17-34, 2008
  5. Gelb, I. J., "The Date of the Cruciform Monument of Maništušu", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 346–48, 1949
  6. Frayne, Douglas, "Ur-Nammu E3/2.1.1". Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-90, 1997
  7. Michalowski, Piotr, "History as Charter: Some Observations on the Sumerian King List", JAOS 103, pp. 237–47, 1983
  8. Vincente, Claudine-Adrienne, "The Tall Leilān Recension of the Sumerian King List", ZA 85: 234–70, 1995
  9. Hallo, W. W., ""Beginning and End of the Sumerian King List in the Nippur Recension", JCS 17: 52–57, 1963
  10. Lambert, Wilfred G., "Babylon: Origins". Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident", edited by Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Margarete van Ess and Joachim Marzahn, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 71-76, 2011
  11. F. Thureau-Dangin, "Recueil des tablettes chaldéennes", Paris 1903
  12. https://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T6K1.htm Marcel Sigrist and Peter Damerow, "Mesopotamian Year Names", Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, 2001
  13. Huber, Peter J., "Astronomical Dating of Ur III and Akkad", Archiv Für Orientforschung, vol. 46/47, pp. 50–79, 1999
  14. Douglas Frayne, "Umma" in "Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2234-2113 BC)", RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 2, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 261-268, 1993
  15. Kraus, Nicholas. "The Weapon of Blood: Politics and Intrigue at the Decline of Akkad" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 108, no. 1, pp. 1-9, 2018
  16. Douglas Frayne, "Uruk" in "Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2234-2113 BC)", RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 2, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 274-296, 1993
  17. Westenholz, Joan Goodnick. "Chapter 9. The Great Revolt against Naram-Sin". Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 221-262, 1997
  18. Albright, W. F., "A Babylonian Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad’s Empire", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 45, pp. 193–245, 1925
  19. Finkelstein, J. J., "Mesopotamian Historiography", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 107, no. 6, pp. 461–72, 1963
  20. Jean-Jacques Glassner, "Mesopotamian Chronicles", Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2004
  21. Al-Rawi, F. N. H. “Tablets from the Sippar Library. I. The ‘Weidner Chronicle’: A Supposititious Royal Letter Concerning a Vision.” Iraq, vol. 52, pp. 1–13, 1990
  22. O. R. Gurney, "The Sultantepe Tablets (Continued). IV. The Cuthaean Legend of Naram-Sin", Anatolian Studies, vol. 5, pp. 93–113, 1955
  23. Westenholz, Joan Goodnick, "Chapter 10. “Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes”: The “Cuthean Legend” of Naram-Sin". Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 263-368, 1997
  24. Smith, Sidney, "Notes on the Gutian Period", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 2, pp. 295–308, 1932
  25. Cooper, Jerrold S., The Curse of Agade., The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore/London, 1983
  26. Jacobsen, Thorkild, The Harps that Once .... Sumerian Poetry in Translation. Yale University Press: New Haven/London, 1987
  27. Markina, Ekaterina, "They embraced his feet, saying … and ezēbum as idioms of loyalty and defiance in Sargonic", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 165-168, 2010
  28. https://babylonian-collection.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Litke%2C%20Richard%20L_%20-%20A%20Reconstruction%20of%20the%20Assyro-Babylonian%20God-Lists_%20TBC%203%2C%201998.pdf
  29. Douglas Frayne, "Gutium" in "Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2234-2113 BC)", RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 2, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 219-230, 1993
  30. Douglas Frayne, "Akkad" in "Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2234-2113 BC)", RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 2, Toronto: University of Toronto Press,, pp. 5-218, 1993
  31. W. Sallaberger, "Der kultische Kalender der Ur III - Zeit I", Berlin - New York 1993
  32. THUREAU-DANGIN . Fr. . La Fin de la Domination Gutienne . Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale . 1912 . 9 . 3 . 111–120 . 23283609 . 0373-6032.