Inscription on the statue of Ishtup-Ilum with the word "Shakkanakku" (red): "Ishtup-Ilum, Shakkanakku of Mari" (𒅖𒁾𒀭 𒄊𒀴 𒈠𒌷𒆠)
Shakkanakku (Sumerian: 𒄊𒀴, GIR.NITA or šagina,[1] Akkadian: 𒇽𒃻𒃶𒅘𒆪, Shakkanakku), was an Akkadian-language title designating a military governor.[2] Mari was ruled by a dynasty of hereditary Shakkanakkus which was originally set by the Akkadian Empire and gained independence following Akkad's collapse.[3] It is considered that the Shakkanakkus gained some form of independence and came to be considered as "Kings" from the time of Apil-Kin.[4] A critical analysis of the Shakkanakku List of Mari has been published.[5]
The title is also known around the same time in Elam, where several "Shakkanakku (Military Governor) of the country of Elam" with typically Akkadian names ruled for the Akkadian kings.[6]
The title also existed in Qatna in the 14th century BC,[7] and Dilmun under the Kassites.[8]
Shakkanakkus under the Akkadians
Shakkanakkus, or Shagina military governors are known from the time of the Akkadian Empire. For example, Shar-kali-sharri had a military governor in Nippur taking charge of the construction of the temple of Enlil. One of his year names reads: "Year in which Szarkaliszarri appointed Puzur-Esztar the shagina (general)" to build the temple of Enlil "Year Szarkaliszarri appointed Puzur-Eshtar, the shagina, to build the temple of Enlil".[9][10]
Main Shakkanakkus of Mari
Several Shakkanakkus of Mari are known from archaeological artifacts:
Statue of Ishtup-Ilum, Shakkanakku of Mari. (c.2150 BC)
This name is damaged and is the last attested Shakkanakku.[28]
Main Shakkanakkus of Elam
The title is also known around the same time in Elam, as in the inscription of the "Table au Lion", Puzur-Inshushinak appears as "Puzur-Inshushin(ak) Ensi (Governor) of Susa, Shakkanakku (Military Governor) of the country of Elam" (𒅤𒊭𒀭𒈹𒂞 𒑐𒋼𒋛 𒈹𒂞𒆠 𒄊𒀴 𒈣𒋾 𒉏𒆠kutik-inshushinak ensi shushiki skakkanakku mati NIMki).[6] A ruler with an Akkadian name, Ili-ishmani, at the time of Naram-Sin of Akkad or Shar-Kali-Sharri, also used the same title of "Skakkanakku of the country of Elam".[29][30][31] This suggest that Ili-ishmani was a vassal of the Akkadian Empire.[32]
Shakkanakku, who gained independence from the Akkadians. He appears as "Puzur-Inshushin(ak) Ensi (Governor) of Susa, Shakkanakku (Military Governor) of the country of Elam".[6]
^Gwendolyn Leick (16 November 2009). Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. Scarecrow Press. p. 113. ISBN 9780810863248.
^Trevor Bryce (6 March 2014). Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History. OUP Oxford. p. 18. ISBN 9780191002922.
^Loisel, Anne-Caroline Rendu (2013). "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: 650.
^Philological Data for a Historical Chronology of Mesopotamia in the 3rd Millennium(PDF). pp. 26–27.
^ abcTranslation into French in Mémoires. Paris: P. Geuthner. 1899. p. 8.
^L. Potter (5 January 2009). The Persian Gulf in History. Springer. p. 35. ISBN 9780230618459.
^Douglas Frayne, Sargonic and Gutian periods, RIME E2.1.5, p.184
^Hamblin, William J. (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History. Routledge. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-134-52062-6.
^Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.
^"Site officiel du musée du Louvre". cartelfr.louvre.fr.
^Potts, D. T. (2016). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-107-09469-7.
^Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.
^Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.
^Potts, D. T. (2016). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-107-09469-7.
Sources
Frayne, Douglas (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC). The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Early Periods. Vol. 4. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5873-7.
Gromova, Daria (2007). "Hittite Role In Political History of Syria In the Amarna Age Reconsidered". Ugarit-Forschungen. 39. Ugarit-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86835-001-2.
Leick, Gwendolyn (2002). Who's Who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-78796-8.
Michalowski, Piotr (1995). Van Lerberghe, Karel; Schoors, Antoon (eds.). Immigration and Emigration Within the Ancient Near East: Festschrift E. Lipiński. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. Vol. 65. Peeters Publishers & Department of Oriental Studies, Leuven. ISBN 978-90-6831-727-5. ISSN 0777-978X.
Oliva, Juan (2008). Textos Para Una Historia Política de Siria-Palestina I (in Spanish). Ediciones Akal. ISBN 978-84-460-1949-7.
^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.
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