Ansud

Ansud
Ansud
King of Mari
Reign	c. 2423 – 2416 BC. Middle chronology
Predecessor	Ikun-Shamagan
Successor	Saʿumu
King of Mari

Ansud (also read as Ianupu, Yanup, Anubu, Gansud, Anusu and Hanusum),^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] was an early king (Lugal) of the second Mariote kingdom who reigned c. 2423-2416 BC.^[6] Ansud is known for warring against the Eblaites from a letter written by the later Mariote king Enna-Dagan.

Reign

Identity

It has been proposed that a bead (reference M. 4439) discovered at Mari, was sent as a gift by Mesannepada of Ur to king "Hanusum" (Gansud) of Mari.^[7]^[8]^[9] This has now been corrected with new translations only giving Mesannepada as son of Meskalamdug:^[10]^[11]

Mari bead^[12]
𒀭𒈗𒌦 𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕 𒈗 𒋀𒀊𒆠 𒌉 𒈩𒌦𒄭 𒈗 𒆧𒆠 𒀀 𒈬𒈾𒊒

^dlugal-kalam mes-an-ne2-pa3-da lugal uri5^ki dumu mes-ug-du10 lugal kish^ki a munaru
"To god Lugalkalam ("the Lord of the Land", identified with Dagan or Enlil), Mesannepada, king of Ur, son of Meskalamdug, king of Kish, has consecrated this bead""
— Mesannepada Mari bead^[13]^[14]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[15]

It is unclear how this bead came to be in Mari, but this points to some kind of relation between Ur and Mari at that time.^[9] The bead was discovered in a jar containing other objects from Ur or Kish.^[16]

The letter of Enna-Dagan is extremely difficult to read,^[17] and the word "Sa'umu" appeared in three passages of it.^[3] In the second and third passages, the word referred to Ansud's successor Sa'umu.^[3]^[18] However, in the first passage, "Sa'umu" was read as a verb by Giovanni Pettinato, who later read it as (Anudu).^[3] Alfonso Archi, recognized that this verb is a personal name of a monarch and read it as Anubu (motivated by the Sumerian King List which record a dynasty of Mari and king Anbu as the first monarch of the dynasty).^[3] However, the discovery of an intact (SKL) with the names of Mari's dynasty bearing no resemblance to second kingdom monarchs, eliminated the need for Archi's identification.^[3] According to Michael Astour, the name is Anusu (Ansud) and must be correlated with king Hanusum.^[5]

Campaigns

In the letter Ansud is recorded defeating the cities of Aburu, Ilgi in the lands of Belan.^{[note 1]}^[1]^[20] The king is also mentioned leaving ruins in the mountains of Labanan,^[1] which were identified by Pettinato with Lebanon.^[21] However, this identification was ruled as geographically impossible by Astour.^[21]

Regnal titles
King Ansud of Mari
Preceded by Ikun-Shamagan ?	King of Mari 2423-2416 BC	Succeeded by Saʿumu

Notes

^ Belan is located 26 km west of Raqqa.^[19]

Citations

^ a b c "Monuments of War, War of Monuments: Some Considerations on Commemorating War in the Third Millennium BC. Orientalia Vol.76/4". Davide Nadali. 2007. p. 354. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
^ Joan Aruz; Ronald Wallenfels (2003). Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. p. 463. ISBN 9781588390431.
^ a b c d e f Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg; Nathan H. Winter (2002). Eblaitica vol.4. p. 57. ISBN 9781575060606.
^ Nakl. Ceskoslovenské akademie věd (1969). Archiv Orientální, Volume 37 (in French). p. 623.
^ a b Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg; Nathan H. Winter (2002). Eblaitica vol.4. p. 58. ISBN 9781575060606.
^ William J. Hamblin (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 242. ISBN 9781134520626.
^ Mario Liverani (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 117. ISBN 9781134750849.
^ Parrot, André (1965). "Les Fouilles de Mari". Syria: 220.
^ a b orientalia Vol.38. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 358.
^ a b Description with photograph: Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
^ a b Orientalia: Vol. 73. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 183.
^ a b Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
^ Orientalia: Vol. 73 (in Italian). Gregorian Biblical BookShop.
^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
^ "Mission archéologique de Mari" volume 4, p. 44, fig. 35 (photo); p. 53, fig. 36
^ Matthews, Donald M. (1997). The Early Glyptic of Tell Brak: Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Syria. Saint-Paul. p. 108. ISBN 978-3-525-53896-8.
^ Martha A. Morrison; David I. Owen (1987). General Studies and Excavations at Nuzi 9/1. p. 12. ISBN 9780931464089.
^ Douglas Frayne (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). p. 761. ISBN 9781442690479.
^ P.M. Michèle Daviau; Michael Weigl; John W. Wevers (2001). The World of the Aramaeans: Studies in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion, Volume 1. p. 233. ISBN 9780567200495.
^ Winters, Ryan (2019). "Negotiating Exchange: Ebla and the International System of the Early Bronze Age" (PDF). PhD diss., Harvard University: 42–43.
^ a b Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg (1992). Eblaitica vol.3. p. 29. ISBN 9780931464348.

[20] Belan is located 26 km west of Raqqa.^[19]

[jokl-1] "Monuments of War, War of Monuments: Some Considerations on Commemorating War in the Third Millennium BC. Orientalia Vol.76/4". Davide Nadali. 2007. p. 354. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

[2] Joan Aruz; Ronald Wallenfels (2003). Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. p. 463. ISBN 9781588390431.

[eblai2-3] Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg; Nathan H. Winter (2002). Eblaitica vol.4. p. 57. ISBN 9781575060606.

[4] Nakl. Ceskoslovenské akademie věd (1969). Archiv Orientální, Volume 37 (in French). p. 623.

[eblai-5] Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg; Nathan H. Winter (2002). Eblaitica vol.4. p. 58. ISBN 9781575060606.

[Hamblin-6] William J. Hamblin (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 242. ISBN 9781134520626.

[maro-7] Mario Liverani (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 117. ISBN 9781134750849.

[8] Parrot, André (1965). "Les Fouilles de Mari". Syria: 220.

[orientalia_Vol.38-9] rientalia Vol.38. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 358.

[MET-10] Description with photograph: Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.

[O183-11] Orientalia: Vol. 73. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 183.

[Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art-12] Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.

[13] Orientalia: Vol. 73 (in Italian). Gregorian Biblical BookShop.

[CDLI-14] "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.

[15] "Mission archéologique de Mari" volume 4, p. 44, fig. 35 (photo); p. 53, fig. 36

[16] Matthews, Donald M. (1997). The Early Glyptic of Tell Brak: Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Syria. Saint-Paul. p. 108. ISBN 978-3-525-53896-8.

[17] Martha A. Morrison; David I. Owen (1987). General Studies and Excavations at Nuzi 9/1. p. 12. ISBN 9780931464089.

[18] Douglas Frayne (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). p. 761. ISBN 9781442690479.

[19] P.M. Michèle Daviau; Michael Weigl; John W. Wevers (2001). The World of the Aramaeans: Studies in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion, Volume 1. p. 233. ISBN 9780567200495.

[21] Winters, Ryan (2019). "Negotiating Exchange: Ebla and the International System of the Early Bronze Age" (PDF). PhD diss., Harvard University: 42–43.

[jokl45-22] Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg (1992). Eblaitica vol.3. p. 29. ISBN 9780931464348.

[23] Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional.

[24] Hallo, W.; Simpson, W. (1971). The Ancient Near East. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. pp. 48–49.

[25] "Rulers of Mesopotamia". cdli.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford, CNRS.

[26] Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.

[27] Roux, Georges (1992). Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 532–534 (Chronological Tables). ISBN 978-0-14-193825-7.

[SKL-28] Per Sumerian King List

[29] 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.