Iku-Shamagan

Iku-Shamagan (𒄿𒆪𒀭𒊭𒈠𒃶, i-ku-^Dsha-ma-gan)^[3][4] was a King of the second Mariote kingdom who reigned c. 2500 BCE. He is one of three Mari kings known from archaeology, Ikun-Shamash probably being the oldest one.^[5] Another king was Ishqi-Mari, also known from an inscribed statue.^[6][7][8]

Iku-Shamagan 𒄿𒆪𒀭𒊭𒈠𒃶
King of Mari
Statue of Iku-Shamagan, Temple of Ninni-Zaza, Mari.[1][2] National Museum of Damascus
Reign	c. 2500 BC Middle Chronology
Predecessor	Ikun-Shamash
Successor	Ishqi-Mari
King of Mari

Mari

Location of Mari, where Ikun-Shamash ruled.

In their inscriptions, these Mari kings used the Akkadian language, whereas their contemporaries to the south used the Sumerian language.^[5]

Vase

A vase mentioning Iku-Shamagan "in an early semitic dialect" is also known:^[9][10]

"For Iku-Shamagan, king of Mari, Shuweda the cup-bearer, son of ... the merchant, dedicated this vessel to the river god and Ishtarat"

— Vessel inscription.^[10][11]

Statue

Iku-Shamagan is known from a statue with inscription, discovered by André Parrot in 1952.^[5][12][13] The statue, in the National Museum of Damascus, was restored by the Louvre Museum in 2011.^[14]

Iku-Shamagan's votive statue was dedicated through an inscription on the back of the statue:^[14]

𒄿𒆪𒀭𒊭𒈠𒃶 / 𒈗𒈠𒌷𒆠 / 𒀋 / 𒊕𒂅 / 𒊨𒋤 / 𒀭𒈹𒍝𒍝 / 𒊕𒄸𒁺

i-ku-^Dsha-ma-gan / lugal ma-ri2^ki / abba2 / sa12du5 / dul3su3 / ^DMUSZ3xZA.ZA / sa12rig9

"Of Iku-Shamagan, king of Mari, his surveyor has dedicated the statue to Ninni-zaza"

— Inscription on the statue of Iku-Shamagan^[4][15]

The statue was discovered in Mari, in the Temple Ninni-zaza.^[14]

The statue was heavily damaged during the conquest by the armies of the Empire of Akkad circa 2300 BCE.^[14][16]

• 
  Asma al-Assad and Marisa Leticia looking at the statue of Iku-Shamagan in the National Museum of Damascus
• 
  Statue of Iku-Shamagan with votive inscription on the back of the right shoulder.^[17][18] National Museum of Damascus
• 
  Iku-Shamagan (detail)

King Iku-Shamagan of Mari
Regnal titles
Preceded by Ikun-Shamash	King of Mari 2500 BCE	Succeeded by (...) Ishqi-Mari

Citations

1. Spycket, Agnès (1981). Handbuch der Orientalistik (in French). BRILL. pp. 87–89. ISBN 978-90-04-06248-1.
2. Parrot, André (1953). "Les fouilles de Mari Huitième campagne (automne 1952)". Syria. 30 (3/4): 196–221. doi:10.3406/syria.1953.4901. ISSN 0039-7946. JSTOR 4196708.
3. "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
4. LAMBERT, Maurice (1970). "Les inscriptions des temples d'Ishtarat et de Ninni-zaza". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 64 (2): 168–171. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 23283417.
5. Spycket, Agnès (1981). Handbuch der Orientalistik (in French). BRILL. p. 86. ISBN 978-90-04-06248-1.
6. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
7. Spycket, Agnès (1981). Handbuch der Orientalistik (in French). BRILL. p. 88. ISBN 978-90-04-06248-1.
8. Alfred Haldar (1971). Who Were the Amorites. p. 16.
9. Margueron, Jean-Claude (2018). Akh Purattim 2 (in French). MOM Éditions. p. 86. ISBN 978-2-35668-183-6.
10. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
11. "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
12. Parrot, André (1953). "Les fouilles de Mari. Huitième campagne (automne 1952)". Syria. Archéologie, Art et Histoire. 30 (3): 196–221. doi:10.3406/syria.1953.4901.
13. Parrot, André (1953). "Les fouilles de Mari Huitième campagne (automne 1952)". Syria. 30 (3/4): Plates XXI-XXII. doi:10.3406/syria.1953.4901. ISSN 0039-7946. JSTOR 4196708.
14. "Louvre Recherche Scientifique" (PDF). 2011: 180–181. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-04-07. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
15. "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
16. Statue of Iku-Shamagan at time of discovery "Mission Archéologique de Mari. Volume III only : Les Temples D'Ishtarat et de Ninni-Zaza by PARROT André on Meretseger Books". Meretseger Books.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
17. Spycket, Agnès (1981). Handbuch der Orientalistik (in French). BRILL. pp. 87–89. ISBN 978-90-04-06248-1.
18. Parrot, André (1953). "Les fouilles de Mari Huitième campagne (automne 1952)". Syria. 30 (3/4): 196–221. doi:10.3406/syria.1953.4901. ISSN 0039-7946. JSTOR 4196708.