Erra-imitti
Erra-Imittī | |
---|---|
King of Isin | |
Reign | 1805–1799 BC |
Predecessor | Lipit-Enlil |
Successor | Enlil-bâni |
House | 1st Dynasty of Isin |
Erra-Imittī, (
Biography
He seems to have recovered control of
When the omens predicted impending doom for a monarch, it was customary to appoint a substitute as a "statue though animate",[nb 3] a scape-goat who stood in the place of the king but did not exercise power for a hundred days to deflect the disaster, at the end of which the proxy and his spouse would be ritually slaughtered and the king would resume his throne.[7] The Chronicle of Early Kings[i 2] relates that:
dÈr-ar-zà.dib lugal dEn-l íl-dù lúnu.kiri6
a-na nu nì.sag.gile ina gišgu.za-šú ú-še-šib
aga lugalti-šú ina sag.du-šú iš-ta-kan
dÈr-ra-i-mit-ti ina é.gal-šú pap-pa-su im-me-tú in sa-ra-pi-šú im-tu-ut
dEn-l íl-dù šá in gišgu.za ú-ši-bi ul it-biim-tu-ut
a-na lugal ú-tiit-taš-kan
Translation: King Erra-imittī ordered Enlil-bâni, the gardener, to sit on the throne as a royal substitute (and) put the crown of kingship on his head. Erra-imittī died in his palace while swallowing hot porridge[nb 4] in little sips. Enlil-bâni, who sat on the throne, did not resign and was elevated to the royal office.[8]— Chronicle of early kings, after Glassner but with correction
Presumably his error was to remain in the palace while the substitute ceremony was conducted. While the tale may be apocryphal, it provides a literary demarcation between dynasties.[9] He was succeeded by Ikūn-pî-Ištar, according to two variant copies of the Sumerian King List, or Enlil-bâni, if the other sources are correct.[8]
Inscriptions
Notes
External links
References
- ^ Imittu D in CAD i-j p. 126b “support”
- ^ D. O. Edzard (1999). Erich Ebeling, Bruno Meissner (ed.). Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Ia - Kizzuwatna. Vol. 5. Walter De Gruyter Inc. p. 170.
- JSTOR 1359444.
- ^ Anne Goddeeris (2009). Tablets from Kisurra in the Collections of British Museum. Harrassowitz. p. 16.
- ^ Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of The Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia. Routledge. p. 391.
- ^ Douglas Frayne (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4. University of Toronto Press. p. 76.
- ^ Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat (1998). Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Greenwood Press. p. 189.
- ^ a b Jean-Jacques Glassner (2005). Mesopotamian Chronicles. SBL. p. 271.
- JSTOR 604525.