Iddin-Dagan

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Iddin-Dagan
𒀭𒄿𒁷𒀭𒁕𒃶
King of Isin
Reignfl. c. 1910 BC — c. 1890 BC
PredecessorShu-Ilishu
SuccessorIshme-Dagan
AkkadianIddin-Dagān
HouseDynasty of Isin
FatherShu-Ilishu

Iddin-Dagan (

middle chronology) was the 3rd king of the dynasty of Isin. Iddin-Dagan was preceded by his father Shu-Ilishu. Išme-Dagān[1] then succeeded Iddin-Dagan. Iddin-Dagan reigned for 21 years (according to the Sumerian King List.)[i 1] He is best known for his participation in the sacred marriage rite and the sexually-explicit hymn that described it.[2]

Biography

Musée du Louvre[i 2]
(dated to c. 1950 BC.)

His titles included: “Mighty King” — “

énsí of Eshnunna.)[4]

There is only one contemporary monumental text of Iddin-Dagan that is extant. This is a fragment of a stone statue

archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley in a scribal school house in Ur. A tablet[i 8] from the Enunmaḫ in Ur dated to the 14th year of Gungunum (fl. c. 1868 BC — c. 1841 BC) of Larsa, after his conquest of the city, bears the seal impression of a servant of his[who?]. A tablet[i 9] described Iddin-Dagān’s fashioning of two copper festival statues for Ninlil, which were not delivered to Nippur until 170 years later by Enlil-bāni.[5] Belles-lettres preserve the correspondence from Iddin-Dagān to his general Sîn-illat about Kakkulātum and the state of his troops, and from his general describing an ambush by the Martu (Amorites
).

The continued fecundity of the land was ensured by the annual performance of the sacred marriage ritual in which the king impersonated the god

Ama-ušumgal-ana and a priestess played the role of Inanna
. A hymn describing Iddin-Dagan's performance of this ritual in ten sections (Kiruḡu) indicates that this ceremony involved a procession of: male prostitutes, wise women, drummers, priestesses, and priests bloodletting with swords to the accompaniment of music, followed by offerings and sacrifices for the goddess Inanna, or Ninegala.

The ceremony reached its climax with the copulation of the king and priestess[6] and is described thus:

She bathes (her) loins for the king. She bathes (her) loins for Iddin-Dagān. Holy Inanna bathes with soap, and sprinkles the floor with aromatic resin. The king then approached (her) loins with head raised high. Iddin-Dagān approached (her) loins with head raised high. Ama-ušumgal-ana lies down beside her and {caresses her holy thighs} (says:) "O my holy thighs! O my holy Inanna!." After the lady has made him rejoice with her holy thighs on the bed, after holy Inanna has made him rejoice with her holy thighs on the bed, she relaxes (?) with him on her bed: "Iddin-Dagān, you are indeed my beloved!"[7]

— šir-namursaḡa to Inanna for Iddin-Dagān, 9th Kiruḡu

There are four extant hymns addressed to Iddin-Dagan: this Sacred Marriage Hymn, a praise poem dedicated to the king, a war song, and a dedicatory prayer.

Preceded by
King of Isin
fl.
c. 1910 BC — c. 1890 BC 		Succeeded by

See also

Inscriptions

  1. ^ Sumerian King List extant in 16 copies.
  2. Louvre
    .
  3. University Museum
    , Philadelphia.
  4. ^ Dynastic list of the kings of Awan and Simashki, Sb 17729 in the Louvre.
  5. ^ Išbi-Erra and Kindattu, tablets N 1740 + CBS 14051.
  6. ^ MM 1974.26 Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm.
  7. National Museum of Iraq
    .
  8. ^ Excavation number U 2682.
  9. ^ Tablet UM L-29-578, University Museum Philadelphia.

Notes

  1. ^ lugal-kala-ga, lugal-i-si-in-KI-ga (lugal-KI-úri-ma), lugal-KI-en-gi-KI-uri-ke4.
  2. ^ mu dI-dan dDa-gan lugal-e [Ma]-tum-ni-a-tum [dumu-mí]-a-ni lugal An-ša-an(a)[ki] ba-an-tuk-a.

References

  1. Old Assyrian Empire
  2. ^ D. O. Edzard (1999). Erich Ebeling; Bruno Meissner (eds.). Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Ia - Kizzuwatna. Vol. 5. Walter De Gruyter Inc. pp. 30–31.
  3. S2CID 163743791
    .
  4. ^ Daniel T. Potts (1999). The archaeology of Elam: formation and transformation of an ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. pp. 149, 162.
  5. ^ Douglas Frayne (1990). Old Babylonian period (2003-1595 BC): Early Periods, Volume 4 (RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia). University of Toronto Press. pp. 77–90.
  6. ^ Jeremy Black; Graham Cunningham; Eleanor Robson; Gabor Zolyomi, eds. (2006). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. pp. 262–267.
  7. ^ Piotr Michalowski (2008). "The mortal kings of Ur: A short century of divine kingship in ancient Mesopotamia". In Nicole Brisch (ed.). Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the Ancient World and Beyond. The University of Chicago. pp. 40–41.

External links

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