Rimush
Mortal 2nd king of the Akkadian Empire (~2278-2270 BCE); son of Sargon and Queen Tashlultum; brother of Manishtushu and Enheduanna. Acceded after Sargon's death; the cities of the empire revolted on the succession, and Rimush's early reign was occupied with their suppression — defeating rebellious governors at Adab, Lagash, Umma, Ur, and Kazallu per his royal inscriptions; campaigning against Elam and the Marhasi-Elamite coalition (defeating Abalgamash king of Marhasi at the canonical Battle near Susa). Per the canonical Mesopotamian-tradition tablet, the first Mesopotamian king to commission a statue of himself in lead — the canonical-iconographic novelty: "(From the earliest days) no-one had made a statue of lead, (but) Rimush king of Kish, had a statue of himself made of lead." Assassinated c. 2270 BCE after a 9-year reign by his own courtiers in palace conspiracy — the first canonical-Akkadian palace-conspiracy regicide. The assassination-method preserved in later tradition: stoned to death by his courtiers using their cylinder seals as projectiles (the canonical-Mesopotamian seal-as-weapon assassination narrative). Succeeded by his elder brother Manishtushu.
Parentage
Relations
- father: Sargon of Akkad
- sibling: Enheduanna
- sibling: Manishtushu
Sources
- Rimush royal inscriptions (Frayne, RIME 2.1.2)
- Sumerian King List (Old Babylonian recension; ETCSL 2.1.1, Akkad dynasty)
- Cylinder seals of Akkadian-period officials referencing Rimush
- Year-name lists (1 of presumed 9 years attested)
- Akkadian historiographic tradition preserved in later Mesopotamian chronicle-traditions