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

• father: Sargon of AkkadRimush royal inscriptions; Sumerian King List (primary)

Relations

• father: Sargon of AkkadRimush royal inscriptions; Sumerian King List (primary)
• mother: Tashlultum (Queen, wife of Sargon, mother of Rimush, Manishtushu, and Enheduanna per the Akkadian royal-inscription corpus) · MesopotamianAkkadian royal inscriptions referencing Queen Tashlultum (primary)
• sibling: EnheduannaSargon royal inscriptions; Sumerian King List (primary)
• sibling: ManishtushuSargon royal inscriptions; Sumerian King List — both sons of Sargon and Tashlultum (primary)
• killed by: his own courtiers in palace conspiracy c. 2270 BCE; per the canonical-Akkadian historiographic tradition, stoned to death using their cylinder seals as projectiles · MesopotamianAkkadian historiographic tradition preserved in later chronicle-traditions (primary)

Sources

• existence: Rimush royal inscriptions (Frayne, RIME 2.1.2) (primary); Sumerian King List (Old Babylonian recension; ETCSL 2.1.1, Akkad dynasty) (primary); Cylinder seals of Akkadian-period officials referencing Rimush (primary); Year-name lists (1 of presumed 9 years attested) (primary); Akkadian historiographic tradition preserved in later Mesopotamian chronicle-traditions (primary)