Rimush

Rimush
King of Akkad
Reign	c. 2279  BC – 2270  BC
Predecessor	Sargon of Akkad
Successor	Manishtushu
Dynasty	Dynasty of Akkad
Father	Sargon of Akkad
Mother	Tashlultum

Rimush (or Rimuš) was the second king of the Akkadian Empire. He was the son of Sargon of Akkad and Queen Tashlultum. He was succeeded by his brother Manishtushu, and was an uncle of Naram-Sin of Akkad.

According to his inscriptions, he faced widespread revolts, and had to reconquer the cities of Ur, Umma, Adab, Lagash, Der, and Kazallu from rebellious ensis. There are also records of victorious campaigns against Elam and Barakhshe. A number of his votive offerings have been found in excavated temples in several Mesopotamian cities.^[1]

According to the Sumerian King List, his reign lasted 9 years (though variant copies read 7 or 15 years.) There is one surviving year-name for an unknown year in his reign: "Year in which Adab was destroyed". Tradition gives that he was assassinated, as the Bārûtu, “art of the diviner”, a first millennium compendium of extispicy, records “Omen of king Rimuš, whom his courtiers killed with their seals”.^[2] He was succeeded by his "elder" brother Manishtushu, leading to speculation by Mario Liverani that the two were twins,^[3] as in: man ištuśu? rïmuš! “Who is with him? His beloved!”, as apparently the second born was thought to be the first conceived.^[4]

• 
  Clay tablet which lists some victories of Rimush
• 
  Akkadian language cuneiform on Murex shell, with name of Rimush, 23rd century BC

See also

• History of Sumer

References

1. Who's Who in the Ancient Near East - Page 137; by Gwendolyn Leick
2. Ulla Koch-Westenholz (2000). Babylonian Liver Omens: The Chapters Manzazu, Padanu, and Pan Takalti of the Babylonian Extispicy Series Mainly from Assurbanipal's Library. Museum Tusculanum. p. 394.
3. Samuel Noah Kramer (2010-09-17). The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0 226 45238 7.
4. Mario Liverani (2002). "Reviewed Work: Mesopotamien. Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/3 by Walther Sallaberger, Aage Westenholz, P. Attinger, M. Wäfler". Archiv für Orientforschung. 48/49: 180–181. JSTOR 41668552.