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Narām-Sîn
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Biography of Narām-Sîn
Narām-Sîn, son of Ipiq-Adad II, pursued his father’s conquests, primarily to the northwest. He first went along the course of the Tigris, seizing Kakkulâtum. It has long been believed that he was identical to the King Narām-Sîn of Aššur, but recent discoveries have shown that the reign of the latter was much earlier. Narām-Sîn continued his route by taking the whole "triangle of Habur", celebrating in particular the conquest of Ašnakkum and Tarnip, located in the western part of this region. It is easy to understand why he also bore the title of "king of the universe". The expansion of Ešnunna also took place in the direction of the Euphrates: the entire region of Suhûm was annexed to Puzurrân, about ten kilometers downstream of Mari. The king of Mari, Yahdun-Lîm, had to accept the "protection" of the king of Ešnunna with whom he concluded a treaty. In the wake of the armies, the scribes of Ešnunna diffused their written culture: the reform of their writing, which occurred at Mari under Yahdun-Lîm is very clearly the fruit of this influence, which is largely explained by the political situation of the time. There is also an inscription of Narām-Sîn commemorating his work in a temple of the god Erra, which shows the degree of refinement attained by the literature Akkadian at Ešnunna at this time.
(translated from "Dictionnaire de la Civilisation Mésopotamienne”, p. 316, Dominique Charpin)
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