Bara-irnun
𒁈𒅕𒉣
Queen of Umma
Votive plate of Queen Bara-Irnun of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma", to God Shara, in gratitude for sparing her life.[1][2] Louvre Museum.[3]
Reignc. 2500  BC – 2400  BC
Dynasty1st Dynasty of Umma
Umma is located in Near East
Umma
Il was king of Umma, circa 2400 BCE.

Bara-irnun (𒁈𒅕𒉣 bara-ir-nun) was queen of the Sumerian city-state of Umma and wife of king Gishakidu, circa 2400 BCE.[1] She is particularly known from a gold votive plate, in which she describes her genealogy in great detail.[1] The inscription on the plate reads:

For (the god) Shara, lord of the E-mah: when Bara-irnun - wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma - had made Shara resplendent and had built him a holy throne, for her life, to Shara, in the E-Mah, she offered (this ornament)."

— Inscription of Bara-Irnum[4][5]

The original royal line of Umma consisted in the filiation of Enakalle (possibly son of Ush) and his own son Ur-Lumma.[6][3] When Ur-Lumma died, presumably without a son but certainly with a daughter named Bara-irnum, the throne was handed over to Il, son of Eanandu (who had no regnal title) and grandson (or nephew) of Enakalle.[3][6] King Il was then succeeded by his own son Gishakidu.[3] Bara-irnum married her cousin Gishakidu, thus re-uniting both strands of the royal family by a marital alliance.[3][6]

The plaque is the first known mention of Shara, tutelary god of Umma.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
  2. ^ Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.
  3. ^ a b c d e Thureau-Dangin, F. (1937). "Une tablette en or provenant d'Umma". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 34 (4): 177–182. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 23284119.
  4. ^ Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
  5. ^ Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.
  6. ^ a b c Glassner, Jean-Jacques; Foster, Benjamin Benjamin Read (2005). Mesopotamian Chronicles. BRILL. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-90-04-13084-5.
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