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Subartu Exhibit

Urkesh poster 10

Laerke Recht – August 2017

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     Urkesh inscriptions and seals: The city of Urkesh that we see today, was once very much alive, and the seal impressions that we found, gives us a testimony of that. When we go to a museum, we wish to have the context, and here we present that with glimpses of the people who lived here.

      The Queen as a ruler: The fragments of queen Tar’am- Agade’s seals that were found, are considered amongst the most important finds. Tar’am-Agade is the daughter of Akkadian king Naram-Sin, one of the greatest kings of Mesopotamia, and her seal testifies to that. The seal depicts an animal combat, which is a special recurrent theme for the Akkadian dynasty. The queen in this seal, depicts herself as the supreme queen with an inherent power.
     The courtiers of Tar’am-Agade: In addition to the seals of Naram-Sin’s daughter, we found seals of her courtiers, such as these 2 seals. The first has Akkadian traits, and it belonged to a man with a Hurrian name, Urim-Atal. The second one has Hurrian traits, like the depiction of a horse, but the man’s name is Akkadian (Ishar-Beli).

     Queen Uqnitum: Queen Uqnitum, who proceeded Tar’am-Agade, chose another theme for her seal. She represents her role as the main wife of the king, and the mother of the crowned prince. The strength of her personality is depicted here in a symbolic way through the inscription that gives her the title “queen” located on top of the shoulders of her maid.