The Urkesh royal style

Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati – August 2025

Introduction

The Urkesh Royal Style includes the seals of the two dynasts, Tupkish (k1-k6) and his consort Uqnitum (q1-q8), but also two children who are physically connected with these two rulers in their seals. In addition we have the seal impressions of two household members, the royal nurse, Zamena (h1-2), and the royal cook, Tuli (h3-4). For both of these servants we have been able to reconstruct their inscribed seals: two each of Zamena and Tuli. Both of these women servants of Uqnitum have seal iconography which portrays the substsnce and character of their work for the palace.

We think there is a third servant also Innin-shadu (h5) who does not have in his seal inscription the title of his work in Urkesh but only his name also his position is not reflected in his iconography. Rather his seal shows a standing bearded bull next to his inscription and one human holding the tail of a standing lion attacking a goat so a human and animal combat scene. However we think Innin-shadu is connected with the royal couple since many of his seal impressions were excavated on the palace floors where the other royal seals were discovered.

We have seal use in Mozan from the Late Chalcolithic period through the Middle Assyrian period but the greatest number of excavated seal impressions have come from the palace of Tupkish. The seal impressions from the Early Dynastic period mainly came from a dump outside the eastern part of the inner city wall in K1 (Mozan 1). Also ED seal impressions also came from an administrative building in the outer city in OH2 and in excavation area C2. Since it appears that seal use was common, especially in the ED III period it is not surprising that even in and near the palace some ED III themes and styles have been found. For example in J1q1277.1 an animal combat with one human was found in excavation unit J1 feature 325 which is a pebble pavement used until the Mittani period; this stratigraphic emplacement gives us an indication that both the iconographic motif of humans and animals in a fighting posture were appreciated by seal owners and artists and seals with this theme were not only produced into the Akkadian period but even seals carved in ED III could be used by their seal owners into the Akkadian period. Nor is it surprising that ED III styles influenced early Akkadian seals in Urkesh, of which we have only a few, and continued to influence some aspects of the seal style in the pre-Naram-Sin period of Uqnitum and Tupkish in Urkesh.

Banquet scenes were also common in the ED III period and continued into the Akkadian period, so see for instsnce J1q1146.1 from J1f272 and dated to the ED III period but also with later material. This theme continues into the Uqnitum and Tupkish period; see for instance the importance of the bird table in the royal seals (see below) and uninscribed seals from the same period A1.241 and A5.91.

It is not surprising that the Urkesh seal carvers knew of and could employ elements from different styles while they were developing and carving an iconography that was new for the two Urkesh dynasts and important people connected to them. And these dynasts must have given their seal carvers their opinion and their preferences so that for instance Tupkish must have considered a ball of string or wool to be important so it was depicted as an offering on one of his seals (k1). Uqnitum must have told her seal carvers to depict her with the more importanted pleated garment and Tupkish in a lesser important fringed garment in her seal (q2) to emphasize her importance.

Style of Queen Uqnitum and King Tupkish seals

While we have few seals of Tupkish we can see from the few we have and especially the large number of Uqnitum seals that their artists were very aware of the Deep Fringe and Dotted Eye styles discussed below. The two Urkesh dynasts could have a combination of elements in their seals. For instance in k2 Tupkish is wearing a garment showing multiple layers of deep pleats and the lion has a deep mane pattern. The crown prince has a garment with only a fringe along the front edge. Uqnitum wares a similar deep pleated garment in q4. Interestingly in the family scene (q2) Uqnitum is wearing this deep pleated garment but Tupkish is wearing one that has only a fringed bottom hem, thus emphasizing that it is her seal as shown also by the inscription “Uqnitum the wife of Tupkish.”

Tar’am-Agade

This seal of the daughter of Naram-sin is a typical Akkadian style seal of that time in southern Mesopotamia. The seal of Ewrim-atal and the endan without a name (A13.15) but we assume might be the husband of Tar’am-Agade, are also in the same southern style.

Later Urkesh king, Ishar-kinum

The seal of Ishar-kinum on the contrary is influenced not by southern Mesopotamian styles but by the scene of Tupkish(k2). The servant pouring liquid for the lion is present but there are 2 lions on which the throne is placed, presumably two statues, and the small figure; but the throne is the seat of a deity not the king, who is presumably meant to be the small figure.