ARTAŠŠUMARA (ar-ta-aš-šu-ma-ra), a Mitannian king, son of King Šuttarna II, brother of Tušratta; he was murdered after his father’s death and a short reign by UD-ḫi (El-Amarna 17, 11ff.; J. A. Knudtzon, ed., Die El-Amarna-Tafeln, Leipzig, 1915 [repr. Aalen, 1964], p. 133; I. L. Finkel, “Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1984,” Iraq 47, [1985], p. 192, inscr. no. TB 6002). There is also an Ar-ta-šu-ma-ra in the Alalakh tablets, who is hardly identical with the Mitannian Artaššumara (references in M. Mayrhofer, Die Arier im Vorderen Orient—ein Mythos?, Vienna, 1974, p. 20 n. 44). Like all official names in the Mitanni dynasty, the name is of (Indo-) Aryan origin: *Ṛtasmara- “mindful of Ṛta” (cf. Avestan ašahe. . . . framarətahe), see W. Wüst, Die Sprache 20, 1974, pp. 147f. with references.
(M. Mayrhofer)
Originally Published: December 15, 1986
Last Updated: August 15, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. II, Fasc. 6, p. 652
