Marhasi

Marhasi
𒈥𒄩𒅆𒆠

Possible location of Marhasi, to the east of Sumer and Elam.

Marhaši (Sumerian: Mar-ḫa-ši^Ki 𒈥𒄩𒅆𒆠, Marhashi, Marhasi, Parhasi, Barhasi; in earlier sources Waraḫše) was an important ancient Near East polity situated in the region near Elam. It is generally assumed, though not certain, that the Paraḫšum/Baraḫšum (𒁀𒊏𒄴𒋧𒆠 pa2-ra-ah-shum2-ki) of the Akkadian Empire period referred to Marhaši. This equivalence has been challenged.^[1] It is known from 3rd millennium BC and early 2nd millennium BC Mesopotamian sources. Its precise location has not been identified but the current thinking places it on the eastern side of the Iranian plateau.

The language of Marhaši is considered to be different from that of Simaški, and only minimally Elamite-related.^[2] Marhaši is known to have been the source of a number exotic trade goods for Mesopotamia including the "bear of Marhaši".^[3] Other trade goods were lapis lazuli and carnelian. One lexical list includes a mention of "Carnelian which is speckled with yellow, Marḫaši Carnelian is its name".^[4]

^ Westenholz, A., "The Old Akkadian period: History and culture", in Attinger, P. and Wäfler, M, eds. Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit. Freiburg: Annäherungen 3 [= Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/3], pp. 17-117, 1999
^ F. Vallat, "Eléments de géographie élamite (résumé)", PO 11, pp. 49–54, 1985
^ Horowitz, Wayne, "“The Ship of the Desert, the Donkey of the Sea”: The Camel in Early Mesopotamia Revisited", Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, edited by Chaim Cohen, Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Avi M. Hurvitz, Yochanan Muffs, Baruch J. Schwartz and Jeffrey H. Tigay, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 597-612, 2008
^ Feingold, Rony, "Raw Materials and their Origins", Engraved on Stone: Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals and Seal Inscriptions in the Old Babylonian Period, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 7-22, 2014

[1] Westenholz, A., "The Old Akkadian period: History and culture", in Attinger, P. and Wäfler, M, eds. Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit. Freiburg: Annäherungen 3 [= Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/3], pp. 17-117, 1999

[2] F. Vallat, "Eléments de géographie élamite (résumé)", PO 11, pp. 49–54, 1985

[3] Horowitz, Wayne, "“The Ship of the Desert, the Donkey of the Sea”: The Camel in Early Mesopotamia Revisited", Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, edited by Chaim Cohen, Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Avi M. Hurvitz, Yochanan Muffs, Baruch J. Schwartz and Jeffrey H. Tigay, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 597-612, 2008

[4] Feingold, Rony, "Raw Materials and their Origins", Engraved on Stone: Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals and Seal Inscriptions in the Old Babylonian Period, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 7-22, 2014

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