Artashumara
{{short description|14th-century BCE king of Mitanni}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox royalty
| succession = King of Mitanni
| reign = c. 1380 BC
| predecessor = Shuttarna II (father)
| successor = Tushratta (brother)
| spouse =
| issue =
| father = Shuttarna II
}}
Artashumara{{cite book|title=The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy |author=Mario Liverani|publisher=Routledge|year=2014}} Text 16.1 (Mitanni Aryan: {{transliteration|mis|Artasmara}};{{cite journal |last=Witzel |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Witzel |date=2001 |title=Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts |url=https://crossasia-journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/ejvs/article/view/830 |journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=1–118 |doi=10.11588/EJVS.2001.3.830 |access-date=28 September 2021}}{{cite book |last=Liverani |first=Mario |author-link=Mario Liverani |title=The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy |chapter=16.1. The ‘mountain people’ and the ‘dark age’ |page=273 |publisher=Routledge |year=2014}} Akkadian: {{transliteration|akk|Artašumara}}{{transliteration|akk|ar-ta-aš-šu-ma-ra}} in {{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P270895 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}) was a ruler who briefly succeeded his father Shuttarna II as the king of Mitanni in the fourteenth century BC. He was a brother of Tushratta and Artatama II. He was later assassinated by a pro-Hittite group led by Tuhi, who declared himself as a regent after placing Tushratta on the throne.{{cite book | last=Van De Mieroop | first=M. | title=The Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of Ramesses II | publisher=Wiley | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4443-3220-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1iqUz-XD0UC&pg=PA31 | access-date=2024-11-20 | page=31}} Tuhi was later executed by Tushratta.
Name
The name {{transliteration|akk|Artašumara}} is the Akkadian form of the Mitanni Aryan name {{transliteration|mis|Artasmara}}, which is a cognate of the Vedic Sanskrit term {{lang|sa|ऋतस्मर}} ({{transliteration|sa|Ṛta-smara}}), meaning "he remembers Ṛta".
Reign
He is known only from a single mention in a tablet found in Tell Brak that refers to him as "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king" and a mention in Amarna letter 17.Finkel, Irving L. “Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1984.” Iraq, vol. 47, 1985, pp. 187–201{{cite book |first=William L. |last=Moran |title=The Amarna Letters |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8018-4251-4}} According to the letter, after the death of Shuttarna II, he briefly took power but was later assassinated.Artzi, P., "The Diplomatic Service in Action: The Mitanni File”, in: R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.): Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations, Baltimore, London: 205–211, 2000{{cite book|title=Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East|first=Amanda|last=Podany|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 2010|isbn=9780199718290| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTvRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198|page=198–}}
See also
{{Portal|Asia}}
{{S-start}}
{{S-bef | before=Shuttarna II}}
{{S-ttl | title=Mitanni king | years=14th century BC}}
{{S-aft | after=Tushratta}}
{{end}}
{{Mitanni kings}}