Manishtushu

Manishtushu (Man-ištušu) (, Ma-an-ish-tu-su; died 2255 BC) was the third king of the Akkadian Empire, reigning 15 years c. 2270 BC until his death c. 2255 BC. His name means "Who is with him?". He was the son of Sargon the Great, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, and he was succeeded by his son, Naram-Sin who also deified him posthumously. A cylinder seal, of unknown provenance, clearly from the reign of Naram-Sin or later, refers to the deified Manishtushu i.e. "(For) the divine Man-istusu: Taribu, the wife of Lugal-ezen, had (this seal) fashioned". Texts from the later Ur III period show offerings to the deified Manishtushu (spelled ᵈMa-iš-ti₂-su or ᵈMa-an-iš-ti₂-su). The same texts mention a town of ᵈMa-an-iš-ti₂-su where there was a temple of Manishtushu. This temple was known in the Sargonic period as Ma-an-iš-t[i-s]uki.

== Biography == Manishtushu was the third king of the Akkadian Empire according to Old Babylonian tradition though listed as the 2nd, after Sargon, in the Ur III recension of the Sumerian King List. He was the son of Sargon of Akkad, brother of Enheduanna, Rimush, and Shu-Enlil, and the father of Naram-Sin. Only one year name is known. An unprovenanced tablet at the Iraq Museum from the Umma region on epigraphic grounds reads "In the year that Dūr-Maništusu was established". From this it is also known that a "fortress of Manishtusu" was built though the location is unknown.