Mut-bisir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mut-bisir or Mutu-bisir (in Akkadian Cuneiform: mu-ut-bi-si-ir, in transliterated Amorite: mut-biśir, "man of Biśri";[1] fl. c. 1790 BC) was a senior military official to the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad I.[2] His name appears repeatedly in the Mari letters, and means "man of Biśir", referring to the desert region around the Jebel Bishri.[3] In these letters, Anson Rainey describes him as "frequently mentioned in connection with troops located near the 'Euphrates."[4]
In one such letter, from Mut-bisir to Shamshi-Adad I, he was the first recorded individual to refer to Canaanites by name (Akkadian, ki-na-aḫ-nu(m)).[5][6] In this letter, Mut-bisir describes his soldiers and opposing Canaanite forces as tensely watching one another.[4]
His residence in Mari seems to have eventually been given to Shibti, the daughter of Shamshi-Adad I, and this household became a major supplier of foods to the royal palace.[2]
