Ansud
king of Mari
Ansud (also read as Ianupu, Yanup, Anubu, Gansud, Anusu and Hanusum; died c. 2416 BC), was an early king (Lugal) of the second Mariote kingdom. Ansud is known for warring against the Eblaites from a letter written by the later Mariote king Enna-Dagan.
Reign
Identity
It has been proposed that a bead (reference M. 4439) discovered at Mari, was sent as a gift by Mesannepada of Ur to king "Hanusum" (Gansud) of Mari. This has now been corrected with new translations only giving Mesannepada as son of Meskalamdug:
𒀭𒈗𒌦 𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕 𒈗 𒋀𒀊𒆠 𒌉 𒈩𒌦𒄭 𒈗 𒆧𒆠 𒀀 𒈬𒈾𒊒
dlugal-kalam mes-an-ne2-pa3-da lugal uri5ki dumu mes-ug-du10 lugal kishki a munaru
"To god Lugalkalam ("the Lord of the Land", identified with Dagan or Enlil), Mesannepada, king of Ur, son of Meskalamdug, king of Kish, has consecrated this bead""
It is unclear how this bead came to be in Mari, but this points to some kind of relation between Ur and Mari at that time. The bead was discovered in a jar containing other objects from Ur or Kish.
The letter of Enna-Dagan is extremely difficult to read, and the word "Sa'umu" appeared in three passages of it. In the second and third passages, the word referred to Ansud's successor Sa'umu. However, in the first passage, "Sa'umu" was read as a verb by Giovanni Pettinato, who later read it as (Anudu). Alfonso Archi, recognized that this verb is a personal name of a monarch and read it as Anubu (motivated by the Sumerian King List which record a dynasty of Mari and king Anbu as the first monarch of the dynasty).
“Ansud” enters the record as king of Mari. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ansud, king and Mari can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Ansud” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ansud, king and Mari provides the most credible route into that argument.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19901859. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ansud”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ansud primary sources, Ansud archive and Ansud research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ansud”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ansud” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.