Shar-Kali-Sharri succeeded his father
Naram-Sin around 2218 BC. According to the Sumerian King List, his reign lasted 25 years, which is closely matched by the year name from his rule. It is known, from the seal impressions of three of her
majordomos (example - "Sar-kali-sarri, king of the subjects of the god
Enlil.
Tuta-sar-libbis, the queen: Iskun-Dagan, scr[ibe] and her major[d]omo, (is) [her] servant"), that the wife and queen of Shar-Kali-Shari was Tuta-sar-libbis. Naram-Sin maintained control over the various city-states by the simple expedient of appointing some of his many sons as key provincial governors, and his daughters as high priestesses. Shar-Kali-Shari would have inherited this system on his ascension but is not known if he had any offspring or, for the most part, the nature of his provincial governors. It has been suggested that he was governor of
Nippur before assuming the crown. This is supported by the fact that text show that he was crowned in Nippur, a process that included his sister Tudanapšum who had been named high priestess of Enlil at Nippur. It was traditional for rulers in Mesopotamia to make an occasional "royal progress" visiting the major cultic sites. One such progress is known from the reign of his father
Naram-Sin, fourth ruler of the Akkadian Empire. He was accompanied by three of his children, Bin-kali-šarrē, Tudanapšum, and crown prince Shar-Kali-Shari. In a show of military strength at least five sagina (generals) accompanied Shar-Kali-Shari. It is known that the governor of
Adab under Shar-Kali-Shar was Lugal-gis based on three clay sealings reading "[S]ar-kali-sam, god, hero of Agade: Lugal-gis, scribe and go[vernor] of Ad[ab, (is) his] servant." (noting that the Dingir followed the rulers name here). His successor as ensi of Adab under Shar-Kali-Shali was Ur-tur, known from tablets found there. Many Adab tablets dated to his reign remain unpublished in the Istanbul Museum. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as governor of
Lagash and at the time a vassal (,
arad, "servant" or "slave") of Naram-Sin, as well as his successor Shar-kali-sharri. One of these seals proclaims: . Inscription - "Sar-kali-sarri, king of Agade, for the god Samas at Sippar, dedicated (this mace)." (BM 91146)
Lugal-ushumgal was Governor of Lagash, a vassal of Naram-Sin and later of Shar-Kali-Sharri. His successor as governor
Puzer-Mama declared himself ruler of
Lagash, possibly on the death of Shar-Kali-Shari, and began the 2nd Dynasty of Lagash temple at Nippur One of the primary duties of the ruler of Mesopotamia was the maintenance of the Ekur temple of the chief god
Enlil. Work on the temple, initiated by Naram-Sin, was completed by Shar-Kali-Shari. So important was this process that it was featured in seven of his year names, even naming the general appointed to lead the task, Puzur-Eshtar. Inscribed bricks of Shar-Kali-Shari were found during the excavation of Nippur: In a tablet inscription (HS 195) he also marked, after visiting the source of the
Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, the giving of a cult object to Enlil at Nippur. Shar-Kali-Shari also built new temples to
Annunitum and to
Ilaba (the tutelary deity of the Akkadian Empire) at
Babylon, as reflected in a year name, with a further one to Ilaba at
Zabala. Based on his year names the reign of Shar-Kali-Shari was fairly peaceful with the usual scuffles with nomadic groups like the MAR.TU and the
Gutians as well as the traditional butting of heads with the
Elamites. The economic texts from that period also would indicate a reasonable degree of prosperity. Clearly the Gutians were growing in influence during his reign as at some point they made
Adab their capital, though whether as a vassals of Akkad or not is unknown. That said, there was a historical tradition that the Akkadian Empire began to unravel during his rule. One much later
Neo-Babylonian copy of an inscription (BM 38302) of Shar-Kali-Shari (which also marks the building of the temple of
Ilaba in Zabala) indicated that he face a widespread revolt at one point which he overcame. This reflects the
Great Revolt faced by his father Naram-Sin though it cannot be discounted that passage of millennia had blurred the history of one ruler with the other. According to the
Sumerian King List and later literary compositions, after Shar-Kali-Sharri's death in c. 2193 BC, the region fell into anarchy, with no king able to achieve dominance for long. The king list states: :"Then who was king? Who was not the king?
Igigi,
Imi,
Nanum,
Ilulu: four of them ruled for only 3 years." Akkad then resumed some resemblance of order for a time with the 21-year reign of
Dudu followed by the 15-year reign of
Shu-turul. ==Year names of Shar-Kali-Sharri==