Abishemu of Byblos
Abishemu of Byblos was the ruler of the city-state of Byblos during the late Middle Bronze IIA. In relation to Syria, the ruler of Byblos held the title "king" in the Mari Archive. However, Abishemu belongs to a sequence of rulers who held the Egyptian title Haty-aa of Kepny, indicating they served as "governors" for the great king of Egypt during the late 12th Dynasty and early 13th Dynasty.
Reign
Abishemu may have been the son of Kukun, son of Ruqqa/Luqqa, and father of Ibshemuabi. His reign may correspond to the second half of the Middle Bronze II, when Byblos may have recognized the Great King of Egypt as its overlord, using the title Haty-aa and adopting Egyptian style as opposed to the Syrian style dominated by Yamhad and Qatna.Attestations
Abishemu is mainly known from the Abishemu obelisk found in the Temple of Obelisks.Transcribed:
mry Ḥr-š·f ḥꜣty-ʻ n Kpny ʼb-šmw wḥm ʻnḫ
f Kwkwn śꜣ Rwqq mꜣʻ ḫrw
Translated:
Beloved of Herishef, Haty-aa of Byblos, Ib-shemu, repeating life, his, Kukun, son of Ruqqa/Luqqa, justified.
Wehem ankh literally means "repeating life", an expression used in Ancient Egypt in various contexts, also as an epithet applied to the deceased from the Middle Kingdom onwards. Thus, the obelisk may be associated with the burial of Abishemu.