# KI-RI-SI (Kiriš)

> Kiriš, the god of the Amorite names, as oil recipient; rivals Hurrian Kiriš and a personal name

A Linear A word in the Linear A Lexicon. The reading is a proposal and carries its tier.

- Reading: Kiriš
- Confidence: Speculative. A proposed reading on a word too rare to test. Most occur only once.
- Root: Kiriš (Pre-Greek)
- Kind: Divine
- Language: Semitic
- Signs: KI (ki) · RI (ri) · SI (si)
- Rank: Amorite-linked appendix

## Compared forms

- Amorite: Gelb AS 21 glossary 'Kiriš, Kirišu, DN' (root KRS); ʾAwij-Kiriš A-WI-KI-RI-IŠ (no. 563; ARM XIV 106:18) and Iluna-Kiriš (no. 2556; ARM XIII 8:19 = LAPO 16 no. 104), Mari, Zimri-Lim era. Kiri(š) in 2 women's and 5 men's name types (Nakata 1995, Orient 30–31, charts pp. 251–252); seal of Iluna-Kiriš, servant of Zimri-Lim (Topçuoğlu 2016 no. 251 = Otto 2000 fig. 435)
- Linear B: qe-ra-si-ja (KN Fp 1+31, 5, 6, 13, 14, 48; fem. dat., oil offerings beside pa-si-te-o-i), masc. qe-ra-si-jo (KN Fp 16.2): comparandum, not identity (KI/QE, RI/RA)
- Hurrian: Gelb 1944 (Hurrians and Subarians, 113) parses Ur III Pudum-kiriš as Hurrian kir + -š; Karana ki-ri-šu Kirišu, in Monti's Hurrian list (Monti 2017, 390)

## Attestations

- [TY 3b](<https://linear-a.ai/texts/TY3b/index.md>): KI-RI-SI OLE+MI 6 — Kiriš (divine name or theophoric short name), an oil recipient; oil-MI 6

## Commentary

TY 3b (Tylissos, LM IB): KI-RI-SI OLE+MI 6 heads side b of an oil-distribution tablet whose other recipients are PI-KU-ZU, ZA-*321, A-DU, A-DA and KO-A-DU-WA. SI writes the final š. Kiriš, Kirišu, a god of the Amorite names (Gelb 1980, 23): ʾIlunā-kirišu 'Kiriš is our god' at Tuttul (Buck 2018, 338; Gelb 1980, no. 2556) and A-WI-KI-RI-IŠ at Mari (ARM 14 106:18; Gelb 1980, no. 563). Rival: Hurrian, where Awi-kiriš reads 'Kiriš, save him!' and Putum-kiriš 'Kiriš begot him' (Monti 2017, 115, 111), and kiriš stands beside Kirip-atal and Nuzi Kirip-tilla (Gelb 1944, 113). Rival: a personal name. Cf. Linear B qe-ra-si-ja, an oil recipient at Knossos, with ra where KI-RI has ri. Weak point: the god is known only from names. One attestation.

## In the onomasticon

- [KI-RI-SI](<https://linear-a.ai/names/KI-RI-SI/index.md>): God or goddess, Semitic

## References

- Reading: di Mino; Gelb 1980; Buck 2018; Monti 2017; Gelb 1944
- Otto, Adelheid (2000), Die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Klassisch-Syrischen Glyptik. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York (Untersuchungen zur Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8)
- Topçuoğlu, Oya (2016), Emblems of Power: Ideology and Identity in Late Old Assyrian Glyptic. PhD dissertation, University of Chicago
- AS 21: Gelb, Ignace J. (1980), Computer-aided Analysis of Amorite. Assyriological Studies 21,The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
- Nakata, Ichiro (1995), A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in the Old Babylonian Texts from Mari. Orient,30–31,234–253
- Monti, Luciano Esteban (2017), A Systematic Approach to the Hurrian Pantheon: The Onomastic Evidence. PhD dissertation, Università degli Studi di Udine (XXVIII cycle)
- Gelb, Ignace J. (1944), Hurrians and Subarians. University of Chicago Press (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 22)
- Buck, Mary Ellen (2018), The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit: The Historical Origins of the Bronze Age Polity of Ugarit Based upon Linguistic, Literary, and Archaeological Evidence. 

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/KI-RI-SI/
Licence: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as: di Mino, Tom. 2026. Linear A Lexicon. Plasma AI. https://linear-a.ai/. Data: kaphtor, commit add28e94.