The obelisk is a diorite, four-sided stele that narrows upwards, in a pyramidal-form and bears a long cuneiform inscription in Akkadian. It was commissioned by Maništušu, son of Sargon the Great, King of Akkad. The obelisk was taken to Susa by the Elamite king Šutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BCE as a spoil of war. The cuneiform inscription is of exceptional quality likely responding to the new standards developed by Akkadian rulers. The text records large purchases of land by the king in the region of Kiš, from which he formed four large estates which he divided up among his officers to ensure their loyalty. Each face of the obelisk deals with the purchases relating to one of the four estates.
