Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur,
md''Enlil''(be)''-ku-dúr-uṣur'', (Enlil protect the eldest son), was the 81st king of
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
according to the Assyrian King List.
[''Assyrian King List'', iii 14.]
Biography
Enlil-kudurri-usur was the son of
Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I (meaning: "my trust is in he warrior god Ninurta"; reigned 1243–1207 BC) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He is known as the first king to use the title "King of Kings".
Biography
Tukulti-Ninurta I s ...
. He succeeded his nephew,
Ashur-nirari III
Aššur-nerari III, inscribed m''aš-šur-''ERIM.GABA, “ Aššur is my help,” was king of Assyria (1202–1197 BC or 1193–1187 BC). He was the grandson of Tukulti-Ninurta I and might have succeeded his uncle or more probably his father Ashu ...
’s brief reign and ruled for five years. Apart from king lists and chronicles, there are no other extant inscriptions of this king.
The ''Synchronistic King List''
[''Synchronistic King List'', tablet excavation number Ass. 14616c (KAV 216), ii 6.] identifies his
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ian contemporary with
Adad-šuma-uṣur, his eventual nemesis. In the ''Synchronistic History'',
[''Synchronistic History'', ii 3–8.] the battle between him and Adad-šuma-uṣur is given as a pretext for his Assyrian rival, Ninurta-apal-Ekur, a son of
Ilī-padâ Ilī-padâ or Ili-iḫaddâ, the reading of the name (m)DINGIR.PA.DA being uncertain, was a member of a side-branch of the Assyrian royal family who served as grand vizier, or ''sukkallu rabi’u'', of Assyria, and also as king, or ''šar'', of the ...
and descendant of
Eriba-Adad I, to “come up from Karduniaš,” i.e. Babylonia, and make a play for the Assyrian throne. Grayson
and others
have speculated that this was with the tacit assistance of Adad-šuma-uṣur, but there is currently no published evidence to support this theory. Ninurta-apal-Ekur’s purpose for being in Babylonia is also unknown, whether a political refugee or an administrator of the Assyrian held portion. The ''Walker Chronicle''
[''Walker Chronicle'', ABC 25, BM 27796, obverse lines 3 to 7.] describes how following his abject defeat at Adad-šuma-uṣur’s hands, Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur was seized by his own officers and handed over to his opponent.
Only after these events did Adad-šuma-uṣur go on to extend his territory to include the city of Babylon itself.
Meanwhile, the ''Synchronistic History''
[ continues, Ninurta-apal-Ekur had “mustered his numerous troops and marched to conquer Libbi-ali (the city of Aššur). But ..arrived unexpectedly, so he turned and went home.” As Grayson points out, this passage is open to various interpretations,][ only one of which is that the missing name could have been that of Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur, released by his captor to sow confusion amongst his northern foes.
]
Inscriptions
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enlil-kudurri-usur
12th-century BC Assyrian kings