Indabibi was a ruler of ancient
Elam in 649 BCE
and perhaps 648. He is sometimes referred to as Indabigash.
He was the successor of
Tammaritu II
Tammaritu II was the ruler of Elam from 652 until 650 or 649 BC.Jane McIntosh gives the date of the end of his first reign as 649. Potts gives the date of the end of Tammaritu's first reign as either 650 or 649 BC. D. T. Potts (1999). ''The Archae ...
and the predecessor of
Humban-Haltash III
Humban-haltash III or Umanaldash was the last major ruler of Elam. He belonged to the Humban-Tahrid, "Neo-Elamite", dynasty (c.830–521 BC). He became king 650 BC. During his kingdom, the Assyrian people attacked Elam and occupied Madektu. Th ...
.
Elam was located to the east of the more powerful Assyrian Empire, and the reign of Indabibi occurred during the reign of Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal (668 - c. 617).
In 649 BC, then-Elamite king Tammaritu II was deposed in an uprising and fled to Assyria's king Ashurbanipal, at which point Indabibi took the throne.
At this time, Ashurbanipal was engaged in a conflict with his brother,
Shamash-shum-ukin
Shamash-shum-ukin ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning "Shamash has established the name"), was king of Babylon as a vassal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 668 BC to his death in 648. Born into the Assyrian royal family, Shamash-shum-ukin was ...
, king of Babylon, who was attempting to gain control of the Assyrian Empire. Tammaritu II militarily supported Shamash-shum-ukin. During a battle, one of his generals, Indabibi, switched sides, and Tammaritu escaped to Nineveh in either 650 or 649 BC. Thus began the brief rule of Indabibi over Elam.
Assyrian records give contradictory reports concerning Indabibi's relationship to Assyria: one source, written during Indabibi's rule records that Indabibi was an ally and "brother" of Ashurbanipal, while a source written two years later has a different opinion.
As relations soured, Ashurbanipal send a demand that Indabibi extradite to him a number of rebellious subjects who were taking refuge in Elam.
Indabibi delivered some of these, but withheld others.
Later Ashurbanipal sent a messenger to demand the extradition of the remaining subjects, but the message did not reach Elam.
The ''Annals'' of Ashurbanipal record that Ashurbanipal declared war against Indabibi.
As Ashurbanipal's armies approached Elam, the Elamites revolted and killed Indabibi in 648.
Indabibi was then replaced by Humban-haltash III.
[Elizabeth Carter and Matthew W. Stolper (1984). ''Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology.'' p. 50.]
See also
*
List of rulers of Elam
The kings of Elam were the rulers of Elam, an ancient civilization in modern-day south-western Iran. The earliest known Elamite dynasty was the Awan dynasty, which came to power in the Early Dynastic period. Elam was conquered by the Akkadian E ...
References
{{reflist
7th-century BC monarchs in Asia
Military history of the ancient Near East
Kings of the Neo-Elamite Period