Zababa-šuma-iddina
[Written as md''Za-ba''4''-ba''4-MU-AŠ.] was the 35th and next to last king of the
Kassite
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...
or 3rd dynasty of
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
, who reigned for just one year,
[''Kinglist A'', column 2, line 14.] ca. 1158 BC (
short chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
). He was without apparent ties to the royal family and there is uncertainty concerning the circumstances of his coming to power.
Biography
Ascendancy
A late Assyrian tablet provides a prophetic narrative and suggests it was his predecessor
Marduk-apla-iddina I, who did indeed reign for 13 years, and who was overthrown by the
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
ites, perhaps combining the two sequential reigns into a single individual:
Invasions by Assyria and Elam
His short unhappy reign was subjected to invasions on two different fronts. One of these was where
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 ...
n forces under the leadership of
Aššur-dan I annexed the region lying between the
Lower Zab
The Little Zab or Lower Zab (, ''al-Zāb al-Asfal''; or '; , ''Zâb-e Kuchak''; , ''Zāba Taḥtāya'') is a river that originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It is approximately long and dr ...
and the
Adhaim, or Al Uzaym River, seizing control of Zaban, Irriya and Urgarsallu, and carrying off much plunder.
[The ''Synchronistic'' Chronicle (ABC 21), K 4401a +, tablet B, column 2, lines 10 to 12.]
His lack of connection to the previous royal family into which the Elamite rulers had intermarried for several generations led
Kudur-Nahhunte, king of Elam, and whose father,
Shutruk-Nahhunte
Šutruk-Nakhunte was king of Elam from about 1184 to 1155 BC (middle chronology), and the second king of the Shutrukid Dynasty.
Elam amassed an empire that included most of Mesopotamia and western Iran.
Under his command, Elam defeated the Ka ...
, was married to the thirty-third Babylonian king
Meli-Šipak’s eldest daughter, to believe his claim to the throne of Babylon was more legitimate. A Neo-Babylonian copy of a literary text which takes the form of a letter, now located in the
Vorderasiatisches Museum
The Vorderasiatisches Museum (, '' Near East Museum'') is an archaeological museum in Berlin. It is in the basement of the south wing of the Pergamon Museum and has one of the world's largest collections of Southwest Asian art. 14 halls distri ...
in Berlin, is addressed to the Kassite court by an Elamite King, thought to be Kudur-Nahhunte, and details the genealogy of the Elamite royalty of this period. He casts aspersions on their choice of king and then declares:
There are some concerns over the authenticity of this “letter” as it makes a derogatory reference to a later king,
Nabu-apla-iddina
Nabû-apla-iddina, inscribed md''Nábû-ápla-iddina''na''Synchronistic History'', tablet K4401a (ABC 21), iii 22–26. or md''Nábû-apla-íddina'';''Synchronistic Kinglist'' fragments VAT 11261 (KAV 10), ii 8, and Ass. 13956dh (KAV 182), iii 11. ...
, ca. 888 – 855 BC. It may, however, preserve some traditions of the period.
Kudur-Nahhunte led an assault on northern Babylonia which resulted in the end of Zababa-šuma-iddina’s reign. The event is described in a late Babylonian poetic text
[Tablet K. 2660.] purporting to be narrated by a later king, possibly
Nabû-kudurrī-uṣur I.
He left his inscriptions on many of the trophies he collected for display in the temples of
Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
, each with its boastful addendum, to confirm it was he who had conquered Babylonia. A fragment of an Elemite stele describes crossing the river Ulai and seizing seven hundred towns. Another fragment lists the northern cities that had been overthrown including
Dur-Kurigalzu
Dur-Kurigalzu (modern ' in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq) was a city in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers, about west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I (died ...
,
Sippar
Sippar ( Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, some ...
,
Opis
Opis (Akkadian (language), Akkadian ''Upî'' or ''Upija''; grc, Ὦπις) was an ancient Babylonian city near the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad. Akkadian language, Akkadian and Greek language, Greek texts indicate that it was located on ...
, perhaps
Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
and
Eshnunna
Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in th ...
.
A single economic text, a contract
[Bab 39047.] mentioning Itti-ezida-lummir, is extant dated to his accession year and was recovered in the Merkes area of Babylon.
[ No. 20.]
Inscriptions
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zababa-shuma-iddina
12th-century BC Babylonian kings
Kassite kings
12th-century BC rulers
Late Bronze Age collapse