Kaštiliašu III, inscribed phonetically in
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge- ...
as
m''Kaš-til-ia-šu'', is a possible
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 Babyl ...
king of
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c ...
in the 15th century 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 is known only from the Assyrian Synchronistic King List,
[Synchronistic King List, Ass 14616c, KAV 216 eidner, AfO 3, line 21’.] a copy of a monumental inscription,
[Moussaieff no. 254 Kaštiliašu Royal Inscription.] which gives his genealogy, and references in the
Chronicle of Early Kings.
[Chronicle of Early Kings, BM 96152 (1902-4-12, 264) tablet B, reverse lines 13 and 15.]
Sources
Evidence of Kaštiliašu's kingship is somewhat circumstantial. He may be the person indicated on line 21’
[The apostrophe designates a reconstructed line designation.] of the Synchronistic King List
[ (Ulam-Buriaš conquered and ruled the Sealand—at the southern end of Babylonia—and perhaps ruled as king of Babylonia; Agum (III) was king of Babylonia.) He has no royal title in those, a feature of this chronicle that is shared by others, such as ]Samsu-Ditana
Samsu-ditāna, inscribed phonetically in cuneiform ''sa-am-su-di-ta-na'' in the seals of his servants, the 11th and last king of the Amorite or First Dynasty of Babylon, reigned for 31 years,BM 33332 Babylonian King List A i 2.BM 38122 Babylonian ...
, who, despite absent monarchical epithets, did prove to be kings.[
A recently published copy of a monumental inscription][ celebrates his excavation of the Sumundar Canal and confirms his genealogy, son of Burnaburiaš I,][Inscribed as m 'b'''ur-na-bu-ra-ri-ia-aš'', consistent with an early Kassite spelling.] grandson of Agum II
Agum IIInscribed ''a-gu-um-ka-ak-ri-me'' in his eponymous inscription, elsewhere unattested. (also known as Agum Kakrime) was ''possibly'' a Kassite ruler who may have become the 8th or more likely the 9th king of the third Babylonian dynasty som ...
. It describes his ritual use of a silver spade and basket, which were subsequently displayed in the temple of Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Ba ...
, and his conscription of the people and land of Yamutbal for its excavation. Although he is designated as ''šakkanak Enlil'', “governor of Enlil”, the title and subsequent elaborate curse formula against those who might later efface the inscription implies his regnal status.
Inscriptions
Notes
References
{{Babylonian kings
16th-century BC Babylonian kings
15th-century BC Babylonian kings
Kassite kings
15th-century BC people