Shamshi-Adad II or Šamši-Adad II, inscribed
m(d)''Šam-ši-''
dIM, was an Old
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 ...
n king who ruled in the mid-second millennium BC, 1585–1580 BC. His reign falls within the "dark age" period of Assyrian history from which written records are scarce.
Biography
There are no extant contemporary sources witnessing his reign. He was the son and successor of
Erishum III
The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...
and ruled for six years (6 MU.MEŠ) according to the ''Khorsabad''
[''Khorsabad Kinglist'', tablet IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54) ii 30–31.] and the ''SDAS''
[''SDAS Kinglist'', tablet IM 60484, ii 23.] copies of the ''Assyrian Kinglist'', where he appears as the 57th name (the ''Nassouhi Kinglist''
[''Nassouhi Kinglist'', Istanbul A. 116 (Assur 8836).] is poorly preserved in this part). He was succeeded by his son
Ishme-Dagan II
Ishme-Dagan II or Išme-Dagān II, inscribed m''iš-me ''d''da-gan'' and meaning “(the god) Dagan has heard,” was a rather obscure ruler of Assyria, sometime during the first half of the 16th century BC in the midst of a dark age (Edzard's "du ...
.
The ''Synchronistic Kinglist''
[''Synchronistic Kinglist'', Ass 14616c, KAV 216, i 11–18.] somewhat implausibly gives eight different
early Kassite rulers as his contemporaries although only the first five and part of the sixth are legible. These are Agum IGI ašu, Kaštil
..u, Abirataš, Kaštilyašu, Tazzigurumaš, and Harba
.. Brinkman argues that this is a stylistic device and points to the previous reign of Irišum III who is shown as contemporary to Ea-gâmil, the last king of the
Sealand Dynasty
The First Sealand dynasty, (URU.KÙKIWhere ŠEŠ-ḪA of King List A and ŠEŠ-KÙ-KI of King List B are read as URU.KÙ.KI) or the 2nd Dynasty of Babylon (although it was independent of Amorite-ruled Babylon), very speculatively c. 1732–1460 B ...
and Gandaš, the first 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 ...
Dynasty, despite the ''Chronicle of Early Kings''
[''Chronicle of Early Kings'' (ABC 20) BM 96152, tablet B, rev. 12–14.] recording that Ea-gâmil fled ahead of the army of
Ulam-Buriaš, possibly the 12th Kassite king, at least a hundred years later.
Inscriptions
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamshi-Adad 02
16th-century BC Assyrian kings