Šamši-Adad IV, inscribed
md''šam-ši-''
dIM, was the 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 ...
, 1054/3–1050 BC, the 91st to be listed on the ''Assyrian Kinglist''.
[''Khorsabad Kinglist'', tablet IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), iv 1–4.][''SDAS Kinglist'', tablet IM 60484, iii 33–36.] He was a son of
Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I (1114–1076 BC), the third to have taken the throne, after his brothers
Ašarēd-apil-Ekur and
Ashur-bel-kala
Aššūr-bēl-kala, inscribed m''aš-šur-''EN''-ka-la'' and meaning “Aššur is lord of all,” was the king of Assyria 1074/3–1056 BC, the 89th to appear on the ''Assyrian Kinglist''. He was the son of Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I, succeeded his ...
, and he usurped the kingship from the latter’s son, the short-reigning
Erība-Adad II (1055–1054 BC). It is quite probable that he was fairly elderly when he seized the throne.
Biography
The Assyrian kinglist recalls that he “came up from
Karduniaš
Karduniaš, also transcribed Kurduniash, Karduniash, Karaduniše, ) is a Kassites, Kassite term used for the kingdom centered on Babylonia and founded by the Kassite dynasty. It is used in the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters Text corpus, correspondence ...
(i.e.
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. ...
). He ousted Erība-Adad, son of Aššur-bêl-kala, seized the throne and ruled for 4 years.” The king 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 ...
was
Adad-apla-iddina
Adad-apla-iddina, typically inscribed in cuneiform mdIM- DUMU.UŠ-SUM''-na'', mdIM-A-SUM''-na'' or dIM''-ap-lam-i-din-'' 'nam''meaning the storm god “Adad has given me an heir”, was the 8th king of the 2nd Dynasty of Isin and the 4th Dynasty ...
, who had been installed more than a decade earlier by Šamši-Adad’s brother, Ashur-bel-kala. The extent to which he was instrumental in the succession is uncertain but it seems that Šamši-Adad may have earlier sought refuge in exile in the south.
The ''Synchronistic Kinglist''
[''Synchronistic Kinglist'', Ass 14616c (KAV 216), iii 3.] gives Ea-, presumed to be
Ea-mukin-zēri (c. 1008 BC), as his Babylonian contemporary,
an unlikely pairing as he was likely to have been concurrent with the latter kings of the 2nd dynasty of
Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
during its dying throes. The political events of his reign are obscure and his fragmentary inscriptions are limited to commemorating renovation work carried out on the
Ištar
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sum ...
temple at
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
and the ''bīt nāmeru'', “gate-tower,” at
Aššur
Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal ...
.
He would be succeeded by his son,
Aššur-naṣir-apli I.
Inscriptions
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamshi-Adad 04
11th-century BC Assyrian kings
1050s BC deaths
Year of birth unknown