Šamaš-šuma-ukin

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Šamaš-šuma-ukin (also Shamasch-schuma-ukin ; * no later than 684 BC; †  July 12, 648 BC ), firstborn son of Asarhaddon and the Ešar-ḫamat , originally intended as heir to the throne in Assyria , ruled from 668 to 648 BC As the Babylonian king. The enthronement as the Babylonian ruler was carried out by the determination of Esarhaddon, the Šamaš-šuma-ukins younger brother Assurbanipal as Assyrian king took dutifully.

Life

Accession to the throne and first years of government

His name is first mentioned in his accession year (668 to 667 BC) in the Babylonian- astronomical protocols of the calculated lunar eclipse of April 25, 668 BC. BC ( 14th Ajaru ) occupied. Shortly afterwards, on May 5th (24th Ajaru), he ended the suspension of the annual Akitu festival ordered by Sennacherib and Asarhaddon . The statues of the gods of Akkad in Assyria were brought back to Babylon as well as Nabu of Borsippa . With this measure he drew the favor of the Marduk priesthood. On September 7, 668 BC The leap month Ululu II, proclaimed by Šamaš-šuma-ukin, began .

His brother Assurbanipal, to whom Šamaš-šuma-ukin was subordinate to political and religious decisions, intervened unsuccessfully against the revival of the New Year festival. Šamaš-šuma-ukin's first year of government was due to the third cuneiform mention of another lunar eclipse in 666 BC. Chr. Safe at first Nisannu v 667th To be dated. In the fourth year of the reign (664 BC), the Elamite prince fled on September 22, 664 BC. BC ( 12th Tašritu ) to Assyria.

Šamaš-šuma-ukin, dissatisfied with the tutelage of Assurbanipal, succeeded in reviving the Babylonian economy and concluding vassal treaties with some neighboring states. His long-term goal was the independence of Babylonia from Assyria. Assurbanipal planned in 652 BC. The end of the policies of Šamaš-šuma-ukin, which were troubling for him, and who for his part now took measures to be able to militarily counter Assurbanipal's plans.

War against Assyria

Battle for Babylon

652 BC In the 16th year of reign, Šamaš-šuma-ukin called in the months from Ajaru to Tebetu to mobilize the army, which was mostly recruited from cities in central and northern Babylonia. On December 26, 652 BC BC (19th Tebetu) began with the support of the majority of Aramaic and Chaldean tribes as well as Elamers and almost all Arab tribes the attack on Assyria, which ended, however, with a first defeat in northern Babylonia for Šamaš-šuma-ukin and his allies. Before Assyrian troops could take Babylon, the Babylonian alliance withdrew on March 3, 651 BC. BC ( 27th Addaru ) returned to the capital. The situation seemed to have calmed down afterwards, as Šamaš-šuma-ukin disbanded the army and allowed the soldiers to return to their hometowns. The background for this measure was certainly the Akitufest associated with the holy processions , which was also to be the last New Year celebration under Šamaš-šuma-ukin to be celebrated in full with all rituals.

Battle for Kutha

A short time before the beginning of the 17th year of the reign there must have been Assyrian attacks in the Borsippa region because the Akitufest 651 BC. And the divine confirmation procession connected with it could not be celebrated appropriately. In this context, further uprisings followed in Assyria and Akkad . As agreed, Šamaš-šuma-ukin had the leap month Ululu II proclaimed in the Babylonian calendar , which began on August 29th. Due to the ongoing unrest, Šamaš-šuma-ukin ordered on September 7th (9th Ululu II) 651 BC. Again the mobilization. A short time later, this time the Assyrian army suffered a severe defeat in the battle for the city of Kutha , which was captured by the Šamaš-šuma-ukin's alliance and expanded as a base.

In the 18th year of the reign, another Assyrian advance on July 1, 650 BC. BC ( 11th Du'uzu ) the invasion of Babylon. At the beginning of his 20th year of reign, Šamaš-šuma-ukin celebrated in Nisannu 648 BC. His last Akitufest. The processions of the gods had to be dispensed with due to the armed conflicts. After further fighting, Šamaš-šuma-ukin was defeated in his 20th year of reign on July 12, 648 BC. At the conquest of Babylon.

literature

  • JA Brinkmann: Sibling Monarchs: Shamash-shuma-ukin and Ashurbanipal (669-653 BC); The Great Rebellion (652–648 BC) and its aftermath: Ashurbanipal versus Shamash-shuma-ukin . In: John Boardman: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and other states of the Near East, from the eighth to the sixth centuries BC Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 0-521-22717-8 , pp. 47-60.
  • Dietz-Otto Edzard : History of Mesopotamia , Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-51664-5
  • Jean Jaques Glassner : Mesopotamian Chronicles . Brill, Boston 2004, ISBN 90-04-13084-5
  • Albert Kirk Grayson : Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles . Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 2000, ISBN 1-57506-049-3
  • Albert Kirk Grayson: Assyria 668-635 BC: The Reign of Ashurbanipal . In: John Boardman: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and other states of the Near East, from the eighth to the sixth centuries BC Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 0-521-22717-8 , pp. 142-161.
  • Hermann Hunger : Lunar and Planetary Texts (Astronomical Diaries and related Texts from Babylonia, Vol. 5) . Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7001-3028-7
  • Richard Anthony Parker , Waldo H. Dubberstein: Babylonian Chronology 626 BC - AD 75 . Brown University Press, Rhode Island 1956

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Hunger: Lunar and Planetary Texts . P. 395.
predecessor Office successor
Ashurbanipal King of Babylonia
668–648 BC Chr. 		Kandalanu
personal data
SURNAME Šamaš-šuma-ukin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shamash-shuma-ukin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Babylonian king
DATE OF BIRTH before 684 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 648 BC Chr.
Place of death Babylon