Aššur-bel-kala

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aššur-bel-kala ( Aššur-bēl-kala; Ashur-bel-kala, Assur-bel-kala , " Aššur rules everything") was king of the Assyrian Empire and ruled from 1073 to 1056 BC. Chr. Aššur-bēl-kala was a son of Tukulti-apil-Ešarra I and succeeded his brother Ašared-apil-ekur on the throne. He was married to a daughter of the Aramaic Adad-apal-iddina , whom he helped to the Babylonian throne after the death of Marduk-šapik-zēr-māti in 1068, which he held until 1047.

His successor was his son Eriba-Adad II.

swell

The " broken obelisk ", one of the oldest known Assyrian obelisks , is attributed to Aššur-bēl-kala. He is an important source of his rule. He reports on military campaigns, activities of the king as a hunter and his constructions with about the same value.

Rykle Borger has suggested that a lapis lazuli bead with cuneiform inscription came to Egypt from the tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I as a gift from Aššur-bēl-kala.

Texts from his reign are known from Giricano / Dunnu-Ša-Uzibi , among others .

title

Aššur-bēl-kala names Ninurta and Nergal as his patron gods, "those who love the king's priesthood" (RIMA 2, A 0.89.7: IV)

Domination

Aššur-bēl-kala led numerous campaigns against his enemies, with chariots and on foot. He conquered the "lands of all men", from Babylon and Akkad to the Upper Sea in Amurru and the Sea of ​​Nairi . The king's buildings are listed below.

He was able to achieve some successes against the Aramaeans , especially in the area of Tur Abdin (Kašijari). He also pulled against the muski . He also attacked Babylonian territory, so he reports of the capture of cities in the district of Dur-Kurigalzu , whereby the governor Kadašman-Buriaš , son of Itti-Marduk-balatu, was captured.

Aššur-bēl-kala also excelled as a hunter. He hunted wild bulls and cows at the foot of Lebanon in the city of Araziq in the country of Hatti and sailed the Mediterranean in a ship from Arwad , where he killed a sea horse ( nahiru ). Aššur-bēl-kala received a monkey and a "river man" ( amīl nāri , perhaps an ichneumon or a seal) as a gift from the Egyptian pharaoh. He traded wild cattle (burḫis and tešēnu) and camels from the mountains of the east.

buildings

According to the annals of Tukulti-Ninurta II , Aššur-bēl-kala had the wall of the platform of the royal palace southwest of the Great Ziggurat renewed. Under Aššur-bēl-kala, Aššur also received a bronze-plated city gate. Aššur-bēl-kala also had further guardian figures attached to his father's palace in Assur: he had two nahiru made of basalt from the Mediterranean region, six burḫiš cattle from Iran, four lions made of basalt and two lamassu made of alabaster.

literature

  • Helmut Freydank : Contributions to Central Assyrian chronology and history (= writings on the history and culture of the ancient Orient. Vol. 21). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-05-001814-3 (At the same time: Berlin, Akad. Der Wiss. Der DDR, Diss., 1987).
  • A. Kirk Grayson: Assyrian rulers of the early first millennium BC. Part I: 1114-859 BC (= Royal inscriptions of Mesopotamia. Assyrian periods 2). University of Toronto Press, Toronto et al. 1991, ISBN 0-8020-5965-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kurt Jaritz: The problem of the "Broken Obelisk" . Journal of Semitic Studies 4/3, 1959, p. 214
  2. ↑ Kurt Jaritz: The problem of the "Broken Obelisk" . Journal of Semitic Studies 4/3, 1959, pp. 204-215
  3. ↑ Karin Radner (ed.): The Central Assyrian clay tablet archive of Giricano / Dunnu-Sha-Uzibi . Subartu 14th Brepols, Turnhout 2004
  4. ↑ sometimes interpreted as a dolphin, cf. David M. Fouts: Another look at large numbers in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions . Journal of Near Eastern Studies , 53/3, 1994, p. 210
  5. ↑ Betina Faist : The long-distance trade of the Assyrian Empire between the 14th and 11th centuries before Christ . AOAT 265, Ugarit, Münster 2001, p. 47
  6. ↑ Kurt Jaritz: The problem of the "Broken Obelisk" , Journal of Semitic Studies 4/3, 1959, p. 215
    E. F. Weidner: The Annals of King Aššur-bēl-kala of Assyria , Archive for Orient Research 6, 1930, p. 93
  7. ↑ Andreas Schachner: Pictures of a world empire: art and cultural historical studies on the decorations of a gate from Balawat (Imgur-Enlil) from the time of Shalmaneser III., King of Assyria . Brepols, Brussels 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52437-5 ( Subartu . 20), tab. 2.
  8. ^ Paul Collins: Assyrian palace sculptures . British Museum, London 2008
predecessor Office successor
Ašared-apil-ekur Assyrian king Eriba-Adad II.
personal data
SURNAME Aššur-bel-kala
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Assyrian king
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1056 BC Chr.