Eriba-Adad II
King of Assyria
King of the Middle Assyrian Empire
Reign1056–1054 BC
PredecessorAshur-bel-kala
SuccessorShamshi-Adad IV
FatherAshur-bel-kala
MotherBabylonian princess, daughter of Adad-apla-iddina (?)[1]

Erība-Adad II, inscribed mSU-dIM, “Adad has replaced,” was the king of Assyria 1056/55–1054 BC, the 94th to appear on the Assyrian Kinglist.[i 1][i 2] He was the son of Aššur-bēl-kala whom he briefly succeeded and was deposed by his uncle Šamši-Adad IV.[2]

Biography

The Khorsabad kinglist[i 3] mistakenly gives him as a son of Ilu-kabkabi, i.e. the father of the 18th century BC king Šamši-Adad I. Despite his short two-year reign, there are fragmentary inscriptions[i 4][i 5] where he claims his rule extended to the Aramaeans and lists conquests far and wide in intense military campaigns, imitating those of Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I, for which he styled himself “king of the four quarters.”[3] He would have appeared on a destroyed section of the eponym list designated as Cc.[i 6]

He was one of the restorers of the é.ḫur.sağ.kur.kur.ra, “House, Mountain of the Lands,” or the cella of the temple of the god Aššur,[4] as commemorated in one of his inscriptions.[i 7] A fragmentary literary text is dated to his reign.[i 8] The Synchronistic Kinglist gives his name, but the Babylonian counterpart is illegible, possibly having been Simbar-Šipak based on the sequence of kings before and after. This chronicle seems quite fanciful in its chronology during the Assyrian dark-age. In any case, the king Adad-apla-iddina would have been his contemporary, sheltering his uncle, Šamši-Adad IV in political exile while he regrouped and planned his putsch. Although Aššur-bēl-kala had married Adad-apla-iddina’s daughter, it seems unlikely that Adad-apla-iddina would have then participated in an effort to depose his own grandson, so it seems likely that Erība-Adad was the issue of another queen and the Babylonian king’s change of attitude due to earlier political events in Assyria.[5] His rule came to an end when Šamši-Adad “went up Kardun]iaš He drove Erība-Adad, [son of Aššur-bēl-ka]la, from the throne.”[6]

An Aššur monumental stele (number 27) from the Stelenreihe, "row of stelae," has been attributed to him and is inscribed laconically: "Erība-adad, king of the universe".[7]

Inscriptions

  1. ^ SDAS Kinglist, iii 31.
  2. ^ Nassouhi Kinglist, iv 12.
  3. ^ Khorsabad Kinglist, iii 45,
  4. ^ Clay cone fragment from Nineveh BM 123467, 6 lines.
  5. ^ Part of a clay tablet Rm-II.261 (RIMA 2 A.0.90.1), 7.
  6. ^ Eponym List VAT 11254, (KAV 21).
  7. ^ K.2693 Part of a clay tablet, with holes, 13 + 5 lines (RIMA 2 A.0.90.1).
  8. ^ Literary text, BM 98941.

References

  1. ^ Brinkman, J.A. (1968). Political history of Post-Kassite Babylonia (1158-722 b. C.) (A). Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 142.
  2. ^ P. Talon (1999). K. Radner (ed.). The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Volume 1, Part II: A. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. p. 400.
  3. ^ D. J. Wiseman (1975). "XXXI: Assyria & Babylonia 1200–1000 BC". In I. E. S. Edwards; C. J. Gadd; N. G. L. Hammond; S. Solberger (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part 2, History of the Middle East and the Aegean Region, 1380–1000 BC. Cambridge University Press. p. 469.
  4. ^ A. R. George (2003). House Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia. Eisenbrauns. pp. 101–102.
  5. ^ J. A. Brinkman (1968). A Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia, 1158–722 B.C. Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. p. 144.
  6. ^ Jean-Jacques Glassner (2004). Mesopotamian Chronicles. SBL. pp. 142–143.
  7. ^ P. A. Miglus (1984). "Another Look at the "Stelenreihen" in Assur". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie. 74: 136. doi:10.1515/zava.1984.74.1.133. S2CID 163992410.

Further reading

Preceded byAššur-bēl-kala King of Assyria 1056–1054 BC Succeeded byŠamši-Adad IV
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