Adad-apla-iddina
Encyclopedia
Adad-apla-iddina,mdAdad-àpla-idinnana. meaning the storm god “Adad gave a son/heir”, was the 8th king of the 2nd Dynasty of Isin
and the 4th Dynasty of Babylon
and ruled 1067-1046 BC. He was a contemporary of the Assyria
n King Aššur-bêl-kala
and his reign was a golden age for scholarship.
Depending on the exact synchronization of the Assyrian and Babylonian chronologies, this would have been shortly before, or at the very beginning of Adad-apla-iddina’s reign.
His ancestor Esagil-Šaduni is named in the Synchronistic HistoryThe Synchronistic History (ABC 21) column 2 lines 31 to 37. as his “father”, but he was actually ”a son of a nobody,” i.e. without a royal parent. This chronicle recounts that he was appointed by the Assyrian king Aššur-bêl-kala, who took his daughter for a wife and “took her with a vast dowry to Assyria,” suggesting Babylon had become a vassal of Assyria. He names Nin-Duginna as his father in one of his own inscriptions, but this is indicative of divine provenance. Adad-apla-iddina who was “son” of Itti-Marduk-balaṭu, recorded in the Chronicle 24: 8The Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) tablet, BM 27859, lines 8 to 11. and also duplicated in the Walker ChronicleThe Walker Chronicle (ABC 25), BM 27796. possibly meaning a descendant of the early 2nd Dynasty of Isin king, by a collateral line, or speculatively the aforementioned father of Kadašman-Buriaš.
His reign was apparently marked by an invasion of Arameans led by an usurper.kurA-ra-mu u šarru ḫammā’u. “Der
, Dur-Anki (Nippur
). Sippar
, Parsa (Dur-Kurigalzu) they demolished. The Suteans attacked and the booty of Sumer and Akkad they took home.” These attacks were confirmed in an inscription of a later king of the following dynasty, Simbar-šihu, which relates
The Epic of the plague-god Erra, a politico-religious composition from the time of Nabu-apla-iddina
, ca. 887-855, which endeavors to provide a theological explanation for the resurgence of Babylonia following years of paralysis, begins its tale of distress with the reign of Adad-apla-iddina. The god Erra, whose name means “scorched (earth),” is accompanied by Išum, "fire," and disease-causing demons called Sibitti.
The Babylonian Theodicy was apparently composed by the scholar Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib during his reign. It is a dialogue where the protagonist bemoans the state of contemporary social justice and his friend reconciles this with theology. Originally with 27 stanzas each of 11 lines, an acrostic has been restored which reads, “I, Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib, the incantation priest, am adorant of the god and the king.”a-na-ku sa-ag-gi-il-ki-[i-na-am-u]b-bi-ib ma-àš-ma-šu ka-ri-bu ša i-li ú šar-ri. It is extant in multiple copies from the Library of Ashurbanipal
in Nineveh, Assur, Babylon and Sippur. His career spanned the reigns of Nabū-kudurri-uṣur to Adad-apla-iddina, or five reigns if the latter king’s name can be restored in context.
Esagil-kin-apli,mé-sag-giI-ki-in-ap-li. the ummânu (chief scholar) and a “prominent citizen” of Borsippa
, gathered together the many extant tablets of diagnostic omens and produced the edition that became the received text of the first millennium.Tablets BM 41237, 46607 and 47163 and ND (Nimrud excavation numbers) 4358+4366 in the British Museum. In the introduction he warned, “Do not neglect your knowledge! He who does not attain(?) knowledge must not speak loud the SA.GIG omens, nor must he pronounce out loud Alamdimmû SA.GIG (concerns) all diseases and all (forms of) distress.” Referred to as SA.GIG, the omen series continued on a series of perhaps 63 tablets grouped under the titles Alamdimmû, Nigdimdimmû, Kataduggû, Šumma Sinništu, and Šumma Liptu.
He rebuilt extensively, including the Imgur-Enlil, city wall of Babylon, which had collapsed from old age according to a cylinder inscription, and the Nīmit-Marduk, rampart of the wall of Nippur. He made a votive offering the the E-zida temple at Borsippa
. The ramp leading up to the temple of Nin-ezena in Isin
bears his inscriptions recording his repairs. In Larsa
, he repaired the Ebabbar temple and in Kiš
he reconstructed the Emete’ursag for Zababa. A fragment of a kudurru
Fragment of basalt boundary-stone, BM 90940. records his gift of an estate to Mušallimu and anotherFragment of limestone tablet, BM 103215. records a deed of land to Marduk-akhu-[.....].
Isin
Isin was an ancient city-state of lower Mesopotamia about 20 miles south of Nippur at the site of modern Ishan al-Bahriyat in Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.-History:...
and the 4th Dynasty of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and ruled 1067-1046 BC. He was a contemporary of the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n King Aššur-bêl-kala
Ashur-bel-kala
Ashur-bel-kala was King of Assyria from 1074 to 1056 BC. He was the son of Tiglath-Pileser I and succeeded after the brief reign of his brother, Asharid-apal-Ekur. After a 18 years reign, he prematurely died and was buried in the city of Ashur.He was succeeded by his son, Eriba-Adad...
and his reign was a golden age for scholarship.
Provenance
The broken obelisk of Aššur-bêl-kala relates that the Assyrians raided Babylonia, earlyYear 4 or 5, suggested to be 1070/69 (K. Lawson Younger). in his reign:Depending on the exact synchronization of the Assyrian and Babylonian chronologies, this would have been shortly before, or at the very beginning of Adad-apla-iddina’s reign.
His ancestor Esagil-Šaduni is named in the Synchronistic HistoryThe Synchronistic History (ABC 21) column 2 lines 31 to 37. as his “father”, but he was actually ”a son of a nobody,” i.e. without a royal parent. This chronicle recounts that he was appointed by the Assyrian king Aššur-bêl-kala, who took his daughter for a wife and “took her with a vast dowry to Assyria,” suggesting Babylon had become a vassal of Assyria. He names Nin-Duginna as his father in one of his own inscriptions, but this is indicative of divine provenance. Adad-apla-iddina who was “son” of Itti-Marduk-balaṭu, recorded in the Chronicle 24: 8The Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) tablet, BM 27859, lines 8 to 11. and also duplicated in the Walker ChronicleThe Walker Chronicle (ABC 25), BM 27796. possibly meaning a descendant of the early 2nd Dynasty of Isin king, by a collateral line, or speculatively the aforementioned father of Kadašman-Buriaš.
His reign was apparently marked by an invasion of Arameans led by an usurper.kurA-ra-mu u šarru ḫammā’u. “Der
Der (Sumer)
Der was a Sumerian city-state at the site of modern Tell Aqar near al-Badra in Iraq's Wasit Governorate. It was east of the Tigris River on the border between Sumer and Elam. It's namewas possibly Durum.-History:...
, Dur-Anki (Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
). Sippar
Sippar
Sippar was an ancient Near Eastern city on the east bank of the Euphrates river, located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah in Iraq's Babil Governorate, some 60 km north of Babylon and 30 km southeast of Baghdad....
, Parsa (Dur-Kurigalzu) they demolished. The Suteans attacked and the booty of Sumer and Akkad they took home.” These attacks were confirmed in an inscription of a later king of the following dynasty, Simbar-šihu, which relates
The Epic of the plague-god Erra, a politico-religious composition from the time of Nabu-apla-iddina
Nabu-apla-iddina
Nabu-apla-iddina was a Babylonian king who reigned ca. 888 – 855 BC. His father was King Nabu-shuma-ukin. During much of Nabu-apla-iddina's reign Babylon faced a significant rival in Assyria under the rule of Ashurnasirpal II...
, ca. 887-855, which endeavors to provide a theological explanation for the resurgence of Babylonia following years of paralysis, begins its tale of distress with the reign of Adad-apla-iddina. The god Erra, whose name means “scorched (earth),” is accompanied by Išum, "fire," and disease-causing demons called Sibitti.
Period scholarship
His reign was a golden age for scholarship and he appears twice in the Uruk List of Sages and ScholarsW 20030,7 the Seleucid List of Sages and Scholars, recovered from Anu’s Bīt Rēš temple during the 1959/60 excavation. alongside Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib and Esagil-kin-apli.The Babylonian Theodicy was apparently composed by the scholar Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib during his reign. It is a dialogue where the protagonist bemoans the state of contemporary social justice and his friend reconciles this with theology. Originally with 27 stanzas each of 11 lines, an acrostic has been restored which reads, “I, Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib, the incantation priest, am adorant of the god and the king.”a-na-ku sa-ag-gi-il-ki-[i-na-am-u]b-bi-ib ma-àš-ma-šu ka-ri-bu ša i-li ú šar-ri. It is extant in multiple copies from the Library of Ashurbanipal
Library of Ashurbanipal
-External links:. In our time discussion programme. 45 minutes....
in Nineveh, Assur, Babylon and Sippur. His career spanned the reigns of Nabū-kudurri-uṣur to Adad-apla-iddina, or five reigns if the latter king’s name can be restored in context.
Esagil-kin-apli,mé-sag-giI-ki-in-ap-li. the ummânu (chief scholar) and a “prominent citizen” of Borsippa
Borsippa
Borsippa was an important ancient city of Sumer, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates. The site of Borsippa is in Babil Governorate, Iraq and now called Birs Nimrud, identifying the site with Nimrod...
, gathered together the many extant tablets of diagnostic omens and produced the edition that became the received text of the first millennium.Tablets BM 41237, 46607 and 47163 and ND (Nimrud excavation numbers) 4358+4366 in the British Museum. In the introduction he warned, “Do not neglect your knowledge! He who does not attain(?) knowledge must not speak loud the SA.GIG omens, nor must he pronounce out loud Alamdimmû SA.GIG (concerns) all diseases and all (forms of) distress.” Referred to as SA.GIG, the omen series continued on a series of perhaps 63 tablets grouped under the titles Alamdimmû, Nigdimdimmû, Kataduggû, Šumma Sinništu, and Šumma Liptu.
He rebuilt extensively, including the Imgur-Enlil, city wall of Babylon, which had collapsed from old age according to a cylinder inscription, and the Nīmit-Marduk, rampart of the wall of Nippur. He made a votive offering the the E-zida temple at Borsippa
Borsippa
Borsippa was an important ancient city of Sumer, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates. The site of Borsippa is in Babil Governorate, Iraq and now called Birs Nimrud, identifying the site with Nimrod...
. The ramp leading up to the temple of Nin-ezena in Isin
Isin
Isin was an ancient city-state of lower Mesopotamia about 20 miles south of Nippur at the site of modern Ishan al-Bahriyat in Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.-History:...
bears his inscriptions recording his repairs. In Larsa
Larsa
Larsa was an important city of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult of the sun god Utu. It lies some 25 km southeast of Uruk in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate, near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal at the site of the modern settlement Tell as-Senkereh or Sankarah.-History:According to...
, he repaired the Ebabbar temple and in Kiš
Kish
-Geography:*Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf*Kish, Iran, a city on Kish Island*Kish District, an administrative subdivision of Iran*Kish Rural District, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
he reconstructed the Emete’ursag for Zababa. A fragment of a kudurru
Kudurru
Kudurru was a type of stone document used as boundary stones and as records of land grants to vassals by the Kassites in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 12th centuries BCE. The word is Akkadian for "frontier" or "boundary"...
Fragment of basalt boundary-stone, BM 90940. records his gift of an estate to Mušallimu and anotherFragment of limestone tablet, BM 103215. records a deed of land to Marduk-akhu-[.....].