Kadašman-Buriaš

Last updated April 13, 2019

Kadašman-Buriaš, meaning “my trust is in the (Kassite storm-god) Buriaš,” was the governor of the Babylonian province of Dūr-Kurigalzu possibly late in the reign of Marduk-šāpik-zēri, who ruled ca. 1082–1069 BC. He was reportedly captured and deported during a campaign conducted by the Assyrian king Aššur-bel-kala during 1070 B.C.^[1]

The Kassites, the ancient Near Eastern people who seized power in Babylonia following the fall of the first Babylonian Dynasty and subsequently went on to rule it for some three hundred and fifty years during the late bronze age, possessed a pantheon of gods but few are known beyond the laconic mention in the theophoric element of a name. The only Kassite deities who had separate and distinct temples anywhere in Babylonia were apparently the patron deities of the royal family, Šuqamuna and Šumaliya.

Babylon was a key kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia from the 18th to 6th centuries BC. The city was built on the Euphrates river and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Babylon was originally a small Akkadian town dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c. 2300 BC.

Dur-Kurigalzu was a city in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I, some time in the 14th century BC, and was abandoned after the fall of the Kassite dynasty. The prefix Dur- is an Akkadian term meaning "fortress of", while the Kassite royal name Kurigalzu, since it is repeated in the Kassite king list, may have a descriptive meaning as an epithet, such as "herder of the folk ". The city contained a ziggurat and temples dedicated to Sumerian gods, as well as a royal palace. The ziggurat was unusually well-preserved, standing to a height of about 52 metres (171 ft).

Biography

Although he bore a Kassite name, which features on a Kassite-Babylonian name list,^[2] his father was Itti-Marduk-balāṭu, inscribed KI-˹^dAMAR˺.[UTU]-˹TI˺.LA, an individual with a rather common Babylonian moniker. The only current extant source attesting to him is the “Broken Obelisk”^[3] which is usually attributed to Aššur-bel-kala,^[4] which describes his campaign during the eponym year of Aššur-rā’im-nišēšu, thought to be in his fourth year. It recalls: “In the same year (ina šattimma šiāti), in the month Šebat, the chariots and … went from Inner City (of Assur) and conquered the cities …-indišulu and …-sandu, cities which are in the district Dūr-Kurigalzu.”^[5]

The Kassites were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC. The endonym of the Kassites was probably Galzu, although they have also been referred to by the names Kaššu, Kassi, Kasi or Kashi.

The Eponym dating system was a calendar system for Assyria, for a period of over one thousand years. Every year was associated with the name, an eponym, of the Limmu, the individual holding office.

Aššur, also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian Empire, the Middle Assyrian Empire, and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The remains of the city lie on the western bank of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with its tributary, the Little Zab, in what is now Iraq, more precisely in the al-Shirqat District of the Saladin Governorate.

Adad-apla-iddina, as the king who was subsequently installed by Aššur-bel-kala, also has his father given as Itti-Marduk-balāṭu in the Eclectic Chronicle ,^[6] leaving the intriguing possibility that he was a brother of the former governor.^[7] Some of the late 19th and early 20th century scholarly works erroneously give Kadašman-Buriaš as the name of the Kassite king Kadašman-Enlil II.

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 of Babylon and ruled 1067–1046 BC. He was a contemporary of the Assyrian King Aššur-bêl-kala and his reign was a golden age for scholarship.

The Eclectic Chronicle, referred to in earlier literature as the New Babylonian Chronicle, is an ancient Mesopotamian account of the highlights of Babylonian history during the post-Kassite era prior to the 689 BC fall of the city of Babylon. It is an important source of historiography from the period of the early iron-age dark-age with few extant sources to support its telling of events.

Kadašman-Enlil II, typically rendered ^dka-dáš-man-^dEN.LÍL in contemporary inscriptions, meaning “he believes in Enlil” was the 25th king of the Kassite or 3rd dynasty of Babylon.

Related Research Articles

Marduk-apla-iddina I, contemporarily written in cuneiform as ^dAMAR.UTU-IBILA-SUM-na and meaning in Akkadian: "Marduk has given an heir", was the 34th Kassite king of Babylon ca. 1171–1159 BC. He was the son and successor of Melišipak, from whom he had previously received lands, as recorded on a kudurru, and he reigned for 13 years, during a time when the Dark Ages cast a heavy cloud over the contemporary events.

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. He was the son of Aššur-bēl-kala whom he briefly succeeded and was deposed by his uncle Šamši-Adad IV.

Aššūr-bēl-kala, inscribed ^maš-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 brother Ašarēd-apil-Ekur who had briefly preceded him, and he ruled for 18 years He was the last king of the Middle Assyrian Empire, and his later reign was preoccupied with a revolution against his rule led by one Tukulti-Mer, which, by the end of his reign, allowed hordes of Arameans to press in on Assyria's western borders. He is perhaps best known for his zoological collection.

Ašarēd-apil-Ekur, inscribed ^ma-šá-rid-A-É.KUR or ^mSAG.KAL-DUMU.UŠ-É.KUR and variants, meaning “the heir of the Ekur is foremost,” was the son and successor of Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I as king of Assyria, reigning for just two years, 1076/5–1074 BC, during the turmoil that engulfed the end of that lengthy reign, and he was the 88th king to appear on the Assyrian King List. His reign marked the elevation of the office of ummânu, “royal scribe,” and he was the first to have this recorded next to the king’s name on the Synchronistic King List, possibly identifying the contemporary redactor of this list.

Enlil-nirari was King of Assyria from 1330 BC to 1319 BC, during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He was the son of Aššur-uballiṭ I. He was apparently the earliest king to have been identified as having held eponym, or limmu, office.

Kaštiliašu IV was the twenty-eighth Kassite king of Babylon and the kingdom contemporarily known as Kar-Duniaš, c. 1232–1225 BC. He succeeded Šagarakti-Šuriaš, who could have been his father, ruled for eight years, and went on to wage war against Assyria resulting in the catastrophic invasion of his homeland and his abject defeat.

Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē, inscribed ^mdAMAR.UTU-na-din-MU, ca. 1099–1082 BC, was the sixth king of the 2nd Dynasty of Isin and the 4th Dynasty of Babylon. He is best known for his restoration of the Eganunmaḫ in Ur and the famines and droughts that accompanied his reign.

Marduk-zâkir-šumi, inscribed ^mdPA-za-kir-MU in a reconstruction of two kinglists, “Marduk pronounced the name,” was a king of Babylon 855-819 BC during the mixed dynastic period referred to in antiquity as the dynasty of E. He was a contemporary of Assyrian kings, Salmānu-ašarēdu III) and Šamši-Adad V with whom he was allied.

Agum III was a Kassite king of Babylon ca. mid-15th century BC. Speculatively, he might figure around the 13th position in the dynastic sequence; however, this part of the Kingslist A has a lacuna, shared with the Assyrian Synchronistic Kinglist.

Kurigalzu II was the 22nd king of the Kassite or 3rd dynasty that ruled over Babylon. In more than twelve inscriptions, Kurigalzu names Burna-Buriaš II as his father. Kurigalzu II was placed on the Kassite throne by the Assyrian king Aššur-Uballiṭ I, reigned during a period of weakness and instability for twenty five years, eventually turning on his former allies and quite possibly defeating them at the battle of Sugagu. He was once thought to have been the conqueror of the Elamites but this now tends to be assigned to the earlier king of this name, together with the Chronicle P account.

Kudur-Enlil, Ku-dur^dEN.LÍL, “son of Enlil,” was the 26th king of the 3rd or Kassite dynasty of Babylon. He reigned into his ninth year, as attested in contemporary economic tablets. His relationship with his predecessor and successor is uncertain and does not appear in contemporary inscriptions.

Marduk-šāpik-zēri, inscribed in cuneiform ^dAMAR.UTU-DUB-NUMUN or phonetically -ša-pi-ik-ze-ri, and meaning “Marduk (is) the outpourer of seed”, ca. 1082–1069 BC, was the 7th king of the 2nd dynasty of Isin and 4th dynasty of Babylon and he ruled for 13 years. His relationship with his predecessor, Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē is uncertain. His reign overlapped that of the Assyrian king Aššur-bēl-kala and his immediate predecessor(s) as the Synchronistic King List places him alongside both Tukultī-apil-Ešarra and Aššur-bēl-kala.

Itti-Marduk-balāṭu may refer to

Eulmaš-šākin-šumi, inscribed in cuneiform as É-ul-maš-GAR-MU, or prefixed with the masculine determinative ^m, “Eulmaš (is) the establisher of offspring”, ca. 1004 – 987 BC, was the founder of the 6th Dynasty of Babylon, known as the Bῑt-Bazi Dynasty, after the Kassite tribal group from which its leaders were drawn. The Dynastic Chronicle tells us that he ruled for fourteen years, the King List A, seventeen years.

Ninurta-nādin-šumi, inscribed ^mdMAŠ-na-din-MU or ^dNIN.IB-SUM-MU, “Ninurta (is) giver of progeny,” c. 1132-1126 BC, was the 3rd king of the 2nd dynasty of Isin and 4th dynasty of Babylon. He reigned for seven years, contemporaneously with Aššur-reš-iši, c. 1133 to 1115 BC, the Assyrian king with whom he clashed.

Uballissu-Marduk, inscribed ú-ba-lí-su-^dAMAR.UTU, meaning “Marduk has kept him alive,” was a Babylonian accountant (niğkas) who rose to the rank of administrator (sanqu) in the Kassite government of Kurigalzu II, ca. 1332-1308 BC short chronology, whose principal sources are his two cylinder seals which detail his religious affiliations and his illustrious genealogy.

The office of šandabakku, inscribed 𒇽𒄘𒂗𒈾 (^LÚGÚ.EN.NA) or sometimes as 𒂷𒁾𒁀𒀀𒂗𒆤𒆠, the latter designation perhaps meaning "archivist of Enlil," was the name of the position of governor of the Mesopotamian city of Nippur from the Kassite period onward. Enlil, as the tutelary deity of Nippur, had been elevated in prominence and was shown special veneration by the Kassite monarchs, it being the most common theophoric element in their names. This caused the position of the šandabakku to become very prestigious and the holders of the office seem to have wielded influence second only to the king.

Chronicle P, known as Chronicle 22 in Grayson’s Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles and Mesopotamian Chronicle 45: “Chronicle of the Kassite Kings” in Glassner’s Mesopotamian Chronicles is named for T. G. Pinches, the first editor of the text. It is a chronicle of the second half of the second millennium BC or the Kassite period, written by a first millennium BC Babylonian scribe.

References

↑ J. A. Brinkman (1999). "Kadašman-Buriaš". In Erich Ebeling; Bruno Meissner. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Volume 5: Ia - Kizzuwatna. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 284–285.
↑ 5 R 4 IV 9.
↑ The Broken Obelisk BM 118898, iii 4–7.
↑ D. J. Wiseman (1975). "Assyria and Babylonia, c. 1200–1000 BC". In I. E. S. Edwards; C. J. Gadd; N. G. L. Hammond; S. Solberger. The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 2, Part 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 467.
↑ A. K. Grayson (1976). Assyrian royal inscriptions, Volume 2. O. Harrassowitz. p. 53. No. 238.
↑ The Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) tablet, BM 27859, lines 8 to 11.
↑ J. A. Brinkman (1968). A political history of post-Kassite Babylonia, 1158-722 B.C. (AnOr 43). Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. p. 143.

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[1] J. A. Brinkman (1999). "Kadašman-Buriaš". In Erich Ebeling; Bruno Meissner. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Volume 5: Ia - Kizzuwatna. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 284–285.

[2] 5 R 4 IV 9.

[3] The Broken Obelisk BM 118898, iii 4–7.

[4] D. J. Wiseman (1975). "Assyria and Babylonia, c. 1200–1000 BC". In I. E. S. Edwards; C. J. Gadd; N. G. L. Hammond; S. Solberger. The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 2, Part 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 467.

[5] A. K. Grayson (1976). Assyrian royal inscriptions, Volume 2. O. Harrassowitz. p. 53. No. 238.

[6] The Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) tablet, BM 27859, lines 8 to 11.

[7] J. A. Brinkman (1968). A political history of post-Kassite Babylonia, 1158-722 B.C. (AnOr 43). Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. p. 143.