Enlil-nadin-ahi
Encyclopedia
Enlil-nādin-aḫe, or Enlil-šuma-uṣur depending on the reading of –MU-ŠEŠ, ca. 1157—1155 BC (short chronology
), was the thirty-sixth and final king of the Kassite
dynasty that had ruled over Babylon
and the land known as Karduniash since perhaps around 1500 BC.
, had overrun Babylonia bringing Enlil-nādin-aḫe’s predecessor, Zababa-šuma-iddina
’s brief rule to an end. He had then returned to Susa
leaving his son, Kutir-Nahhunte, to govern. Enlil-nādin-aḫe was proclaimed king of “Sumer and Akkad”, and ruled for three years possibly in defiance of the occupying Elamite forces. A single kudurru
, detailing a land grant, and an economic text bear witness to his reign.
According to later chronicles, his short reign was brought to a dramatic close when he led a campaign against the Elamite forces and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Kutir-Nahhunte, who was possibly now the successor of Shutruk Nahhunte. He was deported with the Kassite noblemen in chains to Susa accompanied by the booty pillaged from the various Babylonian temples, whose most notable example was the cult statue of Marduk
, an act so sacrilegious to the Babylonians that it would forever cast Kutir-Nahhunte in infamy.
The memory of the disaster was preserved in the Akkadian liturgy in a prayer, presenting rituals in the third month Simanu. An invocation for the god of justice, Šamaš
, recounts:
The oblique mention of the Subarian in all likelihood refers to the Assyrian king.
The so-called Chedor-laomer texts, from the Spartoli tablets collection in the British Museum
, may make reference to this period, where Kudur-lagamar is represented by Kutir-Nahhunte. Kudur-lagamar is described as ruling in Babylon and overthrowing, or perhaps taking away Marduk. These are fragmentary second century BC texts, preserving traditions going back to perhaps the seventh century BC, relating how four successive kings, with cryptic ambiguous names, attacked Babylon.
The Marduk Prophecy, a vaticinium ex eventu (prophesy after the fact) composition of perhaps the Nabu-kudurri-uṣur I reign, ca. 1125 BC to 1103 BC, describes the dire consequences of the departure of the statue of Marduk on the city of Babylon where “mad dogs roam the city biting citizens, friend attacks friend, the rich beg from the poor, brother eats brother and the corpses block the city gates.”
Short chronology timeline
The short chronology is one chronology of the Near Eastern Bronze and Early Iron Age, which fixes the reign of Hammurabi to 1728 BC – 1686 BC and the sack of Babylon to 1531 BC....
), was the thirty-sixth and final king of the Kassite
Kassites
The Kassites were an ancient Near Eastern people who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca. 1531 BC to ca. 1155 BC...
dynasty that had ruled over 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 the land known as Karduniash since perhaps around 1500 BC.
Biography
Shutruk-Nahhunte, king of ElamElam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
, had overrun Babylonia bringing Enlil-nādin-aḫe’s predecessor, Zababa-šuma-iddina
Zababa-shuma-iddin
Zababa-šuma-iddina was the thirty-fifth and penultimate king of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon, who reigned for just one year, ca. 1158 BC...
’s brief rule to an end. He had then returned to Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
leaving his son, Kutir-Nahhunte, to govern. Enlil-nādin-aḫe was proclaimed king of “Sumer and Akkad”, and ruled for three years possibly in defiance of the occupying Elamite forces. A single 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"...
, detailing a land grant, and an economic text bear witness to his reign.
According to later chronicles, his short reign was brought to a dramatic close when he led a campaign against the Elamite forces and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Kutir-Nahhunte, who was possibly now the successor of Shutruk Nahhunte. He was deported with the Kassite noblemen in chains to Susa accompanied by the booty pillaged from the various Babylonian temples, whose most notable example was the cult statue of Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
, an act so sacrilegious to the Babylonians that it would forever cast Kutir-Nahhunte in infamy.
The memory of the disaster was preserved in the Akkadian liturgy in a prayer, presenting rituals in the third month Simanu. An invocation for the god of justice, Šamaš
Shamash
Shamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu...
, recounts:
The oblique mention of the Subarian in all likelihood refers to the Assyrian king.
The so-called Chedor-laomer texts, from the Spartoli tablets collection in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, may make reference to this period, where Kudur-lagamar is represented by Kutir-Nahhunte. Kudur-lagamar is described as ruling in Babylon and overthrowing, or perhaps taking away Marduk. These are fragmentary second century BC texts, preserving traditions going back to perhaps the seventh century BC, relating how four successive kings, with cryptic ambiguous names, attacked Babylon.
The Marduk Prophecy, a vaticinium ex eventu (prophesy after the fact) composition of perhaps the Nabu-kudurri-uṣur I reign, ca. 1125 BC to 1103 BC, describes the dire consequences of the departure of the statue of Marduk on the city of Babylon where “mad dogs roam the city biting citizens, friend attacks friend, the rich beg from the poor, brother eats brother and the corpses block the city gates.”