Kadašman-Ḫarbe II | |
---|---|
King of Babylon | |
Reign | c. 1223 BC |
Predecessor | Enlil-nādin-šumi |
Successor | Adad-šuma-iddina |
House | Kassite |
Kadašman-Ḫarbe II, inscribed dKa-dáš-man-Ḫar-be, Kad-aš-man-Ḫar-be or variants and meaning I believe in Ḫarbe, the lord of the Kassite pantheon corresponding to Enlil, succeeded Enlil-nādin-šumi, as the 30th Kassite or 3rd dynasty king of Babylon. His reign was recorded as lasting only one year, six months, c. 1223 BC, as "MU 1 ITI 6" according to the Kinglist A, [i 1] a formula which is open to interpretation.
He seems to have been elevated to the kingship following the downfall of Enlil-nādin-šumi after the invasion of Elamite forces under their king, Kidin-Hutran III. He may have ruled during the Assyrian hegemony of Tukulti-Ninurta I or possibly in the period between the capture of the earlier Kassite monarch, Kaštiliašu IV, and the second Assyrian campaign which conquered the city of Babylon. [1] There is little known about the reign other than it was short, perhaps just a few months. [2]
Despite the apparent brevity of his reign, there are six economic texts ( clay tablets) dated to him. The two economic texts from Ur include a judgment of a case [i 2] involving the aborted purchase of a boy called Bunni-Sîn and the aggressive steps his would-be buyer (Šamaš-ēṭir) took to seek return of his fee, including imprisoning the wife (Rihītuša) of the acting surety (Irība-ili). The other Ur text [i 3] is dated seven months later and is a purchase contract for a cow with calf, where Šamaš-ēṭir once again acts as buyer. [3] [4] There are two texts from Nippur dated to his reign, one of which [i 4] records the sale of a girl, one-half cubit in size, to Rabâ-ša-Ninimma, as a wife for his second son, Ninimma-zēra-šubši, for the price of two fine muḫtillû-garments, worth two shekels of gold, and some food. The other text is a ration list [i 5] and is the earliest of the dated clay tablets. [5]
The other texts, one of unknown origin [i 6] and one apparently from Babylon [i 7] remain unpublished. This second text would have presented a chronological problem as it could be dated Ṭebētu, 10th day tenth year if the Winkelhaken has been correctly read. [6] It was recovered from the archive of Itti-Ezida-lummir in Babylon (Pedersén M8) along with another tablet of unconventional dating, [i 8] leading Werner Nahm to suggest them both ancient fabrications. [7] However, it is written in the heavily slanted paleography of late Middle Babylonian cuneiform and should probably read as 1 in contrast to the 10 date on the preceding line. [8] The other five texts fall within a twelve-month period. Also, another tablet from Nippur [i 9] mentions him probably in the context of an earlier transaction in his accession year: [MU.SAG.˹NA˺[M.LUGAL-rí ˹d˺ka-dáš-man-ḫar-be, but the date for the document omits a king's name. [9]
Kadašman-Ḫarbe II | |
---|---|
King of Babylon | |
Reign | c. 1223 BC |
Predecessor | Enlil-nādin-šumi |
Successor | Adad-šuma-iddina |
House | Kassite |
Kadašman-Ḫarbe II, inscribed dKa-dáš-man-Ḫar-be, Kad-aš-man-Ḫar-be or variants and meaning I believe in Ḫarbe, the lord of the Kassite pantheon corresponding to Enlil, succeeded Enlil-nādin-šumi, as the 30th Kassite or 3rd dynasty king of Babylon. His reign was recorded as lasting only one year, six months, c. 1223 BC, as "MU 1 ITI 6" according to the Kinglist A, [i 1] a formula which is open to interpretation.
He seems to have been elevated to the kingship following the downfall of Enlil-nādin-šumi after the invasion of Elamite forces under their king, Kidin-Hutran III. He may have ruled during the Assyrian hegemony of Tukulti-Ninurta I or possibly in the period between the capture of the earlier Kassite monarch, Kaštiliašu IV, and the second Assyrian campaign which conquered the city of Babylon. [1] There is little known about the reign other than it was short, perhaps just a few months. [2]
Despite the apparent brevity of his reign, there are six economic texts ( clay tablets) dated to him. The two economic texts from Ur include a judgment of a case [i 2] involving the aborted purchase of a boy called Bunni-Sîn and the aggressive steps his would-be buyer (Šamaš-ēṭir) took to seek return of his fee, including imprisoning the wife (Rihītuša) of the acting surety (Irība-ili). The other Ur text [i 3] is dated seven months later and is a purchase contract for a cow with calf, where Šamaš-ēṭir once again acts as buyer. [3] [4] There are two texts from Nippur dated to his reign, one of which [i 4] records the sale of a girl, one-half cubit in size, to Rabâ-ša-Ninimma, as a wife for his second son, Ninimma-zēra-šubši, for the price of two fine muḫtillû-garments, worth two shekels of gold, and some food. The other text is a ration list [i 5] and is the earliest of the dated clay tablets. [5]
The other texts, one of unknown origin [i 6] and one apparently from Babylon [i 7] remain unpublished. This second text would have presented a chronological problem as it could be dated Ṭebētu, 10th day tenth year if the Winkelhaken has been correctly read. [6] It was recovered from the archive of Itti-Ezida-lummir in Babylon (Pedersén M8) along with another tablet of unconventional dating, [i 8] leading Werner Nahm to suggest them both ancient fabrications. [7] However, it is written in the heavily slanted paleography of late Middle Babylonian cuneiform and should probably read as 1 in contrast to the 10 date on the preceding line. [8] The other five texts fall within a twelve-month period. Also, another tablet from Nippur [i 9] mentions him probably in the context of an earlier transaction in his accession year: [MU.SAG.˹NA˺[M.LUGAL-rí ˹d˺ka-dáš-man-ḫar-be, but the date for the document omits a king's name. [9]