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.

Kadašman-Ḫarbe II
King of Babylon
Reignc. 1223 BC
PredecessorEnlil-nādin-šumi
SuccessorAdad-šuma-iddina
HouseKassite

Biography edit

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The other texts, one of unknown origin[i 6] and one apparently from Babylon[i 7] remain unpublished.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: [M]U.SAG.˹NA˺[M.L]UGAL-rí ˹d˺ka-dáš-m[an-ḫar-b]e, but the date for the document omits a king's name.[9]

Inscriptions edit

  1. ^ Kinglist A, BM 33332, ii 9.
  2. ^ Museum ref. IM 85473, excavation ref. U 7788d, settlement of a dispute arising from purchase of a slave, Gurney text 2, Brinkman Kb.2.2.2., month of Ṭebētu, day 28, accession year.
  3. ^ Museum ref. IM 85505, excavation ref. U 7787i, purchase of a cow with calf, Gurney text 34, Brinkman Kb.2.2.4., month of Abu, day 9, year 1(?).
  4. ^ Museum ref. CBS 12917, legal text for purchase of a wife, Brinkman Kb.2.2.1., month of Kislīmu, day 11, year accession year.
  5. ^ Museum ref. CBS 7241, month of Kislīmu, accession year.
  6. ^ Museum ref. YBC 7652, dated month of Elūlu day 14, first year .
  7. ^ Bab 39045, dated month Ṭebētu day 10 tenth year.
  8. ^ A. 1998 (= Bab 39031), a tablet with a Kadašman-Enlil immediately preceding the reign of Kadašman-Turgu.
  9. ^ Museum ref. IM 80114, excavation ref. 14 N 211, dated month of Simānu, day 15, first year.

References edit

  1. ^ Shigeo Yamada (2003). "Tukulti-Ninurta I's Rule over Babylonia and its Aftermath - A Historical Reconstruction". Orient. 38: 161. doi:10.5356/orient1960.38.153.
  2. ^ J. A. Brinkman (1999). "Kadašman-Ḫarbe II". In Dietz Otto Edzard (ed.). Reallexikon Der Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Ia – Kizzuwatna (Volume 5). Walter De Gruyter. p. 286.
  3. ^ O. R. Gurney (1983). Middle Babylonian Legal & Economic Texts from Ur. British School of Archaeology in Iraq. pp. 22–28, 104–106.
  4. ^ Brinkman, J. A.. "The Names of the Last Eight Kings of the Kassite Dynasty" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 59, no. Jahresband, 1969, pp. 231-246
  5. ^ J. A. Brinkman (1976). Materials and Studies for Kassite History, Vol. I (MSKH I). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pp. 383–384.
  6. ^ Olof Pedersén (2005). Archive und Bibliotheken in Babylon: die Tontafeln der Grabung Robert Koldeweys 1899-1917. Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in Kommission bei sdv Saarländische Druckererei und Verlag. p. 98.
  7. ^ Werner Nahm (2016). "12. Kadašman-Enlil IIa as a Green Tiger". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (NABU) (1 (Mars)): 17.
  8. ^ J. A. Brinkman (2016). "45. The Green Tiger, Revisited". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (NABU) (2 (juin)): 75.
  9. ^ J. A. Brinkman (1993). "Catalogue of Tablets". In Richard L. Zettler (ed.). Nippur III: Kassite Buildings in Area WC-1 (OIP 111). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 98.