Enlil-kudurri-usur

Biography

Enlil-kudurri-usur was the son of Tukulti-Ninurta I. He succeeded his nephew, Ashur-nirari III’s brief reign and ruled for five years. Apart from king lists and chronicles, there are no other extant inscriptions of this king.

The Synchronistic King List**Synchronistic King List, tablet excavation number Ass. 14616c (KAV 216), ii 6. identifies his Babylonian contemporary with Adad-šuma-uṣur, his eventual nemesis. In the Synchronistic History,Synchronistic History, ii 3–8. the battle between him and Adad-šuma-uṣur is given as a pretext for his Assyrian rival, Ninurta-apal-Ekur, a son of Ilī-padâ and descendant of Eriba-Adad I, to “come up from Karduniaš,” i.e. Babylonia, and make a play for the Assyrian throne. Grayson and others have speculated that this was with the tacit assistance of Adad-šuma-uṣur, but there is currently no published evidence to support this theory. Ninurta-apal-Ekur’s purpose for being in Babylonia is also unknown, whether a political refugee or an administrator of the Assyrian held portion. The Walker Chronicle**Walker Chronicle, ABC 25, BM 27796, obverse lines 3 to 7. describes how following his abject defeat at Adad-šuma-uṣur’s hands, Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur was seized by his own officers and handed over to his opponent. Only after these events did Adad-šuma-uṣur go on to extend his territory to include the city of Babylon itself.

Meanwhile, the Synchronistic History continues, Ninurta-apal-Ekur had “mustered his numerous troops and marched to conquer Libbi-ali (the city of Aššur). But [...] arrived unexpectedly, so he turned and went home.” As Grayson points out, this passage is open to various interpretations, only one of which is that the missing name could have been that of Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur, released by his captor to sow confusion amongst his northern foes.

Inscriptions

References

References

1. Chen, Fei. (2020). "Study on the Synchronistic King List from Ashur". BRILL.
2. A. K. Grayson. (1975). "Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles". J. J. Augustin.
3. A. K. Grayson. (2001). "Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Nab – Nuzi". Walter De Gruyter Inc.
4. J. A. Brinkman. (1999). "Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie". Walter De Gruyter Inc.
5. C.B.F. Walker. (May 1982). "Assyriological Studies presented to F. R. Kraus on the occasion of his 70th birthday". Netherlands Institute for the Near East.