Adad-nirari I
Encyclopedia
Kings of Assyria
The list of Assyrian kings is compiled from the Assyrian King List, an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia with information added from recent archaeological findings. The Assyrian King List includes regnal lengths that appear to have been based on now lost limmu lists...
of Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
. He is the earliest Assyrian king whose annals survive in any detail. Adad-nirari I achieved major military victories that significantly strengthened the Assyrian kingdom and enabled Assyria to start to play a major role in Mesopotamian politics. He was a son of Arik-den-ili
Arik-den-ili
Arik-den-ili was an Assyrian king who succeeded Enlil-nirari, his father, and was to rule for twelve years and inaugurate the tradition of annual military campaigns against Assyria’s neighbors.-Biography:Our sources are slim for his reign, less than ten inscriptions, a fragmentary chronicle...
.
Biography
He boasted that he was the “defeater of the heroic armies of the KassitesKassites
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...
(their Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
n neighbors to the south), Qutu (their eastern Gutean neighbors), Lullumu (the Lullubi
Lullubi
The Lullubi or Lulubi were a group of tribes during the 3rd millennium BC, from a region known as Lulubum, now the Sharazor plain of in the Zagros Mountains of modern Iran...
tribesmen immediately east of Assyria) and Shubaru (“northerners”). pacifier of all enemies above and below.” The defeat of Nazi-Maruttaš
Nazi-Maruttash
Nazi-Maruttaš, Maruttaš protects him, was a Kassite king of Babylon ca. 1307–1282 BC and self-proclaimed šar kiššati, or “King of the World”. He was the twenty third of the dynasty, the son and successor of Kurigalzu II and reigned for twenty six years...
’ Kassite forces must have been particularly sweet as his father “could not rectify the calamities inflicted by the king of the Kassite lands,” during his reign. It took place at the town of Kār Ištar in the province of Ugarsulu and victory was assured when Adad Nirari’s army fell on the Kassite camp “like a devastating flood,” as described gloatingly by Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I was a king of Assyria.He succeeded Shalmaneser I, his father, as king and won a major victory against the Hittites at the Battle of Nihriya in the first half of his reign...
in his eponymous epic
Tukulti-Ninurta Epic
Tukulti-Ninurta Epic is an Assyrian epic, written in the Akkadian language that describes and glorifies the wars and conquests of the Assyrian King Tukulti-Ninurta I against Kashtiliash IV, King of the Kassites....
,Tukulti-Ninurta Epic, extant in several fragments, for example BM 98496, BM 98730, BM 98731 and BM 121033 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...
and VAT 9820, VAT10884 and VAT10889 in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin
Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin
The Vorderasiatisches Museum is an archaeological museum in Berlin. It is in the basement of the south wing of the Pergamon museum and has one of the world's largest collections of Southwest Asian art. 14 halls distributed across 2000 square meters of exhibition surface display southwest Asian...
. plundering and carrying off his royal standard.Synchronistic Chronicle (ABC 21) tablet C, column 1, lines 24 to 31. This triumph resulted in a border realignment with Assyria extending its territory south, into Pilasqu, the city of Arman in Ugarsallu and Lullumu.
Nazi-Maruttaš’ successor, Kadašman-Turgu
Kadashman-Turgu
Kadašman-Turgu, meaning he believes in Turgu, a Kassite deity, was the twenty-fourth king of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon. He succeeded his father, Nazi-Maruttaš, continuing the tradition of proclaiming himself lugal ki-šár-ra or “king of the world” and went on to reign for eighteen years...
was sufficiently motivated to secure peace that he seems to have agreed a humiliating treaty with Adad Nirari where “he pardoned his (Nazi-Maruttaš’) son of the crime,” twice.Tablet VAT 15420. This allowed the Assyrians to turn their attention to the conquest of the Mitanni
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
. Under Shattiwaza
Shattiwaza
Shattiwaza , was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni in the fourteenth century BC.Shattiwaza was the brother of king Tushratta. His Hurrian name was Kili-Tešup. In the political turmoil following the death of his predecessor, the usurper Shuttarna tried to murder Shattiwaza...
, Hanigalbat had become a vassal state of the Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
empire, celebrated with a treaty, as a buffer to the ascendant Assyrians. But treaties were between individual kings during the late bronze age as nation states had yet to emerge and with the accession of Shattuara
Shattuara
Shattuara, also spelled Šattuara, was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Hanigalbat in the thirteenth century BC.Shattuara was a vassal of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari I...
I in Hanigalbat and Urhi Teššup as Mursili III
Mursili III
Mursili III, also known as Urhi-Teshub, was a king of the Hittites who assumed the throne of the Hittite empire at Tarhuntassa upon his father's death around 1272 BCE. He was a cousin of Tudhaliya IV and Queen Maathorneferure.- Biography :...
of the Hittites and a waning of Hittite engagement in international affairs, the former may have sought to adopt a more independent position. According to Adad Nirari, conflict was triggered by Shattuara’s preemptive attack which resulted in defeat and capture of the Mitanni king, who was taken to Aššur and forced to swear fealty as a vassal of the Assyrians,BM 115687 dark grey stone in the British Museum, inscribed on all six sides. apparently without the intervention of the Hittites, providing regular tribute for the remainder of his reign. Bolstered by his military victories, Adad Nirari pronounced himself šar kiššati, “king of the universe,” in imitation of his ancient predecessor Shamshi-Adad I
Shamshi-Adad I
Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad I (fl. late 18th century BC (short chronology) was an Assyrian king. He rose to prominence when he carved out an empire encompassing much of Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia Minor...
, and impertinently greeted his Hittite counterpart on equal terms as a fellow “great king.” He invited himself to visit Amman Mountain (Amanus, a cult center perhaps?) in his “brother’s” territory, drawing a scathing put down from Urhi Teššup,
By the time Hattušili
Hattusili III
Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire ca. 1267–1237 BC . He was the fourth and last son of Mursili II...
overthrew Urhi Teššup, the conquest was a fête accompli and a sheepish Hattušili was to request that Adad Nirari intervene to curb the incursions of the people of Turira, a Hanigalbat frontier town, against those of Carchemish
Carchemish
Carchemish or Kargamış was an important ancient city of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an important battle between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible...
, still a loyal Hittite vassal,“If Turira is yours, smash it!...If Turira is not yours, write to me so that I may smash it. The possessions of your troops who are dwelling in the city shall not be claimed.” Hattušili’s main complaint, however, was the breach in protocol caused when Adad Nirari snubbed his inauguration: “It is the custom that when kings assume kingship, the kings, his equals in rank, send him appropriate [gifts of greeting]. Clothing befitting kingship, and fine [oil] for his anointing. But you did not do this today.” He was at great pains to placate his Assyrian counterpart following the “sad experiences” encountered by his envoys in their dealings with his predecessor and call on Adad Nirari to confirm with his own envoy, Bel-qarrad, that he had been treated well by Hattušili. Although still in the Bronze age, Iron was not unknown and Hattušili goes on to discuss Adad Nirari’s request for the metal:
Conflict with Hanigalbat resumed when Shattuara’s son, Wasashatta
Wasashatta
Wasashatta, also spelled Wasašatta, was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Hanigalbat ca. the early thirteenth century BC.Like his father Shattuara, Wasashatta was an Assyrian vassal. He revolted against his master Adad-nirari I and sought in vain help from the Hittites. The Assyrians crushed his...
, rebelled and engaged with the Hittites for support. Adad Nirari was later to gloat that the Hittites took his gifts but gave nothing in return when he counterattacked, sacking and plundering the cities of Amasaku, Kahat, Shuru, Nabula, Hurra, Irridu, Shuduhu and Washshukanu, places largely as yet unidentified, destroying the city of Taida and sowing kudimmus over it.The kudimmu plant, which exuded a kind of salt or lye, was planted on ruins to symbolically pronounce them barren and uninhabitable. The denouement took place at Irridu (Ordi?) where he was captured and, along with his extended family and court, deported in fetters to Aššur
Assur
Assur , was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. The remains of the city are situated on the western bank of river Tigris, north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab river, in modern day Iraq, more precisely in the Al-Shirqat District .Assur is also...
where he vanished from history. Adad Nirari annexed the kingdom of Hanigalbat, enslaved its people,Imposing the “hoe, spade and basket.” and appointed a governor drawn from the Assyrian aristocracy. While the name of this individual is unknown, one of his successors, during the later reign of Šulmanu-ašaredu
Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I was a king of Assyria.Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as king in 1265 BC....
, was Qibi Assur who founded a short dynasty of Assyrian viceroys ruling over this region.
The seat of Assyrian governance was possibly Wasashatta’s former capital, Taida, because his monumental steles recounted that it “had become dilapidated and (he) removed its debris. (He) restored it,”Assur 5764 and 9309. rebuilding the palace replete with a suitably boastful commemorative inscription prepared but never installed as it was found in the ruins of Assur. His building restorations in the city of Assur were celebrated in monumental inscriptions and include the Step Gate of the temple of the god Ashur
Ashur (god)
Ashur is the head of the Assyrian pantheon....
, various of the city’s walls, its quay along the river Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
, the temple of Ishtar
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
and the storehouses of the gate of An
Anu
In Sumerian mythology, Anu was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, Consort of Antu, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as...
and Adad
Adad
Adad in Akkadian and Ishkur in Sumerian and Hadad in Aramaic are the names of the storm-god in the Babylonian-Assyrian pantheon. All three are usually written by the logogram dIM...
.
His reign lasted for 33 years, but only around 12 Limmu
Limmu
Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, there was most likely a limited group, such as the men of...
officials, from the Assyrian Eponym dating system have been identified, primarily from monumental inscriptions, and these include Shulmanu-qarradu, Andarasina, Ashur-eresh, variant Ashur-erish (son of Abattu), Ana-Ashur-qalla (officer of the palace), Iti-ili-ashamshu, Sha-Adad-ninu, Qarrad-Ashur, Assur-dammiq,Tablet KAJ 262, Urad-serua #23 corn loan. Sin-n[a….],Tablet KAJ 77, Urad-serua #53 corn loan. Ninurta-emuqaya,Tablet KAJ 76, Urad-serua #11 corn loan. Babu-aha-iddina and Adad-šumu-lesir, the eponym in whose year he died. Babu-aha-iddina was a high ranking official, some sources say “chancellor,” son of Ibassi-ili, who served under Adad-nirari and his two successors. He celebrated his eponym year towards the end of Adad-nirari’s reign as attested in texts relating the activities of Assur-kasid son of Sin-apla-eris at Billa. His archive, called “archive 14410,” consisting of 90 tablets was found in a tomb under a house in Assur.
A bronze sword of Adad-nirari I can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
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