Melišipak
Encyclopedia
Meli-Šipak II, more often rendered Melišiḫu in contemporary inscriptions, was a Kassite
king of Babylon
ca. 1186–1172 BC (short chronology). His reign marks the critical synchronization point in the chronology of the Near East.
, his predecessor, on a kudurru
. Elsewhere he seemed reluctant to name him in his royal inscriptions, despite Adad-šuma-uṣur’s apparent renown as restorer of Kassite independence, which has been the subject of much speculation amongst historians.
The “II” designation is probably an error caused by over reliance on a single inscription naming one Meli-Šipak, son (=descendant) of Kurigalzu II
. He was the last king to bear a wholly Kassite name. Meli means slave, Šipak was a moon god, but Šiḫu was possibly one of the Kassite names for Marduk.
The length of Ninurta-apil-Ekur’s reign is uncertain, as extant copies of the Assyrian King List differ, between three or thirteen years. From the reign of his son and successor, Aššur-dan I
, they are consistent, and supported by extant limmu
lists from 892 BC on.
, situated in northern Syria, which was sacked and where a legal document was found on the floor in a private house there, dated to his second year. The tablet is a short term contract and historian Daniel Arnaud has concluded that only a very short time elapsed between its preparation and the cataclysmic destruction of the city by “hordes of enemies”.
, he would have additional inscriptions added to the objects he took in commemoration, for example:
). His daughter Ḫunnubat-Nana(ja) was also the recipient of a land grant, which her father had purchased on her behalf, disproving the erstwhile theory of Kassite feudalism that all land belonged to the Monarch.
A kudurru records the lawsuits concerning the estate of Bīt-Takil-ana-ilīšu over three reigns, spanning Adad-šuma-iddina, Adad-šuma-uṣur and Meli-Šipak. This is notable because Meli-Šipak upholds the decisions of both his predecessors, one of whom, Adad-šuma-iddina, may have been merely a vassal king of Assyrian patronage.
The proliferation of the kudurru tradition around this time, suggests increased patronage from a monarch trying to bolster loyalty to his reign, perhaps to counter the problems of legitimacy or instability. A kudurru granting fifty 'gur' of corn-land in the province of Bit-Pir'-Amurri by the king to Ḫa-SAR-du, an official or sukkal mu’irri, may be one such example, and the grant to [Me]li-Ḫala may be another. A tablet records a rikiltu (grant, decree) issued by king Meli-Šipak in his second year of reign to the Sangü and the Satammu (temple administrator) of Ezida, a temple in Borsippa
.
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...
king of 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...
ca. 1186–1172 BC (short chronology). His reign marks the critical synchronization point in the chronology of the Near East.
His provenance
He is recorded as the son of Adad-šuma-uṣurAdad-shuma-usur
Adad-šuma-uṣur, dated very tentatively ca. 1216—1187 BC , was the thirty second king of the Third or Kassite dynasty of Babylon and the country contemporarily known as Karduniaš...
, his predecessor, on a 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"...
. Elsewhere he seemed reluctant to name him in his royal inscriptions, despite Adad-šuma-uṣur’s apparent renown as restorer of Kassite independence, which has been the subject of much speculation amongst historians.
The “II” designation is probably an error caused by over reliance on a single inscription naming one Meli-Šipak, son (=descendant) of Kurigalzu II
Kurigalzu II
Kurigalzu II was the twenty second king of the Kassite dynasty that ruled over Babylon. In more than twelve inscriptions, Kurigalzu names Burna-Buriaš II as his father...
. He was the last king to bear a wholly Kassite name. Meli means slave, Šipak was a moon god, but Šiḫu was possibly one of the Kassite names for Marduk.
Significance to Near Eastern chronology
At various points in the sequence of Assyrian and Babylonian kings, references are made by one king to their contemporary. Not until the reign of Meli-Šipak, however, do these connections allow a firm placement in time, which has led Malcom Wiener to declare:The length of Ninurta-apil-Ekur’s reign is uncertain, as extant copies of the Assyrian King List differ, between three or thirteen years. From the reign of his son and successor, Aššur-dan I
Ashur-dan I
Ashur-dan I was one of the longest-reigning Kings of Assyria, reigning for some 46 years according to the Assyrian King List. According to one of the short chronology of the middle Assyrian period, he reigned from 1179 BC to 1133 BC....
, they are consistent, and supported by extant 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...
lists from 892 BC on.
Bronze age collapse
His rule is understood to have been peaceful. Not so for the edges of his kingdom, where the catastrophic collapse at the end of the bronze age was starting to dramatically unfold with many of the cities of the Levant experiencing destruction with the city of EmarEmar
Emar was an ancient Amorite city on the great bend in the mid-Euphrates in northeastern Syria, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad. It has been the source of many cuneiform tablets, making it rank with Ugarit, Mari and Ebla among the most important archeological sites of Syria...
, situated in northern Syria, which was sacked and where a legal document was found on the floor in a private house there, dated to his second year. The tablet is a short term contract and historian Daniel Arnaud has concluded that only a very short time elapsed between its preparation and the cataclysmic destruction of the city by “hordes of enemies”.
Relations with Elam
One of his daughters, allegedly the eldest, was married to the Elamite ruler Shutruk-Nahhunte. It was the latest in a series of diplomatic marriages between the Kassite rulers of Babylon and the Elamite Kings but was to have unforeseen consequences as it would lead Shutruk-Nahhunte to believe that he had a claim on the Babylonian throne. When he was to later invade and carry away plunder back to SusaSusa
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....
, he would have additional inscriptions added to the objects he took in commemoration, for example:
The kudurru tradition
A boundarystone (kudurru) reports of his passing some land with tax exemptions to his son and successor Marduk-apal-iddina I (Land grant to Marduk-apal-iddinaMelišipak kudurru-Land grant to Marduk-apal-iddina I
The Melishipak kudurru-Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I is a boundary stone of Melišipak, a Kassite ruler of Babylon ca. 1186–1172 BC . The land grant was made to his son, Marduk-apla-iddina I....
). His daughter Ḫunnubat-Nana(ja) was also the recipient of a land grant, which her father had purchased on her behalf, disproving the erstwhile theory of Kassite feudalism that all land belonged to the Monarch.
A kudurru records the lawsuits concerning the estate of Bīt-Takil-ana-ilīšu over three reigns, spanning Adad-šuma-iddina, Adad-šuma-uṣur and Meli-Šipak. This is notable because Meli-Šipak upholds the decisions of both his predecessors, one of whom, Adad-šuma-iddina, may have been merely a vassal king of Assyrian patronage.
The proliferation of the kudurru tradition around this time, suggests increased patronage from a monarch trying to bolster loyalty to his reign, perhaps to counter the problems of legitimacy or instability. A kudurru granting fifty 'gur' of corn-land in the province of Bit-Pir'-Amurri by the king to Ḫa-SAR-du, an official or sukkal mu’irri, may be one such example, and the grant to [Me]li-Ḫala may be another. A tablet records a rikiltu (grant, decree) issued by king Meli-Šipak in his second year of reign to the Sangü and the Satammu (temple administrator) of Ezida, a temple in Borsippa
Borsippa
Borsippa was an important ancient city of Sumer, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates. The site of Borsippa is in Babil Governorate, Iraq and now called Birs Nimrud, identifying the site with Nimrod...
.
See also
For the two boundary stones:- Kudurru of MelišipakKudurru of MelishihuThe Kudurru of Melishihu is a grey limestone 0.7-meter tall boundary stone from ancient Babylonia, which is now housed at the Louvre.The obverse is composed of five iconographic registers, with representations of gods, humans and animals...
-(Meli-Shipak II) - Melišipak kudurru-Land grant to Marduk-apal-iddina IMelišipak kudurru-Land grant to Marduk-apal-iddina IThe Melishipak kudurru-Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I is a boundary stone of Melišipak, a Kassite ruler of Babylon ca. 1186–1172 BC . The land grant was made to his son, Marduk-apla-iddina I....
-grant to Marduk-apal-iddina IMarduk-apal-iddina IMarduk-apla-iddina I was a Kassite king of Babylon ca. 1171–1159 BC . He was the son and successor of Meli-Shipak II, from whom he had previously received lands, as recorded on a Kudurru.-See also:...
External links
- Kudurru Image, and Article; (Louvre)