Ninurta-apal-Ekur
Encyclopedia
Ninurta-apal-Ekur, meaning “Ninurta
is the heir of the Ekur
,” was a King of Assyria
in the early 12th Century BC who usurped the throne and styled himself king of the universe and priest of the gods Enlil
and Ninurta
. His reign is immensely significant to the Chronology of the ancient Near East
as it overlaps the reigns of his Babylon
ian contemporaries Adad-šuma-uṣur
and Meli-Šipak.
There are up to eleven possible limmu officials named for his regnal years and a recent publication proposes the following sequence:
As the seventh in the sequence is Ninurta-apal-Ekur’s son and successor, Aššur-dan I, and the king was thought to occupy the limmu position in the first year of his ascendancy, it is suggested that the succession took place here.
, who had followed his father, Aššur-iddin, and grandfather, Qibi-Aššur, as grand vizier, or sukkallu rabi’u, of Assyria and king of the dependant state of Ḫanigalbat. Qibi-Aššur may be one of three officials who are attested as limmu
’s, the sons of Šamaš-aḫa-iddina, Ṣilli-Marduk, Ibašši-ili, respectively and it is this latter one, whose limmu year directly follows that of Tukulti-Ninurta I
that has led some to speculate that Ninurta-apal-Ekur was a descendant of Adad-nirari I
, a genealogy that is unlikely as he claims descent only from Eriba-Adad I
in his inscriptions. The earlier two have their limmu years during the reign of Shalmaneser I
which better fits the chronology.
a son of the earlier powerful king Tukulti-Ninurta I, was vanquished in battle against the Kassite
monarch, Adad-šuma-uṣur
, a defeat so ignoble that the Assyrian officers “seized [Enlil-kudu]r-usur their lord and gave (him) to Adad-šuma-uṣur.” Perhaps to secure their passage, the Assyrians also handed over renegade Babylonians who had fled to the Assyrian side.
While these events were unfolding, “Ninurta-apal-Ekur went home. He mustered his numerous troops and marched to conquer Libbi-ali (the city of Aššur).” The Kings List tells us that he “came up from Karduniaš, seized the throne,” and one can only speculate what he was doing in Karduniaš (Babylonia); stationed in an official capacity perhaps? The Synchronistic Chronicle continues “But [...] arrived unexpectedly, so he turned and went home” which suggests that the succession was not smooth.
Ninurta-apil-Ekur is said to have “guarded all the people of Assyria, with wings like an eagle spread out over his country. He was the recipient of gifts from Meli-Šipak, who sent teams of horses and rugs, as a recently discovered text records, unearthed during excavations at Assur
.
and the remaining are too fragmentary to be certain of their contents, but regulate curses against, for example, the royal furniture, i.e. bed and stool. Minor infractions were dealt with severely, with the guilty woman having her nose pierced and being beaten with rods.
A text records his gift of jewelry to his daughter Muballita[ṭ-…], the great high priestess.
Ninurta
Ninurta in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Lagash, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical...
is the heir of the Ekur
Ekur
Ekur is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer.-Origin and meaning:...
,” was a King 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...
in the early 12th Century BC who usurped the throne and styled himself king of the universe and priest of the gods Enlil
Enlil
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
and Ninurta
Ninurta
Ninurta in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Lagash, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical...
. His reign is immensely significant to the Chronology of the ancient Near East
Chronology of the ancient Near East
The chronology of the Ancient Near East provides a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Individual inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers, taking forms like "in the year X of king Y". Thus by piecing together many...
as it overlaps the reigns of his 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...
ian contemporaries Adad-šuma-uṣur
Adad-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...
and Meli-Šipak.
Biography
There is some dispute as to how long he reigned, based on discrepancies among various copies of the Assyrian King List. The Nassouhi King List, sometimes considered to be older than the other versions of the King List we have, gives him 13 years of reign, but the other king lists give him only 3. More recent scholarship has tended to support the shorter reign, in which case he reigned from 1182 to 1180 BC (alternately, he reigned from 1192 to 1180 BC).There are up to eleven possible limmu officials named for his regnal years and a recent publication proposes the following sequence:
- Salmanu-zera-iqiša
- Liptanu
- Salmanu-šumu-lešir
- Erib-Aššur
- Marduk-aḫa-eriš
- Pišqiya
- Aššur-dan IAshur-dan IAshur-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....
- Atamar-den-Aššur
- Aššur-bel-lite
- Adad-mušabši
As the seventh in the sequence is Ninurta-apal-Ekur’s son and successor, Aššur-dan I, and the king was thought to occupy the limmu position in the first year of his ascendancy, it is suggested that the succession took place here.
His provenance
His father was Ilī-padâIlī-padâ
Ilī-padâ or Ili-iḫaddâ, the reading of the name DINGIR.PA.DA being uncertain, was a member of a side-branch of the Assyrian royal family who served as grand vizier, or sukkallu rabi’u, of Assyria, and also as king, or šar, of the dependent state of Ḫanigalbat around 1200 BC. He was a contemporary...
, who had followed his father, Aššur-iddin, and grandfather, Qibi-Aššur, as grand vizier, or sukkallu rabi’u, of Assyria and king of the dependant state of Ḫanigalbat. Qibi-Aššur may be one of three officials who are attested as 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...
’s, the sons of Šamaš-aḫa-iddina, Ṣilli-Marduk, Ibašši-ili, respectively and it is this latter one, whose limmu year directly follows that of 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...
that has led some to speculate that Ninurta-apal-Ekur was a descendant of Adad-nirari I
Adad-nirari I
Adad-nirari I was a king of Assyria. 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...
, a genealogy that is unlikely as he claims descent only from Eriba-Adad I
Eriba-Adad I
Eriba-Adad was king of Assyria from 1392 BC to 1366 BC.He was probably a vassal of Mitanni. However, this kingdom got tangled up in a dynastic battle between Tushratta and his brother Artatama II and after this his son Shuttarna II, who called himself king of the Hurri, while seeking support from...
in his inscriptions. The earlier two have their limmu years during the reign of Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I was a king of Assyria.Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as king in 1265 BC....
which better fits the chronology.
His ascendancy
The preceding Assyrian king, Enlil-kudurri-usurEnlil-kudurri-usur
Enlil-kudurri-usur was King of Assyria. Depending on the length of reign one gives to his successor, Ninurta-apal-Ekur, this would have been either from 1187 to 1183 BC or from 1197 to 1193 BC. The former dates are more common in recent studies. Enlil-kudurri-usur was the son of Tukulti-Ninurta...
a son of the earlier powerful king Tukulti-Ninurta I, was vanquished in battle against the Kassite
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...
monarch, Adad-šuma-uṣur
Adad-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...
, a defeat so ignoble that the Assyrian officers “seized [Enlil-kudu]r-usur their lord and gave (him) to Adad-šuma-uṣur.” Perhaps to secure their passage, the Assyrians also handed over renegade Babylonians who had fled to the Assyrian side.
While these events were unfolding, “Ninurta-apal-Ekur went home. He mustered his numerous troops and marched to conquer Libbi-ali (the city of Aššur).” The Kings List tells us that he “came up from Karduniaš, seized the throne,” and one can only speculate what he was doing in Karduniaš (Babylonia); stationed in an official capacity perhaps? The Synchronistic Chronicle continues “But [...] arrived unexpectedly, so he turned and went home” which suggests that the succession was not smooth.
Ninurta-apil-Ekur is said to have “guarded all the people of Assyria, with wings like an eagle spread out over his country. He was the recipient of gifts from Meli-Šipak, who sent teams of horses and rugs, as a recently discovered text records, unearthed during excavations at Assur
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...
.
Palace decrees
He issued nine palace decrees relating to conduct of the court and the oppressive discipline of the royal harem, suggestive of insecurity in the succession, although he need not have worried as his descendants would continue to rule Assyria until at least the eighth century BC. The first relates to the conduct of a eunuch approaching the harem and that of the concubines. The second threatens the harem women with having their throats cut, if when quarreling they should blaspheme against a god. The third punished men guilty of lèse majestéLèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
and the remaining are too fragmentary to be certain of their contents, but regulate curses against, for example, the royal furniture, i.e. bed and stool. Minor infractions were dealt with severely, with the guilty woman having her nose pierced and being beaten with rods.
A text records his gift of jewelry to his daughter Muballita[ṭ-…], the great high priestess.