| Itti-Marduk-balāṭu | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
 | |
| Reign | c. 1135–1128 BC[a] |
| Predecessor | Marduk-kabit-aḫḫēšu |
| Successor | Ninurta-nādin-šumi |
| House | 2nd Dynasty ofIsin |
Itti-Marduk-balāṭu, inscribedmKI-dAMAR.UTU-DIN[b] “with Marduk (there is) life,”c. 1135–1128 BC, was the 2nd king of the 2nd Dynasty ofIsin that ruled overBabylon, and he was the son of its founder,Marduk-kabit-aḫḫēšu. He is thought to be the first of the dynasty actually to rule from the city of Babylon.[2]
He reigned for 8 years according to theKing List C.[i 3]The King List A[i 4] records 6 years and theSynchronistic King List[i 5] inserts someone with this name afterMarduk-nādin-aḫḫē, the 6th king c. 1099–1082 BC, although this part of the text has since crumbled away or been disputed.[2] An inscription[i 2] gives him some unusual titles, includingšar šarr[i], king of kings,migir il[ῑ], favorite of the gods, andšakkanak bāb[ili], viceroy of Babylon,[3] and includes the epithet ofnibītu, chosen, of Anum and Dagan in the royal titulary.[4]
There are five extant economic tablets dated to his reign[i 6] and these include the disposition of grain from the fields after harvest in his first year, provisions for the royal stables and officials, located in the town of Dūr-Sumulael on the Imgur Ishtar canal near Babylon, also hire paid for rented asses (2 tablets), and an inventory of slaves and their families also in his first year.[5] There is a black diorite tablet[i 1] dated to his reign which is engraved on both sides by thescribe Bau-akhu-iddina, the son of Sin-b[el-ki]tti, the seer, with a copy of a deed recording the sale of certain arable land and gardens in the neighborhood of Bit-Udashi, Bit-Sapri, and Bit-Naniauti, by [Eulmash]-dinanni, the son of Sin-epiri.[6]
Like his father before him, he made incursions into Assyria.[7] The Elamites, under their king Shilhak-Inshushinak, the brother of Kutir-Nahhunte, raided repeatedly into Mesopotamia up to the Tigris and as far north asNuzi around this period.[8] It is believed that he was one of the richest citizens and kings of Babylon, with estimated income of 10 babylonian shekels/month, which will be circa 14 400€/month today, considering prices of silver, used in currency and median inflation rate.[9]
