| Ulam-Buriaš | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
| Reign | c. 1480 BC |
| Predecessor | ?Kaštiliašu III |
| Successor | ?Agum III |
| House | Kassite |
Ulam-Buriaš, contemporarily inscribed asÚ-la-Bu-ra-ra-ia-aš[i 1] ormÚ-lam-Bur-áš in a later chronicle[i 2] and meaning “son of (theKassite deity) Buriaš”, was aKassite king of Sealand (cuneiform:LUGAL KURA.AB.BA,Akkadian:šar māt tâmti), which he conquered during the second half of 16th century BC and may have also become king ofBabylon, possibly preceding or succeeding his brother,Kaštiliašu III.[1] His reign marks the point at which the Kassite kingdom extended to the whole of southernMesopotamia.
Confirmation of his provenance comes from anonyx weight, in the shape of a frog, with a cuneiform inscription, “1 shekel, Ulam Buriaš, son ofBurna Buriaš”, which was found in a large burial, during excavations of thesite of the ancient city of Metsamor.[2] The burial for two, was accompanied by fifty sacrificial victims, nineteen horses, bulls, sheep and dogs.[3] Situated in Armenia, in the middle of the Ararat valley, Metsamor was an importantHurrian center for metal forging.
TheChronicle of Early Kings, a neo-Babylonian historiographical text preserved on two tablets,[i 2] describes how Ea-gamil, the last king of theSealand Dynasty, fled toElam ahead of an invasion force led by Ulam-Buriaš, the “brother of Kaštiliašu”, who became “master of the land” (bēlūt māti īpuš), i.e. Sealand, a region of southern Mesopotamia synonymous with or at the southern end ofSumer. Aserpentine ordiorite mace head or possibly door knob found in Babylon,[i 1] is engraved with the epithet of Ulaburariaš, “King of Sealand”.[4] The object was excavated at Tell Amran ibn-Ali, during the German excavations of Babylon, conducted from 1899 to 1912, and is now housed in thePergamon Museum.
