| Eriba-Adad I | |
|---|---|
| Issi'ak Assur | |
| King of Assur | |
| Reign | 27 regnal years 1390–1364 BC[1] 1380-1354 BC |
| Predecessor | Ashur-nadin-ahhe II |
| Successor | Ashur-uballit I |
| Issue | Ashur-uballit I |
| Father | Ashur-bel-nisheshu |
Eriba-Adad, inscribedmSU-dIM ormSU-d10 ("[the god]Adad has replaced"), was king ofAssyria fromc. 1390 BC to 1364 BC. His father had been the earlier kingAššur-bel-nišešu, an affiliation attested in brick inscriptions,[i 1] king-lists[i 2][i 3] and a tablet[i 4][2] although a single king list[i 5] gives his father asAššur-rā’im-nišēšu, probably in error.[3] He succeeded his nephew,Aššur-nādin-aḫḫe II, being succeeded himself by the rather more prominent kingAššur-uballiṭ I, who was his son and founder of theMiddle Assyrian Empire. He was the 72nd on the Assyrian King List and ruled for 27 years.
The circumstances surrounding his accession are unknown, although most nephew-uncle successions recorded in Assyrian history were bloody affairs. He styled himself “regent ofEnlil”, the first Assyrian monarch to do so sinceŠamši-Adad I. His uninscribedroyal seal shows a heraldic group which includes two wingedgriffin-demonsflanking a small tree and supporting a winged sun-disc above their wings and a double-headed griffin-demon holding two griffin-demons by their ankles, a radical departure from the earlier style, which was to set a precedent for the later Assyrian glyptic.[4] It was found impressed into middle Assyrian contract tablets.[i 6][i 7][5]
He probably began his reign overshadowed by the powerfulHurrian-Mitanni Empire, although this is unclear, as the two kings preceeding him appear to have conducted treaties unhindered by the Mitanni Empire. However, the Mitanni Empire became entangled in a dynastic battle betweenTushratta and his brotherArtatama II, and after this, his sonShuttarna III, who called himself king of theHurri, while seeking military and political support from theAssyrians. A pro-Assyrian faction appeared at the royal Mitanni court, which enabled Assyria to exert influence over the Mitanni Empire. His son and successorAshur-uballiṭ I would take full advantage of this and destroy the Mitanni Empire and create theMiddle Assyrian Empire.
Several of theLimmu officials, the noblemen from which the AssyrianEponym dating system was derived, are known for this period as they date commercial records, but relatively few can be assigned directly to Eriba-Adad's reign rather than that of his successor. One official might beAššur-muttakil, (the governor ofQabra, an Assyrian fortress town on thelesser Zab), who inherited his position from his fatherAššur-dayyān (Ashur-Dayan) and bequeathed it to his son.[6] Eriba-Adad I's stela was the earliest of the stelae identified in theStelenriehe, "row of stelae," the two rows of stone monuments uncovered inAššur.[7] The later Assyrian king,Ninurta-apal-Ekur, son ofIlī-padâ, was to claim descent from him in his inscriptions.[8]
| Preceded by | King of Assyria 1390–1364 BCE | Succeeded by |