| Marduk-šāpik-zēri | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
 Cylinder of Marduk-šāpik-zēri commemorating reconstruction of the Imgur-Enlil wall of Babylon.[i 1] | |
| Reign | 13 regnal years 1077–1065 BC[a] |
| Predecessor | Marduk-nadin-aḫḫē |
| Successor | Adad-apla-iddina |
| House | 2nd Dynasty of Isin |
Marduk-šāpik-zēri, inscribed incuneiformdAMAR.UTU-DUB-NUMUN or phonetically-ša-pi-ik-ze-ri, and meaning “Marduk (is) the outpourer of seed”, reignedc. 1077–1065 BC, was the 7th king of the 2nd dynasty ofIsin and 4th dynasty ofBabylon and he ruled for thirteen years.[i 2] His relationship with his predecessor,Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē is uncertain. His reign overlapped that of theAssyrian kingAššur-bēl-kala and his immediate predecessor(s) as theSynchronistic King List[i 3] places him alongside bothTukultī-apil-Ešarra and Aššur-bēl-kala.
He succeeded Marduk-nadin-aḫḫē, who may possibly have been his father or brother, during a time when theArameans, driven by famine, were engaged in attacking the Assyrias under Tukultī-apil-Ešarra during his latter years, which Younger places in Tukultī-apil-Ešarra’s 32nd year, or 1081/80 BC.[2] The events are recorded on a fragmentary chronicle.[i 4] In a letter from the Babylonian astrologer Bel-ušezib toEsarhaddon, 681 – 669 BC, he wrote, “Bel has said: May Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, be seated on his throne likeMarduk-šāpik-zēri! – I will deliver all the countries into his hands!”[3] and this may suggest that he was a younger son ofNabû-kudurri-uṣur or there was perhaps a struggle over the succession.[4]
He repaired the E-zida atBorsippa as witnessed by a building inscription, reproduced on a neo-Babylonian tablet,[i 5] from the reign ofKandalanu whose colophon records that it was copied by Nabû-šumu-līšir. He provided gold votive offerings to the temples ofUr,Nippur and elsewhere.[4] He rebuilt the wall of Babylon, the Imgur-Enlil, for which a fragmentary inscription[i 1] has come to light,[b][5] confirmed by theEclectic Chronicle[i 6] which continues:
He conquered the kings of the lands. During his reign, the people of the land enjoyed prosperity. He made an entente cordiale with Aššur-bêl-kala, king of Assyria. At that time, the king went from Assyria to Sippar.
— Eclectic Chronicle, Lines 5 to 7.
TheSynchronistic Chronicle[i 7] confirms the alliance with Assyria, probably forged to counter the growing threat from the Arameans, and notes that he died during Aššur-bêl-kala’s reign.[6] This records his name asMarduk-shapik-zer-mati and it has been argued by Poebel that this is merely a scribal error, whereMAN,šar, “king,” was taken to be part of his name. There seems to have been a military intervention in the region ofDūr-Kurgalzu by Aššur-bel-kala towards the end of his reign, as the Assyrian king’s Broken Obelisk inscription records that he capturedKadašman-Buriaš, “governor of their land.”
Akudurru[i 8] records the recovery of certain landed property by Sîn-Kabti-ilāni, the son of Šamaš-šum-lišir and grandson of Kudurri,[7] thešāqû (lúBI.LUL), “cupbearer”.[8] He granted land[i 9] in his first year to his trustyšakin bāb ekalli, or palace gate officer, Širikti-Šuqamuna, the successor in this role to Uzib-Šiparru, and the land surveyor Nabû-zēra-iddina, “son of Arad-Ea”, was dispatched with a court official to measure it.[9] A kudurru of his reign[i 10] records another member of the Arad-Ea clan measuring a field with a local official.[10] If the reference to Marduk-[…] can be identified with him in theChronicle of the Market Prices,[i 11] the cost of goods was unexceptional.[4] Another fragment of a kudurru[i 12] has a secondary inscription dated to his twelfth year. An inscription of Napsamenni, chief of the seers and high priest of Enlil in Nippur, adorns a duck weight, and there is an economic text[i 13] dated to his third year.[6] This is an administrative record of an inspection by a storeman dated to the 30th day of the month of Ayaru (around March) marked with the seal of the king's officer, Adad-kudurra-uṣur.[11]
