| Nabû-šuma-iškun | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
 Line art for akudurru of the time of Nabû-šuma-iškun[i 1] | |
| Reign | ca. 761 – 748 BC |
| Predecessor | Erība-Marduk |
| Successor | Nabû-Nasir |
| House | Dynasty ofE (mixed dynasties) |
Nabû-šuma-iškun, inscribedmdnabû-šuma-iškunun,[i 2] and meaning "Nabû has set a name",[1] was king ofBabylon, speculatively ca. 761 – 748 BC (see below for provenance), and ruled during a time of great civil unrest. He came from the Bīt-Dakkūri tribe,[i 3] aChaldean group apparently unrelated to that of his immediate predecessor,Erība-Marduk.
His place in the sequence of Babylonian rulers is confirmed by anAssyrianSynchronistic Kinglist fragment.[i 4] A contemporary source for information concerning his reign is found in an inscription of the governor ofBorsippa, Nabû-šuma-imbi, which highlights his weakness and the autonomy of his regional officials.[2] This barrel cylinder[i 3] records the struggle over the control of their fields in the face of the incursions of marauders from Babylon andDilbat; also Chaldeans andArameans. At night, the city streets and its temple area were transformed into a battleground. During the fifth and sixth years of the king, the strife was so great that the cultic idol ofNabû was prevented from participating in theAkītu, or new year festival in Babylon.[i 5] The coincidental recording of years five and six of a no longer legible ruler in theChronicle of the Market Prices has led this reference to be assigned to him.[i 6][3] In the king’s eighth year, Nabû-šuma-imbi was able to install a certain Nabû-mutakkil as a temple official[i 1] and repair the Ezida temple of Nabû storehouses.[4]
He is the main subject of a chronicle,[i 7] "TheCrimes and Sacrileges of Nabu-šuma-iškun", uncovered inUruk in aSeleucid era dwelling belonging to the exorcist Anu-ikṣur on theParthian mound southeast of the Eanna complex,[5] whose underlying theme is his violation of all moral and legal principles and consequentially – his ignominious demise. His crimes included “burn(ing) alive sixteenCutheans at Zababa's gate in the heart of Babylon;” “he committed insult and unspeakable slander” of a certain Iltagal-il of the town Dur-ša-Karbi, and “a leek, a thing forbidden in the Ezida, he brought to the temple of Nabû and gave to eat to the one 'entering the temple'(i.e. the priest)," apparently an unforgivable act. Unfortunately the Chronicle was damaged in antiquity so how he met his come-uppance is not preserved. The length of his reign is uncertain, as it is not preserved in chronicle[i 8] or king list references, but his reign is known to have ended in 748 BC as the chronology is fixed from the reign ofNabû-Nasir onward, and there is a legal text[i 9] recording the sale of a plot of land, and a grain receipt[i 10] dated to his tenth year,[6] and two economic texts[i 11][i 12] to his thirteenth year.
