Burna-Buriyåš I,For example, inscribed ''Bur-na-Bu-ra-ri-ia-aš'' in a votive inscription of Ula-Burariaš or restored as ''^m ur-na-B r�� -(y)-áš' in tablet A.117. meaning ''servant of the Lord of the lands'', was the first Kassite who really ruled over

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

, possibly the first to occupy the city of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

proper around 1500 BC, culminating a century of creeping encroachment by the Kassite tribes. He was the 10th king of this dynasty to be listed on the

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n ''Synchronistic Kinglist''.A neo-Assyrian ''Synchronistic Kinglist'', A.117, excavation reference Assur 14616c, in the Assur collection of the İstanbul Arkeoloji Műzeleri. ^m r-na-bu-ra-ri-ia-aš is an old spelling as opposed to later burna-buriaš.

Reign

At about 1500 BC, Burna-Buriyåš concluded a treaty with Puzur-Aššur III of Assyria (r. 1521-1498 BC), then a small vassal to the

Mitanni Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria an ...

, taking an oath (or ''itmûma'') to delineate the border between their kingdoms.^m''Pu-zur- Aš-šur šar''₄ ^kur'' Aš-šur ù'' ^m''Bur-na-bur- ia-áš šar''₄ ^kur''Kar-du-ni-áš it-mu- ma mi-iṣ- ri ta-ḫu-mu an-na- ma ú-ki- nu''. The ''Synchronistic Chronicle''''Synchronistic Chronicle'' (ABC 21), tablet K4401a, column 1, lines 5 - 7. places this episode after the treaty between Karaindaš and Assyrian king Aššur-bêl-nišešu, but there is no known Puzur-Aššur after him on any of the copies of the ''Assyrian Kinglist'' which led Röllig to conclude that a later scribe had confused Burna-Buriyåš with his name-sake, Burna-Buriaš II. The ''Synchronistic Kinglist'' names one Burna-Buriyåš as the 10th Kassite ruler and a contemporary of Išme-Dagan II, who is separated from Puzur-Aššur III by 42 regnal years. This might suggest that there were two early Burna-Buriyaš’, one contemporary with Puzur-Aššur III and one roughly contemporary with Išme-Dagan II, if this late Assyrian tablet were to be considered a reliable source in this respect. It does, however, take some significant liberties with chronology in other places. A fragmentary clay cone or cylinderClay cone/cylinder UM 55-21-62 (2 NT 356) apparently recording a land grant, recovered from excavation in Nippur during the 1949–50 season, may date to his reign based upon the reconstruction of his name on line 5 and the paleography of the cuneiform. If correctly identified, it would make this ''

kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...

'' or ''narû ša ḫaṣbi'', “memorial clay-stele”, the oldest exemplar of this genre of public memorial.

Death

Succession

Burna-Buriyåš may have been succeeded by his son Kaštiliašu III, but the evidence supporting this son's kingship is rather circumstantial. He was also father of Ulam-Buriyåš, as commemorated on an

onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

weight, in the shape of a frog, with a cuneiform inscription, “1 shekel, Ulam Buriaš, ''son of Burna Buriaš'',” which was found in a large burial, during excavations of the site of the ancient city of Metsamor site. It was this son who apparently led a successful invasion of the Sealand, a region of Southern Mesopotamia synonymous with

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

, and made himself “master of the land”.''Chronicle of Early Kings'' (ABC 20) BM 96152, tablet B, reverse, lines 12 through 14. Also, a serpentine or

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...

mace headBlackish-green knob BE 6405. or possibly door knob found in Babylon, is engraved with a votive inscription of Ulaburariaš, ''son of Burna-Buriaš'', “King of Sealand”. n. 182

Inscriptions

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burna-Buriash I 16th-century BC kings of Babylon 15th-century BC kings of Babylon Kassite kings