Ea-mukin-zēri, inscribed ^mdÉ''- a-mu-kin-''NUMUN, son of Hašmar''Dynastic Chronicle'' v 5-6: ^mdÉ''-a-mu-kin-''NUMUN LUGAL IM.GI DUMU ^m''Ḫaš-mar iti'' 3 ''in.ak, ina raq-qa-ti šá'' É-^m''Ḫaš-mar qí-bir''. (DUMU, “son of,” ''ḫaš-mar'', a

Kassite The Kassites () were a people of the ancient Near East. They controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire from until (short chronology). The Kassites gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 B ...

word for “(the)

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

”), was the 2nd king of the 2nd Sealand or 5th Dynasty 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 ...

, 1004 BC, but only for 3 months, according to the

Dynastic Chronicle The Dynastic Chronicle, ''"Chronicle 18"'' in Grayson's ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles'' or the ''"Babylonian Royal Chronicle"'' in Glassner’s ''Mesopotamian Chronicles'', is a fragmentary ancient Mesopotamian text extant in at least four ...

, 5 months according to the ''Kinglist A''.Babylonian ''King List A'', tablet BM 33332, iii 7: as ^md''Ea''(be)''-mu-kin''.

Biography

His predecessor was Simbar-šipak, who ruled 1021–1004 BC, and the ''Dynastic Chronicle'' records that he “was slain with the sword,” before describing Ea-mukin-zēri as “the usurper (LUGAL IM.GI).” Another person named Ea-mukin-zēri appears as a witness to a land deedStone tablet, BM 90937, BBSt. No. 27, bottom edge. dated to Simbar-šipak’s twelfth year, but is probably someone else as it records that he was the son of Belani and was the priest of

Eridu Eridu (; Sumerian: eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu'') was a Sumerian city located at Tell Abu Shahrain (), also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, an archaeological site in Lower Mesopotamia. It is located in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, near the ...

. The ''Synchronistic King List'' ''Synchronistic King List'' iii 3: as ^md''Ea-''(diš)- �� makes him a contemporary of Šamši-Adad IV of

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 ...

but possibly for stylistic purposes as he was likely to have been one of the many Babylonian Kings who were contemporary with the later Assyrian King Aššur-rabi II’s lengthy reign. The ''Dynastic Chronicle'' notes that “he was buried in the swamp of Bit-Hašmar,” presumably an ancestral homeland and possibly Darband-i-Ḫān, where the Diyala breaks through the Bazian range, at the northeast boundary of Namri according to Levine or southern Babylonia according to Brinkman, perhaps even Bīt-Ḫaššamur, a town in the vicinity of

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, ''The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory'': Vol. 1, Part 1, Ca ...

according to Beaulieu. The practice of interring Mesopotamian kings in wetlands, “close to the abode of

Enki Enki ( ) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge ('' gestú''), crafts (''gašam''), and creation (''nudimmud''), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea () or Ae p. 324, note 27. in Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) religion, and ...

,” was a common practice and commented upon by ancient historians such as

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

and

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

in his ''

Anabasis Alexandri The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The '' Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of ...

'', quoting

Aristobulus of Cassandreia Aristobulus of Cassandreia (; 375 BC – 301 BC), Greek historian, son of Aristobulus, probably a Phocian settled in Cassandreia, accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. He served throughout as an architect and military engineer as ...

’s ''History of Alexander the Great''. This describes his inspection of the royal tombs, which were at least partially submerged and surrounded by reeds. Burial in swamps "in the reeds of Enki" (gi-^den-ki-ka-ka) were also recorded by Urukinimgina, ''énsi'' of

Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...

(c. 2380 BC–2360 BC

short chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

), in his reforms. section 7.

Inscriptions

References

{{Babylonian kings 11th-century BC kings of Babylon