Enlil-nirari (“ Enlil is my helper”) was King of

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

from 1327 BC to 1318 BC during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He was the son of Aššur-uballiṭ I. He was apparently the earliest king to have been identified as having held eponym, or

limmu : Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, th ...

, office.

Biography

He recorded on clay cones his repairs to a dilapidated stretch of the wall from the Craftsman’s Gate to the Sheep Gate around his capital, the city of

Assur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal ...

, now the tell-site of Qal’at Shergat which lies beside the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

. He proffered a prayer that future restorations would preserve his inscriptions. His sister, Muballiṭat-Šērūa, was married to the

Kassite The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

king Burna-Buriaš II, and his nephews, Kara-ḫardaš and

Kurigalzu The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC ( short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Baby ...

would succeed to the Babylonian throne, separated by a short-lived revolt which was put down by Aššur-uballiṭ and the Assyrian army. Around this time, there is evidence of the exchange of gifts of textiles and votive ornaments between the Kassite and Assyrian ruling classes. Despite their earlier close ties, he fought against Kurigalzu, who grew to become one of the mightiest and most belligerent kings of the Kassite dynasty, in the battle of Sugagu to establish the boundary between both states. The two extant chronicles which record the battle provide contradictory accounts of the outcome. The Assyrian version describes the division of land from ''Shasili'' of

Subartu The land of Subartu (Akkadian ''Šubartum/Subartum/ina Šú-ba-ri'', Assyrian '' mât Šubarri'') or Subar (Sumerian Su-bir4/Subar/Šubur, Ugaritic 𐎘𐎁𐎗 ṯbr) is mentioned in Bronze Age literature. The name also appears as ''Subari'' in ...

, which was a region thought to be northeast of Assyria and possibly their vassal during this time. A second battle may have taken place at Kilizi as recorded on a poorly preserved chronicle fragment, possibly dated to the limmu-year of Silli-Adad. This was a provincial town in Qasr Shamamok not far from modern Mosul.

Funeral instructions

He had left very specific instructions in the event of a death in the royal family. If the passing took place when he was a few hours travel away, a sealed message should be sent, but if he was more distant, the wives of the palace were to mourn as prearranged and no message was necessary. A warning was given to those who might be tempted to spread the news without the assent of the head-steward, risking a no longer legible part of their anatomy (tongue?) to be amputated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enlil-Nirari 14th-century BC Assyrian kings 14th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown