Erra-Imittī, (

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge- ...

: ^d''èr-ra-i-mit-ti''''Ur-Isin King List'' 14. or ''èr-ra-''ZAG.LU''Chronicle of Early Kings'' (ABC 20) A 31 to 36 and repeated as B 1 to 7. meaning “Support of Erra”) ca. 1805–1799 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 ...

) or ca. 1868–1861 BC (

middle 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 ...

), was king of

Isin Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past. History of archaeological research Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited ...

, modern Ishan al-Bahriyat, and according to the ''

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...

'' ruled for eight years. He succeeded Lipit-Enlil, with whom his relationship is uncertain and was a contemporary and rival of Sūmû-El and Nūr-Adad of the parallel dynasty of

Larsa Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult ...

. He is best known for the legendary tale of his demise, Shaffer’s “gastronomic mishap”.

Biography

He seems to have recovered control of

Nippur Nippur ( Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian: ''Nibbur'') was an ancient Sumerian city. It was ...

from Larsa early in his reign but perhaps lost it again, as its recovery is celebrated again by his successor. The later regnal year-names offer some glimmer of events, for example “the year following the year Erra-Imittī seized

Kisurra Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian '' tell'' (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish. History Kisurra was established ca. 2700 BC ...

"BM 85348: mu ús-sa ki-sur-ra^ki ^dÌr-ra-i-mi-ti ba-an-dib. (the modern site of Abū-Ḥaṭab) for the date of a receipt for a bridal gift and “the year Erra-Imittī destroyed the city wall of Kazallu,”YOS 14 319: mu ^dÌr-ra-i-mi-ti bàd ka-zal-lu^ki ba-gal. a city allied with Larsa and antagonistic to Isin and its ally,

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

. His conquest of Kisurra would have been a significant escalation of hostilities against Isin's rival Larsa. A

haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . I ...

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

Cylinder seal BM 130695. of his servant and scribe Iliška-uṭul, son of Sîn-ennam, has come to light from this city, suggesting prolonged occupation. The latest attested year-name gives the year he built the city wall of ''gan-x-Erra-Imittī'', perhaps an eponymous new town. When the omens predicted impending doom for a monarch, it was customary to appoint a substitute as a "statue though animate",NU-NÍG-SAG-ÍL-e. a scape-goat who stood in the place of the king but did not exercise power for a hundred days to deflect the disaster, at the end of which the proxy and his spouse would be ritually slaughtered and the king would resume his throne. The '' Chronicle of Early Kings'' relates that: Presumably his error was to remain in the palace while the substitute ceremony was conducted. While the tale may be apocryphal, it provides a literary demarcation between dynasties. He was succeeded by

Ikūn-pî-Ištar Ikūn-pî-Ištar, meaning “Ištar's word has come true” and inscribed 'i-ku-un-pi''4''-eš''4''-tár'', was a Mesopotamian king (ca. 1825–1799 BC short chronology) of uncertain jurisdiction, Jakobson suggested Uruk, presumably preceding ...

, according to two variant copies of the

, or Enlil-bâni, if the other sources are correct.

Inscriptions

Notes

External links

Erra-Imittī Year Names at CDLI

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erra-Imitti 19th-century BC Sumerian kings 18th-century BC Sumerian kings Dynasty of Isin