Mushezib-Marduk (reigned 693 BC-689 BC), Chaldean prince chosen as

King of Babylon The king of Babylon (Akkadian: ''šakkanakki Bābili'', later also ''šar Bābili'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon and its kingdom, Babylonia, which existed as an independent realm from the 19th century BC to its fall ...

after

Nergal-ushezib Nergal-ushezib, originally Shuzub, was a Babylonian nobleman who was installed as King of Babylon by the Elamites in 694 BC, after their capture of Babylon and deposition and murder of the previous king Ashur-nadin-shumi, son of King Sennacherib ...

. He led the Babylonian populace in revolt against

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 ...

and King

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...

in 689 BC, with the support of Elam and King

Humban-nimena Humban-Numena (or Kumban-Numena) was a king of Elam from the Igihalkid dynasty ( Middle Elamite Period, mid-14th century BCE). He was a son and successor of King Attar-kittah, as it is attested in his inscriptions from temples in Liyan and in Susa.D ...

(who was attacked by the Babylonians and the Assyrians only years before), at the

Battle of Halule The Battle of Halule took place in 691 BC between the Assyrian empire and the rebelling forces of the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians, Medes, Elamites and Aramaic tribes. Background During the reign of King Sennacherib of Assyria, Babylon ...

. It is not clear who won this battle, since both sides claimed victory, and all rulers remained on their thrones, but as the Assyrians subsequently retreated, they are likely to have suffered the greatest losses.Jean-Jacques Glassner, ''Mesopotamian Chronicles'', Atlanta, 2004, p. 199. Mushezib-Marduk lost his ally when the Elamite king Humban-nimena suffered a stroke later that same year, an opportunity King Sennacherib quickly seized by attacking Babylon, and eventually capturing it after a nine-month siege. To avenge the death of his son, whom the Babylonians had effectively killed when they handed him over to the Elamites in 694 BC, Sennacherib pillaged and burned Babylon, tore down its walls, and even diverted the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

into the city. During the Sack of Babylon, Mushezib-Marduk was most likely murdered.

References

689 BC deaths 7th-century BC Babylonian kings 7th-century BC murdered monarchs Year of birth unknown Chaldean kings {{Assyrian-stub

See also

References