Ammi-Ditana - Wikiwand

Ammī-ditāna^[1] was a king of Babylon who reigned 1683–1647 BC (according to the Middle Chronology;^[2] or 1675–1639 BC according to the Lower Middle Chronology^[3]). He was the son and successor of Abī-ešuḫ.^[4]

TitleKing of Babylon

Term37 years;
1683–1647 BC (MC);
1675–1639 BC (LMC)

PredecessorAbī-ešuḫ

SuccessorAmmī-ṣaduqa

Quick facts Ammī-ditāna, Title ...

Ammī-ditāna
Title	King of Babylon
Term	37 years; 1683–1647 BC (MC); 1675–1639 BC (LMC)
Predecessor	Abī-ešuḫ
Successor	Ammī-ṣaduqa
Spouse	Šamuḫtum (probably)
Children	Ammī-ṣaduqa, etc.

Year-names survive for the first 37 years of his reign, plus fragments for a few possible additional years. His reign was a largely peaceful one; he was primarily engaged in enriching and enlarging the temples, and a few other building projects, although in his 37th regnal year he recorded having destroyed the city wall of Der, built earlier by King Dāmiq-ilišu of Isin.^[5]

Ammī-ditāna was succeeded by his eldest son Ammī-ṣaduqa.^[6]

Family

The wife of Ammī-ditāna and mother of his successor was possibly named Šamuḫtum.^[7] At least three children of the king are attested:

Ammī-ṣaduqa, the eldest son and his father’s successor (possibly by Šamuḫtum)^[8]
Šumum-libši^[9]
Unnamed female, married at the behest of her brother Šumum-libši^[10]
Iltani, devotee (nadītum) of Šamaš, a possible daughter^[11]
Elmēšum, a possible daughter^[12]
Annabum, a possible daughter^[13]

Literature

Ammī-ditāna is known for his association with literary works. One work is called Ammī-ditāna's hymn to Ištar.^[14]^[15] Another work is Di 1353, a letter to chief lamentation priest of Annunītum on the provision of fodder barley for livestock in Nakkamtum.^[16]

References

[1]
Douglas Frayne, The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Early Periods, vol. 4: Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC) Toronto, 1990: 411.
[2]
C. B. F. Walker, "Mesopotamian Chronology," in: Dominique Collon, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Berkeley, 1995: 235.
[3]
T. De Jong and "A New Look at the Venus Observations of Ammisaduqa," Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Luxe 42 (2010) 141–157.
[4]
Douglas Frayne, The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Early Periods, vol. 4: Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC) Toronto, 1990: 411.
[5]
Year-names for Ammi-ditana
[6]
Douglas Frayne, The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Early Periods, vol. 4: Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC) Toronto, 1990: 425; Lukáš Pecha, The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State, Lanham, MD, 2018: 227.
[7]
Lukáš Pecha, The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State, Lanham, MD, 2018: 218–219; but as noted by Rients de Boer, "The Members of the Royal House of Old Babylonian Babylon," Isin (2021/2) 27–43: 33, the king's mother Šamuḫtum is not explicitly associated with any named king.
[8]
Douglas Frayne, The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Early Periods, vol. 4: Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC) Toronto, 1990: 426; Lukáš Pecha, The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State, Lanham, MD, 2018: 218–219.
[9]
Lukáš Pecha, The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State, Lanham, MD, 2018: 218–219.
[10]
Lukáš Pecha, The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State, Lanham, MD, 2018: 218–219.
[11]
Rients de Boer, "The Members of the Royal House of Old Babylonian Babylon," Isin (2021/2) 27–43: 30, 31, 35, 37.
[12]
Rients de Boer, "The Members of the Royal House of Old Babylonian Babylon," Isin (2021/2) 27–43: 31, 37.
[13]
Rients de Boer, "The Members of the Royal House of Old Babylonian Babylon," Isin (2021/2) 27–43: 31, 37.
[14]
"Ammi-ditāna's hymn to Ištar".
[15]
Dominique Charpin, Dietz Otto Edzard, and Marten Stol, Mesopotamien: Die altbabylonische Zeit Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/4. Fribourg, 2004: 510–514.
[16]
Caroline, Jensen (2021). "By Order of the King: Ammi-Ditana's Letter on the Provision of Fodder Barley for the Sheep and Oxen of the Nakkamtum". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 73: 71–87. doi:10.1086/716094. S2CID 235798997.

Preceded by

Abi-Eshuh

Kings of Babylon
1683–1647 BC

Succeeded by

Ammi-Saduqa

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