Eriba-Adad II
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| Eriba-Adad II | |
|---|---|
| King of Assyria | |
| King of the Middle Assyrian Empire | |
| Reign | 1056–1054 BC |
| Predecessor | Ashur-bel-kala |
| Successor | Shamshi-Adad IV |
| Father | Ashur-bel-kala |
| Mother | Babylonian princess, daughter of Adad-apla-iddina (?)[1] |
Erība-Adad II, inscribed mSU-dIM, "Adad has replaced," was the king of Assyria 1056/55–1054 BC, the 94th to appear on the Assyrian Kinglist.[i 1][i 2] He was the son of Aššur (Ashur-bēl-kala whom he briefly succeeded and was deposed by his uncle Šamši-Adad IV marking the end of the Middle Assyrian Empire period.[2]
Assur
The Khorsabad kinglist[i 3] mistakenly gives him as a son of Ilu-kabkabi, i.e. the father of the 18th century BC king Shamshi-Adad I. Despite his short two-year reign, there are fragmentary inscriptions[i 4][i 5] where he claims his rule extended to the Aramaeans and lists conquests far and wide in intense military campaigns, imitating those of Tiglath-Pileser I, for which he styled himself "king of the four quarters."[3] He would have appeared on a destroyed section of the eponym list designated as Cc.[i 6]
The Synchronistic Kinglist gives his name, but the Babylonian counterpart is illegible, possibly having been Simbar-shipak based on the sequence of kings before and after. This chronicle seems quite fanciful in its chronology during the Assyrian dark-age. In any case, the king Adad-apla-iddina would have been his contemporary, sheltering his uncle, Šamši-Adad IV in political exile while he regrouped and planned his putsch. Although Aššūr (Ashur)-bēl-kala had married Adad-apla-iddina’s daughter, it seems unlikely that Adad-apla-iddina would have then participated in an effort to depose his own grandson, so it seems likely that Erība-Adad was the issue of another queen and the Babylonian king’s change of attitude due to earlier political events in Assyria.[4]
An Assur monumental stele (number 27) from the Stelenreihe, "row of stelae", has been attributed to him and is inscribed laconically: "Erība-adad, king of the universe".[5] He was one of the restorers of the é.ḫur.sağ.kur.kur.ra, "House, Mountain of the Lands", or the cella of the temple of the god Aššur,[6] as commemorated in one of his inscriptions.[i 7] A fragmentary literary text is dated to his reign.[i 8]
Usurpation
From Babylon, his rule came to an end when his exiled uncle Šamši-Adad "went up Kardun]iaš He drove Erība-Adad, [son of Aššur (Ashur)-bēl-ka]la, from the throne."[7]