Mar-biti-apla-usur

Mâr-bîti-apla-uṣur
King of Babylon
Reign	978-943 BC
Predecessor	Širiqti-šuqamunu Dynasty VI
Successor	Nabû-mukin-apli Dynasty of E
Royal House	Elamite Dynasty

Mâr-bîti-apla-uṣur,^{[nb 1]} 983-978 BC, was the sole king of Babylon’s short-lived 7^th or Elamite Dynasty.^{[i 1]} According to the Synchronistic King List,^{[i 2]} he was a contemporary of Assyrian king Aššur-reš-iši II.

Biography

The circumstances surrounding the fall of the previous (Bazi) dynasty and his ascendancy are unknown. His name was Akkadian and he was described as a remote descendant of Elam^{[nb 2]} in the Dynastic Chronicle^{[i 3]} Despite his ancestry, he does not seem to have been regarded as a foreign interloper by later ages. It records that he was buried in the palace of Sargon^{[nb 3]} and that his rule was for six years. The Eclectic Chronicle^{[i 4]} records his fourth year but the event is not preserved. It may be concerning the suspension of the Akitu festival due to Aramean incursions, as this is the typical subject of the chronicle.^[1]

Four bronze arrowheads from Luristan have been recovered inscribed with his name and the royal title šar kiššati, “king of the world.”^[2] They are now held as part of the Iranian Lorestān bronze collection.

Inscriptions

1. ^ Babylonian Kinglist A, BM 33332, iii 14.
2. ^ Synchronistic King List iii 8 and fragments KAV 10 ii 2 + KAV 182 iii 5.
3. ^ Dynastic Chronicle (ABC 18), column v lines 13 to 15.
4. ^ Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) tablet BM 27859 line 16.

Notes

1. ^ Chronicle 24:16 ^dmār-a-bīti-[àp]la-úṣur.
2. ^ šà-bal-bal [libir(?) NIM-]MA-KI.
3. ^ ina É-GAL LUGAL(-)GI-NA qebir.

References

1. ^ J. A. Brinkman (1982). "Babylonia, c. 1000 – 748 B.C.". In John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, N. G. L. Hammond, E. Sollberger. The Cambridge Ancient History (Volume 3, Part 1). Cambridge University Press. p. 297. 
2. ^ Daniel T. Potts (1999). The archaeology of Elam: formation and transformation of an ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. pp. 262.