Kadashman-Harbe II

Kadašman-Ḫarbe II, inscribed ^dKa-dáš-man-Ḫar-be, Kad-aš-man-Ḫar-be or variants and meaning I believe in Ḫarbe, the lord of the Kassite pantheon corresponding to Enlil, succeeded Enlil-nādin-šumi, as the 30th Kassite or 3rd dynasty king of Babylon. His reign was recorded as lasting only one year, six months, c. 1223 BC, as "MU 1 ITI 6" according to the Kinglist A,^{[i 1]} a formula which is open to interpretation.

Kadašman-Ḫarbe II
King of Babylon
Reign	c. 1223 BC
Predecessor	Enlil-nādin-šumi
Successor	Adad-šuma-iddina
House	Kassite

Biography

He seems to have been elevated to the kingship following the downfall of Enlil-nādin-šumi after the invasion of Elamite forces under their king, Kidin-Hutran III. He may have ruled during the Assyrian hegemony of Tukulti-Ninurta I or possibly in the period between the capture of the earlier Kassite monarch, Kaštiliašu IV, and the second Assyrian campaign which conquered the city of Babylon.^[1] There is little known about the reign other than it was short, perhaps just a few months.^[2]

Despite the apparent brevity of his reign, there are six economic texts (clay tablets) dated to him. The two economic texts from Ur include a judgment of a case^{[i 2]} involving the aborted purchase of a boy called Bunni-Sîn and the aggressive steps his would-be buyer (Šamaš-ēṭir) took to seek return of his fee, including imprisoning the wife (Rihītuša) of the acting surety (Irība-ili). The other Ur text^{[i 3]} is dated seven months later and is a purchase contract for a cow with calf, where Šamaš-ēṭir once again acts as buyer.^[3][4] There are two texts from Nippur dated to his reign, one of which^{[i 4]} records the sale of a girl, one-half cubit in size, to Rabâ-ša-Ninimma, as a wife for his second son, Ninimma-zēra-šubši, for the price of two fine muḫtillû-garments, worth two shekels of gold, and some food. The other text is a ration list^{[i 5]} and is the earliest of the dated clay tablets.^[5]

The other texts, one of unknown origin^{[i 6]} and one apparently from Babylon^{[i 7]} remain unpublished. This second text would have presented a chronological problem as it could be dated Ṭebētu, 10th day tenth year if the Winkelhaken has been correctly read.^[6] It was recovered from the archive of Itti-Ezida-lummir in Babylon (Pedersén M8) along with another tablet of unconventional dating,^{[i 8]} leading Werner Nahm to suggest them both ancient fabrications.^[7] However, it is written in the heavily slanted paleography of late Middle Babylonian cuneiform and should probably read as 1 in contrast to the 10 date on the preceding line.^[8] The other five texts fall within a twelve-month period. Also, another tablet from Nippur^{[i 9]} mentions him probably in the context of an earlier transaction in his accession year: [M]U.SAG.˹NA˺[M.L]UGAL-rí ˹^d˺ka-dáš-m[an-ḫar-b]e, but the date for the document omits a king's name.^[9]

Inscriptions

1. Kinglist A, BM 33332, ii 9.
2. Museum ref. IM 85473, excavation ref. U 7788d, settlement of a dispute arising from purchase of a slave, Gurney text 2, Brinkman K^b.2.2.2., month of Ṭebētu, day 28, accession year.
3. Museum ref. IM 85505, excavation ref. U 7787i, purchase of a cow with calf, Gurney text 34, Brinkman K^b.2.2.4., month of Abu, day 9, year 1(?).
4. Museum ref. CBS 12917, legal text for purchase of a wife, Brinkman K^b.2.2.1., month of Kislīmu, day 11, year accession year.
5. Museum ref. CBS 7241, month of Kislīmu, accession year.
6. Museum ref. YBC 7652, dated month of Elūlu day 14, first year .
7. Bab 39045, dated month Ṭebētu day 10 tenth year.
8. A. 1998 (= Bab 39031), a tablet with a Kadašman-Enlil immediately preceding the reign of Kadašman-Turgu.
9. Museum ref. IM 80114, excavation ref. 14 N 211, dated month of Simānu, day 15, first year.

References

1. Shigeo Yamada (2003). "Tukulti-Ninurta I's Rule over Babylonia and its Aftermath - A Historical Reconstruction". Orient. 38: 161. doi:10.5356/orient1960.38.153.
2. J. A. Brinkman (1999). "Kadašman-Ḫarbe II". In Dietz Otto Edzard (ed.). Reallexikon Der Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Ia – Kizzuwatna (Volume 5). Walter De Gruyter. p. 286.
3. O. R. Gurney (1983). Middle Babylonian Legal & Economic Texts from Ur. British School of Archaeology in Iraq. pp. 22–28, 104–106.
4. Brinkman, J. A.. "The Names of the Last Eight Kings of the Kassite Dynasty" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 59, no. Jahresband, 1969, pp. 231-246
5. J. A. Brinkman (1976). Materials and Studies for Kassite History, Vol. I (MSKH I). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pp. 383–384.
6. Olof Pedersén (2005). Archive und Bibliotheken in Babylon: die Tontafeln der Grabung Robert Koldeweys 1899-1917. Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in Kommission bei sdv Saarländische Druckererei und Verlag. p. 98.
7. Werner Nahm (2016). "12. Kadašman-Enlil IIa as a Green Tiger". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (NABU) (1 (Mars)): 17.
8. J. A. Brinkman (2016). "45. The Green Tiger, Revisited". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (NABU) (2 (juin)): 75.
9. J. A. Brinkman (1993). "Catalogue of Tablets". In Richard L. Zettler (ed.). Nippur III: Kassite Buildings in Area WC-1 (OIP 111). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 98.