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, ca. 1223 BC, as "MU 1 ITI 6" according to the Kinglist A,^{[i 1]} a formula which is open to interpretation.

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] 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.^[4]

The other texts, one of unknown origin^{[i 6]} and one apparently from Babylon^{[i 7]} remain unpublished.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.^[5] 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.^[6] However, tt 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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