Marduk-bel-zeri
| Marduk-bēl-zēri | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
| Reign | 8th century BC |
| Predecessor | Ninurta-apla-X |
| Successor | Marduk-apla-uṣur |
| House | Dynasty of E (mixed dynasties) |
Marduk-bēl-zēri, inscribed in cuneiform as dAMAR.UTU.EN.NUMUN[i 1][i 2] or mdŠID.EN.[x][i 3] and meaning 'Marduk (is) lord of descendants (lit. seed)',[1] was one of the kings of Babylon during the turmoil following the Assyrian invasions of Šamši-Adad V (ca. 824 – 811 BC). He is identified on a Synchronistic King List fragment[i 3] as Marduk-[bēl]-x, which gives his place in the sequence and reigned around the beginning of the 8th century BC. He was a rather obscure monarch and the penultimate predecessor of Erība-Marduk who was to restore order after years of chaos.[2]
Biography[edit]
He is known from a single economic text[i 1] from the southern city of Udāni dated to his accession year (MU.SAG.NAM.LUGAL). This city was a satellite cultic center to Uruk, of uncertain location but possibly near Marad, later to be known as Udannu, associated with the deities dIGI.DU (the two infernal Nergals) and Bēlet-Eanna (associated with Ištar).[3] The document records the parts of a chariot including the wagon pole (mašaddu) which had been entrusted by Belšunu, the šangû or chief administrator[4] of Udāni to the temple of dIGI.DU (Igišta, Palil?).[1] He is tentatively restored to the Dynastic Chronicle[i 2] where he is described as "a soldier" (lúaga.[úš]) but his circumstances are otherwise unknown.[5]
Inscriptions[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b J. A. Brinkman (1968). A political history of post-Kassite Babylonia, 1158-722 B.C. Analecta Orientalia. p. 214.
- ^ J. A. Brinkman (1999). "Marduk-bēl-zēri". In Dietz Otto Edzard (ed.). Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Libanukasabas - Medizin. Vol. 7. Walter De Gruyter. p. 376.
- ^ Paul-Alain Beaulieu (2003). The pantheon of Uruk during the neo-Babylonian period. Brill Academic Pub. pp. 289–290.
- ^ CAD, Š I, p. 377.
- ^ Jean-Jacques Glassner (2004). Mesopotamian chronicles. Brill. pp. 132–133.
