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Wikipedia / List of kings of Babylon

The king of Babylon (, later also ) was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon and its kingdom, Babylonia, which existed as an independent realm from the 19th century BC to its fall in the 6th century BC. For the majority of its existence as an independent kingdom, Babylon ruled most of southern Mesopotamia, composed of the ancient regions of Sumer and Akkad. The city experienced two major periods of ascendancy, when Babylonian kings rose to dominate large parts of the Ancient Near East: the First Babylonian Empire (or Old Babylonian Empire, 1894/1880–1595 BC) and the Second Babylonian Empire (or Neo-Babylonian Empire, 626–539 BC).

Many of Babylon's kings were of foreign origin. Throughout the city's nearly two-thousand year history, it was ruled by kings of native Babylonian (Akkadian), Amorite, Armenian, Kassite, Elamite, Aramean, Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, Greek and Parthian origin. A king's cultural and ethnic background does not appear to have been important for the Babylonian perception of kingship, the important matter instead being whether the king was capable of executing the duties traditionally ascribed to the Babylonian king: establishing peace and security, upholding justice, honouring civil rights, refraining from unlawful taxation, respecting religious traditions, constructing temples, providing gifts to the gods in the temples and maintaining cultic order. Babylonian revolts of independence during the times the city was ruled by foreign empires probably had little to do with the rulers of these empires not being Babylonians and more to do with the rulers rarely visiting Babylon and failing to partake in the city's rituals and traditions.

Babylon's last native king was Nabonidus, who reigned from 556 to 539 BC. During his rule, Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire conquered Babylon. Though early Achaemenid kings continued to place importance on Babylon and continued using the title 'king of Babylon', later Achaemenid rulers being ascribed the title is probably only something done by the Babylonians, while the kings abandoned it. Babylonian scribes continued to recognise rulers of the empires that controlled Babylonia as their kings until the time of the Parthian Empire, when Babylon was gradually abandoned. Though Babylon never regained independence after the Achaemenid conquest, there were several attempts by the Babylonians to drive out their foreign rulers and re-establish their kingdom, possibly as late as 336/335 BC under the rebel Nidin-Bel.

Introduction

Royal titles

Throughout the city's long history, various titles were used to designate the ruler of Babylon and its kingdom, the most common titles being 'viceroy of Babylon', 'king of Karduniash' and 'king of Sumer and Akkad'. Oftne, more than one of these titles was used.

  • Viceroy (or governor) of Babylon () – emphasises the political dominion of Babylon. For much of Babylon's history, its rulers referred to themselves as viceroys or governors, rather than kings. The reason for this was that Babylon's true king was formally considered to be its national deity, Marduk. By not explicitly claiming the royal title, rulers thus showed reverence to the city's god. The reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC) has been noted as a particular break in this tradition, as he assumed the title king of Babylon (), which may have contributed to widespread negative reception of him in Babylonia. However, is recorded as being used in some inscriptions from before Sennacherib, such as in the inscriptions of his father and predecessor Sargon II (710–705 BC in Babylon), who used it interchangeably with . Though Sennacherib's successors would primarily use , there are likewise examples of them instead using . These titles were also used interchangeably by the later Neo-Babylonian kings.

  • King of Karduniash () – refers to rule of southern Mesopotamia as a whole. 'Karduniash' was the Kassite name for the Babylonian kingdom, and the title 'king of Karduniash' was introduced by the city's third dynasty (the Kassites). The title continued to be used long after the Kassites had lost control of Babylon, for instance as late as under the native king Nabu-shuma-ukin I ( 900–888 BC) and the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon (681–669 BC).

  • King of Sumer and Akkad () – refers to rule of southern Mesopotamia as a whole, a title originally used by the kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur ( 2112–2004 BC), centuries prior to Babylon's foundation. The title was used by kings to connect themselves to the culture and legacy of the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations, as well as to lay claim to the political hegemony achieved during the Akkadian Empire. The title was also a geographical one, in that southern Mesopotamia was typically divided into the two regions Sumer (the south) and Akkad (the north), meaning that 'king of Sumer and Akkad' referred to rulership over the entire country. The title was used by the Babylonian kings until the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC and was also assumed by Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC and ruled Babylonia until his death in 530 BC.

Role and legitimacy

The Babylonian kings derived their right to rule from divine appointment by Babylon's patron deity Marduk and through consecration by its priests. Marduk's main cult image (often conflated with the god himself), the statue of Marduk, was prominently used in the coronation rituals for the kings, who received their crowns "out of the hands" of Marduk during the New Year's festival, symbolizing them being bestowed with kingship by the deity. The king's rule and his role as Marduk's vassal on Earth were reaffirmed annually at this time of year, when the king entered the Esagila, Babylon's main cult temple, alone on the fifth day of the New Year's Festival each year and met with the high priest. The high priest removed the regalia from the king, slapped him across the face and made him kneel before Marduk's statue. The king would then tell the statue that he had not oppressed his people and that he had maintained order throughout the year, whereafter the high priest would reply (on behalf of Marduk) that the king could continue to enjoy divine support for his rule, returning the royal regalia. Through being a patron of Babylon's temples, the king extended his generosity towards the Mesopotamian gods, who in turn empowered his rule and lent him their authority.

Babylonian kings were expected to establish peace and security, uphold justice, honor civil rights, refrain from unlawful taxation, respect religious traditions and maintain cultic order. None of the king's responsibilities and duties required him to be ethnically or even culturally Babylonian. Any foreigner sufficiently familiar with the royal customs of Babylonia could adopt the title, though they might then require the assistance of the native priesthood and the native scribes. Ethnicity and culture does not appear to have been important in the Babylonian perception of kingship: many foreign kings enjoyed support from the Babylonians, and several native kings were despised. That the rule of some foreign kings was not supported by the Babylonians probably has little to do with their ethnic or cultural background, but rather that they were perceived as not properly executing the traditional duties of the Babylonian king.

Dynasties

As with other monarchies, the kings of Babylon are grouped into a series of royal dynasties, a practice started by the ancient Babylonians in their king lists. The generally accepted Babylonian dynasties should not be understood as familial groupings in the same vein as the term is commonly used by historians for ruling families in later kingdoms and empires. Though Babylon's first dynasty did form a dynastic grouping where all monarchs were related, the dynasties of the first millennium BC, notably the dynasty of E, did not constitute a series of coherent familial relationships at all. In a Babylonian sense, the term dynasty, rendered as or , related to a sequence of monarchs from the same ethnic or tribal group (i.e. the Kassite dynasty), the same region (i.e. the dynasties of the Sealand) or the same city (i.e. the dynasties of Babylon and Isin). In some cases, kings known to be genealogically related, such as Eriba-Marduk ( 769–760 BC) and his grandson Marduk-apla-iddina II (722–710 BC and 703 BC), were separated into different dynasties, the former designated as belonging to the Dynasty of E and the latter as belonging to the (Third) Sealand dynasty.

Sources

Among all the different types of documents uncovered through excavations in Mesopotamia, the most important for reconstructions of chronology and political history are king-lists and chronicles, grouped together under the term 'chronographic texts'. Mesopotamian king lists are of special importance when reconstructing the sequences of monarchs, as they are collections of royal names and regnal dates, also often with additional information such as the relations between the kings, arranged in a table format. In terms of Babylonian rulers, the main document is the Babylonian King List (BKL), a group of three independent documents: Babylonian King List A, B, and C. In addition to the main Babylonian King Lists, there are also additional king-lists that record rulers of Babylon.

  • Babylonian King List A (BKLa, BM 33332) — created at some point after the foundation of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Babylonian King List A records the kings of Babylon from the beginning the first dynasty under Sumu-abum ( 1894–1881 BC) to Kandalanu (648–627 BC). The end of the tablet is broken off, suggesting that it originally listed rulers after Kandalanu as well, possibly also listing the kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. All dynasties are separated by horizontal lines, under which subscript records a sum of the regnal years of each dynasty, and the number of kings the dynasties produced. Written in Neo-Babylonian script.

  • Babylonian King List B (BKLb, BM 38122) — date of origin uncertain, written in Neo-Babylonian script. Babylonian King List B records the kings of the first dynasty and the kings of the First Sealand dynasty, with subscripts recording the number of kings and their summed up reigns in these dynasties. Regnal years are recorded for the kings of the first dynasty, but omitted for the kings of the Sealand dynasty. The regnal years used for the kings are inconsistent with their actual reign lengths, possibly because the author copied the list from a document where the years had been lost or damaged. The list records genealogical information for all but two of the kings of the first dynasty, but only for two of the kings of the Sealand dynasty. Because the document is essentially two lists for two dynasties, it is possible that it was copied and extracted from longer king lists in the late period for some unknown purpose.

  • Babylonian King List C (BKLc) — a short text, written in Neo-Babylonian script. King List C is important as a source on the second dynasty of Isin, as the first seven lines of the preserved nine lines of text provide a portion of the sequence of kings of this dynasty and their dates. The corresponding section in Babylonian King List A is incompletely preserved. As the list ends with the Isin dynasty's seventh king, Marduk-shapik-zeri ( 1081–1069 BC), it is possible that it was written during the reign of his successor, Adad-apla-iddina ( 1068–1047 BC). Its short length and unusual shape (being curved rather than flat) means that it might have been a practice tablet used by a young Babylonian student.

  • Synchronistic King List (ScKL) — a collection of individual tablets and examplars. The Synchronistic King List features two columns and records the kings of Babylon and Assyria together, with kings recorded next to each other presumably being contemporaries. Unlike most of the other documents, this list generally omits regnal years and any genealogical information, but it also differs in including many of the chief scribes under the Assyrian and Babylonian kings. The tablet with the earliest known portion of the list begins with the Assyrian king Erishum I (uncertain regnal dates) and the Babylonian king Sumu-la-El ( 1880–1845 BC). The latest known portion ends with Ashur-etil-ilani (631–627 BC) in Assyria and Kandalanu in Babylon. As it is written in Neo-Assyrian script, it might have been created near the end of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

  • Uruk King List (UKL, IM 65066) — the preserved portion of this king list records rulers from Kandalanu in the Assyrian period to Seleucus II Callinicus (246–225 BC) in the Seleucid period.

  • Babylonian King List of the Hellenistic Period (BM 35603) — written at Babylon at some point after 141 BC, recording rulers from the start of Hellenistic rule in Babylonia under Alexander the Great (331–323 in Babylon), to the end of Seleucid rule under Demetrius II Nicator (145–141 BC in Babylon) and the conquest of Babylonia by the Parthian Empire. Entries before Seleucus I Nicator (305–281 BC) and after Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC) are damaged and fragmentary.

As years in Babylon were named after the current king and the current year of their reign, date formulas in economic, astronomical and literary cuneiform texts written in Babylonia also provide highly important and useful chronological data.

Kingship after the Neo-Babylonian Empire

In addition to the king lists described above, cuneiform inscriptions and tablets confidently establish that the Babylonians continued to recognise the foreign rulers of Babylonia as their legitimate monarchs after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and throughout the rule of the Achaemenid (539–331 BC), Argead (331–310 BC), and Seleucid (305–141 BC) empires, as well as well into the rule of the Parthian Empire (141 BC – AD 224).

Early Achaemenid kings greatly respected Babylonian culture and history, and regarded Babylonia as a separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to a personal union. Despite this, the Babylonians would grow to resent Achaemenid rule, just as they had resented Assyrian rule during the time their country was under the rule of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Babylonian resentment of the Achaemenids likely had little to do with the Achaemenids being foreigners, but rather that the Achaemenid kings were perceived to not be capable of executing the duties of the Babylonian king properly, in line with established Babylonian tradition. This perception then led to frequent Babylonian revolts, an issue experienced by both the Assyrians and the Achaemenids. Since the capitals of the Assyrian and Achaemenid empires were elsewhere, these foreign kings did not regularly partake in the city's rituals (meaning that they could not be celebrated in the same way that they traditionally were) and they rarely performed their traditional duties to the Babylonian cults through constructing temples and presenting cultic gifts to the city's gods. This failure might have been interpreted as the kings thus not having the necessary divine endorsement to be considered true kings of Babylon.

The standard regnal title used by the early Achaemenid kings, not only in Babylon but throughout their empire, was 'king of Babylon and king of the lands'. The Babylonian title was gradually abandoned by the Achaemenid king Xerxes I (486–465 BC), after he had to put down a major Babylonian uprising. Xerxes also divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy into smaller sub-units and, according to some sources, damaged the city in an act of retribution. The last Achaemenid king whose own royal inscriptions officially used the title 'king of Babylon' was Xerxes I's son and successor Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC). After Artaxerxes I's rule there are few examples of monarchs using the title, though the Babylonians continued to ascribe it to their rulers. The only known official explicit use of 'king of Babylon' by a king during the Seleucid period can be found in the Antiochus cylinder, a clay cylinder containing a text wherein Antiochus I Soter (281–261 BC) calls himself, and his father Seleucus I Nicator (305–281 BC), by the title 'king of Babylon', alongside various other ancient Mesopotamian titles and honorifics. The Seleucid kings continued to respect Babylonian traditions and culture, with several Seleucid kings recorded as having "given gifts to Marduk" in Babylon and the New Year's Festival still being recorded as a contemporary event. One of the last times the festival is known to have been celebrated was in 188 BC, under the Seleucid king Antiochus III (222–187 BC), who prominently partook in the rituals. From the Hellenistic period (i. e. the rule of the Greek Argeads and Seleucids) onwards, Greek culture became established in Babylonia, but per Oelsner (2014), the Hellenistic culture "did not deeply penetrate the ancient Babylonian culture, that persisted to exist in certain domains and areas until the 2nd c. AD". Under the Parthian Empire, Babylon was gradually abandoned as a major urban centre and the old Babylonian culture diminished. The nearby and newer imperial capitals cities of Seleucia and later Ctesiphon overshadowed the ancient city and became the seats of power in the region. Babylon was still important in the first century or so of Parthian rule, and cuneiform tablets continued to recognise the rule of the Parthian kings. The standard title formula applied to the Parthian kings in Babylonian documents was " " (, "Arsaces, king of kings"). Several tablets from the Parthian period also in their date formulae mention the queen of the incumbent Parthian king, alongside the king, the first time women were officially recognised as monarchs of Babylon. The few documents that survive from Babylon in the Parthian period indicate a growing sense of alarm and alienation in Babylon as the Parthian kings were mostly absent from the city and the Babylonians noticed their culture slowly slipping away.

When exactly Babylon was abandoned is unclear. The Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote in AD 50 that proximity to Seleucia had turned Babylon into a "barren waste" and during their campaigns in the east, Roman emperors Trajan (in AD 115) and Septimius Severus (in AD 199) supposedly found the city destroyed and deserted. Archaeological evidence and the writings of Abba Arikha ( AD 219) indicate that at least the temples of Babylon may still have been active in the early 3rd century. If any remnants of the old Babylonian culture still existed at that point, they would have been decisively wiped out as the result of religious reforms in the early Sasanian Empire AD 230.

Due to a shortage of sources, and the timing of Babylon's abandonment being unknown, the last ruler recognised by the Babylonians as king is not known. The latest known cuneiform tablet is W22340a, found at Uruk and dated to AD 79/80. The tablet preserves the word (king), indicating that the Babylonians by this point still recognised a king. At this time, Babylonia was ruled by the Parthian rival king (i. e. usurper) Artabanus III. Modern historians are divided on where the line of monarchs ends. Spar and Lambert (2005) did not include any rulers beyond the first century AD in their list of kings recognised by the Babylonians, but Beaulieu (2018) considered 'Dynasty XIV of Babylon' (his designation for the Parthians as rulers of the city) to have lasted until the end of Parthian rule of Babylonia in the early 3rd century AD.

Names in cuneiform

The list below includes the names of all the kings in Akkadian, as well as how the Akkadian names were rendered in cuneiform signs. Up until the reign of Burnaburiash II ( 1359–1333 BC) of the Kassite dynasty (Dynasty III), Sumerian was the dominant language for use in inscriptions and official documents, with Akkadian eclipsing it under the reign of Kurigalzu II ( 1332–1308 BC), and thereafter replacing Sumerian in inscriptions and documents. For consistency purposes, and because several kings and their names are known only from king lists, which were written in Akkadian centuries after Burnaburiash II's reign, this list solely uses Akkadian, rather than Sumerian, for the royal names, though this is anachronistic for rulers before Burnaburiash II.

It is not uncommon for there to be several different spellings of the same name in Akkadian, even when referring to the same individual. To exemplify this, the table below presents two ways the name of Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) was spelt in Akkadian (). The list of kings below uses more concise spellings when possible, primarily based on the renditions of names in date formulae and king lists.

Concise spelling (king lists)

Elaborate spelling (building inscriptions)

Even if the same spelling is used, there were also several different scripts of cuneiform signs: a name, even if spelt the same, looks considerably different in Old Babylonian signs compared to Neo-Babylonian signs or Neo-Assyrian signs. The table below presents different variants, depending on the signs used, of the name Antiochus in Akkadian (). The list of kings below uses Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian signs, given that those scripts are the signs primarily used in the king lists.

Date formulae (Neo-Babylonian signs)

Antiochus cylinder

Antiochus cylinder (Neo-Babylonian signs)

Antiochus cylinder (Neo-Assyrian signs)

Dynasty I (Amorite), 1894–1595 BC

Per BKLb, the native name for this dynasty was simply ('dynasty of Babylon'). To differentiate it from the other dynasties that later ruled Babylon, modern historians often refer to this dynasty as the 'First Dynasty of Babylon'. Some historians refer to this dynasty as the 'Amorite dynasty' on account of the kings being of Amorite descent. While the king list gives a regnal length of 31 years for the final king, Samsu-Ditana, the destruction layer at Babylon is dated to his 26th year and no later sources have been found.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Sumu-abum

1894 BC

1881 BC

First king of Babylon in BKLa and BKLb

Sumu-la-El

1880 BC

1845 BC

Unclear succession

Sabium

1844 BC

1831 BC

Son of Sumu-la-El

Apil-Sin

1830 BC

1813 BC

Son of Sabium

Sin-Muballit

1812 BC

1793 BC

Son of Apil-Sin

Hammurabi

1792 BC

1750 BC

Son of Sin-Muballit

Samsu-iluna

1749 BC

1712 BC

Son of Hammurabi

Abi-Eshuh

1711 BC

1684 BC

Son of Samsu-iluna

Ammi-Ditana

1683 BC

1647 BC

Son of Abi-Eshuh

Ammi-Saduqa

1646 BC

1626 BC

Son of Ammi-Ditana

Samsu-Ditana

1625 BC

1595 BC

Son of Ammi-Saduqa

Dynasty II (First Sealand), 1725–1475 BC

Both BKLa and BKLb refer to this dynasty as ('dynasty of Urukug'). Presumably, the city of Urukug was the dynasty's point of origin. Some literary sources refer to some of the kings of this dynasty as 'kings of the Sealand', and thus modern historians refer to it as a dynasty of the Sealand. The designation as the first Sealand dynasty differentiates it from Dynasty V, which the Babylonians actually referred to as a 'dynasty of the Sealand'. This dynasty overlaps with Dynasty I and Dynasty III, with these kings actually ruling the region south of Babylon (the Sealand) rather than Babylon itself. For instance, the king Gulkishar of this dynasty was actually a contemporary of Dynasty I's last king, Samsu-Ditana. It is possible that the dynasty was included in Babylon's dynastic history by later scribes either because it controlled Babylon for a time, because it controlled or strongly influenced parts of Babylonia or because it was the most stable power of its time in Babylonia. The dates listed below are highly uncertain, and follow the timespan listed for the dynasty in Beaulieu (2018), 1725–1475 BC, with the individual dates based the lengths of the reigns of the kings, also as given by Beaulieu (2018).

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Ilum-ma-ili

1725 BC

??

Unclear succession

Itti-ili-nibi

??

Unclear succession

...

—

??

Unclear succession

Damqi-ilishu

[26 years(?)]

Unclear succession

Ishkibal

[15 years]

Unclear succession

Shushushi

[24 years]

Brother of Ishkibal

Gulkishar

[55 years]

Unclear succession

mDIŠ-U-EN

[Uncertain reading]

??

Unclear succession

Peshgaldaramesh

1599 BC

1549 BC

Son of Gulkishar

Ayadaragalama

1548 BC

1520 BC

Son of Peshgaldaramesh

Akurduana

1519 BC

1493 BC

Unclear succession

Melamkurkurra

1492 BC

1485 BC

Unclear succession

Ea-gamil

1484 BC

1475 BC

Unclear succession

Dynasty III (Kassite), 1729–1155 BC

The entry for this dynasty's name in BKLa is lost, but other Babylonian sources refer to it as ('dynasty of the Kassites'). The reconstruction of the sequence and names of the early rulers of this dynasty, the kings before Karaindash, is difficult and controversial. The king lists are damaged at this point and the preserved portions seem to contradict each other: for instance, BKLa has a king in-between Kashtiliash I and Abi-Rattash, omitted in the Synchronistic King List, whereas the Synchronistic King List includes Kashtiliash II, omitted in BKLa, between Abi-Rattash and Urzigurumash. It also seems probable that the earliest kings ascribed to this dynasty in king lists did not actually rule Babylon, but were added as they were ancestors of the later rulers. Babylonia was not fully consolidated and reunified until the reign of Ulamburiash, who defeated Ea-gamil, the last king of the first Sealand dynasty.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Gandash

1729 BC

1704 BC

Unclear succession

Agum I

1703 BC

1682 BC

Son of Gandash

Kashtiliash I

1681 BC

1660 BC

Son of Agum I

...

—

1659 BC

??

Unclear succession

Abi-Rattash

??

Son of Kashtiliash I

Kashtiliash II

??

Unclear succession

Urzigurumash

??

Descendant of Abi-Rattash (?)

Agum II

??

Son of Urzigurumash

Harba-Shipak

??

Unclear succession

Shipta'ulzi

??

Unclear succession

...

—

??

Unclear succession

Burnaburiash I

1530 BC

1500 BC

Unclear succession, earliest Kassite ruler confidently attested as ruling Babylon itself

Ulamburiash

[ 1475 BC]

Son of Burnaburiash I (?), reunified Babylonia through defeating Ea-gamil, the last king of the first Sealand dynasty

Kashtiliash III

??

Son of Burnaburiash I (?)

Agum III

??

Son of Kashtiliash III

Kadashman-Sah

??

Unclear succession, co-ruler with Agum III?

Karaindash

[ 1415 BC]

Unclear succession

Kadashman-Harbe I

[ 1400 BC]

Son of Karaindash (?)

Kurigalzu I

??

Son of Kadashman-harbe I

Kadashman-Enlil I

1374 BC

1360 BC

Son of Kurigalzu I (?)

Burnaburiash II

1359 BC

1333 BC

Son of Kadashman-Enlil I (?)

Kara-hardash

1333 BC

1333 BC

Son of Burnaburiash II (?)

Nazi-Bugash

1333 BC

1333 BC

Usurper, unrelated to other kings

Kurigalzu II

1332 BC

1308 BC

Son of Burnaburiash II

Nazi-Maruttash

1307 BC

1282 BC

Son of Kurigalzu II

Kadashman-Turgu

1281 BC

1264 BC

Son of Nazi-Maruttash

Kadashman-Enlil II

1263 BC

1255 BC

Son of Kadashman-Turgu

Kudur-Enlil

1254 BC

1246 BC

Son of Kadashman-Enlil II

Shagarakti-Shuriash

1245 BC

1233 BC

Son of Kudur-Enlil

Kashtiliash IV

1232 BC

1225 BC

Son of Shagarakti-Shuriash

Enlil-nadin-shumi

1224 BC

1224 BC

Unclear succession

Kadashman-Harbe II

1223 BC

1223 BC

Unclear succession

Adad-shuma-iddina

1222 BC

1217 BC

Unclear succession

Adad-shuma-usur

1216 BC

1187 BC

Son of Kashtiliash IV (?)

Meli-Shipak

1186 BC

1172 BC

Son of Adad-shuma-usur

Marduk-apla-iddina I

1171 BC

1159 BC

Son of Meli-Shipak

Zababa-shuma-iddin

1158 BC

1158 BC

Unclear succession

Enlil-nadin-ahi

1157 BC

1155 BC

Unclear succession

Dynasty IV (Second Isin), 1153–1022 BC

Per BKLa, the native name of this dynasty was ('dynasty of Isin'). Presumably, the city of Isin was the dynasty's point of origin. Modern historians refer to this dynasty as the second dynasty of Isin to differentiate it from the ancient Sumerian dynasty of Isin. Previous scholarship assumed that the first king of this dynasty, Marduk-kabit-ahheshu, ruled for the first years of his reign concurrently with the last Kassite king, but recent research suggests that this was not the case. This list follows the revised chronology of the kings of this dynasty, per Beaulieu (2018), which also means revising the dates of subsequent dynasties.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Marduk-kabit-ahheshu

1153 BC

1136 BC

Unclear succession

Itti-Marduk-balatu

1135 BC

1128 BC

Son of Marduk-kabit-ahheshu

Ninurta-nadin-shumi

1127 BC

1122 BC

Relative of Itti-Marduk-balatu (?)

Nebuchadnezzar I

1121 BC

1100 BC

Son of Ninurta-nadin-shumi

Enlil-nadin-apli

1099 BC

1096 BC

Son of Nebuchadnezzar I

Marduk-nadin-ahhe

1095 BC

1078 BC

Son of Ninurta-nadin-shumi, usurped the throne from Enlil-nadin-apli

Marduk-shapik-zeri

1077 BC

1065 BC

Son of Marduk-nadin-ahhe (?)

Adad-apla-iddina

1064 BC

1043 BC

Usurper, unrelated to previous kings

Marduk-ahhe-eriba

1042 BC

1042 BC

Unclear succession

Marduk-zer-X

1041 BC

1030 BC

Unclear succession

Nabu-shum-libur

1029 BC

1022 BC

Unclear succession

Dynasty V (Second Sealand dynasty), 1021–1001 BC

Per BKLa, the native name of this dynasty was ('dynasty of the Sealand'). Modern historians call it the second Sealand dynasty in order to distinguish it from Dynasty II.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Simbar-shipak

1021 BC

1004 BC

Probably of Kassite descent, unclear succession

Ea-mukin-zeri

1004 BC

1004 BC

Probably of Kassite descent (Bit-Hashmar clan), usurped the throne from Simbar-Shipak

Kashshu-nadin-ahi

1003 BC

1001 BC

Probably of Kassite descent, son of Simbar-shipak (?)

Dynasty VI (Bazi), 1000–981 BC

BKLa refers to this dynasty as ('dynasty of Baz') and the Dynastic Chronicle calls it ('dynasty of Bit-Bazi'). The Bit-Bazi were a clan attested already in the Kassite period. It is likely that the dynasty derives its name either from the city of Baz, or from descent from Bazi, the legendary founder of that city.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Eulmash-shakin-shumi

1000 BC

984 BC

Possibly of Kassite descent (Bit-Bazi clan), unclear succession

Ninurta-kudurri-usur I

983 BC

981 BC

Possibly of Kassite descent (Bit-Bazi clan), unclear succession

Shirikti-shuqamuna

981 BC

981 BC

Possibly of Kassite descent (Bit-Bazi clan), brother of Ninurta-kudurri-usur I

Dynasty VII (Elamite), 980–975 BC

BKLa dynastically separates Mar-biti-apla-usur from other kings with horizontal lines, marking him as belonging to a dynasty of his own. The Dynastic Chronicle also groups him by himself, and refers to his dynasty (containing only him) as the ('dynasty of Elam').

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Mar-biti-apla-usur

980 BC

975 BC

Elamite, or more likely of Elamite ancestry, unclear succession

Dynasty VIII (E), 974–732 BC

Per BKLa, the native name of this dynasty was ('dynasty of E'). The meaning of 'E' is not clear, but it is likely a reference to the city of Babylon, meaning that the name should be interpreted as 'dynasty of Babylon'. The time of the dynasty of E was a time of great instability and the unrelated kings grouped together under this dynasty even belonged to completely different ethnic groups. Another Babylonian historical work, the Dynastic Chronicle (though it is preserved only fragmentarily), breaks this dynasty up into a succession of brief, smaller, dynasties.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Nabu-mukin-apli

974 BC

939 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

Ninurta-kudurri-usur II

939 BC

939 BC

Babylonian, son of Nabu-mukin-apli

Mar-biti-ahhe-iddina

938 BC

??

Babylonian, son of Nabu-mukin-apli

Shamash-mudammiq

??

901 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

Nabu-shuma-ukin I

900 BC

887 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

Nabu-apla-iddina

886 BC

853 BC

Babylonian, son of Nabu-shuma-ukin I

Marduk-zakir-shumi I

852 BC

825 BC

Babylonian, son of Nabu-apla-iddina

Marduk-balassu-iqbi

824 BC

813 BC

Babylonian, son of Marduk-zakir-shumi I

Baba-aha-iddina

813 BC

812 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

Babylonian interregnum (at least four years)

Ninurta-apla-X

??

Babylonian, unclear succession

Marduk-bel-zeri

??

Babylonian, unclear succession

Marduk-apla-usur

??

769 BC

Chaldean chief of an uncertain tribe, unclear succession

Eriba-Marduk

769 BC

760 BC

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Yakin tribe, unclear succession

Nabu-shuma-ishkun

760 BC

748 BC

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Dakkuri tribe, unclear succession

Nabonassar

748 BC

734 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

Nabu-nadin-zeri

734 BC

732 BC

Babylonian, son of Nabonassar

Nabu-shuma-ukin II

732 BC

732 BC

Babylonian, unclear succession

  1. note: Babylonian King List A records the names of 17 kings of the dynasty of E, but it states afterwards that the dynasty comprised 22 kings. The discrepancy might be explainable as a scribal error, but it is also possible that there were further kings in the sequence. The list is broken at critical points, and it is possible that five additional kings, whose names thus do not survive, could be inserted between the end of the Babylonian interregnum and the reign of Ninurta-apla-X. Lists of Babylonian rulers by modern historians tend to list Ninurta-apla-X as the first king to rule after Baba-aha-iddina's deposition.

Dynasty IX (Assyrian), 732–626 BC

'Dynasty IX' is used to, broadly speaking, refer to the rulers of Babylonia during the time it was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, including Assyrian kings of both the Adaside dynasty and the subsequent Sargonid dynasty, as well as various non-dynastic vassal and rebel kings. They are often grouped together as a dynasty by modern scholars as BKLa does not use lines to separate the rulers, used elsewhere in the list to separate dynasties. BKLa also assigns individual dynastic labels to some of the kings, though thus not in the same fashion as is done for the more concrete earlier dynasties. The designation associated with each king (they are recorded in the list up until Mushezib-Marduk) is included in the table below and follows Fales (2014).

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Nabu-mukin-zeri

732 BC

729 BC

'Dynasty of Shapi'

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Amukkani tribe, usurped the throne

Tiglath-Pileser III

729 BC

727 BC

'Dynasty of [Assur]'

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — conquered Babylon

Shalmaneser V

727 BC

722 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Tiglath-Pileser III

Marduk-apla-iddina II(First reign)

722 BC

710 BC

'Dynasty of the Sealand'

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Yakin tribe, proclaimed king upon Shalmaneser V's death

Sargon II

710 BC

705 BC

'Dynasty of [Hanigalbat]'

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Tiglath-Pileser III (?)

Sennacherib(First reign)

705 BC

703 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Sargon II

Marduk-zakir-shumi II

703 BC

703 BC

A 'Son [descendant] of Arad-Ea'

Babylonian rebel of the Arad-Ea family, rebel king

Marduk-apla-iddina II(Second reign)

703 BC

703 BC

'Soldier of [Hanigalbat?]'

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Yakin tribe, retook the throne

Bel-ibni

703 BC

700 BC

'Dynasty of E'

Babylonian vassal king of the Rab-bānî family, appointed by Sennacherib

Aššur-nādin-šumi

700 BC

694 BC

'Dynasty of [Hanigalbat]'

Son of Sennacherib, appointed as vassal king by his father

Nergal-ushezib

694 BC

693 BC

'Dynasty of E'

Babylonian rebel of the Gaḫal kin family, rebel king

Mushezib-Marduk

693 BC

689 BC

Chaldean chief of the Bit-Dakkuri tribe, rebel king

Sennacherib(Second reign)

689 BC

20 October681 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — retook Babylon

Esarhaddon

December681 BC

1 November669 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Sennacherib

Ashurbanipal(First reign)

1 November669 BC

March668 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Esarhaddon

Šamaš-šuma-ukin

March668 BC

648 BC

Son of Esarhaddon, designated by his father as heir to Babylon, invested as vassal king by Ashurbanipal

Ashurbanipal(Second reign)

648 BC

646 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — retook Babylon after rebellion by Šamaš-šuma-ukin

Kandalanu

647 BC

627 BC

Appointed as vassal king by Ashurbanipal

Sin-shumu-lishir

626 BC

626 BC

Usurper in the Neo-Assyrian Empire — recognised in Babylonia

Sinsharishkun

626 BC

626 BC

King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire — son of Ashurbanipal

Dynasty X (Chaldean), 626–539 BC

The native name for this dynasty does not appear in any sources, as the kings of Dynasty X are only listed in king lists made during the Hellenistic period, when the concept of dynasties ceased being used by Babylonians chronographers to describe Babylonian history. Modern historians typically refer to the dynasty as the 'Neo-Babylonian dynasty', as these kings ruled the Neo-Babylonian Empire, or the 'Chaldean dynasty', after the presumed ethnic origin of the royal line. The Dynastic Chronicle, a later document, refers to Nabonidus as the founder and only king of the 'dynasty of Harran' (), and may also indicate a dynastic change with Neriglissar's accession, but much of the text is fragmentary.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Nabopolassar

22/23 November626 BC

15 August605 BC

Babylonian rebel, defeated Sinsharishkun

Nebuchadnezzar II

15 August605 BC

7 October562 BC

Son of Nabopolassar

Amel-Marduk

7 October562 BC

August560 BC

Son of Nebuchadnezzar II

Neriglissar

August560 BC

April556 BC

Son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar II, usurped the throne

Labashi-Marduk

April556 BC

June556 BC

Son of Neriglissar

Nabonidus

25 May556 BC

13 October539 BC

Son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar II (?), usurped the throne, co-rulers: Nitocris and Belshazzar

Babylon under foreign rule, 539 BC – AD 224

The concept of dynasties ceased being used in king-lists made after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, meaning that the native Babylonian designations for the ruling dynasties of the foreign empires that succeeded the Chaldean kings are unknown.

Dynasty XI (Achaemenid), 539–331 BC

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Cyrus II the Great

29 October539 BC

August530 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — conquered Babylon

Cambyses II

August530 BC

April522 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Cyrus II

Bardiya

April/May522 BC

29 September522 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Cyrus II or an impostor

Nebuchadnezzar III

3 October522 BC

December522 BC

Babylonian rebel of the Zazakku family, claimed to be a son of Nabonidus

Darius I the Great(First reign)

December522 BC

25 August521 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — distant relative of Cyrus II

Nebuchadnezzar IV

25 August521 BC

27 November521 BC

Babylonian rebel of Armenian descent, claimed to be a son of Nabonidus

Darius I the Great(Second reign)

27 November521 BC

November486 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — retook Babylon

Xerxes I the Great(First reign)

November486 BC

July484 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Darius I

Shamash-eriba

July484 BC

October484 BC

Babylonian rebel

Bel-shimanni

July484 BC

August484 BC

Babylonian rebel

Xerxes I the Great(Second reign)

October484 BC

465 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — retook Babylon

Artaxerxes I

465 BC

December424 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Xerxes I

Xerxes II

—

424 BC

424 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Artaxerxes I

Sogdianus

—

424 BC

423 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I

Darius II

February423 BC

c. April404 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I

Artaxerxes II

c. April404 BC

359/358 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Darius II

Artaxerxes III

359/358 BC

338 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Artaxerxes II

Artaxerxes IV

338 BC

336 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — son of Artaxerxes III

Nidin-Bel

336 BC

336/335 BC

Babylonian rebel (?), attested only in the Uruk King List, alternatively a scribal error

Darius III

336/335 BC

October331 BC

King of the Achaemenid Empire — grandson of Artaxerxes II

Dynasty XII (Argead), 331–305 BC

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Alexander III the Great

October331 BC

11 June323 BC

King of Macedon — conquered the Achaemenid Empire

Philip III Arrhidaeus

11 June323 BC

317 BC

King of Macedon — brother of Alexander III

Antigonus I Monophthalmus

317 BC

309/308 BC

King of the Antigonid Empire — general (Diadochus) of Alexander III

Alexander IV

316 BC

310 BC

King of Macedon — son of Alexander III

Dynasty XIII (Seleucid), 305–141 BC

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Seleucus I Nicator

305 BC

September281 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — general (Diadochus) of Alexander III

Antiochus I Soter

294 BC

2 June261 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Seleucus I

Seleucus

281 BC

266 BC

Joint-king of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus I

Antiochus II Theos

266 BC

July246 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus I

Seleucus II Callinicus

July246 BC

225 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus II

Seleucus III Ceraunus

225 BC

223 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Seleucus II

Antiochus III the Great

223 BC

3 July187 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Seleucus II

Antiochus

210 BC

192 BC

Joint-king of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus III

Seleucus IV Philopator

189 BC

3 September175 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus III

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

3 September175 BC

164 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus III

Antiochus

175 BC

170 BC

Joint-king of the Seleucid Empire — son of Seleucus IV

Antiochus V Eupator

164 BC

162 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Antiochus IV

Demetrius I Soter(First reign)

c. January161 BC

c. January161 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Seleucus IV

Timarchus

—

c. January161 BC

c. May161 BC

Rebel satrap (vassal governor) under the Seleucids — captured and briefly ruled Babylonia

Demetrius I Soter(Second reign)

c. May161 BC

150 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — reconquered Babylonia

Alexander Balas

150 BC

146 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — supposedly son of Antiochus IV

Demetrius II Nicator

146 BC

141 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Demetrius I

Dynasty XIV (Arsacid), 141 BC – AD 224

  1. note: The chronology of the Parthian kings, especially in the early period, is disputed on account of a lack of sources. The chronology here, which omits several rival kings and usurpers, primarily follows Shayegan (2011), Dąbrowa (2012) and Daryaee (2012). For alternate interpretations, see the List of Parthian monarchs.

King

Akkadian

Reigned from

Reigned until

Succession

Ref

Mithridates I

141 BC

132 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — conquered Babylonia

Phraates II(First reign)

132 BC

July130 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Mithridates I

Rinnu

132 BC

July130 BC

Mother and regent for Phraates II, who was a minor at the time of his accession

Antiochus VII Sidetes

July130 BC

November129 BC

King of the Seleucid Empire — son of Demetrius I, conquered Babylonia

Phraates II(Second reign)

November129 BC

128/127 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — reconquered Babylonia

Ubulna

November129 BC

128/127 BC

Unclear identity, associated with Phraates II – probably his queen

Hyspaosines

128/127 BC

November127 BC

King of Characene — captured Babylon in the wake of Antiochus VII Sidetes's campaign

Artabanus I

November127 BC

124 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — brother of Mithridates I, conquered Babylonia

Mithridates II

124 BC

91 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Artabanus I

Gotarzes I

91 BC

80 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Mithridates II

Asi'abatar

91 BC

80 BC

Wife (queen) of Gotarzes I

Orodes I

80 BC

75 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Mithridates II or Gotarzes I

Ispubarza

80 BC

75 BC

Sister-wife (queen) of Orodes I

Sinatruces

75 BC

69 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son or brother of Mithridates I

Phraates III

69 BC

57 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Sinatruces

Piriustana

69 BC

??

Wife (queen) of Phraates III

Teleuniqe

??

57 BC

Wife (queen) of Phraates III

Orodes II

57 BC

38 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Phraates III

Phraates IV

38 BC

2 BC

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Orodes II

Phraates V

2 BC

AD 4

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Phraates IV

Orodes III

AD 4

AD 6

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Phraates IV (?)

Vonones I

AD 6

AD 12

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Phraates IV

Artabanus II

AD 12

AD 38

King of the Parthian Empire — grandson of Phraates IV (?)

Vardanes I

AD 38

AD 46

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Artabanus II

Gotarzes II

AD 38

AD 51

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Artabanus II

Vonones II

AD 51

AD 51

King of the Parthian Empire — grandson of Phraates IV (?)

Vologases I

AD 51

AD 78

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Vonones II or Artabanus II

Pacorus II

AD 78

AD 110

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Vologases I

Artabanus III

AD 79/80

AD 81

Rival king of the Parthian Empire (against Pacorus II) — son of Vologases I

Osroes I

—

AD 109

AD 129

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Pacorus II

Vologases III

—

AD 110

AD 147

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Pacorus II

Parthamaspates

—

AD 116

AD 117

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Osroes I

Vologases IV

—

AD 147

AD 191

King of the Parthian Empire — grandson of Pacorus II

Vologases V

—

AD 191

AD 208

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Vologases IV

Vologases VI

—

AD 208

AD 216/228

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Vologases V

Artabanus IV

—

AD 216

AD 224

King of the Parthian Empire — son of Vologases V

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Web sources