Ishme-Dagan I
Ishme-Dagan I was a monarch of the Old Assyrian Empire. The much later Assyrian King List credits Ishme-Dagan I with a reign of forty years, however; it is now known from a limmu-list of eponyms unearthed at Kanesh in 2003 that his reign in Assur lasted eleven years. According to the AKL, Ishme-Dagan I was the son and successor of Shamshi-Adad I. Also according to the AKL, Ishme-Dagan I was succeeded by his son Mut-Ashkur.
Biography
Family
Shamshi-Adad I inherited the throne in Terqa from Ila-kabkabu Ila-kabkabu is mentioned as the father of Shamshi-Adad I in the AKL; a similar name is listed in the preceding section of the AKL among the:Shamshi-Adad I did not inherit the Assyrian throne from his father, but was instead a conqueror. Ila-kabkabu was an Amorite king not of Ashur, instead; Ila-kabkabu was king of Terqa during the same time as that of the King Yahdun-Lim of Mari According to the Mari Eponyms Chronicle, Ila-kabkabu seized Shuprum, then Shamshi-Adad I:
Shamshi-Adad I succeeded Ila-kabkabu as the king of Terqa, in the following year. Shamshi-Adad I was forced to flee to Babylon while Naram-Suen of Eshnunna attacked Ekallatum. Shamshi-Adad I remained in exile until the death of Naram-Suen of Eshnunna. The AKL records that Shamshi-Adad I:
Shamshi-Adad I did not return until taking Ekallatum, pausing for some time, and then overthrowing King Erishum II of Assur Shamshi-Adad I conquered Assur and emerged as the first Amorite king of Assyria Shamshi-Adad I attempted to legitimize his position on the Assyrian throne by claiming descent from Ushpia Although regarded as an Amorite by later Assyrian tradition, earlier archaeologists assumed that Shamshi-Adad I had indeed been a native Assyrian. Ushpia was the second last in the section of the AKL:
However, Ushpia has not been confirmed by contemporary artifacts. Ushpia is succeeded on the AKL by his son Apiashal Apiashal is listed within a section of the AKL as the first of the ten:
This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal:
This has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of Shamshi-Adad I. In keeping with this assumption, scholars have inferred that the original form of the AKL had been written as an, "attempt to justify that Shamshi-Adad I was a legitimate ruler of the city-state Ashur and to obscure his non-Assyrian antecedents by incorporating his ancestors into a native Assyrian genealogy." However, this interpretation has not been accepted universally. The Cambridge Ancient History rejected this interpretation and instead interpreted the section as being that of the ancestors of Sulili
Shamshi-Adad I ruled from the capital city of the Old Assyrian Empire: Shubat-Enlil. Shamshi-Adad I placed his oldest son on the throne of Ekallatum. Shamshi-Adad I placed his youngest son on the throne of Mari. Ishme-Dagan I ruled the south-eastern region in Upper Mesopotamia. Ishme-Dagan I's realm of influence included the city-state of Assur.
Correspondence
A number of letters relating the familial relationships between Shamshi-Adad I and his two sons have been excavated, and these letters provide a glimpse into the tensions of this family of rulers. Ishme-Dagan I appears to have been:A quality which allowed Shamshi-Adad I to rely on him unhesitatingly. Shamshi-Adad I's correspondence to his younger son is not as generous, and Ishme-Dagan I appears to have picked up his father's censure of his younger brother and contributed to it. As one letter attests, Ishme-Dagan I asks his brother:
In one other letter; Ishme-Dagan I bluntly commands Yasmah-Adad to:
In another, Ishme-Dagan I tells his brother to stop writing their father directly, and use him as an intermediary. The reasons behind this move could be political, as a way for Ishme-Dagan I to gain more political standing with their father, or perhaps Ishme-Dagan I was sincere in his desire to help his brother appear more competent in their father's eyes.
Conquests of Shamshi-Adad I
Conquests of Shekhna, Ekallatum, and Assur
Shamshi-Adad I inherited the throne in Terqa c. 1833 BCE. He was forced to flee to Babylon c. 1823 BCE. He remained in exile until c. 1815 BCE. He first conquered Ekallatum, and then Assur after overthrowing King Erishum II Shamshi-Adad I took over the long-abandoned town of Shekhna, converted it into the capital city of the Old Assyrian Empire, and then renamed it "Shubat-Enlil" meaning:War against Eshnunna
Ishme-Dagan I's main challenge was in keeping his enemies in check. To Ishme-Dagan I's south was the King Dadusha of Eshnunna To Ishme-Dagan I's east were the warlike, nomadic, pastoral peoples inhabiting the foothills of the Zagros mountains. Eshnunna was to be Ishme-Dagan I's chief enemy, and although records are sparse, there are some accounts of some political conflicts involving Eshnunna. An instance of defeat occurs in a year-name coined by the King Dadusha of Eshnunna which commemorates a victory over an army led by Ishme-Dagan I.King Dadusha of Eshnunna made an alliance with Shamshi-Adad I to conquer the area between the two Zab rivers This military campaign of joint forces was commemorated on a victory stele which states that Dadusha gave the lands to Shamshi-Adad I. Shamshi-Adad I later turned against Dadusha by attacking cities including Shaduppum and Nerebtum. On inscriptions Shamshi-Adad I boasts of erecting triumphal stelae on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, but these probably represent short expeditions rather than any attempts at conquest. His campaigns were meticulously planned, and his army knew all the classic methods of siegecraft, such as: encircling ramparts and battering rams.
Conquest of Mari
During Ishme-Dagan I's reign, the Old Assyrian Empire competed for power in Lower Mesopotamia against Yahdun-Lim of Mari, King Naram-Suen of Eshnunna and his successors. A main target for expansion was the city of Mari, which controlled the caravan route between Anatolia and Mesopotamia. King Yahdun-Lim of Mari was assassinated by his own servants The heir to the throne of Mari was forced to flee to Yamhad. Shamshi-Adad I seized the opportunity and occupied Mari c. 1795 BCE.He placed his sons in key geographical locations and gave them responsibility to look over those areas. Shamshi-Adad I put his eldest son on the throne of Ekallatum, while Shamshi-Adad I remained in Shubat-Enlil. Shamshi-Adad I put his second son, on the throne in Mari. With the annexation of Mari, Shamshi-Adad I had carved out a large empire encompassing much of Syria, Anatolia, and the whole of Upper Mesopotamia. Shamshi-Adad I proclaimed himself as "King of All"
Campaign against Qabra and Nurugum
Shamshi-Adad I, along with Ishme-Dagan I, embarked on a new campaign against both Qabra and Nurugum. During the course of the campaign on Nurugum, Ishme-Dagan I and his armies besieged the city of Nineveh. Once Ishme-Dagan I conquered Nineveh, he allowed some prisoners to enter his army, and gave special treatment to skilled prisoners These expeditions betray the different attitudes of the urban peoples toward the tribal peoples. The people of the kingdoms were treated differently than the tribal people.Campaign against the Ya’ilanum
Another campaign for which records exist is a campaign that Ishme-Dagan I appears to have engaged in was against the nomadic tribe called the Ya’ilanum. Shamshi-Adad I had ordered Yasmah-Adad to execute all the members of this tribe. However, it was the troops of Ishme-Dagan I who later exterminated the entire tribe. There are two accounts of this annihilation, one from Shamshi-Adad I, and one from Ishme-Dagan I. Shamshi-Adad I seems to have slightly reneged on his earlier bloodthirstiness toward the tribes, as his account appears to limit the killing to the leaders and the combatants of the army, but in a letter from Ishme-Dagan I to Yasmah-Adad, it seems the whole population was eradicated, as he states:Death of Shamshi-Adad I
Although his father counted Ishme-Dagan I as politically astute and a capable soldier, commending him as he berated Yasmah-Adad in their letters, Ishme-Dagan I was not able to hold his father's empire for long after his father died. Ishme-Dagan I eventually lost most of his domain, and was reduced to holding Ashur and Ekallatum, despite waging several counter offensives to try to regain the upper Khabur area. The year-name of the fifth year of Ibalpiel II's reign suggests that Eshnunna had been become subservient to the Old Assyrian Empire. Ishme-Dagan I wrote a letter to his brother, after Ishme-Dagan I assumes their father's throne and the rule of all of Upper Mesopotamia, that he:His confidence was overstated, however; as year-names of the eighth and ninth years of King Ibalpiel's reign indicate Eshnunna attacked and destroyed the armies of Ashur and Mari, and Ishme-Dagan I's control over his father's entire realm slipped, as his hold was reduced to the region of Ashur and Ekallatum.
A letter that was purportedly from Ishme-Dagan I, writing to his brother after their father had died, states:
This letter led historians to believe that Yasmah-Adad held the throne of Mari for a while after his father died. However, this letter was proven to actually be from Ishme-Addu of Ashnakku, (written to Ibal-Addu of Ashlakka, thus disproving many chronologies that had been based on the letter.
In addition to letters whose authorship can be verified to Ishme-Dagan I, Shamshi-Adad I and Yasmah-Adad, there have been letters attributed to this family that were not written by them. One such letter caused issues in the chronology of the ancient near east, as it allowed historians to place dates on Hammurabi of Babylon.