Adad-shuma-iddina

Adad-šuma-iddina
King of Babylon
Kudurru of the time of Meli-Šipak, referring to decisions in the reigns of Adad-šum-iddina and Adad-šuma-uṣur.
Reign	ca. 1222–1217 BC
Predecessor	Kadašman-Ḫarbe II
Successor	Adad-šuma-uṣur
House	Kassite

Adad-šuma-iddina, inscribed ^mdIM-MU-SUM-na, ("Adad has given a name") and dated to around ca. 1222–1217 BC (short chronology), was the 31st king of the 3rd or Kassite dynasty of Babylon and the country contemporarily known as Karduniaš. He reigned for 6 years some time during the period following the conquest of Babylonia by the Assyrian king, Tukulti-Ninurta I, and has been identified as a vassal king by several historians, a position which is not directly supported by any contemporary evidence.

In many respects, the reign of Adad-šuma-iddina was indistinguishable from other Kassite monarchs. The same iconography of a suckling animal, a characteristic metaphor for the Kassite king’s care for his subjects, is used on a light green and white quartz cylinder seal of one of his servants. It reads: "Kidin-Ninurta, administrator for Enlil and Ninlil, chief cup-bearer for Enlil, chief exorcist of (the temple) Ekurra, exalted exorcist of Adad-šuma-iddina, king of the world, anointed one, butler, the ....., and the ....., son of Ilum-bun[aya], descendant (?) of Amel-....., exalted exorcist of Enlil, the man of ....." A weight is inscribed: “1 true mina, of Adad-šuma-iddina, son of priest-of-Adad” which may be this individual, as regnal inscriptions were often used to authenticate such measures.

Two or three legal texts from the archive of the family of Dayyanatu and some other brewers of the temple of Sîn in Ur have come to light dated to his accession year. One is an adoption contract which warns the "kith or kin whoever lays a claim for the boy, they shall deal with him according to the order of King Adad-šuma-iddina (rikilti šarri Adad-šuma-iddina); they shall drive a copper peg into his mouth." The estate of Takil-ana-ilīšu kudurru, a kudurru of Meli-Šipak, relates the lengthy history of litigation affecting a family estate over three reigns beginning with that of Adad-šuma-iddina. It begins with Takil-ana-ilīšu dying intestate, his son being illegitimate, and then proceeds with the tale of the relatives’ rival claims and the legal mayhem that ensues. Although considered a puppet of Tukulti-Ninurta by many modern historians, this case shows his decisions were honored by later kings.