Ashur-etil-ilani

Ashur-etil-ilani was a king of Assyria ca. (631 BC - ca.627 BC). He succeeded his father Ashurbanipal II.

Problems with source material

The reconstruction of the events occurring during his rulership has proven to be very difficult. One noteworthy problem is the complete absence of sources from central Assyria, and the lack of official recordings of the events (e.g. royal inscriptions). The most important source for this period is the "Nabopolassar Chronicle", which, however, is quite fragmentary in the relevant section.

Reign

The death of Ashurbanipal between 631 and 627 BC opened the way to a serious struggle for the sovereignty over Assyria between several contendants. The contest may have actually begun a few years earlier, in Ashurbanipal's lifetime. The development of the events, and even the number of parties involved, is not known with certainty. It does seem certain that upon Ashurbanipal's death, marauding bands of Scythians, Cimmerians and Medes penetrated the borders of the Assyrian Empire, destroying Ashkelon and raiding as far as Egypt. Also, Calah (Nimrud) was burned, though the strong walls of Nineveh protected the remnants of the Assyrian army that had taken refuge behind them; and when the raiders had passed on to other fields of booty, a new palace was erected among the ruins of the neighbouring city. But its architectural poverty and small size show that the resources of Assyria were at a low ebb.

Dating his reign

According to the Harran Inscription of Nabonidus, Ashur-etil-ilani reigned three years, but there is a contract from Nippur dated to his fourth year. It thus seems that he succeeded Ashurbanipal in 627 till 623. This raises some major problems in the following events of the Assyrian-Babylonian war. [See for this discussion S. Zawadzki, The Fall of Assyria p. 39-41] Ashur-etil-ilani must therefore have accessed the throne before 627. It has been suggested that his reign actually overlapped that of Ashurbanipal. It's more likely that Ashurbanipal died long before 627 because there is no parallel of co regency in Assyria. It has been suggested that Ashurbanipal died in 631 after his last date and that Ashur-etil-ilani succeeded him till 627. [N. Na'aman, ZA 81 1991] . There are still conflicting dates but it might bring us closer to the final solution. [ S. Zawadzki, ZA 85 1995 p. 71-73]

Notes