Reign 984–979 BC Successor Nabû-mukin-apli | House "Elamite" Dynasty Predecessor Shirikti-shuqamuna | |
Mār-bīti-apla-uṣur, inscribed d on (presumably) contemporary inscriptions on Lorestān bronze arrowheads or d in the Dynastic Chronicle and meaning “O Mar-bīti (a deity associated with Dēr with a sanctuary in Borsippa), protect the heir,” reigned 984–979 BC and was the sole king of Babylon’s short-lived 7th or Elamite Dynasty. According to the Synchronistic King List, he was a contemporary of Assyrian king Aššur-reš-iši II.
Biography
The circumstances surrounding the fall of the previous (Bazi) dynasty and his ascendancy are unknown. His name was wholly Akkadian and he was described as a “remote? descendant of Elam,” šà.bal.bal ˹libir? NIM.˺MA.KI (Akkadian: liplippi Elamti Labīru), in the Dynastic Chronicle. There are no known rulers of Elam bearing Akkadian titles, but his reign coincides with a blank period in Elamite political history. Despite his ancestry, he does not seem to have been regarded as a foreign interloper by later ages. It records that his rule endured for six years and he was buried in the palace of “a legitimate king” or “Sargon”, depending on the interpretation of ina É-GAL LUGAL(-)GI.NA qé.bir, suggesting an interment suitable for a rightful king. The Eclectic Chronicle records the month of Nisānu in his fourth year but the event is not preserved. It may be concerning the suspension of the Akitu festival due to Aramean incursions, as this is the typical subject of the chronicle.
Four bronze arrowheads from Lorestān have been recovered inscribed with his name and the royal title šar kiššati, “king of the world.” They were held as part of the Foroughi collection in Tehran.