Šamaš-šuma-ukīn (r. 667–648 BC)

BM 090866, a marble stele depicting Šamaš-šuma-ukīn carrying a basket on his head and recording that king's restoration of Ezida, the temple of the god Nabû at Borsippa. Image adapted from the British Museum Collection website. Credit: Trustees of the British Museum.

Although Šamaš-šuma-ukīn, the son of Esarhaddon and older brother of Ashurbanipal, was king of Babylon for twenty years, almost nothing is known about his building activities, especially at Babylon, his capital city. This is in stark contrast to Ashurbanipal, the contemporary king of Assyria, for whom many building projects are attested in extant textual sources. At present, Šamaš-šuma-ukīn is known to have carried out the following construction projects:

• Borsippa
Ezida (temple of the god Nabû)
• Sippar
Badullisâ (also called Baduldua; city wall of Sippar)
Ebabbar (temple of the god Šamaš)

Jamie Novotny & Niclas Dannehl

Jamie Novotny & Niclas Dannehl, 'Šamaš-šuma-ukīn (r. 667–648 BC)', Babylonian Temples and Monumental Architecture online (BTMAo), The BTMAo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, [http://oracc.org/btmao/StructuresbyBuilder/Neo-AssyrianPeriod/Shamash-shuma-ukin/]