Sinsharishkun

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Sîn-šar-iškun
Letter written by Sîn-šar-iškun to his primary enemy, Nabopolassar of Babylon, in which he recognizes him as king of Babylon and pleads to be allowed to retain his kingdom. The authenticity of the letter is a matter of debate.[1]
King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
Reign627–612 BC[2]
PredecessorAššur-etil-ilāni
SuccessorAššur-uballiṭ II
(Assyria)
Nabopolassar
(Babylon)
DiedAugust 612 BC[3]
Nineveh
SpouseAna-Tašmētum-taklāk (?)
IssueAššur-uballiṭ II[4] (?)
AkkadianSîn-šar-iškun
Sîn-šarru-iškun
DynastySargonid dynasty
FatherAshurbanipal
MotherLibbāli-šarrat

Sîn-šar-iškun (Neo-Assyrian Akkadian: 𒁹𒀭𒌍𒌋𒌋𒃻𒌦, romanized: Sîn-šar-iškun [5][6] or Sîn-šarru-iškun,[7] meaning "Sîn has established the king")[6] was the penultimate king of Assyria, reigning from the death of his brother and predecessor Aššur-etil-ilāni in 627 BC to his own death at the Fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.

Succeeding his brother in uncertain, but not necessarily violent circumstances, Sîn-šar-iškun was immediately faced by the revolt of one of his brother's chief generals, Sîn-šumu-līšir, who attempted to usurp the throne for himself. Though Sîn-šumu-līšir was defeated relatively quickly, the instability caused by his revolt, combined with an ongoing interregnum in Babylonia in the south (neither Sîn-šar-iškun nor Sîn-šumu-līšir had formally proclaimed themselves as kings of Babylon) might be what made it possible for Nabopolassar, a southerner of unclear origin, to rise up and seize power in Babylonia. Sîn-šar-iškun's inability to defeat Nabopolassar, despite repeated attempts over the course of several years, allowed Nabopolassar to consolidate power and form the Neo-Babylonian Empire, restoring Babylonian independence after more than a century of Assyrian rule.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the newly formed Median Empire under Cyaxares, then invaded the Assyrian heartland. In 614 BC, the Medes captured and sacked Assur, the ceremonial and religious heart of the Assyrian Empire, and in 612 BC their combined armies attacked, brutally sacked, and razed Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. Sîn-šar-iškun's fate is unknown but it is assumed that he died in the defense of his capital. He was succeeded as king only by Aššur-uballiṭ II, possibly his son, who rallied what remained of the Assyrian army at the city of Harran.

Despite the catastrophic fall of Assyria during his time as king, there is nothing to suggest that Sîn-šar-iškun was any less competent than his successful warrior-king predecessors. He employed the same tactics as his predecessors and appears to have utilized his forces rationally and strategically, fighting entirely in-line with traditional Assyrian warfare. What doomed Assyria might instead have been the lack of an effective defensive plan for the Assyrian heartland, which had not been invaded in five hundred years, combined with having to face an enemy which aimed to outright destroy Assyria rather than simply conquer it.

  1. ^ Da Riva 2017, p. 81.
  2. ^ Na’aman 1991, p. 243.
  3. ^ Lipschits 2005, p. 18.
  4. ^ Radner 2013.
  5. ^ Bertin 1891, p. 50.
  6. ^ a b Tallqvist 1914, p. 201.
  7. ^ Frahm 1999, p. 322.