MARDUK-NADIN-AHHE

(reigned 1100–1083 B.C.)

   Babylonian king, the sixth of the Second Dynasty of Isin. He was the brother of the famous NebuchadrezzarI and acceded to the throne after the brief reign of his young nephew, Enlil-nadin-shume, whom he may have deposed. Marduk-nadin-ahhe pursued his brother’s policy of extending Babylonian influence. While the latter had made successful campaigns against Elam, Marduk-nadin-ahhe targeted Assyria, which was then ruled by the energetic warrior-king Tiglath-pileserI. For the first 10 years of the campaign, the Babylonians had the upper hand, followed by a period in which attack was followed by counterattack, but eventually Tiglath-pileser launched a massive invasion of Babylonia, capturing Dur-Kurigalzu, Sippar, Opis, and Babylon, where he destroyed the royal palace. The final years of Marduknadin-ahhe were made even more troubled by the incursions of Arameantribesand a severe famine in his 18th regnal year. The circumstances of his death are not known; according to Assyrian sources, he “disappeared.”