A king of Assyria who has the distinction of being the first monarch of that nation for whom detailed annals of his exploits have survived. Some of his decrees, letters to other kings, and other writings have also survived. Among these is a curse placed on one of his stelae, or commemorative marker stones bearing inscriptions, to discourage would-be defacers:
Whoever blots out my name and writes his own name in its place, or breaks my memorial stele, or consigns it to destruction, or throws it into the
A relief sculpture shows King Darius holding audience in his palace in the Persian capital of Persepolis. © Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis
River, or covers it with earth, or burns it in the fire... or if anyone because of these curses sends a hostile foe or an evil enemy. . . and has him seize it. . . may Assur, the mighty god . . . look upon him in great anger, and curse him with an evil curse. His name, his seed, his kith and
Kin, may they [the gods] destroy from
The land.
Adad-nirari left behind many such stelae during military campaigns that extended Assyrian borders in all directions from the Assyrian heartland. He was particularly successful in the west, where he defeated the king of Mitanni, a kingdom centered in eastern Syria, and reached the Syrian town of Carchemish, only 90 miles (145km) from the Mediterranean coast. In the southeast Adad-nirari defeated the Kassite ruler of Babylon and collected tribute, or payments acknowledging submission, from the peoples of that region. Such tribute, along with Adad-nirari’s other successes, brought him great wealth, which he used in part to build walls around several Assyrian cities and some canals.
See Also: Assyrian Empire; Kassites; Mi-tanni
World History
