| Enlil-kudurri-usur | |
| King of Assyria | |
| Reign: | 1196–1192 BC[1] |
| Predecessor: | Ashur-nirari III |
| Successor: | Ninurta-apal-Ekur |
| Father: | Tukulti-Ninurta I |
| Succession: | King of the Middle Assyrian Empire |
Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur, mdEnlil(be)-ku-dúr-uṣur, (Enlil protect the eldest son), was the 81st king of Assyria according to the Assyrian King List.[2]
Enlil-kudurri-usur was the son of Tukulti-Ninurta I. He succeeded his nephew, Ashur-nirari III’s brief reign and ruled for five years. Apart from king lists and chronicles, there are no other extant inscriptions of this king.[3]
The Synchronistic King List[4] identifies his Babylonian contemporary with Adad-šuma-uṣur, his eventual nemesis. In the Synchronistic History,[5] the battle between him and Adad-šuma-uṣur is given as a pretext for his Assyrian rival, Ninurta-apal-Ekur, a son of Ilī-padâ and descendant of Eriba-Adad I, to “come up from Karduniaš,” i.e. Babylonia, and make a play for the Assyrian throne. Grayson[6] and others[7] have speculated that this was with the tacit assistance of Adad-šuma-uṣur, but there is currently no published evidence to support this theory. Ninurta-apal-Ekur’s purpose for being in Babylonia is also unknown, whether a political refugee or an administrator of the Assyrian held portion. The Walker Chronicle[8] describes how following his abject defeat at Adad-šuma-uṣur’s hands, Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur was seized by his own officers and handed over to his opponent.[9] Only after these events did Adad-šuma-uṣur go on to extend his territory to include the city of Babylon itself.
Meanwhile, the Synchronistic History[5] continues, Ninurta-apal-Ekur had “mustered his numerous troops and marched to conquer Libbi-ali (the city of Aššur). But [...] arrived unexpectedly, so he turned and went home.” As Grayson points out, this passage is open to various interpretations,[6] only one of which is that the missing name could have been that of Enlil-kudurrī-uṣur, released by his captor to sow confusion amongst his northern foes.