ISHBIERRA

(reigned C. 2017 – C. 1985 B.C.)

King of Isin. Ishbi-Erra, an Amorite, served as an officer in the army of king Ibbi-Sin of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He was entrusted with the command over Isin and managed to assert independence from Ur by exploiting the unrest caused by the Amoriteinvasion into Babylonia and the renewed aggression of Elam. He helped to foster resistance against the supremacy of Ur within Mesopotamian cities and formed alliances with Ur’s other enemies. Firmly entrenched at Isin and in control of neighboring Nippur, he profited from the destruction of the capital Ur by the Elamites and presented himself as a legitimate successor of the Ur kings. The Sumerian King List thus presents Ishbi-Erra as the founder of a new dynasty, the First Dynasty of Isin.