Editing Shamshi-Adad I (section)

==Conquests==
[[File:Raid of Shamshi-Adad I to the great sea.png|thumb|right|Shamshi-Adad I and his armies reach the [[Mediterranean Sea]], as envisaged by artist A. C. Weatherstone.]]

Shamshi-Adad I took over the long-abandoned town of Shekhna (today known as [[Tell Leilan]]), converted it into the capital city of the [[Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia]], and then renamed it Šubat-Enlil (meaning "the residence of the god Enlil" in the [[Akkadian language]])<ref>Harvey Weiss, Tell Leilan and Shubat Enlil, Mari, Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, vol. 4, pp. 269-92, 1985</ref> c. 1808 BC.<ref>Leilan.yale.edu, Harvey Weiss et al., The genesis and collapse of Third Millennium north Mesopotamian Civilization, Science, vol. 291, pp. 995-1088, 1993</ref>  During his reign, the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia competed for power in [[Lower Mesopotamia]] against: King [[Naram-Sin of Eshnunna]] (who died c. 1816 BC), Naram-Sin's successors, and [[Yahdun-Lim]] of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chavalas|first1=Mark W.|title=The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation|date=2006|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=0-631-23581-7|page=95}}</ref> A main target for expansion was the city of Mari, which controlled the caravan route between [[Anatolia]] and Mesopotamia. King Yahdun-Lim of Mari (fl. c. 1800 BC – c. 1700 BC) was assassinated by his own servants (possibly on Shamshi-Adad I's orders.) The heir to the throne of Mari, [[Zimri-Lim]], was forced to flee to [[Yamhad]]. Shamshi-Adad I seized the opportunity and occupied Mari c. 1796 BC. He placed his sons ([[Ishme-Dagan I]] and [[Yasmah-Adad]]) in key geographical locations and gave them responsibility to look over those areas. Shamshi-Adad I  put his eldest son (Ishme-Dagan I) on the throne of [[Ekallatum]], while Shamshi-Adad I remained in Šubat-Enlil. Shamshi-Adad I put his second son, Yasmah-Adad, on the throne in Mari.<ref name="Mieroop" /> With the annexation of Mari, Shamshi-Adad I had carved out a large empire<ref name="Rice" /> encompassing much of Syria, Anatolia, and the whole of [[Upper Mesopotamia]] (this empire often referred to as either the "[[Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia]]" or the "Upper Mesopotamian Empire".) Shamshi-Adad I proclaimed himself as "King of All" (the title had been used by [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]] of the [[Akkadian Empire]] c. 2334 BC – c. 2279 BC).

King [[Dadusha]] of [[Eshnunna]] (fl. c. 1800 BC – c. 1779 BC), made an alliance with Shamshi-Adad I to conquer the area between the two [[Zab River (disambiguation)|Zab river]]s c. 1781 BC. This military campaign of joint forces was commemorated on a victory stele which states that Dadusha gave the lands to Shamshi-Adad I. Shamshi-Adad I later turned against Dadusha by attacking cities including [[Shaduppum]], Nerebtum and [[Andarig]]. On inscriptions Shamshi-Adad I boasts of erecting triumphal [[stelae]] on the coast of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], but these probably represent short expeditions rather than any attempts at conquest. His campaigns were meticulously planned, and his army knew all the classic methods of [[siegecraft]], such as encircling ramparts and battering rams. The 5th year name of Dadusha's son and successor, [[Ibal-pi-el II]] records the death of Shamshi-Adad.<ref>[https://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T30K20.htm Year Names of Ibal-pi-el II at CDLI]</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289038501_The_Conquest_Eponyms_of_Samsi-Adad_I_and_the_Kanes_Eponym_List] Yigal Bloch, "The Conquest Eponyms of Šamšī-Adad I and the Kaneš Eponym List", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 73(2), pp. 191-210, Oct 2014</ref>