Apil-Sîn was an Amorite King of the First Dynasty of Babylon (the Amorite Dynasty).Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, "A History of Babylon, 2200 bc-ad 75", John Wiley & Sons, 2018 He was the grandfather of Hammurabi, who significantly expanded the Babylonian kingdom. In the time of Apil-Sin Babylon was in the process of developing into a local empire, primarily contesting with the city-state of Isin for territory in the region. His regnal length is not known with absolute certainly but ran at least 18 years based on the number of attested year names. Because the Old Babylonian period archaeological levels at the city of Babylon were below the water table and not excavated what is known about Apil-Sin is from other sites like Sippar, Kish, and Marad, which Babylon controlled.Fahad, Saad S., and Abbas A. AL-hussainy, "Two old Babylonian Texts from MARAD (Wana wa AL_Sodum)", Adab AL Rafidayn 42.63, pp. 83-92, 2012 One side effect is that only one text from Apil-Sîn is known, beginning "Thus says Apil-Sîn, your lord".de Boer, Rients, "Two New Royal Old Babylonian Letters: One from Apil-Sîn and one from Samsu-iluna", Orientalia 84.2, pp. 153-160, 2015 In one texts found at Sippar a case was recorded adjudicated by Apil-Sin " ... the houses which Sumulael had given them, Nur-ilisu laid claim, but they obtained an audience with King Apil-Sin and he returned their houses to them.". One of the witnesses was Ayyalatum, daughter of earlier ruler Sumulael.K. A. Al-’Adami, "King Apil-Sîn Confirms the Judgment of Sumulael", Iraq, vol. 59, pp. 73–75, 1997
It is known that Apil-Sîn built a fortress named Dur-Apil-Sîn.Davies, Graham I., "The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study", Tyndale Bulletin 25.1, pp. 46-81, 1974H. Gasche/M. Tanret (ed.), "Changing Watercourses in Babylonia: Towards a Reconstruction of the Ancient Environment in Lower Mesopotamia", MHEM 5, Ghent, 1998Ziegler, Nele, Adelheid Otto, and Christoph Fink, "The “road to Emar” reconsidered", Entre les fleuves III. On the Way to Upper Mesopotamia. Travels, Routes and Environment as Basis for the Reconstruction of the Historical Geography, pp. 135-220, 2023 The Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar wrote "I sought not the battle, I retreated to Dur Apil Sîn, I sat down defeated.".Olmstead, A. T., "Kashshites, Assyrians, and the balance of power", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 36.2, pp. 120-153, 1920
About 17 year names of Apil-Sîn are known, notably:Year Names of Apil-Sin at CDLIAl-Rawi, Farouk ΝH, "A New Old Babylonian Date List from Sippir with Year Names of Apil-Sin and Sîn-muballiț", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 83.1, pp. 22-30, 1993 Year Apil-Sîn the king built the city wall of Borsippa Year Apil-Sîn built a magnificent new city wall for Babylon Year Apil-Sîn the king built the city wall of Durmuti/Nurum Year Apil-Sîn restored (the temple) Emeslam / the Ezida temple Year Apil-Sîn built the temple of Inanna in Elip Year Apil-Sîn built the Eturkalama, the sheepfold of the land, the temple of Inanna in Babylon Year Apil-Sîn built the wall of Kār-šamaš on the bank of the Tigris
Another year name "Year Apil-Sîn the king entered Astabala" is generally taken as meaning Apil-Sin conquered that city which is unlocated but known to have been on the Tigris river. Similarly the year name "Year Apil-Sîn built (the city wall of) Upi/Opis" is generally taken to mean that Babylon controlled the city of Opis at that time.Van Koppen, Frans, and Denis Lacambre, "Sippar and the Frontier between Ešnunna and Babylon. New Sources for the History of Ešnunna in the Old Babylonian Period", Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap Ex Oriente Lux 41, pp. 151-177, 2009
In the 1st millennium BC literary composition Esagila Chronicle Damiq-ilīšu, king of the First Dynasty of Isin gives adviceto Apil-Sîn in proper conduct based on lessons from history.Zaia, Shana, "“Ends” in Empires: 1st Millennium BCE Mesopotamian Perspectives", Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 118-140, 2026Frazer, M., "Letter A2 A King of the Isin I Dynasty to a King of the Babylon I Dynasty", Akkadian Royal Letters in Later Mesopotamian Tradition, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp. 115–124, 2024
In a chronicle fragment of Neo-Babylonian date (BM 29297) it states "Apil-Sîn, the son of Sabu, during his reign, he did not rule any part of the Sealands".Boivin, Odette, "The Sealand I in Babylonian historiography", The First Dynasty of the Sealand in Mesopotamia, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 20-59, 2018
See also Chronology of the ancient Near East List of Mesopotamian dynasties
References
Further reading Waerzeggers, Caroline, "The Neo-Babylonian chronicle about Sabium and Apil-Sîn: a copy of the text (BM 29440)", NABU2015/2: no. 54, 2015