Nur-Adad ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from c. 1866-1850 (MC). Some of his inscriptions show him with a divine determinitive, DNur-Adad, indicating that he was deified at some point in his reign (as were his successors). He was a contemporary of Sumu-la-El of Babylon and Sîn-kasid of Uruk and is generally thought to mark the start of a new dynasty in Larsa which was not Amorite or choose to no longer identify itself as Amorite. Beginning with Nur-Adad the "King of Ur" part of the royal titulary became "Provider of Ur". Two letters of his son and successor Sin-Iddinam indicate that the ascension of Nur-Adad followed a period of crisis in Larsa. One read "... House was turned against house. Battle was waged in its public square. Murder was committed by means of weapons. In all the streets ruin set in. Brother consumed brother. The troops who deserted perished by hunger or weapons. ...". M. Fitzgerald, "The Rulers of Larsa", Yale University Dissertation, 2002Eva von Dassow, "Narām-Sîn of Uruk: A New King in an Old Shoebox", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 61, pp. 63–91, 2009 It has been suggested that the disruption was due to Šimaškian incursions.Wasserman, N., & Bloch, Y., "The Kingdom of Larsa", The Amorites, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp. 148–186, 2023 His presumed regnal length of 16 years is based one the Larsa King List (Larsa Date List). Marcel Segrist, "Larsa Year Names", Andrews University Press, 1990 Grice, Ettalene Mears, "Chronology of the Larsa dynasty", Yale University Press, 1919 Not to be confused with Nūr-Adad the Tēmannite, and Iron Age period opponent of the Neo-Assyrians.Edmonds, Alexander Johannes, "Regional studies in the Neo-Assyrian expansion", Triumph and Betrayal: Assyria’s Path to Empire, 935–745 BC, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 165-298, 2025
About 13 year names, primarily about religious actions, of Nur-Adad are known, notably:Year Names of Nur-Adad at CDLI Year (Nur-Adad) dug anew the Euphrates which was filled with sand Year Mashkan-shapir was seized Year the temple of Enki in Eridu was built Year the great city wall of Larsa was built
A cache of tablets found at Tell Waresh 2, near Nippur some of which contained year names of Nur-Adad.Al-Hussainy, A., de Boer, R., and Jawdat, J., "Tell Waresh 2, Early Old Babylonian Tablets from the Season of Rescue Excavation (1990)", RA 113, pp. 59–69, 2019 Bricks found at Eridu and Ur indicated that Nur-Adad restored of the temple and rites of Enki at Eridu, as reflected in one of those year names.
An unprovenanced tablet, held in the Schoyen Collection, holds a building plan which has been described as the building plan of the Nur-Adad palace at Larsa though this is uncertain.Wheat, Elizabeth Ruth Josie, "Terrestrial cartography in ancient Mesopotamia", Dissertation, University of Birmingham, 2013Huot, J.-L. et Naccaro, H. "La « jarre Parrot » de Larsa", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, 113(1), pp. 77-88, 2019
During this period the city of Ur was under the control of Larsa. At one point there was a rebellion in Ur led by Na'id-Shamash which was curshed by Mur-Adad stating "... When he rejoiced the heart of Ur, and expelled the evil Na'id-Shamash, and of the throne of Larsa he established its foundation, and brought back the people to subjection," in an inscription.Gadd, Cyril John, "Royal inscriptions/by CJ Gad", 1928 He acted " at the behest of the gods Utu, Ningirsu, Inanna of Zabala, and Iskur, tutelary deities of the cities Larsa, Girsu, Zabala and Karkar, which formed the core of the Larsa stat".Douglas Frayne, "A Struggle for Water: A Case Study from the Historical Records of the Cities Isin and Larsa (1900-1800 BC)", The Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies Bulletin 17, pp.17-28 1989 Inscribed clay cones found at Ur indicate Nur-Adad built the Ganunmah temple of Ningal, built a great oven for the god Nanna, and restored the bedroom of Ningal at Ur "built for his own life E.NUN-kug, her residence, the alcove of the warrior Sin".Douglas Frayne, "Larsa", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 107-322, 1990Penelope N. Weadock, "The Giparu at Ur", Iraq, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 101–28, 1975
See also Chronology of the ancient Near East List of Mesopotamian dynasties
References
Further reading Fiette, Baptiste, "The Exceptional Career of a Mesopotamian Ruler without a Crown: Kudur-Mabuk and the Kingship of Larsa", ANE Today, vol. X no 1, 2022 Goetze, Albrecht, "Sin-Iddinam of Larsa. New Tablets from His Reign", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 83–118, 1950 Rossi, Adriana, Pedro Cabezos, and Daniel Martin, "Theoretical reconstruction of the Palace of Nur-Adad 1865-1850 BC| potesi ricostruttiva del Palazzo di Niìr-Adad 1865-1850 aC", UID 2019-Reflections: the art of drawing/the drawing of art| Riflessioni: l'arte del disegno/il disegno dell'arte/. Cangemi, pp. 969-976, 2019