Ashur-etil-ilani
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Ashur-etil-ilani was a king of Assyria (630 (or 627 - c.623 BC). He succeeded his father Ashurbanipal II. The reconstruction of the events occurring during his rulership has proven to be very difficult. One noteworthy problem is the complete absence of sources from central Assyria, and the lack of official recordings of the events (e.g. royal inscriptions). The most important source for this period is the "Nabopolassar Chronicle", which, however, is quite fragmentary in the relevant section.
The death of Ashurbanipal in 627 opened the way to a serious struggle for the sovereignty over Assyria between several contendants. The contest may have actually begun a few years earlier, in Ashurbanipal's lifetime. The development of the events, and even the number of parties involved, is not known with certainty. It does seem certain that upon Ashurbanipal's death, marauding bands of Scythians, Cimmerians and Medes penetrated the borders of the Assyrian Empire, destroying Ashkelon and raiding as far as Egypt.
Also, Calah (Nimrud) was burned, though the strong walls of Nineveh protected the remnants of the Assyrian army that had taken refuge behind them; and when the raiders had passed on to other fields of booty, a new palace was erected among the ruins of the neighbouring city. But its architectural poverty and small size show that the resources of Assyria were at a low ebb.
According to the Harran Inscription of Nabonidus, Ashur-etil-ilani reigned three years, but there is a contract from Nippur dated to his fourth year. Thus, most likely, he reigned between 627 BC (or 626) and 623 BC. But it has been suggested that his reign actually overlapped that of his father, Ashurbanipal, and that he had been appointed as co-regent in or around 630 BC, or even that in that year his father abdicated in his favor. An alternate hypothesis is that he rebelled against his father after he had appointed his brother Sin-shar-ishkun as official heir. The relationship between him and his brother is far from certain (it has even been hypothesized that he and Sin-shar-ishkun were in fact the same person). It is also possible that his rule in Babylonia was disputed by his Ramshakeh, Sin-shumu-lishir, whose accession year as king of Assyria occurs on a contract from Nippur.
According to the chronicle, in 623 Ashur-etil-ilani was defeated and killed in battle against Sin-shar-ishkun near Nippur. It appears that Sin-shar-ishkun, who was his main rival, was considered the legal successor, at least in Babylon.
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