Shamshi-Adad I

(c. 1813 BC - c. 1781 BC)

Shamshi-Adad I presided over his kingdom in Mesopotamia for thirty-three years, splitting the empire into three parts, operating one area himself and having his two sons administer the others. The elder son, Ishme-Dagan, was a diligent co-regent; the younger, Yasmah-Addu, was inept and fond of drink. In a letter to his younger son, Shamshi-Adad counsels him to avoid rash actions: “Take heed of the old proverb: ‘The bitch is in such a hurry that she bears blind puppies,’ and don’t you act in the same way!”