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Ṣillī-Sîn was only a modest section leader in the army when he was chosen to ascend to the throne at Ešnunna, when the Elamites retired. Hammurabi of Babylon would have liked to have exercised power himself at Ešnunna, or failing that to place a man there, but he had to bow to the choice of the army. He proposed the conclusion of a treaty of alliance to the new king, but Ṣillī-Sîn did not hasten to accept. Ṣillī-Sîn ends up doing it and even seems to have married a daughter of Hammurabi. This did not prevent the relations between Ešnunna and Babylon from deteriorating. The year 1762 was marked by the clash of gigantic armies (more than 12000 men on each side) and turned to the advantage of Hammurabi, who celebrated his victory over the army of Ešnunna in the name of his thirty-second Year of reign (1761). Having defeated Ṣillī-Sîn, he directed his forces the next year towards the one who had demonstrated his support to for defeated, Zimrî-Lîm of Mari, whose city was invaded in the autumn. We do not know exactly what happened in Ešnunna, but the city was the victim of a catastrophic flood in 1755. It was mentioned by Hammurabi among the cities of his empire in the prologue of its Code of laws, written towards the end of its reign. (translated from "Dictionnaire de la Civilisation Mésopotamienne”, p. 317, Dominique Charpin)

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