Although situated in the Diyala Valley northwest of Sumer proper, the city nonetheless belonged securely within the Sumerian cultural milieu.

[1] The tutelary deity of the city was Tishpak (Tišpak) though other gods, including Sin, Adad, and Inanna of Kiti (Kitītum) were also worshiped there.

It is known, from cuneiform records and excavations, that the city was occupied in the Akkadian period though its extent was noticeably less than it reached in Ur III times.

[2] Areas of the Northern Palace date to this period and show some of the earliest examples of widespread sewage disposal engineering including toilets in private homes.

Soon after Shu-Sin's death, Ituria was followed by his son Šu-ilišu, who in 2026 BC got rid of the Ur III calendar and replaced it with a local one.

[4][8] His personal seal shows him facing the god Tishpak, who is holding a rod and ring in one hand and an axe in the other while standing on two subdued enemies.

Ishbi-Erra (in his 9th year, circa 2010 BC) of the southern Mesopotamia city of Isin defeated Subartu and installed Nur-ahum as the new ruler of Eshnunna.

Not having ties to the previous ruler, he was likely an usurper,[12] and a fire destroyed the northwestern part of the Su-Sin temple.

Sharriya’s successor, Warissa, is known from seven year names, including ones that celebrate his conquest of the cities Ishur, Tutub and Nerebtum (Kiti).

[23] Ibal-pi-El I is known to have concluded a treaty with Sin-Iddinam of Larsa and Sîn-kāšid of Uruk against Sabium of Babylon and Ikūn-pî-Sîn of Nerebtum.

[29] Eventually, through the ambitions of both Sumu-la-El of Babylon and Ipiq-Adad II a line of demarcation between the two kingdoms was formed, running somewhere along Sippar-Amnanum.

[30] The boundary line changed multiple times after that, with Apil-Sin conquering Ashtabala and other cities along the Tigris, which was reversed by Naram-Sin of Eshnunna.

[52] Ibal-pi-El entered negotiations with Zimri-Lim, proposing to draw the border of their respective kingdoms at Harradum and to renew the relationship between Mari and Eshnunna from the time of the Mariote king Yahdun-Lim.

[65] Then, Eshnunna withdrew from Shubat-Enlil leaving Yanuh-Samar behind as king with a few thousand troops, likely because they were attacked by Halmam.

"[68] In particular, Inib-shina (priestess and sister of Zimri-Lim) directly connects the oracle with the king of Eshnunna, and mentions that Dagan will destroy Ibal-pi-El.

[73] The sukkalmah of Elam had henceforth occupied a high position in international relations,[74][75] and eventually Siwe-palar-huppak asked both Mari and Babylon for support against Eshnunna in Zimri-Lim's 8th (7th) year, which both obliged.

[78] However, eventually an anti-Elamite coalition was formed, and Elam was forced to retreat back, but not before sacking the city of Eshnunna.

The letter also implies that some members of the royal family of Eshnunna fled and sought refuge in Babylon during the upheaval.

[83] Troops from Mari were still stationed in Babylonian territory from the previous war with Elam, and Zimri-Lim wished to recover those.

Hammurabi, when asked later to send the troops back to Mari, cited concerns with Eshnunna as the reason for why he was reluctant to do so.

[85] Ishme-Dagan also forsook his past alliance with Mari and Babylon and allied with Eshnunna, perhaps because Atamrum was given control of Shubat-Enlil.

[87] However, the relationship between them seemed to have deteriorated as Atumrum later moved the troops from Eshnunna to a new quarters, which the soldiers complained was "a city in ruins.

[95] During the reign of Hammurabi’s successor Samsu-iluna, multiple insurgencies started from various Mesopotamian cities, with Iluni as the rebel king in Eshnunna.

[98] Rim-Anum, the rebel king in Uruk, similarly claimed to have defeated Yamutbal, Eshnunna, Isin and Kazallu.

[103][104] Because of its promise of control over lucrative trade routes, Eshnunna could function somewhat as a gateway between Mesopotamian and Elamite culture.

The trade routes gave it access to many exotic, sought-after goods such as horses from the north, copper, tin, and other metals and precious stones.

[107] It was refound, after antiquities from the site began to appear in dealers shops in Baghdad, and excavated in six seasons between 1930 and 1936 by an Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago team led by Henri Frankfort with Thorkild Jacobsen, Pinhas Delougaz, Gordon Loud, and Seton Lloyd.

The remaining excavation efforts were directed to the Abu Temple whose beginnings went back to the Early Dynastic I period and which had undergone a series of major changes over the centuries.

[7][2] Despite the length of time since the excavations at Tell Asmar, the work of examining and publishing the remaining finds from that dig continues to this day.

The group, now split up, show gods, priests and donor worshipers at different sizes, but all in the same highly simplified style.