Zabâia (also Zabâya) governed the ancient Near East city of Larsa c. 1941 BC-1932 BC (MC). He was an Amorite and the son of Samium. M. Fitzgerald, "The Rulers of Larsa", Yale University Dissertation, 2002Marcel Segris, "Larsa Year Names", Andrews University Press, 1990 Grice, Ettalene Mears, "Chronology of the Larsa dynasty", Yale University Press, 1919 He is thought to have been the brother of Gungunum.
A brick inscription found at Larsa reads, "Zabaya, Chief of the Amorites, son of Samium, re-built the Ebabbar" (Zabaya rabian Amurri mar Samium Ebabbara ipus). The E-babbar is a temple of the god Shamash. An alternate reading is the he "built" the Ebabbar".Douglas Frayne, "Larsa", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 107-322, 1990 This is the only known textual mention of Samium outside the Larsa King List.Birot, Maurice, "Découvertes épigraphiques à Larsa (campagnes 1967)", Syria 45, pp. 241-247, 1968Weisberg, David B., "Zabaya, an Early King of the Larsa Dynasty", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 194–98, 1989 A damaged clay cone found at Mashkan-shapir carries a similar text.Steinkeller, Piotr, "A Building Inscription of Sin-iddinam and Other Inscribed Materials from Abu Duwari", The Anatomy of a Mesopotamian City: Survey and Soundings at Mashkan-shapir, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 135-152, 2004 A fragmentary text about deliveries to Isin, found at Girsu, mentioned Zabaia "... since Zabaia, my lord, assumed the throne ...".Arnaud, Daniel, "Textes Relatifs à l'Histoire de Larsa: I", RA 71, pp.3-8, 1977 Larsa ruler Abisare also used the "Chief of the Amorites" title.Jahn, Brit, "The Migration and Sedentarization of the Amorites from the Point of View of the Settled Babylonian Population", Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East, edited by Marlies Heinz and Marian H. Feldman, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 193-210, 2007
A cylinder seal impression read "Princess Rubatum daughter of Zabaya and wife of Ištar-kima-iliya".Charpin, Dominique, "Données nouvelles sur l'histoire de Larsa (II)", Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, (2024) A Neo-Babylonian or Late Babylonian copy of a bronze figurine read "To Nanse, the powerful lady, lady of the boundary (?), his lady, for the life of Zabaya, the strong king, chief of the Amorites ...".F. N. F. Al-Rawi, "Tablets from de Sippar Library X. A Dedication for Zabaya of Larsa", Iraq 64, p. 247-248, 2002
See also Chronology of the ancient Near East List of Mesopotamian dynasties
Notes
Further reading Charpin, Dominique, "Chroniques bibliographiques: 7. Les inscriptions royales suméro-akkadiennes d'époque paléo-babylonienne", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 100.1, pp. 131-160, 2006 Husain, Shaimaa Nassir, "Two Unpublished Economic Texts from The Reign of The King of Larsa Gun-gun-um", Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies 15.5, pp. 131, 2025