Old Assyrian Empire | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
circa 2025 BCE–circa 1393 BCE | |||||||||||
Capital | Aššur | ||||||||||
Common languages | Akkadian language | ||||||||||
Religion | Ancient Mesopotamian religion | ||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
King | |||||||||||
• circa 2025 BCE | Erishum I (first) | ||||||||||
• circa 1393 BCE | Ashur-nadin-ahhe II (last) | ||||||||||
Historical era | Bronze Age | ||||||||||
• Established | circa 2025 BCE | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | circa 1393 BCE | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Today part of | Iraq |
The first written inscriptions by 'urbanised' Assyrian kings appear in the mid-25th century BC, after they had shrugged off Sumerian domination. The land of Assyria as a whole then consisted of a number of city states and small Semitic kingdoms, some of which were initially independent of Assyria. The foundation of the first major temple in the city of Ashur was traditionally ascribed to king Ushpia who reigned c. 2050 BC, possibly a contemporary of Ishbi-Erra of Isin and Naplanum of Larsa.[1] He was reputedly succeeded by kings named Apiashal, Sulili, Kikkiya and Akiya (died c. 2026 BC), of whom little is known, apart from much later mentions of Kikkiya conducting fortifications on the city walls, and building work on temples in Ashur.
The main rivals, neighbours or trading partners to early Assyrian kings during the 22nd, 21st and 20th centuries BC would have been the Hattians and Hurrians to the north in Asia Minor, the Gutians, Lullubi and Turukku to the east in the Zagros Mountains of northwest Ancient Iran, the Elamites to the southeast in what is now south central Iran, the Amorites to the west in what is today Syria, and their fellow Sumero-Akkadian city-states of southern Mesopotamia such as Isin, Kish, Ur, Eshnunna and Larsa.[2]
Like many city-states in early Mesopotamian history, Ashur was, to a great extent, originally an oligarchy rather than a monarchy. Authority was considered to lie with "the City", and the polity had three main centres of power—an assembly of elders, a hereditary ruler, and an eponym. The ruler presided over the assembly and carried out its decisions. He was not referred to with the usual Akkadian term for "king", šarrum/Sharru; that was instead reserved for the city's patron deity Assur, of whom the ruler was the high priest. The ruler himself was only designated as "the steward of Assur" (iššiak Assur), where the term for steward is a borrowing from Sumerian ensi(k). The third centre of power was the eponym (limmum), who gave the year his name, similarly to the later archons and consuls of Classical Antiquity. He was annually elected by lot and was responsible for the economic administration of the city, which included the power to detain people and confiscate property. The institution of the eponym as well as the formula iššiak Assur lingered on as ceremonial vestiges of this early system throughout the history of the Assyrian monarchy.[3]
History, circa 2025 BCE — circa 1393 BCE
Dynasty of Puzur-Aššur I, circa 2025 BCE — circa 1809 BCE
In approximately 2025 BC (long chronology), Puzur-Ashur I (perhaps a contemporary of Shu-ilishu of Larsa and Samium of Isin) is speculated to have overthrown Kikkiya and founded a new dynasty which was to survive for 216 years. His descendants left inscriptions mentioning him regarding the building of temples to gods such as Ashur, Adad and Ishtar in Assyria. The length of his reign is unknown.
Shalim-ahum (died c. 2009 BC) succeeded the throne at a currently unknown date. He left inscriptions in archaic Old Assyrian regarding the construction of a temple dedicated to the god Ashur, and the placement of beer vats within it.
Ilushuma[4] (c. 2008–1975 BC) took the throne in c. 2008 BC, and is known from his inscription (extant in several copies) where he claims to have "washed the copper" and "established liberty" for the Akkadians in Sumerian city-states as far as the Persian Gulf. This has been taken by some scholars to imply that he made military campaigns into Southern Mesopotamia to relieve his fellow Mesopotamians from Amorite and Elamite invasions, however some recent scholars have taken the view that the inscription means he supplied these areas with copper from Hatti, and that the word used for "liberty" (adduraru) is usually in the context of his exempting the southern Mesopotamian kings from tariffs.
- "The freedom[nb 1] of the Akkadians and their children I established. I purified their copper. I established their freedom from the border of the marshes and Ur and Nippur, Awal, and Kish, Der of the goddess Ishtar, as far as the City of (Ashur)."[5]
Assyria had long held extensive contact with Hattian, Hittite and Hurrian cities on the Anatolian plateau in Asia Minor. The Assyrians who had for centuries traded in the region, and possibly ruled small areas bordering Assyria, now established significant colonies in Cappadocia (e.g., at Kanesh (modern Kültepe) from 2008 BC to 1740 BC). These colonies, called karum, from the Akkadian word for 'port', were attached to Hattian cities in Anatolia, but physically separate, and had special tax status. They must have arisen from a long tradition of trade between Assyria and the Anatolian cities, but no archaeological or written records show this. The trade consisted of metals (copper or tin and perhaps iron; the terminology is not entirely clear) being traded for textiles from Assyria.
Erishum I[6] (c. 1974–1935 BC) vigorously expanded Assyrian colonies in Asia Minor during his long reign, the major ones appearing to be at Kanesh, Ḫattuša (Boğazköy) (the future capital of the Hittite Empire) and Amkuwa (Alisar Höyük), together with a further eighteen smaller colonies. He created some of the earliest examples of Written Law, conducted extensive building work in the form of fortifying the walls of major Assyrian cities and the erection of temples dedicated to Ashur and Ishtar. It is from his reign that the continuous limmum lists are known, however there are references to the eponym-books for his predecessors having been destroyed at some point.
Ikunum (c. 1934–1921 BC)[7] built a major temple for the god Ningal. He further strengthened the fortifications of the city of Assur and maintained Assyria's colonies in Asia Minor.
Sargon I (c. 1920–1881 BC)[8] succeeded him in c. 1920 BC, and had an unusually long reign of 39 years. It is likely he was named after his illustrious predecessor Sargon of Akkad. He is known to have refortified the defences of major Assyrian cities, and maintained Assyrian colonies in Asia Minor during his reign. Apart from this, little has yet been unearthed about him. At some point he appears to have withdrawn Assyrian aid to southern Mesopotamia. It was during his reign in Assyria that the initially minor city-state of Babylon was founded in 1894 BC by an Amorite Malka (prince) named Sumuabum.
Puzur-Ashur II (c. 1881–1873 BC) came to the throne as an already older man due to his fathers long reign. Little is known about his rule, but it appears to have been uneventful.
Naram-Suen (c. 1872–1818 BC) ascended to the throne in 1872 BC, and is likely named after his predecessor Naram-Sin of the Akkadian Empire. Assyria continued to be wealthy during his 54-year-long reign (one of the longest in the ancient Near East), and he defeated the future usurper king Shamshi-Adad I who attempted to take his throne.
Erishum II (c. 1818–1809 BC) was to be the last king of the dynasty of Puzur-Ashur I, founded c. 2025 BC. After only eight or nine years in power he was overthrown by Shamshi-Adad I, the Amorite usurper who had previously been defeated in an attempt to unseat Naram-Suen, and who claimed legitimacy by asserting descent from the mid 21st century BC Assyrian king, Ushpia.
Reign of Puzur-Aššur I, circa 2025 BCE
Puzur-Aššur I was an Assyrian king who ruled around 2000 BC.
He is known only from his place in the Assyrian king list and from references in the inscriptions of later kings (his son and successor Shalim-ahum and the much later Ashur-rim-nisheshu and Shalmaneser III).[5] These later kings mentioned him among the kings who had renewed the city walls begun by Kikkia.[9]
Puzur Ashur may have started a native Assyrian dynasty that endured for eight generations until Erishum II was overthrown by the Amorite Shamshi-Adad I.[citation needed] His clearly Assyrian name (meaning "servant of Ashur"[citation needed]) distinguishes him from his three immediate predecessors on the Assyrian Kinglist, who possibly bore non-Semitic names,[10] and from the earlier, Amorite-named[failed verification][improper synthesis?] "Kings who are ancestors" (also translatable as "Kings whose fathers are known"), often interpreted as a list of Shamshi-Adad's ancestors.[11] Hildegard Levy, writing in the Cambridge Ancient History, rejects this interpretation and sees Puzzur-Ashur as part of a longer dynasty started by one of his predecessors, Sulili.[9] Inscriptions link Puzur Ashur to his immediate successors,[12] who, according to the Kinglist, are related to the following kings down to Erishum II.
The Assyrian Kinglist omits Zariqum, who is known from inscriptions to have been governor (ensi) of Assur for the Third Dynasty of Ur under Amar-Sin; this Zariqum (whose name is Semitic) is sometimes placed by scholars immediately before Puzur-Asshur, and following Akiya.[citation needed]
Puzur-ashur's successors bore the title išši’ak aššur, vice regent of Assur, as well as ensi.[13]
Reign of Šalim-ahum, circa 2025 BCE — circa 1945 BCE
Šalim-ahum was a ruler of the city state of Assur around 1900 BC (short chronology).[14]
He is the earliest independent ruler to be attested in a contemporary inscription.[14] The Assyrian Kinglist records his name as Šallim-aḫḫe, inscribed šal-lim-PAB-MEŠ, meaning “keep the brothers safe”, and he appears amongst the six kings “whose eponyms are not found”,[15] meaning that the length of his reign was unknown. He reigned near the beginning of the 2nd Millennium BC.
He was described as the son of Puzur-Ashur I (dumu Puzu Assur) in his only known inscription.[12] Carved in curious archaic character mirror-writing in old Assyrian on an alabaster block found during the German excavations at Assur under Walter Andrae, this sole exemplar of his contemporary inscriptions records that the god Ashur “requested of him” the construction of a temple and that he had “beer vats and storage area” built in the “temple area.” [5]: 6–7
He ruled during a period when nascent Assyrian merchant companies were branching out into Anatolia to trade textiles and tin from Assur for silver.[14] He was succeeded by his son, Ilu-šūma, as recorded in his brick and limestone inscriptions[5][16]: 12, 15 His name appears in an inscription of Adad-nārārī I and one of Šulmanu-ašaredu I but only in the context of references to his son, Ilu-šūma.[16]: 68, 91
Shalim-ahum and his successors bore the title išši’ak aššur, vice regent of Assur, as well as ensi.[17]
Reign of Ilu-šūma, circa 1945 BCE — circa 1906 BCE
Ilu-šūma, inscribed DINGIR-šum-ma,[i 1] son of Šalim-ahum[16] was the 32nd king of Assyria, ca. 1900 BC (short chronology). The length of his reign is uncertain, as the Assyrian King List records him as one of the “six kings [whose names were written on (?)] bricks, (but) whose eponyms are not known (?),”[18] referring to the lists of officials after which years were named. His son, Erišum, is identified as the king who succeeded him and reigned for 30 years, (or 40, depending on the copy of the King List),[nb 2] followed by Ilu-shuma's other son, Ikunum.
Biography
He titled himself “vice-regent of Aššur, beloved of the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar.” The Synchronistic King List[i 2] records “Eighty-two kings of Assyria from Erišum I, son of Ilu-šūma, to Aššurbanipal, son of Esarhaddon” in the concluding colophon.
The Chronicle of early kings records his contemporary as Su-abu, who was once identified with the founder of the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, Sumu-abum, ca. 1830 BC.[i 3] The word “battles”[nb 3] is discernible on the subsequent, fragmentary line of the Chronicle and this has led some historians to believe Ilu-šūma may have engaged in conflict with his southerly neighbor.
A brick inscription of Ilu-šūma describes his relations with the south and reads The freedom[nb 4] of the Akkadians and their children I established. I purified their copper. I established their freedom from the border of the marshes and Ur and Nippur, Awal, and Kismar, Der of the god Ištaran, as far as the City (Aššur).[16] The historian M. Trolle Larsen has suggested that this represented an attempt to lure traders from the south of Assur with tax privileges and exemptions, to monopolize the exchange of copper from the gulf for tin from the east.[19] The cities cited therefore are the three major caravan routes the commodities would have traveled rather than campaign routes for the king.[20]
His construction activities included building the old temple of Ištar, a city wall, subdivision of the city into house plots and diversion of the flow of two springs to the city gates, “Aushum” and “Wertum”.[16] Tukultī-Ninurta I recorded that he preceded him by 720 years, on his own inscriptions commemorating his construction of an adjacent Ištar temple.[18] From this it might be deduced that, despite later being among the "kings whose year names are not known", the reign length of Ilu-shuma was still known in the time of Tukulti-Ninurta I to be 21 years.[21]
Larsen has suggested that he may have been a contemporary of Iddin Dagān and Išme-Dagān of Isin, which would clash with the synchronization with Sumu-abum,[18] but make more sense given the current chronology favored.[clarification needed]
Reign of Erišum I, circa 1905 BCE — circa 1867 BCE
Erišum I (inscribed me-ri-šu, or mAPIN-ìš in later texts but always with an initial i in his own seal, inscriptions, and those of his immediate successors,[22]: 40 “he has desired,”[23]) son of Ilu-šuma, was the ruler of Assyria ca. 1905-1867 BC (short chronology) or 1974–1935 BC (middle chronology),[nb 5] the 33rd to appear on the Assyrian kinglist and reigned for 40 years.[i 4] He titled himself: "Aššur is king, Erišum is vice-regent"[nb 6] and Išši’ak Aššurki, “governor of Assyria,” at a time when the small city state seems to have been controlled by an oligarchy of the patriarchs of the prominent families and subject to the “judgment of the city,” or dīn alim. The most significant event of his reign was the establishment of distant trading posts, kārum, in central Anatolia, the best known being that located at Kültepe, ancient Kaneš, as the city’s merchant family firms vigorously pursued commercial expansion.
Biography
One of two copies of the Assyrian Kinglist[i 5] which include him gives his reign length as only 30 years,[24] but this contrasts with a complete list of his eponyms, some 40, which are extant from tablets[i 6] recovered at Kültepe.[22]: 3–5 These were discovered in 1948 with three other similar though fragmentary lists and two copies of an inscription of Erišum detailing the regulations concerning the administration of justice in Aššur, including the possibility of bona fide plaintiffs to obtain an attorney (rābiṣum) to represent them:
{{ quotation|The one who talks too much in the Step Gate, the demon of ruins will seize his mouth and his hindquarters; he will smash his head like a shattered pot; he will fall like a broken reed and water will flow from his mouth. The one who talks too much in the Step Gate, his house will become a house of ruin. He who rises to give false testimony, may the [Seven] Judges who decide legal cases in [the Step Gate, give a false] decision [against him]; [may Aššur], Adad, and Bel, [my god, pluck his seed]; a place […] may they not give to him.
[The one who…] … obeys me, [when he goes] to the Step Gate, [may] the palace deputy [assist him]; [may he send] the witnesses and plaintiff (to the court); [may] the judges [take the bench] and give a proper decision [in Ašš]ur.[5]
According to Veenhof, Erišum’s reign marks the period when the institution of the annually appointed limmum, or eponym, was introduced. The Assyrian Kinglist observes of his immediate predecessors, “in all six kings [known from] bricks, whose eponyms have not been marked/found.”[25] Following the example set by his father, he proclaimed tax exemptions, or as Michael Hudson has interpreted: "I proclaimed a remission of debts payable in silver, gold, copper, tin, barley, wool, down to chaff." This appears in an inscription on one side of a large broken block of alabaster,[i 7] apparently described as a ṭuppu. The shallow depression on its top has led some to identify it as a door socket.[26]
It was during his reign that kārums were established along trade routes into Anatolia in the lower city of Kaneš (Kültepe), and others were to follow in Amkuwa (Alisar Höyük), Ḫattuša (Boğazköy) and eighteen other locations yet to be identified, some designated warbatums, satellites of and subordinate to the kārums. Around 23,000 tablets have been found at Kaneš spanning a period of 129 years from the 30th year of Erišum’s reign through to that of Puzur-Aššur II or possibly Narām-Sîn with the earliest from level II including copies of his inscriptions. The markets traded tin (inscribed AN.NA, Akkadian: annukum), textiles, lapis lazuli, iron, antimony, copper, bronze, wool, and grain for gold and silver.
His numerous contemporary inscriptions commemorate his building of the temple for Aššur, called “Wild Bull,” with its courtyard (cattle pen?) and two beer vats and the accompanying curses to those who would use them for their intended purposes. His efforts were recalled by the later kings Šamši-Adad I, in his rebuilding dedication,[16]: 20 and Šulmanu-ašared I, who noted that 159 years had passed between Erišum’s work and that of Šamši-Adad, and a further 580 years until his own when a fire had gutted it.[16]: 84–85 He had exercised eminent domain to clear an area from the Sheep Gate to the People’s Gate to make way for an enlargement of the city wall, so that he could boast that “I made a wall higher than the wall my father had constructed.”[16]: 11 Erišum’s other civic constructions included the temple of Ištar and that of Adad.
Limmu officials by year
The annual eponym officials from the first full year of his reign until the year of his death are given with the middle chronology year.[22]: 6–10
1974 Šu-Ištar, son of Abila
1973 Šukutum, son of Išuhum
1972 Iddin-ilum, son of Kurub-Ištar
1971 Šu-Anim, son of Isalia
1970 Anah-ili, son of Kiki
1969 Suitaya, son of Ir'ibum
1968 Daya, son of Išuhum
1967 Ili-ellat
1966 Šamaš-t.ab
1965 Agusa
1964 Idnaya, son of Šudaya
1963 Quqadum, son of Buzu
1962 Puzur-Ištar, son of Bedaki
1961 Laqip, son of Bab-idi
1960 Šu-Laban, son of Kurub-Ištar
1959 Šu-Belum, son of Išuhum
1958 Nab-Suen, son of Šu-Ištar
1957 Hadaya, son of Elali
1956 Ennum-Aššur, son of Begaya
1955 Ikunum, son of Šudaya
1954 Is.mid-ili, son of Idida
1953 Buzutaya, son of Išuhum
1952 Šu-Ištar, son of Amaya
1951 Iddin-Aššur, son of the priest
1950 Puzur-Aššur, the ghee maker
1949 Quqadum, son of Buzu
1948 Ibni-Adad, son of Susaya
1947 Irišum, son of Adad-rabi
1946 Minanum, son of Begaya
1945 Iddin-Suen, son of Šalim-ahum
1944 Puzur-Aššur, son of Idnaya
1943 Šuli, son of Uphakum
1942 Laqip, son of Zukua
1941 Puzur-Ištar, son of Erisua
1940 Aguwa, son of Adad-rabi
1939 Šu-Suen, son of S.illia
1938 Ennum-Aššur, son of Begaya
1937 Enna-Suen, son of Pussanum
1936 Ennanum, son of Uphakum
1935 Buzi, son of Adad-rabi
Reign of Ikunum, circa 1867 BCE — circa 1860 BCE
Ikunum was a king of Assyria between 1867 BC to 1860 BC and the son of Ilushuma.
Reign
He built a temple for the god Ninkigal.[27] strengthened the fortifications of the city of Assur and maintained commercial colonies in Asia Minor.[28]
Limmu officials by year
These are the 15 annual limmu officials from the year of accession of Ikunum to his death.[29] BC dates are based on a date of 1833 BC for the recorded solar eclipse in the limmu of Puzur-Ištar.[30]
1920 Buzi son of Adad-rabi
1919 Šuli son of Šalmah
1918 Iddin-Suen son of Šalmah
1917 Ikunum son of Šudaya
1916 Dan-Wer son of Ahu-ahi
1915 Šu-Anum from Nerabtim
1914 Il-massu son of Aššur-ṭab
1913 Šu-Hubur son of Šuli
1912 Idua son of Ṣulili
1911 Laqip son of Puzur-Laba
1910 Šu-Anum the hapirum
1909 Uku son of Bila
1908 Aššur-malik son of Panaka
1907 Dan-Aššur son of Puzur-Wer
1906 Šu-Kubum son of Ahu-ahi
1905 Irišum son of Iddin-Aššur
Reign of Sargon I, circa 1860 BCE — circa 1821 BCE
Sargon I or Sharru-ken reigned as king of the old-Assyrian Kingdom from ca. 1920 BC to 1881 BC. The name 'Sargon' means 'the king is legitimate' in Akkadian.[31] He is known for his work refortifying Assur.[32] The name "Sargon I" has also been used to refer to Sargon of Akkad, and the Assyrian Sargon may have been named after him.[33] Very little is known about this king.[33]
Limmu officials by year
Annual limmu officials from the year of accession of Šarru-kin to his death.[34] BC dates depend on a date of 1833 BC for the recorded solar eclipse in the limmu of Puzur-Ištar.[35]
1905 Irišum son of Iddin-Aššur
1904 Aššur-malik son of Agatum
1903 Aššur-malik son of Enania
1902 Ibisua son of Suen-nada
1901 Bazia son of Bal-Tutu
1900 Puzur-Ištar son of Sabasia
1899 Pišaḫ-Ili son of Adin
1898 Asqudum son of Lapiqum
1897 Ili-pilaḫ son of Damqum
1896 Qulali
1895 Susaya
1894 Amaya the Weaponer
1893 Ipḫurum son of Ili-ellat
1892 Kudanum son of Laqipum
1891 Ili-bani son of Ikunum
1890 Šu-Kubum son of Susaya
1889 Quqidi son of Amur-Aššur
1888 Abia son of Nur-Suen
1887 Šu-Ištar son of Šukutum
1886 Bazia son of Šepa-lim
1885 Šu-Ištar son of Ikunum, the starlike (kakkabanum)
1884 Abia son of Šu-Dagan
1883 Salia son of Šabakuranum
1882 Ibni-Adad son of Baqqunum
1881 Aḫmarši son of Malkum-išar
1880 Sukkalia son of Minanum
1879 Iddin-Aššur son of Kubidi
1878 Šudaya son of Ennanum
1877 Al-ṭab son of Pilaḫ-Aššur
1876 Aššur-dammiq son of Abarsisum
1875 Puzur-Niraḫ son of Puzur-Suen
1874 Amur-Aššur son of Karria
1873 Buzuzu son of Ibbi-Suen
1872 Šu-Ḫubur son of Elali
1871 Ilšu-rabi son of Bazia
1870 Alaḫum son of Inaḫ-ili
1869 Ṭab-Aššur son of Suḫarum
1868 Elali son of Ikunum
1867 Iddin-abum son of Narbitum
1866 Adad-bani son of Iddin-Aššur
1865 Aššur-iddin son of Šuli
Reign of Puzur-Aššur II, circa 1860 BCE — circa 1821 BCE
Puzur-Aššur II was King of Assyria for 8 years between 1865 BC to 1857 BC. He was the son and successor of Šarru-kin I (Sargon I). Due to his father's long reign he came to the throne at a late age since one of his sons, named Ili-bani, was a witness in a contract (and so already a grown man) eleven years before Puzur-Aššur became ruler. He was succeeded by his son Naram-Suen.
Limmu officials by year
Annual limmu officials from the accession of Puzur-Aššur, the waklum (overseer), in the limum of Aššur-iddin son of Šuli to his death in the limum of Inaya son of Amuraya.[36] BC dates are based on a date of 1833 BC for the recorded solar eclipse in the limum of Puzur-Ištar.[37]
1865 Aššur-iddin son of Šuli
1864 Aššur-nada son of Puzur-Ana
1863 Kubia son of Karria
1862 Ili-dan son of Elali
1861 Ṣilulu son of Uku
1860 Aššur-nada son of Ili-binanni
1859 Ikuppi-Ištar son of Ikua
1858 Buzutaya son of Šuli
1857 Innaya son of Amuraya
Reign of Narām-Sîn, circa 1821 BCE — circa 1813 BCE
Narām-Sîn, inscribed in cuneiform on contemporary seal impressions as dna-ra-am-dEN.ZU, was the en5.si or waklum of Aššur (da-šùr), listed as the 37th king of Assyria on the later Assyrian king lists, where he is inscribed mna-ram-dEN.ZU,[i 8][i 9][i 10] or a fragmentary list where he appears as -d30.[i 11] The length of his reign is uncertain, but based on various excavated eponym lists, the lists of officials after whom the Assyrians named their years, his reign and that of his son and successor Erišum II had a combined length of 64 years.[22]: 29 As his successor’s rule was prematurely ended by the conquest of Šamši-Adad I, it is likely that his reign was the greater part of the period and the broken figure on the Nassouhi king list ends 4, so perhaps he reigned 44 or 54 years.(ca. 1872 onward, middle chronology).[38]: 45 Despite this, there are no extant monumental inscriptions recording his activities.[39] He was son and successor of the short-reigning Puzur-Aššur II, filiation preserved in his seal impression on the envelopes of the waklum-letters to his expat Anatolian-based traders at Kaneš as well as the later king lists.
Biography
He was named for the illustrious Narām-Sîn of Akkad and, like his grandfather, Šarru-kīn I, took the divine determinative in his name. He should not be confused with the Narām-Sîn who ruled Eshnunna for around twelve years, the successor and son, as identified on an inscription, of the long-reigning Ebiq-Adad II.[40] It is probable that he was himself, however, contemporaneous with the earlier part of Ebiq-Adad II’s reign, whose last attestation was in the Mari Chronicle (MEC B line 25) some fifty-six years after Narām-Sîn’s inauguration.[38]: 46
The city-state of Aššur which he had inherited would have been fairly wealthy as the hub of the trading network at the height of its Old Assyrian activity and, despite the destruction of the trading post at Kaneš partway through his reign, commerce apparently continued elsewhere.[38]: 46
The Assyrian king list records that Šamši-Adad I “went away to Babylonia in the time of Narām-Sîn”. He was not to return until taking Ekallatum, pausing three years and then overthrowing Erišum II, Narām-Sîn’s son and successor.[41]
List of eponyms
The last twenty-seven eponyms listed on the extant Kültepe Eponym Lists (KEL) represent his first years, ending nearly a decade before the ancient trading colony at Kaneš was destroyed (ca. 1837, the II layer), during his thirty-fifth year.[22]: 29 The Mari Eponym Chronicle (MEC B), which resumes the listing until the seizure of Ekallatum by Šamši-Adad I, provides no clue as to when the succession of Narām-Sîn by his son took place. Also, a gap of up to four years is apparent between the end of the KEL and the beginning of MEC B.[38]: 5 The dating is per middle chronology:
1872 BC Šu-Suen, son of Bab-ilum
1871 BC Aššur-malik, son of Alahum
1870 BC Aššur-imitti, son of Ili-bani
1869 BC Enna-Suen, son of Šu-Aššur
1868 BC Akkutum, son of Alahum
1867 BC Mas.i-ili, son of Irišum
1866 BC Iddi-ahum, son of Kudanum
1865 BC Samaya, son of Šu-Balum
1864 BC Ili-Anum, son of Sukkalia
1863 BC Ennam-Anum, son of Aššur-malik
1862 BC Ennum-Aššur, son of Duni-Ea
1861 BC Enna-Suen, son of Šu-Ištar
1860 BC Hannanarum
1859 BC Dadia
1858 BC Kapatia
1857 BC Išma-Aššur, son of Ea-dan
1856 BC Aššur-mutappil, son of Azizum
1855 BC Šu-Nirah, son of Azuzaya
1854 BC Iddin-abum
1853 BC Ili-dan, son of Azuza
1852 BC Aššur-imitti, son of Iddin-Ištar
1851 BC Buzia, son of Abia
1850 BC Dadia, son of Šu-Ilabrat
1849 BC Puzur-Ištar, son of Nur-ilišu
1848 BC Isaya, son of Dagan-malkum
1847 BC Abu-Šalim, son of Ili-Anum
1846 BC Aššur-re'i, son of Ili-emuqi
Reign of Erišum II, circa 1813 BCE — circa 1807 BCE
Erišum II was the King of Assyria from 1813 BCE to 1807 BCE. After reigning only for 6 years, he was overthrown by Shamshi-Adad I.
Amorite Period in Assyria, circa 1809 BCE — circa 1750 BCE
The Amorites were successfully repelled by the Assyrian kings of the 20th and 19th centuries BC. However, in 1809 BC the native Mesopotamian king of Assyria Erishum II was deposed, and the throne of Assyria was usurped by Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1809 – 1776 BC) in the expansion of Semitic Amorite tribes from the Khabur River delta in the north eastern Levant.
Although regarded as an Amorite by later Assyrian tradition, Shamshi-Adad's descent is suggested to be from the same line as the native Mesopotamian ruler Ushpia in the Assyrian King List. He put his son Ishme-Dagan on the throne of a nearby Assyrian city, Ekallatum, and maintained Assyria's Anatolian colonies. Shamshi-Adad I then went on to conquer the kingdom of Mari (in modern Syria) on the Euphrates putting another of his sons, Yasmah-Adad on the throne there. Shamshi-Adad's Assyria now encompassed the whole of northern Mesopotamia and included territory in central Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and northern Syria. Shamshi-Adad I mentions conducting raids on the Canaanite coasts of the far off Mediterranean, where he erected stelae to commemorate his victories. He himself resided in a new capital city founded in the Khabur valley in northern Mesopotamia, called Shubat-Enlil.
Ishme-Dagan I (1774–1763 BC) inherited Assyria, but Yasmah-Adad was overthrown by a new king called Zimrilim in Mari. The new king of Mari allied himself with the Amorite king Hammurabi of Babylon, who had made the recently created, and originally minor state of Babylon into a major power. It was from the reign of Hammurabi onwards that southern Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia.
Assyria now faced the rising power of Babylon in the south. Ishme-Dagan responded by making an alliance with the enemies of Babylon, and the power struggle continued without resolution for decades. Ishme-Dagan, like his father was a great warrior, and in addition to repelling Babylonian attacks, campaigned successfully against the Turukku and Lullubi of the Zagros Mountains (in modern Iran) who had attacked the Assyrian city of Ekallatum, and against Dadusha, king of Eshnunna, and the state of Iamhad (modern Aleppo).
Reign of Shamshi-Adad I, circa 1807 BCE — circa 1774 BCE
Shamshi-Adad I, (Akkadian) or Shamshi-Addu (Amorite) was an Amorite ancient Near East king of Assyria and other regions in Upper Mesopotamia. He rose to prominence when he carved out an empire encompassing much of Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia Minor often referred to as the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia. During his reign, the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia competed for power with Yahdun-Lim of Mari as well as the kingdom of Eshnunna in lower Mesopotamia.[42] After his death, the empire was soon defeated by Hammurabi of Babylon, coming briefly under the control of the First Babylonian Dynasty throughout this period. He was incorporated into the traditional king lists of Assyria and earlier archaeologists assumed he was indeed Assyrian.
Rise to power
His father Ila-kabkabu ruled in Terqa, a city on the borders of Mari in northern Syria. He was an Amorite king. Around 1833 Shamshi-Adad I inherited the throne in Terqa. After ten years of rule he was forced to flee to Babylon while Naram-Sin of Eshnunna attacked Ekallatum. Shamshi-Adad spent seven years in exile until Naram-Sim died. In 1808 he re-emerged as king and also conquered Assur.[43]
He took over the long abandoned Akkadian Empire era town of Shekhna in north eastern Syria,[44] building it into his capital and renaming the city Shubat-Enlil. The modern name of the site is Tell Leilan.
He placed his sons in key geographical locations and gave them responsibility to look over those areas. While he remained in Shubat-Enlil, his eldest son son, Ishme-Dagan I was put on the throne of Ekallatum. The younger son Yasmah-Adad was in charge of Mari following conquest there. Shamshi-Adad I attempted to legitimize his position on the Assyrian throne by claiming descent from Ushpia, a 21st-century BC Assyrian ruler. at ang suso ni solenn heussaff
Reign
Shamshi-Adad I ascended the throne of Assur in 1808 BCE and ruled northern Mesopotamia until his death in 1776 BCE.
A main target for expansion was the city Mari, which controlled the caravan route between Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The king of Mari, Iakhdunlim, was assassinated by his own servants, possibly on Shamshi-Adad's orders. In 1795 Shamshi-Adad seized the opportunity and occupied Mari. The heir to the throne, Zimri-Lim, was forced to flee to Aleppo, ancient Yamkhad. Shamshi-Adad put his second son, Yasmah-Adad on the throne in Mari, and then returned to Shubat-Enlil.
With the annexation of Mari, Shamshi-Adad was in control of a large empire,[45] controlling the whole of Upper Mesopotamia. On inscriptions Shamshi-Adad boasts of erecting triumphal stelae on the coast of the Mediterranean, but these probably represent short expeditions rather than any attempts at conquest. Shamshi-Adad also proclaimed himself as "king of all", the title used by Sargon of Akkad.
In 1781 BCE Dadusha, a king of the neighboring state Eshnunna, made an alliance with Shamshi-Adad in order to conquer the area between the two Zab rivers. This military campaign of joint forces was commemorated on a victory stele which states that Dadusha gives the lands to Shamshi-Adad. Shamshi-Adad later turned against Dadusha by attacking cities including Shaduppum and Nerebtum. After the death of Shamshi-Adad, Eshnunna captured cities around Assur.[46]
Naturally, Shamshi-Adad's rise to glory earned him the envy of neighbouring kings and tribes, and throughout his reign, he and his sons faced several threats to their control. While Ishme-Dagan probably was a competent ruler, his brother Yasmah-Adad appears to have been a man of weak character; something the disappointed father was not above mentioning: Are you a child, not a man, have you no beard on your chin, he writes, and in another letter While here your brother is victorious, down there you lie about among the women.
Shamshi-Adad clearly kept a firm control on the actions of his sons, as shown in his many letters to them. At one point he arranged a political marriage between Yasmah-Adad to Beltum, the princess of his ally in Qatna. Yasmah-Adad already had a leading wife and put Beltum in a secondary position of power. Shamshi-Adad did not approve and forced his son to keep Beltum in the palace in a leading position.[47] Shamshi-Adad sent a letter on a tablet to Ishi-Addu (Beltum's father, the King of Qatna) in which he discusses their alliance, the attacks of their enemies, as well as the successful marriage between their children. In it he says, I heard that you gladly dispatched my daughter-in-law on a safe way back to me, that you treated my servants when they stayed with you well, and that they were not hindered at all. My heart is very happy.[48]
Shamshi-Adad was a great organizer and he kept a firm controls on all matters of state, from high policy down to the appointing of officials and the dispatching of provisions. His campaigns were meticulously planned, and his army knew all the classic methods of siegecraft, such as encircling ramparts and battering rams. Spies and propaganda were often used to win over rival cities. He allowed conquered territories to maintain some of their earlier practices. In Assur he held the title "governor of Assur." In Ninevah he used state resources to rebuild the Ishtar temple. The city Qattara local rulers maintained authority (but became vassals) when they were incorporated into the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia. A new change which was enforced was the unification of the dating system to be the Assyrian eponym system throughout the kingdom in cities such as Mari, Tuttul, Shubat-Enlil, and Terqa.[49]
Shamshi-Adad continued to strengthen his kingdom throughout his life, but as he got older, the state was more vulnerable and the neighboring powers Yamkhad and Eshnunna both began attacking. The empire lacked cohesion and was in a vulnerable geographical position. When the news of Shamshi-Adad's death spread, his old rivals at once set out to topple his sons from the throne. Yasmah-Adad was soon expelled from Mari by Zimri-Lim, and the rest of the empire was eventually lost during the reigns of Ishme-Dagan and Mut-Ashkur to another Amorite ruler, Hammurabi of Babylon.
Inscriptions
In Assur, near the temple there, were found stone tablets with Akkadian inscriptions, formatted in three columns and a total of 135 lines, from Shamshi-Adad. In this inscription he claims to be "king of the universe," and "unifier of the land between Tigris and Euphrates." He asserts that the king of the "upper Land" paid tribute to him and that he built the temple of Enlil. Archaeology supports this claim because excavations of the temple of Ashur show that many bricks and objects inside have the inscription "Shamshi-Adad, builder of the temple of Ashur" carved into them.[50] He outlines the market prices of that time as being one shekel of silver being worth two kor of barley, 15 minas of wool, or two seahs of oil.
Reign of Ishme-Dagan I, circa 1774 BCE — circa 1734 BCE
Ishme-Dagan I was the son of Shamshi-Adad I, an Amorite king of the Upper Mesopotamian Empire. Shamshi-Adad I ruled from his capital of Shubat-Enlil, and installed his elder son, Ishme-Dagan, in Ekallatum, and made the younger, Yasmah-Adad, king of Mari.[51] Ishme-Dagan ruled the area of the upper Tigris, including the city-state of Assur, until being ousted by Hammurabi of Babylon. The Assyrian king list credits Ishme-Dagan with a rule of 40 years.
Family Correspondence
A number of letters relating the familial relationships between Shamshi-Adad and his two sons have been excavated, and these letters provide a glimpse into the tensions of this family of rulers. Shamshi-Adad often praised his oldest, while chiding his youngest. Ishme-Dagan appears to have been “a forceful soldier not afraid to risk his own skin,” a quality which allowed Shamshi-Adad to rely on him unhesitatingly.[52] Shamshi-Adad’s correspondence to his younger son is not as generous (see Yasmah-Adad for examples), and Ishme-Dagan appears to have picked up his father’s censure of his younger brother and contributed to it, as other letters attest; in one, Ishme-Dagan asks his brother, “Why are you setting up a wail about this thing? That is not great conduct”.[53]
Other letters may reinforce the idea that Ishme-Dagan shared his father’s distaste for Yasmah-Adad’s conduct; in one letter, Ishme-Dagan bluntly commands Yasmah-Adad to “show some sense”.[54] In another, Ishme-Dagan tells his brother to stop writing their father directly, and use him as an intermediary. The reasons behind this move could be political, as a way for Ishme-Dagan to gain more political standing with their father, or perhaps Ishme-Dagan was sincere in his desire to help his brother appear more competent in their father’s eyes.
In addition to letters whose authorship can be verified to Ishme-Dagan, Shamshi-Adad and Yasmah-Adad, there have been letters attributed to this family that were not written by them. One such letter caused issues in Bronze Age chronology, as it allowed historians to place dates on Hammurabi. The letter was purportedly from Ishme-Dagan, writing to his brother after their father had died, and states, “I acceded to my father’s throne, but having been very busy, I haven’t sent you my news. Now you are my brother, and aside from you I have no brother. I will make peace with any city or king that you take as a vassal. Don’t ever worry. Your throne is yours to keep”.[55] This letter led historians to believe that Yasmah-Adad held the throne of Mari for a while after his father died, but this letter was proven to actually be from Ishme-Addu of Ashnakku, written to Ibal-Addu of Ashlakka, thus disproving many chronologies that had been based on the letter.[56]
Territorial Holdings
Ishme-Dagan ruled the southeastern region of Upper Mesopotamia, with the capital of his realm of influence in Ekallatum. Ishme-Dagan’s main challenge was in keeping his enemies in check; to his east were the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, inhabited by warlike pastoral peoples, and to the south was the Mesopotamian kingdom of Eshnunna. Ishme-Dagan was involved in conflicts with both enemies.
Although his father counted Ishme-Dagan as politically astute and a capable soldier, commending him as he berated Yasmah-Adad in their letters, Ishme-Dagan was not able to hold his father’s empire for long after his father died. Ishme-Dagan eventually lost most of his domain, and was reduced to holding Assur and Ekallatum, despite waging several counter offensives to try to regain the upper Khabur area.[57] Some evidence indicates that after his reduction in power, Ishme-Dagan appeared to hold tolerable relations with Babylon, Eshnunna, and Mari (despite his brother’s expulsion). Hammurabi of Babylon requested reinforcements from Ishme-Dagan at least once, and Ishme-Dagan responded, though it seems his response was grudging, and Hammurabi was not entirely pleased with the poor support. Later, it is likely that Ishme-Dagan was the king of Assur when Hammurabi vanquished her king and occupied Assyrian lands.[58]
Warfare
Although it is difficult to reconstruct much of Ishme-Dagan’s rule, there are records of a few military campaigns he was part of, both against nomadic peoples and against the southern kingdom of Eshnunna. Eshnunna was to be his chief enemy, and although records are sparse, there are some accounts of some political conflicts involving Eshnunna, and these occurred both while his father was alive, and after he died. An instance of defeat occurs in a year-name coined by Dadusha, a king of Eshnunna (ruled ca. 1780 C.E.), which commemorates a victory over an army led by Ishme-Dagan.[59] However, the year-name of the 5th year of Ibalpiel II’s reign (Dadusha’s son), indicating some reverence to Shamshi-Adad I at his passing, suggests that Eshnunna had been become subservient to the Upper Mesopotamian Empire. This idea is confirmed by a letter written by Ishme-Dagan to his brother, after Ishme-Dagan assumes their father’s throne and the rule of all of Upper Mesopotamia, in which he tells Yasmah-Adad that he “has the Elamites on a leash as well as their ally, the king of Eshnunna”.[60] His confidence was overstated, however, as year-names of the 8th and 9th years of King Ibalpiel’s reign indicate Eshnunna attacked and destroyed the armies of Assur and Mari, and Ishme-Dagan’s control over his father’s entire realm slipped, as his hold was reduced to the region of Assur and Ekallatum.
Another campaign for which records exist is a campaign that Ishme-Dagan appears to have engaged in with his father when he was still alive, against the nomadic tribe called the Ya’ilanum. In 1781 C. E., Shamshi-Adad, along with his son Ishme-Dagan, embarked on a new campaign against a few other kingdoms in the area (Qabra and Nurugum) and the Ya’ilanum tribe. These expeditions betray the different attitudes of the urban peoples toward the tribal peoples, as the people of the kingdoms were treated differently than the tribal people. During the course of the campaign on Nurugum, Ishme-Dagan and his armies besieged Nineveh, and once Nineveh was conquered—according to letters excavated from the period—Ishme-Dagan allowed some prisoners to enter his army, and gave special treatment to skilled prisoners (physicians and the like). Only one letter to Yasmah-Adad indicates the use of violence against prisoners.[61]
However, the respect accorded to people of the cities was not evident in the treatment of people from pastoral tribes, who were often viewed as dangerous to society. While Shamshi-Adad ordered his younger son, Yasmah-Adad, to execute all the members of this tribe under his authority, it was the troops of Ishme-Dagan who later exterminated the entire tribe. There are two accounts of this annihilation, one from Shamshi-Adad, and one from Ishme-Dagan. Shamshi-Adad seems to have slightly reneged on his earlier bloodthirstiness toward the tribes, as his account appears to limit the killing to the leaders and the combatants of the army,[62] but in a letter from Ishme-Dagan to Yasmah-Adad, it seems the whole population was eradicated, as he states, “Mar-Addu and all the sons (of the tribe) of Ya’ilanum were killed, and all its servants and soldiers were killed, and not one enemy escaped”.[63]
Assyria under Babylonian domination, circa 1750 BCE — circa 1732 BCE
Hammurabi, after first conquering Mari, Larsa, and Eshnunna, eventually prevailed over Ishme-Dagan's replacement Mut-Ashkur (1750–1740 BC), and subjected him to Babylon c. 1750 BC. With Hammurabi, the various karum colonies in Anatolia ceased trade activity—probably because the goods of Assyria were now being traded with the Babylonians. The Assyrian monarchy survived, however the three Amorite kings succeeding Ishme-Dagan, Mut-Ashkur (who was the son of Ishme-Dagan and married to a Hurrian queen), Rimush (1739–1733 BC) and Asinum (1732 BC), were vassals, dependent on the Babylonians during the reign of Hammurabi, and for a short time, of his successor Samsu-iluna.
Assyrian Adaside dynasty, circa 1732 BCE — circa 1451 BCE
The short lived Babylonian Empire quickly began to unravel upon the death of Hammurabi, and Babylonia lost control over Assyria during the reign of Hammurabi's successor Samsu-iluna (1750–1712 BC). A period of civil war ensued after Asinum (a grandson of Shamshi-Adad I and the last Amorite ruler of Assyria) was deposed in approximately 1732 BC by a powerful native Assyrian vice regent named Puzur-Sin, who regarded Asinum as both a foreigner and a former lackey of Babylon.
A native king named Ashur-dugul seized the throne in 1732 BC, probably with the help of Puzur-Sin. However, he was unable to retain control for long, and was soon deposed by a rival claimant, Ashur-apla-idi. Internal instability ensued with four further kings (Nasir-Sin, Sin-namir, Ipqi-Ishtar and Adad-salulu) all reigning in quick succession over a period of approximately six years between 1732 and 1727 BC. Babylonia seems to have been too powerless to intervene or take advantage of this situation.
Finally, a king named Adasi (1726–1701 BC) came to the fore c. 1726 BC and managed to quell the civil unrest and stabilise the situation in Assyria. Adasi completely drove the Babylonians and Amorites from the Assyrian sphere of influence during his reign, and Babylonian power began to quickly wane in Mesopotamia as a whole, also losing the far south of Mesopotamia (an area roughly corresponding to ancient Sumer) to the native Akkadian-speaking Sealand Dynasty, although the Amorites would retain control over a much reduced and weak Babylonia itself until 1595 BC, when they were overthrown by the Kassites, a people from the Zagros Mountains who spoke a language isolate and were neither Semites nor Indo-Europeans.
Adasi was succeeded by Bel-bani (1700–1691 BC) who is credited in Assyrian annals with inflicting further defeats on the Babylonians and Amorites, and further strengthening and stabilising the kingdom.
Little is currently known of many of the kings that followed such as; Libaya (1690–1674 BC), Sharma-Adad I (1673–1662 BC), Iptar-Sin (1661–1650 BC), Bazaya (1649–1622 BC) (a contemporary of Peshgaldaramesh of the Sealand Dynasty), Lullaya (1621–1618 BC) (who usurperped the throne from Bazaya), Shu-Ninua (1615–1602 BC) and Sharma-Adad II (1601–1599 BC). However, Assyria seems to have been a relatively strong and stable nation, existing undisturbed by its neighbours such as the Hattians, Hittites, Hurrians, Amorites, Babylonians, Elamites or Mitannians during this period.
Assyria remained strong and secure; when Babylon was sacked and its Amorite rulers deposed by the Hittite Empire, and subsequently fell to the Kassites in 1595 BC, both powers were unable to make any inroads into Assyria, and there seems to have been no trouble between the first Kassite ruler of Babylon, Agum II, and Erishum III (1598–1586 BC) of Assyria, and a mutually beneficial treaty was signed between the two rulers.
Shamshi-Adad II (1585–1580 BC), Ishme-Dagan II (1579–1562 BC) and Shamshi-Adad III (1562–1548 BC) seem also to have had peaceful tenures, although few records have thus far been discovered about their reigns. Similarly, Ashur-nirari I (1547–1522 BC) seems not to have been troubled by the newly founded Mitanni Empire in Asia Minor, the Hittite empire, or Babylon during his 25-year reign. He is known to have been an active king, improving the infrastructure, dedicating temples and conducting various building projects throughout the kingdom.
Puzur-Ashur III (1521–1498 BC) proved to be a strong and energetic ruler. He undertook much rebuilding work in Assur, the city was refortified and the southern quarters incorporated into the main city defences. Temples to the moon god Sin (Nanna) and the sun god Shamash were erected during his reign. He signed a treaty with Burna-Buriash I the Kassite king of Babylon, defining the borders of the two nations in the late 16th century BC. He was succeeded by Enlil-nasir I (1497–1483 BC) who appears to have had a peaceful and uneventful reign, as does his successor Nur-ili (1482–1471 BC).
The son of Nur-ili, Ashur-shaduni (1470 BC) was deposed by his uncle Ashur-rabi I (1470–1451 BC) in his first year of rule. Little is known about his nineteen-year reign, but it appears to have been largely uneventful.
Assyria in decline, circa 1450 BCE — circa 1393 BCE
The emergence of the Mitanni Empire in the 16th century BC did eventually lead to a short period of sporadic Mitannian-Hurrian domination in the latter half of the 15th century. The Indo-European-speaking Mitannians are thought to have conquered and formed the ruling class over the indigenous Hurrians of eastern Anatolia. The Hurrians spoke a language isolate, i.e. neither Semitic nor Indo-European.
Ashur-nadin-ahhe I (1450–1431 BC) was courted by the Egyptians, who were rivals of Mitanni, and attempting to gain a foothold in the Near East. Amenhotep II sent the Assyrian king a tribute of gold to seal an alliance against the Hurri-Mitannian empire. It is likely that this alliance prompted Saushtatar, the emperor of Mitanni, to invade Assyria, and sack the city of Ashur, after which Assyria became a sometime vassal state, with Ashur-nadin-ahhe I being forced to pay tribute to Saushtatar. He was deposed by his own brother Enlil-nasir II (1430–1425 BC) in 1430 BC, possibly with the aid of Mitanni, who received tribute from the new king. Ashur-nirari II (1424–1418 BC) had an uneventful reign, and appears to have also paid tribute to the Mitanni Empire.[2]
The Assyrian monarchy survived, and the Mitannian influence appears to have been sporadic. They appear not to have been always willing or indeed able to interfere in Assyrian internal and international affairs.
Ashur-bel-nisheshu (1417–1409 BC) seems to have been independent of Mitannian influence, as evidenced by his signing a mutually beneficial treaty with Karaindash, the Kassite king of Babylonia in the late 15th century. He also undertook extensive rebuilding work in Ashur itself, and Assyria appears to have redeveloped its former highly sophisticated financial and economic systems during his reign.
Ashur-rim-nisheshu (1408–1401 BC) also undertook building work, strengthening the city walls of the capital.
Ashur-nadin-ahhe II (1400–1393 BC) also received a tribute of gold and diplomatic overtures from Egypt, probably in an attempt to gain Assyrian military support against Egypt's Mitannian and Hittite rivals in the region. However, the Assyrian king appears not to have been in a strong enough position to challenge Mitanni or the Hittites.
Eriba-Adad I (1392–1366 BC), a son of Ashur-bel-nisheshu, ascended the throne in 1392 BC and finally broke the ties to the Mitanni Empire.
There are dozens of Mesopotamian cuneiform texts from this period, with precise observations of solar and lunar eclipses, that have been used as 'anchors' in the various attempts to define the chronology of Babylonia and Assyria for the early 2nd millennium BC (i.e., the "high", "middle", and "low" chronologies.)
See also
- Sumer
- Akkadian Empire
- Assyria
- Timeline of the Assyrian Empire
- Middle Assyrian Empire
- Neo Assyrian Empire
- Babylonia
- Ancient Semitic religion
- Mesopotamian religion
- East Semitic
- List of Assyrian kings
- Assyrian continuity
- Assyrian people
- Syriac language
- Akkadian language
- Eastern Aramaic languages
- Name of Syria
- Semitic people
Inscriptions
- ^ Khorsabad copy of the Assyrian King List i 24, 26.
- ^ Synchronistic King List iv 17.
- ^ Chronicle of early kings, BM 26472, 37.
- ^ Khorsabad kinglist.
- ^ SDAS Kinglist: [mE-ri-š] u DUMU mDINGIR-šum-ma, [šá li-ma-ni? -šu-ni 10] + 30 MU.MEŠ LUGAL-ta DÙ-uš.
- ^ KEL A (kt 92/k 193), at CDLI.
- ^ BM 115689, Ass. 16850.
- ^ SDAS List, IM 60484, i 34.
- ^ Nassouhi List, Istanbul A. 116 (Assur 8836), i 33.
- ^ Khorsabad List, IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), i 34.
- ^ Assyrian Kinglist fragment VAT 9812 = KAV 14: ‘3
Notes
- ^ Freedom: addurāru.
- ^ Lines 27 to 28: [IE-r]i-šu dumu Iilu-šum-ma [šá li-ma-ni]-šu-ni 40 mumeš lugalta dùuš.
- ^ Battles, gigam.didli.
- ^ Freedom = addurāru.
- ^ Some historians quote ca. 1939–1900 BC (after Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, C. 3000-330 BC, Volume 1, Routledge, 1996, p. 82).
- ^ da-šùr LUGAL i-ri-šu-um PA.
References
- ^ According to the Assyrian King List and Georges Roux (1964), Ancient Iraq, p. 187.
- ^ a b Georges Roux (1964), Ancient Iraq[page needed]
- ^ Larsen, Mogens Trolle (2000): "The old Assyrian city-state". In Hansen, Mogens Herman, A comparative study of thirty city-state cultures: an investigation / conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, p. 77–89.
- ^ Lines 27 to 28: [IE-r]i-šu dumu Iilu-šum-ma [šá li-ma-ni]-šu-ni 40 mumeš lugalta dùuš.
- ^ a b c d e Albert Kirk Grayson (1972). Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume 1. Otto Harrassowitz.: 7–8 Cite error: The named reference "grayson1972" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Tablet copies: An 201139 and An 20114
- ^ Cahit Günbattı, An Eponym List (KEL G) from Kültepe Altoriental. Forsch. 35 (2008) 1, 103–132.
- ^ Klaas R. Veenhof, The old Assyrian list of year eponyms from Karum Kanish and its chronological implications (Ankara, Turkish Historical Society, 2003
- ^ a b Hildegard Levy, "Assyria c. 2600-1816 B.C.", Cambridge Ancient History. Volume 1, Part 2: Early History of the Middle East, 729-770, p. 746-747.
- ^ Arthur Ungnad interpreted these names as Hurrian (BA VI, 5, S. 13) but Ungnad's thesis can no longer be sustained nowadays[citation needed] and was rejected as unconvincing by Arno Poebel ("The Assyrian King List from Khorsabad", Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1/3, 1942, 253) as early as 1942.
- ^ Meissner, Bruno (1990). Reallexikon der Assyriologie. Vol. 6. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 101–102. ISBN 3110100517.
- ^ a b Albert Kirk Grayson (2002). Assyrian Rulers. Volume 1: 1114 – 859 BC. p. 14.
- ^ Barbara Cifola (1995). Analysis of variants in the Assyrian royal titulary from the origins to Tiglath-Pileser III. Istituto universitario orientale. p. 8.
- ^ a b c J. A. Brinkman (2001). "Assyria". In Bruce Manning Metzger, Michael David Coogan (ed.). The Oxford companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 63.
- ^ K. R. Veenhof (2003). The Old Assyrian List of Year Eponyms from Karum Kanish and is Chronological Implications. Turkish Historical Society. p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h A. K. Grayson (1972). Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume 1. Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 7–8. Cite error: The named reference "grayson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Barbara Cifola (1995). Analysis of variants in the Assyrian royal titulary from the origins to Tiglath-Pileser III. Istituto universitario orientale. p. 8.
- ^ a b c Jean-Jacques Glassner (2005). Mesopotamian Chronicles. SBL. pp. 137, 7, 271.
- ^ M. Trolle Larsen (1976). The Old Assyrian City-State and its Colonies. Akademisk Forlag. p. 87.
- ^ Emélie Kuhrt (1998). "The Old Assyrian merchants". In Helen Parkins, Christopher Smith (ed.). Trade, traders, and the ancient city. Routledge. p. 20.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient History: Assyria 2060-1816 BC, 1966, p. 22.
- ^ a b c d e K. R. Veenhof (2003). The Old Assyrian List of Year Eponyms from Karum Kanish and its Chronological Implications. Turkish Historical Society. pp. 40, 3–10. Cite error: The named reference "veenhof" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ E. Frahm (1998). K. Radner (ed.). The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Volume 1, Part II: A. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. p. 404.
- ^ I. J. Gelb (1954). "Two Assyrian King Lists". Journal of Near East Studies. VIII (4): 213.
- ^ Klaas R. Veenhof, Jesper Eidem (2008). Mesopotamia: the Old Assyrian period. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 29.
- ^ J. E. Reade (2001). "A monument of Erišum I from Aššur". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 94 (2): 177–178. doi:10.3917/assy.094.0177.
- ^ Rogers, Robert (2003). A History of Babylonia and Assyria. Lost Arts Media. ISBN 978-1-59016-317-7.
{{cite book}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ Bertman, Stephen (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Oxford UP. p. 88.
- ^ Cahit Günbattı, An Eponym List (KEL G) from Kültepe Altoriental. Forsch. 35 (2008) 1, 103-132.
- ^ C. Michel, Nouvelles données pour la chronologie du IIᵉ millénaire, NABU 2002, Nr. 20, 17f.
- ^ Chavalas, Mark William (29 Jun 2006). The ancient Near East: historical sources in translation. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-631-23580-4.
- ^ Leick, Gwendolyn (2001). Who's Who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-415-13231-2.
- ^ a b Bromiley, Geoffrey (31 Dec 1996). The international standard Bible encyclopedia (Revised ed.). William B Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3784-4.
- ^ Klaas R. Veenhof, The old Assyrian list of year eponyms from Karum Kanish and its chronological implications (Ankara, Turkish Historical Society, 2003)
- ^ C. Michel, Nouvelles données pour la chronologie du IIe millénaire, NABU 2002, Nr. 20, 17f.
- ^ Klaas R. Veenhof, The old Assyrian list of year eponyms from Karum Kanish and its chronological implications (Ankara, Turkish Historical Society, 2003).
- ^ C. Michel, Nouvelles données pour la chronologie du IIᵉ millénaire, NABU 2002, Nr. 20, 17f.
- ^ a b c d Klaas R. Veenhof (2003). The Old Assyrian List of Year Eponyns from Karum Kanish and its Chronological Implications. Turkish History Society.
- ^ A. K. Grayson (1972). Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume I. Otto Harrassowitz. p. 18.
- ^ Stephanie Dalley, A. T. Reyes (1998). "Mesopotamian Contact and Influence in the Greek World". In Stephanie Dalley (ed.). The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford University Press. p. 87.
- ^ I. J. Gelb (1954). "Two Assyrian King Lists". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 13 (4): 212–213.
- ^ Chavalas, Mark W. (2006). The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 0-631-23581-7.
- ^ Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (2nd ed.). Blackwell Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 9781405149112.
- ^ Leilan.yale.edu, Harvey Weiss et al., The genesis and collapse of Third Millennium north Mesopotamian Civilization, Science, vol. 291, pp. 995-1088, 1993
- ^ Some of the Mari letters addressed to Shamsi-Adad by his son can be found in the Mari Letters section of Shaika Haya Ali Al Khalifa and Michael Rice, (1986). Bahrain through the Ages. KPI. ISBN 0-7103-0112-X.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (2nd ed.). Blackwell Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 9781405149112.
- ^ Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (2nd ed.). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 9781405149112.
- ^ Chavalas, Mark W. (2006). The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0631235817.
- ^ Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC (2nd ed.). Blackwell Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 9781405149112.
- ^ Chavalas, Mark W. (2006). The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pp. 102–103. ISBN 0-631-23581-7.
- ^ Van De Mieroop, Mark. A History of the Ancient Near East (Second ed.). Victoria, Australia: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 108–109. ISBN 9781405149112.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ Sasson, Jack M. (1993). "Albright as an Orientalist". The Biblical Archaeologist. 56 (1): 3. doi:10.2307/3210355.
- ^ Sasson, Jack M. (1993). "Albright as an Orientalist". The Biblical Archaeologist. 56 (1): 3. doi:10.2307/3210355.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 178. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume II, Part I (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0521082307.
- ^ Vidal, Jordi (2013). ""Kill Them All!" Some Remarks on the Annihilation of the Ya'ilanum Tribe". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 133 (4): 684. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.133.4.0683.
- ^ Vidal, Jordi (2013). ""Kill Them All!" Some Remarks on the Annihilation of the Ya'ilanum Tribe". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 133 (4): 684. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.133.4.0683.
- ^ Vidal, Jordi (2013). ""Kill Them All!" Some Remarks on the Annihilation of the Ya'ilanum Tribe". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 133 (4): 685. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.133.4.0683.
External links
- Morris Jastrow, Jr., The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria: its remains, language, history, religion, commerce, law, art, and literature, London: Lippincott (1915)—a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; also available in layered PDF format
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .