Naram-Sin of Assyria
NarÄm-Sîn or –Suen, inscribed in cuneiform on contemporary seal impressions as dna-ra-am-dEN.ZU, was the en5.si or waklum of AÅ¡Å¡ur (da-šùr), listed as the 37th king of Assyria on the later Assyrian king lists, where he is inscribed mna-ram-dEN.ZU,[i 1][i 2][i 3] or a fragmentary list where he appears as -d30.[i 4] 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 EriÅ¡um II had a combined length of 64 years.[1]:29 As his successor’s rule was prematurely ended by the conquest of Å amÅ¡i-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).[2]:45 Despite this, there are no extant monumental inscriptions recording his activities.[3] He was son and successor of the short-reigning Puzur-AÅ¡Å¡ur II, filiation preserved in his seal impression on the envelopes of the waklum-letters to his expat Anatolian-based traders at KaneÅ¡ as well as the later king lists.
Biography
He was named for the illustrious NarÄm-Sîn of Akkad and, like his grandfather, Å arru-kÄ«n I, took the divine determinative in his name. He should not be confused with the NarÄm-Sîn who ruled Eshnunna for around twelve years, the successor and son, as identified on an inscription, of the long-reigning Ebiq-Adad II.[4] 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 NarÄm-Sîn’s inauguration.[2]: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.[2]:46
The Assyrian king list records that Å amÅ¡i-Adad I “went away to Babylonia in the time of NarÄm-Sînâ€. He was not to return until taking Ekallatum, pausing three years and then overthrowing EriÅ¡um II, NarÄm-Sîn’s son and successor.[5]
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 KaneÅ¡ was destroyed (ca. 1837, the II layer), during his thirty-fifth year.[1]:29 The Mari Eponym Chronicle (MEC B), which resumes the listing until the seizure of Ekallatum by Å amÅ¡i-Adad I, provides no clue as to when the succession of NarÄm-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.[2]:5 The dating is per middle chronology:
1872 BC Å u-Suen, son of Bab-ilum
1871 BC AÅ¡Å¡ur-malik, son of Alahum
1870 BC AÅ¡Å¡ur-imitti, son of Ili-bani
1869 BC Enna-Suen, son of Å u-AÅ¡Å¡ur
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 Å u-Balum
1864 BC Ili-Anum, son of Sukkalia
1863 BC Ennam-Anum, son of AÅ¡Å¡ur-malik
1862 BC Ennum-AÅ¡Å¡ur, son of Duni-Ea
1861 BC Enna-Suen, son of Å u-IÅ¡tar
1860 BC Hannanarum
1859 BC Dadia
1858 BC Kapatia
1857 BC IÅ¡ma-AÅ¡Å¡ur, son of Ea-dan
1856 BC AÅ¡Å¡ur-mutappil, son of Azizum
1855 BC Å u-Nirah, son of Azuzaya
1854 BC Iddin-abum
1853 BC Ili-dan, son of Azuza
1852 BC AÅ¡Å¡ur-imitti, son of Iddin-IÅ¡tar
1851 BC Buzia, son of Abia
1850 BC Dadia, son of Å u-Ilabrat
1849 BC Puzur-Ištar, son of Nur-ilišu
1848 BC Isaya, son of Dagan-malkum
1847 BC Abu-Å alim, son of Ili-Anum
1846 BC AÅ¡Å¡ur-re'i, son of Ili-emuqi
Inscriptions
- ↑ 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
References
- 1 2 Klaas R Veenhof (2008). Mesopotamia: The Old Assyrian Period. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
- 1 2 3 4 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. 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.
| Preceded by Puzur-AÅ¡Å¡ur II |
King of Assyria 1872–1828/18 BC |
Succeeded by Erišum II |