Science
Researchers identify three omitted kings in ancient Assyrian history
A study suggests the official Assyrian King List omitted several short-lived or rival rulers, serving as a political canon rather than an objective chronological record.
The short version
- Researchers Alexander Johannes Edmonds and Eckart Frahm identified three previously unrecognized rulers omitted from the official Assyrian King List.
- The analysis relies on historical evidence from cuneiform tablets, a stela found in Iraq, and a damaged royal statue.
- The findings suggest the ancient Assyrian King List was a periodically updated political legitimizing tool rather than an impartial chronological record.
Key facts
- A study published in the Journal of Cuneiform Studies by Alexander Johannes Edmonds and Eckart Frahm argues that three rulers were excluded from the Assyrian King List.[ScienceDaily]
- A British Museum clay tablet provides evidence for an overlooked ruler named Tiglath-pileser, who likely ruled concurrently with his nephew Aššur-dān III around 763–762 BCE following a solar eclipse.[ScienceDaily]
- Evidence from an 1894 stela found at Tell 'Abta, Iraq, points to a missing king named Shalmaneser proposed to have reigned immediately before Tiglath-pileser III took power in 745 BCE.[ScienceDaily]
- A cuneiform tablet and a damaged statue at Aššur suggest a third forgotten ruler named Aššur-uballiṭ governed around 913–912 BCE.[ScienceDaily]
What remains uncertain
- The exact factors and cultural mechanisms determining which kings were included or erased from the canonical list remain unresolved by researchers.[ScienceDaily]
Sources
- Three forgotten kings could rewrite the history of ancient AssyriaScienceDaily - Science