The following article was originally based on content from the 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica, so it became partly obsolete. (A suggested updating below that text has been offered, by removing some of the conflicting numbers and offering much more absolute dates, mainly solar and lunar eclipse records.)
The later chronology of Assyria has long been fixed, thanks to the lists of limmi, or archons, who gave their names in succession to their years of office. Several copies of these lists from the library of Nineveh are in existence, the earliest of which goes back to 911 B.C., while the latest comes down to the middle of the reign of Assur-bani-pal. The beginning of a king's reign is noted in the lists, and in some of them the chief events of the year are added to the name of its archon, Assyrian chronology is, therefore, certain from 911 B.C. to 666, and an eclipse of the sun which is stated to have been visible in the month Sivan, 763 B.C., is one that has been calculated to have taken place on the 15th of June of that year. The system of reckoning time by limmi was of Assyrian. origin, and recent discoveries have made it clear that it went back to the first days of the monarchy. Even in the distant colony at Kara Euyuk near Kaisariyeh (Caesarea) in Cappadocia cuneiform tablets show that the Assyrian settlers used it in the 15th century B.C. In Babylonia a different system was adopted. Here the years were dated by the chief events that distinguished them, as was also the case in Egypt in the epoch of the Old Empire. What the event should be was determined by the government and notified to all its officials; one of these notices, sent to the Babylonian officials in Canaan in the reign of Samsuiluna, the son of Khammurabi, has been found in the Lebanon. A careful register of the dates was kept, divided into reigns, from which dynastic lists were afterwards compiled, giving the duration of each king's reign as well as that of the several dynasties. Two of these dynastic compilations have been discovered, unfortunately in an imperfect state.
In addition to the chronological tables, works of a more ambitious and literary character were also attempted of the nature of chronicles. One of these is the so-called "Synchronous History of Assyria and Babylonia," consisting of brief notices, written by an Assyrian, of the occasions on which the kings of the two countries had entered into relation, hostile or otherwise, with one another; a second is the Babylonian Chronicle discovered by Dr Th. G. Pinches, which gave a synopsis of Babylonian history from a Babylonian point of view, and was compiled in the reign of Darius. It is interesting to note that its author says of the battle of Khalule, which we know from the Assyrian inscriptions to have taken place in 691 or 690 B,C., that he does "not know the year" when it was fought: the records of Assyria had been already lost, even in Babylonia. The early existence of an accurate system of dating is not surprising; it was necessitated by the fact that Babylonia was a great trading community, in which it was not only needful that commercial and legal documents should be dated, but also that it should be possible to refer lasily to the dates of former business transactions. The Babylonian and Assyrian kings had consequently no difficulty in determining the age of their predecessors or of past events. Nabonidus (Nabunaid), who was more of an antiquarian than a politician, and spent his time in excavating the older temples of his country and ascertaining the names of their builders, tells us that Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon of Akkad, lived 3200 years before himself (i.e. 3750 B.c.), and Sagarakti-suryas 800 years; and we learn from Sennacherib that Shalmaneser I. reigned 600 years earlier, and that Tiglath-pileser I. fought with Merodach-nadin-akhi (Marduk-nadin-akh~) of Babylon 418 years before the campaign of 689 B.c.; while, according to Tiglath-pileser I., the high-priest Samas-Hadad, son of IsmeDagon, built the temple of Anu and Hadad at Assur 701 years before his own time. Shalmaneser I. in his turn states that the high-priest Samas-Hadad, the son of Bel-kabi, governed Assur 580 years previously, and that 159 years before this the highpriest Erisum was reigning there. The raid of the Elamite king Kutur-Nakhkhuntë is placed by Assur-bani-pal 1635 years before his own conquest of Susa, and Khammurabi is said by Nabonidus to have preceded Burna-buryas by 700 years.
Modern critical revision with suggested updating as follow:
It is generally accepted by the archaeological consnsus that the son of Sargon of Akkad cannot be placed as high as in 3750 BCE. As the reign of King Nabonidus ended by the accession of Cyrus in Babylonia around 539 or 538 BCE, the years may have been given by actual modern half years. The Jewish chronology and the Old Testament has the same situation with the same dilemma. Their "years" may have been commenced both by the first day of Nisanu (Nisan) and that of Tashritu (Tishri) in their remote histories. Therefore, it is likely that the correct interval is not 3200 but 1600. It is probably a rounded figure. One must be careful with the several intervals between rulers and events cited by the above mentioned unearthed documents. We cannot prove that a totally reliable chronological list was available for all the scribes, and they have been versed historians. They may have been pressed to give a figure but not enough time for a thorough research. Many of the figures contradict to each other, etc.
We start our list of Babylonian kings with a significant ruler of Erech called Lugalzaggisi, placing him from 2411 to 2376. He was a contemporary of Urukagina king of Lagash (reigned 2407-2399) and Sargon (2399-2343) king of Akkad.
After Sargon, the next king was Rimush(...). His contemporary in Ur was Ka-kug or Ka-ku (2376-2341). The son and successor of Rimush was Manishtusu (2334-2329), whose Assyrian viceroy was Abazu, son of Nuabu.
In this period the rulers of Kish were Simudarra or Simudar (2399-2369), a contemporary of Sargon. After him Usi-watar (2369-2362), Eshtarmuti (2362-2351), Ishme-shamash (2351-2340), and Nannia (2340-2243) reigned in Kish.
In Akkad, after Manishtusu, the following kings reigned:
- 2329-2282 Naram-sin
- 2282-2257 Shar-kali-sharri
- 2257-???? Igigi, Nanum, and Imi, pretenders
- ????-2254 Elulu, a pretender, maybe King Elul(u)mesh of Gutium.
- 2254-2233 Dudu
- 2233-2218 Shu-durul
Erech:
- 2219-2212 Ur-nigin(ak)
- 2212-2206 Ur-gigir(ak)
- 2206-2200 Kudda or Gudea
- 2200-2195 Puzur-ili
- 2195 (?) Lugal-melam (?)
- 2195-2189 Ur-utu(k)
- 2189-2179 Utu-khegal or Utu-khengal
During this period the Gutian or Guti kings flourished as follow:
- 2280-2277 Erridupizir, the first ruler.
- 2277-2274 Imta
- 2274-2268 Inkishush
- 2268-2265 Sarlagab
- 2265-2259 Shulme'
- 2259-2253 Elulmesh or Elulu-mesh
- 2253-2248 Inimabakesh
- 2248-2242 Igeshaush
- 2242-2227 Iarlangab or Iarlagab
- 2227-2224 Ibate
- 2224-2221 Iarlangab
- 2221-2220 Kurum
- 2220-2217 Habil-kin
- 2217-2215 La'erabum
- 2215-2213 Irarum
- 2213-2212 Ibranum
- 2212-2210 Hablum
- 2210-2203 Puzur-sin
- 2203-2196 Iarlaganda
- 2196-2189 Si'u or Si'um
- 2189-2189 Tirigan
After the defeat of Gutium, the Third Dynasty of Ur was fourishing:
- 2179-2161 Ur-Nammu or Ur-Engur
- 2161-2113 Shulgi
- 2113-2104 Amar-Sin or Bur-Sin. His viceroy in Assyria was Zariqum.
- 2104-2095 Shu-Sin
- 2095-2070 Ibbi-Sin
A few years before the fall of Ibbi-Sin, another city started to flourish: Isin. Its first ruler had emerged several years earlier. The kings of Isin are as follow:
- 2083-2050 Ishbi-erra
- 2050-2040 Shu-ilishu
- 2040-2019 Iddin-dagan
- 2019-2000 Ishme-dagan
- 2000-1989 Lipit-Ishtar
- 1989-1961 Un-ninurta
- 1961-1940 Bur-sin or Amar-sin
- 1940-1935 Lipit-enlil
- 1935-1927 Erra-imitti or Ura-imitti
- 1927-1927 Tabbaya
- 1927-1903 Enlil-bani
- 1903-1900 Zambiya
- 1900-1896 Iter-pisha
- 1896-1892 Ur-dulkugga
- 1892-1881 Sin-magir
- 1881-1858 Damiq-ilishu
- 1959-1945 Su-abu or Suum-abum
- 1945-1909 Sumula-ilum
- 1909-1895 Sabium or Sabum
- 1895-1877 Apil-Sin
- 1877-1857 Sin-muballit
- 1857-1814 Hammurabi
- 1814-1776 Samsu-ilana
- 1776-1748 Abi-eshuh or Abieshu
- 1748-1711 Ammi-ditana
- 1711-1690 Ammi-zaduga or Ammisaduqa
- 1690-1659 Samsu-ditana
The Assyrian kings of this period are as follow:
- Zuabu
- Nuabu, son of Zuabu
- Abazu, viceroy of Manishtusu of Akkad, son of Nuabu, died c. 2330
- Belu or Tillu, son of Abazu, died c. 2309
- Asarah, son of Belu, died c. 2288
- Ititi
- Enlil-kabkabu
- Ushpia, son of Asarah, died c. 2267
- Apiashal, the 17th tent-dweller king, son of Ushpia, died c. 2246
- Halu, son of Apiashal, died c. 2226
- Samanu, son of Halu, died c. 2205
- Haianu, son of Samanu, died c. 2184
- Ilu-mer, son of Haianu, died c. 2164
- Iakmesi, son of Ilu-mer, died c. 2143
- Azuzu or Uzuzu
- Urda or Urdahi
- Zariqum (c. 2116-?), viceroy of Amar-sin
- Iakmeni, son of Iakmesi, died c. 2122
- Iazkur-ilu, son of Iakmeni, died c. 2101
- Ilu-kapkapi, son of Iazkur-ilu, died c. 2080
- Aminu, son of Ilu-kapkapi, died, c. 2060
- Sulili, son of Aminu, died c. 2039. End of the dynasty.
(Coming soon)
See also: Babylonia and Assyria, Chronological Systems of Babylonia and Assyria