Shalim-ahum
Šalim-ahum was the earliest independent ruler of the city-state of Assur to be attested in a contemporary inscription.[1] 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,”[2] referring to the eponym dating system used to give year-names and conveying the meaning that the length of his reign was unknown. He reigned sometime around 1900 BC (short chronology).[1]
Biography
He was the son of Puzur-Ashur I. Carved in curious archaic character mirror-writing in old Assyrian on an alabaster block found during the German excavations at Kalat-Sherkat under Walter Andrae, the 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.” [3]:6–7
He ruled during a period when nascent Assyrian merchant firms were branching out into Anatolia to trade textiles and tin from Assur for silver.[1] He was succeeded by his son, Ilu-šūma, as recorded in his brick and limestone inscriptions[3]:7–8 and he appears in the genealogy of his grandson, Erišum I.[3]: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.[3]:68,91
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J. A. Brinkman (2001). "Assyria". In Bruce Manning Metzger, Michael David Coogan. 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A. K. Grayson (1972). Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume 1. Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 6–8.
| Preceded by Puzur-Ashur I |
King of Assyria ca. 1900 BC |
Succeeded by Ilu-šūma |