TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abbreviations ...... 9 Preface by the Editor ...... 13 Foreword ...... 15

1. GENERAL REMARKS ON MESOPOTAMIAN CHRONOLOGY ...... 17 1.1. Preface ...... 17 1.2. From Relative to Absolute Chronology ...... 18 1.3. Main sources for Mesopotamian chronology ...... 22 1.4. Chronological Systems ...... 23 1.4.1. General ...... 23 1.4.2. Review ...... 24 1.4.3. Recent Developments and Preview ...... 29 1.5. Basic Synchronisms ...... 30 1.5.1. Comments on absolute dates cited in various modern tables ...... 31 1.5.2. Specific studies and comments on chronology ...... 33 1.6. Synchronisms (General) ...... 33 1.6.1. Synchronisms for the first half of 2nd millennium BC ...... 34 1.6.2. Synchronisms for the second half of 2nd millennium BC ...... 35 1.7. Periodization ...... 39 1.7.1. Old Assyrian Period ...... 39 1.7.2. Early Old Babylonian Period: Dynasty of Larsa, Isin I Dynasty, Babylon I Dynasty ...... 40 1.7.3. Late Old Babylonian Period/Fall of Babylon: Kassite Dynasty, Sealand Dynasty ...... 41 1.7.4. Middle Babylonian Period: Kassite Dynasty, Isin II Dynasty ...... 42 1.7.5. Middle Assyrian Period: including part of the Kassite and post Kassite Period ...... 43

INTRODUCTION TO RELEVANT ISSUES OF MESOPOTAMIAN CHRONOLOGY

2. ASSYRIAN KING LIST ...... 45 2.1. Gaps and Omissions ...... 53 2.1.1. KAV 14 (VAT 9812) ...... 53 2.1.2. Šalmaneser II (no. 93) ...... 55 2.2. Divergences ...... 55 2.2.1. Regnal years ...... 55 2.2.1.1. Išme-Dag¤n I (no. 40) ...... 56 2.2.1.2. Puzur-Aššur III (no. 61) ...... 57 2.2.1.3. Tukult²-Ninurta I (no. 78) ...... 58 2.2.1.4. Aššur-n¤din-apli (no. 79) ...... 59 2.2.1.5. Ninurta-apil-Ekur (no. 82) and Aššur-d¤n I (no. 83) ...... 60 2.3. Different genealogies ...... 62 2.4. Variations in royal names ...... 62 2.5. DUB-pi-šu ...... 62 2.6. Missing reign lengths: Aššur-rabi I (no. 65) and Aššur-n¤din-a©©® I (no.66) ...... 64

3. ASTRONOMICAL DATA ...... 69 3.1. En¥ma Anu Enlil tablets (EAE) ...... 69 3.1.1. Venus Tablet (VT) ...... 70 3.2. Month-lengths ...... 72 3.3. Lunar eclipses ...... 73 3.4. Solar eclipses ...... 75 6 Table of Contents

3.5. Historical Omens and the Historicity of Eclipse Data ...... 78 3.6. Venus Cycle ...... 79

4. BABYLONIAN KING LIST ...... 83 4.0. “Old Babylonian KL” ...... 84 4.1. BKL A ...... 84 4.2. BKL B ...... 85 4.3. BKL C ...... 85 4.4. Ur-Isin KL ...... 85 4.5. Larsa KL ...... 85 4.6. Dynastic Chronicle ...... 85

5. BABYLONIA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 2nd MILLENNIUM BC BABYLON I DYNASTY, THE EARLY KASSITE DYNASTY AND THE SEALAND DYNASTY ...... 93

6. CALENDAR ...... 103 6.1. Babylonian Calendar ...... 103 6.2. Assyrian Calendar ...... 104 6.3. Astronomical Data and Calendar (month-length data) ...... 104 6.4. Assyrian versus Babylonian Calendar ...... 106 6.5. Local Calendars ...... 108

7. CHRONICLES ...... 111 7.1. Synchronistic History ...... 115 7.2. King Chronicle ...... 116 7.3. Chronicle P ...... 117 7.4. Eclectic Chronicle ...... 121 7.5. Weidner Chronicle ...... 121 7.6. Tummal Chronicle ...... 122 7.7. Chronicle BM 27796 ...... 122

8. DENDROCHRONOLOGY ...... 125 8.1. K¤rum Kaniš (Kültepe) ...... 126 8.2. Acem-Höyük ...... 127 8.3. Porsuk/Uluk¦hla ...... 128 8.4. Kara-Höyük/Konya ...... 129 8.5. Anatolian sites with wood samples dating to the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC ...... 129 8.6. Excursus: 14C data ...... 130

9. DISTANZANGABEN (ABSTANDSDATEN, ABSTANDSANGABEN, TIME SPANS) ...... 133 9.1. Rebuilding of the Aššur temple by Aššur-r®ša-iši I (no. 86) ...... 136 9.2. Statement of Tiglath-pileser I ...... 138 9.3. Statement of Esarhaddon ...... 140 9.4. Statement of Šalmaneser I ...... 142 9.5. Statement of Tukult²-Ninurta I ...... 145 9.6. Statement of Enlil-n¤din-apli (Isin II dynasty) ...... 146 9.7. Hittite “Distanzangabe” ...... 148 9.8. Dates for Hammu-r¤piÝ and Šamš²-Adad I ...... 148

10. EPONYMS (L²MU)/EPONYM LISTS/EPONYM CHRONICLES ...... 151 10.1. KAV 21–24 ...... 153 10.2. KUB 4, 93 and KAV 19 ...... 154 10.3. MEC (Mari Eponym Chronicle) ...... 154 10.4. KEL (Kültepe Eponym List) ...... 156 10.5. Old Assyrian Period ...... 159 10.6. Eponyms and the reign of Šamš²-Adad I ...... 161 Table of Contents 7

10.7. Eponyms from the Late Old Babylonian Period ...... 163 10.8. Middle Assyrian eponyms ...... 164

11. GENEALOGY INCLUDING THE GENEALOGY OF THE HAMMU-RÁPIÝ DYNASTY (GHD) ...... 167

12. GENERATION ...... 171

13. HISTORICAL EPIC ...... 177 13.1. Kurigalzu Epic ...... 177 13.2. Adad-n²r¤r² I Epic ...... 177 13.3. Tukult²-Ninurta Epic ...... 177 13.4. Adad-šuma-u‚ur Epic ...... 178 13.5. Chedorlaomer Tablets ...... 178 13.6. Elam and the Kassites ...... 179

14. ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE AGUM-KAKRIME INSCRIPTION ...... 183 14.1. Agum-kakrime Inscription (V R 33, K. 4149+) ...... 184 14.2. The return of the Marduk statue ...... 185

15. SYNCHRONISTIC KING LIST ...... 187

16. YEAR (DATE FORMULAE/YEAR-NAMES, DATE-LISTS/YEAR-LISTS, REGNAL YEAR, ACCESSION YEAR) ...... 191 16.1. Date formulae/Year-names, Date-lists/Year-lists, Regnal year, Accession year ...... 191 16.2. Ur III Period ...... 194 16.3. Early Old Babylonian Period: Isin-Larsa Period ...... 195 16.3.1. Isin I Dynasty ...... 196 16.3.2. Larsa Dynasty ...... 196 16.4. Babylon I Dynasty ...... 197 16.5. Tell MuÞammad ...... 199

GENERAL INDEX ...... 201

INDEX OF PLACE NAMES ...... 205

INDEX OF PERSONS ...... 207

INDEX OF TEXTS ...... 211

INDEX OF SYNCHRONISMS ...... 213 Bibliography ...... 217