A Fragment of an Assyrian King List (VAT 9812)

A fragmentary text from Aššur published by O. Schroeder in 1920 (KAV 14) presents a list of Assyrian kings that is quite different from the better known "AKL." The surviving lines record the names of rulers from Puzur-Aššur II (1880-1873 BC) to Aššur-bēl-nišēšu [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/mittanianhegemony/ashurbelnisheshu/index.html] (1417-1399 BC).

Unlike the other manuscripts of the AKL, this list does not provide regnal years for the rulers, but gives only their names. Another distinctive feature of the VAT 9812 list is that the ruling lines, which divide the text into three separate sections, have a specific "historical" purpose: they indicate periods of political confusion, specifically the end of the Puzur-Aššur dynasty, the taking of the throne by Samsī-Addu I [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/samsiaddudynasty/samsiaddui/index.html], and the end of his dynasty, which includes Mut-aškur [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/samsiaddudynasty/mutashkur/index.html], Remu-x [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/samsiaddudynasty/rimux/index.html], and, possibly, Asīnum [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/samsiaddudynasty/asinum/index.html] as successors to Samsī-Addu I's son Išme-Dagān I. These three individuals do not appear in any of the other known AKLs. On the other hand, the present list omits two sections of the AKL recorded after Samsī-Addu I's son Išme-Dagan: the seven rulers who were "son(s) of a nobody" (nos. 41-47) and the entire first section of the Bēlu-bāni dynasty [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/belubanidynasty/index.html] (nos. 48-53). Instead, after a horizontal line and before the break, VAT 9812 records the names of sixteen kings (nos. 54-69); the statements that Aššur-rabi I (no. 65) and Enlil-nāṣir II (no. 67) seized the throne are omitted. Like the AKL, the present list omits Puzur-Sîn [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/puzursin/index.html] (son of the otherwise unattested Aššur-bēl-šamê), who claims in his inscription [/riao/ria1/Q005681/] to have put an end to Samsī-Addu I's dynasty by killing his descendant Asīnum [/riao/ria1/oldassyrianperiod/samsiaddudynasty/asinum/index.html].

Schroeder, KAV 14.

Selected Bibliography

Nathan Morello

Nathan Morello, 'A Fragment of an Assyrian King List (VAT 9812)', The Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo) Project, The RIAo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2023 [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/kinglists/fragmentvat9812/]