Three New Assyrian Kings Discovered
Why were they ever forgotten?
Statue of Shalmaneser III from the site of Fort Shalmaneser near Nimrud, Iraq. Image adapted by author. Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY 4.0.
In a remarkable moment for the study of ancient Near Eastern history, Alexander Johannes Edmonds (University of Münster) and Eckhart Frahm (Yale University) have discovered three previously unknown Assyrian kings. Their findings effectively work to dethrone, as it were, the longtime king of Mesopotamian history: the Assyrian King List.
The Assyrian King List is a series of documents that present a continuous succession of Assyrian rulers from the legendary beginnings of Assyria to the first millennium BCE. The recent discovery does not dethrone it because historians over-trusted a faulty source or fell for ancient propaganda. Historians already know that all sources are incomplete, selective, and shaped by the goals of the people who created them. The real revelation is that the King List was not a simple record of every person who held the Assyrian throne; it was a selection of rulers that the Assyrians chose to remember.
For more than a century, the Assyrian King List has served as the backbone for reconstructing the complicated history of the Assyrian Empire. This ancient record was created relatively close to the events it describes. It is also preserved in multiple copies, and its chronology aligns with other evidence from inscriptions, administrative records, and even astronomical observations.
The Assyrian King List from seventh-century Assur, Iraq. Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY 4.0.
Historians have long been aware that the Assyrian King List has problems. A dated royal land grant from Nineveh (known as Rm 75) appears to name a king who did not belong in the chronology. Records of rebellions in the Assyrian Eponym Chronicle hint at political struggles in the Assyrian heartland that were difficult to reconcile with the smooth succession of rulers presented in the Assyrian King List. A ritual inscription (VAT 10136) mentions an otherwise unknown Assur-uballit in a context that appeared to imply royal status. Meanwhile, the Tell Abta stela of the official Bel-Harran-belu-usur preserves the partially erased name of a king called Shalmaneser beneath the later name of Tiglath-Pileser, suggesting someone rewrote the history recorded on the monument.
Further, Edmonds and Frahm add, the Tell Abta stela depicts an official wearing a distinctive “tartan” robe whose style is only securely attested in the mid-eighth century BCE. This makes it difficult to date the monument as early as previous interpretations have required.
By revisiting damaged cuneiform signs, comparing administrative and chronological records, and drawing on art history, Edmonds and Frahm make a strong case that the three kings they detect were real rulers whose brief reigns were later omitted from the official royal tradition.
The contribution of Edmonds and Frahm can be confusing because the three new rulers are not kings with entirely new names: They are previously unknown bearers of familiar royal names. The scholars argue for the existence of a previously unrecognized Assur-uballit, who briefly ruled around 913 to 912 BCE before being overthrown by Adad-narari II; a previously unknown Tiglath-Pileser, who seized the throne during a rebellion in 763 to 762 BCE before being deposed by Assur-dan III; and a previously unknown Shalmaneser, who reigned briefly around 747 to 745 BCE before losing power to the famous Tiglath-Pileser III. The scholars propose a provisional renumbering of the Assyrian kings, using asterisks to distinguish the newly identified rulers from the more familiar monarchs who share their names.
Rather than relying on a single spectacular discovery, the authors build a cumulative case in which textual, chronological, archaeological, and artistic evidence all point toward the same conclusion: The Assyrian King List was not a complete record of rulers. Instead, it may have been a carefully constructed account of the kings who were ultimately recognized as legitimate and successful. In other words, “the winners wrote history.”
Aside from overturning over a century of scholarship on the Assyrian King List, the scholars also show how deeply the limitations of a source can contribute to its historical value. For example, if a royal succession appears unusually smooth, that may reveal the ideals that later rulers wanted to promote. A source can tell us both about the events it describes and about the society that created it.
Every source has a purpose. A document created by a government, ruler, or institution is not simply a neutral record of everything that happened. It reflects the concerns and priorities of the people who produced it. So the important question for a historian is not whether a source is biased, but what kinds of information that source can provide.
In the case of the Assyrian King List (which remains an indispensable historical source), the research of Edmonds and Frahm imparts new evidence showing that, in Assyria, dynastic continuity and the selective remembrance of the past were themselves instruments of rule. By isolating very particular rulers who were left out, Edmonds and Frahm peel back a new layer of how Assyria constructed its own political memory.
Lauren K. McCormick is an assistant editor at Biblical Archaeology Review and a specialist in ancient Near Eastern religions, visual culture, and the Bible. She holds degrees in religion from Syracuse University, Duke University, New York University, and Rutgers University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship on religion and the public conversation at Princeton University.
Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!
Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more
Related reading in Bible History Daily
All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library
Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.
Related Posts
Must-Read Free eBooks
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Become an All-Access Member to explore the Bible's rich history. Get Biblical Archaeology Review in print, full online access, and FREE online talks. Plus, enjoy special Travel/Study discounts. Don't miss out—begin your journey today!
