A sizeable portion of a large clay tablet (Ass 14616c) discovered during Walter Andrae's excavations at the Assyrian capital Aššur is inscribed with a list of rulers of Assyria and their Babylonian contemporaries, from the beginning of Assyrian kingship to the reign of Assyria's last great king, Ashurbanipal (668-ca. 631 BC). This tablet is the best preserved of the so-called Synchronistic King Lists [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/anet/272-synchronic-king-list/]; there are five other fragments from Aššur with similar compositions.
Sources of the Synchronistic King List (from Chen 2020, p. 6)
| Exemplars | Excavation no. | Museum no. |
Photo no. |
Copy |
Dimensions height × width (cm) |
| Main exemplar | Ass 14616 c | A 117 | Assur
4128a | KAV 216; MVAG 26/2; AfO 3, 70–71 | |
| Fragments | | VAT 11931 | | KAV 9 | 6.1×3.1 |
| VAT 11261 | | KAV 10 | 5.1×5.8 |
| VAT 11345 | | KAV 13 | 3.1×3.4 |
| VAT 11262 | | KAV 11 | 3.8×2.5 |
| VAT 11338 | | KAV 12 | 2.3×4.6 |
| Ass 13956 d h | A 118 | Assur
4198b | KAV 182 | |
The tablet Ass 14616c had two columns on its obverse and reverse faces, both of which are further divided into two sub-columns. The names of the Assyrian kings were recorded in the left sub-column, while those of their Babylonian counterparts were listed in the right sub-column. The extant text of Ass 14616c includes the names of rulers from the Second Dynasty of Isin [/ribo/babylon2/index.html] (1157-1026 BC), the Second Dynasty of the Sealand [/ribo/babylon3/index.html] (1025-1005 BC), the Bazi Dynasty [/ribo/babylon4/index.html] (1004-985 BC), the Elamite Dynasty [/ribo/babylon5/index.html] (984-979 BC), and the period of the Uncertain Dynasties [/ribo/babylon6/index.html] (978-626 BC). This version of the Synchronistic King List [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/anet/272-synchronic-king-list/] was probably inscribed during the reign of the Assyrian king Aššur-etel-ilāni (ca. 631-627/626 BC).
| | Lacuna | |
| i 1') | Ad[āsi ditto] | ... [ditto] |
| i 2') | Bēl-bāni ditto | Iškibal [ditto] |
| i 3') | Libāya ditto | Šu(š)ši [ditto] |
| i 4') | Šarma-Adad (I) ditto | Gilkišar [ditto] |
| i 5') | IB.TAR-Sîn ditto | GÍŠ-EN [ditto] |
| i 6') | Bāzāyu ditto | Pešgaldaramaš [di]tto |
| i 7') | Lullāyu ditto | Adarakalamma ditto |
| i 8') | Kidin-Ninua ditto | Ekurduanna ditto |
| i 9') | Šarma-Adad (I) ditto | Melamkurkurra ditto |
| i 10') | Erišu(m) (III) ditto | Ea-ga(mil) Gandaš ditto |
| i 11') | Šamšī-Adad (II) ditto | Ag[u]m the first, his son ditto |
| i 12') | ditto ditto | Kaštiliaš (I) ditto |
| i 13') | ditto ditto | Abi-R[a]ttaš ditto |
| i 14') | ditto ditto | Kaštiliaš ditto |
| i 15') | ditto ditto | Urzig[ur]umaš ditto |
| i 16') | ditto ditto | Ḫarba-... ditto |
| i 17') | ditto ditto | ... ditto |
| i 18') | ditto ditto | ... ditto |
| i 19') | Išme-Dagān (II) ditto | Burna-B[ur]iaš (I) ditto |
| i 20') | [Šamšī]-Adad (III) ditto | [...] ditto |
| i 21') | [Aššur-nārā]rī (I) ditto | ...[...] ditto |
| i 22') | [Puzur-Ašš]ur (III) ditto | ... ditto |
| i 23') | Enlil-nāṣir (I) ditto | [ditto] ditto |
| i 24') | [Nū]r-ili ditto | [ditto] ditto |
| i 25') | [Ašš]u[r-šadû]ni ditto | [ditto] ditto |
| | Lacuna | |
| ii 1') | Tukultī-[Ninurta (I) ditto] | [... ditto] |
| ii 2') | ... [...] | [...] |
| ii 3') | Aššur-nādin-apli ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 4') | ditto ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 5') | [Ašš]ur-nārārī (III) ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 6') | Enlil-kudur(rī)-uṣur ditto | ditto [ditto] |
| ii 7') | [Nin]urta-apil-Ekur ditto | Adad-[šuma-uṣur ditto] |
| ii 8') | [ditto] ditto | Meli-Šipak [ditto] |
| ii 9') | [ditto] ditto | [M]arduk-apla-iddina (I) [ditto] |
| ii 10') | Ašš[ur-d]ān (I) ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 11') | [ditto] ditto | Enlil-nādin-[aḫi ditto] |
| ii 12') | Ninurta-tukulti-Aššur ditto | Marduk-... [ditto] |
| ii 13') | Mutakkil-Nusku | ... [ditto] |
| ii 14') | Aššur-rēša-iši (I) | Ninurta-[nādin]-šumi [ditto] |
| ii 15') | ditto ditto | Nabû-kudur(rī)-uṣur (I) [ditto] |
| ii 16') | ditto ditto | Enlil-nādin-apli [ditto] |
| ii 17') | Tiglath-[p]il[e]ser (I) ditto | Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē [ditto] |
| ii 18') | Ašarēd-apil-Ekur ditto | ... [ditto] |
| ii 19') | (blank) | ... (was) [his] sc[holar] |
| ii 20') | Aššur-bēl-kala ditto | Marduk-[... ditto] |
| ii 21') | Aššur-bēl-kala ditto | Adad-[... ditto] |
| ii 22') | Aššur-bēl-kala ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 23') | ditto ditto | [... ditto] |
| ii 24') | ditto ditto | [... ditto] |
| iii 1) | Erība-Adad (II) [king of Assyria] | [... king of Akkad] |
| iii 2) | (blank) | ...[...] |
| iii 3) | Šamšī-Adad (IV) ditto | Ea-[mukīn-zēri ditto] |
| iii 4) | Ashurnaṣirpal (I) ditto | Kaššû-[nādin-aḫḫē ditto] |
| iii 5) | Shalmaneser (II) ditto | (E)ulmaš-[šākin-šumi ditto] |
| iii 6) | Aššur-nārārī (IV) ditto | Ninurta-ku[dur(rī)-uṣur (I) ditto] |
| iii 7) | Aššur-rabi (II) ditto | Širikti-[Šuqamuna ditto] |
| iii 8) | Aššur-rēša-iši (II) ditto | Mār-bīti-apla-uṣur ditto] |
| iii 9) | Tiglath-pileser (II) ditto | [Nabû]-m[ukīn]-apli [ditto] |
| iii 10) | ditto [ditto] | [Ninurta-kudur(rī)]-uṣur (II) [ditto] |
| iii 11) | ditto [ditto] | [Mār-bīti]-aḫḫē-iddina [ditto] |
| iii 12) | (blank) | [... (was) his] scholar |
| iii 13) | Aššur-dān (II) ditto | Šamaš-mudammiq [ditto] |
| iii 14) | Adad-nārārī (II) ditto | ditto [ditto] |
| iii 15) | (blank) | Qalīya (was) [his] s[cholar] |
| iii 16) | Tukultī-Ninurta (II) ditto | Nabû-šuma-ukīn (I) [ditto] |
| iii 17) | Gabbi-ilāni-ēreš | (was) [his] scholar |
| iii 18) | Ashurnasirpal (II) ditto | Nabû-apla-iddina [ditto] |
| iii 19) | Gabbi-ilāni-ēreš | (was) [his] scholar |
| iii 20) | Shalmaneser (III) ditto | [...] |
| iii 21) | ...ḫāyu (was) [his] sc[holar] | [(blank)] |
| iii 22) | [Šam]šī-A[dad (V) ditto] | [... ditto] |
| | Lacuna | |
| iv 1) | [Senn]acherib, king of Assyria | [and Babylo]n |
| iv 2) | Nabû-apla-iddina (was) his scholar | [(...)] |
| iv 3) | | [...] |
| iv 4) | | king of Akkad. Afterwards, the people [of Ak]kad |
| iv 5) | | rebelled and |
| iv 6) | | [he] placed [Aš]šur-nādin-šumi on the throne. |
| iv 7) | Sennacherib | Nergal-(u)šēzib, son of G[a]ḫul, |
| iv 8) | | (and) Mušēzib-Marduk, son of D[a]kkūri, |
| iv 9) | | kings of A[kk]ad. |
| iv 10) | Sennacherib, king of Assyria | and Babylon |
| iv 11) | Bēl-upaḫḫir (and) | Kalbu (were) his schol[ars] |
| iv 12) | Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria | and Babylon |
| iv 13) | Nabû-zēru-līšer (and) | Ištar-šumu-ēreš (were) his scholars |
| iv 14) | Ashurbanipal ditto | Šamaš-šuma-ukīn ditto |
| iv 15) | Ashurbanipal ditto | Kandalānu ditto |
| iv 16) | Ištar-šumu-ēreš (was) his scholar | |
| iv 17) | Eighty-two kings of Assyria | from Erišu(m) (I), son of Ilu-šumma |
| iv 18) | to Ashurbanipal, son of | Esarhaddon. |
| iv 19) | Ninety-eight kings of Akkad | |
| iv 20) | from Sūmû-la-Il | to Kandalānu. |
| iv 21) | ... | of Nabû-tuklassu. |
Selected Bibliography
Chen, F., Study on the Synchronistic King List from Ashur, Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2020.
Grayson, A.K., 'Königslisten und Chroniken. B. Akkadisch,' in: D.O. Edzard (ed.), Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 6/1–2, Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1980, pp. 116–121 §3.12.
Schroeder, O., Keilschrifttexte aus Assur verschiedenen Inhalts (= Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 35). Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1920, no. 216.
Weidner, E.F., 'Die große Königsliste aus Assur,' Archiv für Orientforschung 3 (1926), pp. 70–71.