Puzur-Aššur I

Puzur-Aššur I was the thirtieth [/riao/KingLists/AssyrianKingList/AssyrianKingList/index.html#Unknown eponymies] ruler of Aššur according to the Assyrian King List [/riao/KingLists/AssyrianKingList/index.html] (AKL) and the founder of a dynastic line that lasted until Erišum II. No inscriptions of his have been discovered so far. This Puzur-Aššur held authority sometime after the end of Ur III hegemony over Aššur (ca. 2025 BC) and before his descendant Erišum I (1974–1935). He is often mentioned as a forefather in the inscriptions of his successors (Šalim-ahum text no. 1:4 [/riao/ria1/Q005618/]; Ilu-šūma text no. 2:13 [/riao/ria1/Q005620/]; Erišum I text nos.: 1:3 [/riao/ria1/Q005621/], 14:12 [/riao/ria1/Q005634/]; Ikūnum 3:7 [/riao/ria1/Q005641/]). An inscription of Shalmaneser III (text no. 11:17′ [/riao/ria5/Q004616/]) names a Puzur-Aššur as a previous builder of one of Aššur's city walls. Because the line in which the name appears is damaged, some scholars (e.g., Larsen 1976, 60) think that the Puzur-Aššur mentioned in that Neo-Assyrian text is the later Puzur-Aššur II, rather than the earlier Puzur-Aššur I.

Bibliography

Galter, H.D., 'Textanalyse assyrischer Königsinschriften: die Puzur-Aššur-Dynastie,' State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 12/1 (1998), pp. 1-38.

Streck, M. P., 'Puzur-Aššur,' Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 11, 2006-08, p. 128.

Larsen, M.T., The Old Assyrian City-State and its Colonies, Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1976.

Nathan Morello

Nathan Morello, 'Puzur-Aššur I', RIA 1: Inscriptions from the Origins of Assyria to Arik-dīn-ili, The RIA Project, 2024 [http://oracc.org/EarlyBeginnings/Puzur-AshurDynasty/Puzur-AshurI/]