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Shalmaneser II

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Shalmaneser II
King of Assyria
King of theMiddle Assyrian Empire
Reign1031–1019 BC
PredecessorAshurnasirpal I
SuccessorAshur-nirari IV
IssueAshur-nirari IV
FatherAshurnasirpal I

Salmānu-ašarēd II,inscribedmdSILIM-ma-nu-MAŠ/SAG,meaning "Being peaceful is foremost," was the king ofAssyria1030–1019 BC, the 93rd to appear on theKhorsabadcopy[i 1]of theAssyrian Kinglist,although he has been apparently carelessly omitted altogether on theNassouhicopy.[i 2]

Biography

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Schroeder’s line art for the KAV 21 list of Eponyms showing the twelve years of Salmānu-ašarēd II and his immediate successors.[i 3]

In recent years, there has been a trend towards reading theSILIMin his name assalrather thanšulonphilologicalgrounds.[1]He succeeded his father,Aššur-nāṣir-apli Iand ruled for 12 years according to the Assyrian Kingliest and confirmed by a heavily damaged fragment of aneponymlist (pictured).[i 3]Of the twelvelimmuofficials listed, only the names of the first two have been substantially preserved, that of Salmānu-ašarēd himself, who took the eponymy in his first year, andMU.ŠID-mu-šab-[ši]. The twelfth entryša ar[ki si...] indicates that thelimmu"which is after" (the previous name) either suggesting that the original from which this list was copied was defective in this place or the gap in the office coincides with a period of turbulence.[2]

In theSynchronistic Kingliest[i 4]he is listed beside hisBabyloniancounterpart,Eulmaš-šakin-šumi(1004–988 BC) of the Bῑt-Bazi dynasty, an unlikely pairing reflecting perhaps the isolation of the two kingdoms at the time. In all likelihood, he reigned concurrently withNabû-šuma-libūr(1033–1026 BC) andSimbar-Šipak(1025–1008 BC), whose reigns were characterized by droughts, crop failures and incursions byArameans,migrating under the pressure from climate change. The later king,Aššur-dān II(935–912 BC), recalled Salmānu-ašarēd's own losses to this tribal group:

[… who] from the time of Salmānu-ašarēd, king of [Assyria, my forefather], had destroyed [people of Assyria by…] and murder, had sold [all] their [sons (and) daughters].[3]

Another retrospective reference can probably be found in an inscription ofAššur-nāṣir-apli IIunless it refers to the earlier king by this name. It relates "I repossessed the cities of Sinabu (and) Tidu—fortresses which Salmānu-ašarēd, king of Assyria, a prince who preceded me, had garrisoned against the land ofNairi(and) which the Arameans had captured by force. "[3]

There are few inscriptions which may be attributed for certainty to him as several may belong to theSalmānu-ašarēdwho preceded him, or to one of the three who followed.[4]Of those that can be reliably attributed, a monumental stele (number 14) from Aššur, from the Stelenreihe, "row of stelae," provides his genealogy thus permitting identification but nothing else. It reads: "Salmānu-ašarēd, great king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-nāṣir-apli (I), king of Assyria, son ofŠamši-adad (IV),who was also king of Assyria ". A temple endowment[i 5]lists quantities of cedar balsam (dam erêni) donated by the king to the Aššur temple and its "temples" and includes the provision of a quantity of aromatics to Idiglat, the deified riverTigris.[5]There is a long dedication inscription of Salmānu-ašarēd, II or III undetermined, toIštarcomposed for the consecration of a temple.[i 6]A gold and a silver disk are inscribed with the name "Salmānu-ašarēd" and could possibly represent this king or his predecessor.[6]

He was succeeded by his son, the briefly reigningAššur-Nērārī IV,and then his brotherAššur-rabi II.

Inscriptions

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  1. ^Khorsabad Kinglist,tablet IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), iv 6-7.
  2. ^Nassouhi Kinglist,Istanbul A. 116 (Assur 8836).
  3. ^abEponym List KAV 21, tablet VAT 11254, iv.
  4. ^Synchronistic Kingliest,tablet excavation no. Ass 14616c, first publication KAV 216.
  5. ^Temple endowment, KAV 78.
  6. ^KAR 98.

References

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  1. ^Karen Radner(1998). "Der Gott Salmānu (" Šulmānu ") und seine Beziehung zur Stadt Dūr-Katlimmu".Die Welt des Orients.29:33–51.JSTOR25683683.
  2. ^M. T. Larsen (1974). "Unusual Eponymy-datings from Mari and Assyria".Revue d'Assyriologie:21.
  3. ^abK. Lawson Younger (2007). "The LB/Iron Age Transition and the Origins of the Arameans".Ugarit at Seventy-Five.Eisenbrauns. pp. 159, 161.
  4. ^Heather D. Baker (2008). "Salmānu-ašarēd II".Reallexikon der Assyriologie: Prinz, Prinzessin – Samug, Bd. 11.Walter De Gruyter. p. 581.
  5. ^W.G. Lambert (1999). "Idiglat". In Edzard (ed.).Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Ia – Kizzuwatna.Walter De Gruyter. p. 31.
  6. ^A. K. Grayson (1972).Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume 1.Otto Harrassowitz. p. 99.§ 33.

Further reading

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Preceded by King of Assyria
1031–1019 BC 		Succeeded by
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