Erishum I or Erišu(m) I (inscribed ^m''e-ri-šu'', or ^mAPIN''-ìš'' in later texts but always with an initial ''i'' in his own seal, inscriptions, and those of his immediate successors, “he has desired,”) 1974–1935 BC (

middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

),Some historians quote ca. 1939–1900 BC (''after'' Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, C. 3000-330 BC, Volume 1, Routledge, 1996, p. 82). son of

Ilu-shuma Ilu-shuma or Ilu-šūma, inscribed DINGIR''-šum-ma'',Khorsabad copy of the ''Assyrian King List'' i 24, 26. son of Shalim-ahum was a king of Assyria in the 20th century BC. The length of his reign is uncertain, as the ''Assyrian King List'' recor ...

, was the thirty-third ruler of

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

to appear on the

Assyrian King List The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...

. He reigned for forty years.Khorsabad kinglist. One of two copies of the Assyrian King ListSDAS Kinglist: sup>m''E-ri-š''''u'' DUMU ^mDINGIR''-šum-ma'', 'šá li-ma-ni''? ''-šu-ni'' 10+ 30 MU.MEŠ LUGAL''-ta'' DÙ''-uš''. which include him gives his reign length as only 30 years, but this contrasts with a complete list of his limmu, some 40, which are extant from tabletsKEL A (kt 92/k 193), a
CDLI
. recovered at Karum Kanesh. He had titled himself both as, " Ashur is king, Erishum is vice-regent"^d''a-šùr'' LUGAL ''i-ri-šu-um'' PA. and the, “Išši’ak Aššur”^ki (“steward of Assur”), at a time when

Assur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'a ...

was controlled by an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

of the patriarchs of the prominent families and subject to the “judgment of the city”, or ''dīn alim''. According to Veenhof, Erishum I’s reign marks the period when the institution of the annually appointed ''

limmu : Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, th ...

'' (''eponym'') was introduced. The Assyrian King List observes of his immediate predecessors, “in all six kings known from bricks, whose limmu have not been marked/found”.

Biography

As Assur's merchant family firms vigorously pursued commercial expansion, Erišum I had established distant trading outposts in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

referred to as ''karums''. Karums were established along trade routes into Anatolia and included: Kanesh,

Ankuwa Ankuwa was an ancient Hattian and Hittite settlement in central Anatolia. Along with Hattusa and Katapa, it was one of the capitals from which the Hittite kings reigned during the year. Travelling from Hattusa, the royal entourage would arrive at ...

Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of t ...

, and eighteen other locations that have yet to be identified, some of which had been designated as “warbatums” (satellites of and subordinate to the karums') The markets traded in:

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

(inscribed AN.NA, Akkadian: ''annukum''),

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

, and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

, in exchange for

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. Around 23,000 tablets have been found at Kanesh spanning a period of 129 years from the thirtieth year of Erishum I’s reign through to that of

Puzur-Ashur II Puzur-Ashur II (also transcribed as Puzur-Aššur II) was king (Išši’ak Aššur, "Steward of Assur") during the Old Assyrian period 1880 to 1873 BC. Puzur-Ashur II had been both the son and successor of Sargon I. Due to Sargon I's long reign, ...

or possibly Naram-Sin with the earliest from level II including copies of his inscriptions. These were discovered in 1948 with three other similar though fragmentary lists and two copies of an inscription of Erishum I detailing the regulations concerning the administration of justice in Assur, including the possibility of plaintiffs to obtain a ''rābiṣum'' (''attorney'') to represent them: Following the example set by Erishum I's father (

), he had proclaimed tax exemptions, or as Michael Hudson has interpreted, "Erishum I proclaimed a ''remission of debts'' payable in silver, gold, copper, tin, barley, wool, down to chaff." This appears in an inscription on one side of a large broken block of alabaster,BM 115689, Ass. 16850. apparently described as a ''ṭuppu''. The shallow depression on its top has led some to identify it as a door socket. His numerous contemporary inscriptions commemorate his building of the temple for Assur, called “Wild Bull” with its courtyard and two beer vats and the accompanying curses to those who would use them for their intended purposes. Erishum I’s other civic constructions included the temple of

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

and that of

Adad Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...

. He had exercised

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

to clear an area from the Sheep Gate to the People’s Gate to make way for an enlargement of the city wall, so that he could boast that “I made a wall higher than the wall my father had constructed.” His efforts had been recalled by the later kings Šamši-Adad I, in his rebuilding dedication, and Šulmanu-ašared I, who noted that 159 years had passed between Erishum I’s work and that of Shamsh-Adad I, and a further 580 years until his own when a fire had gutted it.

Limmu during Erishum I's reign

The following is a list of the annually-elected ''

'' from the first full year of Erishum I's reign until the year of his death c. 1935 BC (

): 1974 BC Šu-Ištar, son of Abila
1973 BC Šukutum, son of Išuhum
1972 BC Iddin-ilum, son of Kurub-Ištar
1971 BC Šu-Anim, son of Isalia
1970 BC Anah-ili, son of Kiki
1969 BC Suitaya, son of Ir'ibum
1968 BC Daya, son of Išuhum
1967 BC Ili-ellat
1966 BC Šamaš-t.ab
1965 BC Agusa
1964 BC Idnaya, son of Šudaya
1963 BC Quqadum, son of Buzu
1962 BC Puzur-Ištar, son of Bedaki
1961 BC Laqip, son of Bab-idi
1960 BC Šu-Laban, son of Kurub-Ištar
1959 BC Šu-Belum, son of Išuhum
1958 BC Nab-Suen, son of Šu-Ištar
1957 BC Hadaya, son of Elali
1956 BC Ennum-Aššur, son of Begaya
1955 BC Ikunum, son of Šudaya
1954 BC Is.mid-ili, son of Idida
1953 BC Buzutaya, son of Išuhum
1952 BC Šu-Ištar, son of Amaya
1951 BC Iddin-Aššur, son of the priest
1950 BC Puzur-Aššur, the

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

maker
1949 BC Quqadum, son of Buzu
1948 BC Ibni-Adad, son of Susaya
1947 BC Irišum, son of Adad-rabi
1946 BC Minanum, son of Begaya
1945 BC Iddin-Suen, son of Šalim-ahum
1944 BC Puzur-Aššur, son of Idnaya
1943 BC Šuli, son of Uphakum
1942 BC Laqip, son of Zukua
1941 BC Puzur-Ištar, son of Erisua
1940 BC Aguwa, son of Adad-rabi
1939 BC Šu-Suen, son of S.illia
1938 BC Ennum-Aššur, son of Begaya
1937 BC Enna-Suen, son of Pussanum
1936 BC Ennanum, son of Uphakum
1935 BC Buzi, son of Adad-rabi

Inscriptions

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erishum 01 20th-century BC Assyrian kings

Biography

Limmu during Erishum I's reign

See also

Inscriptions

Notes

References