Shalmaneser II (Salmānu-ašarēd II, inscribed ^mdSILIM''-ma-nu-''MAŠ/SAG, meaning "Being peaceful is foremost") was the king of

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

in 1030–1019 BC, the 93rd to appear on the ''Khorsabad'' copy''Khorsabad Kinglist'', tablet IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), iv 6-7. of the Assyrian Kinglist, although he has been apparently carelessly omitted altogether on the ''Nassouhi'' copy.''Nassouhi Kinglist'', Istanbul A. 116 (Assur 8836).

Biography

In recent years, there has been a trend towards reading the SILIM in his name as ''sal'' rather than ''šul'' on

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

grounds. He succeeded his father, Aššur-nāṣir-apli I and ruled for 12 years according to the Assyrian Kinglist and confirmed by a heavily damaged fragment of an

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

list (pictured). Of the twelve

limmu : In the history of Assyria, Limmu was an Assyrian eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic'' ...

officials listed, only the names of the first two have been substantially preserved, that of Shalmaneser himself, who took the eponymy in his first year, and MU.ŠID''-mu-šab-'' 'ši'' The twelfth entry ''ša ar'' 'ki si''...indicates that the

"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. In the ''Synchronistic Kinglist''''Synchronistic Kingliest'', tablet excavation no. Ass 14616c, first publication KAV 216. he is listed beside his

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian counterpart, Eulmash-shakin-shumi (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 with Nabu-shum-libur (1033–1026 BC) and Simbar-shipak (1025–1008 BC), whose reigns were characterized by droughts, crop failures and incursions by

Arameans The Arameans, or Aramaeans (; ; , ), were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered c ...

, migrating under the pressure from climate change. The later king, Aššur-dān II (935–912 BC), recalled Shalmaneser 's own losses to this tribal group: Another retrospective reference can probably be found in an inscription of Ashurnasirpal II unless 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 of Nairi (and) which the Arameans had captured by force." There are few inscriptions which may be attributed for certainty to him as several may belong to the Shalmaneser I who preceded him, or to one of the three who followed. 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: "Shalmaneser , great king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-nāṣir-apli (I), king of Assyria, son of Šamši-adad (IV), who was also king of Assyria". A temple endowmentTemple endowment, KAV 78. lists quantities of cedar balsam (''dam erêni'') donated by the king to the Assurtemple and its "temples" and includes the provision of a quantity of aromatics to Idiglat, the deified river

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

. There is a long dedication inscription of Shalmaneser , II or III undetermined, to

Ištar Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and As ...

composed for the consecration of a temple.KAR 98. A gold and a silver disk are inscribed with the name "Salmānu-ašarēd" and could possibly represent this king or his predecessor. § 33. He was succeeded by his son, the briefly reigning Ashur-nirari IV, and then his brother Ashur-rabi II.

Biography

Inscriptions

References

Further reading