Samani (Akkadian : 𒊓𒈠𒉡, romanized: Sa-ma-nu) was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 19th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Samani is listed within a section of the AKL as the third out of the ten "kings whose fathers are known". This section (which in contrast to the rest of the list) had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors [1] [2] ”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I ( fl. c. 1809 BCE) [2] who had conquered the city-state of Aššur . [3] The AKL also states that Samani was the son and successor of Hale . Additionally, the AKL states that Samani had been both the predecessor and father of Hayani .
Shamshi-Adad, ruled c. 1808–1776 BC, was an Amorite warlord and conqueror who had conquered lands across much of Syria, Anatolia, and Upper Mesopotamia. His capital was originally at Ekallatum and later moved to Šubat-Enlil.
Hayani was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 20th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Hayani is listed within a section of the AKL as the fourth out of the ten "kings whose fathers are known". This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. The AKL also states that Hayani was the son and successor of Hale. Additionally, the AKL states that Hayani had been both the predecessor and father of Ilu-Mer.
Sulili was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 27th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. He also appears within the Assyrian King List as the first out of the six kings “(whose names were written on?) bricks whose eponyms are ". Additionally, it is stated within the Assyrian King List that he was the successor of and “son of Aminu". Aminu had himself been the son of and successor of Ila-kabkabu, and Aminu and Ila-kabkabu were among the ten kings “who are ancestors".
Tudiya or Tudia was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the first Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the “seventeen kings who lived in tents.” His existence is unconfirmed archaeologically and uncorroborated by any other source. According to the list, Tudiya was succeeded by Adamu.
Ushpia was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 16th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. The list places him as the second last within the section "kings who lived in tents”. According to the Cambridge Ancient History, the conclusion of this section, "marked the end of the nomadic period of the Assyrian people." Ushpia is alleged to have founded the temple for the god Aššur within the city-state of Aššur, according to the much later inscriptions of both of these Assyrian kings: Shulmanu-asharedu I and Aššur-ahu-iddin. Ushpia is succeeded on the AKL by Apiashal. Arthur Ungnad interpreted both Ushpia's and Kikkia's names as being that of the Hurrian language, but; Arno Poebel was not convinced by this interpretation and more recent research no longer holds Ungnad's thesis as tenable.
Adamu was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the second Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the "seventeen kings who lived in tents" within the Mesopotamian Chronicles. The Mesopotamian Chronicles state that Adamu succeeded Tudiya. The Assyriologist Georges Roux stated that Tudiya would have lived in the 25th century BC. The earliest known use of the name “Adam” as a genuine historical name is Adamu. As in his predecessor's case, Adamu's existence remains unconfirmed archaeologically and uncorroborated by any other source.
Apiashal was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 17th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period.
Kikkia, inscribed mKi-ik-ki-a was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 28th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. He is listed within a section of the AKL as the second out of the six, "kings whose eponyms are not known." As all the other early rulers listed in the king list and unattested elsewhere, there is dispute among scholars as to whether Kikkia was a real historical figure.
Yangi was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the third Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the “seventeen kings who lived in tents” within the Mesopotamian Chronicles. Yangi is in the lists preceded by Adamu, and succeeded by Suhlamu.
Suhlamu was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the fourth Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the “seventeen kings who lived in tents” within the Mesopotamian Chronicles. Suhlamu is in the lists preceded by Yangi, and succeeded by Harharu.
Mandaru was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the sixth Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the "seventeen kings who lived in tents" within the Mesopotamian Chronicles. Mandaru is in the lists preceded by Harharu, and succeeded by Imsu.
Abazu was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 13th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the "seventeen kings who lived in tents" on the Mesopotamian Chronicles. According to the Mesopotamian Chronicles, Abazu was preceded by Nuabu. Abazu is succeeded by Belu on the Mesopotamian Chronicles.
Hale was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 18th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Hale is listed within a section of the AKL as the second out of the ten “kings whose fathers are known”. This section has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Shamshi-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. In keeping with this assumption, scholars have inferred that the original form of the AKL had been written as an “attempt to justify that Šamši-Adad I was a legitimate ruler of the city-state Aššur and to obscure his non-Assyrian antecedents by incorporating his ancestors into a native Assyrian genealogy.” However, this interpretation has not been accepted universally; the Cambridge Ancient History rejected this interpretation and instead interpreted the section as being that of the ancestors of Sulili.
Ilu-Mer was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 21st Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Ilu-Mer is listed within a section of the AKL as the fifth out of the ten "kings whose fathers are known". This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. The AKL also states that Ilu-Mer was the son and successor of Hayani. Additionally, the AKL states that Ilu-Mer had been both the predecessor and father of Yakmesi.
Yakmesi was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 22nd Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Yakmesi is listed within a section of the AKL as the sixth out of the ten, "kings whose fathers are known". This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors""—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. The AKL also states that Yakmesi had been both the son and successor of Ilu-Mer. Additionally, the AKL states that Yakmesi had been both the predecessor and father of Yakmeni.
Yakmeni was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 23rd Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Yakmeni is listed within a section of the AKL as the seventh out of the ten, "kings whose fathers are known." This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. The AKL also states that Yakmeni had been both the son and successor of Yakmesi. Additionally, the AKL states that Yakmeni had been both the predecessor and father of Yazkur-el.
Yazkur-el was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 24th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Yazkur-el is listed within a section of the AKL as the eighth out of the ten, "kings whose fathers are known." This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. The AKL also states that Yazkur-el had been both the son and successor of Yakmeni. Additionally, the AKL states that Yazkur-el had been both the predecessor and father of Ila-kabkabu.
Aminu was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 26th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. Aminu is listed within a section of the AKL as the last of the, "kings whose fathers are known." This section had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu and ending with Apiashal “altogether ten kings who are ancestors”—and has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. This interpretation thus disputes that Aminu ever ruled Assur or Assyria. The AKL also states that Aminu had been both the son and successor of Ila-kabkabu. Additionally, the AKL states that Aminu had been both the predecessor and father of Sulili.
Akiya was according to the Assyrian King List (AKL) the 29th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. He is listed within a section of the AKL as the third out of the six, "kings whose eponyms are not known." As all the other early rulers listed in the king list and unattested elsewhere, there is dispute among scholars as to whether Akiya was a real historical figure.