Aššūr-dugul, inscribed ^m''aš-šur-du-gul'', “Look to (the god) Aššur!”, was the king 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 ...

probably during the 18th century BC, a period of confusion in Assyrian history. Reigning for six years, he was the 44th ruler to be listed on the ''Assyrian Kinglist'', and was designated by the list as a

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

succeeding the dynasty founded by

Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad ( akk, Šamši-Adad; Amorite: ''Shamshi-Addu''), ruled 1808–1776 BC, was an Amorite warlord and conqueror who had conquered lands across much of Syria, Anatolia, and Upper Mesopotamia.Some of the Mari letters addressed to Shamsi-Ad ...

Biography

He seized power in the aftermath of the overthrow of the dynasty first established by Šamši-Adad I, when native warlords jockeyed for power in the vacuum left by its demise. Šamši-Adad had been an

Amorite The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied la ...

who founded a brief, foreign dynasty which was apparently greatly resented by the locals. This resentment is attested by an alabaster slab inscription left by Puzur-Sîn, an otherwise unattested Assyrian monarch who had deposed the son of

Asinum Asinum was possibly a king of Assyria during the 18th century BC, and a grandson of Shamshi-Adad I. He was overthrown by Puzur-Sin because he was of Amorite The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/ ...

, descendant of Šamši-Adad. The ''Assyrian Kinglist''''Khorsabad Kinglist'', tablet IM 60017 (excavation nos.: DS 828, DS 32-54), ii 4–6.''SDAS Kinglist'', tablet IM 60484, ii 8–9. says of Aššūr-dugul that he was a “son of a nobody, without right to the throne” meaning that he was not of royal descent and consequently unqualified to govern according to the patrilineal principle of legitimacy relied upon by later monarchs. The ''Assyrian King List'' claims that during his reign six other kings, “sons of nobodies also ruled at the time.” This may suggest a fragmentation in the small Assyrian kingdom, with rival claims to the throne. Alternatively, Newgrosh proposes that these may actually have been his

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 ...

’s, the officials appointed each year who gave the year its name, providing the eponym dating system, and that a later scribe may have confused them for kings. The last of these, Adasi, was to go on to found the succeeding dynasty. Apart from the two copies of the kinglist, there are no other extant references to him.

Inscriptions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashur-dugul 18th-century BC Assyrian kings Usurpers