Ushpia ( akk, 𒍑𒉿𒀀, Uš-pi-a) was according to 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 ...
'' (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 Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...
'', the conclusion of this section, "marked the end of the nomadic period of the
Assyrian people."
[Hildegard Levy, "Assyria c. 2600-1816 B.C.",''Cambridge Ancient History. Volume 1, Part 2: Early History of the Middle East'', 729-770, p. 745-746.)] 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 (''
fl.'' ''c.'' 1273 BC) and
Aššur-ahu-iddin (''
fl.'' 681 BC). 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 (as opposed to the Assyrian dialect of the Semitic
Akkadian language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218-280 is an extinct East Semitic language th ...
), but;
Arno Poebel was not convinced by this interpretation
and more recent research no longer holds Ungnad's thesis as tenable.
See also
*
Timeline of the Assyrian Empire
The timeline of ancient Assyria can be broken down into three main eras: the Old Assyrian period, Middle Assyrian Empire, and Neo-Assyrian Empire. Modern scholars typically also recognize an Early period preceding the Old Assyrian period and a ...
*
Early Period of Assyria
The Early Assyrian period was the earliest stage of Assyrian history, preceding the Old Assyrian period and covering the history of the city of Assur, and its people and culture, prior to the foundation of Assyria as an independent city-state unde ...
*
List of Assyrian kings
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 ...
*
Assyrian continuity
*
Assyrian people
*
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 ...
References
21st-century BC Assyrian kings
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