Adamu () was according to the ''
Assyrian King List
The king of Assyria (Akkadian language, Akkadian: , later ) 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 early history, Assyria was ...
'' (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 Tudiya or Tudia () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the first Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's Early Period (Assyria), early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed among the “seven ...
. The
Assyriologist
Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...
Georges Roux stated that Tudiya would have lived in the 25th century BC. The earliest known use of the name “
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, 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.
Geopolitical context
Adamu is succeeded on the Assyrian King List by
Yangi and then a further fourteen rulers:
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 ...
,
Harharu
Harharu () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the fifth Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He was listed among the “seventeen kings who lived in tents ...
,
Mandaru 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" wi ...
,
Imsu,
Harsu,
Didanu,
Hana,
Zuabu,
Nuabu,
Abazu,
Belu,
Azarah,
Ushpia and
Apiashal. Nothing concrete is known about these names, although it has been noted that a much later
Babylonian tablet listing the ancestral lineage of
Hammurabi
Hammurabi (; ; ), also spelled Hammurapi, was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered the ci ...
of Babylon, seems to have copied the same names from Tudiya through Nuabu, though in a heavily corrupted form. The king lists suggest that the earliest Assyrian kings, who are recorded as, “kings who lived in tents,” had at first been independent semi-nomadic pastoralist rulers, moreover; Assyria was originally an
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
rather than a monarchy. These kings had at some point become fully urbanized and founded the city-state of
Assur
Aššur (; AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; ''Āšūr''; ''Aθur'', ''Āšūr''; ', ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Midd ...
.
[Saggs, ''The Might'', 24.]
See also
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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 ...
*
Assyrian continuity
Assyrian continuity is the study of continuity between the modern Assyrian people, a recognised Semitic indigenous ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority in Western Asia (particularly in Iraq, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey, northwest ...
*
Assyrian people
Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians Assyrian continuity, share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesop ...
*
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 language, Akkadian: , later ) 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 early history, Assyria was ...
*
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 Assyrian period, Early period preceding the Old ...
References
{{Assyrian kings
24th-century BC Assyrian kings