Tudiya or Tudia () 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 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.

Similarities with Hammurabi genealogy

Tudiya is succeeded on the Assyrian King List by Adamu and then a further fifteen rulers:

Yangi 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” ...

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 Imsu () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the 7th 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''" wit ...

Harsu Harsu () 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 ce ...

Didanu Didanu ( ''Didânu'', ''Ditānu'') was a legendary Amorite ruler or ancestral figure attested in Mesopotamian and Ugaritic texts. His name is presumed to be derived from the term Tidnu, which in the third millennium BCE referred to a specific trib ...

, Hana,

Zuabu Zuabu () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the 11th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. However, he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is among the "''seventeen kings who lived in tents''" withi ...

Nuabu Nuabu () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the 12th 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''� ...

, Abazu, Belu,

Azarah Azarah () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the 15th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period, though he is not attested in any known contemporary artefacts. He is listed as the fifteenth among the, "''seventeen kings who ...

Ushpia 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 ...

, and

Apiashal Apiashal () was according to the ''Assyrian King List'' (AKL) the 17th Assyrian monarch, ruling in Assyria's early period. He has been listed within the section of the ''AKL'' as the last of whom, "''altogether seventeen kings, tent dwellers''. ...

. Nothing concrete is yet 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: Tudiya's name seems to be joined with that of Adamu to appear there as ''Tubtiyamutu''.

Alleged attestations and disproval

In initial archaeological reports from

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

, it appeared that Tudiya's existence was confirmed with the discovery of a tablet where it was stated that he had concluded a treaty for the operation of a '' kārum'' in Eblaite territory, with "King"

Ibrium Ibrium (died 2322 BC), also spelt Ebrium, was the vizier of Ebla for king Irkab-Damu and his successor Isar-Damu. Ibrium is attested to have campaigned against the city of Abarsal during the time of vizier Arrukum. He took office after Arruk ...

of Ebla (who is now known to have instead been the vizier of the King

Isar-Damu Isar-Damu (died 2305 BC), was the king ( Malikum) of the first Eblaite kingdom. Isar-Damu fought a long war with Mari which ended in Eblaite victory; he was probably the last king of the first kingdom. Reign Isar-Damu succeeded his father Irka ...

of Ebla.) This entire reading is now questionable, as several scholars have more recently argued that this treaty in question, the

Treaty between Ebla and Abarsal The Treaty between Ebla and Abarsal is a diplomatic treaty that was concluded between the Early Bronze Age city-states of Ebla and Abarsal. It was signed around 2350 BC, and may be the earliest recorded diplomatic treaty in human history. While the ...

, was not with king Tudiya of Assur at all, but rather with the unnamed king of an uncertain location called "Abarsal".

Geopolitical context

Oligarchy

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.

References

Bibliography

Edmond Sollberger Edmond Sollberger, FBA (12 October 1920 – 21 June 1989) was a Turkish-born, Swiss–British museum curator, cuneiformist and scholar of the Sumerian language. Early life and education A Swiss citizen, Sollberger was born in Istanbul on 12 Oc ...