NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT—According to a statement released by Yale University, scholars recently identified three previously unknown and forgotten Assyrian kings. Archaeologists and historians often rely on a preserved document known as the Assyrian King List (AKL), which was compiled by ancient scribes over centuries, for an accurate account of specific names and dates of Assyrian monarchs. However, two researchers, Yale University’s Eckart Frahm and Alexander Johannes Edmonds of the University of Münster, have revealed that the AKL is not as complete as once thought. “No one expected there would be room for any new and unknown rulers during this time,” said Frahm. By reanalyzing inscriptions and cuneiform tablets, the pair found evidence of three additional monarchs whose reigns were omitted from the list—Aššur-uballiṭ (reigned 913–912 b.c.), Tiglath-pileser (reigned 763–762 b.c.), and Shalmaneser (reigned 747–745 b.c). Because these kings ruled during crisis periods beset by plague, rebellion, and even an ominous solar eclipse, the researchers suggest that their existence was deliberately erased from historical records by their successors. Read the original scholarly article about this research in the Journal of Cuneiform Studies. To read about excavations at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, go to "The Assyrian Renaissance."
