The assyrian king list: chronology and the dark ages in the ancient near east

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the consequences for the Assyrian Chronology of dating the end of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt from around 1800 BC to 1530 BC. Dating the New Kingdom in Egypt a minimum of 243 years later than generally accepted implies the existence of contemporaneous kings in Assyria. In the Assyrian King List Enlil-kudur-usur appears as the last king of the lineage of Ashur-uballit I, then is mentioned Ninurta-apil-Ekur son of Ili-pada descendant of Eriba-Adad. We assume that Ili-pada is the grandson of Eriba-Adad I and Ninurta-apil-Ekur started a second royal branch. The consequence is that Ashur-dan II is the son of Tiglath-pileser I. The rearrangement of the Assyrian Kings results in a reduction of about 250 years. A reduction of 250 years brings an end to the Dark Ages in the Ancient Near East.