Ashur-dan I

During the twilight years of the Kassite dynasty, the Synchronistic History[i 6] records that he seized the cities of Zaban, Irriya, Ugar-sallu and a fourth town name not preserved, plundering them and “taking their vast booty to Assyria.” A fragmentary clay tablet[i 7] usually assigned to this king lists his military conquests over “[…]yash and the land of Irriya, the land of the Suhu, the kings of the land Shadani, […y]aeni, king of the land Shelini.”[3] Fresh from their conquest of the Babylonians, it seems the Elamite hordes overwhelmed the Assyrian city of Arraphe, which was not recovered until late in Aššur-dān’s reign.[2]

Few inscriptions have been recovered for this king although he is mentioned in two of those of his descendant Tukultī-apil-Ešarra.[4] One of these inscriptions mentions his demolition of the dilapidated temple of An and Adad, originally built by Išme-Dāgan II 641 years earlier. It was not to be reconstructed until 60 years later by Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, who also names him in his genealogy.[5] A dedication for the king appears on a bronze statue votive offering[i 8] to the Egašankalamma, temple of Ištar in Arbail, offered by Šamši-Bēl, a scribe.[3]

A partial reconstruction of the sequence of limmus, the Assyrian Eponym dating system, has been proposed influenced by a letter[i 9] which provides the initial sequence of Pišqiya, the official during whose reign his predecessor died, Aššur-dān (the king), Atamar-den-Aššur, Aššur-bel-lite, and Adad-mušabši.[6] A harem edict or palace decree was issued giving the penalties for misdemeanors of maidservants, where the first offence is punishable with a beating thirty times with rods by her mistress.[3] Two sons of Aššur-dān were to contest the throne after his death, Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur ruling for less than a year before being overthrown and forced to flee by his brother Mutakkil-Nusku.