Kufale-based Chronology

1596 AM (2462 BC) - Tower of Babel is begun.
(Note: R.H. Charles was normally careful to calculate the AM (Anno Mundi) date from Jubilees correctly, but here, for some reason, he has made an error and miscalculated it to 1645 AM, adding an extra Jubilee when he should not have.)

Neither Genesis nor Jubilees ascribes this feat to the character of Nimrod, but plenty of other ancient texts do; the account by Josephus is typical.

I am convinced that "Nimrod" is the same king as the Enmerkar of Sumerian texts, who built a ziggurat in Eridu (the original 'Babel'.) He was also remembered in some histories as Euechoios, Euechoros, etc.

When the new city of Babel was built by Sargon the Great much later, they took Marduk as their patron deity, possibly a remembrance of the same name. This suggests a possibility that while the king's Sumerian name is transcribed as Enmerkar, it may have been pronounced something like Enmerdkar or Enmerdukar.

So on this basis, I assume that Enmerdkar created post-flood government with himself as king in this same year, 1596 AM, which year is 2462 BC according to my calculations.

Reign of Enmerdkar - 1596-1665 AM (2462-2393 BC)
The sources for this reign are not just Sumerian. The "Kitab al-Magall" (KM) claims to be written by St. Clement, based largely on information passed on from Jesus to Peter, in the form of a scroll that was supposedly given to the infant Jesus by the Magi. Two other books, the "Cave of Treasures" (CT) and the "Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan" (AE) have slightly divergent details, but a careful study will reveal that the information in all three must be from the same original source. I will call these 3 the "Magi Scroll Family of texts". (MSF)

The Sumerian Kinglist (SKL) states that Enmerkar ruled for 420 (or 900) years. The "Magi Scroll Family" all agree that Nimrod's reign was 69 years, which is much more realistic. 69 years would bring it from 1596 AM until 1665 AM (2462-2393 BC).

We know from Jubilees that the Tower building went on 43 years until the peoples were scattered - 1596-1639 AM. (2462-2419 BC). My assumption, based on the texts, is that Enmerdkar continued to reign in Uruk, for another 26 years after that.

KM states that Nimrod built the other cities when Peleg was 50, although CT makes it when Reu was 50. When Peleg was 50 fits better with the Jubilees chronology, for that would be 1617 AM (2441 BC) - during the time the tower was still being built. I identify these three cities he built near the Euphrates as: Uruk in southern Mesopotamia, Akkad in middle Mesopotamia, and Harran in northern Mesopotamia. In the Bible, Harran has become "Calneh", which interpreters are not agreed about, but Jerome spells it Chalanne, and MSF specifically identifies Harran.

Around the same time, Asshur built some cities along the Tigris. Nineveh is mentioned as one of them in Genesis 10. The other names seem to have become corrupted and are less certain. However, the SKL has a clue. The ancestor of the standard versions of SKL we have, was heavily edited and distorted, for the benefit of a Kishite point of view. That is why Kish was moved to the "first" dynasty after the flood, before Uruk. The founder of this dynasty is called Gushur (where the G represents a sound that is not certain in Sumerian, but was similar to G, or even a glottal stop.)  Here I recognize the name of Asshur son of Shem, and thus identify Kish along with Nineveh as one of his cities, which became corrupted to "Calah" in Genesis 10.. The third city he built is undoubtedly the one that bears his name, Asshur. But in the Bible this became "Resen". I would thus emend the verse to: "Nineveh, the square city; Kish; and Asshur between Nineveh and Kish, that is, the capital city."

In 1639 AM (2419 BC by my count), as Jubilees tells us, the Tower project failed and all the peoples - whether black, white, yellow, or some mixture of these - began to scatter to their various allotments. The confusion of languages is also alluded to in the Sumerian Enmerkar sagas. The countries immediately around Sumer at this time are all named there. Shubur (Shuwur) = Asshur (upper Tigris). Martu (Amurru) = Amorites (descendants of Canaan, W. of Euphrates). Aratta is surely the old country around Mt. Ararat. Hamazi is East of the Tigris, between Shubur and Elam, and is described as 'many-tongued' - probably including several tribes mixed between Madai and Asshur's offspring. Lullubi is mentioned as part of this area, and Susa, Anshan, parts of Elam are mentioned.

Magog and Gomer took up either side of the Don River. Other Japhethites (Yawan, Tubal, Tiras, Meshech) moved into Asia Minor and beyond. Asia Minor was also to be contested by offspring of Shem (Lud - Luwia) and Ham (Heth - Khatti). Some of the legends of Cronus refer to this time. Aside from Africa, the Hamites (black) did not just occupy Canaan at first, but a strip of land extending to the Halys and probably all the way up to Colchis in Georgia, said to have a darker-skinned population even in Classical times. The area around Harran was already settled by Aram's offspring. After the Tower failed at Eridu, most of these people became out of the reach of Enmerdkar's central government at Uruk.

The Enmerkar sagas mainly concentrate on his early political dealings with his main rival, Aratta (the later Urartu). We can make educated guesses about some more events of his reign. At one point, it is stated that 50 years into his reign, the Martu people swarmed Sumer and Akkad, necessitating his building of a wall in the desert to protect Uruk. By my scheme, that event can be dated to 1646 AM = 2412 BC, or seven years after the Tower failed.

The sagas suggest that his post-Tower political rivalry with Aratta continued for some time; at one point it says he sent Aratta a diplomatic message after ten years of this. In another place, it mentions much later that Hamazi had been "destroyed" and that an agent fled from there to the court at Aratta. By the end of Enmerkar's reign, he takes a large army to siege Aratta for one year. Putting it all together, I infer (educated best guess) that about ten years after the Tower failed (1649 AM / 2409 BC) Enmerdkar  began to take action to deal with Aratta, including suppressing Hamazi that was sympathetic to Aratta. Since I placed the end of his reign at 1665 AM / 2393 BC, the siege of Aratta thus began in 1664 AM / 2394 BC. The tablet is broken, so that we don't know exactly how the siege turned out. But one of his commanders, Lugalbanda, seems to have had something to do with it, and he is also named as the next king at Uruk.

So to sum up, here is my tentative expanded timeline for this section:


 * 1596 AM - Enmerdkar becomes king, begins tower at Babel (Eridu)


 * 1597 AM - Peleg marries Lomna


 * 1600 AM - Reu born


 * ca. 1617 AM - Enmerdkar builds Uruk, Akkad & Harran. Asshur builds Niniveh, Kish, Asshur.


 * 1639 AM - Tower fails, peoples scattered


 * 1646 AM - Martu encroach in Sumer, Akkad, Enmerdkar builds wall in desert.


 * 1648 AM - According to mediaeval Irish legends, Scythian (Gomer/Magog) scholars compose the 'Gaelic' (Proto-Indo-European) language and Ogham alphabet, 9-10 years after peoples scattered.


 * 1649 AM - Enmerkar subjects Hamazi during rivalry with Aratta


 * 1657 AM - Noah dies (possibly having long since moved to Crimea area)


 * 1664 AM - Enmerkar begins siege of Aratta


 * 1665 AM - Lugalbanda succeeds Enmerkar as King of Uruk.

Reign of Lugalbanda in Uruk - 1665 AM - ca. 1693 AM (2393-2365 BC)
Lugalbanda appears as a leader in Enmerkar's army in the Enmerkar sagas, and as the king who follows Enmerkar in the King list, where he is called 'Lugalbanda the Shepherd'.


 * 1681 AM - Reu marries Ura (2377 BC)


 * 1687 AM (2371 BC) - Serug born to Reu; city of Ur built by Arfaksadites (Kesedim / Keled-im, Ara Kesed = A-kelemdug?) on south bank Euphrates. Around this time, per Jubilees, wars begin on Earth in earnest, as all peoples are led astray into idolatry and paganism. I figure this is roughly the time Enmebaragesi, king of Kish 'subdues the weapons of Elam', as on some versions of the Sumerian King List. Records also suggest that this archaeologically attested king, Enmebaragesi of Kish, built a pagan Temple in Nibru (Nippur), in fact he probably had the entire so-called "holy city" built during his reign.

Reign of Dumuzid in Uruk - ca. 1693 to 1696 AM. (2365-2362 BC)

 * 1693 AM - Dumuzid succeeds Lugalbanda in Uruk (2365 BC)
 * 1695 AM - Dumuzid captures Enmebaragesi of Kish. Enmebaragesi is succeeded by Aga in Kish. (2363 BC)
 * 1696 AM - Dumuzid toppled by revolt, pursued and killed in Harran; he succeeded by Gilgamesh in Uruk. (2362 BC)

There is a series of Sumerian epics dealing with "Dumuzid the Shepherd", king of Uruk as well. There is some confusion on the Kinglist between Dumuzid the Shepherd, who is made to rule before the flood from Bad-Tibira, and Dumuzid of Uruk, whom it calls "the Fisherman". There may also be confusion with the similar title of "the Shepherd" applied to Lugalbanda on the Kinglist.

There's definitely a lot of confusion on the Kinglist regarding length of reigns, many of the huge numbers there are fanciful, and to be discarded. Since it is all there is to go on, I have made my best educated guesses at trying to discern and reconstruct the original data as it would have appeared in the beginning, centuries before the standard school copies we have going all the way to Ibbi-Sin, etc. And I think there may be just barely enough threads left for me to try it.

I figure that in the days of these first few dynasties, they were using a calendar dating years from Enmerdkar's accession, in 1596 AM. His "kingship" turned 1 in 1597, so that was counted as the year 1 in that calendar. While many of the huge numbers here on the SKL can be dismissed, there seems to be a progressive sequence discernible for some of them, that suggests a theory to me that they may have, in the oldest copies, signified what 'year' (after the accession of Enmerkar in 1596) they reigned until. A later scribe may have seen a number after the word MU (year), eg "Dumuzid - MU 100" and assumed it meant "Dumuzid reigned 100 years", which is what it now says. My theory is that it means Dumuzid reigned until the year (MU) 100, ie until 1696 AM or 2362 BC.

The Sumerian epics about Dumuzid of Uruk all suggest to me that he was the first king in post-flood (Homo sapiens) history ever to be toppled by a revolt of dissatisfied, hungry citizens on account of his being dissolute. A female character remembered (and deified) as Inanna seems to have played some intrigue against him as well, but the clues are a stretch to piece together. Inanna, possibly the same individual. was also central in the rivalry between Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta, Ensuh-keshdanna. Who was this Inanna? I've found clues that she may actually have been one if the Sibyls, perhaps the wife of Japheth who lived before the flood, who lived a long life and got involved in politics for some time. There are Hungarian legends that trace their wanderings all the way to "Hunor and Magor", ie Gomer and Magog, whose mother was "Eneh". Some versions have her as Japheth's wife, others call her the wife of Nimrod. Maybe both are correct?

The 6th tablet of the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic, Gilgamesh (Dumuzid's successor) also alludes to Inanna having betrayed Dumuzid, apparently through seduction. The first translation of this tablet I had found online was a loose English translation that rendered this part of the tablet as rhymed verse, where Gilgamesh, rebuking Inanna, reminds her that she had destroyed the youthful Tammuz (= Dumuzid) "after a three year long seductive look". On this basis, I had assumed that as he was apparently a weak king, it made sense that his reign would not have lasted much more than 3 years, before getting tossed out. But then I found another English translation that interprets the phrase in question as saying she caused Tammuz to be mourned "year upon year", which he was. I don't know which is more correct, but 3 years or so still sounds like a good guess for him.

The following cities are mentioned in one of the Dumuzid epics as homes of the men that pursued Dumuzid from his palace and eventually kill him: Uruk, Ur, Nippur, Adab, Akshak, and Umma.

I later noticed that some of the 'Magi Scroll Family' even seem to allude to these events. After stating that Nimrod (Enmerdkar) had built Harran, they state that later on, Tammuz (Dumuzid) fled there after his wife ran off with Belshamen (= Bilgamesh?), and ended up being burned to death there. Certain it is that the pagans would fast and mourn for the deified Tammuz at Harran on the 17th of the month of Tammuz (it also became a Babylonian-Jewish fast day) every year, even as late as the 10th century AD, according to Islamic observers.

Reign of Bilgamesh in Uruk - 1696 AM to 1722 AM (2362-2336 BC)
Bilgamesh is the original Sumerian spelling of the more famous Gilgamesh. He was the fourth king of Uruk after Enmerdkar, Lugalbanda, and Dumuzid.

The epics tell us his father was Lugalbanda. There is also evidence that Bilgamesh was a grandson of Enmerdkar on his mother's side.

The king list, however says his father was a "phantom" (lillu), similar to the ones who pursue Dumuzid in the Dumuzid stories. It may mean instead that Bilgamesh was the "father" (leader) of the "phantoms". Other corroborating evidence is the Syriac Cave of Treasures, naming Bilshamen in connection with the demise of Tammuz.

Just as with Enmerdkar, Lugalbanda, and Dumuzid, there was also a series of epics produced for this fourth reign of Uruk. Some of them were reworked into the later Babylonian "Gilgamesh Epic", the most widely studied of all Mesopotamian stories.

The original purpose of these tablets was probably political propaganda - they were mainly supposed to frighten most of the populace subject to Uruk into staying at home - giving them the impression that the rest of the world was filled with dangerous wild animals, monsters etc.

When Gilgamesh warns Enkidu about going into the "Netherworld" (KUR), it almost sounds like the elites stayed up in their ziggurat temples most of the time, and looked down on most of those below as "phantoms". (Despite Bilgamesh himself having originally arisen from that class). The classical Latin author Aelian picked up a story to the effect that "Gilgamos" was the grandson of "Euechoros" (Enmerkar) who tried to kill him as an infant to thwart a prophecy, but that he survived and eventually became king anyway.

Despite the abundance of stories about Gilgamesh, it is difficult to glean many political events of his reign from them. The main exception is the tablet stating that king Aga of Kish, son of Enmebaragesi and Bilgamesh's main political rival, came to seige Uruk at some point during this reign, but was defeated.

The kinglist says he ruled 126 years. I interpret this to mean he ruled until "Year 126" counting from the beginning of Enmerkar's reign; thus I place the end of his reign, and the beginning of his son Ur-Nungal's reign, in the year 1722 AM, or 2336 BC.


 * c. 2341 BC Kush succeeds Kam

Reign of Ur-Nungal in Uruk - 1722 AM to 1726 AM (2336-2332 BC)
Ur-Nungal was the son of Bilgamesh and 5th king of Uruk, but unlike the first four, there are no epics in his name. The main document mentioning his name is the "Tummal Chronicle", from which we learn that he maintained the pagan Temple in Nippur (the "holy" city), as did Gilgamesh, Enmebaragesi and Aga before him. Note that the "holy city" seems to have been transferred from the control of Kish to control of Uruk - probably when Bilgamesh defeated Aga.

The kinglist says he ruled 30 years. I estimate that this figure is slightly corrupted, and that the original notation probably said he reigned until "Year 130" (1726 AM = 2332 BC). He thus had a fairly short reign, and no new epics were produced in his name, as there were for his 4 deified predecessors.

Names are given on the kinglist for six more kings of Uruk in this dynasty after Ur-Nungal. However, nothing is known of them. They may indeed have reigned as lesser kings (or more like mayors) in Uruk, but I think it likely that Ur-Nungal was the last to hold the supreme "kingship" of Sumer, and that at the end of his reign in 1726 AM, the "kingship" was seized by the ruler of Ur, Mesannepada.

Reign of Mesannepada of Ur - 1726 AM to 1756 AM (2332-2302 BC)
Up until now, the hegemony established by Enmerdkar in 1596 AM had had its capital in Uruk. A rival kingship had been established by Asshur, in the city-state of Kish. Enmebaragesi of Kish had built a "holy" temple city of Nippur near Kish. His son Aga of Kish apparently lost this "holy" city to Gilgamesh of Uruk. With Uruk in control of Nippur, the "kingship" over Sumer was solidly in the hands of Gilgamesh and his son Ur-Nungal.

This situation was to change with the rise of king Mesannepada of Ur, which I place, according to my calculations, in the year 1726 AM of the "Jubilees" calendar. The Sumerian King List indicates that he seized the "kingship" from Uruk. I assume that the last independent king to actually rule from Uruk was Ur-Nungal, since the six names following his in that dynasty appear to have been inconsequential, leaving no signs of notability. However, Mesannepada of Ur is named in the Tummal inscription, along with Enmebaragesi and Aga of Kish, Gilgamesh and Ur-Nungal of Uruk (although some copies have these names out of correct order). This indicates who the major players were in the early history of Nippur, and it indicates that Mesannepada, besides defeating Uruk, also added Nippur to his empire. Mesannepada also apparently took Kish itself, assuming the title "King of Kish". Archaeology shows that he traded with Mari farther up the Euphrates, showing that Mari was in existence by this time.

There is also a figure known to archaeology as "Mesilim, King of Kish". Gordon years ago found evidence that he was in fact the same as the Mesannepada who was called "King of Kish", viz, that while a certain Sumerian proverb refers to Mesilim, there is an Akkadian version of the proverb that is nearly identical, but mentioning Mesannepada in place of Mesilim. Later scholars disputed this identification, but usually when names are interchangeable between Sumerian and Akkadian, it is not due to ignorance, thus I think it is likely that they were indeed both the same. So assuming that Mesilim is the same as Mesannepada, we can additionally gather that this king built temples in Lagash and Adab, and even resolved a border dispute between Lagash and Umma on behalf of Lagash.

Since he seems to have had control at least in Ur, Uruk, Nippur, Kish, Lagash and Adab, it thus it appears that Mesannepada did indeed enjoy hegemony throughout Sumer. Dilmun (Bahrain) was also apparently settled by this time.

The SKL gives Mesannepada of Ur 80 years, his son MeskiaG-nuna 36 or 30 years, then names two more kings from Ur ("Elulu and Balulu") with 25 and 36 years respectively. The total for all four is said to be 171 years.

As usual, these figures likely became thoroughly confused and exaggerated over the centuries. The last two kings of this first Ur dynasty, like the last six given for Uruk, are largely unknown, left no sign of enjoying hegemony in Sumer, and were probably more like local rulers; Elulu is known from a single inscription mentioning his work on the Eridu ziggurat. On the other hand, MeskiaG-nuna's being named in the Tummal inscription seems to confirm his control at Nippur. It was probably MeskiaG-nuna of Ur, then, who lost the "kingship" to Awan (a city-state in Elam, in the mountains just north of Susa).

My best guess of the reality is that these first two kings held the hegemony for Ur with only 36 years between them - with Mesannepada reigning for 30 of those years, and the remaining 6 for his son MeskiaG-nuna. The transfer to Awan would thus have been in the "Year 165" (after Enmerdkar), but the six years got wrongly added in again at some point, becoming 171.


 * 1740 AM (2318 BC) - Reu is 140 years old; according to Conflict of Adam and Eve, this is when the Misraimites re-established a king in Egypt, followed by the sons of Joktan - Saba, Ophir and Havilah.
 * 1744 AM (2314 BC) - Serug marries Milcah; Nahor born to Serug in Ur.

Reign of MeskiaG-nuna in Ur 1756-1761 AM (2302-2297 BC)

 * 1761 AM (2297 BC) - Awan defeats Ur, seizes Nippur; Lagash become independent.

Reign of king (Peli ?) of Awan - 1761 AM to 1797 AM (2297-2261 BC)
The Sumerian king list says 3 kings held the kingship from Awan, an Elamite city. Their names are missing from all extant later copies, because they were probably rubbed off the earlier copies long before. It says the three ruled for 356 years, and it can still be read that the third of these ruled for 36 years, but all other information is blank.

This data is obviously corrupt; I doubt the Sumerians would have put up with so many Elamite kings for so long. I can believe the figure "36 years" for one king from Elam, though, before the "kingship" was once again seized by Kish. This would bring us to 1797 AM for the end of Awan's kingship - which is the year (MU) 201 from Enmerdkar's reign. MU 201 is the first legible figure in the next dynasty for Kish, so I suspect it originally meant that in that year (= 2261 BC), Kish took over the hegemony from Awan.


 * 2291 - Habassi rules in Kush

Reign of Kalbum of Kish - 1797 AM - 1828 AM (2261-2230 BC)
The data on the SKL for the second dynasty of Kish is very badly corrupt. It lists 8 kings, of whom Kalbum is the fourth, and they all have fantastically long reigns for a total of 3,195 years. Obviously, this can be discarded.

None of these kings have been authenticated elsewhere. Just hazarding a guess, only one of these actually held the kingship for Kish at this time. However, at some point, his ancestors and descendants got their names added into the SKL here.

The first legible figure in this dynasty, as mentioned, "MU 201", gives us the start of this dynasty - 1797 AM. Looking for signs of the next likeliest correct date is difficult; we see that Kalbum is said to rule 195 years, but two of the oldest copies read "132 years" and I reconstruct that it originally said Kalbum ruled until "MU 232", with a later miscopy from 232 to "132". So in other words, Kalbum, who is the probable actual king holding hegemony here, ruled 31 years from 1797 until 1828 AM. The names before his, Susuda the fuller, Dadasig, and Mamagal the boatman, just do not sound like regal names that would be taken by a sitting Emperor; they are probably Kalbum's ancestors. Incidentally, the one possible relic for any of these names is on Eannatum of Lagash's 'Stele of Vultures' showing "..., king of Kish" at the end of his spear-point; Jacobsen (1970) reconstructs the missing name as that of Kalbum, though Eannatum seems to have reigned slightly later, perhaps he is claiming the feat of an ancestor in Lagash. The names after Kalbum's are equally obscure, and I find it dubious that they too actually held hegemony before "Kish was defeated and the kingship was carried off to Hamazi", presumably in 1828 AM.


 * 1800 AM (2258 BC) - Nahor marries Iyoska.
 * 1806 AM (2252 BC) - Terah born in Ur.
 * c. 2251 BC - Sebtah rules in Kush
 * 1814 AM (2244 BC) - According to the "Magi Scroll Family" of texts, JAH destroyed the idols of Mesopotamia in an earthquake around this time, but the dates in all three sources are contradictory. This date, given by CT, seems to me the likeliest, in this case. Masudi (10th C) also records a tradition that the first earthquakes occurred in the life of Nahor, adding also that "in his lifetime, the Hindus and other nations formed themselves into bodies."

Reign of Hadanish of Hamazi 1828 AM - 1856 AM (2230-2202 BC)
The SKL says this one king ruled 360 years, obviously corrupt. It fits better if we assume it originally read that he reigned until "260 MU" - which is 1856 AM, or 2202 BC. Hamazi was a non-Sumerian region lying east of the Tigris and between Assyria and Elam, as we have already seen.


 * 1832 AM ? - The MSF texts state that child sacrifice began at this time, but again 3 conflicting dates are given. This time, KM seems to have the best date, but the whole passage here seems to be influenced somewhat by a completely different statement in Jubilees, so it may be anecdotal info.
 * c. 2221 BC - Electron rules in Kush
 * 1839 AM - Reu dies in this year, according to KM.
 * c. 2218 BC - Xuanyuan (Huangdi) rules Youxiong
 * 1844 AM - JAH destroys the idols of Mesopotamia again, this time with a whirlwind, according to MSF. Ironically a much later Babylonian list of idols at Nippur shows the doorway guardian sphinxes were called Hadanish and Lumma, ie. Eannatum, who may have already controlled Lagash by this time.
 * 1856 AM (2202 BC) - Hadanish of Hamazi is defeated (MU 260), and the kingship (hegemony) is seized by Enshakushanna of Uruk.

Reign of Enshakushanna of Uruk - 1856 AM - 1876 AM (2202-2182 BC)

 * 1856 AM (2202 BC) - Enshakushanna regains the supremacy for Uruk, defeating Hadanish of Hamazi and Enbi-Ishtar of Kish. He also controls Nippur, Akkad and Akshak.

However, Lagash is independent, and its king, Eannatum (aka Lumma), gains territory at the expense of Uruk during this time.

Eannatum of Lagash probably began to seize real control of the cities, one by one, from Enshakushanna of Uruk over the course of these 20 years. Not only that, but this Eannatum of Lagash also expanded his empire well outside of Sumer, into Elam, up the Tigris into Assyria (Shubur) and up the Euphrates as far as Mari.


 * c. 2191 BC - Neber rules in Kush
 * 1870 AM (2188 BC) Terah marries Edna in Ur.

Eannatum of Lagash - 1876-1877 AM (2182-2181 BC
Eannatum finally seized Nippur and Uruk itself, at the end of Enshakushanna's reign. Apparently, Eannatum did not get around to claim the official "kingship" for Lagash, which is not on the SKL.

The SKL has dates for this "2nd dynasty" of Uruk that are as usual suspect. It lists Enshakushanna with 60 years, Lugal-kinishe-dudu with 120 years, then Argandea with 7 years, total of 187 years.

I presume that Eannatum, having conquered much of Mesopotamia during Enshakushanna's reign, himself died soon after seizing Uruk - probably within a year of that, since he never claimed the title of hegemony. All the cities of Sumer then regained their independence as city-states on Eannatum's death. Nippur, the "holy" city who conferred kingship, presumably went with Uruk and its new king, Lugal-kinishe-dudu, who officially held the title of the "kingship" next. But he was not that prominent a king, and I doubt he ruled for 120 years. I believe the numbers on the later SKL were jumbled. 20 years for Enshakushanna and 7 for Lugal-kinishe-dudu appears more likely. This brings us to the year "MU 287" counting from Enmerdkar, which is corrupted to "187 years" appearing in the text. "Argandea", if a real name, is unknown and probably never held the kingship at all. So on this basis, I reconstruct the chronology as looking something like this:


 * 1876 AM (2182 BC) - Eannatum of Lagash seizes Uruk, ends reign of Enshakushanna. This is also the same year Abram is born in Ur, per Jubilees.
 * 1877 AM (2181 BC) - Eannatum dies, empire of Lagash breaks apart into city-states.

Reign of Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk - 1877-1884 AM (2181-2174 BC)
From 1877 to 1881, Lagash was ruled by a governor, Enannatum I, brother of Eannatum. Entemena became king of Lagash in 1881 AM, ruling Lagash until 1910 AM. Lugalkinishe-dudu of Uruk (who held the "kingship" and controlled Ur and Kish) is allied with Entemena of Lagash, against Umma.


 * 1884 AM (2174 BC) - After Lugal-kinishe-dudu, the kingship along with control of Nippur passes again to Ur, and its king Nanni.

Reign of Nanni of Ur - 1884-1886 AM (2174-2172 BC)
The figures given for this 2nd dynasty of Ur are not only corrupted, but wildly divergent one from another in the various later copies of the SKL. Some give Nanni 120+ years, and his son MeskiaG-nanna 48 years, two kings. A second version gives Nanni 54+ years, then MeskiaG-nanna (missing number), then a third king (missing name) 2 years, for a total of 582 years. The third variant lists these 3 kings, giving only their total as 578 years.

I reconstruct it with only two kings, giving Nanni of Ur the 2 years, and his son MeskiaG-nanna of Ur the 48 years, bringing us up to MU 338 (1935 AM = 2123 BC). This is mainly based on a hunch, or an educated guess as to what is most realistic for these 2 kings. These 2 kings of Ur also appear on the Tummal Chronicle, showing they controlled Nippur along with the official kingship.

Reign of MeskiaG-nanna of Ur - 1886-1935 AM (2172-2123 BC)

 * 1886 AM (2172 BC) - MeskiaG-nanna of Ur succeeds his father Nanni to the kingship.
 * c. 2168 BC - Shaohao rules Huaxia
 * 1891 AM (2167 BC) - Abram, a 15 year old living in Ur, develops the plow, revolutionizing agriculture, per Jubilees. This actually seems to correspond with the Sumerian tablet on the history of the rulers of Lagash, where it clearly describes the situation in the earliest days of Lagash before the plow was developed.  Other sources tell us that Abram's job was to sell idols for his father, Terah, but that he began to question this practice.
 * 1897 AM (2161 BC) - birth of Sara in Ur. Amen rules in Kush
 * c. 2157 BC - Tubal arrives in Spain (trad.)
 * c. 2140 BC - Queen Nehasset Nays rules in Kush
 * 1925 AM (2133 BC) - Abram marries Sara in Ur.
 * c. 2127 BC - Canaanite Sinites enter Kush
 * 1932 AM (2126 BC) - birth of Lot in Ur.
 * c. 2124 BC - Zhuanxu rules Huaxia
 * 1935 AM (2123 BC) - Ur is defeated and the "kingship" passes from MeskiaG-nanna of Ur, to Lugal-Anne-Mundu of Adab.

Reign of Lugal-anne-mundu of Adab - 1935 AM-1964 AM (2123-2094 BC)
This is where it starts to get highly interesting.

The Sumerian king list states that following King MeskiaG-nanna of Ur, "Ur was defeated and the kingship was taken to Adab" - represented by a single king, whom it names as Lugal-anne-mundu.

This Lugal-anne-mundu of Adab seems to have been an important king, to hold the hegemony in Sumer, but he is almost always completely overlooked in most history books. It's almost as if most scholars would prefer not to mention him at all, for some curious reason.

Why is this? Well, most everything else we know about him comes from a single text that is known only from later Babylonian fragments, of a much later era. The scholars, beginning with Guterbock, who published the first competent translation of it, used the fact that there was no known contemporary inscription from him, as a pretext to practically dismiss him from consideration as an authentic ruler.

But, the translation of the Lugal-anne-mundu inscription (albeit from centuries-later copies) is still available.

We have already seen some events in the life of Abraham (Abram), which Jubilees places at this time. I have shown my estimate that he was born around the time Eannatum defeated Uruk, and lived much of the first part of his life through the hegemony of king MeskiaG-nanna, who hailed from his own hometown of Ur. And that around 1935, Ur was defeated by Adab.

Continuing from there: in 1936 AM (2122 BC), Jubilees tells us, Abram burned the temple in Ur, and fled with his family to Harran, one of the most ancient cities built by Nimrod, in the region northwest of Sumer, known as Paddan-Aram or Aram-Naharain.

(This is also roughly when a Magogite named Partholon, first settled Ireland, per Irish Chronicles, and in c. 2110 BC, Horkam rules in Kush)

We can also gather that it was in 1950 AM (2108 BC), that the king of Elam first subdued the area including Sodom and Gomorrah. This is because the Bible tells us that it 14 years before the "War of Kings", which Jubilees places in 1964 AM.

Who was this king of Elam who campaigned as far as the Dead Sea and Jordan region? The Bible calls him "Chedorlaomer", and it has been generally recognized that this does have the appearance of a genuine Elamite name, Kutur-Lagamar or the like. But, no individual with this exact name has yet been found in any other records.

Jubilees says that in 1951 AM (2107 BC), Abraham, still living in Harran, was blessed by JAH, and he began to learn the holy language. In 1953 AM (2105 BC), he moved to Canaan; in 1954 AM (2104 BC) Hebron was built; in 1956 AM (2102 BC) he went to Egypt on account of famine; in 1961 AM (2097 BC) Tanis in Egypt was built; the Canaanite Ayner of Arvad migrated to Ethiopia on account of the famine, and in 1963 AM (2095 BC) Abraham returned to Canaan (Bethel).

Also in that same year, 1963 AM, the Sodomites and other regional city-states first rebelled from Chedorlaomer of Elam.

In 1964, Lot went to Sodom, and the "War of Kings" took place, when scripture says Abraham's contingent ended up defeating Chedorlaomer and his confederates.

One of these is said to be Amraphel king of Shinar (Sumer), whom Biblical scholars at one time had identified with Hammurabi of Babylon (now known to have lived much later).

It is my contention that this king "Amraphel" is in fact none other than Lugal Anne-mundu of Adab, and that he, not Chedorlaomer of Elam, was actually the senior partner, or rather supreme overlord, in this confederacy.

Why Lugal Anne-mundu? Because, even apart from my chronological estimates, the situation described in the Bible fits his reign far better than any other, in several ways.

The inscription of Lugal Anne-mundu referred to above describes the extent of his empire; it was the largest the world had yet seen, larger even than Eannatum's conquests, and thus his title was "King (Lugal) of the Four Quarters". Eight constituent tributary provinces in this empire are named: Elam, Marhashi, Gutium, Subartu, the "Cedar Mountain land" (Lebanon), Martu, Sutium, and Eanna (Uruk).

Marhashi was probably an Elamite region beyond Elam proper. Gutium was evidently a region of the old Hamazi (Madai), and could easily have been corrupted in the Hebrew text into "Goyim". Three provinces were in the west: Lebanon, Martu (the Amorites), and "Sutium". "Sutium" is another name that scholars gloss over and generally ignore, but the few who have addressed it, make clear that it was far to the west of Mesopotamia. Meanwhile, other scholars have looked for the name of Sodom, and proclaimed "It's too bad there are no cuneiform texts referencing any such place."

Well, what would you expect? There is a "Sutium" in cuneiform text, and the text says that it was controlled by Lugal Annemundu of Sumer - along with Elam, Gutium, and the Amorites, etc..

It also says that his reign was fraught with rebellion, and it even mentions him at one point fighting with several rebel chiefs of governors, led by the chief of Marhashi.

The names of several of these chiefdoms are effaced, but the 13 rebel chieftains' names with whom he fought can be mostly made out.

One of the chieftains has a name that is intriguingly close to Abraham's, represented by Guterbock as "Abi-han[ish?]". The square brackets mean the letters "ish" were not there, but were supplied by Guterbock based on some conjecture of his on what was originally there. So what we really have there is just "Abi-han". But even before I knew that, I had found more than enough to establish a match for the correct timeframe, the very conditions that minimalists want to pretend were never attested in history outside scripture.

Among the chiefdoms whose names can be read, are "Ardama" and "Amdama", either of whom might possibly correspond with the "Admah" of Genesis 14. The rest of the known names in the inscription might not correspond with known names in Genesis -- but the fact that any matches even this close are found, has never been mentioned.

Hasn't anyone ever noticed this before? Well, there is actually some reason to suppose that if anyone had, in the days of pre Web 2.0 scholarship, they kept mum about it.

Now some might be saying "That is just ridiculous! What possible reason could there be, to suppose that there is some scholarly coverup going on here?"

I came across one copy of the Lugal-Anne-Mundu inscription online, in a Spanish translation. It had the following footnote:

"El contenido de este texto, considerado anacrónico, le ha hecho ser el destinatario de una maldición: ninguna edición especializada de inscripciones reales publicada hasta la fecha lo ha incluido entre sus páginas. Los prejuicios de los especialistas modernos les llevan no sólo a hacer oídos sordos a las afirmaciones de los reyes ancestrales, sino también a ignorar sus textos y condenarlos al ostracismo, para que nadie más tenga conocimiento de ellos."

Condemned to ostracism? That's a surprisingly revealing comment to read, considering that we're talking about reconstructing ancient history here for the pre-Sargonic era with whatever few "shoestrings" we have available!

In 1964, I reckon, the year Abraham defeated Lugal-anne-mundu, his empire finally broke apart, and the official "kingship" passed to Mari, per the SKL. However several other city states in Sumer also asserted their independence. This was also an interesting time; I identify the main ones as being king Sharrumiter of Mari, Lugalanda of Lagash, Puzur-Nirah of Akshak, and Lugal-zagesi of Ummah.

Reign of Sharrumiter of Mari - 1964 AM to 1971 AM (2094-2087 BC)
The 1960s and 1970s must have been socially turbulent decades for Mesopotamia. Coincidentally perhaps, just about as socially turbulent as their Anno Domini namesakes...!

With the defeat of Lugal-Anne-Mundu in 1964 and the breakup of his empire, the official title of kingship (as recognised at Nippur) passed to Mari (Sumerian kinglist) - though a number of other local kings became semi-independent.

From looking at the list, I had my doubts that all of the Mari kings listed there actually enjoyed the official hegemony title. There is quite a bit of documentation from Mari on the Upper Euphrates, and some of its recorded history has leaked out. It was earlier subjected by Eannatum of Lagash. It also had had a powerful rival to the west, Ebla. Harran was one of Ebla's many "client kingdoms". Ebla was probably largely Aramaean (Shem); and Mari likely more Amorite (Ham), although the speech of both was related, what we now call "Semitic." From what I could learn of Ebla's documentation, some of the latest tablets there indicated river trade with Adab, shortly before Ebla's palace archive was mysteriously burnt down. This could well have happened during Lugal-Anne-Mundu's reign, during one of his campaigns in the Northwest. This would also mean that the data from Ebla would cover the period of Abraham's stay in Harran, roughly.

I had already guessed that Sharrum-iter ("Excellent king" in Semitic) was the likeliest candidate for the one king of Mari who actually possessed Nippur following the fall of the Adab empire in 1964. He is given 9 or 7 years on SKL copies; 7 years fits in quite well with my overall, minute, year-by-year scheme. Upon looking into it, I was surprised to find that some other scholars had also noted the same possibility that this Sharrumiter was the only member of this dynasty to secure the kingship, and that some of his predecessors had only been added to the kinglist, as a sort of courtesy.

Sharrumiter may have had the influence in Nippur, but I doubt he controlled much to the south of there. In Lagash - which had evidently had a few governors during the Lugal-Anne-Mundu period - we now find a potentate by the name of Lugalanda, and his queen Baranamtara. She seems to have been close with the Queen of Adab, still obviously an important and prestigious town

In 1965 AM, Ishmael was born to Abraham, still in Canaan (Jubilees). Ishmael's offspring later would include the Nabateans.

Lugalanda of Lagash seems to have been a very corrupt and hated king, in his little corner of Sumer. He greatly overtaxed and oppressed his people, and he and his wife owned most of the real estate privately. Both of them had official clay royal seals, now in the Louvre; the scenes appear highly suggestive of being positive depictions of bestiality. This is a perfect match with Scriptural evidence for the social climate of these years - for it was at this same time that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah must have developed the despicable custom of allowing no stranger to pass through their cities undeflowered. The men of Sodom must have received some encouragement from there being such a tyrant over in Lagash, under whom all manner of detestable practices flourished.

The following events only confirm this picture more. After about five years as independent king of Lagash, i.e. in 1969, it appears Lugalanda was overthrown by a coup d'etat and replaced by a populist - Urukagina of Lagash.

Kingship of Puzur-Nirah of Akshak - 1971 AM to 1974 AM (2087-2084 BC)
Since Sharrumiter ruled for 7 years, I place 1971 as the year the official kingship (and by extension, Nippur) was lost by Mari. Different versions of the kinglist have the dynasties jumbled at this point, but the versions that put the city of Akshak ahead of Kish are more logical, as will be seen shortly. Several kings are listed for Akshak here; but only one, Puzur-Nirah, is known from any other source than the SKL. Hence I assume that, as was typical, other kings or governors of Akshak before and after Puzur-Nirah were added to the list, but that only he actually ever held the official hegemony for Akshak. I'd also guess that he had been ruling independently in Akshak since 1964, but that he wrested nearby Nippur, or at least recognition from its pagan priesthood, away from Sharrumiter in 1971.

Puzur-Nirah's name seems appropriately wicked for the time: "Called (or Protected) by the serpent-deity."

Signs of social upheaval are no less evident for these years, fitting in well with what has already been deduced for this era. The other reference to Puzur-Nirah is from a later history tablet, which recalls how he obstructed the supply of fish to the main temple, for which he was punished by Marduk with the loss of the hegemony to a woman, the tavern-keeper Kubaba of Kish, who is also on the kinglist as the only queen ruling in her own right.

1973 would be the fifth year of Urukagina - the year he is said to have issued his law code in writing, over in Lagash. Urukagina is famous for being the first known ruler to issue a written code of laws - which were the badly-needed result of Lugalanda's misrule. Not only did Urukagina's laws serve to protect the people from the oppression of the elite, but it is striking that he is said to have abolished polyandry. Under the previous rulers, going back to Inanna, it seems to have been commonplace for Sumerian women to have juggled multiple husbands. Urukagina changed all that, and the fact that he was able to, is highly suggestive of some sweeping social upheavals during these decades. JAH surely saw the legal changes as positive steps; it was later that He revealed His own codes, that have been developed over time all the way from from Moses, up to His Majesty, Haile Selassie I, and the future Zion.

The practice of dating of events to specific regnal years also starts to become more commonplace, from here on.

Hegemony of Kugbau of Kish - 1974 AM to 1980 AM (2084-2078 BC)
1974 is my best guess for what year the Nippur priesthood replaced Puzur-Nirah of Akshak, with the former tavern-keeper, Queen Kugbau (Kubaba) of Kish. 1974 AM would be MU 377 counting from Enmerdkar; the kinglist copy gives Akshak "MU 87", but since it seems to have happened somewhere close to this time, 377 is the best emendation I can go with.

Meanwhile, there is another king over in Umma, by the name of Lugal-zagesi, who has probably been reigning there independently since Lugal-anne-mundu's defeat in 1964. This Lugal-zagesi has stealthily been expanding his empire since then; he has by now probably taken Larsa, Ur, and Uruk, as well as the new title "King of Uruk". We know that he has attacked Urukagina of Lagash a couple of times over the years, and we also know that in Urukagina's 8th year, or 1976 AM, he finally takes Lagash out. (2082 BC).

In 1979 AM, as Jubilees tells us, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by JAH - and also in this year, it says Abraham moved from Hebron to Beersheba, and that his son Isaac was born.


 * c. 2081 BC Saba II in Kush

Hegemony of Ur-Zababa of Kish - 1980 AM - 1986 AM (2078-2072 BC)
Several more rulers of Kish are listed at this point. Once again, I consider this to have been expanded; only one, Ur-Zababa, said to be Kug-bau's grandson, is known from any other source; the others probably did not hol hegemony in Sumer. The six years of rule given him in some versions of the kinglist fits best. If the "MU 491" given for the entire dynasty is emended to "MU 391", it brings us to around the same year counting from Enmerdkar, helping to fix the start and end years.

In 1982 AM (2076 BC), Ishmael and his mother Hagar flee to Paran in the desert, where the Nabateans later descend from him.

The other sources referencing Ur-Zababa are the ones stating that Sargon the Great of Akkad grew up as a cup-bearer to Ur-Zababa.

Hegemony of Lugal-Zagesi of Uruk - 1986 AM - 1989 AM (2072-2069 BC)
We have already met with Lugal-Zagesi a few paragraphs up, who has been ruling in Umma since 1964, and in Lagash since 1976, aside from Ur and Uruk. 1986 AM or so is when I figure he took out Kish, as well as Nippur, seizing the hegemony in name as well as fact, since that is where I put the end of Ur-Zababa's reign. The figure of 25 years attributed to Lugal-Zagesi should be understood include his entire royal career starting in 1964, hence it ends in 1989 AM when Sargon the Great takes over Uruk, Kish, and the rest of Sumer, beginning the Akkadian Empire.

Sargon I of Akkad - 1989 AM- 2003 AM (2069-2055 BC)
Many of the conquests of Sargon the Great of Akkad are described in much later historical literature. We know he conquered Sumer from Lugal-zagesi king of Uruk. There also survive a handful of contemporary "year-names" confirming his conquest of Simurrum (Hurrians in modern Kurdistan), Elam, Uru'a (part of Elam) and Mari, but it is unknown which four years of his reign these four campaigns took place. He introduced the Akkadian Semitic dialect as an official language in Sumer and Elam. He also subjected Subartu (Assyria) and Mardaman (part of Elam?). He is furthermore supposed to have built a new "holy city", Babili (Babylon) to replace the old Eridu (the site of Enmerdkar's tower).

Later sources suggest he invaded the west as far as Cyprus in his 3rd year (1992 AM) and again northwest well into Anatolia in his 11th year (2000 AM). He is credited with conquering Amurru, Mari, Ebla, Aleppo (Aram), Carchemish, Kanesh, and according to a Hittite source, to have fought with the Hattite king Nurdaggal of Burushanda, well into Anatolia. Toward the end of his reign, he is supposed to have faced widespread revolt, and to have sacked Kazallu (probably an Amorite city on the edge of the desert near Babylon, though different locations have been proposed).

Various later sources claim he ruled 56, 55, or 54 years. I find this figure for him dubious and probably exaggerated. Such a long reign should have produced more than four attested year-names. Assuming this large figure was corrupted over time, I emend it to only 14 years - enough time for him to have lived by the sword and died by the sword in the regions named. He was succeeded by his son Rimush, which I therefore place in 2003 AM.


 * c. 2066 BC - famine in Egypt & Sudan, Canaanite Weyto (Zemari) enter Kush.

Reign of Rimush of Akkad - 2003 AM to 2010 AM (2055-2048 BC)

 * 2003 AM - Abraham and Isaac (living in Canaan) go to Mt. Zion, then to Beersheba.
 * c. 2051 BC - Sofard in Kush.

Rimush is given 7 years on one version of the SKL, which seems the most realistic figure. There is one surviving year-name recording his destruction of Adab, probably for revolting. He is also supposed to have quelled revolts in Marhashi and Elam. He was said to have been slain by his own officials.

Reign of Manishtushu of Akkad - 2010 AM to 2017 AM (2048-2041 BC)

 * 2010 AM - Abraham returns to Hebron.

Manishtushu was another son of Sargon. Again, the versions of the SKL giving him only 7 years are preferred. One account says he fought a sea battle against 32 kings. He too seems to have been assassinated.

Reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad - 2017 AM to 2036 AM (2041-2022 BC)
There have been 19 or 20 distinct year-names found for Naram-Sin. While the later sources credit him with 56 years, I do not trust this, and believe the repertoire of attested year-names from commercial tablets is more or less complete for his reign, i.e. circa. 20 years.

The exact order of the year names is uncertain, but is tentatively reconstructed by scholars with letters (a, b, c etc.) rather than numbers. Going by this tentative reconstruction, I can tentatively plot on my chronology, his campaigns against Mardaman (2018 AM), Azuhunum (Asshur) (2019), Shabbunum (2020), Uruk and Nagsu (2022). I am not certain where Shabbunum or Nagsu were. Other sources say he also annexed Magan (Oman) at some point. He crushed the revolts as "King of the Four Quarters".


 * 2024 AM - Sarah dies; Abraham buys cave, burial ground nr. Hebron from Ephron the Hittite (Heth).
 * 2026 AM - Naram-Sin captures Dahishatal of Subartu at Azuhunum.
 * 2027 AM - Isaac marries Rebecca from Harran; Naram-Sin defeats Shenaminda at the source of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
 * 2028-2030 AM - Naram-Sin spends 3 years campaigning in Lebanon and Amanus area, conquers Ebla
 * 2030 AM - Naram-Sin battles king Pamba of Hatti (Heth), king Zipani of Kanesh, and 15 other Anatolian kings (Hittite source)
 * 2032-33 AM - Naram-Sin conquers Simurrum, capturing Baba of Simurrum and Dubul of Aram. Naram-Sin's famous stele commemorates a victory over the Lullubi, in the Kurdish Zagros.
 * 2034 AM - Naram Sin defeats Bibi in the Mountains of Hashimar (?)

Reign of Sharkalisharri of Akkad - 2036-2053 AM (2022-2005 BC)
Sharkaslisharri ("King of all kings" in Akkadian) is credited on the later lists with 25 years, but I can only reconstruct with certainty 17 or 18 year-names from documents, transactions, so I am not willing to give him much more than that.

The order of the year-names is again tentative


 * c. 2021 BC - Askendu in Kush
 * 2045 AM - Sharkalisharri captures Sharlag of Gutium.
 * 2046 AM - Jacob & Esau born (in Canaan). Sharkalisharri defeats Amorites of Bashar (= Bashan?)
 * 2047 AM - Sharkalisharri defeats Elamites and Zahara at battle near Akshak.
 * 2048 AM - Sharkalisharri "imposes yoke on Gutium". Info in the KM and CT from the Magi Scroll Family places the building of Jericho in this same year, 2048 AM.
 * 2052 AM - Nabateans, Midianites (descendants of Hagar & Keturah) in Paran.

2053-2055 AM (2005-2003 BC) - Four rival kings
Four rival kings of Akkad in 3 years, following the death of Sharkalisharri. Period of anarchy and instabilty, as Gutian raids increase.

The Akkadian Empire was collapsing. The SKL speaks of two more Akkadian kings, Dudu and Shu-durul, and a line of 6 kings of Erech, before it mentions the Gutian rule. There is one artifact referencing Dudu of Akkad, none for any of the others, and no year names for any of these. I doubt if any of these rulers could really have had such prominent and long reigns before the Gutian onslaught. Most other evidence suggests the Gutians overthrew the weakened Akkadian empire, and I think it was already weakened enough after the four rival kings, that Dudu could not have reigned independently for very long at all. I thus place the end of the Akkadian Empire, and the beginning of the Gutian rule, in 2056 AM (2002 BC).

(One king during the Akkadian period seems to be referred to in Kitab al-Magall and Cave of Treasures. The former calls him "Karmos" and the latter "Kumros", and they both cryptically note that he ruled and built some cities when Abraham was 100.  Abraham would have been 100 in 1976 AM, in the days of Lugal-Zagesi and Kugbau, so the figure 100 here does not seem exactly right.  Any of the names Sargon (Sharukin), Rimush, Naram-Sin, or even Sharkalisharri could conceivably have been corrupted into "Karmos" or "Kumros", but I don't doubt that it was one of these.)

The Gutians - 2056 AM - 2081 AM (2002-1977 BC)
It doesn't seem too much of a stretch to me, to assume that this ancient name "Guti (Quti), Gutium" etc. is cognate with modern "Kurd". So I figure they were of the stock of Madai (Japheth), hybridized with that of Asshur (Shem).

Sources indicate that the Gutians invaded Mesopotamia, but they did not believe in keeping animals penned up, rather they gave them the run of the land. Their policies in general were not conducive to agriculture, nor record-keeping.

Several city-states in Mesopotamia had Sumerian governors / mayors during the Gutian time. Lagash in particular had powerful rulers, Gudea of Lagash at some point around this time smote Anshan in Elam.


 * 2060 AM - (1998 BC) - Abraham dies in Canaan.
 * c. 1996 BC - Hohey rules in Kush
 * 2073 AM - (1985 BC) Isaac moves from Hebron to Beersheba
 * 2080 AM - (1978 BC) Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils on account of famine.

Partly thanks to Gutian misrule in Mesopotamia, famine was a big problem throughout the Fertile Crescent by this time. This means the cost of grain went up several fold, the grain industry was crippled, and food was scarcer all around.

All Mesopotamian accounts remember the Gutians for bringing famine to Sumer. Some versions of the kinglist state the time of their rule was 124 years, while others say only 25 years. I take the latter figure as far more realistic, since 25 years is plenty enough time for them to run Sumer into the ground and bring about famine, and it fits my chronological scheme of synchronizations with Jubilees perfectly. I thus put 2081 AM as the year Utu-HeGal of Uruk drove the Gutians out of Sumer, beginning the "Sumerian renaissance". 2081 AM is also the year Isaac moved to Gerar and treated with Abimelech king of the Philistines. The Philistines were a seafaring people from Cyprus (Kaftor) who were partly of Misraim (Ham) and partly of Javan (Japheth), and had settled the coastal area including Gaza.

After writing that, I was able to confirm that the Gutians and the next king Utu-heGal together could not have ruled such a long time as is usually supposed. The last king named on the Elamite Awan dynasty kinglist, Kutik-Inshushinak or Puzur-Inshushinak, is known to have been a governor of Susa under the Akkadians, and was reigning as king when Ur-Nammu seized power, according to Wilcke. I had already surmised that the Gutians and Utu-HeGal together had only 26 years between the Akkadians and Ur-Nammu, and not 133; later I came across this confirmation.

Utu-HeGal of Uruk - 2081 AM - 2082 AM (1977-1976 BC)
Most versions of the SKL say he ruled 427 years, one version has 26 years, and some say 7 years, all of these in addition to some months. Be that as it may, there is only one attested year-name for Utu-HeGal in contemporary documents, and that is "Year Utu-HeGal became king". I am therefore dubious that he ever spent more than one year as supreme King after driving out the Gutians from Sumer. I am of the opinion that if he reigned as king for more years, there would be more year-names attested. Perhaps he had already been governor or mayor in Uruk for the years under the Gutians.

Ur-Nammu of Ur - 2082 AM - 2100 AM (1976-1958 BC)
Ur Nammu of Ur next seized the Kingship in Sumer; the figure on the SKL of 18 years is believable in this case, because we have around that number of year-names attested for him. He issued his famous law-code, the Code of Ur-Nammu, in ca. 2083-84 AM (ca. 1975-1974 BC), and ravaged Gutium in ca. 2092 AM (1966 BC).


 * c. 1961 BC - Ahyap / Adglag rules in Kush

Shulgi of Ur - 2100 AM - 2148 AM (1958-1910 BC)
Starting now we get a more complete picture of chronology from archaeology, as names for all 48 of Shulgi's years are known in the correct order from dated documents. Syncronized with events in Jubilees, it looks something like this:


 * 2101 AM (1957 BC) - Isaac leaves Gerar
 * 2108 AM (1950 BC) - Isaac to Beersheba
 * c. 1949 BC - Akhuns Saba II in Saba
 * 2114 AM (1944 BC) - Jacob steals blessing from Esau by tricking Isaac
 * 2115 AM (1943 BC) - Jacob flees to Harran; Esau to Seir (Edom)
 * c. 1941 BC - Adgala rules in Kush
 * 2120 AM (1938 BC) - Shulgi sacks Der
 * 2122 AM (1936 BC) - Jacob marries Leah and Rachel; Reuben born; Shulgi proclaims his own divinity.
 * 2123 AM (1935 BC) - Simon born; Shulgi sacks Karhar.
 * 2124-2125 AM (1934-33 BC) - Shulgi defeats Simurrum.
 * 2125 AM (1933 BC) - Levi born.
 * 2126 AM (1932 BC) - Shulgi sacks Harshi
 * 2127 AM (1931 BC) - Dan born
 * 2129 AM (1929 BC) - Judah born
 * 2130 AM (1928 BC) - Naphtali born; Shulgi sacks Karhar again.
 * 2131 AM (1927 BC) - Gad born; Shulgi defeats Simurrum again.
 * 2132 AM (1926 BC) - Issachar born; Shulgi sacks Karhar a 3rd time.
 * 2133 AM (1925 BC) - Asser born; Shulgi sacks Anshan in Elam.
 * 2134 AM (1924 BC) - Zebulon, Joseph born.
 * 2135 AM (1923 BC) - Jacob flees from Harran, returns to Canaan
 * 2136 AM (1922 BC) - Shulgi builds a defensive wall in Mesopotamia
 * 2142 AM (1916 BC) - Shulgi sacks Shashrum
 * 2143 AM (1915 BC) - Jacob (Israel) sacks Shechem, defeats Hamor the Hivite; Benjamin born. Shulgi defeats Simurrum, Lullubi.
 * 2144 AM (1914 BC) - Shulgi defeats Simurrum, Lullubi, Karhar and Arbil.
 * 2145 AM (1913 BC) - Shulgi sacks Kimash, Hurti
 * 2147 AM (1911 BC) - Shulgi sacks Kimash, Hurti, and Harshi. Lakniduga rules in Kush.

Reign of Amar-Sin of Ur - 2148 AM - 2157 AM (1910-1901 BC)

 * 2148 AM (1910 BC) - Israel (Jacob) defeats the Amorite chiefs Taphu (Tafa), Aresa, Seragan, Selo, Ga'as, Bethoron, and Ma'anisakir (Amanisikiros). [Kufale] Some Amorite governors from the Ur-III period whose names are known include Shu-dagan of Mari, Apilasha of Kazallu, and Shu-ilia of Eshnunna, but any correspondence here is only a possibility. The rabbinic Jerahmeel names them as Pir'athaho k. of Hazor, Susi k. of Sartan, Laban k. of Horan / Heldon, and Shakir / Shikkor, k. of Mahna.
 * 2149 AM (1909 BC) - Joseph sold into Egypt; Amar-Sin sacks Arbil.
 * 2153 AM (1905 BC) - Amar-Sin sacks Shashrum, Shurudhum
 * 2154 AM (1904 BC) - Amar-Sin sacks Bitum Rabium, Jabru, Huhnuri

Reign of Shu-Sin of Ur - 2157 AM -2165 AM (1901-1893 BC)

 * 2159 AM (1899 BC) - Shu-Sin ravages Simanum
 * 2160 AM (1898 BC) - Shu-Sin builds defensive wall
 * 2162 AM (1896 BC) - Isaac dies; Israel (Jacob) defeats Esau (Edom). Ishbi-Erra becomes independent ruler in Isin.
 * 2163 AM (1895 BC) - Shu-Sin sacks Zabshalli
 * c. 1894 BC - Nakehte Kalnis in Saba.

Reign of Ibbi-Sin of Ur - 2165 AM to 2188 AM (1893-1870 BC)

 * 2167 AM (1891 BC) - Ibbi-Sin ravages Simurrum.
 * 2168 AM (1890 BC) - Ishbi-Erra of Isin suppresses Amorites (though he is himself of Amorite origin)
 * 2170 AM (1888 BC) - Phares & Zerah born.
 * 2171 AM (1887 BC) - The Seven Years' Famine begins, throughout the Near East (Egypt, Canaan and Mesopotamia)

This is the start of the Seven Years Famine when Joseph was in charge in Egypt. I synchronized this year with the 19th year of Amenemhat III as Pharaoh. I had already made all these calculations and estimates, and already placed this event at this exact point in the reign of Ibbi-Sin or Ur. Then I went to research the reign of Ibbi-Sin, to see if his reign was known for any food scarcity or famine. When I did, I found a perfect match confirming that my calculations have been perfectly on track. My jaw dropped when I learned that the reign of Ibbi-Sin is indeed known for a devastating famine and food shortage that caused the price of grain to skyrocket, many times its normal price.

It fits so perfectly, that I almost could have designed the same chronology by starting with the two famines of 2080 AM and 2171 AM, which are 91 years apart according to Jubilees, and then lined it up with the famines of the Gutians and Ibbi-Sin. But I honestly didn't do it that way. I worked out the likeliest dates and length of reigns as seen here beforehand, then I noticed there were these two famines according to Jubilees, and then I looked up the corresponding reigns to see if they were known for severe famines, which they were -- giving me confirmation of what I had already worked out independently of the famines.


 * 2172 AM (1886 BC) - Israel moves to Egypt (on account of the famine); Shinash (Hamati Canaan) enter Ethiopia. Manturay in Kush.
 * 2173 AM (1885 BC) - Ibbi-Sin of Ur campaigns in Huhnuri, Anshan in Elam.
 * 2176 AM (1882 BC) - Ishbi-Erra of Isin defeats Kimash, Elam.
 * 2178 AM (1880 BC) - Ibbi-Sin defeats Susa, Awan in Elam;
 * 2181 AM (1877 BC) - Ibbi-Sin subjects the Amorites
 * 2185 AM (1873 BC) - Erishum I of Asshur
 * 2186 AM (1872 BC) - A devastating hurricane hits Ur
 * 2187 AM (1871 BC) - The Elamites sack Ur
 * 2188 AM (1870 BC) - Ishbi-Erra of Isin takes Ur from the Elamites.

After the fall of Ur in 2187 AM, Isin is now the main power in Sumer.

Reign of Ishbi-Erra of Isin in Ur - 2188-2194 AM (1870-1864 BC)
As we saw, Ishbi-Erra (a Semite) had ruled independently in Isin since 2162 AM, while Ibbi-Sin had ruled in Ur until the downfall of Ur at the hands of the Elamites in 2187 AM. The next year, Ishbi-Erra expelled the Elamites, establishing Isin over Ur as the supreme power in south Mesopotamia. The Israelites had already been in Egypt since 2172 AM.

Reign of Iddin-Dagan of Isin - 2204-2216 AM (1854-1842 BC)
Iddin Dagan fought the Amorites near Kakkulatum; he also lost control of Nippur. Cuneiform tablets describe his appearance in pagan, state-sponsored parades of male prostitutes, a clear indication of the promotion of sodomites around this time; another tablet suggests Ur Nammu of Ur about a century earlier had curbed their influence somewhat with his laws.


 * c. 1854 BC - Q. Kasiyope in Saba.
 * c. 1851 BC - Rakhu rules in Kush.

Reign of Ishme-Dagan of Isin - 2216-2233 AM (1842-1825 BC)
He regains control of Nippur.


 * 2222 AM (1836 BC) Gungunum, another chieftain of Amorite descent, establishes independence in Larsa. He sacks Bashimi in 2224 AM, and Anshan (Elam) in 2226 AM.
 * c. 1835 BC - Sabe II in Saba.
 * 2224 AM 1834 Ikunum in Asshur
 * 2231 AM 1827 BC The warlord Gungunum of Larsa takes over Ur

Reign of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin - 2233-2243 AM (1825-1815 BC)

 * 2234 AM 1824 Lipit-Ishtar of Isin promulgates a new law code.
 * 2237 AM 1821 Sargon I in Asshur; Sabe I rules in Kush
 * c. 1820 BC - Ityopis I in Ethiopia.
 * 2242 AM 1816 Lipit Ishtar repulses Amorites; Gungunum defeats Malgium.

Reign of Ur-Ninurta in Isin - 2243-2260 AM (1815-1798)

 * 2249 AM 1809 BC Abisare succeeds Gungunum in Larsa; ?Nippur returns to Isin.
 * 2257 AM 1801 Abisare of Larsa defeats Isin; ? Halium king in Ilip-Akusum
 * 2259 AM 1799 Sumu-Abum becomes independent king of Babylon.
 * 2260 AM 1798 Sumuel succeeds Abisare in Larsa

Reign of Bur-Sin in Isin - 2260-2281 AM (1798-1777 BC)

 * 2261 AM 1797 Sumu-Abum of Babylon seizes wall of Ilip.
 * 2263 AM 1795 Egypt fights a war with Canaan (Book of Jubilees)
 * 2263 AM 1795 Sumuel of Larsa sacks Akusum & Kazallu
 * 2264 AM 1794 Sumuel of Larsa defeats Uruk;
 * 2267 AM 1791 Sumuel of Larsa sacks Pinaratim; Azagan pharaoh in Kush.
 * 2269 AM 1789 Sumuel of Larsa seizes Sabum and villages on Euphrates;
 * 2270 AM 1788 Sumuel of Larsa defeats Kish;
 * 2271 AM 1787 Sumu-Abum of Babylon seizes Kazallu, defeats Larsa
 * 2273 AM 1785 Sumulael succeeds Sumu-Abum in Babylon,
 * 2274 AM 1784 Sumuel of Larsa defeats Kazallu;
 * 2275 AM 1783 Sumuel of Larsa seizes town of Nannaisha
 * 2275 AM 1783 Sumulael of Babylon defeats Kazallu.
 * 2276 AM 1782 Puzur-asshur II in Asshur
 * 2277 AM 1781 ? Manalbaltiel becomes independent king of Kisurra.
 * 2281 AM 1777 Sumulael of Babylon sacks Kish.

Reign of Lipit-Enlil in Isin 2281-2286 AM (1777-1772 BC)

 * 2284 AM 1774 Naram-sin in Asshur.
 * 2286 AM 1772 Sumulael of Babylon drives Yahzirel from Kazallu

Reign of Erra-Imiti in Isin 2286-2294 AM (1772-1764 BC)

 * 2287 AM 1771 Sumulael of Babylon destroys wall of Kish.
 * 2288 AM 1770 Sumulael of Babylon defeats Kazallu
 * 2289 AM 1769 Sumuel of Larsa sacks Umma
 * 2290 AM 1768 BC Nur-Adad succeeds Sumuel in Larsa
 * 2290 AM 1768 Erra-Immiti of Isin seizes Kisurra
 * 2291 AM 1743 Erra-Immiti of Isin destroys wall of Kazallu
 * 2292 AM 1766 ? Aminum of Unina takes Shadappum
 * 2293 AM 1765 Sumulael of Babylon defeats Yahzirel
 * 2293 AM 1765 Sin-abum of ? takes Sit.

Reign of Enlil-Bani 2294-2317 AM (1764-1741 BC)

 * c. 1764 BC - Lakendun Nowerari in Ethiopia.
 * c. 1761 BC - Susel Atozanis in Kush.
 * 2298 AM 1760 Ipiq-adad k. in Eshnunna
 * 2300 AM 1758 Aminum defeats Ipiq-adad.
 * 2302 AM 1756 Ipiq-adad defeats Aminum.
 * 2303 AM 1755 Ipiq-adad takes Ziquratum.
 * 2306 AM 1752 Siniddinam succeeds Nur-Adad in Larsa
 * 2309 AM 1749 Siniddinam of Larsa defeats Babylon. Sabium succeds Sumulael in Babylon.
 * 2310 AM 1748 Siniddinam of Larsa seizes Ibrat, Malgium.
 * 2311 AM 1747 Siniddinam of Larsa sacks Eshnunna
 * 2312 AM 1746 Siniddinam of Larsa seizes Nippur. ? Shamshi-adad b.
 * 2313 AM 1745 Sineribam succeeds Siniddinam in Larsa. ? Aminum of Unina dies; eclipse.
 * 2314 AM 1744 Sabium of Babylon defeats Larsa.
 * 2315 AM 1743 Siniqisham succeeds Sineribam in Larsa
 * 2316 AM 1742 Siniqisham of Larsa seizes Pinaratim, Nazarum.
 * c. 1741 - Amen II in Kush.

Reign of Zambia in Isin 2317-2319 AM (1741-1739 BC)

 * 2324 AM 1740 ? Asshur? takes Hupshum
 * 2319 AM 1739 Siniqisham of Larsa defeats Kazallu, Babylon, Elam, & Zambia of Isin.

Reign of Iterpisha in Isin 2319-2322 AM (1739-1736 BC)

 * 2320 AM 1738 Silli-Adad succeeds Siniqisham in Larsa
 * 2321 AM 1737 Silli-Adad removed from throne of Larsa; Kudur-Mabug of Elam places his son Warad-Sin on throne of Larsa

Reign of Urdukuga of Isin - 2322-2325 AM (1736-1733 BC)

 * 2323 AM 1735 Warad-Sin destroys wall of Kazallu and army of Mutibal
 * 2323 AM 1735 Apil-Sin succeeds Sabium in Babylon. Ilakabkabu of ? takes Suprum.
 * 2324 AM - 1734 Elam defeats Ipiq-adad of Eshnunna; Shamshi-adad k. in ?; Tutemheb in Ethiopia

Reign of Sin-Magir of Isin 2325-2335 AM (1733-1723)

 * 2326 AM - 1732 Lullu defeat king in Lazapatum
 * 2327 AM - 1731 Ipiq-adad takes Arrapha
 * 2328 AM - 1730 Ipiq-adad takes Gasur
 * 2329 AM - 1729 Ipiq-adad takes Sin-abushi of Nerebtum
 * 2330 AM - 1728 Moses born in Egypt
 * 2331 AM - 1727 Ipiq-adad takes Nerebtum
 * 2332 AM - 1726 Shamshi-adad defeats Unina; Rim-Sin succeeds Warad-Sin in Larsa; Ramenpahte in Kush
 * 2334 AM - 1724 Shamshi-adad takes Ekallatum

Reign of Damiq-Ilishu of Isin - 2335-2357 AM (1723-1701 BC)
(He is the last independent king of Isin)


 * 2337 AM - 1721 Shamshi-adad sacks Asshur; Erishum 2 in Asshur. Ipiq-adad of Eshnunna d.
 * 2340 AM - 1718 Damiq-Ilishu takes Nippur from Larsa
 * 2341 AM = 1717 BC - Sin-Muballit succeeds Apil-Sin in Babylon.
 * c. 1714 BC - Herhator I in Ethiopia.
 * 2345 AM 1713 - Rim-Sin of Larsa smites Babylon, Sutum, Rapiqum, and Irdanene king of Uruk.
 * 2346 AM 1712 - Rim-Sin seizes Pinaratim and Nazarum; Shamshi-adad I king in Asshur.
 * 2348 AM - (1710) Rim-Sin seizes Zibnatum. 1715 Shamshi-adad returns from Babylon.
 * 2349 AM - 1709 Rim-Sin seizes Bit-Shu-Sin and Uzarbara
 * 2351 AM - 1707 Rim-Sin annexes Kisurra, destroys Der.
 * 2352 AM - 1706 Rim-Sin destroys Uruk; Wanuna, Piori I in Kush
 * 2354 AM - 1704 Sin-Muballit of Babylon defeats Rim-Sin of Larsa;
 * 2356 AM - 1702 Rim-Sin seizes a city of Damiq-Ilishu of Isin
 * 2357 AM - 1701 Sin-Muballit of Babylon captures Isin


 * 2359 AM - 1699 Shamshi-adad of Asshur def. Yahdun-lim of Mari, 11 others
 * 2360-61 AM 1698-97 - Rim-Sin of Larsa conquers Isin

Reign of Hammurabi of Babylon - 2361-2404 AM (1697-1654 BC)
Although Isin finally falls to Larsa, in that same year the famous king Hammurabi succeeds Sin-Muballit in Babylon, and soon grows to be the paramount power in Mesopotamia.


 * 2362 AM - 1696 famous Law Code of Hammurabi is proclaimed. The last major law-code had been that of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin, in 2234 AM.
 * c. 1694 - Ityopis II in Ethiopia
 * 2367 AM - 1691 Hammurabi of Babylon seizes Uruk and Isin from Larsa; Rama of India fights Piori I of Kush
 * 2369 AM - 1689 Dadusha takes Meturan
 * 2370 AM - 1688 Hammurabi defeats Malgium
 * 2371 AM - 1687 Hammurabi seizes Rapiqum, Shalibi
 * 2372 AM - 1686 Qatna-Asshur alliance; Shamshi-adad appoints son Yasma-adad in Mari
 * 2373 AM - 1685 Shamshi-adad takes Qabra
 * 2374 AM - 1684 Shamshi-adad defeats Ahazum, etc.
 * 2375 AM - 1683 Shamshi-adad defeats Turukkeans; Yasma-adad k. of Mari defeats Yaminites, unifies banks of Euphrates
 * 2378 AM - 1680 Ishme-dagan in Asshur (= Ham 17)
 * 2388 AM - 1670 Ashur-dugul in Ashur
 * 2390 AM - 1668 Hammurabi defeats Elam, Marhashi, Subartu, Gutium, Eshnunna and Malgium.
 * 2391 AM - 1667 Hammurabi defeats Rim-Sin of Larsa
 * 2392 AM - 1666 Hammurabi defeats Eshnunna, Subartu, Gutium, and conquers Mankisum.
 * 2393 AM - 1665 Hammurabi conquers Mari, Malgium, Subartu, Ekallatum, Burunda, Zamlash.
 * 2394 AM - 1664 Belubani in Ashur; Senuka in Ethiopia
 * 2397 AM - 1661 Hammurabi defeats Gutium, Sutum, Turukku, and Kakmu and the land of Subartu.
 * 2399 AM - 1659 Hammurabi defeats Cutha, Subartu.

Reign of Samsu-iluna of Babylon -2404-2442 AM (1654-1616 BC)

 * 2404 AM (1654) Libaya in Ashur
 * 2410 AM = 1648 BC - Exodus of Israelites from Egypt
 * 2411 AM - 1647 Israel, led by Moses, is at Sinai, Kadesh. Bonu in Ethiopia.
 * 2412 AM - 1646 Samsu-iluna of Babylon defeats the Kassites, a new Zagros entity.
 * 2413 AM 1645 - Samsu-iluna defeats Emutbal, Uruk, Isin
 * 2414 AM 1644 - Samsu-iluna defeats rebellion in Akkad, destroys Larsa
 * 2415 AM 1643 - Samsu-Iluna defeats Sumer and Akkad
 * 2416 AM 1642 - Samsu-Iluna destroys Kisurra and Sabum
 * c. 1639 BC - Q. Mumazes in Ethiopia
 * 2420 AM 1638 - Sharma-adad 1 in Ashur
 * 2423 AM 1635 - Samsu-Iluna smites Eshnunna. Aruas, Amen Asro in Ethiopia.
 * 2426 AM 1632 - Samsu-Iluna destroys Shahna, Apum, Zarhanum, Putra, and Susa.
 * 2431 AM 1627 - Samsu-iluna defeats kings Iadihabum and Mutihurshan
 * 2432 AM - (1626 BC) Iptar-sin in Ashur
 * 2439 AM - 1619 Samsu-Iluna subdues Amorites

Reign of Abieshuh of Babylon - 2442-2470 AM (1616-1588 BC)

 * 2443 AM 1615 - Bazaya in Ashur
 * 2445 AM - 1613 Abieshuh of Babylon defeats the Kassites
 * 2449 AM 1609 - Moses of Israel seizes Heshbon, Bashan.
 * 2450-2456 AM - 1608-1602 BC Joshua begins Israelite conquest of Canaan
 * 2451 AM (1607 BC) - Abieshuh seizes Adnatum;
 * c. 1605 BC - Ori II in Eth.
 * 2469 AM 1589 - Abieshuh defeats Eshnunna

Reign of Ammi-Ditana of Babylon - 2470-2508 AM (1588-1551 BC)

 * 2470 AM (1588 BC) Lulaya in Ashur
 * 2476 AM (1582 BC) Shu-ninua in Ashur
 * c. 1575 BC - Piori II in Eth.
 * 2490 AM (1568 BC) 2 Sharma-adad in Ashur
 * 2493 AM (1565 BC) 3 Erishum in Ashur
 * 2494 AM = 1564 BC death of Joshua; Kenaz judge in Israel (Philo)
 * c. 1560 BC - Amenemhat I in Eth.
 * 2505 AM (1553) - 2 Shamshi-adad in Ashur
 * 2507 AM (1551 BC) - Ammi-Ditana of Babylon destroys wall of Der.

Reign of Ammi-Saduqa of Babylon - 2508-2528 AM (1551-1530 BC)

 * 2511 AM (1547 BC) 2 Ishme-dagan in Ashur
 * 2527 AM (1531 BC) 3 Shamshi-adad in Ashur

Reign of Samsu-Ditana of Babylon - 2528-2559 AM (1530-1499 BC)

 * c. 1520 BC - Tsawi in Ethiopia.
 * 2542 AM (1516 BC) Ashur-nirari 1 in Ashur
 * 2551 AM (1507 BC) Zebul judge in Israel (Philo)
 * c. 1505 BC - Aktisanis in Eth.
 * 2559 AM (1499 BC) - Hittite king Mursili I sacks Babylon; beginning of Kassite rule in Babylon, renamed Karanduniash.

After sack of Babylon

 * 2559 AM (1499 BC) Agum (Kassite) duke in Babylon / Karanduash
 * c. 1495 BC - Mandes in Eth.
 * 2568 AM (1490 BC) Puzur-assur 3 in Ashur
 * c. 1478 BC - Protawos in Eth.
 * 2592 AM (1466 BC) Enlil-nasir 1 in Assyria
 * 2600 AM (1458 BC) - Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram subjects Israel
 * 2600 AM (1458 BC) Ulamburiash in Karanduash
 * 2604 AM (1454 BC) Nur-ili in Asshur
 * 2608 AM (1450 BC) - Othniel of Israel defeats Aram
 * c. 1445 BC - Amoy in Eth.
 * 2616 AM (1442 BC) Ashur-rabi 1 in Asshur
 * c. 1424 BC - Konsi Hindawi in Eth.
 * 2635 AM (1423 BC) Enlil-nasir 2 in Assyria
 * c. 1419 BC - Bonu II in Eth.
 * 2641 AM (1417 BC) Ashur-nirari II in Assyria; Sebe III Kefe in Eth.
 * 2648 AM (1410 BC) Ashur-bel-nisheshu in Assyria
 * 2648 AM (1410 BC) - Eglon of Moab subjects Israel
 * 2656 AM (1402 BC) Ashur-rem-nisheshu in Assyria; Djagons in Eth.
 * 2664 AM (1394 BC) Ashur-nadin-ahhe II in Assyria
 * 2666 AM (1392 BC) - Ehud of Israel defeats Moab

Ehud and Shamgar judge in Israel; Period of Amarna letters


 * 2674 AM (1384 BC) Eriba-adad I in Assyria
 * c. 1382 BC - Senuka II in Eth.
 * 2683 AM (1375 BC) Kadashman-enlil 1 in Karanduash
 * c. 1372 BC - Angabo I in Eth.
 * 2699 AM (1359 BC) Burnaburiash 2 in Karanduash
 * 2700 AM (1358 BC) Ashur-uballit I in Assyria
 * 2707 AM (1351 BC) Amarna letter EA 17
 * 2722 AM (1336 BC} Tutankhamen in Egypt
 * 2725 AM (1333 BC) Kadashman-harbe, Nazi-bugu in Karanduash; *2726 AM (1332 BC) Ashur-uballit appoints Kurigalzu II in Karanduash
 * 2731 AM (1327 BC) Ay in Egypt
 * 2735 AM (1323 BC) Enlil-nirani in Assyria; defeats Kurigalzu; Horemheb in Egypt.
 * 2736 AM (1322 BC) Arnuwanda II, Mursili II in Hatti. Miamur, Helena in Eth.
 * 2744 AM (1314 BC) - Arik-den-ili in Assyria
 * 2746 AM (1312 BC) - Jabin of Hazor subjects Israel
 * c. 1311 BC - Zagdur I in Eth.
 * 2751 AM (1307 BC) Nazi-marutash in Karanduash
 * 2756 AM (1302 BC) - Adad-nirari I in Assyria
 * 2763 AM (1295 BC) Ramses I in Egypt; Muwatalli II in Hatti
 * 2764 AM (1294 BC) Seti I in Egypt
 * 2766 AM (1292 BC) - Deborah and Barak of Israel defeat Hazor
 * 2777 AM (1281 BC) Adad-nirari defeats Nazi-marutash. Kadashman-turgu in Karanduash
 * 2780 AM (1278 BC) Battle of Kadesh
 * c. 1271 BC - Herhator II in Eth.
 * 2788 AM (1270 BC) Shalmaneser I in Assyria
 * 2789 AM (1269 BC) Hattushili III in Hatti
 * 2794 AM (1264 BC) Kadashman-enlil II in Karanduash; Shalmaneser sacks Mitanni.
 * 2803 AM (1255 BC) Kudur-enlil in Karanduash
 * 2806 AM (1252 BC) - Midian subjects Israel
 * 2813 AM (1245 BC) Shagarakti-shuriash in Karanduash
 * 2813 AM (1245 BC) - Gideon of Israel defeats Midian
 * 2817 AM (1241 BC) - Tukulti-ninurta I in Assyria; Tudhaliya IV in Hatti; Herhator III in Eth.
 * c. 1240 BC - Akate in Eth.
 * 2826 AM (1232 BC) Kashtiliash 4 in Karanduash
 * 2833 AM (1225 BC) Tukulti-ninurta defeats Karanduash; places Enlil-nadin-shum viceroy in Karanduash (Tuk 19)
 * 2834 AM (1224 BC) Kadashman-harbe 2, viceroy in Karanduash
 * 2836 AM (1222 BC) Adad-shum-idina viceroy in Karanduash
 * c. 1220 - Titon Satio in Eth.
 * 2842 AM (1216 BC) Adad-shum-usur in Karanduash; Merenptah in Egypt
 * c. 1210 BC - Hermantu, Amenemhet II in Eth.
 * 2849 AM (1209 BC) Arnuwanda 3 in Hatti
 * 2851 AM (1207 BC) - Seti II in Egypt; Supiluliuma II in Hatti
 * 2853 AM (1205 BC) - Ashur-nadin-apli in Assyria; King Abimilech of Israel; Konsab I in Eth.
 * 2856 AM (1202 BC) - Tola judge in Israel
 * 2857 AM (1201 BC) - Ashur-nirari III in Assyria
 * c. 1200 BC - Sannib in Eth.
 * 2862 AM (1196 BC) Enlil-kudurri-usur in Assyria, defeats Karanduash;
 * c. 1195 BC - Senuka III in Eth.
 * 2866 AM (1192 BC) - Ramses III in Egypt
 * 2867 AM (1191 BC) - Ninurta-apal-ekur in Assyria
 * c. 1190 BC - Angabo II in Eth.
 * 2872 AM (1186 BC) - Meli-shipak in Karanduash
 * 2873 AM (1185 BC) - Trojan war; downfall of Hatti
 * 2879 AM (1179 BC) - Jair judge in Israel;
 * 2880 AM (1178 BC) - Ashur-dan I in Assyria
 * 2887 AM (1171 BC) - Marduk-apla-idina in Karanduash
 * 2897 AM (1161 BC) - Ramses IV in Egypt
 * 2900 AM (1158 BC) - Zababa-shum-idina in Karanduash
 * 2901 AM (1157 BC) - Enlil-nadin-ahe in Karanduash
 * 2901 AM (1157 BC) - Ammonites, Philistines subject Israel
 * 2903 AM (1155 BC) - Kassites overthrown by Shutruk-Nahunte of Elam
 * 2904 AM (1154 BC) - Ramses 5 in Egypt; Marduk-kabit-ahesu in Babylon
 * 2907 AM (1151 BC) - Ramses 6 in Egypt
 * c. 1150 BC - Amen Astate in Eth.
 * 2914 AM (1144 BC) - Ramses 7 in Egypt
 * 2918 AM (1140 BC) - Iti-Marduk-Belatu in Babylon
 * 2919 AM (1139 BC) - Jepthah of Israel defeats Ammonites
 * 2921 AM (1137 BC) - Ramses 8, 9 in Egypt
 * 2925 AM (1133 BC) - Ibzan of Israel; Ninurta-tukulti-asshur, Muttakil-Nusku in Assyria
 * 2926 AM (1132 BC) - Ashur-resh-ishi in Assyria; Ninurta-nadin-shumi in Babylon
 * 2932 AM (1126 BC) - Nebuchadnezzar I in Babylon
 * 2933 AM (1125 BC) - Elon of Israel
 * c. 1120 BC - Herhor in Eth.
 * 2939 AM (1119 BC) - Ramses 10 in Egypt
 * 2942 AM (1116 BC) - Ramses 11 in Egypt
 * 2943 AM (1115 BC) - Abdon of Israel
 * 2944 AM (1114 BC) - Tiglath-Pileser I in Assyria
 * 2951 AM (1107 BC) - Philistines subject Israel under Samson
 * 2954 AM (1104 BC) - Enlil-nadin-apli in Babylon; Wiyankihi in Eth.
 * 2958 AM (1100 BC) - Marduk-nadin-ahhe in Babylon
 * c. 1095 BC - Pinotsem I in Eth.
 * 2971 AM (1087 BC) - Israel under Eli, still trib. to Philistines
 * 2976 AM (1082 BC) - Marduk-shapik-zeri in Babylon
 * c. 1078 BC - Pinotsem II in Eth.
 * 2983 AM (1075 BC) - Ashared-apil-ekur in Assyria
 * 2985 AM (1073 BC) - Ashur-bel-kala in Assyria
 * 2996 AM (1068 BC) - Philistines capture Ark
 * 2997 AM (1067 BC) - Samuel defeats Philistines; Ark moves to Kiryat
 * 2993 AM (1065 BC) - Adad-apla-iddina in Babylon
 * 3003 AM (1055 BC) - Eriba-adad 2 in Assyria
 * 3005 AM (1053 BC) - Shamshi-adad 4 in Assyria
 * 3009 AM (1049 BC) - Ashurnasirpal I in Assyria
 * 3011 AM (1047 BC) - King Saul of Israel; Marduk-ahhe-eriba in Babylon
 * 3012 AM (1046 BC) - Marduk-zer-... in Babylon
 * c. 1037 BC - Massaherta in Eth.
 * 3024 AM (1034 BC) - Nabu-shum-libur in Babylon
 * 3028 AM (1030 BC) - Shalmaneser II in Babylon
 * 3032 AM (1026 BC) - Sunbar-shipak in Babylon
 * c. 1021 BC - Ramenkopern in Eth.
 * 3040 AM (1018 BC) - Ashur-nirari 4 in Assyria
 * 3046 AM (1012 BC) - Ashur-rabi II in Assyria
 * 3049 AM (1009 BC) - Osorkhon in Egypt
 * 3050 AM (1008 BC - Ea-mukin-zeri in Babylon
 * 3051 AM (1007 BC) - David king in Hebron; Kassu-nadin-ahhe in Babylon; Pinotsem III in Eth.
 * 3053 AM (1005 BC) - Eulma-shakin-shumi in Babylon
 * 3058 AM (1000 BC) - David king in Jerusalem; Sabi IV in Eth.
 * c. 990 BC - Twasaya Dews in Eth.
 * 3070 AM (988 BC) - Ninurta-kudurri-usur 1 in Babylon
 * 3073 AM (985 BC) - Siriki-shuqamuna in Babylon
 * 3074 AM (984 BC) - Mar-biti-apla-usur in Babylon
 * 3079 AM (979 BC) - Nabu-mukin-apli in Babylon
 * c. 977 BC - Q. Makeda in Eth.
 * 3087 AM (971 BC) - Ashur-resh-ishi II in Assyria
 * 3091 AM (967 BC) - Solomon of Israel
 * 3092 AM (966 BC) - Tiglath-pileser II in Assyria
 * 3094 AM (964 BC) - Temple built
 * 3099 AM (959 BC) - Orsokhon I in Egypt
 * c. 946 BC - Minelik I in Eth.
 * 3115 AM (943 BC) - Nimurta-kudurri-usur 2 in Babylon
 * 3116 AM (942 BC) - Mar-biti-ahhe-idin in Babylon
 * 3124 AM (934 BC) - Ashur-dan II in Assyria
 * 3130 AM (928 BC) - Rehoboam, Jeroboam
 * 3134 AM (924 BC) - Sheshank II in Egypt
 * 3136 AM (922 BC) - Takelot I in Egypt
 * c. 3144 AM (c. 914 BC) - Shamash-mudammiq in Babylon
 * 3147 AM (911 BC - Adad-Nirari II in Assyria
 * 3147 AM (911 BC) - Abijam in Judah
 * 3149 AM (909 BC) - Asa in Judah; Osorkhon II in Egypt
 * 3150 AM (908 BC) - Nadab in Israel
 * 3151 AM (907 BC) - Baasha in Israel
 * 3159 AM (899 BC) - Nabu-shum-ukin in Babylon
 * 3168 AM (890 BC) - Tikulti-Ninurta II in Assyria
 * 3171 AM (887 BC) - Nabu-apla-iddina in Babylon
 * 3174 AM (884 BC) - Elah in Israel
 * 3175 AM (883 BC) - Zimri; Tibni vs. Omri in Israel. Ashurnasirpal II in Assyria.
 * 3179 AM (879 BC) - Omri alone in Israel
 * 3186 AM (872 BC) - Ahab in Israel
 * 3189 AM (869 BC) - Jehoshaphat in Judah
 * 3193 AM (865 BC) - Takelot II in Egypt
 * 3200 AM (858 BC) - Shalmaneser 3 in Assyria
 * 3204 AM (854 BC) - Marduk-zakir-shumi I in Babylon
 * 3205 AM (853 BC) - Ahab fights Shalmaneser 3 of Assyria, dies fighting Ben-Hadad of Aram and is succeeded by Ahaziah in Israel
 * 3206 AM (852 BC) - Joram in Israel
 * 3210 AM (848 BC) - Jehoram in Judah
 * 3217 AM (841 BC) - Ahaziah, Athaliah in Judah; Jehu in Israel, pays tribute to Shalmaneser 3
 * 3223 AM (835 BC) - Joash in Judah
 * 3235 AM (823 BC) - Shamshi-adad 5 in Assyria
 * 3240 AM (818 BC) - Marduk-balassu-iqbi in Babylon
 * 3244 AM (814 BC) - Joahaz in Israel
 * 3246 AM (812 BC) - Baba-ah-idina in Babylon
 * 3248 AM (810 BC) - Adad-nerari III in Assyria
 * 3258 AM (800 BC) - Joash in Israel (not the same); Sheshank 4 in Egypt
 * 3259 AM (799 BC) - Amaziah in Judah
 * 3273 AM (785 BC) - Jeroboam 2 in Israel
 * 3276 AM (782 BC) - Shalmaneser 4 in Assyria; Sheshank 5 in Egypt
 * 3286 AM (772 BC) - Ashur-dan 3 in Assyria
 * 3287 AM (771 BC) - Azariah in Judah
 * 3298 AM (760 BC) - Nabu-shum-ishkun in Babylon
 * 3310 AM (748 BC) - Zechariah in Israel
 * 3311 AM (747 BC) - Shallum, Menahem in Israel; Nabonassar in Babylon
 * 3313 AM (745 BC) - Tiglath-pileser III in Assyria
 * 3320 AM (738 BC) - Menahem pays tribute to Tiglath-Pilesar 3 of Assyria; Pekahiah succeeds him in Israel
 * 3321 AM (737 BC) - Pekah in Israel
 * 3322 AM (736 BC) - Jotham in Judah
 * 3323 AM (735 BC) - Ahaz in Judah
 * 3325 AM (733 BC) - Nabu-nadin-zeri in Babylon
 * 3326 AM (732 BC) - Hoshea in Israel
 * 3327 AM (731 BC) - Nabu-mukin-zeri in Babylon
 * 3332 AM (726 BC) - Shalmaneser 5 in Assyria; Ululayu in Babylon
 * 3337 AM (721 BC) - Sargon of Assyria defeats Israel, takes Samaria