Aur-bel-nieu, inscribed mda-ur-EN-UN.ME--ú,[i 2][i 3][i 4] and meaning (the god) Aur (is) lord of his people,[1] was the ruler of Assyria from 14171409 BC or 14071398 BC (short chronology), the variants due to uncertainties in the later chronology. He succeeded his father, Aur-nerari II, to the throne and is best known for his treaty with Kassite king Karainda.
Biography
As was the practice during this period of the Assyrian monarchy, he modestly titled himself vice-regent, or ii'ak Aur, of the god Ashur.[2] The Synchronistic Chronicle[i 5] records his apparently amicable territorial treaty with Karainda, king of Babylon, and recounts that they took an oath together concerning this very boundary.[3]:158 His numerous clay cone inscriptions (line art for an example pictured) celebrate his re-facing of Puzur-Aur IIIs wall of the New City district of Assur.[2]
Contemporary legal documents detail sales of land, houses, and slaves and payment in lead. The Assyrian credit system was fairly sophisticated, with loans issued for commodities such as barley and lead, interest coming due when repayment way delayed. The security posted for loans could include property, the person of the debtor or indeed his children.[4]
There is a discrepancy over his son and eventual successor. The Assyrian King Lists give his immediate successor, Aur-raim-nieu, as his son but Aur-raim-nieu's own contemporary inscription[i 6] names his father as Aur-nerari II, suggesting that he may have been a brother of Aur-bel-nieu. The confusion is further compounded with the Khorsabad Kinglist[i 3] and the SDAS Kinglist[i 4] identifying Eriba-Adad I, who ascended the throne eighteen years later, as his son[3]:209 while the Nassouhi copy[i 2] identifies him as the son of Aur-raim-nieu
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