Assyrian Limmu Lists

Starting in the Old Assyrian Period, the Assyrian king chose a limmu (a.k.a. eponymous magistrate) for each year. This distributed authority, allowing the limmu to perform certain cultic acts. Records listing each year and its limmu are critical for reconstructing Assyrian chronology. The limmuship rotated amidst Assyrian noble families and sometimes even the king himself. The limmu tradition continued through the period of decline (~1050 BCE - 934 BCE) separating the Middle and the Neo-Assyrian Period; only limmuships from ~892 BCE - ~648 BCE have been reconstructed.