Erishum I

Who is Erishum I?

Erišu I son of Ilu-šuma, was the ruler of Assyria ca. 1905-1867 BC or 1974–1935 BC, the 33rd to appear on the Assyrian kinglist and reigned for 40 years. He titled himself: "Aššur is king, Erišum is vice-regent" and Išši’ak Aššurᵏⁱ, “governor of Assyria,” at a time when the small city state seems to have been controlled by an oligarchy of the patriarchs of the prominent families and subject to the “judgment of the city,” or dīn alim. The most significant event of his reign was the establishment of distant trading posts, kārum, in central Anatolia, the best known being that located at Kültepe, ancient Kaneš, as the city’s merchant family firms vigorously pursued commercial expansion.