Hi Michael & all,
The Middle Assyrian archive at Tell Huwera is very inferior compared to the extensive one at Tell Seh Hamad. Not a single limu-year should be unrepresented at Tell Seh Hamad from before the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta's reign to the end of the archive. Below I give my latest arrangement (subject to changes) which sticks closely to Freydank 2009. As you know, my regnal year assignments are based on the royal limu-year of Tukulti-Ninurta I being the first limu in KAV 21-24.
A = Limus documented at Tell Seh Hamad (Dur-Katlimmu)
B = Limus documented at Tell Huwera (here only the limus from Ellil-nadin-apli onward are listed)
C = Middle Assyrian Months
1 Ištar-eriš A
2 Lullayu A
3 Aššur-ketti-ide A
4 Ekaltayu A
5 Aššur-da'issunu A
6 Riš-Adad A
7 Nabu-bela-usur A
8 Usat-Marduk A
9 Ellil-ašared A
10 Ittabši-den-Aššur A
11 Aššur-nadin-apli A
12 Ubru A
13 TUKULTI-NINURTA I A
14 Qibi-Aššur A Qibi-Aššur, sukallu rabi'u
15 Mušallim-Adad A
16 Adad-bel-gabbe A
17 Šunu-qardu A
18 Libur-zanin-Aššur A
19 Aššur-nadin-apli A
20 Urad-ilani A
21 Adad-uma''i A
22 Abattu A
23 Abattu A
24 Aššur-da''an A
25 Etel-pi-Aššur A Aššur-iddin, sukkallu
26 Usur-namkur-šarri A Aššur-iddin, sukkallu
27 Aššur-bel-ilani A
28 Aššur-zera-iddina A Aššur-iddin, sukkallu rabi'u
29 Ellil-nadin-apli A B
30 Ina-Aššur-šuma-asbat A Aššur-iddin, sukkallu rabi'u
31 Ber-nadin-apli A
32 Ber-išmanni A B
33 Abili s. Katiri A Šalmanu-mušabši, sukkallu rabi'u
34 Salmanu-šuma-usur A Šalmanu-mušabši, sukkallu rabi'u
35 Kaštiliašu B
36 Ili-pada (sukkallu?)
C
(?) Tukulti-Ninurta's letter to the Hittite king complaining about the loss of Karduniaš (KBo 28:61-64).
(?) Hittite and other foreign dignitaries visit Aššur to discuss the Assyrian king's plans to recapture Karduniaš.
(?) Because of "evil" acts planned against Karduniaš Aššur-nadin-apli makes secret plans to depose his father (Chronicle P iv 9-12).
(8) Ša-šarate ?: Aššur-iddin s. U. told to notify Tukulti-Ninurta about word of sedition (MARV IV, 116).
37 Ninu'ayu B Šalmanu-mušabši, sukkallu rabi'u
C
(2) Qarratu 11: Provisions for the diplomat from Hatti issued by Šalmanu-mušabši.
(3) Kalmartu 20: Provisions for the diplomats of Sidon and Amurru issued by Šalmanu-mušabši.
(?) Ili-pada (in Aššur) is nominated to replace Šalmanu-mušabši as sukkallu rabi'u of Hanigalbat.
(5) Kuzallu 22: Provisions for the diplomat from Hatti issued by Sin-mušallim (mayor of Harbe).
(8) Ša-šarate 11: Usur-namkur-šarri threatened to notify Tukulti-Ninurta about word of sedition (MARV [I], 17).
(8) Ša-šarate ?: Tukulti-Ninurta dethroned and imprisoned at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.
(8) Ša-šarate 21: Provisions for the diplomat of (name lost) issued by Sin-mušallim (mayor of Harbe).
1 ša urki Ninu'ayu = Year 1 and/or Year 2 Aššur-nadin-apli (see below). The limu-year was eventually given its own name -- Qarrad-Aššur?
C
(?) The day of the execution of Tukulti-Ninurta I at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta (scheduled ahead of time?).
(?) T 02-32; Ili-pada to Ubru: "Why did he (Mannu-ki-Adad) not come? Kings of other countries came here and mourned;
why did he not come, he not mourn the dead one (Tukulti-Ninurta) and meet the living one (Aššur-nadin-apli)?"
2 Urad-Kube
3 Erib-Sin
1 UDbu
2 AŠŠUR-NIRARI III
3 Šalmanu-A.PAP
4
5
6
Note that I do not place limus within the reign of Tukutli-Ninurta on the basis of merely being attested at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta because Donbaz has explained that Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta continued to function even after the death of its founder.
As stated in Chronicle P, Tukulti-Ninurta was first arrested and imprisoned before being put to death. In most cases one would assume that the murder of a great king of Assyria would not be dared unless absolutely certain of a successful outcome. Thus I think it wise to infer, as others have in the past, that not a few days must have intervened between the arrest and the killing. This is based on the explicit statement that Aššur-nadin-apli began his reign "during the lifetime" of his father:
"During the lifetime of Tukulti-Ninurta, Aššur-nadin-apli, his son, took the throne. He reigned 3 years. Aššur-nirari, son of Aššur-nasir-apli, reigned 6 years" (Khors. List iii 21-23).
After the arrest is the most likely time Aššur-nadin-apli would have eliminated remaining loyalists of his father's government. He thus went about consolidating and legitimizing his authority, and, in my opinion, he would have received at least one foreign diplomat coming to Aššur to learn of the situation first-hand and to formally acknowledge him as the new king of Assyria. Only after Aššur-nadin-apli secured his throne with the necessary aliances in place (at home and abroad) would he have then sent executioners to Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta to have his father put to death.
The above scenario too can explain the conflicting reign length figures for Aššur-nadin-apli, i.e. 3 years when counting the terminal Year 37 as the "accession year", but 4 years total if Year 37 is counted as Year 1. Hence both figures in the Assyrian king-list tradition (3 and 4) can probably be accepted as accurate for Aššur-nadin-apli.
As always, I only offer plausible and probable hypothetical reconstructions of chronology this far back in time.
Obviously, though history only happened one way, the sources can be interpreted in a number of different ways. That is why I (and Freydank) feel it is still too early to publish any ideas as definitive, a lessoned we can all learn from the example set by Freydank.
Very unfortunate that with the discovery of so many limu dated tablets in different Middle Assyrian archives not a single canonical Middle Assyrian limu-list to guide us. Just how did those people expect future generations to have an accurate understanding of the passage of years over large spans of time if most of the limu-lists in this period were made of perishable media?
Regards Tory