What is "apiashal"

Apiashal had been an early monarch ( fl. c. 2205 BCE — c. 2192 BCE) of the Early Period of Aššūrāyu (Assyria) according to the Assyrian King List (AKL). He is listed within the section of the AKL as the last of whom, "altogether seventeen kings, tent dwellers." This section shows marked similarities to the ancestors of the First Babylonian Dynasty. The AKL also states that Apiashal had been preceded by his father Ushpia ( fl. c. 2218 BCE — c. 2205 BCE.) Additionally, the AKL states that Apiashal had been succeeded by his son Hale ( fl. c. 2192 BCE — c. 2179 BCE.)

Apiashal is also listed within a section of the AKL as the first out of the ten, "kings whose fathers are known.” This section (which in contrast to the rest of the list) had been written in reverse order—beginning with Aminu ( fl. c. 2088 BCE — c. 2075 BCE.) and ending with Apiashal, "altogether ten kings who are ancestors"—has often been interpreted as the list of ancestors of the Amorite Šamši-Adad I ( fl. c. 1754 BCE — c. 1721 BCE) who had conquered the city-state of Aššur. In keeping with this assumption, scholars have inferred that the original form of the Assyrian King List had been written (among other things) as an, “attempt to justify that Šamši-Adad I was a legitimate ruler of the city-state Aššur and to obscure his non-Assyrian antecedents by incorporating his ancestors into a native Assyrian genealogy.” However, this interpretation has not been accepted universally; the Cambridge Ancient History rejected this interpretation and instead interpreted the section as being that of the ancestors of Sulili ( fl. c. 2075 BCE — c. 2062 BCE.) Very little is otherwise known of Apiashal's reign.