Abstract
Dendrochronological data and greater precision in the relative chronology between Babylonia and Assyria have led to the reopening of the discussion about Mesopotamian chronology in the 2nd millennium BC. The article makes four points. First, the arguments for the standard chronologies based upon the data of the Venus Tablets are robust. Counterarguments are found wanting. Second, once likely errors are taken into account, there is a natural recording procedure for which the Lower Middle Chronology is in accordance with the data. Third, among the four standard chronologies only the Lower Middle Chronology can easily satisfy the constraint provided by the eclipse record of the Mari Eponym Chronicle. Finally, this chronology is also in exact agreement with the widespread record of a volcanic eruption in 1628/27 BC.
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