For decennia the study of Old Assyrian trade, whose records were dated by means of Assyrian year eponyms (limum), has struggled with chronological problems. In the absence of a list of such eponyms there was uncertainty about the time when the trade started, about the level II period of karum Kanish, and about the duration of the interval before the resumption of the archives, the periods of activity of the various tradeduring level Ib of karum Kanish.