Hamazi
Hamazi or Khamazi (Sumerian: 𒄩𒈠𒍣𒆠, ha-ma-ziki, or 𒄩𒈠𒍢𒆠 Ḫa-ma-zi2ki)[4] was an ancient kingdom or city-state which became prominent during the Early Dynastic period. Its exact location is unknown.
History
In the early days of archaeology two pottery fragments were found in Nippur which it was assumed were part of the same vessel (CBS 9571+CBS 9577). One referred to a Uhub/Utug ruler of Kish and the other to an unknown ruler defeating Hamazi. Subsequent analysis showed that the two fragments did not in fact belong to the same vessel.[5] The relevant fragment (BM 129402) reads "[To the deity DN P]ussussu, vanquisher of Hamazi, dedi[cated] (this vessel).".[6]
One of the earliest references to Hamazi is found in the epic literary composition Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, where Enmerkar prays to Enki about the confusion of languages in the various inhabited lands, at the time of the building of the ziggurats in Eridu and Uruk. Hamazi is the only land mentioned in this prayer with the epithet "many-tongued". A sequel, Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana also mentions that the sorcerer of Hamazi, Urgirinuna, went to Aratta after Hamazi "had been destroyed"; he is later sent by the Lord of Aratta on a failed mission attempting to bring Enmerkar into submission.[7][8]
According to the semi-literary Sumerian King List, king Hadanish of Hamazi held hegemony over Sumer after defeating Kish, but was in turn defeated by Enshakushanna of Uruk.[9]
A clay tablet found in the archives at Ebla in Syria bears a copy of a diplomatic message sent from king Irkab-Damu of Ebla to king Zizi of Hamazi, along with a large quantity of wood, hailing him as a brother, and requesting him to send mercenaries in exchange. A tablet from a few years later states " ... 470 g. of silver of the king of A. which the king of Hamazi has handed over and is his giving (as) a gift to PN, the representative-messenger, (for) the king of Ebla".[10] A later analysis of the toponyms in the tablets in question indicate that the Hamazi mentioned in the Elba tablets is actually a different Hamazi, at modern Qalah Hom, the “citadel hill” of modern Homs.[6]
Hamazi was one of the provinces of Ur under the reign of
Location
Hamazi is thought to have been located in
List of rulers of Hamazi
Ruler | Notes and references |
---|---|
Hadanish | according to Sumerian King List |
Lu-nanna | Governor under Ur III ruler Amar-Sin |
Ur-Ishkur | Governor under Ur III ruler Amar-Sin |
See also
References
- ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ "Collections Online British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org.
- ^ Thureau-Dangin, F. (François) (1905). Les inscriptions de Sumer et d'Akkad, transcription et traduction. Paris, Leroux. p. 229.
- ^ The Sumerian King List. Accessed 15 Dec 2010.
- ^ Cooper, Jerrold S., "Studies in Mesopotamian Lapidary Inscriptions. III1", Iraq 46.2, pp. 87-93, 1984
- ^ ISBN 9780802035868
- ^ Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta: A Sumerian Epic Tale of Iraq and Iran", Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952
- ^ Ansky, S., "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta", The Harps that Once..., edited by David G. Roskies, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 275-319, 1992
- OCLC 491884743.
- ^ Alfonso Archi, "In Search of Armi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 63, pp. 5–34, 2011
- ^ Michalowski, Peter, "The Bride of Simanum", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 95, no. 4, pp. 716–19, 1975
- ^ Sigrist, R. Marcel, "Nouveaux Noms Géographiques de l’empire d’Ur III", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 166–70, 1979
- ^ Michalowski, Piotr, "Love or Death? Observations on the Role of the Gala in Ur III Ceremonial Life", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 58, pp. 49–61, 2006
- ^ Michalowski, Piotr, "Puzur-Numušda to Ibbi-Sin 1 (PuIb1, 3.1.19, A3, RCU 21)", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 439-462, 2011
- ^ a b Michalowski, Piotr, "Appendixes", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 225-234, 2011
- ^ Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Historical Background of Urkeš and the Hurrian Beginnings in Northern Mesopotamia" Pp.75–98 in Urkesh and The Hurrians: A Volume in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen, ed. Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati. BibMes 26. Malibu: Unden, 1998
Further reading
Shea, William H., "The Form and Significance of the Eblaite Letter to Hamazi", Oriens antiqvvs 23, pp. 143–158, 1984