Urtak (king of Elam)
Urtak or Urtaku was a king of the ancient kingdom of Elam,[1] which was to the southeast of ancient Babylonia. He ruled from 675 to 664 BCE, his reign overlapping those of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (681-669) and Ashurbanipal (668-627).[2]
Urtak was preceded by his brother, Khumban-Khaldash II.[3] Khumban-Khaldash made a successful raid against Assyria, and died a short time thereafter.[3] He was succeeded by Urtak, who returned to Assyria the idols his elder brother had taken in the raid, and who thereby repaired relations between Elam and Assyria.[3]
He made an alliance with Assyria's Esarhaddon in 674,[4] and for a time Elam and Assyria enjoyed friendly relations,[5] which lasted throughout the remainder of Esarhaddon's reign, and deteriorated after Esarhaddon was succeeded by Ashurbanipal.[6]
During a famine in Elam, Ashurbanipal welcomed temporary refugees from Elam into his empire, and sent food aid to Elam itself.[7] However, after a time Urtak, joining his forces with the Gambulu tribe of Arameans,[8] attacked Babylonia around 665 BCE, and died shortly afterward.[9] Urtak was succeeded by his brother Teumman, who was killed by Ashurbanipal shortly afterward.[8]
See also
- List of rulers of Elam
References
- ISBN 978-0-521-22717-9.
- ISBN 978-1-107-09469-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-135-64895-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-22717-9.
- ^ Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 360.
- ^ Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 1897. p. 145.
- ^ Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 360-1.
- ^ a b Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 361.
- ISBN 978-0-520-09950-0.