Yamhad

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Yamhad
Halab
c. 1810 BC–c. 1517 BC
Great King.[2][3]
 
• c. 1810 – c. 1780 BC
Sumu-Epuh
• c. 1780 – c. 1764 BC
Yarim-Lim I
• mid. 16th century BC – c. 1524 BC
Ilim-Ilimma I
Historical eraBronze Age
• Established
c. 1810 BC
• Disestablished
c. 1517 BC
Area
1750 BC est.[2]43,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Ebla
Mitanni Royal seal of Šauštatar of Mitanni
Today part of

Yamhad (Yamḫad) was an ancient

Old Assyrian Empire, and was turned into the most powerful Syrian kingdom of its era through the actions of its king Yarim-Lim I. By the middle of the 18th century BC, most of Syria minus the south came under the authority of Yamhad, either as a direct possession or through vassalage, and for nearly a century and a half, Yamhad dominated northern, northwestern and eastern Syria, and had influence over small kingdoms in Mesopotamia at the borders of Elam. The kingdom was eventually destroyed by the Hittites, then annexed by Mitanni
in the 16th century BC.

Yamhad's population was predominately

Aegean region in the west. Yamhad worshiped the traditional Northwest Semitic deities, and the capital Halab was considered a holy city among the other Syrian cities as a center of worship for Hadad
, who was regarded as the main deity of northern Syria.

History

Little of Halab has been excavated by archaeologists, as Halab was never abandoned during its long history and the modern city is situated above the ancient site.[4] Therefore, most of the knowledge about Yamhad comes from tablets discovered at Alalakh and Mari.[5]

Establishment

The name Yamhad was likely an Amorite tribal name and is used synonymously with Halab when referring to the kingdom.

Holy City contributed to its later prominence;[10][11] the main temple of the north Syrian storm god Hadad was located in the city,[12] which was known as the "City of Hadad".[10]

The name Halab as well as that of Yamhad appeared for the first time during the

Hassum and Carchemish,[18][19] against the Mariote king who defeated his enemies,[20] who was eventually killed by his own son Sumu-Yamam.[21]

Rivalry with Assyria and expansion

Legal case from Niqmi-Epuh of Yamhad, to the king of Alalakh.

The rise of Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria proved more dangerous to Yamhad than Mari. The Amorite king of Assyria was an ambitious conqueror with the aim to rule Mesopotamia and the Levant, and styled himself as "king of the world".[22] Shamshi-Adad surrounded Yamhad by way of alliances with Charchemish, Hassum and Urshu to the north and by conquering Mari to the east, forcing Zimri-Lim the heir of Mari to flee. Sumu-Epuh welcomed Zimri-Lim and aimed to use him against Assyria since he was the legitimate heir of Mari.[21]

Shamshi-Adad's most dangerous alliance was with Qatna, whose king Ishi-Addu became Assyria's agent at Yamhad's borders and married his daughter to Yasmah-Adad, the son of the Assyrian king who was installed by his father as king of Mari.[23] Sumu-Epuh was apparently killed during his fight with Shamshi-Adad and was succeeded by his son Yarim-Lim I,[24] who consolidated his father's kingdom and turned it into the most powerful kingdom in Syria and northern Mesopotamia.[1][25][26] Yarim-Lim surrounded Shamshi-Adad by alliances with Hammurabi of Babylon and Ibal-pi-el II of Eshnunna,[27] then in 1777 BC he advanced to the east conquering Tuttul and installing Zimri-Lim as governor of the city.[27] The death of the Assyrian king came a year later.[27] Yarim-Lim then sent his army with Zimri-Lim, to restore his ancestors throne as an ally-vassal to Yamhad,[27] cementing the relationship through a dynastic marriage between the new Mariote king and Shibtu, the daughter of Yarim-Lim.[28]

"There is no king who is mighty by himself. Ten or fifteen kings follow

Rim-Sin of Larsa, a like number of Ibal-pi-el of Eshnunna, a like number of Amud-pi-el of Qatanum
, but twenty follow Yarim-Lim of Yamhad."

A tablet sent to Zimri-Lim of Mari, describing Yarim-Lim I authority.[1]

Yarim-Lim spent the next years of his reign expanding the kingdom, which reached

Great King.[2][23]

Yarim-Lim I was succeeded by his son Hammurabi I who had a peaceful reign.[27] He was able to force Charchemish into submission,[27] and sent troops to aid Hammurabi of Babylon against Larsa and Elam.[32] The alliance ended after the Babylonian king sacked Mari and destroyed it.[23] Babylon did not attack Yamhad, however, and the relations between the two kingdoms remained peaceful in later years;[23] the power vacuum caused by Mari's fall opened the way for Hammurabi to extend Yamhad's hegemony over the upper Khabur valley in the east, where the ruler of Shubat Enlil became his vassal.[33] Hammurabi I was succeeded by his son Abba-El I, whose reign witnessed the rebellion of the city Irridu, which was under the authority of prince Yarim-Lim, Abba-El's brother.[34] The king responded to the rebellion by destroying Irridu, and compensating his brother by giving him the throne of Alalakh, thus creating a cadet branch of the dynasty.[34]

Decline and end

God head, discovered near Jabbul (c. 1600 BC).[35]

The era of Abba-El I's successors is poorly documented,

Great King by the Hittites,[26] the diplomatic equal of the Hittite king.[38]

The rise of the

Middle chronology) or slightly later.[40][41] Hattusili then turned to attack the Hurrians in Urshu northeast of Halab, and won in spite of military support from Halab and Carchemish for the Hurrians.[42] The Hittite king then defeated Yamhad in the battle of Mount Atalur,[43] and sacked Hassum along with several other Hurrian cities in the sixth year of his Syrian wars.[40] After many campaigns, Hattusili I finally attacked Halab during the reign of Hammurabi III. The attack ended in a defeat, the wounding of the Hittite king and his later death c. 1620 BC.[44][45] Hattusili's campaigns considerably weakened Yamhad, causing it to decline in status: the monarch ceased to be styled a Great King.[46]

Hattusili was succeeded by his grandson

Parshatatar of Mitanni who annexed Halab.[52][53] Ilim-Ilimma's son, Idrimi, fled to Emar then conquered Alalakh c. 1517 BC.[52][53] Seven years following his conquest of Alalakh, Idrimi made peace with Mitanni and was acknowledged as a vassal,[54] and allowed to control Halab, though he had to relocate the dynasty's residence to Alalakh and relinquish the title of "King of Halab"; the use of the name Yamhad also ended.[55]

Kings of Yamhad

Dates are estimated and given by the

Abba-El I seal.
Niqmi-Epuh seal.

People and culture

Seal of Abba-El II: the Egyptian ankh was a replacement for the cup usually held by the deity.

The people of Yamhad were Amorites and spoke the

Aegean influences,[65][66] Yamhad belonged mainly to middle Bronze Age Syrian culture.[67] This culture influenced the architecture and the functions of the temples, which were mainly cultic, while political authority was invested in the royal palace, in contrast to the important political role of the temples in Mesopotamia.[67]

Since the capital Halab has not been excavated, the architecture of the kingdom is archaeologically best represented by the city of Alalakh,[68] which was subordinate to Halab and ruled by a king belonging to the Yamhadite royal house.[69] The Amorites in general built large palaces that bear architectural similarities to old Babylonian-era palaces. They were adorned with grand central courtyards, throne rooms, tiled floors, drainage systems and plastered walls, which suggest the employment of specialized labor.[70] Evidence exists for the presence of Minoan Aegean fresco artists who painted elaborate scenes on the walls of the palaces in Alalakh.[70]

Yamhad had a distinctive Syrian iconography, which is clear in the seals of the kings that gave prominence to the Syrian gods. Egyptian influence was minimal and limited to the ankh, which cannot be interpreted as an emulation of Egyptian rituals but rather as merely a substitute for the cup held by the deity elsewhere.[71] Yamhad had a special pattern of trim called the Yamhad style, which was favored in Mari during the reign of king Zimri-Lim, whose queen Shibtu was the daughter of Yarim-Lim I.[72]

After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, Hurrians began to settle in the city and its surroundings,[73] and by c. 1725 BC they constituted a sizable portion of the population.[74] The presence of a large Hurrian population brought Hurrian culture and religion to Halab, as evidenced by the existence of certain religious festivals that bear Hurrian names.[75]

Economy

Halab's location has always been a factor in its prominence as an economic center.

Mediterranean.[14]

The actions of Yarim-Lim I and his alliance with Babylon proved vital for the kingdom's economy, for they secured the trade between Mesopotamia and northern Syria, with the king of Mari protecting the caravans crossing from the Persian Gulf to Anatolia.[79] Emar attracted many Babylonian merchants, who lived in the city and had a lasting impact on the local scribal conventions. As late as the 14th century BC, texts of the so-called Syrian type from Emar preserve distinct Babylonian traits.[79]

The markets of Yamhad became a source of copper, which was imported from the mountains (probably Anatolian) and Cyprus.[80] However, the Babylonian invasion of Mari had a negative impact on the trade between the two kingdoms,[79] as the road became dangerous because of the loss of Mari's protection to the caravans.[79] This led the Babylonian king Samsu-iluna to build many strongholds up the river valley, and to establish colonies of mercenaries known as the "Kassite Houses" to protect the middle Euphrates area.[79] Those colonies later evolved into semi-independent polities that waged a war against the Babylonian king Ammi-Saduqa and caused the trade temporarily to stop.[79]

Religion

Aleppo Citadel
.

The people of Yamhad practiced the

pantheon.[83] The kingdom was known as the "land of Hadad", who was famous as the Storm-God of Halab beginning in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC.[83] His main temple was located on the citadel hill in the center of the city and remained in use from the 24th century BC,[84] until at least the 9th century BC.[85]

The title "Beloved of Hadad" was one of the king's titles.

Hebat in one of the Alalakh tablets (Hebat was the spouse of the Hurrian main deity Teshub, but in Abba-El I's tablet, she is associated with Hadad).[75] Later, the Hurrians started to identify Teshub with Hadad, who became Teshub the Storm-God of Halab.[89]

Beside the general gods, the kings had a "head god", that is, a deity who had an intimate connection for the worshiper. King Yarim-Lim I described Hadad as the god of the state, but the Mesopotamian deity Sin as the god of his head. His son Hammurabi I did likewise.[90]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Dalley 2002, p. 44.
  2. ^ a b c d e Astour 1981, p. 7.
  3. ^ Hamblin 2006, p. 257.
  4. ^ Pioske 2015, p. 188.
  5. ^ Grabbe 2007, p. 58.
  6. ^ a b Hawkins 2000, p. 388.
  7. ^ Pfälzner 2012, p. 781.
  8. ^ Archi 1994, p. 250.
  9. ^ Hamblin 2006, p. 242.
  10. ^ a b Feliu 2003, p. 192.
  11. ^ Oldenburg 1969, p. 65.
  12. ^ Bryce 2014, p. 111.
  13. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 780.
  14. ^ a b Miller 1995, p. 10.
  15. ^ Schwartz 2010, p. 376.
  16. ^ Liverani 2013, pp. 225, 226.
  17. ^ Wossink 2009, p. 128.
  18. ^ Sasson 1969, p. 45.
  19. ^ Wu 1994, p. 131.
  20. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 606.
  21. ^ a b Pitard 2001, p. 39.
  22. ^ Schwartz 2013, p. 9.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g Liverani 2013, p. 234.
  24. ^ Bryce 2009, p. 773.
  25. ^ Matthiae 2003, p. 383.
  26. ^ a b Pitard 2001, p. 40.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Hamblin 2006, p. 259.
  28. ^ Charpin 2011, p. 257.
  29. ^ Dodd 2007, p. 210.
  30. ^ Thuesen 2000, p. 61.
  31. ^ a b Sasson 1969, p. 2.
  32. ^ Charpin 2010, p. 102.
  33. ^ Lauinger 2015, p. 6.
  34. ^ a b c d e Hamblin 2006, p. 260.
  35. ^ Claire 2017.
  36. ^ a b Wiseman 1967, p. 121.
  37. ^ Miller 1995, p. 12.
  38. ^ a b Hamblin 2006, p. 258.
  39. ^ Bryce 2014, p. 27.
  40. ^ a b Liverani 2013, p. 260.
  41. ^ Collon 1995, p. 97.
  42. ^ Hamblin 2006, pp. 298, 299.
  43. ^ Bryce 1999, p. 83.
  44. ^ Bryce 2014, p. 29.
  45. ^ Burney 2004, p. 107.
  46. ^ Bryce 1999, p. 152.
  47. ^ Hamblin 2006, p. 260.
  48. ^ Payne 2012, p. 3.
  49. ^ Bryce 1999, p. 126.
  50. ^ a b c Astour 1969, p. 382.
  51. ^ Drower 1973, p. 433.
  52. ^ a b Collon 1995, p. 109.
  53. ^ a b Astour 1989, p. 92.
  54. ^ Podany 2010, p. 136.
  55. ^ Astour 1981, p. 9.
  56. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 783.
  57. ^ Teissier 1996, p. 28.
  58. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 788.
  59. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 792.
  60. ^ Teissier 1996, p. 26.
  61. ^ van Soldt 2000, p. 106.
  62. ^ Frayne 1990, p. 795.
  63. ^ van Soldt 2000, p. 107.
  64. ^ Astour 1989, p. 19.
  65. ^ Schwartz 2013, p. 3.
  66. ^ Schwartz 2013, p. 10.
  67. ^ a b Liverani 2013, p. 232.
  68. ^ Feldman 2007, p. 55.
  69. ^ van Soldt 2000, p. 109.
  70. ^ a b Burke 2013, p. 409.
  71. ^ Teissier 1996, p. 38.
  72. ^ Dalley 2002, p. 51.
  73. ^ Owen 2000, p. 618.
  74. ^ Nathanson 2013, p. 72.
  75. ^ a b c Kupper 1973, p. 41.
  76. ^ Zohar 2013, p. 95.
  77. ^ Sicker 2003, p. 32.
  78. ^ Pruzsinszky 2007, p. 23.
  79. ^ a b c d e f van Koppen 2010, p. 212.
  80. ^ van Koppen 2010, p. 213.
  81. ^ Foster 2009, p. 148.
  82. ^ Fleming 2000, p. 90.
  83. ^ a b c Taracha 2009, p. 121.
  84. ^ Gonnella 2006, p. 166.
  85. ^ Gonnella 2010, p. 114.
  86. ^ Oldenburg 1969, p. 67.
  87. ^ Oldenburg 1969, p. 160.
  88. ^ Green 2003, p. 181.
  89. ^ Green 2003, p. 170.
  90. ^ van der Toorn 1996, pp. 77, 88.

Sources

External links

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Yamhad. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy