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96-671: The Simurrum Kingdom seems to have been part of a belt of Hurrian city states in the northeastern portion of Mesopotamian area. They were often in conflict with the rulers of Ur III. Mesopotamian sources refer to them as "highlanders". Several Kings ( 𒈗 , pronounced Šàr , " Shar ", in Akkadian ) of Simurrum are known, such as Iddin-Sin and his son Zabazuna. Various inscriptions suggest that they were contemporary with king Ishbi-Erra ( c.  1953  – c.  1920 BCE ). Another king, mentioned in The Great Revolt against Narām-Sîn,

192-638: A genetic relationship to other language families (e.g., the Northeast Caucasian languages ), but none of these are generally accepted. The Hurrians adopted the Akkadian language and Cuneiform script for their own writing about 2000 BC. Texts in the Hurrian language in cuneiform have been found at Hattusa , Ugarit (Ras Shamra), as well as in one of the longest of the Amarna letters (EA 27), written by King Tushratta of Mitanni to Pharaoh Amenhotep III . It

288-400: A "fierce power". "If a man begat sons, divorced his wife and married another, that man shall be uprooted from the house and property and may go after whom he loves. His wife (on the other hand) she claims the house." The Laws of Eshnunna consist of two tablets, found at Shaduppum (Tell Harmal) and a fragment found at Tell Haddad, the ancient Mê-Turan . They were written sometime around

384-536: A campaign against Qabra, and Shamshi-Adad and Dadusha's recount of the events were recorded in the Mardin stela and Dadusha stela respectively. The victory over Qabra was celebrated in the following year name of Dadusha, although the king would later die in the same year. Negotiations with Dadusha's successor Ibal-pi-El II proved difficult for Shamshi-Adad, and envoys from Eshnunna continued to come to Shamshi-Adad's kingdom to negotiate an agreement years later. Later, during

480-500: A diplomatic marriage with Elam , giving his daughter Me-Kubi to Tan-Ruhuratir. The name of Kirikiri is non-Semitic, and possibly Elamite. Bilalama attempted to maintain good relationships with Ilum-muttabbil of Der and Elam, although Der and Elam were at war. Bilalama was succeeded by Ishar-ramassu. The palace was then destroyed in a fire, which may have been the result of a foreign invasion. Ilum-mutabbil of Der may have taken Eshnunna and replaced Ishar-ramassu with Usur-awasu, which if

576-570: A few thousand troops, likely because they were attacked by Halmam. Zimri-Lim then successfully sieged Andarig and took the city. The Yaminites also attacked Mari at this time, and Charpin suggested that there was a plan to have the Eshnunnian army and the Yaminites meet, although it wasn't successful. After Mari took back Andarig, they began peace talks, although several groups in Mari were against concluding

672-552: A geometric style, were found in the Square Temple; these are known as the Tell Asmar Hoard . They are some of the best known examples of ancient Near East sculpture. The group, now split up, show gods, priests and donor worshipers at different sizes, but all in the same highly simplified style. All have greatly enlarged inlaid eyes, but the tallest figure, the main cult image depicting the local god, has enormous eyes that give it

768-642: A great impact on the religion of the Hittites. From the Hurrian cult centre at Kummanni in Kizzuwatna, Hurrian religion spread to the Hittite people. Syncretism merged the Old Hittite and Hurrian religions. Hurrian religion spread to Syria, where Baal became the counterpart of Teshub. The Hurrian religion, in different forms, influenced the entire ancient Near East , except ancient Egypt and southern Mesopotamia. While

864-523: A high position in international relations, and eventually Siwe-palar-huppak asked both Mari and Babylon for support against Eshnunna in Zimri-Lim's 7th year, which both obliged. Durand recently suggested that Eshnunna may have acted as an agent of Elam prior to Ibal-pi-El, which means that the Elamite invasion of Eshnunna was essentially an act against a rogue vassal. However, eventually an anti-Elamite coalition

960-613: A key to the understanding of Hurrian culture and history. The 2nd millennium Hurrians were masterful ceramists. Their pottery is commonly found in Mesopotamia and in the lands west of the Euphrates; it was highly valued in distant Egypt, by the time of the New Kingdom . Archaeologists use the terms Khabur ware and Nuzi ware for two types of wheel-made pottery used by the Hurrians. Khabur ware

1056-521: A large population of Hurrians, and there is significant Hurrian influence in Hittite mythology . By the Early Iron Age , the Hurrians had been assimilated with other peoples. The state of Urartu later covered some of the same area. The Khabur River valley became the heart of the Hurrian lands for a millennium. The first known Hurrian kingdom emerged around the city of Urkesh (modern Tell Mozan) during

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1152-708: A letter from the king of Shubria to an Assyrian magnate from the time of Sargon II was composed in the Hurrian language. Knowledge of Hurrian culture relies on archaeological excavations at sites such as Nuzi and Alalakh as well as on cuneiform tablets, primarily from Hattusa (Boghazköy), the capital of the Hittites, whose civilization was greatly influenced by the Hurrians. Tablets from Nuzi, Alalakh, and other cities with Hurrian populations (as shown by personal names) reveal Hurrian cultural features even though they were written in Akkadian. Hurrian cylinder seals were carefully carved and often portrayed mythological motifs. They are

1248-571: A letter sent to Zimri-Lim (Zimri-Lim's Mari is likely not mentioned because it is taken for granted): "No king is truly powerful just on his own: ten to fifteen kings follow Hammurabi of Babylon, as many follow Rim-Sin of Larsa, as many follow Ibal-pi-El of Eshnunna, and as many follow Amut-pi-El of Qatna; but twenty kings follow Yarim-Lim of Yamhad" Later, between Zimri-Lim's 7th year and 9th year, contact with Elam increased with gift exchanges going both sides, with Mari receiving tin on multiple occasions. The sukkalmah of Elam had henceforth occupied

1344-638: A palace from the Akkadian period were also excavated. Much effort was also put into the search for E-sikil, temple of Tishpak, without success. In records written in Sumerian the temple is dedicated to Ninazu while those in Akkadian refer to Tishpak. Despite the length of time since the excavations at Tell Asmar, the work of examining and publishing the remaining finds from that dig continues to this day. These finds include, terracotta figurines, toys, necklaces, cylinder seals, and roughly 200 clay sealings and around 1,750 cuneiform tablets (about 1000 of which came from

1440-409: A peace treaty with Eshnunna, with the most famous case being a line from an oracle of Dagan being relayed to Zimri-Lim in three different tablets, that "beneath straw runs water." In particular, Inib-shina (priestess and sister of Zimri-Lim) directly connects the oracle with the king of Eshnunna, and mentions that Dagan will destroy Ibal-pi-El. Lupakhum, someone also connected with the god Dagan, gave

1536-687: A people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age . They spoke the Hurrian language , and lived throughout northern Syria , upper Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia . The Hurrians were first documented in the city of Urkesh , where they built their first kingdom. Their largest and most influential Hurrian kingdom was Mitanni . The population of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia included

1632-477: A region stretching from the Caucasus Mountains in the north, to the borders of northern Assyria and northern Ancient Iran in the south, and controlled much of eastern Anatolia. Some scientists consider Urartu to be a re-consolidation of earlier Hurrian populations mainly due to linguistic factors, but this view is not universally held. After the destruction of Mitanni by the Hittites around 1350-1325 BC,

1728-594: A straight line east of Baqubah . It was first located by Henri Pognon in 1892 but he neglected to report the location before he died in 1921. It was refound, after antiquities from the site began to appear in dealers shops in Baghdad, and excavated in six seasons between 1930 and 1936 by an Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago team led by Henri Frankfort with Thorkild Jacobsen , Pinhas Delougaz, Gordon Loud, and Seton Lloyd . The expedition's field secretary

1824-490: A temple to Shu-Sin in a new lower town. Soon after Shu-Sin's death, Ituria was followed by his son Shu-iliya, who in 2026 BCE got rid of the Ur III calendar and replaced it with a local one. He also stopped calling himself the ensi (governor) of Eshnunna, instead referring to himself as lugal (king) and "beloved of Tishpak ". His seal also mentioned the deities Belat-Shuhnir and Belat-Terraban. His personal seal shows him facing

1920-424: A vague warning about Eshnunna, and reprimanded the goddess Dērītum for counting on a peace treaty with Eshnunna. Regardless, Zimri-Lim signed the treaty with the king of Eshnunna. With the treaty between Zimri-Lim and Ibal-pi-El in Zimri-Lim's 5th year, Mari was able to keep Hit, and Rapiqum was given to Babylon. By the 6th year of Zimri-Lim, then the geopolitical situation had grown very complicated, as shown in

2016-451: Is characterized by reddish painted lines with a geometric triangular pattern and dots, while Nuzi ware has very distinctive forms, and are painted in brown or black. They were also skilled at glass working. The Hurrians had a reputation in metallurgy . It is proposed that the Sumerian term for "coppersmith" tabira / tibira was borrowed from Hurrian, which would imply an early presence of

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2112-655: Is known mainly from the Ur III period. A number of texts closely link Karaḫar and Simurrum and they are thought to be in the same area. Karaḫar is thought to be between Simurrum and Eshnunna and near Hamazi and Pašime , possibly on the Alwand River , a tributary of the Diyala river , in the Zagros mountain foothills. It is known to have been a major producer of sesame. The second Ur III ruler, Sulgi (c. 2094–2046 BC) reports defeating/destroying Karaḫar in his year names S24 "Year: Karahar

2208-513: Is known that the military governor of the nearby city of Pašime was a Arad-Nanna though it is not known if that was the same person. Also in the Ur III period a Arad-Nanna was a ruler of Hamazi . Also during the reign of Shu-Sin, a Ir-Nanna is recorded as being "... military governor of Usar-Garsana , general of Basime, governor of Sabum and the land of Gutebum, general of Dimat-Enlila, governor of Al-Sü-Sîn, general of Urbillum, governor of Ham(a)zi and Karahar, general of NI.HI, general of Simaski and

2304-510: Is ready to follow the ruler of Kakmu ..." The petty kings and governors of the kinglet or province of Simurrum. Akkadian Period, Early Bronze IVA Ur III Period - Early Bronze IVB - Province Kingdom - Middle Bronze I - Independent There is general agreement that the city lies east of the Tigris river in the valleys and semi-mountainous of the Trans-Tigridian area. It has been proposed that

2400-559: The Akkadian Empire . The names of four years of the reign of Sargon of Akkad describe his campaigns against Elam , Mari, Simurrum, and Uru'a (an Elamite city-state): One unknown year during the reign of Akkadian Empire king Naram-Sin of Akkad was recorded as "the Year when Naram-Sin was victorious against Simurrum in Kirasheniwe and took prisoner Baba the governor of Simurrum, and Dubul

2496-483: The Amarna Letters during the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten (1353–1336 BC). Domestically, Mitanni records have been found at a number of places in the region including several Hittite sites as well as Tell Bazi , Alalakh , Nuzi , Mardaman , Kemune , and Müslümantepe among others. Another major center of Hurrian influence was the kingdom of Arrapha . Excavations at Yorgan Tepe, ancient Nuzi, proved this to be one of

2592-508: The Diyala Valley northwest of Sumer proper, the city nonetheless belonged securely within the Sumerian cultural milieu. It is sometimes, in archaeological papers, called Ashnunnak or Tuplias. The tutelary deity of the city was Tishpak (Tišpak) though other gods, including Sin , Adad , and Inanna of Kiti ( Kitītum ) were also worshiped there. The personal goddesses of the rulers were Belet-Šuḫnir and Belet-Terraban . Inhabited since

2688-446: The Hurrian and Urartian languages are related, there is little similarity between corresponding systems of belief. The main gods in the Hurrian pantheon were: Hurrian cylinder seals often depict mythological creatures such as winged humans or animals, dragons and other monsters. The interpretation of these depictions of gods and demons remains uncertain. They may have been both protective and evil spirits. Some are reminiscent of

2784-655: The Jemdet Nasr period , around 3000 BC, Eshnunna was a major city during the Early Dynastic period of Mesopotamia. It is known, from cuneiform records and excavations, that the city was occupied in the Akkadian period though its extent was noticeably less than it reached in Ur III times. Areas of the Northern Palace date to this period and show some of the earliest examples of widespread sewage disposal engineering including toilets in private homes. The first known rulers of

2880-616: The ensi (ruler) of Arame". Arame is known to be associated with Eshnunna . An Old Babylonian letter also associates Simurrum with Eshnunna. This suggests Simurrum was in the area of that city. After the Akkadian Empire fell to the Gutians , the Lullubians and the Simurrums rebelled against the Gutian ruler Erridupizir , according to the latter's inscriptions: Ka-Nisba, king of Simurrum, instigated

2976-409: The 10th year of Zimri-Lim. Later, the new king of Eshnunna blocked messengers between Elam and Babylon when the two were trying to reestablish relationships, which likely resulted in a rise in tension between Babylon and Eshnunna. Silli-Sin would later send a letter telling Ishme-Dagan and Hammurabi of Kurda to not send troops to Babylon even if asked and even tried to ask Zimri-Lim to do the same, but

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3072-437: The 11th year name of Hammurabi, which celebrated his conquest of Rapiqum. Rapiqum was, however, conquered by Dadusha and then Ibal-pi-El II. Eventually, through the ambitions of both Sumu-la-El of Babylon and Ipiq-Adad II a line of demarcation between the two kingdoms was formed, running somewhere along Sippar-Amnanum. The boundary line changed multiple times after that, with Apil-Sin conquering Ashtabala and other cities along

3168-486: The 12th century BC the Elamite ruler Shutruk-Nakhunte conquered Eshnunna and carried back a number of statues, ranging from the Akkadian period to the Old Babylonian period, to Susa. Because of its promise of control over lucrative trade routes, Eshnunna could function somewhat as a gateway between Mesopotamian and Elamite culture. The trade routes gave it access to many exotic, sought-after goods such as horses from

3264-597: The Abu Temple at Tell Asmar (Eshnunna) went through a number of phases. This included the Early Dynastic Archaic Shrine, Square Temple, and Single-Shrine phases of construction. They, along with sculpture found there, helped form the basis for the three part archaeological separation of the Early Dynastic period into ED I, ED II, and ED III for the ancient Near East. A cache of 12 gypsum temple sculptures, in

3360-558: The Assyrian shedu . The Hurrian gods do not appear to have had particular home temples, like in the Mesopotamian or Ancient Egyptian religion . Some important cult centres were Kummanni in Kizzuwatna and Hittite Yazilikaya . Harran was at least later a religious centre for the moon god, and Shauskha had an important temple in Nineve , when the city was under Hurrian rule. A temple of Nergal

3456-502: The Hurrian deity Teshub , and several Shubrian names have Hurrian origins. Hurrians formed part of the Shubrian population and may have been the predominant group. Some scholars have suggested that Shubria was the last remnant of Hurrian civilization, or even constituted the original homeland of the Hurrians. Karen Radner writes that Shubria "can certainly be described as [a] (linguistically and culturally) Hurrian" state. According to Radner,

3552-541: The Hurrians way before their first historical mention in Akkadian sources. Copper was traded south to Mesopotamia from the highlands of Anatolia . The Khabur Valley had a central position in the metal trade, and copper, silver and even tin were accessible from the Hurrian-dominated countries Kizzuwatna and Ishuwa situated in the Anatolian highland. Gold was in short supply, and the Amarna letters inform us that it

3648-565: The Middle Assyrian period were found at the site. The site of Qala Shirwana, a large mound 30 metres (98 ft) tall with an additional 10-metre (33 ft) citadel at the top in the southern basin of the Diyala river, on its west bank, near the modern town of Kalar , has been suggested as the site of Simurrum. The upper mound has an area of 5.5 hectares. While the site is completely built over now, early satellite photographs indicate that there

3744-414: The Old Babylonian dialect of the Akkadian language , termed "archaic Old Babylonian". They are roughly in two groups a) earlier primarily from the reigns of Bilalama, Nur-ahum and Kirikiri and b) later primarily from the reigns of Usur-awassu, Ur-Ninmar, and Ipiq-Adad I. From 2001 until 2002, Iraqi archaeologists worked at Tell Asmar. Excavation focused on an area of private houses in the southern part of

3840-764: The Syrian Department of Antiquities. The tells, or city mounds, often reveal a long occupation beginning in the Neolithic and ending in the Roman period or later. The characteristic Hurrian pottery, the Khabur ware, is helpful in determining the different strata of occupation within the mounds. The Hurrian settlements are usually identified from the Middle Bronze Age to the end of the Late Bronze Age, with Tell Mozan (Urkesh) being

3936-529: The Tigris, which was reversed by Naram-Sin of Eshnunna. Naram-Sin, the successor of Ipiq-Adad II, also continued to use the divine determinative before his name and used similar ambitious epithets. Naram-Sin was also mentioned in Assyrian King List in the section on Shamshi-Adad, being the one who forced Shamshi-Adad into exile. The Laws of Eshnunna and the building of the Naram-Sin audience hall were from

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4032-487: The Yaminite chief Yaggih-Addu took Assur and Ekallatum, and the event was described in a letter to Zimri-Lim how "Assur, Ekallatum and Eshnunna have now become one house." Ishme-Dagan seemed to have left the capital to go to Babylon before Ekallatum was invaded. Eshnunna succeeded in capturing Shubat-Enlil, which seemed to have caused the submission of several kings in the region to Eshnunna. Eshnunna laid siege to Kurda after

4128-650: The agreement satisfactory, as he wanted to control the Suhum, and rejected the offer. The need to evacuate people from the Suhum in the 2nd year of Zimri-Lim could imply a renewed offensive by Eshnunna. Mari and Eshnunna would be at war between the 3rd year and the 5th year of Zimri-Lim. Eshnunna captured Rapiqum in the 3rd year of Zimri-Lim, which was celebrated in Ibal-pi-El's 9th year name. Later Ibal-pi-El sent an ultimatum to Zimri-Lim that he would take Shubat-Enlil . The army of Eshnunna, lead by former king of Allahad Atamrum and

4224-868: The ancient sites are the many dam projects in the Euphrates , Tigris and Khabur valleys. Several rescue operations have already been undertaken when the construction of dams put entire river valleys under water. The first major excavations of Hurrian sites in Iraq and Syria began in the 1920s and 1930s. They were led by the American archaeologist Edward Chiera at Yorghan Tepe (Nuzi), and the British archaeologist Max Mallowan at Chagar Bazar and Tell Brak. Recent excavations and surveys in progress are conducted by American, Belgian, Danish, Dutch, French, German and Italian teams of archaeologists, with international participants, in cooperation with

4320-635: The area of Kirkuk in modern Iraq by the Middle Bronze Age . Their presence was attested at Nuzi , Urkesh and other sites. They eventually occupied a broad arc of fertile farmland stretching from the Khabur River valley in the west to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in the east. By this point, during the Old Babylonian period in the early second millennium BC, the Amorite kingdom of Mari to

4416-509: The border of their respective kingdoms at Harradum and to renew the relationship between Mari and Eshnunna from the time of the Mariote king Yahdun-Lim. He informed his benefactor Yarim-Lim, king of Yamhad (Aleppo) that although Eshnunna wanted to forge an alliance, Zimri-Lim always turned the envoys down, which may not have been the case as there were several discussions between him and Eshnunna during this time. Ultimately, Zimri-Lim did not consider

4512-426: The case would have meant that Der had attempted to break up the alliance between Elam and Eshnunna. The reigns of the successors Azuzum, Ur-Ninmarki and Ur-Ningishzida appeared to have been peaceful. There followed a period of political uncertainty in the Diyala. Ipiq-adad II was the first king of Eshnunna to put the divine determinative before the name since Shu-Iliya, and took on the titles "mighty king" "king of

4608-473: The city rejected the peace offerings, but they failed the siege and had to fall back to Andarig. They also supported the Yaminites against Zimri-Lim, who had to deal with a revolt by them earlier in his reign. Zimri-Lim, in his 4th year, stayed at Ashlakka for a while, a city which he took in his 3rd year, likely using the city as a base of operations to attack the Eshnunnian army. Then, Eshnunna withdrew from Shubat-Enlil leaving Yanuh-Samar behind as king with

4704-638: The city was on the Diyala river (which begins as the Sirwan River in Iran). An early Assyriologist suggested Simurrum was near "Tell 'Ali" which is not far from mouth of the Lower Zab on its left bank and is on the direct line from Assur to Arrapha (Kirkuk), which it is 42 kilometres (26 mi) west of, saying "The region south of Tell 'Ali has never been examined by archaeologists, but seems to contain numerous ruined towns and canals". Twenty five cuneiform tablets from

4800-550: The city were a series of vassal governors under the Third dynasty of Ur . Eshnunna may have had special relationships to the royal family. For example, Shulgi's wife Shulgi-Simtum showed devotion to two goddesses closely connected with the governor's dynasty at Eshnunna, and Shu-Sin's uncle Babati temporarily lived in Eshnunna. Ituria is attested as the governor of Eshnunna under Ur from at least Su-Sun year 9 to Ibbi-Sin year 2. He erected

4896-421: The coastal region of Adaniya in the country of Kizzuwatna , southern Anatolia. Yamhad eventually weakened vis-a-vis the powerful Hittites, but this also opened Anatolia for Hurrian cultural influences. The Hittites were influenced by both the Hurrian cultures over the course of several centuries. The city of Shibaniba (Tell Billa) may have also played an important role at that time. Possible Hurrian occupation

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4992-570: The control of the Assyrians. The Hurrian entity of Mitanni, which first rose to power before 1550 BC, was first mentioned in the records of Egyptian pharaohs Thutmose I (1506–1493 BC) and Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC), the later most notably associated with the Battle of Megiddo in that pharaoh's 22 regnal year. Most of the time Egyptians referred to the kingdom as Naharin . Later, Mitanni and Hanigalbat (the Assyrian name for Mitanni) are mentioned in

5088-500: The eponym of Nimer-Sin, Shamshi-Adad's troops would join Eshnunna and Babylon's in a campaign against Malgium. After the death of Shamshi-Adad, his kingdom split into two with Ishme-Dagan as king in Ekallatum and Yasmah-Addu as king in Mari . However, Zimri-Lim would take the throne of Mari and Yasmah-Addu would disappear. Ibal-pi-El entered negotiations with Zimri-Lim, proposing to draw

5184-503: The four quarters, Shu-iliya (is) his...". Kirikiri then ousted Nur-ahum from power. Not having ties to the previous ruler, he was likely an usurper, and a fire destroyed the northwestern part of the Su-Sin temple. However, he still called himself “ensi of Eshnunna” on behalf of Tishpak. An alternative view is that Kirikiri was actually the brother of Nur-ahum. Kirikiri established a new line of rulers with his son Bilalama. Bilalama formed

5280-606: The four quarters, spouse of the goddess Estar". Note that this identifies him as being deified and is in the style of major rulers such as Naram-Sin of Akkad . A carnelian cylinder seal appeared on the antiquities market reading "Keleš-atal, king of Karaḫar: Balalatum (is your) wife." In the Old Babylonian period texts linked Karaḫar administratively with Me-Turan which lies in the area thought to hold Karaḫar. Hurrian The Hurrians ( / ˈ h ʊər i ən z / ; Hurrian : 𒄷𒌨𒊑 , romanized:  Ḫu-ur-ri ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were

5376-493: The god Tishpak, who is holding a rod and ring in one hand and an axe in the other while standing on two subdued enemies. After the fall of the Ur III empire there was a period of chaos in Akkad with numerous city-states vying for power. Eshnunna was briefly seized by Subartu who may have ousted Shu-iliya. Ishbi-Erra (in his 9th year, circa 2010 BC) of the southern Mesopotamia city of Isin defeated Subartu and installed Nur-ahum as

5472-447: The king of Eshnunna his lord. Dadusha, the king of Eshnunna during this time, also sent an invitation to Hammurabi of Babylon to join him in the expedition to Maniksum, which Hammurabi refused. Dadusha also launched an offensive to the middle-Euphrates, but Ishme-Dagan reassured Yasmah-Addu that there are plans for a counter-attack. A peace treaty was eventually signed between Shamshi-Adad and Dadusha. Both would eventually cooperate in

5568-424: The king of Simurrum who (once) attended Zazum but had escaped to Zaziya." Simmurum is known from writings found at Eshnunna dated to the reign of Isin ruler Ishbi-Erra (c. 2017-1986 BC). Three officials from Simurrum are mentioned, Teheš-atal, Zili-ewri, and Ili-dannu. The ruler of Simurrum at that time was Iddi(n)-Sin, followed by his son Anzabazuna. Accepting the equivalence of Simurrum and Simurru, certainly

5664-507: The land of Karda ...", showing those polities were in the same area. A Tiš-atal (also Tish-atal/Tehes-atal/Diš-atal/Ankiš-atal) is recorded as ruling Karaḫar toward the end of the Ur III empire. A Tish-atal also ruled Urkish in that period but is not known if it was the same person. A seal of Zardamu, king of Karaḫar from the Ur III period, reads "Zardamu, sun-god of his land; beloved of the god Nergal, his (personal) deity; Annunïtum (is) his mother ... mighty king, king of Karaḫar, and king of

5760-510: The later was in the same area, a letter from Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum states, in a letter found at Tell Shemshara : "... About the hostility of Yašub-Addu of Aḫazû. Previously, he followed the leader of Šimurru. He abandoned him to follow the Tirruku leader. He abandoned that ruler to follow the Ya-ilanum tribe. When he abandoned this tribe, he followed me. Me, too, he has abandoned now, and he

5856-637: The main exception. The list includes some important ancient sites from the area dominated by the Hurrians. Excavation reports and images are found at the websites linked. As noted above, important discoveries of Hurrian culture and history were also made at Alalakh, Amarna, Hattusa and Ugarit. Eshnunna Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate , Iraq ) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian ) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali . Although situated in

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5952-463: The messenger was intercepted and the incident was reported to Zimri-Lim. Troops from Mari were still stationed in Babylonian territory from the previous war with Elam, and Zimri-Lim wished to recover those. Hammurabi, when asked later to send the troops back to Mari, cited concerns with Eshnunna as the reason for why he was reluctant to do so. Charpin suggests that the territorial demands from Hammurabi

6048-586: The most important sites for our knowledge about the Hurrians. Hurrian kings such as Ithi-Teshup and Ithiya ruled over Arrapha, yet by the mid-fifteenth century BC they had become vassals of the Great King of Mitanni. At the end of the second millennium BC the Urartians around Lake Van and Mount Ararat rose in power forming the Kingdom of Urartu . During the 11th and 10th centuries BC, the kingdom eventually encompassed

6144-422: The new ruler of Eshnunna. Bricks were found with his standard inscription "Nur-ahum, beloved of the god Tispak, governor of Esnunna". Rulers of Eshnunna after Shu-iliya would call themselves the steward of Eshnunna on behalf of Tishpak, and Tishpak even took on traditional titles usually attested by kings. The seal of Shu-iliya had him ruling under Tishpak ie "Tišpak, mighty king, king of the land Warum, king of

6240-403: The north, copper, tin, and other metals and precious stones . In a grave in Eshnunna, a pendant made of copal from Zanzibar was found. A small number of seals and beads from the Indus Valley civilization were also found. The remains of the ancient city are now preserved in the tell , or archaeological settlement mound, of Tell Asmar, some 50 miles northeast of Baghdad and 15 km in

6336-439: The palace). Because only inexperienced laborers were available many of the tablets were damaged or broken during the excavation. A project to clean, bake, and catalog all the tablets did not occur until the 1970s. The tablets from the Akkadian period were published in 1961. While most of the Eshnunna tablets are of an administrative nature 58 are letters which are rare in this time period. The letters are written in an early form of

6432-399: The people of Simurrum and Lullubi to revolt. Amnili, general of [the enemy Lullubi]... made the land [rebel]... Erridu-pizir, the mighty, king of Gutium and of the four quarters hastened [to confront] him... In a single day he captured the pass of Urbillum at Mount Mummum. Further, he captured Nirishuha. At one point, Simurrum may have become a vassal of the Gutians . The Ur III empire

6528-440: The presence of a diplomat from Eshnunna was remarkable as Eshnunna and now an indirect enemy of Andarig and Karana for supporting Ishme-Dagan, and suggests that they were tolerated as observers as they were not officially enemies. Eshnunna seemed to have finally concluded a peace treaty with Babylon, and so dropped their support of Ishme-Dagan. Hammurabi and Silli-Sin also had a diplomatic marriage, where one of Hammurabi's daughters

6624-471: The region of Puzurran from Eshnunna. Pongratz-Leisten suggests that the political power of Eshnunna extended to cultural influence with its neighbors, which could be seen from the similarities in style between the Dadusha stela, Mardin stela and the Yahdun-Lim's building inscriptions, which may have in turn influenced Assyria's ideology later. After the death of Naram-Sin, three kings, Iqish-Tishpak, Ibbi-Sin, and Dannum-tahaz, ruled in short succession. Out of

6720-417: The reign of Naram-Sin of Eshnunna. Mari, during the reign of Yahdum-Lim, adopted the writing system from Eshnunna with its sign usage and tablet shape, and a later letter addressed from Ibal-pi-El II to Zimri-Lim at the beginning of the latter's reign mentioned that Yahdun-Lim called the king of Eshnunna "father" which indicates a superior position on the part of the king of Eshnunna. Yahdum-Lim also bought

6816-464: The reign of king Dadusha of Eshnunna and appear to not be official copies. When the actual laws were composed is unknown. They are similar to the Code of Hammurabi . Rulers from the Early Dynastic period and governors under the Akkadian empire are currently unknown. Eshnunna was ruled by vassal governors under Ur III for a time, then was independent under its own rulers for several centuries, and finally controlled by vassal governors under Babylon after

6912-584: The rule of Su-Sin in the waning years of the Ur III Empire an administrator assigned to build the Mardu Wall reported "When I sent for word (to the area) between the two mountains it was brought to my attention that the Mardu were camped in the mountains. Simurrum had come to their aid. (Therefore) I proceeded to (the area) "between" the mountain range(s) of Ebih in order to do battle". Military struggles continues up to

7008-419: The site. Nineteen cylinder seals, two very damaged, were recovered. One seal is inscribed "Azuzum Governor of the (city of) Eshnunna Atta-ilī Scribe, your/his slave". Another reads "Bilalama! beloved [of the god Tishpak] ruler of the (city of) Eshnunna Ilšu-dan on of Ur-Ninsun the scribe (is) your/his servant". The final report from that excavation is in the publication process. During the Early Dynastic period,

7104-417: The south had subdued Urkesh and made it a vassal state. Urkesh later became a Mitanni religious center. The Hurrians also migrated further west in this period. By 1725 BC they are found also in parts of northern Syria , such as Alalakh . The mixed Amorite–Hurrian kingdom of Yamhad is recorded as struggling for this area with the early Hittite king Hattusilis I around 1600 BC. Hurrians also settled in

7200-448: The southeast, and later by the Assyrians to the east. At its maximum extent Mitanni ranged as far as west as Kizzuwatna by the Taurus mountains, Tunip in the south, Arraphe in the east, and north to Lake Van . Their sphere of influence is shown in spread Hurrian place names, personal names. Eventually, after an internal succession crisis, Mitanni fell to the Hittites, later to fall under

7296-605: The swallowed gods is like the Hurrian myth of Teshub and Kumarbi. It has been argued that the worship of Attis drew on Hurrian myth. The agglutinating and highly ergative Hurrian language is related to the Urartian language, the language of the ancient kingdom of Urartu. Together they form the Hurro-Urartian language family . The external connections of the Hurro-Urartian languages are disputed. There exist various proposals for

7392-545: The term Shubaru was used in Assyrian sources to refer to the remnants of the Mitanni in the upper Tigris valley. The Shubaru people revolted against the Assyrians multiple times in the last centuries of the second millennium BC. The term is related to Shubria , the name of a country located north of the upper Tigris River valley. Shubria was located between Urartu and Assyria and existed as an independent kingdom until its conquest by Assyria in 673–672 BC. The Shubrians worshipped

7488-407: The third millennium BC. There is evidence that they were initially allied with the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia , indicating they had a firm hold on the area by the reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC). A king of Urkesh with the Hurrian name Tupkish had a queen with the name Uqnitum, Akkadian for "girl of lapis lazuli". Hurrian names occur sporadically in northwestern Mesopotamia and

7584-470: The three, Iqish-Tishpak was unrelated to Ipiq-Adad II and was probably a usurper. The sequence of these three rulers has not been established with certainty. After these three rulers, Dadusha, a brother of Naram-Sin, became king of Eshnunna. Shamshi-Adad I had multiple conflicts with the kingdom of Eshnunna, especially over the cities of Saduppum and Nerebtum. A letter addressed to the later king of Mari Zimri-Lim described how Shamshi-Adad had once called

7680-508: The time of the final ruler of Ur III, Ibbi-Sin (c. 2028–2004 BC) with his third year name reporting destroying Smiurrum. Simurrum seems to have become independent after the collapse of Ur III . In order to make peace with a fellow ruler Turukki leader Zaziya (Ur III period) handed over a ruler of Simurrum: "Zaziya took his children ["grandchildren"] and led them to Zazum of Qutu as hostages (ana yaltiti ... usn). He transported tribute [there]. Zaziya turned him over (ittadinsu) to Zazum of Qutu

7776-419: The world" and "king who enlarged the kingdom of Eshnunna." The Mari Chronicles mentions that he defeated Aminum of Assur but was defeated by Elam. Later, he effectively brought the Diyala region under the control of Eshnunna. Ipiq-Adad II may have also conquered Rapiqum , but the year-name had been suggested by other scholars to instead read "Rapiqum and its surroundings," and that it is an alternative form of

7872-561: Was Mary Chubb . The primary focuses of the Chicago excavations were the palace and the attached temple (28 meters by 28 meters with 3 meter wide walls) of Su-Sin (termed by the excavators The Palace of the Rulers and The Gimilsin Temple respectively). The palace was built during the time of Ur III ruler Shugi and the Temple by governor Ituria to the deified Ur III ruler Su-Sin during his reign. The palace

7968-755: Was Pu-ut-ti-ma-da-al. Several inscriptions suggest that Simurrum was quite powerful, and shed some light on the conflicts around the Zagros area, another such example being the Anubanini rock relief of the nearby Lullubi Kingdom. Four inscriptions and a relief (now in the Israel Museum ) of the Simurrum have been identified at Bitwata near Ranya in Iraq , and one from Sarpol-e Zahab in Iran . The Simurrun were regularly in conflict with

8064-579: Was a 100 hectare lower town. Second millennium BC pottery is often found during construction. Altun Kupri , on the Little Zab river, has also been suggested. A complication is that when a city-state captured large numbers of soldiers etc. they were sometimes placed in rural settlements named after their origin, a practice that continued into Neo-Babylonian times. There were settlements near Girsu / Lagash named Lullubu(na) and Šimurrum for example. The as yet unlocated city of Karaḫar (also Qarahar and Harahar)

8160-439: Was acquired from Egypt. Not many examples of Hurrian metal work have survived, except from the later Urartu. Some small fine bronze lion foundation pegs were discovered at Urkesh. Among the Hurrian texts from Ugarit are the oldest known instances of written music , dating from c. 1400 BC. Among these fragments are found the names of four Hurrian composers, Tapšiẖuni, Puẖiya(na), Urẖiya, and Ammiya. The Hurrian culture made

8256-416: Was an Amorite. Four texts from Drehem with seals mentioning him have been found, including: "Sillus-Dagan, governor of Simurrum: Ilak-süqir, son of Alu, the chief administrator,(is) your servant." For a time, Simurrum was in alliance with Ur and a diplomat from Simurrum, Kirib-ulme, is recorded as active during Amar-Sin (c. 2046–2037 BC) years 8 and 9 into Shu-Sin (c. 2037–2028 BC) years 1 and 2. During

8352-450: Was built in Urkesh in the late third millennium BC. The town of Kahat was a religious centre in the kingdom of Mitanni. The Hurrian myth "The Songs of Ullikummi", preserved among the Hittites, is a parallel to Hesiod 's Theogony ; the castration of Uranus by Cronus may be derived from the castration of Anu by Kumarbi , while Zeus 's overthrow of Cronus and Cronus's regurgitation of

8448-466: Was destroyed", S31 "Year: Karaḫar was defeated for the second time", and in S45 "Year: Šulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four-quarters, smashed the heads of Urbilum, Simurrum, Lullubum and Karahar in a single campaign". Two ensis (governors) of Karaḫar under the Ur III empire are known, Ea-rabi and Arad-Nanna. During the reign the fourth ruler of the Ur III dynasty Shu-Sin (c. 2037–2028 BC) it

8544-460: Was formed, and Elam was forced to retreat back, but not before sacking the city of Eshnunna. Hammurabi would later write a letter to the sukkalmah that he did say the people of Eshnunna "would not fail to live up to their reputation as rebels." Silli-Sin , who was not related to the previous royal family of Eshnunna, was installed as king in Eshnunna by the Eshnunnian troops. Hammurabi and Silli-Sin exchanged tablets with each other to swear oaths in

8640-471: Was frequently in conflict with the city. The 44th year name of the second ruler, Shulgi (c. 2094–2046 BC), was "Year Simurrum and Lullubum were destroyed for the ninth time". In one of these conflicts Shulgi captured the ruler of Sumurrum, Tabban-darah, and sent him to exile in Drehem . Sillus-Dagan is known to have been a governor of Simurrum under Ur III at the time of ruler Amar-Sin. It has been suggested that he

8736-492: Was given control of Shubat-Enlil. Atumrum seemed to have kept his old allegiance to Eshnunna, since Eshnunna was listed as one of his allies. However, the relationship between them seemed to have deteriorated as Atumrum later moved the troops from Eshnunna to a new quarters, which the soldiers complained was "a city in ruins." Representatives of Eshnunna was present in a treaty talk between Atamrum (king of Andarig and Allahad) and Ashkur-Addu (king of Karana). Heimpel remarks that

8832-512: Was identified at Tell Billa during the middle of the second millenium BC. In 2022 Tell Billa was proposed as the possible site of the city of Šimānum (possibly known as Asimānum during the Akkadian Empire). Šimānum was important during the Ur III period (ca 2100 BC). The Mitanni Empire was a strong regional power limited by the Hittites to the north, Egyptians to the southwest, Kassites to

8928-462: Was married to Silli-Sin. In 1762 BC, in Year 31 of Hammurabi of Babylon, the Babylonians occupied the city of Eshnunna. He returned the titular deity of Assur which had been removed when Eshnunna captured the city of Assur. The fate of Silli-Sin is unknown, as the Mari archives would end 4 months later. In his 38th year name, Hammurabi would claim to have destroyed Eshnunna with a flood. In

9024-439: Was partially destroyed during the reign of Bilalama but was eventually fully restored. The remaining excavation efforts were directed to the Abu Temple whose beginnings went back to the Early Dynastic I period and which had undergone a series of major changes over the centuries. A large Southern Building was discovered, believed to be from the time of Ipiq-Adad II, of which only the foundations remained. A number of private houses and

9120-443: Was the only long Hurrian text known until a multi-tablet collection of literature in Hurrian with a Hittite translation was discovered at Hattusa in 1983. Hurrian settlements are distributed over three modern countries, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The heart of the Hurrian world is bisected by the modern border between Syria and Turkey. Several sites are situated within the border zone, making access for excavations problematic. A threat to

9216-417: Was to discourage the new king of Eshnunna, as he would not conclude peace with Eshnunna if he's not given Upi, Shahaduni and the banks of the Tigris. Silli-Sin seemed to have rejected these proposals. Silli-Sin may have also called for a mobilization of troops, which would have worried Hammurabi. Ishme-Dagan also forsook his past alliance with Mari and Babylon and allied with Eshnunna, perhaps because Atamrum

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