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Ekallatum

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Ekallatum(Akkadian:𒌷𒂍𒃲𒈨𒌍,URUE2.GAL.MEŠ, Ekallātum, "the Palaces" ) was an ancientAmoritecity-state and kingdom in upperMesopotamia.[1][2]

Stele of Adad-bel ukin, governor of Libbi-ali, Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, Ekallatum, Itu, and Ruqahu. From Assur, Iraq. 780 BCE. Pergamon Museum

Ekallatum, whose name means "the palaces," became the capital of anAmoritedynasty related toBabylon,which was important in the 19th and 18th centuries BCE period. The history of upper Mesopotamia in this period is documented in the archives ofMari, Syria.

The gods of the city were Addu (Hadad), who resided in Ekallātum, and Istar of Radana, who visited the city from time to time.[3]

History[edit]

Its first known king was the AmoriteIla-kabkabu,who seems to have entered into a conflict withIagitlimof Mari. His sonShamshi-Adad Iascended to the throne around 1810 BCE, continuing the conflict and attempting to extend into the valley along theKhabur River.He was a sometime ally, sometime enemy ofDadushaof Eshnunna (whose second year name was "Year in which Dadusza defeated the army of Ekallatum" ) in regional conflicts. His expansion was halted by Iagitlim's son,Iakhdunlim,and he was soon after defeated byNaram-Sin of Eshnunna,brother and successor of Dadusha, which caused him to flee toBabylon,a city founded and ruled by fellow Amorites.[4]He returned upon Naram-Sin's death. Soon thereafter, a series of military victories by Shamshi-Adad followed, and he seized all of Upper Mesopotamia, founding what historians now call the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia.[5]The campaign included the anne xing of nearby Assur. He founded his own capital atShubat-Enlil,entrusting Ekallatum to his elder sonIshme-Dagan I.(His other son,Yasmah-Adad,was placed on the throne of Mari at the time.) Ishme-Dagan appears to have been a capable military leader, but when his father died in around 1775, he proved unable to maintain the whole kingdom; nonetheless, he kept Ekallatum, while his brother lost Mari and was killed.

The reign of Ishme-Dagan was chaotic, often being involved in military conflict with Nurrugum (location unknown).[6]Unable to restore power to the city despite his many attempts, he was the target of nearby warlords, in particular,Zimrilimof Mari.[7]When theElamitestook Ekallatum in 1765, he sought refuge with his traditional ally --Hammurabiof Babylon—who helped him take back the throne. His time at Babylon may have been more in the way of captive than ally given:

"About the news on Išme-Dagan coming up to Ekallatum that my lord keeps hearing: he certainly did not [go up] to Ekallatum. Matters concerning him have happened, and they (people in Babylon?) started getting after him. The respondent (āpilum) of the god Marduk stood in the gate of the palace and was calling out repeatedly: “Išme-Dagan will not escape the hand of Marduk. He (Marduk) ties the bundle. And he will cross the border for it.” These things he called out repeatedly in the gate of the palace, and nobody said anything to him "[8]

Subsequently, Ekallatum became avassal citysubservient to the king of Babylon Hammurabi (a year name was "Year Hammu-rabi the king subjugated the land of the region of Subartu, Ekallatum, Burunda and the land of Zamlasz from the banks of the Tigris to the Sippar canal" ), who came to control all of Mesopotamia. With the death of Ishme-Dagan, his sonMut-Ashkursucceeded him.[9]He was the last known king of Ekallatum. Later Ekallātum fell under the control of theMitanniempire and eventually fell to theHittitesunderŠuppiluliuma I(1344–1322 BC).[10]

An inscription claims that the king of BabylonMarduk-nadin-ahhe(c. 1095–1078 BC) captured Ekallātum.[11]

The Neo-Assyrian rulerSennacherib(705–681 BC) reported that he returned the gods (their cult statues) "Adad and Shala" to Ekallātum after 418 years, claiming they had been deported by Babylonian rulerMarduk-nadin-ahhe(c. 1095–1078 BC).[12]

Location[edit]

It was speculated by one researcher that the original name of Ekallātum wasHamazi,changed after it was destroyed byIshbi-ErraofIsinafter the fall of the Ur III empire.[13]

An Ekallātum is mentioned in the Old Babylonian period texts ofMarias lying to the West of the Tigris River in theKhābūr Tringle Region.[14]One prominent researcher has suggested that the Mari texts contain two towns named Ekallātum, one on the Tigris and one which was Shamsi-Adad's capital at the headwater of a tributary of the Khabur River at the modern location of "Khoueïltla".[15][16]

In a long Old Babylonian itinerary fromEmarand back (portions on the tablet are lost), Ekallātum is the first stop on the northward route after Assur and the last stop before Assur on the return route.[17][18]

A tablet fragment was found at Tel Hazor which listed an expected trade path from Hazor to Mari and then on to Ekallatum.[19]

It has been suggested that Ekallatum lies within a days journey of Assur, most likely at Tell Haikal (Tulul el-Haikal), 15 kilometers north of Assur on the East bank of the Tigris.[6][20]More recently some researchers have discounted this location and instead suggested Tell Akra twenty kilometers east of Assur, also on the East bank of the Tigris.[21][22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Stiebing, William H. Jr. (July 2016).Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture.Routledge. p. 95.ISBN978-1-315-51116-0.
  2. ^Buck, Mary E. (2019-09-16).The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit: Historical Implications of Linguistic and Archaeological Parallels.BRILL. p. 88.ISBN978-90-04-41511-9.
  3. ^D. Charpin and J. M. Durand, "Assur avant L'Assyrie", MARI 8 (1997), pp. 367-91, 1997
  4. ^Rollinger, Robert, "Dāduša's stela and the vexed question of identifying the main actors on the relief", Iraq, vol. 79, pp. 203–12, 2017
  5. ^Michalowski, Piotr, and Adnan Misir, "Cuneiform Texts from Kazane Höyük", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 50, pp. 53–58, 1998
  6. ^abBeitzel, Barry J., "Išme-Dagan’s Military Actions in the Jezirah: A Geographical Study", Iraq, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 29–42, 1984
  7. ^Sasson, J. M., "Zimri-Lim’s March to Victory", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 177–78, 1972
  8. ^Heimpel, W., "Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary", Mesopotamian Civilizations 12, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003
  9. ^Reade, Julian, "Assyrian King-Lists, the Royal Tombs of Ur, and Indus Origins", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 1–29, 2001
  10. ^Bechar, Shlomit, "Chapter 1. Introduction", in Political Change and Material Culture in Middle to Late Bronze Age Canaan, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-35, 2022
  11. ^Hallo, W. W., "Akkadian Apocalypses", Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 231–42, 1966
  12. ^Zaia, Shana, "State-Sponsored Sacrilege: “Godnapping” and Omission in Neo-Assyrian Inscriptions ", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 19-54, 2015
  13. ^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: Undena, 1998
  14. ^Charpin, D. and Ziegler, N., "Mari et le Proche-Orient à l’époque amorrite: Essai d’histoire politique", FM 5, Paris: Société pour l’étude du Proche-Orient ancien, Sophie Démare-Lafont, 2003
  15. ^[1]Frayne, Douglas, "Towards a Historical Geography of the Khābūr Triangle Region in Old Babylonian Times. Part 1.", Journal of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 7, pp. 33-45, 2012
  16. ^Frayne, Douglas R., "Towards a Historical Geography of the Khābūr Triangle Region in Old Babylonian Times, Part II", CSMSJ 9/10, pp. 17-65, 2014- 2015
  17. ^Goetze, Albrecht, "An Old Babylonian Itinerary", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 51–72, 1953
  18. ^Hallo, William W., "The Road to Emar", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 57–88, 1964
  19. ^Horowitz, Wayne, and Nathan Wasserman, "An Old Babylonian Letter from Hazor with Mention of Mari and Ekallātum", Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 50, no. 3/4, pp. 169–74, 2000
  20. ^M. Birot, "Nouvelles decouvertes epigraphiques au Palais de Mari (Salle 115)", Syria 50, pp. 1-11, 1973
  21. ^Dittmann, R., "Ruinenbeschreibungen der Machmur-Ebene aus dem Nachlass von Walter Bachmann", in Finkbeiner, Dittmann, and Hauptmann (eds), pp. 87-102, 1995
  22. ^Eidem, J. and F. Højlund, "Assyria and Dilmun Revisited", in H. Waetzoldt, and H. Hauptmann (eds), Assyrien im Wandel derZeiten, Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient 6, pp. 25-31, 1997

Further reading[edit]

  • D. Charpin, "Tell Munbaqa, Ekallâtum-sur-l'Euphrate", NABU 32, 1993
  • Horowitz W., and N. Wasserman, "From Hazor to Mari and Ekallātum: A Recently Discovered Old-Babylonian Letter from Hazor", in Nomades et sédentaires dans le Proche- Orient ancien: Compte rendu de la XLVIe Rencontre assyriologique internationale, Paris, 10–13 juillet 2000, ed. Christophe Nicolle. Amurru 3. Paris: Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, pp. 335–44, 2004
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