Skip to main content

Full text of "Aram and Israel, or, the Aramaeans in Syria and Mesopotamia"

See other formats


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2008  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/aramisraeloraramOOkraeuoft 


ARAM  AND  ISRAEL 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
SALES  AGENTS 

NEW  YORK 

LEMCKE  &  BUECHNER 
30-32  Wbst  27th  Strebt 

LONDON 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
Amen  Corner,  E.G. 

SHANGHAI 

EDWARD  EVANS  &  SONS,  Ltd. 
30  North  Szechuen  Road 


TIL  ^»I3I^• 


•NAWIGU  ''   / 


"^      TliMTt 


NlNtVLft" 


/i-,  ,v  .     -jTLLLMAHlL 


•IA3AHA 


..^•' 


(^J-i 


ptlH-DlKANNA 

r-buL  KMLlN\y 
(•V3UX 


OV?LI 


V 


.-■.fs 


.r.^*'' 


f  ^* 


MAP  or  ij"   yj^B^^^^^^^^^^ 


UPPER.     3Y«.IA 


LOWER.     SYRIA 


\^^^ 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  ORIENTAL  STUDIES 
Vol.  XIII 


AKAM  AND  ISRAEL 


OR 


THE  ARAMAEANS    IN    SYRIA   AND 
MESOPOTAMIA 


BY 


EMIL  G.  H.  KRAELING,  Ph.D. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1918 

All  rights  reserved 


n 


Copyright,  1918 
Bt  Columbia  UNrvEBanr  I*rxs8s 


Printed  from  type,  March,  1018 


OS 
PilKl 


NOTE 

Gradually  the  tangled  skein  of  the  early  history  of  Western 
Asia  is  being  unwound.  Through  excavations  on  the  one  hand 
and  intensive  study  of  the  received  documents  on  the  other,  the 
relation  is  being  understood  born  by  the  various  peoples  and 
races  to  one  another;  and  light  is  being  thrown  upon  the  forces 
that  played  in  the  great  historic  drama  that  history  has  unrolled 
for  us  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Our  own  interest  in  this  history 
is  certain;  for  whatsoever  we  are  and  whatsoever  we  possess 
comes  to  us  from  the  Eastern  half  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
The  Coast  and  the  Hinterland  of  that  Sea  have  played  a  pre- 
ponderating part  in  determining  the  influence  that  was  supreme 
there. 

One  of  the  peoples  engaged  in  playing  that  part  were  the  Ara- 
maeans. Who  they  were  and  what  their  r61e  was  have  been 
studied  by  Dr.  KraeUng  with  much  assiduity  and  with  great 
care.  From  the  various  quarters  he  has  gathered  every  scintilla 
of  evidence  available;  and,  in  the  following  pages,  he  has  put 
this  evidence  into  connected  form,  so  that  he  who  reads  may 
learn.    It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  I  commend  the  work  that 

Dr.  KraeUng  has  done. 

RICHARD  GOTTHEIL 
Columbia  Univbesity 
Nov.  7, 1917 


PARENTIBUS  SUIS 

PRDIIS  BT  OFTIMIS  FBABCBPT0RX7M 

HTJNC  LIBRXJM 

DEDICAT  ATTCTOB 


FOREWORD 

The  following  pages  purport  only  to  give  a  sketch  of  the  his- 
tory of  those  Aramaean  groups,  which  are  of  interest  to  the 
student  of  the  Old  Testament.  I  have  endeavored  to  make 
my  account  readable  and  yet  thoroughly  scientific.  The  book 
offers  no  new  and  astonishing  revelations,  but  I  hope  that  here 
and  there  scholars  may  find  a  modest  wayside  flower  worth 
the  picking.  The  original  sources  are  constantly  cited.  The 
secondary  sources,  so  far  as  they  were  of  value  to  me,  or  may 
be  to  the  reader,  are  also  continually  referred  to.  The  inclusion 
of  numerous  references  in  the  text  has  made  many  abbrevi- 
ations necessary  and  has  caused  the  omission  of  the  names  of 
authors  of  magazine  articles  quoted.  Only  those  versed  in 
Oriental  studies  will  realize  how  much  we  owe  to  men  like 
DeUtzsch,  Hommel,  Johns,  Kittel,  Lidzbarski,  Meyer,  Miiller, 
Sachau,  Schiffer,  Streck,  Winckler  and  others,  whose  researches 
have  clarified  the  history  of  the  ancient  east  and  many  obscure 
passages  in  the  inscriptions.  I  have  devoted  special  attention 
to  geographical  matters,  for  geography  forms  the  basis  of  exact 
historical  study.  The  transcription  of  modern  place  names 
generally  follows  that  of  Richard  Kiepert. 

I  cannot  close  without  expressing  my  deepest  gratitude  to 
Professors  Richard  Gottheil  and  J.  Dynely  Prince  of  Columbia 
for  the  kindness  they  have  shown  me,  as  well  as  to  Professors 
A.  T.  Clay  of  Yale,  J.  A.  Montgomery  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to 
Professors  F.  Weissbach,  Geheimrat  H.  Zimmern,  Geheinarat  D. 
R.  Kittel  of  Leipzig,  my  revered  guides  in  the  realm  of  Oriental 
research. 

EMIL  G.  H.  KRAELING 

Luther's  Birthday  (Nov.  10),  1917 


IX 


k 


ERRATA 

age    16,  note  1.     Inate&d  oi  cf.  note  IS  read  cf.  note  S 
40,  line  8.  "        "  Ribab  read  Rihab 

50,  Une  22.         "        "  877-876  read  887-876 
67,  note  3.         "        "  Gebal  read  Gabala,  a  city  on  the  coast,  south 

of  Laodicea. 
130,  line  7  (from  below).     Instead  of  Qal'at  el  Mudtq,  which  is  the 
site  of  Qarqar,  read  Tell  Nebi  Mind, 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 
The  Soukcbs  page 

Destiny  of  the  Aramaeans  —  The  Aramaic  Inscriptions  —  Assyrian 
Annals  —  The  Old  Testament  Narrative  —  Classical  Authors 1 

CHAPTER  I 
The  Geographical  Background 

Extent  of  SjTia  —  Western  Mesopotamia  —  Position  of  S3n:ia  —  A 
Great  Highway  —  Natural  Features  and  Zones  —  Coelesyria  —  The 
Topography  and  the  States 7 

CHAPTER  II 
The.  Aramaean  Migration 

The  Arabian  Home  —  The  Akkadians  —  The  Hittites  — The  Amorites — 
The  Aramaean  Counter-movement  —  The  Suti  —  Ur  Kasdim  —  Qir 
—  Terah  and  the  Suti  —  The  Hittite  Invasion  —  The  Aflame  in 
Northern  Mesopotamia  —  Campaigns  of  Tiglathpileser  I  —  Aram 
Naharaim  —  The  Name  "Aramaean" 11 

CHAPTER  III 
The  Aramaeans  op  Harran 

Paddan-Aram  —  Tiglathpileser  I  and  Harran  —  The  Harran  Census  — 
The  Cities  and  Towns  —  Personal  Names  —  The  Life  —  Social 
Conditions  —  Marriage .' 23 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Invasion  of  Palestine 

"Hebrew"  and  Eberhannahar  —  Migration  to  Southern  Palestine  — 
Jacob  —  Israel  —  A  tribal  treaty  relating  to  intermarriage  —  Shec- 
hem  —  The  Rise  of  the  Amurrti  State  —  Jacob  the  Aramaean  —  The 
Qabiri  and  the  Aramaeans  —  Revival  of  the  Amorite  States  — 
Struggle  of  Hittites  and  Egyptians  —  The  Maritime  Peoples  —  The 
Arrival  of  the  Israel  Tribes  —  Moab,  Amon  and  the  Aramaeans  — 
The  Land  of  Qedem 31 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Rise  of  the  Aramaeans  in  Central  Stria 

Aramaeans  under  Memeptah  —  Kushanrishathaim  —  The  Aramaean 
Kingdoms — Beth-Rehob — Zobah  — The  Ammonite  War — Ma'acah 
and  Geshur  —  The  Battle  before  Rabbah  —  The  Battle  of  Helam 

—  Hadadezer's  Defeat  on  the  way  to  the  Euphrates  —  David  in  the 
Biqa*  —  Toi  of  Hamath's  Embassy 38 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Early  Kings  of  Damascus 

Location  and  Name  of  Damascus  —  Time  of  Aramaean  Occupation  — 
Israel's  Rule  of  Coelesyria  —  Rezon  and  the  Rise  of  the  Kingdom  — 
Baasha  and  Benhadad  —  The  Policy  of  Damascus  —  Omri  —  Ahab 
and  Benhadad  II  —  Rise  of  Assyrian  Power  —  The  Siege  of  Samaria 

—  The  Battle  of  Aphek 46 

CHAPTER  VII 
The  Mesopotamian  Kingdoms 

General  Survey  —  Bit-Adini  —  The  Trouble  in  Blt-JJalupe  —  Ashurna- 
zirpal's  Campaigns  879  —  The  Rebellion  in  Laqd  —  The  First  Blow 
at  Bit-Adini  —  The  Campaign  in  Syria  868  —  Shalmaneser's  Advance 
against  Bit-Adini  —  The  Campaign  of  858  —  The  Occupation  of  Til- 
Barsip  —  Its  Site  and  Inscriptions  —  The  Pursuit  of  A^uni  —  Beth- 
Eden  —  The  Smaller  PrincipaUties 63 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  North  Syrian  States 

Description  of  Principalities  —  Qattina  submits  to  Ashumazirpal  — 
The  Bargylus  Region  and  Luhuti  —  Shalmaneser  and  the  Battle  of 
Lutibu  —  The  Historical  Situation  —  The  Battle  of  Alisir  —  Tribute 
of  the  Syrian  Kings  at  Dabigu  858  —  Pitru  and  Qalman  854  —  The 
gattina  Trouble  832 66 

CHAPTER  IX 
The  Supremacy  of  Damascus 

Assyria's  Object  —  The  March  to  Qarqar  854  —  The  Syrian  League  — 
Shalmaneser's  Version  of  the  Battle  —  The  Old  Testament  DiflBculties 

—  Benhadad  and  Adad-idri  —  The  Solution  of  the  Problem  —  The 


CONTENTS 

Result  of  Qarqar  —  Further  Campaigns  of  Shalmaneser  —  Death  of 
Adad-idri  —  Syrian  League  falls  Apart  —  Battle  of  Saniru  —  Jehu's 
Tribute  —  Shalmaneser's  Campaign  839  —  Hazael's  Vengeance  on 
Israel  —  His  Conquests  —  Benhadad  III  —  The  Siege  of  Samaria 
under  Joahaz  —  The  Deliverance  —  Adadnir&ri  and  Mari'  of  Damas- 
cus —  Israel's  Recovery 73 


CHAPTER  X 

KiLAMMtT  OF  Sam' All 

The  Inscription  and  its  Language  —  The  Name  Kilammu  —  The 
Dynasty  of  Gabbar  —  Kilammu's  Foreign  Policy  —  The  Foreign 
Oppression  —  The  King  of  D  —  N  Y  M  —  Kilammu's  Peaceful 
Endeavors  —  Social  Achievements  —  Factions  in  Sam'al  —  Kil- 
ammu's Religious  Life  —  His  Relation  to  Assyria 85 


CHAPTER  XI 
Zakik  of  Hamath  and  La' ash 

The  City  of  Hamath  —  Borders  of  the  Kingdom  —  Relation  to  Assyria 

—  Zakir's  Inscription  —  La*  ash  and  Lu^uti  —  Zakir's  Rebellion  — 
Site  of  Hadrach  —  The  Allies  of  Benhadad  —  The  Siege  of  Hadrach 

—  Zakir's  Deliverance  —  His  Building  Operations  —  Close  of  the 
Inscription  —  ReUgion  of  the  Inscription 95 


CHAPTER  XII 

Northern  Syria  under  the  Vannic  Kings 

The  Urartu  State  —  Its  Part  in  History  —  The  Haldian  Advance  — 
Arpad's  R61e  —  Mati-ilu  of  Arpad  —  The  Treaty  —  Tiglathpileser's 
Struggle  for  Arpad  —  The  Campaign  against  Unqi  —  Azriy&u  of 
Yaudi  —  The  nineteen  Districts  of  Hamath  —  Efifect  of  Tiglathpile- 
ser's Victory  —  Further  Campaigns  against  the  Haldians 105 

CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Last  Days  of  DAMASctrs 

Tabel  and  Rezin  —  Anarchy  in  Israel  —  Menahem's  Tribute  —  The 
Coalition  against  Assyria  —  Pekah  and  Rezin  —  Ahaz  summons 
Tiglathpileser  —  The  Philistaean  Campaign  734  —  Damascus  be- 
sieged —  Expedition  to  Arabia  —  Rebellion  in  Israel  —  Hoshea's 
Tribute  —  Renewed  expedition  to  Philistaea  —  Tribute  of  Tyre  — 
Fall  of  Damascus  —  Ahaz  and  Tiglathpileser 115 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Kings  of  Sam'al 


Summary  —  The  Hadad  Inscription  —  The  Panammu  Inscription  — 
The  Bar-Rekab  Inscription  —  The  Sitting  Bar-Rekab  —  The  gil&ni 
or  palaces  of  Sam'al  —  Fortifications  —  Ya'di  and  Sam'al 122 


CHAPTER  XV 
The  Last  Rebellions 

Fall  of  Samaria  —  Yaubi'di's  Uprising  —  Sargon  in  Philistaea  —  Re- 
bellion of  Carchemish  —  Revolt  of  Gurgum  —  Triumph  of  the  Ara- 
maean Language 133 


-  LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 

F.  Hommel.  —  Aufsatze  und  Abhandlungen.     1892  ff. 

R.  F.  Harper,  —  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters.     1892  S. 

C.  H.  W.  Johns.  —  Assjrrian  Deeds  and  Documents.    Vols.  II, 
III.     1901. 

Herzfeld  und  Sarre.  —  Am  Euphrat  imd  Tigris.     Vol.  I.     1911. 

F.  Hommel.  —  The  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition.     1898. 

American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages. 

King  and  Budge.  —  Annals  of  the  Kings  of  AssjTia.      Vol.  I. 
1902. 

H.  Winckler.  —  AltorientaUsche  Forschungen.     1897  f . 

Ausgrabungen  in  Sendschirli.     Pts  1-4.     1893-1911. 

H.  Winckler.  —  Alttestamentliche  Untersuchimgen.     1892. 

Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie.     Ed.  Delitzsch  and  Haupt.     1881  f. 

J.  H.  Breasted.  —  Ancient  Records  of  Egypt.    5  vols.     1896  ff. 

F.  Bohl.  —  Kanaanaer  und  Hebraer.     1911. 

Corpus  Inscriptionum  Semiticarum.     Part  11. 

A.  T.  Clay.  —  Amurru  the  Home  of  the  Northern  Semites.     1909. 

Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets.     1896  f. 

Fr.  Dehtzsch.  —  Wo  lag  das  Paradies?     1881. 

Carl  Ritter.  —  Erdkunde,  XV,  XVII.     1854. 

M.  Lidzbarski.  —  Ephemeris  fiir  Semitische  Epigraphik.     1900  ff. 

Ed.  Meyer.  —  Geschichte  des  Altertums.    I,  pt.  2.     1908. 

F.  Honunel.  —  Geographic  und  Geschichte  des  Alten  Orient. 
1907. 

R.  Kittel.  —  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel.     1909  f . 

C.  H.  W.  Johns.  —  Assyrian  Doomsday  Book.     1901. 

Journal  of  Biblical  Literature. 

Winckler  und  Zimmern.  —  Die  Keilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Tes- 
tament.    3.  Aufl.     1902. 
K  H  K  Kurzer  Hand.  —  Kommentar  zum  Alten  Testament  (edited  by 

Karl     Marti):    Budde.  —  SamueUs.      1897;    Benzinger. — 
Konige.     1899. 
Kn  Knudzton.  —  Die  Tontafehi  von  El-Amama.     1907  f. 

LXX  The  Greek  Septuagint  Version  of  the  Old  Testament. 

MAE  W.  M.  Muller.  —  Asien  und  Europa.     1893. 

Masp  III      G.  Maspero.  —  Passing  of  Empires.     1900. 
M  D  O  G      Mitteilungen  der  Deutschen  Orient  Gesellschaft. 


AA 

ABL 

ADD 

AET 

AHT 

A  JSL 

AKA 

AOF 

AS 

ATV 

BA 

BAR 

Bohl 

CIS 

Clay 

CT 

DP 

EK 

ESE 

GA 

GG 

GV  J 

HC 

JBL 

KAT 

LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 

M  K  A  L.  Messerschmidt.  —  Keilschrifttexte  aus  Assur  Historischen 
Inhalts.     1911. 

M  T  The  Massoretic  Text  of  the  Old  Testament. 

M  V  A  G      Mitteilungen  der  Vorderasiatischen  Gesellschaft. 

N  S  I  G.  A.  Cooke.  —  North  Semitic  Inscriptions.     1903. 

O  L  Z  Orientalistische  Literaturzeitung. 

Procksch       Die  Genesis.     1913. 

P  S  B  A       Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology. 

R  H.  Rawlinson.  —  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia.    5  vols. 

1861  f. 

R  A  Revue  Arch^ologique. 

R  T  P  H.  Rost.  —  Keilschrifttexte  Tiglathpileser's  III.    1893. 

S  A  S.  Schiffer.  —  Die  Aramaer.    Geographisch-Historische  Unter- 

suchungen.    1911. 

Sachau         Ed.  Sachau.  —  Reise  in  Syrien  und  Mesopotamien.     1883. 

S  B  A  Sitzungsberichte  der  Berliner  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften. 

Textb.  H.  Winckler.  —  Keilinschriftliches  Textbuch  zum  Alten  Testa- 

ment.   3d  ed.    1908. 

W  G  I  H.  Winckler.  —  Geschichte  Israels.    2  vols.    1895,  1900. 

Z  A  Zeitschrift  filr  Assyriologie. 

Z  A  W  Zeitschrift  fUr  Alttestamentliche  Wissenschsit. 

Z  D  M  G     Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesellschaft. 

Z  D  P  V       Zeitschrift  des  Deutschen  Palastina  Vereins. 


zvi 


THE   ARAMAEANS 


IN 

SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

INTRODUCTION 

THE  SOURCES 

As  the  early  history  of  mankind  is  unrolled  before  our  eyes  and 
as  we  learn  of  the  struggles  of  nations  whose  names  have  been 
forgotten  for  ages,  we  must  needs  marvel  over  nature's  endless 
capacity  for  producing  ever  new  variations  of  the  race,  with  a 
Babel  of  tongues  so  vast  and  bewildering.  Yet,  somehow,  each 
of  these  peoples  that  once  trod  over  the  face  of  the  globe  had 
its  place  in  the  structure  of  progress  and  contributed  some  new 
energy  toward  the  onward  march  of  the  world.  The  doctrine 
that  it  is  not  the  nature  of  the  absolute  to  reveal  itself  fully  in 
one  individual,  may  well  be  applied  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 
None  of  them  alone  represents  the  ideal  of  humanity,  but  each 
possesses  something  which  it  must  give  toward  the  realization 
of  this  ideal  before  it  vanishes  to  be  no  more  seen.  And  in  this 
great  fellowship  Aram,  too,  has  its  place.  True,  its  mission  was 
not  to  create  eternal  values,  as  is  the  case  with  Hellas  and  Israel. 
It  was  rather  the  predestined  medium  through  which  these  values 
were  to  be  communicated  throughout  the  Orient. 

The  history  of  the  Aramaeans  cannot  yet  be  written.  Through 
the  gloom  that  enshrouds  their  destinies  our  sources  only  now 
and  then  cast  a  fitful  glimmer.  We  possess  merely  flash-light 
pictures,   taken    here   and    there,  and    preserved  in    papyri   or 

1 


) 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

engraved  on  stone  or  written  on  clay.  These  the  chronicler  must 
piece  together;  they  must  speak  to  him  and  reveal  the  heart- 
beats of  the  race  and  enable  him  to  paint  his  sujet  in  colors  true 
to  Ufe.  Of  the  Aramaeans  we  know  just  enough  to  give  an  im- 
pressionistic design  of  who  they  were  and  what  befell  them. 
aL  Only  a  few  original  documents  of  old  Aramaean  origin  have 

come  down  to  us.  The  numerous  Aramaic  inscriptions  of  Nab- 
ataean  and  Palmyrene  provenance/  the  valuable  Papyri  from  the 
upper  Nile,  dating  from  the  Persian  era,*  do  not  concern  us  here; 
for  the  p)eriod  with  which  we  propose  to  deal  is  the  one  marked  by 
the  hegemony  of  Assyria,  which  ended  with  the  fall  of  Nineveh 
606  B.C.  The  old  Aramaic  inscriptions  antedating  this  event  all 
come  from  northern  and  central  Syria.  Foremost  among  them 
are  the  inscriptions  of  the  kings  of  Sam'al,  Kilammu  (who,  though 
an  Aramaean,  still  writes  in  Phoenician),  Panammu  and  Bar- 
Rekab,  belonging  to  the  eighth  century  and  unearthed  at  Sengirli, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Amanus  range  (Chs.  X,  XIV).  Of  equal  import- 
ance is  also  the  stele  of  Zakir,  king  of  Hamath  on  the  Orontes, 
from  the  same  period  (Ch.  XI).  These  are  sources  of  the  very 
first  rank  and  offer  valuable  insight  into  the  language,  life  and 
religion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Syria.' 

Our  chief  geographical  and  historical  information,  however,  is 
gained  from  contemporaneous  records  in  other  tongues.  The 
Egyptian  monuments,  though  of  great  value  for  previous  Syrian 
history,  furnish  only  small  gleanings  for  the  Aramaean  epoch.* 
The  Hittite  inscriptions,  from  Carchemish,  Mar'ash,  Hamath 
and  elsewhere,  will  doubtless  become  an  important  source  for 

*  Cf .  the  Ck)rpu8  Inscriptionum  Semiticarum,  T.  II,  Pt.  1 ;  also  Lidzbarski, 
Nordsemitische  Epigraphik,  1898,  and  the  English  translations  with  com- 
mentary in  Cooke,  North  Semitic  Inscriptions,  1903. 

*  Sayce  and  Cowley,  The  Assuan  Papyri,  1907;  Sachau,  Aramaische 
Papyrus  und  Ostraka  aus  Elephantine,  1911. 

'  The  mortuary  inscriptions  of  the  priests  Sin-zir-ban  and  Agbar  of  Nfirab 
date  probably  from  605-552  B.C.  (N  S  I  187). 

*  Cf.  Breasted,  Ancient  Records  of  Egypt,  5  vols.,  1896  f .,  and  especially 
W.  M.  Miiller,  Asien  und  Europa,  1893. 

2 


INTRODUCTION 

our  knowledge  when  once  they  can  be  made  to  yield  their  time- 
honored  secrets.^  But  at  present  we  must  mainly  depend  upon 
the  cuneiform  literature  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  The  dawn 
of  Aramaean  history  greets  us,  it  seems,  in  archaic  inscriptions 
from  Nippur  and  Lagash  from  the  third  millennium  b.c.'^  The 
wanderings  of  the  Aramaeans  may  then  be  traced  in  letters  of 
the  Hammurapi  dynasty '  and  of  the  Amarna  age,*  and  more 
clearly  in  recently  discovered  monuments  of  the  early  Assyrian 
kings  Adadnirdri  I  and  Shalmaneser  I,^  as  well  as  in  the  Prism  of 
Tiglathpileser  I  and  in  the  so-called  "Broken  ObeUsk."®  (Ch.  II) 
From  the  tenth  century  on  we  learn  of  Aramaean  kingdoms  in 
Mesopotamia  and  Syria.  For  our  knowledge  of  Mesopotamian 
geography  the  Annals  of  Tukulti-Ninib '  form  a  welcome  addi- 
tion to  the  inscriptions  of  Ashumazirpal  *  and  Shalmaneser  III.^ 
The  two  last  named  monarchs,  together  with  Tiglathpileser  IV,^* 
are  our  main  source  for  the  history  and  geography  of  the 
Aramaean  states  in  Syria.  Nor  should  we  omit  the  mention  of 
Adadnirdri  IV  ^^  and  of  Sargon.^^  In  some  instances  the  Assyrian 
Eponym  Canon,^*  so  invaluable  for  our  chronology,  furnishes 
brief  but  precious  data.  In  studying  the  Assyrian  annals  we 
must  everywhere  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  they  are  prone  to 

'  Cf.  the  account  of  Garstang,  Land  of  the  Hittites,  1910. 

*  Cf .  Thureau-Dangin,  Die  Siunerischen  und  Akkadischen  Konigsinschrif  ten, 
1907. 

*  Cf.  Ungnad,  Altbabylonische  Briefe  aus  der  Hammurapi  Zeit,  '13. 

*  Cf.  Knudtzon,  Die  El- Amarna  Tafebi,  2  vols.,  191  If.;  also  the  Boghaz-Koi 
Archives,  cited  by  Winckler  in  '  Vorlaufige  Nachrichten,'  M  D  O  G  '07  no.  35. 

*  Collected   in    Messerschmidt,    KeUschrif  ttexte    aus    Assur   historischen 
Inhalts,  1911. 

*  Now  newly  edited  by  King  and  Budge,  The  Annals  of  the  Kings  of  Assyria, 
Vol.  I,  1902,  p.  128  f. 

"I  Scheil,  Annates  de  Tukulti-Ninip  II,  '09. 
«  Newly  edited,  A  K  A  p.  155  £f. 

'  For  the  present  we  must  depend  on  Schrader's  Keilinschriftliche  Bibli- 
othek,  I,  '89,  p.  129  ff. 
1"  The  final  edition  is  that  of  Rost,  Keilschrifttexte  Tiglathpilesers  1893. 
"  Cf .  KeUinschrifthche  BibUothek,  I,  p.  188  f . 

^^  The  final  edition  is  that  of  Winckler,  Keilschrifttexte  Sargons,  1889. 
"  Cf.  KeilinschriftUche  BibUothek,  I,  208  f.;  Textb.,  73  f. 

3 


Y 


V 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

exaraerate  greatly  to  the  glory  of  their  authors,  and  to  omit  all 
ZZnof  feverls.   Sometimes,  too,  the  order  of  eventa  is  log.ca^ 
"ather  than  chronological,  and  occasionally  u„portantd>sc^p- 
ancies  appear  in  the  various  inscriptions  of  the  same  king     Here 
the  so3  methods  of  historical  research  must  be  apphed  to 
ItaLThe  truth..    From  the  cultural  and  «l>^o^ J  »  P^^ 
the  Harran  Census'  (Ch.  Ill),  the  Mesopotamian  contract  l.tera 
tuL'ld  the  treaty  of  Ashur-nir&ri  with  Mat.-.lu  of  Arpad 
Tt  Xmare  extremely  illuminating.    For  the  life  m  the  provmc^ 
Ind  sXt^tamaeln  principalities  the  lette.  of  theSargon.d 
npriod  offer  meager  information.* 

■^^r  next  gre^  source  is  the  Old  Testament.  True,  the  h.stor- 
iea?^,^LtcTnces  concerning  Aram's  relations  U>  Israel  preserv^ 
TZ  great  treasury  of  ancient  lore  are  seldom  contemporaneous^ 

iCfnrrr  r^erentiate  hetw^n  vario.  or.  and 

r^o"  TayTt  fully  determined.  But  where  the  account,  on 
mTr^al  eviLce,  can  be  shown  to  be  close  in  point  of  time  t» 
^"1:  relatei,  the  standard  of  accuracy  '-- "y  ^^^ 
For  the  writers  of  Hebrew  hUUiry  were  not,  like  the  Assyrian 
^■bL  official  ch«,niclers  bent  on  glorifying  th-  -ereigns^ 
They  d  d  not  shrink  from  describing  disasters  and  defeats.  On 
the  other  hand,  however,  their  reUgious  bias  often,  as  in  the 
caL  ot  Ahab,  prevented  them  from  giving  a  correct  estimate  of 

^r:!Su.WnnU..ine...H«...tuayh.hee„^e..OU.teM. 
^X"a?C;X  Book  or  libera.  C^  of  th«  DUtrict  round 


Harran,  1901 


T^i  above  all  RudoU  Kit.«r.  GeschichW  desVolkes  Israel,  2  vol..,  1909  f., 
with  its  detaUed  treatment  of  the  sources. 


INTRODUCTION 

For  the  early  period  of  Aramaean  history  the  Old  Testament 
traditions  must  be  used  with  the  greatest  of  care.  'It  should 
always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Hebrew  writers  did  not  aspire 
to  set  forth  the  history  of  the  heathen  peoples  round  about. 
Where  they  refer  to  them  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  accident.  And 
then  the  accuracy  of  their  information  needs  to  be  closely  ex- 
amined. No  scholar  would  therefore  presume  to  make  these 
traditions  the  basis  of  a  history.  On  the  other  hand  we  may 
thankfully  make  use  of  them,  at  least  by  way  of  illustration, 
where  they  harmonize  with  what  we  learn  from  the  monuments. 
It  will  be  seen  that  in  a  surprising  number  of  instances  the  true 
course  of  events  is  mirrored  in  the  Old  Testament.  Thus  the 
patriarchal  period,  beneath  the  guise  of  personal  adventure, 
reflects  the  Aramaean  migration  and  even  the  social  life  of  certain 
tribes  (cf.  below  Chs.  II-IV).  The  period  of  the  Judges  has  only 
vague  news  to  offer,  and  under  the  first  kings  of  Israel  we  do 
not  fare  much  better,  but  nevertheless  we  shall  find  certain  fixed 
points  of  tradition  which  we  can  safely  adopt  for  the  recon- 
struction of  Aramaean  history  (Ch.  V).  From  the  time  of  Omri 
on,  however,  we  are  better  informed  and  occasionally  have  ex- 
cellent contemporary  witnesses  of  events.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
deal  in  further  detail  with  individual  passages  here.  The  use 
that  is  made  of  them  in  the  course  of  our  narrative  will  indicate 
sufficiently  to  those  versed  in  critical  problems  what  attitude  is 
assumed  towards  them  in  each  instance.  Nowhere  is  a  light- 
hearted  acceptance  of  mere  tradition  to  be  found,  as  little  as  an 
espousal  of  the  fanciful  theories  of  some  moderns. 

The  authors  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world  have  little  to  offer  for 
our  theme.  Perhaps  the  Eremboi  of  the  Odyssey  (4,  84),  to 
whom  Menelaus  came  after  visiting  Ethiopians  and  Sidonians,  or 
the  Arimoi  of  the  Iliad  (2,  782) ,  in  whose  land  the  monster  Typhon 
was  concealed,  may  represent  our  Aramaeans,  for  it  is  not  at  all 
unlikely  that  the  echo  of  the  gigantic  Aramaean  onset  should 
have  reached  the  ears  of  the  Homeric  bards  on  the  shores  of 
Hellas.    At  the  time  of  Herodotus  and  Xenophon,  however,  the         A 

5 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Aramaean  wave  had  long  spent  its  force  and  the  western  Aramaean 
states  had  crumbled,  so  that  we  learn  nothing  of  value  for  our 
purpose  from  their  pages.  If  Josephus  (Ant.  VII,  5,  2)  cites  for 
the  history  of  Aram  the  works  of  Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  the 
contents  of  the  quotation  cannot  impress  us,  for  they  offer  merely 
misunderstandings  spim  out  of  the  biblical  traditions.^  Only 
for  the  reconstruction  of  ancient  geography  ^  can  we  gain  infor- 
mation of  value  from  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  and  perhaps 
also  for  our  knowledge  of  the  Aramaean  religion,*  though  the 
task  here  becomes  extremely  difficult  in  view  of  the  syncretism 
prevalent  in  Syria  in  such  matters  since  early  days. 

These  then  are  the  materials  out  of  which  the  workman  with 
keen  chisel  must  carve  the  history  of  the  Aramaean  neighbors 
of  Israel. 

*  Cf .  Schrader's  Keilinschriften  und  Geschichtsforschung,  78,  379  f . 

*  Cf .  especially  the  great  work  of  Carl  Ritter,  Erdkunde,  Vols.  XV  and  XVII. 
The  results  of  modem  travel  and  of  classical  geography  are  presented  in  the 
invaluable  maps  of  Syria  and  Mesopotamia  by  Richard  Kiepert,  appended  to 
von  Oppenheim's,  Vom  Mittelmeer  zum  Persischen  Golf,  2  vols.,  1899-1900. 

*  Lucian's  De  Dea  Syria  dealing  with  the  worship  of  Atargatis  at  Hierapolis, 
the  ancient  Aramaean  Nappigu,  is  the  most  noteworthy  classical  contribution. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  BACKGROUND 

In  order  to  understand  properly  the  history  of  any  people,  it 
is  first  necessary  to  portray  the  setting  upon  which  it  transpired. 
For  by  the  physiography  of  the  land,  its  position  in  respect  to 
other  portions  of  the  earth's  surface,  its  natural  barriers  and 
features,  the  destiny  of  its  inhabitants  is  largely  controlled.  The 
scene  of  Aramaean  history,  so  far  as  it  is  the  object  of  the  present 
study,  is  laid  chiefly  in  Syria  and  in  the  great  river  country  east 
of  it,  in  Mesopotamia. 

These  two  regions  in  reality  form  a  unit,  for  the  Euphrates, 
which  is  supposed  to  mark  their  boundary,  cannot  be  regarded  as 
a  barrier  of  importance.  In  reality  Syria  extends  as  far  east  as 
Nisibis  and  the  valley  of  the  Qabtir,  and  "Mesopotamia"  should 
be  applied  only  to  that  part  of  the  6ezireh  between  the  IJabur 
and  Babylonia  (G  A  §  332).  Thus  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
geographer  the  northern  border  of  "Greater  Syria"  should  be 
drawn  over  the  Tur  'Abdin  and  Karagah  Dagh  to  Samosata  and 
Mar'ash.  For  practical  reasons,  however,  we  shall  do  well  to 
abide  by  the  traditional  terminology  and  to  deal  with  western 
Mesopotamia  as  distinct  from  Syria. 

Two  streams,  both  tributary  to  the  Euphrates,  divide  western 
Mesopotamia  vertically.  From  the  highlands  on  both  sides  of 
the  Nimrtid  Dagh  near  Edessa  the  Bali^j  originates  and  flows 
down  to  meet  the  great  river  near  Raqqa.  The  original  capital 
of  the  Balib  valley  is  Harran  whose  importance,  however,  was 
later  overshadowed  by  Urhai  (Edessa)  from  which  this  district 
received  the  name  Osroene.  Further  east  a  larger  stream,  the 
JJabur,  descends  from  the  Karagah  Dagh  and  Tur  'Abdin  and 
merges  into  the  Euphrates  near  ed-Der.    Along  its  course  nu- 

7 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA   AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

merous  important  cities  flourished,  in  the  north  notably  Mardin 
and  Nisibis. 

^  Syria  west  of  the  Euphrates  was  for  ages  known  as  Amurrii. 
Originally  this  term  pertained  only  to  a  powerful  state  whose 
center  was  in  the  Lebanon  district.  This  is  attested  to  by  the 
fact  that  the  region  at  the  passes  of  the  Amanus  is  called  Sam'al 
or  "north,"  while  Yamln  or  "south"  (later  Yemen)  cUngs  to  the 
district  south  of  Palestine.  (K  A  T  18)  Such  a  termuaology  can 
only  have  arisen  when  the  center  of  gravity,  pohtically  speaking, 
was  midway  between  Gaza  and  the  Cilician  Gate,  i.e.,  in  central 
Syria.  The  Akkadians  however  called  the  entire  west-land 
Amurrii  as  pars  pro  toto,  although  traces  of  the  older  usage  are 
by  no  means  infrequent, 
y  A  glance  at  the  map  reveals  the  unique  position  held  by  Syria 
as  the  bridge  between  Eurasia  and  Africa.  The  arid  and  in- 
hospitable nature  of  Arabia  forces  all  those  who  would  travel 
from  one  continent  to  the  other  to  traverse  this  narrow  strip  of 
land  along  the  Mediterranean  coast.  Moreover,  the  existence  of 
advanced  civilizations  on  the  Nile  and  Euphrates,  each  with 
commodities  desirable  for  the  other,  created  an  impetus  for 
traflBc.  Over  the  great  caravan  road  from  Egypt  to  Gaza, 
Megiddo,  Damascus  and  Aleppo,  and  thence  to  Mesopotamia  or 
to  Asia  Minor  rolled  much  of  the  wealth  of  the  ancient  world. 

A  nation  situated  on  such  a  great  thoroughfare  should  be  a 
world  power.  This  was  indeed  realized  in  very  early  days  by 
the  state  of  Amurrii,  which  together  with  Elam,  Subartu  and 
Akkad  made  up  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  as  being  the 
most  important  states  in  their  quarter  (B  A  VI  17).  But  with 
the  rise  of  imperiahsm  in  Egypt  and  in  Mesopotamia  the  power 
of  the  Syrian  empire  was  doomed.  For  its  borders  lay  open 
towards  both  of  its  great  neighbors.  And  the  billows  of  migrating 
peoples  that  descended  from  Asia  Minor  and  Armenia,  and  issued 
out  of  Arabia  were  destined  to  strike  Syria  with  irresistible  impact. 

The  natural  features  of  the  land  predestined  it  to  the  fate  of 
producing  a  number  of  small  rival  states.     For  it  divides  into 

8 


THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  BACKGROUND 

three  latitudinal  zones.     Each  of  these  is  marked  by  rivers.    The 
southern  zone  is  watered  by  the  Jordan,  which  rises  from  the  foot-  yC 

hills  of  Mt.  Hermon  and  flows  south  into  the  Dead  Sea.     Within  '' 

this  region  the  Philistaean  plain  and  the  hill  country  of  Judah  and 
of  Ephraim  are  the  main  features.  The  central  zone  is  marked 
by  the  Orontes,  which  flows  north  between  the  Lebanon  and 
Antilebanon  and  around  the  Bargylus  in  a  large  loop  to  the  Medi- 
terranean. Between  these  two  zones  lies  the  Biqd*,  a  fertile  plain 
between  the  Lebanon  and  Antilebanon,  forming  the  "Coele"  or 
"belly"  of  Syria.  The  coastal  plain  of  central  Syria  is  narrow 
and  intermittent,  and  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  land  by  the  ' 
steep  walls  of  the  Lebanon;  protected  situation  and  splendid 
harbors  have  made  this  strip  a  distinct  country,  Phoenicia.  The 
northern  zone  is  marked  by  the  twin  rivers,  Afrin  and  Kara- 
Su.  The  Amanus  mountains  and  the  highlands  east  to  'Aintab 
form  the  watershed  from  which  these  latter  streams  flow  south 
to  the  lake  of  Antioch  and  thence  with  the  Orontes  to  the  sea. 
(E  K  XV^  20)  It  is  immediately  apparent  that  the  southern 
sector  will  lie  chiefly  within  the  sphere  of  Egypt's  influence,  while 
the  northern  sector  will  be  controlled  by  the  cultural  forces  of 
Mesopotamia  and  Asia  Minor.  Only  in  the  central  portion  of 
the  land  will  an  independent  life  be  at  all  possible. 

Coelesyria,  the  biblical  Aram,  it  indeed  seems,  has  been  espe-  "N 
cially  favored  by  nature  to  fulfill  a  historical  though  limited  task.  \ 
Its  heart  is  the  Marsyas  plain  (il  Biqa'),  a  beautiful  garden  spot 
watered  by  the  Litany  river,  and  protected  on  all  sides  by  the 
ramparts  of  great  mountains.  Through  it  leads  the  main  caravan 
road  of  Syria,  But  there  is  also  a  second  highway,  which  in  a 
large  loop  circumvents  the  Biqa'  and  passes  through  Damascus, 
an  oasis  on  the  edge  of  the  desert.     Whether  the  Biqa*  or  Damascus  / 

becomes  the  center  of  a  possible  kingdom,  a  conflict  with  their 
southerly  neighbor   is   inevitable.     For   the  first  goal  of  a  ris-  \ 

ing  nation  must  be  to  gain  an  open  road  to  the  sea,  and  this  \ 

road    nature   marked  out  through  northern  Palestine  to  Akko. 
(G  V  J  II  323).     To  safeguard  the  kingdom  the  region  of  Gilead 

9 


THE   ARAMAEANS  IN    SYRIA   AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

must  also  be  annexed,  since  it  forms  a  dangerous  salient  on  the 
left  flank.  The  struggle  between  Aram  and  Israel  is  therefore  a 
logical  necessity. 

As  for  the  remainder  of  the  land,  our  superficial  survey  of  its 
topography  gives  us  an  indication  of  where  states  of  any  size 
might  spring  up.  In  the  south  the  districts  of  Idumaea,  Judaea 
and  Ephraim  as  well  as  the  Shephelah  plains  furnish  opportunity 
for  principahties  to  crystaUize.  In  the  central  portion,  the 
Lebanon  district,  just  described,  and  the  Bargylus  district  from 
the  Tripolis  to  the  Laodicea  highways  are  apparent  foci.  At  the 
dividing  line  of  the  central  and  the  northern  sector  the  lake  of 
Antioch  with  the  fertile  *Amq  will  see  the  rise  of  a  power  con- 
trolling the  road  to  the  gulf  of  Alexandrette,  as  well  as  the  moim- 
tain  district  between  the  Orontes  and  the  way  to  Laodicea.  Above 
this  the  plain  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Kara-Su  east  of  the  im- 
portant Amanus  passes  will  be  a  center  for  the  Amanus  region. 
On  the  eastern  side  of  the  northern  sector  there  will  be  a  few 
petty  principalities  in  the  sphere  of  the  Chains  and  Sagur  rivers. 
On  the  Euphrates  river  the  point  where  navigation  begins,  near 
6erabis,  and  the  great  caravan-crossing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sagur  are  likely  to  be  the  centers  of  strong  political  units  which 
will  share  the  control  of  the  western  Osroene  with  Harran. 

The  history  of  the  Aramaeans,  in  these  regions  chiefly,  will  be 
followed  in  the  subsequent  chapters.  The  principahties  outside 
of  this  sphere  inhabited  by  Aramaeans  will  only  be  touched  on 
in  passing.  We  are  not  writing  a  history  of  the  Aramaean  race. 
We  are  merely  giving  an  account  of  the  fate  of  the  Aramaeans, 
80  far  as  it  is  entwined  with  the  destiny  of  the  "chosen  people." 


10 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ARAMAEAN  MIGRATION 

From  the  vast,  little  explored  land  of  Arabia  have  come  the 
various  migrations  of  Semitic  peoples  by  which  the  more  fertile 
regions  to  the  north  and  west  have  been  overrun  in  different 
epochs.  All  attempts  at  locating  the  Semitic  cradle  in  Armenia 
fail  because  of  the  presence  there  of  Turanian  races  in  extremely 
early  days;  for  the  original  habitat  of  Semite  and  Turanian  must 
have  lain  far  apart.  The  ultimate  home  of  the  Semites  may 
have  been  in  Abessynia  or  elsewhere;  but  most  certainly  Arabia 
was  an  important  center  for  the  race  and  the  starting  point  of  its 
migrations  so  far  as  they  lie  in  the  clear  light  of  history. 

The  earliest  Semitic  migration  is  the  Akkadian  (Semitic- 
Babylonian),  which  began  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  millennium  B.C. 
The  Akkadian  language  stands  apart  from  the  other  Semitic 
languages,  which  have  less  in  common  with  it  than  with  each 
other,  so  that  it  was  the  first  to  branch  out  from  the  common 
tree.  The  Akkadian  migration  is  shrouded  in  the  mists  of  the 
past.  When  history  begins  we  see  the  Akkadians  building  their 
state  in  northern  Irak  and  battling  with  the  Simierians  in  the 
south. 

Soon  after,  in  the  third  millennium  b.c,  the  Gezireh  must' 
have  been  overrun  by  Hittite  peoples  from  Asia  Minor,  for  the 
oldest  known  rulers  of  Nineveh,  who  reigned  before  the  first 
dynasty  of  Babylon,  Aushpia  and  Ejkia,  are  of  this  Turanian^ 
stock  (B  A  VII  5,  8).  Furthermore,  we  find  opposite  the  Qabur's 
mouth  a  city  of  Tirqa,  the  name  of  which  inmiediately  reminds 
of  the  Hittite  deity  Tarqu,  and  a  state  called  Qana,  which  has 
its  counterpart  in  the  Qani,  Ya^ian  and  Qanigalbat  in  northern 
Syria  and  Armenia,  so  that  we  are  tempted  to  see  in  it  a  deposit 
of  the  Hittite  migration  that  came  from  these  quarters.    Indeed 

11 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

"Qatti"  appears  to  be  only  a  feminine  form  of  "gana"  (D  P  170). 
The  names  of  the  cities  Zakku-Isharlim  and  Zakku-Igitlim,  ap- 
pearing in  one  of  the  Qana  Tablets,^  also  seem  to  be  Hittite 
(G  G  50),  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  deity  Idurmer^  that  occurs 
in  an  oath  formula  alongside  of  Shamash  and  Dagan.  Below 
Qana  on  the  Euphrates  lay  the  regions  of  Sujju  *  and  Mari.* 
Perhaps  we  may  find  here  also  a  slight  trace  of  the  Hittite  invasion 
in  the  name  of  the  god  Yabliya  mentioned  in  an  Old  Babylonian 
letter  dealing  with  happenings  in  this  region.^ 

Upon  the  heels  of  this  Hittite  movement  must  have  come  the 
Amorite  migration.  The  original  home  of  this  people  was  South 
Arabia,  for  its  religious  concepts  and  expressions  as  evidenced  by 
the  personal  names  are  startlingly  similar  to  those  of  the  later 
Minaeans  and  Sabaeans  (AHT83f.).  They  first  invaded  Syria 
and  estabUshed  there  the  great  state  of  Amurrii  even  before  the 
Akkadians  completely  gained  control  of  Babylonia.  It  may  be 
assumed  that  the  Amorites  came  from  the  Higaz,  for  the  old 
highway  of  the  gold  and  frankinscense  merchants  traversed  this 
region  of  the  Red  Sea  coast.     In  the  country  east  of  the  Jordan, 

»  Cf.  P  S  B  A  '07: 180.  Since  Tell  'Ishar  between  ed-D5r  and  Salehlye 
seems  to  be  the  place  where  these  tablets  were  found,  the  Tell  must  cover  the 
remains  of  the  city  of  Tirqa,  the  capital  of  Uana.  The  latter  name  has  also 
survived  in  the  modem  *Ana  (Anatho)  further  down  the  river. 

*  Clay,  Miscellaneous  Inscriptions,  '16:  3,  however,  would  make  this  deity 
Amoritish,  a  variant  of  Amar. 

'  A  most  interesting  inscription  from  this  region,  belonging,  however,  to  a 
much  later  period,  is  that  of  Shamash-resh-u^ur,  governor  of  Su^i  and  Mari 
(Weissbach,  Babylonische  Miszellen,  '03,  p.  9  ff.).  It  recounts  an  attack  by 
hostile  neighbors,  the  Aramaean  Tu'mdnu,  who  are  partly  killed,  partly  sub- 
jugated; then  it  describes  the  restoration  of  the  canal  of  Sujii  and  a  boat-ride 
upon  the  same.  After  this  it  tells  of  the  planting  of  date  palms  and  the  erec- 
tion of  the  throne  in  Ribanish,  and  finally  of  the  building  of  the  city  Gabbari- 
bant.  Other  cities  mentioned  are  IJarze,  Ydbi,  Hailu,  Kar-Nabu  Yaduru  and 
Ukulai.  —  Su^u  is  probably  the  Shuach  of  Gen.  25 :  2.  Cf .  Job  2 :  1 1,  8 : 1,  25 :  1, 
42:  9.    Cf.  also  Delitzsch,  Hiob,  '02,  p.  139. 

*  Clay,  Miscellaneous  Inscriptions,  p.  4,  identifies  Mari  with  the  Merra  of 
Isidore  of  Charax,  which  must  be  sought  at  El  Irzi. 

'  Ungnad,  Babylonische  Brief e  aus  der  Hammurapizeit,  '13,  no.  238;  also 
M  VAG'01:144. 

12 


THE  ARAMAEAN    MIGRATION 

place  names  like  Mefa'at,  Sebam,  Dibon,  Yashimoth,  Ma'on, 
which  occur  also  in  the  South  Arabian  regions  of  Hadramaut, 
Saba  and  Ma'ln,  show  the  path  taken  by  the  Amorites.^  From 
Syria  they  gradually  moved  westward  down  the  Euphrates. 
Especially  the  regions  of  JJana,  Su^u  and  Mari  were  centers  of 
Amorite  life  and  religion,  notably  of  the  Dagan  cult.  From  these 
regions  the  attacks  of  the  Amorites  must  have  been  launched 
against  Babylonia.  Thus  Ishbi-Urra,  founder  of  the  Isin  Dynasty, 
is  called  "Man  of  Mari."  The  kings  of  the  first  dynasty  of 
Babylon  from  Sumu-abu  to  Samsuditana  are  all  Amorites,  as 
their  names  reveal.  The  greatest  of  them  was  Hammurapi^ 
who  even  called  himself  king  of  Amurrii.  Wherever  these  Amo- 
rites went  they  took  with  them  their  summus  deus  Amar,  from 
whom  they  proudly  derive  their  name,  and  other  gods  of  their 
pantheon.  (Clay  95  f)  They  even  founded  a  city  of  Amurrti 
near  Sippar  and  in  this  locality  were  very  numerous.' 

The  third  great  Semitic  migration,  the  Aramaean,  must  have 
started  from  the  highland  region  of  the  Negd  in  inner  Arabia. 
From  this  fertile  district  three  highways  run  in  northeasterly 
direction.  Two  of  these,  the  Wadi  er-Rumma  and  the  parallel, 
more  southerly  ed-Dawasir,  lead  directly  to  Chaldaea;  the  former 
issues  near  the  mouth  of  the  great  river,  the  latter  opposite  the 
island  of  Dilmun  (Bahrein).  A  third  road,  the  Wadi  Sirhan 
(originating  in  the  Hauran),  led  in  antiquity  from  the  Gof,  an 
oasis  north  of  the  Negd,  to  the  vicinity  of  Basra  (A  A  331). 
Any  Semitic  migration  from  Arabia  into  the  Euphrates  valley 
must  come  by  these  three  roads.  In  consequence,  the  Aramaeans 
ought  first  to  appear  in  Chaldaea. 

Now  it  is  known  that  even  before  the  Amorites  from  the  west 
conquered  Babylonia,  there  existed  in  the  Chaldaean  plains  a 
population  of  nomadic  Semites  with  whom  the  Sumero-Akkadians 

1  Cf .  Grimme,  Mohammed,  p.  14  f . 

*  In  the  IJana  texts  the  name  of  this  king  is  written  JJammurapi^j.  This 
leads  me  to  conclude  that  the  correct  etymology  is  "  '  Amha  (the  moongod)  is 
exalted,"  Vrafa'a. 

»  Cf .  Ranke,  Personal  Names  of  the  Hammurabi  Dynasty,  '05,  34. 

13 


/ 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

came  into  contact.*  Hommel  has  shown  from  a  large  number  of 
Arabic  loan  words  and  formations  in  the  Akkadian  language  that 
these  Chaldaean  Semites  were  already  present  in  very  early  days 
and  has  claimed  that  the  later  Aramaeans  were  their  descendants. 
(G  G  130  f.)  Especially  the  vicinity  of  Erech  seems  to  have  been 
infested  by  these  Semitic  tribes.  Thus  we  know  of  a  Sheikh 
Anam  of  the  hordes  of  Erech,  son  of  B61-shimea,  named  alongside 
of  the  king  Sin-Gamil,  who  restored  the  wall  of  Erech.^  With 
this  we  must  also  combine  the  expression  Uruk-supuri,  "Erech  of 
the  sheepfolds,"  in  the  Gilgamesh-Epic  (G  G  361)  and  the  tradi- 
tion which  makes  Nimrod  the  Cushite  (from  South  Arabia?) 
builder  of  Erech  (Gen.  10  :10).  Furthermore  we  learn  from  the 
Urra  myth  of  a  people  called  the  Suti '  who  bear  some  connection 
with  the  Ucentious  cult  of  Ishtar  at  Erech  (col.  II  8).  A  still 
earlier  reference,  however,  to  these  Suti  occurs  in  a  letter  from 
the  time  of  Hammurapi.*  In  this  letter  a  trader,  who  has  been 
imprisoned  for  embezzlement  and  who  had  been  sent  by  his 
employer  across  the  Euphrates  with  a  shipment  of  oil,  gives 
assurance  of  his  innocence  and  places  the  blame  upon  the  Suti 
who  have  attacked  and  robbed  him.  These  Suti  are  therefore 
present  in  Shumer  already  in  the  days  of  the  first  dynasty.  Indeed 
we  may  possibly  trace  them  back  to  the  time  of  the  Dynasty  of 
Ur,  for  Arad-Naimar  of  Lagash  calls  himself  "ruler  of  the  Su 
people."  '  From  Shumer  they  migrated  westward  in  the  succeed- 
ing centuries,  for  the  Amama  letters  (ca.  1400  B.C.)  show  us 
the  Suti  present  in  Syria  and  opposite  Mesopotamia.  Thus  the 
Assyrian  king  Ashur-uballit  writes  (Kn.no.  16:38f.)  that  the  Suti 
have  pursued  and  held  up  the  messengers  of  the  Egyptian  monarch, 
but  that  he  had  rescued  them.  They  are  mentioned  by  Rib- 
Addi  of  Gebal  in  connection  with  warhke  operations  and  occur 
even  in  the  letters  of  Yitia  of  Ashkelon  and  Zinu-idi  of  Lachish 

'  Grimme,  ^c,  p.  5. 

*  Thureau-Dangin,  Konigsinschriften,  p.  223. 

*  The  Suti  are  called  §db  §^n,  "warriors  of  the  plains,"  IV  R  44, 1,  20. 

*  C  T  II  pi.  19;  cf.  Ungnad,  Briefe  aus  der  Zeit  Hammurapis,  no  154. 
•Cf.  Thureau-Dangin,  Konigsinschriften,  '07,  149. 

14 


THE  ARAMAEAN   MIGRATION 

(cf.  Kn.  45,  1038).  A  little  later  the  Cassite  Kadashman-^jarbe 
tried  to  safeguard  the  road  to  Amurrii  by  digging  wells  and  sub- 
jecting the Suti  (AOF  I  147).  Another  part  of  this  people  moved 
northward  towards  Bagdad  rather  than  to  Syria,  and  maintained 
themselves  there  until  quite  late,  giving  their  name  to  the  Sittacene 
of  classical  geography  (K  A  T  22).  From  these  indications  we 
may  conclude  that  the  Suti  originally  tented  in  the  desert  from 
Erech  to  Babylon,  —  in  other  words,  they  belonged  to  the  early 
Chaldaeans.  It  is  impossible  in  consequence  to  reckon  them 
to  the  Amorite  group,  since  they  must  have  come  from  the  Wadi 
er-Rumma  and  the  Wadi  Sirhan  into  Chaldaea.  We  must  rather 
count  them  among  the  vanguard  of  the  Aramaeans.^  The  wor- 
ship of  the  deity  Amurru,  accredited  to  them  in  later  times  in  an 
Assyrian  god-list,  they  may  have  adopted  in  early  days  from 
the  Amorites.  Originally  they  must  have  been  worshipers  of 
Athtar,  then  of  the  Akkadian  Ishtar. 

In  the  O.  T.  the  westward  trend  of  the  Suti  may  be  reflected 
in  the  account  of  Terah's  migration  from  Ur  Kasdim.'^  Abraham 
is  not  specifically  called  an  Aramaean,  though  ethnically  he  be- 
longs to  this  group.  The  same  we  have  found  to  be  true  of  the 
Suti.  The  O.  T.  narrator  would  perhaps  reckon  Terah's  family  to 
the  Chaldaeans.  By  this  latter  term  the  Aramaean  inhabitants  of 
the  lower  Euphrates,  the  Kaldi,  were  designated  from  the  ninth 
century  b.c.  on.    The  Hebrew  term  Kasdim  must  have  passed 

^  Troublesome  is  the  problem  of  the  relation  of  the  Suti  to  the  Guti.  They 
appear  often  side  by  side  in  the  inscriptions,  and  seem  to  be  meant  by  the 
biblical  Koa  and  Shoa  (D  P  225  S.).  The  term  Guti  does  not  refer  exclusively 
to  the  non-Semitic  people  of  the  northern  mountains.  Thus  the  Guti  who 
plundered  Sippar  according  to  the  inscription  of  Nabonidus  (Const.  IV  21) 
are  the  Aramaeans  whom  Erba  Marduk  rep>elled  from  Babylonia  in  the  eighth 
century  (Z  A  XXIII  218).  And  the  biblical  use  of  Koa  must  also  have  such 
nomadic  Aramaeans  in  view  (Ezech.  23:  23).  We  should  therefore  define  the 
Guti  as  the  partly  Aramaean,  originally  perhaps  purely  Alarodian  nomads 
east  of  the  Tigris,  and  the  Suti  as  the  Semitic  nomads  west  of  the  Tigris. 

*  This  Ur  can  only  refer  to  the  great  city  of  early  Sumerian  culture.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  suppose  an  Ur  in  Mesopotamia  or  to  have  recourse  to  the 
Amurru  (  a  Uru)  near  Sippar  (Clay  190),  which  was  an  Amorite  center  and 
not  an  Aramaean. 

15 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA   AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

over  into  Palestinian  tradition  before  this  time,  since  it  represents 
an  older  stage  of  the  name  (AHT  210).  Kasdim  seems  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  Babylonian  "kishadu"  or  "shore."  (GG  245)  The 
form  Kasdiyim  used  by  Ezechiel  (23:14)  is  the  most  exact  and 
must  be  the  equivalent  of  *  Kishadaeans  or  people  from  the  shore 
of  the  Euphrates  (or  the  sea).  As  we  shall  yet  learn  (Ch.  IV), 
the  name  "Hebrew"  attributed  to  Abraham  is  virtually  synony- 
mous in  meaning.  That  the  Aramaeans  came  from  Chaldaea  is 
the  view  also  of  Amos  9:7,  "Have  I  not  brought  Israel  out  of 
Egypt,  and  the  Philistine  from  Kaphtor  and  the  Aramaeans  from 
Qir?"  Where  is  Qir?  We  are  led  by  Is.  22:6,  where  it  is  brought 
into  relation  with  Elam,  to  seek  it  in  southern  Babylonia.^  If  we 
dare  place  any  reliance  on  2  Kings  16:  9,  which,  it  seems  to  me, 
is  an  intentional  reference  to  Amos  1:5,  we  can  recall  the  fact 
that  Tiglathpileser  actually  did  deport  captives  to  the  region  of 
the  lower  Tigris  (ATU  104,  178).  Hommel  was  led  to  find  Qir 
in  Gir-su  (GG  189),  but  whether  the  two  elements  of  this  name 
can  be  separated  in  this  fashion  remains  problematic.  It  seems 
however,  that  Haupt  has  shown  the  way  to  the  right  solution  of 
this  question.*  He  points  out  that  the  modem  name  of  Ur, 
"Muqayyar,"  means  "asphalted  or  built  with  asphalt."  The 
word  Qir  in  Arabic  means  "pitch."  In  Hebrew,  Qir  means  wall 
or  city,  but  originally  must  have  signified  "built  with  asphalt." 
Now  the  Sumerian  word  for  city  is  URU,  which  also  means 
"foundation."  Haupt  therefore  holds  that  Qir  is  a  synonym  of 
URU  and  may  have  been  a  by-name  of  Ur  used  perhaps  by  the 
Beduin  of  the  region.'  If  this  be  true,  as  seems  plausible,  then 
the  tradition  of  Amos  vindicates  Genesis  11:31. 

*  As  A  T  V  178  proves,  the  text  must  be  amended  "Elam  raises  the  quiver 
and  Aram  mounts  the  horse  and  Qir  bares  the  shield."  The  preceding  verse 
must  be  amended  with  Haupt  (cf.  note  13)  into  "Koa  and  Shoa  batter  against 
the  mountain." 

» In  a  paper  entitled  "Ur  of  the  Chaldees"  in  the  J  B  L  Vol.  XXXVI, 
p.  99.     Professor  Haupt  very  kindly  allowed  me  to  see  his  manuscript. 

*  Haupt  cites  as  example  of  translation  of  names  el  Leg^un  (legio)  for  Me- 
giddo,  "place  of  troops."  Nineveh  had  the  by-name  Mespila  (Xenophon, 
Anab.,  3,  4,  7),  which  Haupt  equates  with  mushptlu,  "place  of  limestone." 

Id 


THE  ARAMAEAN   MIGRATION 

The  migration  of  Terah  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  to  Harran 
must  then  be  a  reminiscence  of  a  great  movement  of  the  Suti 
from  Chaldaea  up  the  Euphrates.  This  movement  can  only 
have  begun  after  the  Amorite  migration  was  consummated. 
It  was  due  no  doubt  to  the  constant  pressure  of  additional 
Aramaean  hordes  coming  from  the  Negd  against  Ur  and  Erech. 
In  the  ninth  century  we  learn  of  a  great  many  Aramaean  tribes 
in  Babylonia/  among  whom  are  numbered  especially  the 
Puqudu  (Pekod,  Ezech.  23:23),  Rapiqu,  Damunu,  Gambulu,  and 
Tu'manu  (SA  Iff.).  Some  of  these  groups  may  have  infested 
Chaldaea  at  the  time  when  the  Suti  were  forced  to  emigrate, 
though  the  more  immediate  group  seems  to  have  been  that  of  the 
A^jlame. 

/  The  westerly  migration  of  these  Aramaean  tribes  was  facilitated 
by  a  great  catastrophe  which  befell  the  Amorite  realm.  The 
first  dynasty  of  Babylon  was  overthrown  ca.  1760  by  a  terrible 
onset  of  the  Hittites  (G  A  §  454) ;  for  a  chronicle  informs  us 
that  in  the  days  of  Samsu-ditana  the  Hittites  invaded  the  land 

^  of  Akkad.  It  may  be  that  the  Hyksos  invasion  which  befell 
Egypt  is  an  organic  part  of  the  same  general  Hittite  movement. 
The  attack  against  Babylon  was  launched  from  the  district  of 
5ana  on  the  Euphrates;  for  about  1600  B.C.  Agum-kakrime 
records  that  he  brought  back  the  statues  of  Marduk  and  §arpanit 
from  the  far  land  of  gana,  whither  they  had  apparently  been 
carried  in  Samsu-ditana's  time.  This  Hittite  invasion  must  have 
destroyed  the  Amorite  life  in  gana  as  well  as  in  Suhu  and  Mari. 
Over  Babylonia  the  Hittites  seem  to  have  gained  no  power  of 
any  duration,  perhaps  because  of  the  Cassite  invasion  which 
simultaneously  was  pouring  in  from  the  north.  And  now  the 
Aramaean  movement,  beginning  with  full  vigor,  swept  on  up  the 
Euphrates,  overcame  the  Hittites,  overran  Sujiu  and  JJana,  and 

1  When  they  entered  this  region  we  do  not  know.  G  G  189  would  find  the 
Damunu  and  Puqudu  present  already  in  the  days  of  Hammurapi  because  of 
the  canal  name  Palag-Damanum  and  the  city  Pikuddnu  near  SirguUa. 


17 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

followed  the  JJabur  and  Bali^  rivers  up  to  the  Tur  'Abdin  and 
the  Euphrates  as  far  as  Carchemish  and  Syria.  ^ 

From  the  fourteenth  century  on  the  Suti  are  outstripped  in  im- 
pori^ance  by  the  A^jlame.  The  name,  as  has  been  suggested,  is 
an  Arabic  broken  plural  from  hilmun  and  means  "allies."  ^  The 
same  root  appears  also  in  the  name  of  the  IJilimmu,  a  later  Ara- 
maean tribe  (MVAG  XI  226).  They  are  first  mentioned  in  the 
Amama  texts  in  a  letter  from  Babylonia,  so  that  it  seems  that  they 
play  the  role  in  this  region  erstwhile  played  by  the  Suti.  The  sup- 
posed earUer  mention  of  the  Aflame  in  Rim-Sin's  day  can  scarcely 
be  upheld  (Klio  VI  193).  Shortly  after  1400,  in  a  letter  of  the 
Hittite  king  Qattusil  to  a  king  of  Babylon,  the  "hostile  A^jlamu" 
are  referred  to  as  having  forced  a  suspension  of  the  diplomatic  cor- 
respondence (MDOG  35:22).  In  the  next  place  Adadnir&ri  tells 
us  that  his  father  Arik-den-ilu  (ca.  1350  b.c.)  conquered  the  terri- 
tory of  the  widespreading  Guti,  the  region  of  the  Aflame  and  Suti 

*Gen.  11;  10-26  reflects  the  progress  of  the  Aramaean  migration.  If  we 
deduct  the  three  assuredly  personal  names  Shelah,  Re'u  and  Terah,  we  have 
left  a  number  of  geographical  termini.  Arpakshad  may  be  composed  of  arba 
and  kishadu  and  may  mean  "four-shore  country"  (Z  A  15:  255;  D  P  255), 
or  arpa  +  kishadu,  "borders  of  Chaldea"  (G  G  184).  In  either  case  it  must 
apply  to  Babylonia.  Eber  means  the  shore  land  of  the  Euphrates  north  of 
Chaldea.  (Cf.  Ch.  IV)  Peleg  is  doubtless  identical  with  Phalga  at  the  mouth 
of  the  US.bQr  (Proksch  80).  Serug  and  Nahor  appear  in  the  towns  of  Sarugi 
(to-day  Sertig)  and  Til-Na^jiri  west  of  Harran  (K  A  T  477  and  cf.  Ch.  III).— 
Of  much  later  origin  is  Gen.  10:  23.  Hul  (Havilah?)  and  Gether,  "salt-plains" 
(G  G  180),  must  represent  east- Arabian  districts.  Uz  refers  to  Damascus  and 
the  Syrian  desert.  (Has  it  any  connection  with  the  city  of  Az  whence  Gudea 
brought  stone  for  mace-heads  and  which  must  have  been  in  the  Antilebanon?) 
Mash  is  Mons  Masius  or  the  Tur  'Abdin  region.  It  is  identical  with  the 
mountain  of  Mash  in  the  Gilgamesh  epic,  the  MasTs  or  Mus&s  of  the  Alexander 
Romance,  which  name  still  clings  to  the  Aghri  Dagh  (cf .  Gressman  Gilgamesh- 
EjKjs,  p.  161). 

*  An  important  question  that  arises  here  is  this:  Did  these  Beduin  call 
themselves  Aflame,  or  was  it  a  name  given  to  them  by  the  Amoritish  settlers 
on  the  Euphrates  with  whom  they  first  came  in  contact?  If  the  interpretation 
just  given  be  correct,  then  the  latter  possibiUty  is  the  more  likely.  The  in- 
dividual groups  probably  had  their  own  tribal  names.  —  True,  the  word 
Aflame  could  be  philologically  equally  well  derived  from  the  root  *alima  with 
Hommel  G  G  129. 

18 


THE  ARAMAEAN   MIGRATION 

(MKA  no.  9  1.  15  f.).  Since  the  Assyrians  at  this  time  scarcely 
can  have  fought  the  A^jlame  in  Babylonia,  we  must  assume  that 
they  have  now  advanced  far  up  the  Euphrates  into  Mesopotamia. 
Indeed  there  are  indications  that  the  A^jlame  were  already  pene- 
trating northernmost  Syria  (OLZ  '10:296).  Adadnirdri  himself 
tells  us  that  he  conquered  the  Kashiar  region  (Tur  'Abdin)  and 
the  stronghold  of  Harran  as  far  as  Carchemish.  While  he  does 
not  exphcitly  refer  to  the  AJjlame,  we  must  suppose  that  the 
campaign  was  really  directed  against  them  (MKA  no.  11);  for 
soon  after  we  learn  from  Shalmaneser  I  (ca.  1300  b.c.)  that  the 
A^jlame  are  fighting  as  allies  of  King  Shattuara  of  IJanigalbat  on 
the  upper  reaches  of  the  Euphrates  near  Malatia.^  Valuable  is 
the  information  which  he  gives  that  "from  Taidi  to  Irridi  the  whole 
Kashiar  region  to  the  city  of  Elubat  the  stronghold  of  Sudi,  the 
stronghold  of  Harran  as  far  as  Carchemish  he  captured  their 
cities."  (MKA  no.  14  1.  18  f.)  The  Ahlame,  apparently  tribu- 
taries of  Shattuara,  thus  held  the  Tur  *  Abdin  and  the  whole 
Balib  region  including  Harran  and  the  district  between  Carche- 
mish and  Harran.  Doubtless  they  also  maintained  themselves 
along  the  middle  Euphrates. 

A  century  and  a  half  elapses  until  we  again  hear  of  the  A^ilame. 
Ashur-resh-ishi  (ca.  1140)  relates  that  he  destroyed  their  wide- 
spreading  hosts,  but  unfortunately  does  not  tell  us  where  (A  K  A 
19).  His  son  Tiglathpileser  I,  however,  is  moiie  explicit  (Cyl.  V 
44  f.).  He  tells  us  that  he  marched  "Into  the  midst  of  the  Ahlame 
'folk  of  Aram-land,'  that  were  hostile  to  my  lord  Ashur."  He  de- 
scribes their  habitat  further  when  he  says  that  he  devastated  their 
coimtry  from  the  mouth  of  the  IJabur  to  Carchemish  and  drove 
the  remnants  of  this  people  across  the  Euphrates.  He  himself  fer- 
ried over  the  river  on  Keleks  in  pursuit  of  the  defeated  foe.    At  the 

^  Shalmaneser  was  hard  pressed  in  this  battle.  He  was  cut  off  from  water 
supply  and  caught  in  a  narrow  enfilade.  The  desperation  of  his  troops, 
however,  won  the  day.  He  himself  fought  with  Shattuara  at  the  point  of  the 
spear  \mtil  sunset.  He  claims  the  capture  of  14,000  men  and  many  cities. 
He  asserts  that  he  slaughtered  the  Hittites  and  their  allies  the  Aflame  like 
sheep. 

19 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

foot  of  the  Bishri  mountains,  i.e.,  Tell  Bashar  (P  S  B  A  11: 175), 
he  captured  six  cities.  On  the  left  bank  of  the  Sagur  he  placed 
an  Assyrian  garrison  in  Pituru,  which  is  probably  identical  with 
Tell  Ghanim  below  6erabis,  and  a  second  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Euphrates  in  Mutkinu,  which  must  then  be  the  modern  Tell  Haldo 
(I.e.,  p.  177).  These  were  intended  as  frontier  posts  against  the  A\^- 
lame.  He  evidently  calls  the  A^jlame  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Balil)  Aramaeans  because  he  recognizes  their  relationship  to  the 
people  of  the  Kashiar  and  knows  that  they  belong  to  one  and 
the  same  racial  group,  for  this  Kashiar  region  is  called  in  the 
"Broken  Obelisk" » (AKA  128 ff.)  mdt  Arimi,  "land  of  Aramaeans," 
where  the  cities  of  Sha§iri,  Pauza,^  Nabula,  Shinamu  and  IJulza 
are  mentioned.  But  Shupria,  with  the  city  of  Murarir,  east  of 
Diarbekr,  is  also  called  an  Aramaean  land.  Similarly  Magrisi  in 
the  mountain  of  lari  at  the  great  forks  of  the  Qabur,  as  well  as 
Dur-katlime  on  the  lower  JJabur  (cf.  Chapt.  VII)  are  described  as 
being  in  the  land  of  the  Aramaeans.'  On  the  other  hand,  the 
monolith  of  Ashumazirpal  from  Kurkh  (Rev.  47  A  K  A  240)  calls 
the  Aramaeans  of  Bit-Zamani,  in  the  Kashiar,  Aflame.  We  see 
^therefore  that  by  1100  B.C.  the  cities  along  the  {Jabur  and  Bali^), 
J  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates  from  Su^u  to  Carchemish,  and 
\  the  region  of  the  Tur  'Abdln  are  explicitly  described  as  settled  by 
V  Aramaeans.  The  country  west  of  Harran  must  also  have  received 
an  influx  of  Aramaean  population  at  this  time.  Oddly  enough,  the 
Assyrian  records  preserve  absolute  silence  about  this  region. 
^  We  may  safely  say,  then,  that  during  the  thirteenth  century  all 
■  "^  of  Mesopotamia  was  overrun  by  Aramaeans,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  Hittite-Mitanni  enclaves,  like  Carchemish,  it  as- 
sumed Aramaean  character.     About  this  time  the  expression  Aram 

'  In  this  inscription  a  successor  of  Tiglathpileser  tells  of  the  deeds  of  his 
great  ancestor,  as  King  and  Budge  have  shown. 

«  TheUphaz  of  Dan  10:5? 

*  At  the  time  of  Tiglathpileser  IV  the  lower  Tigris  region  near  the  gulf  is 
called  Land  of  Arumu.  Cf.  S  A  115  f.  (Surappu-Uknti).  These  people  can 
only  have  come  from  the  Nefed.  The  name  "Aramaeans  "  is  given  to  them  by 
the  Assyrian  in  recognition  of  their  affinity  to  the  more  westerly  people  of  the 
Kashiar  and  Syria. 

ao 


THE  ARAMAEAN   MIGRATION 

Naharaim  may  have  originated  (Gen.  24:10).  It  is  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  Egyptian  Naharin,  and  the  Na^rima  of  the  Amarna 
days.  In  the  Egyptian  usage  the  term  seems  to  include  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  Syria  about  as  far  south  as  Hamath.  Miiller 
held  the  name  to  be  an  abbreviation  for  "land  of  rivers,"  refer- 
ring to  the  numerous  streams  that  water  it,  Euphrates,  Tigris, 
Balib,  IJabur.  (MAE  249  f.)  When  the  Aramaeans  came  into 
possession  of  this  region  it  could  well  be  called  the  "river-Aram" 
in  contrast  to  the  other  Aramaean  seats,  Meyer  (G  A  I,  2  §§  334, 
463)  interprets  Naharaim  as  a  locative  of  the  singular  "Aram  on 
the  Euphrates"  and  refers  it  to  the  region  of  the  Osroene  with 
Harran.  The  form  Na^rima,  or  Narima  in  the  Amarna  letters; 
supports  this  second  view.  Similar  to  this  is  the  interpretation  of 
Haupt  (Z  D  M  G  63 :  527)  who  translates  "  Euphrates-Aramaeans,"" 
holding  that  "Aram"  only  means  the  people  and  never  a  region. 
The  expression  Aram  Naharaim  probably  disappeared  after 
the  ninth  century  when  the  Assyrians  virtually  wiped  out  the 
Aramaeans  of  this  region.  It  belongs  to  the  formative  time  of 
Aramaean  principalities,  as  the  analogy  of  Aram  Zobah,  Aram 
Beth  Rehob  reveals. 

The  origin  of  the  name  Aramaeans  is  shrouded  in  obscurity.^ 
The  earliest,  occurrences  of  it  show,  that  it  is  not  the  name  of  a  re- 
gion buLof  a  people.  The  people  is  called  Arimi,  Aramu,  Arumu; 
the  second  form  is  the  most  frequent  and  doubtless  the  original 
one,  since  the  others  represent  merely  vowel  harmonization  to  the 
ending  (Z  A  27 :  283) .  Whether  the  mountain  of  Aruma  men- 
tioned by  Tiglathpileser  I  (col.  Ill  77),  or  the  mountain  city  of 
Arma,  of  which  Shalmaneser  I  (M  K  A  no.  14  col.  II  6  f .)  says  that 
he  gathered  its  dust  and  poured  it  out  in  the  gate  of  his  city  of 
Ashur  as  witness  for  the  days  to  come,  or  the  citadel  of  Arman  at 
the  headwaters  of  the  Diydla,  or  the  god  Armannu  of  the  Rapiqu 

^  The  theory  of  Haupt  that  Aramu  comes  from  an'amun,  "creatures" 
(Z  D  M  G  61: 194),  I  regard  as  unlikely.  Not  so  impossible  is  the  idea  of 
Streck,  Klio  VI,  that  the  name  may  go  back  to  a  divine  appellation.  Aram 
might  then  be  regarded  as  an  anagram  of  Amar.  Cf.  the  fact  that  the  Suti 
worshiped  the  god  Amurru. 

21 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

tribe  near  Bagdad  (G  G  190)  have  aught  to  do  with  this  name 
cannot  be  decided  with  the  means  at  our  disposal. 

The  word  "Aramu"  has  been  interpreted  as  meaning  "high- 
landers"  from  the  Negd.^  But  we  have  seen  that  this  people  did 
not  bear  this  name  until  they  had  settled  in  the  Tur  *Abdin  region. 
Consequently  we  must  prefer  to  call  them  "highlanders"  of  the 
upper  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Since  they  had  constant  contact 
in  that  region  with  the  Hittites,  and  since  the  latter  at  the  time 
held  dominion  over  Syria,  it  is  possible  that  the  name  "Aramaeans" 
was  transmitted  southward  through  their  agency.  Hence  we 
find  those  groups  of  the  Aflame  which  penetrated  Syria  after 
the  Hittite  debacle  called  by  this  appellation.  Perhaps  also 
the  alternative  translation  of  Aramu  as  "the  exalted  ones"  was 
foremost  in  the  consciousness  of  the  Al)lame  when  they  gave  up 
their  more  ancient  name  in  favor  of  the  new. 

^Grinune,  Mohammed,  '04:15. 


22 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  ARAMAEANS  OF  HARRAN 

If  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  is  viewed  by  the  Old  Testament  as  the 
first  station  in  the  great  advance  of  the  Aramaeans,  then  Harran 
must  be  assigned  the  second  place  in  importance.  And  indeed 
this  harmonizes  excellently  with  the  clues  that  the  inscriptions 
furnish;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  advancing  Aramaeans  swerved 
from  the  Euphrates  and  followed  its  tributaries,  the  Qabur  and  the 
BaliJ).  This  was  due  no  doubt  to  the  presence  of  the  Mitanni 
state  west  of  the  Balih,  which  formed  for  a  time  a  bulwark  against 
further  Aramaean  invasion  of  this  region.  And,  since  the  city  of 
Harran  was  one  of  the  most  important  cities  of  Mesopotamia, 
situated  on  a  great  trade  route,  it  is  but  natural  that  it  should  be 
regarded  from  now  on  as  a  great  Aramaean  center  from  which  the 
further  northward  and  westward  advance  of  this  race  radiated. 

To  the  Harran  district  the  Old  Testament  expression  Paddan 
Aram  clings.  (Gen.  28 : 2,  etc.)  The  term  is  by  no  means  identical 
with  Aram  Naharaim,  which  is  a  larger  geographical  concept. 
The  inscriptions  furnish  us  with  a  land  of  Padan  or  Padin.  Thus 
the  Cassite  king  Agum-kakrime  (ca.  1650)  styles  himself  "king  of 
Padan  and  Alman  (=Arman?),  king  of  the  land  of  Guti."  In 
this  Padan  ^  and  Arm  an,  Hommel  sought  to  discover  our  Paddan 
Aram;  according  to  him  the  name  was  carried  by  a  Tigris  migra- 
tion of  Aramaeans  originally  from  Gir-su  (which  he  interprets 
"road  of  the  nomads"  and  of  which  he  supposes  Paddan  Aram  to 
be  a  translation)  to  the  upper  course  of  the  Diydla  and  then  even- 
tually to  Harran  (G  G  190).  But  it  seems  unlikely  that  the  Tigris 
migration  was  able  to  pass  the  Assyrian  state  in  this  angle;  on 

^  A  rab  all  or  "city  chief"  of  Paddnu  is  referred  to  in  Rm  54,  and  in  K  7376 
Paddnu  is  associated  with  the  Ituai  Aramaeans,  A  D  D  III  421. 

23 


THE  ARA.MAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

the  contrary,  the  moimtain  of  Arman  must  be  about  the  northern- 
most point  reached  by  the  Aramaean  tribes  of  the  Bagdad  region. 
The  Aramaeans  of  Harran  must  rather  have  crossed  the  Euphrates 
from  the  south,  as  we  have  supposed.  The  more  commonly  ac- 
cepted view  correlates  Paddan  Aram  with  the  "field  of  Aram" 
(Hosea,  12: 13),  for  in  Aramaic  and  Arabic  Paddan  or  Fedd&n  means 
a  yoke  of  oxen  and  then  metaphorically  the  area  that  a  yoke  of 
oxen  can  plow  in  a  day  (D  P  135).  But  Hosea's  "field  of  Aram" 
has  a  much  wider  meaning  than  this  and,  furthermore,  in  Hosea's 
day  Paddan  Aram  can  no  longer  have  existed  owing  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Aramaeans  from  Mesopotamia  by  the  Assyrians. 
More  plausible  is  the  view  of  Zimmem  (cf .  Gesenius-Buhl  Buhl*') 
that  Paddan  is  an  older  equivalent  or  a  by-name  of  Harran,  for 
pad&nu  in  Assyrian  means  "road"  and  is  a  synonym  of  harr&nu. 
It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  Paddan  Aram  refers  to  a  distinct 
city  of  Paddan,  which  is  Aramaean  in  contrast  to  the  eastern 
Padan.  It  is  an  example  of  how  the  priestly  writing  occasionally 
preserves  very  ancient  material;  for,  while  the  other  documents 
speak  of  Harran  only,  in  the  sense  of  the  district  belonging  to  the 
great  capital  of  the  Balij),  this  tradition  preserves  the  exact  name 
of  the  town.  And  just  S.W.  of  Harran  there  is  a  Tell  Feddan  in 
which,  as  Lagarde  divined,  our  Paddan  is  preserved.  Possibly 
a  divergent  tradition  is  contained  in  Gen.  24:10,  "city  of  Nahor," 
which  must  be  identical  with  the  ancient  Til-Na\)iri,  lying  proba- 
bly a  little  to  the  west  of  Tell  Feddan. 

Tiglathpileser  I  does  not  geeuijo Jiaye.  had  the  Harran  region 
imder  very  firm  control.  True,  he  boasts  (VI  61  f.)  that  he  not 
only  killed  four  monstrous  wild  bulls  in  the  desert  in  the  country 
of  Mit&ni  near  the  city  of  Araziqi  (the  classical  Eragiza  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  slightly  south  of  the  latitude  of  Aleppo, 
Sachau  133  f.),  which  is  over  against  the  land  of  Hatti,  but  also 
that  he  killed  ten  mighty  elephants  in  the  country  of  Harran  and 
in  the  district  of  the  JJabur.  But  the  "Broken  Obelisk"  relates 
(col.  Ill  19)  that  he  once  made  a  raid  from  the  land  of  Ma^ir^ni 
to  the  city  of  Shuppa,  which  is  in  the  land  of  Harran. 

24 


THE  ARAMAEANS'  OF  HARRAN 

Concerning  the  Harran  Aramaeans  we  have  received  much 
enlightenment  through  an  Assyrian  census  deaUng  with  this 
district.  It  hsts  in  detail  the  facts  about  each  farm  in  a  given 
district.  It  names  the  pater  famiUas,  and  usually  his  sons,  while 
the  women  are  merely  enumerated.  The  occupations  of  the 
various  members  of  the  household  are  tabulated  and  the  condition 
of  the  holding  in  regard  to  area,  cultivation  and  live-stock  stated. 
The  vineyards  are  described  by  the  number  of  vines,  roundly 
estimated,  the  herds  according  to  hoof.  Buildings,  cisterns  and 
ponds  are  likewise  entered,  and  the  name  of  the  holding  with  its 
situation  appended  (H  C  6f.).  Since  the  inhabitants  to  a  large 
percentage  bear  Aramaic  names,  this  picture  of  their  life  must 
interest  us.  True,  the  census  is  from  the  seventh  century  and  so 
objection  might  be  raised  to  our  making  use  of  it  in  describing  a 
period  hundreds  of  years  older.  But  the  fact  that  the  Aramaeans 
were  jiever jdisturbed  in  Harran.  after  the  time  of  Tiglathpileser  I 
as  in  regions  further  west,  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  never 
rebelled  against  Assyria,  leads  us  to  believe  that  the  conditions 
of  later  days  correspond  fairly  to  those  of  the  patriarchal  period. 

In  the  principality  of  Harran  are  mentioned  a  number  of  smaller 
governmental  units,  called  "qani"  (H  C  10).  These  are  crystal- 
lized about  places  of  importance  and  comprise  a  number  of  towns 
or  suburbs.  Thus  the  cities  Harran,  Dur-Nabti,  Tinunl,  Tilabnt, 
and  Qaurina  stand  at  the  head  of  such  "qani."  That  of  Harran 
included  the  towns  Atnu,  Badani,  lanata,  Saidi  and  Qansiiri,  and 
the  villages  (al  she)  Arrizu  and  Kapparu.  Several  other  cities 
were  important  enough  to  have  dependent  towns  but  were  not 
seats  of  a  qani.  Thus  Balihi  has  the  towns  Aanata,  Bir-nari  and 
3amu§aen  belonging  to  it.  Similarly  Qasame  has  Gaduat4, 
Sarugi  has  Qanand  and  the  village  La^ieili,  Pidua  has  the  village 
Akaru.  Other  cities  mentioned  in  the  census  are  Gadise,  Dimmeti, 
Qadatti,  JJaluli,  5al§u,  Qamede,  Qumu,  Immirina,  Nampigi, 
Di^inunna,  Rimusi,  Tasume,  Tillini,  Til-Nahiri.^ 

*  The  identification  of  some  of  these  places  is  difiicult  as  we  have  no  clues. 
Of  some  we  shall  hear  again  elsewhere.     IXlr-Nabu  maybe  the  Ddr  north  of 

25 


THE   ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

The  personal  names  of  the  Aramaeans  of  Harran  naturally  are 
of  absorbing  interest;^  for  Oriental  nomenclature  is  a  mirror 
of  the  religious  conceptions  of  the  people,  often,  it  is  true,  of  a 
stage  long  outgrown,  as  in  so  many  Old  Testament  names.  For 
our  purposes  here  this  is  especially  valuable.  In  the  names  of  the 
Harran  district  we  find  divinities  not  met  with  elsewhere,  or  if  so, 
then  under  a  slightly  different  guise.  Very  many  names  are 
compoimded  with  a  god  Si*,  whom  we  meet  also  in  the  Palmyrene 
inscriptions  and  who  is  doubtless  identical  with  Sin  (H  C  13). 
Thus  we  have  Si'-diltni,  "  S.  hath  set  me  free";  Si*-idri,  "S.  is  my 
help";  Si*-aqabi,  " S.  is  my  reward  " ;  Si*-manani,  "S.  hath  counted 
me";  Si*-zabadi,  "S.  hath  endowed."  A  further  common  divinity 
is  Nashbu,  the  Nusku  of  the  Assyrians  (H  C  12) ;  we  find  him  in 
Nash^)u-dimri,  "N.  is  my  protection";  Nash^u-gabri,  "N.  is  my 
hero  " ;  Nash^ju-sagab, "  N.  is  exalted  " ;  Nash^ju-sama'ani,"  N.  hath 
heard  me";  Nash^u-qatari,  "N.  is  my  rock."  The  only  other 
instance  of  the  form  Nashbu  is  found  on  a  contract  (C  I  S  II  1. 1, 
35),  where  we  have  Nash^ju-aiU,  "N.  is  my  strength,"  a  sukallu 
or  "overseer"  of  Niribi*  about  645  b.c.  (H  C  12,  33).  The  god 
Adad  is  found  in  names  like  Adad-^utni,  "A.  is  my  protection." 
The  god  Ai  (Aa,  la),  the  great  lunar  deity  of  the  Arabians  (G  G  95), 
is  found  in  Ia-abb&,  "Ai  is  the  father";  lamaniai,  "Ai  is  my  right 
hand,"  Aa-Jjali,  " Ai  is  my  uncle";  Ziri-ia,  "My  seed  is  Ai."  Very 
peculiar  is  the  occurrence  of  AI  or  Alia  instead  of  the  Assyrian  ilu, 
"God";  thus  we  find  Alla-sharru  (malik?),  "God  is  King"; 
Al  Nashjju-milki,  "The  god  N.  is  my  counsel."  A  further  divinity 
is  9&n,  doubtless  identical  with  the  ancient  deity  of  the  Hittites, 
who  has  survived  here  from  Mitanni  days:  JJ&n-dada,  "H.  is  the 

Harran  at  the  site  of  the  present  Anaz  (cf .  Pognon,  Inscriptions  sdmitiques, 
'08: 242  f.).  gamedS  is  doubtless  Amid;  Nampigi  -  Nappigu  (Hierapolis) ; 
Uaiuina  may  be  the  Horrin  south  of  Mardin  (Sachau  400)  or  else  Haura  be- 
tween Raqqa  and  Balis  (H  C  49,  10). 

^  On  the  west-Semitic  personal  names  cf .  Hilprecht,  Babylonian  Expedition 
Series,  A,  vol.  IX,  p.  20  f.,  and  especially  A  H  T  75  f . 

*  The  N6rab  near  Aleppo,  whence  two  old  Aramaic  inscriptions  have  come 
to  us. 

26 


THE  ARAMAEANS  OF  HARRAN 

beloved";  Blr-J)&nu,  "Offspring  of  U&n."  Unique  are  the  gods 
Sh^r  and  T6r.  Thus  we  have  the  names  Sh^r-Ilai,  "Sh^r  is  the 
god  Ai"  (G  G  95),  and  T6r-nadin-apli  (of  which  the  last  two 
elements  are  Assyrian),  " T^r  hath  given  a  son."  T^r  is  perhaps  an 
Arabian  deity  and  appears  in  the  name  of  Abiate's  father  T^ri 
in  the  Annals  of  Ashurbanipal  (col.  VIII  31),  while  Sh^r  may  be 
identical  with  Sherua,  the  consort  of  Ashur  (H  C  18,  82).  The 
goddess  At^,  a  Hittite  deity,  is  found  in  Atd-idri,  "Ate  is  my  help." 
The  Arabian  and  Aramaean  Atar  ( =  Ishtar)  appears  in  Atar- 
idri,  "A.  is  my  help";  Atar-bi*-di,  "A.  is  my  (curse-)remover." 
These  two  divinities  were  later  merged  into  one,  Atargatis,  whose 
cult  had  its  famous  seat  at  Hierapolis  (our  Nampigi,  Nappigu) . 

The  life  revealed  by  the  Harran  Census  is  chiefly  agricultural 
(H  C  19).  Each  cornland  holding  is  described  by  "homers" 
of  land,  as  is  the  case  also  in  the  5ana  Tablets.  The  average 
holding  had  an  area  of  20-24  homers.  Usually  less  than  half  of 
the  area  is  mentioned  as  arshu,  "  cultivated  " ;  the  remaining  doubt- 
less was  lying  fallow.  Each  holding  has  one  or  more  houses  and 
an  adru  or  "enclosure"  (barn?).  Sometimes  a  vineyard  is  at- 
tached to  the  holding,  but  occasiionally  it  appears  independently. 
The  number  of  vines  in  the  vineyards  ranges  from  2000  to  29,000. 
The  account  of  the  live  stock  shows  that  the  pastoral  stage  no 
longer  existed.  Sheep  herds  count  from  30  to  188  head,  and  only 
one  goat  herd  of  58  head  is  mentioned.  Of  cattle  the  ratio  is 
about  one  head  to  every  ten  homers  of  cultivated  land.  Isolated 
mention  of  the  ass,  the  camel  and  the  horse  also  occurs.  The 
farms  were  hereditary  holdings,  and  generally  the  previous  owner 
is  named  along  with  the  present.  Women,  too,  could  be  holders, 
as  a  number  of  instances  prove.  The  families  are  often  remarkably 
small;  the  average  of  persons  in  one  family  is  five.  The  monog- 
amous system  seems  to  have  been  the  most  common;  in  fifteen 
homes  there  are  two  wives  and  in  six  there  are  three.  And  here 
childlessness  of  the  first  wife  may  have  been  the  cause  for  the 
departure  from  the  rule.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  four  families  with 
two  wives  there  is  no  offspring  at  all. 

27 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

No  doubt  the  lateness  of  the  period  from  which  our  census 
dates  must  be  strictly  borne  in  mind  in  drawing  conclusions  about 
earlier  days.  The  conditions  of  agricultural  life  reflected  here 
were  not  those  existing  among  the  nomadic  Ahlame;  an  adapta- 
tion to  Assyrian  customs  and  laws  has  taken  place.  True,  the 
transition  from  beduin  to  fellah  is  often  rapid,  and  the  Aramaeans 
round  Harran  doubtless  accepted  the  ordered  conditions  imme- 
diately. But  antiquity  can  only  be  claimed  for  the  names 
whose  Arabian  character  is  plain. 

Concerning  the  social  conditions  of  the  early  Aramaeans  of 
Harran  we  have  a  more  ancient  witness  in  Genesis  31,  a  chapter 
the  value  of  which  a  little  study  will  reveal.  It  is  recorded  there 
how  the  clan  of  Jacob,^  abandoning  the  tribe  of  Laban,  crossed  i 
the  Euphrates  and  journeyed  to  Gilead.  Jacob,  in  spite  of  his 
oppression  by  Laban,  has  grown  rich  and  now  seeks  to  secure  his 
own  camping  grounds.  But  Laban  with  his  "brothers"  (vs.  23), 
i.e.,  clansmen,  pursues  Jacob  and  overtakes  him  at  Gilead.  The 
whole  desert  region  from  Gilead  to  the  Euphrates  is  conceived  of 
as  Laban's  territory.  Jacob  is  accused  by  Laban  of  having  stolen 
his  divine  images  or  teraphim.  Jacob  invites  his  accuser  in  the 
presence  of  "our  clansmen"  (vs.  32)  to  search  the  camp.^  When 
the  search  is  ended  Jacob  says,  "What  hast  thou  found  of  all 
thy  property?  Set  it  before  my  clansmen  and  thine  to  decide 
between  us  both." 

The  following  un-Hebraic  features  should  be  noticed. 

In  the  first  place  the  women  claim  the  right  of  inheritance  of 
their  father's  property  (vss.  14-15);   in  the  Mosaic  code  this  was 

1  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  name  Jacob  is  an  abbreviation  for 
Jacob-el  (cf.  G  V  J  I  418).  Hommel  finds  a  fitting  analogy  in  the  name  of  a 
Chaldaean  Sheikh  Ya'qub-ilu,  which  he  interprets  "God  rewards"  (G  G  167). 
It  may  also  be  possible,  however,  to  find  the  god  Ya  (Ai)  in  the  first  syllable 
of  this  name.  We  have  just  quoted  the  Harranian  Si'-aqabi.  The  form 
Ya-aqabi  would  be  equally  possible.  "Ya  is  the  reward"  or  "Ya  has  re- 
warded" might  then  be  the  real  meaning  of  "Jacob." 

*  As  Procksch  351  shows,  the  incident  in  Gen.  31 :  34  f .  is  intended  to  cast 
ridicule  on  Aramaean  idolatry.  What  kind  of  a  god  is  that  who  allows  an. 
unclean  woman  to  sit  on  him! 

28 


THE  ARAMAEANS  OF  HARRAN 

provided  for  only  in  extraordinary  cases.  Secondly,  they  claim 
that  the  wealth  which  Jacob  has  won  is  theirs  and  their  children's, 
not  his  (vs.  16,  they  rebuff  his  claim  in  vs.  9).  Un-Hebraic  also  is 
the  character  of  vs.  33  f .,  where  each  woman  has  her  own  tent  and 
is  thus  relatively  independent.  Among  the  Palestinian  Hebrews 
Sarah  is  in  the  tent  of  Abraham;  the  harem  is  separated  by  a 
curtain  from  the  men's  room.  But  an  older  stage  in  the  history 
of  marriage  is  reflected  here  (Procksch  200),  the  §adika  marriage,^ 
where  it  Ues  within  the  woman's  will  to  receive  her  husband's 
visit  or  not.  Under  this  form  of  wedlock  the  man  enters  into  the 
clan  of  the  wife  instead  of  the  wife  entering  into  the  clan  of  the 
husband.  That  this  conception  really  underlies  our  narrative 
is  evidenced  in  vs.  43,  where  Laban,  unable  to  answer  the  terrific 
arraignment  of  Jacob,  boasts  cruelly,  "Mine  are  the  daughters, 
mine  the  sons,  mine  the  flocks,  and  all  which  thou  seest  is 
mine."  He  can  do  what  he  pleases  with  Jacob's  family  and 
possessions  because  he  is  the  head  of  the  family  and  his  will  is 
law ;  only  out  of  goodness  of  heart  does  he  yield  to  Jacob !  But 
where  in  Israel  has  the  father-in-law  such  authority?  His  control 
over  his  daughters  ceases  the  moment  the  "mohar"  or  price  is 
paid. 

We  must  hold,  then,  that  the  early  Aramaeans  of  Mesopotamia 
brought  with  them  their  primitive  Arabian  marriage  customs, 
but  dropped  them  as  soon  as  they  settled  in  established  com- 
munities where  the  patriarchal  forms  prescribed  by  Hammurapi's 
laws  were  the  rule.  Indeed,  as  has  often  been  pointed  out,  the 
relation  of  Abraham  to  his  wives  follows  the  precepts  of  Ham- 
murapi.  Abraham's  family  at  Harran  had  therefore  already 
adapted  itself  to  these  conditions.  But  Laban,  who  is  more 
typical  of  the  wandering  A^ame  of  the  Syrian  desert,  still  rep- 
resents the  truer  Aramaic  institutions  brought  along  from 
Arabia. 

Of  old  Aramaean  or  Arabian  religion  this  chapter  reveals  but 
little,  unless  we  regard  the  teraphim,  which  was  probably  a  mask 

'  Cf.  Robertson  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,  p.  78. 

29 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

for  the  face  of  the  divine  image  and  was  worshiped  as  the  giver 
of  family  welfare/  as  strictly  Aramaean.  Oddly  enough,  it  is 
mentioned  only  among  the  Hebrews  and  is  never  ascribed  to  the 
Canaanites;  it  is  found,  however,  among  the  later  Babylonians, 
who  may  have  adopted  it  from  the  Aramaeans.    (Ez.  21:26) 

i  Gressmann,  Ursprung  der  Israelitisch-jiidischen  Eschatologie,  '05:345. 


30 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  INVASION  OF  PALESTINE 

The  Old  Testament  narrates  how  divine  providence  calls 
Abram  away  from  Harran  into  a  land  set  apart  for  him  and 
his  seed  forever.  Historically  this  reflects  the  movement  of  a 
great  stream  of  humanity,  upon  which  the  migration  of  Abram 
is  but  a  single  wave. 

Abram  is  called  a  Hebrew  (Gen.  14:13).  The  origin  and  mean- 
ing of  this  latter  name  has  been  much  discussed.  The  traditional 
view  that  *Eber  is  the  "region  beyond"  the  Euphrates,  and 
Hebrew  therefore  "the  one  from  beyond,"  is  unsatisfactory. 
Attention  has  often  been  called  to  the  Assyrian  expression  Ebir- 
ndri,  "region  beyond  the  river,"  which  became  the  official  desig- 
nation for  the  provinces  west  of  the  Euphrates  from  the  time  of 
Ashurbanipal  on  (S  A  80).  The  Hebrew  parallel,  "Eberhannahar" 
(1  Kings  14:15),  is  not  used  in  this  fixed  sense  but  merely  means 
"land  beyond  the  river,"  or  perhaps  still  more  simply  "river 
country."  This  latter  view  is  vindicated  by  the  fact  that  Sargon 
(cf .  Winckler  44  f .)  translates  the  Edomite  Ibr  Naharan,  which  is 
in  form  identical  with  Eberhannahar,  by  Kibri-ndri,  i.e.,  shoreland 
of  the  river  (M  V  A  G  '98,  1,  55).^  Furthermore  *Eber  appears 
alongside  of  Ashur  in  Num.  24:24  as  a  similar  concept,  and  if 
we  interpret  it  as  "shore-region"  (of  the  Euphrates)  we  get  an 
excellent  sense.  A  similar  meaning  is  directly  offered  by  Isaiah 
7:20,  where  the  "shores  of  the  river"  Euphrates  are  referred 

1  G  G  255  regards  Ebirtan  "beyond"  as  a  synonjma  of  kibir-nAri  since  the 
first  part  of  the  ideogram  for  the  former  word  is  Ki.A  which  ordinarily  means 
kibru.    He  also  calls  attention  to  a  city  of  Ibri  in  the  vicinity  of  Babylonia. 

31 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

to  as  "'Ebrei  hannahar."  If  we  follow  these  clues  we  gain  for 
"Hebrew"  the  sense  "one  from  the  shore  of  the  Euphrates."  ^ 
We  must  assume  therefore  that  Abram  migrated  from  Harran 
to  Palestine  before  the  name  "Aramaean"  became  appUed  to  the 
group  to  which  he  belonged.  It  is  different  with  Jacob,  who 
therefore  belongs  to  a  later  stage. 

It  seems  peculiar  that  the  Abrahamic  migration  should  seek 
southern  Palestine  instead  of  the  more  alluring  region  of  Damascus 
or  Hamath.  The  reason  must  be  sought  in  the  strength  of  the 
Amorite  states  in  Coelesyria  as  well  as  in  the  Hittite  advance. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  weakness  of  Egyptian  power  in  Palestine 
must  have  been  such  as  to  make  an  advance  into  that  region 
especially  alluring.  The  most  suitable  time  for  Abram's  immi- 
gration was  toward  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  when  the 
Egyptian  power  in  Syria  stood  at  zero  owing  to  the  internal 
troubles  on  account  of  the  Hyksos  (G  V  J  I  90).  Such  a  region 
as  the  Negeb,  where  Abram  chiefly  dwelt,  was  probably  thinly 
populated  and  furnished  an  opportunity  for  strangers  to  settle. 

The  next  migration  of  importance  is  that  of  Jacob-Israel. 
Jacob's  earliest  seat  was  in  Gilead,  at  Mizpeh.  The  pressure  of 
other  Aramaean  tribes  from  the  north  caused  him  great  difficulty. 
In  the  thirty-first  chapter  of  Genesis,  a  document  of  great  his- 
torical value,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  point  out,  we  are  told  of  a 
treaty  between  Jacob  and  Laban.*  In  the  later  Leucosyrians  we 
may  have  a  remnant  of  the  Laban  tribe,  for  this  name  appears  to 
be  merely  a  translation  of  "  Laban  Aramaean  "  (Gen.  31 :  20;  O  L  Z 
*07:547).  The  coloring  of  the  story  is  accurate,  for  we  learn  that 
a  dolmen  or  cairn  is  erected,  which  Laban  calls  Yegar  Sahdutha 
and  Jacob,  Ga'led.  Dolmens,  the  megalithic  monuments  of  the 
Indo-Europeans,  are  frequent  in  this  region.  What  is  more 
likely  than  that  such  a  distinctive  landmark  of  mysterious  antiq- 

1  Similarly  Guthe,  Geachichte  Israels,  '14: 14.  Another  interpretation  hav- 
ing plausibility  is  that  of  Spiegelberg,  OLZ  '07:618,  according  to  whom 
Hebrews  means  "  Wanderstamme"  or  nomadic  tribes. 

*  On  the  two  versions  cf .  Procksch,  p.  177  ff.,  345  ff.  Variance  in  details  is 
no  bar  to  the  historicity  of  the  treaty. 

32 


THE  INVASION   OF  PALESTINE 

uity  should  serve  as  a  boundary?  Nor  is  there  the  least  ground 
for  supposing  that  the  Aramaic  name  given  the  cairn  by  Laban 
is  a  late  invention.  For  we  have  an  analogy  in  an  Aramaean 
Yaghra  ("  Hill ")  near  the  lake  of  Antioch  (S  B  A  '92, 333) .  Another 
version  relates  that  they  erected  a  pillar  (Ma§§ebah)  and  called 
it  Mizpeh.  The  historian's  purpose  is  no  doubt  to  inform  us 
that  the  town  of  Mizpeh  in  Gilead,  which  may  have  been  near  the 
famous  dolmen,  is  the  site  where  the  treaty  was  concluded.  The 
actual  terms  of  the  treaty  show  a  distinct  inferiority  of  Jacob. 
They  provide  that  Jacob  shall  take  no  further  wives  besides 
Laban's  daughters.  As  Procksch  has  seen,  this  refers  to  an  agree- 
ment on  intermarriage  between  the  two  tribes,  but  only  on  the 
condition  that  further  legitimate  marriages  (with  Amorite  women 
perhaps)  be  excluded.  Jacob,  being  inferior  in  strength,  has  to 
accept  these  terms.  His  tribe  entered  into  the  negotiations 
doubtless  because  it  was  dependent  on  the  good  will  of  its  power- 
ful neighbors  and  also  to  insure  a  healthy  growth  for  itself.  With 
the  related  Esau  tribes  a  similar  agreement  may  have  been  reached 
as  to  the  boundary. 

Jacob,  however,  did  not  stay  in  Gilead,  but  changed  his  pastur- 
age an,d  came  to  the  region  of  Shechem  west  of  the  Jordan.  We 
may  surmise  the  reason  if  we  recall  the  fact  that  about  this  time 
the  Amorite  states  in  central  Syria  were  again  attaining  to  power. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Kadesh  on  the  Orontes,  the  Syrian  king- 
doms presented  a  solid  front  against  invasion  and  thus  showed 
signs  of  great  strength.  The  strong  cities  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon 
seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Kadesh  at  that  period. 
Seventeen  campaigns  against  Syria  are  recorded  by  Thutmose  III 
(from  1479  B.C.  on).  There  is  good  reason  indeed  to  believe  that 
Kadesh  at  this  time  controlled  Damascus  and  the  Hauran;  for 
the  existence  in  the  Mosaic  age  of  Amorite  kingdoms  east  of  the 
Jordan  —  those  of  Og  of  Bashan  and  Sihon  of  Heshbon  —  evidences 
the  Amorite  power  of  expansion  in  the  centuries  previous.  At 
any  rate,  the  removal  of  Jacob  and  the  cessation  of  all  connection 
of  the  Hebrews  with  Aram  hereafter  seem  to  show  that  a  power 

33 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

arose  at  that  time  in  the  country  of  Gilead  which  was  the  cause 
of  both  of  these  pecuHar  facts. 

Jacob  is  called  a  " roving  Aramaean  "  (Deut.  26 : 5).  Because  the 
Aramaeans  migrated  so  much  in  those  times,  the  name  became 
almost  synonymous  with  "Roamer."  ^  This  reminiscence  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  Jacob  is  all  the  more  important  since  the 
Hebrews  after  him  entirely  lost  their  Aramaean  character  and 
became  virtually  Canaanites  in  language,  custom  and  culture.  It  is 
remarkable  that  the  memory  of  the  old  blood  relationship  and 
even  details  concerning  the  earliest  common  homes  have  survived. 

A  century  after  Jacob's  time  we  stand  in  the  Amama  age  and  , 
learn  of  the  great  inroads  of  the  SA.GAZ  in  Syria  and  of  the   i 
5abiri  in  Palestine.     This  age  and  its  problems  cannot  be  dealt 
with  here.    The  question  which  alone  concerns  us  is  whether  the 
JJabiri  have  anything  to  do  with  the  Aramaeans. 

As  is  now  proven  by  the  Boghaz-Koi  Archives,  the  Qabiri  and  / 
SA.GAZ  are  identical  (Bohl  87).  The  west-Semitic  equivalent 
of  SA.GAZ  ( =  ^jabbatu)  seems  to  have  been  Shasu,  "robber" 
(G  V  J  I  520).  The  JJabiri  can  hardly  be  identical  with  the 
Hebrews,  since,  as  we  have  seen,  the  patriarchal  migration  took 
place  earlier  and  the  Mosaic  later,  though  philologically  the  names 
might  well  be  correlated  (Kn.  46  ff.).  It  seems  more  plausible 
to  me,  however,  to  explain  the  imdoubtedly  Semitic  name  from 
a  Canaanitic  root,  "habar,"  "to  join"  (=  Akkadian  abdru),  so 
that  5*biri  would  mean  "allies."  In  Arabic  this  root  possesses  a 
different  meaning  and  therefore  we  must  regard  the  name  as  an 
.expression  used  by  the  Canaanites  to  describe  the  invaders  and 
not  as  the  real  name  of  the  people.  And,  indeed,  it  was  almost 
necessary  to  invent  such  a  name  for  them,  since  the  preponder- 
ant element  of  the  Qabiri  seem  to  have  been  non-Semitic.  There 
were  Aryans  ^  among  them,  and  the  name  of  this  race  occurs  in  Kn. 

'      ^  Does  Sennacherib  Prism  V  10  play  upon  this  usage  when  he  speaks  of  the 
"aramu  fealqu  u  munnabtu"? 

*  The  gods  Mithra  and  Varuna  are  found  in  the  Boghaz-Ko!  texts  (M  V  A  G  ( 
'13,  4,  76  f.).  Following  a  hint  of  Prof.  J.  A.  Montgomery,  I  would  see  the  ; 
deity  Vanma  in  the  Jebusite  Araima,  2  Sam.  24: 16  ff. 

34 


THE  INVASION   OF  PALESTINE 

56:44  (where  Qar-ri  must  be  read  instead  of  mur-ri  [Bohl  17]). 
The  names  Shuwardata,  Namyawaza,  Biridashya  ( =  Sanscrit 
Brhadashwa,  "the  one  who  owns  a  big  horse")  and  many  others 
in  the  Amarna  letters  are  Indo-Germanic  (G  A  §  468).  On  the 
other  hand,  there  were  also  Hittites  among  the  gabiri  in  large 
numbers.  Thus  the  chieftain  Lapaya  is  of  this  stock,  and  in 
Abd-feipa  of  Jerusalem  we  have  the  divinity  Qipa  of  the  Hittites 
(Bohl  83).  But  there  were  also  Aramaean  elements  included 
in  the  Qabiri,^  especially  the  Suti  of  the  eastern  deserts.  The 
Aflame  must  also  have  been  hammering  at  the  gates  of  Syria,, 
and  their  name,  which  is  distinctly  Arabian,  forms  a  curious 
counterpart  to  JJabiri,  since  both  mean  "allies."  It  would  be^ 
perfectly  feasible  if  they  were  included  among  the  "Qabiri." 

Shortly  after  this  time  the  Amorite  state  in  central  Syria  was 
again  revived.  It  had  an  important  stronghold  in  Kadesh  — 
not  the  great  city  on  the  Orontes,  but  that  in  Galilee  (BAR 
III  71)  —  and  it  wavered  between  allegiance  to  the  Hittites,  who 
are  now  established  in  the  northern  Kadesh,  and  the  Egyptians, 
seeking  protection  with  one  against  the  other  (G  V  J  I  521). 
Through  it  the  Amorite  states  east  of  the  Jordan  must  have 
been  reinvigorated.  Seti  I  of  Egypt  (1292  B.C.)  storms  Kadesh, 
and  thus  subjects  the  Amurrti  state.  Operations  against  the 
Amorites  east  of  the  Jordan  appear  certain  from  the  erection  of 
a  stele  of  victory  in  the  Hauran  at  Tell  esh-Shihab. 

From  now  on  a  great  struggle  ensues  between  the  Egyptians 
and  the  Hittites.  It  was  finally  concluded  by  the  famous  treaty 
between  Ramses  II  and  Qattusil,  a  cuneiform  copy  of  which  has 
recently  been  found  by  Winckler  at  Boghaz-Koi,  the  capital  of 
the  Hittite  empire  (M  V  A  G  13,  4,  101  f.).  The  Amorite  state 
now  enjoyed  a  quasi-indeperidence  under  Hittite  suzerainty;  its 
king  Bente-shina  became  the  brother-in-law  of  gattusil.  Indeed, 
it  seems  to  have  extended  its  influence  quite  far  into  the  Syrian 
desert;  for  we  learn  that  Bente-shina  made  a  raid  upon  Babylonian 
territory,  since  he  could  not  collect  the  thirty  talents  of  silver 
*  Similarly  Clay,  Cassite  Names,  p.  42  f. 
35 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

which  the  city  of  Agade  owed  him,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  his 

victims*  complaint  to  JJattusil  was  of  avail. 

.       The  terrible  catastrophe  which    put    an  end    to  the  Hittite 

^   empire  as  well  as  to  the  Amorite  state  occurred  in  the  time  of  Mer- 

neptah  whose  accession  took  place  in  1225  B.C.    The  onset  of  the 

maritime  peoples  was  so  terrific  that  even  the  Egyptians  were 

barely  able  to  ward  them  off.     Among  them  are  the  Philistines. 

'     Ramses  III  finally,  in  a  great  battle  by  land  and  by  sea,  hurled 

them  back  and  imified  Palestine  once  more  under  Egyptian  rule 

(B  A  R  IV  §  59fif.).     In  the  country  east  of  the  Jordan,  however, 

\  the  Amorite  principalities  still  existed. 

At  this  time  and  on  this  background  occurs  the  arrival  of  the 
Israel  tribes  in  the  promised  land.  They  are  only  able  to  enter  it 
after  circumventing  Edom  *  and  Moab,  and  then  striking  at  the 
Amorite  kingdom  of  Heshbon  under  its  king  Sihon  (G  V  J  545  f.). 
This  state,  together  with  that  of  Og  in  Bashan,  are  the  main 
remnants  of  former  Amorite  power.  In  Numbers  32 :  39  Makir  is 
driving  Amorites  out  of  Gilead. 
KrJ^*^  X  Th^t  the  relations  between  Moab  and  Ammon,  who  are  the 
\.f^,ju4u»Ji -/^  purest  of  Aramaean  stock  so  that  they  can  boast  of  their  origin 
from  Lot's  daughters  (Procksch  129)  and  the  Aramaeans  of  Meso- 
potamia, continued  to  be  friendly,  we  may  infer  from  the  fact 
that  Balak  of  Moab  summons  an  Aramaean  seer  from  Pethor 
on  the  Euphrates  to  "curse  Israel."  Mesopotamia  is  there 
expressly  described  as  the  land  of  Balaks,  "sons  of  his  people," 
i.e.,  of  the  related  Aramaeans  (Num.  22:5).  This  opinion, 
even  if  it  be  only  that  of  the  Hebrew  writer,  is  important  because 
it  shows  that  the  Moabites  were  considered  an  Aramaean  people. 
The  Hebrews,  however,  through  intermingling  with  Hittites, 
Canaanites,  Cushites  and  others,  have  lost  their  Aramaean 
character,  so  that  Moab  does  not  regard  them  as  closely  related 

1  Z  D  M  G  63:528  corrects  king  of  Edom,  Num.  20: 14,  into  king  of  the 
Aramaeans.  That  the  Edomites  were  merely  an  Aramaean  tribe  I  regard  as 
assured.  Ihvi.  506,  the  correction  of  Aram,  Num.  23 :  7,  into  Edom  is  disputed. 
Haupt  here  regards  Aram  as  the  region  S.E.  of  Elath,  which  in  the  Koran, 
89: 6,  appears  as  the  Iram  of  the  Adites. 

86 


THE  INVASION  OF  PALESTINE 

to  itself.  From  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  we  have  learned  in  a 
former  chapter  that  Tiglathpileser  I  conquered  Pitru  ( =  Pethor) 
on  the  Euphrates,  and  placed  Assyrian  garrisons  in  Pitru  and 
Mutkinu  as  outposts  against  the  Ahlame.  Tiglathpileser  ruled 
about  1100  B.C.  If  the  exodus  of  Israel  took  place  under  Mer- 
neptah  about  1220  B.C.  (G  V  J  537),  and  if  a  stay  in  the  desert  is 
assumed  for  forty  years,  we  would  have  the  date  1180  for  the 
coming  of  Balaam  from  Pethor.  How  remarkably  this  har- 
monizes with  the  fact  that  the  Aramaeans  at  this  time  actually 
held  Pitru!    This  speaks  highly  in  favor  of  our  tradition. 

The  Aramaean  home  of  Balaam  ^  is  substantiated  by  the  ancient 
poem  23:7f.,  "From  Aram  Balak  caused  me  to  be  brought,  from 
the  mountains  of  Qedem  the  Moabite  king."  Since  Sinuhe,  the 
Egyptian,  journeys  from  Gebal  inland  to  Qedem,  its  location  is 
east  of  Byblos.  It  probably  refers  to  the  region  beyond  Damascus 
(G  V  J  66).  In  Genesis  29:1  the  term  is  applied  to  the  country 
from  Palmyra  to  the  Euphrates  (ibid.  369).  In  the  vicinity  of 
Qedem,  or  perhaps  within  it,  lay  the  land  of  Ya'a,  over  which 
the  Amorite  king  Ammienshi  makes  Sinuhe  ruler;  Kittel  and 
Ranke  locate  this  near  the  lake  of  Tiberias.^  In  these  very  re- 
gions, as  we  shall  soon  see,  and  about  this  very  time  new  vistas 
of  Aramaean  life  and  history  are  unfolding. 

^  The  Mesopotamian  character  of  Balaam  is  proven  by  Daiches,  Hilprecht 
Anniversary  Volume,  p.  60  ff .,  from  the  conformance  of  his  soothsaying 
methods  with  the  Babylonia  ritual.  Even  the  title  of  Balaam,  Num.  24: 16, 
"Hearer  of  the  words  of  God,  knower  of  the  knowledge  of  the  most  high," 
reminds  one  of  the  Babylonian,  "the  wise  man,  the  knower  who  keeps  the 
mystery  of  the  great  gods"  (Zimmern,  Ritualtafeln,  118,  19). 

*  A  land  of  Ya'  in  the  region  of  ladnana  is  mentioned  in  Sargon's  Display 
inscription,  1. 145.    ladnana  is  usually  identified  with  Cyprus. 


37 


/ 


f 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  RISE  OF  THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  CENTRAL  SYRIA 

The  great  onset  of  the  Indo-Europeans  which  shattered  the 
Amorite  and  Hittite  power  in  Syria  paved  the  way  for  the  Ara- 
maean possession.  The  Biqd*,  especially,  suffered  from  the 
vandalism  of  the  invaders;  for  the  Egyptians  tell  us  that  the  land 
became  as  if  it  had  never  existed  (B  A  R  IV  §  64).  To  a  large 
extent  the  population  must  have  been  annihilated.  The  mighty 
strongholds  which  had  stood  many  a  siege  and  were  built  with 
consummate  skill,  like  Kadesh  and  others,  must  have  succumbed 
finally  to  starvation  and  disease.  Perhaps  only  in  the  most 
sheltered  mountain  retreats  did  the  inhabitants  remain  undis- 
turbed. 

Already  at  the  beginning  of  the  Indo-European  movement,  the 
Aramaean  won  important  positions  from  whiclTlie  coiild  at  the 
right  moment  stretch  out  his  hand  to  the  country's  heart.  For, 
as  Miiller  has  shown,  his  name  is  not  unfamiliar  to  the  Egyptian 
of  the  time  of  Memeptah.  One  of  this  Pharaoh's  officials  has 
made  a  record  of  the  sending  of  messages  "to  the  city  of  Mer- 
neptah  which  lies  in  the  territory  of  A-ira-mau."  This  can 
only  be  Aram.  But  in  reahty  he  means  Amor.  It  is  a  scribal 
error,  but  it  shows  that  the  Aramaeans  were  already  within  the 
scope  of  Egypt's  official  cognizance  (MAE  222). 

The  Aramaean  invasion  of  Syria,  then,  synchronizes  with  the 
entrance  of  the  children  of  Israel  into  Palestine.  Viewed  from 
the  distance  both  are  identical;  it  is  one  great  wave,  that,  coming 
from  the  Arabian  desert,  floods  the  land,  and  inaugurates  a  new 
period  of  its  history. 
.  In  Syria  the  Aramaeans  were  at  first  too  busy  in  establishing 

88 


THE  RISE   OF  THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  CENTRAL  SYRIA 

themselves,  to  bother  much  about  their  neighbors.^  This  is  re- 
flected in  Judges  18:7,  28,  according  to  the  LXX  reading,  where 
we  learn  that  the  dwellers  of  Laish  lived  peacefully  apart,  far  from 
the  Phoenicians  to  whom  they  belong  and  without  relation  to 
Aram.  Thus,  at  the  time  when  the  Danites  settled  at  Laish,  Aram 
(perhaps  the  principality  Beth  Ma'acah  may  be  meant)  was 
already  a  fixed  geographical  terminus  for  the  region  north  of 
Palestine. 

At  the  time  of  Saul,  ca.  1025,  we  find  several  Aramaean  kingdoms 
definitely  established  on  the  edge  of  Canaan.  For  in  1  Samuel, 
14:47  we  read  that  Saul  warred  "against  Moab,  and  against  the 
Ammonites,  and  Aram  Beth-Rehob''  and  the  king  of  Zobah." 
The  chronicler  has  no  exact  information  and  so  does  not  tell  us 
who  the  king  of  Zobah  was;  but  that  is  no  reason  for  impugning 
the  accuracy  of  his  statement. 

The  location  of  Beth-Rehob  may  be  fixed  with  fair  certainty  as 
north  of  Ammon.  The  relation  between  the  two  states  was  always 
a  close  one.  The  Rehobite  Ba'sa  is  later  the  leader  of  the  Am- 
monites in  the  battle  of  Qarqar  (W  Gil  141).  In  the  ruined 
city  of  Rihab,  discovered  by  Schumacher  in  1900,  forty  kilometers 
east  of  Aglun  and  fifty  north  of  'Amman  —  the  old  Rabbath 
Ammon  —  is  to  be  sought,  according  to  Guthe,  the  capital  of 
Beth-Rehob.*    It  lay  between  the  Argob  and  the  upper  reaches 

^  A  vague  reminiscence  of  a  first  warlike  conflict  between  Aram  and  Israel 
seems  to  be  preserved  in  Jud.  3:  7-11.  A  priori  such  an  invasion  as  that  of 
Cushanrishathaim  is  not  to  be  dismissed  as  impossible.  How  suddenly  such 
attacks  may  come,  we  observed  in  the  case  of  the  Hittite  onset  against  Akkad 
in  the  days  of  Samsu-ditana.  That  Mesopotamia  was  at  this  time  (ca.  1150) 
called  Aram  Naharaim  we  have  held  most  plausible.  Perhaps,  following 
Marquard's  example,  we  should  separate  the  name  of  this  king  into  Cushan 
ra's  (or  "chief")  of  *Ataim.  There  may  well  have  been  a  locality  'Ataim  in 
old  Mitanni,  a  place  where  the  divinity  Atd  was  worshiped.  A  still  further 
possibility  might  be  to  hold  *Ain  an  error  for  Heth.  Then  Cushan  would  be  a 
Hittite  chieftain,  perhaps  from  Carchemish.  True,  the  name  Cushan  arouses 
suspicion  (cf.  Hab.  3:7). 

*  Text  emended:  Edom  into  Aram.  Beth-Rehob  supplied  from  LXX. 
W  G  I.  I.  143. 

*  Protestantische  Realenzyklopadie,  3d  ed.  by  Hauck,  Vol.  21,  p.  703. 

39 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

of  the  Jabbok  river,  and  doubtless  extended  east  to  the  Zalmon 
range.^  It  is  the  most  easterly  of  the  eariy  Aramaean  princi- 
paUties. 

More  problematic  is  the  conflict  of  Saul  with  Zobah,  if  this  state 
lay,  as  we  hold,  to  the  west  of  Damascus  in  the  Biq&*.  But 
unless  we  proceed  radically  as  Winckler  does  (W  Gil  142),  it  is 
difficult  from  our  tradition  to  locate  it  anywhere  else.  If  Zobah 
really  is  to  be  sought  in  Suf,  thirty  kilometers  west  of  Ribab 
(Guthe,  I.e.),  then  it  is  indeed  strange  that  in  the  Hebrew  conquest 
of  Palestine,  and  in  the  extensive  geographical  lists,  this  important 
city  is  not  mentioned  (S  A  141).  On  the  other  hand  if  Zobah 
be  the  Biq&*,  and  thus  the  heir  of  ancient  Amurrli,  it  is  perfectly 
possible  that  its  power  Und  influence  should  have  extended  into  the 
coimtry  east  of  the  Jordan,  so  as  to  conflict  with  the  ambitions  of 
Saul.  That  is  only  analogous  to  the  conditions  centuries  previous, 
when  the  Amorite  state  expanded  into  the  trans-Jordanic  ter- 
ritory. Indeed  just  as  the  principality  of  Sihon  at  Heshbon  was 
founded  and  colonized  from  the  Biqfi,*,  so  also  must  the  Aramaean 
state  of  Beth-Rehob  and  its  sisters  have  been  daughters  of  Zobah. 

As  Hal^vy  showed,*  the  word  is  derived  from  "Zehohah"  — 
"copper,  bronze,"  and  must  be  an  appellative  with  the  meaning 
"the  copper  country."  Thus  copper  must  be  a  notable  product 
of  this  region.  Now  this  is  peculiarly  true  of  the  Lebanon  dis- 
trict, where  there  are  large  deposits  of  this  mineral  (E  K  XVII 
1063).  And  in  this  connection  it  must  be  recalled  that  we  have 
a  city  of  Chalcis  (i.e.,  "copper")  as  the  capital  of  the  later  king- 
dom of  Ituraea  which  was  situated  in  the  Marsyas  plain.  This 
Chalcis  must  be  the  ancient  Zobah.^    And  indeed  Eupolemus 

*  Others  —  to  my  mind  erroneously  —  localize  it  in  the  region  of  Caesarea 
Panias,  S  A  76. 

*  Melanges,  1874,  p.  82.  Hal^vy's  combination  of  Zobah-Chalcis  with  the 
Nu^ashshe  of  the  Aramna  days  fails.  The  latter  is  probably  the  northern 
Chalcis  (Kinnesrtn)  near  Aleppo,  Kn.  1104  f.     (Cf.  next  note.) 

*  From  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  a  province  of  §ubatu  (§ubutu,  §upite)  is 
known,  which  has  long  been  identified  with  our  Zobah.  Winckler  seeks  it 
south  of  Damascus  (WGI,  1141;    KAT61).    But  the  arguments  from 

40 


THE   RISE   OF   THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   CENTRAL   SYRIA 

(ca.  150  B.C.),  in  recounting  the  wars  of  David,  substitutes  "Itu- 
raeans"  for  Zobah,  showing  thereby  that  a  very  definite  and  fixed 
tradition  placed  Zobah  in  this  locaUty  (S  A  145).  In  the  mag- 
nificent ruins  of  il-*Angar  in  the  Biqa*  we  perhaps  have  the  site 
of  Chalcis  and  the  old  capital  of  Zobah.^ 

After  the  accession  of  David,  however,  the  real  struggle  with 
the  early  Aramaean  states  of  Syria  is  begun.  It  was  provoked 
by  the  troubles  with  Ammon.  The  king  of  the  latter  state, 
Hanun  ben  Nahash,  shamefully  insulted  and  abused  David's 
ambassadors.  It  is  very  possible  that  the  Ammonites  were 
directly  encouraged  in  such  insolence  by  the  Aramaeans,  who 
clearly  foresaw  the  necessity  and  inevitability  of  a  conflict  with 
the  rising  Hebrew  state  and  preferred  to  have  the  aid  of  Ammon  in 
this  eventuality.  As  soon  as  the  latter  perceived  that  David  was 
not  inclined  to  submit  to  such  an  insult,  it  summoned  the  aid  of 
Zobah  and  Beth-Rehob  as  well  as  of  Ma'acah,  a  small  Aramaean 
state  adjoining  Beth-Rehob  and  located  in  the  Golan  directly 
east  and  north  of  the  lake  of  Htile.  (2  Sam.  10.)  In  this  con- 
clave of  Aramaic  states  one  only  is  omitted  —  the  small  Geshur, 
southerly  neighbor  of  Ma'acah,  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake 
of  Galilee.  The  relations  between  Geshur  and  the  Hebrews  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake  appear  to  have  been  peculiarly  intimate. 

Ashurbanipal's  Annals,  VII,  114,  are  not  convincing.  This  king  tells  us  that 
he  defeated  the  Arabs  in  Edom,  in  the  pass  of  Yabrud,  in  Ammon,  in  Qaurina, 
in  Seir,  in  Harge,  in  §ubitu.  There  is  no  geographical  sequence  maintained 
in  this  summary,  however;  for  from  Haurina  (Hawarin  north  of  Damascus) 
he  jumps  back  to  Seir.  Not  much  more  help  is  given  by  the  geographical 
Catalogue,  II  R  53.  Here  a  §ubat  (al)  Hamattu  appears  in  Rev.  41  between 
Hamath  and  Sam'al,  a  §ubatu  between  Hadrach  and  Sam'al  in  Rev.  60,  and 
again  between  Hadrach  and  §imirra  in  Rev.  73.  I  hold  that  this  §ubatu  has 
nothing  to  do  with  our  Zobah-Chalcis  in  the  Biq4*,  but  that  it  was  confused 
with  it  by  the  chronicler  (2  Chron.  8:  3  f .)  when  he  speaks  of  Hamath-Zobah. 
This  §ubat  (al)  Qamattu  (or  §upite,  §ubutu)  I  seek  in  the  northern  Chalcis 
(Qinnesrtn  south  of  Aleppo).  Here  the  Arabian  campaign  as  well  as  A  B  L 
no.  414,  in  which  a  prefect  of  §upite  reports  concerning  conditions  in  the 
province  and  relations  to  the  Arabs  (A  O  F  I  465),  is  readily  comprehended. 

^Cf.  Kiepert,  Handbuch  der  Alten  Greographie,  '78:  164.  Droysen,  Ge- 
schichte  des  Hellenismus,  III,  290,  however,  seeks  Chalcis  in  Zahleh. 

.41 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

(2  Sam.  3:3,  13:37.)  It  was  this  close  affiliation  with  Geshiir, 
no  doubt,  which  prevented  that  state  from  siding  with  the  Ara- 
maean coaUtion. 

The  Aramaeans  of  Zobah  and  Beth-Rehob  together  furnish 
20,000  men.  That  the  troops  of  the  southernmost  and  northern- 
most Aramaean  kingdoms  should  be  counted  as  a  unit  is  indeed 
pecuHar;  it  may  find  its  explanation,  however,  in  the  fact  that 
Hadadezer  is  called  (2  Sam.  8:  3  "ben  Rehob,"  which  means 
"  Rehobite " ;  cf .  W  G 1 1 141).  He  is  thus  a  native  of  Beth-Rehob, 
and  after  becoming  king  of  Zobah,  is  the  special  protector  of  the 
land  of  his  birth,  and  not  merely  its  suzerain.  Ishtob,'  king  of 
Ma'acah,  arrives  with  12,000  men.  Joab,  as  David's  field 
marshal,  sets  out  to  attack  the  coalition.  Like  Rameses  before 
Kadesh,  he  is  lured  into  an  ambuscade,  and  his  retreat  is  cut  off. 
The  Israelites  hurl  themselves  first  against  the  Aramaeans  and 
through  the  bravery  of  desperation  their  attack  becomes  irresist- 
ible; the  Aramaeans  are  put  to  flight.  And  when  Joab  now  turns 
against  the  Ammonites,  these,  seeing  that  they  are  deserted  by 
their  allies,  retreat  to  Rabbah's  sheltering  walls.  But  just  as  the 
**  victorious  "  Rameses  at  Kadesh  was  glad  to  return  home  without 
molesting  the  city,  so  also  Joab  is  satisfied  to  go  back  to  Jerusalem 
into  winter  quarters.  The  first  pitched  battle  between  Hebrew 
and  Aramaean  of  which  we  have  record  has  thus  resulted  in  a 
draw. 

But  Hadadezer  was  not  willing  to  accept  the  verdict  of  the 
battle  before  Rabbah.  He  had  not  displayed  his  full  force.  Now 
he  summoned  help  from  "the  Aram  which  is  beyond  the  river." 
It  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  his  authority  extended  so  far,  for  we 
have  the  Amorite  state  of  Benteshina's  day  whose  rule  extended 
far  into  the  Syrian  desert  toward  Babylon,  as  an  analogy.  And 
just  at  this  time  Assyria  was  entirely  dormant.    But  it  is  sufficient 

*  Ishtob  seems  to  be  a  personal  name,  K  H  K  248.  Those  who  prefer  the 
traditional  "men  of  Tob"  may  find  the  site  of  Tob  in  et  Tayyibe  near  Edrei. 
The  list  is  not  intact;  2  Sam.  10:  16  proves  that  Hadadezer  must  have  been 
mentioned  and  probably  also  the  king  of  Beth-Rehob. 

42 


THE  RISE  OF  THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  CENTRAL  SYRIA 

to  assume  that  the  common  blood  relationship  made  mutual  aid 
against  other  peoples  a  matter  of  course,  according  to  sound 
Oriental  principle  "I  and  my  brother  against  the  son  of  my  uncle, 
and  I  and  the  son  of  my  uncle  against  the  stranger."  Hadadezer's 
forces  are  placed  under  the  command  of  his  field  marshal  Shobak.^ 
So  momentous  is  the  impending  struggle  for  the  Hebrews  that 
David  himself  takes  command  of  his  host.  He  crosses  the  Jordan 
(10:17)  and  marches  to  Helam  ^  which  must  have  lain  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yarmuk  river  and  is  probably  identical  with  the 
Alema  of  I  Maccabees  5:26  (Z  A  W  '02,  137);  a  reminiscence 
of  it  might  possibly  be  seen  in  *Ilma  on  the  Wadi  il-Ghar  not  far 
from  the  caravan  road  Damascus  —  Sheikh  Miskin  over  which 
the  Aramaeans  were  likely  to  come.  At  Helam  David's  leadership 
gained  the  victory.  The  Aramaeans  were  crushingly  defeated 
and  their  commander  Shobak  slain.  Hadadezer's  allies  from 
Mesopotamia  immediately  concluded  a  peace  with  David,  and  so 
the  latter  was  able  to  besiege  and  capture  Rabbah  undisturbed. 

The  effect  of  the  battle  upon  Zobah's  prestige  was  disastrous. 
The  princes  of  Mesopotamia  had  lost  all  respect  for  him,  and 
therefore  it  was  necessary  to  reestablish  his  position  of  authority. 
Consequently  we  learn  (8:3)  that  he  goes  to  retrieve  his  power  at 
the  "river."  ^  David  appreciates  that  Hadadezer  is  only  post- 
poning further  hostilities  toward  Israel  until  a  more  opportune 
season,  and  therefore  decides  to  strike  Hadadezer  once  more 
(Z  A  W  '07,  16  ff).  If  we  are  told  that  the  battle  took  place  near 
Hamath  (1  Chr.  18:3)  we  must  regard  this  as  unlikely.  The 
fortresses  along  the  Orontes  would  have  blocked  the  pursuit  of 
Hadadezer.  David  could  not  have  passed  them  so  swiftly.  Nor 
is  it  likely  that  Hadadezer's  expedition  led  through  the  territory 

*  Shofak  in  1  Chron.  19: 16.  I  suspect  that  Shobak  is  an  error  for  Sdkap,  or 
Sa'kap,  an  apparently  Aramaic  Mesopotamian  name  (cf.  A  D  D  III  284),  in 
which  case  the  form  Shofak  would  be  the  better.  It  is  also  possible,  however, 
that  the  name  contains  the  god  Aku,  like  Shadrach  (Shudur-Aku  =■  "command 
of  Aku"). 

*  Helam  has  been  identified  by  others  with  Qalman  (Aleppo),  but  this  seems 
too  far  north. 

43 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

of  the  Hittite  kindgoms  to  the  north.  The  Aramaeans  subject 
to  him  must  have  been  the  A^ilame  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Bali^j.  Therefore  an  expedition  thither  would  most  naturally 
follow  the  highway  from  Damascus  to  Palmyra  and  Raqqa.  Since 
David  through  his  victory  over  Ammon  and  its  northern  neighbors 
could  move  about  unhindered  in  Bashan,  it  is  reasonable  to  con- 
clude that  from  this  base  he  launched  his  raid  and  intercepted 
Hadadezer  east  of  Damascus.  Under  this  supposition  the  entire 
picture  receives  a  more  rational  aspect.  The  battle  may  then 
have  taken  place  near  Atera  just  east  of  where  the  Palmyra  road 
diverges  from  the  road  to  Hamath.  It  resulted  in  a  complete 
victory  for  David.*  An  auxiliary  force  that  came  up  from  Damas- 
cus was  likewise  dealt  a  crushing  blow.  David  successfully 
followed  up  his  victories  by  subjecting  Damascus  and  occupying  it 
for  the  present  by  instituting  prefects  in  it,  a  measure  that  shows 
David's  resentment  of  Damascus  interference  (Z  A  W  '07,  18). 
But  David  went  still  further  —  he  invaded  the  Biq&*  from  the 
east,  and  so  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  Hadadezer's  realm.  Two 
cities  of  Zobah  are  mentioned  (8:8)  —  Berothai  and  Tebah  (LXX 
1  Chron.  18:8).  M  T  erroneously  reads  Betah  and  the  book  of 
Chronicles  for  Berothai  substitutes  Kun.  If  we  could  identify  these 
places  we  should  know  exactly  the  location  of  Zobah.  Berothai 
is  mentioned  in  Ezechiel's  description  of  Israel's  boundaries 
(47:16);  the  northern  border  is  there  defined  as  extending  from 
the  sea  over  Berothah  and  Sibraim,  between  Damascus  and 
Hamath,  to  Hazar  Enon  on  the  edge  of  the  Hauran.  Berothai's 
location  in  the  Lebanon  is  thus  assured.  And  its  site  is  doubtless 
preserved  in  Br^tan  N.  E.  of  Zahleh  (Z  D  P  V  8:34)  while  Kun 

'  The  figures  of  the  dead  and  captured  in  our  present  text  are  scarcely  trust- 
worthy. Reliable,  however,  is  the  statement  about  the  horses,  8:  4.  The 
meaning  "hamstring"  for  Sqqer  is  unsatisfactory,  however.  Procksch  267 
suggests  "castrate."  But  the  best  sense  here  is  "cut  off,"  i.e.,  slaughter. 
David  is  obeying  the  precept  in  Deut.  17: 16,  which  prescribes  that  a  king  must 
not  have  many  horses.  Thus  he  only  retains  one  hundred  and  slaughters  the 
rest.  After  David's  time  no  king  would  have  thought  of  such  a  thing.  This 
speaks  for  the  antiquity  of  our  tradition. 

44 


THE   RISE   OF  THE   ARAMAEANS   IN   CENTRAL   SYRIA 

is  to  be  found  in  the  classical  Conna,  a  few  hours  distance  north 
on  the  Horns  road.  Tebah  is  found  also  among  the  bastard 
Aramaeans  in  Genesis  22 :  24.  It  is  mentioned  in  Papyrus  Anastasi 
after  Kadesh  (in  GaUlee  M  A  E  173)  and  before  Gebal  and  Berut 
and  also  occurs  in  the  Armama  letter  (Kn.  179)  as  Tubibi  along- 
side of  Amurrti;  and  its  name  is,  as  has  been  supposed,  perhaps 
contained  in  et-Tuffab  a  district  east  of  Sidon.  Thus  a  satis- 
factory location  for  Hadadezer's  cities  in  the  Lebanon  district 
may  be  found.  And  our  traditions  expressly  emphasize  the  fact 
that  large  stores  of  copper  were  captured  (2  Sam.  8:8).  David 
thereupon  returned  home  and  performed  the  duty  of  every  pious 
Oriental  King,  —  he  gave  votive  offerings  to  his  god.  As  such  are 
mentioned  the  golden  shields  of  Hadadezer's  grandees,  and  other 
valuable  objects  (8:7,  11).  Before  this,  however,  —  perhaps  at 
Conna,  —  he  received  the  embassy  of  the  Hittite  king  Toi  of 
Hamath  (8 :  10),  The  latter's  own  son  ^  came  with  presents  for  the 
King  of  Israel  and  congratulated  him  on  his  victory  over  Zobah. 
Since  the  poor  Hittite  had  been  the  victim  of  Zobah,  as  well  as 
of  Aramaean  inroads  from  the  Euphrates  region,  we  may  assume 
that  his  congratulations  were  sincere.  The  political  significance 
of  his  act,  however,  is  the  acknowledgment  by  Hamath  of  Israel's 
supremacy  in  Syria.  True  this  hegemony  was  only  short  lived 
but  to  its  brilliance  later  centuries  looked  back  with  awe  and, 
wonder,  "and  dreamed  of  its  restoration  as  the  future's  ideal. 

^  He  is  called  Joram  in  1  Sam.  and  Hadoram  in  1  Chron.    According  to 
Dussaud,  R  A  '08: 224,  the  original  name  probably  was  Hadad-ram. 


45 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  EARLY  KINGS  OF  DAMASCUS 

Damascus,  "the  eye  of  the  world"  as  Julian  the  Apostate  sur- 
named  it,  lies  in  a  rich  and  beautiful  oasis  formed  by  the  river 
Barada.  This  stream,  descending  from  the  rugged  Antilebanon, 
and  called  by  the  Greeks  "  Chrysorrhoas "  —  river  of  gold — was 
famous  in  antiquity  for  its  cold  and  clear  waters.  Thus  Naaman, 
the  Aramaean,  at  the  thought  of  the  muddy  Jordan,  scornfully 
cries,  "Are  not  the  Amana  and  the  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,^ 
better  than  all  the  waters  of  Israel?"  Indeed  these  rivers  have 
made  it  possible  for  the  city  to  have  such  a  wealth  of  garden?  and 
parks,  which  are  already  mentioned  by  the  Assyrian  annals,  and 
which  to  the  Arab  are  the  image  of  paradise.  But  to  the  east  of 
Damascus  lies  the  sandy  desert,  traversed  only  by  the  caravan 
roads  to  the  distant  Euphrates,  and  to  the  west  the  snow-crowned 
Hermon  and  the  Antilebanon  hold  watch  over  the  "pearl  of  the 
east." 

Damascus  in  the  Amama  days  '  does  not  seem  to  have  possessed 

*  Amana  is  really  the  Antilebanon  range  (called  by  the  Assyrians  Araanana), 
Cant.  4:  8,  and  by  metonomy  the  river  descending  from  this  mountain,  the 
Barada.  The  Pharpar  is  probably  the  A'wag;  the  old  name  still  survives  in 
the  Gebel  Barbar.    Expository  Times,  '01,  2,  219  f. 

*  Damascus  is  called  "Dimashqu"  in  the  Amama  texts.  Haupt,  Z  D  M  G 
63:  528,  assumes  a  form  Dar-mashql  as  original  and  translates  "settlement  in 
a  well-watered  region."  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  Dimashqu  is  the  older 
form  and  is  compKjsed  of  di  and  mesheq.  Cf.  Di-zahab,  "the  one  of  gold," 
Deut.  1:1.  Cp.  also  the  late  form  Dummesheq  with  Arabian  names  like 
Dhu-Raidan.  Mesheq  means  "acquisition,"  "gain,"  and  thus  Dimashqu 
must  be  "the  one  of  acquisition,"  "place  of  gain,"  a  suitable  name  for  a  city 
situated  on  a  commercial  highway.    The  Assyrians  write  for  Damascus  the 

46 


THE  EARLY  KINGS  OF  DAMASCUS 

much  importance.  It  remains  under  the  control  of  the  Amorite 
state  and  then  of  Zobah  until  subjugated  by  David.  The  city 
appears  to  have  come  into  Aramaean  hands  during  the  thirteenth 
century,  for  in  the  Rameses  III  list  of  cities  it  is  written  Tiramaski 
(MAE  234).  This  writing  shows  that  the  Aramaic  "Dar- 
meseq"  was  already  coming  into  vogue.  The  new  population 
proudly  called  the  city  "dar"  or  Fortress"  rather  than  merely 
"place  of  Mesheq."  The  Hebrews,  it  is  true,  retained  the  old 
form  "Dimashqu"  only  slightly  aramaized  as  Dammeseq  down 
to  the  time  of  Isaiah,  if  we  may  trust  the  Massoretic  tradition. 

For  a  brief  period  the  Aramaeans  of  Damascus  and  Coelesyria 
seem  to  have  recognized  the  suzerainty  of  the  King  of  Israel.  If 
we  read  in  1  Kings  4 :  21  that  kingdoms  as  far  north  as  the  Euphrates 
brought  Solomon  presents  and  were  subject  to  him  or  more  defi- 
nitely (4 :  24)  that  his  power  extended  from  Thipsach  (Thapsacus  on 
the  Euphrates;  to-day  Tel  il  Thadayain  A  E  T  142)  to  Gaza 
this  is  perfectly  comprehensible;  for  he  who  ruled  Amurrii  ex- 
ercised power  also  over  the  regions  east  toward  Babylonia  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  case  of  Benteshina's  state.  Because  of  the  weak- 
ness of  Assyria,  and  through  this  alliance  with  Egypt  and  Tyre 
Solomon  was  the  greatest  ruler  in  Syria  during  his  day.  And  if 
our  assumption  that  the  defeat  of  Hadadezer  took  place  on  the 
Palmyra  road  be  correct,  then  the  mention  of  Thapsacus  becomes 
still  more  credible  and  even  the  late  statement  (2  Chr.  8 : 4)  that 
Solomon  fortified  Tadmor  (Palmyra)  is  plausible.  The  latter 
was  then  a  military  base  from  which  the  roving  Aramaeans  were 

ideogram  SHA  -  IMERI  -  SHV.  Pognon  (Inscriptions  S^mitiques,  177) 
suggests  that  IMERI  stands  for  the  god  Amar,  for  this  ideogram  means 
both  "ass"  and  "Amaru"  (Briinnow,  4905).  Since  "ass"  was  then  also 
written  in  other  ways,  SHA  -  NITA  -  SHU  and  other  forms  came  to  be 
mechanically  used  for  Damascus.  Cf.  also  Clay,  Miscellaneous  Inscriptions, 
p.  2,  and  "Amurru,"  p.  130.  Haupt,  however,  Z  D  M  G  69:  169,  defends 
with  skill  the  interpretation  that  the  ideogram  means  "city  of  asses."  KUR, 
which  interchanges  with  alu,  "city,"  before  the  ideogram,  he  argues,  means 
"mountain"  and  refers  to  the  Antilebanon  at  the  foot  of  which  Damascus  lay. 
Along  the  western  slope  of  this  range  led  a  road  which  was  mainly  traveled  hy 
caravans  using  asses  as  beasts  of  burden. 

47 


> 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

kept  in  check.     Solomon's  commercial  control  ^  of  all  the  impor- 
tant highways  of  Syria  lent  his  authority  an  inmiense  support. 
.  But  during  Solomon's  lifetime  a  retrogression  of  his  power  took 

\  place.     An   adversary  arose   for   him   in  the   person  of  Rezon 

(Hezion?)  ^  who  had  fled  from  the  presence  of  his  lord  Hadadezer, 
1      king  of  Zobah  (1  Kings  11 :  23-25)  at  the  time  of  David's  Aramaean 
/       wars.     He  gathered  about  himself  a  troop  of  adventurers,  and 
perhaps  with  the  aid  of  large  Beduin  contingents  seized  Damas- 
cus.    The  moment  that  a  strong  personaUty  was  able  to  establish 
an  independent  kingdom  north  of  Palestine,  Israel's  control  of 
,     Colesyria  was  of  course  at  an   end.     Hamath,  Thapsacus  and 
/     Palmyra  adapted  themselves  immediately  to  the  new  conditions. 
Rezon  we  are  told  became  a  thorn  in  Solomon's  flesh,  and  was 
"king  of  Aram."     If  we  may  trust  our  narrative,  Damascus  from 
now  on  became  "Aram"  par  excellence. 

The  division  of  the  kingdom  under  Rehoboam  gave  Damascus 

abundant  opportunity  for  consoHdation  of  power.     Israel  and 

Judah  were  too  busy  with  their  own  affairs  to  pay  much  attention 

to  Syrian  poUtics.     Damascus  doubtless  forced  the  hard  pressed 

Jeroboam  to  make  important  concessions.    But  we  have  little 

/         light  on  the  events  in  Damascus  at  this  time.     In  1  Kings  15: 18 

/   "^  there  appears  to  be  preserved  the  succession  of  the  kings  in  Damas- 

cus;    the   order    given    is    Hezion  —  Tabrimmon  —  Benhadad. 

*  1  Kgs.  10:  28  f.  seems  to  claim  that  he  imported  chariots  and  horses  from 
Egypt  and  transmitted  them  to  the  kings  of  the  Hittites  and  Aramaeans.  K  A  T 
239  discredits  this,  although  the  frequent  mention  of  Kusaean  horses  in  the 
letters  might  be  cited  in  its  support.  Bohl  25  offers  a  novel  interpretation. 
He  takes  MO^fi  (vs.  28)  as  the  starting  point  of  the  imix)rt  and  translates,  "the 
expHjrt  of  horses  jor  Solomon  took  place  from  Mu§ri  (Cappadocia)  and  Que 
(Cilicia) "  and  was  accomplished  through  the  agency  of  the  kings  of  the  Hittites 
and  Aramaeans. 

*  LXX  in  11:  23  has  Esron.  This  would  be  the  equivalent  of  Hezron.  It 
has  been  supposed  (cf .  K  H  K  ad  loc.)  that  Hezion  is  an  error  for  Hezron.  But 
the  converse  seems  more  likely  to  me.  I  regard  Hezion  as  the  name  of  the 
first  king  of  Damascus.  The  form  Rezon  is  secondary.  Hezion  is  vouchsafed 
as  a  good  Aramaean  form  by  the  Mesopotamian  ^aziEnu,  ADD  no.  61  rev.  8. 
Winckler's  view,  A  T  V  62,  that  the  original  name  was  Hazael,  I  regard  as 
unlikely. 

48 


THE   EARLY   KINGS   OF   DAMASCUS 

Apparently  Hezion  is  identical  with  Rezon.  About  Tabrimmon  ^ 
we  know  nothing.  With  Benhadad  the  Hebrew  king  Baasha 
(914-890)  seems  to  have  formed  an  alliance  in  order  to  safeguard 
himself  against  attack  from  the  north. 

But  alas  for  Israel!  When  the  king  of  Judah  Asa  (917-876) 
was  being  badly  worsted  by  Baasha  he  sent  what  was  left  of  the 
temple  treasure,  plundered  not  long  before  by  Sheshonq  (1  Kings 
14:25-26),  to  Benhadad,  pleading  with  him  to  break  his  alliance 
with  Israel.  The  wily  Aramaean  was  easily  persuaded.  Swiftly 
he  attacked  Baasha  from  the  north,  capturing  lyon  in  the  fertile 
Merg  'Ayiin  west  of  Mt.  Hermon,  Dan,  Abel  beth-maacah,  and 
all  Cinneroth  (the  rich  plain  of  il  Ghuwer  on  the  west  shore  of  the 
lake  of  Galilee)  and  all  Naphtali,  including  such  important  cities 
as  Kedesh,  Hazor,  Merom,  and  Zephath.  The  effect  upon  Baasha 
was  immediate,  for  he  ceased  his  operations  of  fortifying  Ramah, 
north  of  Jerusalem.  The  summoning  of  Benhadad  by  Asa,  while 
effective,  was  none  the  less  extremely  short  sighted,  as  intelligent 
Judaeans  realized  and  as  the  Seer  Hanani  openly  declared  (2  Chr. 
16:7-10).  It  was  a  betrayal  of  his  own  race  and  bred  an  ani- 
mosity which  later  resulted  in  an  alliance  of  Israel  and  Damascus 
against  Judah. 

It  was  but  natural  that  Aramaean  statesmen  hailed  with  glee 
any  request  for  intervention  in  Palestine.  If  Israel  desired  the  ,  > 
assistance  of  Aram  it  could  obtain  it  only  in  return  for  concessions  (  7 
in  respect  to  the  trade  route  to  Akko;  and  if  Aram  had  cause  to  ; 

war  agamst  Israel  its  first  object  was  to  seize  the  territory  along 
this  route.  The  attack  upon  Baasha  safeguarded  this  caravan 
road  almost  completely;  for  the  region  west  of  Rama,  not  occupied 
by  Benhadad,  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Asher,  which  had  come 

^The  naxoe  means  "Rimmon  is  wise"  (A  T  V  74),    Rimmon  is  the  god         ^ 
of  the  Aramaeans  of  Damascus  (cf.  2  Kings  5:18).    Rimmon  or  Rumman  j 

means  "pomegranate."  The  god  with  the  pomegranate  is  designated  by  this 
symbol  as  the  spouse  and  brother  of  Ishtar.  He  is  identical  with  Hadad. 
The  Akkadians,  it  appears,  borrowed  Rimmon  from  the  west  and  called  ^ 

him  Ramman,  popularly  connecting  the  name  with  ramdmu,  "to  thxmder" 
(AA97f.). 

49 


1 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

largely  under  Canaanite  influence  (cf.  Judges  5:17)  and  naturally 
welcomed  all  trade  from  the  east.  Thus  Benhadad  I  looms  up 
in  history  as  a  figure  of  importance,  and  a  ruler  of  great  vigor  and 
skill. 

Benhadad  must  have  died  during  the  early  years  of  Omri's  reign 
(899-877).  For  if  we  learn  from  1  Kings  20:34  that  the  father 
of  Benhadad  II  wrested  from  Omri  a  number  of  cities,  and  forced 
him  to  make  commercial  concessions,  this  can  hardly  refer  to 
Benhadad  I.  It  would  be  odd  indeed  to  find  in  the  Semitic  world 
a  son  bearing  the  same  name  as  his  father.  An  unknown  king  — 
possibly  the  Rezon  of  1  Kings  11 :  23  who  was  confused  with  Hezion 
■ —  must  have  ruled  in  Damascus  as  the  contemporary  of  Omri. 
He  forced  the  Hebrew  king  to  give  Syrian  merchants  a  quarter 
of  their  own  at  Samaria.  Since  the  Aramaeans  controlled  the 
highway  to  Akko  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  take  ad- 
vantage of  their  predominance  to  capture  the  Israelitic  trade 
market.  Through  a  clever  stroke  of  diplomacy,  however,  Omri 
(Succeeded  in  offsetting  this  defeat;  he  renewed  the  covenant 
with  Phcenicia  (18:18  G  V  J  334).  This  naturally  tended  to  keep 
Damascus  in  check.  The  alHance  was  cemented  still  further  by 
the  marriage  of  Onu*i's  son  and  successor  Ahab  (877-853)  to  the 
daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king  of  the  Sidonians  (8^-876). 

A  further  restraint  upon  the  Aramaeans  was  the  advance  of 
Assyrian  power,  which  began  to  loom  up  like  a  thundercloud. 
After  centuries  of  lethargy  Ashur  had  once  more  awakened  and 
was  treading  the  pathway  to  a  great  destiny.  Under  the  mighty 
Ashumazirpal  it  was  striking  at  the  Aramaean  and  Hittite  states 
to  the  north.  In  some  manner  the  first  contact  between  Israel 
and  Assyria  must  have  taken  place  in  Omri's  day,  for  henceforth 
Israel  appears  in  cuneiform  records  as  Bit-Qumri  or  "house  of 
Omri"  and  its  kings  are  often  called  m&r-JJumri,  literally  "son 
of  Omri,"  but  really  meaning  "son  of  Bit-5umri,"  i.e.,  Israehte. 
/  If  Omri  sought  aid  against  Damascus  he  received  none,  for  Ashur- 
■    nazirpal  evaded  this  city's  sphere  of  influence. 

Since  Omri's  later  days  Israel  was  nominally  a  vassal  of  Aram. 
'  00 


\) 


THE  EARLY   KINGS  OF   DAMASCUS 

Perhaps  Ahab  now  neglected  to  pay  tribute  and  so  provoked  his 
suzerain.  In  the  meantime  Benhadad  II  had  come  to  the  throne 
in  Damascus.  With  startling  suddenness  the  Aramaean  appears 
before  the  gates  of  Samaria  accompanied  by  32(?)  vassal  kings 
and  their  cohorts  (1  Kings  20).  The  number  is  doubtless  ex- 
aggerated and  should  perhaps  be  reduced  to  eleven ;  for  Damascus 
only  had  twelve  allies  (including  Israel)  in  854.  Even  then  it 
seems  astonishing  that  so  powerful  a  league  should  be  brought 
into  action  against  Israel.  And  indeed  we  would  be  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  this  fact  if  it  were  not  for  the  light  shed  on  Syrian 
affairs  by  the  cuneiform  inscriptions.  While  previously  Damascus 
was  able  to  focus  its  attention  entirely  upon  the  opening  of  the 
road  to  the  sea,  the  accession  of  Ashurnazirpal  now  made  the 
events  in  the  north  supreme  in  importance.  For  here  Ashur, 
"the  giant  among  the  Semites,"  was  concluding  the  overthrow  of 
the  Syrian  states  Bit-Adini  and  Qattina  and  was  getting  into 
position  to  strike  at  Damascus  in  order  to  open  up  the  road  through 
Palestine.  We  may  therefore  surmise  that  Benhadad's  coalition 
is  in  reality  directed  against  Assyria,  in  view  of  the  approaching  i 
peril.  His  purpose  at  Samaria  is  to  coerce  Ahab  into  the  alliance, 
or  else  to  cripple  him  so  that  he  cannot  aid  Assyria.  The  siege  of 
Samaria  is  thwarted,  however,  by  the  brilliant  strategy  of  Ahab, 
who,  under  cover  of  a  ruse,  delivers  a  sudden  attack  on  the  surprised 
foe.  The  onslaught  is  carried  right  into  the  heart  of  the  camp  and 
Benhadad  barely  escapes  by  galloping  off  on  the  next  best  wagon 
horse  (K  H  K  119).  Naturally  the  army  is  dismayed.  Turmoil 
ensues  and  a  general  rout  follows.  It  was  a  glorious  victory  for 
Ahab  and  Israel  and  a  disaster  for  Aram. 

The  Aramaeans,  however,  were  not  disposed  to  accept  the  verdict 
of  this  battle.  Thus  Benhadad  in  the  following  year  again  ap- 
peared upon  the  scene.  This  time  Ahab  was  ready  for  him  and 
faced  him  close  to  the  border  at  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  On  the 
ranges  south  of  the  plain,  perhaps  in  the  vicinity  of  En  Gannim, 
the  Hebrews  lay  in  two  corps;  poetically  the  narrative  likens  them 
to  two  herds  of  goats  pasturing  on  a  hillside.     The  Aramaeans, 

61 


THE   ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

however,  swarmed  over  the  plain  below,  evidently  waiting  for 
the  Israelites  to  descend  into  the  valley,  where  the  chariots  could 
be  used  to  better  advantage.  At  length  on  the  seventh  day 
Ahab's  chance  came.  He  attacked  the  army  of  Benhadad  and 
again  won  the  day.  The  losses  of  the  enemy  were  great  (though 
the  100,000  of  M  T  is  preposterous).  What  remained  of  the 
Aramaean  army  fled  to  the  nearby  city  of  Aphek.  The  latter  was 
taken  by  storm  in  a  sanguinary  battle.  It  was  said  that  27,000 
Aramaeans  lay  buried  beneath  the  razed  walls  (G  V  J  358) . 
Benhadad  himself  was  forced  to  surrender.  Ahab  received  him 
with  great  kindness  and  generously  allowed  him  to  state  hig  own 
peace  terms. 

These  included  the  restitution  of  cities  that  had  been  taken 
from  Israel  and  trade  concessions  in  Damascus  similar  to  those 
which  Benhadad  had  obtained  from  Omri.  They  were  accepted 
by  the  king  of  Israel  and  the  Aramaean  was  allowed  to  go  scot  free. 


62 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  KINGDOMS 

In  the  century  after  the  time  of  Tiglathpileser  I  the  Aramaeans 
were  able  to  form  states  in  Mesopotamia  without  molestation 
from  Ashur.  In  the  extreme  north  in  the  region  of  the  Tur  'Abdin 
lie  the  principalities  of  Shupria,  north  of  the  Tigris,  and  Nirdun 
to  the  south  of  it,  while  to  the  west  in  the  vicinity  of  Diyarbekr 
is  Bit-Zamani.^  The  latter  state  especially  was  a  center  of  Ara- 
maean influence.  At  the  time  of  Ashurnazirpal  its  ruler  Ammeba'- 
la,  a  friend  of  the  Assyrians,  was  slain  by  his  nobles  and  a  certain 
Bur-ramanu  was  raised  to  the  throne.  The  Assyrian  monarchy 
however,  avenged  the  murder  of  his  friend,  flayed  Bur-ramanu^ 
and  made  Ilanu,  a  brother  of  Ammeba'la,  king.  But  the  latter 
also  revolted,  and  so  Ashurnazirpal  was  forced  again  to  intervene 
in  Bit-Zamani.  In  the  same  region  the  district  of  Zamua  was  also 
occupied  by  Aramaeans.  N4r-Adad  the  Sheikh  of  Dagara,  with 
whom  the  monarch  fought  in  the  pass  of  Babit,  rules  over  cities 
with  clearly  Aramaic  names  —  Uz^,  Birutu,  Lagalaga.  (Ann. . 
Col.  II  29.)  But  these  localities  lie  apart  from  the  great  high- 
way of  progress  and  therefore  do  not  interest  us  here.  Of  more 
importance  are  those  states  along  the  Euphrates  and  its  tribu- 
taries. Opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Qabtir,  extending  quite  far 
downstream,  the  district  of  Su^iu,  once  held  by  the  Amorites,  was 
now  Aramaean,  and  closely  linked  with  it  is  a  small  principality 
of  IJindan.  North  of  the  Euphrates,  between  it  and  the  6ebel 
Singar,  lay  the  country  of  Laq^  and  within  it  the  principality  of 
Bit-Qalupe  (or  Bit-3adippe(?)  S  A  107).  Numerous  independent 
city  kingdoms  also  lay  along  the  course  of  the  Qabtlr. 

*  Cf.  Toff  teen,  Researches  in  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Geography,  '08,. 
p.  6  ff .,  on  the  cities  of  these  regions. 

53 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

The  most  powerful  Aramaean  state,  however,  was  Bit-Adini.^  It 
occupied  a  strategic  position  on  the  great  highway  from  Harran 
to  Syria,  and  had  as  its  capital  Til-Barsip  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Sagur  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates  south  of  Carchemish. 
This  state  extended  west  into  Syria  as  far  as  the  gates  of  Arpad  ^ 
and  in  the  east,  towards  Harran,  the  duchies  Bit-Ba^iani,  AgalU, 
Tilabni,  and  Sarugi  were  its  vassals. 

•  The  greater  part  of  western  Mesopotamia  stood  therefore  under 
the  influence  of  this  powerful  Aramaean  state.  Quite  naturally 
Bit-Adini  sought  to  intrigue  against  Assyria;  thus  Ashurnazirpal 
tells  that  within  the  sphere  of  Assyria's  influence,  in  Sum,  the 
capital  of  Bit-IJalupe,'  identical  with  the  present  Sauar  on  the 
lower  IJabdr  (cf.  A  E  T  176),  a  revolution  had  taken  place  884  B.C. 
against  the  shaknu  or  custodian;  the  latter  a  Hamathite*  was 
killed  and  "A^iababa,  a  man  of  unknown  origin,  whom  they 
brought  from  Bit-Adini  they  made  their  king"  (Col.  I  74f.  A  K  A 
281).  Doubtless  this  revolution  was  instigated  by  AJ)uni  and  car- 
ried out  under  his  auspices.  Ashurnazirpal  found  it  so  important 
that  he  interrupted  his  campaign  in  Kummub  and  marched  down 
the  Qabiir  to  Bit-galupe,  receiving  on  the  way  the  Tribute 
of  King  Shulman-baman-ilani  of  Sha-Dikanna  *  and  of  Ilu 
Adad  of  Qatni.  When  he  reached  Sum  the  elders  and  grandees 
came  out  and  embraced  his  feet,  saying,  "If  thou  desirest  slay! 
If  thou  desirest,  let  Uve! "    It  seems  that  the  party  loyal  to  Assyria 

^The  name  must  be  derived  from  'adana  -  "dwell  permanently,"  there- 
fore a  "settlement." 

*  In  a  geographical  list  (of  later  times,  it  is  true),  R  T  P  15,  we  have  a  list 
of  some  cities  of  Bit  Adini.  Among  them  are  ^aurani  (PawSrln  near  YabrQd), 
gaz&zu  (*Azaz),  Nirabu  (N6rab  near  Aleppo)  and  the  otherwise  unknown 
towns  Tuka,  Sanma,  Dinanu. 

'  Oppenheim,  Der  Tell  Halaf,  '08,  p.  35,  would  identify  this  Tell,  excavated 
by  him,  with  Blt-galupi.  But  this  site,  at  the  forks  of  the  {JabOr,  is  too  far 
north. 

*  This  cannot  mean  the  Hamath  in  S3nia,  but  must  refer  to  that  in  Meso- 
potamia mentioned  by  Tukulti-Ninib  II  (cf .  the  map  in  Scheil's  Annales  de 
Tukulti-Ninip,  1909). 

'  The  identification  of  this  city  with  the  important  site  of  'ArbSn  remains 
the  most  probable,  A  E  T  184. 

54 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  KINGDOMS 

was  able  to  gain  the  upper  hand  and  delivered  up  the  rebels  to 
Ashurnazirpal.  On  a  pillar  opposite  the  city  gate  he  flayed  all  the 
ring-leaders  or  impaled  them  on  stakes.  A^iababa  was  brought 
to  Nineveh  and  his  skin  spread  out  on  the  city  wall.  A  loyal 
subject,  Azi-ilu,  was  placed  in  charge  of  Bit-Qalupe.  The  kings 
of  the  region  of  Laq6  brought  tribute,  as  did  also  gaidn  of  IJinddn; 
and  Iluibni  of  Su^u  sent  costly  presents  to  Nineveh.  In  his  third 
year,  the  Assyrian  returning  home  from  Nairi  by  way  of  the  Tur 
*Abdin,  received  also  the  tribute  of  A^jiramu,  son  of  Ya^jiri  ruler 
of  AgalU  and  of  Bit-Bajjianu  which  he  describes  as  a  "Hittite" 
land.  (Col.  II  22  f.)  From  the  nature  of  these  events  we  can 
readily  divine  that  an  anti-Assyrian  confederacy  was  forming 
along  the  gabAr  under  Bit-Adini's  help,  and  we  see  also  that 
Ashurnazirpal  was  well  alive  to  the  danger  and  proceeded  against 
it  with  vigor. 

But  it  was  not  until  some  years  later  that  the  great  Assyrian 
monarch  was  able  to  deal  a  decisive  blow  against  these  easterly 
states.  The  occasion  presented  itself  in  879,  when  Babylon  made 
the  attempt  to  renew  its  claims  in  the  middle  Euphrates  and  leagued 
itself  with  Suhu.  Breaking  up  from  his  capital  (Col.  Ill  1  f)  he 
marched  in  a  wide  half  circle  to  Tabite  ^  which  lay  southeast  of 
Nisibis,  perhaps  at  Tell  Hamis  and  thence  to  the  river  Qarmish  the 
modern  Gaghgagha  (Z  A  XII  43),  visiting  Magarisi  near  the  fork 
of  this  stream.  The  mountain  of  lari  in  which  the  broken  Obelisk 
locates  this  city  must  then  be  merely  an  abbreviation  of  Kashiari. 
The  Harran  Census  (H  C  39)  mentions  a  city  of  Makrisu  in  "-  -r^" 
(i.e.,  lare?)  which  is  no  doubt  identical  with  our  Magarisi.  From 
Magarisi  he  descends  to  the  gabiir  and  exacts  tribute  from  Sha- 
Dikanna.  In  his  further  progress  down  the  river  he  stops  at  Qatni, 
perhaps  identical  with  the  great  ruins  of  Shedade  (A  E  T  182), 
Shunaia,    Dtir-katlime    (ruins    of    Margada?     cf.    A  E  T    179), 

^  Its  location  is  established  by  the  Route  of  Tukulti  Ninib,  Annals  Rev. 
35.  Coming  up  the  HabAr  from  Sha-Dikanna  he  passes  Lati^i,  Duggaete, 
Magarisi,  Guriete  and  then  comes  to  Tabite.  As  Sachau  has  shown,  Z  A  XII, 
43,  the  name  is  preserved  in  the  "equites  sagittarii  indigenae  Thibithenses" 
who  lay  in  garrison  at  Telbesmg  (Notitia  dignitatum^ed.  Seeck,  p.  78,  no.  27). 

55 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

Bit-Qalupe  (he  refers  doubtless  to  Suru-Sauar),  and  finally 
arrives  opposite  Sirqu.  This  city  lay  near  the  mouth  of  the 
JJabtlr  and  on  the  right  side  of  the  Euphrates,  as  the  annals  of 
Tukulti  Ninib  prove.  According  to  Ashumazirpal  III  134  it  lay 
at  the  "crossing  of  the  Euphrates."  Scheil  (48)  compared  the 
classical  Circesium,  but  since  the  Aramaic  name  of  the  latter 
was  Nabagath  oi;  Chabora  that  is  impossible  (Z  A  27:  289). 
It  seems  to  be  a  little  too  far  south,  otherwise  it  would  be 
tempting  to  identify  it  with  ancient  Tirqa  (Tell  'Ishar).  From 
here  he  proceeds  eastward  over  §upri  and  Naqarabani  ^  to  the 
Euphrates,  arriving  opposite  Qind&n,  the  name  of  which  Scheil  (p. 
44)  has  properly  related  to  the  classical  Giddan  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river.  From  here  he  marched  to  a  mountain,  which  must  mean 
the  promontory  opposite  the  tower  of  el  Qayim,  and  after  halting 
there  continued  on  to  Bit-Garbaia  (Bit-Shabaia?)  ^  opposite  Qaridu, 
which  may  then  be  localized  at  6abarlya  and  Qal*  at  Rafida  re- 
spectively. From  Bit-Garbaia  the  Assyrian  proceeds  to  a  point 
opposite  Anat  which  has  been  correctly  identified  with  the 
modem  *Ana  and  classical  Anatho.  (Z  A  19:252.)  Departing 
thence  he  storms  the  city  of  Sum,  whose  name  I  hold  may  be 
preserved  in  the  Wadi  Sur  near  Tilbesh.  It  was  a  stronghold  of 
Shadudu,  the  mler  of  SuJ)i.  Of  the  Babylonian  contingent  that 
aided  Shadudu  50  troopers  and  3000  men  were  captured;  Sha- 
dudu with  a  small  band,  however,  escaped  across  the  Euphrates. 
After  setting  up  his  royal  image  in  Sum  the  Assyrian  returned  to 
Calab. 

Shortly  afterward  (878?)  Ashumazirpal  received  the  news  of 
another  rebellion  in  Laqe,  Qindan,  and  Sul)u.  He  straightway 
goes  to  Sum  on  the  Qabiir  and  orders  ships  to  be  built  for  his 
army.  Meanwhile  he  marches  to  the  mouth  of  the  gabtir  and 
then  eastward  to  the  city  of  §ibate  in  Su^iu,  destroying  the  towns 

'  Tukulti  Ninib  mentions  between  Sirqu  and  Uindan,  Kasi,  Arbate,  Aqarbani 
(-  Naqarabani)  and  Nagiate.  Tukulti  Ninib  mentions  east  of  JJindan, 
KaUite,  Mashqite  opp>osit«  {Jarada  (=  Qaridu)  Anat,  and  Suri  opposite 
Talbish  (-  the  present  Tilbesh). 

*  S  A  103  identifies  thS  place  with  the  Beth-Garbaia  of  Ephraem  Syrus,  but 
this  town  must  have  been  situated  much  further  west. 

66 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN   KINGDOMS 

of  the  region,  reaping  the  harvests  and  slaughtering  all  defenders 
—  490  men.  The  main  force  of  the  Aramaeans  had  retired  to 
the  western  side  of  the  Euphrates  and  was  intrenched  at  ^Jaridu. 
As  his  ships  had  now  been  completed,  the  monarch  returned  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Qabur  and  ferried  his  army  across  the  Euphrates. 
The  allied  forces  of  Sulju,  Laq^,  and  ginddn  which  advanced  to 
meet  him  were  defeated;  6500  men  were  killed  and  the  remainder 
of  the  army  perished  in  the  desert  from  thirst.  From  Qaridu 
as  far  as  Kipina  the  cities  are  sacked.  In  Kipina  Azi-ilu  of  Laq6, 
doubtless  identical  with  the  Azi-ilu  of  Bit-3alupe,  had  intrenched 
himself.  In  the  ensuing  battle  Ashurnazirpal  killed  1000  men 
and  carried  off  the  booty  and  the  gods  of  Kipina.  Azilu,  however, 
succeeded  in  retreating  to  the  Bisuru  mountains  (the  lesser  Gebel 
il  Bishri,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ballh)  some  100  km.  above  ed-Der. 
Dislodged  from  there  he  withdrew  with  heavy  losses  in  rear  guard 
actions  undertaken  to  protect  his  herds,  into  Bit-Adini  to  the 
border  cities  of  Dummutu  and  Asmu.^  The  fact  that  he  finds  a 
haven  of  refuge  in  Bit-Adini  shows  with  sufficient  clearness  that 
the  latter  state  was  in  sympathy  with  the  rebels.  Ashurnazirpal 
wreaked  his  vengeance  on  Dummutu  and  Asmu  by  burning  them 
to  the  ground.  He  captured  the  rich  herds  of  Azilu  that  were 
"innumerable  as  the  stars  of  heaven"  and  apparently  destroyed 
the  remainder  of  the  army,  but  the  Aramaean  chief  himself  es- 
caped farther  into  Bit-Adini.  Meanwhile  another  Assyrian 
force  had  overcome  Sheikh  11^  of  Laq^  and  captured  his  chariots 
and  500  of  his  men;  these,  together  with  the  booty  taken  from 
Azi-ilu,  are  transported  to  Ashur  by  the  victors.  Another  prince 
of  Laqd,  IJamti-ilu,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  his  fortress,  submitted 
and  payed  tribute.  At  the  passes  of  the  Euphrates  the  Assyrian 
founded  two  cities  —  Kar-Ashurnazirpal  (Halebiyeh-Zenobia) 
and  Nibarti-Ashur  (Zalebiyeh-Chanuca)  as  outposts  and  bases 
against  Bit-Adini  (Masp.  Ill  30,  A  E  T  164). 

The  struggle  with  these  petty  states  on  the  lower  |Jab<ir  and 
its  vicinity  merely  signified  the  warding  off  of  the  Aramaean  peril 

*  In  the  modem  Yasim  there  may  be  a  reminiscence  of  ancient  Asmu. 

57 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

from  Assyria's  own  door.  But  the  aims  of  the  Assyrian  monarch 
now  went  further.  To  safeguard  the  land  against  the  Aramaeans 
it  was  necessary  to  strike  at  the  heart  of  their  power  in  Meso- 
potamia; and  to  lead  Assyria  on  its  path  of  destiny  it  was 
incumbent  upon  the  monarch  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Tiglath- 
pileser  I  and  open  up  the  road  to  the  western  sea,  which  was 
blocked  by  Bit-Adini.  Therefore  Ashurnazirpal  directed  his 
attention  to  the  subjugation  of  this  state.  On  the  20th  of  Si  van 
(June)  he  marched  to  Bit-Adini.  It  is  not  clear  whether  this  ex- 
pedition followed  the  great  road  over  Ras-el-*Ain  and  Harran,  or 
whether  it  was  undertaken  from  the  newly  founded  cities  at  the 
passes  of  the  Euphrates.  The  omission  of  the  mention  of  Bit- 
Ba^iani  and  A§alli  speaks  for  the  latter  possibihty.  He  approaches 
the  border-fortress  of  Kaprabi  (great  rock!)  a  city  "hanging 
like  a  cloud  in  the  sky."  Its  people  trusted  in  their  strong  garrison 
and  did  not  come  down  to  embrace  his  feet.  At  the  command 
of  the  gods  Ashur  and  Nergal  he  stormed  and  destroyed  it,  and 
deported  2400  of  its  troops  to  Cala^.  After  this  feat  of  arms 
AJjuni  of  Adini  and  JJabini  of  Til-Abni  payed  tribute  and  gave 
hostages. 

Perhaps  Ashurnazirpal  vaingloriously  believed  that  the  terror 
of  Assyria's  miUtary  power  had  prostrated  AJjuni.  Surely  he 
did  not  appreciate  the  greatness  of  the  Aramaean  menace,  else 
he  would  have  completed  the  destruction  of  this  foe,  and  would 
not  have  deported  the  Aramaeans  to  Cala^  in  numbers  sufficient 
to  endanger  the  national  life  of  his  own  people.  His  ambitions, 
however,  were  primarily  directed  to  obtaining  control  of  Syria, 
wherefor  on  the  8th  of  lyyar  (868)  he  took  the  road  to  Carchemish. 
On  the  way  he  comes  to  Bit  Ba^iani,  which  pays  tribute  and  fur- 
nishes a  contingent  of  troops  and  chariots,  then  to  A^alli,  whose 
king  Adad-'ime  presents  him  with  precious  metals,  chariots, 
horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  wine,  then  to  Bit-Adini,  where  he  re- 
ceives from  AJ)imi  costly  articles  of  luxury,  —  ivory  vessels,  an 
ivory  bed,  an  ivory  throne  overlaid  with  silver  and  gold,  a  dagger 
of  gold,  jewelry,  live  stock  as  well  as  a  further  number  of  troops. 

58 


THE   MESOPOTAMIAN   KINGDOMS 

gabini  of  Tilabn^  ^  likewise  appears  with  a  tribute.  On  ships 
built  of  skins  he  crosses  the  Euphrates  and  comes  to  Carchemish, 
whose  king  Sangara  (an  Aramaean?  cf.  Hebrew  Shamgar)  pays 
a  rich  tribute  including  articles  of  ukarinnu  wood,  two  hundred 
maidens,  elephants'  tusks,  a  gorgeous  chariot  and  a  couch  of  gold 
royally  adorned.  From  Carchemish  he  then  marches  on  into 
Syria  (cf  Ch.  VIII).  The  submission  of  Carchemish  and  Bit- 
Adini  is  peculiar.  Possibly  they  were  willing  to  have  Ashurnazirpal 
overrun  the  Syrian  states,  especially  gattina,  in  order  to  profit 
by  their  weakness.  Apparently  also  none  of  the  Mesopotamian 
and  Syrian  states  was  prepared  to  combat  the  sudden  and  un- 
expected might  of  Assyria. 

In  860  Shalmaneser  came  to  the  throne  of  Ashur.  A^iuni  of 
Adini  had  by  this  time  hastened  preparations  for  combating  As- 
syria and  had  begun  to  form  a  secret  alliance  against  the  great 
peril.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Shalmaneser  was  prophetic  of  his 
poUcy  and  showed  his  indorsement  of  his  father's  aims.  For  "he 
made  shining"  his  weapons  in  the  Mediterranean  sea,  sacrificed 
on  its  shores  to  his  gods,  and  erected  his  image  on  the  Lallar 
mountain  in  the  Amanus.  (Obelisk  276.)  In  his  second  year  he 
marched  to  Bit-Adini  (Mon.  I  29  f.).  After  crossing  the  Tigris  he 
proceeded  through  the  mountains  of  JJasamu  ^  and  Diljnunu  (the 
Nimrud  Dagh?)  and  reached  the  first  city  of  Adini,  —  La'la'te, 
which  must  lie  on  the  road  Harran  —  Til  Barsip.  The  inhabitants 
evacuated  the  town  and  fled  into  the  mountains.     After  applying 

the  torch  to  the  place  he  advanced  upon  a  fortress  of  Ki qa 

(name  mutilated).  Aljuni  of  Adini,  "trusting  in  his  numerous 
army,"  sallied  out  to  meet  him.  By  the  help  of  the  god  Ashur  the 
Assyrian  succeeded  in  hurling  his  opponent  back  into  the  city, 
but  refrained  from  attempting  a  siege.  Instead,  he  proceeded 
to  the  unfortified  town  of  Burmaruna,  which  he  stormed,  causing 

iTilabnd  is  distinctly  a  more  Aramaic  form  than  Tilabni.  The  status 
emphaticus  appears  here  unmistakably. 

^  I  would  identify  this  mountain  with  the  Gebel  abd-il-Aziz  on  whose  western 
end  is  a  village  and  ruins  of  Hossiwe,  which  may  preserve  the  ancient  name. 

59 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

the  slaughter  of  the  small  garrison  of  300  men.  Before  the  city 
he  erected  a  pillar  out  of  human  heads.  Burmaruna  must  have 
been  situated  on  the  Euphrates,  where  el-Burat  between  6erabis 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Sagur  may  mark  its  position.  While  at 
this  city  Ashumazirpal  received  the  tribute  of  Qabini  of  Tilabn^ 
Ga'uni  of  Sarugi  and  Giri-Adad  of  an  unnamed  principality.  On 
ships  of  skins  he  next  crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  after  receiving 
the  tribute  of  Kummul)  he  invaded  Paqarru^buni,  a  province 
belonging  to  Adini  and  bordering  on  Gurgum.  He  defeated  the 
Aramaeans  at  every  point,  burned  their  towns  into  ruins,  filled 
the  plain  with  their  warriors'  corpses,  of  which  he  counted  1300, 
and  then  marched  on  to  Gurgum.  His  aim  was  to  prevent  the 
north  Syrian  states  from  giviilg  succor  to  Adini,  and  to  make 
ineffective  the  threatened  coaUtion  —  a  purpose  achieved  at  the 
battles  of  Lutibu  and  Ah§ir  (cf.  Ch.  VIII).  For  this  reason 
perhaps  he  did  not  deal  so  thoroughly  with  Paqarrubbuni  and  there- 
fore even  after  the  destruction  of  Bit-Adini  this  region  became 
the  seat  of  another  rebelhon  (848). 

Shalmaneser's  far-reaching  policy  had  determined  upon  the 
annihilation  of  Bit-Adini,  and  his  manoeuvers  in  Syria,  to  be 
described  in  the  next  chapter,  were  primarily  prompted  by  the 
desire  of  isolating  this  greatest  enemy  completely.  On  the  13th 
of  lyyar  858  he  left  Nineveh  and  marched  to  the  capital  of  A^uni^ 
Til-Barsip  (Mon,  II  13  f.).  A^uni  was  defeated  in  battle  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river  and  driven  back  across  it  to  his  city.  The 
Assyrian  also  crossed  over  in  the  face  of  a  freshet;  but  instead  of 
besieging  Til-Barsip,  he  attacked  the  western  possessions  of  A^uni. 
Six  fortresses,  among  them  SArunu,  Paripa,  Til  Bashiri  (Tell 
Bashar),  and  Dabigu  (Dabiq)  were  captured  and  spoiled  and  200 
other  peaceful  towns  were  sacked.  He  thus  seems  to  have  followed 
the  Sagur  and  then  turning  about,  proceeded  down  the  Quw6q. 
Then,  wheeling  once  more,  he  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Car- 
chemish  and  assaulted  Shazabe,  which  has  been  identified  with  the 
Syriac  Shadabu,  two  parasangs  below  Gerabis.^    This  city  to- 

*  D  P  68,  and  cf ,  Ho£Fmann,  Auszlige  ans  den  Syrischen  Akten,  etc.,  p.  164.. 

60 


THE   MESOPOTAMIAN  KINGDOMS 

gether  with  the  towns  of  its  neighborhood,  he  burned  into  a  ruined 
heap.  His  aim  was  clearly  to  intimidate  the  Hethitic  states  so 
that  they  should  not  render  aid  to  A\)uni.  This  strategy  was 
effective,  for  the  princes  of  the  west  paid  tribute;  —  among  them 
the  kings  of  Sam'al,  gattina,  Arpad,  Carchemish,  and  Kummu^j. 

In  the  following  summer,  in  the  month  of  Tammuz  857,  Shal- 
maneser  again  took  the  road  to  Til-Barsip  to  deal  the  finishing 
blow.  But  the  adroit  A^iuni,  in  order  to  avoid  certain  annihila- 
tion, evacuated  the  capital  and  retreated  with  his  army  into 
Northern  Syria.  Shalmaneser  was  able  to  occupy  the  whole 
region  of  Bit-Adini  without  resistance.  The  important  cities 
of  the  land  were  made  royal  residences  of  the  king  of  Assyria 
and  received  new  names.  Til-Barsip  became  Kdr-Shulmanasharid, 
Nappigu  became  Lita-Ashur,  Align  ^  became  Asbat-la-kunu, 
Rugulitu  became  Qibit.  .  .  .  The  cities  of  Pitru  and  Mutkinu  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  Euphrates,  which  had  been  conquered  by 
Tiglathpileser  and  under  Ashur-irbe  had  been  retaken  by  "the 
king  of  the  land  of  Arumu,"  were  restored  again  to  Assyria  and 
colonized  anew.  While  delaying  at  Til-Barsip  and  organizing 
the  new  province,^  Shalmaneser  received  the  tribute  of  the  kings 
of  the  seashore  and  of  the  Euphrates. 

Kar-Shulman-asharid,  or  Til-Barsip,  has  recently  been  dis- 
covered in  the  mound  of  Tell  Ahmar  (P  S  B  A  *12,  66),  situated 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Sagur,  and  directly  on  the  shore  of  the 
Euphrates,  where  there  is  an  excellent  ford.  It  therefore  is  south 
of  Carchemish,  and  not  north,  as  was  formerly  held  (D  P  263: 
Biregik).  The  country  on  this  side  of  the  river  is  flat  for  miles,  but 
on  the  opposite  side  low  and  abrupt  limestone  hills  come  close  to 
the  river.  The  old  ramparts  of  Til-Barsip,  which  warded  off  Shal- 
maneser, still  stand.   Within  the  wall  a  broken  stela  has  been  found, 

^  Nappigu  has  been  identified  with  Membig  (Hierapolis)  south  of  the, 
Sa^r  river.  Aligu  is  compared  with  Legah  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Euphrates 
some  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Sagur. 

^  In  the  district  of  Til-Barsip  lay  also  a  city  Kapridargild.  The  new  cyUnder 
of  Sennacherib,  C  T  XXVI  col.  VI  546,  relates  that  S.  found  breccia  for  great 
stone  vessels,  such  as  had  never  before  been  found  at  this  place. 

61 


THE   ARAMAEANS  IN   MESOPOTAMIA  AND   SYRIA 

representing  an  Assyrian  king  addressing  a  smaller  male  figure 
with  conical  cap  and  beard.  It  is  doubtless  Shalmaneser  and  his 
subject  king.  In  the  southeast  gate  which  looks  towards  Nineveh, 
two  basalt  lions  stood,  bearing  inscriptions  of  the  Assyrian  mon- 
arch. He  calls  himself:  " the  great  king  who  hath  swept  the  lands 
of  IJatti,  Guti  and  all  the  lands  of  the  sun  from  the  shore  of  the 
great  sea  of  the  setting  sun,  who  hath  defeated  Mu§ru  and  Urartu 
with  its  people,  who  hath  swept  the  land  of  Ubu,  the  lands  of 
Harutu  and  Labdadu,  affecting  their  subjugation."  These 
"mighty  lions"  were  set  up  as  symbols  of  victory  in  the  "great 
gate  of  the  city"  after  a  triumph  of  Assyrian  arms  over  some 
northern  king  who  was  in  league  with  Urartu.  In  the  midst  of 
a  great  mountain  the  defeat  was  accomplished.  Like  a  fierce 
windstorm  that  breaks  the  trees  was  Shalmaneser 's  onrush,  and 
like  the  swoop  of  a  hawk  the  attack  of  his  troops.  The  opposing 
king  had  to  slink  out  of  his  camp  as  a  thief  in  the  night  to  escape. 
In  856  (so  the  monohth  II  66  f .  while  the  black  obelisk  gives  854) 
Shalmaneser  took  up  the  pursuit  of  A|)uni.  The  resourceful  and 
courageous  Aramaean  had  taken  refuge  in  an  almost  impregnable 
citadel  on  a  cliff  "that  hung  down  Uke  a  cloud  from  the  sky" 
beside  the  Euphrates  and  which  was  called  Shitamrat.  It  lay  in 
an  almost  impassable  region,  a  three  days'  journey  from  Til- 
Barsip.  Shalmaneser  boasts  that  none  of  his  forefathers  had 
ever  penetrated  thither.  A^uni  met  the  Assyrian  in  open  battle, 
but  was  driven  back  into  the  city.  The  heads  of  his  warriors 
were  cut  off  and  the  mountain  stained  with  the  blood  of  his  fight- 
ing men.  The  remnant  of  the  army  retreated  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  If  Shalmaneser  says  that  in  the  midst  of  the  city  a 
great  battle  ensued  (Mon.  II  73),  we  must  refer  this  to  the  town 
below  the  acropohs.  Elsewhere  he  relates  that  like  the  divine 
storm-bird  his  warriors  attacked  and  killed  17,500  foemen  (Bala- 
wat  III,  3  f).  He  was  unable  to  take  the  citadel  itself  by  storm. 
AJjuni,  however,  wisely  chose  not  to  subject  his  people  to  the  priva- 
tion of  a  long  siege,  but  instead  submitted  and  saved  his  and  his 
people's  Uves.    His  treasure  of  incalculable  weight,   his  troops 

62 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  KINGDOMS 

and  chariots  and  cavalry  he  surrendered  to  Shalmaneser.  He 
himself,  with  his  gods  and  sons  and  daughters  and  people,  was 
deported  to  the  vicinity  of  Ashur.  The  mere  fact  that  he  was  not 
cruelly  executed  shows  that  his  surrender  took  place  while  yet 
unconquered.  Nevertheless,  the  state  of  Bit-Adini  was  now  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  its  last  hope  of  a  revival  removed. 

The  tragic  end  of  the  most  powerful  Aramaean  state  in  the  north 
is  reflected  in  the  prophecy  of  Amos  1:5:  "I  will  exterminate  the) 
inhabitants  of  Biq'at  Aven  and  the  staff-holder"  of  Beth  Eden 
(=  Bit-Adini).^  The  last  shepherd  of  the  pastoral  people  of  Bit- 
Adini  shall  perish.  At  the  time  when  Amos  prophesied,  about 
760  B.C.  and  after,  Bit-Adini  was  merely  a  geographical  concept 
and  no  longer  existed  as  a  state,  so  that  the  translation  "Scepter 
bearer"  would  be  impossible.  The  disastrous  deletion  of  this 
people  is  also  played  upon  in  the  words  of  Sennacheribs  Rabshaqeh 
(Is.  37: 12,  2  Kings.  19: 12) :  "Have  the  gods  of  the  peoples  that  my 
fathers  destroyed  delivered  them  —  Gozan  ^  and  Harran  and 
Reseph'  and  the  people  of  Eden  (that  dwell)  at  Telassar?"  The 
latter  name  need  not  be  amended  into  Tel-bashar  (Winckler),  but 
is  rather  the  equivalent  of  Til-Ash<iri.  Essarhaddon  (col.  II  22) 
calls  himself  the  one  "who  threshes  the  land  of  Barnaqi,  the 
dwellers  of  the  land  of  Til-Ash{iri,  which  the  people  of  Meljranu 
call  Mitanu.*  Tiglathpileser  I  mentions  a  country  of  Mitani 
near  the  city  of  Araziqi  (VI  61  f.),  but  it  seems  that  we  must  seek 

^  Both  names  are  often  taken  as  appellatives,  "vaUey  of  opulency"  and 
"house  of  lust"  (cf.  Haupt,  O  L  Z  '10,  306)  and  referred  to  Damascus.  But 
the  first  expression  I  hold  to  refer  to  the  rich  and  fertile  Biqd*  (Damascus  can 
scarcely  be  called  a  "cleft").  Then  Beth-Eden  must  also  be  a  real  geograph- 
ical name. — My  translation  "staff-holder"  I  think  is  preferable  to  "Stamm- 
halter,"  i.e.,  one  who  maintains  the  family  descent,  S  A  77. 

,^  Assyrian  Guzana,  the  region  at  the  forks  of  the  Qabtir  and  the  classical 
Gauzanitis. 

'Assyrian  Ra§appa,  today  Ru§afe  (A  E  T  136).  It  seems  to  have  be- 
come an  Assyrian  province  as  early  as  the  time  of  Ashumazirpal.  Ra§appa 
means  "paved  street." 

*  Written  Pi-ta-nu.  The  reading  Mitanu  suggested  by  Winckler,  S  B  A 
'88:  1335,  is  accepted  also  by  Toffteen,  p.  13,  and  Jensen,  I.e. 

63 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

the  Mitanu  of  Essarhaddon  further  north.  For  the  location  of 
Til-Ash(iri  is  definitely  fixed  by  Tiglathpileser  I  (Ann  176  f.),  who 
mentions  among  its  cities  a  number  that  can  be  fixed  as  lying 
west  of  the  Kashiar  mountains  and  the  region  of  Bit-Zam^i 
(cf.  Toff  teen  12  f.).  The  name  Bamaqi  may  then  survive  in  the 
Pomaki  S.  E.  of  Diyar-Bekr  (Sachau  435)  as  Tomkins  suggested. 
Meljranu  must  be  identical  with  the  Mahiranu  of  the  Broken 
Obelisk  (VI  19  A  K  A  136).  Jensen  identified  it  with  the  famous 
Tell  Mabre  north  of  Raqqa  (Z  A  VI  58),  while  Tomkins  compared 
Tell-el  Meghrun  S  E  of  Harran  (Sachau  227).  It  may  be,  however, 
that  a  more  northerly  location  is  necessary.  Eden,  then,  in 
Isaiah  is  used  in  a  wider  sense  than  the  name  of  the  old  state 
Bit-Adini.  And  Telassar  also  appears  to  be  a  broad  term,  since 
it  has  survived  in  the  ancient  name  of  Mar'ash  —  Telesaura. 
The  mention  of  Eden  (Ezek.  27:23)  alongside  of  Harran  and  Calneh 
must  have  in  mind  the  city  of  Til-Barsip,  which  no  doubt  re- 
mained a  great  center  of  commerce  at  all  times. 

Concerning  the  smaller  Aramaean  principaUties  of  Mesopotamia 
little  remains  to  be  said.  In  854  Shalmaneser  advanced  against 
Giammu,  king  of  the  Bali^  region,  north  of  Harran,  who  was 
evidently  rebelling  (Mon.  II  78  f.).  Frightened  by  his  advance, 
the  Aramaeans  of  the  district  assassinated  their  kingjiid  opened 
their  cities  to  Shalmaneser.  The  monarch  entered  Kitlala  and 
Til-sha-tura^i,  introduced  Assyrian  gods,  held  a  feast  in  Giammu's 
palaces,  and  spoiled  his  treasure.  From  here  he  went  directly  to 
Til-Barsip  and  into  Syria  (cf.  Ch.  VIII).  In  the  following  year 
he  conquers  Til-abn6  (Obelisk  67  f.).    The  capital  and  near-by 

towns  are  taken,  but  the  king  Ha rat  seems  to  have  escaped. 

Since  from  here  he  goes  up  to  the  source  of  the  Tigris  to  erect  his 
image  in  the  Subnatgrotto  (Sebeneh-Su)  and  sacrifice  to  the  gods, 
I  am  disposed  to  find  Tilabni  not  at  Urfa,  as  does  Maspero  (III  31), 
but  south  of  the  Karagah  Dagh,  at  Tela  (Viranshehir)  or  the 
near-by  Tell  Anabi.^  Henceforth  the  Mesopotamian  Aramaeans 
offer  no  resistance. 

*  Tell  Halaf  might  also  claim  consideration. 
64 


CHAPTER    VIII 
THE  NORTH  SYRIAN  STATES  * 

In  that  part  of  Syria  north  of  the  36th  parallel  we  find  a  number  v:*-  ^i'J-'ff^ 
of  states  of  mixed  Hittite,  Canaanite,  and  Aramaean  character  \ 
and  possessing  a  relatively  high  civilization.  The  northernmost 
of  these  is  Gurgum,  which  in  part  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  Asia. 
Minor.  This  state,  it  seems,  was  affected  by  the  Aramaean  migra- 
tion earlier  than  the  others,  for  its  name  is  Aramaic  and  means 
"the  hard  pit  of  the  pomegranate"  (S  B  A  92:314).  Neverthe- 
less its  kings  down  to  very  late  days  bear  Hittite  names,  so  that 
it  would  seem  that  the  Aramaeans  could  not  hold  themselves 
against  the  great  pressure  of  the  Asia  Minor  peoples.  The  capital 
of  Gurgum  was  at  Marqasi  (to-day  Mar*  ash  I.  c.  318)  and  owed 
its  prominence  to  its  strategical  position  on  one  of  the  main 
highways  into  Cihcia.  Gurgum  had  as  its  southerly  neighbor 
Sam'al,  the  capital  city  of  which  was  Sengirli.  The  excavations  at 
this  site  have  revealed  the  existence  of  a  culture  which  sprang  up 
after  the  fourteenth  century  under  Hittite  rule.  The  city  com- 
manded the  Amanus  Pass  that  leads  to  the  coast,  and  already  at 
the  beginning  of  the  period  of  fortification  it  was  a  great  strong- 
hold. Sam'al  is  described  as  lying  "  at  the  foot  of  the  Amanus,"  and 
it  extended  south  about  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Killiz.  Here  it 
bordered  on  the  state  of  JJ^-ttina,  whose  center  was  the  *Amq  of 
the  lake  of  Antioch  and  which  in  the  north  controlled  the  district 
circumscribed  by  the  Aleppo-Iskenderlin  highway  and  on  the 
left  side  of  the  Orontes  extended  down  to  the  Nahr  ,il-Kebir. 
Its  capital  was  at  Kimalua  (Kunalia,  Kinalia).  To  the  east  the 
state  of  Yafean  with  the  capital  Arpad  (Tell  Erfdd)  and  the  princi- 1 
pality  of  5alman  (Aleppo),  a  great  sanctuary  of  the  god  Hadad,' 

65 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

bordered  on  Qattina.  South  of  JJattina  and  Aleppo  begins  the 
country  of  Hamath,  which  belongs,  however,  to  the  zone  of  Central 
Syria. 

After  intimidating  the  Mesopotamian  Aramaeans,  Ashuma- 
zirpal  (876  b.c.)  took  up  the  march  to  the  sea  (A  K  A  367).  The 
most  natural  outlet  for  Assyria's  trade  and  traffic  with  the  sea- 
board of  the  Mediterranean  was  the  highway  to  the  gulf  of  Alex- 
andrette.  This  road  passed  directly  through  the  state  of  Qattina, 
whose  subjugation  was  therefore  a  political  necessity.  From 
Carchemish  the  Assyrian  passed  into  Syria  between  the  mountains 
Munzigani  and  JJamurga  (identical  perhaps  with  the  valley  of 
Shekib  east  of  the  Quw^q  river  in  the  latitude  of  KiUiz),  leaving 
the  land  of  A^janu  (=  Ya^an)  to  the  left,  and  reached  the  first 
city  of  Qattina,  —  Uazaz,  long  since  identified  with  the  modem 
*Azaz  S.  W.  of  KilUz.  He  expUcitly  states  that  he  avoided  Yaban; 
the  cause  of  this  regard  for  its  neutrality  may  be  found  in  the  aim 
of  Ashumazirpal  to  reach  JJattina  without  delay.  At  JJazaz 
he  received  gold,  linen  garments,  and  other  goods  as  tribute. 
From  here  he  marched  eastward  to  the  Apr6  (Afrin)  river,  and 
after  crossing  it,  doubtless  at  the  point  where  the  Aleppo- 
IskendeHin  road  still  crosses  it,  near  iz-Ziyadiyeh,  he  called  a 
halt.  Breaking  camp  again,  he  approached  Kunalua,  the  capital 
of  JJattina,  which  is  perhaps  preserved  in  Tell  Kunana  (Tomkins, 
Bab.  Or.  Rec.  Ill  6).  Ashumazirpal  relates  that  king  Lubama 
of  Qattina  submitted  in  terror  and  payed  a  heavy  tribute,  viz. 
20  talents  of  silver,  1  talent  of  gold,  100  talents  of  lead,  100  talents 
of  iron,  1000  head  of  cattle,  10,000  sheep,  1000  brightly  colored 
garments,  cloth,  a  couch  of  ukarinnu  wood  sumptuously  inlaid, 
dishes  of  ivory  and  ukarinnu  wood  beyond  estimate,  female 
musicians,  a  great  k<i-monkey  and  great  birds  (ostriches?  —  Textb. 
16  and  A  K  A  369).  In  addition,  the  Assyrian  levied  troops 
from  Lubama  and  took  hostages  from  him.  While  he  was  at 
Kunalua  he  received  the  tribute  of  King  Gusi  of  Ya|)an. 

From  Kunalua  the  Assyrian  marched  through  the  *Amq,  ap- 
parently recrossing  the  Afrin  near  the  lake  of  Antioch,  and  reached 

66 


THE  NORTH  SYRIAN  STATES 

the  Orontes.^  The  latter  he  must  have  crossed  south  of  it-Tlel 
Babshin.  For  immediately  afterward  he  passes  between  the  moun- 
tains Yaraqu  and  Ya'turu,  which  have  been  aptly  identified  with 
the  6ebel  Qo§eir,  and  then  crosses  another  mountain  (Ashtama?)  - 
ku  (Maspero  II  40).  He  therefore  goes  through  the  notch  of  the 
Qo§eir  over  Qyzylga  and  Bawera,  and  then  over  the  6ebel  Shahsim 
at  Beled-ish-Sheikh.  Thereupon  he  arrives  at  the  Sagur  (or 
Sangur)  river,  which  must  be  the  Nahr  il-Kebir^  and  can  scarcely 
be  the  il  Abyad  (M  V  A  G  '02,  2,  61),  seemingly  near  the  point 
where  the  road  to  Laodicea  crosses  it  to-day.  It  has  been  sug- 
gested that  in  ^ishr-esh-Shughr,  where  the  Laodicea  road  leaves 
the  Orontes,  the  name  Sagur  is  still  preserved.  Since  the  river 
Sagur  near  Carchemish  has  the  same  name,  both  of  them  must 
have  been  christened  by  the  early  Hittites.  After  resting  at  the 
il  Kebir,  Ashurnazirpal  passed  between  the  mountains  of  Saratini 
and  Duppani,  which  must  consequently  be  found  in  the  northern 
Bargylus  in  the  Gebel  Daryus,  and  then  halted  again  at  the  shore 
of  the  sea?  (Textb.  p.  16).  From  here  he  came  to  Aribua,  a  fortress 
belonging  to  Lubarna  of  gattina,  which  is  doubtless  the  present 
Qala'at  il  Arba'in  (M  V  A  G  '02,  2,  61)  at  a  strategical  point, 
where  the  states  of  IJattina,  Hamath,  and  Arvad  bordered  on  one 
another.^  Aribua  is  occupied  by  Ashurnazirpal  and  the  grain  of 
the  land  of  Lu^)uti  is  harvested  and  stored  away.  The  fortress 
becomes  an  Assyrian  stronghold  with  a  military  garrison,  and  is 
consecrated  to  this  purpose  in  an  especial  festival.  While  his 
headquarters  were  at  Aribua,  the  Assyrian  brought  about  a  great 
slaughter  in  Luhuti,  sacking  the  towns  and  hanging  all  captives 

^  Dussaud,  R  A  '08,  277.  Winckler  supposed  (A  O  F  I  5)  that  the  Assyrian 
marched  around  the  north  side  of  the  lake  of  Antioch,  crossed  the  Orontes  near 
the  sea  and  passed  by  the  Mons  Casius  (G.  il  Aqra),  which  he  identifies  with 
Mt.  Yaraqu.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  then  the  crossing  of  the  Kara-Su  ought 
to  have  been  mentioned.    A  second  crossing  of  the  Afrin  need  not  be  recorded. 

^Hommel,  Geschichte,  581;  Delattre,  L'Asie  Occidentale,  496. 

*  Dussaud,  R  A  '08,  228,  and  Maspero,  III  40,  go  too  far  south.  I  cannot 
convince  myself  that  Lubama's  power  extended  any  further  south  than  the 
zone  of  Gebal-Apamea.    There  Hamath's  sphere  of  interest  began. 

67 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

in  sight  of  their  burning  villages.  This  conduct  is  indeed  strange, 
since  Lubama  had  submitted  and  since  Aribua  was  occupied 
without  resistance.  We  are  therefore  led  to  suppose  that  Aribua 
did  not  he  in  Lu^uti,  but  only  on  the  edge  of  it.  On  the  other 
hand  Lu^juti  can  be  no  independent  state,  for  neither  a  king  nor  a 
capital  is  mentioned.  And  if  it  be  merely  a  province,  then  it 
must  belong  to  Hamath,  and  be  identical  with  the  La'ash  of  the 
Zakir  inscription  (cf.  Ch.  XI).  Ashurnazirpal  is  therefore 
striking  at  Hamath's  left  flank  with  the  dual  purpose  of  gaining 
la  hold  on  the  Emesa-TripoUs  highway,  and  of  intimidating  the 
Phoenician  cities.  Both  aims  are  achieved.  For  from  Lu^juti 
he  reaches  the  northern  edge  of  the  Lebanon  and  follows  it  to  the 
sea  to  Tripolis,'  where  he  purifies  his  weapons  and  sacrifices  to 
the  great  gods.  And  at  this  point  he  then  receives  the  tribute 
of  the  Phoenician  cities  from  Tyre  north  to  Arvad;  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  a  large  tribute,  however,  since  he  neglects  to 
give  us  a  detailed  summary.  The  proud  cities  of  the  seaboard  in 
I  no  way  humiliated  themselves,  and  it  is  thus  only  a  vain  boast  if 
the  Assyrian  tells  that  they  embraced  his  feet.  Hamath  seems  ta 
have  paid  no  attention  to  the  invasion  of  its  western  province,  and 
certainly  did  not  pay  tribute.  From  Tripohs  Ashurnazirpal  re- 
turned to  Nineveh,  visiting  the  Amanus  mountains  en  route  to 
erect  a  stela  of  himself,  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods  and  to  cut  the 
precious  timbers  needed  for  the  Temple  of  Sin  and  Shamash. 
His  expedition  had  opened  the  roads  to  the  sea  at  three  points  — 
Iskendertln,  Laodicea,  and  Tripolis.  A  strong  foothold  in  Syria 
had  indeed  been  gained. 

The  accession  of  Shalmaneser  found  the  Syrian  states  preparing 
for  a  united  resistance  against  Assyrian  claims  and  ambitions. 
Bit-Adini,  realizing  how  desperate  was  its  position,  succeeded  in 
leaguing  to  itself  5attina,  Carchemish,  Gurgum  and  Sam'al. 
Shalmaneser's  plan  of  campaign  provided  for  the  putting  down 

'  Hence  Lu^uti  extends  from  the  vicinity  of  Qal'at  11  Arba'in  to  the  Tripolis 
highway.  It  includes  the  greater  part  of  the  Bargylus  and  is  therefore  larger- 
than  Dussaud,  R  A  '08,  p.  228,  and  Maspero,  III  40,  suppose. 


THE   NORTH  SYRIAN   STATES 

of  the  rebellion  in  the  west  first  of  all,  in  order  to  maintain  what 
his  father  had  achieved  in  Syria,  and  to  strike  at  the  coalition 
before  it  had  time  to  prepare  fully.  In  his  second  year  he  crossed 
the  Euphrates  and  began  to  roll  up  the  coaUtion  from  the  north 
(Mon.  col.  I  36  f.).  Kummub  paid  tribute  straightway  and  thus 
withdrew  from  the  alhance.  Shahnaneser,  therefore,  advanced 
first  against  Gurgum,  whose  king  Mutallu,  perhaps  owing  to  the 
perfidy  of  Kummub  its  neighbor,  also  submitted.  From  Gurgum 
the  Assyrian  turned  to  Sam'al.  gani  of  Sam'al  offered  resistance 
in  his  fortress  of  Lutibu,  aided  by  detachments  of  troops  sent  by 
his  allies  —  Ahuni  of  Bit-Adini,  Sapalulme  of  gattina  and  Sangar 
of  Carchmish.  Near  Lutibu  *  the  Hittite-Aramaean  coalition  gives 
battle.  Shalmaneser  claims  the  victory  and  says  that  he  stained 
the  mountain  with  the  blood  of  his  foe,  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
won  with  difficulty;  he  had  to  implore  the  aid  of  Nergal  and  Ashur 
during  the  fight.  Qani's  forces  retreat  into  the  fortress  in  safety 
and  are  left  unmolested.  The  Assyrian  merely  erects  a  pillar 
of  human  heads  opposite  Lutibu,  destroys  some  defenseless  towns, 
and  erects  a  mighty  image  of  himself  with  an  account  of  his  heroism, 
at  the  source  of  the  Saluara  river.'^ 

It  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  allied  kings  were  present  in 
person  at  Lutibu.  For  Shalmaneser  marches  south  alongside  the 
foot  of  the  Amanus,  and,  skirting  the  lake  of  Antioch,  crosses 
the  Orontes  river  into  Qattina,  where  he  again  meets  the  same 
kings  at  Ali§ir.  If,  after  the  defeat  at  Lutibu,  they  had  retreated 
such  a  great  distance,  the  Assyrian  would  have  certainly  pursued 
them.     On  the  other  hand  Hani  of  Sam'al  is  represented  as  having 

^  There  is  a  possibility  that  Lutibu  may  be  only  a  by-name  of  Sam'al  (Sen- 
^11),  for  the  fighting  must  have  taken  place  in  this  immediate  vicinity,  as 
S  B  A  92:  335  also  holds.  The  great  strength  of  the  Sen^li  citadel  would 
make  Shalmaneser's  withdrawal  without  besieging  it  comprehensible.  It  may 
be  preferable,  however,  to  identify  Lutibu  with  Saktshegozii  25  km.  N.E.  of 
Sen^U.    Cf.  on  this  site  and  its  remains  O  L  Z  '09:  377. 

''The  Aramaic  name  means  "Eel"  river.  The  stream  is  identical  with  the 
modem  Kara-Su.  The  old  name,  however,  is  still  preserved  in  the  village  of 
Sulmara  near  its  source.    S  B  A  '92:  330. 

69 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

been  bottled  up  in  Lutibu,  and  now  appears  again  in  Qattina. 
The  matter  is  still  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  coalition 
is  augmented  by  the  kings  of  Que,  Cilicia  and  Yasbiqu  (cf.  Ishbak 
Gen.  25:2).  How  these  forces  could  arrive  so  speedily  in  JJattina 
is  extremely  obscure,  unless  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes 
by  ships  from  Tarsus.  We  are  thus  confronted  by  two  possibilities; 
either  Shalmaneser  after  the  battle  of  Lutibu  was  engaged  in  other 
unmentioned  operations  further  east,  and  so  gave  the  aUies  from 
Asia  Minor  and  Syria  time  to  assemble  at  the  border  of  gattina, 
or  else  he  is  chronicling  inexactly  when  he  states  that  |}Sni  was 
present  at  Aligir  and  the  others  participated  at  Lutibu. 

The  border  fortress  of  Aligir,  which  must  have  been  situated  at 
Antioch  or  in  its  vicinity,  was  taken  after  a  hard  battle.  With 
his  own  hand  Shalmaneser  captured  Buranate,  King  of  Yasbuqu. 
From  AU^ir  he  approached  the  great  cities  of  the  king  of  JJattina; 
the  upper  ones  of  Amurril  and  the  sea  of  the  setting  sun  he  over- 
threw like  a  wave  of  the  deluge.  Along  the  wide  coast  of  the  sea 
he  marched,  receiving  the  tribute  of  the  kings  of  the  seaboard. 
All  his  operations  were  thus  conducted  in  the  Bargylus  region. 
His  statements,  however,  are  so  vague  and  his  neglect  to  mention 
further  what  became  of  the  hostile  coalition  so  peculiar,  that  it 
would  seem  that  he  suffered  a  serious  reverse  somewhere  in  the 
mountains.  At  any  rate  he  soon  wheeled  about  and  returned  to 
the  Amanus.  At  the  mountain  of  Atalur  (also  called  Lalldr, 
"mountain  of  honey"  S  A  58),  which  is  the  promontory  of  Rhosus 
north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes  (P  S  B  A  '15,  229),  where 
Ashurirbe  of  old  had  erected  his  royal  statue,  Shalmeneser  set 
up  his  own  image.  Then  he  turned  homeward,  conquering  on 
his  way  the  cities  of  Taid,  Qaz&zu,  Nulla  and  Butamu  ^  in  IJattina, 
killing  2800  warriors  and  carrying  off  large  booty.  Arame  of 
Gusi  (Arpad),  who  had  not  joined  the  alliance  against  Assyria, 
paid  tribute. 

'  The  site  of  'Qaz&z  being  known  (*Azfiz),  we  may  look  for  TaiA  to  the  west 
and  Nulia  and  Butamu  to  the  east,  between  *Azaz  and  Dabiq.  The  Assyrians 
are  bound  for  Til-Barsip.  Nuha  I  think  may  be  the  modem  Niyara.  Butamu 
Tomkins  (I.e.,  p,  6)  aptly  compared  to  Beitan  near  'Azaz. 

70 


THE   NORTH   SYRIAN  STATES 

In  the  following  year  (858)  Shalmaneser  attacked  the  cities  of 
Bit-Adini  west  of  the  Euphrates  and  came  very  close  to  the  border 
of  tJattina  at  Dabigu  (to-day  Dabiq  Z  A  XII  47).  The  kings  of 
Syria,  chastened  by  the  events  of  the  previous  season,  brought 
him  tribute.  The  JJattinaean  paid  the  sumptuous  amount  of  3 
talents  of  gold,  100  talents  of  silver,  300  talents  of  iron,  100  copper 
vessels,  1000  brightly  colored  and  linen  garments,  his  daughter 
and  her  rich  dowry,  20  talents  of  bright  purple,  500  head  of  cattle, 
5000  sheep.  Besides  this  Shalmaneser  imposed  upon  him  a  yearly 
tax,  to  be  delivered  at  Ashur,  of  10  talents  of  silver,  2  talents  of 
purple,  and  200  cedar  beams.  The  tribute  imposed  on  Sangar  of 
Carchemish  is  a  close  second  in  rank.  It  included  3  talents  of 
gold,  70  talents  of  silver,  30  talents  of  bronze,  100  talents  of  iron, 
20  talents  of  bright  purple,  500  weapons,  his  daughter  and  her 
dowry,  100  daughters  of  his  nobles,  500  head  of  cattle,  5000  sheep; 
his  yearly  tax  was  fixed  at  1  mina  of  gold,  1  talent  of  silver,  2 
talents  of  purple.  Qaiani,  son  of  Gabbar,  "from  the  foot  of  the 
Amanus,"  who  is  doubtless  identical  with  Qani  of  Sam'al,  brought 
10  talents  of  silver,  90  talents  of  bronze,  20  talents  of  iron,  300 
brightly  colored  and  linen  garments,  300  head  of  cattle,  3000  sheep, 
2000  cedar  beams,  his  daughter  and  her  dowry,  together  with  an 
annual  tax  of  10  minas  of  gold  and  200  cedar  beams.  Arame,  "son 
of  Bit-Agusi,"  gave  10  minas  of  gold,  6  talents  of  silver,  500  head  of 
cattle,  5000  sheep;  he  appears  to  remain  exempt  from  further  taxa- 
tion. Katazil  of  Kummuh  agreed  to  a  yearly  tribute  of  20  minas 
of  silver  and  300  cedar  beams.  From  this  it  appears  that  Car- 
chemish and  Qattina  were  the  richest  states  of  northern  Syria. 

After  Shalmaneser  in  the  following  years  had  accomplished 
the  destruction  of  Bit-Adini  he  at  length  in  854  turned  his  face 
westward.  He  is  bound  for  the  country  of  Hamath,  bent  upon 
new  conquests  in  Central  Syria.  The  kings  of  northern  Syria  — 
Sangar  of  Carchemish,  Kundashpi  of  Kummuh,  Arame  son  of 
Gusi,  Lalli  of  Melid,  IJaiani,  son  of  Gabbar,  Kalparuda  of  Qattina, 
Kalparuda  ^  of  Gurgum  acknowledged  their  vassalship  by  ap- 
*  Dittography  of  the  previous  name? 
71 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

pearing  before  him  at  Pitni,  and  bringing  tribute  (Mon.  II  82  f.). 
From  Pitru  he  marched  to  l[j[ahnan  (Aleppo)  which  submitted  in 
fear  at  his  approach  and  paid  silver  and  gold.  Before  leaving 
Ualman  the  monarch  brought  sacrifice  to  the  god  Hadad,  who 
had  a  famed  sanctuary  in  this  city. 

The  attack  upon  central  Syria,  and  especially  the  outcome  of  the 
battle  of  Qarqar,  appears  to  have  weakened  the  prestige  of  Shal- 
maneser.  For  after  an  expedition  to  the  upper  Tigris  and  two 
campaigns  in  Babylonia,  he  was  forced  to  return  to  Syria.  Per- 
haps Arpad  and  Carchemish  refused  to  pay  tribute,  for  in  850  he 
made  a  raid  into  the  territory  of  both.  In  848  he  found  it  necessary 
to  deport  the  restless  population  of  Paqara^buni  (Ann.  85-91). 
In  832  finally  we  hear  again  of  JJattina  (Ann.  147  f.).  While  at 
Calab,  Shalmaneser  is  informed  that  the  Hattinaeans  have  as- 
sassinated their  king  Lubama  (II)  and  have  made  Surri,  who  had 
no  claim  to  the  throne,  their  king.  The  Assyrian  dispatches  his 
war-chief  Dai&n  Ashur,  a  remarkable  general,  to  Kinalua,  the 
capital  of  Qattina.  The  city  is  assaulted  and  sanguinary  fighting 
ensues.  Surri  dies  suddenly,  —  the  Annals  claim  of  fright.  His 
son  Zaipparma  and  other  ringleaders  of  the  rebellion  are  seized 
by  the  people,  surrendered  by  them  to  Dai&n  Ashur  and  cruelly 
impaled.  S&si,  son  of  Kuruzza,  of  the  loyal  Assyrian  party,  is 
|bade  king  of  Qattina.  A  large  tribute  is  imposed  and  the  image 
of  Shalmaneser  is  erected  .in  the  temple  of  the  gods  at  Kinalua. 
From  now  on  the  name  Qattina  disappears  from  the  inscriptions. 
iThe  power  of  this  state  is  greatly  reduced,  and  its  realm  confined 
{to  the  *Amq  of  Antioch,  so  that  it  receives  the  name  Unqi.  The 
■  earliest  occurrence  of  it  is  in  the  inscription  of  Zakir  (cf.  Ch.  XI). 
IJattina's  southern  possessions  in  the  Bargylus  appear  to  have 
been  lost  to  Hamath. 

Northern  Syria  was  from  now  on  quite  firmly  under  Assyria's 
control  and  isolated  attempts  at  rebellion  were  suppressed  without       / 
great  difficulty. 


72 


■/ 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  SUPREMACY  OF  DAMASCUS 

The  Assyrians  had  succeeded  in  laying  open  the  road  to  the  sea. 
The  next  logical  step  was  to  safeguard  this  achievement  from 
covetous  neighbors.  This  required  constant  campaigns  both  in 
the  north  and  in  the  south.  In  central  Syria  it  was  especially 
Damascus,  with  its  ally  Hamath,  that  threatened  to  contest 
Assyria's  claims  in  the  west.  The  conquest  of  these  states,  there- 
fore, became  a  necessity  for  the  new  world-power.  Furthermore, 
beyond  Damascus  there  beckoned  Tyre  and  Sidon,  Palestine  and 
South  Arabia.  To  unite  this  great  avenue  of  commerce  from 
Asia  Minor  to  Africa,  under  a  common  scepter,  with  all  that  such 
a  thing  implies,  in  coinage  and  language,  law  and  order,  was  in- 
deed a  lofty  aim,  achieved  for  a  passing  moment  by  Esarhaddon, 
realized  in  the  empire  of  the  Persians. 

In  the  year  854  Shalmaneser  crossed  the  border  of  Qattina  into 
Hamath.  He  approached  first  the  cities  of  Adennu  and  Bargd. 
The  former  has  been  suitably  identified  with  Tell  Danit,  southeast  of 
Idlib  (R  A  '08,  225).  Barga  should  then  lie  to  the  south  of  it, 
but  close  by  —  perhaps  at  Stuma.  Adennu  is  called  "Ad^,  a 
city  of  Ur^iileni  of  Hamath  "  on  band  IX  of  the  gates  of  Balawat. 
It  and  Parga  (or  Barga)  surrendered  to  the  Assyrian.  His  first 
blow  struck  Argana,  a  royal  city,  which  is  perhaps  identical  with 
the  modern  Riha  on  the  north  side  of  the  mountain  of  the  same 
name  (R  A  '08,  225).^  The  city  was  captured  and  pillaged,  and 
the  palaces  of  king  Irhuleni  of  Hamath,  were  set  in  flames.  From 
here  the  Assyrian  marched  to  Qarqar,  the  ancient  Apamea  and 
modern    Qal'atilMudiq    (Masp.    Ill    70).     At    Qarqar  a  great 

^  Is  the  name,  as  Dussaud  supposes,  preserved  in  the  swamp  of  ir-Ru^ 
further  west? 

73 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

battle  is  fought  with  twelve  kings  of  Syria,  of  whom  only  eleven, 
however,  are  specified. 

This  Syrian  league  is  composed  of  Adad-idri  of  Damascus, 
Ir^juleni  of  Hamath,  Ahab  of  Israel,  the  king  of  Irkana,  and 
Adunuba*U  of  Shiana.  But  Que,  Mu§ri,  Arvad,  Ushana,  Ammon, 
and  an  Arabian  tribe  are  also  represented.  Damascus  furnishes 
1200  chariots,  1200  horsemen,  and  20,000  men  infantry.  Israel 
lends  2000  chariots  and  10,000  men.  Hamath  is  third,  with  700 
chariots,  700  horsemen,  and  10,000  men.  Irkana  and  Shiana 
each  furnish  10,000  men,  but  only  10  and  30  chariots  respectively. 
Mu§ri  is  represented  by  1000  men,  Que  by  500,  and  Ushana  and 
Arvad  (under  its  king  Matinuba'li)  each  by  200.  The  cavalry 
is  strongly  reenforced  by  the  1000  camels  of  Gindibu  the  Arabian. 
Ba'sa  m&r  Rububi  of  Ammon  finally  had  at  least  a  thousand  men 
in  his  detachment. 

As  usual  Shalmaneser  claims  the  victory  in  extravagant  phrases. 
Thus  the  monoUth  (II  96 f.)  relates:  "With  the  exalted  power 
that  the  Lord  Ashur  granted,  with  the  mighty  weapons  that 
Nergal  who  goes  before  me,  presented,  I  fought  with  them,  from 
Qarqar  to  Gilz&u  I  accomplished  their  defeat.  Fourteen  thous- 
and of  their  warriors  I  prostrated  with  weapons,  like  Hadad  I 
caused  the  storm  to  rain  upon  them,  heaped  up  their  corpses,  filled 
the  surface  of  the  field.  Their  numerous  troops  with  the  weapons 
I  slew,  their  blood  I  made  flow  over  the  expanse  of  the  plain. 
Too  small  was  the  field  for  the  slaughter,  the  wide  plain  did  not 
sufl&ce  to  bury  them.  With  their  corpses  I  dammed  the  Orontes 
as  with  a  bridge.  In  the  midst  of  that  battle  I  took  their  chariots, 
riders,  horses,  and  harnesses." 

Shalmaneser  has  bequeathed  us  also  several  other  versions  of 
this  great  battle.  According  to  the  Annals (66)  20,500  foemen 
are  slain,  a  Bull  inscription  from  Nimrud  gives  25,000,  a  recent 
statue  from  Ashur  29,000.  But  even  the  more  conservative 
figure  of  the  monolith  —  14,000  —  must  be  regarded  as  greatly 
exaggerated.  In  a  certain  sense  the  battle  was  an  Assyrian 
victory,  since  Shalmaneser  remained  master  of  the  field,  whereas 

74 


\ 

/\ 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  DAMASCUS 

the  allies  retreated.  But  at  Gilzdu,  which  may  be  the  Seleucid 
Larissa  (Qal'at  Segar)/  they  again  halted.  Directly  on  the  bank 
of  the  Orontes,  which  here  runs  through  a  steep  and  narrow  valley, 
the  battle  raged.  Shalmaneser  boasts  that  he  dammed  the  river 
with  the  corpses  of  his  foes,  but  in  reaUty  he  must  have  suffered 
a  defeat  at  this  citadel.  Had  he  been  victorious  he  would  surely 
have  pressed  on  to  Hamath.  Thus  success  at  Qarqar  and  failure 
at  Gilzdu  attend  his  first  campaign  against  the  Syrian  league. 

When  we  compare  this  accoimt  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions 
with  our  Old  Testament  narrative,  the  difficulty  of  harmonizing 
them  becomes  vexing.  As  we  have  seen,  Ahab  of  Israel  fought 
successfully  against  Damascus,  and  even  captured  its  king  at 
Aphek,  making  of  him  a  vassal.  The  Hebrew  account  deserves 
full  credence,  the  more  since  Ahab  is  distasteful  to  the  prophetic 
narrators,  so  that  an  exaggeraton  of  his  deeds  would  not  have 
been  allowed  to  pass  into  our  record  unchallenged.  If  this  tradi- 
tion is  discarded  and  Ahab  made  the  vassal  of  Benhadad  (Winckler), 
such  procedure  is  utterly  arbitrary. 

The  difficulties  increase  when  we  regard  the  name  of  Ahab's 
opponent  in  the  Old  Testament  and  of  his  suzerain  in  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Shalmaneser.  Where  the  Bible  reads  Benhadad  the 
Assyrian  gives  (ilu)  IM-idri.  The  fact  that  the  LXX  translates 
Benhadad  by  "son  of  Ader"  led  to  the  supposition  that  hadar, 
"glory,"  and  not  the  divinity  Hadad  was  originally  the  second 
element  of  this  name.  It  would  have  been  more  natural  to  con- 
clude, however,  that  hadar  was  a  later  modification  of  Hadad  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  name  of  this  heathen  divinity.  It 
was  furthermore  supposed  that  the  ideogram  I  M  could  be  read 
"Bir,"  and  that  Bir  was  an  Aramaean  divinity.  Thus  Birhadar 
was  held  by  many  to  be  the  original  name  rather  than  Barhadad.* 

*  Here  the  retreat  from  Qarqar  would  most  logically  reach  the  Orontes.  For 
a  description  of  the  place  cf ,  Bell,  The  Desert  and  the  Sown,  p.  235. 

^  Cf .  A  T  U  73  and  most  recently  Zimmem  in  the  Hilprecht  Anniversary 
Volume,  p.  303.  The  name  Barhadad  occurs  in  Christian  days  as  that  of  a 
bishop  in  Mesopotamia;  cf.  von  Gutschmid,  Neue  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte 
des  Alten  Orients,  46  f . 

76 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA   AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

But,  admittedly,  the  existence  of  a  god  Bir  is  not  established  by 
indisputable  evidence  (K  A  T  446)  and,  admittedly,  the  ideogram 
(ilu)  IM  is  regularly  the  equivalent  of  Adad.  And  in  the  god- 
lists  we  are  explicitly  told  that  Addu  and  Dadu  were  the  names  of 
the  god  IM  in  Amurru  (C  T  XXV  pi.  16:16).  For  this  reason 
Adad-idri  is  the  only  possible  reading  of  this  name,  and  its  only 
possible  form  in  Hebrew  could  be  Hadadezer  (A  J  S  L  27:27f.). 
Benhadad  and  Hadadezer  cannot  be  identified  except  under  the 
theory  that  the  full  name  was  Ben-Hadadezer,  of  which  the  As- 
syrians dropped  the  first  element  and  the  Hebrews  the  last. 
In  addition  to  the  fact  that  this  name  is  of  a  most  improbable 
formation,  this  theory  is  full  of  difficulties.^ 

Luckenbill  has  shown  one  way  out  of  the  dilemma  by  the  as- 
sertion that  Benhadad  is  not  identical  with  Adad-idri,  but  rather 
the  latter's  predecessor  (A  J  S  L  27: 277  f.).  Then  the  fighting 
between  Ahab  and  Benhadad  might  possibly  have  taken  place 
about  860.  The  change  of  rulers  at  Tyre,  where  Pygmalion 
(860-814)  came  to  the  throne,  may  have  been  the  signal  for 
Benhadad  to  attack  Ahab,  since  the  latter  could  now  expect  no 
help  from  his  ally.  The  battle  of  Aphek,  then,  took  place  in  859, 
whereupon  two  years  of  peace  with  Aram  followed  .^  The  death 
of  Benhadad  took  place,  no  doubt,  during  this  interim  in  858  and 
Adad-idri  became  king  in  Damascus.  Possibly  he  was  a  usurper, 
most  certainly  he  was  a  vigorous  and  able  ruler.  In  857-856 
he  made  war  upon  Israel  and  gained  Ramoth  in  Gilead  from  the 
Hebrews.  Ahab  can  have  suffered  no  crushing  defeat,  for  then 
he  would  not  have  had  the  superiority  in  chariots  with  which  he 
is  credited  by  Shalmaneser.  It  is  probable  that  in  view  of  the 
common  danger  from  Assyria,  Ahab,  who  appears  as  a  wise  states- 
man, made  peace  with  Adadidri  and  then  in  854  appeared  as  the 
latter's  ally  at  the  battle  of  Qarqar.  Perhaps  believing  the  danger 
from  Assyria  to  be  over  for  the  present,  Ahab  in  the  following  year 
was  led  to  undertake  the  campaign  against  the  Aramaeans  to 

»  Cf .  Zeitechrift  fiir  Keilschriftforschung,  II,  167. 
*  These  L.  unnecessarily  assigns  to  the  years  after  Qarqar,  Lc,  279. 
(  76 


THE   SUPREMACY   OF   DAMASCUS 

reconquer  Ramoth  Gilead  in  which  he  met  his  fate.  It  must  be 
noted  that  in  this  account  (1  Kings  22)  the  opponent  of  Ahab  is 
not  mentioned  by  name,  as  in  the  preceding  chapter,  but  is  merely- 
called  "King  of  Aram."  (Luckenbill,  p.  281.)  It  is  perfectly 
possible  to  assume,  therefore,  that  a  period  of  five  or  six  years  in- 
tervenes between  1  Kings  20  and  22  and  that  the  "King  of  Aram" 
is  our  Adad-idri.  We  can  now  also  account  for  the  fact  that  the 
king  of  Israel  does  not  appear  among  Shalmaneser's  foes  again 
after  854,  because  the  new  king  Joram  (853-842)  was  engaged 
in  unsuccessful  attempts  to  subdue  the  rebellious  Moab  (2  Kings 

The  result  of  Qarqar  was  not  discouraging  to  the  Syrians. 
Indeed,  after  settling  more  urgent  business  in  Babylonia,  Shal- 
maneser  returned  in  850  to  Syria  and  found  also  Arpad  and  Car- 
chemish  rebellious.  According  to  the  Bull  inscription  he  crossed 
the  Euphrates  for  the  eighth  time  and  burned  and  destroyed 
many  cities  belonging  to  Sangar  of  Carchemish,  captured  Arne,^ 
a  royal  city  of  Arame  of  Arpad  and  sacked  it,  together  with  100 
towns  of  its  neighborhood.  This  campaign,  according  to  the  Black 
Obelisk  (85-86),  took  him  all  that  year.  The  Bull  inscription  is 
mistaken  in  assuming  an  attack  on  the  Syrian  league  in  that  season 
(Textb.  21).  It  must  also  be  mistaken  in  repeating  the  incursion 
into  Carchemish  and  Arpad,  where  97  and  100  cities  respectively 
are  sacked.  The  100  cities  of  Arpad  could  scarcely  be  destroyed 
twice  in  succession.    His  trip  to  the  Amanus,  however,  must  belong 

^  If  our  modification  of  the  Luckenbill  theory  gives  a  rational  explanation 
of  the  problems  confronting  us,  then  we  must  conclude  that  2  Kings  8:  7-15  is, 
to  say  the  least,  inaccurate  when  it  makes  Hazael  the  successor  of  Benhadad. 
Either  we  must  suppose  Benhadad  to  be  an  error  for  Adadidri  in  vss.  7,  9  (or 
a  gloss!)  or  else  deny  the  passage  as  unhistorical,  for  which  there  is  hardly 
enough  ground  (G  V  J  365).  Those  who  would  abide  by  the  text  must  take 
recourse  to  Kittel's  theory  (ibid.  359  S.)  that  Shalmaneser  is  in  error  when  he 
mentions  Ahab  as  his  opponent,  and  that  Ahab  died  855,  so  that  his  son  Joram 
fought  at  Qarqar.  Then  the  battle  of  Aphek  took  place  858.  Under  this 
supposition  the  Benhadad-Adadidri  problem,  however,  remains  unsolved. 

*  Band  XII  of  the  gates  of  Balawat  records  also  the  capture  of  ",  .  .  agdd, 
a  city  of  Arame  son  of  Gusi." 

77 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

to  the  11th  year,  although  it  is  not  mentioned  by  the  Obelisk 
(87-89),  according  to  which  he  captures  89  towns  of  Hatti  and 
Hamath.  Traversing  the  Yaraqu  mountains,  apparently  in  the 
footsteps  of  Ashumazirpal,  he  reached  the  cities  of  Hamath  in 
the  Bargylus.  Here  he  captured  the  important  place  of  Ashta- 
maku,  as  well  as  97  towns  of  the  region,  bringing  about  great 
slaughter.  At  this  time,  the  Bull  inscription  vaguely  tells, 
Adad-idri,  Irjjuleni,  and  twelve  other  (?)  kings  of  the  seaboard 
went  forth  to  meet  him.  He  claims  to  have  accomplished  their  de- 
feat, slain  10,000  of  their  warriors,  and  taken  away  their  weapons, 
chariots,  and  horses.  It  is  impossible  to  say  where  the  battle 
took  place.  On  his  return  he  went  to  the  Amanus  for  cedars,  and 
then  back  to  Mesopotamia.  On  the  way  he  captured  Apparasu, 
a  fortress  in  Arpad  (perhaps  to-day  Tatmarash,  northwest  of 
Erfad)  and  received  the  tribute  of  King  Kalparundi  ^  of  Qattina. 
In  848  he  found  it  necessary  to  undertake  a  punitive  expedition 
against  Paqar^ubuna  (the  territory  of  Bit-Adini  west  of  the 
Euphrates)  as  we  learn  from  the  Black  Obelisk  (896). 

In  846,  his  14th  year,  Shalmaneser  makes  a  supreme  effort. 
He  mobilizes  troops  from  all  parts  of  his  domain,  as  the  Bull 
inscription  informs  us,  and  with  120,000  men  crosses  the  Euphrates. 
The  same  Syrian  league  (this  time  14  kings)  again  takes  the  field 
against  him.  At  Qarqar  about  60,000  men  had  fought  against 
Shalmaneser.  But  now  the  huge  army  of  the  Assyrian  must 
have  necessitated  a  much  greater  levy.  Shalmaneser  claims  that 
he  routed  the  enemy;  but  since  he  furnishes  no  facts  at  all,  we 
must  regard  his  statement  with  distrust.  During  the  next  three 
years  he  was  busy  with  operations  in  Nairi,  Namri,  and  the 
Amanus. 

About  this  time  a  change  of  rulers  took  place  at  Damascus. 

^  Apparently  the  last  king  of  this  state.  Sachau,  Z  A  6: 432,  has  shown  that 
the  name  occurs  in  an  Aramaic  inscription  of  the  seventh  centmy,  C  I  S  II  no. 
75,  "To  Akrabu  (?)  son  of  Gabbarud,  the  eimuch,  who  drew  near  imto  Hadad." 
Gal-pa-ru-da,  Galpurundi,  Garparunda,  Gabbarud  are  all  variations  of  the 
same  name.  The  one  of  this  inscription  may  have  been  a  Syrian  prince  whose 
son  suffered  the  fate  referred  to  in  Is.  39:  7. 

78 


THE  SUPREMACY   OF   DAMASCUS 

Concerning  this  event  an  Ashur  text  (M  K  A  no.  30:25)  says, 
"Adad-idri  forsook  the  land  (i.e.  died);  Hazael,  son  of  a  nobody- 
seized  the  throne."  More  detailed  information  is  presented  in  2 
Kings  8 : 7-15,  if  we  delete  the  name  Benhadad  as  a  gloss  and  refer 
"king  of  Aram"  to  Adad-idri.  According  to  this  passage  Elisha 
reads  the  mind  of  Hazael,  who  has  been  sent  to  him  by  the  king, 
and  recognizes  his  innermost  ambitions  and  designs.  Alone  with 
the  King  in  his  chamber  soon  afterward,  Hazael  smothers  him 
with  a  wet  blanket  (so  that  no  sign  of  murder  can  be  detected) 
and  then,  with  the  help  of  other  conspirators,  seizes  the  throne  of 
Damascus. 

Adadidri  must  have  been  an  able  and  a  brilliant  ruler.  With 
his  death  the  Syrian  league  seems  to  have  fallen  apart.  Assyrian 
diplomacy  may  have  speeded  this.  Concerning  Israel  we  know 
that  Joram  asserted  his  independence  by  emphasizing  his  claims 
on  Gilead  (2  Kings  8:28).  He  attacked  Ramoth,  captured  it,  and 
then  "held  the  watch"  against  Hazael,  king  of  Aram  (9:14)  and 
after  being  wounded,  went  to  Jezreel  for  a  rest-cure.  With  his 
murder  by  Jehu,  the  djoiasty  of  Omri  reaches  its  end,  Hazael 
meanwhile  was  laboring  under  great  difficulties,  and  needed  time 
to  whip  his  vassals  back  into  line.  But  Shalmaneser,  seeing  his 
advantage,  was  quick  to  make  use  of  it. 

In  842,  therefore,  he  advanced  upon  Damascus  without  tarry- 
ing on  the  way.  Hamath  must  have  submitted  and  allowed 
him  to  pass  on  unmolested.  At  the  mountain  of  Saniru  (the 
Shenir  of  Deut.  3:9),  "in  front  of  the  Lebanon,"  Hazael  intrenched 
himself.  The  "Lebanon"  must  here  refer  to  the  Antilebanon 
range,  before  whose  southern  "front"  the  Saniru  or  Hermon,  Ues 
(Textb.  24).  Of  course,  the  Assyrian  does  not  mean  to  say  that 
Hazael  intrenched  himself  on  the  top  of  the  great  Hermon !  Haupt 
thinks  the  Gebel  ez-Zebedani,  50  km.  northwest  of  Damascus,  is 
meant  (Z  D  M  G  69:169).  Most  assuredly  the  position  which  the 
Aramaean  took  was  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the  Wadi  Zerzer  on 
the  present  railroad  from  Damascus  to  Shtora,  for  the  Assyrians 
must  have  approached  Damascus  from  the  Biqa'  on  the  very  same 

79 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA   AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

route  as  does  the  modem  traveller  coining  from  Berut.  In  the 
ensuing  battle  Hazael  was  forced  to  retreat  to  Damascus.  Besides 
the  slaughter  of  6000  Aramaeans,  Shalmaneser  claims  a  large 
booty  of  1121  chariots,  470  riding  horses,  and  Hazael's  camp. 
But  this  battle  had  evidently  cost  him  so  heavily  that  he  was 
imable  to  lay  siege  to  Damascus.  He  had  to  content  himself 
with  destroying  the  beautiful  parks  of  the  vicinity  and  with  a 
raid  against  defenseless  towns  in  the  Hauran.  Then  he  turned 
back  to  the  Phoenician  coast,  journeying  as  far  as  the  mountains 
of  Ba'li-ra'-si  (the  promontory  at  the  Nahr-el-Kelb  above  Bertit), 
where  he  set  up  his  royal  image,  which  is  still  standing  to-day.^ 
Here  he  received  the  tribute  of  Tyre,  Sidon  and  Jehu  of  Israel. 
This  fact  is  of  extreme  importance.  None  of  these  states  needed 
to  pay  tribute.  Arvad,  Simyra  and  Ushana  were  much  nearer 
and  yet  did  not  find  it  necessary.  The  significance  of  the  act 
is  twofold.  We  see  first  that  Jehu  maintains  the  tradition  of  the 
house  of  Omri  of  fraternizing  with  Sidon  and  Tyre  (of.  the  words 
of  the  disappointed  prophetic  writer  2  Kings.  10:31).  And  further- 
more we  perceive  that  these  three  states  make  a  bid  for  Assyrian 
friendship  and  thereby  declare  themselves  the  foes  of  Aram. 
For  Israel's  history  it  was  a  momentous  decision. 

Under  this  aspect,  the  attitude  of  Hazael,  that  Elisha  foresaw, 
becomes  perfectly  clear.  He  is  filled  with  an  implacable  hatred 
for  Israel.  True,  for  the  present  he  could  not  pay  any  attention 
to  this  southern  neighbor,  for  his  mind  and  strength  were  occupied 
with  the  Assyrian  menace.  In  839  Shalmaneser  made  a  last 
attempt  to  strike  at  Damascus.  The  Obelisk  (102-4)  tells  that  he 
captured  four  of  the  Aramaean's  cities,  and  received  the  tribute  of 
Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Gebal.  The^  eponym  chronicle  designates  the 
campaign  for  this  year  as  "to  the  land  of  Danabi."  This  can 
only  refer  to  the  classical  Danaba  and  the  Dunip  of  the  Amama 
letters,  which  lay  perhaps  at  §ednaya  north  of  Damascus  (Z  D  P  V 
30: 17).  Danaba  was,  then,  one  of  the  four  captured  cities.  But 
Shalmaneser's  success  was  not  decisive,  and  henceforth  he  had  to 

1  Cf .  Winckler,  Daa  Vorgebirge  am  Nahr-el-Kelb,  '09,  p.  16. 
80 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  DAMASCUS 

give  up  the  Syrian  wars  in  favor  of  more  urgent  business  in  the 
far  north. 

At  last  Hazael  was  at  liberty  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  Israel. 
His  first  blows  apparently  fell  upon  Gilead  and  Bashan,  which  he 
"  cut  off  "  from  Israel  (2  Kings  10 :  32-33) .  Jehu  may  have  appealed 
more  than  once  to  Shalmaneser.  How  terrible  the  revenge  of 
Hazael  was  appears  from  Amos  1 :3  —  "They  have  threshed  Gilead 
with  iron  threshing  sledges."  Hazael's  action  was  a  signal  for 
all  other  neighbors  to  stretch  out  their  hands  for  spoil,  and  so  we 
find  Philistines,  Edomites,  Ammonites,  and  even  the  Tyrians, 
"forgetting  the  bond  of  brotherhood"  (Am.  1:9),  making  Razzias 
into  Israel  (Is.  9:12,  Am.  1:6-15).  Under  Jehu's  son  Joahaz 
(814-797)  Israel's  abasement  reached  the  extreme  stage.  Hazael's 
armies  overran  the  entire  land  (G  V  J  II  378).  So  ignominious 
were  the  conditions  in  these  days  that  the  records  are  silent  of  all 
details  save  the  one  fact  that  the  Aramaeans  only  allowed  Joahaz 
an  army  of  50  horsemen,  10  chariots  and  10,000  men  (more  prob- 
ably only  1000  men  O  L  Z  '01,  144,  2  Kings.  13:7). 

Hazael's  ambitions,  it  appears,  were  chiefly  directed  to  the 
south,  and  he  wisely  abstained  from  giving  offense  to  Assyria 
by  undue  efforts  in  the  north.  Arabia  especially  seems  to  have 
been  close  to  his  heart,  for  it  was  with  the  purpose  of  exercising 
more  complete  control  over  the  Arabs  that  he  pushed  his  con- 
quests into  Philistaea,  where  the  Arabian  caravan  roads  reached 
the  sea.^  Besides  this  the  control  of  the  coastal  plain  of  Palestine 
gave  him  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  Egypt.  According  to 
the  information  of  the  Greek  text  of  Lucian  in  2  Kings  13 :  22,  lost 
in  the  M.T.,  Hazael  captured  all  of  PhiUstaea  as  far  as  Aphek  in 
Sharon.  He  even  laid  siege  to  Gath,  and  from  there  made  an  ex- 
pedition against  Jerusalem,  whose  king  Joash  paid  him  a  rich 
tribute  out  of  the  temple  treasury  (2  Chr.  24: 19f.,  2  Kings  12:18  f.). 
Thus  Hazael  looms  up  as  a  great  warrior,  the  greatest,  perhaps,  of 
the  Aramaean  kings.     He  was  on  the  best  road  to  the  realization 

^  It  is  possible  that  Hazael  was  of  Arabian  extraction,  for  we  find  a  king  of 
Aribi  named  Qazaiflu  in  the  time  of  Essarhaddon;  cf.  Prisms  A  and  C,  III,  1  f. 

81 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

of  a  Syrian-Arabian  empire  when  death  called  him  away  from  the 
throne. 

Benhadad  III  assumed  the  reins  of  government  at  the  very 
latest  in  804  B.C.  It  would  seem  that  Joahaz  of  Israel  immediately 
seized  the  opportunity  of  a  change  of  rulers  at  Damascus  to  shake 
off  the  foreign  yoke.'  According  to  a  suggestion  of  Kuenen  (Ein- 
leitung  25),  the  account  of  a  seige  of  Samaria  (2  Kings  6 :  24-7 :20) 
which,  in  its  present  connection,  is  placed  in  the  time  of  Joram  ben 
Ahab  in  reaUty  seems  to  belong  to  the  time  of  Joahaz.  It  is  a 
priori  unUkely  that  Joram  should  be  meant,  since  Damascus 
was  during  his  reign  too  occupied  with  the  Assyrian  danger  to 
assume  the  offensive  against  Israel.  The  actual  fighting  that  did 
occur  at  this  time,  furthermore,  centered  at  Ramoth  in  Gilead 
(G  V  J  II  362).  That  Joahaz  alone  can  be  meant  becomes  a 
certainty  from  6: 32,  where  the  king  is  called  "son  of  a  murderer, " 
which  must  refer  to  Jehu,  the  father  of  Joahaz,  whose  bloody  deeds 
are  chronicled  in  detail  (I.e.  379).  The  Benhadad  of  our  story 
can  well  be  the  son  of  Hazael,  for  the  prophet  Elisha  was  alive 
still  in  the  time  of  Joash  the  son  of  Joahaz.  Benhadad,  then, 
upon  the  denial  of  his  suzerainty  by  Joahaz,  marched  against 
Israel  and  laid  siege  to  Samaria.  Dire  need  and  starvation 
reigned  soon  in  the  city.  The  king's  whole  wrath  was  turned 
against  Elisha,  who  could  give  no  other  counsel  than  "Trust  in 
God."  But  the  prophet's  word  was  vindicated,  for  on  the  morrow 
the  Aramaean  war  camp  lay  deserted.  The  cause  of  the  flight 
of  the  enemy  is  sought  in  the  approach  of  Hittite  and  Egyptian 
armies.  Usually  this  is  emended  by  historians  into  "Assyrian 
armies"  and  referred  to  the  advance  of  Adadnirfi,ri  IV  (810-782). 
Perhaps  we  should  do  better,  however,  to  abide  by  the  text  and 
to  understand  Misraim  as  referring  not  to  Egypt  but  to  the 
northern  "  Mu^ri",  or  Cappadocia.  They  and  the  Hittites  of  Car- 
chemish  and  Arpad  may  well  have  been  moved  by  the  Haldians 

^  2  Kings  13:  22  must  then  be  regarded  as  inexact.  Its  late  origin  is  recog- 
nized by  commentators  on  other  groimds  than  the  one  advanced  here.  Besides, 
Hazael  died  some  time  before  803,  while  Joahaz  lived  till  797. 

82 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  DAMASCUS 

of  Urartu  to  attack  Damascus,  for  the  Haldians  were  striving  \ 
to  establish  an  empire  in  Syria  about  this  time  (cf.  Ch.  XII). 
The  campaigns  of  Adadnirdri  in  806  to  Arpad,  805  to  IJazaz,  may- 
have  been  directed  against  the  Haldian  power  in  this  quarter. 
If  our  interpretation  can  be  trusted,  the  siege  of  Samaria  must 
have  taken  place  about  806  b.c.  Damascus,  forced  to  fight  the  . 
Haldians,  had  to  release  its  pressure  on  Israel.  T — 

Certainly  some  events  must  have  taken  place  which  momentarily  1  ' 
weakened  Damascus.  For  Adadnirdri  can  boast  on  the  stone- 
slab  inscription  that  in  one  of  his  campaigns,  probably  that  of 
803  "to  the  sea,"  he  laid  siege  to  Damascus  and  received  the 
tribute  of  its  king  Mari'.^  This  name  is  merely  the  popular  title 
of  the  kings  of  Damascus,  "my  lord."  The  real  name  of  the  ruler 
can  only  have  been  Benhadad.  Adadnirari  received  from  him 
in  his  palace  2300  talents  of  silver,  20  talents  of  gold,  3000  talents 
of  copper,  5000  talents  of  iron,  brightly  colored  garments,  cloths, 
an  ivory  bed,  a  couch  of  inlaid  ivory.  In  the  same  inscription  he 
asserts  that  he  made  tributary  to  himself  Hatti,  Amurri,  Tyre, 
Sidon,  the  land  of  Omri,  Edom,  and  PhiUstaea.  These  glittering 
generalities,  however,  must  be  regarded  with  the  greatest  scep- 
ticism. 

The  renewed  advance  of  the  Assyrians  gave  Israel  a  breathing 
spell.  Already  in  the  reign  of  Joash  (797-781)  the  Hebrews  won 
successes  against  Aram.  This  is  reflected  in  the  oracle  of  the 
dying  Elisha  concerning  "the  Arrow  of  victory  over  Aram" 
(2  Edngs  13:  14-19).  From  it  we  may  at  least  gather  that  Joash 
administered  a  most  severe  defeat  to  Damascus  at  Aphek.  The 
Assyrian  campaign  against  Manguate  in  797  may  have  helped 
to  render  the  beginning  of  his  reign  auspicious,  since  Damascus 
was  heavily  engaged  thereby.  Joash  succeeded  in  winning  back 
the  cities  which  his  father  had  lost  to  Hazael.     His  successor 

^  As  now  appears  from  the  Boghaz-Kol  texts,  the  word  Mar,  "lord,"  is 
derived  from  the  title  "mariamiu"  borne  by  the  Aryan  nob'lity  in  S5Tia  in  the 
days  of  the  ffittite  empire.  Adadnir&ri  is  for  some  reason  reverting  back  to 
this  old  title  of  city  rulers  in  our  instance,  O  L  Z  '10:  292  f. 

83 


THE   ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA   AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

Jeroboam  II  (781-740)  even  regained  the  Marsyas  plain  as  far 
as  the  entrance  to  Hamath,  and  gave  Israel  a  new  period  of  bloom. 
The  campaign  of  Shalmaneser  IV  (783-773)  against  Damascus 
in  773  and  JJatarik  in  772,  mentioned  in  the  Eponym  chronicle, 
may  have  greatly  aided  Jeroboam.  About  this  time  the  reign 
of  Benhadad  III  must  have  drawn  to  its  close.  Valuable  Ught 
is  shed  on  the  events  in  his  last  years  by  an  Aramaic  inscription 
from  Hamath  which  we  shall  discuss  in  an  especial  chapter 
(Ch.  XI). 


84 


CHAPTER  X 
KILAMMU  OF  SAM'AL 

Among  the  north  Sjnian  principalities  we  have  already  met  that 
of  Sam'al,  at  the  foot  of  the  Amanus  mountains,  and  have  heard  of 
its  King  IJdni  of  Sam'al,  alias  Qaidni  son  of  Gabbar.  The  bril- 
liantly successful  excavations  conducted  by  F.  von  Luschan  on 
behalf  of  the  German  Oriental  Society  at  Sengirli,  have  brought  to 
light  the  capital  and  center  of  the  kingdom  of  Sam'al  and  a 
number  of  valuable  inscriptions  of  Sam'al's  kings.  The  oldest  of 
these  inscriptions,  found  shattered  to  fragments,  but  completely 
restored  by  the  skill  of  an  expert  of  the  Berlin  Museum,  is  that 
of  Kilammu  son  of  IJaia.^  Von  Luschan  straightway  recognized 
that  the  Qaid  mentioned  can  be  no  other  than  the  Qdni  of  Sam'al 
who  lived  in  the  days  of  Shalmaneser. 

The  language  of  the  inscription  is  Canaanitic  or  Phoenician. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  its  author  calls  himself  "bar  gaia," 
using  the  Aramaic  word  "bar"  for  son,  we  would  scarcely  believe 
that  he  was  an  Aramaean,  for  there  are  hardly  any  traces  of 
Aramaic  in  the  rest  of  the  inscription.  Nevertheless  the  language 
of  the  invaders  must  have  been  spoken  to  a  very  large  extent  in 
this  region  at  Kilammu's  time  and  even  earlier,  for  some  geographi- 
cal terms  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  referring  to  this  district 
are  undoubtedly  Aramaic;  the  name  of  the  Kara-Su  river  as 
Saluara  (El)  river,  is  an  example  (S  B  A  '92,  330).  But  the  learned 
men  of  the  land,  the  priests  and  scribes,  were  all  of  the  older  stock, 

^  A  S  237  ff.  makes  no  attempt  to  decipher  the  inscription.  Its  difficulties 
were,  however,  quickly  solved  by  the  work  of  Littmann,  S  B  A  '11:  976  f.; 
Lidzbarski,  E  S  E  III  218  f.;  Bauer,  Z  D  M  G,  67:  684  f.  Extremely  diver- 
gent but  not  convincing  is  the  interpretation  of  Hoffmann,  Theol.  Lit.  Zeit., 
'12  (January  6). 

86 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

and  thus  the  Phoenician  tongue,  which  had  maintained  itself 
in  spite  of  centuries  of  Hittite  domination,  was  used  in  the  cult 
and  in  the  civic  administration. 

The  name  of  our  king  K  L  M  V  has  been  variously  interpreted. 
Littmann  vocalized  it  "Kalumu"  (I.e.  978)  and  compared  the 
personal  name  "Kalmnmu"  (=  "young")  of  the  Hammurapi 
Dynasty,  Streck  (ibid.  985)  calls  attention  to  the  Kulummai 
in  M  V  A  G  '06,  230.  But  in  view  of  such  names  as  Giammu, 
Panammu,  Tutammu,  it  seems  preferable  to  regard  that  of  this 
king  as  Hittite.  The  first  element  then  is  Kil  —  which  is  frequent 
in  proper  names  of  Asia  Minor  provenance;  ^  the  second  element 
mu  is  then  the  ending  —  moas,  —  mouas,  —  mues.*  Lidzbarski 
suggests  (I.e.  224)  that  the  name  Kheramues  found  on  the  island 
of  Samos  (Kretzschmer  333)  is  perhaps  identical  with  "  Kilammu." 

Elilammu's  inscription  is  divided  into  two  portions  by  a  double 
line  drawn  horizontally  through  the  middle,  and  the  material 
content  of  the  inscription  justifies  this  division.  In  the  first  half 
he  deals  with  historical  matter  and  in  the  second  part  with  social 
and  religious  things.     Let  us  follow  his  own  story  in  detail. 

After  informing  us  who  he  is  by  the  words  "I  am  Kilammu  son 
of  gai&,"  the  author  gives  us  a  brief  historical  survey  of  his  dynasty 
(2-5)  and  mentions  as  its  founder  a  certain  Gabbar  whom  we  have 
heard  of  as  the  father  of  5^rii  o^  Sam'al  from  Assyrian  sources. 
As  his  name  shows,  Gabbar  was  an  Aramaean.  If  he  was  con- 
temporary of  Ashumazirpal,  we  see  that  already  at  this  day  the 
Aramaeans  had  seized  the  reins  of  government  in  Sam'al.  This 
king's  reign  is  described  briefly  as  "Gabbar  ruled  over  Ya'di* 
and    accomplished    nothing."    Likewise    his    successor    Bamah 

*  Cf.  Lycian  Kill-ortas,  pisid.  Kill-ares;  also  the  place  names  Kilistra, 
Kilarazos  (Kretzschmer,  Einleitung  in  die  Geschichte  der  Griechischen 
Sprache  '96,  p.  368).    O  L  Z  '11:  542  compares  of  Kili-Teshup  (Hittite). 

*  Poiamoaa,  Oubramouasis,  Panamues.  Kretzschmer,  Lc,  332  f.  As  lidz- 
barski points  out,  the  final  vav  in  KLMV  must  have  had  consonantal  value  for 
the  scriplio  plena  for  vowels  does  not  occur  in  this  inscription.  This  dis- 
penses at  once  with  all  Semitic  interpretations  of  the  name. 

'  Ya'di  -  Sam'al;  cf.  Ch.  XIV. 

86 


KILAMMU  OF  SAM'AL 

(B  M  H)  accomplished  nothing.  The  third  king  of  the  dynasty- 
was  the  present  ruler's  father  "QaiL  Since  he  is  called  by  the 
Assyrian  "son  of  Gabbar,"  we  must  assume  that  Bamah  was  either 
an  older  brother  of  Qai^  or  else  a  usurper,  gai^,  too,  accomplished 
nothing.  His  name  is  given  in  the  short  hypocoristic  form,  while 
the  Assyrian  gives  the  fullest  form  Qaidni.  Perhaps  the  popular 
form  was  avoided  in  speaking  to  strangers;  thus  the  bilingual 
texts  from  Palmyra  give  the  hypocoristic  form  in  the  Aramaic 
portion,  but  the  full  form  in  the  Greek  (E  S  E  III  225,  II  282). 
The  name  Qaidn  also  appears  in  the  later  Nabataean  inscriptions. 
It  has  been  frequently  pointed  out  that  the  name  of  the  Hyksos 
king,  Khian,  recorded  by  Manetho,  bears  striking  similarity  to 
this  Arabian-Aramaean  5aian  (S  B  A  11:979).  3aia  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Kilammu's  brother  She'il  ^  who  "accomplished  nothing."" 
How  Kilammu  finally  came  to  the  throne  is  not  said  but  it  is: 
quite  likely  that  the  murder  of  She'il  preceded  his  accession.  Since 
Kilanmiu's  name  is  unsemitic,  he  may  have  been  the  son  of  a  Hittite 
wife  of  IJaid,  and  only  a  half-brother  to  Shell. 

Peculiarly  indeed  Kilammu  described  himself  as  "son  of  per- 
fection." It  has  been  suggested  that  he  is  imitating  the  custom  of 
Assyrian  kings,  who  in  praising  themselves  very  often  use  the  ex- 
pression "gitmalu,"  "perfect."^  And  Bauer  (I.e.  685)  has  sup- 
posed that  Kilammu  is  playing  on  his  name  with  the  similar 
Assyrian  "kalamu"  and  calling  himself  "der  Allesmacher"  or 
the  "one  who  accomplishes  everything."  For  an  Assyrian  vassal 
it,  of  course,  must  have  been  eminently  satisfactory  that  he  was 
able  to  give  his  name  such  a  flattering  interpretation.  And  in- 
deed this  observation  seems  justified  from  the  next  sentence,  in 

1  This  would  be  the  Aramaic  vocaUzation.  If  it  was  spoken  in  Hebrew 
fashion,  it  would  be  Sha'ul  (  =  Saul).  Littmann's  interpretation  "sha-ili," 
"of  God,"  is  less  likely.  Perhaps  She'il  was  Raid's  brother,  not  Kilammu's; 
E  S  E  III  226  suggests  that  possibly  the  oldest  member  of  the  ruling  family 
came  to  the  throne  as  among  the  Osmanlis. 

^  Hehn,  Bibl.  Zeitschr.,  '12:  121.  It  seems  vumecessary  to  hold  with  E  S  E 
III  227  that  bar  Tarn  is  a  proper  name,  "son  of  Tam,"  referring  to  the  mother 
of  Kilammu.  It  would  be  rather  unusual  for  a  Semite  to  mention  his  mother 
in  this  manner. 

87 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

which  this  king  shows  a  most  remarkable  self-esteem:  "Of  that 
which  I  accomplished  the  previous  (kings)  accomplished  nothing." 
Thus  the  history  of  the  dynasty  culminates  in  himself,  and  before 
his  glory  the  deeds  of  all  other  who  sat  on  Sam'al's  throne  pale 
into  insignificance. 

Of  his  foreign  poUcy  he  tells  us  in  11.  5-8,  "My  father's  house," 
he  says,  "was  in  the  midst  of  powerful  kings."  He  does  not 
name  them,  but  we  can  imagine  who  most  of  them  were.  For 
Sam'al  bordered  to  the  north  on  Gurgum,  to  the  south  on  Qattina, 
and  Yaban,  to  the  east  on  Bit-Adini.  And  beyond  these  were 
numerous  other  kingdoms  that  were  constantly  forming  new 
political  constellations,  and  whose  aid  could  be  bought  with  gold. 
It  was  a  perilous  diplomatic  game  that  was  constantly  being 
played  at  the  royal  courts  of  these  petty  states.  "Every  one 
(of  these  kings)  stretched  out  his  hand  against  (my  people)" 
(Z  D  M  G  68:227).  Vividly  in  these  few  words  our  author 
paints  the  situation  that  existed  in  Syria  since  time  immemorial. 
It  was  under  such  conditions  that  Kilammu  came  to  the  throne. 
And  what  was  the  result?  Forcibly  he  relates:  "But  I  became 
in  the  hands  of  the  kings  Uke  a  fire  that  devours  beard  and  hand."  ^ 
In  this  connection  he  gives  us  an  incident:  "When  the  king  of 
the  D  —  N  Y  M '  arose  against  me,  I  hired  against  him  the  king 
of  Ashur.  A  maiden  he  (the  king  of  D.)  had  to  give  for  every 
sheep,  and  a  man  for  every  garment." '  Kilammu  employs 
almost  mihtary  terseness  and  brevity.  The  result  of  his  ad- 
versary's hostility  was  disastrous  to  himself.  The  adversary  had 
to  pay  him  a  large  war  indemnity. 

Who  is  the  king  of  D  —  N  Y  M?  This  problem  is  the  most 
vexing  one  offered  by  our  inscription.    We  are  well  acquainted 

*  Bauer,  I.e.,  690.  But  the  passage  is  interpreted  also  in  various  other  ways. 
E  S  E  III  228  translates,  "I  also  was  in  the  hand  of  kings,  for  devoured  was  my 
beard,  devoured  was  my  hand."  Beard  and  hand  typify  a  man's  dignity  and 
strength. 

*  Unfortunately  the  second  letter  of  the  name  is  illegible. 

*  Bauer,  I.e.,  686  f.  This  interpretation  is  preferable  to  that  of  Lidzbarski, 
231,  who  assiunes  that  Kilammu  made  this  payment  to  the  king  of  Ashur. 

88 


KILAMMU  OF  SAM'AL 

with  the  various  states  of  Syria  from  the  Assyrian  records,  but 
there  is  no  such  name  occurring  among  them.  It  would  be  tempt- 
ing to  correct  the  name  into  Y  (JJ)  N  Y  M  —  people  of  Ya^)an, 
but  this  is  precarious.  If  we  abide  by  the  reading  D  —  N  Y  M,  it 
might  be  held  that  the  Dodanim,  a  Greek  tribe  and  branch  of 
the  lonians,  referred  to  in  Genesis  10 :4  are  meant.  In  this  case  it 
must  be  assumed  that  sea-kings  from  Cyprus  or  other  islands  of 
the  Mediterranean  temporarily  exercised  power  over  the  Amanus 
region.  Then  too  it  must  be  concluded  that  the  Assyrian  king 
on  an  oversea's  venture  subjected  this  Greek  king  and  forced  him 
to  pay  an  indemnity.  While  this  is  not  impossible  per  se,  we  must 
be  rather  skeptical  in  regard  to  such  an  expedition.  Another 
possibility  is  that  advocated  by  Littmann,  that  the  tribe  or  people 
of  Danuna  is  here  referred  to,  which  appears  among  the  Asiatics 
in  the  Egyptian  annals  (M  A  E  359)  and  occurs  in  a  letter  of 
Abimilki  king  of  Tyre  (Kn.  no.  151:52).  The  locality  referred 
to  is  disputed.  The  only  indication  we  have  is  the  fact  that  it  is 
mentioned  along  with  Ugarit.  The  latter  seems  to  have  been  a 
seaport  in  the  extreme  north  of  Syria  (Kn.  1017).  In  one  of  the 
Boghaz-Koi  tablets  the  Hittite  king  justifies  himself  before  the 
king  of  Babylon  because  a  caravan  bound  for  Amurru  and  Ugarit 
was  attacked  within  his  territory  (M  D  0  G  no.  35,  p.  24).  In 
our  Amama  letter  the  Hittite  army  is  also  mentioned.  It  is 
therefore  undeniably  plausible  that  a  small  state  or  people  of 
Danuna  may  have  existed  in  the  ninth  century  in  the  vicinity  of 
Alexandrette  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Amanus.  This  people 
was  fairly  safe  from  attack  by  the  Assyrians,  and  need  therefore 
not  be  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  latter.  On  the  other 
hand  it  might  through  the  pass  of  Beildn  encroach  upon  the 
territory  of  Sam'al  or  at  least  make  razzias  into  this  region.^  An 
additional  explanation  which  has  not  yet  been  proffered  might  be 
this,  that  the  country  of  Daiaeni  on  the  Upper  Euphrates  is  re- 
ferred to  by  D  —  N  Y  M.  A  temporary  expansion  of  power  from 

*  The  city  of  Dinanu  given  in  the  list  R  T  P  15  and  lying  in  the  vicinity  of 
Aleppo  might  also  claim  consideration. 

89 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

this  center  south  to  the  region  of  Sam'al  is  not  impossible.  Still 
better,  however,  might  be  the  supposition  that  (Blt)-Zamfiiii 
is  meant,^  a  state  in  the  Kashiar  region  against  which  the  Assyrians 
in  these  days  made  a  number  of  campaigns  (cf.  Toff  teen,  Re- 
searches, p.  6fif.)- 

Whoever  the  hostile  king  was,  Kilammu  "hired  against  him 
the  king  of  Ashur"  (cp.  2  Sam.  10:6).  We  do  not  hear  what 
measures  the  Assyrian  took,  nor  have  we  any  clue  in  the  cunei- 
form inscriptions.  The  Assyrian  help,  however,  was  effective. 
Kilammu  retained  his  independence,  and  the  large  indenmity 
which  he  received,  coupled  with  the  care-free  Ufe  that  he  could 
now  live  under  Assyria's  protection,  enabled  him  to  devote  his 
attention  to  the  promotion  of  the  common  weal. 

About  such  peaceful  endeavors,  Kilammu  tells  us  in  the  second 
part  of  his  inscription.  Herein  lies  his  greatest  pride.  Like 
Solomon  of  Israel,  he  was  a  diplomat,  a  builder,  an  organizer, 
rather  than  a  warrior.  But  his  idea  of  the  relation  of  a  king  to 
his  subjects  is  singularly  different  from  that  recorded  of  Solomon 
and  other  Oriental  potentates.  What  the  word  "Landesvater" 
expresses  to  the  German  appears  to  have  been  the  ideal  of 
Kilammu. 

The  second  part  begins  anew  with  an  introduction  in  which 
the  king  names  himself.  We  find  the  same  form  in  the  Assyrian 
annals,  as  well  as  in  the  Phoenician  monuments  (cf.  Eshmunazzar, 
13).  "I  Kilammu,  son  of  Qaid,  sat  on  the  throne  of  my  father. 
Before  the  previous  kings  the  inhabitants  walked  (i.e.  were  con- 
sidered) Uke  dogs. "  ^  Forcefully,  though  not  unjustly  the  author 
describes  the  character  of  the  Oriental  despots.  But  how  dif- 
ferent was  his  own  way!  "I  on  the  contrary  was  a  father  to  the 
one,  a  mother  to  the  next,  a  brother  to  the  third  "  (cf.  Bauer  I.e. 
688).  He  also  brought  prosperity  to  the  poor  and  miserable. 
"Him,  who  never  saw  the  face  of  a  sheep,  I  made  the  possessor  of 

^  The  change  of  Z  into  D  is  no  obstacle,  as  that  is  frequent;  cf.  Qindan  and 
ginzan,  Z  A  19:  236. 

*Cf.  E  S  E  III  233.  Another  interpretation,  "slunk  about  like  dogs,"  is 
offered,  Z  D  M  G  68:  227. 

90 


KILAMMU  OF  SAM'AL 

a  flock  and  him  who  never  saw  the  face  of  an  ox,  I  made  the 
possessor  of  cattle,  and  owner  of  silver  and  owner  of  gold,  and  him 
who  from  his  youth  had  never  seen  cotton,  I  covered  in  my  day 
with  byssus."  What  a  contrast  to  the  poverty  and  utter  neglect 
of  human  needs  in  former  times!  No  wonder  that  as  he  thinks 
back  and  recalls  former  conditions  he  comes  to  the  judgment  that 
his  predecessors  accomplished  nothing!  "But  I  stood  as  support 
at  the  side  of  the  inhabitants,  and  they  showed  me  a  feeling  such 
as  the  feeling  of  an  orphan  for  a  mother."  Thus  the  ideal  state, 
Kilammu  believes,  was  achieved  imder  his  rule. 

Like  all  those  who  erect  monuments  for  posterity,  Kilammu 
fears  nothing  so  much  as  that  his  memory  might  be  forgotten. 
Therefore  he  adjures  the  coming  generations:  "If  any  one  of  my 
descendants  who  shall  sit  in  my  stead,  shall  bring  libation  to  this 
inscription,  (under  him)  the  Mushkab  shall  not  oppress  the 
Ba'rir  and  the  Ba'rir  shall  not  oppress  the  Mushkab."  ^  He  thus 
invokes  a  blessing  upon  the  reign  of  his  successor  who  honors  his 
monument.  And  the  greatest  benefit  that  he  can  think  of  for  a 
King  of  Sam'al  is  peace  between  two  factions  that  were  powerful 
in  this  state.  It  has  been  suggested  that  Mushkab  represents 
the  inhabitants  or  fellahin,  while  Ba'rir  designates  the  Beduin. 
Still  more  likely,  however,  is  the  view  (E  S  E  III  235)  that  the 
difference  is  more  a  national  than  a  cultural  one,  and  that  the 
Mushkab  is  the  old  inhabitant  of  Canaanite  or  Hittite  stock,  while 
the  Ba'rir  is  the  Aramaean  immigrant  who  now  formed  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  population.  This  indeed  strikes  the  truth 
squarely,  for  the  word  Ba'rir  is  used  in  the  later  Aramaic  in  the 
sense  of  barbarian  or  foreigner.  Since  the  two  words  appear 
without  the  article  they  are  semi-proper  names.  The  Ara- 
maeans therefore  continued  to  be  called  Ba'rir  long  after  they 

^  The  word  "Mushkab"  must  refer  to  human  beings,  as  proceeds  from  the 
contrast  to  Ba'rtr  in  1.  14.  The  translation  "sepulchers"  is  impossible.  E  S  E 
III  233  correctly  suggests  that  it  means  inhabitants  of  a  lower  order.  The 
Babylonia  "Mushkenu,"  so  frequent  in  the  Hammurapi  code,  might  be  re- 
garded as  analogous.  Bauer,  I.e.,  687,  explains  the  expression  "Mushkab" 
as  "dwelling"  used  for  "dwellers,"  just  as  Assyrian  bit  often  means  "tribe.'f 

91 


THE  ARAMAK\NS   IN   SYRIA   AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

had  ceased  to  be  nomads  and  had  taken  up  agriculture  and  trade. 
The  linguistic  and  racial  differences  between  the  two  factions 
made  a  sharp  distinction  necessary  in  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom 
and  increased  the  difficulties  of  the  sovereign.  The  modus 
Vivendi  presupposed  by  Kilammu  is  exactly  like  that  in  early 
Shechem  between  Hebrew  and  Canaanite.  But  the  possibility 
of  bloody  strife  arising  at  any  moment,  as  happened  in  Shechem, 
seems  dreadful  to  him. 

The  rite  which  Kilammu  hopes  shall  be  evermore  performed  at 
his  monument,  the  Ubation,*  has  its  analogy  in  Semitic  usage. 
Thus  Sennacherib  (Prism  VI  66f.)  says  that  whoever  of  his  descend- 
ants that  shall  reign  after  him  shall  have  to  renovate  his  palace, 
"May  he  gaze  upon  the  inscription  of  my  name,  may  he  anoint 
it  with  oil,  bring  sacrifice,  and  return  it  to  its  place ;  then  Ashur 
and  Ishtar  shall  hear  his  prayer."  To  anoint  an  inscription  of 
one's  forebears  with  oil  was  thus  an  act  of  respect  and  veneration, 
incumbent  upon  those  who  were  pious.  But  as  Sennacherib 
closes  his  inscription  with  a  curse  upon  the  head  of  him  who  shall 
change  the  writing  of  his  name,  so  Kilammu  also  concludes  "who- 
ever shall  destroy  this  inscription,  may  Ba'al  §emed  who  is  Gab- 
bar's  (god)  destroy  his  head,  and  Ba'al  JJaman,  who  is  Bamah's 
(god),  destroy  his  head,  and  Rekabel,  Ba'al  of  my  house." 

In  this  oath  formula  lies  the  only  indication  that  we  have  of 
Kilammu's  reUgious  life.  He  mentions  three  royal  patrons  that 
have  proved  themselves  helpful  to  the  kings  of  Sam'al.  Nor  can 
it  be  accidental  that  above  his  inscription  there  are  engraved 
three  divine  symbols.  The  first  of  these  symbols,  to  the  left, 
is  the  homed  head-dress  usually  worn  by  the  gods  in  ancient 
sculptures;  the  second  is  undoubtedly  the  bridle  of  a  horse;  ^ 
the  third  is  the  waning  moon  with  a  superimposed  full  moon. 
The  god  Ba'al  §emed,  "lord  of  the  team"  (of  oxen),  is  an  agri- 

^  So  Bauer,  I.e.,  689.  Lidzbarski  and  others  translate  "damage,"  which  is 
unlikely.  The  remainder  of  the  quotation  has  likewise  been  correctly  ex- 
plained by  Bauer,  ibid. 

*  So  Hehn  convincingly  proves,  Biblische  Zeitschrift,  1912,  p.  116. 

92 


KILAMMU   OF  SAM'AL 

cultural  deity  and  may  be  meant  with  the  first  symbol.  To 
define  Ba'al  gaman  is  more  difficult.  The  interpretation  "Lord 
of  the  Amanus"  is  untenable  (E  S  E  III  236).  The  name  must 
be  derived  from  the  Canaanite  hanidn,  which  primarily  signifies 
"noise,  roar,  tumult."  We  should  therefore  regard  this  divinity 
as  a  storm-god,  and  the  equivalent  of  Hadad;  and  since  Hadad 
is  a  variation  of  the  moon  god  in  his  r61e  of  weathermaker  (G  G  88), 
the  third  symbol  can  represent  Ba'al-gamon.  Hommel's  suppo- 
sition (G  G  160)  that  the  Carthaginian  Ba'al  JJaman  represents 
the  waning  moon  is  thus  vindicated.  Rekabel  "The  charioteer 
(or  rider)  is  god"  is  the  old  Aramaean  war-god  and  is  a  mani- 
festation of  the  God  Amar  (O  L  Z  '09:16).  His  symbol  must  thus 
be  the  bridle.  But  though  Kilammu  recognizes  these  gods  and 
calls  upon  them  to  curse  impiety,  he  does  not  give  any  credit  to 
them  for  past  help.  As  long  as  he  Uves  he  does  not  need  them; 
when  he  is  dead  they  may  guard  his  inscription !  How  differently 
does  a  Panammu  speak  of  the  grace  of  the  Gods!  Lack  of  the 
reverence  which  he  demands  of  others  is  characteristic  of  Kilammu. 
He  has  neither  respect  for  his  ancestors  nor  for  the  divine  powers. 
He  is  Kilammu,  "son  of  perfection." 

His  relation  to  Assyria  is  not  clear.  The  expression  "I  hired 
the  king  of  Assyria"  is  noticeably  contemptuous.  He  is  ungrate- 
ful, however,  for  without  Assyrian  help  his  prosperity  would  have 
been  impossible.  But  we  must  ask  ourselves  —  was  he  still  a 
subject  of  Assyria  at  the  time  of  this  inscription  and  would  a 
vassal  have  dared  to  speak  in  this  fashion?  It  is  quite  possible 
that  he  wrote  this  inscription  at  the  time  of  Shalmaneser  IV 
(783-773),  when  Assyria  was  greatly  weakened.  But  on  the  other 
hand  it  is  singular  that  Kilammu  has  no  weapon,  but  peacefully 
holds  in  his  hand  a  flower,^  while  in  pre- Assyrian  sculptures  from 
Sengirli  weapons  are  always  represented.  (E  S  E  III  230.)  This 
seems  to  indicate  that  Kilammu  is  still  a  vassal,  and  that  it  was 

^  Is  the  flower  a  symbol  of  the  moongod?  According  to  Hommel,  G  G  88, 
Nannar  is  pictured  as  "Uly."  Nannar-In-shushinak,  God  of  Shushan,  the 
city  of  the  "lUy,"  III  R  55  No.  3,  24  be. 

93 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

forbidden  to  vassals  to  wear  weapons  or  to  allow  themselves  to  be 
portrayed  with  them.  Assyria's  prestige,  however,  is  so  small, 
and  Kilanmiu's  notion  of  his  own  greatness  so  exaggerated,  that 
it  is  only  a  little  step  to  a  declaration  of  independence. 

Kilammu,  we  must  conclude,  was  a  wise  and  able  ruler.  If  we 
set  aside  his  impiety  and  conceit,  we  have  a  man  of  sagacious  and 
kindly  character.  His  inscription,  however,  was  destroyed  despite 
the  curses,  which  the  foe  who  sacked  the  city  may  not  have  under- 
stood. Thousands  of  years  later,  however,  the  skill  of  the  modem 
scientist  has  restored  the  fragments  to  a  Uving  whole. 


04 


CHAPTER  XI 
ZAKIR  OF  HAMATH  AND  LA'ASH 

As  we  have  already  indicated,  Hamath's  rise  to  power  is  syn- 
chronous with  the  decay  of  gattina.  The  capital  city,  called 
also  Hamath  Rabbah,^  or  the  "great  Hamath"  (Am.  6:2),  is 
identical  with  the  modern  Hama  on  the  Orontes  and  the  classical 
Epiphania.  The  great  Tell  in  the  middle  of  the  present  city 
contains  the  remains  of  this  ancient  capital  of  the  second  largest 
state  of  Syria,  and  an  excavation  of  it  should  yield  rich  treasures 
in  inscriptions  and  monuments.  The  location  of  Hama  has  always 
been  one  of  commercial  importance,  situated  as  it  is  on  the  great 
highway  from  the  Biqa*  and  Damascus  to  Aleppo  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  one  of  the  most  fruitful  districts  of  central  Syria.  If  the  in- 
terpretation of  its  name  as  meaning  "Metropolis"  (Konig)  be 
correct,  as  seems  likely,  then  its  commercial  and  political  character 
is  sufficiently  emphasized.  It  was  doubtless  an  ancient  Canaanitic 
settlement  (cf.  Gen.  10:18)  and  then  became  a  center  of  Hittite 
influence,  as  is  afl&rmed  by  the  discovery  there  of  the  so-called 
"Hamath  stones,"  or  Hittite  inscriptions.^  Its  king  Irhuleni,  who 
fought  at  Qarqar,  was  a  last  scion  of  the  Hittite  nobility  in  this 
part  of  Syria.  But  the  population  of  his  country  must  have  been 
largely  Aramaean. 

The  northern  border  of  Hamath  in  Shalmaneser's  day  must 
have  been  near  Idlib,  southwest  of  Aleppo,  where  we  found  the 
frontier  towns  of  Adennu,  Barga  and  Argan^.  Later  it  reached 
as  far  north  as  il-Atharib,  as  will  appear  shortly.  Two  excellent 
strongholds  guarded  Hamath,  which  itself  is  undefended,  on  the 

*  A  reminiscence  of  Rabbah  may  be  seen  in  Qal'at  er-Rubbeh  a  little  west 
of  Hama. 

*  Cf .  Garstang,  The  Land  of  the  Hittites,  93  f . 

95 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

north  —  Apamea  and  Larissa.  In  its  best  days  Hamath  con- 
trolled the  entire  Bargylus  region  together  with  a  number  of  im- 
portant coast  cities  like  Usnu,  Siannu  §imirra,  Rashpuna.^  Its 
southern  border  must  be  defined,  by  the  famiUar  Old  Testament 
expression  Labo  Hamath,  "the  entrance  to  Hamath,"  with  which 
Israel's  ideal  northern  frontier  is  described.  This  can  only 
designate  that  point  where  the  Orontes  river  leaves  the  Biqd'  and 
flows  into  the  valley  between  Lebanon  and  Antilebanon.  Near 
this  point  there  is  a  town  to-day  called  Lebweh  and  in  ancient 
times  Libum;  it  is  very  Ukely,  as  is  supposed  by  some,  that  the 
verbal  form  Lab5  has  crystallized  into  the  mane  of  this  place  in 
later  days.  And  if  we  read  in  Numbers  34 :1 1  that  Harbelah  (LXX 
while  M  T  has  Riblah)  is  Israel's  border  we  find  this  preserved 
in  the  modem  il  Harmel  north  of  Libum  (Z  A  W  3:274).  But 
apart  from  this  indirect  argument,  we  know  definitely  that  the 
territory  of  Hamath  extended  at  least  to  Riblah,  south  of  the  lake 
of  Homs  (cf.  2  Kings  23:33  etc.). 

Hamath,  after  the  death  of  Benhadad  II  of  Damascus,  seems 
to  have  given  up  resistance  against  Assyria,  in  order  to  avoid 
further  demolition  of  its  cities.  Indeed,  it  became  a  supporter 
of  Assyria,  for  the  attack  of  Adadnir&ri  IV  against  Mari'  of 
Damascus,  as  well  as  of  Shalmaneser  against  Hazael,  is  unthinka- 
ble except  under  the  supposition  that  the  Assyrians  allowed 
Hamath  to  annex  some  of  the  territory  of  Qattina,  when  that 
state  was  reduced  to  Unqi-il  Amq.  It  was  good  policy  for  them 
to  strengthen  Hamath  at  the  expense  of  other  less  loyal  states. 
However,  it  was  only  natural  that,  as  soon  as  Assyria  failed  to- 
assert  its  power  in  the  west,  the  other  states  of  Syria  should  seek 
to  avenge  themselves  upon  Hamath  for  its  Assyrian  partisanship. 

These  conditions  are  reflected  in  a  most  remarkable  inscription,, 
discovered  and  edited  by  Pognon.*  It  is  written  in  a  dialect  that 
is  Aramaic  in  many  characteristics,  but  in  which  a  Canaanitic 

*  We  shall  deal  with  the  so-called  "  19  districts  of  Hamath"  in  Chapter  XII. 

*  Inscriptions  sdmitiques  de  1^  Syrie,  de  la  Mdsopotamie  et  de  la  region  de- 
Mossoul,  1907,  No.  86. 

96 


ZAKIR  OF  HAMATH  AND  LA'ASH 

vocabulary  predominates  (J  B  L  28:64).  It  takes  us,  therefore, 
to  the  period  of  the  Aramaean  absorption  of  this  region,  and 
throws  an  unexpected  flood  of  Hght  on  the  history  of  Hamath  in 
the  obscure  period  between  Shalmaneser  and  Tiglathpileser.  The 
inscription  unfortunately  is  not  fully  preserved.  It  was  once- 
written  upon  a  monoUth  of  at  least  2:10  meters  height  (according 
to  the  discoverer's  estimate),  which  no  doubt  the  Arabs  broke  into- 
blocks  for  building  purposes.  Four  of  these  blocks  were  recovered 
and  the  largest  exhibits  the  relief  of  the  lower  extremities  of  a, 
human  figure. 

Whom  this  sculpture  once  represented  is  related  in  the  opening 
line  of  the  inscription:  "The  stele  which  Zakir,"  ^  king  of  Hamath 
and  La'ash  placed  for  Eltir  (and  inscribed  ").  This  title  of  the 
inscription  straightway  raises  the  question,  what  is  meant  by 
La'ash.  A  city  or  region  so  important  that  it  can  be  named 
alongside  of  Hamath  should  be  mentioned  in  the  Assyrian  inscrip- 
tions, or  in  the  Old  Testament.  But  the  cuneiform  records  seem  to 
leave  us  in  the  lurch  entirely.  In  Genesis  10: 19,  however,  we  may 
have  an  occurrence  of  it  if  the  conjecture  that  Lasha'  is  an  error  for 
La* ash  be  true  (Procksch  79) .  There  the  border  of  the  Canaanite 
habitat  is  described  as  running  from  Sidon  to  Gerar  (near  Gaza), 
then  east  to  Sodom,  and  then  north  again  to  Lasha*.  We  are  led 
to  expect  that  Lasha*  lies  somewhere  east  of  Phoenicia,  in  order  to 
complete  the  quadrangle.  Montgomery  has  discovered  references 
in  the  early  Arabic  Geographies  to  a  town  of  Bal'^s^  in  the  region 
of  Homs  ( J  B  L  28 :  69)  which  is  to-day  preserved  in  the  Gebel 
Bil'ds  southeast  of  Selemiyeh  (E  S  E  III  176).  If  this  be  the 
neighborhood  of  the  ancient  La'ash,  then  its  omission  in  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions  is  explicable  by  the  analogy  of  the  near-by 

^  This  vocalization  given  by  Pognon  is  retained  by  us  here  because  of  the 
occurrence  of  this  form  among  the  Mesopotamian  names.  Noldeke  (Z  A  XXI 
375  ff.)  reads  Zakur  and  Montgomery,  Zakar.  Kn.  1095  compares  the  prince 
Zikar  from  the  same  region  in  Amama  days. 

^  Montgomery,  I.e.,  70,  also  reminds  us  of  the  startling  similarity  between 
the  names  La'ash  and  Lagash  in  Babylonia,  and  finds  a  Balfia  between  Wa§it 
and  Basra. 

97 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Tadmor  (Palmyra),  which  is  also  never  mentioned,  since  it  Ues 
too  far  to  the  left  of  the  highway.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Bil'&s 
lies  far  north  of  the  latitude  of  Sidon,  which  seems  rather  a  serious 
objection.  For  the  present  the  view  of  Dussaud  appears  prefer- 
able. He  identifies  La*ash  with  Lu^uti  (R  A  '08,  222  f.).  This  is 
philologically  plausible  and  historically  most  highly  probable. 
As  we  have  seen  (Ch.  VIII)  the  land  of  Lu^uti  is  the  lofty  Bargylus 
plateau,  which  seems  to  have  belonged  to  Hamath  in  the  days  of 
Ashumazirpal.  It  represents  a  conquered  province  of  Hamath 
rather  than  an  integral  original  part  of  the  kingdom.  What  is 
more  likely  than  that  a  ruler  of  Hamath  should  include  Lu^uti 
in  his  title,  and  call  himself  "King  of  Hamath  and  Lujjuti"?  It 
is  certainly  more  probable  than  that  the  obscure  Bil*^  should 
appear  in  the  title.*  This  would  only  be  possible  if  it  be  the 
birthplace  of  Zakir  or  the  first  city  of  his  rule. 

After  designating  the  stele  as  dedicated  to  the  god  Ehir,  the 
author  begins  anew  "  Zakir,  King  of  Hamath  and  La'ash,  a  humble 
man  am  I "  (1-2).'  And  because  of  his  great  humility  he  received 
divine  aid:  "And  (there  helped  me)  Ba'alshamayn  and  stood  by 
me  and  Ba'alshamayn  made  me  king  over  Hazrak"  (3-4).  It 
would  appear  that  Zakir  was  the  organizer  of  a  rebellion  in  this 
city,  and  became  its  king  and  that  from  here  he  subdued  the  rest 
of  the  kingdom.  What  the  pohtical  cause  of  his  rebellion  was  is 
not  quite  clear,  but  we  may  assume  that  in  all  probabiUty  the  king 
of  Hamath  had  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  his  neighbors,  especially 
of  Damascus,  to  join  an  anti-Assyrian  coalition,  and  that  the  pro- 
Assyrian  party  had  raised  Zakir  to  the  throne  in  one  of  the  chief 
strongholds  of  the  realm.  It  is  but  natural  that  the  southern 
part  of  the  kingdom  near  the  border  of  Damascus  should  be  hostile 
to  this  dangerous  neighbor. 

The  fortress  of  Hazrak  is  identical  with  the  Hadrach  of  Zechariah 
9: 1 — "  Jahve  is  in  the  land  of  Hadrach  and  in  Damascus  is  his  seat." 

^As  historically,  if  not  philologically,  unlikely  I  also  regard  the  view  of 
Grimme,  O  L  Z  '09: 15,  that  La'ash  -  Alashia  (Cyprus). 

*E  S  E  III  6  suggests  "man  from  *Ana"  (or  Akko?).  I  prefer  "humble," 
and  find  here  a  striking  analogy  to  the  Messianic  predicate  Zech.  9:  9. 

98 


ZAKIR  OF  HAMATH  AND  LA*ASH 

It  occurs  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  as  Qatarikka.  The  name 
is  considered  to  be  of  Hittite  origin  by  Lidzbarski  who  thinks 
that  the  initial  U  in  Qamath,  Qalman,  Qadrach  may  be  a  word 
meaning  fortress  or  city  (E  S  E  III  175).^  There  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  the  Zakir  inscription  originally  stood  in  the  city  of 
Hadrach.  Pognon  conceals  all  information  as  to  the  place  of 
discovery  of  the  stele,  but  as  Lidzbarski  has  seen,  it  doubtless  was 
found  at  Umm-esh-Shersh<i^  situated  on  a  high  long  Tell  above 
the  Orontes  northwest  of  Tell  Bise  and  south  of  ir-Restdn,  the 
classical  Arethusa  (E  S  E  III  174  f.).  It  holds  a  commanding 
position  on  the  important  highway  to  the  Biq^*.  Here  Lidzbarski 
found  in  the  wall  of  a  house  part  of  a  rehef  of  Assyro- Aramaean 
character,  showing  the  upper  part  of  a  man's  body,  the  hand  up- 
Ufted  in  gesture  of  adoration,  hair  and  beard  curled,  and  wearing 
a  tiara  with  feathers  and  a  horn  curved  upward  above  the  brow 
(E  S  E  III  167  f.).  The  missing  part  of  the  Zakir  stele  must  have 
been  quite  similar.  Here  then  lay  ancient  Hadrach,  the  im- 
portance of  which  disappeared  with  the  rise  of  Homs,  as  had  that 
of  Kadesh  with  the  rise  of  Hadrach. 

Our  inscription  now  relates  how  the  great  coalition  immediately 
attempted  to  suppress  the  rebellion  and  to  capture  Hazrak. 
"And  Barhadad,  son  of  Hazael,  king  of  Aram,  united  against  me 
(seven)-teen  kings"  (4-5).  We  thus  have  an  astonishing  and  im- 
portant reference  to  Benhadad  III  of  Damascus.  There  now 
follows  a  list  of  kings,  which,  however,  cannot  have  included  17 
names.  Seven  are  preserved:  "Barhadad  and  his  war-camp, 
Bargush  ^  and  his  camp,  the  king  of  Que  and  his  camp,  the  king 
of  *Amq  and  his  camp,  the  king  of  Gurgum  and  his  camp,  the 
king  of  Sam'al  and  his  camp,  and  the  king  of  Miliz  ^  (and  his 

1  It  is  tempting  to  find  in  Hadrach  the  name  of  the  moongod  Aku.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  form  gazrak,  we  should  translate  it  "sacred  enclosure  of  Aku." 

2  As  Schiffer  first  saw  (S  A  IV),  Bargush  is  the  "apil  Gusi"  occurring  often 
in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  as  a  term  for  the  king  of  Arpad.  Gush  is  perhaps, 
a  divine  name;  it  occurs  also  in  "N  R  G  S  H."    CI  S  II  105;  cf .  E  S  E  III  7. 

^  Miliz  was  correctly  identified  by  Dussaud  with  the  Armenian  Milid 
(Malatia). 

99 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

camp)"  .  .  .  (5-7).  In  the  lacuna  of  line  8  there  is  room  for 
possibly  three  more  names;  then  at  the  end  of  line  8  and  in 
line  9  we  must  read  with  Pognon  "seven  kings  they  and  their 
camps."  These  seven  unspecified  kings,  with  the  three  missing 
and  the  seven  given  names  make  up  the  number  seventeen.^ 

Vividly  Zakir  proceeds  to  give  details  of  the  siege  of  Qazrak. 
"And  all  these  kings  laid  siege  against  Qazrak,  and  raised  a  wall 
higher  than  the  wall  of  Qazrak,  and  dug  a  ditch,  deeper  than  the 
ditch  of  Qazrak"  (G-19).  The  procedure  is  very  similar  to  that 
described  in  the  siege  of  Abel  Beth  Ma'acah  (2  Sam.  20:15  f.).  The 
purpose  of  these  engineering  operations  was  to  undermine  the  wall 
of  the  city  so  that  it  should  fall  at  some  point  and  make  a  breach 
for  the  attackers.  The  allies,  however,  were  unsuccessful.  Piously 
Zakir  assigns  his  deliverance  to  his  patron  Ba'alshamayn:  "I  lifted 
up  my  hands  unto  Ba'alshamayn,  and  Ba'alshamayn  answered 
me  and  Baalshamayn  said  unto  me  through  the  instrumentality 
of  seers  and  the  instrumentality  of  counters"  (11-12).  The 
word  of  the  gods,  therefore,  came  to  the  king  through  the  mouth 
of  diviners.  The  "seers"  are  famihar  to  us  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, but  the  "counters"  form  a  new  class.  They  are  probably 
astrologers.  As  has  been  suggested,  the  word  has  its  parallel  in 
the  Babylonian  "dupshar  mindti"  or  "writer  of  numbers"  a 
class  of  diviners.'  In  this  manner  then  " Baalshamajoi  (said), 
'  Fear  not,  for  I  made  thee  king  and  I  will  stand  by  thee  and  I  will 
deliver  thee  from  all  (the  kings  which)  have  laid  against  thee  a 
siege'"  (13-15).  Unfortunately  our  account  here  becomes  ex- 
tremely fragmentary.  Pognon  estimates  that  with  the  loss  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  stele  some  thirty  Unes  of  the  inscription 
which  is  continued  on  the  narrow  face  of  the  left-hand  side,  are 
missing.  They  must  have  reported  the  events  leading  up  to  the 
raising  of  the  siege.     Evidently  there  was  mention  of  the  clash 

*  Cf.  Montgomery,  I.e.,  60. 

*JBL  28:69.  Montgomery  also  suggests  in  that  connection  that  the 
father  of  the  prophet  Azariah  (2  Chron.  15:1)  and  another  prophet  named 
Oded  (2  Chron,  28:9)  never  bore  such  a  name,  but  that  this  was  really  the 
official  title  "counter,  diviner." 

100 


ZAKIR  OF  HAMATH  AND  LA'ASH 

of  battle,  for  chariots  and  horsemen  are  spoken  of  and  a  king  is 
described  as  in  the  midst  of  the  fray  (block  III  2-3).  The  upshot 
of  it  all  was  the  victory  of  Zakir  and  the  discomfiture  of  the 
hostile  coalition. 

Peculiar  circumstances,  similar  perhaps  to  those  of  2  Kings  7 : 6, 
must  have  made  the  deliverance  of  Zakir  possible.  We  have 
pointed  out  that  his  rebellion  must  have  been  due  to  the  Anti- 
Assyrian  poUcy  of  the  king  of  Hamath,  which  finds  its  explanation 
in  the  weakness  of  Assyria  and  the  peril  from  powerful  neighbors. 
If  so,  then  it  is  most  likely  that  Assyrian  aid  caused  Zakir's 
triumph  over  the  hostile  coalition,  and  helped  him  to  gain  Hamath 
and  La'ash.     Do  the  cuneiform  records  lend  us  any  clues? 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  that  the  campaign  of  Adadni- 
rari  IV  in  803  against  Mari'  had  some  connection  with  Zakir's 
relief  (J  B  L  28:62).  But  this  seems  to  me  unlikely.  Our  in- 
scription mentions  among  the  foes  of  Zakir  the  king  of  *Amq.  The 
last  trace  of  the  kingdom  of  gattina  dated  from  832.  Its  re- 
duction to  the  *Amq  must  have  taken  place  because  of  hostility 
toward  Assyria.  During  the  reign  of  Shalmaneser,  about  which 
we  are  quite  fully  informed,  this  cannot  have  come  about,  much 
less  in  the  time  of  Shamshi-Adad  (825-813),  who  did  not  concern 
himself  with  the  west-land.  But  it  is  most  plausible  that  Qattina 
should  have  been  forced  by  Vannic  influence  (ch.  XII)  to  resist 
Adadnirdri,  as  did  its  neighbor  Arpad  in  806;  the  campaign 
against  IJazaz,  the  Qattina  city,  in  805  raises  this  to  a  certainty. 
And  since  the  campaign  against  Damascus  in  803  presupposes  at 
least  the  passive  aid  of  Hamath,  I  regard  it  as  most  likely  that 
Hamath  was  rewarded  by  districts  cut  off  from  Qattina,  which 
since  then  was  called  'Amq.  We  must  therefore  seek  a  shghtly 
later  date  for  our  events. 

For  the  year  773  the  Eponym  list  records  a  campaign  of  Shal- 
maneser against  Damascus.  This  eo  ipso  indicates  that  Damascus 
was  the  heart  of  an  anti-Assyrian  coalition  which  did  not  in- 
clude Hamath,  since  the  expedition  must  have  been  undertaken 
from  Hamath  as  a  base.    In  the  following  year  Shalmaneser  died. 

101 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

This  gave  the  vigilant  Benhadad  and  his  allies  a  new  opportunity 
of  preparing  against  Assyria,  and  the  Vannic  state  in  the  north 
gladly  aided  him.  A  coalition  of  seventeen  states  is  formed, 
among  them  such  northern  principalities  as  Que,  Gurgum,  Sam*al 
and  MeUd,  which  were  tributaries  of  Urartu.  The  one  state  loyal 
to  Assyria,  Hamath,  was  thus  greatly  imperiled  and  so  its  king 
chose  to  abandon  his  allegiance  to  Ashur  and  to  join  the  allies. 
The  pro- Assyrian  party  in  Hamath,  however,  organized  a  rebellion 
and  raised  Zakir  to  the  throne  in  the  stronghold  of  Hadrach. 
The  allied  forces  attempted  to  suppress  this  rebellion,  but  were 
defeated  by  the  appearance  of  an  Assyrian  relief  expedition.  This 
expedition  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Assyrian  king 
Ashurdan,  for  the  Eponym  list  mentions  as  the  salient  fact  of 
the  year  772  "to  the  land  of  Hatarikka"  (Hadrach).  It  may  be 
that  in  the  battle  before  the  gates  of  this  city  Benhadad  III  lost 
his  life  and  that  Tab'el  (Is.  7 : 6)  now  became  ruler  of  Damascus. 
What  the  purpose  of  the  later  campaigns  against  Hatarikka  in 
765  and  755  under  Ashurdan  and  his  successor  may  have  been  we 
do  not  know.  It  is  possible  that  they  had  some  connection  with 
the  pressure  of  Israel  against  the  southern  border  of  Hamath 
under  the  brilliant  rule  of  Jeroboam  II  (of.  2  Kings  14:25,  28). 

The  lines  4-15  of  the  third  block  of  the  Zakir  inscription  deal 
with  the  building  operations  of  our  ruler.  "  I  (enlarged)  Hadrach," 
he  tells  us,  "and  ad(ded  to  it)  the  whole  surrounding  district  .  .  . 
and  filled  it  with  .  .  .  (and  built)  these  fortifications  on  every 
side.  I  built  houses  for  the  gods  in  my  whole  land  and  built  .  .  . 
and  the  cistern  (?)  .  .  .  the  temple  (of  Eldr)  and  I  erected  before 
(El(ir)  this  stele  and  wro(te  up)on  it  the  inscription  of  my  hands." 
His  main  efforts,  in  great  contrast  to  Kilammu  of  Sam'al,  were  de- 
voted to  strengthening  the  defenses  of  his  realm  and  of  building 
temples  for  the  gods  that  had  helped  him. 

The  inscription  closes  with  the  customary  imprecations 
11:16-28 — "Whoever  causes  the  inscrip(tion  of  the  hands)  of 
Zakir,  king  of  Hamath  and  La'ash  to  disappear  from  this  monu- 
ment or  whoever  causes  this  monument  to  disappear  from  before 

102 


ZAKIR  OF  HAMATH  AND  LA'ASH 

El<ir  or  robs  it  away  from  its  place,  or  whoever  sends  forth  against 
it  (his  hand)  .  .  .  may  Ba'alshamayn  and  E(liir)  .  .  .  and 
Shamash  and  Shahr  and  .  .  .  and  the  Gods  of  the  heavens  and 
the  gods  of  the  earth  and  Ba'alof  La* (Ash)  his  roots  (extirpate).". . . 
Zakir'g  inscription  was  erected  "befor  EWr."  *  We  may  con- 
sequently assume  that  Eltir  had  a  sanctuary  in  Hadrach  at  which 
the  monument  once  stood.  And  the  phraseology  makes  it  likely 
that  the  inscription  was  composed  by  a  Canaanite  priest  (E  S  E 
III  3).  But  who  is  the  god  Eltir?^  It  seems  that  Ehir  is  none 
other  than  the  god  Amar,^  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Assyrian 
inscriptions  as  god  of  the  west-land.  (O  L  Z  '09, 16.)  And  what 
should  be  more  likely  than  that  on  the  edge  of  Amurrti,  and  on 
the  great  highway  that  leads  through  Amurrti,  this  divinity  should 
be  worshiped?  He  is  probably  the  moon-god,  not  the  solar  deity 
(against  Clay  p.  108)  for  i-lu-mi-ir  (=  Eltir)  appears  among  the 
names  of  Adad.  C  T  29: 45  11.  18-24  (O  L  Z  13: 254.)  But  most 
peculiar  is  the  fact  that  Zakir,  although  he  erects  the  Stele  to  Eltir, 
gives  glory  only  to  Ba'alshamayn  "  lord  of  the  heavens."  It  would 
be  most  tempting  to  assume  that  Ba'alshamayn  is  only  an  epithet 
or  else  a  manifestation  of  Ehir.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  great 
list  of  the  gods  (C  T  XXIV  40,  48)  equates  the  god  of  the  west-land 
(M  A  R  —  T  U)  with  the  "Adad  of  the  deluge."  Adad  is  merely 
a  manifestation  of  the  moon  as  the  weather-maker.  And  to  Adad 
the  invocation  of  Qattusil  in  the  treaty  with  Rameses  applies  the 
epithet  Ba'alshamayn,  as  well  as  to  his  variant  Reshef  and  to  the 
Sun-god  (M  V  A  G  '02,  5,  17,  and  MAE  311).  Among  the 
Hittites  Adad  or  his  synonym  appears  as  the  head  of  the  pantheon 

'  O  L  Z  '08:341  woiild  read  El-wadd.  Wadd  is  an  epithet  for  the  moon- 
god  of  the  Minaeans  (G  G  86).  But  d  and  r  are  carefully  distinguished 
(J  BL  28:66). 

^  The  name  of  the  antediluvian  king  Aloros  mentioned  by  Berossus,  as  well 
as  the  town  of  Alouros  in  Judaea  remind  one  very  much  of  El-ur;  cf .  E  S  E 
III  5  and  Clay,  p.  158. 

»If  Schiffer's  interpretation  (O  L  Z  '09:478)  of  Babylonian  Expedition  of 
the  U.  of  P.,  Vol.  X,  no.  125,  be  right,  the  name  KUR.  GAL  (  =  Amurru)- 
upa^r  is  transcribed  in  the  Aramaic  "indorsement"  as  Ur-upa^^r,  thus 
estabUshing  the  identity  of  Amar  and  Ur. 

103 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

and  as  god  of  the  heavens  (G  G  51),  so  that  the  Hittite  origin  of 
Ba'alshamayn  is  very  plausible  (E  S  E  II  250  f).  It  should  be 
recalled  also  that  Adodos  is  called  King  of  the  Gods  by  Philo  of 
Byblus  (Frag.  Gr.  Hist.  Ill  509).  Shams  and  Shahr  are  the 
Arabian  forms  of  the  sun  and  moon  gods.  The  conjectural 
Ba'al  of  La('ash)  in  1.26  (J  B  L  28:61)  is  a  Phoenician  local  deity. 


104 


CHAPTER  XII 
NORTHERN  SYRIA  UNDER  THE  VANNIC  KINGS 

Like  a  great  rampart  of  crescent  shape,  a  series  of  mountain 
ranges  frowns  upon  Assyria  and  Babylonia  from  the  north.  In 
the  heart  of  these  ranges  lurked  the  hour  of  doom  for  every  civili- 
zation that  has  arisen  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris. 
From  Iran  or  from  the  Caucasus  or  from  the  Taurus  the  great 
non-Semitic  migrations  poured  into  Semitic  Jands.  Since  the 
earUest  days,  therefore,  we  find  the  Assyro-Babylonian  kings 
carrying  war  into  these  rugged  regions  for  the  purpose  of  sheer 
self-preservation. 

At  the  headwaters  of  the  river  Tigris,  there  appears  in  the  ninth 
century,  B.C.,  an  organized  state  of  Urartu  under  a  king  named 
Arame,^  Shalmaneser  regarded  it  as  so  menacing  to  Assyria's 
interest  that  he  undertook  an  expedition  thither  in  857,  destroyed 
the  capital  Arzashkun,  penetrated  as  far  as  lake  Van,  and  left 
his  inscription  on  Mount  Irritia.  The  upstart  state  had  been 
crushed  no  sooner  than  established.  Some  years  later,  however, 
we  find  that  a  reorganization  has  taken  place  in  this  region  and 
that  a  new  dynasty  of  kings  founded  by  Sarduris  I  is  flourishing 
there.  These  monarchs,  who  have  left  us  numerous  inscriptions, 
style  themselves  "Kings  of  Biaina  (Van)  ruling  in  Tuspa."  The 
real  name  of  the  people  they  represent  is  "Haldians."  Their 
rise  is  swift  and  glorious.  Hardy  sons  and  a  rugged  climate,  pos- 
sessing impenetrable  retreats,  they^  could  swoop  down  like  eagles 
from  their  fastnesses  upon  the  Syrian  and  Mesopotamian  towns. 

The  far-seeing  Shalmaneser  grasped  fully  the  r61e  the  Vannic 

^  As  his  name  indicates,  this  king  was  of  Aramaean  stock,  perhaps  a  bold 
chieftain  from  the  Tur  'Abdin  who  succeeded  in  establishing  a  state  among 
the  Alarodian  northerners. 

105 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

kings  were  destined  to  play  in  history.  Two  paths  nature  had 
marked  out  for  them.  The  one  led  down  the  Tigris  into  Meso- 
potamia and  Assyria,  and  threatened  the  very  existence  of  the 
latter  state.  The  other  led  down  the  Euphrates  into  northern 
Syria  and  to  the  sea,  and  menaced  Assyria's  position  as  a  world 
power.  And  already  in  these  early  days  the  Vannic  state  made 
its  power  felt  along  the  plane  of  its  destiny.  For  this  reason  we 
find  that  Shalmaneser,  inmiediately  after  crushing  Bit-Adini, 
turned  his  attention  to  Urartu.  And  after  the  campaign  against 
Damascus  in  846  he  straightway  in  the  following  year  marched  to 
the  Subnat  grotto  and  there  left  an  inscription  commemorating 
the  defeat  of  Benhadad  and  Ir^uleni  and  their  alUes.  This  is 
only  comprehensible  if  the  Haldians  were,  to  say  the  least,  silent 
partners  in  the  Syrian  league.  We  may  therefore  surmise  (with 
Lehman-Haupt :  Israel,  75)  that  the  various  campaigns  to  Que 
and  other  northern  states  from  840-829  and  even  the  internal 
troubles  in  Que  (834)  and  in  Kinalua  (832)  have  some  relation  to 
Haldian  intrigues.  Shamshi-Adad  (825-813)  also  undertook 
campaigns  against  Ispuinis  of  Urartu,  under  whose  rule  many 
inscriptions  in  the  native  tongue  of  the  Haldians  were  erected  in 
Armenia.  Ispuinis  and  his  son  Menuas,  who  for  a  time  was 
coregent  with  his  father,  erected  a  bilingual  inscription  in  the 
Kelishin  pass  on  the  boundary  between  Assyria  and  Urartu. 

Under  Adadnir&ri  IV  the  Haldian  influence  in  northern  Syria, 
which  as  we  have  pointed  out,  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
resistance  of  Arpad  and  Hattina  in  806  and  805,  and  which 
strengthened  the  league  headed  by  Benhadad  III,  was  temporarily 
stemmed.  In  brilliant  campaigns  the  Assyrian  king  seems  to  have 
subjected  all  Syria  and  Palestine.  His  alliance  with  Babylonia 
through  the  marriage  with  the  famous  Semiramis  greatly  in- 
creased the  strength  of  his  position.  His  successor,  Shalmaneser  IV, 
however,  had  to  undertake  six  campaigns  against  Argistis  I  of 
Urartu,  who  once  advanced  within  a  few  days'  journey  of  Nineveh 
itself.  Assyria  was  now  entirely  on  the  defensive.  All  the 
actions  in  Syria  (773)  against  Damascus,  (772,  765,  755)  against 

106 


NORTHERN   SYRIA   UNDER  THE  VANNIC   KINGS 

Hadrach  must  probably  be  viewed  as  directed  against  Urartu. 
Argistis  I  thus  appears  as  a  great  conqueror,  who  expanded  his 
realm  far  into  Asia  Minor  and  Syria,  and  who  has  left  us  his  annals 
inscribed  on  the  rocks  of  the  citadel  of  Van.  And  it  might  in- 
deed have  fared  worse  with  Assyria,  had  not  a  brave  and  brilliant 
war  chief,  Shamash-ilu,  who  served  under  three  kings,  been  captain 
of  the  Assyrian  hosts.     (Lehman  Haupt  82.) 

Any  advance  of  the  Haldians  down  the  Euphrates  and  into 
Syria  brought  them  straight  to  the  gates  of  Arpad.  This  state 
was  therefore  in  a  difficult  position;  it  was  forced  to  choose  be- 
tween Urartu  and  Assyria,  and  that  choice  was  liable  to  have 
disastrous  consequences.  Urartu  quite  naturally  exerted  every 
means  of  "  moral  suasion  "  to  have  the  help  of  Arpad,  since  Arpad 
was  an  excellent  buffer  against  Assyria,  behind  which  the  Haldians 
could  safely  do  what  they  pleased  in  Syria.  And  Arpad  seems  to 
have  allowed  itself  to  be  persuaded.  Even  after  the  lesson  ad- 
ministered to  it  by  Adadnirdri  IV  in  806,  it  showed  itself  repeatedly 
antagonistic  to  the  Assyrians.  For  the  year  754  the  eponym 
list  mentions  a  campaign  of  Ashurnirari  to  Arpad.  This  bald 
statement  of  the  chronicle  is  illumined  by  a  imique  document 
that  has  come  down  to  us  —  a  treaty  between  king  Mati-ilu  of 
Arpad  and  Ashurnirari  (M  V  A  G  '98:228).  The  former  sur- 
rendered to  the  Assyrian,  and  was  allowed  to  retain  his  throne, 
but  under  most  humiliating  conditions.  The  treaty  is  sealed  by 
the  sacrifice  of  a  goat.     It  tells: 

If  Mati-lui  sins  against  the  oaths 

Then,  just  as  this  goat  is  brought  up  from  his  herd 

So  that  he  will  not  return  to  his  herd  (will  not 

again  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  his  herd,) 
So  shall  Mati-ilu  with  his  sons,  his  daughters. 
The  people  of  his  covmtry  (be  brought  up)  from  his  land, 
To  his  land  he  shall  not  return  at  the  head  of  his 

land  (he  shall  not  again  take  his  place) 
This  head  is  not  the  head  of  the  goat 
It  is  the  head  of  Mati-ilu. 

107 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

(It  is)  the  head  of  his  children,  his  nobles,  the 

people  of  his  country.  • 
If  Mati-ilu  (transgress)  against  these  oaths 
Just  as  the  head  of  the  goat  is  cut  off 
—  his  teeth  layed  in  his  mouth  — 
So  shall  the  head  of  Mati-ilu  be  cut  off." 

After  this  ritual  ceremony,  the  conditions  of  Mati-ilu's  vassalship 
are  described  as  follows: 

"At  the  conmiand  of  Ashumir&ri  he  will  go  against 

his  (the  Assyrian's)  enemies. 
Mati-ilu  with  his  nobles,  his  forces, 
According  to  their  own  pleasure  they  will  not  go 

forth,  not  depart, 
(else)  Sin  the  great  lord  who  dwells  in  Harran  shall 

clothe  Mati-ilu 
his  nobles,  the  people  of  his  country  with  leprosy 

like  a  garment 
that  they  must  camp  outside,  without  receiving  mercy  .  .  . 
If  Mati-ilu,  his  sons,  his  nobles  or  any  one  else 

sins  against 
the  oaths  of  Ashumir&ri,  king  of  Assyria, 
then  his  peasants  shall  not  sing  a  harvest  song 
^      nor  shall  a  plant  of  the  field  spring  up." 

Other  more  ignominious  and  debasing  curses  are  also  included, 
and  at  the  close,  a  list  of  gods  is  invoked  as  witnesses,  among  them 
the  Adad  of  Kurb^  and  the  Adad  of  Qallaba. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Ashumirdri  Mati-ilu  seems  to  have  kept 
his  pledges.  But  the  accession  of  a  new  king,  Tiglathpileser  IV 
(745-728),  must  have  tempted  him  to  rebel.  The  Eponym  list 
mentions  for  the  year  743  "in  the  city  of  Arpad;  ^  the  army  of 

'  Does  this  mean  that  he  entered  the  city?  If  so,  then  the  view  of  Belck 
and  Lehmann,  p.  324  f.,  and  Maspero,  III  146,  that  Arpad  opened  its  gates 
to  him  and  served  as  a  base  of  operations,  would  be  correct. 

108 


NORTHERN   SYRIA  UNDER  THE  VANNIC  KINGS 

Urartu  defeated."  Urartu  and  Arpad  are  here  expressly  joined 
together.  The  king  of  Urartu  was  the  vigorous  Sarduris  II,  who 
had  made  successful  inroads  into  Assyria's  northern  possessions, 
and  was  now  undertaking  an  invasion  of  Syria.  His  ambitions 
in  this  direction  are  manifested  by  the  title  which  he  adds  to  his 
name  —  "King  of  Suri."  He  had  succeeded  in  forming  a  strong 
coalition  against  Assyria,  including  Mati-ilu  of  Arpad,  Sumalal  of 
MeUd,  Tarhulara  of  Gurgum  and  Kundashpi  of  Kummuh  (Ann. 
596).  Tiglathpileser  seems  to  have  advanced  first  against  Arpad 
and  to  have  left  a  strong  force  there  to  hold  Mati-ilu  in  check. 
Thereupon  he  marched  north  and  met  the  remainder  of  the  alli- 
ance in  battle  between  Kishtan  and  galpi  in  the  land  of  Kammu^i, 
winning  a  decisive  victory.  Sarduris,  to  save  his  life,  had  to  flee 
on  the  back  of  a  mare  —  a  disgrace  for  any  warrior.^ 

In  the  following  year  Tiglathpileser  began  the  siege  of  Arpad 
in  earnest.  But  the  city  did  not  fall  until  740.  Mati-ilu  could 
expect  no  mercy  from  the  Assyrians,  and  therefore  chose  to  hold 
out  to  the  bitter  end.  Without  doubt  he  still  hoped  for  help  from 
Sarduris,  but  if  so  the  hope  was  vain.  Concerning  the  siege  of 
the  fortress  we  know  nothing.  That  it  was  grimly  defended  the 
length  of  the  siege  reveals.  Heartrending  scenes  of  misery  and 
starvation  must  have  occurred  within  those  doomed  walls.  Its 
final  capture  must  have  been  followed  by  a  gruesome  vengeance 
upon  Mati-ilu  and  his  people.  On  that  day  the  curses  of  Ashumi- 
rari  came  true.  Even  for  another  century  the  city  remained  a 
terrible  example  of  Assyrian  revenge  (cf.  2  Kings  18:34,  Is.  10:9, 
Jer.  49:23).  And  so  deep  was  the  impression  upon  the  Syrian 
states  of  that  day  that  the  various  princes  paid  Tiglathpileser 
tribute  and  thus  temporarily  renoimced  their  allegiance  to  Urartu. 
Among  them  were  Ra§un  (Rezin)  of  Damascus,  and  the  kings  of 
Kummuh,  Que,  Tyre,  Carchemish,  and  Gurgum. 

Only  one  did  not  appear  with  tribute  of  whom  it  was  expected 
—  Tutammu  of  Unqi.     He  evidently  contemplated  to  make  a 

1  Lehmann,  Verb.  d.  Berl.  Anthropol.  Ges.,  1896,  p.  325.  On  Tiglathpi- 
leser's  route  cf.  Tofifteen,  Researches  in  Assyrian  Geography,  p.  11  f. 

109 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

rebellion  of  his  own.  And  since  it  would  be  dangerous  for  his 
prestige  to  allow  this  challenge  to  pass  unnoticed,  Tiglathpileser 
immediately  marched  *  on  to  Kinalia,  the  capital  of  Unqi.  He 
captured  it,  carried  off  its  inhabitants  into  captivity,  and  made  the 
state  an  Ass3rrian  province.  It  was  a  master  stroke,  for  with  the 
*Amq  in  his  power  Tiglathpileser  gained  a  strong  hold  upon  Syria 
and  from  this  center  was  able  to  strike  swiftly  at  any  point,  and 
especially  against  Hamath  and  Sam'al.  The  act  did  not  fail  to 
make  an  impression.  With  Unqi  the  last  Hittite  state  in  the  heart 
of  Syria  was  overthrown.  That  to  the  last  it  was  relatively  free 
of  Aramaean  elements  appears  from  the  fact  that  Tiglathpileser 
in  738  settled  600  Aramaeans  of  the  tribe  DamAnu  and  city  of 
Amlate  and  5400  from  the  city  of  D<ir  in  Unqi  in  the  cities  Kunalia, 
Quzarra,  Tae,  Tarmanazi,  Kulmadara,  IJatatirra,  and  Sagillu.'^ 
(Ann.  143.  f.).  This  implies  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  are 
not  Aramaeans,  for  it  would  have  been  contrary  to  reason  to 
deport  a  people  to  a  region  where  they  find  others  of  the  same 
stock  (S  A  58). 

In  739  the  Assyrian  monarch  marched  to  the  north  into  Urartu 
and  took  possession  of  the  region  of  UUuba  as  a  vantage  point  for 
future  campaigns.  Perhaps  he  intended  to  invade  the  Urartaean 
kingdom  at  this  time,  but  if  so  he  was  recalled  to  Syria  by  an  im- 
portant rebeUion.  Whether  it  was  instigated  by  Sarduris'  intrigues, 
or  whether  the  new  province  of  Unqi  was  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  its 
neighbors  and  thus  roused  them  to  a  revolt,  is  not  quite  clear. 
The  main  figure  in  the  uprising  was  Azriydu  of  Yaudi  or  Sam'al, 
who  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  contemporaneous  Azariah  of  Judah 
with  whom  he  was  long  confused  (A  O  F II  f.).    Azriydu,  it  seems, 

•  A  O  F  I  9  f .  assumes  that  this  took  place  in  738  with  the  Azriydu  troubles. 
That  is  not  impossible.  We  have  preferred,  however,  to  abide  by  the  order 
given  in  the  Annals. 

*  Identification  of  most  of  these  towns  seems  possible.  Thus  {Juzarra  may 
be  5azre,  Tae  may  be  Kefr  Tai  (not  identical  with  the  Taid  of  Shalm.  Mon. 
col.  II.  11),  Tomkins,  Bab.  Or.  Rec,  III,  6.  On  the  sites  cf.  Sachau.  But 
Tarmanazi  is  more  probably  Armenaz,  east  of  the  northern  end  of  the  Clebel 
il  *Ala,  than  Turmanin  (P  S  B  A  27:45).  Sagillu  is  probably  the  Ser^e  on 
the  route  B4ra-Marra  N.E.  of  Apamea  (Z  A  XII  43  f.). 

110 


NORTHERN  SYRIA  UNDER  THE  VANNIC   KINGS 

usurped  the  throne  of  Sam'al  (cf.  Ch.  XIV)  and  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing the  help  of  the  "nineteen  districts  of  Hamath." 

Tiglathpileser  did  not  give  Hamath  time  to  unite  its  forces  with 
those  of  Azriydu,  but  from  Til-Barsip  marched  toward  KiUiz  and 
struck  swiftly  at  the  heart  of  the  rebellion  in  Sam'al.  Unfortu- 
nately the  Annals  are  very  fragmentary  at  this  point,  and  give  us 
little  information  as  to  the  scene  of  the  battle.  This  much,  how- 
ever, we  may  glean  from  them :  a  mountain  stronghold  is  stormed 
(108-10),  whereupon  the  foe,  now  reenforced  by  the  arrival  of 
allies,  establishes  himself  in  an  almost  inaccessible  place  which  he 
fortifies  still  further  by  a  trench  and  wall  and  other  means  of 
defense  (111-19).  The  fate  of  Azriy4u  remains  doubtful,  but 
since  the  Assyrian  would  scarcely  relate  an  unsuccessful  siege  in 
such  detail,  we  may  assume  that  Azriydu  met  his  doom.  In  his 
capital,  which  does  not  seem  to  be  identical  with  this  stronghold, 
the  Assyrian  builds  a  palace  and  lays  a  tribute  on  the  people 
(123-4) .  A  new  king  of  the  royal  family,  Panammu  I  (cf .  Ch.  XIV) 
seems  to  have  been  placed  on  the  throne  at  this  time.  We  are  led 
to  believe  that  Azriyau's  capital  was  the  city  of  Kullanl,  whose 
capture  the  Eponym  list  records  as  the  great  event  of  738.  Per- 
haps the  real  capital  of  the  land,  SengirU,  was  not  in  his  possession. 
The  site  of  Kullani,^  which  is  also  the  Calneh  or  Calno  of  Amos  6 : 2, 
is  probably  preserved  in  the  ruins  of  Kullanhou,  about  six  miles 
east  of  Tell  Erfad  (Tomkins  P  S  B  A  '83: 61).  The  fighting  then 
between  Azriyau  and  Tiglathpileser  must  have  occurred  in  the 
mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  Killiz,  or  along  the  upper  Afrln,  at 
the  border  of  Sam'al.  After  the  overthrow  of  Azriyau,  and  the 
annexation  of  the  district  of  Kullani,'^  Tiglathpileser  occupied 
the  nineteen  districts  of  Hamath. 

^  The  letter  A  B  L  no.  372,  reporting  the  sending  of  Kusaean  horses,  men- 
tions together  D&na  (doubtless  the  Dana  west  of  Aleppo),  Kullani,  Arpad  and 
Isana.  (Tell  Isdn  S.W.  of  Biregik  P  S  B  A  82:  117)  K.  122  A  B  L,  no.  43 
refers  to  Ra§appa,  KuUania,  Arpad  and  Isana,  whose  prefects  have  neglected 
to  pay  their  contribution  to  the  temple  of  the  god  Ashur.  KuUanl's  nearness 
to  Arpad  is  thus  certain. 

*  Ann.  125  Kul  .  .  .  may  represent  Kullani,  but  this  city  cannot  have  been 
counted  among  the  provinces  of  Hamath,  since  it  lay  in  Ya'di. 

Ill 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

In  these  districts  of  Hamath  practically  all  of  that  state  except 
the  vicinity  of  the  capital  itself  is  contained.  It  is  difl&cult  to 
understand  how  these  districts  can  have  made  common  cause 
with  Azriydu.  For  between  Yaudi  and  Hamath  lay  the  region 
of  Unqi.  It  is  very  strange  that  this  principality  is  not  mentioned 
in  this  connection.  If  Winckler's  hypothesis  that  the  subjection 
of  Unqi  really  took  place  in  738  be  correct,  then  we  would  gain  a 
more  reasonable  picture  of  the  happenings  in  Hamath.  We  would 
then  be  able  to  assume  that  Azriy&u,  perhaps  as  the  tool  of  the 
Vannic  king,  organized  a  great  rebellion  in  which  Tutammu  of 
Unqi  participated;  and  since  the  king  of  Hamath,  Eniel,  was 
loyal  to  Assyria,  the  nineteen  districts  revolted  against  him  and 
joined  the  league  of  Azriy&u.  The  latter  seems  to  be  the  quasi 
king  of  the  nineteen  districts.  For  no  other  leader  appears,  and 
no  serious  fighting  takes  place  after  the  capture  of  Kullani.  The 
large  territory  of  Hamath  seems  to  fall  into  the  lap  of  the  Assyrian 
as  the  fruit  of  his  victory  further  north. 

The  nineteen  districts  are  described  in  Annals  126-133.  First 
come  four  Phoenician  coast  cities:  (1)  Usnu,  which  seems  to  be  pre- 
served in  Qal'at-il-Husn  (D  P  277)  though  Tomkins  (I.e.,  4) 
compares  Ouzoun  Dagh,  mentioned  by  the  explorer  Rey.  (2) 
Siannu,  to  which  is  compared  Syn,  the  name  of  a  hamlet  near 
the  Nahr  Arqa,  while  Tomkins  finds  it  in  il-Ouzanieh,  southwest  of 
§ahytin,  east  of  Laodicea.  (3)  §imirra,  to-day  §umra  in  the 
latitude  of  Homs.  (4)  (Rash)-pu-na  (Textb.  29).  If  the  reading 
be  correct,  the  classical  Theuprosopon  (Ras-ish-Shaq'a)  might 
be  compared.  From  Rashpuna  he  occupies  all  the  towns  as  far 
as  Mt.  Saui,  a  mountain  which  borders  on  the  Lebanon.  Then 
he  names  the  Mt.  Ba'li-§apuna,  extending  as  far  as  Mt.  Ammana, 
home  of  the  ukarinnu  wood.  Summing  this  up  he  says  (5)  "Sau 
in  its  entirety."  The  term  Sau  must  then  include  the  whole 
district  from  Rashpuna  to  the  Ammana  (the  Antilebanon).  The 
mountain  of  Saui  in  the  Lesser  Inscription  I  is  brought  into  re- 
lation with  Qatarika:  "From  gatarika  to  the  mountain  of  Saua." 
This  mountain  I  would  therefore  identify  with  the  6ebel  Sayil? 

112 


NORTHERN  SYRIA  UNDER  THE  VANNIC   KINGS 

west  of  Horns,  which  slopes  down  to  the  Lebanon.  Ba'li§apuna 
may  be  the  6ebel  Akkar  or  6.  Akrun,  both  of  which  are  near  the 
Antilebanon.  (6)  The  city  of  Kar-Hadad.  As  the  next  district 
shows,  the  sequence  is  now  northerly.  We  may  assume  then  that 
Kar-Hadad  was  at  a  point  between  the  Antilebanon  and  Homs  — 
perhaps  it  was  another  name  of  Kadesh  or  Riblah.  (7)  Qatarika 
lay,  as  we  have  seen,  near  Arethusa,  north  of  Homs.  From  here 
the  list  jumps  over  the  district  of  Hamath,  which  remained  true 
to  its  king  Eniel  and  mentions  (8)  Nuqudina.  The  latter  was  a 
pastoral  district,  as  the  name  "the  shepherds"  implies.  Perhaps 
it  should  be  localized  at  Tarutia '  (Tarutin  it  Tuggar  between 
Hama  and  Aleppo).  (9)  The  mountain  of  IJasu.  This  I  find  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  Gebel  Riha,  where  there  still  is  a  town  of 
Has  west  of  Ma'arrat  in  No'man.  (10)  Ara  and  the  surrounding 
cities.  This  is  doubtless  the  classical  Arra  at  Ma*arrat-in-No*man 
south  of  the  6ebel  Rlha.  (11)  The  mountain  of  Sharbua  may  be 
found  with  Tomkins  {l.  c.  5)  at  Tell  Shreb,  east  of  Arra.  (12)  The 
city  of  Ashhani  —  correctly  equated  by  Tomkins  with  Sheihun 
east  of  Apamea.  (13)  Yadibi  —  for  which  Tomkins  suggested  the 
site  of  Hatab  northwest  of  Hama,  which  seems  rather  far  south,^ 
however.     (14)  The  moimtain  of  Yaraqu  in  its  entirety,  i.e.  the 

6ebel  Qo§eir  (cf.  Ch.  VIII).     (15)  The  city  of .    (16)  The  city 

Ellitarbi  brilHantly  identified  by  Sachau  with  Il-Atharib,  west  of 
Aleppo  (S  B  A  '92:337).  (17)  Zitanu  as  far  as  the  city  of  Atmni. 
Zitanu  is  no  doubt  the  present  Zetan,  southwest  of  Aleppo  on  the 
Quweq  river  (Tomkins  p.  5).  Atinni  or  Adinnu  is  probably  Tell 

Danit  near  Idlib  (cf.  Ch.  IX).     (18)  The  city  of .     (19)  The 

city  of  Bumami  (unknown).  This  list  makes  up  the  nineteen 
districts.  All  that  was  left  of  Hamath  when  they  are  subtracted 
was  the  city  itself,  the  Orontes  valley  as  far  as  Apamea  in  the  north 
and  in  the  south  to  a  point  above  Arethusa  and  then  the  Bargylus 
plateau  in  the  west.  The  entire  nineteen  districts  were  made 
*  I  suspect  that  Tarutia  contains  an  Aramaic  word  from  the  root  r*a,  "to 
feed,"  "pastxu"e";  cf.  the  form  tar'itha.  The  connection  with  "shepherds" 
is  then  permissible,  since  the  locaUty  of  Tarutia  fits  excellently  into  the  geo- 
graphical sequence. 

113 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Assyrian  provinces  and  placed  under  Assyrian  administration. 
30,300  of  the  inhabitants  were  deported  to  a  different  portion  of 
the  empire  and  1223  were  settled  in  distant  UUuba  (132-133). 
Later  on,  part  of  these  nineteen  districts,  if  not  the  whole,  were 
included  in  the  province  of  §imirra,  of  which  Shalmaneser,  the  son 
of  the  Assyrian  monarch,  was  made  governor.    (A  O  F  II  3.) 

The  overthrow  of  Azriy&u's  rebellion  made  a  profound  impres- 
sion throughout  Syria.  All  hope  of  help  from  Urartu  vanished. 
I  The  princes  of  the  various  states  appeared  with  their  tribute  — 
Kustaspi  of  Kummub,  Rezin  of  Damascus,  Menahem  of  Samaria, 
Hiram  of  Tyre,  Sipittibi'l  of  Byblos,  Urikki  of  Que,  Pisiris  of 
Carchemish,  Eniel  of  Hamath,  Panammu  of  Sam'al,  'Tar^ulara  of 
Gurgum,  Sulumal  of  Melid,  several  kings  from  still  more  northerly 
regions,  and  finally  Zabibi,  queen  of  Arabia. 

After  this  great  success,  Tiglathpileser  reverted  again  to  his 
northern  campaigns.  In  737  he  struck  at  the  Medes,  in  736  he  went 
to  Nal  (Nairi),  both  campaigns  being  preliminary  strategic  maneu- 
vers in  his  plans  against  the  Haldians.  In  735  finally  he  invaded 
Urartu  and  besieged  the  capital  Tuspa  on  the  shores  of  lake  Van. 
He  occupied  and  destroyed  the  city;  but  Sarduris  with  his  garrison 
held  the  almost  impregnable  citadel  against  every  attack,  and 
the  Assyrians  finally  had  to  retreat  as  winter  came  on.  Neverthe- 
less Tiglathpileser  had  temporarily  broken  the  influence  of  the 
Vannic  kings,  and  was  now  able  to  turn  his  attention  to  Syria 
and  Palestine  once  more. 


114 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  DAMASCUS 

As  we  have  remarked,  Benhadad  III  probably  perished  in  the 
battle  of  Hadrach  in  the  time  of  Zakir  of  Hamath,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Tab-'el.^  According  to  Tiglathpileser  (ann.  205) 
Tdb-'el  came  from  Bit-Qadara.  Consequently  he  cannot  have 
been  a  scion  of  the  dynasty  of  Hazael,  but  must  have  been  a 
usurper.  He  is  referred  to  in  Is.  7 :  6  as  the  father  of  Rezin  (A  T  U  V 
74).  During  his  reign  quiet  seems  to  have  prevailed  in  central 
Syria.  The  only  events  of  moment  must  have  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  Qatarikka  campaigns  of  765  and  755.  The 
strength  of  Israel  and  of  Hamath  evidently  led  Tab-'el  to  live  a 
peaceful  life.  Concerning  his  decease  and  the  time  of  Rezin's 
accession  we  know  nothing. 

The  brief  period  of  glory  enjoyed  by  Israel  under  Jeroboam  II 
was  soon  over.  The  dynasty  of  Jehu,  founded  on  murder,  ends 
with  the  murder  of  Zachariah,  son  of  Jeroboam,  after  a  reign  of  six 
months  by  the  ursurper  Shallum  ben  Jabesh  (2  Kings  15: 13-16). 
The  murderer  himself  only  enjoys  the  possession  of  the  throne  for 
a  month,  when  he  is  attacked  in  Samaria  by  Menahem  ben  Gadi 
and  loses  his  life  (15:17-22).  The  conditions  of  civil  war  accom-| 
panying  these  changes  greatly  weakened  Israel  (cf.  Is.  9:19,  20). 
It  is  pecuUarly  significant  that  both  Shallum  and  Menahem  are 
from  the  region  of  Gilead,  the  land  which  Aram  had  "threshed"  I 
and  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so  many  bloody  struggles.  They 
were  doubtless  hostile  to  the  Aramaeans  and  were  bent  on  in-  I 

^  Duhm,  Jesaias-ad.  7:6,  corrects  the  name  into  T^b'el.  But  1  would  point 
out  that  the  name  appears  to  occur  in  A  B  L  IV  no.  221  Ob.  2  as  Tab-ili,  a 
scribe  in  Sjria,  who  reports  that  he  has  been  at  Nineveh  and  has  seen  the  face 
of  Nabu  and  of  the  king.  He  tells  also  that  Abi-ili,  the  tax  overseer  of  Arpad, 
is  on  his  way  to  the  prefect.  According  to  A  T  V  174  the  name  T&b'el  means 
"God  is  wise." 

116 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

augurating  an  anti-Aramaean  policy.  To  this  end  indeed  Mena- 
hem  coveted  the  aid  of  Ashur,  the  bitterest  enemy  of  Aram,  while 
the  opposition  sought  the  protection  of  Egypt.  Perhaps  with  a 
view  to  dampening  the  Egyptian  leanings  of  Israel,  Tiglathpileser 
after  subjecting  the  nineteen  districts  of  Hamath,  in  738,  dis- 
patched an  expedition  to  Samaria.  Indeed  the  suspicion  may  be 
entertained  (cf .  2  Kings  15 :  19)  that  Menahem  summoned  Tiglath- 
pileser to  undertake  this  step  in  order  to  strengthen  his  tottering 
throne  (G  V  J  II  471,  469).  But  for  such  aid  he  had  to  pay  dearly 
with  tribute,  which  he  raised  by  assessing  the  citizen-army  fifty 
shekels  per  head  (2  Kings  15:  20).  Since  1000  talents  are  paid 
and  since  a  talent  is  composed  of  3000  shekels,  the  strength  of 
Israel's  host  must  have  amounted  to  60,000  men.  The  sum- 
moning of  the  king  of  Assyria  is  severely  condemned  by  Hosea 
(5:13,  8:9). 

Menahem  died  soon  after  this  event,  and  his  son  Pekahiah,  after 
a  two  years'  reign,  was  murdered  by  his  adjutant  Pekah  ben 
RemaUah  (2  Kings  15:  22  f.).  Inasmuch  as  we  subsequently  find 
Pekah  allied  with  Aram,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  his  act 
was  dictated  by  a  pro-Aramaean  party  in  Israel.  There  were 
many  in  Israel  who  realized  that  only  a  strong  Damascus  could 
prevent  the  Assjrrians  from  conquering  all  of  Syria.  These  men 
desired  to  join  Damascus  in  common  antagonism  to  Ashur.  For 
this  reason  Menahem's  son,  the  vassal  of  Ashur,  had  to  be  deposed. 
And  indeed  Pekah  succeeds  in  forming  a  coalition  with  Aram, 
Tyre,  and  Sidon,  and  Samst,  queen  of  the  Arabs. 

This  coalition,  however,  was  not  yet  sufficiently  powerful.  For 
an  effective  resistance  against  Assyria  it  was  necessary  to  gain 
the  help  of  the  other  Phoenician  cities,  and  of  Palestinian  states  — 
Ammon,  Moab,  Judah,  Edom  Philistaea.  The  task  was  urgent 
and  had  to  be  completed  before  Tiglathpileser  concluded  his 
campaigns  against  Urartu  (737-735).  Philistaea  and  Edom  seem 
to  have  submitted  under  pressure,  but  Judah  remained  obstinate. 
For  this  reason  Rezin  and  Pekah  moved  to  attack  it,  and  thereby 
caused  the  outbreak  of  the  Syrian-Ephraimite  war,  for  which 

116 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  DAMASCUS 

the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  is  our  chief  source  of  knowledge.    (G  V  J 
II  473  flf.). 

The  course  of  events  was  one  that  brought  panic  to  the  southern 
kingdom.  "The  king's  heart  and  that  of  his  nation  trembled  like 
the  trees  in  the  forest  before  the  wind"  (Is.  7:2).  For  like  a 
swarm  of  locusts,  "Aram  has  ahghted  upon  Ephraim."  In  a 
terrible  battle  Pekah  has  destroyed  the  Jewish  army  in  the  north, 
and  Rezin  has  taken  the  harbor  of  Elath,  Israel's  seaport  on  the 
gulf  of  Akabah  in  the  south.  Pekah  hopes  to  complete  the  sub- 
jugation of  Jerusalem  alone,  but,  when  unsuccessful,  is  joined  by 
the  army  of  Rezin.  They  plan  to  make  the  son  of  Tab-'el,  Rezin, 
king  over  Judah  (Is.  7:6).  In  this  moment  of  dire  extremity 
Ahaz  of  Judah  receives  the  coimsel  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  not  to 
despair  before  these  two  smoking  torch-butts,  Rezin  and  the  son 
of  Remaliah,  but  to  trust  in  God.  Both  Aram  and  Ephraim  are 
"burnt  out,"  their  day  is  over.  By  divine  grace  Rezin  rules 
Aram  and  Pekah  Ephraim,  but  neither  shall  rule  Jerusalem. 

Ahaz,  however,  scorns  the  advice  of  Isaiah,  and  his  decision  is 
of  momentous  character.  He  summons  the  help  of  Tiglathpileser 
(2  Kings  16:  7,  8)  and  thereby  inaugurates  the  series  of  events 
which  lead  to  the  downfall  of  both  Israel  and  Judah.  While  the 
Assyrian  did  not  act  immediately,  nevertheless  the  Kings  of 
Damascus  and  Samaria  withdrew  from  the  contemplated  siege 
of  Jerusalem.  Both  probably  realized  that  it  was  now  imperative 
to  prepare  for  the  Assyrian  onset,  and,  since  they  had  crippled 
Judah  effectively,  they  were,  at  least,  safe  from  attack  in  the  rear. 

In  734  Tiglathpileser,  in  answer  to  the  petition  of  Ahaz,  under- 
took a  campaign  to  Philistaea.  This  powerful  stroke  was  of  a 
masterly  character,  for  it  aimed  to  split  the  confederacy  and  to 
isolate  Damascus.  Doubtless  leaving  a  strong  army  and  his 
loyal  vassal  Eniel  of  Hamath  in  guard  of  his  communications  in 
the  province  of  Simirra  and  to  threaten  Damascus,  Tiglathpileser 
marched  into  northern  Israel.  At  this  time  he  took  from  Israel 
the  cities  in  Naphtali  and  Dan  (2  Kings  15: 29).  His  own  inscrip- 
tions leave  us  in  doubt  as  to  this  campaign.     The  summary  in  the 

117 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

lesser  Inscription  I  (Textb.  34)  says  that  he  took  the  city  "Gal  .  .  . 
(Gilead?)  and  the  city  of  Abilakka  ^  which  is  at  the  entrance  of 
Beth-Omri  and  the  wide  .  .  .  li  (Naphtali?)  and  added  them  to 
the  territory  of  AssjTia."  These  first  blows  at  Israel,  however, 
merely  were  intended  to  lay  open  the  road  to  the  coastal  plain. 
His  goal  was  the  Philistine  city  of  Gaza.  Here,  no  doubt,  he  could 
affect  a  jimction  most  quickly  with  Ahaz  of  Judah,  and  further- 
more with  Gaza  he  held  possession  of  a  point  from  which  he  could 
threaten  both  Arabia  and  Egypt.  That  Egypt  was  assisting  the 
anti-Assyrian  league  may  be  guessed  from  the  fact  that  king 
Qanun  of  Gaza  fled  thither  at  the  advance  of  Tiglathpileser. 
After  capturing  Gaza  the  Assyrian  returned  to  Beth-Omri  and 
began  the  deportation  of  its  northern  inhabitants. 

The  events  of  733  center  chiefly  about  Damascus,  and  therefore 
the  name  of  this  city  appears  again  in  the  Eponym  list.  After 
Israel  had  been  punished  by  the  loss  of  its  northern  provinces, 
Tiglathpileser  proceeded  directly  against  Damascus  (Ann.  195- 
209).  Rezin  (Ra§unnu)  meets  him  in  battle,  trusting  in  the  ancient 
fortune  of  Aramaean  weapons  which  had  thwarted  the  Assyrian 
so  many  times  in  the  past.  But  the  force  of  Tiglathpileser's 
onset  breaks  his  battle  array,  many  of  his  men  and  officers  are 
captured,  and  the  latter  the  captor  impales  to  be  a  spectacle  of 
horror  in  the  land.  Rezin  himself  takes  flight,  "like  an  antelope 
the  gate  of  his  city  he  entered."  The  city  is  now  besieged  and 
Rezin  is  confined  in  it  as  a  "caged  bird."  His  countless  parks 
around  Damascus,  the  pride  of  this  city  in  all  ages,  are  destroyed 
in  utter  vandalism,  so  that  not  one  is  left.  (Blt)-JJadara,'^  the 
home  of  Rezin,  was  besieged  and  captured  and  800  of  its  inhabitants 
with  their  herds  and  property  deported.  Similarly  750  prominent 
citizens  were  deported  from  Kuru^ga,'  550  from  Metuna,  and  a 

^  Usiially  identified  with  Abel-beth-Maacah.  Textb.  34  interprets,  "Abel 
in  the  territory  of  Akko." 

*  This  place  I  would  identify  with  the  Adarin  of  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana, 
south  of  YabrQd,  near  the  Poms- Damascus  highway. 

» This  must  be  the  classical  Geroda,  today  Gerud,  east  of  Adarin  (E  K  XVII 
1473).    Perhaps  it  was  the  home  of  S&si  (above  p.  72). 

118 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  DAMASCUS 

lost  number  from  Irma,  towns  east  of  Damascus.  Tiglathpileser 
boasts  also  that  he  destroyed  591  towns  in  the  sixteen  districts 
of  Damascus  like,  making  them  ruin  mounds. 

In  connection  with  these  operations  Tiglathpileser  recounts  an 
expedition  against  SamsJ,  queen  of  the  Arabian  tribe  of  Bir'a  who 
had  "transgressed  the  oath  by  Shamash"  (Ann.  210  f  RTP 
XXXIV  f.).  Since  she  was  the  ally  of  Damascus,  it  was  necessary 
to  prevent  her  from  bringing  aid  to  Rezin.  Tiglathpileser's 
expeditionary  force  must  have  followed  the  old  pilgrim's  highway 
that  leads  via  el-Ola  to  Mecca.  Apparently  Samsl  was  already 
on  the  way  to  Damascus,  for  at  the  advance  of  the  Assyrians, 
she  retreated  and  attempted  to  lure  the  enemy  farther  and  farther 
into  the  desert.  At  length,  however,  she  was  forced  to  give  battle, 
and  after  heavy  losses,  especially  in  livestock  (30,000  camels  and 
20,000  cattle),  she  bowed  down  before  the  victor.  Owing  to  this 
success  a  number  of  other  Arabian  cities  and  tribes  paid  homage; 
the  cities  —  Mas'a,  Tema,^  Qayappa,  Badana,  IJatti,  and  the 
tribes  Saba  and  Idibail.  An  Arabian  Sheikh  Idibi'l  was  made 
the  guardian  of  Assyrian  interests  in  Mu§ri  (i.e.  Egypt  in  Asia  — 
the  Sinaitic  peninsula)  having  his  seat  at  Philistaea.  From  here 
Tiglathpileser,  through  his  representative,  exercised  supremacy 
over  the  Arabians,  since  he  controlled  the  outlet  of  their  avenues 
of  commerce,  and  forced  them  to  pay  regular  tribute  (Ann.  221  f.). 

In  the  meantime  a  rebellion  took  place  in  Samaria.  Pekah 
was  murdered  and  a  usurper,  Hosea  ben  Ela,  became  King  in  his 
stead  (Annals  228,  Less.  Inscr.  I  17,  2  Kings  15:30).  It  is  not 
discernible  whether  differences  of  attitude  toward  foreign  matters 
were  at  the  bottom  of  this  event.  Tiglathpileser  took  advantage 
of  the  momentary  chaos  in  Israel  and  marched  against  Ausi 
(Hosea) ;  for  the  Annals,  in  the  paragraph  on  Beth-Omri  (227-234) 

*  This  is,  no  doubt,  the  Teima  north  of  El-Ola,  whence  the  Aramaic  In- 
scriptions discovered  by  Doughty  and  Huber  have  come  (cf.  C  I  S  II  113- 
115).  They  date  from  the  5-4  century.  The  most  important  and  largest 
is  that  which  records  the  introduction  of  the  cult  of  the  god  §alm  of  Hagam, 
and  the  installation  of  his  priest  §almshezeb  bar  Potosiri,  whose  income  is 
to  consist  of  the  fruit  of  21  palm  trees. 

119 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND    MESOPOTAMIA 

which  is  unfortunately  fragmentary,  after  mentioning  the  de- 
position of  Pekah,  immediately  deal  with  an  attack  against 
Israelitish  districts.^  In  the  Hebrew  version  (2  Kings.  17:3)  Shal- 
maneser  appears  as  the  king  who  marched  against  Hosea.  Both 
accomits  may  be  reconciled  if  we  assmne  that  the  later  king  of 
Assyria,  who  then  was  governor  of  the  province  of  §imirra,  was 
entrusted  by  his  father  with  the  expedition.  About  this  time 
Isaiah  must  have  prophesied  8:4.  Hosea,  frightened  by  the 
Assyrian  advance,  submitted  and  paid  a  tribute  of  10  talents  of 
gold  and  1000  (?)  talents  of  silver.  He  remained  in  possession 
of  the  kingship  by  his  suzerain's  grace  (Lesser  Inscr.  I,  18). 

This  fresh  resistance  of  Israel  seems  to  have  been  made  in  con- 
junction with  similar  developments  in  Philistaea  and  Phoenicia. 
Mitinti  of  Ashkelon,  who  had  apparently  submitted  in  734,  trans- 
gressed against  his  agreement,  in  the  hope  that  Rezin  would  be 
victorious.  The  defeat  of  Rezin  drove  him  insane.  His  son 
Rukibtu  succeeded  him.  After  the  Hebrew  king  Hosea  had  sub- 
mitted, Tiglathpileser  marched  against  Ashkelon.  Rukibtu,  who 
pleaded  with  him,  was  spared,  but  the  Assyrian  entered  the  city 
and  gave  fifteen  towns  of  Ashkelon  to  the  trusty  Idibi'l  of  wAribi 
(Ann.  235  f.).  Against  Metuna,  king  of  Tyre,  he  dispatched  his 
Rabshaqeh,  or  conmaiander-in-chief,  and  at  the  latter's  approach 
Tyre  also  deserted  Damascus  and  paid  tribute.  Thus  Damascus 
was  now  completely  isolated;  its  only  helpers  were  intimidated, 
its  fate  was  sealed.  With  despairing  heart  Rezin  may  have  heard 
the  news  that  the  last  hope  of  relief  was  gone.  He  was  doomed  to 
fight  alone  against  the  greatest  military  power  of  the  world,  and 
in  a  lost  cause.  The  day  that  Tiglathpileser  hanmiered  against 
the  gates  of  Damascus  marked  the  end  of  that  city's  dream  of 
empire. 

Of  the  great  siege  we  know  httle,  for  not  even  Tiglathpileser's 

*  He  carries  ofiF  655  prisoners  from  Bit  .  .  .  ,  others  from  a  city  of  (Ak?) 
ba-ra-a  (cf.  the  Talmudic  'Akbara,  Neubauer,  Geographie,  228  f.),  others 
from  Hinaton  -  Giimaea  (cf.  Buhl,  Geogr.  Pal.,  p.  82),  550  prisoners  from 
Kana  (?)  (in  Galilee),  400  from  -at-bite,  650  from  Jr.  .  .  .  The  cities  Aruma 
and  Marum  are  likewise  mentioned.    Cf .  Buhl,  220,  234. 

120 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  DAMASCUS 

description  of  it  is  extant.  Only  the  fact  that  Panammu  of  Sam'al, 
one  of  the  Syrian  tributaries,  fought  and  fell  before  Damascus 
(cf .  Ch.  XIV)  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  bitterness  of  the  struggle. 
In  732,  finally,  the  city  was  taken,  and  the  kingdom  became  a 
province.  Rezin  was  executed  (2  Kings  16:9),  doubtless  in  the 
barbarous  manner  customary  among  the  ancient  Semites.  With 
the  fall  of  Damascus  Tighlathpileser  was  master  of  Syria,  and  did 
not  find  it  necessary  to  return  thither  again. 

Perhaps  with  a  certain  feeling  for  the  dramatic  Ahaz  (Yau^azi) 
of  Judah  appeared  before  Tiglathpileser  at  Damascus  (2  Kings 
16:10  ff.).  It  had  been  long  since  a  king  of  the  Hebrews  crossed 
the  threshold  of  Aram.  For  centuries  they  had  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  this  great  and  cruel  foe.  Perhaps  Ahaz  dreamed  that 
he  was  treading  in  David's  footsteps,  in  the  dawn  of  a  new  and 
glorious  day.  Here  at  Damascus  he  saw  an  (Assyrian)  altar, 
and  sent  a  model  of  it  to  the  priest  Uriah  at  Jerusalem,  who  con- 
structed a  similar  one  to  replace  the  altar  of  Solomon.^  By  this 
act  of  servility  he  hoped  to  please  his  lord  Tiglathpileser. 

*  Cf.  Kittel,  Studien  zur  Hebraischen  Archaologie,  p.  50  ff. 


121 


I 

i 


CHAPTER  XIV 
KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

In  the  explorations  conducted  by  F.  von  Luschan  at  Sen^rli, 
several  other  native  mscriptions  were  discovered  which  give  us  a 
welcome  and  valuable  insight  into  the  conditions  in  northern 
Syria,  during  the  eighth  century.  A  number  of  additional  Kings 
^ -of  the  state  of  Sam'al,  not  alluded  to  by  the  Assyrians,  arise  again 
from  the  grave  before  our  eyes.  We  have  already  heard  of  Gabbar, 
"Qaik  and  Kilammu.  The  next  king  of  whom  we  now  learn  the 
name  is  Qaral.  We  only  know  of  him  because  he  is  mentioned  by 
his  royal  son.  His  name  is  an  indication  of  his  non-Semitic  origin, 
^  for  it  seems  to  be  identixjal  with  the  Aegean  "Korulos"  (Hal6vy).* 
Whether  he  was  a  son  of  Kilammu  or  even  his  immediate  successor 
we  cannot  say.    It  is  possible  that  there  is  no  Unk  missing  at  all. 

Panammu  I,  son  of  Qaral,  has  left  us  an  inscription  on  a  huge, 
statue  of  the  god  Hadad.  It  was  found  in  1890  on  the  mound  of 
Gergin,  a  large  Tell  south  of  SengirU  (A  S  47,  45),  and  is  now  in 
the  Berlin  Museum.'  It  is  a  votive  inscription  of  34  lines,  the 
decipherment  of  which  is  made  diflBcult  by  the  numerous  lacunae 
caused  by  the  exposure  of  some  2600  years. 

Piously  Panammu  begins  by  telling  us  how  divine  aid  preserved 
his  throne:  "I  am  P.,  son  of  Qaral,  King  of  Ya'di,  who  erected  this 
statue  to  Hadad  lord  of  the  waters  (?).  There  stood  by  me  the 
divinities  Hadad  and  El  and  Reshef  and  Rekabel  and  Shamash 
and  there  gave  into  my  hand  Hadad  and  El  and  Rekabel  and 
Shamash  and  Reshef  the  scepter  of  blessing  (?).  And  Reshef 
stood  by  me  and  whatever  I  took  in  (my)  hand  .  .  .  that  pros- 

*  QRL  could  be  interpreted  as  qar-ili,  "wall  of  God,"  but  such  a  formation 
is  unlikely. 

*  Published  by  Sachau,  AS,  If.  Further  elucidated  by  Miiller  in  the 
Vienna  Oriental  Journal,  VII,  33  f.  and  113  f.    Cf.  also  N  S  I,  p.  159  f. 

122 


KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

pered."  (1^.)  It  deserves  attention  that  the  author  singles  out 
the  war  God  Reshef  for  especial  mention.  He  must  therefore, 
have  carried  on  a  few  successful  warUke  ventures  in  spite  of  his 
otherwise  peaceful  vent. 

Like  Kilammu,  the  chief  interest  of  Panammu  lies  in  the  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  of  his  people.  But  he  differs  from  his  ancestor 
in  that  he  is  more  religious.  ChildUke  is  his  avowal.  "And 
whatever  I  ask  of  the  gods  they  give  me"  (4).  He  is  indeed  a 
favorite  son  of  the  heavenly  ones.  Among  the  things  which  the 
gods  have  granted  he  enumerates  "a  peaceful  life,"  "great  crops 
of  barley,  wheat  and  garlic."  Everybody  "tilled  the  land  and 
the  vineyard"  and  thus  followed  peaceful  pursuits  (5-7). 

The  strict  logic  which  marks  the  thinking  of  Kilammu  is  not 
characteristic  of  Panammu.  For  after  this  description  of  the 
blessedness  of  his  reign,  he  reverts  again  to  its  beginning,  and 
superfluously  repeats  that  Hadad  gave  him  the  sceptre  of  bless- 
ing (?)  when  he  came  to  the  throne  (8-9).  "Sword  and  slander 
(were  cut  off)  from  my  father's  house"  (9),  he  adds,  referring  per- 
haps to  early  troubles  connected  with  his  accession.  Again  he 
paints  us  for  the  prosperity  of  his  rule,  "In  my  day  moreover  Ya'di 
ate  and  drank.  And  in  my  day  ^  .  .  .  a  man  helped  (?)  his 
neighbor.  And  Hadad  and  El  and  Rekabel  and  Shamash  and 
Araq-reshef  gave  increase  and  gave  me  greatness  and  a  sure 
convenant  they  made  with  me"  (9-11).  But  this  divine  aid  is 
due  to  a  large  extent  to  the  efforts  of  Panammu  in  behalf  of  the 
divine  cults  on  the  principle  "do  ut  des."  He  says  "And  in  my 
days  fat-offering  was  given  to  the  gods  and  surely  they  accepted 
it  from  my  hands.  And  so  whatever  I  ask  from  the  gods  they 
surely  give  abundantly  to  me  and  are  willing"  (12-13).  The 
choice  offerings  of  which  he  was  the  donor  inclined  the  tender 
hearts  of  the  gods  toward  mercy.  And  at  the  command  of  Hadad 
he  performed  building  operations:  "And  I  built  indeed  and  raised 
up  this  stele  of  Hadad  and  the  'place'  of  Panammu  son  of  Qaral 
king  of  Ya'di  with  the  stele  of  Hadad  "  (14-15) .  Briefly  the  king  of 
^  The  tenth  line  is  totally  obscure. 
123 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Ya'di  has  given  us  a  resume  of  the  happenings  of  his  reign.  His 
rehgious  disposition,  coupled  perhaps  with  an  age  no  longer  youth- 
ful, cause  him  to  think  of  the  long  rest  in  the  grave  and  of  the  land 
of  no  return,  where  his  spirit  will  soon  be  wandering.  Every 
sacrifice  or  Ubation  at  the  tombs  of  the  fathers  brings  food  to  their 
languishing  spirits  and  cheers  for  a  httle  their  awful  gloom.  And 
the  dread  that  impious  descendants  might  forget  this  duty  causes 
him  to  shudder.  He  dwells  at  length,  therefore,  on  the  theme  of 
the  obhgations  of  his  descendants  toward  himself  and  his  god 
Hadad. 

"Whoever  of  my  sons  shall  hold  the  sceptre  and  sit  upon  my 
throne  and  shall  strengthen  the  power,  and  shall  sacrifice  ...  to 
Hadad,  and  remember  the  name  of  Hadad,  or  who  shall  say  'May 
the  soul  of  Panammu  eat  with  thee  and  may  the  soul  of  Panammu 
drink  with  thee,'  (who)  still  shall  remember  the  soul  of  Panammu 
along  with  Hadad  .  .  .  this  his  sacrifice  .  .  .  may  he  (the  god) 
look  favorably  upon  it."  (15-18.)  But  if  the  son  that  follows  him 
does  not  fulfiJl  this  wish,  then  may  Hadad  "not  look  favorably 
upon  his  sacrifice,  and  whatsoever  he  shall  pray  for,  may  Hadad 
not  grant  it;  and  may  Hadad  pour  out  wrath  upon  him  .  .  .  suffer 
him  not  to  eat  because  of  wrath  and  withhold  sleep  from  him  by 
night"  (22-24).  The  remaining  lines  are  not  clearly  understood. 
They  apparently  picture  tumultuous  conditions  brought  about  by 
the  curse  which  will  rest  upon  those  who  disregard  or  desecrate 
this  memorial  of  Panammu. 

A  second  great  Aramaic  inscription  was  found  1888  in  the  grave- 
yard of  Tattaly  Bunar,  whither  it  seems  to  have  been  carried  at 
some  occasion  from  Gergin  (A  S  48)  or  possibly  from  SengirU  itself. 
It  belongs  to  a  memorial  statue  for  Panammu  II,  erected  perhaps 
upon  his  grave  by  his  son,  "This  statue  Bar-Rekab  set  for  his 
father,  for  Pananmiu  son  of  Bar-§ur,  King  of  Ya'di",  it  begins. 
Bar-§ur  must  have  been  the  successor  of  Panammu  I,  son  of 
Qaral,  though  his  reign  cannot  have  been  of  long  duration.  The 
fact  that  his  son  again  bears  the  name  of  Panammu  is  an  indication 
that  the  line  of  descent  is  unbroken.    The  Inscription  may  be 

124 


KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

divided  into  three  parts.  The  first  tells  of  a  revolution  in  Ya'di, 
the  second  relates  the  accession  of  Panammu,  and  the  third  the 
death  of  Panammu  and  the  accession  of  Bar-Rekab. 

Piously  Bar-Rekab  remarks  of  his  father  that  "the  gods  of 
Ya'di  rescued  him  from  his  destruction.  There  was  a  conspiracy 
in  his  father's  house"  (2).  The  fragmentary  text  does  not  tell  us 
who  the  main  conspirator  was,  but  we  can  fortunately  supply  his 
name  with  certainty  from  the  inscriptions  of  Tiglathpileser;  he 
is  none  other  than  Azriydu  of  Yaudi.  We  have  already  seen  how, 
under  the  leadership  of  this  individual,  and  possibly  with  the  help 
of  the  Haldians,  a  rebellion  of  some  magnitude  took  place  against 
Assyrian  suzerainty.  Evidently  the  loyal  Bar-Sur  was  less  fortu- 
nate than  Eniel  of  Hamath,  who  at  least  remained  alive,  for  Bar- 
Rekab  says  that  the  usurper  "brought  about  destruction  in  the 
house  of  his  father  and  slaughtered  his  father  Bar-Sur  and  mur- 
dered 70  kinsmen  of  his  father"  (3).  Many  others  loyal  to  the 
dynasty  were  probably  put  to  death  "and  with  the  rest  thereof 
indeed  (?)  he  filled  the  prisons,  and  made  the  desolate  cities  more 
numerous  than  the  inhabited  cities"  (4).  Panammu,  however, 
escaped  the  holocaust.  The  conditions  of  anarchy  in  Ya'di 
brought  about  a  serious  increase  in  the  cost  of  living.  "There 
perished  .  .  .  grain  and  com  and  wheat  and  barley  and  a  Peres  (a 
half  measure  of  wheat)  stood  at  a  Shekel  and  a  Shatrab  of  (barley) 
stood  at  a  shekel  and  an  Esnab  of  oil  stood  at  a  shekel"  (5-6). 
cf.  2  Kings  7:1. 

The  second  part  of  the  inscription  begins:  "And  my  father 
brought  (present)  to  the  king  of  Ashur  and  he  made  him  ruler 
over  his  father's  house  and  he  slew  the  stone  of  destruction  from 
his  father's  house"  (7)  cf.  Is.  8: 14.  No  doubt  he  refers  here  to  the 
fate  of  Azriydu.  Thereupon  Panammu  seems  to  have  given  the 
king  of  Ashur  a  tribute  from  the  treasure  of  the  gods  of  Ya'di. 
Then  "he  opened  the  prisons  and  released  the  prisoners  of  Ya'di. 
And  my  father  arose  and  released  the  women  .  .  ."  (8).  The 
nobility  that  had  been  jailed  and  their  harems  confined  were  now 
liberated  as  Panammu  assumed  the  reins  of  government.     Im- 

125 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

mediately  after  his  accession  peace  and  prosperity  are  restored. 
(He  reestablished)  "his  father's  house  and  made  it  better  than  it 
was  before;  and  wheat  and  barley  and  grain  and  com  were  abun- 
dant in  his  days  (9)."  And  "cheapness  (?)  of  price"  returned 
again  in  consequence.  "And  in  the  days  of  my  father  Panammu 
he  installed  cupbearers  (?)^  and  charioteers,"  thus  elaborating 
the  pomp  of  the  royal  court  which  before  must  have  been  some- 
what primitive.  "And  my  father  Panammu  was  made  to  sit  in 
the  midst  of  powerful  kings"  *  (10)  but  he  did  not  allow  himself 
to  be  seduced  by  any  one  "whether  possessor  of  silver  or  possessor 
of  gold  in  his  wisdom  and  righteousness." '  On  the  contrary  "he 
grasped  the  hem  of  the  skirt  of  his  lord  the  king  of  Ashur"  (11)  and 
the  latter  placed  him  over  the  "governors  and  princes  of  Ya'di." 
The  Assyrian  prefects  even,  who  had  been  instituted  by  Tiglath- 
pileser,  as  well  as  the  local  chieftains,  were  subordinated  to  his 
authority.  Indeed  he  was  so  loyal  that  his  son  can  say,  "And  his 
lord  the  king  of  Assyria  gave  him  preference  over  the  powerful 
kings"  (12).  He  proved  his  faithfulness  to  the  great  monarch  by 
accompanying  him  on  many  a  warlike  venture.  "At  the  chariot- 
wheel  of  his  lord  Tiglathpileser,  king  of  Ashur,  in  the  campaigns  he 
ran,  from  the  rising  sun  to  the  setting  sun  and  ...  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world."  Apparently  the  vassals,  who  were  less 
reliable  when  it  came  to  fighting  than  the  Assyrian  troops,  were 
employed  to  carry  out  the  deportation  of  the  inhabitants  of  con- 
quered districts,  for  we  learn  of  Panammu  that  "the  daughter  of 
the  east  he  brought  to  the  west  and  the  daughter  of  the  west  he 
brought  to  the  east"  (13-14).  As  a  reward  for  his  distinguished 
services  the  Assyrian  increased  Panammu's  territory  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  northern  neighbor:  "And  his  lord  Tiglathpileser,  the 
king  of  Ashur  (extended)  his  border  through  cities  from  the  border 

*  Perhaps  derived  from  Assyrian  "kapru,"  "cup," 

*Some  translate  "kings  of  Kebar"  here  and  in  1.  12.  This  could  only  be 
the  equivalent  of  Kibir  n&ri  (or  kibir  t&mti)  and  be  used  here  in  the  sense  of 
the  later  Eberhannahar,  i.e.,  the  region  west  of  the  Euphrates. 

*  The  trend  of  thought  is  doubtful.  Possibly  he  means  to  say  that  he  made 
his  people  possessors  of  gold  and  silver. 

126 


KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

of  Gurgum"  (15).  This  act  must  have  caused  resentment  in  Gur- 
gum  and  may  have  brought  on  the  later  troubles  with  Gurgum 
in  Sargon's  day  (cf.  Ch.  XV). 

The  last  part  of  the  inscription  tells  us  how  Panammu  perished. 
He  participated  in  the  siege  of  Damascus  and  there  his  fate  over- 
took him.  "Moreover  my  father  Panammu  died  in  camp  while 
following  his  lord  Tiglathpileser,  king  of  Ashur  .  .  .  and  his  kins- 
folk bewailed  the  kingship  and  the  whole  camp  of  the  king  of 
Assyria  bewailed  him;  and  his  lord  the  king  of  Ashur  took  .  .  . 
his  corpse  and  instituted  for  it  a  lamentation  on  the  way,  and 
brought  my  father  over  from  Damascus  to  (this),  place"  (16-18). 
Whether  or  not  Panammu  died  in  battle  during  the  many  assaults 
against  the  walls  of  Damascus  is  left  untold.  His  faithfulness  to 
his  beloved  king  of  Ashur  was  thus  crowned  by  a  glorious  death 
in  his  cause. 

Bar-Rekab  closes  by  telling  us  how  he  himself  came  to  the  throne 
"And  as  for  me,  Bar-Rekab,  son  of  Panammu  (for  the 
righteous)ness  of  my  father  and  for  my  own  righteousness,  my 
lord  caused  me  to  sit  (instead)  of  my  father  Panammu,  son  of 
Bar-§ur"  (19-20).  The  character  of  this  inscription  is  then 
finally  avowed  by  its  author.  "And  a  memorial  this  is!  So  may 
Hadad  and  El  and  Rekabel,  my  patron,  and  Shamash  and  all  the 
gods  of  Yadi  be  my  (witnesses)  before  Gods  and  before  men" 
(22-23). 

The  third  important  inscription  of  this  period  was  found  in 
Sengirli  in  1891.  It  is  a  building  inscription  of  twenty  lines  and  is 
preserved  perfectly.  On  the  left  of  the  inscription  is  the  figure  of 
its  author,  Bar-Rekab,  in  relief,  holding  in  his  hand  a  lotus  flower. 
On  the  upper  part  of  the  stone  appear  the  same  symbols  that  we 
have  already  found  upon  the  Kilammu  monument,  with  the  ad- 
dition only  of  a  five-pointed  star  enclosed  in  a  circle  with  double 
contures.  (A  S  377  f .  PI.  LXVII.)  The  inscription  reads  as 
follows: 

"I  am  Bar-Rekab,  son  of  Panammu,  king  of  Sam*al,  servant  of 
Tigalthpileser,  the  lord  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  world.     For 

127 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

the  righteousness  of  my  father  and  for  my  own  righteousness,  my 
lord  Rekabel  and  my  lord  Tiglathpileser  caused  me  to  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  my  father.  My  father's  house  labored  more  than  all. 
And  I  ran  at  the  wheel  of  my  lord  the  king  of  Ashur,  in  the  midst 
of  mighty  kings,  possessors  of  silver,  possessors  of  gold.  And  I 
took  possession  of  the  house  of  my  father  and  made  it  better  than 
the  house  of  any  one  of  the  mighty  kings.  And  my  fellow-kings 
envied  everything.  How  beautiful  is  my  house !  A  good  house  my 
fathers,  the  kings  of  Sam'al  did  not  have.  They  only  had  yonder 
house  of  Kilammu.  And  that  was  their  winter-home  as  well  as 
their  summer-home.     Therefore  I  built  this  house." 

A  further  sculpture  representing  Bar-Rekab  was  found  at 
Sen^rii.  The  king  is  shown  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  a  eunuch 
holding  a  fan,  behind  him  and  in  front  of  him  a  man  whose  right 
hand  is  uplifted  as  though  he  were  giving  his  oath,  while  under 
the  left  arm  he  is  carrying  a  book,  the  covers  of  which  are  bound 
in  almost  modem  fashion,  and  the  left  hand  holds  a  writing  ap- 
paratus of  E^ptian  style  with  a  box  for  the  pens.  He  must 
therefore  be  a  scribe  or  court  official.  On  the  right  of  the  king's 
crown  we  have  the  brief  inscription:  "I  am  Bar-Rekab,  son  of 
Panammu."  Still  further  to  the  right  we  read:  "My  lord  Ba*al 
Harran."  The  stone  must  therefore  be  dedicated  to  this  divinity 
(AS  347). 

The  Building-Inscription  finds  an  excellent  commentary  in  the 
excavations  of  Sen^rli.  For  here  the  castle  of  the  kings  of  Sam'al 
was  unearthed.  To  emphasize  the  peculiar  architecture  of  the 
castle,  Koldewey  has  adopted  for  it  the  word  QiUni.  Thus 
Sargon  states  that  he  built  a  vestibule,  in  the  manner  of  a  palace 
of  the  Hittite  country  which  in  the  language  of  Amurri  is  called 
Bit-5il&ni,  in  front  of  the  gorgeous  gates  at  Dtir-Sharrukln  (cf. 
Display  Inscr.  161-2,  etc.).  The  excavator  believes  that  in  Sengirli 
we  have  such  a  typical  Blt-^il^ni  (A  S  189) ;  and,  indeed,  I  am  in- 
clined to  accept  this  in  view  of  the  hall-building  of  Bar-Rekab^ 
which  seems  to  have  the  character  of  a  vestibule  Uke  that  of  Sargon. 
There  are  three  distinct  palaces  from  different  epochs  at  Sengirli; 

128 


KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

which  are  designated  as  gil&ni  I-III,  and  for  the  sake  of  con- 
venience we  will  retain  this  term. 

The  oldest  of  these  structures  is  the  mighty  5il&ni  I,  which  stood 
on  the  highest  point  of  the  city.  It  is  a  citadel  with  two  bold 
towers  which  overlook  the  surrounding  country  for  a  great  dis- 
tance. Four  strongly  fortified  gates,  with  huge  stone  lions  guard- 
ing the  entrance,  led  into  the  interior  of  the  castle.  Within  the 
court  a  grave  with  the  sculptured  image  of  a  woman  —  perhaps  a 
favored  queen  of  Sam'al  —  was  found.  The  interior  of  the  palace 
is  unpretentious,  suited  only  to  very  modest  requirements  (AS 
175). 

The  progress  in  the  standard  of  living  in  the  course  of  time  made 
this  castle  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  a  royal  family,  and  so 
gildni  II  was  constructed  below  it.  It  is  a  more  spacious  building 
but  far  less  powerful  than  the  upper  citadel.  In  the  midst  of  this 
lower  castle,  in  a  niche-like  chamber  adjoining  the  main  saloon, 
stood  the  statue  of  a  God  striding  upon  a  postament  of  horses. 
In  the  main  room  the  throne  of  the  kings  of  Sam'al  must  have 
stood. 

gilani  III  represents  the  supreme  height  of  Sam'al's  glory 
(AS  167).  It  is  a  very  large  palace,  with  numerous  buildings^ 
suited  to  the  pomp  of  a  great  royal  court.  All  the  clan  and  body- 
guard of  the  king  had  room  to  dwell  here.  The  faithfulness  of 
Panammu  II  and  Bar-Rekab  tojUhieJkmg_  of  Assyria  was  amply 
rewarded  by  a  great  increase  in  wealth  and  prosperity.  For 
only  such  conditions  can  account  for  such  a  sudden  bloom.  But 
all  this  glory  of  the  new  Sam'al  seems  to  have  taken  an  untimely 
end,  for  an  immense  conflagration  destroyed  the  palace,  apparently 
during  the  hfetime  of  Bar-Rekab  (AS  240).  Whether  this  king 
rebelled  against  Sargon  under  the  influence  of  Midas  of  Phrygia 
or  Rusash  the  Haldian,  or  whether  these  enemies  of  Ashur  wreaked 
their  vengeance  upon  his  unfortunate  city,  is  a  matter  of  doubt. 
The  former  possibility  would  become  a  certainty  if  the  passage  of 
the  Nimrud  inscription  (18)  which  mentions  the  subjection  along 
with  Hamath  of  "Yaudu,  whose  location  is  afar,"  refers  to  our 

129 


THE  ARAMAEANS   IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Ya*di  or  Sam'al.  If  so,  then  Bar-Rekab  must  have  participated 
in  the  uprising  of  Yaubi'di.  There  was  placed  in  JJil&ni  III  an 
Assyrian  stele,  perhaps  of  Tiglathpileser  IV,  whose  inscription 
was  entirely  effaced  by  the  flames  (AS  27 f.).  Sam'al  evidently 
became  a  province  about  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  for  in 
the  Assyrian  Eponym  list,  a  governor  of  Sam'al  appears  in  the 
year  681. 

Qil&ni  II  and  III  are  connected  by  a  hallway  of  colonnades.  In 
the  campaign  of  1904  the  northwestern  comer  of  the  castle-hill 
behind  this  only  partly  excavated  hallway  was  investigated. 
In  the  northern  part  of  the  hallway  the  Bar-Rekab  inscription 
had  already  been  discovered  in  1894.  Now  two  other  buildings 
described  by  the  excavators  as  J  and  K  were  unearthed,  and  in 
the  former  the  monument  of  Kilammu  was  found.  As  Lidzbarski 
has  seen,  J  certainly  originated  at  the  time  of  Kilammu;  in  K  it 
received  an  extension,  perhaps  under  the  same  king,  and  the  whole 
together  was  called  "the  house  of  Kilammu."  Since  the  columned 
porches  of  J  and  K  faced  south  and  west,  they  must  have  been 
uncomfortable  during  the  hot  season.  Therefore  Bar-Rekab 
built  an  especial  summer  house  in  the  great  northern  Hall,  which 
must  have  been  a  very  pleasant  place  in  the  summer  days  (E  S  E 
III  218  f.). 

The  city  of  Sam'al  was  surrounded  by  fortifications  and  the 
ground  plan  of  the  whole  is  ovular  in  shape.  This  is  quite  rare 
and  exceptional  among  the  ancient  cities,  for  the  square  or  rect- 
angular form  was  the  ordinary  one.  It  may  be  that  this  oval 
type  is  of  Hittite  origin  —  the  more  feasible  since  Sengirli  is  in 
reaUty  a  creation  of  the  Hittite  era.  Two  other  great  Hittite 
cities,  the  mounds  of  Carchemish  (6erabis)  and  Kadesh  (Qal'at 
el  Mudiq)  show  the  very  same  characteristics  (A  S  178  f.).  The 
ancient  Hittite  engineers  realized  that  all  angles  are  a  weakness 
in  defense.  Three  complete  walls  entirely  girded  the  city  and 
two  other  walls  partly  surrounded  it.  Along  the  outer  wall  were 
more  than  100  towers  (A  S  174).  These  walls  were  of  great 
strength.    Furthermore,  the  three  gateways  that  led  through 

130 


KINGS  OF  SAM'AL 

these  walls,  being  by  nature  the  most  vulnerable  points,  were 
enormously  fortified.  The  besieger  of  Sam'al  had  to  break  through 
five  of  such  gates  before  he  reached  the  citadel.  And  then  he 
faced  the  task  of  attacking  Qil^ni  I  with  its  immense  walls  — 
five  yards  in  thickness  —  and  its  towers  which  were  seventeen 
yards  square  at  the  base.  To  the  architect  of  antiquity  the 
fortress  of  Sam'al  must  indeed  have  seemed  impregnable  (A  S  182). 
But  all  this  greatness  crumpled  before  the  terrible  impact  of  the 
Assyrian  onset.  It  must  instil  into  us  a  great  admiration  for 
the  army  that  could  storm  this  city.  So  great  was  the  catastrophe 
for  Sam'al  that  for  fifty  years  it  must  have  lain  quite  desolate. 
It  was  not  until  the  time  of  Essarhaddon  that  another  small  castle 
was  built  on  the  ruins  of  Qildni  I,  probably  as  a  home  for  the 
Assyrian  garrison  and  the  governor  (A  S  242).  Here  stood  a  stele 
of  Essarhaddon  with  an  Assyrian  inscription  in  which  he  speaks 
of  his  wars  with  the  Egyptians.  (A  S  36.)  The  sculpture  repre- 
sents the  monarch  and  two  conquered  kings,  Tirhaqa  the  Egyptian, 
and  Ba'al  of  Tyre.  This  palace  was  apparently  destroyed  ca. 
300  B.C.,  at  the  time  when  the  Acropolis  of  I§lahhiye  was  founded 
on  the  site  of  the  later  Nicopolis  of  Pompey  which  usurped  the 
place  and  importance  of  Sam'al.     (A  S  177.) 

There  is  one  point  of  which  we  still  must  make  mention.  What 
is  the  relation  of  the  Ya'di  to  Sam'al?  Winckler  (A  O  F  I  18) 
and  later  also  Schiffer  (S  A  94)  have  had  recourse  to  complicated 
arguments  to  show  that  they  are  two  different  states  adjoining 
each  other,  and  forming  at  times  a  dual  monarchy.  But  this 
seems  rather  unsatisfactory.^  Both  Panammu  I  and  Pananmiu  II 
are  called  King  of  Ya'di  in  the  two  inscriptions  from  (jergin,  but 
Bar-Rekab  speaks  of  his  fathers  as  the  "Kings  of  Sam'al"  and  in 
the  same  breath  calls  himself  King  of  Ya'di.  Kilammu  also  is 
king  of  Ya'di.     The  Assyrians  speak  of  IJaia  and  Panammu  as 

^  The  city  of  Kvillani  app>ears  as  capital  of  Yaudi  under  Azriy&u,  and  in  864 
a  governor  of  this  city  is  mentioned.  But  since  the  portion  of  Sam'al  which 
had  held  to  Azriydu  became  a  province  immediately,  it  is  but  natural  that  it 
should  remain  an  especial  administrative  district  in  later  days. 

131 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

kings  of  Sam'al,  but  of  Azriyau  as  being  Yaudi.  We  may  suppose 
then  that  Ya'di  was  the  name  of  the  city  Sen^li  while  Sam*al 
was  the  name  of  the  larger  kingdom,  or  else  we  can  hold  with 
Lidzbarski  that  both  terms  are  identical,  the  former  being  merely 
the  Hittite  and  the  latter  the  Semitic  name  of  the  state. 


132 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  LAST  REBELLIONS 

TiGLATHPiLESER  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Shalmaneser  IV 
(727-722),  the  former  governor  of  the  province  of  §imirra.  The 
only  principalities  which  now  still  preserved  at  least  a  shadow  of 
independence  were  the  (greatly  reduced)  kingdoms  of  Hamath, 
Carchemish,  Sam'al,  and  Gurgum.  On  the  Phoenician  coast  the 
Tyrian  state  seems  to  have  caused  a  httle  trouble,  as  must  be 
concluded  from  the  treaty  of  Essarhaddon  with  Ba'al  of  Tyre.^ 
Perhaps  this  state  intended  to  make  common  cause  with  its  ancient 
ally  Israel.  For  the  latter,  under  its  foolish  king  Hoshea,  was  de- 
luded by  Sewe  of  Egypt  (alias  Sib'u  of  Mu§ri)  into  a  revolt  against 
the  Assyrians  (2  Kings  17 : 1-6).  The  king  of  Ashur  then  laid  siege 
to  Samaria  and  captured  it.  The  Old  Testament  account  tacitly 
assumes  that  Shalmaneser  is  the  conquerer  of  Samaria.  With 
this  the  claims  of  Sargon  conflict.  Thus  he  asserts  in  his  Annals 
(11-17)  that  the  fall  of  Samaria  and  the  battle  of  Dur-ilu  took 
place  in  his  first  year  (721).  But  here  he  must  be  in  error;  for  the 
Babylonian  chronicle  (I  33)  and  also  K  1349,  a  text  dating  from  the 
second  year  of  Sargon,  place  the  Babylonian  troubles  in  720  (01m- 
stead  43  f.).  It  would  seem  then  that  Olmstead  is  correct  when 
he  argues  that  the  siege  of  Samaria  began  in  725  and  ended 
in  723  during  the  lifetime  of  Shalmaneser  (A  J  S  L  *05,  179  ff.). 
It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to  imagine  how  Samaria,  if  destroyed 
by  Sargon  in  721,  could  participate  in  the  rebellion  of  720.  On 
the  other  hand  it  is  highly  probable  that  a  change  of  rulers  in 
Ashur  should  encourage  Israel  to  a  new  revolt.  Sargon's  claims 
may  then  apply  to  the  renewed  suppression  of  Samaria  in  720  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  deportation  of  27,290  people  from  this  city 

iAOFII,p.  10. 

133 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

(Ann.  15)  is  identical  with  that  referred  to  in  2  Kings  17 : 6  and  took 
place  at  this  time.  Indeed  it  seems  to  me  that  in  2  Kings  17:5  the 
first  capture  of  Samaria  has  been  lost  in  our  text,  for  it  must  have 
been  told  there  that  Shalmaneser  captured  the  rebellious  city 
before  he  could  cast  Hoshea  into  prison.  The  second  capture  under 
Sargon  then  led  to  the  removal  of  the  population  to  Mesopotamia 
and  Media  (on  the  regions  cf.  Olmstead  71  f.)  and  the  coloniza- 
tion of  the  city  with  people  "from  all  lands"  (Ann.  16). 

During  his  first  year  Sargon  was  probably  busy  estabUshing  his 
authority  in  Assyria.  Then  in  his  second  year  he  was  forced  to  turn 
to  Babylonia  and  to  fight  at  Durilu  with  Humbanigash  of  Elam  and 
Merodach-Baladan.  It  seems  that  his  reverse  at  Dur-ilu  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  he  was  already  engaged  in  the  campaigns  in  Syria, 
which  took  place  in  the  same  year.  For  the  Syrian  realm  was 
threatened  by  a  new  uprising.  It  had  been  instigated  chiefly 
by  the  Egyptians  and  had  two  main  centers  —  Philistaea  and 
Elamath.  |}anun  of  Gaza,  who  had  fled  to  Egypt  in  734,  had  re- 
turned to  his  kingdom  after  Tiglathpileser's  death.  The  Arabian 
tribes  were  now  confronted  by  the  same  conditions  as  previously 
and  so  they  abandoned  their  allegiance  to  Ashur.  The  Assyrian 
governor  Idib'il  of  Aribi  either  yielded  and  made  common  cause 
with  the  others  or  else  was  put  out  of  the  way.  The  Ambassadors 
of  Philistaea  also  tried  to  draw  Judah  into  the  rebelUon,  but  failed, 
since  Isaiah  opposed  them  (14:32  GVJ  489).  In  the  north 
Hamath,  under  a  certain  Yaubi'di,^  succeeded  in  stirring  up  the 
Assyrian  provinces  Arpad,  §imirra,  Damascus,  Samaria,  and 
probably  Sam'al.  It  might  be  assumed  that  the  two  movements 
in  Philistaea  and  Hamath  were  entirely  independent  of  one  an- 
other, but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Display  inscription  wishes  in- 
tentionally to  correlate  the  two,  when,  contrary  to  the  chronology, 
it  places  the  struggle  with  Qanun  before  that  with  Azriydu.  The 
purpose  of  this  must  be  to  introduce  Sib'u  of  Mujri  as  the  leading 

*  The  name  seems  to  contain  "  Yahweh,"  "  Yau  has  removed  my  curse  (?)." 
The  alternate  form  Ilubidi,  as  Ohnstead,  48,  suggests,  is  simply  (M.  ilu) 
Yaubidi  with  the  Ya  dropped  and  the  god-sign  "ilu"  drawn  into  the  name. 

134 


THE  LAST  REBELLIONS 

figure  in  the  events  of  this  year.  True,  Haldian  influence  may 
also  have  been  exercised  at  Hamath  (Obnstead  48). 

Sargon  followed  the  fundamental  principle  of  Assyrian  strategy 
and  struck  swiftly  at  his  foes  before  they  were  able  to  complete 
their  preparations.  After  crossing  the  Euphrates  he  marched 
straight  for  the  territory  of  Hamath.  Yaubi'di,  a  rustic 
(gab-^jubshi),  who  had  no  right  to  the  kingship,  a  "  Hittite, "  ^  sought 
tQ  secure  the  throne  upon  which  the  faithful  Eniel  had  sat  so  long. 
Whether  he  ever  did  rule  in  Hamath  is  doubtful,  for  Display  33  and 
Nimrlid  8  appear  to  contradict  each  other.  His  fortress  is  Qarqar, 
"  his  beloved  city  "  (i.e.  his  birthplace?) .  Here  in  the  glorious  days 
of  Irljuleni  the  Assyrians  had  been  thwarted.  Perhaps  Yaubi'di 
believed  that  he  could  bring  back  those  times  once  more.  But  if 
so  he  did  not  expedite  his  preparations  sufficiently.  For  like  a 
whirlwLQd  Sargon  was  upon  him.  Qarqar  was  besieged,  stormed, 
and  sacked.  The  hapless  Yaubi'di  with  his  family  and  warriors 
was  brought  in  chains  to  Assyria  and  later  flayed  aUve.  Hamath 
itself  was  also  captured  (2  Kings  18:34,  Olmstead  179).  According 
to  Display  33  Sargon  visited  all  the  rebellious  districts  and  killed 
the  revolutionists.  Hamath  henceforth  became  a  province  under 
Assyrian  administrators.  6300  loyal  Assyrians  were  settled 
there.  A  military  levy  of  300  chariots  (Display  35  only  200)  and 
600  horsemen  was  made  upon  Hamath.  (Stele  I  57f.)  Daiukku 
of  Man  (Deioces  theMede:  Herodotus  I  16)  with  his  clan  was 
later  deported  to  the  district  of  Hamath,  according  to  Display  49. 

From  northern  Israel,  after  visiting  no  doubt  Damascus  and 
Samaria,  Sargon  advanced  to  meet  IJanun  of  Gaza  and  Sib'u  of 
Mu§ri.2    Qanun  did  not  make  the  mistake  of  attempting  to  hold 

1  Ethnically  he  was  an  Aramaean,  as  his  name  proves,  "Hittite"  is  the 
tjTpe  of  an  excitable,  faithless  person,  just  as  "Gutaean"  is  the  tyjye  of  a  brutal 
and  rough  individual;  cf.  Texb.  38. 

*  G  V  J  II  485  makes  Sewe  —  Sib'u  another  name  for  H'anchi  (cf.  BAR 
rV  '08  §  812  f.).  Equally  possible  is  the  assimiption  that  Sib'u  is  merely  the 
commander  of  Pi'anchi's  armies.  In  regard  to  the  Arabian  Mu§ri  (Winckler, 
M  V  A  G  '98,  1)  we  must  be  very  skeptical;  cf.  Ohnstead,  56  ff.;  G  V  J  II 
488  f .     This  Mu§ri  must  not  be  confoimded  with  that  in  Cilicia. 

135 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN  SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

Gaza  alone,  but  retired  and  united  with  the  appoaching  Egyptian 
reenforcements  to  the  south  at  Rapi^ju  (Tell  Refa^i).  Here  a 
great  battle  with  Sargon  was  fought,  ending  in  an  Assyrian  victory. 
Sib'u  fled  alone,  "Uke  a  shepherd  whose  sheep  have  been  robbed  " 
(Annals  29),  before  the  weapons  of  Sargon  and  utterly  disappeared 
(Display  26).  Qanun  was  captured  and  brought  to  Ashur  in 
chains,  with  9033  of  his  people  and  their  possessions  (Ann.  30  f.). 
Rapi^u  was  destroyed,  but  Gaza  was  apparently  spared,  for  it  was 
too  valuable  for  the  Assyrian  to  destroy  it  unnecessarily. 

New  trouble  in  Syria  arose  for  Sargon  several  years  later  at 
Carchemish.^  This  state,  through  the  skillful  diplomacy  of  its 
rulers,  had  remained  independent,  while  all  its  neighbors  were 
ground  under  Ashur's  foot.  It  was  the  last  bulwark  of  Hittite 
civiUzation  in  that  latitude.  Doubtless  it  too  had  a  chiefly 
Aramaean  population,  but  the  superior  culture  and  intelligence  of 
the  old  inhabitants  gave  it  its  character  and  governed  its  policies. 
The  state  of  Carchemish  always  participated  in  the  Syrian  re- 
beUions  and  yet  always  managed  to  withdraw  its  neck  from  the 
noose  before  it  was  too  late.  Its  policy  was  to  take  no  risks;  for 
Carchemish  was  a  great  commercial  city  and  commercial  interests 
must  militate  against  any  interruption  of  prosperity.  Now, 
however,  Carchemish  was  completely  isolated,  for  its  western 
neighbor,  Sam'al,  had  also  become  an  Assyrian  province.  Its 
king,  Pisiris,  must  have  realized  that  Ashur  would  very  soon  annex 
Carchemish,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  its  treasures.  Furthermore, 
a  new  figure  had  loomed  up  upon  the  theater  of  history  —  Mita  of 
Muski  or  Midas  of  Phrygia  (A  O  F  II  136)  —  who  promised  to 
renew  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Hittites.  Already  his  legions 
were  pouring  into  Que  and  Armenia.  What  was  more  natural 
than  that  the  ruler  of  Carchemish  should  hope  for  deUverance 
through  him?  In  717  Pisiris  sent  an  appeal  to  Midas  for  assistance 
against  Ashur. 

1  On  this  city  cf.  Hogarth,  Carchemish,  1914;  Proceedings  of  Brit.  Acad.,  V, 
"Hittite  Problems  and  the  Excavations  at  Carchemish";  also  King,  History 
of  Babylon,  1916,  p.  127  f. 

136 


THE  LAST  REBELLIONS 

The  uprising  of  Carchemish  was  no  light  matter  for  Sargon. 
If  Midas  offered  effective  aid,  then  renewed  rebellions  from  the 
Amanus  to  Philistaea  could  be  expected.  The  road  to  the  sea 
would  be  blocked  and  Mesopotamia  laid  open  to  invasion.  Again, 
however,  the  great  speed  of  his  attack  thwarted  his  foes.  Before 
Midas  could  move  to  help  Pisiris,  Sargon  was  hammering  at  the 
gates  of  Carchemish.  We  know  nothing  of  the  siege.  It  seems 
that  Pisiris  did  not  hold  out  to  the  bitter  end,  for  no  holocaust  of 
death  came  over  the  city.  Sargon  merely  states  that  he  led 
Pisiris  and  his  family  and  all  the  conspirators  with  their  property 
away  to  Assyria.  From  the  treasure-house  he  took  11  Talents  of 
bright  gold,  2100  Talents  of  silver,  10  Talents  of  bronze.  Of 
other  booty  he  mentions  elephant  hides  and  tusks,  as  well  as 
weapons.  The  troops  of  the  city,  50  chariots,  200  horsemen, 
3000  (Annals  50  gives  300)  infantry,  he  attached  to  his  own  legions 
(XIV  1  42  f.).  The  miUtary  strength  of  the  city  was  evidently  not 
so  very  great.  If  Carchemish  suffered  from  the  siege  we  do  not 
know,  but  bricks  bearing  Sargon 's  name  have  been  found  there. 
The  fall  of  Carchemish  was  celebrated  as  a  great  event.  In  its 
honor  the  earliest  document  of  Sargon 's  reign  —  the  Nimrtid  in- 
scription —  was  erected  in  the  palace  of  the  monarch  where  his 
treasure  was  deposited  and  especially  the  great  booty  of  Carchemish 
which  his  hand  had  won  (1.  21  f).  That  Carchemish  still  retained 
its  commercial  importance  is  vouched  for  by  the  fact  that  the  Mina 
of  Carchemish  was  used  alongside  of  the  regular  royal  Mina  of  the 
Assyrians  down  to  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  (A  D  D  II  268). 

During  the  next  years  Sargon  took  up  the  struggle  with  the 
Haldians  under  Rusash.  The  details  of  this  struggle  do  not 
-concern  us  here;  suffice  it  to  say  that  he  utterly  smashed  the 
Vannic  state.  Rusash  ended  his  life  with  suicide  in  714.^  After 
expeditions  to  Media  and  Asia  Minor  we  find  Sargon  again  cen- 
cemed  with  Syria  in  71 1 .    The  northernmost  Syrian  state,  Gurgum, 

*  Recently  a  new  and  valuable  text  relating  to  the  Armenian  campaign  of 
714  has  been  published  by  Thureau-Dangin,  Une  Relation  de  la  Huiti^e 
Campagne  de  Sargon,  '12. 

137 


THE  ARAMAEANS  IN   SYRIA  AND   MESOPOTAMIA 

caused  him  trouble.  Its  king  Tarbulara  was  murdered  by  his 
own  son  Mutallu,^  doubtless  because  he  refused  to  side  with  the 
Phrygian  Midas  against  Assyria.  Sargon,  with  his  bodyguard, 
hastened  to  the  capital  of  Gurgum,  Marqasi  (Mar*ash)and 
captured  Mutallu  with  the  whole  clan  of  Bit-Pa'alla*  and  their 
spoil.  He  made  Gurgum  a  province,  and  redistributed  the  land 
among  the  inhabitants  (Display  83-89).  Sargon  must  have  been 
in  Sjrria  at  this  time  —  perhaps  engaged  in  the  Philistaean  cam- 
paign against  Azuri  of  Ashdod  —  else  he  could  not  have  struck  so 
swiftly  at  Mutallu.  Whether  the  Mutallu  of  Kummub  who  made 
conmion  cause  with  Argistis  of  Urartu  in  708  and  whose  land 
became  an  Assyrian  province  is  to  be  identified  with  Mutallu  of 
Gurgum  (Winckler,  Sargon  XLI)  is  uncertain.  If  this  were  so  the 
previous  news  of  Mutallu's  capture  must  have  been  "greatly 
exaggerated."  But  perhaps  the  identity  in  names  is  merely  a 
coincidence. 

All  of  Syria,  in  so  far  as  it  was  Aramaean  or  even  bastard- 
Aramaean,  had  now  come  under  the  sway  of  Assyria.  True,  the 
Phoenician  cities  on  the  coastal  rim,  protected  by  the  mountain 
barriers,  still  retained  their  autonomy  for  some  time  during  the 
next  century.  But  Phoenicia,  while  of  great  importance  in  the 
development  of  civilization,  stands  with  its  face  toward  the  setting 
8un.  It  thus  lies  apart  from  the  great  movements  which  mark  the 
course  of  Oriental  history.  Aram,  however,  stood  with  Israel  in 
the  path  of  progress,  and,  heroically  resisting,  was  ground  beneath 
the  chariot  wheels. 

But  just  in  this  its  tragic  fate  Aram,  like  Israel,  was  led  to  the 
consummation  of  its  mission.  It  is  indeed  a  spectacle  almost 
without  analogy  that  the  conquered  can  force  its  language  upon 
the  conqueror  and  upon  a  vast  territory  like  the  fertile  crescent 
from  Egypt  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  True  the  Amorites  of  old  had 
accepted  the  speech  of  the  Akkadians,  but  here  the  Akkadians 

1  Variants  of  an  inaccurate  nature  make  Tar^julara  directly  deposed  by 
Sargon  XIV  10  Pav6  des  portes,  IV,  28. 

'Doubtless  the  home  of  Tarbulara  (Winckler,  Sargon,  XXX).  The  name 
is  clearly  Aramaic. 

138 


THE  LAST  REBELLIONS 

were  vastly  superior  in  culture.  The  Aramaeans,  however,  were 
inferior  in  this  respect  to  their  conquerors.  How  then  could  such 
an  anomaly  come  to  pass?  Undoubtedly  the  policy  of  the  As- 
syrian kings  of  deporting  captive  Aramaeans  in  such  large  numbers 
into  the  irmnediate  vicinity  of  Nineveh,  together  with  the  complete 
absorption  of  Babylonia  by  new  arrivals  from  the  Negd,  was  to  a 
large  extent  instrumental  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  as  the 
spoken  language  of  the  common  people.  But  with  this  also  is 
coupled  the  fact  that  the  Aramaeans  were  great  merchants,  and 
that  they  were  especially  numerous  in  the  region  of  the  great  trade 
routes  of  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and  Chaldaea.  Thus  their  language 
had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  a  medium  of  exchange.  And 
its  greater  simpUcity  of  structure,  coupled  with  an  easy  and  con- 
venient script,  gave  it  an  inestimable  advantage  over  its  only 
possible  competitor,  the  Assyrian.  Furthermore,  the  destruction 
of  the  Aramaic  states  separated  this  language  from  all  national 
aspirations  or  religious  propaganda,  so  that  no  prejudice  against 
its  use  could  arise.  After  the  fall  of  Nineveh  (606)  nothing  could 
hinder  its  triumphal  march.  It  became  the  necessary  means  of 
communication  between  Iranian  east  and  the  Semitic  west.  It 
succeeded  eventually  in  entirely  displacing  the  Hebrew  and 
Canaanitic;  even  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  the  old  mother-tongue 
perished,  and  in  Edom  and  North  Arabia  as  well.  From  the 
Persian  gulf  to  CUicia,  and  from  Edessa  to  Petra  and  to  Syene  on 
the  Nile  the  Aramaic  became  the  language  of  the  common  people. 
And  it  maintained  its  supremacy  even  against  the  inroads  of 
Hellenistic  civihzation  imtil  finally  the  great  onset  of  Islam 
brought  its  rule  to  a  sudden  end. 

But  withal,  its  importance  for  the  world  was  then  consummated. 
It  had  been  the  language  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  of  the 
early  Christian  Church  especially  in  the  Osroene.  Without  it 
the  expansion  of  Christianity  in  the  Orient  would  have  been  un- 
thinkable, just  as  it  would  have  been  unthinkable  in  the  Occident 
without  the  Greek.  This  then  is  the  historical  debt  which  the 
world  owes  the  Aramaeans. 

139 


INDEX  OF  BIBLE  PASSAGES 


Genesis 

PAGE 

10:4 89 

10:10 14 

10:  10-26 18 

10:  18 95 

10:  19 97 

10:23 18 

11:31 16 

14:  13 31 

22:24 45 

24:10 21,24 

26:2 12,70 

28:2 23 

29:1 37 

31:14-15 28 

31:20 32 

31:23 28 

31:32 28 

31:33f 29 

31:34f 28 

31:43 29 

Nttmbebs 

20:  14 36 

22:  5 36 

23:7 36,37 

24:16 37 

24:24 31 

32:39 36 

34:11 96 

DBtTTERONOMT 

1:1 46 

3:9 79 

17:16 44 

26:5 34 


Judges 

PAGE 

3:7-11 39 

5:17 60 

18:7 39 

18:28 39 

1  Samuel 
14:47 39 

2  Samuel 

3:3 42 

8:3 42,43 

8:4 44 

8:7 45 

8:8 44,45 

8:  10 45 

8:11 ,..45 

8:16 42 

10 41 

10:6 90 

10:16 42 

10:17 43 

13:37 42 

20:16f 100 

1  Kings 

4:21 47 

4:24 47 

10:28f 48 

11:23 48,50 

11:23-25 48 

14:15 31 

14:25-26 49 

15:18 48 

20 51,77 

20:34 50 

22 77 

141 


2  Kings 

PAGE 

3 77 

5:18 49 

6:24-7:20 82 

6:32 82 

7:1 126 

7:6 101 

8:7-15 79 

8:28 79 

9:14 79 

10:31 80 

10:32-33 81 

12:18f 81 

13:7 81 

13:14-19 83 

13:22 81,82 

14:25 102 

14:28 102 

15:13-16 115 

15:17-22 115 

15:19 116 

15:20 116 

15:29 117 

15:30 119 

16:7,8 117 

16:9 16,121 

16:10f 121 

17:1-6 133 

17:3 120 

17:5 134 

17:6 134 

18:34 109,134 

19:12 63 

1  Chronicles 

18:3 43 

18:8 44 

19:16 43 


INDEX  OF  BIBLE  PASSAGES 


2  Chbonicles 

PAQE 

8:3f. 41 

8:4 47 

15:1 100 

16:7-10 49 

24:19f 81 

28:9 100 


Job 


2:11. 
8:1.. 
25:1. 
42:9. 

4:8. 


CANTICIiBS 


.12 
.12 

.12 
.12 

.46 


Thatah 

7:2 117 

7:6 102,115,117 

7:20 31 

8:4 120 


FAOB 

Isaiah  (continued) 

8:14 125 

9:12 81 

9:19,20 115 

10:9 109 

14:32 134 

37:12 63 

39:7 78 

Jbrkmtah 
49:23 109 

EZECHIEL 

23:14 16 

23:23 17 

27:23 64 

47:16 44 

Danixl 
10:5 20 


PAQE 
HOSEA 

5:13 116 

8:9 116 

12:13 24 

Amos 

1:3 81 

1:5 16,63 

1:6-15 81 


1:9. 
6:2. 
9:9. 

3:7. 


Habakitk 


.81 
.95 
.16 

.39 


Zechariah 

9:1 98 

9:9 98 

1  Maccabees 
5:26 43 


142 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Aanata,  25 

Abel-beth-Ma*acah,  118 

Abilakka,  118 

Ada,  73 

Adarin,  118 

Adennu,  73,  95 

Afrln,  9,  66,  111 

Agade,  36 

Aghri  Dagh,  18 

Afelun,  39 

Agusi,  71 

A\janu,  66 

Ain-tab,  9 

A-ira-mau,  38 

Akabah,  117 

Akaru,  25 

Akbara,  120 

Alashia,  98 

Alexandrette,  10,  66 

Alisir,  70 

Alman,  23 

Amanus,  2,  8,  9,  10,  59,  66,  70,  77, 

89 
Amid,  26 
Amlate,  110 
Ammana,  46,  112 
Amor,  38 

Amurru,  8,  12,  13,  15 
•Ana,  12,  56,  98 
Anat,  56 
Anatho,  12,  56 
'Anaz,  26 

Antilebanon,  9,  113 
Antioch,  70,  lake  of,  9,  33,  66 
Apamea,  57,  73,  96,  110 
Aphek,  52,  76,  77 
Apr§,  66 
Aqarbani,  56  (cf .  Naqarabani) 


Ara,  113 

Arabia,  8,  11 

Aram,  38,  39 

Aram  Naharaim,  21,  23 

Araziqi,  24 

Arethusa,  79 

Aribi,  120,  134 

Aribua,  67,  68 

Arma,  21 

Armenaz,  110 

Armenia,  8,  11,  106,  136f. 

Arpad,  4,  61,  65,  72,  107fif.,  109,  111, 

115,  134 
Arra,  113 
Arrizu,  25 
Aruma,  21,  120 
Arumu,  19 
Arvad,  67,  74,  80 
A§alli,  54,  55,  58 
Asbat-la-kunu,  61 
Ashdod,  138 
Ashhani,  113 
Ashkelon,  14,  120 
Ashtamaku,  67,  78 
Ashur,  21,  31 
Asia  Minor,  8 
Asmu,  57 
Atinni,  113 
Atnu,  25 
*Azaz,  54,  66 

Babit,  53 

Babylon,  15,  17,  55,  106 

Badana,  119 

Badani,  25 

Bagdad,  15,  22,  24 

Bahrein,  13 

Bal'is,  97 


143 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Ballb,  7,  18,  20,  23,  64 
Bali^,  25 
Ba'lira'si,  80 
Balis,  26 

Ba'li^apuna,  112f. 
B&ra,  110 
Barada,  46 
Barga,  73 

Bargylus,  9,  10,  67,  70,  96 
Bamaqi,  64 
Bashan,  44 
Basra,  13 
Bawgra,  67 
Beilan,  89 
Beitan,  70 
Beled-ish-Sheikh,  67 
Berothai,  44 
BgrQt,  45 
Betah,  44 
Beth  Eden,  63 
Beth  Ma'acah,  39,  41 
Beth  Omri,  119f. 
Beth  Rehob,  21,  39f.,  41,  42f. 
Biaina,  105 
Biq&'  9,  38,  40,  44,  6a 
Biq'at  Aven,  63 
Bire^k,  61 
Bir  N&ri,  25 
Birutu,  53 
Bisuru,  57 

Blt-Adini,  54ff.,  58,  68fif.,  71,  87 
"  -Babiani,  55,  58 
"  -Garbaia,  56 
"  -gadara,  118 
"  -galupe,  53,  55,  56 
"  -Bumri,  50 
"  -Pa'alla,  138 
"  -Zamdni,  53,  90 
Brfetdn,  44,  45 
Burmaruna,  59 
Byblos,  37  (cf.  also  Gebal) 

Caesarea  Panias,  40 
Calab,  58 
Catoeh,  64,  111 


Calno,  111 

Cappadioca,  82 

Carchemish,  18,  19,  20,  39,  54,  61, 

68,  72,  77,  82,   114,  130,   133, 

136fF. 
Casius,  Mons,  67 
Caucasus,  105 
Chabor^,  56 
Chalcis,  40f. 
Chaldaea,  13,  16,  17 
Chalus,  10 
Chryssorrhoas,  46 
Cilicia,  8,  65,  70 
Cinneroth,  49 
Circesium,  56 
CJoelesyria,  9 
Ck)nna,  45 
Cyprus,  89 

Dabigu,  60,  71 

Dabiq,  70 

Dagara,  53 

Daiaeni,  89 

Damanum,  17 

Damascus,  33,  37,  46f.,    50,  52,  79, 

84,  98,  106,  116,  118,  120f.,  121, 

134 
Dana,  111 
Danaba,  80 
Danabi,  80 
Dhu-Raidan,  46 
Dibon,  13 

Di^nunna,  25,  Di^nunu,  59 
Dilmun,  13 
Dimmeti,  25 
Dinanu,  54,  89 
Diyarbekr,  20,  53 
Di-zahab,  46 
Duggaete,  56 
Dummutu,  57 
Dunip,  80 
Duppani,  67 
DAr,  25,  110 
Dur-ilu,  133,  134 
Dur-katlime,  20,  55 


144 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Dur-nab(i,  25 
Dur-Shamildn,  128 

Eberhannahar,  31,  126 
Ebirt&n,  31 
ed-Der,  7,  12 
Eden,  63,  64 
Edessa,  7 
Edom,  36,  39,  41 
Edrei,  42 
Egypt,  8,  32,  47 
Elam,  8,  16,  134 
Elath,  36 
El-Leggun,  16 
EUitarbi,  113 
El-Irzi,  12 
Elubat,  19 
El-Qayim,  56 
Emesa,  68 
En-6annim,  51 
Epiphania,  95 
Eragiza,  24 
Erech,  14,  15,  17 
Esdraelon,  33 
Et-Tuffah,  45 
Et-Tayyibe,  42 
Euphrates,  8,  14,  37,  56 

Crabariya,  56 

Gadisg,  25 

Gaduat4,  25 

Gaghgagha,  55 

Gal'ed,  32 

Gauzanitis,  63 

Gaza,  118 

Gebal,  14,  37,  45,  67,  80 

6ebel  'abd-il-'Aziz,  59 
"     Akkar,  113 
"     Akrun,  113 
"     Barbar,  46 
"     Bil'as,  97,  98 
"     Daryus,  67 
"     ez-Zebedani,  79 
"     il  'Ala,  110 
"     il  Aqra,  67 
"     il  Bishri,  57 


6ebel  Qo§eir,  67 

"     Riha,  113 

"     Sayih 

"     Shahklm,  67 

"     Singar 
Gerabis,  10,  60 
Gerar,  97 
6erfein,  124 
Geroda,  118 

Gezireh,  11  C£  r  H  ¥^  ,^' 

Gether,  18 
Giddan,  56 

Gilead,  9,  28,  32,  34,  79,  81,  82,  115 
Gilz&u,  74,  75 
Gir-Su,  16,  23 
6of,  13 
Golan,  41 
Gozan,  63 
Gurgum,  61,  65,  69,  88, 102, 109,  114, 

127,  133,  137f. 
Guriete,  56 
Guzana,  63 

IJabur,  7,  18,  20,  21,  23,  24,  54,  55 

gadatti,  25 

Hadrach,  98ff.,  106 

Hadramaut,  13 

Hagam,  119 

gallaba,  108 

Halebiyeh,  57 

galman,  65,  72,  99 

gal^u,  25 

galuli,  25 

Hamath,  2,  43,  54,  66,  67,  68,  72,  73, 
78,  79,  84,  95,  96,  112ff.,  114, 
116,  117,  125,  128,  133,  134 

Hamath-Zobah,  41 

gamedS,  25 

Qamurga,  66 

gana,  12,  13 

Uanana,  25 

g&nsAri,  25 

Qarada,  56 

Harbelah,  96 

Qarge,  41 


145 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


garidu,  56,  57 

Uarmish,  55 

^amii$aen,  25 

Harran,  10, 18, 19, 23, 24, 54, 58, 63, 64 

garze,  12 

Hanitu,  62 

Qas,  113 

Ijasame,  25  (Jasamu,  59 

Hatab,  113 

gatarik  (-ka),  84,  99,  112,  113,  115 

{Jatatirra,  110 

gatti  in  Arabia,  119 

gattina,  50,  59,  61,  65,  66f.,  67,  70, 

71,  88,  100,  106 
Haura,  26 

Hauran,  13,  33,  35,  80 
gaurani,  54 
Haurina,  25,  26,  41 
Havilah,  18 
gaw&rin,  41,  54 
gayappa,  119 
Hazar  Enon,  44 
Uazazu,  54,  66,  70,  83,  100 
Hazor,  49 
gazre,  110 
Helam,  43 
Hermon,  79 
Heshbon,  33,  36 
Hierapolis,  6,  26,  27,  61 
Big&z,  12 
Hinaton,  120 
Hindan,  53,  56,  57, 90 
Horns,  99 
Hul,  18 
HQle,  41 
guzarra,  110 

ladnana,  37 
lari,  20,  55 
Ibri,  31 

Ibr  Nahar&n,  21 
Idlib,  95 
Idumaea,  9 
il-Angar,  41 
"  Atharib,  95,  113 


il-Ghuwgr,  49 
"  Harmel,  96 
'Uma,  43 
il  Ouzanieh,  112 
Irak,  11 

Iram  of  the  Adites,  36 
Iran,  105 
Irma,  119 
ir-Restan,  79 
ir-RQfe,  73 
Irritia,  105 
Isana,  111 
Iskenderun,  65,  68 
I?lahhiye,  131 
it-Tiel-BabshIn,  67 
Ituraea,  40 
lyon,  49 
iz-Ziyadlyeh,  66 

Jabbok,  40 

Jerusalem,  49,  81,  116,  121 

Jezreel,  79 

Jordan,  9,  33 

Judaea,  10 

Kadesh,  33,  99,  113,  130;  in  Galilee, 

35,45 
Kailite,  56 
Kana,  120 
Kaphthor,  16 
Kapparu,  25 
Kaprabi,  58 
Kapri-dargilfi,  61 
Kara-Su,  9,  10,  67,  69,  85 
Karafeah  Dagh,  7,  64 
Kar-Asburnazirpal,  57 
Kar-Hadad,  113 
Kar-Nabd,  12 
Kar-Shulmanasharid,  61 
Kashiar,  19,  20,  55,  64 
Kasi,  56 
Kebar,  125 
Kedesh,  49 
Kefrtai,  110 
Kibri-NAri,  31,  125 


146 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Killiz,  66,  111 

Kinalua,  72,  106;  Kinalia,   110  (cf. 

Kunalua) 
Kipina,  57 
Kishtan.  109 
Kitlala,  64 
Kullanhou,  111 
Kullani,  111 
Kulmadara,  110 

Kummuh,  54,  60,  61,  69,  71,  109, 114 
Kun,  44 

Kunalua,  65,  66  (cf.  Kinalua) 
Kurban,  108 
Kuru§.9a,  118 

La'ash,  68,  97f. 
Labdadu,  62 
Labo  Hamath,  96 
Lachish,  14 
Lagalaga,  53 
Lagash,  3,  14,  40,  97 
La^e-ili,  25 
La'la'te,  59 
Lallar,  59,  70 
Laodicea,  10,  68,  112 
Laqe,  56,  57 
Larissa,  75,  96 
Lasha',  97 
Latihi,  56 

Lebanon,  8,  9,  68,  113 
Lebweh,  96 
Legah,  61 
Libum,  96 
Lita  Ashur,  61 
Luljuti,  67,  68,  98 
Lutibu,  69,  70 

Ma'acah,  41 

Ma*arrat-in-No*man,  113 

Magarisi,     65;     Magrisi,     20     (cf. 

Makrisu) 
Mahirani,  24,  64 
Ma'in,  13 
Makrisu,  55 
Malatia,  18,  99  (cf.  Melid,  MiUd) 


Man,  135 

Man^uate,  83 

Ma'5n,  13 

Mar'ash,  2,  7,  38,  64,  65 

Mardin,  26 

Margada,  55 

Mari,  12,  13,  17 

Marqasi,  65,  138 

Marra,  110 

Marum,  120 

Marsyas,  9,  84 

Mas'a,  119 

Masis,  18 

Masius,  Mons,  18 

Media,  136 

Megiddo,  16 

Mehranu,  63,  64 

Meiid,  102,  109 

Membife,  61 

Merg  Ayun,  49 

Merom,  49 

Merra,  12 

Mesopotamia,  7 

MespUa,  16 

Metuna,  118,  120 

Milid,  99  (cf.  also  Melid) 

Mitani,  24,  63,  64 

Mizpeh,  32,  33 

Munzigani,  66 

Muqayyar,  16 

Murarir,  20 

Mu§ri,  62,  74,  82,  119,  133,  134,  135 

Mutkinu,  20,  61 

Nabulu,  20 
Nagiate,  56 
Naharin,  21 
Nahrima,  21 
Nahr  Arqa,  112 
Nahr-il  Abyad,  67 
"      "  Kebir,  67 
Nairi,  55,  77,  114 
Nampigi,  25  (cf .  Nappigu) 
Namri,  77 
Nappigu,  4,  27,  61 


147 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Naqarabani,  56 
Negeb,  32 
Negd,  17,  22 
Nerab,  26,  54 
Nibarti-Asphur,  57 
Nicopolis,  131 
NimrQd  Dagh,  7,  59 
Nippur,  3 
Nirabu,  54 
Nirdun,  53 
Niribi,  26 
Nisibis,  7,  8,  55 
Niyara,  70 
Nu^iashshe,  40 
Nulia,  70 
Nuqudlna,  113 

Orontes,  9,  65,  67,  70,  76 
Osroene,  7,  10 
Ouzoun  Dagh,  112 

Pad&nu,  23 

Paddan  Aram,  23f.,  72 

Palag  Damanum,  17 

Palestine,  8,  36,  81 

Palmyra,  37,  44,  47,  98 

Paqarru^buni,  60 

Paqarbubima,  78 

Paripa,  60 

Pauza,  20 

Phalga,  18 

Pharpar,  46 

PhiUstaea,  36,  81,  116,  119,  120,  134 

Phoenicia,  9,  50,  68,  80,  85,  97,  120, 

133 
Phrygia,  128,  136 
Pidua,  25 
PikudAnu,  17 
Pomaki,  64 

Qal'at  il  Arba'in,  68 

"    il  yuan,  112 

"    ilMudlq,  73 

"    er-Rubbeh,  95 

"    Raflda,  56 
Qarqar,  39,  73,  135 


Qatni,  54,  55 

Qedem,  37 

Que,  70,  73,  102,  106,  109,  114,  136 

Quweq,  61,  66 

Rabbah,  43;  Rabbath  Ammon,  39 

Railu,  12 

Rama,  49 

Ramah,  49 

Ramoth  Gilead,  76,  82 

Rapibu,  136 

Raqqa,  44 

Ra^appa,  63,  111 

Ra'sel-'Ain,  58 

Rashpuna,  96,  112 

Ra's-bh-Shaq'fi,  112 

Reseph,  63 

Rhosus,  70 

Riblah,  96,  113 

Riha,  73 

Rlhab,  39,  40 

Rimusi,  25 

Rugulitu,  61 

Ru^iLfe,  63 

Saba,  13,  119 

Sagillu,  110 

Sagur,  67 

SafeQr,  10,  20,  54,  60,  67 

§ahyQn,  112 

Saidi,  25 

SaktshegozQ,  69 

Saluara,  69 

Sam'al,  2,  8,  41,  61,  65,  69,  85,  88, 

99,   102,   110,   111,    114,    122f., 

130,  131,  133 
Samaria,  50,  82,  114,  115,  119,  133 
Samosata,  7 
Saniru,  79 
Saratini,  67 
Sarugi,  18,  25,  54 
Sanma,  54 
Sau,  112 
Sauar,  54,  56 
Saui,  112 


148 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


Sebam,  13 

Sebeneh  Su,  64 

§ednaya,  80 

Seir,  41 

Sengirli,  2,  65,  85,  111,  128ff. 

Sergille,  110 

Shadabu,  60 

Sha-Dikanna,  54,  55 

Sharbua,  113 

Sharon,  81 

Sha§iri,  20 

Shazabd,  60 

Shechem,  33,  92 

Shedade,  55 

Sheihun,  113 

Sheikh  Misldn,  43 

Shekib,  66 

Shinamu,  20 

Shitamrat,  62 

Shtora,  79 

Shuach,  12 

Shuppa,  24 

Shupria,  20,  53 

Siannu,  96,  112 

§ibate,  56 

Sibraim,  44 

Sidon,  80,  83,  97,  116 

§imirra,  41,  96,  112,  114,  116,  120 

Sim5Ta,  80 

Sippar,  13,  15 

SirguUa,  17 

Sirqu,  56 

Sodom,  97 

Stuma,  73 

Subartu,  8 

§ubatu,  41 

Subnat  grotto,  64,  106 

Suf,  40 

Suhu,  12,  13,  17,  53,  55,  57 

Sulmara,  69 

§upite  (cf.  §ubatu) 

§upri,  56 

Suru,  54,  56 

Suri,  109 

Stiruna,  60 


Syn,  112 

Syria,  7,  18,  19,  33,  34,  106 

Tabite,  55,  56 
Tadmor,  47,  98 
Tae,  110 
Taia,  70,  110 
Taidi,  19 
Talbish,  56 
Tarmanazi,  110 
Tarsus,  70 
Tasume,  25 
Tatmarash,  78 
Taurus,  105 
Tebah,  44,  45 
Tela,  64 
Telassar,  63,  64 
Telesaura,  64 
Tell  Ahmar,  61 

"   Anabi,  64 

"    Bashar,  20,  60,  63 

"    Besme,  56 

"    Bis6,  99 

"   el  MeghrOn,  64 

*'    ErfM,  65,  110 

"    Danit,  73,  113 

"    esh-Shihab,  35 

"    Feddan,  24 

"    Ghanlm,  20 

"    Halaf,  64 

"    Halao,  20 

"   il  Thadayain,  47 
Isan,  111 

"   *Ishar,  12,  56 

"    Kunana,  66 

"    Mahr6,  64 

"    Shreb,  113 

"   Tell  Rafab,  136 
Tema,  Teima,  113 
Thapsacus,  47 
Thipsach,  47 
Tiberias,  lake  of,  37 
Tigris,  15,  20,  23,  53 
Tilabna,  59;  Tilabnd,  63;  Tilabnl,  25, 

54 


149 


INDEX  OF  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES 


TU  AshAri,  63,  64 

Til-Barsip,  54,  60,  61,  64 

TU  Bashiri,  60 

Tilbesh,  56 

Tilllni,  25 

TU  Na^iri,  18,  24,  25 

TU-sha-turabi,  64 

Tiniini,  25 

Tiramaski,  47 

Tirqa,  11,  12,  56 

Tob,  42 

Tripolis,  10,  68 

Tubibi,  45 

Tuka,  54 

Tor  'Abdln,  7,  18,  19,  20,  22,  53,  65, 

105 
Tunnanin,  110 
Tuspa,  105,  114 

Ugarit,  89 

Ukulai,  12 

UUuba,  110,  114 

Umm-esh-SherahQb,  99 

Unqi,  72,  109f.,  112 

Uphaz,  20 

Ur,  15,  16,  17,  23 

Urartu,  62,  83,  102,  105,  106,  107, 

110,  114,  116,  138 
Urfa,  63 
Urhai,  7 
Uruk,  14 
Ushana,  74,  80 
Usnu,  96,  112 
Ux,  18 
Ued,  53 

Van,  105,  107,  114 
Viranshehir,  64 


Wadi  ed-Daw&sir 
"     er-Rumma 
"     U  Ghar 
"     Sirhan 
"     SQr 
"     Zerzer 

Y&bi,  12 

YabrQd,  41,  54,  118 

Ya'di,  110,  125,  131  (cf.  Sam»al) 

Yadibi,  113 

Yaduru,  12 

Yaghra,  33 

Yaban,  11,  65,  88,  89 

Yabiri,  55 

Yamin,  8 

Yaraqu,  66,  78,  113 

Yarmuk,  43 

Yasbiqu,  70 

Yasim,  57 

Ya'turu,  66 

Yaudi,  125 

Yaudu,  128 

Yemen,  8 

Zahleh,  44 
Zakku  Igitlim,  12 

"      Isharlim,  12 
Zaleblyeh,  57 
Zalmon,  40 
Zamua,  53 
Zenobia,  57 
Zephath,  49 
Zetdn,  113 
Zitdnu,  113 
Zobah,  39,  40ff. 


160 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Aa,  26 
Abiate,  27 
Abraham,  15 
Adad,  26,  76,  103,  108 
Adad-idri,  74,  76f.,  79 
Adad-ime,  58 
AdadnirAri  1,  3,  18 

IV,  3,  83,  96,  106 
Agumkakrime,  17,  23 
Ahab,  74,  50 
Ahaz,  116f.,  121 
A^pababa,  55 
A^amu,  55 
A^ame,  17,  18£f.,  22,  35 
A^uni,  of  Bit-Adini,  58ff.,  69 
Akkadian  Migration,  11 
Al,  26 

Alexander  Romance,  18 
Alisir,  battle  of,  70 
Alia,  26 
Aloros,  103 
Amar,  12,  13,  93,  103 
Amama  letters,  3,  14 
*Amm,  13 
Ammeba'la,  53 
Ammon,  36,  38,  74,  81,  116 
Ammorites,  12,  15,  33,  36 
Amurru-god,  15 
Amurru-land,  70 
Anam,  14 

Aphek,  battles  at,  52,  76,  77,  81,  83 
Arabia  and  the  Arabians,  11,  74,  81, 

114,  119 
Arabic  loan  words,  14 
Arad  Nannar,  14 
Aram,  9,  20,  21f.,  99 


Aramaeans 
deportation  of,  68 
invasion  of  Syria,  38 
migration,  5,  13,  17,  20,  23 
southern  tribes,  17 

Arame  of  Urartu,  105 

Arame  of  Gusi,  70,  71,  77 

Aram  Naharaim,  21,  23 

Araima,  34 

Argistis  I,  106,  138 

Arik-den-ilu,  18 

Arimoi,  5 

Army,  Israel's,  8,  116 

Arpakshad,  18 

Aryans,  34,  83 

Asa,  49 

Asher,  49 

Ashur-irbe,  70 

Ashurnazirpal,  3,  50,  66f. 

Ashur-nirfi,ri,  4,  107f. 

Ashur-resh-ishi,  19 

Ashur-ubaUit,  14 

AssjTia,  50,  66 

Atar,  27 

Atargatis,  6,  27 

Ate,  27 

Aushpia,  11 

Ausi,  119f. 

Az,  18 

Azriyfiu,  llOf.,  114,  125 

Azuri,  138 

Ba'al,  of  Tyre,  131,  133 

Ba'al  gaman,  92,  93 
"    Harran,  128 
"    La'ash,  103,  104 


151 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Ba'al  §emed,  92 

Ba*alshamayn,  103,  104 

Baasha,  49 

Babylonia,  15 

Balaam,  36f. 

Balak,  36f. 

Bargush,  99 

Bar  §ur,  124,  125 

Ba'sa,  king  of  Ammon,  39,  73 

B^-Shimea,  14 

Benhadad  I,  49,  50 

II,  50,  51,  75,  79 

III,  82,  83,  84,  99,   102, 
106,  115 

Benteshina,  35 
Bir'a,  119 
Bit-gilSni,  128 
Biiranate,  70 
Bur-Ramanu,  53 

Caasites,  15,  17 

Cattle,  27 

Census,  Harran,  25ff. 

Chaldaean  Semites,  14,  15 

Copper,  39 

Cushite,  14 

Dadu,  76 
Dagan,  12,  13 
DaiAn-Ashur,  72 
Damunu  tribe,  17 
Dan,  tribe  of,  39,  49,  117 
Deioces  of  Media,  135 
Dodanim,  89 
Dolmens,  32 

Eber,  18,  31 

Edomites,  83,  116 

Egyptians,  82 

Elisha,  79,  82 

ElOr,  102f. 

Eniel  of  Hamath,  112,  113,  114,  125, 

135 
Ephraim,  10 
Eponym  Canon,  3 


Erba  Marduk,  15 
Eremboi,  5 
Esau,  33 

Essarhaddon,  64,  81,  131 
Ethbaal,  of  Sidon,  50 
Ethiopians,  5 
Eupolemus,  40 

Factions  in  Sam'al,  92 
Family,  27 
Fortresses,  130ff. 

Giammu,  64 
Gindibu,  74 

Graeco-Roman  authors,  5 
Gudea,  18 
Gush,  99 
Gusi,  66 

gabini  of  Tilabnl,  58,  59,  60 

Qabiri,  34ff . 

Hadad,  65;  (cf.  Adad) 

Hadadezer,  48,  75 

Hadoram,  45 

gaiA  (ni),  71,  85,  87 

Haldians,  82,  83,  105f.,  114,  135,  137 

Hammurapi,  13,  14 

g&ni  of  Sam'al,  71;  (cf.  also  QaiA) 

ganun,  41,  118,  134,  135f. 

Harran  Census,  4,  23f. 

Hatti,  12,  24,  62,  78,  83 

gattusil,  18,  35,  103 

Hazael,  79,  81,  82,  83,  115 

Hebrew,  29,  31 

Herodotus,  5 

Hezion,  48,  49,  50 

Hiram,  114 

Hoshea,  119,  120,  133 

Humbanigash,  134 

Hyksos,  17 

Idibi»l  of  Aribi,  120, 134 
Idurmer,  12 
m,  57 
B&nu,  53 


162 


GENERAL  INDEX 


IIu-Adad,  54 
Ilubi'di,  134 
Iluibni,  55 

Indo-Europeans,  32,  38 
Indo-Germanic  names,  35 
Inscriptions : 

Bar-Rekab,  127ff. 

Kilammu,  85ff. 

Hadad,  122 

N^ab 

Panammu,  127 

Teima,  113 

Zakir,  96ff. 
Irhuleni,  78,  106 
Isaiah,  117,  134 
Ishbi-Urra,  13 
Ishtar,  15,  27,  49 
Ishtob,  42 
Isin  DynMty,  13 
Ispuinis,  106 
Israel,  32,  76f.,  115,  118 
Ituai-tribe,  23 

Jacob,  28f.,  32,  34 
Jehu,  79,  80,  81,  82 
Jeroboam,  84,  102,  115 
Joahaz,  81,  82 
Joash,  83 
Joram,  77,  79,  82 
Judah,  116,  134 
Judges,  5 

Kadashman-ljarbe,  15 
Kaldi,  15 
Kalparuda,  71 
Katazil,  71 
Khian,  71 
Kikia,  11 

Kalammu,  2,  85,  130 
Koa,  15, 16 
Kundashpi,  71,  109 
Kustaspi,  114 

Laban,  32f. 

Lalli,  71  » 


Leucosyrians,  32 
Lubarna,  66,  67,  72 
Lucian,  6 

Makir,  36 

Manetho,  87 

Marduk,  17 

Man',  83,  96,  100 

Marriage,  29 

Mati-Uu,  4,  107f,,  109 

Menahem,  114,  115,  116 

Memeptah,  36,  38 

Merodach-baladan,  134 

Midas  of  Phrygia,  128,  136f .,  138 

Mina  of  Carchemish,  137 

Minaeans,  12 

Mithra,  34 

Mitinti  of  Askalon,  120 

Moab,  36,  77,  116 

Mutallu,  69,  138 

Naaman,  46 

Nabataeau  inscriptions,  2 
Nabonidus,  15 
Nahor,  18,  24 
Names,  personal,  26 
Nannar,  94 
Naphtali,  49,  116 
Nasb^u,  26 

Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  5 
Nimrod,  14 
Nur-Adad,  53 
Nusku,  26 

Og,  33,  36 

Omri,  5,  79,  80,  83 

Palmyrene  Inscriptions,  2,  87 
Panammu  I,  2,  114,  121 

II,  124 
Papyrus  Anastasi,  45 
Patriarchal  period,  5 
Pekah,  116f. 
Pekahiah,  116 
Pekod,  17 


163 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Philo  of  Byblos,  104 

Pisiris  of  Carchemish,  114,  136f. 

Pompey,  131 

Puqudu,  17 

Pygmalion,  76 

Qarqar,  battle  of,  73f . 
siege  of,  135 

Rabshaqeh,  63,  120 

Ramman,  49 

Ramses  III,  36,  47 

Rapiqu-tribe,  17 

Ra^un  (nu),  109,  118 

Rehoboam,  48 

Rekabel,  92,  93 

Relief,  Assyro-Aramaean,  99 

Reshef,  103 

Rezin,  109,  114,  115,  116,  118,  121 

Rezon,  48f.,  50 

Rib-Addi,  14 

Rimmon,  49 

Rim-Sin,  18 

Rusash,  128,  137 

Sabac&ns,  12 

$adlka-marriage,  29 

SA.  GAZ,  34 

$alm,  119 

Samaria,  bazaars  in,  50 

Samsl,  116,  119f. 

Samsu-ditana,  13,  17,  39 

Sangara,  59,  69 

Sapalulme,  69 

Sarduris  II,  of  Urartu,  109,  114 

Sargon,  3,  133ff. 

Sargonid  letters,  4 

9arpanit,  17 

Sasi,  72,  118 

SaiU,  87 

Sculptures  from  Sen^li,  93,  128 

Semites,  11 

Senacherib,  63,  92 

Serug,  18 

Setil,  35 


Sewe,  133 
Shadudu,  56 
Shahr,  104 
Shallum,  115 
Shalmaneser  I,  3,  19 

III,  3,  59,  81,  106 
"  IV,    84,    92,    106,    114, 

120,  133f. 
Shamash,  12 
Shamash-ilu,  107 
Shams,  104 

Shamshi-Adad,  100,  106 
Shattuara,  19 
Sh6r,  27 
Shoa,  15f. 
Shobak,  43 
Shumer,  14 
Si'aqabi,  28 
Sib'u,  133,  134,  135f. 
Sidonians,  5,  50 
Sihon,  36 
Sin,  26 
Sin-Gamil,  14 
Sinuhe,  37 
Sin-zir-ban,  2 
Sipittibi'l,  114 
Social  conditions,  28f . 
Solomon,  47 

South  Arabian  districts,  13 
Sudi,  19 
Sumu-abu,  13 
Sumalal,  109,  114 
Suti,  14ff.,  17,  18,  35 

Tab'61,  102,  116 
Tabrimmon,  48,  49 
Tabula  Peutinger,  118 
Tarbulara,  109,  114,  138 
Tarqu,  11 
T6r,  27 
Terah,  15 
Teraphim,  29 
Tiglathpileser  I,  3,  19,  24,  25 

IV,  3, 15.  20, 116, 119f. 
Tigris  migration,  23 


164 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Tigris,  Arumu  on,  20 
Tirhaqa,  131 
Toi,  45 

Trade,  49,  66,  81 
Tukulti-ninib,  3,  26 
Tu'm&nu  tribe,  12,  17 
Tutammu,  109,  112 
Typhon,  5 

tJr-Amurru,  103 
Ur-Dynasty,  14 
TJrliileni,  73,  of  Irbuleni 
Uriah,  121 
Urikki,  114 

Vannic  influence,  100 


Varuna,  34 
Vineyards,  27 

Wives,  33 

Xenophon,  17 

Ya,26 
Yabliya,  12 
Yaubi'di,  130, 134, 135 
Yitia,  14 

Zabib!,  114 
Zaipparma,  72 
Zakir  of  Hamath,  97ff. 
Zimridi,  14 


165 


COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

Columbia  Uniyersity  in  the  City  of  New  York 


me^ 


The  Press  was  incorporated  June  8,  1893,  to  promote  the  publica- 
tion of  the  results  of  original  research.  It  is  a  private  corporation, 
related  directly  to  Columbia  University  by  the  provisions  that  its 
Trustees  shall  be  officers  of  the  University  and  that  the  President  of 
Columbia  University  shall  be  President  of  the  Press. 


The  publications  of  the  Colimibia  University  Press  include  works 
on  Biography,  History,  Economics,  Education,  Philosophy,  Linguistics, 
and  Literature,  and  the  following  series: 

Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Anthropology. 

Columbia  University  Biological  Series. 

Columbia  University  Studies  in  Cancer  and  Allied  Subjects. 

Columbia  University  Studies  in  Classical  Philology. 

Coltunbia  University  Studies  in  Comparative  Literature. 

Columbia  University  Studies  in  English. 

Columbia  University  Geological  Series. 

Coltmibia  University  Germanic  Studies. 

Columbia  University  Lido-Iranian  Series. 

Columbia   University    Contributions   to    Oriental    History    and 
Philology. 

Columbia  University  Oriental  Studies. 

Columbia  University  Studies  in  Romance  Philology  and  Liter- 
ature. 

Records  of  Civilization:  Sources  and  Studies. 

Adams  Lectures.  Carpentier  Lectures. 

Julius  Beer  Lectures.  Hewitt  Lectures. 

Blumenthal  Lectures.  Jesup  Lectures. 

Catalogues  will  be  sent  free  on  application. 


LEMCKE    &    BUECHNER,   Agents 
30-32  WEST  37th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 


COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY  ORIENTAL  STUDIES 
Edited  by  RICHARD  J.  H.  GOTTHEIL 

VOL.  I.    THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF   THE   MORAL    QUALITIES. 

An  Ethical  Treatise  of  the   Eleventh  Century  by  Solomon  Ibn 

Gabirol.    By  Stephen  S.  Wise,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  ix  +  117, 
$1.25  net. 
[VOL.    n.      PARODY    m    JEWISH    LITERATURE.      By    Israel 

Davidson,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xxii  +  292.] 
VOL.  m.    OLD  BABYLONIAN  TEMPLE  RECORDS.    By  Robert 

Juutrs  Lau,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xi  +  89  +  41.    Plates.    $2.50  net. 
VOL.  IV.    SIDON.    A  Study  in  Oriental  History.    By  Frederick 

Carl  Eiselen,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  vii  +  172.    $1.50  net. 
VOL.    V.      HISTORY    OF    THE    CITY    OF    GAZA    FROM    THE 

EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY.     By  Martin  A. 

Meter,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xiii  +  182.    $1.50  net. 
VOL.    VL      THE   BUSTAN    AL-UKUL    by    Nathanael    ibn     Al- 

Fatttjmi.    By  David  Levine,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth  pp.  xvi  +  142  +  88. 

$2.50  net. 
[VOL.    Vn.    THE    EIGHT    CHAPTERS    OF    MAIMONIDES    ON 

ETHICS  (SHEMONAH  PERAKIM).    Edited  by  Joseph  I.  Gor- 

FiNKLE,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xii  +  104  +  55.] 
VOL.     Vm.      SUMERIAN     RECORDS     FROM     DREHEM.      By 

William  M.  Nesbit,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xiv  +  91.    Plates  and 

sign  list.     $1.50  net. 
VOL.  IX.    THE  EVOLUTION   OF  MODERN  HEBREW  LITERA- 
TURE,   1850-1912.     By    Abraham    S.    Waldstbin,    Ph.D.    8vo, 

cloth,  pp.  vii  +  127.    $1.25  net. 
VOL.   X-    THE  HISTORY  OF  TYRE.    By  Wallace  B.  Fleming, 

Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xiv+  165.     Map.    $1.50  net. 
VOL.    XL    THE    YEMENITE    MANUSCRIPT    OF    PESAHIM   IN 

THE    LIBRARY     OF     COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY.      Edited    by 

Julius  J.  Price,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth.    In  press. 
VOL.  Xn.    THE  PROBLEM  OF  SPACE  IN  JEWISH  MEDIEVAL 

PHILOSOPHY.     By  Israel  Isaac  Efros,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth.    In 

press. 
VOL.    Xm.    ARAM    AND    ISRAEL,    OR    THE    ARAMAEANS    IN 

SYRIA  AND  MESOPOTAMIA.    By  Emil  G.  H.  Kraehnq,  Ph.D. 

8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xii+  157.     Map.    $1.50  net. 
VOL.  XIV.    A  SUMERO-BABYLONIAN  SIGN  LIST.     By  Samuel 

A.  B.  Mercer,  Ph.D.    8vo,  cloth.    In  press. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LEMCKE  AND  BUECHNER,  AGENTS 

30-32  West  27th  Street  NEW  YORK 


COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 
ORIENTAL  HISTORY  AND  PHILOLOGY 

Edited  by  RICHARD  J.  H.  GOTTHEIL  and 
JOHN  DYNELEY  PRINCE 

NO.  2.  SUMERIAN  HYMNS.  From  Cuneiform  Texts  in  the 
British  Museum.  TransUteration,  translation  and  com- 
mentary. By  Frederick  A.  Vanderburgh,  Ph.D.  8vo, 
pp.  xiiH-  83.     Paper,  $1.00;  cloth,  $1.50  net. 

NO.  2.     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  GOVERNORS  OF  EGYPT 

by  Abu  Umar  Muhammad  Ibn  Yusuf  Al-Kindi.  By 
Nicholas  August  Koenig,  Ph.D.  Svo,  paper,  pp.  33  +  33. 
$1.00  net. 

NO.  3.  ASSYRIAN  PRIMER.  An  Inductive  Method  of 
Learning  the  Cuneiform  Signs.  By  J.  Dyneley  Prince, 
Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Semitic  Languages,  Columbia  University. 
Svo,  paper,  pp.  58.     $1.00  net. 

NO.  4.  THE  WITNESS  OF  THE  VULGATE,  PESHITTA 
AND  SEPTUAGINT  TO  THE  TEXT  OF  ZEPHANIAH. 

By  Sidney  Zandstra,  Ph.D.     8vo,  paper,  pp.  52.     $1.00  net. 

NO.  5.  TIGLATH  PILESER  IH.  By  Abraham  S.  Ans- 
PACHER,  Ph.D.     8vo,  cloth,  pp.  xvi  +  72.     $1.25  net. 

NO.  6.     ROOT-DETERMINATIVES  IN  SEMITIC  SPEECH. 

A  Contribution  to  Semitic  Philology.  By  Solomon  T.  H. 
HuRwiTz,  Ph.D.  Svo,  pp.  xxii+113.  Cloth,  $1.50  net; 
paper,  $1.00  net. 

NO.  7.  MUHAMMEDAN  LAW  OF  MARRLAGE  AND 
DIVORCE.  By  Ahmed  Shukri,  Ph.D.  Svo,  paper,  pp.  126. 
$1.00  net. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
LEMCKE    AND    BUECHNER,    AGENTS 

30-32  West  27th  Street  NEW  YORK 


7nii 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY