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Šamši-ilu
Shamshi-ilu (Šamši-ilu) was an influential court dignitary and commander in chief (turtanu) of the Assyrian army who rose in high prominence. He was active during the reigns of Assyrian kings Adad-nirari III (810–782 BC), Shalmaneser IV (782–772 BC), Ashur-dan III (771–754 BC) and Ashur-nirari V (754–746 BC). Three times, in 780, 770 and 752 BC, he held the office of limmu officials. He resided at Til Barsip, which is now in northern Syria, and where there are many inscriptions mentioning him. Origins Shamshi-ilu probably was not born in Assyria, though he was from noble lineage of the Bit-Adini tribe and was more than likely educated at the Assyrian court. Later, he rose in the ranks of the Assyrian army to become the commander in chief (turtanu) who had a high degree of influence over the kings of Assyria who lived in his time. He was probably made governor when Shalmaneser III annexed the territories of the Bit-Adini. Some scholars suggested that he might have been o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turtanu
"Turtanu" or "Turtan" (Akkadian: 𒌉𒋫𒉡 ''tur-ta-nu''; he, תַּרְתָּן ''tartān''; el, Θαρθαν; la, Tharthan; arc, ܬܵܪܬܵܢ ''tartan'') is an Akkadian word/title meaning 'commander in chief' or 'prime minister'. In Assyria, the Turtanu ranked next to the king. The Assyrian king would assign the individual who was turtanu to go to battle for him, thus giving great power and influence to the turtanu. The office seems to have been duplicated, and there was a ''tartanu imni'' or 'tartan of the right', as well as a ''tartanu shumeli'' or 'tartan of the left'. In later times the title became territorial; we read of a tartan of 'Kummuh' (Commagene). The title is also applied to the commanders of foreign armies; thus Sargon speaks of the ''Tartan Musurai'', or 'Egyptian Tartan'.Assyria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arpad, Syria
Arpad (probably modern Tell Rifaat, Syria) was an ancient Aramaean Syro-Hittite city located in north-western Syria, north of Aleppo. It became the capital of the Aramaean state of Bit Agusi established by Gusi of Yakhan in the 9th century BC. Bit Agusi stretched from the A'zaz area in the north to Hamath in the south. Arpad later became a major vassal city of the Kingdom of Urartu. In 743 BC, during the Urartu-Assyria War, the Neo-Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III laid siege to Arpad following the defeat of the Urartuan army of Sarduri II at Samsat. But the city of Arpad did not surrender easily. It took Tiglath-Pileser three years of siege to conquer Arpad, whereupon he massacred its inhabitants and destroyed the city. Afterward Arpad served as a provincial capital. Tell Rifaat, which is probably the remains of Arpad, has walls still preserved to a height of eight meters. Biblical references The city is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible: *2 Kings 18:34; 19:13 *Isai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zakkur
Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') was the ancient king of Hamath and Luhuti (also known as Nuhašše) in Syria. He ruled around 785 BC. Most of the information about him comes from his basalt stele, known as the Stele of Zakkur. History Irhuleni and his son Uratami were Kings of Hamath prior to Zakkur. Irhuleni led a coalition against the Assyrian expansion under Shalmaneser III. Their coalition succeeded in 853 BC in the Battle of Qarqar. Later Irhuleni maintained good relations with Assyria. Not so much is known about the background of Zakkur. He is first mentioned in Assyrian sources probably in 785 BC, in the last years of Adad-nirari III. Adad-nirari ordered his commander Shamshi-ilu to mediate the border dispute between Zakkur and Atarshumki I of Arpad. Zakkur appears to have been a native of 'Ana' (which may refer to the city of Hana/Terqa) on the Euphrates River, that was within the influence of Assyria. Zakkur is believed to have founded the Aramean dynasty at the city of Hamat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), when derived from Latin, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted. Stelae were created for many reasons. Grave stelae were used for funerary or commemorative purposes. Stelae as slabs of stone would also be used as ancient Greek and Roman government notices or as boundary markers to mark borders or property lines. Stelae were occasionally erected as memorials to battles. For example, along with other memorials, there are more than half-a-dozen steles erected on the battlefield of Waterloo at the locations of notable actions by participants in battle. A traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syro-Hittite States
The states that are called Syro-Hittite, Neo-Hittite (in older literature), or Luwian-Aramean (in modern scholarly works), were Luwians, Luwian and Arameans, Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern parts of modern Syria, known in ancient times as lands of Hatti (region), Hatti and Aram (region), Aram. They arose following the collapse of the Hittite New Kingdom in the 12th century BCE, and lasted until they were subdued by the Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BCE. They are grouped together by scholars, on the basis of several cultural criteria, that are recognized as similar and mutually shared between both societies, northern (Luwian) and southern (Aramean). Cultural exchange between those societies is seen as a specific regional phenomena, particularly in light of significant linguistic distinctions between two main regional languages, with Luwian language, Luwian belonging to the Anatolian languages, Anatolian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argishti I
Argishti I (), was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Alternate transliterations of the name include ''Argishtis'', ''Argisti'', ''Argišti'', and ''Argishtish''. Although the name is usually rendered as ''Argišti'' (read: ''Argishti''), some scholars argue that ''Argisti'' is the most likely pronunciation. This is due to the belief that the Urartians used the cuneiform symbol ''š'' to voice an ''s''-sound, as opposed to representing the digraph ''sh''. A son and the successor of Menua, he continued the series of conquests initiated by his predecessors, apparently campaigning every year of his reign. He was involved in a number of inconclusive conflicts with the Assyrian king Shalmaneser IV. He conquered the northern part of Syria and made Urartu the most powerful state in post- Hittite Asia Minor. He also expanded his kingdom north to Lake Sevan, conquering ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urartu
Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Van, centered around Lake Van in the historic Armenian Highlands. The kingdom rose to power in the mid-9th century BC, but went into gradual decline and was eventually conquered by the Iranian Medes in the early 6th century BC. Since its re-discovery in the 19th century, Urartu, which is commonly believed to have been at least partially Armenian-speaking, has played a significant role in Armenian nationalism. Names and etymology Various names were given to the geographic region and the polity that emerged in the region. * Urartu/Ararat: The name ''Urartu'' ( hy, Ուրարտու; Assyrian: '; Babylonian: ''Urashtu''; he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') comes from Assyrian sources. Shalmaneser I (1263–1234 BC) recorded a campaign in wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diyala River
The Diyala River (Arabic: ; ku, Sîrwan; Farsi: , ) is a river and tributary of the Tigris. It is formed by the confluence of Sirwan river and Tanjaro river in Darbandikhan Dam in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Northern Iraq. It covers a total distance of . Course It rises near Hamadan, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. It then descends through the mountains, where for some 32 km it forms the border between the two countries. It finally feeds into the Tigris below Baghdad. Navigation of the upper reaches of the Diyala is not possible because of its narrow defiles, but the river's valley provides an important trade route between Iran and Iraq. The river flows southwest of the Hamrin Mountains. Name Its Aramaic origin is "Diyalas" and in Kurdish it is called "Sirwan", meaning 'roaring sea' or 'shouting river'. In early Islamic period, the lower course of the river formed part of the Nahrawan Canal. The Diyala Governorate in Iraq is named after the river. History The river ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish languages, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros Mountains, Zagros and the eastern Taurus Mountains, Taurus mountain ranges. Kurdistan generally comprises the following four regions: southeastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan, Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan, Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan, Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Syrian Kurdistan, Western Kurdistan). Some definitions also include parts of southern South Caucasus, Transcaucasia. Certain Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state consisting of some or all of these areas with a Kurdish ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Oxford Reference Online'' also place Armenia in Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region; and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the Lachin corridor (under a Russian peacekeeping force) and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital, largest city and the financial center. Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The first Armenian state of Urartu was established in 860 BC, and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. The Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and in the year 301 became the first state in the world to adopt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Turkish Straits to the northwest, the Black Sea to the north, the Armenian Highlands to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean seas through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the Balkan peninsula of Southeast Europe. The eastern border of Anatolia has been held to be a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea, bounded by the Armenian Highlands to the east and Mesopotamia to the southeast. By this definition Anatolia comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. Today, Anatolia is sometimes considered to be synonymous with Asian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tigris River
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the Persian Gulf. Geography The Tigris is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the city of Elazığ and about 30 km (20 mi) from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km (250 mi) through Southeastern Turkey before becoming part of the Syria-Turkey border. This stretch of 44 km (27 mi) is the only part of the river that is located in Syria. Some of its affluences are Garzan, Anbarçayi, Batman, and the Great and the Little Zab. Close to its confluence with the Euphrates, the Tigris splits into several channels. First, the artificial Shatt al-Hayy branches off, to join the Euphrates near Nasiriyah. Sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
