Arioch ( ''’Aryōḵ'') appears in the
Book of Genesis as the name of the "King of Ellasar", who participated in the
Battle of the Vale of Siddim
The Battle of the Vale of Siddim, also often called the War of Nine Kings or the Slaughter of Chedorlaomer, is an event in the Hebrew Bible book of that occurs in the days of Abram and Lot. The Vale of Siddim was the battleground for the cities ...
. The battle is described in Genesis as consisting of four kings, led by
Chedorlaomer of
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
(Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal), engaging in a punitive expedition against five kings of
Canaan who rebelled against Chedorlaomer (Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, and the king of Bela). The same story is also mentioned in the
Book of Jubilees, where Arioch is called "king of Sellasar".
Arioch and Ellasar
Some historians have placed the area where Arioch ruled in
Asia Minor, but theories as to its specific locations differ, with some claiming it was in
Pontus while others cite
Cappadocia and
Antioch. There are also sources which associated Ellasar with the kingdom of
Larsa and suggested that Arioch could be one of its kings called ''Eri-Aku'', an
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform, early writing system
* Akkadian myt ...
translation for the name Rim-Sin, where ''rim'' meant servant and Sin is the
Semitic
Semitic most commonly refers to the Semitic languages, a name used since the 1770s to refer to the language family currently present in West Asia, North and East Africa, and Malta.
Semitic may also refer to:
Religions
* Abrahamic religions
** ...
name of the moon god (''Agu'' or ''Aku'' in Akkadian).
By the 20th century, this theory became popular so that it was common to identify Arioch with ''Eriaku'' — through the alternative reading of either
Rim-Sin or his brother Warad-Sin, who were both believed to be contemporary with
Hammurabi. Others identify Ellasar with Ilan-Sura which is a city known from second millennium BC
Mari archives in the vicinity of north of Mari, and Arioch with Arriwuk who appears in Mari archives as a subordinate of
Zimri-Lim.
[K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament ]ROT
Rot(s) or rotting may refer to:
Decay Organic matter
* Rot, decomposition of organic matter
** Dry rot, of wood
** Root rot
** Wet rot, of wood
* Necrosis, of tissue
Technology
* Bit rot, data degradation
** Software rot, a form of bit rot
* Di ...
William B. Erdmans Publishing, 2003. p. 320.
Adaptations by later writers
Arioch was a name for a fictional
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
, and also appears as the name of a demon in many
grimoires. Arioch is also named in
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
's ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'' (vi. 371.) as one of the
fallen angels under
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
's command.
Arioch is one of the principal lords of Chaos in several of
Michael Moorcock's fantasy series. For more information, see Deities in the Elric series.
References
Book of Genesis people
Fictional demons and devils
Lech-Lecha
Torah monarchs
Book of Jubilees
{{Hebrew-Bible-stub