Bit-Zamani is an ancient

Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...

state in northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, located within the mountainous region of

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin ( syr, ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the borde ...

. In Bit-Zamani was the city of Amida (Amedu, modern

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

). It was one of the four Aramean states that bordered

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

. The others were Bit-Halupe,

Bit Bahiani Bit Baḫiani was an independent Aramean city-state kingdom (c. 1200 – 808 BC) with its capital at ''Guzana'' (modern day Tell Halaf). Bit Baḫiani was ruled by King Kapara. There were at least five kings and four governors of Bit Baḫiani be ...

and Laqe. By the ninth century BC all of them lost to Assyria.

History

The first time Bit-Zamani named was in Assyrian texts from the beginning of the 13th century BC, originating in the city of

Shibaniba Tell Billa (also Tell Billah and Baasheikhah) is an archaeological site near Bashiqa in Nineveh Province (Iraq) 20 kilometers northeast of Mosul. Beginning in Middle Assyrian times the ancient city, not far from Assur, was named Shibaniba. Its ear ...

(modern Tell Billa), in which Ashur-kashid, governor of Bit-Zamani was mentioned. Then Bit-Zamani appears only in Assyrian sources from the beginning of the ninth century BC, from the reign of Assyrian king

Tukulti-Ninurta II Tukulti-Ninurta II was King of Assyria from 890 BC to 884 BC. He was the second king of the Neo Assyrian Empire. History His father was Adad-nirari II, the first king of the Neo-Assyrian period. Tukulti-Ninurta consolidated the gains made by his f ...

(890–884 BC). The king was victorious over Ammi-Ba'al, the king of Bit-Zamani, and then entered into a treaty with him, as a result of which Bit-Zamani became an ally, and in fact a vassal of Assyria. Ammi-Ba'al remained in power, but from that moment on, he had to support Tukulti-Ninurta II during his military expeditions to the Upper

Tigris 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 ...

against the

Hurrians The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Mes ...

and

Urartians 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 Va ...

Nairi Nairi ( classical hy, Նայիրի, ''Nayiri'', reformed: Նաիրի, ''Nairi''; , also ''Na-'i-ru'') was the Akkadian name for a region inhabited by a particular group (possibly a confederation or league) of tribal principalities in the Armen ...

. During the reign of

Ashurnasirpal II Ashur-nasir-pal II (transliteration: ''Aššur-nāṣir-apli'', meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir") was king of Assyria from 883 to 859 BC. Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, in 883 BC. During his reign he embarked ...

(883–859 BC), son and successor Tukulti-Ninurta II, Ammi-Ba'al was murdered in 879 BC during a rebellion, which amounted to the throne Bit-Zamani named Bur-Ramman. This was met with the quick reaction from Ashurnasirpal II, who invaded Bit-Zamani, chased rebellion and killed their leader. The Assyrian king appointed Ilan, Bur-Ramman's brother, on the throne of Bit-Zamani. At first he remained obedient to the Assyrian king, but later rebelled against him, forcing Ashurnasirpal II to another expedition to Bit-Zamani in 866 BC. He attacked Ilan's stronghold Damdammusa then the capital Amedu. The result of this expedition is not known, but it appears that Bit-Zamani remained a vassal of Assyria. In 856 BC,

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campai ...

(858–824 BC), son and successor of Ashurnasirpal II, during one of his military expeditions, took over Bit-Zamani and annexed the territory of this state to one of the Assyrian provinces (titled

Rabshakeh Rabshakeh (Akkadian: 𒃲𒁉𒈜𒈨𒌍 ''rab šāqê'' AL.BI.LUL.MEŠ ; grc, Ραψακης ''Rapsakēs''; la, Rabsaces; aii, ܪܲܒ݂ܫܵܩܹ̈ܐ; alternative spellings include Rab-shakeh, Rabsaces, or Rab shaqe) is a title meaning "chief of ...

). Bit-Zamani was later known under different names as province Amedu, Nairi, Sinabu or

Tushhan Tushhan (also Tushan, or Tušhan) is a Kurdish village known as ( ku, Behramki) or ( ku, Tepe-i Barava) by residents. It was an ancient city in Mesopotamia and was a provincial capital in the upper Tigris river valley, on the south bank and inhabi ...

. For example, at the end of the seventh century BC one of Assyrian officials (

Limmu : Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, th ...

), Bel-iqbi mentioned in some of the sources as Governor of Bit-Zamani, while in others as Governor of Tushhan.

References

{{reflist Ancient Syria Aramean states States and territories established in the 13th century BC States and territories disestablished in the 9th century BC