Ganibatum is a place and people mentioned in the 18th century BC Old Babylonian texts from Mari (modern Tell Harari). Ganibatum is believed to be located near Dur Yahdun Lim but other suggestions remain viable. In fact there may be several locations associated with the Ganibatum who appear involved in the transport of people and goods along the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

and connected waterways. The Gnbtyw people (Genebtyw or Genebtyu) first appear in Year 32 of the reign of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

(ca. 1448 BC). and once again in a superscription dating to the time of

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

(Kitchen 1999 p, 104-105). Previously the Gnbtyw have been sought to the south of Ancient Egypt and associated with the

Land of Punt The Land of Punt ( Egyptian: '' pwnt''; alternate Egyptological readings ''Pwene''(''t'') /pu:nt/) was an ancient kingdom known from Ancient Egyptian trade records. It produced and exported gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory an ...

. But this association has relied almost entirely on the similarity of trade goods and uncertain textual contexts (Saleh, 1972). An identification with the ''Gnbtyw'' people bringing aromatic goods to Egypt after Thutmose III’s campaign to Syria in the mid 15th century BC has recently been proposed (Storck, 2005). If the newly proposed identification of Ganibatum with ''Gnbtyw'' finds acceptance, then the people/place of Ganibatum certainly moved after the destruction of Mari and the decline of Dur Yahdun Lim, perhaps to be connected with Galabatha near the confluence of the Balih and Euphrates (Burke, 1961). Thutmose III might have encountered the people of Ganibatum ''(Gnbtyw)'' in the course of his campaign that explicitly reached the

in Syria. Indeed slightly later campaigns of Thutmose III in Northern Syria resulted in “presents” ''(inw)'' from the even further lands of

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

Assur Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'a ...

and “ Great Hatti” (Singer, 2004 p. 605-607).

References

*Madeleine Lurton Burke, “Ganibatim ville du Moyen Euphrate,” ''Revue d’Assyriologie'' 55 (1961) p. 147-151. *Kenneth A. Kitchen, ''Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated Notes and Comments'' Volume II: Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions, (Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, England) 1999. *Abdel-Aziz Saleh, “The GNBTYW of Thutmosis III's Annals and the South Arabian GEB(B)ANITAE of the Classical Writers,” ''Bulletin de l'Institut Francais d'Archeaologie Orientale'' 72 (1972) p. 245-262. *

Itamar Singer Itamar Singer (November 26, 1946 – September 19, 2012) was an Israeli author and historian of Jewish-Romanian origin. He is known for his research of the Ancient Near East and as a leading Hittitologist, pioneering the study of this ancie ...

, “The Kurushtama Treaty Revisited,” p. 591-607 in SHARNIKZEL Hethitologische Studien Zum Gedenken an Emil Orgetorix Forrer edited by Detlev Groddek and Sylvester Rößle, Dresdner Beiträge zur Hethitologie, Band 10, 2004. *Herbert A. Storck, “Ganibatum and Gnbtyw,” ''

Journal of Ancient Civilizations The Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC) is a graduate research institute on ancient history, ancient languages, and archaeology at the Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China (Jilin Province). The IHAC was the first Chi ...

'' 21 (2005) p. 113-123. {{refend States and territories established in the 18th century BC States and territories disestablished in the 15th century BC Ancient Syria Foreign contacts of ancient Egypt Geography of ancient Egypt