Hassum (also given as Khashshum, Ḫaššum, Hassu, Hassuwa or Hazuwan) was a

Hurrian 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 ...

city-state, located in southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

most probably on the Euphrates river north of

Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its ...

History

Early Bronze

The city was a vassal to

Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...

, it was mentioned in the Tablets of Ebla as Hazuwan, and was governed by its own king. It came under the influence of Mari for a short period of time in the 24th century BC, before

Irkab-Damu Irkab-Damu (reigned c. 2340 BC), was the king ( Malikum) of the first Eblaite kingdom, whose era saw Ebla's turning into the dominant power in the Levant. During his reign, the vizier started to acquire an important role in running the affair of ...

of Ebla regained influence over the area, the city survived the

Akkadians The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rul ...

conquests in 2240 BC and flourished as a trade center in the first half of the 2nd millennia BC.

Middle Bronze

In the beginning of 18th century BC, Hassum allied with Yamhad against

Yahdun-Lim Yahdunlim (or ''Yakhdunlim, Yahdun-Lim'') was the king of Mari probably in 1820—1796 BC. He was of Amorite origin, and became king after the death of his father Iagitlim. Yahdunlim built Mari up to become one of the major powers of the regio ...

of Mari, it later helped

Yamhad Yamhad was an ancient Semitic kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo), Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC, and was ruled by the Yamhadite dynasty kings, who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand their realm. ...

against a kingdom in Zalmakum (a marshy region between 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 lower Balikh),, but then shifted alliance to

Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad ( akk, Šamši-Adad; Amorite: ''Shamshi-Addu''), ruled 1808–1776 BC, was an Amorite warlord and conqueror who had conquered lands across much of Syria, Anatolia, and Upper Mesopotamia.Some of the Mari letters addressed to Shamsi-Ada ...

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 ...

after he annexed Mari. The city sent him 1,000 troops to attack

Sumu-Epuh Sumu-Epuh (reigned Middle chronology) is the first attested king of Yamhad (Halab). He founded the Yamhad dynasty which controlled northern Syria throughout the 17th and 18th centuries BC. Reign Although Sumu-Epuh's early life or the way he asce ...

of Yamhad. Later,

Yarim-Lim I Yarim-Lim I, also given as Yarimlim, (reigned ) was the second king of the ancient Amorite kingdom of Yamhad in modern-day Aleppo, Syria. Family Parentage Yarim-Lim was the son and successor of the first king Sumu-Epuh and his queen Sumunna-Abi. ...

of Yamhad brought Hassum under his hegemony and the city remained subjugated to Yamhad until the Hittite conquest.

Hittite Conquest

In the course of his war against Yamhad,

Hattusili I Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Labarna II) * Ḫattušili II * Ḫattušili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Laba ...

of the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

, having destroyed

Alalakh Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze A ...

and Urshu, headed toward Hassum in his sixth year (around 1644 BC,

middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

Yarim-Lim III Yarim-Lim III (reigned c. Middle 17th century BC - c. 1625 BC - Middle chronology) was the king of Yamhad (Halab) succeeding Hammurabi II. Reign Yarim-Lim ascended the throne at a time of internal disintegration for Yamhad, combined with foreign ...

of Yamhad sent his army under General Zukrassi, leader of the heavy-armed troops, accompanied by General Zaludis the commander of the

Manda Manda may refer to: Places * Kafr Manda, Arab town in the Lower Galilee * Manda Upazila, an upazila in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh * Manda, Kale, a village in Burma * Manda, Guinea, a town in the Labé Region * Manda, Jammu, India, ...

troops. They united with the army of Hashshum, then the battle of Atalur mountain ensued (Atalur is located north of Aleppo not very far from the

Amanus The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south ...

, it can be identified with the

Kurd-Dagh Kurd Mountain or Kurd Dagh ( ku, چیای کورمنج, Çiyayê Kurmênc; tr, Kürt Dağı, officially ; ar, جبل الأكراد) is a highland region in northwestern Syria and southeastern Turkey. It is located in the Aleppo Governorate of ...

Mountains). Hattusili destroyed his enemies and moved on to burn and loot Hassum. The citizens rallied their forces three times against the Hittites, but Hattusili sacked the city and seized the statues of the god

Teshub Teshub (also written Teshup, Teššup, or Tešup; cuneiform ; hieroglyphic Luwian , read as ''Tarhunzas'';Annick Payne (2014), ''Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts'', 3rd revised edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p.& ...

, his wife Hebat and a pair of silver bulls that were the bulls of Teshub, and carried them to

Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of t ...

, where they were kept in the temple of

Arinna Arinna was the major cult center of the Hittite sun-goddess known as dUTU URU''Arinna'' or " Sun-Goddess of Arinna", who is also sometimes identified as ''Arinniti'' or as ''Wuru(n)šemu''. Arinna was located near Hattusa, the Hittite capital. ...

. The king of Hassum was captured and humiliated, he was harnessed to one of the wagons used to transport the loot of his city and taken to the Hittite capital.

Late Bronze

A century later, Hittite king

Telipinu Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, living in 16th century BC, reigned c. 1525-1500 BC in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all ...

(fl. c. 1500 BC) mentions Hassum as his chief enemy and his destruction of the city.

References

Citations

{{Authority control Hurrian cities Former populated places in Turkey