Kazalla or Kazallu is the name given in
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
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
sources to a city in the ancient
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
whose locations is unknown. Its god is
Numushda
Numushda (𒀭𒉡𒈲𒁕 ''Numušda'') was a Mesopotamian god best known as the tutelary deity of the city Kazallu.
Character
The meaning of Numsushda's name is unknown. In an Akkadian astrological text it is explained as ''nammaššu'', a wor ...
.
History
Under its king Kashtubila, Kazalla warred against
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...
in the 24th or 23rd century BC. Sargon laid the city of Kazalla to waste so effectively that "the birds could not find a place to perch away from the ground." The city was briefly under the control of Elam under
Puzur-Inshushinak
Puzur-Inshushinak (Linear Elamite: ''Puzur Šušinak'', Akkadian: , ''puzur3- dinšušinak'', also , ''puzur4- dinšušinak'' "Calling Inshushinak"), also sometimes thought to read Kutik-Inshushinak in Elamite, was king of Elam, around 2100 BC, ...
until E[am fell to Ur. Under the Ur III empire, the city was ruled by ensi (governors). Some of them, Ititi, Izariq, Kallamu, Šu-Mama, and Apillaša (appointed in year 7 of Amar-Suen), are known by name. All during the reigns of Shulgi and Amar-Suen. There is a letter from Ibbi-Sin, the last ruler of Ur III, and Puzur-Numušda 1 who he had made governor of Kazallu, complaining that he was not doing enough to oppose Ishbi-Erra, ruler of Isin.
In the early 2nd millennium BC the city had a number of conflicts with
Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
. A year name of
Sin-Iqisham marks the destruction of Kazullu. A year name of Ward-Sin lists the destruction of the walls of Kazullu. Larsa ruler
Kudur-Mabuk
Kudur-Mabuk was a ruler in the ancient Near East city-state
of Larsa from 1770 BC to 1754 BC. His sons Warad-Sin and
Rim-Sin I were kings of Larsa. His daughter En-ane-du was high
priestess of the moon god in Ur.
Chronology of the Larsa Dynas ...
also reports repelling the forces of Kazullu. A ruler of
Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
,
Erra-imitti
Erra-Imittī, (cuneiform: d''èr-ra-i-mit-ti'Ur-Isin King List'' 14. or ''èr-ra-''ZAG.LU''Chronicle of Early Kings'' (ABC 20) A 31 to 36 and repeated as B 1 to 7. meaning “Support of Erra”) ca. 1805–1799 BC (short chronology) or ca. 186 ...
, also claimed to have destroyed Kazullu. Lastly, mulbalum, ruler of
Esnunna
Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian Empire, Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althoug ...
claimed to have defeated a coalition which included Kazallu. Kazallu briefly became a city-state in its own right before falling to Babylon. The 13th year name of Babylonian ruler Sumu-abum lists the destruction of Kazallu.
Location
According to a tablet from the reign of
Gudea
Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had marr ...
of
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
, Kazalla was located somewhere to the west of
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 ...
, in the land of
Martu. According to a letter to
Ibbi-Sîn the Martu were hindering travel between Ur and Kazallu. Some scholars today believe it was only about 15 km from the city 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 ...
, and just west of the Euphrates. In texts from Drehem the city is said to be to the east of the unlocated city of Girtab. Old Babylonian records have it as being in the area of
Marad
Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum, Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and roug ...
(modern Tell as-Sadoum).
[Wu, Y. (1998). Kings of Kazallu and Marad in the early OB Period. XXXIVème Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, 221-227]
See also
*
Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
References
{{Reflist
Former populated places in Southwest Asia