Sien is one of the first historically-confirmed rulers of the Kingdom of Diaokhi, a confederation of proto-Georgian tribes. Ruling toward the end of the 12th century BCE, he is known from

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 ...

n sources describing the invasion of his kingdom by

Tiglath-Pileser I Tiglath-Pileser I (; from the Hebraic form of akk, , Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of t ...

in 1112 BCE.

Biography

Sien is the first historically-confirmed ruler of the tribal confederation known as the Kingdom of Diaokhi. He reigned toward the end of the 12th century BCE, most likely shortly after the creation of the kingdom. He joined his domains to

Nairi Nairi (Traditional Armenian Orthography, classical hy, Նայիրի, ''Nayiri'', Reformed Armenian Orthography, reformed: Նաիրի, ''Nairi''; , also ''Na-'i-ru'') was the Akkadian language, Akkadian name for a region inhabited by a particular ...

, a political-military alliance between

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

states. In 1112 BCE, he had to face the invasion of

Assyrian King The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...

, who had launched an attack on Nairi states. Sien gathered 60 tribes spanning from the northeast of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia. Its population, the Colchians a ...

and formed a large army. But he was rapidly defeated and the Assyrian ruler pursued him until the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

shores before capturing him. Tiglath-Pileser I deposed Sien and had him deported toward his capital

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 ...

when the latter refused to submit as had the other rulers of Nairi. A captive Sien had to accept his status as a client king of Assyria, recognizing the supremacy of the deity

Ashur Ashur, Assur, or Asur may refer to: Places * Assur, an Assyrian city and first capital of ancient Assyria * Ashur, Iran, a village in Iran * Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India * Assu ...

, and promised his and his descendant's loyalty toward Assyrian kings. He was then allowed to return to Diaokhi but was made to pay an annual tribute of 1,200 horses and 2,000 cattle.

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Cite book , title=Some Neo-Assyrian Provincial Administrators , last=Ahman , first=Ali Yaseed , publisher=ProQuest , year=2017 , location=Ann Arbor

References

Kings of Diauehi 12th-century BC monarchs