Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') was the ancient king of

Hamath , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

and

Luhuti Luhuti, Lukhuti or Lu'ash, was an Iron Age Syro-Hittite Aramean region during the early 1st millennium BC located in northern Syria, in an area that used to be called Nuhašše. Political Situation and Capital Luhuti was a region of uncertain pol ...

(also known as

Nuhašše Nuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was a federacy ruled by different kings who collaborated and probably had a high king. Nuhašše changed hands between different powers in th ...

) in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He ruled around 785 BC. Most of the information about him comes from his basalt stele, known as the

Stele of Zakkur The Stele of Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC. Description The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper ...

History

Irhuleni Irhuleni (Luwian: ''Urhilina'') was King of Hamath. He led a coalition against the Assyrian expansion under Shalmaneser III, alongside Hadadezer of Damascus. This coalition succeeded in 853 BC in the Battle of Qarqar a victory over the Assyrians, ...

and his son Uratami were Kings of Hamath prior to Zakkur. Irhuleni led a coalition against the

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 expansion under

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 ...

. Their coalition succeeded in 853 BC in the

Battle of Qarqar The Battle of Qarqar (or Ḳarḳar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of the Neo-Assyrian Empire led by Emperor Shalmaneser III encountered an allied army of eleven kings at Qarqar led by Hadadezer, called in Assyrian ''Adad-idir'' and possibly ...

. Later Irhuleni maintained good relations with Assyria. Not so much is known about the background of Zakkur. He is first mentioned in Assyrian sources probably in 785 BC, in the last years of

Adad-nirari III Adad-nirari III (also Adad-narari) was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Note that this assumes that the longer version of the Assyrian Eponym List, which has an additional eponym for Adad-nirari III, is the correct one. For the shorter eponym ...

. Adad-nirari ordered his commander

Shamshi-ilu Shamshi-ilu (Šamši-ilu) was an influential court dignitary and commander in chief (turtanu) of the Assyrian army who rose in high prominence. He was active during the reigns of Assyrian kings Adad-nirari III (810–782 BC), Shalmaneser IV (782� ...

to mediate the border dispute between Zakkur and

Atarshumki I Atarshumki I (also ''Bar-Guš'') was the King of Bit Agusi in ancient Syria; he was the son of Arames. The capital of Bit Agusi was Arpad. History Like his father, Atarshumki was rebellious against the Assyrian supremacy. At that time, Assyria wa ...

of Arpad. Aramaic kingdoms and chiefdoms around 10-9th century BC

Zakkur appears to have been a native of 'Ana' (which may refer to the city of Hana/

Terqa Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its ...

) on the

Euphrates River 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'') ...

, that was within the influence of Assyria. Zakkur is believed to have founded the

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 ...

dynasty at the city of Hamath (now known as

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

). Some scholars consider him as an

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

, because, previously, Hamath was ruled by the kings with Luwian or neo-Hittite names. Luhuti, over which Zakkur came to rule, is known primarily from Assyrian inscriptions. Nevertheless, these inscriptions describe Luhuti as a country with many cities and troops. The capital of Luhuti was the city of Hazrik (modern Tell Afis; it was known as Hatarikka for the Assyrians), located 45 kilometers south of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. This is where the Zakkur Stele was found. Luhuti was incorporated into Hamath around 796 BC; it formed the northern province of the kingdom.

Events described in the Stele

Zakkur was besieged in Tell Afis by a coalition of Aramean kings incited by Ben-Hadad III of

Aram-Damascus The Kingdom of Aram-Damascus () was an Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant. Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later ye ...

, and led by the king of

Bit Agusi Bit Agusi or Bit Agushi (also written Bet Agus) was an ancient Aramaean Syro-Hittite state, established by Gusi of Yakhan at the beginning of the 9th century BC. It had included the cities of Arpad, Nampigi (Nampigu) and later on Aleppo Arpad was ...

. Zakkur survived the siege and commemorated the event by commissioning the Stele of Zakkur.

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

*Scott B. Noegel
''The Zakkur Inscription.''
In: Mark W. Chavalas, ed. The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. London: Blackwell (2006), 307-311. *M.

Henri Pognon Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

''Inscriptions semitiques de la Syrie, de la Mesopotamie at de la region de Mossoul''
Paris, 1907 (and 1908). The volume contains 116 inscriptions most of them in Syriac. *James J. Montgomery, ''A New Aramaic Inscription of Biblical Interest'' in The Biblical World, Vol. XXXIII, Febr. 1909, p. 79-84. *Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, ANET 501-502

External links

www.aramaic-dem.org

historyfiles.co.uk Aramean kings Aramean states Syro-Hittite kings Ancient Syria History of Aram (region) 8th-century BC Aramean kings

History

Events described in the Stele

See also

References

Bibliography

External links