Abba-El I (reigned - Middle chronology ) was the king of

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

( Halab), succeeding his father Hammurabi I.

Reign

Hammurabi I left Yamhad a prosperous country, and Abba-El's reign was relatively peaceful. He maintained good commercial relations with

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

. The main event of his reign was the rebellion of Zitraddu, governor of the city Irridu which belonged along with its district to Abba-El's brother Yarim-Lim A tablet discovered at

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 Ag ...

explains the circumstances which led to the forming of the kingdom of Alalakh; it revealed that Abba-El destroyed Irridu and compensated his brother by giving him Alalakh as a hereditary kingdom for his dynasty under the suzerainty of

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

but that it should be forfeited if Yarim-Lim or his descendants committed treason against Yamhad. Abba-El took an oath upon himself not to confiscate his brother's new kingdom and that he might be cursed if he ever did. In return Yarim-Lim took an oath of loyalty to his brother, specifying that if he or his descendants ever committed treason or spilled Abba-El's secrets to another king, their lands would be forfeited. The

Hurrians 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 Me ...

's influence seems clear during Abba-El's reign, as he recalls the help given to him by the Hurrian Goddess Hebat.

Death and Ancestors

Abba-El died in ca. 1720 BC and was succeeded by Yarim-Lim II, who most probably was his son; however,

Moshe Weinfeld Moshe Weinfeld (also ''Weinfield'', Hebrew: משה ויינפלד) (August 27, 1925 - April 29, 2009), was a professor of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1994, he won the Israel Prize for Bible. Biography Moshe Weinfeld was born ...

believes that Yarim-Lim II was the same as Yarim-Lim of Alalakh.

References

Citations

{{reflist, 2 18th-century BC rulers Kings of Yamhad People from Aleppo Amorite kings Yamhad dynasty 18th-century people