Kurda was an ancient

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

and kingdom located in

Northern Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...

. Kurda emerged during the

Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to c. 2900–2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It saw the development of ...

and is attested in the administrative texts of this era as a city state and geographical territory in Upper Mesopotamia corresponding to modern northern Iraq. The city-state of Kurda is again attested by the Akkadian king Naram Sin in 23rd century BCE in his military campaigns in the land of Subarians. Various Archives of Mari around 18th century BCE mention Kurda as an independent Kingdom, sometimes in alliance with Babylon and sometimes allied with Mari. Kurda is also mentioned in the Tell Fekheriye tablets of the Assyrian kings Šalmaneser I (1263–1234 BC) and Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233–1198 BC), as one of the conquered territories in the Mitannian Empire.

Location

At its height the kingdom might have stretched from the

Upper Khabur The Khabur River is the largest perennial tributary to the Euphrates in Syria. Although the Khabur originates in Turkey, the karstic springs around Ras al-Ayn are the river's main source of water. Several important wadis join the Khabur north of ...

basin in what is today north-eastern

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 ...

, to the steppes of Sinjar mountain, modern north-western

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The capital city's location is debated; it was either located to south of Sinjar mountain, or along the Khabur river.

Population and history

The city was the Amorite Numha tribe's center, it controlled a small area and included the nearby city of Kasapa. The east Semitic deity

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

was Kurda's chief god. In the 18th century BC, Kurda was involved in a military dispute with the neighboring kingdom of Andarig, which ended in peace. However, Kurda was later subdued by Andarig and its master, the king of

Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...

. The kingdom tried switching its loyalty to

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

but was stopped by the Elamites who were defeated by a Babylonian-Mariote alliance in 1764 BC, giving Kurda the chance to form an alliance with the kingdom of

Apum Apum was an ancient Amorite kingdom located in the upper Khabur valley, modern northeastern Syria. It was involved in the political and military struggle that dominated the first half of the 18th century BC and led to the establishment of the Ba ...

to face Andarig. Kurda annexed the city of Ashihum, then became a vassal of Babylon, and ended its relation with Mari in response to the latter role in supporting Andarig.

Rulers

References

Citations

{{Reflist Former populated places in Iraq Ancient Mesopotamia History of Kurdistan Amorite cities City-states Former kingdoms

Location

Population and history

Rulers

See also

References

Citations