Luhuti, Lukhuti or Lu'ash, was an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

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 ...

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 political status, known primarily from Assyrian inscriptions, and the stele of

Zakkur Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') was the ancient king of Hamath and Luhuti (also known as Nuhašše) in Syria. He ruled around 785 BC. Most of the information about him comes from his basalt stele, known as the Stele of Zakkur. History Irhuleni and hi ...

king of Hamath. Luhuti is never attested as a kingdom of its own or as having a single central authority, although it did constitute an independent interconnected region. The Assyrian inscriptions that describe Luhuti as a country with many cities and troops. Luhuti had many cities. Shuksi was the maritime center, But the most important center and capital was the city of Hazrik (modern Tell Afis, Known as Hatarikka to the Assyrians), located 45 kilometer south of Aleppo.

History

Luhuti was first attested in 870 BC. The inscriptions of Ashurnasirpal II record his conquest of its neighbour

Pattin Pattin (also known as Pattina, Patina, Unqu and Unqi), was an ancient Luwian Syro-Hittite state at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. It was known to the Assyrians as Unqi and Aramaeans as Unqu. It was located at the north-western coast of ...

, then his use of Pattin's subordinate city of Aribua as his military base for operations against Luhuti. Ashurnasirpal devastated the country, impaled Luhuti soldiers on stakes outside their captured cities. By 796 BC Luhuti was incorporated into Hamath, forming the northern province of the kingdom. King Zakkur of Hamath titled himself King of Hamath and Luhuti. Zakkur was besieged in Hatarikka by a coalition of Syrian kings incited by

Ben-Hadad III Bar-Hadad III ( Aram.) (ܒܪ ܚܕܕ) or Ben-Hadad III ( Heb.) (בֶּן-הֲדַד) was king of Aram Damascus, the son and successor of Hazael. His succession is mentioned in 2 Kings (, ). He is thought to have ruled from 796 BC to 792 BC, althoug ...

of Aram-Damascus, and led by a king descended from Gusi identified as 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 wa ...

, Zakkur survived the siege and commemorated the event by commissioning the Stele of Zakkur. Luhuti was attacked by

Shalmaneser IV Shalmaneser IV ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salmānu is foremost") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 783 BC to his death in 773 BC. Shalmaneser was the son and successor of his predecessor, Adad-nirari III, and ruled during a pe ...

in 765 BC and

Ashur-dan III Ashur-dan III ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning " Ashur is strong") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 773 BC to his death in 755 BC. Ashur-dan was a son of Adad-nirari III (811–783 BC) and succeeded his brother Shalmaneser IV as kin ...

in 755 BC. It was finally incorporated into Assyria as a province by

Tiglath-Pileser III Tiglath-Pileser III ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"), was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, T ...

in 737 BC.

Royal Family Hypothesis

Hittitologists Trevor R. Bryce and especially John David Hawkins believe Zakkur to be a usurper, The Stele of Zakkur does not mention any royal ancestors. Hawkins believes that Zakkur was an Aramean usurper local to Luhuti who replaced the old Hittite dynasty ruling in Hamath.

References

Citations

{{Idlib Governorate Syro-Hittite states Archaeological sites in Idlib Governorate Aramean states