Bit-Amukani (in the Aramaic Assur Ostracon ʾwkn; Assyrian ''^mA-muk-ka-nu''; Babylonian ''^diBit U-ka-a-ni, ^diU-ka-nu; lit. House of Amukani)'' was a tribe, proto-state founded by

Chaldeans Chaldean (also Chaldaean or Chaldee) may refer to: Language * an old name for the Aramaic language, particularly Biblical Aramaic * Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, a modern Aramaic language * Chaldean script, a variant of the Syriac alphabet Places * C ...

in southern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

which stretched from southeast of Nippur to the area of

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.H ...

. It is considered as one of the most powerful

Chaldean Chaldean (also Chaldaean or Chaldee) may refer to: Language * an old name for the Aramaic language, particularly Biblical Aramaic * Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, a modern Aramaic language * Chaldean script, a variant of the Syriac alphabet Places * Chal ...

tribes, next to Bīt-Iakin and Bīt-Dakkūri. As early as 732. B.C.E. it was ruled by prince Ukinzer (also known as Mukin-zeri or

Nabu-mukin-zeri Nabû-mukin-zēri, inscribed mdAG-DU-NUMUN, also known as Mukin-zēri,''Kinglist A'', BM 33332, iv 7. was the king of Babylon 731–729 BC. The Ptolemaic Canon gives his name as Χινζηρος. His reign was brought to its eventual end by the c ...

) who became a king of Babylon in 732. B.C.E. instead of Nabu-shum-ukin II whom he superseded. Later,

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, Ti ...

devastated Bit-Amukani for the second time and defeated Mukin-zeri.

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 campaign ...

(856-824) inscriptions note that two Chaldean leaders (Mušallim-Marduk of Bīt-Amukāni and Adīnu of Bīt-Dakkūri) carried silver, gold, tin, bronze, elephant tusks, elephant skins, ebony and sissoowood (or meskannu-wood) as a tribute to the King of

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 As ...

. Though unconfirmed statement, the economy of Bīt-Amūkāni probably relied on producing dates.

described his genocide of Bit-Amukani with words: "the land Bit-Amukani I threshed as with a threshing instrument. I took all of its people (and) its property to Assyria." Although

's writings testify about conflict with Bīt-Amūkāni, Bīt-Amūkāni never went extinct but actually remained important through later

Babylonian Babylonian may refer to: * Babylon, a Semitic Akkadian city/state of ancient Mesopotamia founded in 1894 BC * Babylonia, an ancient Akkadian-speaking Semitic nation-state and cultural region based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) ...

history.

Sennacherib Sennacherib (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the ...

's inscriptions note that Bit-Amukani consisted of 39 walled cities and 350 villages. Its capital was Sapia (Assyrian ''Sapīya'' or ''Šapīya'').

List of Bīt-Amūkāni leaders

References

{{reflist Chaldea Ancient peoples of the Near East