Teʾelḫunu (), also spelled Telkhunu, was a queen regnant of the Nomadic Arab tribes of

Qedar The Qedarites () were an ancient Arab tribal confederation centred in their capital Dumat al-Jandal in the present-day Saudi Arabian province of Al-Jawf. Attested from the 9th century BC, the Qedarites formed a powerful polity which expande ...

who ruled in the 7th century BC, circa 690 BC. She succeeded Yatie and was succeeded by queen

Tabua A tabua () is a polished tooth of a sperm whale that is an important cultural item in Fijian society. They were traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem (called ''sevusevu''), and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs. ...

. She was the fourth of six Arab queens to be attested (as ''sarratu'') in Assyrian documents between Tiglath-pileser III and

Assurbanipal Ashurbanipal (, meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir")—or Osnappar ()—was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the th ...

: Zabibe, Samsi, Yatie, Te'el-hunu,

and Adia, the first five of them rulers.Eckart Frahm:
A Companion to Assyria
' According to Assyrians texts, she also served as ''apkal-latu'' (priestess) of her people. In 690 BC, the Assyrians under

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...

put an end to any potential threat to Assyria from the southwest after the defeat of queen Te'el-hunu and her "male associate" Ḫazaʾil, pillaged Adummatu and brought the queen captive to

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

with a great booty of camels, divine statues, spices and jewels. When

Esarhaddon Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon (, also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 681 to 669 BC. The third king of the S ...

became king of Assyria, he made peace with the Qedarites in Adummatu by sending back the divine statues of Alilat, Nuhay and Orotalt along with Princess Tabua, the relative and successor of Te'el-hunu, who may have been the daughter of Te'el-hunu and Sennacherib.

References

{{reflist, 2 Arab queens Midian Ancient queens regnant 7th-century BC monarchs in Asia 7th-century BC women 7th-century BC Arab people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Ancient Near Eastern women Ancient priestesses