Diniktum, inscribed ''Di-ni-ik-tum''^KI, was a middle bronze-age town located somewhere in the Diyala Governorate of

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. On the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

river downstream from

Upi United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and close to the northern border of Elam. It is possibly at or in the vicinity of Tell Muḥammad, which lies in south-eastern part of modern

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. Diniktum mentioned in the Harmal geographical list.

History

It enjoyed independence briefly during the 18th century under the reigns of the

Amorite The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied la ...

chieftains (''ra-bí-an'' MAR.DÚ) Itur-šarrum, attested on a single seal from Ešnunna, and Sîn-gāmil, son of Sîn-šēmi and a contemporary of

Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__ Zimri-Lim (Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was king of Mari c. 1775–1761 BCE. Zimri-Lim was the son or grandson of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamhad when his father was assassinated by his own servants during a coup. He ha ...

(ca. 1710–1698 BC short) of Mari and Ḫammu-rapī (ca. 1728–1686 BC short) of Babylon. In an old Babylonian letter from

Yarim-Lim I Yarim-Lim I, also given as Yarimlim, (reigned ) was the second king of the ancient Amorite kingdom of Yamhad in modern-day Aleppo, Syria. Family Parentage Yarim-Lim was the son and successor of the first king Sumu-Epuh and his queen Sumunna-Abi. ...

, the king of Yamḫad to the Yašub-Yahad, the king of Dēr, he says: Yarim-Lim I would defeat the king of Diniktum in battle. One king of Diniktum named Itur-šarrum ruled Diniktum for around a century before his successor Sîn-gāmil became the new ruler of the kingdom. Ikūn-pî-Sîn (“The word of Sin is truthful”), the ruler of Nērebtum and possibly

Tutub Khafajah or Khafaje (Arabic: خفاجة; ancient Tutub, Arabic: توتوب) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province (Iraq). It was part of the city-state of Eshnunna. The site lies east of Baghdad and southwest of Eshnunna. History of arch ...

, cities in the sphere of Ešnunna, has a year name: “Year when Ikū(n)-pî-Sîn captured Diniktum." It was absorbed into the kingdom of Ešnunna and consequently embroiled in its conflicts with Elam during the reigns of Ibāl-pî-El II (ca. 1715–1701 BC short) and Ṣillī-Sîn (ca. 1700–1698 BC short). During an

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

invasion of

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 ...

the Elamites sacked

Eshnunna Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in th ...

. This caused many soldiers in the Elamite army that were from Eshnunna to defect. Because of the mass desertion, the Elamite king retreated back to Diniktum. While in Diniktum, the Elamites would sue for peace with

Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...

. The Elamites were than driven from the city. The town was still settled in the later bronze-age, as a year name gives ““the year

n which N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

Kadašman-Ḫarbe, the king, dug the canal of Diniktum.” Kadašman-Ḫarbe was a

Kassite The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

king of Babylon of the late 15th century.

Tell Muhammad

Also Tell Mohammed and Tall Muhammad, is an ancient Near East archaeological site currently in the outskirts of Baghdad. It was worked for 8 seasons beginning in 1978 by the Iraqi State Antiquities Organization in 1978, under the direction of Sd. Mu'tasim Rashid Abdur-Ra. The excavations have revealed remains dating to the Isin-Larsa, Old Babylonian, and Kassite periods."Excavations in Iraq, 1981-82." Iraq, vol. 45, no. 2, 1983, pp. 199–224

History

Tell Muhammad

References

See also