Ellipi was an ancient kingdom located on the western side of the

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

(modern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

), between Babylonia at the west,

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

at the north east,

Mannae Mannaea (, sometimes written as Mannea; Akkadian: ''Mannai'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Minni'', (מנּי)) was an ancient kingdom located in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia, around the 10th to 7th centuries BC. It neighbored Assyria and Urartu, ...

at the north and Elam at the south. The inhabitants of Ellipi were close relatives of the Elamites.

History

The period of major development in Ellipi was from the 9th to 7th centuries BC, as is reflected in archaeological research. The prosperity of the country came from the control of

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

s. They were also cattle dealers. It functioned as a buffer state between Assyrian provinces of Kishesim (Kar-Nergal) and Harhar (Kar-Sharrukin) and Elam.Elayi 2017:170

Assyrian Vassal

During the 8th and 7th centuries BC it was ruled by an Iranicized dynasty.

Talta of Ellipi (d. 707 BC)

Talta (Dalta) was the King of Ellipi. He was probably on the throne contemporary with Assyrian kings

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 ...

(r. 745-727 BC) and

Shalmaneser V Shalmaneser V (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salmānu is foremost"; Biblical Hebrew: ) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Tiglath-Pileser III in 727 BC to his deposition and death in 722 BC. Though Shalmane ...

(r. 727-722 BC). He paid tribute to the Assyrian king Sargon II (r. 722-705 BC) since 714 BC.

War of Succession (Civil War)

In 707 BC, when Talta died of old age, his (sister's?) sons Nibe, supported by Elam, and Ishparaba, supported by Sargon II, started a civil war with Ishparaba winning and becoming king of Ellipi.

Ishparaba of Ellipi

In 703 BC, Ellipi was implicated in the Babylonian rebellions of

Marduk-apal-iddina II Marduk-apla-iddina II ( Akkadian: ; in the Bible Merodach-Baladan, also called Marduk-Baladan, Baladan and Berodach-Baladan, lit. ''Marduk has given me an heir'') was a Chaldean leader from the Bit-Yakin tribe, originally established in the terri ...

against Assyria. In 702 BC, he was strongly punished by king

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " 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 Sargonid dynas ...

of Assyria, who took Marubishti, the capital city. The Sennacherib Prism Column 2 states: "The front of my yoke I turned around and took the road to the land of the Elippi. Before me Ispabâra, their king, abandoned his strong cities, his treasurehouses, and fled to the distant parts. Over the whole of his wide land I swept like a hurricane. The cities Marubishti and Akkuddu, his royal residence-cities, together with 34 small towns of their area, I besieged, I captured, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. The people, great and small, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle, and sheep, without number I carried off. I brought him to nothing; I diminished his land."Luckenbill 1924:27-31

Fall

During the 7th century BC, Ellipi suffered

Cimmerian The Cimmerians (Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into Wes ...

invasions, and then disappeared from sources.

Literature

* Lendering, J.:
Cimmerians
"
www.livius.org
* Liverani, M. (1995)): ''El Antiguo Oriente: Historia, Sociedad y economía.'' * Quintana, E. (1997)
''Historia de Elam, el vecino mesopotámico.''
* Rogers, R. W. (1900)

* Luckenbill, Daniel David (1924) The Annals of Sennacherib. Oriental Institute Publications 2. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago * Josette Elayi (2017) Sargon II, King of Assyria

References

{{Reflist Ancient history of Iran Iron Age peoples of Asia Former countries in the Middle East Former kingdoms Iron Age countries in Asia