Hamazi or Khamazi ( Sumerian: , ''ha-ma-zi''^ki, or ''Ḫa-ma-zi₂''^ki) was an ancient kingdom or city-state of some importance that reached its peak c. 2500–2400 BC. Its exact location is unknown, but is thought to have been located in the western

Zagros Mountains 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 ...

roughly between Elam and

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 ...

, possibly near

Nuzi Nuzi (or Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur; modern Yorghan Tepe, Iraq) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of the city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), located near the Tigris river. The site consists of one medium-sized multiperiod tell and two small s ...

or modern

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

. Hamazi first came to the attention of archaeologists with the discovery of a vase with an inscription in very archaic cuneiform commemorating the victory of

Uhub Uhub ( sux, , ''u2-hub2''), (c. 2600 BCE), was ''Ensi (Sumerian), Ensi'' (Governor) of the Sumerian city-state of Kish (Sumer), Kish before Mesilim His name is missing from the ''Sumerian king list'', just as the name of Mesilim, who ruled about ...

(or Utug), an early king of

Kish Kish may refer to: Geography * Gishi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, a village also called Kish * Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality also spelled Kish * Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf * Kish, Iran, ...

, over this place, causing fringe theorist

Laurence Waddell Lieutenant Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell, Order of the Bath, CB, Order of the Indian Empire, CIE, Linnean Society of London, F.L.S., Doctor of Laws, L.L.D, Master of Surgery, M.Ch., Indian Medical Service, I.M.S. Royal Anthropological Instit ...

in 1929 to speculate that it was to be identified with

Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during it ...

in Syria. It is now generally considered to have been somewhere in the vicinity of the Diyala River. One of the earliest references to Hamazi is found in the epic ''

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'' is a legendary Sumerian account, preserved in early post-Sumerian copies, composed in the Neo-Sumerian period (ca. 21st century BC). It is one of a series of accounts describing the conflicts between Enmerkar, ...

'', where

Enmerkar Enmerkar was an ancient Sumerian ruler to whom the construction of Uruk and a 420-year reign was attributed. According to literary sources, he led various campaigns against the land of Aratta. Historical king Late Uruk period The tradition ...

prays to Enki about the confusion of languages in the various inhabited lands, at the time of the building of the

ziggurat A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has ...

s in

Eridu Eridu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic language, Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was l ...

and

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.Harm ...

. Hamazi is the only land mentioned in this prayer with the epithet "many-tongued". A sequel, ''

Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana (also known as Enmerkar and Ensuhkeshdanna) is a text in Sumerian literature appearing as a sequel to ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'', and is second in a series of four accounts describing the contests of Aratta agai ...

'' also mentions that the sorcerer of Hamazi, Urgirinuna, went to

Aratta Aratta is a land that appears in Sumerian myths surrounding Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, two early and possibly mythical kings of Uruk also mentioned on the Sumerian king list. Role in Sumerian literature Aratta is described as follows in Sumerian ...

after Hamazi "had been destroyed"; he is later sent by the Lord of Aratta on a failed mission attempting to bring Enmerkar into submission. According to the '' Sumerian King List'', king Hadanish of Hamazi held hegemony over Sumer after defeating Kish, but was in turn defeated by

Enshakushanna Enshakushanna ( sux, , ), or Enshagsagana, En-shag-kush-ana, Enukduanna, En-Shakansha-Ana, En-šakušuana was a king of Uruk around the mid-3rd millennium BC who is named on the '' Sumerian King List'', which states his reign to have been 60 year ...

. A clay tablet found in the archives at

Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...

in Syria bears a copy of a diplomatic message sent from king

Irkab-Damu Irkab-Damu (reigned c. 2340 BC), was the king ( Malikum) of the first Eblaite kingdom, whose era saw Ebla's turning into the dominant power in the Levant. During his reign, the vizier started to acquire an important role in running the affair of ...

of Ebla to king Zizi of Hamazi, along with a large quantity of wood, hailing him as a brother, and requesting him to send mercenaries in exchange. Hamazi was one of the provinces of Ur under the reign of

Amar-Sin Amar-Sin ( akk, : '' DAmar D Sîn'', after the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine"), initially misread as Bur-Sin (c. 2046-2037 BC middle chronology, or possibly ca. 1982–1973 BC short chronology) was the third rule ...

during the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...

; two governors or ''

ensis ''Ensis'' is a genus of medium-sized edible saltwater clams, littoral bivalve molluscs in the family Pharidae. ''Ensis'', or razor clams, are known in much of Scotland as spoots, for the spouts of water they eject while burrowing into the sa ...

'' during this reign were named Lu-nanna son of Namhani, and Ur-Ishkur. In ca. 2010 BC, the province was occupied and plundered by

Ishbi-Erra Ishbi-Erra ( Akkadian: d''iš-bi-ir₃-ra'') was the founder of the dynasty of Isin, reigning from ''c.'' 2017 — ''c.'' 1986 BC on the middle chronology or 1953 BC — ''c.'' 1920 BC on the short chronology. Ishbi-Erra was preceded by Ibbi-Si ...

of Isin as the Ur III empire was collapsing.

History

The first dynasty of Hamazi to hold the

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

over Sumer may have been founded BC. This dynasty may have been defeated by the second dynasty of Uruk BC (based on the ''SKL''); however, the second of Ur may have destroyed Uruk BC. This may have allowed the kingdom of Hamazi to seize this opportunity to temporarily regain its independence from Sumer. Hamazi was relatively peaceful up until BC when the

Neo-Sumerian Empire The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider to ...

sent expeditions out into northwestern

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 ...

. This third dynasty of Ur conquered Hamazi; but, this Sumerian dynasty was near its end amidst rebellions BC. Poor upkeep over vassal states such as that of Hamazi may have resulted in the subsequent collapse of both kingdoms.

History

Notes

See also