Yarim-Lim III (reigned c. Middle 17th century BC - c. 1625 BC -

Middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

) was the king of

Yamhad Yamhad was an ancient Semitic people, Semitic kingdom centered on Aleppo, Ḥalab (Aleppo), Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC, and was ruled by the Yamhad dynasty, Yamhadite dynasty kings, who counted on both military ...

(

Halab )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

) succeeding Hammurabi II.

Reign

Yarim-Lim ascended the throne at a time of internal disintegration for Yamhad, combined with foreign threats represented with the rise of the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

. He was either the son of Niqmi-Epuh or Irkabtum.

First Years and Internal Affairs

Yarim-Lim fought and won against

Qatna Qatna (modern: ar, تل المشرفة, Tell al-Mishrifeh) (also Tell Misrife or Tell Mishrifeh) was an ancient city located in Homs Governorate, Syria. Its remains constitute a tell situated about northeast of Homs near the village of al ...

in his early years, but Yamhad's weakness was clear.

Ammitakum Ammitakum II was the last king of the ancient Mesopotamian city Alalakh. Archaeologists unearthed a large number of tablets detailing Ammitakum's reign. These documents showed that many citizens of Alalakh were indebted to him. Ammitakum purchased ...

Alalakh Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze Ag ...

declared himself king but not as independent ruler, he acknowledged Yarim-Lim as his suzerain and appointed his son

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 ...

as his heir in the presence of Yarim-Lim, declaring him a servant to the great king of Yamhad. Yarim-Lim was a passive actor in naming the heir to Alalakh

War with the Hittites

The Hittite king

Hattusili I Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Labarna II) * Ḫattušili II * Ḫattušili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Laba ...

exploited Alalakh's proclamation of sovereignty and the internal dissent it caused in Yamhad. He attacked Alalakh in the second year of his Syrian campaigns and conquered it, cutting Aleppo's route to the sea. Yarim-Lim did not send troops to aid Alalakh and the city was destroyed. He (Hattusili) then attacked

Urshu Urshu, Warsuwa or Urshum was a Hurrian-Amorite city-state in southern Turkey, probably located on the west bank of the Euphrates, and north of Carchemish. History Urshu was a commercial city governed by a Lord ( EN). It was an ally of Ebla and ap ...

. Yarim-Lim and

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 i ...

sent aid to the city in vain, and Hattusili destroyed it. The

Hurrians The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Me ...

supported by Yarim-Lim attacked Hattusili's newly acquired lands while he was campaigning against

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a " kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core ...

. He came back on his second campaign, this time fighting Aleppo directly. In the sixth year of his Syrian campaigns, Hattusili headed toward Hassuwa (

Khashshum Hassum (also given as Khashshum, Ḫaššum, Hassu, Hassuwa or Hazuwan) was a Hurrian city-state, located in southern Turkey most probably on the Euphrates river north of Carchemish. History Early Bronze The city was a vassal to Ebla, it was ment ...

). Yarim-Lim sent the Aleppan army under the leadership of General Zukrassi, the heavy-armed troops leader accompanied by General Zaludis, the commander of the

Manda Manda may refer to: Places * Kafr Manda, Arab town in the Lower Galilee * Manda Upazila, an upazila in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh * Manda, Kale, a village in Burma * Manda, Guinea, a town in the Labé Region * Manda, Jammu, India, a v ...

troops. The army consisted of about a hundred

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&n ...

s and thousands of foot soldiers. The battle took place near Atalur mountain (located north of Aleppo, not very far from the

Amanus The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south ...

, it can be identified with the Kurd-Dagh Mountains). Hattusili emerged victorious. Then he destroyed Hassuwa and moved on destroying Yamhad's other Hurrian allies such as Zippasna and Hahhum. Hattusuli then crossed the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

, comparing himself with

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...

and returned to

Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of ...

Death and succession

The date of Yarim-Lim's death is not known, but he died and was succeeded by Hammurabi III his possible son or cousin, before Hattusili's direct attack on the city of Aleppo which ended in his defeat.

References

Citations

{{reflist, 2 17th-century BC rulers Kings of Yamhad People from Aleppo Amorite kings Yamhad dynasty 17th-century BC people