Apum was an ancient

Amorite The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...

kingdom located in the upper Khabur valley, modern northeastern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It was involved in the political and military struggle that dominated the first half of the 18th century BC and led to the establishment of the

Babylonian Empire Babylonia (; , ) was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as an Akkadian-populated but Amorite-ru ...

. Apum was incorporated into Babylon in 1728 BC and disappeared from the records.

History

The majority of the kingdom inhabitants were Amorites. Originally, Apum was a small city perhaps located in the vicinity of modern-day

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

. The kingdom was attested for the first time in the Archives of Mari (c. 1774 BC). At the time of its attestation, Apum was already in control of the old Assyrian capital

Shubat-Enlil Tell Leilan is an archaeological site situated near the Wadi Jarrah in the Khabur River basin in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The site has been occupied since the 5th millennium BC. During the late third millennium, the site was ...

which became Apum's capital. In 1771 BC, Apum received a warning from Mari's monarch

Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__ Zimri-Lim was in the Middle Bronze Age the king of Mari, Syria, Mari (c. 1767–1752 BCE; low chronology). Background Family Zimri-Lim (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was the son or grandson of king Yahdun-Lim of Ma ...

regarding an Eshnunnite attack, however, the Apumites were unable to resist and their capital was occupied by the invading force. Following the Eshnunnite main force departure, Apum's king Zuzu became a vassal to Eshnnuna and was entrusted in commanding the Eshnunnite garrison. Soon after, Apum was attacked by the neighboring kingdom of Qattara who occupied the capital, but was evicted by the Eshnunnites. Afterwards, Apum was overrun by an

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

ite invasion led by a general named Kunnam, who shared the power with the Apumite king Haya-Abum, who was a vassal of Mari. The Elamites left in 1765 BC, and the capital of Apum was invaded by the kingdom of

Andarig Andarig or Andariq was a Middle Bronze Age kingdom in the Sinjar plain, Sinjar Plain region of Upper Mesopotamia, northern Mesopotamia, located between the Khabur (Euphrates), Habur and Tigris river. It is mentioned several times in the documents f ...

. However, it is certain that by 1750 BC, Apum's dynasty was in firm control over its capital, after an alliance with the kingdom of

Kurda Kurda was a small ancient city-state and a Middle Bronze petty kingdom located in the region of the Sinjar Plain in Northern Mesopotamia which eventually became subsumed into Assyria. It is mentioned along with the Amorite states of Andarig and ...

that drove the Andarigites out. Apum came to an end after the invasion of the

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

n king

Samsu-Iluna Samsu-iluna (Amorite: ''Shamshu-iluna'', "The Sun (is) our god") (–1712 BC) was the seventh king of the founding Amorite dynasty of Babylon. His reign is estimated from 1749 BC to 1712 BC (middle chronology), or from 1686 to 1648 BC (short chron ...

in 1728 BC. In a letter to Mari (in

year 4) it is reported that Turum-Natki, the ruler of Apum had died, and that Qarni-Lim, ruler of

History

Rulers

See also

References

Citations

Further reading