Aziru (Akk. ^ma-zi-ra) was the

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

ite ruler of Amurru, modern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, in the 14th century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

Reign

Relations with Egypt

The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters. While being a formal vassal of Egypt, he tried to expand his kingdom towards the Mediterranean coast and captured the city of Sumur (Simyrra). This was seen with alarm by his neighbouring states, particularly Rib-Hadda, the king of Gubla, (

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

), who pleaded for Egyptian troops to be sent for their protection. Rib-Hadda was ultimately exiled—and probably not long afterwards killed—at the behest of Aziru. Rib-Hadda had left his city of Byblos for four months to conclude a treaty with the king of Beirut, Ammunira, but when he returned home, he learned that a palace coup led by his brother Ilirabih had unseated him from power. He temporarily sought refuge with Ammunira and unsuccessfully appealed for support from Egypt to restore him to the throne. (EA 136-138; EA 141 & EA 142)Bryce, p.186 When this failed, Rib-Hadda was forced to ignominiously appeal to his sworn enemy, Aziru, to place him back on the throne of his city. Aziru promptly betrayed him and dispatched Rib-Hadda into the hands of the rulers of

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

where Rib-Hadda almost certainly met his death. Aziru written in cuneiform

This event is mentioned in Amarna letter EA 162 by Akhenaten to Aziru when the pharaoh demanded that Aziru travel to Egypt to explain his actions. Aziru was detained in Egypt for at least a year before being released when the advancing

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

conquered the important city of Amki thereby threatening Amurru (EA 170). Aziru was allowed to leave Egypt and return to his kingdom.

Relations with Hatti

Aziru made secret contacts with the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I, and sometime upon his return to Amurru, he permanently switched his allegiance to the Hittites to whom he remained loyal until his death. Hittite-Amurru text: *Treaty of Suppiluliuma I with Aziru of Amurru (CTH 49) *Treaty of Niqmaddu II of Ugarit and Aziru of Amurru (CTH 54) Amurru remained firmly in Hittite hands until the reign of the 19th Dynasty Pharaohs

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

and

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, {{ISBN, 0-8018-6715-0) Amarna letters writers Canaanite people 14th-century BC monarchs

Reign

Relations with Egypt

Relations with Hatti

See also

References