Barga was an ancient city and later kingdom in the

Syrian Coastal Mountain Range The Coastal Mountain Range ( ar, سلسلة الجبال الساحلية ''Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah'') also called Al-Anṣariyyah is a mountain range in northwestern Syria running north–south, parallel to the coastal plain.Federal ...

in the Bronze age and

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

age.

Middle Bronze

In the Middle Bronze, Parga/Barga was a contested city between Yamhad and Qatna near Hamath.

Late Bronze

Barga was a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

in the Amarna letters period of

1350 Year 1350 ( MCCCL) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 9 – Giovanni II Valente becomes Doge of Genoa. * May 23 (possible date) ...

1335 BC Year 1335 ( MCCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May 2 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia. * July ...

and later. It is mentioned as the "land of Barga" by Mursilis II in treaties, (see

Habiru Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty"; Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, ''sagaz''; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ''ḫabiru'' or ''ʿaperu'') is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile Cr ...

). The Amarna letters correspondence is composed of 382 clay 'tablet-letters', the majority written to the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and Barga is only referenced in the subcorpus letters authored by

Akizzi Prince Akizzi was the ruler of 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 nor ...

, the Prince of

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 ...

. The region was generally southwest of Aleppo, in the neighborhood of other kingdoms, such as

Nuhašše Nuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was a federacy ruled by different kings who collaborated and probably had a high king. Nuhašše changed hands between different powers in t ...

, Niya, and others. In the Amarna letters, Barga is referenced only in one damaged letter, (EA 57, EA for 'el

Amarna Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...

'), when referencing the "king of Barga" and "Akizzi, king of

References

Moran, William L. William Lambert Moran (August 11, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States. In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his ...

''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, ) Amarna letters locations {{AncientEgypt-stub

Middle Bronze

Late Bronze

See also

References