Diniktum, inscribed ''Di-ni-ik-tum''^KI, was a still unlocated middle bronze-age town often thought to be located somewhere in the

Diyala Governorate Diyala Governorate ( ) or Diyala Province is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in northeastern Iraq. Provincial Government *Governor: Muthanna al-Tamimi *Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Council Geography Diyala Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

History

Middle Bronze

It enjoyed independence briefly during the 18th century under the reigns of the

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 ...

chieftains (''ra-bí-an'' MAR.DÚ) Itur-šarrum, attested on a single seal from Ešnunna, and Sîn-gāmil, son of Sîn-šēmi and a contemporary of

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 ...

(ca. 1710–1698 BC short) of Mari and Ḫammu-rapī (ca. 1728–1686 BC short) of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, attested in a brick inscription "Sin-gamil, Amorite chief of Diniktum, son of Sin-semi.". In an old Babylonian letter from

Yarim-Lim I Yarim-Lim I, also given as Yarimlim, (reigned ) was the second king of the ancient Amorite kingdom of Yamhad in modern-day Aleppo, Syria. Family Parentage Yarim-Lim was the son and successor of the first king Sumu-Epuh and his queen Sumunna-Abi. ...

, the king of

Yamḫad Yamhad (Yamḫad) was an ancient Semitic-speaking kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo) in Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC and was ruled by the Yamhad dynasty, who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand thei ...

to the Yašub-Yahad, the king of Dēr, he says: Yarim-Lim I would defeat the king of Diniktum in battle. One king of Diniktum named Itur-šarrum ruled Diniktum for around a century before his successor Sîn-gāmil became the new ruler of the kingdom. Ikūn-pî-Sîn (“The word of Sin is truthful”), the ruler of Nērebtum (

Tell Ishchali Tell Ishchali (also Iščāli or Šaǧālī) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province (Iraq) a few hundred meters from the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris, and 3 miles south by southeast from the ancient city of Khafajah. It is thought ...

) and possibly

Tutub Khafajah or Khafaje (), ancient Tutub, is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate, Iraq east of Baghdad. Khafajah lies on the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. Occupied from the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods through the end of the Old ...

, cities in the sphere of Ešnunna, has a year name: “Year when Ikū(n)-pî-Sîn captured Diniktum." It was absorbed into the kingdom of Ešnunna and consequently embroiled in its conflicts with Elam during the reigns of Ibāl-pî-El II (ca. 1715–1701 BC short) and Ṣillī-Sîn (ca. 1700–1698 BC short). During 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 of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

the Elamites sacked

Eshnunna Eshnunna (also Esnunak) (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althou ...

. This caused many soldiers in the Elamite army that were from Eshnunna to defect. Because of the mass desertion, the Elamite king retreated back to Diniktum. While in Diniktum, the Elamites would

sue for peace Suing for peace is an act by a warring party to initiate a peace process. Rationales "Suing for", in this older sense of the phrase, means "pleading or petitioning for". Suing for peace is usually initiated by the losing party in an attempt to ...

with

Hammurabi Hammurabi (; ; ), also spelled Hammurapi, 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 the ci ...

. The Elamites were then driven from the city.

Late Bronze

The town was still settled in the later bronze-age, as a year name of 15th century BC

Kassite The Kassites () were a people of the ancient Near East. They controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire from until (short chronology). The Kassites gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 B ...

ruler Kadashman-harbe I reads "the year

n which N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

Kadašman-Ḫarbe, the king, dug the canal of Diniktum".

Location

An early proposal was on the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

river downstream from

Upi United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

and close to the northern border of

. It has also been suggested as being at or in the vicinity of

Tell Muhammad Tell Muhammad (also Tell Mohammed and Tall Muhammad) is an ancient Near East archaeological site currently in the outskirts of Baghdad, along the Tigris River in the Diyala region. It is a very short distance from the site of Tell Harmal to the ...

, which lies in south-eastern part of modern

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Diniktum is mentioned in the Harmal geographical list, Tablet IM 51143. In a survey of archaeological sites in the Diyala region of Iraq a site, Tell #851, was identified as a possible location for Diniktum. It showed surface remains from the Ubaid to Kassite periods. A local resident there turned in six UrIII/Larsa cylinder seals (one mentioned the god Ninib) and an inscribed brick. The brick read "Sîn-gāmil the great leader of Martu of the city Diniktum son of Sin-šemi".Saporetti, Claudio, "McC Adams 851 = Diniktum?", Egitto e Vicino Oriente, vol. 24, pp. 97–102, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diniktum City-states Former populated places in Iraq

History

Middle Bronze

Late Bronze

Location

See also

References