Gurgum was a Neo-Hittite state in Anatolia, known from the 10th to the 7th century BC. Its name is given as Gurgum in

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n sources, while its native name seems to have been Kurkuma for the reason that the capital of Gurgum— Marqas in Assyrian sources (today Maraş)—was named "the Kurkumaean city" (''ku''+''ra/i-ku-ma-wa/i-ni-i-sà''(URBS)) in local

Hieroglyphic Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian languages, Anatolian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya ...

inscriptions.

History

The first historical event in the history of Gurgum is known for the reign of Larama I . This Gurgumaean king undertook a program of reconstruction including the replanting of crops and vineyards. In 858 BC, during the first western campaign of the Assyrian king

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...

, king Muwatalli II of Gurgum submitted to the Assyrians and paid them tribute. This tribute consisted of gold, silver, oxen, sheep, wine, and his own daughter with her dowry. Muwatalli II's son, King Halparuntiya II, undertook several military expeditions. He attacked the city (or land?) of Hirika (probably to be identified with the land of Hilakku or a

Melid Arslantepe, also known as Melid, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey. It was na ...

ian border city named Hiliki) and captured the city Iluwasi. In 853 BC he paid tribute to the Assyrians as his father did before him. In 805 BC, Halparuntiya III invaded the neighbouring kingdom of Kummuh for territorial reasons. The king of Kummuh, Suppiluliuma (Assyrian Ušpilulume), appealed to the Assyrian king

Adad-nirari III Adad-nīrārī III (also Adad-nārārī, meaning "Adad (the storm god) is my help") was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Family Adad-nīrārī was a son and successor of king Shamshi-Adad V, and was apparently quite young at the time of hi ...

for help, and the Assyrians fixed the border between Gurgum and Kummuh. Around 800 BC, Gurgum was part of a coalition of numerous Neo-Hittite and

Aramean The Arameans, or Aramaeans (; ; , ), were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered ce ...

states hostile to the

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

thite king Zakkur. In the reign of Tarhulara in 743 BC, Gurgum also took part in an anti-Assyrian military alliance led by Sarduri II of

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

and Mati-Ilu of Arpad. The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III defeated the hostile alliance and also invaded Gurgum, destroying 100 Gurgumaean cities. Tarhulara submitted and beseeched the Assyrian king to spare the capital Marqas. Tarhulara was allowed to stay on the throne and henceforth was an Assyrian tributary, paying tribute to the Assyrian king in 738 and 732 BC. In 711 BC, Tarhulara was assassinated by his son Muwatalli III, who then seized the throne of Gurgum. The Assyrian king

Sargon II Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...

responded by deposing Muwatalli III and deporting him to Assyria. Gurgum was annexed to the Assyrian empire and renamed Marqas after the name of the capital city.

Rulers

References

Literature

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History

Rulers

References

Literature

See also