Ibbit-Lim was the earliest known ruler of the Third kingdom of Ebla, in modern Syria, reigning most likely shortly before 1950 BCE.

Reign

Ibbit-Lim is only known by a fragmentary

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

torso found in 1968 at

Tell Mardikh Ebla (Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center thro ...

and now in Aleppo, which was part of a votive statue for

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

, once placed in this goddess' temple in the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center thr ...

. A cuneiform inscription on it bears the name of the ''meki'' (king) of Ebla Ibbit-Lim, son of Igrish-Kheb, and claims that the statue was made "eight years after Ishtar's apparition in Ebla". It is believed that this text passage refers to the election of Ishtar as the poliadic goddess of Ebla, an action most likely brought by Ibbit-Lim himself, eight years before making the statue.Matthiae (2010), pp. 230-31
Ibbit-Lim's torso was the first evidence permitting the identification of Tell Mardikh with the ancient city of Ebla, whose location had been lost. As one of the earliest rulers – if not the first one – of the Third kingdom of Ebla, Ibbit-Lim may have been the king who ordered the construction of city walls. The names of Ibbit-Lim and his father Igrish-Kheb – who is not known to have been a king – are

Amorite The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...

, suggesting that the inhabitants of Third kingdom of Ebla were predominantly Amorites, as were most of the inhabitants of Syria at that time.

Sources

* {{Kings of Ebla Kings of Ebla 20th-century BC monarchs 20th-century BC people