Shutu ( or Sutu ) is the name given in ancient
Akkadian language
Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...
sources to certain
nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic groups of the
Transjordanian highlands, extending deep into
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 ...
and Southern
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 ...
. Some scholars have speculated that "Shutu" may be a variant of the
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
term ''
Shasu''.
An Egyptian
execration text of the 17th century BCE refers to an "Ayyab" (possibly a variant form of the name
Job
Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...
) as king of the Shutu. Some scholars have tenuously identified the Shutu as the progenitors of the
Moabites and
Ammonites
Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...
.
See also
*
Ayyab
Ayyab was a ruler of Aštartu (present day Tell Ashtara) south of Damascus. According to the Amarna letters, cities/city-states and their kings in the region — just like countries to the north, such as History of the Hittites, Hatti of the Hitti ...
*
Ê¿Apiru
*
Suteans
Bibliography
* Baikie, James. ''The Amarna Age: A Study of the Crisis of the Ancient World.'' University Press of the Pacific, 2004.
* Cohen, Raymond and Raymond Westbrook (eds.). ''Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
* Moran, William L. (ed. and trans.) ''The Amarna Letters''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. .
* Redford, Donald. ''Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. .
* Rainey, Anson. ''The Sacred Bridge''. Carta, 2005.
References
Ancient peoples of the Near East
Ancient Levant
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