Sumu-Epuh (reigned
Middle chronology) is the first attested king of
Yamhad (
Halab
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
). He founded the
Yamhad dynasty which controlled northern Syria throughout the 17th and 18th centuries BC.
Reign
Although Sumu-Epuh's early life or the way he ascended the throne is not known, he is considered the first king of Yamhad, and his realm included
Alalakh and
Tuba. Sumu-Epuh entered the historical records when he was mentioned by
Yahdun-Lim of
Mari, as one of the leaders who fought against him. Yahdun-Lim was an ambitious ruler who campaigned in the north claiming to have reached the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
, in spite of having a
dynastic alliance with Yamhad to oppose
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 ...
. Those campaigns caused Sumu-Epuh to support the
Yaminite tribes centered at
Tuttul against the Mariote king,
who emerged victorious but was soon killed by his own son. Yahdun-Lim's death was followed by
Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria's conquest of Mari.
War Against Assyria
Sumu-Epuh aided by
Khashshum attacked a kingdom in
Zalmakum (a marshy region between the
Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
and lower
Balikh).
Khashshum later shifted alliance and joined Shamshi-Adad, who surrounded Yamhad by alliances with the city of
Urshu and king
Aplahanda of
Charchemish in the north, and by conquering Mari in the east (after the death of Yahdun-Lim) in c. 1796 BC, and installing his son
Yasmah-Adad on its throne. Shamshi-Adad then concluded an alliance with Yamhad's rival to south
Qatna, by marrying his son Yashmah-Adad to princess Beltum, the daughter of
Ishi-Addu, king of Qatna.
Sumu-Epuh welcomed
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 ...
the heir of Mari who fled to Yamhad, in hope that he might be useful some day since in the eyes of the people of Mari, Zimri-Lim was the legitimate king. Shamshi-Adad's coalition attacked Aleppo but failed to take the city. Sumu-Epuh allied himself with the tribes of the
Suteans and the
Turukkaeans, who attacked the Assyrian king from the east and the south.
Sumu-Epuh also conquered the Assyrian fortress Dur-Shamshi-Adad and renamed it Dur-Sumu-Epuh.
Death and legacy
Sumu-Epuh apparently was killed in c. 1780 BC during his fight with Shamshi-Adad,
His successor was
Yarim-Lim I, his son by his queen Sumunna-Abi. The dynasty of Sumu-Epuh continued to hold power in the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
until c. 1344 BC.
References
Citations
{{reflist
19th-century BC births
18th-century BC deaths
19th-century BC monarchs
18th-century BC monarchs
Kings of Yamhad
Amorite kings
Yamhad dynasty
Monarchs killed in action