Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') was the ancient king of

Hamath 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 of ...

and

Luhuti Luhuti, Lukhuti or Lu'ash, was a Syro-Hittite region during the early 1st millennium BC, located in northern Syria, in an area that used to be called Nuhašše. Political situation and capital Luhuti was a region of uncertain political status, ...

(also known as

Nuhašše Nuhašše (kurnu-ḫa-áš-še; kurnu-ḫa-šeki), was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was east of the Orontes River bordering Aleppo (northwest) and Qatna (south). It was a petty kingdom or federacy of ...

) in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He ruled around 785 BC. Most of the information about him comes from his basalt stele, known as the

Stele of Zakkur The Stele of Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC. Description The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper ...

History

Irhuleni Irhuleni (Luwian: ''Urhilina'') was King of Hamath. He led a coalition against the Assyrian expansion under Shalmaneser III, alongside Hadadezer of Damascus. This coalition succeeded in 853 BC in the Battle of Qarqar a victory over the Assyrians ...

and his son Uratami were Kings of Hamath prior to Zakkur. Irhuleni led a coalition against the

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 expansion under

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 ...

. Their coalition succeeded in 853 BC in the

Battle of Qarqar The Battle of Qarqar (or Ḳarḳar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of the Neo-Assyrian Empire led by Emperor Shalmaneser III encountered an allied army of eleven kings at Qarqar led by Hadadezer, called in Assyrian ''Adad-idir'' and possib ...

. Later Irhuleni maintained good relations with Assyria. Not so much is known about the background of Zakkur. He is first mentioned in Assyrian sources probably in 785 BC, in the last years of

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 ...

. Adad-nirari ordered his commander

Shamshi-ilu Shamshi-ilu (Šamši-ilu) was an influential court dignitary and commander in chief ( turtanu) of the Assyrian army who rose in high prominence. He was active during the reigns of Assyrian kings Adad-nirari III (810–782 BC), Shalmaneser IV (782 ...

to mediate the border dispute between Zakkur and Atarshumki I of Arpad. Aramaic kingdoms and chiefdoms around 10-9th century BC

Zakkur appears to have been a native of 'Ana' (which may refer to the city of Hana/

Terqa Terqa is an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had b ...

) on the

Euphrates River The Euphrates ( ; see below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through S ...

, that was within the influence of Assyria. Zakkur is believed to have founded the

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 ...

dynasty at the city of Hamath (now known as

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 ...

). Some scholars consider him as an

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it a ...

, because, previously, Hamath was ruled by the kings with

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

or neo-Hittite names. Luhuti, over which Zakkur came to rule, is known primarily from Assyrian inscriptions. Nevertheless, these inscriptions describe Luhuti as a country with many cities and troops. The capital of Luhuti was the city of Hazrik (modern Tell Afis; it was known as Hatarikka for the Assyrians), located 45 kilometers south of

Aleppo 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 ...

. This is where the Zakkur Stele was found. Luhuti was incorporated into Hamath around 796 BC; it formed the northern province of the kingdom.

Events described in the Stele

Zakkur was besieged in

Tell Afis Tell Afis is an archaeological site in the Idlib Governorate of northern Syria, lying about fifty kilometers southeast of Aleppo and 11 kilometers north of the ancient site of Ebla.Venturi, F., "La Siria nell’Età delle Trasformazioni: Nuovi Co ...

by a coalition of Aramean kings incited by

Ben-Hadad III Bar-Hadad III ( Aram.) (ܒܪ ܚܕܕ) or Ben-Hadad III ( Heb.) (בֶּן-הֲדַד) was king of Aram Damascus, the son and successor of Hazael. His succession is mentioned in 2 Kings (, ). He is thought to have ruled from 796 BC to 792 BC, altho ...

Aram-Damascus Aram-Damascus ( ) was an Arameans, Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant. Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later years b ...

, and led by the king of

Bit Agusi Bit Agusi or Bit Agushi (also written Bet Agus) was an ancient Aramaean Syro-Hittite state, established by Gusi of Yakhan at the beginning of the 9th century BC. It had included the cities of Arpad, Nampigi (Nampigu) and later on Aleppo Arpad wa ...

. Zakkur survived the siege and commemorated the event by commissioning the Stele of Zakkur.

References

Bibliography

*Scott B. Noegel
''The Zakkur Inscription.''
In: Mark W. Chavalas, ed. The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation. London: Blackwell (2006), 307–311. *M. Henri Pognon
''Inscriptions semitiques de la Syrie, de la Mesopotamie at de la region de Mossoul''
Paris, 1907 (and 1908). The volume contains 116 inscriptions most of them in Syriac. *James J. Montgomery, ''A New Aramaic Inscription of Biblical Interest'' in The Biblical World, Vol. XXXIII, Febr. 1909, p. 79-84. *Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, ANET 501-502

External links

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213013712/http://www.aramaic-dem.org/English/History/The_Aramaic_Inscription_of_Zakar_King_of_Hamath.htm , date=2014-12-13 www.aramaic-dem.org

historyfiles.co.uk Syro-Hittite kings 8th-century BC Aramean kings

History

Events described in the Stele

See also

References

Bibliography

External links