ALAKHTUM
/ ALALAKH
Alakhtum
/ Alalakh :
Founded (or re-founded) as one of a wave of early city states in
Syria during the first part of the second millennium BC, Alakhtum
(or later, Alalakh) was a small Amorite
city state which was situated to the west of the larger Syrian state
of Yamkhad,
about fifty kilometres from the River Orontes. For a time, the city
was one of many which was under Yamkhad's control. Probably created
to control the trade routes between Sumer and the Hatti
in Anatolia, it was called Alakhtum at least until the eighteenth
century BC, as shown by records from Mari.
Alakhtum
consists of eighteen layers of occupation, dating from around 3400
BC (Layer XVII) to around 1200 BC (Layer 0). The archives at Alalakh
(modern Tell Atchana, now in southern Turkey) were discovered to
be comparable in size to those at Ugarit and Mari when they were
unearthed by Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of
these date from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (2000-1200 BC, or
Layers VIII to 0), with the story of Idrimi being noted in especial
prominence and detail.
c.3400
BC :
Alakhtum
is first founded as a permanent settlement, located to the west
of the larger Syrian state of Yamkhad, about fifty kilometres from
the River Orontes. Its fortunes remain largely unknown until the
city is re-founded at the beginning of the second millennium BC.
fl
c.2700 BC :
?
: Unnamed king.
c.2700
BC :
The
city is already established by this date, and the king of Alakhtum
now adorns the facade of his palace with huge columns built of specially-moulded
mud bricks, a fashion set by his Sumerian clients such as those
who have already built the colonnades of Warka and Kish.
c.2000
BC :
The
first palace is constructed at now-Amorite Alalakh, contemporary
with the last days of the third dynasty at Ur. The city is probably
a vassal of Yamkhad by this point, and is certainly so by the eighteenth
century BC.
![](Ancient_Alalakh01_full.jpg)
This
view of part of Alalakh's present-day excavated remnants shows the
Level VII (Middle Bronze Age) city gate and the entrance into one
of the guard chambers, all of which would have been destroyed by
the Hittite attack of about 1650-1620 BC
c.1780s
BC :
Sumu'epuh
of Yamkhad sells Alakhtum to his son-in-law, Zimri-Lim, who possibly
rules here before his capture of Mari in c.1776 BC.
c.1780s
- 1761 BC :
Zimri-Lim?
: King
of Mari
& Terqa (c.1776-1761
BC).
c.1761
BC :
With
the fall of Mari to Babylon, Alakhtum seems to fall back under the
control of Yamkhad. Hurrians begin migrating west from Urkesh and
Nawar in this period, settling in cities such as Alakhtum. The reason
for this migration are unclear, but may be due to Mari's control
of the Hurrian city of Urkesh having been removed.
fl
c.1750s BC :
Yarim-Lim
/ Iarimlim :
Placed on throne by his brother, Abba'el of Yamkhad.
c.1750s
BC :
Yarim-Lim,
brother of Abba-el of Yamkhad, is placed on the throne as a vassal
king and begins a dynasty of such rulers which survives until the
city is destroyed by the Hittites. (This begins Level VII of the
city in archaeological terms.)
Ammitaqum
: Son. Long reign ended during rule of Yarim-Lim
III of Yamkhad.
?
- c.1620 BC :
Hammurabi
: Relationship unknown. Not the same Hammurabi
as in Yamkhad.
c.1650
- 1620 BC :
Under
Hattusili I, the Hittites attack and destroy several of Yamkhad's
vassals over several years, including Alalakh. Yarim-Lim's dynasty
of rulers is ended, and written records cease until the first half
of the 1400s BC. This ends Alalakh's Level VII phase of building
and habitation.
Alalakh
(City State of Mukish) :
In
the 1480s or 1470s BC, Idrimi, son of the king of Alep, was forced
to flee his homeland. He passed through Ebla
(where he met King Zakkar) and ended up in Emar.
From there he organised the storming of Alakhtum by sea with his
band of habiru followers. Unfortunately, although Idrimi's kingdom
is documented, the administration of the restored city before the
storming is entirely unrecorded. There may have been a local ruler
in charge, but more probably the city had been restored under a
governor of the Mitanni
empire. Although Idrimi himself is rarely documented, his successors
appear regularly in tablets from the region. His rule begins Level
IV of the city's archaeological record.
fl
c.1470s BC :
Idrimi
: Son of the king of Alep. Reigned for 30 years.
c.1470
BC :
Idrimi
contacts the king of Mitanni, Parattarna (Barattarna), who endorses
Idrimi's rule of the city, making him a Mitanni vassal. Under Idrimi's
vigorous rule, the state expands, enriching itself by frequent raids
on Hittite territory. Kizzuwatna is also forced to sign a treaty
with Idrimi. By the time Idrimi's son ascends the throne, Alalakh
also controls the minor city of Nuhassa (Nuhašše / Nuhašša),
to the south of Alep, and that of Niye, much less than the territory
formerly controlled by Alep.
Addu-nirari
/ Adad-Nerari :
Son. Not on all lists.
c.1450
- 1425 BC :
Niqmepuh
/ Niqmepa : Brother. Contemporary of Saushtatar
of Mitanni.
It
seems that at some point, Niqmepuh extends his territorial control
from the family's new home in Alakhtum to reclaim his ancestral
seat in Alep.
fl
c.1420 BC :
Ilim-ilimma
(II) :
Son. Also king of Alep.
At
some point around this time the Hittites manage to make Alakhtum
a vassal state.
Ituraddu
?
- c.1370 BC :
Mukish
: Vassal of the Hittites.
Suppiluliuma,
the new Hittite ruler, takes control of northern Syria. Ugarit
informs the Hittites of a planned revolt by Alalakh (which they
call Mukish), so the kingdom and its dependents, Nuhassa and Niye,
are incorporated directly into the empire, with their lands being
assigned to Ugarit as a reward.
![](Ancient_Alalakh03_full.jpg)
'Atchana
Ware' from Alalakh Levels III-II (1370-1270 BC)
c.1200
BC :
Alalakh
is destroyed, probably by the Sea Peoples, during the collapse of
the Hittite empire and is never re-occupied, its place being taken
by the nearby Iron Age port of al Mina.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/SyriaAlakhtum.htm