ALEP
/ YAMKHAD
Alep
/ Aleppo (State of Yamkhad / Amkhad) :
Starting
out as one of the world's oldest inhabited settlements in the eleventh
millennium BC, Alep (modern Aleppo) has been continuously inhabited
since around 5000 BC. Strategically located on the trade route from
the Euphrates Valley to the Mediterranean, it prospered as one of
the northern Syrian city states from around the middle of the third
millennium BC.
Following
a downturn in the region's fortunes shortly before the collapse
of Ur, Alep was ripe for takeover by the newly dominant Amorites,
along with some Hurrian groups. They expanded the city state to
form the small kingdom of Yamkhad, still centred on the city of
Alep, with their most stubborn opponent in the west being the rival
state of Qatna. Since the city has been continuously inhabited for
perhaps seven thousand years, excavations there are impossible,
and any account has to be assembled based on outside sources.
(Additional
information from the Columbia Encyclopaedia, Sixth Edition (2010),
and the Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia (2010).)
c.10,000
BC :
Alep
emerges as one of the world's first inhabited settlements, showing
signs of civilisation during the eleventh millennium BC. Areas to
the immediate south of the old Aleppo - at Tell al-Ansari and Tell
as-Sawda - reveal occupation that can be dated back at least as
far as the late third millennium BC.
c.3400
BC :
Alakhtum
is first founded as a permanent settlement, located to the west
of Alep, 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.
c.2260s
BC :
Ibbi
Sippis of the powerful city of Ebla concludes treaties with Canaanite
Alep (or Armi), its close neighbour in the region. This is the first-known
historical record to mention ancient Aleppo. If it is also the Armi
of Aramaean records then it is also referred to as Armanum and Armani,
an otherwise largely mysterious and little-known state.
c.2004
BC :
Following
the collapse of Sumer, Amorites gain control of much of Mesopotamia,
including the Syrian city of Alep. The city comes to prominence
for the first time, perhaps after Ebla's loss of independence, but
records are sparse for the first two centuries of its existence
as the state of Yamkhad. The small city state of Alakhtum is probably
a vassal from the start, as are the cities of Arpad and Tuba.
?
- c.1780 BC :
Sumu'epuh
c.1800?
BC :
Yahdun-Lim
of Mari sends troops north to join Sumu'epuh's forces in fighting
several hostile Syrian states, including Tuttul, defeating their
armies and attacking their cities.
Both
Sumu'epuh and his son become involved in wars against Shamshi-Adad's
kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, as that state supports its fierce
rival, Qatna. Sum'epuh also sells the territory of Alakhtum to his
son-in-law, Zimri-Lim, who, in 1776 BC becomes king of Mari.
c.1780
- 1765 BC :
Yarim-Lim
I : Son.
c.1776
BC :
Yamkhad
and Eshnunna attack and destroy the kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia.
Yarim-Lim is free to expand his kingdom down the Euphrates Valley
as far as the borders of Mari, with whom relations are friendly
as the ruler, Zimri-Lim, is Yarim-Lim's brother-in-law. Now more
powerful than Hammurabi of Babylon in terms of his level of support,
a letter excavated from Mari claims Yarim-Lim is followed by twenty
[lesser] kings, including those of Ugarit and Ebla.
c.1765
- 1760 BC :
Hammurabi
I : Son.
c.1761
BC :
After
Hammurabi of Babylon turns on Mari and conquers it, contact between
Yamkhad and the south comes to an end, with Yamkhad seemingly regaining
the city of Alakhtum. Hammurabi of Alep appears to be the acknowledged
overlord of all of northern Syria and Mesopotamia at this time.
c.1760
- ? BC :
Abba'el
/ Abba-ili / Abban I : Relationship unknown, possibly son.
There
follows a reorganisation of Yamkhad's state following what may be
a revolt (which is otherwise undocumented). Abba'el places his brother
(another Yarim-Lim) on the throne of Alakhtum.
Yarim-Lim
/ Yarimlim II : Son.
Niqmepa
/ Niqmiepu' I : Son.
Irkabtum
: Son.
c.1650
- 1620 BC :
Yamkhad
now controls north-western Syria, dominating Qatna, and as a result
becomes a key target for attacks by the newly created Hittite kingdom
to its north. They attack and destroy several of Yamkhad's vassals
over several years, such as Alakhtum, Carchemish, and Hashshu, and
the two states compete over Urkesh further east, but Alep itself
survives despite several campaigns in the region.
Yarim-Lim
III : Brother of Irkabtum, or younger son of Niqmepa.
?
- c.1595 BC :
Hammurabi
II : Son. (Sometimes listed before his father.)
c.1595
BC :
Mursili's
Hittites capture and destroy Alep on their way south to sack Babylon,
ending the political situation that has been holding the Syrian
states together. There is a gap of around a century before a new
ruling elite emerges. The collapse in authority in the region allows
a greater influx of Hurrians into Anatolia and Syria.
Abba'el
/ Abba-ili II
fl
c.1500 BC :
Ili
Illima / Ilimilimma I : Murdered at the same time as his
son, Idrimi, fled.
c.1470s
BC :
The
Mitanni expand their empire westwards to encompass Alep (which they
call Halab). There is a popular rebellion within the state that
may be encouraged or orchestrated by Parrattarna of Mitanni so that
he can secure overlordship. If so, it succeeds when Ili Illima is
murdered and his son is forced to flee.
Idrimi
: Son. Forced to flee and later conquered Alakhtum.
?
: Vassal or puppet ruler, or direct Mitanni rule?
It
seems that Idrimi's son later extends his territorial control from
the family's new home in Alakhtum to reclaim his ancestral seat.
This is probably under Mitanni domination.
c.1450
- 1425 BC :
Niqmepa
/ Niqmiepu' II : Son. King of Alakhtum.
fl
c.1420 BC :
Ili
Illima / Ilimilimma II : Son. King of Alakhtum.
c.1370
- 1340 BC :
Suppiluliuma,
the new Hittite ruler, takes direct control of much of northern
Syria, including Alep and Arpad, placing Hittites on the throne.
Hittite
Princes of Alep :
Once
Suppiluliuma had reorganised Hittite control of northern Syria,
Hittite princes were placed on the throne of Alep as regional representatives
of the empire. Either this was not a permanent arrangement or there
are gaps in the record, but Telipinu, son of the Hittite king, Suppiluliuma
I and most recently to be found as the 'priest' governor of Kizzuwatna
is the first of them. However, Alep was still the most prominent
city in north-western Syria.
(Additional
information from External Link: The History of Kizzuwatna and the
Date of the Šunaššura Treaty, Richard H Beal (Orientalia,
Nova Series, Vol 55, No 4 (1986), pp 424-445, available via JSTOR).)
fl
c.1360s BC :
Telipinu
/ Telepinush : Son of Hittite ruler, Suppiluliuma. Formerly
in Kizzuwatna.
fl
c.1330 BC :
Talmi-Sharruma
c.1300
BC :
A
temple is built at Ain Dara, a little to the north-west of Alep.
Its floor plan would seem to be very similar to that of the First
Temple in Jerusalem, built from around 966 BC onwards. The Old Testament
in the Book of Kings suggests something of that floor plan by giving
the measurements of the outer shell and details of the insides.
The floor plan would seem to resemble that of other temples in Canaan,
not just the one at Ain Dara, all of which are built by people who
practice polytheism. Ain Dara's temple remains in use until about
740 BC, about the time that Alep becomes a vassal to Assyria.
![](Ancient_Alep01_full.jpg)
The
'Aleppo Treaty' was drawn up on a cuneiform tablet between Mursili
II of the Hittites and Talmi-Sharruma of Alep in the mid-fourteenth
century, reflecting the increasing Hittite influence in the region
at the expense of the Mitanni
fl
mid-1200s BC :
Rimisharina
c.1200
BC :
With
the collapse of the Hittite empire, and the general instability
which grips the region, some cities in Syria are destroyed, while
others such as Alep, fall under the control of Aramaeans.
c.1115
- 1077 BC :
Under
Tiglath-Pileser I, the Assyrians temporarily conquer the region.
Lukhuti
/ Hatarikka-Luhuti (Lu'as / Luash) :
During
the early first millennium, Aleppo was occupied by Aramaeans who
formed a small state which is very poorly documented. At the same
time, Aleppo itself was known as Halman, and this changed over time
to Hatarikka (or Hadrach, in the Old Testament). While this Iron
Age Aleppo may initially have been independent, it quickly formed
a southern province for Pattin, before falling into the hands of
Hamath.
c.900s
BC :
Aleppo
is the capital of the poorly documented region or state which is
known as Lukhuti. By around 900 BC it is probably controlled by
Pattin.
c.870
BC :
The
Assyrians obtain submission from a number of cities in the region,
solving the problem of Aramaean incursions into their territory.
The frontier fortress of Aribua within the land of Lukhuti (probably
Late Bronze Age Nukhashe, and possibly within the neighbourhood
of modern Idlib) is one of the locations to be ravaged.
c.850s
BC :
Lukhuti
forms part of the state of Hamath by this date, if not as early
as 870 BC.
c.847
BC :
Hamath
is conquered by Assyria and local governors or vassal kings are
placed in control of the state.
c.796
BC :
Ben-Hadad
III of Damas leads a coalition of states against Zakir of Hamath,
and Luash, but is defeated by the latter.
738
BC :
Hamath
becomes a confirmed vassal of Assyria at the same time as the territories
to its north, Lukhuti and Pattin, fall.
609
BC :
Following
the destruction of the Assyrian empire, the region is governed by
successive empires; Babylon, Persia, Macedon, the Seleucid empire,
Armenia, Rome, the Islamic empire, and then the Hamdanids. Always
playing a key role in regional history is the city of Aleppo.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/SyriaAlep.htm