c.2334?
BC :
Mari is
destroyed, although opinion is divided on the culprit. It is
likely either Sargon of Akkad (who later states that he passed
through Mari on his campaign to the west, using it as a base
of operations), or Mari's traditional commercial rivals, the
people of Ebla. The region declines in importance with the city
probably becoming little more than a village.
c.2260s?
BC :
The city
is destroyed by Ebla, and a 'dynasty of generals' appears to
assume control.
Shakkanakku
Rulers of Mari :
At
around the same time as the city was again destroyed, this time
by Ebla probably sometime around the 2260s BC, a 'dynasty of
generals' (Akkadian shakkanakku) perhaps came into being as
early as the reign of Manishtushu of Akkad. They ruled the city
as an independent state which remained that way for the next
350 years. Their independence was probably prolonged by the
Gutian invasion of Sumer. (The source for the list of generals
is unknown, and the list itself is hardly ever reproduced elsewhere.
Only the last name is not from the list, and appears in Ebla's
records too.)
Ididish
Shudagan
Ishmedagan
Nûr-Mêr
c.2150
BC :
Ishtub'el
Ishgum'addu
Apîl'kîn
Iddin'el
Ilî'ishtar
Turâmdagan
Puzur'ishtar
c.2000
BC :
Hitlal'erra
Hanundagan
c.1950?
BC :
Ibit-Lim
: Last
of dynasty of generals? Also controlled Ebla.
c.1900
BC :
The 'dynasty
of generals' comes to an end, for reasons unknown, and Mari
may even be abandoned. Either way, the Amorite peoples living
in Terqa are able to move in and take over the region.
Amorite
Rulers of Mari :
Some
time before 2000 BC the population of Mari began to swell again
as a result of the arrival of a confederation of tribes in Sumer
called the Amorites. By 1900 BC the north-western Syrian Sim'alite
branch of Amorites was already settled in nearby Terqa, about
sixty kilometres to the north, and it now managed to subdue
Mari (or repopulate it) and establish a relatively stable kingdom.
Although records for it are sparse. a second age of prosperity
began for the city. For a while it also manage to subdue the
Hurrians of Urkesh.
c.1820
- 1811 BC :
Yaggid-Lim
/ Iagitlim : Amorite
ruler, possibly from Terqa.
c.1811
- 1795 BC :
Yahdun-Lim
/ Iadhun-Lim : Also
king of Terqa? Assassinated by his servants.
c.1800?
BC :
Yahdun-Lim
sends troops north towards the Mediterranean, to join those
of Yamkhad in fighting against several previously subject Syrian
tribal states, including Harran and Tuttul. The enemy armies
are defeated and their towns are attacked. Given the fact that
Shamshi-Adad soon conquers Mari and replaces its ruler, this
would seem to be an attempt to fight back against him which
ultimately fails.
![](Sumer_Tablet02_full.jpg)
This
tablet from eighteenth century BC Mari contains records of food
supplies, with the symbol of a human head with a triangular
object in front of it being the verb 'to eat' in later Sumerian
c.1795
- 1791 BC :
Sumu-Yamam
: Son.
Also king of Terqa?
c.1791
BC :
Shamshi-Adad
sets up an empire which stretches from the Mediterranean to
the Zagros Mountains, the kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia. He conquers
Mari, taking control of Terqa and Urkesh, and places Yasmah-Adad,
one of his sons, on the throne. Yasmah-Adad marries Beltum,
daughter of the king of Qatna, as his principal wife.
c.1791
- 1776 BC :
Yasmah-addu
/ Yasmah-Adad : Upper
Mesopotamian 'Governor of Mari'. Overthrown.
c.1776
BC :
Upon
the death of Shamshi-Adad, his kingdom falls apart. In Mari,
the Amorite Zimri-Lim of Alakhtum and Terqa destroys Yasmah-Adad's
forces. Yasmah-Adad himself is either killed or flees (sources
fail to agree).
c.1776
- 1761 BC :
Zimri-Lim
/ Zimrilim : King of Mari, Alakhtum & Terqa.
Yahdun-Lim
: Son.
Predeceased his father.
Zimri-Lim
greatly extends Mari's glory when he expands the royal palace
to encompass more than 300 rooms, as well as founding the state
archives. He establishes strong ties with Alep, Babylon and
Hazor, having previously married Princess Shiptu, daughter of
Sumu'epuh of Alep, and having been sold the city state of Alakhtum.
He later marries the daughter of the king of Qatna, Dam-hurasim.
He also establishes trade relations with at least thirty-two
kings (mentioned in the palace archives), including those of
Andarig and Apum, and counts Anum-Herwa of Zalwar as his vassal.
c.1761
BC :
Hammurabi turns on his old ally, defeating Zimri-Lim in battle
and conquering Mari. Two years later Mari is sacked and devastated
by Hammurabi and the region is incorporated into the Babylonian
empire. The area is subsequently occupied by scattered groups
of Assyrians and Babylonians, with the former city remaining
a village. Power in the Middle Euphrates shifts some 100kms
north to Zimri-Lim's home city of Terqa.
c.1730
BC :
The Kassites
invade Mesopotamia, taking Mari.
Kassite
Rulers of Mari :
The
Kassites were another non-Semitic, non-Indo-European mountain
people just like the Amorites. They invaded Babylon in the eighteenth
century BC and eventually conquered it, ruling over it until
748 BC. before then, they ruled locally in Mari, and perhaps
in nearby Terqa too.
c.1730
- 1705 BC :
Gandash
: Kassite
leader when they invaded the Babylonian empire.
c.1730/15
BC :
The
invading Kassite army under Gandash is crushed by Iluma-Ilum
of the Sealand Dynasty. However, Gandash does successfully conquer
Mari, and the Kassite kings reside there.
c.1705
- 1690 BC :
Agum
I
c.1690
- 1680 BC :
Kashtiliash
I : King
of Terqa / Hana.
c.1680
- 1665 BC :
Ushshi
c.1665
- 1650 BC :
Abirattash
c.1650
- 1640 BC :
Kashtiliash
II
c.1640
- 1630 BC :
Urzigurumash
c.1630
- 1600 BC :
Harbashihu
c.1600
- 1595 BC :
Tiptakzi
c.1595
BC :
Agum
II : Conquered
Babylon.
c.1595
BC :
The
economically weakened Babylonian empire is sacked by the Hittites,
allowing the Kassites to move south from Mari and take over
control of Babylonia.
c.800s
- 700s BC :
A
dynasty of Assyrian governors leaves royal-style inscriptions
without acknowledging the weakened Assyrian king. Instead, they
cheekily claim descent from Hammurabi of Babylon.
c.331
BC :
The
village of Mari disappears from history upon the arrival of
the Greeks.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/MesopotamiaMari.htm