QATNA
/ QATANUM
Located
in western central ancient Syria, to the south of Alep, stood the
important Bronze Age city of Qatna (the modern archaeological mound
known as Tell-el-Mishrife). It was located in the Wadi il-Aswad,
a tributary of the Orontes, eighteen kilometres to the north-east
of Homs.
In
some records the city of Qatna is known as Nukhashshe or Nuhashe
- although this seems more to refer to a fourteenth century BC confederation
of cities of which Qatna may have been the most important. Its existence
was first discovered by modern scholars in the Amarna letters, primarily
those that had been sent to the Egyptian pharaoh from petty Syro-Palestinian
kings. With remains that cover a square kilometre, it must have
been one of the largest Bronze Age cities in western Syria. The
site of Qatna was successfully linked with the present-day tell
at Mishrife (or Mishrifeh) in 1927. The area around it is fertile,
underlain by a bedrock of marly limestone over which several streams
flow, forming a complex system of wadis. Most of these are now very
small and the two main streams that flank the city are now dry for
much of the year.
The
city was occupied from the very beginning of the second millennium
BC, probably by the very Amorites who had turned it into a small,
independent state by the eighteenth century BC. For a long period
in the early second millennium the city's most stubborn enemy was
the state of Yamkhad, which was centred on Alep. Qatna, as a regionally-powerful
kingdom in its own right, was more than able to hold its ground
until the Late Bronze Age when its fortunes faded. Even then it
remained politically well-connected and potentially influential.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from The Arzawa Letters
in Recent Perspective, J David Hawkins (British Museum Studies in
Ancient Egypt and Sudan 14 (73-83, 2009)), from The Cambridge Ancient
History, edited by I E S Edwards, from Hittite Diplomatic Texts,
Gary Beckman (Second Ed, Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1999), from The
Kingdom of the Hittites, Trevor Bryce (1998), from The Hittites,
O R Gurney (1991), from The Hittites, J G Macqueen (1996), from
Qa?na and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism, Frans Van Koppen
(Peter Pfälzner (Ed), Proceedings of an International Conference
in Stuttgart and Tübingen, October 2009, published 2015), and
from External Link: The Last Kings of Qatna, Luigi Turri (Syria,
Archaeology, Art, and History), and Qatna, Syria (World Archaeology,
Issue 15, 2006).)
Although
records are sketchy and imprecise, the Amorites of Babylon and other
cities, such as Qatna, seem to emerge approximately a century after
the collapse of Sumer when Babylon is freed from the domination
of Kazallu. The first kings of Qatna are unknown, until one of two
bearing the name of Amut-pi-el is mentioned as the immediate predecessor
of Ishi-Addu. The city is at the height of its regional power by
the latter's reign so it must be Amut-pi-el who lays the foundations
for this success.
![](Map1800BC_full.jpg)
Small
cities and minor states abounded in Syria at this time, while the
Hittites were only just making an impact on the control of central
Anatolia, and Mesopotamia was in recovery from the climate-induced
social collapse of the end of the third millennium BC
fl
1790s BC :
Amut-pi-el
(I) : Amorite.
First king known by name.
fl
1790s - 1770s BC :
Ishi-Addu
: Son?
c.1790s
- 1776 BC :
Ishi-Addu
is an ally (willing or otherwise) of Shamshi-Adad's kingdom of Upper
Mesopotamia. When that kingdom falls around 1776 BC, Qatna is restored
to full independence, and governs a number of towns, including Hazor
and many that are controlled by Amorites. However, it takes Hammurabi
of Babylon until about 1761 BC to fully conquer former Sumerian
Mesopotamia, but the importance of that conquest suggests that he
starts conquering Syrian city states almost as soon as the kingdom
of Upper Mesopotamia collapses. He is known to capture the city
of Qatna during his reign.
fl
1770s on BC :
Amut-pi-el
(II) : Son.
Former governor of Nazala.
c.1780s?
BC :
The
daughter of Amut-pi-el, Beltum, marries Yasmah-Adad of Mari. Another
daughter, Dam-hurasim, later marries Zimri-Lim of Mari, successor
to Yasmah-Adad. At this time Mari is a stable, prosperous city state
which probably provides a key stopping point on a major trade route
between Mesopotamia and Syria.
c.1765
BC :
The
ruler of Qatna, Amut-pi-el, offers his territory to Elam in order
to gain support in his conflict against what would seem to be a
long-standing enemy in the form of Yamkhad.
Following
the conquest of Mari at the hands of the vengeful Hammurabi of Babylon,
records concerning Qatna become sparse. Two years later Mari is
sacked and devastated by Hammurabi and the region is incorporated
into the Babylonian empire - Mari declines to the point at which
it is little more than a village. The state of Yamkhad which is
based at Alep now most certainly becomes Qatna's main opponent.
Unfortunately, although Amut-pi-el would seemingly still be king,
the loss of Mari's correspondence means that no further mention
of him survives.
c.1761
BC :
Jahad-Abum
: Son. Ruled?
c.1620s
BC :
Yamkhad
has become so powerful that it temporarily dominates Qatna under
its ruler, Yarim-Lim III. However, as a result of its success it
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.
![](Ancient_Qatna01_full.jpg)
More
complete than most ruins from this period, Qatna's street plan can
still be clearly seen amidst some quite substantial wall remnants
c.1595
BC :
In
the political collapse which follows the Hittite destruction of
Alep and the sacking of Babylon, the city of Qatna declines. By
the end of the century it is part of the Mitanni state which unifies
much of the region, lying on the border which forms disputed territory
between Mitanni and Egypt. Inscriptions on the Nin-Egal temple which
is part of the royal palace shows that Mitanni maintains a presence
in the city, but there is also an Egyptian influence there.
Napilima
: Ruled
Qatna.
fl
c.1410s? BC :
A
list of gifts to the gods of Qatna mentions Idanda, Addu-Nirari
(both below), and Napilimi, who predates both of them. No dating
is available but an assumption can be made that they are part of
a series of rulers of Qatna around this time.
c.1410s
- 1360s BC :
Addu-Nirari
: Egyptian
vassal king. Ruler of Qatna for at least 45 years.
c.1370s?
BC :
According
to a text which has been dated to the time of Addu-Nirari, in this
period Qatna's territory reaches the Lebanon Mountains to the south-west.
Southwards it is probably bounded by another natural frontier, the
forest of Lebo which is mentioned in several Late Bronze Age texts.
The mouth of the Beqa Valley, south of Qadesh, is sparsely populated
even today, and it is plausible that the valley in the second millennium
BC area is either largely uninhabited or is occupied by nothing
more than nomads.
To
the north, the kingdom reaches at least al-Rastan, Tunip, and Zinzar
(if the latter two sites correspond to modern Asharne and Qalat
Shayzar), with the possibility that even Hama is included in its
domains if the Amata of a text found in Qatna's Lower City Palace
can be equated with the Iron Age Hamath. This territory, along with
that of some allies, could form the supposed confederation of Nuhashe
which exists at this time. The confederation is seemingly dissolved
when Addu-Nirari is defeated by Suppiluliuma after refusing to ally
himself with the Hittite king.
fl
c.1360s BC :
Idanda
: Vassal king of Mitanni? Removed or succeeded by Taku.
c.1360s
BC :
Cuneiform
tablets found by archaeologists in AD 2002 under the royal palace
reveal a previously unknown ruler of Qatna at this time - one Idanda,
son of Ulashuddu. He comes late to the throne, having been active
in the city's politics for almost thirty years (his name exists
on the lists of gifts to the deities). Addu-Nirari's fate is unknown,
but old age may have been a factor.
![](Hittite_CubicStone01_full.jpg)
The
green cubic stone at Hattusa was probably a gift to the Hittite
rulers of the city from the Egyptian pharaoh with whom they signed
a peace treaty in 1258 BC - by which time Qatna seems already to
have been destroyed during their battles for control of Syria
The city is currently dominated by Mitanni, and a Mitanni which
is still very strong but which is no longer quite so aggressively
all-conquering as it once had been. Perhaps client kings are allowed
to govern this border city which is now constantly threatened by
the Hittites and an unstable political situation in Syria, but Idanda
is seemingly installed as a vassal of the Hittites. The political
situation is certainly confused at this time, and allegiances shift
rapidly. Egypt still has more than enough power in the region to
install its own client king in Idanda's place.
fl
c.1360s BC :
Taku
/ Takuwa : Vassal
king installed by Egypt.
fl
c.1340s BC :
Akizzi
: Egyptian vassal king. Known from Amarna letters.
c.1340s
BC :
Mitanni
is now split by a dynastic struggle and is in no position to defend
its outlying borders. The Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I, campaigns
again in Syria, and Qatna is one of a number of cities which are
captured and plundered. Qatna's ruler, Akizzi (whose reign can be
dated to the same period as that of Etakama of Qadesh), asks Egypt
for help but none is forthcoming while that country is in the midst
of its monotheistic reforms. Qatna's populace is transported to
Hatti, but the city apparently remains occupied (although perhaps,
given the next event, this takes place after the reign of Tette,
however long or short that may be).
fl
c.1340s? BC :
Tette
: Largely
unknown. Ruled very briefly, perhaps?
c.1340s
BC :
Qatna
is seemingly destroyed around this time, most probably by the Hittites,
although Emar records that Qatna is attacked by Aramaeans in the
thirteenth century BC. Either way the city subsequently loses its
significance as the trade routes switch to nearby Homs. While still
occupied into the sixth century BC, it never regains any level of
importance and is eventually abandoned entirely.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/SyriaQatna.htm