Bit Agusi

Bit Agusi (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.^[1] Arpad was the capital of the state-kingdom.^[2] Bit Agusi stretched from the A'zaz area in the north to Hamath in the south.^[3]

Decline and fall

Arpad later became a major vassal city of the Kingdom of Urartu. In 743 BC, during the Urartu-Assyria War, the Neo-Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III laid siege to Arpad following the defeat of the Urartian army of Sarduri II at Samsat. But the city of Arpad did not surrender easily. It took Tiglath-Pileser three years of siege to conquer Arpad, whereupon he massacred its inhabitants and destroyed the city.^[4] Afterward Arpad served a provincial capital.^[5] The remains of Arpad's walls are still preserved in Tell Rifaat to the height of 8 meters.^[6] A coalition of princes which had been allied to the city was also defeated, including the kings of Kummuh, Quwê, Carchemish and Gurgum. Bit Agusi was never repopulated.

See also

Atarshumki I of Bit agusi

References

1. Agusi Arpad, Syria
2. Lipinsky, Edward (2000). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion (Peeters) p. 195.
3. Lipinsky, 2000, p. 99.
4. Healy, Mark (1992). The Ancient Assyrians (Osprey) p. 25.
5. Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. p. 626.
6. Lipinsky, 2000, p. 529.