Irkab-Damu

Irkab-Damu
King of Ebla
Tenure c. 2340 BC. Middle chronology
Predecessor Igrish-Halam
Successor Isar-Damu
King of Ebla
Wife Dusigu
Issue Isar-Damu
Princess Iti-Mut.[1]
Princess Tarib-Damu.[2]
Princess Tište-Damu.[2]
Princess Tinib-Dulum.[3]
Father Igrish-Halam
Mother Kesdut

Irkab-Damu (reigned c. 2340 BC),[4] was the king (Malikum) of the first Eblaite kingdom, whose era saw Ebla's turning into the dominant power in the Levant.[5][6]

During his reign, the vizier started to acquire an important role in running the affair of the state and the military. Irkab-Damu's reign is also noted for the wide diplomatic relations between Ebla and the surrounding kingdoms.[7][8][9]

Reign

Ebla at the end of Irkab-Damu's reign.

Irkab-Damu succeeded king Igrish-Halam,[10][11] whose reign was characterized by an Eblaite weakness, and tribute paying to the kingdom of Mari with whom Ebla fought a long war.[8] Irkab-Damu started his reign by concluding a peace and trading treaty with Abarsal (probably located along the Euphrates river east of Ebla),[12] one of the first recorded treaties in history.[13] Ebla paid tribute to Mari during Irkab-Damu's first years on the throne.[8] A letter from king Enna-Dagan of Mari was discovered at Ebla,[14] and was used by the Mariote monarch as a tool to assert Mari's authority,[14] as it contained a historic telling of the victories won by the Enna-Dagans's predecessors over Ebla.[15]

Expansion

Irkab-Damu launched a successful counteroffensive against Mari, and ended the tribute.[5][6] He expanded the borders of Ebla to its greatest extent, and controlled an area roughly half the size of modern Syria,[16] half of which was under the direct control of the king and administered by governors, while the rest consisted of vassal kingdoms paying tribute and supplying military assistance to Ebla.[16] A tablet from Ebla mention an Eblaite victory over Nagar, most probably during Irakb-Damu's reign.[17] The same tablet mention the concluding of a treaty with Enna-Dagan.[17] Irkab-Damu appointed Arrukum as the first vizier of Ebla,[18] who kept his office for five years,[19] and had his son Ruzi-Malik marrying princess Iti-Mut, the daughter of the king.[1]

Diplomacy was an important part of Irkab-Damu's policy, a clay tablet found in the archives at Ebla, bears a copy of a diplomatic message sent from Ebla to king Zizi of Hamazi, along with a large quantity of wood, hailing him as a brother,[20] and requesting him to send mercenaries in exchange.[21] Gifts from Ancient Egypt were discovered in the royal palace, indicating the far reaching relations of Ebla,[22] which is described by Karl Moore as the history first world power.[23]

Succession and family

Irkab-Damu was the son of Igrish-Halam and his queen Kesdut.[24] He ruled for eleven years,[12] and married Dusigu in his fifth year on the throne.[25] Irkab-Damu last two years saw the rise of vizier Ibrium,[19] who campaigned against Abarsal during Arrukum's term,[7] and became Ebla's strongest official during the reign of Irkab-Damu's son and successor Isar-Damu.[7]

King Irkab-Damu of Ebla
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Igrish-Halam		 King of Ebla
2340 BC 		Succeeded by
Isar-Damu

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 162.
  2. 1 2 W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 183.
  3. ↑ W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 170.
  4. ↑ William J. Hamblin. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 239.
  5. 1 2 Amanda H. Podany (2010). Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. p. 24.
  6. 1 2 Lisa Cooper (2006). Early Urbanism on the Syrian Euphrates. p. 64.
  7. 1 2 3 Mario Liverani. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 207.
  8. 1 2 3 Joan Aruz,Ronald Wallenfels (2003). Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. p. 462.
  9. ↑ Diane Bolger, Louise C. Maguire (2010). The Development of Pre-State Communities in the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honour of Edgar Peltenburg. p. 132.
  10. ↑ Gregorio del Olmo Lete (2008). Mythologie et religion des sémites occidentaux, Nummer 1 (in French). p. 118.
  11. ↑ Antonio Panaino, Giovanni Pettinato (2002). Ideologies as Intercultural Phenomena: Proceedings of the Third Annual Symposium of the Assyrian and Babylonian Intellectual Heritage Project, Held in Chicago, USA, October 27-31, 2000. p. 200.
  12. 1 2 "Alfonso Archi and Maria Giovanna Biga, In Search of Armi, Journal of Cuneiform Studies Vol. 63, pp. 5-34". The American Schools of Oriental Research. 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Stephen C. Neff (2014). Justice Among Nations. p. 14.
  14. 1 2 Georges Roux (1992). Ancient Iraq. p. 200.
  15. ↑ Mario Liverani (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 119.
  16. 1 2 William J. Hamblin. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 240.
  17. 1 2 David Oates, Joan Oates, Helen McDonald (2001). Excavations at Tell Brak: vol 2. Nagar in the third millennium BC. p. 100.
  18. ↑ Alfonso Archi (1998). Archiv für Orientforschung, Volume 44,Deel 1 -Volume 45,Deel 1. p. 108.
  19. 1 2 Douglas Frayne (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). p. 148.
  20. ↑ Jovan Kurbalija,Hannah Slavik (2001). Language and Diplomacy. p. 52.
  21. ↑ Giovanni Pettinato (1981). The archives of Ebla: an empire inscribed in clay. p. 98.
  22. ↑ Amanda H. Podany (2010). Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. p. 52.
  23. ↑ Karl Moore,David Charles Lewis (2009). The Origins of Globalization. p. 43.
  24. ↑ W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 174.
  25. ↑ Anne Porter (2012). Mobile Pastoralism and the Formation of Near Eastern Civilizations: Weaving Together Society. p. 230.

Bibliography

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