Irridu

Irridu (Irrite) was a city in northwestern Mesopotamia, probably located between Harran and Carchemish. it flourished in the middle and late Bronze Age until destroyed by Assyria

History

The city was mentioned in a letter from the king of Carchemish to Zimri-Lim of Mari, the letter suggest that Irridu have been a subject to Carchemish, subsequently it came under the Rule of Yamhad.^[1]

In the middle of the 18th century BC the city and its area was ruled by Yarim-Lim the brother of Abba-El I king of Yamhad, Zitraddu the governor of the city rebelled against Yarim-Lim, Abba-El I quashed the rebels violently to the extent of destroying the city, he compensated his brother by giving him Alalakh ^[2]

After the fall of Aleppo capital of Yamhad to the hittites king Mursili I, the city came under the control of Hanigalbat, the Hittites under prince Piyassili^[3] occupied it in their advance upon the Mittanian capital Washukanni, after the Hittites retreated it became a regional center for Mittani until conquered by Adad-nirari I king of Assyria

Assyrian Conquest

King Wasashatta rebelled against the Assyrians and sought the help of the Hittites to no results, Adad-nirari I attacked mittani and conquered most its cities, the royal family of Mittani escaped to Irridu but the Assyrians arrived, found them and deported them to Assyria.

Irridu and cities in its area were set on fire, destroyed and sowed with salty plants.^[4]

See also

• Hurrians
• Yamhad
• History of the Hittites
• Mitanni

References

Citations

1. Trevor Bryce. The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia. p. 337.
2. William J. Hamblin. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 260.
3. Amanda H. Podany. Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. p. 298.
4. Amnon Altman. Tracing the Earliest Recorded Concepts of International Law. p. 101.