Apum

Apum was an ancient Amorite kingdom located in the upper Khabur valley, modern northeastern Syria. It was involved in the political and military struggle that dominated the first half of the 18th century BC and led to the establishment of the Babylonian Empire. Apum was incorporated into Babylon in 1728 BC and disappeared from the records.

Apum Apum
c. 1776 BCE–c. 1728 BCE
Capital	Apum Shubat-Enlil
Government	Monarchy
• c. 1776 BCE	Turum-Natki (first)
• c. 1728 BCE	Yakun-Asar (last)
Historical era	Bronze Age
• Established	c. 1776 BCE
• Disestablished	c. 1728 BCE
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia Eshnunna
Today part of	Syria

History

The majority of the kingdom inhabitants were Amorites.[1] Originally, Apum was a small city perhaps located in the vicinity of modern-day Qamishli.[2] The kingdom was attested for the first time in the Archives of Mari (c. 1774 BC).[3] At the time of its attestation, Apum was already in control of the old Assyrian capital Shubat-Enlil which became Apum's capital.[4] In 1771 BC, Apum received a warning from Mari's monarch Zimri-Lim regarding an Eshnunnite attack, however, the Apumites were unable to resist and their capital was occupied by the invading force.[3]

Following the Eshnunnite main force departure, Apum's king Zuzu became a vassal to Eshnnuna and was entrusted in commanding the Eshnunnite garrison.[3] Soon after, Apum was attacked by the neighboring kingdom of Qattara who occupied the capital,[4] but was evicted by the Eshnunnites.[5] Afterwards, Apum was overrun by an Elamite invasion led by a general named Kunnam, who shared the power with the Apumite king Haya-Abum, who was a vassal of Mari.[3][4] The Elamites left in 1765 BC,[6] and the capital of Apum was invaded by the kingdom of Andarig.[4][7] However, it is certain that by 1750 BC, Apum's dynasty was in firm control over its capital,[8] after an alliance with the kingdom of Kurda that drove the Andarigites out.[6] Apum came to an end after the invasion of the Babylonian king Samsu-Iluna in 1728 BC.[8]

Rulers

King	Reigned	Comments
Turum-Natki
Zuzu	c. 1770 BC	Son of Turum-Natki, evicted by a rebellion after a year of ruling.[9]
Haya-Abum		Brother of Zuzu, eventually killed by the Elamites.[9]
Mutiya	-1750 BC	Son of a certain Halum-Piyumu, whose occupation is unknown.[10]
Till-Abnu		Son of Dari-Epuh who is described as king and might have ruled before Mutiya.[11]
Yakun-Asar	-1728 BC	Brother of Till-Abnu.[11]

See also

• Amorite language
• Hurrians

References

Citations

1. Seyyare Eichler (1985). Tall al-Ḥamīdīya: Symposion : recent excavations in the Upper Khabur region, Berne, December 9-11, 1986. Vorbericht 1985-1987. p. 83.
2. K. R. Veenhof,Jesper Eidem (2008). Mesopotamia : Annäherungen. p. 271.
3. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. p. 53.
4. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. p. 414.
5. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. p. 580.
6. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. p. 45.
7. Lauren Ristvet (2014). Ritual, Performance, and Politics in the Ancient Near East. p. 224.
8. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. p. 45.
9. K. R. Veenhof,Jesper Eidem (2008). Mesopotamia : Annäherungen. p. 272.
10. K. R. Veenhof,Jesper Eidem (2008). Mesopotamia : Annäherungen. p. 274.
11. K. R. Veenhof,Jesper Eidem (2008). Mesopotamia : Annäherungen. p. 275.