Sumu-Epuh

Sumu-Epuh
King of Yamhad
Tenure	c. 1810 BC – c. 1780 BC. Middle chronology
Successor	Yarim-Lim I
King of Yamhad
Wife	Sumunna-Abi
Issue	Yarim-Lim I

Sumu-Epuh (reigned c. 1810 BC – c. 1780 BC Middle chronology) is the first attested king of Yamhad (Halab).^[1] He founded the Yamhad dynasty which controlled northern Syria throughout the 17th and 18th centuries BC.

Contents

• 
  1 Reign
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 War Against Assyria
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Death and Legacy
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 References
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Citations
    
  
  
  
  

Reign

Although Sumu-Epuh's early life or the way he ascended the throne is not known, he is considered the first king of Yamhad, and his realm included Alalakh and Tuba.^[2][3] Sumu-Epuh entered the historical records when he was mentioned by Yahdun-Lim of Mari, as one of the leaders who fought against him.^[4] Yahdun-Lim was an ambitious ruler who campaigned in the north claiming to have reached the Mediterranean, in spite of having a dynastic alliance with Yamhad to oppose Assyria.^[5] Those campaigns caused Sumu-Epuh to support the Yaminite tribes centered at Tuttul against the Mariote king,^[6][7] who emerged victorious but was soon killed by his own son. Yahdun-Lim's death was followed by Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria's conquest of Mari.

War Against Assyria

Sumu-Epuh aided by Khashshum attacked a kingdom in Zalmakum (a marshy region between the Euphrates and lower Balikh).^[8] Khashshum later shifted alliance and joined Shamshi-Adad, who surrounded Yamhad by alliances with the city of Urshu and king Aplahanda of Charchemish in the north, and by conquering Mari in the east (after the death of Yahdun-Lim) in c. 1796 BC, and installing his son Yasmah-Adad on its throne. Shamshi-Adad then concluded an alliance with Yamhad's rival to south Qatna, by marrying his son Yashmah-Adad to princess Beltum, the daughter of Ishi-Addu, king of Qatna.^[9]

Sumu-Epuh welcomed Zimri-Lim the heir of Mari who fled to Yamhad, in hope that he might be useful some day since in the eyes of the people of Mari, Zimri-Lim was the legitimate king.^[10] Shamshi-Adad's coalition attacked Aleppo but failed to take the city. Sumu-Epuh allied himself with the tribes of the Suteans and the Turukkaeans, who attacked the Assyrian king from the east and the south.^[9] Sumu-Epuh also conquered the Assyrian fortress Dur-Shamshi-Adad and renamed it Dur-Sumu-Epuh.^[11]

Death and Legacy

Sumu-Epuh apparently was killed in c. 1780 BC during his fight with Shamshi-Adad,^[7] His successor was Yarim-Lim I, his son by his queen Sumunna-Abi. The dynasty of Sumu-Epuh continued to hold power in the Levant until c. 1344 BC.

King Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad (Halab) Yamhad dynasty  Died: 1780 BC
Regnal titles
Preceded by ?	King of Yamhad 1810 – 1780 BC	Succeeded by Yarim-Lim I

v t e Yamhad Kings
Sumu-Epuh Yarim-Lim I Hammurabi I Abba-El I Yarim-Lim II Niqmi-Epuh Irkabtum Hammurabi II Yarim-Lim III Hammurabi III Sarra-El Abba-El II Ilim-Ilimma I

References

• 
  Syria portal
  


• 
  Ancient Near East portal
  

Citations

1. 
   ^ Douglas Frayne (1990-01-01). Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC). p. 780. ISBN 9780802058737..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ Trudy Ring; Robert M. Salkin; Sharon La Boda (1995). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe. p. 10.
   


3. 
   ^ Sarah Melville; Alice Slotsky (2010). Opening the Tablet Box: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Benjamin R. Foster. p. 376.
   


4. 
   ^ Douglas Frayne (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 BC). p. 780.
   


5. 
   ^ Mario Liverani (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 354.
   


6. 
   ^ Wossink, Arne (2009). Challenging Climate Change: Competition and Cooperation Among Pastoralists and Agriculturalists in Northern Mesopotamia. p. 128. ISBN 9789088900310.
   


7. 
   ^ ^ab Trevor Bryce (2013-03-07). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia. p. 773. ISBN 9781134159086.
   


8. 
   ^ Sidney Smith. Anatolian Studies: Journal of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara. Special number in honour and in memory of John Garstang, 5th May, 1876 - 12th September, 1956, Volume 6. p. 38.
   


9. 
   ^ ^ab William J. Hamblin (2006-08-20). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 171. ISBN 9780203965566.
   


10. 
    ^ William J. Hamblin (2013-01-11). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 259. ISBN 9781134520626.
    


11. 
    ^ Horst Klengel. Syria, 3000 to 300 B.C.: a handbook of political history. p. 52.
    

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