Ammistamru II

Ammistamru II (according to another count Ammistamru III.) Was a king of Ugarit , who from 1265 BC at the earliest. Until approx. 1235/30 BC Ruled.

Ammistamru II was probably still a child when he ascended the throne. His father was Niqmepa and his mother Aḫat-milki , who ran the affairs of state for the young ruler until he grew up.

His relatively long reign was relatively calm in terms of foreign policy. Domestically, however, he had to contend with some difficulties. At first, two brothers seem to have turned against him and his mother. Ammistamru II asked the Hittite king Tudhalija IV and the viceroy of Karkemish for help. You should serve as a referee. Ammistamru II won in this dispute and the brothers were exiled to Alašija ( Cyprus ).

The ruler married a woman, whose name is not attested, who was a daughter of the Amurrite king Bentešina and the Gaššuliyawiya , a daughter of the Hittite king Ḫattušili III. , was. Ammistamru II expelled his wife after she had committed serious misconduct and sent her back to Amurru . Ammistamru II later demanded the extradition of the princess to punish her for her deeds. Šaušgamuwa , meanwhile ruler of Amurru, refused to extradite the lady because he feared her execution. Tensions grew between the two Hittite vassals, so that Tudhalija IV interfered in the matter. An escalating conflict between two important vassals would not have been in his favor, and Ammistamru's ex-wife was his niece. After long negotiations, in which Ini-Teššup , the Hittite viceroy in Karkemiš, was significantly involved, it was finally decided that the former wife Ammistamru would have to be extradited and pay his 1400 shekels of gold to Šaušgamuwa in return .

Ammistamru II determined his son Ibiranu as his successor during his lifetime .

literature

• Sibylle von Reden: Ugarit and his world. The discovery of one of the oldest trading metropolises on the Mediterranean (= Bastei-Lübbe-Taschenbuch. Vol. 64129 Archeology ). Gustav Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1994, ISBN 3-404-64129-9 , pp. 314-317.
• Trevor R. Bryce : The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, 2005 revised edition, ISBN 978-0-19-928132-9 pp. 310-312.
• Daniel Schwemer : Texts in Akkadian language. In: Bernd Janowski - Gernot Wilhelm : Texts from the environment of the Old Testament . New series, volume 2, treaties, inscriptions on rulers and other documents on political history. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2005, Chapter III, 1, pp. 172–177, texts 1.5–1.9 (accessed via De Gruyter Online).

predecessor	Office	successor
Niqmepa	King of Ugarit no earlier than 1265 BC BC - 1235/30 BC Chr.	Ibiranu