Ammurapi (Ugarit)

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Ammurapi (III.) Was the last king of the city-state of Ugarit and ruled from around 1215 to around 1194/88 BC. Ugarit developed from the culture of the Levant , in the area of ​​today's Syria .

The connection between Ammurapi (III.) And the previously ruling royal family is uncertain. Ammurapi is best known from correspondence with other ruling houses. He was contemporary of the Hittite great king Šuppiluliuma II. And the viceroy Talmi-Teššup in Karkemiš . During their reign, the Hittite Empire suffered from famine, internal disputes and battles against external enemies. In several letters, the Hittite great king asked for grain deliveries, and in at least one letter also for copper . Ammurapi apparently did not always comply with the latter requests, as Šuppiluliuma mentioned in a letter that he would forgive the missing copper deliveries when Ammurapi visited him. The fact that Šuppiluliuma II. Complained that Ammurapis did not make an initial visit seems to indicate a cooling of the relationship between Hattuša and the vassal in the Ugarit or a loss of authority from Suppiluliuma. The conclusion of a special alliance between Ugarit and Amurru is also interpreted in this regard. The request to supply copper indicates that the Hittite Empire - at least temporarily - could have lost control of Cyprus , which was a reliable supplier due to its copper mines at the time (copper, together with tin, is essential for the production of bronze ).

Nevertheless, Ammurapi seems to have complied with the demands of the Hittite great king to send troops to the Hittite empire and to leave the Ugarite fleet to him. The correspondence from the probably last days of Ugarit with the king of Alašija (= Cyprus or an important center in Cyprus) indirectly testifies to this . Ammurapi asks the King of Cyprus, whom he calls "father", to send him information about enemy ships that have already ravaged coastal cities of Ugarit. After a new warning from the King of Cyprus arrives that enemy ships have been sighted, Ugarit's predicament becomes clear: Ammurapi's troops have been transferred to the Hittite Empire and the fleet is used by the Hittite great king off the Lycian coast, so that Ugarit was almost defenseless. Shortly after this letter, which was found in the palace, a disaster befell Ugarit that completely destroyed it. In a letter from the Hittite great king to the prefect of the city of Ugarit, Šikalaeans are mentioned. Lunadušu, a man from Ugarit, was under their control for a while. Šuppiluliuma asks the city prefect to hand over Lunadušu so that the Hittites can learn more about the Šikalaeans, who are apparently little known to them, who "live on ships" (probably the so-called sea ​​peoples , whose origins are still in the dark.) to experience. Ammurapi has not previously complied with this request. It is unclear whether the Šikaleans can also be associated with the later destruction of Ugarit.

literature

  • Horst Klengel : Syria. 3000 to 300 BC A handbook of political history. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-05-001820-8 , pp. 147–151.
  • Gustav Adolf Lehmann : The 'political-historical' relationships of the Aegean world in the 15th – 13th centuries Century BC About Egypt and the Middle East: some references. In: Joachim Latacz (Ed.): Two hundred years of Homer research. Review and Outlook (= Colloquium Rauricum. Vol. 2). Teubner, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-519-07412-5 , pp. 105-126.
  • Edward Noort : The Sea Peoples in Palestine (= Palestine antiqua. NS Bd. 8). Kok Pharos, Kampen 1994, ISBN 90-390-0012-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edward Noort: The Sea Peoples in Palestine. 1994, p. 86.
  2. ↑ Edward Noort: The Sea Peoples in Palestine. 1994, p. 86.
  3. ↑ Gustav Adolf Lehmann: The 'political-historical' relations of the Aegean world of the 15th – 13th centuries. Jhs. v. BC to the Middle East and Egypt: some references, in: Joachim Latacz (Hrsg.): Zweihund Jahre Homerforschung. Colloquium Rauricum Vol. 2, Stuttgart 1991; ISBN 3-519-07412-5 .
  4. ↑ Edward Noort: The Sea Peoples in Palestine. 1994, p. 85.
predecessor Office successor
Niqmaddu III. King of Ugarit
1215– approx. 1194/88 BC Chr. 		---
personal data
SURNAME Ammurapi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ammurapi III.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Ugarit
DATE OF BIRTH 13th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 12th century BC Chr.