Aziru

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EA 161 (obverse), Aziru from Amurru to the Pharaoh.

Aziru is a ruler of Amurru known from the Amarna letters , who lived from 1340 to 1315 BC. . BC ruled.

Rise to ruler of Amurru

Like his father and predecessor Abdi-Aširta , Aziru tried to make the Amurru province an independent state. In his letters to Amenhotep IV he assured him of his loyalty to Egypt, but shortly afterwards occupied the cities of Ammia , Ardata , Irqata and Wahlia north of Byblos . He also harassed the cities of Qatna , Tunip , Nija and Simyra , which were the administrative center of Rib-Addi , lord of Byblos, was true. With the capture of Simyra, he finally ousted RibAddi in his role as protector of the Egyptian province. Although Ribaddi tried in numerous letters to influence the Egyptian court against Aziru, the latter now recognized Aziru as the new ruler of Amurru.

Submission to Šuppiluliuma

Aziru initially delayed the first requests from the Egyptian court to travel to Egypt to pay homage to the Pharaoh. The reason he cited the proximity of the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I , who was probably on a major Syria campaign at the time . After returning from Egypt, where he was held for a long time, Aziru signed around 1320 BC. A contract of submission with Šuppiluliuma and remained loyal to this for a long time. The submission led to a settlement with Ugarit .

Besides, Aziru maintained a close alliance with Aitakama , the prince of Kadesh, during the Amarna period .

Death and succession

Aziru died around the seventh year of Muršili II. The throne was followed for a short time by his son DU-Teššup ( Ari-Teššup ), then his grandson Duppi-Teššup . Since he was recognized by the Egyptians as lord of Amurru, Aziru was later considered to be the founder of the dynasty. A characteristic of the rise of the Amurru dynasty into the circle of established city-states was that all successors were given Hurrian names, although the ruling family was originally of Amorite origin.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EA 156-161, 164-168.
  2. ↑ EA 55, 59.
  3. ↑ EA 157.
  4. ↑ EA 164-167.
  5. ↑ EA 169.
  6. ↑ a b c Helck: LÄ I. Sp. 588.
predecessor Office successor
Abdi-Aširta Prince of Amurru
around 1340-1315 BC Chr. 		Ari-Teššup
personal data
SURNAME Aziru
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Amurru
DATE OF BIRTH 14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 14th century BC Chr.