Hamazi or Khamazi (Sumerian: , ha-ma-ziki, or Ḫa-ma-zi2ki)[ The Sumerian King List. Accessed 15 Dec 2010.] was an ancient kingdom or city-state which became prominent during the Early Dynastic period. Its exact location is unknown.
History
Early Bronze Age
In the early days of archaeology two pottery fragments were found in Nippur which it was assumed were part of the same vessel (CBS 9571+CBS 9577). One referred to a
Uhub/Utug ruler of Kish and the other to an unknown ruler defeating Hamazi. Subsequent analysis showed that the two fragments did not in fact belong to the same vessel.
[Cooper, Jerrold S., "Studies in Mesopotamian Lapidary Inscriptions. III1", Iraq 46.2, pp. 87-93, 1984] The relevant fragment (BM 129402) reads "Toussussu, vanquisher of Hamazi, dedicated (this vessel).".
[Douglas Frayne, "Unattributed", in Presargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 441-444, 2008 ]
One of the earliest references to Hamazi is found in the epic literary composition Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, where Enmerkar prays to Enki about the confusion of languages in the various inhabited lands, at the time of the building of the in Eridu and Uruk. Hamazi is the only land mentioned in this prayer with the epithet "many-tongued". A sequel, Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana also mentions that the sorcerer of Hamazi, Urgirinuna, went to Aratta after Hamazi "had been destroyed"; he is later sent by the Lord of Aratta on a failed mission attempting to bring Enmerkar into submission.[Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta: A Sumerian Epic Tale of Iraq and Iran", Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952][Ansky, S., "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta", The Harps that Once..., edited by David G. Roskies, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 275-319, 1992]
Early Dynastic period
According to the semi-literary
Sumerian King List, king Hadanish of Hamazi held hegemony over
Sumer after defeating Kish, but was in turn defeated by
Enshakushanna of
Uruk.
An uncertain attestation is a clay tablet found in the archives at Ebla in Syria bears a copy of a diplomatic message sent from king Irkab-Damu of Ebla to king Zizi of Hamazi, along with a large quantity of wood, hailing him as a brother, and requesting him to send mercenaries in exchange. A tablet from a few years later states " ... 470 g. of silver of the king of A. which the king of Hamazi has handed over and is his giving (as) a gift to PN, the representative-messenger, (for) the king of Ebla".[Alfonso Archi, "In Search of Armi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 63, pp. 5–34, 2011] A later analysis of the toponyms in the tablets in question indicate that the Hamazi mentioned in the Ebla tablets is actually a different Hamazi, at modern Qalah Hom, the “citadel hill” of modern Homs.
Akkadian period
In the Akkadian period, little is known about Hamazi which probably was a province/governorate of the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334-2154 BCE).
Ur III period
In the Ur III period, Hamazi was a province/governorate during the reign of
Amar-Sin. Two governors or
ensis during this reign named Lu-nanna son of Namhani, and Ur-Ishkur are recorded in tablets from Drehem. The first, Lu-nanna, was recorded in Amar-Sin year 1 and then in year 2: "when His Majesty drank beer in the house of Lu-Nanna, son of Namhani, the ruler of Hamazi.". By the 5th year of Amar-Sin Ur-Ishkur is mentioned as governor of Hamazi. In year nine his daughter-in-law is mentioned "when Ur-Iskur, ruler of Hamazi, 'brought/fetched' his daughter-in-law". We learn her name in an inscription from AS7 "when Tabur-hattum, the daughter-in-law of the ruler Ur-Iskur, when she went (back) to Hamazi". A further possible ensi, under Su-Sin, was Arad-Nanna, though that is thinly attested.
[Michalowski, Peter, "The Bride of Simanum", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 95, no. 4, pp. 716–19, 1975][Sigrist, R. Marcel, "Nouveaux Noms Géographiques de l’empire d’Ur III", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 166–70, 1979][Michalowski, Piotr, "Love or Death? Observations on the Role of the Gala in Ur III Ceremonial Life", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 58, pp. 49–61, 2006]
According to a letter from Puzur-Numušda, governor of Kazallu, in the last days of the Ur III empire wrote to Ibbi-Sin, last ruler of that empire and claimed that the land of Hamazi was plundered by Ishbi-Erra of Isin. He also claimed that the god Enlil had promised Isbi-Erra dominion "from the land of Hamazi (down) to the Sea of Magan".[Michalowski, Piotr, "Puzur-Numušda to Ibbi-Sin 1 (PuIb1, 3.1.19, A3, RCU 21)", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 439-462, 2011][Michalowski, Piotr, "Appendixes", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 225-234, 2011]
Location
Hamazi is thought to have been located in
Zagros Mountains region somewhere between the
Upper Zab and
. The mention of a "Šu-Eštar of Hamazi" and another person named Ititi from there in Old Akkadian documents found at
Nuzi sparked suggestions that Hamazi was nearby.
One researcher proposed that Hamazi was the later Old Babylonian period city of
Ekallatum.
[Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Historical Background of Urkeš and the Hurrian Beginnings in Northern Mesopotamia" Pp.75–98 in Urkesh and The Hurrians: A Volume in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen, ed. Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati. BibMes 26. Malibu: Unden, 1998] Two researchers have proposed that "Hamazi is located at the site of Kani Jowez about 10 kms SE of modern Halabjah".
List of rulers
The
Sumerian King List (SKL) lists only one ruler for Hamazi. The following list should not be considered complete:
|
|
| Early Dynastic period () |
|
| |
| | Hadanish
𒄩𒁕𒉌𒅖 | Uncertain,
(7, 360, or 420 years) |
-
Historicity uncertain
-
Known from the SKL; very little otherwise
-
Said on the Sumerian King List (SKL) to have held the title of, "lugal" of not just Hamazi; but, to have held the "Hegemony" over all of Sumer
|
| |
| Akkadian Period () |
| | Zizi
𒍣𒍣 | Uncertain, | |
| Gutian period () |
| | Ur-Adad | Uncertain, | |
| Ur III period () |
| | Lu-nanna
𒇽𒀭𒋀𒆠 | Uncertain, | |
| | Ur-Ishkur
𒌨𒀭𒅎 | Uncertain, |
-
Historicity certain
-
temp. of Amar-Sin
-
Held the title of, "Governor"
|
| | Arad-Nanna
𒀴𒀭𒋀𒆠 | Uncertain, |
-
Historicity certain
-
temp. of Shu-Sin
-
Held the title of, "Governor"
|
See also
-
List of cities of the ancient Near East
Further reading
-
[2]Khwshnaw, Ardalan, "A New Light on the Hamazi Kingdom", Twejer Journal 5.3, pp. 1315-1340, 2022
-
Shea, William H., "The Form and Significance of the Eblaite Letter to Hamazi", Oriens antiqvvs 23, pp. 143–158, 1984
