Lullubi, Lulubi (), more commonly known as Lullu,
Historical references
Legends
The early Sumerian legend Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird, set in the reign of
Enmerkar of
Uruk, alludes to the "mountains of Lulubi" as being where the character of
Lugalbanda encounters the gigantic Anzû bird while searching for the rest of Enmerkar's army en route to siege
Aratta.
Akkadian Empire and Gutian dynasty
Lullubum appears in historical times as one of the lands Sargon the Great subjugated within his
Akkadian Empire, along with the neighboring province of
Gutium, which was possibly of the same
Hurrian origin as the Lullubi. Sargon's grandson Naram Sin defeated the Lullubi and their king
Satuni, and had his famous victory
stele made in commemoration:
After the Akkadian Empire fell to the Gutians, the Lullubians rebelled against the Gutian king Erridupizir, according to Mesopotamian inscriptions:
Neo-Sumerian Empire
Following the short lived Gutian period, the Neo-Sumerian Empire (Ur-III) ruler
Shulgi is said to have raided Lullubi at least 9 times; by the time of
Amar-Sin, Lullubians formed a contingent in the military of Ur, suggesting that the region was then under Neo-
control.
Another famous
rock relief depicting the Lullubian king
Anubanini with the Assyrian-Babylonian goddess
Ishtar, captives in tow, is now thought to date to the Ur-III period; however, a later Assyrian- Babylonian legendary retelling of the exploits of Sargon the Great mentions Anubanini as one of his opponents.
Babylonian and Assyrian interactions
In the following (second) millennium BC, the term "
Lullubi" or "
Lullu" seems to have become a generic Babylonian/
term for "highlander" without reference to any single ethnic group, while the original region of Lullubi became the
Hurrian inhabited
Zamua. However, the "land of Lullubi" makes a reappearance in the late 12th century BC, when both
Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon (in c. 1120 BC) and Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria (in 1113 BC) subdued it. Neo-Assyrian kings of the following centuries also recorded campaigns and conquests in the area of Lullubum. Most notably, Ashurnasirpal II had to suppress a revolt among the Zamuan chiefs in 881 BC, during which they constructed a wall in the Bazian pass between modern
Kirkuk (the Assyrian city of
Arrapha) and
Sulaymaniyah in a failed attempt to keep the Assyrians out.
They were said to have had 19 walled cities in their land, as well as a large supply of horses, cattle, metals, textiles and wine, which were carried off by Ashurnasirpal. Local chiefs or governors of the Zamua region continued to be mentioned down to the end of Esarhaddon's reign (669 BC) after which they disappear from history.
Representations
In depictions of them, the Lullubi were represented as warlike mountain people.
The Lullubi are often shown bare-chested and wearing animal skins. They had short beards and their hair was long and worn in a thick braid, as can be seen on the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin.
["The hair of the Lullubi is long and worn in a thick braid. They wear animal skins, while the Akkadian soldiers wear the proper attire for battle, helmets and military tunics." in ]
Rulers
The following is a list of known rulers of the Lullubi kingdom.
[Qashqai, 2011.][Legrain, 1922; Cameron, 1936; D’yakonov, 1956; The Cambridge History of Iran; Hinz, 1972; The Cambridge Ancient History; Majidzadeh, 1991; Majidzadeh, 1997.]
-
Immashkush (c. 2400 BC)
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Anubanini (c. 2350 BC) he ordered to make an inscription on the rock near Sar-e Pol-e Zahab.
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Satuni (c. 2270 BC contemporary with Naram-Sin king of Akkadian Empire and Khita king of Awan Dynasty)
-
Irib (c. 2037 BC)
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Darianam (c. 2000 BC)
-
Tardunni (precise dates unknown)
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Tardunni (precise dates unknown) son of Ikki. His inscription is found not far from the inscription of Anubanini.
-
Nur-Adad (c. 881 – 880 BC)
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Zabini (c. 881 BC)
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Hubaia (c. 830 BC) vassal of Assyrians
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Dada (c. 715 BC)
-
Larkutla (c. 675 BC)
Lullubi rock reliefs
Various Lullubian reliefs can be seen in the area of Sar-e Pol-e Zohab, the best preserved of which is the Anubanini rock relief. They all show a ruler trampling an enemy, and most also show a deity facing the ruler. Another relief can be found about 200 meters away, in a style similar to the Anubanini relief, but this time with a beardless ruler.
The attribution to a specific ruler remains uncertain.
Anubanini rock relief
File:Anubanini Rock Relief 2.jpg|The relief is located on the top of a cliff towering over the village of Sarpol-e Zahab. A second relief from the Parthian Empire period appears below.
File:Anubanini_Rock_Relief_1.jpg|Anubanini rock relief at Sarpol-e Zahab, also called Sarpol-e Zahab II.
Other Lullubi reliefs
File:Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief IV.jpg|Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief I. Beardless warrior with axe, trampling a foe. Sundisk above. A name "Zaba(zuna), son of ..." can be read.
Language
The language of the Lullubi is regarded as an unclassified language
because it is unattested in written record. However, the term
Lullubi significantly appears to be of
Hurrian language origin rather than Semitic or
Indo-European, which had yet to arrive in the region, and the names of its known rulers have Hurrian or more rarely Semitic influence, with no trace of Indo-European influence such as Iranic or Indo-Aryan.
[Tischler 1977–2001: vol. 5/6: 70–71. On the Lullubeans in general, see Klengel 1987–1990; Eidem 1992: 50–4.]
See also
Sources
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Sar-e Pol-e Zahab
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Lullubi
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Qashqai, Hamidreza, Chronicle of early Iran history, Tehran, Avegan press, 2011 (in Persian: گاهنمای سپیده دم تاریخ در ایران )
-
Cameron, George, "History of Early Iran", Chicago, 1936 (repr., Chicago, 1969; tr. E.-J. Levin, L’histoire de l’Iran antique, Paris, 1937; tr. H. Anusheh, ایران در سپیده دم تاریخ, Tehran, 1993)
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D’yakonov, I. M., "Istoriya Midii ot drevenĭshikh vremen do kontsa IV beka de e.E" (The history of Media from ancient times to the end of the 4th century BCE), Moscow and Leningrad, 1956; tr. Karim Kešāvarz as Tāriḵ-e Mād, Tehran, 1966.
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The Cambridge History of Iran
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Hinz, W., "The Lost World of Elam", London, 1972 (tr. F. Firuznia, دنیای گمشده ایلام, Tehran, 1992)
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The Cambridge Ancient History
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Majidzadeh, Yusef, "History and civilization of Elam", Tehran, Iran University Press, 1991.
-
Majidzadeh, Yusef, "History and civilization of Mesopotamia", Tehran, Iran University Press, 1997, vol.1.
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Legrain, Leon, "Historical Fragments", Philadelphia, The University of Pennsylvania Museum Publications of the Babylonian Section, vol. XIII, 1922.
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Vallat, Francois. Elam: The History of Elam. Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. VIII pp. 301-313. London/New York, 1998.
