| Abba-El II | |
|---|---|
| King of Halab (Yamhad) | |
 | |
| Reign | Middle 16th century BC |
| Predecessor | Sarra-El |
| Successor | Ilim-Ilimma I |
Abba-El II (reigned middle 16th century BC - Middle chronology) was the king of Halab (formerly Yamhad) who reigned after the withdrawal of the Hittites. [1]
Abba-El is known through his Royal Seal used by his descendant Niqmepa, king of Alalakh as a dynastic seal. [1] In the seal he is described as the mighty king, servant of Hadad, beloved of Hadad, devotee of Hadad, [2] which were the titles that the old kings of Yamhad used. [3] While the seal mentions the name of Abba-El II, the king depicted in it could be Abba-El I. [4]
According to prof. Trevor Bryce, Aleppo was restored by Abba-El's father Sarra-Ee; [5] however, other Historians such as Michael C. Astour consider Abba-El II to be the king who restored the kingdom. [6]
Aleppo recovered from the Hittite invasion and expanded its territory to some of its former lands including Alalakh, Niya and Ama'u. [7]
Abba-El's immediate successor was his probable son Ilim-Ilimma I, [6] [8] the father of Idrimi who continued the dynasty of Yamhad in Alalakh after Aleppo fell to the Mitannians in ca. 1525 BC. [5] [9]
Mitanni, c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or Naharin in Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian-speaking state with Indo-Aryan linguistic influences in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia. Since no histories or royal annals/chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts.
Yamhad was an ancient Semitic-speaking kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo) in Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC and was ruled by the Yamhad dynasty, who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand their realm. From the beginning of its establishment, the kingdom withstood the aggressions of its neighbors Mari, Qatna and the Old Assyrian Empire, and was turned into the most powerful Syrian kingdom of its era through the actions of its king Yarim-Lim I. By the middle of the 18th century BC, most of Syria minus the south came under the authority of Yamhad, either as a direct possession or through vassalage, and for nearly a century and a half, Yamhad dominated northern, northwestern and eastern Syria, and had influence over small kingdoms in Mesopotamia at the borders of Elam. The kingdom was eventually destroyed by the Hittites, then annexed by Mitanni in the 16th century BC.
Ebla was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center throughout the 3rd millennium BC and in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Its discovery proved the Levant was a center of ancient, centralized civilization equal to Egypt and Mesopotamia and ruled out the view that the latter two were the only important centers in the Near East during the Early Bronze Age. The first Eblaite kingdom has been described as the first recorded world power.
Alalakh is an ancient archaeological site approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Antakya in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, c. 2000-1200 BC. The city contained palaces, temples, private houses and fortifications. The remains of Alalakh have formed an extensive mound covering around 22 hectares. In Late Bronze Age, Alalakh was the capital of the local kingdom of Mukiš.
Hattusili I was a king of the Hittite Old Kingdom. He reigned ca. 1650–1620 BCE, or ca. 1640–1610 BCE. Excavations in Zincirli Höyük, Southern Turkey, suggest that a complex there was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BCE, possibly by Hattusili I in a military campaign, which could confirm the middle chronology dating for his reign. This destruction was recently radiocarbon-dated to sometime between 1632 and 1610 BCE. This event could have been part of Ḫattušili's campaign against Zalpa in order to disrupt an exchange network connected to Aleppo that previously linked the Euphrates, North Syria, and Central Anatolia. Aslihan K. Yener dates destruction of Level VII Palace at nearby Alalakh, located around 100 km southeast of Tilmen Höyük, in the second year of Hattusili's reign, 1628 BCE.
Barattarna, Parattarna, Paršatar, or Parshatatar was the name of a Hurrian king of Mitanni and is considered to have reigned, as per middle chronology between c. 1510 and 1490 BC by J. A. Belmonte-Marin quoting H. Klengel.
Nuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was a federacy ruled by different kings who collaborated and probably had a high king. Nuhašše changed hands between different powers in the region such as Egypt, Mitanni and the Hittites. It rebelled against the latter which led Šuppiluliuma I to attack and annex the region.
Hammurabi I is the third attested king of Yamhad (Halab).
Irridu (Irrite) was a city in northwestern Mesopotamia, likely located between Harran and Carchemish. It flourished in the middle and late Bronze Age before being destroyed by Assyria.
Abba-El I was the king of Yamhad (Halab), succeeding his father Hammurabi I.
Yarim-Lim II was the king of Yamhad succeeding his father Abba-El I.
Niqmi-Epuh, also given as Niqmepa was the king of Yamhad (Halab) succeeding his father Yarim-Lim II
Yarim-Lim III was the king of Yamhad (Halab) succeeding Hammurabi II.
Sarra-El also written Šarran was a prince of Yamhad who might have regained the throne after the assassination of the Hittite king Mursili I.
Ilim-Ilimma I was the king of Yamhad succeeding his father Abba-El II.
Hammurabi III was the king of Yamhad (Halab) succeeding Yarim-Lim III.
Hassum was a Hurrian city-state, located in southern Turkey most probably on the Euphrates river north of Carchemish.
Yarim-Lim was a king of Alalakh and son of Hammurabi I of Yamhad. He was granted the city of Alalakh by his brother Abba-El I of Yamhad and started a cadet branch of the Yamhadite dynasty that lasted until the conquest of Alalakh by the Hittite king Hattusili I.
The Yamhad dynasty was an ancient Amorite royal family founded in c. 1810 BC by Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad who had his capital in the city of Aleppo. Started as a local dynasty, the family expanded its influence through the actions of its energetic ruler Yarim-Lim I who turned it into the most influential family in the Levant through both diplomatic and military tools. At its height the dynasty controlled most of northern Syria and the modern Turkish province of Hatay with a cadet branch ruling in the city of Alalakh.
