Irkab-Damu

Irkab-Damu (reigned c. 2340 BC),[4] was the king (Malikum) of the first Eblaite kingdom, whose era saw Ebla's turning into the dominant power in the Levant.[5][6]

Irkab-Damu
King of Ebla
Tenurec. 2340 BC. Middle chronology
PredecessorIgrish-Halam
SuccessorIsar-Damu
King of Ebla
WifeDusigu
IssueIsar-Damu
Princess Iti-Mut.[1]
Princess Tarib-Damu.[2]
Princess Tište-Damu.[2]
Princess Tinib-Dulum.[3]
FatherIgrish-Halam
MotherKesdut

During his reign, the vizier started to acquire an important role in running the affair of the state and the military. Irkab-Damu's reign is also noted for the wide diplomatic relations between Ebla and the surrounding kingdoms.[7][8][9]

Reign
Ebla at the end of Irkab-Damu's reign.

Irkab-Damu succeeded king Igrish-Halam,[10][11] whose reign was characterized by an Eblaite weakness, and tribute paying to the kingdom of Mari with whom Ebla fought a long war.[8] Irkab-Damu started his reign by concluding a peace and trading treaty with Abarsal (probably located along the Euphrates river east of Ebla),[12] one of the first recorded treaties in history.[13] Ebla paid tribute to Mari during Irkab-Damu's first years on the throne.[8] A letter from king Enna-Dagan of Mari was discovered at Ebla,[14] and was used by the Mariote monarch as a tool to assert Mari's authority,[14] as it contained a historic telling of the victories won by the Enna-Dagans's predecessors over Ebla.[15]

Expansion

Irkab-Damu launched a successful counteroffensive against Mari, and ended the tribute.[5][6] He expanded the borders of Ebla to its greatest extent, and controlled an area roughly half the size of modern Syria,[16] half of which was under the direct control of the king and administered by governors, while the rest consisted of vassal kingdoms paying tribute and supplying military assistance to Ebla.[16] A tablet from Ebla mention an Eblaite victory over Nagar, most probably during Irakb-Damu's reign.[17] The same tablet mention the concluding of a treaty with Enna-Dagan.[17] Irkab-Damu appointed Arrukum as the first vizier of Ebla,[18] who kept his office for five years,[19] and had his son Ruzi-Malik marrying princess Iti-Mut, the daughter of the king.[1]

Diplomacy was an important part of Irkab-Damu's policy, a clay tablet found in the archives at Ebla, bears a copy of a diplomatic message sent from Ebla to king Zizi of Hamazi, along with a large quantity of wood, hailing him as a brother,[20] and requesting him to send mercenaries in exchange.[21] Gifts from Ancient Egypt were discovered in the royal palace, indicating the far reaching relations of Ebla,[22] which is described by Karl Moore as the history first world power.[23]

Succession and family

Irkab-Damu was the son of Igrish-Halam and his queen Kesdut.[24] He ruled for eleven years,[12] and married Dusigu in his fifth year on the throne.[25] Irkab-Damu last two years saw the rise of vizier Ibrium,[19] who campaigned against Abarsal during Arrukum's term,[7] and became Ebla's strongest official during the reign of Irkab-Damu's son and successor Isar-Damu.[7]

King Irkab-Damu of Ebla
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Igrish-Halam		 King of Ebla
2340 BC		 Succeeded by
Isar-Damu

See also

References

Citations
  1. W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 162.
  2. W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 183.
  3. W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 170.
  4. William J. Hamblin (2006-09-27). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 239. ISBN 9781134520626.
  5. Amanda H. Podany (2010). Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. p. 24. ISBN 9780199798759.
  6. Lisa Cooper (2006). Early Urbanism on the Syrian Euphrates. p. 64. ISBN 9781134261079.
  7. Mario Liverani (2013-12-04). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 207. ISBN 9781134750917.
  8. Joan Aruz; Ronald Wallenfels (2003). Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. p. 462. ISBN 9781588390431.
  9. Diane Bolger; Louise C. Maguire (2010). The Development of Pre-State Communities in the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honour of Edgar Peltenburg. p. 132. ISBN 9781842178379.
  10. Gregorio del Olmo Lete (2008). Mythologie et religion des sémites occidentaux, Nummer 1 (in French). p. 118. ISBN 9789042918979.
  11. Antonio Panaino; Giovanni Pettinato (2002). Ideologies as Intercultural Phenomena: Proceedings of the Third Annual Symposium of the Assyrian and Babylonian Intellectual Heritage Project, Held in Chicago, USA, October 27-31, 2000. p. 200. ISBN 9788884831071.
  12. Archi, Alfonso (2011). "Alfonso Archi and Maria Giovanna Biga, In Search of Armi". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. The American Schools of Oriental Research. 63 (1): 5–34. doi:10.5615/jcunestud.63.0005. JSTOR 10.5615/jcunestud.63.0005. S2CID 163552750.
  13. Stephen C. Neff (2014). Justice Among Nations. p. 14. ISBN 9780674726543.
  14. Georges Roux (1992). Ancient Iraq. p. 200. ISBN 9780141938257.
  15. Mario Liverani (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. p. 119. ISBN 9781134750849.
  16. William J. Hamblin (2006-09-27). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 240. ISBN 9781134520626.
  17. David Oates, Joan Oates, Helen McDonald (2001). Excavations at Tell Brak: vol 2. Nagar in the third millennium BC. p. 100. ISBN 9780951942093.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. Alfonso Archi (1998). Archiv für Orientforschung, Volume 44,Deel 1 -Volume 45,Deel 1. p. 108.
  19. Douglas Frayne (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). p. 148. ISBN 9781442690479.
  20. Jovan Kurbalija; Hannah Slavik (2001). Language and Diplomacy. p. 52. ISBN 9789990955156.
  21. Giovanni Pettinato (1981). The archives of Ebla: an empire inscribed in clay. Doubleday. p. 98. ISBN 9780385131520.
  22. Amanda H. Podany (2010). Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. p. 52. ISBN 9780199798759.
  23. Karl Moore; David Charles Lewis (2009). The Origins of Globalization. p. 43. ISBN 9781135970086.
  24. W. de Gruyter (2002). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 92. p. 174.
  25. Anne Porter (2012). Mobile Pastoralism and the Formation of Near Eastern Civilizations: Weaving Together Society. p. 230. ISBN 9780521764438.

Bibliography
  • Frayne, Douglas (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-442-69047-9.
  • Hamblin, William (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-52062-6.
  • Liverani, Mario (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-75091-7.
  • Podany, Amanda (2010). Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-79875-9.
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