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 City State of Ekallatum
Ekallatum was a small
Amorite city state which
was located on the west bank of the upper Tigris, to the south of
Assyria's capital at
Ashur. Its name means 'the palace'. The city was only important for the
space of a century or so.
It was first ruled by a relative of the early Assyrian
royal house, Ila-Kabkaba. When Assyria was conquered by Naram-Sin,
king of Eshnunna,
Ila-Kabkaba's son (or descendant), Shamshi-Adad, fled to
Babylon. Following Naram-Sin's
death, he returned to take power when he recaptured Ekallatum,
refounding his own kingdom, and spending three years building up his forces
there. Then he overthrew the Assyrian king, Erishum II and dominated all of northern
Mesopotamia.
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c.1776 BC |
Shamshi-Adad is killed in battle.
Although Ishme-Dagan is a capable military leader, his reign is chaotic and
he is never able to assert control over his father's empire. It seems likely
that the capital of the kingdom of
Upper Mesopotamia is
lost very quickly to local forces while the king continues to rule Ekallatum.
Yasmah-Adad is overthrown and
Mari is lost. Mari
becomes allied to the Babylonians
under Hammurabi while Ishme-Dagan collects allies in the north and the two
states renew their mutual hostilities. |
c.1765 - 1763 BC |
The
Elamites capture Ekallatum, forcing Ishme-Dagan
to seek refuge in Babylon.
Hammurabi crushes the Elamites, returning Ishme-Dagan to his throne, albeit
as a vassal king, from where he also seems to retain control over
Assyria
during his lifetime. |
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