Near East Kingdoms

Terqa (State of Hana / Hanna / Khana) (Northern Mesopotamia)

Ancient Mesopotamia (Intro) Canaanite States & Groups Islamic Empire Israelites & Israel Mesopotamian States & Groups Rome Syrian States & Groups

In southern Mesopotamia the city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation developed out of the end of the Pottery Neolithic across the Fertile Crescent, a period which had seen Neolithic Farmer practices spread far and wide across the Near East and beyond.

As irrigation improved so the more southerly reaches of the Euphrates could at last be occupied by humans and their animals, with permanent settlements arising from the sixth millennium BC. Initially these were pastoralist settlements, but soon farming villages appeared and they gradually grew and improved. At the same time, northern Mesopotamia experienced its own burgeoning development processes, largely starting under the Hassuna culture.

These processes took longer here than they did in the south, in what is now northern Iraq, the western edge of Iran, the south-eastern corner of Turkey, and the eastern wedge of Syria. An urban lifestyle only really appeared in the third millennium BC, thanks in part to such influences being imposed during Sumerian empire-building periods. Archaeology has uncovered a wealth of detail about settlements in this region, but many more sites remain to be examined.

Situated on the valley of the middle Euphrates some sixty kilometres to the north of Mari and not too far from the eastern edges of ancient Syria, the population of the relatively minor city of Terqa (modern Tel Ashara) was swelled upon the arrival of Amorite tribes by around 2000 BC. They tended to form territorial states rather than continue Sumer's established practice of ruling a single city and dominating others.

Under the late nineteenth century BC king, Yahdun-Lim, and his successors the city was united with Mari under a single ruler to form the state of Hana (or Hanna, or Khana, encompassing the south-eastern section of modern Syria), as well as supplying a new ruling dynasty for Mari itself.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City, Gwendolyn Leick (Penguin Books, 2001), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from Political Change and Cultural Continuity in Eshnunna from the Ur III to the Old Babylonian Period, Clemens Reichel (Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, 11 June 1996), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Mesopotamia, Chris Scarre (Ed, Past Worlds - The Times Atlas of Archaeology, Guild Publishing, London 1989), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and Ancient History, Anthony Michael Love (Sarissa.org).)

c.2500 BC

Sumerians continue to control southern Mesopotamia. By this time the scribes of Abu Salabikh bear Semitic names. Sumer is now a multi-lingual region, with at least two major languages being spoken in the form of Sumerian and Semitic (sometimes labelled proto-Akkadian, with that later being a dominant form of non-Sumerian).

While southern Mesopotamia flourished during the third millennium BC, it took longer for the same effect to be felt in northern Mesopotamia, with the first larger cities and city states only really emerging towards the end of the millennium (click or tap on map to view full sized)

Semitic predominates in northern Sumer and in northern Mesopotamia beyond that - such as at Ashur and Nineveh - as this is the route of entry into Sumer itself for Semitic-speakers.

Its use is most notable in early Akkadians, while Sumerian still dominates in the south and Amorites are already penetrating into north-western Mesopotamia to assume gradual control of small cities (and previously undistinguished) such as Terqa.

c.1820 - 1811 BC

King of Mari (& Terqa?).

c.1811 - 1795 BC

King of Mari & Terqa.

Once Yahdun-Lim rules both Mari and Terqa, the latter city remains tied to Mari until its fall. Terqa's professional soldiers also serve under Mari, mounting guard in the palace, manning local garrisons, keeping order in the desert, and participating in all campaigns.

Excavations in Terqa revealed the remnants of an occupation on the west bank of the Euphrates in the early third millennium BC, as one of the first cities in the region and one which was contemporary with its neighbour, the larger and more famous city of Mari

c.1795 - 1791 BC

Son. King of Mari & Terqa.

c.1791 - 1776 BC

Having been a vassal state for the lifetime of Shamshi-Adad, following the break-up of his kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia', Terqa is restored to independence. Zimri-Lim, returning from exile in Alep (where he had a ruling seat at Alakhtum), takes control in Terqa and neighbouring Mari, leaving a governor in charge of Terqa.

c.1776 - 1761 BC

Brother. King of Mari, Alakhtum, & Terqa.

c.1776 - 1761 BC

Governor of Terqa.

c.1761 BC

Hammurabi of Babylon turns on his old ally, defeating Zimri-Lim in battle and conquering Mari around 1764 BC. Two years later, around 1762 BC, Mari is sacked and devastated by Hammurabi and the region is incorporated into his empire.

The area is subsequently occupied by scattered groups of Assyrians and Babylonians, with the former city remaining a village. Power in the middle Euphrates shifts some hundred kilometres north to Zimri-Lim's home city of Terqa.

Babylon began life as a modest town which had been seized from Kazallu, but was quickly fortified by the building of a city wall in the nineteenth century BC

Name partially lost. Dates unknown and position is uncertain.

Dates unknown and position is uncertain.

c.1732 - 1730 BC

The invading Kassite army under Gandash is crushed by Iluma-Ilum of the Sealand dynasty. However, Gandash does successfully conquer Mari, and the Kassite kings reside there.

? - c.1725? BC

Became hostile to Babylon and was attacked.

c.1725 - 1690? BC

The state is attacked by Hammurabi's successor in Babylon, Samsu-Iluna, as is an otherwise unknown king called Mutihursh (Mutihurshna), who may have some connection with Mari, Hana, or Alalakh, judging by the name construction.

However, Hana is not reduced to a petty local kingdom. Instead it retains some power and international standing (although it is unclear whether or not the state is under Babylon's control in this period).

About thirty-five years after Babylon's attack, a Kassite king appears to assume control of the kingdom of Mari, indicating an expansion of their area of control.

Shown here is the partial modern restoration of the ziggurrat of Dur-Kurigalzu which the Kassite King Kurigalzu I built during his reign at the start of the fourteenth century BC

c.1690 - 1680 BC

Also Kashtiliash I of Mari.

c.1680 BC

Following Kashtiliashu's death, the rulers of Hana are different from those in Mari. This probably indicates either that they rule independently in Terqa or that they are perhaps vassals of Mari.

c. 1680 - ? BC

Independent from Mari?

fl c.1670s? BC

Independent from Mari?

c.1650 BC

Terqa's professional soldiers can be found serving in Syria during the reign of Irkabtum of Yamkhad. His mid-seventeenth century BC Yamkhad now controls north-western Syria, dominating Qatna, and as a result becomes a key target for attacks by the newly-created Hittite kingdom to its north.

This was the situation in Anatolia which was inherited by the Hittites as they formed their early empire in the eighteenth century BC (click or tap on map to view full sized)

c.1600 BC

After Ammi-madar there may be a break in rule (although it is hard to tell with any certainty). The previous kings are ascribed to the Old Babylonian period (about 1741-1595 BC), while the subsequent kings are assigned to the middle Babylonian period (about 1595 BC onwards).

The Hittites pass through Terqa on their way south to sack Babylon around 1595 BC. Their raid ends the political situation which has been holding the Syrian states together, allowing the fledgling empire of Mitanni to rise to power in northern Mesopotamia.

It could be possible that this raid also disrupts Hana's political structure, allowing a new dynasty of kings to establish itself. Details, however, are far thinner than for the previous ruling establishment.

c.1595? - ? BC

Probably founded the new dynasty.

Son.

Son.

Son.

? - c.1450? BC

Son of Azilia. Usurper?

c.1450 BC

The independent rule of Terqa (and Hana) is ended as Terqa becomes part of the Mitanni empire somewhere around this time, being situated in what is now the empire's central southernmost point on the Euphrates.

Mitanni warriors are shown here dressed in a typical northern Mesopotamian costume which they most likely picked up following their arrival in the region in the 1600s BC

c.1320s BC

Once Mitanni begins to weaken and collapse from within, it is picked apart by Assyria on its eastern flank and the Hittites to its west. The remnants of the Mitanni state regularly resist, seeking help from the Hittites and the newly arriving Aramaeans.

The Hittites conquer many western sections of Mitanni in the 1320s BC, ostensibly under the direction of Suppiluliuma I (although he may already be dead by plague), assisted by one of his sons, Piyashshili. Those conquered territories are handed to Piyashshili to govern from Carchemish as a state called Ashtata.