Near East Kingdoms

Ekallatum (City State) (Northern Mesopotamia)

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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 and the western edge of Iran. 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.

Ekallatum was a small Amorite city state of the Numha tribe which was located somewhere on the west bank of the upper Tigris, to the south of Assyria's early capital at Ashur. Unfortunately it has yet to be linked to any specific archaeological tell (mound) as part of modern efforts to pin down its location. The minor city of Shakhi Kora seems to have lain due east of it.

Its name means 'the palace'. The city was only important for the space of a century or so, and its exact location is unknown. Even its name suggests it was more of a small royal residence rather than a growing, bustling city, so its subsequent disappearance perhaps should not be so surprising.

It was first ruled by a relative of the early Assyrian royal house, Ila-Kabkaba. When the region 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. He refounded his kingdom, and spent three years building up his forces there. Then he overthrew the king of Ashur, Erishum II, and dominated all of northern Mesopotamia through his kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia'.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character, Samuel Noah Kramer ('List 1' of Sumerian rulers, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1963), from First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies, Peter Bellwood (Second Ed, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022), 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 The Archaeology of Mesopotamia, S Lloyd (Revised Ed, London, 1984), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), from The First Empires, J N Postgate (Oxford 1977), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Ancient History: A Theory About Ancient Times, L C Gerts (List 4 of Sumerian rulers, Chapter 12: The Sumerian king list, 2002), from Mesopotamia, Chris Scarre (Ed, Past Worlds - The Times Atlas of Archaeology, Guild Publishing, London 1989), from The Age of the God-Kings, Kit van Tulleken (Ed, Time Life Books, Amsterdam 1987), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and The Sumerian Kings List, J A Black, G Cunningham, E Fluckiger-Hawker, E Robson, & G Zólyomi ('List 2' of Sumerian rulers, available via the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford, 1998), and Ancient History, Anthony Michael Love ('List 3' of Sumerian rulers at Sarissa.org), and Images from History (University of Alabama).)

fl c.1830s BC

Possibly an Amorite member of the Assyrian royal house.

Mari and Ekallatum begin a feud that lasts on and off until c.1761 BC.

c.1829 - 1819 BC

Son? Fled to Babylon.

c.1819 - 1812 BC

Ekallatum is captured and occupied by Naram-Sin of Eshnunna. Shamshi-Adad is forced to flee to Babylon, until he can recapture his home city seven years later.

c.1812 - 1809 BC

Recaptured the throne and founded an empire. Died in battle.

c.1809 BC

Shamshi-Adad sets up an empire in 'Upper Mesopotamia' which stretches from Tuttul near the Mediterranean to the Assyrians and the foothills of the Zagros mountains. He hands over Ekallatum to one of his sons to rule in his name, and incorporates Andarig, Apum, Ashur (which is rebuilt and expanded), Carchemish, Karana, Qattara, Razama, Terqa, and Urkesh into his domains, amongst others.

Shamshi-Adad's soldiers are shown in this Assyrian relief

c.1809 - 1741 BC

Son. Ousted, then restored by Babylon.

c.1776 BC

The 'Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia' is attacked simultaneously by Yamkhad and Eshnunna. Given that the approximate date in which he had begun his initial rule of Ekallatum is 1829 BC, fifty-three years before, then he must be at least sixty by now (if the possibility of a child-king is included) or even in his early seventies, an advanced age for the period.

Following this latest attack and seeming defeat, Shamshi-Adad dies soon afterwards, either in battle or of natural causes. His broad northern Mesopotamian empire quickly falls apart.

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. Apum, the capital of the kingdom, is lost very quickly while the king continues to rule Ekallatum and control Ashur.

Yasmah-Adad is overthrown and Mari is also lost. That city becomes allied to the Babylonians under Hammurabi while Ishme-Dagan collects allies in the north and the two states - Ekallatum and Mari - 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 the Assyrian lands during his lifetime.

c.1760s? BC

The Yamutbal people - Amorites on the southern margin of the eastern Anatolian highlands - cede the city of Sadduwatum to Ekallatum, with the exchanged city being the first station on the trading route from Ashur to Kanesh.

c.1741 - ? BC

Son.

Drove-Asqur is the last-known king of Ekallatum, while his potential brother, Mut-Ashkur, gains the city of Ashur and the Assyrian leadership. Both are obscure.

However, Drove-Asqur's Ekallatum becomes even more obscure, to the point of disappearing almost entirely from the historical record after his reign. It seems most likely that Mut-Ashkur inherits or captures the city and incorporates it into 'Old Kingdom' Assyrian holdings.