Near East Kingdoms

Tutub (City State) (Sumer)

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The city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation emerged a little way ahead of that of Africa's ancient Egypt, and up to a millennium before that of the Indus Valley culture.

It 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. Southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and the western edge of Iran) was subjected to permanent settlement, initially in the form of pastoralists but soon as farmers too.

By the late fourth millennium BC, Sumer was divided into approximately a dozen independent city states which used local canals and boundary stones to mark their borders. Many of the smaller cities emerged in two broad waves, in the mid-third millennium BC and at the start of the second millennium BC. One of these was the city of Tutub.

Today better known as the archaeological site of Khafijah (Khafajah or Khafaje), Tutub was one of a series of smaller cities which had appeared by the start of the second millennium BC in the northern part of Sumer. The unlocated Akshak was the biggest nearby city, a short way to the north of Umma. Der lay some way to its direct east, in the Zagros mountain foothills, and Tutub sat alongside other small cities such as Ishan-Mizyad, Kutha, Mutalu, Nerebtum, Shadlash, Shaduppum, and Uzarlulu.

Tutub and Eshnunna were both sited on the banks of the River Diyala, close to each other and probably close to Akshak, with Tutub now about eleven kilometres to the east of Baghdad. Initial occupation took place during the Uruk IV period around the middle of the fourth millennium BC, with it remaining in use until the social collapse at the end of the Old Babylonian period.

The post-Sumerian period of about 1900-1762 BC is highly complicated along the Diyala river valley. Many kings ruled many of the small cities there, and were often conquering neighbouring cities or being conquered themselves. Dating and records-keeping are and were poor, so only a basic framework of events can be built up.

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(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 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 History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from The Archaeology of Elam, D T Potts (Cambridge University Press, 1999), from History of Early Iran, George C Cameron (University of Chicago Press, 1936), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and Evolution of Sumerian kingship (Ancient World Magazine), and Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project (Published between 2003-2021, part of the Babylonian section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology), and the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.)

c.2500 BC

Sumerians continue to control southern Mesopotamia during the 'Early Dynastic' period. The major city states are: Adab, Akkad, Bad-tibira, Borsippa, Eridu, Girsu, Isin, Kish, Lagash, Larsa, Mari, Nippur, Shuruppak, Ur, and Uruk.

This figurine of a woman was dated by archaeologists at about 2500 BC, having been uncovered in the ancient Sumerian city of Lagash

One of the minor cities is Tutub, already as much as a thousand years old at about the time at which 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).

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 such as Terqa.

Some of the earliest cities, such as Sippar, Borsippa, and Kish in the north, and Ur, Uruk, and Eridu in the south, formed the endpoints of what became the complex Sumerian network of cities and canals (click or tap on map to view full sized)

c.2254 - 2240 BC

Facing revolts from the start of his reign, Naram-Sin of Akkad remains 'victorious in nine battles' because Ishtar is on his side. He conquers Ebla in Syria, defeats a coalition which is led by Kish, another coalition which is led by Uruk (when combined these coalitions include all of the major cities of Mesopotamia), and also attacks Nippur and the Hatti.

He gives governorships to his sons: Sharkalisharri is in control of Nippur, Šaratigubišin is in Urusagrig, and Nabi-Ulmash is in Tutub. He also conquers the hillfolk Lullabi in the north.

fl c.2240s? BC

Son of Naram-Sin of Akkad, and ensi of Tutub.

c.2240? BC

Both Marhashi and Kutik-Inshushinnak (Puzur-Inshushinnak) of Awan declare independence from Akkad - although perhaps not immediately as it seems that Elam is re-conquered for a time. When they do succeed though, they eventually throw off Akkadian language influences.

Naram-Sin of Akkad concludes a treaty with an unnamed ruler or high official of Susa. This could be a reaction to building events in the region which result in Kutik-Inshushinnak's takeover. He conquers Susa and Anshan, forming a centralised and unified kingdom.

The site of Tal-i Malyan (ancient Anshan) as seen from the west, with not much visibly remaining when compared to the mound settlements of Mesopotamia and the Susa plain (External Link: Creative Commons Licence 4.0 International)

The Ur-Namma Isin text lists Awal, Kismar, and Mashkan-sharrim, as well as the lands (ma-da) of Eshnunna, Tutub, Zimudar, and Agade amongst those areas which are governed by Kutik-Inshushinnak. This statement shows that he is particularly active in the Jabal Hamrin-Diyala-central Tigris district in northern Sumer.

fl c.2010 BC

Ruler of Eshnunna. Captured Tutub.

Nurahum is able to seize the city of Tutub in the Diyala river valley in northern Sumer. The event is considered to be significant (at least by the king himself) as Eshnunna's next year name commemorates this event. Even more so the year name after that repeats the commemoration, making it a highly significant capture.

fl c.1900? BC

Barely known, perhaps a minor Diyala region ruler.

c.1900? BC

Abdi-Erah of Eshnunna is (probably) not to be confused with the contemporary Abdi-Erah of the 'Mananâ' dynasty of Kish. Little is known about this Abdi-Erah, although he is the main writer of letter AS 22 40 which survives on a clay tablet (and see below, in the 1880s BC).

French archaeologists made early excavations of Kish in the nineteenth century, followed by more extensive work by joint expeditions from Oxford University and the Field Museum of Chicago in the early twentieth century

A year name for Abdi-Erah turns up at Eshnunna and another at Tutub. His death is commemorated in a year name from Shaduppum. Evidence regarding his seat of power remains scant, with Tutub more likely to be a vassal city and Eshnunna therefore a more likely location.

fl c.1880s? BC

Not on all lists. Little known apart from tablet mentions.

Abī-madar is perhaps the first ruler in the River Diyala region to be named as a ruler in documents from two different sites. Perhaps the most interesting one stems from Shaduppum in the form of IM 63130 regarding the division of an inheritance.

Year names for Abī-madar occur at Shaduppum, commemorating the making of a zarzarum and the building of a ramum. Two year names come from Tutub, these referring to a mīšarum edict by Abī-madar, possibly the earliest Old Babylonian period occurrence of such an edict.

The ancient city of Shaduppum - the modern archaeological site of Tell Harmal - now lies in the Baghdad governorate of Iraq, and within the borders of modern Baghdad itself

In addition, an Abī-madar year name comes from Eshnunna in which he brings a statue into the god Sîn's temple. A person called Abī-madar is also mentioned in a later-dated letter which is sent by the king of Eshnunna to Sîn-abūšu (possibly of Nerebtum).

fl c.1880s? BC

King of Nerebtum, Tutub, & Uzarlulu.

fl c.1880? BC

King of Nerebtum, Tutub, & Uzarlulu. Gained Shaduppum.

c.1880? BC

Hammi-dušur succeeds Sumu-nabi-yarim in Nerebtum, Tutub, and Uzarlulu. Whereas Sumu-nabi-yarim's name is not attested at Shaduppum, Hammi-dušur year names are certainly found there.

Hammi-dušur comes to rule a substantial part of the lower Diyala region around 1880-1865 BC, and his accession is commemorated in two types of year names which have been found at Tutub and Shaduppum.

This aerial view from 2023 shows the River Diyala at the late Chalcolithic (Copper Age) site of Shakhi Kora in today's Kurdistan region of Iraq

fl c.1870 - 1830 BC

Within this period, king (or equivalent ruling title).

c.1870? BC

One king who is associated with early Old Babylonian Nerebtum (perhaps succeeding Sîn-abūšu there) is Ikun-pi-Sin who seemingly rules in Uzarlulu around 1870 BC. He is first known from a Tutub year name, one which credits him with the capture of Diniktum. He is also credited with ruling Shaduppum, at least for a certain unspecified period.

In the same approximate decade one Belakum rules Eshnunna, but precise dates are unavailable. The death of one aš-du-um-la-bu-um (Ašdum-labum) is commemorated in a year name which is known from Uzarlulu. A group of texts from Shadappum, Tutub, and Uzarlulu which mention this death also contain a year name which commemorates Belakum's death.

c.1865? - 1823 BC

King of Nerebtum & Tutub? Gained Shadappum.

c.1865? BC

Hammi-dušur's realm in the Lower Diyala is ruled after him by Sîn-abūšu who must be related to Hammi-dušur. No patronyms are given for Sîn-abūšu, however, but some proof comes from two year names to place him in Nerebtum, Shadappum, and Tutub.

The temple oval at Tutub was central to the city (now the site of Khafajah or Khafaje), with the city having been founded during the Uruk IV period of the fourth millennium BC

Sîn-abūšu must accede the throne around 1865 BC. The Mari archive states that Amīnum captures Shaduppum in 1862 BC which must be at the beginning of Sîn-abūšu's reign. Apart from that archive mention, there are no indications for this event and Sîn-abūšu's year names continue to be used in Shaduppum.

c.1864? BC

The second feat which can be attributed to Sîn-abūšu is the taking of the land of 'Ṣit' a year after the Amīnum attack. This country is tentatively located around the towns of Mankisum and Šitullum, along the Tigris around Durand.

A broken Mari tablet also places him in 1851 BC, ensuring a reign of at least fourteen years. While Hammi-dušur has previously agreed a treaty with the city of Shadlas, it seems that hostilities continue.

One of Sîn-abūšu's year names attests to a siege of that city. He is apparently unsuccessful in conquering and incorporating Shadlash into his kingdom for any lasting time because, several decades later, it has a ruler by the name of Sumu-Šamaš.

This tablet from eighteenth century BC Mari contains records of food supplies, with the symbol of a human head with a triangular object in front of it being the verb 'to eat' in later Sumerian

c.1828 -1823 BC

After about 1862 BC, the city of Eshnunna under Ibiq-Adad II has been expanding its territory to incorporate the Diyala valley as far as its confluence with the Tigris. Previously independent minor cities are now subjugated (seemingly between about 1828-1823 BC).

These cities include Dur-Rimush, Nerebtum, Shadappum (around 1823 BC), and Uzarlulu. It may be Apil-sin of Babylon who takes advantage of this by opportunistically grabbing for himself a few of Shaduppum's territorial holdings (which also include Tutub).

The city of Shaduppum is subsequently built anew on a fresh site by Ibiq-Adad II. The act is commemorated by Ibiq-Adad II in a subsequent year name.

c.1762 BC

Eshnunna's hold over Shadappum is quickly broken. The Babylonians capture the only remaining political power to oppose them when they take Eshnunna. They inherit well-established eastern trade routes and economic stability.

Ceramic pot-bellows were employed to supply air to smelting furnaces, significantly contributing to early iron production in the region, with these examples coming from the later levels of ancient Uzarlulu (modern Tell al-Dhiba'i)

A string of small dependant cities also come with this conquest, including Dur-Rimush, Nerebtum, Shaduppum, and Uzarlulu (and most likely Tutub too). Shaduppum, though, may be destroyed by this action.

c.1595 BC

The Babylonian empire has been steadily declining following the arrival of the Hittites in the north, and due to over-farming of the fields which leads to increased salinisation and failing crops. The culture of the Hittites emerges, as does that of the Hurrian empire of Mitanni.

Around this time, 1595 BC, the Hittite ruler, Mursili I, leads his army down the Euphrates in a lighting raid which sees Babylon being sacked and its leadership destroyed. The power vacuum allows the Kassites to emerge as Babylonia's new masters, but the short dark age of this period also leads to a number of cities being abandoned. Both Sippar and Tutub are casualties.

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