Amorites

Cuneiform clay tablets from the Amorite Kingdom of Mari, 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC.

The Amorites (/ˈæməˌrts/; Sumerian: 𒈥𒌅[1], romanized: MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝, romanized: Amurrūm or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 Tidnum; Hebrew: אֱמֹרִי, romanizedʾĔmōrī; Ancient Greek: Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC to the late 17th century BC.

They established several prominent city-states in existing locations, such as Isin, Larsa, Mari and Ebla, and later founded Babylon and the Old Babylonian Empire. They also founded the Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the Nile Delta, which was characterized by rulers bearing Amorite names such as Yakbim, and were likely part of the later Hyksos.[2][3] The term Amurru in Akkadian and Sumerian texts refers to the Amorites, their principal deity, and an Amorite kingdom. The Amorites are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as inhabitants of Canaan both before and after the conquest of the land under Joshua.[4]

  1. ^ Frankfort, H. (1939). Cylinder seals: a Documentary Essay on the Art and Religion of the Ancient Near East. MacMillan and Co., Pl. XXVIII e+i
  2. ^ Burke, Aaron A. (2019). "Amorites in the Eastern Nile Delta: The Identity of Asiatics at Avaris during the Early Middle Kingdom". In Bietak, Manfred; Prell, Silvia (eds.). The Enigma of the Hyksos. Harrassowitz. pp. 67–91. ISBN 9783447113328.
  3. ^ Bietak, Manfred (2019). "The Spiritual Roots of the Hyksos Elite: An Analysis of Their Sacred Architecture, Part I". In Bietak, Manfred; Prell, Silvia (eds.). The Enigma of the Hyksos. Harrassowitz. pp. 47–67. ISBN 9783447113328.
  4. ^ van Seters, John, "The Terms ‘Amorite’ and ‘Hittite’ in the Old Testament", Vetus Testamentum, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 64–81, 1972

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