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| Gindibu | |
|---|---|
| Qedarite king | |
| Reign | c. 850s BCE |
| Predecessor | Unknown |
| Successor | Unknown, eventuallyZabibe |
| Born | c. early 9th century BCE |
| Religion | North Arabian polytheism |
Gindibu (Akkadian:ᵐGi-in-di-bu-ʾ;c. 853 BCE) was aQedarite Arab king.
Gindibu ruled over an Arab kingdom located in the northeastern parts of present-dayJordan, on the eastern borders of the Assyrian province of Haurina (Hauran) established byTiglath-Pileser III in 732 BC.[1] The kingdom spanned theAzraq oasis andWadi Sirhan, and was bordered by the powerful kingdoms of Aram-Damascus and Israel in the west, although Gindibu himself was independent of Damascene hegemony.[2]
Although Gindibu's kingdom was not on the Assyrian campaign routes and therefore was not in danger of being attacked by the Assyrians, the rise ofNeo-Assyrian power in the 9th century BCE meant that the desert and border routes where Gindibu had economic interests were under threat of Assyrian interference, due to which he allied with his powerful neighbours, the kingsBar-Hadad II of Aram-Damascus andAhab of Israel, against the Assyrian Empire. Fearing disruptions by the Assyrians, Gindibu led 1000camelry troops at the battle ofBattle of Qarqar in 853 BCE on the side of the alliance led by Aram-Damascus and Israel againstShalmaneser III of Assyria.[2]
Shalmaneser III later campaigned toDamascus and MountḤawrān in 841 BCE, but his inscriptions mentioned neither the Qedarite kingdom nor Gindibu himself or any successor of his. The Qedarites were not mentioned either in the list of rulers, including those of distant places such asPhilistia,Edom, andIsrael, who paid tribute toAdad-nirari III after the latter's defeat ofBen-Hadad III of Damascus in 796 BCE. This reason for absence from the Assyrian records is that the kingdom of Gindibu was far from the campaign routes of the Assyrians during the later 9th century BCE.[2]