Nuhašše Nuhašše | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Bronze–Late Bronze | |||||||||
| Capital | Nuhašše | ||||||||
| Common languages | Aramaic | ||||||||
| Religion | Levantine Religion | ||||||||
| Government | Petty Kingdom, principalities, federation | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle-Late Bronze | ||||||||
• Established | Middle Bronze | ||||||||
• Disestablished | Late Bronze | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Syria | ||||||||
Nuhašše (kurnu-ḫa-áš-še;kurnu-ḫa-šeki), was a region in northwesternSyria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was east of the Orontes River borderingAleppo (northwest) andQatna (south). It was a petty kingdom or federacy of principalities probably under a high king. Tell Khan Sheykhun has tenatively been identified askurnu-ḫa-šeki.[1]
TheSemitic name "Nuhašše" means "rich, prosperous".[2] Nuhašše stretched from theEuphrates valley in the east to theOrontes valley in the west betweenHamath in the south and Aleppo in the north;[3] it did not includeEbla and it was separated from the Euphrates river byEmar and Ashtata.[2] In the west, it reached the Orontes river only if it included the region ofNiya which is debated.[2] The main city was namedUgulzat (possibly modernKhan Shaykhun).[4][5]Hittite texts mention the "Kings of Nuhašše", indicating that the region consisted of a number of petty kingdoms that might have formed a confederacy; one of the monarchs took the role ofprimus inter pares (first among equals),[6] and resided in Ugulzat.[4]
The majority of population in the second half of the second millennium BC was West-Semitic, while the ruling classes were Hurrians.[7] The diplomatic language used in the region was aHurrianized form ofAkkadian as Hurrian traits appear in every Akkadian sentence in tablets written in Nuhašše; the Hurrian elements comprise around fifth of a sentence.[8] The coronation of a king included anointing; a common practice in Bronze Age monarchies of Western Asia.[9]
The name Nuhašše appears in a bilingualHittite-Hurrian text (named the Song of Release) which is copied from a Hurrian original dating to 2000 BC.[10] In the Hurrian text, Nuhašše was a close ally of Ebla.[2]
The region was mentioned also in the archive ofMari and in the archive ofAlalakh but did not designate a politically unified entity;[3] at the times of Mari, the northern regions of Nuhašše were under the supremacy ofYamhad while the southern ones were subordinate toQatna.[6]
The petty kingdom of Nuhašše changed hands between great powers in the region such asEgypt,Mitanni and theHittites.
Thutmose I conducted military campaigns in the region reaching the Euphrates River.Thutmose III (c. 1470 BC) annexed the region, thenMitanni established its rule over the area.[6]
Šuppiluliuma I fought a series of military campaigns ("Great Syrian Wars", c. 1350-1345 BC) againstTushratta of Mitanni (d. 1345 BC following the Siege of Carchemish), attacking and annexing the region.Tutankhamun also died, causing Suppiluliuma I to become the most powerful ruler in the Near East controlling large parts of Anatolia and Syria. TheAmarna archives (c. 1350 BC) reveals that Nuhašše was engaged in territorial disputes with its neighbourAmurru.[11] Amurru had swiftly aligned itself with the Hittites.
A Hittite treaty dating to the reign ofMuwatalli II, 13th century BC,[12] mentions earlier border disputes between Nuhašše and Aleppo to the northwest where the people of Nuhašše asked the Mitannian king to interfere; the king campaigned against Aleppo and gave the disputed lands to Nuhašše.[13] The treaty mentions that the people of Aleppo committed an offence against a Hittite monarch calledHattusili and the Nuhašše petitioned the former for districts belonging to Aleppo; The Hittites granted Nuhašše its request.[13] The date of the border disputes in which the Hittites interfered is related to the date of the monarch named Hattusili but the identity of that king is mysterious but could have reigned as co-king ofArnuwanda I, early 14th century BC.[13]
In Hittite clay tablet (CTH 63), Barga and Nuḫašše disputed the dominion of the city Yaruqatta (urui-ia-ru-wata-an/aš).
| King | Reigned | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Taku | Crowned by Thutmose III | |
| Šarrupši | c. 1350 BC | Time of Suppiluliuma I |
| Adad-Nirari | c. 1350 BC | Time of Suppiluliuma I |
| Tette (part I) | c. 13xx-1322 BC | Time of Suppiluliuma I |
| Šummittara | c. 1322 BC | Time of Suppiluliuma I |
| Tette (part II) | c. 13xx-131x BC | Time of Mursili II |
Tette of Nuḫašše () was the grandson of Šarrupši and was installed by king Šuppiluliuma I as the new king in a vassal treaty (CTH 53). When Šuppiluliuma I died around 1323 BC, the population's confidence in Tette decreased. The office was given to his brother, Šummittara. Tette staged a revolt against his brother and returned to the trone, being installed by Muršili II. In a Hittite document ( KUB 19.15 + KBo 50.4), Tette tried to enlist Egypt as a partner when Nuḫašše (as apparently also Kinza ) rose in rebellion against the Hittites. The prevailing opinion equates this rebellion with the seventh year of Muršili's reign, but there are also opinions according to which it took place in the ninth year of Muršili's reign. From Egypt, which may actually have undertaken a campaign into Syria, the Hittite king demanded Tette's extradition in a letter addressed to Arma'a (Horemheb).
Tell Afis may have been part of Nuḫašše, later becoming an administrative center underHattusili III.
In the Iron Age, the region became known asLu'ash.[14]
