Idrimi

Idrimi (meaning "It is my help"; died 1465 BC) was the king of Alalakh 1490–1465 BC,Fink, Amir Sumaka'i, (2010). Late Bronze Age Tell Atchana (Alalakh): Stratigraphy, Chronology, History, BAR International Series 2120, Oxford, p. 2, Summary Table 1. or around 1450 BC.von Dassow, Eva, (2022). "Mittani and Its Empire", in Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller, D. T. Potts (eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC, Oxford University Press, p. 474: "...On archival and archaeological grounds, Niqmepa's reign may be dated roughly around 1425 BC, and his father Idrimi's roughly around 1450..." He is known mainly from an inscription on his statue found at Alalakh by Leonard Woolley in 1939.Longman III, Tremper, (1991). Fictional Akkadian Autobiography: A Generic and Comparative Study, Eisenbraums, Winona Lake, Indiana, p. 60: "...discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley in 1939...Although found in the debris of Level IB (ca. 1200 B.C.), the statue was dated by most scholars back to Level IV (ca. 1500 B.C.)..." According to that inscription, he was a son of Ilim-Ilimma I, King of Yamhad (now Aleppo), who would have been deposed by the new regional master Baratarna, King of Mitanni. Idrimi probably succeeded in gaining the throne of Alalakh with the assistance of a group known as the Habiru, founding the Kingdom of Mukish as a vassal state to Mitanni. He also invaded the Hittite territories to the north, resulting in a treaty with the country Kizzuwatna.

Jacob Lauinger considers Idrimi a historical character, King of Alalakh around 1450 BC, during the Late Bronze Age, but suggests his statue and inscriptions can be dated from around 1400 to 1350 BC and can be related to a Mesopotamian pseudo-autobiography (called narû-literature), in which kings apparently leave records of their misadventures as a lesson for future generations. Lauinger also comments that the inscriptions try to legitimize the rule of Alalakh only by acknowledging the supremacy of Mitanni, and the text(s) may have had an audience coeval to politics of that time.Lauinger, Jacob, (2021). "Imperial and Local: Audience and Identity in the Idrimi Inscriptions", in Studia Orientalia Electronica, Vol. 9, No. 2, Finnish Oriental Society, pp. 31, 32.

Early life Family Idrimi was one of the younger sons of Ilim-Ilimma I, King of Halab and born to [...]. On his mother's side, the maternal home was the city of Emar on the Euphrates River. He was the father of Niqmepa who may have been his succeessor him on the throne.

Exile in Emar In the first part of Idrimi's autobiography on his statue, it is claimed that an incident had occurred in Halab and that he and his family had to flee as a result. Jack Sasson of the University of North Carolina speculated that Idrimi did not claim any relationship to Halab's rulers. He argued that Ilim-Ilimma I, Idrimi's father, was either dethroned or had unsuccessfully attempted to usurp the throne of Halab from an unknown king. Idrimi goes to Emar because of his maternal ancestral connections to the Lords of Emar. While living in Emar, he considered himself a slave.

According to Tremper Longman, lines 8b–9 of the autobiography indicate that Idrimi may have considered retaking his father's lost throne, and that he tried to involve his brothers in his cause. As his brothers declined to participate, Idrimi went to Alalakh alone but then fled to Ammiya in the land of Canaan. According to Marc Van de Mieroop, Idrimi was unhappy at Emar for being an "underling".

If the narrative is historical, there is no scholarly debate that is adequate enough to explain why Idrimi chose to live among the Habiru in Canaan, though it is psychologically clear that Idrimi got along well with the other refugees. It was because they went through a similar experience of being uprooted from their own hometowns. Another possibility by looking at Tremper Longman's theory is that Idrimi was recruiting potential allies in a greater effort to take Alalakh. It is clear from these various scholarly speculations that a political motivation may have been involved in Idrimi's desire to take back Alalakh. This motive is further indicated by author Garrett Galvin, who compared Idrimi's story to the famous Egyptian work, the Story of Sinuhe.

Idrimi was similar to Sinuhe in the sense that he was a high-class refugee looking back to his roots and finding an opportunity to take back his throne while being fueled by humiliation and anger towards his political enemies. Galvin also argued that Idrimi's attitude of being from a higher social class overcame the hardships he had as a refugee.

Reign Idrimi was a descendant from the Great Kings of Yamhad centered on Ḫalap (Aleppo). Now, Idrimi had established himself as a petty king in the Kingdom of Mukiš with its capital at Alalakh (Level IV).

Alalakh Level IV refers to a significant stratum at the Late Bronze Age archaeological site of Tell Atchana, dating to the mid-15th century BCE, a period under Mitanni rule where the famous palace and its archives, including the Idrimi inscription. The local kings built up urban center with strong administration and international connections.

Rise to Kingship in Alalakh After seven years living among the Habiru in Canaan, seeking an opportunity to take back his throne, Idrimi found his chance. Edward Greenstein and David Marcus' translation of the inscription on lines 29–34 revealed that following the storm-god Teshub's advice in a dream, Idrimi,

"made ships and had auxiliary troops board them and proceeded via the sea to Mukishe (Mukish),"

and he adds that,

"Now, when my country heard of me, they brought me large cattle and small cattle, and in one day, in unison, the countries of Ni'i (Niya)..., Mukishe (Mukish), and my own city Alalah (Alalakh) became reconciled with me...they concluded a treaty and established them truly as my allies."Greenstein, Edward L., and David Marcus, (1976). The Akkadian Inscription of Idrimi, in JANES 8, p. 67: Lines 29-34.Gee, John, (2013). "Abraham and Idrimi", in: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, p. 37.

This newfound alliance with local rulers, created by cattle exchanges, was just the beginning of the gradual restoration of Idrimi's royal status as the king of Alalakh.

Edward Greenstein's and David Marcus's translation of the inscription on lines 42–51 revealed that despite Barattarna's hostility to Idrimi while he was in exile in Canaan, he actually respected Idrimi's coalition, maybe submitting to Idrimi out of fear that his social outcast army could overthrow him. Idrimi said that King Barattarna,

"... for seven years ... was hostile to me. I sent Anwanda to Barattarna, the mighty king, the king of the Hurrian warriors, and told him of the treaties of my ancestors...and that our actions were pleasing to the former kings of the Hurrian warriors for they had made a binding agreement."Greenstein, Edward L., and David Marcus, (1976). The Akkadian Inscription of Idrimi, in JANES 8, p. 67: Lines 42–51.

"The mighty king heard of the treaties of our predecessors and the agreement made between them and...read to him the words of the treaty in detail. So on account of our treaty terms he received my tribute...I...restored to him a lost estate. I swore to him a binding oath as a loyal vassal."Greenstein, Edward L., and David Marcus, (1976). The Akkadian Inscription of Idrimi, in JANES 8, p. 67: Lines 51–58.

Here, possibly influenced by the nature of Hittite oaths, Idrimi swore loyalty to Barattarna after seven years despite him overthrowing his father on the throne in Aleppo. He made his request to the throne peacefully by restoring Barattarna's estate and swore him an ultimate Hurrian loyalty oath, which was the first step to Idrimi regaining his power again.

The inscription in lines 42–51 of Greenstein and Marcus's translation described Idrimi's capture of Alalakh as a peaceful effort to appease Barattarna with tributes of restoring his estate and swearing a loyalty oath unto him rather than using warfare to capture the city. Marc Van de Mieroop mentioned that Idrimi "captured" Alalakh, implying a warfare approach that the inscription does not describe.

Author Paul Collins described Idrimi's maneuver as,

"... a greeting-present, the traditional form of establishing and maintaining friendly relations between rulers, even those of different rank, and reminded him (Barattarna) of earlier oaths sworn between the kings of Halab (Aleppo) and the kings of Mitanni."

Also, Collins mentioned that Barattarna had accepted Idrimi's tribute to him as a loyal vassal ruler. He only allowed Idrimi limited independence of making his own military and diplomatic decisions just as long as it didn't interfere with Mitanni's overall policy. This further allowed Idrimi to set his sights on his diplomatic and military aims in Kizzuwatna and act as an independent ruler. Idrimi's "capture" of Alalakh was evidenced in his statue inscription and Collins' analysis as a peaceful movement rather than a military movement.

The rule of Idrimi in Alalakh After Idrimi's success in establishing a peaceful agreement with King Barattarna of Mitanni sometime around 1490 BC, most of his actions as king are vaguely written and are limited to only smaller sources. Tablets 1 and 2 at the British Museum are great primary sources about Idrimi's actions during his rule, but it's not enough to just look at those two tablets as a whole description of Idrimi's rule. Strong scholarly consensus argued by ancient Syro-Palestine scholars Dominique Collon and Gary Oller also suggested that Idrimi led cross-border raids into Hittite territory during his rule. According to Collon, he raided Hittite territory and used the booty from that raid to build his massive palace.

Gary Oller, in his 1977 dissertation, further confirmed Collon's statement by reaffirming Idrimi's statement in lines 64-77 of his statue inscription that he raided seven cities somewhere near the city of Gaziantep in modern-day Turkey.

According to Edward Greenstein and David Marcus' translation of Idrimi's statue inscription,

"Then I took troops and attacked Hatti-land. As for the seven cities under their protection...these I destroyed. Hatti-land did not assemble and did not march against me, so I did what I wanted. I took captives from them and took their property, valuables, and possessions and distributed them to my auxiliaries, kinsmen, and friends. Together with them I took booty."

It is possible that Idrimi may have taken slaves along with other trade goods in his raids on the seven Hittite towns as booty to restore his own power.

Gary Oller gave some validity to the existence of the cities sacked in Idrimi's raid by mentioning two of the seven Hatti cities of Hassuwa (Khashshum) and Zaruna in Hattusili I's annals from his reign in c. 1580–1556 BC. The annals mentioned that Hattusili I destroyed Zaruna in his fifth campaign and defeated a coalition of Hassuwa and Halab, cities also mentioned by Idrimi in his statue inscription.

Lines 77-78 from Greenstein's and Marcus's translation of the statue inscription confirmed Collon's argument of what Idrimi did with his booty:

"Then I returned to Mukishe (Mukish) and entered my capital Alalah (Alalakh). With the captives, goods, and property, and possessions which I brought down from Hatti, I had a palace built."

The inscription from lines 78-86 of that same translation states,