Yarim-Lim of Alalakh

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Yarim-Lim
King of Alalakh
Reignc. 1735 BC – c. ? BC. Middle chronology
Predecessorvacant
former ruler of Alalakh was : Zimri-Lim
SuccessorAmmitakum

Yarim-Lim (reigned c. 1735 BC – c.  ? BC - Middle chronology ) was a king of Alalakh and Hammurabi I of Yamhad son.[1] He was granted the city of Alalakh by his brother Abba-El I of Yamhad and started a cadet branch of the Yamhadite dynasty that lasted until the conquest of Alalakh by the Hittite king Hattusili I.

Identity

Yarim-Lim identity is under dispute, Yarim-Lim II of Yamhad was Abba-El I son and successor, Yarim-Lim II in his seal inscription mentions that he is the son of Abba-El I,[1] and Yarim-Lim of Alalakh mentions that he is the son of Hammurabi I therefore Yarim-Lim II uncle. however Prof. Moshe Weinfeld suggest that Yarim-Lim II of Yamhad is the same Yarim-Lim of Alalakh, he believes that the seal which mentions that Yarim-Lim II was a son of Abba-El I actually belongs to Yarim-Lim of Alalakh the son of Hammurabi I, and therefore Yarim-Lim of Alalakh is the same Yarim-Lim II the successor of Abba-El I on the Yamhadite throne.

Weinfeld believes that the reason for Yarim-Lim of Alalakh to call himself a son of Abba-El I is that Abba-El adopted him in order to create the legal base for installing him as king of Alalakh. This theory is hard to proof as there is no textual reference to any adoption and the fact that Yarim-lim of Alalakh (son of Hammurabi) installation on the throne of Alalakh happened long before the assumed adoption took place. Also there is no need for an adoption to legitimize the grant of Alalakh to the king brother.[2]

Life and Reign

Hammurabi I appointed Yarim-Lim as the governor of a district in the north of which Irridu was the main city.[3] Under his older brother Abba-El I of Yamhad, Yarim-Lim continued to rule the district. Zitraddu, governor of Irridu rebelled against Yamhad which caused Abba-El I to destroy the city.[4] As a compensation Abba-El signed a treaty with his brother that gave Yarim-Lim the city of Alalakh as a hereditary kingdom for his dynasty under the suzerainty of Aleppo.[5] This happened 15 years after the beginning of Abba-El I reign which would put it at around c. 1735 BC,[6] Yarim-Lim took an oath of loyalty to his brother which included that if he or his descendent ever committed treason or spelled Abba-El secrets to another king, their lands shall be forfeited.[7]

Yarim-Lim ruled through the remaining of his brother reign and continued to rule during the reign of his nephew Yarim-Lim II of Yamhad and the first few years of his grand nephew Niqmi-Epuh reign which lasted from c. 1700 BC to c. 1675 BC. Yarim-Lim was succeeded by his son Ammitakum.[8]

Yarim-Lim II of Alalakh

Prof Nadav Na'aman offer the theory that Yarim-Lim son of Hammurabi I was not the only king of Alalakh with that name and that there was a second Yarim-Lim to rule Alalakh who was a grandchild of the first. Na'aman base his theory on the exceptionally long attested reigns of Yarim-Lim and his successor Ammitakum which spans the reigns of five Yamhadite kings. The number of the Kings of Alalakh is a highly debated subject, Na'aman theory is supported by several other professors such as Dominique Collon and Erno Gaál. However no evidence has been found to prove the existence of a second Yarim-Lim and several other professors refuted this theory including Horst Klengel and Marlies Heinz.[8][9]

Burial and Statue

Sir. Leonard Woolley discovered the Palace of Yarim-Lim during the excavations that started in 1936, the burial chamber consisted of a pit 15 meters deep, in the center of the pit was a shaft 9 meters deep that has the funeral urn inside. The shaft was filled with stones and then the pit was filled by successive layers of ceremonial buildings, each building was burned then topped by another layer. Above the pit a royal chaple was built which contained a diorite Statue of Yarim-Lim.[10][11]

Woolley mistakenly assumed that Yarim-Lim statue represented Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad. The reading of Alalakh tablet gave a better understanding of that period and revealed that the statue represents Yarim-Lim of Alalakh who was a grandchild of Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad.[12]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Yarim-Lim of Alalakh
8. Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad
4. Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad
9. Sumunna-Abi
2. Hammurabi I of Yamhad
5. Gashera
1. Yarim-Lim of Alalakh
King Yarim-Lim of Alalakh
Regnal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Zimri-Lim 		King of Alalakh
1735 –  BC 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ a b Jimmy Jack McBee Roberts. The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Collected Essays. p. 149.
  2. ^ Jimmy Jack McBee Roberts. The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Collected Essays. p. 150.
  3. ^ Nadav Naʼaman. Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E. p. 286.
  4. ^ Bill T. Arnold; Bryan E. Beyer. Readings from the Ancient Near East: Primary Sources for Old Testament Study. p. 96.
  5. ^ M. L. West. The East Face of Helicon. p. 21.
  6. ^ wilfred van soldt. Akkadica, Volumes 111-120. p. 109.
  7. ^ William J. Hamblin. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. p. 264.
  8. ^ a b wilfred van soldt. Akkadica, Volumes 111-120. p. 107.
  9. ^ wilfred van soldt. Akkadica, Volumes 111-120. p. 108.
  10. ^ Trudy Ring; Robert M. Salkin; Sharon La Boda. International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe. p. 10.
  11. ^ Joan Aruz; Kim Benzel; Jean M. Evans. Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. p. 197.
  12. ^ Diane Harris. The Aegean and the Orient in the second millennium: proceedings of the 50th anniversary symposium, Cincinnati, 18-20 April 1997. p. 70.
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