Mitanni

Kingdom of Mitanni
Kingdom of Mitanni
c. 1600 BC – c. 1260 BC
	Kingdom of Mitanni at its greatest extent under Barattarna c. 1490 BC
Capital	Washukanni
Common languages	Hurrian; Akkadian; Amorite
Religion	Hurrian religion; Ancient Mesopotamian religion;
Government	Monarchy
King
• c. 1540 BC	Kirta (first known)
• c. 1260 BC	Shattuara II (last)
Historical era	Bronze Age
• Established	c. 1600 BC
• Disestablished	c. 1260 BC
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Hittite Empire
	Yamhad
Middle Assyrian Empire

Mitanni (c. 1550–1260 BC),^[a] earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC;^[1] Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records,^[b] or Naharin in Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia (modern-day Turkey)^[2] with Indo-Aryan linguistic and political influences.^[c] Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts.

The Hurrians were in the region as of the late 3rd millennium BC.^[3] A king of Urkesh with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated c. 2300 BC at Tell Mozan.^[4]^[5] The first recorded inscription of their language was of Tish-atal (c. 21st century BC), king of Urkesh.^[6] Later on, Hurrians made up the main population of Mitanni, that was firstly known as Ḫabigalbat, at Babylonia, in two texts of the late Old Babylonian period,^[1]^[7] during the reign of Ammi-Saduqa, (c. 1638–1618 BC), in low middle chronology.

The Mitanni Empire was a strong regional power limited by the Hittites to the north, Egyptians to the west, Kassites to the south, and later by the Assyrians to the east. At its maximum extent Mitanni ranged as far west as Kizzuwatna by the Taurus Mountains, Tunip in the south, Arraphe in the east, and north to Lake Van.^[8] Their sphere of influence is shown in Hurrian place names, personal names and the spread through Syria and the Levant of a distinct pottery type, Nuzi ware.^[9]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference van Koppen, Frans, (2004) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (15 April 2008). A Dictionary of Archaeology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 402. ISBN 978-0-470-75196-1.
^ Buccellati, Giorgio, and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, (1997). "Urkesh: The First Hurrian Capital", The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 60, no. 2, 1997, pp. 77–96. Abstract: "...the sealings provided satisfying proof that Tell Mozan was the site of the third-millennium Hurrian capital city Urkesh..."
^ Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamica. Malibu: Undena Publications (1998): 99-115
^ Lawler, Andrew. "Who Were the Hurrians?" Archaeology, vol. 61, no. 4, 2008, pp. 46–52
^ Yakubovich, I. (2011). [Review of Einführung in die hurritsche Sprache, by I. Wegner]. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 70(2), 337–339
^ Cite error: The named reference von Dassow, Eva, (2022) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ von Dassow, Eva, (2014). "Levantine Polities under Mittanian Hegemony". In: Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.). Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State. pp. 11-32.
^ Diana L. Stein: Khabur Ware and Nuzi Ware: Their Origin, Relationship, and Significance. Malibu 1984

[van_Koppen,_Frans,_(2004)-2] Cite error: The named reference van Koppen, Frans, (2004) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (15 April 2008). A Dictionary of Archaeology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 402. ISBN 978-0-470-75196-1.

[6] Buccellati, Giorgio, and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, (1997). "Urkesh: The First Hurrian Capital", The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 60, no. 2, 1997, pp. 77–96. Abstract: "...the sealings provided satisfying proof that Tell Mozan was the site of the third-millennium Hurrian capital city Urkesh..."

[Salvini-7] Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamica. Malibu: Undena Publications (1998): 99-115

[8] Lawler, Andrew. "Who Were the Hurrians?" Archaeology, vol. 61, no. 4, 2008, pp. 46–52

[9] Yakubovich, I. (2011). [Review of Einführung in die hurritsche Sprache, by I. Wegner]. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 70(2), 337–339

[von_Dassow,_Eva,_(2022)-10] Cite error: The named reference von Dassow, Eva, (2022) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Dassow2014-11] von Dassow, Eva, (2014). "Levantine Polities under Mittanian Hegemony". In: Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.). Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State. pp. 11-32.

[12] Diana L. Stein: Khabur Ware and Nuzi Ware: Their Origin, Relationship, and Significance. Malibu 1984

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