Urtak (king of Elam)

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Urtak or Urtaku was a king of the ancient kingdom of Elam,[1] which was to the southeast of ancient Babylonia. He ruled from 675 to 664 BCE, his reign overlapping those of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (681-669) and Ashurbanipal (668-627).[2]

Urtak was preceded by his brother, Khumban-Khaldash II.[3] Khumban-Khaldash made a successful raid against Assyria, and died a short time thereafter.[3] He was succeeded by Urtak, who returned to Assyria the idols his elder brother had taken in the raid, and who thereby repaired relations between Elam and Assyria.[3]

He made an alliance with Assyria's Esarhaddon in 674,[4] and for a time Elam and Assyria enjoyed friendly relations,[5] which lasted throughout the remainder of Esarhaddon's reign, and deteriorated after Esarhaddon was succeeded by Ashurbanipal.[6]

During a famine in Elam, Ashurbanipal welcomed temporary refugees from Elam into his empire, and sent food aid to Elam itself.[7] However, after a time Urtak, joining his forces with the Gambulu tribe of Arameans,[8] attacked Babylonia around 665 BCE, and died shortly afterward.[9] Urtak was succeeded by his brother Teumman, who was killed by Ashurbanipal shortly afterward.[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ John Boederman (1997). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-521-22717-9.
  2. ^ D. T. Potts (12 November 2015). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-107-09469-7.
  3. ^ a b c Sir Percy Sykes (15 April 2013). A History Of Persia. Routledge. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-135-64895-4.
  4. ^ John Boederman (1997). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-521-22717-9.
  5. ^ Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 360.
  6. ^ Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 1897. p. 145.
  7. ^ Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 360-1.
  8. ^ a b Claude Hermann Walter Johns (1904). Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. C. Scribner's sons. p. 361.
  9. ^ Elizabeth Carter; Matthew W. Stolper (1984). Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology. University of California Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-520-09950-0.
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