Yamhad

Yamhad
Halab
c. 1810 BC–c. 1517 BC
Yamhad at its greatest extent c. 1752 BC
Capital		Halab
Languages		Amorite
Religion		Levantine religion (Hadad was the chief deity).
Government		Absolute monarchy
King, Great King.
•	c. 1810 – c. 1780 BC	Sumu-Epuh
•	c. 1780 – c. 1764 BC	Yarim-Lim I
•	c. 1524 – c. 1517 BC	Ilim-Ilimma I
Historical era		Bronze Age
•	Established	c. 1810 BC
•	Disestablished	c. 1517 BC
Area
•	1750 BC est.	43,000 km² (16,602 sq mi)
Succeeded by Mitanni
Today part of		Syria  Turkey

Yamhad was an ancient Semitic kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo), Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC, and was ruled by the Yamhadite dynasty kings, who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand their realm. From the beginning of its establishment, the kingdom withstood the aggressions of its neighbors Mari, Qatna and Assyria, and was turned into the most powerful Syrian kingdom of its era through the actions of its king Yarim-Lim I. By the middle of the 18th century BC, most of Syria minus the south came under the authority of Yamhad, either as a direct possession or through vassalage, and for nearly a century and a half, Yamhad dominated northern, northwestern and eastern Syria, and had influence over small kingdoms in Mesopotamia at the borders of Elam. The kingdom was eventually destroyed by the Hittites, then annexed by Mitanni in the 16th century BC.

Yamhad's population was predominately Amorite, and had a typical Bronze Age Syrian culture. Yamhad was also inhabited by a substantial Hurrian population that settled in the kingdom, adding the influence of their culture. Yamhad controlled a wide trading network, being a gateway between the eastern Iranian plateau and the Aegean region in the west. Yamhad worshiped the traditional Northwest Semitic deities, and the capital Halab was considered a holy city among the other Syrian cities as a center of worship for Hadad, who was regarded as the main deity of northern Syria.

Little of Halab has been excavated by archaeologists, as Halab was never abandoned during its long history and the modern city is situated above the ancient site. Therefore, most of the knowledge about Yamhad comes from tablets discovered at Alalakh and Mari.