Taharka
Egyptian pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, successor of Shebiktu (690–664). Most records from his reign concern building projects in Nubia. He took an active interest in the affairs of Syria-Palestine, partly by continuing commercial exchanges, and partly by pursuing an aggressive policy towards obstreperous rulers. This brought him into conflict with the Assyrians, who were campaigning in Syria and the Levant. ESARHADDON, particularly, who had succeeded his father SENNACHERIB, was anxious to minimise the danger posed by Taharka’s activities. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, the first campaign by Esarhaddon against Egypt ended in an Assyrian defeat. But three years later he was back, this time striking in a lightning attack. Moving from Palestine southwards, he destroyed one Egyptian garrison after the other, entered Egypt, and captured and sacked Memphis. Among his prisoners were members of Taharka’s family who were taken to Assyria. Taharka escaped, either to Thebes or to Nubia, and soon began to make trouble again, stirring up a revolt against the Assyrian authorities. Esarhaddon left Assyria to deal with the matter, but died on the way. He was succeeded by ASHURBANIPAL, who promptly led a second and successful invasion to Egypt. He defeated Taharka’s army, who fled to Thebes, and when this was also taken by Ashurbanipal, he retired to Napata (in Nubia), where he died in 664. He was buried in Nuri, near Gebel Barkal.
James 1991, in CAH III/2: 695–701; Grayson, in ibid.: 110–11, 143–4
Tahir-Dashinu
Eblaite princess who married a king of Byblos (c. 2500). Documents from the great Ebla archive record the provisions for her retinue which escorted her to Byblos.
Pettinato 1986: 129
Talmi-Teshup (Luwian Ura-Tarhunzas)
Hittite king of Carchemish, son and successor of INI-TESHUP; he ruled during the reign of the Hittite kings SUPPILULIUMA I and ARNUWANDA II (14th century), and was regarded by the former as a partner of equal status, according to a surviving treaty. He maintained good relations with AMMURAPI of Ugarit, and personally mediated in his divorce from the Hittite princes Ehli-Nikkal.
Klengel 1992: 127, 148; Hawkins, 1976–80, in RlA V: 433–4
Tammaritu I
Elamite ruler of Hidali, appointed by ASHURBANIPAL after his victory over TEPTI-HUMBAN-INSHUSHINAK (653).
Hinz 1972: 156; Carter and Stolper 1984: 50–1
Tan-ruhuratir
Elamite king of the Shimashki dynasty, son of Indattu I (c. 1945–1925). He was married to MEKUBI, daughter of the Babylonian king of Eshnunna BILALAMA. He left inscriptions that record building within the sacred precinct of Susa.
Hinz 1971, in CAH I/2: 660; 1972: 85; Carter and Stolper 1984: 21, 148; Malbran-Labat 1995: 24
Tarkhulara
Syro-Hittite king of Gurgum (c. 743–711). He had joined the anti-Assyrian alliance against TIGLATH-PILESER III on the side of Urartu and Melid. When the Assyrian king asserted his sovereignty and made Gurgum and Melid vassal-states, Tarkhulara was allowed to stay on the throne. He was murdered by his son MUTALLU, probably in 721/11.
Hawkins 1982, in CAH III/1: 412, 420
Tashmetum-sharrat
Neo-Assyrian queen, wife of SENNACHERIB. According to a building inscription, discovered on stone lionsphinxes at Kuyunjik, part of the palace complex was built for her, ‘a palace of loveliness, delight, and joy built … that she may have her fill of well-being’.
Galter et al. 1986
Tehip-tilla
Wealthy land-owner and palace official at the court of Nuzi. He left an extensive archive recording his business transactions.
Wilhelm 1989: 46–7
Teispes
Persian king of Anshan, ancestor of the Achaemenid kings (c. 650–620). Apart from genealogical references, he is known from an inscribed seal found in Persepolis.
Miroschedji 1985: 287
Telepinu
Hittite king of the Old Kingdom period (c. 1525). Circumstances of his reign are obscure but he is best remembered for the so-called Edict of Telepinu, an important historical document that laid down rules for legitimate and peaceful succession to the Hittite throne, an attempt to bring to stop the murderous palace intrigues that habitually disrupted the transfer of power during the Old Kingdom.
Kuhrt 1995: 244–50
Telepinu of Aleppo
Hittite prince, son of SUPPILULIUMA I, ruler of Halab (Aleppo) (14th century). He was trained to be a priest of the weather god and probably maintained this function while he was ruler. He was a contemporary of PIYASHILI of Carchemish and continued to reign under the Hittite kings ARNUWANDA II and MURSILI II.
Klengel 1992: 128–9
Temti-Agun
Elamite prince, son of KUTIRNAHHUNTE, appointed to be Prince of Susa (c. 1698–1690). He left an inscription declaring that he built a temple for the life and benefit of his family, including his ‘gracious mother’, Welkisha.
Hinz 1972: 98; Malbran-Labat 1995: 34
Tepti-Humban-Inshushinak (Assyrian Teumman)
Elamite king, successor of URTAKI (c. 664–663). His Elamite inscriptions are mutilated beyond comprehension and present knowledge about this reign comes mainly from Assyrian records.
He first seized power at Susa and persuaded Urtaki to join him in an invasion of the East Tigris area while ASHURBANIPAL was in Egypt, perhaps to support SHAMAS-SHUMA-UKIN. They caused some damage but were driven back by the Assyrians.
He usurped the throne after a revolt, and the royal family and other nobles, headed by Shilshak-Inshushinak II, fled to Assyria. While Ashurbanipal was occupied in Syria-Palestine and Anatolia, he felt free to consolidate his power. In 653 he prepared for an invasion of the east Tigris region, held by Assyria. Ashurbanipal countered, and faced with formidable fighting force of Assyria, he withdrew to his stronghold in the mountains. The decisive battle was fought on the banks of the river Ulay. Temti-Humban-Inshushinak was killed when he attempted to flee, as depicted on a palace relief from Nineveh. Another relief shows his severed head suspended from a tree in the garden where ASHURBANIPAL sits relaxing with his wife.
Hinz 1972: 152–6; Grayson 1991, in CAH III/2: 148–9; Carter and Stolper 1984: 49–50; Bryce 1988; Malbran-Labat 1995: 138–40
Tette
King of Nuhashe (in north-western Syria) and vassal of SUPPILULIUMA I, king of the Hittites, who made a treaty with him (14th century). This ended in the early years of the reign of MURSILI II. The annals of this king mention that Tette rebelled against the Hittites, and was at some point aided by the Egyptians. The revolt was suppressed and Tette lost his throne to his brother.
Bryce 1988; Klengel 1992: 154–5
Tiglath-pileser I (Assyrian Tukultiapil-eshara)
Assyrian king, son and successor of ASHUR-RESHA-ISHI I (1114–1076). He instigated an important change in the format of the royal inscriptions, now referred to as ‘annals’, which was to be followed for the remainder of the Assyrian empire. The accounts of the king’s military exploits were ordered chronologically and the texts contain numerous references to the ideological underpinnings of Assyrian kingship as the institution sanctioned by the great gods.
Tiglath-pileser, having reorganised his chariots and troops, first turned northwards, where new peoples had settled in the areas previously controlled by the Hittites, who had disappeared as a political force in the 13th century. He pursued his northern campaigns for some years, penetrating deep into Anatolia, destroying towns and imposing tribute. He crossed Lake Van and defeated the army of the Nairi people, gathering substantial booty. Other regions, like Melid, submitted without battle.
When he had subdued the north Tiglath-pileser turned westwards, towards Lebanon and reached the Mediterranean Sea.
A persistent problem were the various Aramean tribes based in Syria, who raided local communities, destroyed crops, and evaded direct military confrontations.
In his thirtieth year he marched against Babylonia, where NEBUCHADNEZZAR I had made incursions against Assyrian territory and had captured Ekallate. It took considerable effort to defeat him, and in retaliation Tiglathpileser penetrated deep into Babylonia and conquered important cities such as Dur-Kurigalzu, Sippar of Anunnitum, Babylon and Opis, and burned the palace of MARDUK-NADIN-AHHE.
Tiglath-pileser was also remembered for furthering the development of cuneiform law and literature. It was during his reign that the Middle Assyrian Laws and the Court Edicts were compiled, and a library was set up in Assur. Like his predecessors he was responsible for building public monuments and temples throughout the land. He also took an interest in planting parks and gardens, which he stocked with foreign and native trees and plants.
He epitomised the ideal Assyrian king; the annals depict him as the tireless commander of a mighty army, devotee of the great gods, executing their command to spread the power of Assyria, chief architect and builder, and maintainer of law and social order. After a reign of thirty-nine years he died and was succeeded by his son ASHARED-APIL-EKUR.
Grayson 1976: 1–45; Grayson 1991: 5–84; Kuhrt 1995: 358–61
Tiglath-pileser II
Assyrian king, son and successor of ASHUR-RESHA-ISHI II (966–935).
Grayson 1976: 73–4; Grayson 1991: 129–30
Tiglath-pileser III (Babylonian Pul(u))
Assyrian king (744–727). According to the Assyrian King List he was a son of ASHUR-NIRARI V, though it is more likely that he was not of royal lineage, and took the throne as a usurper during a rebellion in Kalhu (Nimrud). After a period of political dissent, weak leadership and a gradual but persistent shrinking of the borders, Tiglath-pileser’s reign marks a period of regeneration, vigorous expansion and new conquests which restored Assyria to the status of a major international empire. He was an indefatigable campaigner who marched out with his armies every year but one. He made the army into a faster moving and better disciplined body, streamlined the administration and initiated the systematic deportation of peoples, which resulted in massive shifts of population.
In his first year he made his presence felt in Babylonia; having subdued the troublesome Aramean tribes, he toured the ancient cult cities.
He then turned his attention to Anatolia, where Urartu had become a formidable power. When the Urartian king, SARDURI III, offered military assistance to Assyria’s disloyal vassal, MATI’ILU of Arpad, Tiglath-pileser used this as an opportunity to engage in hostilities. He moved against Arpad in 743, and when he was attacked by a major Urartian force he successfully defended himself, forcing Sarduri to flee. Arpad was taken after a prolonged siege in 740. News of this victory prompted a number of Syrian states to offer tribute.
The following year he marched against Ullubu, in the Armenian Taurus, which became an Assyrian province, where he built fortresses and resettled deportees. In 738 he faced a Syrian coalition, this time headed by Azriyan. He conquered numerous cities and forced other districts, including remoter areas such as Tabal and Arabia, to pay him tribute.
In 735 he launched a direct attack against Urartu and set siege to the capital Tushpa without succeeding in taking it. However, the invasion, complete with the sacking of many fortified cities, was effective in demonstrating the power of the Assyrian army. There was to be no more war with Urartu, and Tiglath-pileser could consolidate his northern frontier.
He directed his attention towards the borders with Egypt and marched south-west, along the Phoenician coast, capturing Gaza in 734; Hamath, Damascus and Tyre paid tribute. The following year saw another rebellion, organised by RAKHIANU of Damascus. Tiglath-pileser defeated him in 733 but besieged Damascus without success. Rakhianu assembled a force consisting of various auxiliary troops, including an Arab contingent under the leadership of the queen SAMSI, but was defeated.
These successes in Syria allowed the Assyrian king to concentrate on the east. He stabilised his borders along the Zagros mountains and the Diyala river and forced the Mannaean ruler to pay him tribute.
In 732 there were problems in Babylon when NABONASSAR died and a rebellion broke out, headed by MUKIN-ZERI. Tiglath-pileser only interfered with an armed force when his attempts to influence the population of Babylon against the usurper failed to dislodge him. In 729 he marched south, captured Mukin-zeri in his provincial capital Shapiya, and then entered Babylon in triumph to have himself declared rightful king of Babylon, assuming the throne-name Pulu. He was anxious to maintain the traditional roles of the king of Babylon by leading the processions of the New Year Festival and honouring the Babylonian gods.
His royal inscriptions speak primarily about his military campaigns, although they also refer to his building projects at Nimrud.
Grayson 1975: 248–9; Kuhrt 1995: 496–7; Brinkman 1993, in CAH III/2: 32–40; Mitchell 1993, in CAH III/2: 322–38
Tirigan
King of Akkad, last of the Gutian Dynasty (late 22nd century). He was defeated by the Uruk king UTUHEGAL, as described in the latter’s Victory Monument. According to this inscription Tirigan had only been on the throne for forty days before the battle against the king of Uruk. He fled and sought refuge in a town called Dubrum, whose inhabitants handed him over to Utuhegal.
Gadd 1971, in CAH I/2: 462; Romer 1985
Tisha-Lim
Queen of Emar, wife of Rusi-Lim, mentioned in the Ebla archive as having concluded a treaty with Ebla.
Pettinato 1986: 141; Archi 1990; Dietrich and Loretz 1993
Tish-atal
Hurrian king, contemporary of SHUSIN of Ur (c. 1970). According to an inscription he ruled over Eshnunna.
Wilhelm 1989: 11; Whiting 1976
Tud(t)anapshum
Entum priestess of the god Enlil during the reign of NARAM-SIN of Akkad. She may well have been his daughter since it was a custom that such elevated positions were filled with princesses. No other such priestesses serving this particular god are known.
Michalowski 1981: 173–6; Gelb and Kienast 1990: 105–6
Tudhaliya I
Hittite king of the early empire period (1430–1410 or 1420–1400). He stands at the beginning of a new dynastic line that was to make the Hittite realm an international power on a par with Egypt and Mitanni. Tudhaliya expanded his frontiers eastwards to incorporate Isuwa, a copper producing district beyond the Euphrates in Anatolia. In the west he made alliances with Ahhiyawa and Arzawa.
Kuhrt 1995: 250–1; Freu 1996
Tudhaliya III
Hittite king of the Empire period (1380–1370/1355–1344), son and successor of ARNUWANDA I, father of SUPPILULIUMA I. According to the so-called Deeds of Suppiluliuma, Tudhaliya resided in Samuha from which he imported the cult of the Black Goddess.
Kuhrt 1995: 252
Tudhaliya IV
Hittite king of the Empire period, son and successor of HATTUSILI III (c. 1245–1215/1239–1209). He made great efforts to reconstruct the old capital, Hattusa, which had been destroyed during the reign of MUWATALLI II. He was also at pains to revitalise the religious cult at Yazilikaya, near the old capital, where his image, protected by the god Sarruma, is carved into the rock-face. Recently discovered texts show that he may have shared power with his cousin KURUNTA, who ruled the province of Tarhuntassa.
Klengel 1991; Kuhrt 1995: 264–5
Tukin-khatta-migrisha
Sumerian princess, daughter of IBBISIN. He married her to the ensi of Zabshali in Elam, in an attempt to establish greater control over the eastern provinces.
Gadd 1971, in CAH I/2: 611
Tukulti-apil-eshara see Tiglath-pileser I
Tukulti-Ninurta I
Assyrian king, son and successor of SHALMANESER I (1244–1208). There is an unprecedented number of documents pertaining to his reign, partly a result of the importation of Babylonian tablet collections and scribes.
He was one of the great expansionist rulers of the Middle Assyrian period. Building on the achievements of his predecessors he made Assyria a formidable military and economic power. However, his efforts to pacify the ever-increasing borders of the state were constantly subverted by the guerrilla tactics of the local populations and the fluctuating movements of pastoralist tribes, such as the Guti, who evaded direct confrontations with the Assyrian armies. One of the tactics employed by the Assyrians to counter such problems was the deportation and resettlement of substantial numbers of subject peoples.
He defeated a confederation of the Nairi kings in the north, but his most controversial victory was over Babylonia. In his eleventh year he defeated the Kassite king Kashtiliash V, taking him and a number of his subjects to Assyria. Tukulti-Ninurta himself assumed the Babylonian royal titles and began Assyrian rule over Babylonia that was to last some thirty-two years. One of the results of this annexion was a strong Babylonian influence in the Assyrian capital. He relocated the royal palace, complete with sanctuaries, from Assur to a new foundation, called Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, some 3 miles outside the city. He also built a new temple for Ishtar at Assur and rebuilt other sanctuaries in the capital. Such grand and costly building works and perhaps the ambivalent attitude towards the Babylonian conquest may have caused dissatisfaction and unrest. According to the Chronicle P, Assyrian officers, possibly led by one of his sons, rebelled against the king; he was locked in a room in Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta and killed.
Grayson 1972: 101–34; Cassin, in Bottero et al. 1965–7 (vol. 3): 83–9; Kuhrt 1995: 355–8
Tukulti-Ninurta II
Assyrian king, son and successor of ADAD-NIRARI II, (890–884). His annals report an important campaign to Anatolia, the lands of Nairi, which had lapsed in its tribute obligations. Tukulti-Ninurta destroyed numerous cities, deported inhabitants and took valuable booty. He then re-installed the local ruler Amme-Baal, after he made him swear an oath of loyalty.
In another account, rich in descriptive and topographical detail, he is said to have moved westwards across the Tigris to region of Samarra, where he fought against the Idu nomads. His march then became a triumphal display of Assyrian power; he entered Babylonian territory, visited Dur-Kurigalzu and Sippar, and then continued his tour to impress local rulers, collecting tribute and costly gifts.
He used the revenue to build strongholds in the various districts, make new arable land, and to re-populate the countryside. He also undertook building works on the palace at Assur and restored the city walls.
Grayson 1976: 97–113; 1982, in CAH III/1: 251–3; 1991: 163–88; Kuhrt 1995: 482–3
Tulpunnaya
Wealthy woman who lived at the Governor’s Palace in Nuzi (14th century?). She conducted numerous business deals, buying land and slaves.
Kupper 1973, in CAH II/1: 23–4; Starr 1937–9: 242ff.
Turam-dagan
Ruler (šakkanakku) of Mari during the Ur III period (c. 2071–2051), son of APIL-KIN, brother of ILI-ISHAR, known from dynastic lists and inscribed seals.
Durand 1985: 150, 151
Turam-ili
Wealthy merchant, active during the reigns of SHU-SIN and IBBI-SIN (c. 2035–2026). He belonged to a group of entrepreneurs who pooled their resources to finance trading expeditions.
van de Mieroop 1986
Tushratta
Hurrian king of Mitanni, son of Shattarna II and a minor when he was put on the throne by his brother Artshumara (mid-14th century). According to the Amarna correspondence he sent one of his daughters to Egypt to become a secondary wife of the pharaoh AMENOPHIS III. He also sent letters to his son (AMENOPHIS IV), as well as Tiye, the wife of Amenophis III. He also lent the pharaoh the healing statue of Shaushga/Ishtar of Nineveh.
He was murdered in a palace intrigue, and his son SHATTIWAZA was forced to take refuge with the Hittite king SUPPILULIUMA I.
Klengel 1992: 97, 111; Kuhrt 1995: 293–4; Wilhelm 1989: 30–7; Moran 1992: 41–99
Tutammu
King of Unqi (Pattin) (c. 738), known from the inscriptions of TIGLATH-PILESER III, to whom he was bound by a loyalty-oath. When he revolted against the Assyrian king, together with nineteen districts of Hamath, Tiglath-pileser seized his kingdom, and had him and his courtiers deported to Assyria, where he was probably executed as an oath-breaker.
Hawkins 1982, in CAH III/1: 410–11
Tuthmosis I
Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1504–1491). He was the first Egyptian ruler to embark on large-scale military campaigns abroad, especially in the Levant. He even penetrated into Syria to confront the new power of Mitanni and erected a stele on the bank on the Euphrates.
Hayes 1973, in CAH II/1: 313ff.; Klengel 1992: 90; Weinstein 1981
Tuthmosis III
Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1479–1425), grandson of TUTHMOSIS I, son of Hatshepsut. Like his ancestor he led numerous campaigns against various states in the Levant and Syria, particularly against Mitanni. He won the battle at Megiddo, where he faced a coalition of 330 local chiefs and leaders. In his thirty-third year he reached the plain of Homs in Syria and crossed the Euphrates by boat, erecting a stele.
Hayes 1973, in CAH II/1: 316ff.; Klengel 1992: 91–5; Kuhrt 1995: 193
Tuthmosis IV
Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, son of AMENOPHIS II (c. 1397–1387). According to the Amarna letters, the king fought a successful campaign in the Levant. He received one of the daughters of the Mitanni king ARTATAMA I for a wife.
Klengel 1992: 97
Tuttash-shar-libbish (= Tutashar-libbish)
Wife of the Akkadian king SHAR-KALISHARRI. Her name and epithet, ‘narāmat LUGAL’ (beloved of the king), are preserved on two seals which belonged to court officials of the time.
Gelb and Kienast 1990: 44; Michalowski 1981: 176