Habiru (Ha biru) or Apiru or pr.w (Egyptian)^[1]was the name given by various Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources (dated, roughly, from before 2000 BC to around 1200 BC) to a group of people living as MAR TU or nomadic invaders in areas of the Fertile Crescent from Northeastern Mesopotamia and Iran to the borders of Egypt in Canaan ^[2] Depending on the source and epoch, these Habiru are variously described as nomadic or semi-nomadic, rebels, outlaws, raiders, mercenaries, and bowmen, servants, slaves, migrant laborers, etc. Sumeria may refer to: A back-formation from the adjective Sumerian, often used to mean the ancient civilisation more properly known as Sumer Sumeria, a disco artist best known for the 1978 hit Golden Tears 1970 Sumeria, an asteroid discovered in 1954 by Miguel Itzigsohn Donna Sumeria, a song on... For the Egyptian writer, see Abbas Al-Akkad. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people from Kaneš who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite... Kingdom of Mitanni Mitanni (cuneiform KUR URUMi-it-ta-ni, also Mittani Mi-ta-an-ni, in Assyrian sources Hanigalbat, Khanigalbat cuneiform Ḫa-ni-gal-bat ) was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia from ca. ... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... (Redirected from 2000 BC) (21st century BC - 20th century BC - 19th century BC - other centuries) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 2064 - 1986 BC -- Twin Dynasty wars in Egypt 2000 BC -- Farmers and herders travel south from Ethiopia and settle in Kenya. ... (Redirected from 1200 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and Trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed after... This map shows the extent of the Fertile Crescent. ... For other uses, see Mesopotamia (disambiguation). ... // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ...

The names Habiru and Apiru are used in Akkadian cuneiform texts. The corresponding name in the consonant-only Egyptian script appears to be `PR.W`, conventionally pronounced Apiru (W being the Egyptian plural suffix). In Mesopotamian records they are also identified by the Sumerian logogram `SA.GAZ`, of unknown pronunciation. Akkadian (lišānum akkadÄ«tum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... “Cuneiform” redirects here. ... Spoken in: Ancient Egypt Language extinction: evolved into Demotic by 600 BC, into Coptic by AD 200, and was extinct by the 17th century Language family: Afro-Asiatic  Egyptian  Writing system: hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic (later, occasionally Arabic script in government translations) Language codes ISO 639-1: none... For other uses, see Mesopotamia (disambiguation). ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Egyptian hieroglyphs, which have their origins as logograms. ...

In Mesopotamian records, they are also identified by the Sumerian logogram SA.GAZ. The name Habiru was also found in(the Amarna letters, which again include many names of Canaanite peoples written in Akkadian. The Amarna letters written to Egyptian pharaohs in the 14th century BCE) document a time of unrest in Canaan that goes back before the battle of Kadesh to the time of Thutmose I. For other uses, see Mesopotamia (disambiguation). ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Egyptian hieroglyphs, which have their origins as logograms. ... EA 161, letter by Aziru, leader of Amurru, (stating his case to pharaoh), one of the Amarna letters in cuneiform writing on a clay tablet. ... // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... . This article or section seems to contain too many examples (or of a poor quality) for an encyclopedia entry. ... Aakheperkare Great is the Soul of Re[1] Nomen Thutmose Thoth is born Horus name Kanekhet meri maat Mighty Bull, Beloved of Maat Nebty name Kham neseret aa pehet Crowned with the royal serpent, Great of power Golden Horus Nefer Reneput Sankhibu Good of Years, Making Hearts to Live Consort...

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The sources

Erudite scholars pointed out similarities to Biblical accounts of Hebrews (i.e. `BRY (adj. form of the Hebrew 'Eber') putting people under the ban as they moved along the route of the kings highway through Edom and Moab into the territory of Ammon, Aram and the Amurru and realized that those records seemed to provide independent confirmation of the invasion of Canaan by Habiru fighting under Joshua, Saul, and David. Eber (עֵבֶר, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Arabic: هود) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... Joshua, Jehoshuah or Yehoshua. ... Saul (שאול המלך) (or Shaul) (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; asked for) is identified in the Books of Samuel and the Quran as the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. ... This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ...

As more texts were uncovered throughout the Near East,however, it became clear that the Habiru were found mentioned in contexts ranging from unemployed agricultural workers and vagrants to mounted mercenary bowmen. The context differed depending upon where the references were found.

Though found throughout most of the Fertile Crescent--the arc of civilization "extending from the Tigris-Euphrates river basins over to the Mediterranean littoral and down through the Nile Valley during the Second Millennium, the principle area of historical interest is in their engagement with Egypt."^[3] This map shows the extent of the Fertile Crescent. ...

Carol Redmount who wrote 'Bitter Lives: Israel in and out of Egypt' in The Oxford History of the Biblical World concluded that the term "Habiru" had no common ethnic affiliations, that they spoke no common language, and that they normally led a marginal and sometimes lawless existence on the fringes of settled society.^[4] She defines the various Apiru/Habiru as "a loosely defined, inferior social class composed of shifting and shifty population elements without secure ties to settled communities" who are referred to "as outlaws, mercenaries, and slaves" in ancient texts.^[5]

In that vein, some modern scholars consider the Habiru to be more of a social designation than an ethnic or a tribal one. That does not, however, exclude the possibility that the Biblical Hebrews were descended from one specific group of Habiru and that with them it eventually became an ethnic name; such shifts in the meaning of names and designations are well-known elsewhere.

Abdi-Heba, the Egyptian vassal ruler of Jerusalem in the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC), wrote a series of letters to the Egyptian king in which he complained about the activities of the "Habiru." The Habiru were plundering the lands of the king. Abdi-Heba (Abdi-Kheba, Abdi-Hepat, or Abdi-Hebat) was king of Jerusalem during the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC). ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Amarna The site of Amarna (commonly known as el-Amarna or incorrectly as Tel el-Amarna; see below) (Arabic: العمارنة al-‘amārnä) is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of al-Minya, some 58 km (38 miles) south of the city of... (Redirected from 1300 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC - 1300s BC - 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC 1260s BC 1250s BC Events and Trends Cecrops II, legendary King of Athens dies after a reign...

Abdi-Heba wanted to know why the king was letting them behave in this way; why was he not sending archers to protect his, the king's properties? If he did not send military help the whole land would fall to the Habiru.

The Habiru refered to in this source might be related the the Biblical Hebrews, though many Habiru mentioned in other sources (see the following) evidenty do not.

Sumerian records

Sumerian documents from the reign of Shulgi of Ur (around 2150 BC) describe a class of "unclothed people, who travel in dead silence, who destroy everything, whose menfolk go where they will — they establish their tents and their camps — they spend their time in the countryside without observing the decrees of my king". Shulgi of Urim is the second king of the Sumerian Renaissance. He reigned for 48 years, dated to 2047 BC–1999 BC short chronology (also tentatively dated to 2161 BC–2113 BC on the basis of a solar eclipse). ... For other uses, see Ur (disambiguation). ...

Those people are designated by a two-character cuneiform logogram of unknown pronunciation, which is conventionally transcribed as SA.GAZ. Although the logogram occurs in Sumerian literature, the two symbols have no separate meaning in Sumerian. Some scholars have proposed that the logogram was pronounced GUB.IRU in Sumerian. Egyptian hieroglyphs, which have their origins as logograms. ... Sumerian ( native tongue) was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BCE. It was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language in the beginning of the 2nd millenium BCE, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific...

The SA.GAZ logogram in some ancient vocabulary lists is glossed as the Akkadian word habbatu which means a "brigand" or "highway robber". A gloss is a note made in the margins or between the lines of a book, in which the meaning of the text in its original language is explained in another language. ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ...

Early Mesopotamian sources

The Sumerian logogram SA.GAZ appears in texts from Southern Mesopotamia, dated from about 1850 BC, where it is applied to small bands of soldiers, apparently mercenaries at the service of local city-states and being supplied with food or sheep.

One of those texts uses the Akkadian cuneiform word Hapiri instead of the logogram; another described them as "soldiers from the West". Their names are predominantly Akkadian; some are West Semitic, some unknown. Their origins, when recorded, are in local towns. Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ...

A letter to an Old Assyrian merchant resident in Ali?ar requests his aid in freeing or ransoming some Hapiri, formerly attached to the palace of Shalahshuwe (as yet unidentified), now prisoners of the local authorities.

The Tikunani Prism, dated from around 1550 BC, lists the names of 438 Habiru soldiers or servants of king Tunpi-Te??ub of Tikunani, a small city-state in central Mesopotamia. The majority of these names are typically Hurrian (Northeast Caucasian, non-IndoEuropean), the rest are Semitic, one is Kassite. The Tikunani Prism is an 8½ inch square clay artifact with an Akkadian cuneiform inscription listing the names of the Habiru soldiers of King Tunip-TeÅ¡Å¡up of Tikunani (a small N. Mesopotamian kingdom). ... (Redirected from 1550 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1600s BC 1590s BC 1580s BC 1570s BC 1560s BC - 1550s BC - 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC 1500s BC Events and Trends The city of Mycenae, located in the northeast Peloponnesus, came... Tikunani was a small city-state in Mesopotamia which thrived around the middle of the second millennium BC. Tikunani is best-known for a cuneiform document from the reign of Tunip-Teššup (a Hurrian-named king, contemporaneous with Hattusili I of the Hittites, around 1550 BC) containing... For the history of the kingdom of Mitanni (1500–1300 BC), see Mitanni. ... The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Caspian, Nakh-Dagestanian, or Dagestanian, are a family of languages spoken mostly in the Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia regions of Russia, in Northern Azerbaijan, and in Georgia. ... In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical Shem, Hebrew: שם, translated as name, Arabic: سام) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. ... // The Kassites were a Near-Eastern mountain tribe which migrated to the Zagros Mountains and Mesopotamia (present Doroud) in 3000 and 4000 BC.[1] They spoke a non-Indo-European, non-Semitic language. ...

Another text from around 1500 BC describes the Hapiru as soldiers or laborers, organized into bands of various sizes commanded by SA.GAZ leaders: one band from Tapduwa has 15 soldiers, another from Sarkuhe has 29, and another from Alalakh has 1,436. (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... Alalakh, or Alalah, is the name of an ancient city and its associated city-state of the Amuq River valley, located in the Hatay region of southern Turkey near the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch), and now represented by an extensive city-mound known as Tell Atchana. ...

Canaanite sources

A number of the Amarna letters—sent to pharaohs Amenhotep III, Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) and, briefly, his two successors from vassal kings in Canaan and Syria in the 1300s BCE — mention the "Habiru". These letters, written by Canaanite scribes in the cuneiform-based Akkadian language, complain about attacks by armed groups who were willing to fight and plunder on any side of the local wars in exchange for equipment, provisions, and quarters. EA 161, letter by Aziru, leader of Amurru, (stating his case to pharaoh), one of the Amarna letters in cuneiform writing on a clay tablet. ... Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Nomen Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great of valour, smiting the Asiatics Consort(s... For other uses, see Akhenaten (disambiguation). ... // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... Look up Cuneiform in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadÄ«tum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ...

Those people are identified by the Sumerian logogram SA.GAZ in most of the letters, and by the Akkadian name Hapiru in a few from the area of Jerusalem. They appear to be active on a broad area including Syria (at Upe near Damascus), Phoenicia (Sumur, Batrun and Byblos), and to the south as far as Jerusalem . None of the kings of the region, with the possible exception of one Abdi-Ashirta, are called Habiru or SA.GAZ. For other uses, see Damascus (disambiguation). ... Phoenicia (or Phenicia ,[1] from Biblical Phenice [1]) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coast of modern day Lebanon and Syria. ... Zemar (Egypt. ... ... The ruins of the Crusader castle in Byblos. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

Sources also discuss one Labayu, who had been an Egyptian vassal, and set up for himself. Attacking Megiddo, he assembled a group of Hapiru who consisted of both dispossessed local people and invaders. Having won Megiddo for himself, he gave his supporters Shechem for their own. (Harrelson, van der Steen) Labaya (also transliterated as Labayu or Libayu) was a Canaanite warlord who lived contemporaneously with Pharaoh Akhenaten (14th century BCE). ... Megiddo is the English designation for an important ancient settlement and city site in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel, known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell es-Mutesellim (Arabic). ... Shechem is a name of geographical places. ...

Egyptian sources

Several Egyptian sources, both before and after the Amarna letters, mention a people called `PR.W in the consonant-only Egyptian script, where .W is the plural marker. The pronunciation of this word has been reconstructed as apiru. From similarity of context and description, it is believed that the Egyptian `PR.W are equivalent to the Akkadian Habiru/Hapiru. Spoken in: Ancient Egypt Language extinction: evolved into Demotic by 600 BC, into Coptic by AD 200, and was extinct by the 17th century Language family: Afro-Asiatic  Egyptian  Writing system: hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic (later, occasionally Arabic script in government translations) Language codes ISO 639-1: none...

In his account of the conquest of Joppa, General Toth of pharaoh Thutmose III of Egypt (around 1440 BC) asks at some point that his horses be taken inside the city, lest they be stolen by a passing Apir. Jaffa (Hebrew יָפוֹ, Standard Hebrew Yafo, Tiberian Hebrew Yāp̄ô; Arabic يَافَا Yāfā; also Japho, Joppa), is an ancient city located in Israel. ... Pharaoh was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. ... Thutmose III (also written as Tuthmosis III; called Manahpi(r)ya in the Amarna letters) (? - 1426 BC), was Pharaoh of Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty. ... (Redirected from 1440 BC) Centuries: 16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC Decades: 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC - 1440s BC - 1430s BC 1420s BC 1410s BC 1400s BC 1390s BC Events and Trends Significant People The Egyptian reign of Amenhotep II Categories: 1440s...

On two stelae at Memphis and Karnak, Thutmose III's son Amenhotep II boasts of having made 89,600 prisoners in his campaign in Palestine (around 1420 BC), including "127 princes and 179 nobles(?) of Retenu, 3600 Apiru, 15,200 Bedouin, 36,600 Hurrians," etc. For other uses, see Memphis. ... Map of Karnak, showing major temple complexes Interior of Temple First pylon of precinct of Amun viewed from the west Al-Karnak (Arabic الكرنك, in Ancient Egypt was named Ipet Sut, the most venerated place) is a small village in Egypt, located on the banks of the River Nile some 2. ... Aakheperure Great are the forms of Re Nomen Amenhotep Heka Iunu Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Heliopolis Horus name Ka Nakht Wer Pekhty Strong Bull, Great of Power Nebty name User Fau Sekha Em Wast Powerful of Splendour, Appearing in Thebes Golden Horus Ity Sekhemef em Tau Neb Who seizes... (Redirected from 1420 BC) Centuries: 16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC Decades: 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC 1440s BC 1430s BC - 1420s BC - 1410s BC 1400s BC 1390s BC 1380s BC 1370s BC Events and Trends Crete conquered by Mycenae (approximately 1420 BC) - start of the... Retenu, also rendered Retchenu, was an Ancient Egyptian name for Canaan and Syria. ... A Bedouin man on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic ( ), a name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western... For the history of the kingdom of Mitanni (1500–1300 BC), see Mitanni. ...

A stela from the reign of Seti I (around 1300 BC) tells that the pharaoh sent an expedition into Syria or Palestine, in response to an attack of "the apiru from Mount Yarmuta" upon a local town. An unspecified number of the apiru were captured and brought back to Egypt as slaves. Menmaatre Eternal is the Strength of Re[1] Nomen Seti Merenptah He of the god Seth, beloved of Ptah[2] Horus name Kanakht Khaemwaset-Seankhtawy Nebty name Wehemmesut Sekhemkhepesh Derpedjetpesdjet Golden Horus Wehemkhau Weserpedjutemtawnebu[3] Consort(s) Queen Tuya Issue Tia, Amennefernebes, Ramesses II, Henutmire (?) Father Ramesses I Mother Sitre... (Redirected from 1300 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC - 1300s BC - 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC 1260s BC 1250s BC Events and Trends Cecrops II, legendary King of Athens dies after a reign...

A list of goods bequeathed to several temples by Pharaoh Ramesses III (around 1160 BC) includes many serfs, Egyptian and foreign: 86,486 to Thebes (2607 foreigners), 12,364 to Heliopolis (2093 foreign), and 3079 to Memphis (205 foreign). The foreign serfs are described as "maryanu (soldiers), apiru, and people already settled in the temple estate". Usermaatre Meryamun Powerful one of Maat and Ra, Beloved of Amun Nomen Ramesse Hekaiunu Ra bore him, Ruler of Heliopolis Consort(s) Iset Ta-Hemdjert, Tiye Issue Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI, Ramesses VIII, Amun-her-khepeshef, Khaemwaset, Meryamun, Meryatum, Montuherkhopshef, Pareherwenemef, Pentawer, Duatentopet (?) Father Setnakht Mother Tiye-Mereniset Died... (Redirected from 1160 BC) Centuries: 13th century BC - 12th century BC - 11th century BC Decades: 1210s BC 1200s BC 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC - 1160s BC - 1150s BC 1140s BC 1130s BC 1120s BC 1110s BC Events and Trends Death of Pharaoh Ramses V, from smallpox (1160 BC) The... For the ancient capital of Boeotia, see Thebes, Greece. ... Heliopolis (Greek: or ), was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt, and capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome. ... For other uses, see Memphis. ... Maryannu is an ancient word for the caste of chariot-mounted nobility which dominated many of the societies of the Middle East during the Bronze Age. ...

The laborers that Ramesses IV sent to the quarry of Wadi Hammamat in his third year included 5,000 soldiers, 2,000 men attached to the temples of Pharaoh as well as 800 Apiru.^[6] This is the last known reference to the Apiru in Egyptian documents. Heqamaatre Ruler of Justice like Re[1] Nomen Ramesses Re bore him Consort(s) Duatentopet Issue Ramesses V Died 1149 BC Burial KV2 Major Monuments Temple of Khonsu at Karnak Heqamaatre Ramesses IV (also written Ramses or Rameses) was the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom... Wadi Hammamat (Arabic: Valley of Many Baths) is a dry river bed in Egypts Eastern Desert, about halfway between Qusier and Qena. ...

Hittite sources

The SA.GAZ are mentioned in at least a dozen documents from the Hittite kingdom, starting from 1500 BC or earlier. Several documents contain the phrase "the troops from Hatti and the SA.GAZ troops", Hatti being the core region of the Hittite kingdom. Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people from Kaneš who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been...

Two oaths from the reigns of Suppiluliuma (probably Suppiluliuma I, reigned ca. 1358 BC ? 1323 BC) and Mursilis II (around 1300 BC) invoke, among a long list of deities, "...the Lulahhi gods (and) the Hapiri gods, Ereskigal, the gods and goddesses of the Hatti land, the gods and goddesses of Amurru land, ...". Suppiluliuma I (Shuppiluliuma) was king of the Hittites (ca. ... (Redirected from 1358 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1400s BC 1390s BC 1380s BC 1370s BC 1360s BC - 1350s BC - 1340s BC 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC 1300s BC Events and Trends Significant People 1350 BC - Pharaoh Amenhotep IV Akhenaton rises to... (Redirected from 1323 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1370s BC 1360s BC 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC 1300s BC 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC Events and Trends Egypt: End of Eighteenth Dynasty, start of Nineteenth Dynasty (1320... Mursili II was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) from ca. ... (Redirected from 1300 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC - 1300s BC - 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC 1260s BC 1250s BC Events and Trends Cecrops II, legendary King of Athens dies after a reign... In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (DEREÅ .KI.GAL, lit. ... Hatti is the reconstructed ancient name of a region in Anatolia inhabited by the Hattians between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, and later by the Hittites, who were at the height of their power ca 1400 BC–1200 BC. The capital city of both peoples was Hattusa (modern... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Amurrū (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the middle Euphrates area from the second half of the third millennium BC and also appear in the Tanakh. ...

Another mention occurs in a treaty between kings Duppi-Teshub of Amurru and Tudhaliya of Carchemish, arbitrated by Mursili II. The Hittite monarch recalls how he had restored king Abiradda to the throne of Jaruwatta, a town in the land of Barga, which had been captured by the Hurrians and given to "the grandfather of Tette, the SA.GAZ". Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Amurrū (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the middle Euphrates area from the second half of the third millennium BC and also appear in the Tanakh. ... Carchemish (pr. ... Mursili II was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) from ca. ... Barga (kingdom) was a city-state in the Amarna letters period of 1350-1335 BC and later. ... For the history of the kingdom of Mitanni (1500–1300 BC), see Mitanni. ...

Another text record the existence of a Habiru settlement somewhere near a Hittite temple; one from Tahurpa names two female SA.GAZ singers.

Mitanni sources

An inscription on a statue found at Alalakh in southeastern Anatolia [1], the Mitanni prince Idrimi of Aleppo (who lived from about 1500 BC to 1450 BC), tells that, after his family had been forced to flee to Emar, he left them and joined the "Hapiru people" in "Ammija in the land of Canaan". Alalakh, or Alalah, is the name of an ancient city and its associated city-state of the Amuq River valley, located in the Hatay region of southern Turkey near the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch), and now represented by an extensive city-mound known as Tell Atchana. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... Kingdom of Mitanni Mitanni (cuneiform KUR URUMi-it-ta-ni, also Mittani Mi-ta-an-ni, in Assyrian sources Hanigalbat, Khanigalbat cuneiform Ḫa-ni-gal-bat ) was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia from ca. ... Idrimi was the king of Alalakh in the first half of the 15th century BC. Idrimi was a son of the king of Aleppo who had been deposed by the new regional master, Barattarna, king of the Mitanni. ... Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: , ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... (Redirected from 1450 BC) Centuries: 16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC Decades: 1500s BC 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC - 1450s BC - 1440s BC 1430s BC 1420s BC 1410s BC 1400s BC Events and Trends According to some, 1456 BC was the year that Moses... It has been suggested that Barbalissos be merged into this article or section. ...

The Hapiru recognized him as the "son of their overlord" and "gathered around him;" they are said to include "natives of Halab, of the country of Mukish, of the country Nihi and also warriors from the country Amae." After living among them for seven years, he led his Habiru warriors in a successful attack by sea on the city-state of Alalakh, where he became king.

Several detailed lists of SA.GAZ troops have been found on the same site, enumerating eighty in all. Their names are predominantly Hurrian; seven are perhaps Semitic. They come from a variety of settlements scattered around the region. One had been a thief, another a slave, two others, priests; most became infantry, a handful were charioteers, one a messenger.

Like the SA.GAZ soldiers of the earlier Mesopotamian city-states, they received payment, or perhaps rations, in the form of sheep. A general enumeration of SA.GAZ soldiers within the city counts 1436 in all.

At Nuzi in Mesopotamia, documents from the household of an official named Tehiptilla record a number of Habiru voluntarily entering long-term service in exchange for food, clothing, and shelter. Public records from the same city tally handouts of food and clothing to Habiru, the former to groups, the latter to individuals. One is given feed for a horse, perhaps indicating a military role. Another document allocates Habiru laborers to various individuals. Nuzi was an ancient city southwest of Kirkuk in modern Iraq, located near the Tigris river. ...

The local population was predominantly Hurrian, while approximately 2/3 of the Habiru names are Semitic; of these, all are East Semitic (Akkadian), none West Semitic.

Ugarit

In the port town of Ugarit in northern Syria, a cuneiform tablet that was still being baked when the city was destroyed (around 1200 BC) mentions the PRM (which are assumed to be the Hapiru, -M being the Ugaritic plural suffix). Tax lists from the city record the existence of "Aleppo of the PRM" (in Ugaritic) and "Aleppo of the SAG.GAZ" (in Akkadian; the logogram is slightly modified from the usual SA.GAZ). Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... (Redirected from 1200 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and Trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed after...

Being found in lists of four Aleppos that are otherwise the same, these are certainly the same location, but it is unclear whether they are separate settlements or quarters of one city.

Interpretations

Habiru as a loose ethnic group

Scholars since Moshe Greenberg have envisioned the Hapiru, like the 17th century Cossack bands of the Eastern European steppes, as being formed out of outlaws and drop-outs from neighbouring agricultural societies. The numbers of the Habiru of the 2nd millennium BC grew from the peasants who had fled the increasingly oppressive economic conditions of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms. The career of King Idrimi of Alalakh (ca 1500 – 1450) may provide a parallel on a grander social level: forced into exile, King Idrimi first fled to Emar on the Euphrates, and then to Canaan where he joined other Syrian refugees to live with the wandering Hapiru. His brief biography would not have appeared in inscriptions at all, if he had not been able to return and make a successful new bid for power in the city of Alalakh. Moshe Greenberg is a major scholar in the area of Biblical studies, in the course of a career that has spanned half a century. ... For other uses, see Cossack (disambiguation). ... The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. ... For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation). ... Babylonia was a state in southern Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Alalakh, or Alalah, is the name of an ancient city and its associated city-state of the Amuq River valley, located in the Hatay region of southern Turkey near the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch), and now represented by an extensive city-mound known as Tell Atchana. ...

Some scholars have seen the Habiru legacy preserved in the place-names of Iranian Kabira, the Khabur River valley of the Northern Euphrates and perhaps also the Hebron valley. The Khabur River (Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Arabic: نهر الخابور; also transliterated as Habor River or Habur River) is a river that begins in southeastern Turkey and flows south to Syria, where it eventually empties into the Euphrates River. ... Surfer Rosa The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Greek: Euphrátēs; Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu; Hebrew: פְּרָת Pĕrāth; Syriac: Prâth; Arabic: الفرات Al-Furāt; Turkish: Fırat; Kurdish: فرهات, Firhat, Ferhat, Azeri: Fərat) is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other...

Habiru and the Hebrew

When the Tell el-Amarna archives were translated, some scholars eagerly equated these Apiru with the Biblical Hebrews (`BRY in the consonant-only Hebrew script). Besides the similarity of their spellings, the description of the Apiru attacking cities in Canaan seemed to fit, loosely, the Biblical account of the conquest of that land by Hebrews under Joshua or even by names with David's Hebrew rally against Saul. However, other scholars point out that the Hebrews were actually spelt as IBRI in Egyptian. Scholarly opinion remains divided on this issue. Some scholars still think that the Hapiru were a component of the later peoples who inhabited the kingdoms ruled by Saul, David, Solomon and their successors in Judah and Israel. “Hebrew” redirects here. ... // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Joshua, Jehoshuah or Yehoshua. ... Saul (שאול המלך) (or Shaul) (Hebrew: שָׁאוּל, Standard Tiberian  ; asked for or borrowed) is a figure identified in the Books of Samuel and Quran as having been the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. ... This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ... This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YÉ™hûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah...

There have also been theories relating the Habiru to the Biblical personages of Eber and Abraham. While some scholars agree^{[citation needed]} that the genealogies traced from Abraham are based on cultural beliefs and are without historical foundation, there are some who feel^{[citation needed]} that perhaps Eber represents an etymological link to the Habiru. Eber (עֵבֶר, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Arabic: هود) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... “Abram” redirects here. ...

Footnotes

References

Near Eastern References

• 2. Nelson Glueck(1959). Rivers in the Desert. HUC. ISBN.
• 3. William H McNeil and Jean W Sedlar, (1962). The Ancient Near East. OUP. ISBN.
• 4. Andrew George, (2000). The Epic of Gillgamesh. Penguin. ISBN No14-044721-0. Includes toponyms for Canaan
• 5. James B. Pritchard, (1968). The Ancient Near East. OUP. ISBN. Jerusalim, siege and fall
• 6. Shaika Haya Ali Al Khalifa and Michael Rice, (1986). Bahrain through the Ages. KPI. ISBN 071030112-x.
• 7. Dr. Muhammed Abdul Nayeem, (1990). Prehistory and Protohistory of the Arabian Peninsula. Hyderabad. ISBN.
• 8. Michael Roaf(1990). Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Equinox. ISBN 0-8160-2218-6.
• 9. Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano(1986). The Arabic Alphabet. Billing & Sons Ltd.. ISBN 0863560350.
• 10. Gerard Herm(1975). The Phoenicians. William Morrow^ Co. Inc.. ISBN 0-688-02908-6.

Egyptological References

• 13. Gardiner(1990). Egyptian Grammar. Griffith Institute. ISBN 0900416351.
• 14. Antonio Loprieno (1995). Ancient Egyptian. CUP. ISBN 0-521-44849-2.
• 15. Michael Rice(1990). Egypt's Making. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06454-6.
• 16. Gillings(1972). Mathematics in the time of the Pharoahs. MIT Press. ISBN 0262070456.
• 17. Somers Clarke and R. Englebach(1990). Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture. Dover. ISBN 0486264858.

Further reading

See also

• Shasu

Shasu is an Egyptian term for nomads who appeared in the Levant from the 15th Century BC all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. ...

External links

• The Name ?Hebrew? in Archaeology and in Scripture (A religious site).