outlook: aramaeans outside of syria 341
Bronze age urban cultures and the larger empires. at the beginning of
the 1st millennium B.C. the aramaean tribes founded tribal sheik-/chief-/
kingdoms as territorial mini-states centered around “royal cities” (capitals),
and promoting rapid urbanization, with fortified cities. in the 10th and 9th
centuries B.C. the earliest aramaean tribal sheikh-/chief-/ kingdoms of this
type can be located in the north, Bit agusi often named after its later capi-
tal arpad (9th^ century^ B.C.),9 and samʼal/Zincirli being the capital of Bit
Gabbari (10th/9th centuries B.C.);10 in the east, Bit adini in the middle
euphrates11 (10th/9th centuries B.C.) or Bit Baḫiani at Guzana/tell halaf12
(10th century B.C.) can be mentioned. as already pointed out, central syria
was dominated by the kingdom of hamath. early aramaean tribal chief-/
kingdoms are founded only around it. in the south aram-damascus, is
well-known, although its early aramaean history is (contra 1 kgs 11: 23–25)
still in the dark.13 Old testament (hi-)storiography does not preserve any
historically valuable information about the beginnings of this aramaean
kingdom around its urban center damascus, since the biblical narratives
are written retrospectively. additionally, one encounters the problem that
the Old testament sometimes confuses (perhaps purposely, as C. levin
pointed out)14 aram and edom (thus the letters “r” and “d”), see e.g., 2
sam 10: 15–19 or 2 sam 8: 3–8. the aramaean kingdom of damascus is first
mentioned in assyrian cuneiform sources from the mid-9th century B.C.
(see below, section 3.), but its beginnings were surely earlier.
due to the lack of valuable and contemporary sources, the situation of
south and southwest syria/north palestine (Cis- and transjordan) is far
from clear. the following (re-)construction is based mainly on the Old
testament, which is at least a reliable source for the preservation of the
names of some aramaean tribes and political entities in the area. Without
this biblical attestation the existence of these short-lived aramaean enti-
tites would have remained in the dark forever.
9 lipiński 2000a: 195–220 and dion 1997: 113–136. for a new construction of the
history of arpad, see kahn 2007.
10 lipiński 2000a: 233–248 and dion 1997: 99–112.
11 rima 2, a.0.99.2:48 (adad-nirari ii). see lipiński 2000a: 163–194 and dion 1997:
86–98.
12 the earliest attestation is rima 2, a.0.99.2:100f (adad-nirari ii). see lipiński 2000a:
119–133; dion 1997: 38–44; recently Orthmann 2002.
13 lipiński 2000a: 347–407 and id. 2006: 209f.
14 levin 2009.