THE YAUREANS AND THE YAĪRITES

Author(s): M. Heltzer
Source: Rivista degli studi orientali , 1982, Vol. 56 (1982), pp. 17-20
Published by: Sapienza - Universita di Roma

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 m

THE YAUREANS AND THE YAÏRITES

The king of Assyria, Adadnarãri I (1307-1274 B.C.E), 1 speaks in his inscrip-

tions about his father Arik-Din-Ili (1317-1306) 2 that he was: « Conqueror of the
land Kudmuhu and its entire allies, the hordes of Ahlamu, Sutu, Yauru - to-
gether with their lands ». We see from this text that the Ahlamu, Sutu and Yauru
were the allies of Kudmuhu 3. We also learn from here that these events had to
take place at the verge of the XIV-XIII centuries B.C.E. 4.
We see from this text that the hordes of Ahlamu, Suteans and the Yauru
dwelled in certain territorial confines. The scholars place it westawards of As-
syria 5, particularly on the western side of the upper Tigris 6. Other authors try
to identify Yauru with Ya'eru/Ya'uri/Iari of the Assyrian royal inscriptions of
the IX century B.C.E. and localize it in the southeast direction of the modern
Mãrdlu and the junction of the rivers Häbür and čaggag 7.
For a very long time the name of the tribe(s) of Yauru remained the only
reference to them for the II millennium B.C.E. 8. Recently, M.J. Aynard and J.M.
Durand published a new text which sheds additional light on the problem of the
Yauru 9. The tablet is in the Louvre and bears the number 11 in the publication
(A021.382).

1 On the date C. Saporetti, Gli eponimi medio-assiri , Malibu, 1979, pp. 57-61; but according
to G. WILHELM and J. Boese, Aššur-Dan I, Ninurta-Apil Ekur und die Mittelassyrische Chronologie
WZKM, 71, 1979, p. 38 the regnal years of this king are 1295-1264 B.C.E.
2 Saporetti, Eponimi... p. 56; Wilhelm-Boese, WZKM , 71, p. 38 gives the dates 1307-1296.
3 A.K. Grayson, Assyrian Royal Inscriptions , I, Wiesbaden, 1972 (ARI), p. 58, 22 ; IAK, p. 62,
22-24, ka-si-id KURKu-ut-mu-hi ú na-gab ri-si-šú gu-un-nu Ah-la-me-i Su-ti-i la-ú-ri u mãtãti-su-nu.
4 The inscriptions of Arik-Din-Ili (GRAYSON, ARI, I, pp. 54-57) are dilapidated and in a poor
state of preservation.
5 E. Cassin, Fischer Weltgeschichte , 3. p. 79; C.T. Gadd, Cambridge Ancient History, II , p. 33.
6 Gadd, p. 33 (between Tigris) « and a line roughly drawn through the present towns of Jazirah
ibn cUmar, Nisibis and Mardin.
7 M. WÄFLER, Nicht-Assyrer neuassyrischer Darstellungen (AOAT, 26), Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1975,
p. 232, note 1294; Cf. also K. KESSLER, Yauri, RIA, V, 1977, p. 273, where the localization coincides
with Wäfler.
8 It is not our task in this article to analyze the possible connections of Yauru with the names
Yahiri, Yaru, Ya'eru, lari, etc. appearing in the I millennium.
9 M-J. Aynard et J.-M. Durand, Documents d'Epoque medio-assyrienne, « Assur » 3/1, 1980,
pp. 1-52, esp. pp. 44-46.

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 18

1) 1 udu-
2) ša ¡üb-ri of Ubru,
3) ša iš-tu Su-ti-e which is purchased
4) I-ia-ú-ra-ie 11 from the
5) il-qi-û-ni Suteans, the Iaureans,
6) ISil-lí-ilDiglala Silli-Digla
7) LUma-ki-su the tax-collector
8) ina URUKu-liš-hJ-na-as in the (town) Kulishinas
9) e-ta-mar saw
10) im-ti-ki-si (and) imposed tax (on it).
11) ITU[S]i-ip-pu UD 16-kam The 16 th (day) of the month Sippu
12) li-mu The limmu-eponym
13) lÚ-sa-at 11 AMAR-UTU Usat-Marduk ».

Let us turn first of all to the date of the text. The eponym U
well-known in the middle- Assyrian texts 12 . His eponymic year
shows 13, belongs to the reign of Salmanassar I (1273-1244) 14. So
text is dated at least half a century after the reign of Arik-Din-I
But the most important thing is that the sheep were taken fr
who were at the same time Yaureans, i.e. a) men of the tribe o
inhabitants of the Ya'uru region.
We also see that a special breed of sheep was taken from t
This is no definite proof, but we can also propose that these Sutea
husbandry and had their breeds of sheep. We know the Suteans al
texts of the middle-Assyrian period 15 and from them, as well as f
we see that they had not lost their ethnic identiy.
We must also point out that at the time of Aššur-Dan I (11
during the reign of his son Ninurta-Taukulti-Aššur, who ruled im

10 Aynard-Durand, p. 44 and AHW, p. 836b, paru III « Erzeugnis » and

perhu 2) Trieb « kind, race ».
uThe sign appears in the middle- assyrian period as ia well as iu (W.
RöLLIG, Das akkadische Syllabar , Roma, 1976, No. 104 shares both readings). Th
the reading ia. Then we receive here I-ia-ú-ra-ie instead of I-iu-ú-ra-ie, which m
about which the editors of the text remark on p. 45 (Yuréen) - ethnique, sur u
de peuple que je ne retrouve pas » - « ethnie, concerning a name of a town or p
not find ».
12 Saporetti, Eponimi , pp. 90-91.
13 Eponimi , p. 89-90.
14 Eponimi, pp. 72-98; Wilhelm -Boese, WZKM , 71, 1263-1234 B.C.E.
15 M. Heltzer, The Suteans , Naples, 1981, pp. 86-90 with references to the
raphy.
16 Saporetti, Eponimi , p. 133-146; Wilhelm-Boese, WZKM, 71, 1179/69-1134 B.C.E.

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[3]

him for a very short

namurtu (« honorary
not exclude the « Su
Yauru. The text AO
the Yauru tribe, or i
the names of the si
times, no Yauru trib
Babylonian texts, inc
So we find the Yauru
only from the end
tending into the beg
additional proof that
Middle-Assyrian state
our information is st
The new source ha
Yauru from the Ad
must accept this at
« possessed twenty-t
same territorial pos
learn from Deut. 3,
northern part of Tra
ically of great impor
Thus II Sam 20, 26
priest of David ». A
Yaureans ». All this s
a tribal unit. They h
XIII century at least

17 Wilhelm-BOESE, WZ
18 E. EßELING, Urkunde
1933, p. 47, No. 24, VAT
Tukulti- Assur zamanima
AfO 10, p. 38, Assur 6096
Suteans; and WEIDNER, A
Sutean district ». It is also
i.e. by the same term as
19 Sh. Arbeli, Ch. I, The T
Naples, 1981.
20 B. MAISLER (Mazar), Y
1943/44, pp. 63-64 (Hebre
1958, pp. 66-67; Yãlr, Y*
in Eretz-lsrael , Jerusalem
21 Cf. also Jud. 10, 3 w
over Israel.

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 20

But with
Mazar, exp
ings of th
As we kno
over a larg
we know
and in Sou
beans are
Old-Babyl
Rephaim i
dispersed i
Transjorda
are now ab
that there
reans mig
Transjorda
the XII cen
from the
earlier.

M. Heltzer

22 Maizler (Mazar) « Tarbis », 15, p. 63 and Ene. Miq., II, 1958, p. 416.
23 Sh. Arbeli, Ch. I in M. Heltzer, The Suteans , p. 18.
24 Heltzer, The Suteans. , pp. 47-55; 105-108; 109-111.
25 Heltzer, The Suteans.

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