Aram-Damascus Explained

The Kingdom of Aram-Damascus (; syr|ܐܪܡ-ܕܪܡܣܘܩ) was an Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant.^[1] Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later years by the polities of Assyria to the north, Ammon to the south, and Israel to the west.

History

The Tanakh gives accounts of Aram-Damascus' history, mainly in its interaction with Israel and Judah. There are biblical texts referencing battles that took place between the United Kingdom of Israel under David and the Arameans in Southern Syria in the 10th century BCE.^[2]

In the 9th century BCE, Hazael fought against the Assyrians, had some influence over the northern Syrian state of Unqi, and conquered Israel.^{[3] [4]}

To the southwest, Aram-Damascus reached most of the Golan to the Sea of Galilee.^[5]

In the 8th century BCE, Rezin had been a tributary of Tiglath-Pileser III, a king of Assyria.^[6] In, he formed an alliance with Pekah, a king of Israel, to attack Ahaz, a king of Judah; Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III for help, which was provided by the Assyrian king after Judah paid tribute.^[7] Subsequently, Tiglath-Pileser III attacked Damascus and annexed Aram.^[6] The kingdom's population was deported and Rezin was executed. Tiglath-Pileser III recorded this act in one of his inscriptions.^[8]

Kings

• Hezion, ca. 960 BCE
• Tabrimmon, ca. 930 BCE, son of Hezion
• Ben-Hadad I, 885–865 BCE
• Ben-Hadad II, 865–842 BCE
• Hazael, 842–805/796 BCE, usurper
• Ben-Hadad III, 796–792 BCE, son of Hazael
• Rezin, 754 BCE–732 BCE

See also

• Aram (region), a historical region in the Levant mentioned in the Bible
• Aram-Naharaim, biblical term for the ancient land of the Arameans in Upper Mesopotamia
• Aram Rehob, an early Aramean kingdom

Sources

• Book: Amadasi-Guzzo, Maria Giulia. What Do We Know about the Borders and Exchanges between Aram and Phoenicia in the 9th–8th Centuries B.C.E. in Anatolia and Syria?. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E.. 2019. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 149–171. 9789004398535 . https://books.google.com/books?id=1imVDwAAQBAJ.
• Book: Bagg, Ariel M.. At the Limits of Historical Geography: Reconstructing Aramaean Territories in the West According to the Neo-Assyrian Written Sources. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E.. 2019. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 1–25. 9789004398535 . https://books.google.com/books?id=1imVDwAAQBAJ.
• Book: Edmonds, Alexander J.. A People without Borders? Tracing the Shifting Identities and Territorialities of the Ahlameans. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E.. 2019. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 26–62. 9789004398535 . https://books.google.com/books?id=1imVDwAAQBAJ.
• Book: Gzella, Holger. A Cultural History of Aramaic: From the Beginnings to the Advent of Islam. 2015. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 9789004285101 .
• Book: Lipiński, Edward. Edward Lipiński (orientalist). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion. 2000. Leuven. Peeters Publishers. 9789042908598 .
• Book: Lipiński, Edward. Edward Lipiński (orientalist). The Aramaeans in the West (13th–8th centuries). Arameans, Chaldeans, and Arabs in Babylonia and Palestine in the First Millennium B.C.. 2013. Wiesbaden. Harrassowitz Verlag. 123–147. 9783447065443 . https://books.google.com/books?id=OuVQnwEACAAJ.
• Book: Lemaire, André. The Boundary between the Aramaean Kingdom of Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E.. 2019. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 245–266. 9789004398535 . https://books.google.com/books?id=1imVDwAAQBAJ.
• Book: Sader, Hélène. History. The Aramaeans in Ancient Syria. 2014. Leiden. Brill. 11–36. 9789004229433 . https://books.google.com/books?id=sW_AAgAAQBAJ.
• Book: Younger, Kenneth Lawson. A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities. 2016. Atlanta. SBL Press. 9781628370843 .
• Book: Zwickel, Wolfgang. Borders between Aram-Damascus and Israel: A Historical Investigation. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E.. 2019. Leiden-Boston. Brill. 267–335. 9789004398535 . https://books.google.com/books?id=1imVDwAAQBAJ.

33.513°N 36.292°W

Notes and References

1. Book: Pitard, Wayne T.. David Noel Freedman. Allen C. Myers. Astrid B. Beck . 2000 . Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Arameans. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. 86 .
2. Book: Bible. Holman. 978-0999989265. 2 Samuel 10:6-19.
3. James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.; Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1955) 246.
4. Book: Bible. Holman. 978-0999989265. Christian Standard. 2 Kings 13:3.
5. Book: Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader. Suzanne Richard. Hardcover. Eisenbrauns. 2003. 1-57506-083-3. 377.
6. Lester L. Grabbe, Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (New York: T&T Clark, 2007): 134
7. Book: Bible. Holman. 978-0999989265. Christian Standard. 2 Kings 16:7-9.
8. James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.; Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969) 283.