Diniktum

Diniktum, inscribed Di-ni-ik-tum^KI, was a still unlocated middle bronze-age town often thought to be located somewhere in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq.^[1]

Diniktum

Shown within Iraq
Location	Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia

History

Middle Bronze

It enjoyed independence briefly during the 18th century under the reigns of the Amorite chieftains (ra-bí-an MAR.DÚ) Itur-šarrum,^[2] attested on a single seal from Ešnunna, and Sîn-gāmil, son of Sîn-šēmi and a contemporary of Zimri-Lim (ca. 1710–1698 BC short) of Mari and Ḫammu-rapī (ca. 1728–1686 BC short) of Babylon, attested in a brick inscription "Sin-gamil, Amorite chief of Diniktum, son of Sin-semi.".^[1] In an old Babylonian letter from Yarim-Lim I, the king of Yamḫad to the Yašub-Yahad, the king of Dēr,^[3][4][5] he says:

.. Certainly. Sîn-gāmil, king of Diniktum. very much like you would repeatedly respond to me by means of lies and provocations. Having docked 500 boats in Diniktum's quay. I "sank" (supported?) his land as well as him for 12 year!"^[6]

— Iarīm-Līm, Tablet A. 1314, Letter to Yašub-Yahad

Yarim-Lim I would defeat the king of Diniktum in battle.^[7]

One king of Diniktum named Itur-šarrum ruled Diniktum for around a century before his successor Sîn-gāmil became the new ruler of the kingdom.^[8]

Ikūn-pî-Sîn (“The word of Sin is truthful”), the ruler of Nērebtum (Tell Ishchali) and possibly Tutub, cities in the sphere of Ešnunna, has a year name: “Year when Ikū(n)-pî-Sîn captured Diniktum."^[9][10] It was absorbed into the kingdom of Ešnunna and consequently embroiled in its conflicts with Elam during the reigns of Ibāl-pî-El II (ca. 1715–1701 BC short) and Ṣillī-Sîn (ca. 1700–1698 BC short).^[11] During an Elamite invasion of Mesopotamia the Elamites sacked Eshnunna. This caused many soldiers in the Elamite army that were from Eshnunna to defect. Because of the mass desertion, the Elamite king retreated back to Diniktum. While in Diniktum, the Elamites would sue for peace with Hammurabi. The Elamites were then driven from the city.^[12]

Late Bronze

The town was still settled in the later bronze-age, as a year name of 15th century BC Kassite ruler Kadashman-harbe I reads "the year [in which] Kadašman-Ḫarbe, the king, dug the canal of Diniktum".^[13][14]

Location

An early proposal was on the Tigris river downstream from Upi and close to the northern border of Elam. It has also been suggested as being at or in the vicinity of Tell Muhammad, which lies in south-eastern part of modern Baghdad.^[15][2] Diniktum is mentioned in the Harmal geographical list, Tablet IM 51143.^[16]

In a survey of archaeological sites in the Diyala region of Iraq a site, Tell #851, was identified as a possible location for Diniktum. It showed surface remains from the Ubaid to Kassite periods. A local resident there turned in six UrIII/Larsa cylinder seals (one mentioned the god Ninib) and an inscribed brick. The brick read "Sîn-gāmil the great leader of Martu of the city Diniktum son of Sin-šemi".^[17][18]

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East

References

1. Douglas Frayne (1990). Old Babylonian period (2003-1595 BC): Early Periods, Volume 4 (RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia). University of Toronto Press. pp. 682–685. ISBN 9781442678033.
2. Bryce, Trevor (2009). The Routledge Handbook of The Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-041-539-485-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. Charpin, Dominique (2010). Writing, Law, and Kingship In Old Babylonian Mesopotamia. United States of America: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-022-610-159-0.
4. Weiss, Harvey (1985). Ebla to Damascus: Art and Archaeology of Ancient Syria : an Exhibition from the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic. Baltimore: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
5. Sasson, Jack (1995). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East: Volume 2.
6. J. Sasson (1985). "Yarim-Lim's War Declaration". Editions Recherche sur Ies Civilisations. Paris. p. 244.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
7. Wu, Yuhong (1994). A Political History of Eshnunna, Mari and Assyria During the Early Old Babylonian Period: From the End of Ur III to the Death of Šamši-Adad. Institute of History of Ancient Civilizations, Northeast Normal University.
8. Seri, Andrea (2003). Local Power: Structure and Function of Community Institutions of Authority in the Old Babylonian Period. University of Michigan. ISBN 978-049-643-819-8.
9. Harris, Rivkah, "The Archive of the Sin Temple in Khafajah (Tutub)", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 31–58, 1955
10. Harris, Rivkah, "The Archive of the Sin Temple in Khafajah (Tutub) (Conclusion)", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 91–120, 1955
11. Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of The People and Places of Ancient Western Asia. Routledge. p. 196.
12. Van De Mieroop, Marc (2008). King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography. Wiley. ISBN 978-047-069-534-0.
13. Tablet Ni. 3199.
14. Brinkman, J., "A catalogue of cuneiform sources pertaining to specific monarchs of the Kassite Dynasty", Materials and Studies for Kassite History 1, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1977 ISBN 978-0-91-898600-9
15. Paolo Gentili, Where is Diniktum? : Remarks on the Situation and a Supposition, Rivista degli studi orientali, Nuova Serie, Vol. 79, Fasc. 1/4, pp. 231-238, 2006
16. Levy, Selim J., "Harmal Geographical List", Sumer, vol. 3, iss. 2, pp. 50-83, 1947
17. Adams, Robert M., "Land Behind Baghdad: A History of Settlement on the Diyala Plains", Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1965
18. Saporetti, Claudio, "McC Adams 851 = Diniktum?", Egitto e Vicino Oriente, vol. 24, pp. 97–102, 2001