Dur-Athara

Dur-Athara or Dur-Atkhara, more properly known as Dur-abi-hara, was an ancient city in Southern Babylonia.^[1] Babylonian king Marduk-apla-iddina II (died 702) fortified the city as part of his war against Sargon II (722-705),^[2] moving "the entire Gambulu tribe" (an Aramean people^[1]) into it.^[3] He dug a canal from the nearby Surappu river, causing the entire area to flood, leaving the city in the position of an "artificial island".^[4] Sargon's attack of Dur-Athara came in 710,^[5] and according to Assyrian annals was completed in a single day.^[6] Sargon plundered the city and deported 18,400 people from it,^[7] after which Gambulu leaders offered tribute.^[3] Sargon gave the city a new name, Dur-Nabu, and made it the capital of the province of Gambulu.^[8]

References

1. Trevor Bryce (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. Taylor & Francis. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-415-39485-7.
2. Peter Dubovský (2006). Hezekiah and the Assyrian Spies: Reconstruction of the Neo-Assyrian Intelligence Services and Its Significance for 2 Kings 18-19. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 268. ISBN 978-88-7653-352-5.
3. D. T. Potts (1999-07-29). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-521-56496-0.
4. J. A. Brinkman (16 January 1992). "Babylonia in the Shadow of Assyria (747-626 B.C.)". In John Boardman; I. E. S. Edwards; N. G. L. Hammond (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-521-22717-9.
5. John Anthony Brinkman; Ja Brinkmann (1968). Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia (1158-722 b. C.) (A). Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 403. GGKEY:AZ7SEW8FFLF.
6. Daniel E. Fleming (1999). "The Seven-Day Siege of Jericho in Holy War". In Robert Chazan; William H. Hallo; Lawrence Shiffman (eds.). כי ברוך הוא: Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Judaic Studies in Honor of Baruch A. Levine. Eisenbrauns. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-57506-030-9.
7. Edward Lipiński (2000). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion. Peeters Publishers. p. 653. ISBN 978-90-429-0859-8.
8. Trevor Bryce (10 September 2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire. Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-134-15907-9.