The Hurrians (Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri) are a powerful force in the ancient world. They occupy much of Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BCE, including areas of today's Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Stretching as far as the Mediterranean coasts, at the height of its influence the Hurrian empire dominates land and sea trade.
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The Hurrian Kingdom of Mitanni reaches its apex under the rule of Parshatatar in the 15th century BCE. The Kingdom encompasses southeast Anatolia, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia.
While the Hurrians first establish a kingdom at Urkesh, building a temple to Nergal in the late third millennium BCE, Their largest and most powerful kingdom is Mitanni (1550 - 1260 BCE). The lion, eagle, or a combined sun and moon sign are the Hurrian emblems.
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On the rise about the same time, the Hittite Kingdom expands with an abundance of language groups including Hurrian and Luwian. Hurrian mythology has a strong influence on that of the Hittites, who add Hurrian deities to their own expansive pantheon.
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The Hittites have already adopted or assimiliated several gods of the pre-existing Hattians. The Hurrians, Hittites and Hatti intermingle during the near eastern Bronze Age for trade, political or religious alliances.
It's a clever walk on a tightrope flaming at both ends. The Hatti have already diffused into Hittite culture. The Hurrians watch for an opportunity. Like the Hittites they prefer trade but as alpha residents they're not afraid to bite off someone's head off.
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With the warlike neighbors occupied fighting others, the Hurrians forge a presence along the Khabur River, a major tributary of the Eurphates in Syria. They spread through a broad arc of fertile farmland from the Khabur River valley in the west, to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in the east.
By the early second millennium BCE, the Amorites have seized Urkesh and made it a vassal state. The Hurrian presence on the Mediterranean coast shrinks as the Hurrians make a strategic expansion westward, in Northern Syria.
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Hurrians join forces with Amorites. Records from c. 1600 BCE show battles for land, fighting and border disputes between Hittites and Hurrian/Amorite troops in the area.
Hurrians also settle in the country state of Kizzuwatna, south eastern Anatolia. Kizzuwatna changes allegiance to the Hurrian Mitanni and becomes an important Hurrian ally. To the north, the Hurrian town Ishuwa first resists Hittite invasion, then collapses in 1600 BCE.
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The Mitanni Empire of the Hurrians (c. 1550 - 1260 BCE) becomes a major force. Bordering the lands to the north are Hittites, with Egyptians and Kassites to the south.
Mitanni rises to power before 1550 BCE but is first mentioned in writing at that time. Its presence throughout Anatolia is told by ancient chronicles and modern archaeological finds. Finally, enemy Hittites and Hurrians are forced to work together against Egyptian hostilities.
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Fighting between Hittites and Egyptians, led by Pharaoh Ramesses II, works up to a major conflict at the disputed border trade town Kadesh in 1274 BCE. It's a large-scale battle with up to 6,000 - 10,000 chariots involved on both sides.
In 1258 the impossible happens. Egypt and the Empire of the Hittites sign the world's first peace treaty. It happens through the friendship and diplomacy of the two Queens, Puduhepa of the Hittites and Nefertari of Egypt.
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At the end of the 2nd millennium BCE the cultural groups around Lake Van and Mount Ararat, Eastern Turkey, gain power. They form the Kingdom of Urartu and its residents speak a Hurrian derived language.
Eventually the Urartic kingdom will control the territory bordered by the Caucasus Mountains in the north, parts of Assyria and Ancient Iran in the south, and much of eastern Anatolia. By then, the Hurrians have moved on.
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About 2000 BCE, the Hurrians use forms of the Akkadian language and Cuneiform script to develop their own written language. Hurrian cuneiform is found in tablets at Hattusa, Ugarit and other sites.
Knowledge about Hurrian culture comes from major sites Hattusa, Nuzi and Alalakh, and other areas of dominant Hurrian population or language. The Hurrians are experts in ceramics.
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They produce two widely traded styles of wheel-made pottery, Khabur ware and Nuzi ware, named for their places of origin. Khabur ware is decorated with reddish painted lines, geometric triangular patterns and dots. Nuzi ware is painted brown or black.
Hurrians are skilled at glass creation and metallurgy, the working and smelting of metals. The Khuber Valley is an important hub of the metal trade even in Neolithic times. Copper artifacts from that area hint at the early presence of Hurrians.
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Among Hurrian texts from Ugarit are the oldest known instances of written music, dating from c. 1400 BC. Four Hurrian composers are named: Tapšiẖuni, Puẖiya(na), Urẖiya, and Ammiya. The Hurrian Hymn to the Goddess Nikkal, also known as the Hurrian cult hymn or "a zaluzi to the gods" is the oldest surviving substantially complete work of notated music.
Songs or hymns are important musical styles for the Hurrians. Songs of praise or incantations invoke the blessings of divinity and epics tell of faraway places. Musicians are local as free people or slaves, and imported from other countries.
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The Hurrian cult center is Kummanni, Kizzuwatna. From there the Hurrians have great influence on the mythologies of their neighbors, especially the Hittites.
Many Hurrian gods and goddesses are brought into local pantheons as efforts are made to synchronize the deities of various cultures. The Song of Ullikummi is a Hurrian myth brought into the Hittite theological sphere.
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Important cult centres for the Hurrians include Kummanni in Kizzuwatna, and the Hittite sanctuary Yazilikaya, just outside the Hittite capital Hattusa. Harran in today's southeast Turkey is a center of worship for Sin the moon god.
Great Goddess Shauskha has an important temple in Nineveh (today's northern Iraq) under Hurrian rule. The town of Kahat is also an influential religious site during the kingdom of Mitanni.
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By the early Iron Age, the Hurrians have dissolved into the surrounding historical environment, and Mitanni is no more. The Kingdom of Urartu takes over the area by the late 9th century BCE, and rises to become a dominant power in the First Millenium BCE.
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