Urshu, Warsuwa[1]orUrshum was a Hurrian-Amorite[2][3] city-state in southern Turkey, probably located on the west bank of the Euphrates,[4] and north of Carchemish.[5]
Urshu was a commercial city governed by a Lord (EN). It was an ally of Ebla and appears in the tabletsasUrsa'um.[6] Later it was mentioned in the inscriptions of Gudea (r. c.2144–2124 BC according to the Middle chronology) as the city where wood resins were procured.[7] An old Assyrian letter that dates to the 19th century BC mentions a temple of the god Ashur in Urshu.[8]
In the beginning of the 18th century BC, Urshu allied with Yamhad against Yahdun-LimofMari.[9] Relations with Assyria were also strained, and men of Urshu were summoned by Yapah-Adad and his Habiru to attack the lands of Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria.[10] The texts of Mari mentions a conflict between Urshu and Carchemish: the tribes of Upra-peans and Ra-beans attacked Urshu through the land of Carchemish, which caused Urshu to attack a contingent of Carchemishean troops and civilians that advanced along the bank of the Euphrates.[11]
Later, Urshu became an economic rival to Yamhad[12] and entered an alliance with Qatna and Shamshi-Adad I to attack Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad (r. c.1810-1780 BC).[13] The death of Shamshi-Adad and the rise of Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad brought an end to this rivalry, as Yamhad was elevated into a Great Kingdom and imposed its direct authority over northern, western and eastern Syria,[14] bringing Urshu under its sphere of influence without annexing it.[15] The Tablets of Mari mention a few kings of Urshu who date to this era, including Shennam[16] and Atru-Sipti, who visited Mari in the 12th year of its king Zimri-Lim.[11]
They broke the battering ram. The king was angry and his face was grim "They constantly bring me bad news, may the storm-god carry you away in a flood!.. but not idle! Make a battering-ram in the Hurrian manner and let it be brought into place. Hew a great battering-ram from the mountains of Hassu and let it be brought into place".
—Hattusili I describing the difficulties during the siege of Urshu.[17]
The Hittite king Hattusili I attacked Urshu in his second year, laying siege to the city for six months. The Hittite king had 80 chariots[18] and conducted his operations from the city of Lawazantiya (located in modern Elbistan district) in the Taurus foothills of eastern Cilicia.[19]
Despite receiving aid from Yamhad and Carchemish, Urshu was burned and destroyed; its lands were plundered and the booty taken to the Hittite capital Hattusa.[20]
The history of Urshu after the conquest is ambiguous. In the 15th century BC it appears in the Tablets of Alalakh as "Uris" or "Uressi",[4] and is mentioned "Urussa" in the treaty between the Hittite Tudhaliya II and Sunassura IIofKizzuwatna as part of the latter's territory.[21] The city again became part of the Hittite empire and was last mentioned in records dated to the final periods of that empire.[21]
