Abdmilkat

The main historical source about Abdmilkat is the “ Annals ” of the Assyrian king Asarhaddon ^{[1] [2]} .

Abdmilkat gained power over Sidon around 682 or 680 BC. e., becoming the successor of King Itobaal ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} .

Soon after the accession of Abdmilkat to the throne, King Sinaheherib was killed by his own sons, under whose supreme power the cities of Phenicia were located. Upon learning of the murder, Abdmilkat in 680 BC. e. rebelled against Assyria . Probably, the revolt was provoked by the policy of the Assyrian monarchs, severely restricting the trade of the Phoenician cities with countries hostile to the Assyrians (primarily with Egypt ). The reason for the uprising was the feud that swept the Assyrian royal family, in which the sons of Sinacheherib, Asarhaddon and his two brothers participated, who did not share power after the murder of their father. The Cilician Sanduarri , king of Kundi and Susi, became an ally of Abdmilkat in the uprising. The union between the two rulers was sealed by a mutual oath. However, after Asarhaddon defeated his brothers, he sent an Assyrian army against the rebelled Phoenicians. The Assyrians approached Sidon in 677 BC. e. captured him. In the “Annals of Asarhaddon” it is reported that the Sidon king tried to escape from the city by ship, but was overtaken and “pulled out of the sea like a fish”. Perhaps Abdmilkat tried to take refuge in Cyprus or Asia Minor , but the inhabitants of Tire , who remained loyal to the Assyrians, helped to catch the fugitive king and deliver him to Asarhaddon ^{[1] [7] [8] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} .

By order of Asarhaddon at the beginning of 676 BC. e. Sidon was completely destroyed (in the words of the author of the Assyrian annals, Asarhaddon “[the city] tore and threw its walls and foundations into the sea”), and in its place a new settlement was founded, called Kar-Asarhaddon (“Port of Asarhaddon”). Its inhabitants were both highlanders living nearby and settlers from remote areas of Assyria. In Sidon, the Assyrians seized a huge booty, including gold, silver, precious stones, ivory , valuable tree species ( maple and boxwood ) and rich clothes. Abdimilkat, members of his family, many representatives of the Sidon nobility and artisans were brought to Nineveh . Here in the month of Tishrit (September or October), the Tyr ruler was beheaded. Five months later, Sanduarry was also captured and executed. The cut off heads of both rulers drove along the streets of the Assyrian capital as a warning to other possible rebels. In the same procession, accompanied by a game of harpers and the singing of sacred hymns, numerous captive Phoenicians and Kilicians participated. Many Sidon people, primarily artisans, were resettled in Babylonia . Part of the huge booty captured in Sidon was transferred by Asarhaddon to King Tire Baal I , who, during the rebellion, remained faithful to the Assyrian ruler. In particular, the cities of Marubba and Sarept previously belonging to the ruler of Sidon ^{[1] [3] [6] [7] [8] [9] [11] [12] [14] [15] [16 ]} were attached to the possession of Baal I ^] .

Frightened by the defeat of Sidon, the twenty-three rulers of Phenicia, the Levant and Cyprus sent rich gifts to Asarhaddon. Among such owners in the annals are mentioned the king of Judea Manasseh and the Cypriot kings Akestor from Idalion , Pilagor from Kitr , Damis from Kition , Etheander from Paphos and Admit from Tamassos ^[3] .

In honor of the victory of Asarhaddon over the rebels in 670 or 669 BC. e. a was carved ^[2] . It is assumed that, besides Asarhaddon, it also depicts one of the Phoenician rulers subjugated by the Assyrians. However, who this person, Abdmilkat or Baal I (later also rebelled against the Assyrians), is not known exactly. The same stele also depicts a man in traditional Nubian clothes: perhaps this is the son of the pharaoh Taharka Ushanhuru, captured during the Assyrians' campaign in Egypt in 671 BC. e. ^{[4] [8] [17]}

As a result of the victory of Asarhaddon over the rebels, Sidon lost its significance for a long time. The city and its environs were included in Assyria, forming a new province. Imperial power in Sidon was abolished ^{[4] [8] [10] [11] [14]} . There are no news of local kings in the sources until the time of the New Babylonian kingdom , when in the middle of the 590s BC e. an unnamed king of Sidon participated in a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar II ^{[6] [7] [9] [18]} . The first known king by the name of Sidon after Admilkat was Eshmunazor I , at the end of the VI century BC. e. founded a new dynasty ^{[6] [9]} .

• Tsirkin Yu. B. From Canaan to Carthage. - M .: LLC Astrel Publishing House; LLC "Publishing house AST", 2001. - 528 p. - ISBN 5-17-005552-8 .
• Leick G. Who's Who in the Ancient Near East . - L. & N. Y .: Psychology Press, 2002. - 232 p. - ISBN 978-0-4151-3231-2 .