Puqudu

Ancient Arameans
Syro-Hittite states
Aramean kings
Aramean cities
Sources

The term Puqudu or Piqudu (or in the Bible, Peqod or Pekod) refers to a prominent Aramean tribe[1] and its associated region in southern[2] or eastern Babylonia.[3] They lived along the eastern edge of Elam[4] and in the area near Uruk[5] and the Tigris.[2] Their tribal name is sometimes spelled with an accent mark as Puqūdu, and the members of the tribe are sometimes referred to as Puqūdian, Puqūdians,[5] or Puqudaeans (e.g. in the Nimrud Letters).[6] Some older publications use Pukud.

The Puqudu, known from governmental archives of Assyria, were "prominent between the mid-8th century and 626 B.C.",[7] although their presence is documented in Babylonia at least as early as the ninth century. It is not certain when they migrated into the area.[8]

They appear to have been a loosely associated set of clans, forming alliances for war but not governed under any form of permanent centralized government.[9] In common with other Aramean tribes of the area, including the Gambūlu, Ruʾa, and Gurasimmu, the Puqudu had multiple leaders at the same time.[5] There is not enough surviving evidence to speak more specifically about their political organization.[10] Their way of life appears to have been largely rural, with many caring for herds.[11] The surviving records concerning Puqudu and other groups point to an ongoing tension between the largely rural Aramean tribes, including the Puqudu, and the rural elite of Assyria.[5]

  1. ^ H. W. F. Saggs (2000). Babylonians. University of California Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-520-20222-1.
  2. ^ a b Saggs, H. W. F. "The Nimrud Letters, 1952: Part III." Iraq, vol. 18, no. 1, 1956, pp. 53. JSTOR.
  3. ^ J. A. Thompson (12 September 1980). A Book of Jeremiah. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 741. ISBN 978-0-8028-2530-8.
  4. ^ Abraham Samuel Anspacher (1912). Tiglath Pileser III. Columbia University Press. p. 66. ISBN 9780231943949.
  5. ^ a b c d Arnold, Bill T. "Aramean Origins: The Evidence from Babylonia." Archiv Für Orientforschung, vol. 52, 2011, pp. 179–185. JSTOR.
  6. ^ Saggs, H. W. F. "The Nimrud Letters, 1952: Part III." Iraq, vol. 18, no. 1, 1956, pp. 53. JSTOR.
  7. ^ Edward Lipiński (2000). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion. Peeters Publishers. p. 429. ISBN 978-90-429-0859-8.
  8. ^ Emil G. H. Kraeling (20 January 2008). Aram and Israel: The Aramaeans in Syria and Mesopotamia. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-60608-394-9.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bryce2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Daniel E. Fleming (30 July 2012). The Legacy of Israel in Judah's Bible: History, Politics, and the Reinscribing of Tradition. Cambridge University Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-107-02431-1.
  11. ^ Eva Christiane Cancik-Kirschbaum; Margarete van Ess; Joachim Marzahn (2011). Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident. Walter de Gruyter. p. 93. ISBN 978-3-11-022211-1.