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Stele of Zakkur

The Stele of Zakkur (or Zakir) is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC.

Stele of Zakkur

Basalt

62 centimetres (24 in)

13 centimetres (5.1 in)

Aramaic inscription

c. 805 BC – c. 775 BC

Aramaean

1903

Tell Afis, Syria

Musée du Louvre, Paris

AO 8185

Description[edit]

The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper part is now missing; it probably had the statue of king Zakkur sitting on a chair. Only some small parts of the upper part are still preserved such as the feet.[1]

Deities[edit]

Two gods are mentioned in the inscription, Baalshamin and Iluwer. Iluwer was the personal god of king Zakkur, while Baalshamin was the god of the city. It is believed that Iluwer represents the earlier god Mer or Wer going back to 3rd millennium BC.


This inscription represents the earliest Aramaean evidence of the god Baalshamin/Ba'alsamayin.[6]


Phoenician Yehimilk inscription, also mentioning Baalshamin is even earlier. It dates to the 10th century BCE.[7]

Baal with Thunderbolt

List of artifacts significant to the Bible

Pognon, H., Inscriptions sémitiques de la Syrie, de la Mésopotamie, et de la région de Mossoul. Paris: Imprimerie nationale/Gabalda, 1907, 156–178.

Driver, Samuel R., "An Aramaic Inscription from Syria." Expositor 7/5 (1908): 481–90.

Ronzevalle, S., "An Aramaic inscription of Zakir, ruler of Hamath and Laˁš." Al-Mashriq 11 (1908): 302–10.

Halévy, J., "Inscription de Zakir, roi de Hamat, découverte par M. H. Pognon." RevSém 16 (1908): 243–46.

Nöldeke, Theodor, "Aramäische Inschriften." ZA 21 (1908): 375–88.

Montgomery, James A., "Some Gleanings from Pognon's ZKR Inscription." JBL 28 (1909): 57–70.

Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine

The Aramaic Inscription of Zakar, King of Hamath

A Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine of the stele online.

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