“Kill them all!” Some Remarks on the Annihilation of the Ya’ilanum Tribe (1781 B.C.E.)

Abstract

My analysis of the military campaign carried out by the armies of the Upper Mesopotamian Kingdom in the lands of Qabra and Nurrugum (1781 B.c.e.) centers on the different treatment allotted by the armies of Samsi-Addu and Išme-Dagan to the populations defeated during that campaign. While the inhabitants of Nineveh were captured and some even incorporated into the army of Išme-Dagan, the tribe of Ya’ilanum was annihilated. This drastic action was the result of deep-seated prejudices of the leaders of the Upper Mesopotamian Kingdom against non-urban populations, who were frequently perceived as subhuman and dangerous beings meriting annihilation.