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17. BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE 257
Kumme was one of several cities to the north of Assyria that enjoyed the leadership of a local ruler. The city
is not mentioned at all in the sources surviving from Tiglath-pileser III’s reign although his annexation of the
Ullubu region on the Lesser Habur in 739 had certainly extended Assyrian influence into the more immediate
vicinity of Kumme. The sudden proximity of an Assyrian province and the continuous military presence that
this entailed would not have allowed Kumme and the other cities in the area to maintain the cavalier approach
to any duties imposed by the Assyrian king that was so clearly in evidence during the times of Adad-nerari II.
Hence, during the reign of Sargon, we see the ruler of Kumme, Ariye (and AriÒa, presumably his crown
prince), follow the command of the Assyrian king and supply men, horses, timber and information about the
other independent states of the region and especially about Urartu. In a letter from the royal correspondence, 108
some local rulers, among them the leaders of Kumme, Ukku and Babutta – the last known from the inscriptions
of Tiglath-pileser III as a ‘fortress of Urartu’ subdued in 739 109 – are described as ‘city lords’ which
indicates their nominal independence but also the limited size of their territory. Kumme’s cooperation was
ensured by the presence of the Assyrian ambassador (qepu ‘the trusted one’) Assur-reÒuwa whose frequent
letters to the Assyrian court vividly illustrate his activities, mainly related to intelligence and the organization
of the local workforce, especially for cutting and shipping timber. 110 While Assur-reÒuwa was stationed in
Kumme, a fort was built with the support of several Assyrian governors, giving rise to Urartian plans to kidnap
the said governors from Kumme 111 (we do not know whether this was in fact attempted). Assur-reÒuwa’s presence
in Kumme eventually sparked a conflict between him and some local dignitaries, with both sides trying
to assassinate each other, 112 and we would like to know how this struggle for power ended. As Kumme also
continued to entertain close relations with the king of Urartu who also expected men and information to come
forward, 113 it comes as no surprise that men from Kumme were repeatedly accused of un-Assyrian activities
such as illicit trading between Assyria and Urartu. 114 But, when the new Urartian king Argisti II, son of Rusa,
sent a pointed message questioning the conspicuous absence of messengers from Kumme at his court, the
answer from Kumme, according to the information conveyed back to Sargon, was this: ‘Since we are the
slaves of Assyria, a foreman of the cavalry is our superior; only the houses of Kumme are left to us…. We
cannot put our feet anywhere.’ 115 The caution with which the Kummeans are seen treading here may be a
result of Sargon’s desecration of Musasir and the Haldi temple in 714 – Urzana’s difficulties in finding the
right balance between Assyrian and Urartian interests and the dire consequences must have sent a disturbing
message to the small kingdoms in a similar position, and the fact that even an ancient and famous temple
had not stopped Sargon must have been most alarming to Kumme and its storm god sanctuary. But at this
junction, our information about Kumme dries up 116 and to decide whether the Assyrians continued to respect
the city’s autonomy or not is left to our imagination; unlike Ukku, the city is not mentioned in the sources
from Sennacherib’s reign at all.
3. Ukku
Until quite recently, the archaeology of the area of Hakkari was virtually unknown but with excavations
at this Turkish provincial capital since 1997 and the chance discovery of 13 warrior steles in 1998 117 the region
108 SAA 5 117.
109 Tadmor 1994: 126-127 Summary Inscription 1 ll. 27-28 URU.Ba-bu-ut-ta.
110 The letters of Assur-reÒuwa: SAA 5 84-100.
111 SAA 1 29.
112 SAA 5 106, SAA 5 107.
113 For Kumme, see e.g. SAA 5 95, SAA 5 105.
114 SAA 1 46, SAA 5 100 (with SAA 5 103).
115 SAA 5 95 ll. 12-18.
116 Kumme is mentioned also in two administrative texts from Nineveh: the inscription on a sack sealing BM 50794, bearing an impression
of the Assyrian royal seal type, identifies the shipment as coming from the ruler of Kumme (SAA 11 58 URU.Ku-ma-a-a (= Fales &
Postgate 1995)), and a certain Izzia from KUR.Ku-um-mu is mentioned in the administrative fragment SAA 7 31 i 7’ (= Fales & Postgate
1992). The dates of these two texts are not certain.
117 Sevin & Özfirat 2001, Sevin 2005.