Kingdom of Hatra
The Kingdom of Hatra (Hatran Aramaic: 𐣠𐣣𐣡𐣩𐣠 'RBY') was a 2nd-century Arab kingdom located between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire, mostly under Parthian suzerainty,[1][2] located in modern-day northern Iraq.
Kingdom of Hatra | |||||||||
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| 2nd century CE–241 | |||||||||
 Hatra area of influence | |||||||||
| Status | Autonomous state, frequently a vassal of the Parthian Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Hatra | ||||||||
| Common languages | Hatran Aramaic | ||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 2nd century CE | ||||||||
• Fall of Hatra | 241 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Iraq | ||||||||
| Historical Arab states and dynasties |
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The city of Hatra was probably founded in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, under the Seleucid kingdom. Arabs were common in Mesopotamia at the time of the Seleucids (3rd century BC). In the 1st and 2nd century, Hatra was ruled by a dynasty of Arab princes. It rose to prominence as the capital of Hatra and became an important religious center as a result of its strategic position along caravan trade routes. Hatra is one of the first Arab states to be established outside of Arabia, preceded by the Kingdom of Osroene (132 BC–216 AD) and the Kingdom of Emesa (64 BCE–300s CE), and followed by the Ghassanids (220–638) and the Lakhmids (300–602), buffer states of the Roman and Sassanid Empires, respectively.
Hatra had withstood sieges by Roman emperors Trajan and Septimius Severus and the Sasanian king Ardashir I. The kingdom finally fell after the capture of Hatra by the Sasanians under Shapur I, who destroyed the city.[3]
References
- Gregoratti 2017, pp. 126, 138.
- Schmitt 2003, pp. 58–61.
- Whitworth, Patrick (2018). Suffering and Glory: The Church from the Apostles to Constantine. Sacristy Press. p. 212. ISBN 9781910519929.
Bibliography
- Dijkstra, Klaas (1995). Life and loyalty: a study in the socio-religious culture of Syria and Mesopotamia in the Graeco-Roman period based on epigraphical evidence. Religions in the Graeco-Roman world. 128. Brill. ISBN 90-04-09996-4.
- Gregoratti, Leonardo (2017). "The Arsacid Empire". In Daryaee, Touraj (ed.). King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World (3000 BCE - 651 CE). UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies. pp. 1–236. ISBN 9780692864401.
- Kaizer, Ted; Hekster, Olivier (2011). Frontiers in the Roman World: Proceedings of the Ninth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire. Brill. pp. 1–392. ISBN 9789004215030.
- Marcato, Enrico (2018). Personal Names in the Aramaic Inscriptions of Hatra. Digital Publishing. ISBN 9788869692314.
- Marciak, Michał (2017). Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West. BRILL. ISBN 9789004350724.
- Michael Sommer: Hatra. Geschichte und Kultur einer Karawanenstadt im römisch-parthischen Mesopotamien. von Zabern, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-8053-3252-1, p. 23.
- Sartre, Maurice (2005). The Middle East Under Rome. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674016835.
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (2003). "Hatra". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 1. pp. 58–61.