kingdom · Anatolia and the Levant

Bit Agusi

900 BCE – 740 BCE (approx.) · capital Arpad

Bit Agusi, the Aramaean kingdom of Arpad, a leader of north Syrian resistance to Assyria, known from the Sefire treaties.

Origins

Gusi, an Aramaean chief, founded the kingdom in the early 9th century BCE in the plains north of Aleppo. It took the name House of Gusi, and its capital became Arpad, at Tell Rifaat.

Rule and society

Its kings, such as Attarshumki and Mati'ilu, led coalitions of Syrian states. Mati'ilu signed a treaty with Ashur-nirari V of the Assyrian Empire and another, preserved on the Aramaic Sefire steles, with Bar-Ga'yah of KTK, giving rare insight into Aramaean treaty language and curses.

Decline and legacy

Mati'ilu joined an alliance led by the Kingdom of Urartu. Tiglath-Pileser III besieged Arpad from 743 to 740 BCE, captured it and made Bit Agusi an Assyrian province.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bit Agusi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bit-agusi
MLA
“Bit Agusi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bit-agusi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bit Agusi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bit-agusi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bit Agusi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bit-agusi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻