Ellipi

Origins

Ellipi lay in the central Zagros, in the Kermanshah and northern Luristan region of western Iran, between Media to the north and Elam to the south. It appears in Assyrian sources from the 9th century BCE as a kingdom with fortified towns, its royal seat at Marubishtu.

Rule and society

Ellipi's kings controlled valuable horse-breeding lands and routes from Mesopotamia to the plateau. Its best-known king, Dalta, was a loyal vassal of Sargon II. When Dalta died in 708 BCE, his sons Nibe and Ishpabara fought for the throne; Nibe called on Elam and Ishpabara on Assyria, which sent troops to install him. Some scholars associate the region with the Luristan bronzes, though this is debated.

Decline and legacy

Ishpabara later turned against Assyria, and in 702 BCE Sennacherib sacked Marubishtu and annexed part of Ellipi. The rest of the kingdom fades from the record by the early 7th century BCE, absorbed into the Median sphere.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.