city state · Anatolia and the Levant

Hahhum

1900 BCE – 1630 BCE (approx.) · capital Hahhum

Hahhum, a wealthy city at a crossing of the upper Euphrates, an Assyrian trade station later sacked by the Hittite king Hattusili I.

Origins

Hahhum lay on the upper Euphrates, probably near Samsat in south-eastern Turkey, where the caravan routes from Assur crossed the river into Anatolia. It appears in the Old Assyrian letters of the 19th century BCE as a stopping place with its own ruler and merchant community.

Rule and society

Little is known of how it was governed. Its wealth came from controlling the river crossing and charging caravans, and it seems to have been allied with the Hurrian and Syrian powers to its south.

Decline and legacy

In the 17th century BCE Hattusili I of the Hittite Empire crossed the Euphrates, burned Hahhum and carried its gods to Hattusa, boasting that he had surpassed Sargon of Akkad. The city does not reappear as a kingdom.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻