Yarim-Lim I

Yarim-Lim I, also given as Yarimlim, (died 1764 BC) was the second king of the ancient Amorite kingdom of Yamhad in modern-day Aleppo, Syria.

Family Parentage Yarim-Lim was the son and successor of the first king Sumu-Epuh and his queen consort Sumunna-Abi.

Wife and Children His wife was Gashera, of unknown parents. She outlived her husband and became a strong-willed widow who was part of politics during the reign of Hammurabi.

Their daughter Shibtu married Zimri-Lim of Mari.

Reign Early Reign and Conflicts The kingdom of Yamhad was being threatened by Shamshi-Adad I of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia who had surrounded Yamhad through his alliance with Carchemish and Urshu to the north, Qatna to the south, and conquering Mari to the east, appointing his son Yasmah-Adad on its throne. Yarim-Lim ascended the throne after his father was killed during his campaigns against Shamshi-Adad. He was able to stand up to Shamshi-Adad. Hammurabi and Ibal-pi-el II were his allies.

Around 1777 BC, Yarim-Lim conquered the city of Tuttul. He appointed his ally, Zimri-Lim, the heir to the throne of Mari, as king. When Shamshi-Adad I died around 1776 BC, he helped Zimrilim regain his throne in Mari and oust Yasmah-Adad.

Ibal-pi-el II of Eshnuna exploited the death of Shamshi-Adad I to pursuit an expansionist policy, advancing on the account of Assyria and causing stress to the alliance. He later allied himself with Elam, the enemy of Hammurabi who was Yarim-Lim's ally.

Relations with Mari Zimri-Lim's ascension to the throne with the help of Yarim-Lim I affected the status of Mari, Zimri-Lim referred to Yarim-Lim as his father and acted under the guidance of the Yamhadite main deity Hadad, of which Yarim-Lim was the mediator.

The tablets of Mari recorded many events that revealed Zimri-Lim's subordination. On two occasions, Zimri-Lim demanded the extradition of his subordinates from Yarim-Lim I. The first case was related to a vassal king of Zimri-Lim who addressed him as a brother instead of a father and the demand was refused, while the second was through the Mariote ambassador in Aleppo Daris-Libur in which Zimri-Lim asked for some fugitives to which Yarim-Lim answered with decline twice before agreeing on the Mariote ambassador's third attempt.

At one instance, Nur-Sin the Mariote ambassador in Aleppo wrote to his master for the handing of an estate called Alahtum to Hadad (meaning Aleppo), and in another instance, Ibal-pi-el offered peace and fixing the borders to Zimri-Lim who sent envoys to Yarim-Lim asking for authorization which was not given, leading Zimri-Lim to refuse the treaty on three occasions.

Later Reign and Succession

Yarim-Lim extended his influence to Ugarit. According to Historian William Hamblin, he was at the time "the mightiest ruler in the Near East outside of Egypt." He died c. 1764 BC and was succeeded by his son Hammurabi I.