Stele of Zakkur

The Stele of Zakkur is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC.

Description

The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper part is now missing; it probably had the statue of king Zakkur sitting on a chair. Only some small parts of the upper part are still preserved such as the feet.

Discovery

The Stele was discovered in 1903 at Tell Afis, 45 km southeast of Aleppo, in the territory of the ancient kingdom of Hamath. It was published in 1907.
Tell Afis is referred to in the Stele as Hazrach. This place name is also mentioned in the Bible as Hadrach.
The long inscription is known as KAI 202; it reads, in part:
'Bar-Hadad' mentioned in the inscription may have been Bar-Hadad III, son of Hazael.

Deities

Two gods are mentioned in the inscription, Baalshamin and Iluwer. Iluwer was the personal god of king Zakkur, while Baalshamin was the god of the city. It is believed that Iluwer represents the earlier god Mer or Wer going back to 3rd millennium BC.
This inscription represents the earliest Aramaean evidence of the god Baalshamin/Ba'alsamayin.
The Phoenician Yehimilk inscription, which also mentions Baalshamin, is even earlier. It dates to the 10th century BC.