New Light on the Land of Sūḫu

Abstract

Abstract In this review article, Philippe Clancier’s recent monograph on the history of the overlooked Late Bronze and Early Iron-age polity of Sūḫu lying on the Middle Euphrates is examined. It is demonstrated that the central contention of two identically named polities of Sūḫu (“Eastern” and “Western Sūḫu” respectively), ruled by two competing dynasties with differing political relationships to Assyria, is not supported by the textual record. As a corrective, a new comprehensive political history of Sūḫu in the early first millennium BC is presented here, as a basis for future research.