Abba-El I

Abba-El I (reigned c. 1750 BC – c. 1720 BC - Middle chronology ) was the king of Yamhad (Halab) succeeding his father Hammurabi I.

Reign

Hammurabi I left Yamhad a prosperous country, Abba-El reign was relatively peaceful and he maintained good commercial relations with Babylon, the main event of his reign was the rebellion of Zitraddu, governor of the city Irridu which belonged along with its district to Abba-el brother Yarim-Lim

A tablet discovered at Alalakh explains the circumstances which led to the forming of the kingdom of Alalakh; it revealed that Abba-El destroyed Irridu and compensated his brother by giving him Alalakh as a hereditary kingdom for his dynasty under the suzerainty of Aleppo but that it should be forfeited if Yarim-Lim or his descendents committed treason against Yamhad.

Abba-El took an oath upon himself not to confiscate his brother's new kingdom and that he might be cursed if he ever did. In return Yarim-Lim took an oath of loyalty to his brother specifying that if he or his descendents ever committed treason or spilled Abba-El secrets to another king, their lands would be forfeited.