Former city of Phoenicia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sumur (Biblical Hebrew: צְמָרִי [collective noun denoting the city inhabitants]; Egyptian: Smr; Akkadian: Sumuru; Assyrian: Simirra) was a Phoenician city in what is now Syria. It was a major trade center. The city has also been referred to in English publications as Simyra,[1] Ṣimirra, Ṣumra,[2] Sumura,[3] Ṣimura,[4] Zemar,[5] and Zimyra.[6]
 The location of Zimyra/Sumur (in the north) | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Sumura, Zemar, etc. |
|---|---|
| Location | Syria |
| Region | Tartus Governorate |
| Coordinates | !34.7081°N 35.9861°E |
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Sumur (or "Sumura") appears in the Amarna letters (mid-14th century BCE); Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Addi, king of Byblos, but was conquered by Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru. Pro-Egyptian factions may have seized the city again, but Abdi-Ashirta's son, Aziru, recaptured Sumur. Sumur became the capital of Amurru.[7]
It is likely, although not completely certain, that the "Sumur" of the Amarna letters is the same city later known as "Simirra."[8] Simirra was claimed as part of the Assyrian empire by Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 BCE, but rebelled against Assyria in 721 at the beginning of the reign of Sargon II.[9]
It has been linked by Maurice Dunand and N. Salisby to the archaeological site of Tell Kazel in 1957.[10]
