Agarum (also transliterated as Agaru or Akarum, cuneiform: a-kà-rum or a-ga-rum) is a bronze-age Near Eastern proper name, probably a toponym for a region or island in the Eastern Arabia or Persian Gulf. It has been variously identified with the Failaka Island, known as ´KR to the Arameans and as Ikaros during the Hellenistic times and it has also been identified with the mediaeval city of Haǧar, in the general region of what is now known as the Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia  .Nashef 1986, pp. 340–343, 346, 349; Laursen 2017, pp. 430-433. Less probable suggestions include the Ekara temple of FailakaGlassner 1988, pp. 240-243. and Bahrain Island. Possible locations Failaka Island Agarum is generally thought to be the Failaka Island, located near the coast of Kuwait. Failaka was the main center of the cult of Inzak. In the late 1st millennium BCE, the Aramaic name of Failaka was ´KR — probably standing for Akar, likely a diachronic variant of Akarum. The Aramaic BL ´KR ("Bēl of Akar") can be seen as a late re-interpretation of the ancient "Inzak of Agarum".Laursen 2017, pp. 430-433.   Al-Ahsa    Oasis Equally problematic is the identification of the Hellenistic Hagar and the later Hasaitic Haǧar. According to Arabic authors, Haǧar was an Arabized form of the Persian Hakar. Alternatively, Hagar and/or Haǧar may derive from Old South Arabian HGR, "(fortified) city". In fact, the 10th-century Yemeni historian Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani mentions several cities with such a name . Ekara temple%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Akarum resembles the name of the Ekara temple, which was located at Failaka. Ancient Mesopotamian scribes often morphed foreign words in order to render them satisfyingly into their own writing system. E-kara has a plausible cuneiform etymology; c.f. Sumerian é, "house" or "temple". It is unknown which god Ekara was dedicated to, but circumstantial evidence points to the sun-god Shamash. Kings of the Hellenistic Hagar minted coins in the name of Shamash, who may have been the principal deity of the state. Shamash was associated with palm trees. This may indicate that Ekara, Hagar, and the Al-Ahsa Haǧar are all etymologically related. However, this conjecture becomes unnecessary if the Persian or Arabic etymology of Hagar is accepted. Furthermore, Akarum is only attested in the 2nd millennium BCE, whereas Ekara first appears during the 1st millennium BCE.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243; Laursen 2017, pp. 432-433.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Another suggestion is that the Hellenistic name Ikaros derived from Ekara: the name of E-kara would have sounded to Hellenes indistinguishable from the Aegean island of Ikaria. If so, ´KR was merely the Aramaic transliteration of Ikaros. However, there is no evidence of a temple named Ekara during the Neo-Babylonian times, which may indicate its name had already fallen out of use at that point, centuries before the Alexandrian conquests. More likely is that Akarum, Akar, ´KR, and Ikaros are all variants of the same ancient toponym .
Agarum (also transliterated as Agaru or Akarum, cuneiform: a-kà-rum or a-ga-rum) is a bronze-age Near Eastern proper name, probably a toponym for a region or island in the Eastern Arabia and Persian Gulf. Agarum has been generally identified with Kuwait's Failaka Island, known as ´KR to the Arameans and as Ikaros during the Hellenistic times . Failaka's Ekara temple is a another probable location.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243. Agarum is sometimes identified with the mediaeval city of Haǧar, in the general region of Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Island in Bahrain .Nashef 1986, pp. 340–343, 346, 349; Laursen 2017, pp. 430-433. Possible locations Kuwait's Failaka Island Agarum is generally thought to be the Failaka Island, located near the coast of Kuwait. Failaka was the main center of the cult of Inzak. In the late 1st millennium BCE, the Aramaic name of Failaka was ´KR — probably standing for Akar, likely a diachronic variant of Akarum. The Aramaic BL ´KR ("Bēl of Akar") can be seen as a late re-interpretation of the ancient "Inzak of Agarum".Laursen 2017, pp. 430-433. Akarum resembles the name of the Ekara temple, which was located at Failaka. Ancient Mesopotamian scribes often morphed foreign words in order to render them satisfyingly into their own writing system. E-kara has a plausible cuneiform etymology; c.f. Sumerian é, "house" or "temple". It is unknown which god Ekara was dedicated to, but circumstantial evidence points to the sun-god Shamash. Kings of the Hellenistic Hagar minted coins in the name of Shamash, who may have been the principal deity of the state. Shamash was associated with palm trees. This may indicate that Ekara, Hagar, and the Al-Ahsa Haǧar are all etymologically related. However, this conjecture becomes unnecessary if the Persian or Arabic etymology of Hagar is accepted. Furthermore, Akarum is only attested in the 2nd millennium BCE, whereas Ekara first appears during the 1st millennium BCE.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243; Laursen 2017, pp. 432-433. Another suggestion is that the Hellenistic name Ikaros derived from Ekara: the name of E-kara would have sounded to Hellenes indistinguishable from the Aegean island of Ikaria. If so, ´KR was merely the Aramaic transliteration of Ikaros. However, there is no evidence of a temple named Ekara during the Neo-Babylonian times, which may indicate its name had already fallen out of use at that point, centuries before the Alexandrian conquests. More likely is that Akarum, Akar, ´KR, and Ikaros are all variants of the same ancient toponym. Al-Ahsa Oasis Equally problematic is the identification of the Hellenistic Hagar and the later Hasaitic Haǧar. According to Arabic authors, Haǧar was an Arabized form of the Persian Hakar. Alternatively, Hagar and/or Haǧar may derive from Old South Arabian HGR, "(fortified) city". In fact, the 10th-century Yemeni historian Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani mentions several cities with such a name %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% .
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or
and
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It has been variously identified with the
Agarum has been generally identified with Kuwait's
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and it has also been
. Failaka's Ekara temple is a another probable location.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243. Agarum is sometimes
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what is now known as the
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and Bahrain Island in Bahrain
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Less probable suggestions include the Ekara temple of FailakaGlassner 1988, pp. 240-243. and Bahrain Island.
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Failaka Island
Kuwait's Failaka Island
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Akarum resembles the name of the Ekara temple, which was located at Failaka. Ancient Mesopotamian scribes often morphed foreign words in order to render them satisfyingly into their own writing system. E-kara has a plausible cuneiform etymology; c.f. Sumerian é, "house" or "temple". It is unknown which god Ekara was dedicated to, but circumstantial evidence points to the sun-god Shamash. Kings of the Hellenistic Hagar minted coins in the name of Shamash, who may have been the principal deity of the state.
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Shamash was associated with palm trees. This may indicate that Ekara, Hagar, and the
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Haǧar are all etymologically related. However, this conjecture becomes unnecessary if the Persian or Arabic etymology of Hagar is accepted. Furthermore, Akarum is only attested in the 2nd millennium BCE, whereas Ekara first appears during the 1st millennium BCE.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243; Laursen 2017, pp. 432-433.
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Another suggestion is that the Hellenistic name Ikaros derived from Ekara: the name of E-kara would have sounded to Hellenes indistinguishable from the Aegean island of Ikaria. If so, ´KR was merely the Aramaic transliteration of Ikaros. However, there is no evidence of a temple named Ekara during the Neo-Babylonian times, which may indicate its name had already fallen out of use at that point, centuries before the Alexandrian conquests. More likely is that Akarum, Akar, ´KR, and Ikaros are all variants of the same ancient toponym.
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Al-Ahsa
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.
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Ekara temple
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Akarum resembles the name of the Ekara temple, which was located at Failaka. Ancient Mesopotamian scribes often morphed foreign words in order to render them satisfyingly into their own writing system. E-kara has a plausible cuneiform etymology; c.f. Sumerian é, "house" or "temple". It is unknown which god Ekara was dedicated to, but circumstantial evidence points to the sun-god Shamash. Kings of the Hellenistic Hagar minted coins in the name of Shamash, who may have been the principal deity of the state.
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Shamash was associated with palm trees. This may indicate that Ekara, Hagar, and the Al-Ahsa Haǧar are all etymologically related. However, this conjecture becomes unnecessary if the Persian or Arabic etymology of Hagar is accepted. Furthermore, Akarum is only attested in the 2nd millennium BCE, whereas Ekara first appears during the 1st millennium BCE.Glassner 1988, pp. 240-243; Laursen 2017, pp. 432-433.
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Another suggestion is that the Hellenistic name Ikaros derived from Ekara: the name of E-kara would have sounded to Hellenes indistinguishable from the Aegean island of Ikaria. If so, ´KR was merely the Aramaic transliteration of Ikaros. However, there is no evidence of a temple named Ekara during the Neo-Babylonian times, which may indicate its name had already fallen out of use at that point, centuries before the Alexandrian conquests. More likely is that Akarum, Akar, ´KR, and Ikaros are all variants of the same ancient toponym