ARUKKU

 

ARUKKU (Assyrian A-ru-uk-ku), a son of Cyrus I, king of Parsumaš and grandfather of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II). After the decisive victory of the Assyrians over Elam (ca. 643/2 B.C.), Cyrus I, as a proof of his obedience to Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, sent his oldest son, Arukku, to Nineveh as a hostage (E. F. Weidner, “Die älteste Nachricht über das persische Konigshaus. Kyros I. ein Zeitgenosse Aššurbânaplis,” Archiv für Orientforschung 7, 1931/32, p. 4). In all probability, he was detained and died in Assyria.

The name is also known in the following forms: Achaemenid Elamite Har-ri-u-uk-qa = Har(r)iuwukka (I. Gershevitch, “Amber at Persepolis,” Studia Classica et Orientalia Antonino Pagliaro Oblata II, Rome, 1969, p. 182); Aramaic ʾrywk (W. B. Henning apud F. Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, Wiesbaden, 1968, p. 78), and from Greek Arioukes (F. Cumont, “Une inscription gréco-araméenne d’Asie mineure,” Comptes rendus de l’Académie des inscriptions et des belles-lettres, 1905, p. 95). All these forms render an Iranian name *Arya(v)uka or, with contraction, *Aryū¦ka.

 

Bibliography:

See also W. Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen, Wiesbaden, 1975, p. 41 (s.v. *aryauka-).

(M. Dandamayev)

Originally Published: December 15, 1986

Last Updated: August 15, 2011

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Vol. II, Fasc. 6, pp. 665-666