Amorites

The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people who originated in Western Mesopotamia. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant and Mesopotamia, and parts of Egypt, from the 21st century BC to the start of the 16th century BC. The Amorites established several prominent city-states in various locations, such as Isin, Kurda, Larsa, Mari, and Ebla, and later founded Babylon and the Old Babylonian Empire. They also founded the Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the fragmented era of the Second Intermediate Period in the Nile Delta, which was characterized by rulers bearing Amorite names such as Yakbim Sekhaenre, and were likely part of the later Hyksos. The term Amurru, in Akkadian and Sumerian texts, refers to the Amorites, their principal deity, and the Amorite kingdom. The Amorites are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as inhabitants of Canaan, both before and after the conquest of the land under Joshua.