The Hurrians built their first kingdom in the city of Urkesh located at the foothills of the Taurus mountains during the 3rd millenium BC and were initially known to be allied with the Akkadian Empire. They were masters with ceramics with their work highly prized in Ancient Egypt. They were also experts with metallurgy and copper. Eventually they had a broad territory spreading from the Khabur River valley to the Zagros Mountains in the east. During the Old Babylonian period in the early second millenium BC, the Amorite Kingdom had subdued Urkesh and made it a vassal state. Hurrians also migrated westwards during this time and by 1725 BC were found in Alalakh - northern Syria. The kingom of Yamhad was a mixed Amorite-Hurrian kingdom and was struggling for control of the region against the Hittites. Other Hurrians settled in Anatolia and spread their cultural influence and religion. The Hurrian entity of Mitanni rose to power before 1550 BC and was associated with the Battle of Megiddo - the Hurrians were considered to be a ruling class there. Other Hurrians spread to the Kingdom of Urartu and assimilated there - their languages were closely related.

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