Horites

The Horites probably originated in the hills of Zagrus and Armenia. They are first heard of in a document from the time of Sargon of Akkad (24th century B.C.), when they already had a kingdom beyond the Tigris (Hiddekel). From this kingdom they began their slow but steady penetration along the valleys of the Mesopotamian rivers southward. Early in the 19th century B.C. they had already occupied the land north of Ashur (Mesopotamia). A study of names shows how deeply the Horites penetrated into upper Mesopotamia. This movement of Horites, who were of non-Semitic stock, coincided with the appearance of the West Semites, the two elements subsequently constituting the bulk of the population in Syria and Palestine. By the 15th century B.C. the Horites formed the majority of the population in northern Syria. Towards the 14th-13th centuries B.C. they were an important element in the ruling classes of southern Syria and Palestine.

The exact date of the arrival of the Horites in Palestine and Egypt is still in dispute. It is thought by some experts to have coincided with the conquest of Egypt by the Hyksos in the 18th century B.C. but others date it a century later. Both in Egypt and in Palestine, the Horites and the Hyksos made up the ruling nobility, the maryannu, who introduced the horse and chariot into warfare. Together with other elements, such as the nomadic Habiru, they formed the population which the Israelites and Sea Peoples (Philistines) had to face when they arrived in the land of Canaan in the 13th century B.C.

The Horites are not mentioned frequently in the Bible. Those living in Mount Seir (Edom) were defeated by Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:5-6), but they remained in the region (Gen 36:20) until they were destroyed by the descendants of Esau (Deut 2:12, 22). Scholars believe that the Jebusites and the Hivites, as well as some other ancient peoples mentioned in the Bible, were of Horite descent.

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