691. From 652–648, a war broke out between Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, and his rebellious brother Shamash-shum-ukin, governor of Babylon, who claimed the right to rule the entire empire. The Puqudu, along with other Aramean groups, sided with Shamas-shum-ukin, who was defeated and died in 648. Preserved letters indicate that during the war Puqudians managed to enter Uruk and take prisoners. However, as Ashurbanipal began to gain the upper hand, Puqudians were deported several times to other parts of the empire. Two biblical references, both concerned with the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 by Babylon, make passing reference to the Puqudu. Spelled in Hebrew (which largely lacks vowels) as pqd, the Hebrew version of the name is now traditionally pronounced as Pekod. Ezekiel, interpreting the destruction of Jerusalem as judgment by God, says, "Assuredly, Oholibah, thus said the Lord God: I am going to rouse against you the lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them upon you from all around – the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, [the people of] Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, all of them handsome fellows, governors and prefects, officers and warriors, all of them riding on horseback." Jeremiah mentions Pekod briefly as a region of Babylon in an oracle of judgment against Babylonia: "Advance against her – the land of Merathaim – / And against the inhabitants of Pekod; / Ruin and destroy after them to the last / – says the Lord – / Do just as I have commanded you." The Babylonian emperor Neriglissar (reigned 560-556), was a member of the Puqudu tribe, and the son of the governor of the Puqudu district within the Babylonian Empire. References Sources Arameans Aramean tribes Ancient Mesopotamian people Babylonia Neo-Assyrian Empire Hebrew Bible nations