The term Puqudu or Piqudu (or in the Bible, Peqod) refers to a prominent Aramean tribe and its associated region in southern or eastern Babylonia. They lived along the eastern edge of Elam and in the area near Uruk and the Tigris. Their tribal name is sometimes spelled with an accent mark as Puqūdu, and the members of the tribe are sometimes referred to as Puqūdian, Puqūdians, or Puqudaeans (e.g. in the Nimrud Letters). Some older publications use Pukud. The Puqudu, known from governmental archives of Assyria, were "prominent between the mid-8th century and 626 B.C.", although their presence is documented in Babylonia at least as early as the ninth century. It is not certain when they migrated into the area. They appear to have been a loosely associated set of clans, forming alliances for war but not governed under any form of permanent centralized government. In common with other Aramean tribes of the area, including the Gambūlu, Ruʾa, and Gurasimmu, the Puqudu had multiple leaders at the same time. There is not enough surviving evidence to speak more specifically about their political organization. Their way of life appears to have been largely rural, with many caring for herds. The surviving records concerning Puqudu and other groups point to an ongoing tension between the largely rural Aramean tribes, including the Puqudu, and the rural elite of Assyria. History Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria (745–722), conquered the Puqudu, and destroyed Hilimmu and Pillutu, two of their cities. He relocated many of the defeated Puqudu into other parts of his empire. Although incorporated into the Assyrian Empire, the Puqudu repeatedly rebelled against Assyria and engaged in warfare against Assyrian provincial governors and Assyrian allies in the late eighth century and well into the seventh. From 721 to 710, Babylonia was ruled by Marduk-apla-iddina II, who successfully fought a war at the beginning of his reign to make it independent of Assyria and its ruler Sargon II (king of Assyria 721-705). In 710, Sargon defeated Marduk-apla-iddina and his coalition, which included the Puqudu. Sargon integrated the Puqudu land into the Gambulu province in 710, but still found it necessary to carry out military expeditions, which were ultimately successful, against Bit-Yakin (a Chaldean tribe) and the Puqudu between 709 and 707. After the death of Sargon and the accession of his son Sennacherib (ruled 705–681), the Puqudu again participated in rebellions in 704 and