member of an ancient Semitic group of tribes that roamed the Syrian desert. By the first half of the 2nd millennium BC they appeared in the region of Mari as bandits and raiders, attacking caravans, towns, and even entire districts. They seem to have become most active during the 10th and 9th centuries, plundering many sites in Babylonia and Assyria and even ruining the great temple in Sippar of the Babylonian sun god Shamash.