# Amorite — WHE Definition Discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** WHE Articles\ **Created:** [April 28, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/amorite-whe-definition-discussion/15892 "2011-04-28T08:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JPryst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/jpryst/32/168_2.png) [@JPryst](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/JPryst)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/amorite-whe-definition-discussion/15892/1 "2011-04-28T08:48:54Z")
The Amorites were a Semitic people who seem to have emerged from western Mesopotamia (modern-day Syria) at some point prior to the 3rd millennium BCE. In Sumerian they were known as the _Martu_ or the _Tidnum_ (in the Ur III Period), in Akkadian by the name of _Amurru_, and in Egypt as _Amar,_ all of which mean 'westerners' or 'those of the west', as does the Hebrew name _Amorite_. They worshipped their own pantheon of gods with a chief deity named Amurru (also known as Belu Sadi - 'Lord of the Mountains' whose wife, Belit-Seri was 'Lady of the Desert'), which also became a designation for the people as the Akkadians also referred to them as 'the people of Amurru' and to the region of Syria as 'Amurru'. There is no record of what the Amorites called themselves. * * * _This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at [https://www.worldhistory.org/amorite/](https://www.worldhistory.org/amorite/)._ ---
**Author:** ![JPryst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/jpryst/32/168_2.png) [@JPryst](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/JPryst)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 9:18am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/amorite-whe-definition-discussion/15892/2 "2026-07-30T09:18:54Z")