Chedorlaomer

In the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 14) Chedorlaomer appears as the king of Elam who, together with Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, and Tidal of Goiim, exacts tribute from the cities of the plain for twelve years; when those cities rebel in the thirteenth year he leads a fourteenth-year punitive expedition into Canaan. Modern scholarship frames his name as a Hebrew transliteration of an Elamite compound (Kudur/Kudur- meaning 'servant' plus Lagamar/Lagamal, an Elamite deity) while emphasizing that no uncontested extrabiblical inscription has securely identified a historical king by this exact name and that proposals connecting the biblical figure to various Elamite or Neo-Babylonian rulers are debated.

The Genesis narrative provides no physical or iconographic description beyond Chedorlaomer's role as a human king and military commander. Later reference works and encyclopedias treat him as a historical Elamite monarch based on the biblical portrayal; there are no securely identified contemporary inscriptions or artistic depictions in the cited materials that record his appearance or regalia.

The sources portray Chedorlaomer as a powerful regional military and political actor: he can impose and collect long-term tribute from multiple city-states, assemble a coalition of allied kings to suppress revolts, conduct long-range campaigns across the Levant (plundering tribes and cities), and take captives and spoils (notably Lot). He is depicted as mortal and politically contingent—able to be defeated and routed by an organized pursuing force led by Abram—so no supernatural abilities are attributed in the cited tradition.